Team Angst: The Give Away Girl

Team Angst is a constantly changing teams, depending on who can handle the angst levels of the Team Angst pick. Only the bravest (or craziest) Pervs tackle the tears and pain to bring you the best angst and heartfail that fan fic has to offer. Non-canon pairings? No problem. Cheating and Break-ups? No sweat. Character death? Bring it! It’s all in a days work for Team Angst. So if you think you’re tough enough put on your big girl pants, take a seat and join us for the Team Angst Pick.

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The Team Angst Pick is...  

Title: The Give Away Girl
Author: MrsSpaceCowboy
Chapters:25
Words: 171,617
Reviews: 898
Summary: Honor student Bella Swan has mastered the arts...of manipulating her divorced parents, rolling the perfect joint, and faking an orgasm. Who wouldn’t want to keep a girl like her? An unconventional coming of age tale for Gen Xer Bella.

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Corie When I first started reading fic I would find myself staying up all night, unable to pull myself away from a story to even complete the most menial of tasks. 3 years later I have found a balance for the most part, until reading this story. I was sucked in, it was like when I couldn’t be bothered, I hid away from my family and denied the kids a day at the pool so I could keep reading. Honestly it got me excited all over again for fic. The characters and time frame (early 90’s) brought me back to my teen years, the way the author tells a love story had me swooning it was just everything combined.

 The attention to detail with the characters and their lives before cell phones and Facebook really took me back and pulled me into the story. What kept me reading was the thought out plot and love story. I was so invested in Edward and Bella and their relationship that by the time the angst began I was broken hearted along with them.

 At the core this isn’t just a love story between a boy and girl, it's a story about relationships, friendships, parent/child relationships and how they ebb and flow and evolve over those tumultuous teen years. It’s layered and complex without losing my interest or confusing the reader.

 The passion and sex between Edward and Bella had me squirming in my seat on quite a few occasions, but its all realistic and lovely. I drop anything when this updates and rush right to my girls to talk about it. I’ll just leave you with a little something to wet your...palate ;)

Seeing the top of his head moving lower and lower is enough to make me desperate. "Please," I whisper. I have no idea what I need, just that I need it now. He kisses the skin just below my navel before inhaling deeply. 

Then he starts the whole process of kissing and licking again, only moving north instead of south this time. He teases me, rubbing against me, but not penetrating. I shift, taking him by surprise as I draw him into my body. 

He sits up on his knees, still inside me and begins to flex his hips. My legs are spread wide and bent at the knees, and both of my feet are flat on the bed. He moans when he looks down, and then places a hand on each of my knees for leverage. 

I let my head fall back onto the pillow, vaguely registering his hands as they move to my waist. Holding. Pulling. He's deep. And I'm close. Instead of chasing the burn, I let it consume me, and for the first time with him inside me, it does. Heat licks at every cell in my body until I quake and whimper. "Fuck," he says, gritting his teeth. "God, that feels good. So fucking good."

Guest Perv: Edmazing 

Man, when I think about how long I let The Give Away Girl sit on my tbr’s list I could kick myself. Really. I mean, I love high school fics, but more importantly, I love hs stories that actually feel like they’ve got high schoolers in them. Kids who are trying to fit in and figure it out, all while making it look like they don’t give a shit who’s watching. 

Having it set in the 90’s just sweetened the pot for me. It’s filled with pop references and lyrics that will have you smiling and possibly Googling. And that’s perfect. It was back when phones were connected to the wall and if the conversations were worth it, you would stretch out the cord and pull over a chair so you could snuggle in and get comfortable. There were few distractions and time felt like it moved just a little slower.

And like most teenage stories, it starts with friends. Bella has a tight knit crew of pot smoking, boy obsessed besties that she’s run with since elementary. But Charlie and Renee’s divorce has Bella going back and forth between two homes. Forks where everyone she knows and kicks it with is and PA High where her mother, Emmett, and his new-to-town cousin Edward are. With two high school scenes to navigate and two households to grow up in, things are difficult, to say the least.

After getting to know Edward over the summer through late night phone calls and “all age” concerts the sophomore year begins. Yeah, it’s all about growing up and trying things out. Making those choices that you think are right, but sometime still getting it wrong. It only gets harder when you add love to the mix.

"I love you." His voice is quiet, tender. "I know," I tell him, running my thumb along the stubble on his cheek. "I love you, too." He smiles and pulls me closer. "Promise?" The word is a whisper against my lips. Forever may not be a possibility. We're only sixteen. I won't pretend the odds are in our favor. But he's taken over my heart so completely, I can't imagine him ever being gone from it. Always loving him will be the easiest promise I'll ever have to keep.

The story’s about love, yes. But it’s bigger; it’s about everything in those teenage years. To quote Jena Malone, “Adolescence isn't just about prom or wearing sparkly dresses.” It’s about finding out who you are. Where you belong. And if you’re lucky, who you belong with. Do yourself a favor and start this now.

The sighs and smiles come with the link.

 
Guest Rec: Dragonfly336 

I want to start off with saying that I am absolutely in love with The Give Away Girl by MrsSpaceCowboy. It is one of those stories that sucked me in and I couldn’t stop reading it, which I find in my three years of reading fic, happens rarely anymore. It is also one of those stories that whenever someone asks me what story to read, that is one of my first recs and I am surprised to see that this still hasn’t reached 1,000 reviews.

One of the things that pulls me in about the story is that it is set in the 90’s and the years coincide with the time that I was in high school, so it is very nostalgic to me. MrsSpaceCowboy excellently adds in pop culture references from this time. I also like the fact that it has a different back story than most of the stories out there, so it isn’t like you have read the same thing over and over again.

Bella grew up in Forks, but leaves in eighth grade to live with Renee in Port Angeles. She has her close knit group of girls in Forks that she remains close with. In Port Angeles, Emmett is one of her close friends and the summer before sophomore year, his cousin, Edward, moves there. I love how their friendship starts; he calls her to talk because he doesn’t know anybody and I love his characterization, long bangs with the back shaved close and wire rimmed glasses... *sigh* Their transition from friends to boyfriend/girlfriend comes pretty quick, as it happens in high school, and their first kiss is so sweet.

"Bella," he whispers, looking right back at me. "Tell me what you're thinking. Please." I don't want to. We've both said enough. I'm tired of talking. I shift onto my knees and then slowly climb across the console and the gear shift, until I am hovering with a knee settled on each side of his lap. "I think you should kiss me." I look him right in the eye as I say it. I'll give up every single birthday wish for the next thirty years… if he'll just do it. I swear. He leans forward as I lower myself. Our chests are flush. His eyes are on my mouth as I lower my face to his. His lips catch mine gently, brushing lightly before sucking gently. He tastes like chocolate and weed and every other favorite thing I have in the world. He caresses my neck with both hands as he slides his fingers into my hair, tilting my head. His tongue is soft against my bottom lip. I've never really been kissed. Not like this. I realize it the moment our tongues touch for the first time. He is soft lips and gentle tongue. Nips and pecks. Every part of me wants to be closer. I grip his shoulders tightly, shifting my weight, trying to ease some of the ache that is blooming in my chest and every other part of me.

Their relationship progresses throughout the school year and then the angst comes in. But it isn’t angst for angst’s sake. The transition is so believable and real, that you almost feel like the author experienced this same thing. And it is high school, where people grow and change and stuff just happens, and you don’t know how to communicate with your significant other because you just aren’t at that maturity level yet.

This is actually a great time to start since we are coming through to the other side of the angst. I know you’ll love it, so go start it. Right now! Go!

 Teal When I began ready this story, having been told it was an angst fic, I did so holding my breath. As the stage was set, with Bella a high school student in the 90s, a child of divorce, and splitting her time between her parents in Forks and Port Angeles, it felt like there was bound to be a mess. In many ways, that setting had plenty of rough patches, but Bella wasn’t some unrealistically damaged basketcase. She was pretty much a normal teenage girl with shitty circumstances and a core group of really great friends.

And so it began. She’d had her shit-vs.-fan moments, but overall, she was just living her life. Edward came into the picture in a really cute way, and their budding relationship was actually kind of adorable.

Again, there I was, dreading the angst, but this one proved to be a slow burn. That’s right, MrsSpaceCowboy builds up the sweet, fun, sexy, chaotic, hot teenage romance between these two, making it good and strong so that when the tidal wave hits, it’s a killer.

My poor heart.

Though I know this is an Edward/Bella story, and I have every reason to believe they’ll end up back together in the end, their separation may have been one of the hurtiest I’ve read in any fic. After a series of misunderstandings, insecurities, and mistakes on both ends, it was fairly inevitable. But the growth they both experience and their eventual, slow return to friendship has a natural feel to it.

The author calls this a Come of Age fic, and I honestly can’t think of a better description. I’m enamored with the story, and if you’re an Edward/Bella lover, this is one you absolutely shouldn't miss.