Disclaimer: Do I really need one? Everybody knows I don't own Twilight.
SIX MONTHS IN PARIS
Summary: Bella and Edward are best friends, in love. But what will happen when Bella has to move to Paris for six months? She hopefully comes back to Forks, only to find out that Edward now has a fiancée, Sheila. AH
Chapter 1
Forever Dazzled
For what felt like the hundredth time that day, my heart took an extra beat as Edward slid his hand into mine in a casual gesture. He had never done such a thing ever before, and I blushed nervously.
Edward and I had been best friends for as long as I could remember, and I had had a crush on him for what felt like an even longer time. I remember always being terrified that anyone would find out, or even worse, that Edward would find out about it. The embarrassment that would come with it would be too hard to take. My golden rule was to always be more discrete than necessary, and some days were harder than others – like this one for an example.
Today was my eighteenth birthday, and we were on our way to something, a surprise, Edward was about to show me. I hated surprises, but Edward had been surprisingly stubborn about this one. It was unlike him to not give me the slightest clue of what was about to come.
"You'll see," was what he had told me, and it was driving me crazy.
As we reached his silver Volvo, he ran his fingers nervously through his bronze tousled hair, as if to consider what to do, and then awkwardly opened the door for me. He smiled a crooked smile that I had adored for ages, and closed the car door after I had taken a seat beside the driver's seat.
"Where are we going?" I asked him again as the engine purred to life.
He smiled. "I've told you Bella, you'll have to wait and see." A pair of piercingly, warm green eyes met mine, and I was instantly ready to faint. "It's not a long car drive," he said and smiled again. The smile warmed up my entire body; it reached all my cells and particles. There was something in the way he smiled – I wanted him to do it again, more, and only to me. Why couldn't he always smile?
When the wheels reached the start of a highway, I raised one eyebrow at him. Where were we actually going? He smiled again in reply, showing a line of perfectly white teeth, and in that very moment I knew that it wouldn't matter if the surprise was a meal at Burger King, nothing mattered as long as he would continue to smile at me. He was so beautiful when he smiled, it was as if all my troubles vanished the minute those dimples would appear on his cheeks.
We left the highway after a while to meet a small trail, and Edward parked the car next to a forest. He smiled smugly at me before closing the door after him.
I stepped out and eyed the destination with a skeptical look. A forest? Hiking? I had thought that Edward knew me better than that.
I folded my arms across my chest after he had locked the car and gave him a doubting gaze.
"Where are we going exactly?" I demanded.
"Hiking," he answered simply.
"Honestly, Edward, I thought you knew my better than that."
"You'll see," Edward replied with a shrewd smile and turned to walk in a different direction than I had been facing, he turned away from the trail.
"Hey! What about the trail?" I wondered as I ran after him.
"We're not following the trail, we're taking this way," he said and pointed towards a big green nothing inside the forest. Great.
Edward started to walk further and further away from where we had parked the car, and what other choice did I have than to run after him?
"Edward, wait!" I cried as I ran after him.
He stopped and turned around to smile at me, and I was instantly on pink puffy clouds. I couldn't really believe the effect he had on me, it was so strange how he made me feel. Nothing I had felt for a boy could be compared to what I felt for Edward. I was like his prisoner; I would do anything for him.
When I reached him, he took my hand in his. His hand was warm against mine, and I never wanted to remove my hand from our entwined grip, I wanted to lock our hands together forever. Because best friends held hands, right? Of course they did, otherwise Edward wouldn't have placed my hand in his…
I never wanted to let go of his warm, soft hand. What lotion was he using? His palm was so soft…
There was a way in which he had so casually placed my hand in his that made me consider the possibility that maybe this wasn't how best friends held hands. But as quickly as the thought had appeared inside my head, I removed it. Who was I fooling? Because it was only wish thinking. Nothing could be as absurd as that. Edward and I had been friends forever, it was bizarre to imagine that he would see me as anyone else as the person he would turned to if something screwed up.
We continued to walk without pauses or halts with the green dense forest surrounding us, and our hands were entwined the entire time. It made my heart pound extra fast in my chest. And sometimes, I would look up towards his face to see if he was smiling. Every time I did, he was smiling, widely, and to me, for me, no one else. The knowledge of that he was smiling against me made my knees week, and, naturally, I blushed. Unfortunately, I blushed a lot too. Because I was Bella, and Bella blushed. I had done as long as I could remember – it was a reflex. I was unable to control my reddening cheeks.
I would have preferred to keep my cheeks in my usual skin tone instead of revealing how nervous I was, but obviously I had no say in what color my cheeks would be embellished with. It was too bad; I would have liked to show Edward that I was very comfortable and experienced with this. I was very, very, comfortable with the situation, but experienced was something that I was not, the opposite. It was too bad, really. I had never met anyone I actually liked, apart from Edward of course. My last crush had been when I was fourteen years old, four years ago, and I couldn't even remember the name of the boy I had liked. Edward overshadowed every person I had ever liked, and probably because I had had a crush on him for an eternity. And my feelings for him wasn't really decreasing, they were increasing. I wanted to be with him all the time, I wanted to see him laugh and smile, I wanted to see him happy. As long as Edward was happy, I was happy.
I didn't know for how long we had been walking, because the only thing I had thought about was that Edward's hand was in mine, but suddenly I could spot a light about a hundred feet in front of us.
"Look, we're almost there!" Edward said with a wide smile. The gesture made me feel very aware of how my pulse was thudding wildly in my red and warm ears.
"Really? I thought it would be longer," I said.
Edward raised one eyebrow at me and shot a quick glance at his clock. "Bella, we've been walking for an hour."
"Oh," I said, surprised. "I didn't know that."
He smiled again. I smiled back, widely.
He reached out and stroked his fingertips carefully across my left cheek, and I stopped breathing. Edward was touching me. Edward was touching my face. I was surprised that I didn't start to hyperventilate in that exact moment. Instead, my heart was beating like a hammer in my chest, and I was unable to look away from his penetrating green eyes, they were so beautiful, I was drowning in them.
His hand stopped moving, and slowly cupped my chin. This was a moment I had only dreamed about, was it really happening? Did Edward like me? Did he want to be something more than best friends? And was he considering on kissing me? It seemed so surreal, too good to be true. Maybe the absurd thought I had had in my head before wasn't a silly wish.
We looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, and all that I was aware of was his hand touching my face. The skin under his hand became warmer by the second – his touch was so gentle. I never wanted him to drop the arm he was stroking my face with, so when he did, I sighed. Lowly though, so he wouldn't hear. He wouldn't kiss me after all. I knew that it had been silly to hope.
"You will love it," he whispered and took my hand again. "I promise."
"I already love it."
He tilted one eyebrow and looked at me, confused. I never received a reply; he quietly kept walking towards the light, and I followed him.
After a few more minutes of walking, an opening was visible between the dense trees. I eagerly ran towards it, wanting to reveal the surprise he had hidden from me.
A small, perfectly round, meadow appeared in front of my eyes as the trees disappeared around me. Flowers, in all different colors and shapes, were decorating the fresh grass. A soft floral scent was hovering over the place, and a peaceful stream was audible.
The sunlight was falling over the meadow, lighting up the most distant parts of it. It was beautiful, peaceful, simple. It epitomized the perfect lovely dream. An environment like this was fairy-tale like. The beauty was simply too stunning to seem to come off as real. I loved it.
Determined to experience more of it, I glided further into the circle to collect all the perfect features of nature. I inhaled deeply, filling my nostrils with fresh, unharmed, air, and closed my eyes slowly, listening to the distant stream.
I heard a low chuckle behind me, and turned around to see Edward behind me.
"Do you like it?" he wondered.
"Of course," I responded, awestruck of how he couldn't understand that it was impossible to not like this meadow. "It's beautiful."
"I know," he said, and let his gaze fly over the lightly lit up place.
"I love it."
"Me, too," he said, and stopped his gaze at a violet flower next to his foot. He slowly bent down to pick it up, and carefully held it up to me. A weak smile appeared on his lips. "Here."
I blushed before he boldly put the flower behind my ear. He eyed his work critically, and then his gaze softened. "Pretty," he told me.
"Thanks."
He smiled instead of answering, and a brief pause filled the atmosphere, where we looked at each other.
His eyes were so beautiful, so soft and tender. But there was still something wild and free about the emerald color. It was the color of the sea that I would want to drown in. I could so easily get lost in those eyes, simply by staring into them for a few moments.
"When did you find this place?" I wondered, still amazed by its beauty.
"I found it when I went for a walk, a few months ago." he answered.
"Here? Outside of the trail?" I wanted to know.
"Yes," he said.
"You're insane," I replied with a smile.
"The trail isn't always the best way."
"It's the safest way. You can get lost, I bet this forest is huge," I reminded him.
He raised one eyebrow at me. Then, his hand reached for something in his pocket, and brought out a small light blue bag made of a soft cloth. He held it out to me, and I took it surprisingly in my hand.
"Your present," he explained.
I nervously bit my lip for the split of a second. "You didn't have to get me anything."
"I know," he began, "but I wanted to get you something."
"This looks expensive," I said insecurely, staring at the pretty bag. Its fabric was so silky in my hand; I wanted to touch my cheek with it, to see if it was soft enough to caress your face with.
"Silly Bella," he said and shook his head.
"What?" I wondered as I fingered with the opening of the bag.
"Open it," he suggested.
I bit down hard on my lip, before I tugged at the ends of the silver strings, and turned it upside down in my hand.
A thin silver chain with the same length as a bracelet fell down in my hand. It sparkled in the sunlight. A small, detailed, pendant was hanging from the chain in form of a silver star. Something was engraved in it, and I held it closer to my eyes to notice that the letters were two – one "B", and one "E".
It seemed too surreal to be happening. The bracelet was so beautiful, and the chose of letters made my heart beat hard against my ribs. Had he really gotten this to me? Had he really bought me a silver necklace, with an engraved pendant? And most importantly, had he really chosen the letters "E" and "B".
I caught myself staring at the necklace with an open mouth. I quickly closed it, embarrassed. Edward looked at me hopefully, waiting for my answer. It disappointed him; it was so easy to see in his eyes.
"You didn't spend very much money, right?" I wondered anxiously, and the happy spark in his eyes vanished and disappointment dawned across his face. I nervously fidgeted, being very well aware of that I was the one causing that look on his face.
"You know, most girls are happy when they get silver bracelets. They're not anxious about the price."
"And what gave you the impression of that I was the typical girl?"
He tilted his head to the side. "True."
I sighed. "It's beautiful, perfect," I said dreamily, and turned to look into his eyes. He smiled the crooked smile, and ran his fingers through the bronze strands of perfectly tousled hair. Was it even possible to look that gorgeous? It shouldn't be legal.
"Do you like it?" he wanted to know.
"Yes," I breathed and let my gaze sink to the chain in my hand again. "Could you help me to put it on?"
"Of course," he said and carefully took the bracelet in his hand to attach it around my wrist. "It suits you."
"Thank you," I whispered, still admiring it. Then I met his eyes for a second time, and hesitantly held my arms out to hug him. He returned the embrace and held me in his arms for a few extra moments before he pulled away.
His scent was so inviting. A hint of cologne together with his natural, sweet, scent made my knees weak, and the thoughts fly out of my head. All I was able to focus on was his perfect breath, and his hands carefully placed on my back. I hoped he wasn't able to hear my beating heart against this chest.
He had to pull away some time, and when he did, I let go of my arms around him reluctantly. To my great surprise, he let his face stop about ten inches from mine. He was so close that I was still able to smell his sweet breath. I was surprised that my eyes didn't start rolling into it their sockets; he was dazzling me so wildly I almost couldn't believe it.
Slowly, he leaned closer and closer to my face. My breathing stopped the minute he started to get closer.
He was so close now, our lips barely an inch from each other. If only he would lean forward just a little bit, if he would only tilt his head a little more towards my face, a sign, enough so that I could shorten the distance between our lips. I could hear how ragged and uneven my breathing came out, and was surprised to notice that he was reacting in the exact same way as I was. Was he also nervous?
Just as I though that he would finally let our lips meet, something interrupted us. I quickly jumped, surprised by the sudden cry that had escaped through someone's lips, or something's lips… I took a step back. And as I did, Edward, too, backed a few steps.
"What was that?" I asked worriedly, looking anxiously around in the meadow, trying to spot the animal that had interrupted us.
"It was just an animal Bella," Edward calmed me with, but I noticed how he also looked a bit afraid and worriedly shifted his gaze around in the meadow.
"Let's go back," I suggested, and didn't wait for his reply. I started walking towards the dense trees again, and became relieved as Edward followed and took my hand again, it was so warm, and I loved it.
I inhaled loudly as I realized that he had been about to kiss me. Kiss me. He had, after all, been the one who'd caressed my cheek, the one who'd come so near that our lips had nearly met…
Though I couldn't help but to doubt myself a bit on that subject. Of course he would want to continue with being best friends, and nothing else. Maybe he just wanted to lean closer to find out if I would be the one to shorten the distance between our lips. Maybe he knew that I had feelings for him, I had obviously showed it too clearly… Maybe I was interpreting all the signs wrong, I was just pretending that they were positive so that a small indication of hope would lighten up my black heart. The seed of doubt had planted inside of me, and the tree was growing fast.
But he had to like me too – he had to. What about his ragged breathing when our lips had been an inch apart? It couldn't just be a coincidence. And the fact that he had smiled at me all the time… Maybe he did like me, maybe we were meant to be together, maybe he hadn't realized it until now. Maybe…
"What did you think of the bracelet?" he suddenly broke the silence with.
Shoot. Was it really the best time now? I was just going over inside my head if you liked me or not, so would you please give me some time to think it all through? Just another minute please.
Of course I didn't tell him that, there would be plenty of time to think through Edward's actions later, maybe when I was in my bed, pretending to be asleep… Yes, I would think it over then, if I could wait. If I knew myself right, I would want to think about the possibility that Edward might want me in another way as a friend until I knew if the answer was yes or no. It was quite clear that it overshadowed everything I normally thought about, I needed to be distracted. Distracted, perhaps by Edward…
"Edward, I've already told you, I loved it. It's the best present ever! It's beautiful," I said while gazing at the beautiful bracelet tied around my wrist. It was beautiful – I wasn't lying. I couldn't believe how he had gotten me such a nice present. Which also made me wonder. He had never bought anything like the bracelet before, was it a sign of that he wanted to be more than friends? I was suddenly very aware of the two letters engraved on the silver star.
Oh, stop it Bella. You're being silly, Edward doesn't want you that way.
But maybe…
I said stop it!
Okay, okay, you're right… Edward will never think about me in any other way than his best friend.
True.
But what if? What if?
Jeesh, cut it out.
But what if? Maybe I'm being too shy, maybe I'm not showing it clearly enough. Maybe I should flirt a little.
Bella, are you serious? Flirting? Are you out of your mind?
Maybe.
You need to be if you consider flirting with Edward.
Edward interrupted my verbal correspondence with myself inside my head.
"You really think so?" His face lit up.
I stopped walking so I could look properly into his warm emerald green eyes; they were breathtakingly beautiful. All I wanted was to be with him, all the time.
"Of course I think so," I said. "I love it, I wish I'd given you such a beautiful present on your last birthday."
I thought back to the day in June, and at Edward's birthday party. Now, I regretted buying Edward a frying pan. I regretted it a lot. How could I have been so stupid? A frying pan, seriously…
"I'm sorry about that frying pan," I mumbled awkwardly, hoping that he wouldn't notice my inner struggle too much.
"Bella, that's the best frying pan I've ever had," he explained. "Why are you apologizing?"
"Because it's such a boring, impersonal gift."
"Well, that's not true," he said with a low chuckle. "You know I love to cook." Maybe that was true, but now I still wish that I had gotten him something better.
"But you buy me this beautiful, beautiful bracelet, for God knows how much money, and I bought you a frying pan last June. It's not fair," I protested. A stupid frying pan. A stupid present. From a stupid person.
Edward squeezed my hand tightly a moment before he continued, and my heart skipped a beat as he started talking. "Bella, it was the thought behind the frying pan that made me love it so much. You need to understand that."
I snorted. Why couldn't he love me instead of that damn frying pan?
"It's not the thought that counts, it's what you do. What if I thought that the frying pan would be perfect for me to murder you with the next time I come to your house? If I had knit you a shirt, even though it would be ugly, I would have done something. The thought is not what counts. And I didn't do much with that frying pan, I just bought it," I told him. My statement seemed to make him puzzled.
"This is just an unnecessary conversation anyway, you know I loved it," he assured me. Should I believe him?
"You didn't."
"I did."
"You didn't."
"I did."
"No, you didn't."
"Bella, I swear," Edward started and looked deeply into my eyes. "I would love any present you got me, do you understand? I don't care if it's just a dried flower that grows like weeds in your garden, I'd still sleep with it under my pillow every night."
My mouth popped open. "You would?"
He nodded. "Of course I would."
"Do you sleep with the frying pan under your pillow?" Oh great, Bella. Of course you'll joke when he's trying to tell you something important. Just great, pure awesomeness. Not.
"Ha. Ha. Ha," Edward said without laughing. "Very funny."
"At least I thought so," I said with a smile and shrugged my shoulders.
"Is it really right to laugh at your own jokes?"
I laughed. "I wasn't laughing."
"You did, just now," he said playfully and dragged me with him into a brisk walk.
I inhaled the smell of the air, enjoying every second. This was where I wanted to be; in a dense, beautiful forest, alone with Edward. It was my paradise. To be able to be with Edward, to see him smile and laugh. I couldn't ask for more. Even if he didn't think of me romantically, this was enough. I was spending time with him, I could see him, I could feel how our hands were entwined together, I could feel the heat radiating off from his skin…
My thoughts wondered back to the moment we had shared back at the wonderful meadow, and how our lips had been dangerously close to meeting each other. If it only hadn't been for that stupid animal, I might have gotten to know how it felt to have Edward's soft lips pressed against mine. The though of kissing Edward made a shiver of pleasantry race down my spine. If only he could have just kissed me, just a light, soft and careful kiss. It was enough for me. I needed to know how it felt to have his lips on mine.
I didn't know for sure, but it felt as though the walk back to the car was longer than the first one. Neither of us said a thing. We walked silently, holding hands, and listened to the sound of the light breeze finding its way through the treetops. It was a soothing sound, and the fact that Edward's hand was in mine didn't really make me want to go back to the car. I wanted to spend the rest of my birthday with Edward, and only Edward. I didn't care about Charlie and Jacob; Edward was the only person on my mind.
Once in a while, he would smile at me, and my face instantly became warm and red, I blushed. Why? Why did I blush? Couldn't I have at least smiled back? I had done it before. If I had, he would have gotten a confirmation on that I liked to be where I was too, that I was comfortable… perfectly comfortable with his hand in mine.
I loved the fact that it was so natural for us to take a walk with my hand in his – it felt so unnaturally good. I could feel the blood pounding in my ears every time I thought about the fact that we were holding hands. And again, I asked myself the question; best friends held hands, right? What if they didn't? I didn't exactly have another best friend than Edward to compare with. Apart from Jacob of course, but that was different. I had known him for my entire life… What if there was another reason behind the handholding? I wasn't the one who had taken Edward's hand, he was the one who had taken mine in his. Maybe he also liked to feel my hand in his, maybe he liked me…
When we reached the car, I sighed. And this time, Edward could hear me.
"What is it?" he asked, and let go of my hand.
"I don't want to leave," I murmured silently.
He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair; I loved the bronze color of it. "We have to, I can't kidnap you for the entire day."
"Please do," I said with a sigh. "I hate my birthdays."
He smiled the crooked smile that made my heart flutter. "I know that Bella, but don't. You need to show at least a bit of enthusiasm, you know it."
I sighed again. "Can't we go to your place? You know, to just hang out. I really don't feel for handling Charlie right now. He and Jake are probably in ecstasy, fixing around like total dorks."
"Bella, they want to celebrate your birthday, that's not a crime."
"For me, it is," I answered as he opened the car door for me again. "It's pure torture, having to listen to people singing "Happy Birthday" to you once every year. Can't we please just runaway to your house? Please, Edward."
I had absolutely no idea why I asked him that, apart from the fact that I wanted it. And, oh, I wanted it badly. But I didn't want him to think that I was pushy, I didn't want to make him spend time with me. And deep down, I knew that it was futile trying to escape the awaiting persons at home, Edward would never agree to that.
"Bella, as much as I want that too, it's not possible, you know it."
His words made the sweat start pumping from under my arms; I hoped that it wouldn't be too noticeable later. "Bella, as much as I want that too…" Did he also want to spend time with me? Alone? Oh dear God in heaven, did he? Did Edward want to be with me?
It came as such a shock that I couldn't answer directly. I had to melt the words that he had said first, I needed to understand them, the meaning behind them, everything. I needed to analyze them in every possible way, before I could reply to his words.
Bella, as much as I want that too… Bella, as much as I want that too… Bella, as much as I want that too… Bella, as much as I want that too… Bella, as much as I want that too…
He did want to, he wanted to spend the day with me! That was all I needed to know, my birthday was now complete, and it had been the best I had had for years, probably the best one in my entire life.
Edward wanted to be with me alone on my birthday, please tell me that this isn't a dream…
"Why can't we then? Why?" I persisted, not letting go off the subject.
"Because it's your eighteenth birthday, you don't turn eighteen every day Bella. Once in a lifetime…" he added dramatically.
I laughed. "You didn't seem to be like that when you turned eighteen…"
"I was like that, I just didn't show you," he joked.
"Of course you were like that, you're Edward, the drama queen."
"Hey! Drama king! You're not sitting next to an Edwardia."
"Oh, is that your middle name? Edwardia? What a lovely name, Ed."
"Don't call me Ed."
"Oh," I said. "I see, you prefer Edwardia!"
"If that's what you want to call me."
The sarcasm was heavy in the air, and I giggled as Edward smiled. He turned his gaze from the road in front of us to meet my eyes, so beautiful, so emerald, so sparkling… His eyes were like a god's, compared to mine. I didn't see why he wanted to look into my eyes, who would want to look so deeply into a puddle of mud? My eyes, unfortunately, looked like dirt. Some people said chocolate, but I didn't fall for that. It was just something to make the pain of having dirty eyes soften a little bit. As if I would believe their lies, I knew I wasn't beautiful. I was nothing compared to Edward. Edward was the beautiful one, the gorgeous one, the hot one… As I sat in the car, I thought about how it would be to rip his clothes of with my teeth. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded it at all, to rip his clothes of with my teeth. It was actually rather inviting. I couldn't help but to smile lightly for myself as I imagined the ripping sound that would come of the broken fabric.
The clock ticked closer to three every minute, and the gaping hole of my absence at home would soon be filled in. Forks got closer and closer for every second.
Charlie had never liked Edward very much, but he knew that Edward was important to me – he was unknowing that I had romantic feelings for Edward, though – and therefore usually let Edward be a part of celebrating my birthday together with Jacob. This was something I was very grateful for, I found solace in Edward's presence when it came to opening presents and listening to "Happy Birthday".
Jacob and I had known each other for an even longer time than Edward and I. He had always been the one I would play with, and I could talk to him about everything. Our friendship was very similar to the one I shared with Edward, but in a way, there were major differences between them. I would came crying into Edward's arms if something terrible had happened, but Jake would be the one I turned to if I wanted to share the news how Mr. Molina had come to class with purple hair.
"Very well, we're here," Edward said as he pulled up in front of the familiar white house where I had lived for my entire life. Renée had tried to convince me on living with her on several occasions, but I had always insisted on staying in Forks. Forks was safe, and familiar. And the fact that Edward lived nearby didn't make me keener on moving. I didn't want to rip up the bonds I had tied here. I was also aware of how Phil had to move around, since he was playing baseball for a living. It would make Renée unhappy to be away from Phil, I knew that.
"Thanks for the ride," I said dreamily, and looked one more time into his dazzling emerald eyes.
"You're welcome," he replied before stepping out of the car.
On the outside, the house looked perfectly normal. Two cars, one truck and one cruiser, were parked outside, and the white color of the house had started to flake off. A lamp was lit in the kitchen, and the light glow was inviting. But I knew what was going on on the inside, secret keeping and decorating, making my birthday an even worse pain.
I groaned as we walked the short distance to the door, and a low chuckle escaped from Edward's lips.
"Be nice," he said.
I snorted. "You can't make me," I retorted. And then I opened the door with a loud creak.
A/N: So, folks, that was the first chapter of my new story. Quite different from my first one, right? Anyway, some things in it might be a bit OOC, like Charlie's reaction to Bella's birthday, but you'll hopefully survive.
I'll try to update on weekends, but I can't guarantee anything. Right now, writing is a bit overshadowed by other stuff, and there's not much I can do about it.
Originally, Bella's birthday celebration was in this chapter, but it became too long, so it's in chapter 2 instead.
Please leave a review, it means so much!