Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight - Stephenie Meyer does.
This is the fourth out of four holiday one-shots I've been writing. As soon as this is posted, I'll post the new chapter of 'Worlds Collide', then 'The Quest for Magic' then 'Expecting Disaster' then 'Worlds Collide' and it will keep going like that :)
OH MY GOD IT'S BEEN YEARS SINCE I'VE UPDATED. I PROMISE THAT I'M GONNA GET IN A PROPER RHYTHM AFTER THIS. I SOLEMNLY SWEAR (THAT I AM UP TO NO GOOD HAHAHAHA NO).
Enjoy...please?
BY THE WAY, I KNOW THAT RENEE AND PHIL GOT MARRIED THE SAME SEPTEMBER THAT BELLA TURNED 17...BUT I DON'T KNOW IF SHE WAS 17 OR WHETHER IT WAS BEFORE SO JUST GO WITH IT. KAY? THANKS.
Forever Young
Bella leaned back onto her husband's legs. "You know what's weird?" She played with the ripped knee of his pant leg as she spoke.
Edward smirked. "What?"
"When I'm turning one thousand in reality I'll only look 17."
"Haven't we been over this? Several times?" Edward rolled his eyes.
Bella looked down at their position in the boat, and she shook her head grinning. "I guess that's not my top priority right now. What should be is how on earth you got the Quileutes to agree to let us take a boat off of the coast of La Push."
"As soon as I mentioned that it's your birthday, they agreed. They still have a soft spot for you." Edward played with the hem of her dress.
Edward was leaning on the stern of the fishing boat with his feet on the bench in the middle of the ship. Bella's head was on his feet and her own were right next to her husband's head.
Bella giggled. "I'll be sure to thank them then." she said, and her husband smiled his famous crooked smile at her.
A thought popped into Bella's mind and she sat up straight; bending her left knee to prop herself up at on the stern of the boat. Her arms draped themselves loosely on her raised joint. "You have only really witnessed three of my birthdays; the disaster of my eighteenth, my nineteenth on which I was either unconscious or hunting lions, and my twentieth which hasn't even finished yet."
Edward sat up to Bella's level and grinned. "Enlighten me then."
Bella thought for a moment. "Why don't I show you?"
Edward crinkled his nose in confusion; then realisation dawned on him. "Really?!" He had to restrain himself from squealing like a little girl.
Bella laughed freely. "Sure; it's a special treat for being so amazing to me today...and everyday." She shut her eyes to concentrate, and picked a random birthday memory from her mind to show her husband.
"Bella!" Renee called. "Bella, Poppy is here!"
Eight year old Bella hurtled down the stairs at her top speed, only to end up in a heap at the bottom. That didn't spoil her mood though as she picked herself up straight away and continued running to her friend. "Hello Poppy!" She flung herself into the bewildered girl's arms.
"Happy birthday Bella." The ginger-haired girl smiled shyly, as she offered the eager girl a cube-shaped present.
"C'mon! The party is in the playroom." Bella grabbed Poppy's hand and tugged her up the stairs.
"I wasn't always that outgoing." Twenty-year old Bella's voice rang out through the memory as the two girls ran. "Poppy was my best friend as a little girl, but Middle School changed her."
Just as Bella and Poppy entered the playroom, the doorbell rang again. Bella glanced out the door, pointed to where Poppy should put her coat then sprinted back downstairs.
Bella reached the front-door just before her mom did, and she swung it open. Standing on the doorstep was Charlie Swan. "Daddy!" Bella screeched and threw herself into her father's arms.
"Happy birthday, pumpkin." Charlie grinned as he squeezed his daughter.
Bella hopped down from his arms and stared at him expectantly. "Do you have a present for me?" She fluttered her eyelashes.
Suddenly Edward's shocked remark jolted Bella out of her thoughts. "You used to let people buy you presents?!"
Bella glared at her husband. "I was concentrating."
"Oops, sorry. Carry on." He gestured at her to close her eyes again, and she complied, after rolling them.
Charlie chuckled at his daughter's abrupt demand. "Of course." He bent down to pick up a huge box from the porch.
"Oh my gosh!" Bella clapped. "It's huge! Come and take it up to the playroom!" She ran back up the stairs so that she didn't leave her best friend alone for too long.
Just as Bella reached the playroom door, she heard her mom start to speak.
"What on earth are you doing here, Charlie?!" She hissed.
"It's my daughter's eighth birthday party...I'm here to celebrate with her." Charlie said as if it was obvious.
"Well, I could have used a little warning! How long are you staying? Where are you going to sleep?"
"Just this weekend! Then I'll be out of your hair." Charlie grinned in spite of Renee's annoyed tone. "And as for where I'm going to sleep, I could sleep in the playroom."
"Don't be ridiculous. You can sleep on the sofa." Renee said dismissively. "Now, you need to head upstairs with that stupidly large gift. Turn left at the top of the stairs." Then she walked briskly into the kitchen to sort out the kids' lunch.
Charlie sighed and started to stagger slowly up the stairs with the weight of the box.
Bella shook herself out of the memory and smiled at her husband's happy face.
"You were so adorable." He grinned. "What happened after?"
"I can't really remember...but what I do know is that the huge present was an Easy-Bake Oven."
"Is that where you learned to cook?" Edward asked jokingly.
Bella stuck her tongue out at him. "Not really, my mom always made the brownies. All I did was put them in the oven, and wait for them to be cooked by a lightbulb." She laughed.
"At least the only person you have to cook for now is Ren, and she isn't picky at all." Edward pointed out.
Bella giggled. "Yup...you wanna see another birthday?"
"Absolutely." Edward said eagerly. "How about...seventeen? That's the one just before I met you."
"Sure! It wasn't exactly 'eventful' though." Bella shrugged, and closed her eyes.
"Mom!" Newly-seventeen-year-old Bella wandered through the house in the early hours of the morning. "Are you back yet?!" Renee and her new boyfriend Phil had taken a trip to Vegas and were due back last night, but Bella couldn't keep herself awake.
Just then Renee and Phil burst through the door, giggling. Renee caught sight of Bella and hurtled towards her. "Honey!" She called as she ran to her daughter and held her in her arms. "Happy birthday, hon!"
"Thanks, mom." Bella smiled as she hugged Renee. "Did you have a good time in Vegas?"
Renee pulled back to smile at Phil. "The best. Um...honey...we have something to tell you." Renee walked over to her boyfriend and took his hand in hers. "We got married."
Bella's eyes widened until they were the size of dinner plates. "W-What?"
"We got married!" Renee sang again.
"Um, great!" Bella faked enthusiasm. "I'm happy for you guys!"
"Hold up," Edward interrupted the vision. "Your mom got married the day before your birthday? In Vegas?! You never told me that!"
"I never felt the need to bring it up." Bella shrugged.
"Oh, baby..." Edward said sadly.
"Hey, it was fine! You'll see what happens next." Bella winked and closed her eyes again.#
"Well, you should be...because...check it out!" Renee pulled several pieces of paper out of her pocket and handed them to her confused daughter.
As Bella scanned the writing, her expression got happier and happier. "We're going to DISNEYLAND?!"
"Yes!" Renee squealed. "Phil won big on the slot machines!"
"This is so exciting!" Bella screamed and ran into her mom's arms again. "Wait," Something dawned on her. "I can't just up and leave! I've only just started senior year! I can't do that..."
"Are you sure, hon?" Renee asked sadly.
Bella nodded. "Yeah...school said we were only allowed to miss school if we were physically throwing up or dying in hospital..."
"Oh." Renee's happy expression completely dropped.
"But you know what?" Bella smiled at her. "You two go. Think of it as your honeymoon! I'll sell mine and give the money to charity."
"You gave up Disneyland for school?!" Edward asked, shocked. "Wow."
"Shush."
"Are you completely sure?" Phil asked.
"Totally." Bella nodded. "Congratulations you guys." Bella pulled her mom in for a third hug, but included Phil this time.
"I had the empty house for a whole week. I had such an awesome time!" Bella grinned.
"Do you want to have our cottage empty?" Edward asked teasingly as he pulled his wife closer.
"Definitely not." Bella murmured and leaned over to kiss her husband softly on the lips.
"Thank you for letting me into your world even more..." He whispered into her lips.
"My pleasure."
This certainly isn't my best work, but I think it's kinda different to other stuff that I've written :)
Please review!
Mwah.
Cassie xoxo