Here is a one-shot that popped in my head while working on In An Instant. I hope ya'll enjoy it and let me know what ya'll think.
Thanks to my beta Sobriquet, who, ma'am, you are a win. :)
Disclaimer: SM owns all things Twilight, I just like using her characters.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't then it was never yours to begin with.
In a way, that's what Bella did.
For years, she'd heard that she and her best friend Edward would end up together, and she'd started to believe it. She was just waiting for Edward to open his eyes and see it as well.
Alice, Edward's twin and Bella's other bestie, had already started planning their wedding, in secret of course. She, just like Bella, was waiting on him to make a move, Alice more impatient than Bella for the inevitable.
Bella's phone went off and she looked away from her computer to see who it was. She smiled and flipped the phone open. "Were your ears ringing?"
"Why?" Alice said through the phone. "Were you thinking of me?"
Bella laughed. "Maybe. What's up, chicken butt?"
"The sky, booger bear. Actually, did you get Edward's text?"
"Yes. He wants everyone to meet at Carlisle and Esme's house. I'm actually heading there in a bit, just adding some finishing touches on my story for my editor."
"Okay. Rosalie was helping Esme with a few things for the fundraiser for the hospital this weekend so she's already there. Edward's heading there now."
"I swear, Alice, Rosalie hates me." Bella and Rosalie never saw eye-to-eye on things, and Rosalie's usual comments to Bella were snarky and somewhat hateful. Bella would try to befriend her, seeing as Rosalie was Emmett's wife, but Rosalie would always shoot her down.
"She doesn't hate you. She doesn't really know you."
"Because she doesn't want to. I tried inviting her to lunch last week and she had this excuse, like always."
"She had that doctor's appointment, you know that."
"Yeah, but every time I do invite her somewhere she has a new excuse to not go."
"I don't know, but I do know she doesn't hate you, trust me. I gotta go, Jazz just got home and we're leaving for Esme's. See you there, okay?"
"Okay, I'll see you in a few."
Bella hung up the phone and sent in her story. Once it went through, she grabbed her things, jumped in her ancient Chevy and headed over to the Cullen house. Being the last one to arrive, she walked in and sat down at the table, smiling her hello.
Carlisle smiled in return before turning his attention to Edward. "Okay, son, we're all here. What's going on?"
Edward took a deep breath and looked out to his family. "Well, I, um, I have some news. I'm, uh-" He cleared his throat. "I'm getting married."
Silence.
Edward looked around at all his family.
Bella stared down at her hands, fighting the tears that wanted to spill, her heart breaking. She glanced up at everyone's face. Esme and Carlisle were shocked. Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie were pissed, glaring at Edward but Alice, she was absolutely seething, staring at her twin like she wanted to kill him.
"Did you hear me? I'm engaged," Edward said, trying to coax out responses.
Bella flinched at the last word and immediately hoped no one saw it. It hurt, but she didn't know why it did; she had no claim on him, Tanya was the one he'd been dating for the past year. And now Tanya was who he was marrying, not her. She felt like she was going to fall apart, but she wasn't going to break down, not in front of him.
Bella stood up and walked over to give him a hug. "Congratulations, Edward," she said, trying to hide the pain and failing miserably. "I wish you all the happiness," she said, tears in her eyes.
And with that she left, and everyone watched her go, not saying a word but understanding her heartbreak and respecting her reaction… well, all but Edward.
Edward turned back to his family; their glares at him had started to bother him. "What?"
"You're a fucking idiot," Alice said abruptly.
"Alice," Carlisle warned.
"No, Dad, he needs to hear this."
"How am I an idiot?" Edward asked.
"Seriously? Are you really that naive? Do you pay attention to what's around you? Honestly, Edward, I've sat here for years and watched you with that tramp, hoping that you would come to your senses."
"What are you getting at, Alice?"
Alice leaned back in her chair. "You are so blind, dear brother of mine," she said in amazement. "Too blind to see that the one you are supposed to be with just walked out that damn door and possibly out of your life."
"I'll talk to Bella."
"She won't want to talk to you! You hurt her. She flinched back like you'd struck her when you made your little announcement. Maybe she is better off without you."
"Bella deserves the best, we all know that."
"Yeah, and we thought you were the best for her, bro," Emmett said. "Guess we were just proven wrong."
"Bella and I aren't destined like all of you have told me for years. We are just friends, that's it."
"You're wrong, Edward," Rosalie said. "I've watched the two of you and I saw it too, as I'm sure Jasper has."
Jasper nodded. "Ya'll have this pull toward each other and even though I wasn't part of this family until I married Alice, I saw what everyone's talkin' about. Alice is right, you're blind, and you're makin' a mistake with Tanya."
Edward sighed and looked down at the table. "Look, Tanya's planning the wedding for this summer." Alice scoffed in disgust but Edward continued. "And she wants all of you to be in it. Jasper and Emmett as my best men and Alice and Rosalie as her bridesmaids."
Alice abruptly stood up. "Like hell I will! You can tell her to stick it where the sun don't shine because there is no way in hell I will support this catastrophe!"she growled.
"It's not a catastrophe."
"It's pretty fucking close."
"Alice, be reasonable—"
"No, Edward, you be reasonable. You're making the biggest mistake of your life. You let Bella walk out of here without so much as a glance, just like you cast the vote and kicked her off the island."
"Alice, come on! Bella is just a friend-"
"No, Bella is a sister we'll never get to have. So thanks for the awesome news but I gotta go check on my best friend, you heartless ass." Alice grabbed Jasper's keys and walked toward the door.
"Rosalie, what's your answer?"
Rosalie looked from Edward to Alice's retreating figure. "I'm with Bella," she said as she got up and followed Alice outside.
Jasper sighed and shook his head. "I'll talk to her, man, but I don't think she'll change her mind."
Edward sighed. "I know."
After a quiet moment, Jasper turned to Emmett. "Do you think you could give me a ride home?"
~*~
Bella sat on her couch in the dark with her legs up to her chest, wishing the pain would stop. She felt stupid for believing that Edward would realize anything. Just like in high school, he was just a stupid boy that she set free to do his thing and hoped like hell would come back. She took the risk and accidentally let him get too far.
Alice let herself in. She and Rosalie walked in and turned on the light.
"Shit," Alice said and walked over to Bella, kneeling in front of her, placing her hands on Bella's knees. "Bella?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay, sweetie?"
Bella laughed a hollow laugh. "Yeah, Alice, I'm peachy. I fell for a guy who just got engaged to someone else. I was so stupid to believe that we were meant to be."
"No, you weren't," Rosalie said, making Bella jump. She came over and sat next to her on the couch, putting her hand on Bella's shoulder. "You two are meant to be Bella. I see the way you two act around each other. Edward is the stupid one."
"Yeah, but I'm the one who's hurting. The pain in my chest won't go away."
"Give it time and it will."
"I don't know if it will. Who will want me now? I'm broken."
"You're not broken honey," Alice said. "You're just bruised."
"Then it's a really deep bruise."
"Well, all we can do is try to heal it. Got any ice cream?"
Bella nodded and Alice went to the kitchen and got all the comfort food she could find and came back to the couch.
"What movie do we want to watch?" Alice asked.
"Nothing romantic," Rosalie responded, wrapping her arm around Bella. "I don't think broken hearts can take that."
"It's bruised, not broken, remember?" Bella said.
Rosalie laughed. "Right, well I don't think bruised hearts could take it either."
"Action it is," Alice said, finding a movie and placing it in the DVD player.
"Rosalie?" Bella whispered.
"Yes, Bella?"
"I thought you hated me."
Rosalie chuckled. "I didn't even know you, but I'm working on it now."
~*~
The next few months, Bella tried mending her bruised heart and in turn avoided Edward at all costs. She never went to his parents' or siblings' houses, they always came to hers. They never mentioned anything about Edward, knowing that would backtrack her progress and only hurt her.
But Edward wouldn't stay away for long, she knew that, and she would need to talk to him. She was just hoping that it would be further away then the day before his wedding, when he showed up at her door.
"Hi," Bella whispered as she let him in.
"Hey," Edward replied as he walked in and went to the couch, making himself at home as usual, which Bella used to think was cute, until now. "Bella, we should talk."
"Yeah, we should." She didn't move from the door.
"Could you sit, please?"
She slowly walked to the couch and sat on the other far side away from him. She was tense, looking at her hands and not him.
Edward sighed. "Bella, I've missed you."
Bella flinched.
"I mean, I miss my best friend. I wish you'd come to the wedding tomorrow."
"Edward, I don't think I can," she said, not looking at him.
After a quiet moment, he turned his whole body toward her. "Why didn't you answer my phone calls?"
Bella sighed. "You know why, Edward."
"No I don't, not really."
"I'm trying to fix myself, Edward, you hurt me."
"Why? We weren't even together."
"Yes, but I believed we would be."
"Just like the rest of my family?" he asked patronizingly.
She looked at him then. "Just like the rest of everyone we've ever known! Anyone we've ever been around who's seen us banter. Not just your family says it Edward."
"This is ridiculous, Bella. I can't believe you of all people believed what other people have to say."
Tears filled her eyes. "Yeah, well at least I take the time to notice things that you are too blind to see – to see what those people that I believed were talking about."
"You mean this 'pull'? What the hell does that mean?"
"The pull means that we can't stay away from each other. That… that we can't stop talking more than a few weeks much less than a few days. We see each other all the time."
"Not any more, and we did stop talking for more than a few months."
"We did because I didn't answer your phone calls. And yet, here you are."
"That's absurd. Bella, I came here to see how my friend is. I care about you, that's all."
Immediately he knew that wasn't what he meant. He cared about her, just more than he was letting on, and he knew that.
The tears that she was trying to hold in fell down her cheeks and anger flashed in her eyes. "Oh, that's it? If you cared so much, why didn't you just leave me alone so that I could try to get over you? You knew that's what I was trying to do, don't even say it wasn't. The truth is you don't want me to get over you, do you? You just want me to follow you around like a puppy."
"No, Bella, that's not it at all, I just-"
"Just what? Huh? Tell me why are you here with me instead of out with your brothers and friends for a bachelor party? It's the evening before your wedding and you're here. Or better yet, go see the woman you love; I'm sure she'd be happy to see you."
"I can't go see her; you know that, not the day before the wedding."
"The party then?"
Edward said nothing. He didn't know. His buddies had planned a party, he just didn't want to be there, didn't want to have one. The truth was, something was off about him since he got engaged, he just didn't know what it was.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Bella said.
"You know what? I don't have to take this," he said as he went to the door. "Don't come tomorrow, I don't care any more. I thought we could be friends, but apparently we can't. Have a nice life, Bella."
He slammed the door behind him and rubbed his chest because for some strange reason, it hurt.
~*~
The next day, that pain in Edward's chest still hadn't gone away. He stood in front of the mirror in his tuxedo, not looking at himself, just staring through it, trying to find something, some kind of reason for why he felt this way.
He wasn't nervous, but somehow he seemed numb, far from the nervous wrecks his brother and brother-in-law were in when they were getting married.
Behind him, the door opened and he looked at it through the mirror as Bella walked in.
"Bella," he breathed.
"Hi," she whispered.
That pain lightened some in his chest. "Bella, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday, I didn't mean it."
"I know."
"I'm glad you're here."
She smiled a little and took a step forward. "Edward, I… I'm sorry for what I said too."
"Don't be. I deserved it."
"I just…" She sighed and looked into his eyes, tears filling hers. "I just always thought it'd be you and me." She paused and looked down at the floor as a tear ran down her cheek. "I'll always love you, Edward, and even though it hurts, I want you to be happy. Whoever you're with; just be happy." She whispered the last part.
He walked over and wiped a tear off her cheek before pulling her close and hugging her. He didn't know what to say but all he wanted to do was hold her and bury his face in her hair, which is exactly what he did, and it felt amazing when the pain disappeared and was replaced with this warmth that only she could put there.
A knock came at the door and Emmett walked in. "It's time, man. Oh, hey Bella."
Edward pulled away and Bella wiped the rest of the tears off her face before she turned around and smiled at Emmett. "Hi, Em." She looked at Edward. "Well, I better go."
She hugged Emmett and then he escorted her out of the room and into the chapel, the pain coming back more strongly for both of them with every step she took.
"I'm glad you're here, Bella," Emmett said.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, I think it's brave of you." Even though it should be you up there with him, was implied at the end.
Bella smiled. Emmett walked her to the first pew and he set her between Alice and Rosalie before standing behind Edward, who had just walked in from the groom's room.
Alice and Rosalie took Bella's hands and held them securely as the music started.
For Bella, it seemed like it took years instead of minutes for Tanya to walk down the aisle and stand in front of Edward. But Edward wasn't watching Tanya, his eyes were on Bella.
The preacher started the ceremony and Edward turned to look at Tanya. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered her today to join these two in the union of matrimony…"
Bella's heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest. The pain was unbearable and to stand there and witness why it was hurting seemed a bit ridiculous for her. She squeezed Rosalie and Alice's hands.
"I'm sorry. I can't stay, it hurts too bad."
"Do you want us to come with you?" Alice asked.
Bella shook her head. "No, I think I just want to be alone."
"Okay. Call me tomorrow?"
Bella nodded and stood. She caught Jasper and Emmett's eyes, and they nodded to her, showing that they understood. She walked down the aisle and out of the church and headed for home where she was going to enjoy the ice cream she just bought for this day and the best horror movie she could find, one where the bride dies.
~*~
Later that night, after the movie, Bella stood to put a different movie in and noticed that her phone kept blinking. She looked at it and saw that she had phone calls from Rosalie and Alice and a text from Alice saying, 'call me'. They were probably checking on her.
She set her phone down again when it went off. Alice. There was a knock on her door so she answered the phone as she went to the door.
"What, Alice?"
"Bella, something happened when you left."
"What?"
"Edward and Tanya didn't get married."
"What are you talking about Alice?" she said as she opened the door and looked at who knocked. "Edward?"
Alice was saying something but Bella wasn't paying attention.
"Can I come in?" Edward asked.
Bella nodded and stood off to the side to let him walk through. "Alice, I'm gonna have to call you back," she said before she hung up.
"Edward, what are you doing here?"
"I… shit, I don't know. I need to talk to you."
"Alice said you and Tanya didn't go through with it."
He gave her his crooked grin. "Well, I didn't."
Bella pointed to the couch and they sat down.
"Bella, when you left the ceremony, it was like some weird wake-up call. My parents watched you leave and gave me pleading looks and everything… I don't know, I just felt like I was doing the wrong thing. Marrying Tanya felt wrong."
Bella grabbed his hand, the jolt that went up her arm surprised her and by the look on Edward's face, him as well. "Tell me what happened."
He looked down at her hand in his. "When the priest got to the part of the objections, I don't know what came over me but I raised my hand in objection. Everyone was shocked, myself included. But after I raised my hand, my brothers and sisters did the same, followed by all we know. Tanya left and everyone was relieved that I didn't go through with it."
Bella smiled and Edward stroked her hand with his thumb.
"When you came to see me, the pain in my chest went away. And when you left it got worse. It was strange."
"Mine did too."
"I understand the pull now, Bella. Being here now, my chest doesn't hurt and this—" He squeezed her hand. "—this feels right. I realize it felt wrong with Tanya because I wasn't marrying the right person. She wasn't you. You were right, I was blind. But my eyes are open now and I'm just asking for another chance to do right, to do what I should have done a long time ago. Please?"
Bella thought about it for a moment. Her heart was absolutely singing now. It was what she wanted and she'd be a fool to not accept and cause herself more pain.
"Okay. You can have another chance. Just don't hurt me again like you did before."
"I won't, I promise." He took his other hand and placed it on her cheek before he leaned in and kissed her.
~*~
A year and a half later
Alice ran into the reception area with all the guests after the pictures were taken and grabbed the microphone. "Hello, family and friends of the bride and groom! As one of the matrons of honor, I would like to announce the entrance of the happy couple. Now, without further ado, here are my brother and my best friend, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen!"
Bella and Edward walked in, followed by Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie. They opened gifts, cut the cake and talked with guests. They left for their honeymoon and the guests were heading home, leaving Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie in the reception room.
"They're finally together!" Alice exclaimed, sitting in Jasper's lap.
"Took them long enough," Emmett said, wrapping his arm around Rosalie. "Damn, I was wondering if it would ever happen."
"I did too," they all said.
"Hey, was Edward nervous like Jasper was?" Rosalie asked.
"Worse than me and Emmett combined," Jasper said.
"Same with Bella. She was way worse than I was," Alice said.
Rosalie laughed. "Me too. I was nervous because I knew I was doing the right thing but I was never as bad as Bella was."
"That just proves what we all knew about them belongin' together," Jasper said.
Alice looked at Rosalie. "Hey, you know that saying, 'if you love something set it free…'"
"Yeah. 'If it comes back it's yours; if it doesn't then it was never yours to begin with.' Why?" Rosalie asked
"Because that's what Bella did. She set Edward free."
Rosalie smiled. "And he came back."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
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