A/N: Thanks to everyone for the awesome reviews. Bear in mind, this story will be updated slower than my others because I don't know anything about Europe and I am doing the research to try and make it s exact as possible. There will also be a lot of art references etc… because I am a huge art fan.

Amigirl – I wish I had a million stories in my brain. Every single one of them stems from something else I have seen or done. With 'follow through' it was actually inspired by a scene in 'LOST' and with this story, it was a combination of the song 'American Girl' by Tom Petty and the movie 'Chasing Liberty'.

Lysvia – welcome back, sorta. Let me know when you are back full time and I will harass you more often. Your reviews always make me smile.

Lovebugkiss – here's hoping my story provides you with some insight to your own future journey.

Orlissa92 – Please feel free to share any insight with me in regards to Hungary. I'm not sure which countries I am going to have them visit, but Hungary was on the list of potentials. So perhaps if you info is good, I can send them there.

BPOV

I walked casually down College Crescent towards the Hostel I had booked for the next two nights. It was one of the best hostels in London, according to everything I had read and all the online reviews, and it actually had private rooms, so it was one of the first things I had booked for the trip. After I got settled in and ran out for a quick dinner, I was eager to get onto one of the communal computers in the lobby and email my parents and Angela.

I plopped down in the oversized chair and logged into the email account I had created specifically for my trip, americangirl1990. It was simple enough to remember and I had emailed all of my friends before I left and reminded them to use this email for the next two months. I already had three emails when I logged on, two from my mom and one from Angela. I emailed my mother first and let her know that I had arrived safely and there had been no issues whatsoever on either flights or checking into the hostel. I told her I hadn't had a chance to see much of the city yet, but after a good night's sleep I would be out to the National Gallery, and possibly Buckingham Palace the following day. I tried to encourage her not to worry about me, but of course that would be futile. She worried like crazy when we would go on school field trips, so a two month journey across Europe wasn't going to help matters.

I emailed Angela next and told her almost the same things as my mother, including the stuff about not worrying about me. However, I added some details about my flight between New York and London to her email. I told her a bit about Edward and our conversations. I desperately wanted her thoughts on the topic. I mentioned how cute he was and how his hair constantly fell over his eyes and I wanted to push it away. I told her how he specifically switched seats out of first class so that he could sit beside me. I realized shortly after sending the email that I was smiling, and the words I had written sounded like I was gushing about him. Oh my god, I had a crush on Edward. Not that I could do anything about it now. He was probably at some club in town, drinking a Guinness and hitting on the first thing with a heartbeat. I distracted myself from my thoughts of Edward by checking the train schedule to Paris for two days from now. Today was Sunday, and I wanted to leave London on Tuesday, so I reviewed everything they offered and decided I would take the 11am train direct into Paris. I wrote my information down in my notebook and checked my email once more before heading to bed. There was a response from Angela.

Bella,

Go find this guy. He sounds adorable and perfect. You're both in Europe for the summer, wouldn't you like a travelling companion that you knew wasn't some crazy nutcase? What if you guys end up falling in love? You are both moving to NYC in the fall. It's so perfect, like a movie. FIND HIM BELLA.

Love You,

Angela

She was online, and I was grateful for this, so I quickly responded back to her and told her she was crazy if she thought I was going to spend the next day hunting Edward down and finding out if he wanted to travel with me. Of course he didn't. If he had even thought about it, he probably would have mentioned something before we parted at baggage claim at Heathrow. I emailed Angela about all my concerns, and she responded just as quickly as she had before.

Bella,

Just go and get him. I'm not dismissing your concerns, but what if you have it all wrong and he wants you too? Take the bull by the horns, you're in fricking London, England, live a little, and write me back when you've got him.

Pull your head out of your ass and follow your heart, or crotch, whichever you prefer.

Angela

I didn't write her back. Instead, I went up to my room and tried to think of how to find Edward. She was right after all, like usual. It would be a nice to have a travelling buddy, and he was something nice to look at it. I didn't think I was really following my heart or my crotch like she claimed, but I could follow my head, which told me it wouldn't be a bad idea to share the trip with someone. I lay in the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few hours before finally falling asleep just after midnight, wondering about where Edward was.

The next morning, I awoke with new confidence and decided to visit Buckingham Palace after the National Gallery, just to see if he was there. If he wasn't, no harm, no foul; but if he was there, I had no idea what I would say to him. I was going to play it by ear, but first I was going to shower, put on something cute and head out to the gallery. I took the 'tube' to Charing Cross Station and glanced quickly at my map. I walked the few streets towards the Gallery and stood outside of it for a few minutes in awe. It had been one of my longest dreams to make it here, and as I looked at the large white building with daunting columns in front, it reminded me of the many buildings in Washington D.C. that my father Charlie had dragged me to when I was twelve and he was at the capital for a police conference. I found it kinda boring at the time, but I would definitely appreciate the architecture and beauty of it all now.

I stepped through the front doors and was subjected to a thorough security search even though I only had my small purse with me. As I grabbed a map of the Gallery, I wasn't sure where I wanted to start. I ended up going left and visiting the 'west wing' where I spent a long time staring at paintings by Da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo. If Angela was here, she would have commented that we were in the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' wing. I continued to wander happily through the various collections, as I tried to find my way around the Gallery. Of course, I wanted to visit the impressionist exhibit most of all because it was during my art classes in school where we were studying Monet, Manet and Seurat that I decided I wanted to go into Art History.

After passing down a long hallway with a few paintings by Rembrandt, I suddenly came across one of my favorite paintings,' Bathers at Asnieres' by George Seurat. I stood before it for way too long before I glanced at my watch and saw that it was already after two in the afternoon. I had hoped to be at Buckingham Palace already, to try to find Edward. Things were not going my way apparently. I decided to stop worrying about Edward and enjoy the rest of my time at the gallery, as I headed into a small room filled with the works of Claude Monet and and Edouard Manet.

"I like this one the best," said a strangely familiar voice behind me as he extended his hand towards 'Water Lilies' by Monet.

"Everyone likes it." I muttered as I turned around and saw Edward standing there, listening to the audio provided by the gallery to go along with the paintings. "Why do you like it?" I asked curiously, still reeling from the fact that he was standing before me.

"Umm… I like it because it's pretty?" he asked with a laugh as he sat down on a bench in the middle of the room and I reluctantly followed.

"What are you doing here?" I think my mouth might have stayed open as I said this, because I was still surprised he was now sitting in front of me, and some of my favorite paintings.

"I wanted to experience culture; I am in London for Christ sakes, right?" I frowned at him because I could tell he wasn't being honest with me. "Okay, I wanted to see you again." I think I was shocked even more than before, but it was a happy shocked. He wanted to see me just as much as I wanted to see him.

"Why?"

EPOV

Wow, she really did seem like she couldn't grasp a concept as simple as the fact that I wanted to see her. Unfortunately for her, I still liked it. It was cute and adorable and all sorts of other adjectives I would never use back in Boston.

"I wanted to spend more time with you," I admitted, suddenly feeling slightly regretful for opening my mouth at all, or even showing up at the Gallery. "Can I join you while you over analyze the paintings? There must be a few collections you haven't visited yet." I watched intently as she nodded her head and we stood up from the bench to go and look at a few more pictures.

"This is 'Sunflowers' by Van Gogh," remarked Bella happily as we stopped in front of what I thought was a rather depressing looking painting. The Monet was a lot nicer in my opinion, but then again, I knew nothing about Art.

"Wasn't he the guy who cut off his ear?" I asked with a small grin, because this was something I knew. It had been mentioned on my audio tape about half an hour earlier.

"Yeah, he was," smiled Bella, apparently pleased that I had some knowledge. I reminded myself to get one of these audio thingys at every gallery I could take her to, if she wanted me to join her at all.

"I don't like it. It looks like he put way too much paint on his brush and couldn't be bothered to wipe it off," I said as I moved back from the painting and watched Bella worship every little drop of paint. She really did love art, and apparently, this painting in particular.

"It's called impasto, where the paint is put on very thickly, to provide texture." I just nodded my head and continued to listen to her lecture on the painting. I could listen to her talk about various forms of fungus and I think I would still find myself inexplicably drawn to her.

We moved through a few more rooms and before I knew it, it was almost six o'clock at night and I was starving. "Wanna go get something to eat? My treat," I asked casually as she nodded her head and we walked out onto Trafalgar Square. We ended up agreeing on a small café that had seats outside on a cobblestone patio. I was nervous, because I knew if I didn't ask her soon, I'd never be able to get up the nerve.

"Thanks for not calling Scotland Yard on me," I laughed after the waiter took our order, and I tried to break the silence between us.

"Days not over yet Edward," she laughed casually as she took a sip of her Diet Pepsi. "Is something wrong?" She was totally reading my awkward behavior and I figured now was as good a time as any to ask her.

"I want to come with you," I stammered nervously as I grabbed the hem of my shirt and fidgeted in anticipation of her response

"Excuse me?" she said a little too loudly, when I suddenly realized that what I said could be misconstrued as something else; something a little more sexual.

"No, not like that. I want to travel with you. We're doing the same thing for the next two months, I just think we might have a better time if we did it together," I sighed expectantly. Bella said nothing, but her initial facial expression said that she wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

"I'm not sure," she finally said a few moments later.

"Why not? I think it would be cool to learn all about art from you while we travelled, visited galleries and some of the major tourist sites in the various countries. You can teach me about art and I can teach you about … something. I dunno what, but I'm sure I can help in some way," I laughed as Bella offered up a sweet smile. "We could probably save some money by booking one room with two beds at some of the hostels. It'll be fun."

"Let's enjoy our dinner and let me think about it." I watched Bella intently all through dinner, hoping she would give off some sort of vibe that said she was on board with my plans, but there was nothing. We talked casually about some of the things we planned to do in Europe, but we never once mentioned doing them together, so this was a bad sign for me.

"If I agree to this, it's strictly platonic right? This isn't your way of trying to get into my pants, is it?" She asked as she raised her eye brow curiously. I had to lie to her and I didn't feel that good about it. If I told her the truth, that yes, I was extremely attracted to her, she would definitely say no.

"Yeah, we're doing this as friends," I said, immediately feeling remorseful. I never had to lie to a woman to convince her to sleep with me, but I had to lie to Bella, otherwise I would never get another chance with her. "Does this mean you are saying yes?" I asked hopeful.

"No. I still don't know."

"Okay, here's the deal then. I'm leaving on the 11am train to Paris tomorrow morning out of St. Pancras station. If you want to come, meet me on the platform at like 10:30. If not, it's been nice knowing you, and be safe in your travels," I said with a heavy sigh as I paid the bill and walked away from the table, feeling like a complete idiot. I don't know what made me offer up an ultimatum like that, but I would just have to wait and see what happened. Hopefully I wouldn't be alone stepping onto that train tomorrow.

I walked slowly back to my hostel and thought constantly about how bad I screwed up. She would never come now. I decided to make the best of things and hopped onto the internet at my hostel and looked up some things to do in Paris, making small notes on some paper I found on the desk. I should definitely go to the Eiffel Tower, because I would never hear the end of it if I went to Paris and didn't see it. Alice alone would scream at me for hours. I should see the Arc de Triomphe and maybe I would have to drag myself to the Louvre, because today at the National Gallery hadn't actually sucked as much as I had anticipated. I made all my notes and sat down on the couch in the common room to watch a little TV. Considering it was almost ten on a Monday night, the hostel was surprisingly empty. I gave up after a particularly bad episode of some weird britcom and headed to bed.

The next morning, I dragged my tired body into the communal shower and had a very hot and fast shower. When I was finally dressed, it was almost nine, so I grabbed a muffin and a coffee at a local café and headed straight to St. Pancras International Station, where the train would be leaving from in almost two hours. I hoped on the subway to Kings Cross Station which led directly into St. Pancras and purchased my ticket first. It was almost ten, and I was glancing around the entire station trying to find Bella. As ten thirty approached, my heart began to sink into my chest and all I could think about was her. She wasn't coming.

I went to the platform to catch the train, and it was already boarding. I sat on a bench in the middle, deciding to wait until the last possible moment before I got onto the train and headed to the land of baguettes and crepes. I suddenly wished I had ate more than a muffin this morning. I glanced down at my watch and it was a few minutes before eleven. She was definitely not coming now, seeing as she was already half an hour late. I grabbed my backpack and tossed it over my shoulder and started to get onto the train, at the nearest door to me.

"Wait," I heard the familiar yell of Bella coming up quickly behind me. She was running to catch up to me, with her large bag covering her shoulders. Her face was pretty red and she looked very tired and dishelved. I could only guess that she had been running for a while. "My alarm clock didn't go off," she sighed happily as I extended my hand to her and helped her get onto the train. I offered her the biggest smile I could, since I was officially the happiest person in the world at that moment.

"That's okay."I sighed as her fingers intertwined in mine for a moment as I pulled her up the steps behind me. "You showed up, that's all that matters."