http://twilighted.net/viewstory.php?sid=7061

Official Description: Edward is a 27-year-old alcoholic/addict struggling with his recovery. Bella is a 23-year-old who’s moved back home after college. This fic chronicles how they meet, fall in love, and struggle with the complexities of their relationship. Not nearly as maudlin as it sounds (I hope).

Rated NC-17 for graphic (and sometimes non-romantic) sex, drug and alcohol use and abuse, profane language, and brief (very brief) suicidal ideation (although NO suicide attempts). No sexual assault, no cutting.

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feathersmmmm says: So I read fic. A lot of fucking fic. And usually I find fics through recs by other authors, seeing buzz about stories on twitter, seeing recs on blogs such as this one. But I have this habit, one that I indulge from time to time. I go to twilighted.net, click on Most Recent, and scroll. I scroll until I find something that looks very very interesting. Sometimes I read several chapters before I realize eh, not so much. Sometimes I find something that holds my interest for quite awhile, and a lovely evening ensues. And then sometimes, the most wonderful thing happens. I stumble on my new favorite fic. And when that happens, I tell everyone that will listen to me.


With Teeth is my new favorite fic. It owns me, it pwns, it could stone me and I wouldn’t even hold a grudge.


Edward is a 27-year-old alcoholic/addict struggling with his recovery. Bella is a 23-year-old who’s moved back home after college. This fic chronicles how they meet, fall in love, and struggle with the complexities of their relationship. Not nearly as maudlin as it sounds (I hope).


Rated NC-17 for graphic (and sometimes non-romantic) sex, drug and alcohol use and abuse, profane language, and brief (very brief) suicidal ideation (although NO suicide attempts). No sexual assault, no cutting.


With that summary, there was no way I could not click on that. And this fic sucks you in hard from the very beginning. Heh heh, I said hard.


When we meet this Edward, there is not much to love about our favorite fellow. In fact, he is wholly UNlovable, and that is usually when I know I am in trouble. I adore flawed Edward. I prefer a flawed Edward. And this Edward is rough, very broken, very disturbed, and hopelessly lost. The author tells his tale of the end of his active addiction, and the beginnings of his recovery brilliantly. Through wonderful editing, we get bits and pieces of his rehab story, showing the day to day monotony of what it is like to start living the life of living with an addiction.


I am a sucker for great dialogue, and talulahblue has a knack for crafting some fineass back and forth. For me the true test of good dialogue is to actually say the words out loud. Go ahead, try it sometime. When speeches go on and on, and sentences are peppered with adjectives, sometimes you just wanna scream “WOULD ANYONE REALLY SAY THAT?” This author chooses her words very carefully, and the result is perfection. The initial exchanges between Edward and Bella immediately call to mind every uncomfortable, uneasy, where-should-I-look conversation you have when you are meeting someone that is about to rock your world.


Ah but there’s the kicker. Edward is in recovery, and isn’t supposed to be involved with anyone (cue darling Bella) for a year. What will they do? I don’t want to give the entire story away, but I will say that the most recent chapter (11, holy sheet 11) has added an unavoidable element that I am afraid is going to cause this entire story to go careening in a new direction…and I can not fucking wait!


I rec a lot of stories, always ones that I think will bring you something new and interesting. With Teeth owns me in a new way, the way few have. This is one that everyone MUST read, or I will personally come over and kick you in the colon. I bet no one has ever ended a guest review with that line, right?? But I will, I will kick you in the colon if you don’t read With Teeth. Colon. Kick. Not kidding….

MF’er says: Over the last few weeks I kept seeing people mention this fic, and the name alone kind of scared me. I am swayed by silly things, don’t judge me! I will read bad fic if the banner is pretty and I will avoid good fic if the title doesn’t appeal to me, I am a bit of a snob that way.


So last week, tby789 was discussing With Teeth along with what seems like half of the people I follow on Twitter, and I caved in and started reading it. I don’t think I got a lick of work done. I couldn’t stop reading.


Just like Alice said, our favorite boy is flawed, wholly-but not irrevocably. I fully believe he’s redeemable and I’m anxious to see that happen. At the end of the first chapter he makes the first step and decides for himself that it’s time to change.  

As the fic progresses we’re getting small glimpses here and there of what led him down the path to destruction and landed him at the spot he’s in now-recovering from an addiction to a myriad of things.


As a girl who has been through it with someone very close, I have to say that TalulaBlue has done a fantastic job of portraying what happens when someone is in recovery. How their life becomes monotonous and structured because they need that kind of rigidity if they’re going to make it and stay clean and sober. This is something that really never changes, they’re learning to live their life in a whole different way and it’s important for them not to be distracted during the beginning stages of this.

Wake up. Open eyes. Roll over. Stare at the clock. Sigh. Rub my eyes. Stare at the ceiling. Yawn. Throw off the covers and sit up. Get out of bed. Trip over yesterday’s clothes. Walk to the bathroom. Take a piss. Flush the toilet and regard my face in the mirror. Walk to the living room. Sit on the edge of the couch with my elbows on my knees and smoke a cigarette. Tug at my hair. Think about my day. Crush the cigarette in the ashtray. Walk back to the bathroom. Take a shit. Take a shower. Have a shave. Get dressed. Leave the apartment. Smoke another cigarette. Go to the diner. Sit at the counter. Order eggs (scrambled), toast (wheat), sausage (links), and coffee (two sugars). Think about getting high. Think about fucking a pretty girl. Think about jerking off later. Finish my meal. Pay the bill. Tip generously. Leave the diner. Smoke another cigarette. Walk aimlessly. Sit on a bench. Smoke another cigarette. Walk to the bookstore. Cigarette. Buy a book. Walk home. Cigarette. Sit on the couch and read my book. Cigarette. Fall asleep. Wake up. Cigarette. Eat. Cigarette. Promise to smoke less tomorrow. Play my piano. Cigarette. Think about getting high. Think about fucking a pretty girl. Think about jerking off. Jerk off. Cigarette. Go to bed.

Your life truly becomes about nothing else. Everything you do becomes part of the routine. Part of our Edward’s routine? Bookstore on Thursday. Bookstore on Sunday.

I don’t notice him until he’s right in front of me.

Th
e heat in my face tells me I’ve already gone bright red. I can’t imagine what I must look like. I’ve spent all afternoon practicing cool nonchalance and now I’m standing here, staring at him, with absolutely nothing to say.

As if he’d notice. He keeps his eyes down as he slides a book across the counter toward me. I could almost set my watch by this guy. He comes in nearly every Thursday and Sunday between 3:30 and 4:00, browses for about ten minutes, selects a book (always used, never new), brings it up to the counter, pays for it in cash, and doesn’t get a bag.

This is how they meet, and it’s a rather… humorous meeting that sparks a friendship between our favorite couple.  A friendship that is enjoyable, and laced with so much damn UST it’s glorious.  The dialogue is spot-on and did I mention the UST?? … It kills me.  And It’s so hard because you want them to be together so bad but you know it’s wrong, you know it’s too soon, but you can’t help yourself from hoping for the best.  For hoping that these characters can be the difference and make it through whatever they face.  

So yes, I highly recommend you read this and join Alice and the rest of us who have fallen in love with these characters.  I’m along for the ride and I can’t wait to experience what Talula has planned for the future.  Please don’t break my heart, Talula!!!