A/N So sorry about the wait. I had no idea what to do next, complete writers block. Thankfully I heard Hometown Glory and it put this idea on my head. I believe this is the second to last chapter. I have all these ideas just bursting so I've been writing new stories. I'll post one soon I just want to get some ground on it. Enough with my babbling, onward with the story.

Disclaimer:I don't think I've done many of these. I own Cullen's Burgers but that's pretty much the extent as far as ownership goes.

Song for this chapter:

Adele-Hometown Glory(and the live version is waaaay better)

READ-I've picked a teaser from the next chapter and will send to every person who reviewes this a thanks-for-reading-even-though-I'm a sucky-no-update-loser :)

BPOV

There are those times in your life when you know as soon as you do it, that you're going to look back on that moment 40 years down the road and regret it. That's how I felt about walking away from Edward. If I was thinking with my mind I did the right thing. Why should I open myself up when he won't do the same? He could do the same thing to me that he did to Chelsea and it would just be stupid to let that happen. But if I was thinking with my heart...I would take everything he dealt me because in the short time I'd known him I knew he had me.

Hook, line and sinker.

I didn't specifically want to go back home to Charlie. And if my face showed even a fraction of the emotions I felt I didn't want to face the questions he would ask. In a sudden stroke of genius I parked my truck around the corner from my house, got out and began walking towards the center of town. Walking had always helped me think,no matter the weather or the circumstance. There were no cars on the street and it didn't surprise me. Everyone in Forks pretty much made it in before 8 unless there was a party. I wondered what it would be like to live in a bigger city, with bright lights, parties every night, and even the occasional crime.

Forks was so...stifling. I sighed knowing full well I was taking my anger at Edward and myself out on my innocent hometown.

It was unsurprisingly muggy so I quickly swept my hair up in a messy ponytail before continuing my walk. I passed the last street light on my street and turned the corner towards my old friend Ruth's house. She'd moved when I was 11, but the sight of her house brought back fun memories of imagination games like Pirate and Escape the Lava. I chuckled lightly, thinking back to our silliness. Her house used to be the biggest on the block and I remember being so happy she chose me to be her friend. All the other kids would be jealous when we came to school with stories of swimming in her pool (she was the only one with a pool in her house back then) and our adventures in her club house.

I noticed a light flick on in the house I was currently staring at and hastily moved on realizing how creepy it could look, me standing there in front of there house just staring.

The neighborhood park came next and I decided to take a seat on the bench under an old oak tree, to offer me some sort of protection against the light rain that had begun to fall. I laughed quietly when I realized this was the very bench I got my first kiss on.

Brian Robinson was a year older then me and I'd had a crush on him since the beginning of 6th grade. Ruth had just told me about her upcoming move and in a fit I'd ran straight to the park in tears and plopped myself down on the bench. I'd been so into myself that I jumped when he touched my arm, having had no idea he was there. I told him the whole sad story when he asked and I suppose he thought a kiss would clear my head. He was right. All I could think was how horrible it was. Looking back now I realized he probably hadn't kissed a lot of girls himself. The kiss was wet, akward and he must have came to me right after eating beef jerkey, or so it seemed from the taste in my mouth.

Luckily for me I didn't let that change my view of kissing forever, just a couple years. My second kiss came from Daniel Thomas in my sophomore year. We'd been flirting with each other up until the Winter Formal and he asked me to go with him as his date. I was on my toes all night wondering when he would attempt to kiss me. When he picked me up? While we slow danced? In the end I guess he decided to follow the cliche route and when he'd walked me up safely to my front door he planted one on me. It was the perfect kiss to replace the monstrosity that was my first.

I don't know what I 'd expected to feel from the kiss but I didn't feel anything. I suspected he didn't either. As the weeks went by after that niight we made an unspoken agreement that we were better off as just friends. From then I dabbled with a few boys but nothing serious. My biggest mistake being losing my virginity to Mike Newton. He seemed to think I'd picked him specifically for the honor and thougt it meant we were going to be in a relationship for the long haul. I wanted just the opposite.

I figured it would be best to lose my virginity with someone I couldn't care less about and save myself the embarassment if it didn't go well. I don't want to go into detail but Mike embarrassed both of us by his puppy dog behavior. I still haven't completely gotten rid of him but he'd backed off slightly. I squinted my eyes and placed my hand over them as a pair of headlights swept over me. The car continued down the street but with a screech halted and wheeled around back towards me.

I couldn't see the car but I had a feeling I knew who was behind the wheel, in fact I was positive. I stood ready to make a run for it before decisively sitting back down. It was now or never.

I looked the other way as Angela got out of her car and began walking towards me. I felt her sit next to me but chose to remain silent. She could break it if she wanted. I heard her take a breath before she spoke.

"I know you went." I said nothing in response."And I know why." Again nothing, although I did want to know the reason she thought I went, seeing as I didn't know myself. Like usual Angela didn't disappoint and even though I acted like I didn't care what she had to say she told me anyway. Thank goodness.

"You like him. You like him a lot, more then I thought you did. I'm sorry for using my sisters experience with him to try to keep you away. He is different Bella. He's not the same guy that toyed with my sister, and while I can never forgive him for that I can't use it against him for the rest of his life. You two, you two have something and it's so strong that others can feel the aftershocks of it. I don't know what happened tonight with you and him, but if it has anything to do with Chelsea I want you to forget about it. Pretend the Edward that messed up Chels and your Edward are completely different people, because in some ways they are." She sighed, before continuing. "I don't know what you two are to each other but it's the closest thing to soul mates I've ever seen. Don't waste it."

She stood then and walked away without another word. I could feel the tears sliding down my face as the truth to her words hit me. She was right. Edwrad and I did have something and I was the stupid girl I used to read about in books that let her soul mate go because of something petty.

I stood quickly, not sure where I was going, just knowing I had to find Edward. I walked/ran back to my truck but stopped short when I saw the shiny silver Volvo in front of it. A slow smile spread across my face as Edward stepped out of the car, looking the same as when I left a couple hours ago, except maybe a little sadder. I sure hoped so. I would hate it if I felt all this and he didn't.

I hadn't even noticed I was walking towards him until we stood just feet away from each other. My brown eyes met his green and I spouted the first thing I could think of. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry." We said simultaneously. We both smiled slightly at the awkwardness.

"I should be the one saying sorry Edward. I have the most to apologize for." I said finally.

"No Bella. I do. I was wrong to not tell you, and I came to explain." Edward said, his forest green eyes displaying all of the emotions he felt but couldn't put into words. I was sure my eyes were a mirror reflection to his.

"No I was wrong to ask that of you and then act like a toddler when I didn't get what I wanted. You don't have to expl..." He put a finger to my lips to silence me.

"But I do. You can't have a relationship without honesty and all that shit right?" He said with a wry smile.

Relationship.

Edward Cullen said relationship. A word I didn't even know was in his vocabulary.

Wait, more imporatantly, he wished to have a relationship with me.

I was stunned to silence.

"I don't even know where to start." He said after a couple minutes passed and it was clear I wasn't going to reply.

I broke myself out of my haze, rresigned to the fact that he was going to bare his soul. This deep dark secret that nobody really knew the truth of, had my curiousity practically bouncing off the walls, but I knew I had to tread carefully. For him this was big and I knew I had to handle it right no matter what came out of his mouth. I got my bearings and spoke calmly, my voice controlled. The exact opposite of what was going on inside me. "Just start from the beginning. You guys met at a party right?" He nodded. "Okay, start from there."

A/N GAH! A cliffie!! I'm so evil I know it. But I promise the next update will be faster. I'm already working on the next chapter which will be the last before the epilogue. If you want the great teaser I've picked from the next chapter all ya gotta do is press the little button down there that says review *_*

Love, 00-edorjake-00