Growing

By Mrs Nina Cullen

Paring: ExB

Rating: K+

Genre: Romance (Very little drama mostly fluff)

Summary: Short story following a girl from teen age heart break to her very own HEA.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

April 1999 -

Bella sat by the stairs of the gym, during lunch walking around and laughing with each other. She took another bite of her sandwich and tried to participate in her friends' conversation. Today's topic was the same for almost everyone in the school and had been going on for the last two weeks. At the end of the month was the spring dance. It was the dance everyone looked forward to as soon as homecoming was over. (Well unless you were a senior then you were most likely looking forward to prom more.) Everyone was talking about what they would ware and who they were going with. All Bella could think of was the boy that was sitting two people to her left. The day before he had walked her all the way home, they had talked and laughed he had given her a kiss on the cheek just before he left her at her door. Now he sat there like she didn't exist. She looked over longingly wondering if she had done something wrong.

May 1999 -

He's gone; he's gone with a word.

June 1999 -

Life has gone on. Everyone kept moving forward with their life as if he had never been a part of their live, but not Bella. Bella had a hole in her chest, in her heat and in her life.

September 1999 -

A new school year has started and a new boy has caught her eye. She's trying hard to move on from him with a smile on her face. She tries to spend time with her friends. She lives her life but he is always there in the back of her mind. He is never forgotten.

December 1999 -

Everyone is scared. They keep saying the world will never be the same after tonight. The people all over world wait in anticipation for may come. Bella decides that everything will change after tonight then so will she. She pushes him out of her mind she walks up to the new boy, that's not rally so new anymore. She holds his hand and gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"New year, new boy." she said to herself as the time ticked in to the New Year.

January 2000 -

Nothing changes, nothing at all.

July 2000 -

Summer is in full swing. New boy has become boyfriend, yet Bella's heart is not in it. She goes through the motion but she's not happy. She feels like they don't fit together. She doesn't care what he's doing or if he's going to call. If he's there fine if he's not that's fine too. She wonders if she'll ever find someone that fits or if she's broken.

October 2000 -

She's alone on Halloween sitting on her porch handing out candy to the smaller children. Everyone from school she knew and even those she didn't were at a party. A party she had been uninvited to. She was being punished for doing what her heart told her was the right thing to do. She had broken up with her boyfriend and he didn't like it.

"Stupid Jake" she says as she sees her friends leaving for the party.

November 2000 -

Everything has changed. People have picked sides. People that once called her friend know looked at her funny. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around she's sitting by herself watching her old friends sitting in her old spot with her ex.

February 2001 -

With the New Year came new friends for Bella. Things were looking up for her. She was starting to be content with her life. But things changed at the end of the month. She was walking to meet her friend. When she got to their locker Bella noticed her friend had a dreamy look on her face.

"Who is that new guy?" her friend ask with a sigh. Bella looked around when she saw him.

"He's not new, he's Edward." He had come back and that put a smile on her face.

April 2001 -

He acts as if she doesn't exist. He hangs with the popular kids and she isn't one of them. She tries to be friendly waving to him as they pass the hall or as he gets in to his new car but he never notices or he's just ignoring her. She gives up on him. She realizes that she was never important to him, at least not like he was to her.

June 2001 -

It's over, high school is finally over. She smiles with her friends as the parents give their cameras a run a work out. Graduation is over. Everyone is standing outside talking about plans for the summer and for the future. Bella stops to and looks around one last time. She looked at the people that had once been her friends and those that she knew would always be. She smiled and knew that she would remember this day and smile. She looked around for him. She wanted closer but she hadn't seen him all day. She sighed as she walked away from her childhood and in too adulthood.

September 2001 -

Bella is now a freshman at the University of Florida. She walked out of her early morning class and heads to the local diner all the students migrate to. She sits at the counter and has her breakfast. When she's done she slips on her blue and orange Gator shirt on and her apron and get's to work. She knew this wasn't an easy job but she loved it and the people she worked with. She smiled as she made a new life for herself. A new home, a new job and new friends, Life was good.

December 2001 -

Nothing feels the same. Things have changed. She could place it but she knew that nothing here would ever feel the same. Everything looked the same as when she had left for school but it didn't feel like home anymore. She missed her father but she knew home was in Florida now.

March 2002 -

She met someone. He was fun and charming and caring. He makes her feel happy, normal and special. The start as friends but that wasn't enough and soon start to date. But it's over too soon. He's felt bad and apologizes repeatedly. She's sad but understands he had found his soul mate and unfortunately it wasn't her.

June 2002 -

She goes home to her dad's for the summer. She wants to treat her dad to a nice dinner. She visits the local grocer to buy the things she knows her dad won't have. While standing in the only checkout line in the whole store she sees him standing in front of her. She doesn't want to stare. She doesn't want him to notice her, not that he would, so she grabs a magazine off the rack and pretends to read. She hears the cashier giving him his total. She places the magazine back. She starts to place her things on the counter when he turns to her.

"Bye Bella, I hope I'll see you around." he smiles at and walks away.

July 2002 -

They have run in to each other over the last couple of weeks. It's always friendly between them and not always accidental. They have coffee and lunch together. They became friends again.

August 2002 -

She's just about ready to head back to school. He comes over and asks her to dinner she agrees happily. At dinner he tells her that he want more with her. He wants more than friendship, he wants a relationship. She tells him that she has school in Florida, he has school in Washington. She has to go back to school she can't stay. He smiles sadly. He kisses her cheek and asked if she would have given them the chance had they been closer. She nods. He gives her a small sweet kiss on the lips before they part ways.

October 2002 -

Bella sits in her Dorm room doing homework or at least trying. Her roommate had given up trying to get her to have a life outside of school. Although she had been the one that had decided that she couldn't have a long distance relationship with Edward she couldn't stop thinking of him. His bi-weekly e-mails didn't help how she felt yet she looked forward to hearing from him. She loved to know what he was doing and that he was thinking of her but they always stayed within the friendship boundaries. That both pleased and displeased Bella.

December 2002 -

Bella was happy to be backing home in Washington. She loved the time she got to spend with Edward. They went out and stayed in and just spent time together. Everything would have been great but there was no hand holding like last time, no kisses on the cheek (or the lips). There was no flirting like last time and Bella wasn't sure if she should be okay with this or be disappointed. She was conflicted she should feel about the whole thing. She knew the distance was the only thing that had kept her from agreeing to date him and that was still a factor but she couldn't help feeling like she needed more than just his friendship, as selfish as it was.

January 2003 -

Bella had left for Florida just after the New Year to give herself time to adjust to the time difference. As she got ready for the new semester, she noticed she was not as excited or happy to be there. She didn't want to leave school but she didn't feel at home anymore. She was missing something and she knew that that something was in Washington. By the end of her first week back, Bella decided that she needed to decide what was more important to her, her school location or being with the person she cared about. She had just made her decision when there was a knock on her door. She opened it and saw Edward standing there with his bags.

February 2003 -

Bella had been surprised to see Edward at her door but even more surprised to hear that he had transferred and moved across the country to be with her. It didn't take long for him to know that she was more important then what school he went. They spent their first few weeks together in bliss. They had spent their first Valentines together. Things were perfect.

April 2003 -

Things were far from perfect. Real life was a hard. Between classes, studding and work they hardly had time for anything else. Add exams and you had to very over worked, over stressed people that hadn't learned to work their new relationship in to the mix. They started to get on each other's nerves. They fought all the time about stupid things. Things were not looking great for them.

June 2003 -

Classes were over. Exams were taken. The semester was over and summer vacation had just begun. Bella and Edward were barely speaking to one another anymore. They had little to say as of late that didn't end up in an argument yet they couldn't seem to end their relationship. So they found themselves sitting next to each other on the flight home. Six hours without being able to leave the room or yell at each other but that was all it took. By the time the plane had landed they had made up and were better than ever. They had walked on the plane as two angry and tired people and hand left that plane happy, smiling and holding hands.

June 2005 -

College was over. Proud parents were taking pictures of the new Graduates. Flashes of light were going off everywhere. Bella stood at the edge of the lawn looking around for him. She saw him at the other end with his parents. They were hugging, smiling and laughing. He looked over to her and smiled at her. He winked at her before he walked his parents to their rental car. She blushed as she walked to her car. Her hand rested on her flat stomach while she waited for him to return.

July 2005 -

Bella looked up in to Edward as he spoke to her, Her hand in his, A smile was on both of their faces as 'the King' pronounced them Husband and Wife. Everything was perfect as Edward kissed his new wife for the first time.

August 2005 -

Bella and Edward smiled as they walked in to his parent's back yard. They had just officially moved back home. His parent were throwing them a welcome home party and had invited the whole town. After everyone had arrived and was settled down with food and drinks Edward stood up and called everyone's attention. He held his hand out to Bella so that she could stand beside him as he spoke.

"Everyone I'd like to make an announcement." He looked over at Bella and smiled as she blushed with the entire crowd's attention on them. "Last month Bella and I got married." everyone began to talk and whisper. But before they could get carried away Edward stopped them. "There's one more thing."He paused as the last few people quieted up. "We're going to have a baby." As everyone came up to them with well wishes all they could do was smile at each other.

April 2006 -

Edward held Bella's hand as they walked. She stopped and took a few deep breathes and he rubbed her back. Slowly they walked back to their room. The deep breaths and back rubbing continued most of the night. At three am on the sixth day of April, Bella went in to hard labor. By seven am Bella and Edward became the proud parents of Charlotte Ren and Carlie Mea Cullen. Both girls came in to the world at a little over six pounds. Named after their grandparents but looking just like mom and dad. Charlotte or Charley to her looks from her daddy, while her younger sister Carlie took after Bella in every department.

April 2007 -

Bella sat on the porch of her house looking out at her family. Carlie and Charley were trying to hide from Edward and their two month old brother Anthony Edward or as the girls called him Antone. Hide and seek had become their favorite game to play as soon as they realized that Anthony would crack up laughing at them when he found them. Although Bella had a million and one things to do with the girls first birthday party only hours away she couldn't find it in her to stay away from her family. She smiled at how much had changed over the last eight years. She had asked Edward once why he had acted the way he had towards her in high school. He said it was something he would always regret. He had left because his parents had been having problems and he had been too upset to tell anyone. But he hated felt so guilty when he came back that he couldn't bring himself to speak to her. In the end they both agreed that it was better that they had waited till college to date. They had had time to grow and be themselves and if they had dated in high school it may never have worked out.

The End