DISCLAIMER: The Twilight series, the author Stephenie Meyer, the singing group Spice Girls, the singer Martina McBride and their songs ("Time Goes By", "Valentine") do not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. Also, I make absolutely no profit from this or any other fan fiction.
Sweethearts
An hour and thirty minutes.
That's the amount of time that I had been standing in this crowded electronics store and praticaly being hypnotized by their entire selection of MP3 players. It seems like every other day, some other electronics company comes out with another music player that claims to be able to hold more songs or do your taxes for you. Nevertheless, I was trying to find the perfect one for her: my sweet, radiant Bella Swan. Valentines Day had arrived, and though I knew I would face her inevitable wrath for - gasp - spending money, I didn't care in the least. After all, what was money compared to having an angel by your side?
I let out a deep sigh & finally decided to purchase one made by Sony; it had an adequite amount of space (eight megabytes) and was the perfect shade of deep red - a perfect Valentine color.
I rushed out of the store, got in my car, and drove as fast as I could - which I normally did anyway - so I could get home. I had to test it, however, to make sure it worked. The last thing I wanted was to have spent $150 on a piece of junk.
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The rest of my family had gone out hunting, so I had some private time to myself.
Sitting in my room, I was stil trying to decide what song to put on there. I knew it had to be something that could explain my love for her; I listened to every CD I had, but none of those songs seemed to be the right one. Running my fingers through my hair, I sighed in frustration and was about to give up when I suddenly heard the sound of a familiar heartbeat reach my ears.
Oh crap! I thought, rushing around & hid her gift just as I heard a soft knock on my door.
"Edward?" her soft voice said.
"I - In here", I answered, nearly choking on my words.
The door slowly swung open; there she stood, my personal goddess with a smile on her face. It had been raining outside - yet again. I stared at the raindrops that clung desprately to her hair, inhaling that lustrous scent that could only come from Bella. Attemping to destract her, I rushed to her side & lightly kissed her lips.
"Missed me?" I purred in her ear.
She laughed and happily sighed. God, how I loved those sounds!
"I've only been gone for a few hours," she replied with a smile. "Anyway, I thought I'd give you something."
I pulled back, looking into the depths of her warm brown eyes. It was quite obvious she was estatic, but I was completely in shock.
"A gift?" I repeated.
Without another word, Bella reached into her jacket pocket & pulled out a small package wrapped in sky blue wrapping paper decorated with small silver hearts. There was a tag on it which read:
Happy V-Day, Eddie! Love: Bella
Normally, I loathed the nickname. But when Bella said it, or wrote it in this case, I didn't mind for some reason. Getting temporarily lost in my thoughts, I realized that Bella was anxiously staring at me & waiting for me to open my gift. I unwrapped it slowly, giving her a gentle smile as I did so.
When the last of the paper fell away, I looked at the item in my hands: a black and red iPod. The grin on my face became wider; how in the world did this woman know what I wanted? I set it on my sofa & kissed her deeply before she could say anything. After Bella broke the kiss - she's gotta breathe, after all - I was lightly kissing her neck when she spoke.
"You didn't get me anything, did you?" Bella asked.
That made me freeze in my actions. I composed myself before I answered her.
"No", I said, feining indifference as I looked into her eyes. "I didn't get you anything. I know how much you hate it when someone buys something for you."
"But - "
I quickly slienced her by putting a finger on her lips.
"Don't worry. I didn't spend a dime." I could only pray that she believed me if just for a little while longer.
The saddened look that suddenly rushed upon her beautiful features told me that she believed it completely. A sad sigh as she pulled away from me & dredged towards the door gave me more evidence of her belief. Yet even though I was just setting her up for her gift, I would be lying to myself if I didn't admit that it broke my heart to see how upset she was.
Of course, she had every right to be! What kind of a fool would be idiotic enough to give absolutely nothing to the one they loved on Valentines Day? Especially when it was someone who was as generous and wonderful as Bella?
After watching her leave with a pained expression on my face, I turned glumfully to my bed as I picked up the iPod and turned it on. She really did think like me; there was a song already uploaded, simply titled "Time Goes By". I put in a pair of headphones, highlighted the song, and hit the play button. I closed my eyes as the song slowly began.
I've
never had a feeling so right
Like I've had with you
Can't
explain the things you do
But boy when you tell me softly you love
me too
It's like I know we were meant to be
So for eternity,
you will have a part of me
And all I need is for you to stay right
here with me
Time goes by but we stand
still
Love you for eternity I will
I know that we were meant to
be
That's how I feel when you're with me
You
are the reason that my heart beats
I know I never thought I would
ever fall so deep
But now I see that the love that we share is oh
so sweet
What if I told you that I believe
That you are my
soul
My destiny
What if I was to say in every way
Deep in my
heart is where you'll be
Time goes by but we
stand still
Love you for eternity I will
I know that we were
meant to be
That's how I feel when you're with me
Time goes by
but we stand still
Love you for eternity I will
I know that we
were meant to be
That's how I feel when you're with me
As
you hold me close so tenderly
I watch you fall to sleep
I see
in you the one who now completes
The half of me I used to be
Time
goes by but we stand still
Love you for eternity I will
I know
that we were meant to be
That's how I feel when you're with
me
Time goes by but we stand still
Love you for eternity I
will
I know that we were meant to be
That's how I feel when
you're with me
Time goes by but we stand
still
Love you forever yes I will
I know we're meant to
be
That's how I feel baby
I opened my eyes when the song ended, waiting in vain for the tears to flow. Every word of that song spoke out to me, admitting to me her true feelings. She loved me like no one ever has, and God knows I didn't deserve her.
With a deeper resolve within me, I sat down in front of my computer & logged onto the Internet. There had to be a song somewhere that could show my love for Bella, I thought as I searched through a song web site that I liked. After an hour, I nearly lost hope when I came across a song that seemed interesting: "Valentine" by Martina McBride.
Inwardly, I groaned - I am not a country music fan. Still, if the song was appropriate for Bella, I'd be willing to give it a try.
A few minutes later, after downloading and listening to it, a smile spread across my face. I knew I had found the perfect one. Happily, I got Bella's MP3 player from its hiding place and uploaded the song onto it. With that done, the only thing left to do now was find Bella.
It didn't take me long; I heard her delicate heartbeat comming from our living room. Quietly, I walked downstairs and what I saw made me feel like I was worthless.
Though she was being as quiet as she could, there was Bella - my wonderful Bella - sobbing softly on the sofa. I immediately went to her side, reaching out my hand to lovingly stroke her hair.
"Leave me alone!" Bella cried angrily. While I wasn't expecting her reaction, I deserved it.
"Bella", I said in a soothing voice, all the while lightly tracing the left side of her neck with the lightest touch of my fingertips. "Please, Bella. Look at me."
Very slowly, Bella looked toward me with her brown eyes, now red, slightly puffy, and muddled with fresh tears. With a shaking voice, I spoke again.
"I'm sorry, Bella. Believe me when I tell you that I speak the truth. The reason I said I didn't get you anything - " I paused long enough to take her gift out of my pocket - "was because I was going to surprise you."
Bella's eyes widened in surprise as she took the MP3 player in her hands & examined it.
"Y - You got this...for me?" she answered, her own voice shaking now.
I nodded. "Just before you came over."
Tears of regret now started to flow.
"Oh, Edward. I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and - "
If it hadn't been for another soft kiss from me, she would have babbled on like this for ages.
When I slowly pulled back, a very small smile crept onto Bella's face. Her eyes glanced downward as she looked at the MP3 player again, then back up to me.
"Are there any songs on here?" she asked.
"Just one", I said and showed her how to find it. It took a few minutes, but she eventually found the song I had put on there. The title only read, "Valentine". With a grin, I handed her the headphones. Bella took them, put them in, and hit the play button.
I heard it playing through her headphones and listened along with her.
If there were no words
No
way to speak
I would still hear you
If there were no tears
No
way to feel inside
I'd still feel for you
And
even if the sun refused to shine
Even if romance ran out of
rhyme
You would still have my heart until the end of time
You're
all I need, my love, my Valentine
All of my
life
I have been waiting for
All you give to me
You've
opened my eyes
And showed me how to love unselfishly
I've
dreamed of this a thousand times before
But in my dreams I
couldn't love you more
I will give you my heart until the end of
time
You're all I need, my love, my Valentine
And
even if the sun refused to shine
Even if romance ran out of
rhyme
You would still have my heart until the end of time
You're
all I need, my love, my Valentine
Silence filled the room. I suddenly forgot to breathe, waiting anxiously for her response.
Bella looked at me, stunned and completely speechless. I smiled again and held her close, wrapping my arms around her waist as she laid her head upon my chest.
"I listened to the song that you gave me", I said with pure joy. "If this heart were still beating, it would have stopped completely, love. To say that I was touched by it would be a grand and severe understatement."
Very tenderly, I lifted her face up so that she would look into my eyes, to see the endless love that was only for her.
"My heart and my very life belong to you and only you. Though that woman's song was beautiful, no song or any word in any language can do you justice. I will love you forever, Isabella Swan."
For what felt like the millionth time that day - though I swear I'll never get tired of it - I kissed her lovingly. It was my way of letting her know that she would always be mine beyond eternity.