Chapter 1

The Wedding

Looking up into his emerald eyes, there was no way anyone could deny the love that was there. If it weren't for the reminding pinch on my arm from my maid of honor, I would've missed my cue to answer the pastor. "I do," I said in a surprisingly clear voice.

"You may now kiss the bride," the pastor announced with a smile.

My love cupped my face with his hands, his eyes begging me not to go out of control. I scowled at him in response, and he shot me a crooked grin that nearly made me faint. While I was still recovering, he brought his lips to mine in a slow, deliberate kiss. I put my arms around his neck, trying to get closer. He pulled back, and resituated us so his arm was around my waist.

Those in the audience cheered, and I blushed crimson. I looked over at my fiancée- I mean husband, and saw the brightest smile lighting up his features. He looked at me, some of his bronze hair flopping in his eyes. With a small smile, I pushed it back gently, and continued to stare at him.

As the crowd converged on us, he tightened his grip around my waist, pulling me closer. He was trying to prevent us being separated, but in my mind I knew he was attempting to prevent the inevitable, because at that moment I saw my over eager maid of honor and beautiful bridesmaid working their way through the throng of people straight toward us.

When my maid of honor saw me looking at her, she sped up, pushing innocent bystanders into each other just so she could be the first to greet me.

She arrived, and went to throw herself at me, but my savior pulled me behind his back. I peeked out from behind his shoulder, grinning impishly at the scowling faces of my best friends. I had caught them in the middle of an argument.

"Edward, for God's sake, you're going to be spending the rest of your gosh darn life with Bella, let us have her for one minute!"

He shook his head. "Alice, the wedding night is all about the bride and groom, not the maid of honor!"

She glared at him, her normally jaunty eyes dark and flat. I could tell she was trying to hold back the "naughty words" that she couldn't say anymore because of a certain someone. "Edward Anthony Cullen, if you ever want to have children with your wife, then you'd better let me talk to her." She pointed menacingly at the four inch heels that she was wearing.

Edward visibly flinched, but was saved from answering by a little tugging on my dress. I turned around, and saw my little godson. "AJ!" I squealed, scooping him up and twirling around. His floppy black hair nearly fell in his gray eyes, and his adorable dimples were like craters in his cheeks.

"Bewwa!" he cheered, smothering me in a sloppy three-year-old kiss. He laughed the sound like music. "Did I do good as a wing beawew?" he asked seriously.

"You were the best little ring bearer that I could have gotten," I told him. His face lit up like a Christmas tree at the compliment, and he clapped his hands merrily.

"HEY!" a very annoyed Alice shouted. "How come my little munchkin can meet the bride, but I can't???"

"I love him more, don't you know that Alice?" I said sweetly. But AJ was already squirming to make a break away. "Hey, hey, hey!" I said, trying to calm him. "Ring bearers get a special treat, don't you know?"

He immediately stopped and looked at me with wide eyes. "What?" he asked eagerly. It was so easy to get him excited.

"You, get to have the biggest piece of cake you want."

His eyes widened, if that's even possible. "Is it chocwate?" he asked me trying not to sound too eager.

"Of course, silly," I told him, poking him on the nose. "Chocolate is the very best cake. Now go find your daddy and tell him that Bella said you could have the biggest piece of cake you want."

"Ok!" he cheered, racing off in search of his dad.

I sighed. I couldn't believe that a couple years ago, he wasn't wanted at all. Alice was 18 and Jasper was 19 when he was born, and they were both shunned by their parents for deciding to keep him. Alice constantly says that she'll never wish that he wasn't born, but I can often see her longing to shop at stores that are much too expensive for her low budget. We help them inconspicuously, for they are both much too stubborn to accept help openly.

While Edward and I were distracted, Alice broke through our defenses and attacked me with hugs. "Come join the love fest, Rose!" she called over her shoulder. Rosalie shrugged, and joined us to make a mini group hug.

When they weren't looking, I mouthed, "Help," to Edward over Alice's short shoulder, but he just grinned.

"Uh… I need to have a chat with my best man," he said, turning and walking off into the throng. Of course, they could care less if they talked to him. They all wanted to see the blushing bride. Figures.

"Um… Alice? I think other people want to see me too," I pointed out, trying to squirm away from her strong grasp. I looked nervously at the other guests were milling around, waiting to hug me, kiss me on the cheek, tell me how lucky I was, etc.

She groaned, but let me go. Instantly, I was in the sobbing arms of my mother. Renee looked very much like me, but she was tan from living in Florida versus Washington. Her brown hair was shoulder length, and her blue eyes swam with tears as she mumbled something incomprehensibly in my ear.

I just shh'ed her and gave her a pat on the back to sooth her before my dad pulled her away and came in for a hug of his own.

"You look beautiful, Bella," he murmured in my ear. I looked into his crinkled brown eyes that looked exactly like my own and could only find happiness.

"Thank you so much, Dad," I told him. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then was passed on to the next person.

Not long after, I was headed straight for the one person I didn't want to be by. I tried to turn around, but his long, russet arms were already around my waist, pulling me up against him, tight.

I flinched, but turned to face him, figuring it would be better to get this over with. "Hello, Jake," I said, keeping my tone light and uncommitted.

"Hey, gorgeous," he whispered in my ear. I shivered, unintentionally, and his answering grin was enough to make my blood boil. "How bout a nice kiss for the runner up?" he asked, his hot breath blowing into my face. I turned to the side, trying to avoid what was sure to come. He was way too strong for me to fight off, and none of the guests were paying any attention to us.

Roughly, he turned my head to face him, and began to move slowly to my lips, trying to prolong my pain apparently. I closed my eyes, and shut down, willing it to end quickly.

There was a loud smack, and suddenly, I was falling. Down, down, down. With an, "Oof," I was caught in some extremely muscular arms. They righted me, and as I tuned back to the present, I could hear the booming voice of my savior.

"What the hell, you effing moron!? What the hell do you think you're doing screwing around with my best friend's wife!?" he yelled so loudly that I shook against his vibrating body. He was holding my close, but it was protective, unlike Jacob's attempting-to-be-intimate grip.

Jake looked like he was debating whether or not to turn and run away. "I-I was just trying to… get a consolation prize, you know?" he asked, rubbing his swollen jaw. His words were slurred, and I could tell he had been hit pretty hard. Thank goodness I knew a good body builder.

"No, I don't know, bastard, because I've never been second best!" he yelled, spitting at Jake's feet. With that, he turned around, and began to carry me away. "Oh, and by the way," he said nonchalantly, turning around to face Jacob. "If you're not gone in five minutes, I'll be back… with reinforcements."

Jake's complexion paled, and he began to back slowly away. He paused, and started to ask, "Can I just-"

"Fuck off!"

With that, he turned and sprinted toward the parking lot. In just one moment, he was gone.

I looked up at Edward's best man and smiled, ruffling his curly brown hair. "Aw, Emmett! You saved me!" I gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek and he grinned.

"Now, now, missy. We don't want your hubby-wubby to see you being like that with me," he scolded. His happy brown eyes twinkled with mischief, like always.

After a moment, I asked, "Um… can you put me down now?"

The playful glint left his eyes as he remembered why he was holding me. "Bella, why did you ever, ever, ever want to go out with that jerk?"

"You know, when I first moved here, he was the only one who liked me. You guys just thought I was some useless toe rag," I reminded him.

He frowned, clearly remembering the torture they'd put me through. "Hey, let's… let's just forget about it. And how about we don't tell Edward?"

I nodded, just as Jasper walked up. "What are you not telling Edward?" he asked curiously.

Before we could answer, there was a loud cry, and a chocolate covered AJ appeared behind Jasper, running right to me. I squealed and leaped away from his brown hands that would ruin my dress. He froze in his tracks, looking extremely disappointed that I'd run from him.

"Um… AJ, why don't you go talk to Daddy? It looks like he has a few questions for you…." I said, noticing Jazz for the first time.

He turned slowly to look into the furious eyes of Jasper. "What did you do? Jump in a chocolate fountain?" he quizzed AJ.

Emmett and I giggled, but were silenced with the death glare that Jazz sent towards us. AJ squirmed nervously, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there. "Weww…. Bewwa said that I couwd have the biggest piece of chocwate cake I wanted since I was such a good wing beawew," he mumbled quickly.

"Hey! You ratted me out traitor!" I squeaked as Jasper's angry gaze turned to me. He looked like he was going to start chewing me out, but Emmett stepped in front of me.

"This is little Miss Bella's big day. Don't' ruin it by yelling at her," he said firmly, glaring coldly at Jazz. He shrugged, and turned his attention back to AJ.

"Aaron Jasper, you know that neither you or mommy are allowed to have sugar," he said angrily. It was true. If Alice or AJ got some extra sugar, they went haywire, bouncing everywhere. Jasper continued to stare down his son, when suddenly a grin split his face. "I'm not going to punish you," he said. Relief washed over AJ's face, and he sighed. "But, you have to tell your mommy why your one of a kind suit is ruined." AJ got so pale; I began to wonder if he was alive. Then with a cry, he launched himself at Jasper, sobbing uncontrollably.

He was hard enough to understand when he wasn't sobbing, three year olds just have that little stutter, but when he was crying, it was impossible. I could understand the gist though. He was scared shitless at the idea of confronting his mom, and I couldn't blame him.

So Jasper dragged a screaming AJ away, leaving me alone with Emmett again. "Uh, Emmett?" I asked smiling sweetly.

"Sup, Bella?"

"Do have any idea where my husband is? I haven't seen him, and he said he was looking for you…." I trailed off as realization dawned on Em's face.

"Um… yeah, see? Over there? He's the one surrounded by drooling girls," Emmett pointed over my head and I turned, worried what I would see.

Sure enough, he was enclosed by a bunch of salivating girls. I could tell by looking at his face for one second that he did not want to be there, but didn't want to be rude and ask the girls to leave. So, I decided to do him a favor, just because that's the kind of wonderful person I am.

"Hey, Edward!" I called sweetly, just loud enough that I knew he'd be able to hear me. His head snapped up, and I waved at him. He grinned, politely telling the now disappointed girls that he had to get going.

He trotted over, his tie askew, his messy hair more bedraggled than usual. "Dude, you were gettin' some while your poor wifey here was stuck with her supposed husband's best man!" Emmett cackled evilly.

"You know, Emmett," Edward said quietly, never taking his eyes off me, "there's a certain thing or two I could tell your girlfriend, if you're not careful. Now if you wouldn't mind, I believe it's time for my first dance with my one, and only wife." He looked up at Emmett for the briefest of instants, telling him with his eyes that he was dead serious.

"Uh… yeah… I um… gotta go find my wife. Um," he scratched the back of his head. "See yah!" he said before walking briskly away.

I looked up at Edward. "Are you serious about dancing with me?" I asked in a voice below a whisper.

He chuckled. "Of course I am, you silly girl. C'mon, everyone takes the first dance when they get married."

"I bet paralyzed people don't," I muttered angrily beneath my breath. Somehow, Edward heard me, and he shook his head in mock horror.

"Bella, really. I thought that you would be cooperative, if not just for tonight!" he said with a sigh. "I guess… I guess I'll just have to go back to those girls. At least I'm appreciated there," he began to walk jauntily away, but I grabbed the back of his tux before he could get too far.

"One dance," I said through gritted teeth, beyond angry at what he had said to make me stay with him. I knew that any of those girls would be better for Edward, because in all honesty, I am no where near pretty enough.

"Great!" he said, picking me up and swirling me around. "I picked a great song, I promise you. And, as an added bonus, you don't really have to dance."

"What?" I said, dumbfounded. He did all of that, and now he wasn't even going to make me dance with him? Sometimes I seriously wonder what is going on in his brain.

Without answering me, he picked me up and put my feet on top of his, just like my dad did with me when I was little. Jeez. Now I feel like a giant toddler. Claire De Lune started playing, soft and sweet, in the background, and Edward began to twirl us around gracefully. I almost liked it for a second, but then I realized it was just the fact that I was with the most perfect man in the world.

"You know," Edward murmured his lips to my ear. I shivered involuntarily, and I felt him smile. "I was thinking that maybe I should be the only one you dance with. After all, I hardly got to see you earlier, and I don't want anyone stealing you away." His voice hardened at the end and I realized that he knew I had been with Jacob.

"Ok," I said nonchalantly. "No one should mind too much. They all got to see me when I was passed around without my husband," I said, playfully smacking him on the arm.

He grinned his crooked smile at me, and we just danced in silence for a while. More couples started to twirl around us after a while. I saw Alice and Jasper with a now clean AJ balanced on his shoulders. They were smiling and leaning in toward each other, closer and closer, until their lips met. With a laugh, AJ tugged Jasper's hair and they pulled apart, all smiles.

I sighed, almost silently. But I guess it wasn't silent enough.

"What is it, Bella?" he asked, concern coloring his voice. I shook my head, but he was persistent. "C'mon, Bella! You need to tell me, please," he begged. Edward's fatal flaw – he couldn't let me be sad for any period of time. It was making me extremely spoiled.

"I… I just…" Unable to say put what I was feeling into words, I looked over at Alice, Jazz, and AJ. Edward's gaze followed mine, and I knew that he understood immediately.

"I'm jealous too, Bella, but really there's nothing to be jealous of. They are barely able to afford him, and we would be just like that. Do you really want to bring us a child when we aren't financially stable?"

The question was rhetorical, but I still had to bite my lip to hold back the instantaneous, "Yes!" that wanted to escape. "I know, Edward. I know," I mumbled, lying my head on his chest. He gently stroked my hair, still twirling us expertly around the dance floor. I knew that this wasn't the end of this conversation, but it was over for tonight at least.

People started leaving not long after, and we had to stop our surprisingly enjoyable dance to thank them for all the useless gifts they'd gotten us. But of course, no one would leave until they saw us out. We didn't have a limo or anything, it was just Edward's fancy black Mercedes. As we ran toward it, rice was thrown at us with unerring force. I took a couple in the back of the head, and I'm guessing they're from Emmett.

As he was letting me in the passenger side, a piece of rice got stuck in Edward's ear. He started dancing around and shaking his head, trying desperately to get it out. I sat in the safety of the car, watching with amusement as my husband made a fool of himself. It was nice that it wasn't me for a change.

I could hear Emmett's loud guffaw in the distance, and it was obvious that he had thrown that unfortunate piece of rice. Finally, it flew out, and of course, Edward had to get Emmett back. So, yelling like a lunatic, he jumped forward and shoved the offending piece of rice up Emmett's nose.

Edward cackled, flicking Emmett the bird, before sprinting to the car before his older and stronger brother could get him. I laughed as I watched Emmett, standing there with this shocked expression on his face. Casually, he held closed the nostril that didn't have a foreign object up it, and blew. The piece of rice shot through the air like a bullet, nailing Mike Newton in the back of the head. And then, I started to laugh.

Edward drove us out of sight of the house, and then he too began to laugh hysterically, tears streaming down both of our faces. We just sat there, laughing and crying, for who knows how long.

All I can say is, if this is any indication of how the rest of our life will be, I actually won't mind the whole marriage part.

Alright, so this is a new story and I have a lot of plans for it. I won't start my rambling so soon, I mean, I don't want to scare away any readers! Just please review, because they really fuel my imagination. Suggestions and comments are welcome (flames too) and I will respond to all non anonymous reviews.

I will be updating my other stories, so do not worry!

~BellaChristopher