I got to go to Hedley for free on March 30th, and I hadn't heard this song until the concert, and I instantly fell in love.
Inspired by "Sweater Song" by Hedley. The italics are lyrics.
Edward and Bella have always been Edward and Bella. From the time they were young, when they first met at the Forks Annual Barbeque when they were two-years-old, they had been inseparable. They cling together like paper and glue, and without one another, they seem lost, only one half to a whole.
So, when Edward found out he was going on tour with his band for the summer, the both of them fell to pieces, their hearts shattering at the thought of being away from each other for so long.
Bella, who was a vivacious young woman, was angry with Edward. He was leaving, he would be away from her, and he could end up finding someone else. Edward, the meeker of the two, begged Bella to see the bigger picture. He was doing something he loved almost as much as he loved her, he had been waiting for this for too long, and if he had his choice, she would be right by his side while he was on stage.
Edward camped outside of the Swan house for an entire night while Bella withheld a grudge. Her anger subsided in the middle of the night, but her pride would be hurt if she went downstairs and into Edward's arms.
The next morning, as Edward dozed against the fence, Bella crept down the stairs and outside. She sat down beside her love and sighed, touching his scruffy face gently.
"Wake up, love," she murmured.
Edward began to stir, leaning into her touch, his long eyelashes fluttering as he overcame the exhaustion.
"I'm sorry," he grumbled, his voice etched with sleep. "I love you, and I want you to be with me, even if I'm gone."
Bella replied, "Baby, don't leave. Be home, be close, be close to me. Boy, don't be gone, boy, don't be gone."
"Baby, you know, I gotta run, I gotta go. I won't be long, girl, I won't be long," Edward whispered against her temple. "This is my chance, the only chance I might ever get. I can't just drop my band like that when we've been working so hard since we were only twelve-years-old for this day to come."
"I know," she sighed. "I know."
Edward kissed her lips slowly, gently, making her see how much he longed for her to be with him always, exactly like this. He knew he was a lucky boy. He had a girl with long brown hair, chocolate eyes, and a soft body. She loved to wear flannel shirts and skinny jeans, and her Converse shoes, worn out from years of use, were never far away from her tiny feet.
Bella tugged at Edward's white t-shirt, trying to feel his every lean line, trying to melt into him so they would never be so much as a centimetre apart. Bella was so sick with worry that he would find someone on tour. There was no doubt in her mind that girls would crawl all over this messy artist. He had red, bed-head hair that couldn't be contained by anything. He was thin and long, his body slowly maturing. He could get scruffy over night, and he hated shaving. He was a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy, completely his soon-to-be-famous ensemble with a pair of dress shoes.
They were a couple of teenagers desperately in love with each other. Two kids that understood a language that was their own, a language that needn't be shared with the rest of the world through words, but through actions and touches and kisses. A language based on passion and need and love for one another.
Bella stood up, pulling Edward up with her, and took him in the house up to her bedroom. They laid down, a tangle of limbs and lips. Edward smoothed the worried look off of Bella's face and Bella relieved Edward of his stress by smiling.
Soon kissing lead to touching, clothes were discarded and lips leapt over pieces of flesh, trying to express the deep need and desire for the other.
A couple of kids, sure, but they knew each other better than they knew themselves. Edward slowly removed Bella's jeans, her hands tangled in his hair as he kissed his way back up her body, over her breasts and onto her lips. Bella tugged Edward's shirt off easily, her body forcing Edward to lie down so she could straddle him instead. The only things separating them were two thin pieces of cloth.
Bella nipped at Edward's bottom lip, her tongue smoothing the pain away quickly. Edward's calloused fingertips dug into Bella's flesh at her hips, pulling her closer and closer until they couldn't tell whose body was whose anymore.
Hips were lifted and the only barrier was removed. Bella was guided onto bliss and Edward was grinding his teeth in concentration, trying to keep himself for letting go completely.
A sigh of contentment slipped through Bella's lips as her head fell back, her hair tickling her back and her back arching as she rocked a little, her nails scratching Edward's abdomen.
Edward's hips jumped when Bella lifted herself off of him, and slid back on slowly. She leaned forward and caught his parted lips. Edward rolled them over, hiding his girl from the world, his hips moving deep within her to make her moan.
It was slow and torturous, but it would be the last time for two months. Two long, lonely months. The pain of a goodbye, but the hope for tomorrow, was present, like a balloon hanging over their bodies, tying them together.
As they lay in Bella's bed, sweating and panting, still touching each other and murmuring words of love, they began to smile again. The promise was enough for the both of them, and the trust was present again. They would make it through this, they were sure of it.
Edward teased Bella about missing him so much that she'd follow him across the continent.
Bella said, "Boy, don't you flirt, and baby, please just don't get hurt, and if you feel alone, then here, take my shirt."
She handed him the flannel shirt she had worn, her perfume and smell still lingering on it. Edward clutched it tightly in his fist, his eyes searching his girlfriend's eyes. She blinked away tears, her teeth snagged on her swollen bottom lip.
He replied with, "Forever, girl, I know you hate the weather, girl, so maybe you should hold onto my sweater, girl."
Edward wrapped Bella in his large, black sweater, his favourite sweater. Her lip trembled and she wiped away a stray tear.
"I'm going to miss you," she whispered against his chest.
"Not as much as I miss you already," he murmured, comforting her gently. Time was ticking away, and Edward was supposed to leave that afternoon. He hadn't even packed yet. "I have to go, Bella. I'm only a phone call away."
"I know," she sighed, looking down at their tangled fingers and legs. "Don't forget me."
"How could I forget you" he questioned, "when you have my heart in your hands?"
Bella chuckled. Edward pulled his clothes on slowly, melancholy filling the air. They walked down the stairs, hands being held, hearts beating rapidly in their chests.
"I love you, you know that right?" Edward murmured as they leaned against his car, his hand moving through her tangled hair.
"I know," she whispered. "I love you, too."
"We'll text."
"I know."
"I'll call you every night."
"Okay."
"Maybe you can come to a show."
"We'll see."
Edward smiled crookedly at her. "I love you, and I want you to come with me, but you've got a real job and I've got a pipe dream." He kissed her slowly, his hands cupping her face. "This summer will be over in a heartbeat."
Bella crossed her arms, swallowing tears, as she watched her boyfriend drive away. It was going to be the longest summer of her life, and Edward was going to be spending the majority of his time longing for Bella instead of thinking of music.
Three weeks passed, and they fell into a routine. Text during the day, wait for the evening show to be over, and phone immediately after he was done playing music. It was hard, but it was working. Their love hadn't died, it had grown.
Bella was running late from supper with Edward's sister, Alice. She ran into the house to hear the phone ringing.
She picked up the phone with a quiet "hello."
"I miss you."
"I miss you, too."
"We're in Arizona right now."
"I just had supper with your sister. I literally just ran into the house while the phone was ringing."
"How is Alice?"
"Good, ready to move, in love. The usual."
Edward smiled.
Bella sighed, tears pricking at her eyes. "Babe, I miss you, come back home. It can't be long, boy, it can't be long."
Edward swallowed loudly. "I hate this place, I miss your smile, I miss your face. I wrote a song, girl, I wrote a song."
"A song?" Bella prompted, wiping her wet eyes on Edward's sweater.
"Our song," Edward replied.
"I can't wait to hear it."
"You'll love it."
The weeks continued to go on, and time passed slowly, so it seemed. Bella began writing letters, not always sending them. Sometimes it helped her ease the pain of being separated. Sometimes it helped her let out her anger. Sometimes it was nice to just talk to Edward on paper.
Edward phoned one night in early August, after Bella sent her first letter to him.
"You make me better, boy. I just mailed you a letter, boy. And, oh, just so you know, I'm still in your sweater, boy," Bella whispered, trying to remain quiet so she wouldn't wake her sleeping father.
"Girl, don't be hurt. I've sweat a lot and I smell of dirt, but I think I'd feel naked without your shirt," Edward murmured. "Three and a half weeks, Bella. We're past the halfway mark."
"I love you," she sighed, tears sliding down her cheeks.
"Forever."
Bella didn't know for sure when Edward would be back in the area. He wanted it to be a surprise, and that pissed her off. She wanted concrete evidence that he was finally coming back to her. She needed to see him again. She needed him, she wanted him, she missed him.
She was outside, laying on the grass, watching gray clouds go by, her hands cradling her head, Edward's sweater riding up, exposing a sliver of pale skin.
"You're looking great," a voice rang out through the silence. Bella sat up, a sight for sore eyes standing before her, his hands in his pockets, a flannel shirt on his torso. "I'm home, I'm back, I couldn't wait, girl, way too long, this was way too long."
Bella nearly choked on tears, but managed to reply with, "Get over here, I crave you close, I need you near. Now play that song, boy, play me our song."
Edward played in Port Angeles that night and sang their song to the crowd. Bella stood off to the side, smiling at the words flowing out of his mouth, the melody carrying them throughout the room. He was good. Bella was proud of him.
They went to Edward's house after the show, walking slowly into his room, holding hands, smiling and talking quietly with one another, sharing stories of the weeks gone past.
Edward sat down on his bed, Bella's arms wrapped around his neck, his hands underneath his sweater, touching her skin with heated fingers.
"Back to forever, girl, hope you endured the weather, girl, now all I wanna do is get you out of that sweater, girl," Edward admitted as he tugged the clothing off her body, kissing her flesh slowly.
They lay down in his bed, exposing Bella slowly, calling to each other as they became reacquainted.
Bella murmured, "I like the way you flirt. I'm so glad you didn't get hurt. Now, let me see you naked without that shirt."
They tore the rest of the clothing off and connected quickly, passion and longing taking over their emotions. Edward's hips thrust into Bella's and she moaned quietly, sending shivers up and down Edward's spine. They kissed and touched and moved deeply, sweat forming over their skin, cries filling the air. Their passion was so overbearing it was impossible not to get carried away.
Finally, in a whirlwind of clashing bodies and voices, they came down from their highs, crumbling into a heap.
"I love you, I'll never leave you again," Edward whispered frantically.
"Never leave me," Bella replied. "Never."
I seriously loved this. Loved it a lot.