Hey guys, so this is a sequel/story spun off from my one shot Speak Now, You Idiot.
MUST READ: Read the oneshot first, or a good amount of this won't make sense.
We Spoke, So What Now?
On the plane to Seattle, with the family and the love that I never thought I'd see again, I thought of what happened in the last twenty-four hours.
Flashback
After I crashed the wedding, Edward took us to a beautiful clearing, just outside of Anchorage.
"You slut!" screeched a voice behind us. Edward had cleared the snow and put his jacket down on the ground and we sat and talked. Just trying to figure out where we stand, when we heard Tanya's outburst and Edward jumped up and got in front of me.
"Tanya! Don't even think about it!" Edward warned. Tanya's face changed in a way I couldn't explain. She reminded me of Victoria… "Edward! She ruined us!" she shrieked. "No! There was no 'us'! I was only willing to marry you because of what you were planning!" he replied. She smiled sadistically, reminding me even more of Victoria. "Yes, and it seems now that it will be even easier to have them intervene. She is right here," she said. I was confused by what they were saying. What had she been planning? "Leave," Edward growled. He actually sounded like a real vampire, not the soft, sweet Edward I was so used to. "Leave now, before you don't have the chance," he roared. Tanya laughed, "Sure, Eddie-boy. Let's see how this goes when the Volturi find out!" She turned and ran off in the direction she had come from. Edward looked at me apologetically before picking me up and running back the Cullen's Denali home.
End Flashback
From there, the Cullen's gathered their most important belonging and made plans for the rest to be shipped to their home in Forks. We made plans to go back to Forks, after gathering some of my stuff from my apartment in Seattle – where I'd moved after graduation. I had a window seat, with Edward on my left side. We hadn't spoken much the whole flight. I didn't really know what to say. I knew what I wanted, but I didn't know if I still wasn't sure of his feelings for me. "Bella?" a velvet voice called. I jumped, being pulled from Bella-land. "Yeah?" I asked slowly. "Why did you move to Seattle?" he asked. I could tell he was just trying to strike up some conversation. "I was accepted to University of Washington," I said simple. "Weren't you also accepted by the University of North Florida?" he asked. "Yeah, how'd you know?" I questioned, suspicious. He looked like if he were human he'd be blushing. "Well- uh- I may have been keeping tabs on you…" he said like a four year old being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Tabs? I thought you asked your family not to?" I quirked and eyebrow. "Yeah, I did. I just couldn't fight the temptation to make sure you were okay. I was at your graduation, too," he admitted sheepishly. "Really?" I didn't know if I should be mad that he was checking up on me after he broke my heart and tore my family away from me, or happy because he cared, and because I realized that he hadn't completely left me. "You were beautiful, Bella," he whispered, reaching over to caress my cheek. He leaned in and his lips were so close to touching mine… when the pilot comes on to tell us to buckle up and prepare for landing. I groaned quietly, and I hear Edward's musical chuckling at my reaction. "If things work out, we'll have plenty of time for that," he said. I smiled at the thought and buckled my seatbelt.
Once we were off the plane, Edward took the chance to finish the questionnaire from earlier. "So, you never answered why you went to Seattle instead of Jacksonville," he reminded. I sighed, and from one look at him, I knew that I wouldn't be able to get out of this one. "I wasn't ready to let go," I sighed. He looked at me questioningly. "I didn't want to leave the memories of you. I knew – or thought I knew – that you weren't coming back, but I couldn't make myself leave. It felt like I was leaving you, and I just wasn't ready to let you go," I admitted, shakily.
Edward had stopped at the Forks home and picked up his Volvo, and now we were on the way to my apartment. He looked over at me, but stayed silent. We pulled up to my apartment complex and walked up the sidewalk to my small abode. I dug out my keys and ended up dropping them. Before I could process anything, Edward had already picked them up and unlocked the door. I muttered my thanks and walked in. I turned to look at Edward. He was looking around at my bland home. "It so… not you. Alice would have a hissy fit if she saw this," he said. I laughed a little. "Yeah, I never really cared. I didn't do much anyway. After you left, the girls back at Forks High gave me the name 'Hermit'. No one came to visit, besides Charlie, my mom came once right after the move. I never saw any reason to decorate," I shrugged. I found myself almost skin to skin with Edward as he cupped my face. "It all seems so lonely," he stated as he looked into my eyes. "Well – uh- I guess – uh – I was pretty – um – anti-social," I stuttered. A familiar sensation came over me. "Did I just dazzle you?" His ocher eyes were dancing. "I just need time to readjust to your manipulation," I teased. "Seriously, though. This whole lonely anti-social thing stops now. I'm here, now, to stay," he said. He bent down to place a kiss on my neck, right at the pulse point. "You swear?" I asked, breathless. "On my existence. I will only leave when you ask me to," he affirmed. He leaned in to kiss me. His cold lips crashed against mine. I ran my hands through his hair, relishing in the feel of it. This kiss wasn't like the others. It was passionate and urgent. I could feel my lungs begging for air, but I couldn't make my mind let go. Edward sensed this and pulled back, too soon as always.
I leaned into his chest and sighed in contentment. I could stay like this forever, I thought. All too soon, his phone rang. He released me and led me over to my couch. He answered it, and I could tell it was Alice. Edward seemed frazzled and worried but hung up and looked over at me. "So, what's going on? What was Tanya talking about, anyway?" I asked. So many questions were running through my mind, but all I could really focus on was wanting to kiss Edward again. He sighed and sat up. "Do you remember what I told you about the Volturi?" he asked. I thought back. It definitely sounded familiar when suddenly it clicked. He had talked of going to them for death, if anything ever happened to me. "Aren't they somewhat vampire royalty?" I asked. He nodded in confirmation. "They withhold the law. And the breaking of the law is punishable only by death, for all parties involved." He looked at me worriedly. "What does this have to do with us, Edward? " I asked, confused. "Tanya knew about you. She knew that you knew what we were. The number one law is to keep the secret, and we didn't. She was going to tell the Volturi, and they would have killed you, or us, or maybe even all of us. They don't like us much anyway," he admitted, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why?" I asked. "He wanted Alice, Jasper, and I but we refused. There are so many of us, and we have lots of connections. He's worried that were competition," he said. Tanya was going to inform the Volturi. It was all sinking in. "But- now the wedding is off. She's mad. She's going to tell them, isn't she?" I asked. "Alice has been watching. Tanya had plans to, but we were hoping that her family will talk her out of it. I was hoping you'd stay with us, just in case she does inform them. It would be very dangerous for you if they find out," he said.
I agreed to stay with the Cullens. Edward and I packed up some clothes and the essentials, and he assured me not to worry about not bringing enough clothes – Alice already had plans to drag me shopping. I groaned, and he laughed. We finished up at my apartment and headed out to the Volvo. I locked up, not realizing that the next time I saw this place that things would be much different.
So that's the first chapter. I need a beta! So if you're interested, let me know by way of review or PM. I hope you enjoyed it, and sorry it's short. This isn't my usual writing style, my good stories tend to be darker – not that this one is a bucket of sunshine – but still. I'm worried I made Bella too, um, girlish and needy – for lack of better wording. Thanks for reading anyway! Stick with me on this, I have it more planned than I've ever planned one of my stories. :D