Author's Note: A time skip! Bella is now fifteen. I hope all of this isn't too confusing for you guys. I just want you to catch a glimpse of the four characters' childhood together before I get to the juicy part. Wink, wink. I promise it'll be interesting. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, except South View High School is mine, of course.


Chapter 4

Four Years Later

I had been dreading today for months. Starting from today, I was officially a loner.

It was bad enough that Emmett had left, and then Alice and Jasper. Now, Edward was graduating from high school, leaving me as a junior this coming fall.

I recalled Edward's promise that he'd made me so many years ago, in his room. He's promised that I wouldn't be alone once Alice and Jasper had gone. But now, he was breaking that promise. He was leaving himself.

There was a loud pounding on my bedroom door.

"Are you done yet, Bella?" Jasper called.

It was summer vacation once more, and Emmett, Alice, and Jasper had come home from college about a week ago. Normally, they would have stayed at their own respective colleges even for summer vacation, studying, but they'd come especially for Edward's graduation.

"Nearly," I said, my voice cracking. "Go away."

"Are you crying, Isabella?" Jasper sounded appalled.

"No, I'm mad," I snapped. "Now go away."

The others knew exactly why I was mad. They thought it was extremely amusing that I considered myself a loner now, but I didn't find it very funny. Edward had laughed for a whole ten minutes when I accused him of breaking his promise yesterday.

I heard Jasper stomping away. I knew that he hated wearing suits for special occasions. He hated dressing up almost as much as I did.

I looked at my reflection in the long mirror. I was wearing a white summer dress with matching flats. My hair was up in a ponytail as usual. I never decorated my hair. I didn't see what the point was. I always pulled it up into a ponytail when I went to school.

Everything was perfect except for my expression. My lips were out in a pout, and I was frowning slightly. I tried to smile. I made a face when it came out as a grimace.

Giving up, I picked up my bouquet for Edward and exited my bedroom. I trudged downstairs and found my parents, Charlie and Renee, as well as Jasper, waiting for me impatiently.

"What took you so long?" Charlie grumbled.

"Aw, Dad," I said, grinning, staring at his tuxedo. "You look nice."

"We're leaving for Japan right after the graduation," Renee informed us. "We won't be back until next week. Okay?"

I nodded. "Okay. So I'm stuck with Jazz for a whole week then?"

Jasper laughed. "I'll torture you like crazy, sis."

"Maybe you can have a sleepover at the Cullens or something," Charlie suggested. "I know Carlisle and Esme have a flight right afterward too."

Jasper looked nice too, in his white tux. He kept pulling at his black tie.

"Stop that, Jasper," Renee snapped. "It looks fine."

Jasper rolled his eyes. "I know it looks fine. But it's on too tight."

"You'll live," I said, taking his arm and dragging him out the door. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

Jasper sniggered. "Sis, you've got to calm down. You aren't going to be a loner. I promise we'll be back for Christmas."

"You said that two years ago," I said dryly as we walked across the huge lawn of our family mansion. "And yet, you didn't come home for two years. Don't try denying it, Jazz, you were surprised to see me taller."

Jasper grinned. "It just happened. I apologized, didn't I?"

I sighed, looking up at the sky. Night was falling fast. The graduation was taking place at seven o'clock, exactly thirty minutes from now. I wondered what Edward was doing right now. Would he be nervous?

I dismissed the thought. Edward was never nervous. He was always confident and sure of himself. He carried himself without being embarrassed by anything, which only made me fall for him even more.

My crush for Edward had only increased over the past four years. He still looked at me strangely, as if he knew I liked him, and couldn't figure out why. But the way he had consoled me when I got lonely had made me like him even more. The way he had encouraged me in my studies made me feel like I was in debt to him.

My childhood crush was moving on to the next phase of his life. I felt more pathetic now than ever that I couldn't move on from him. To me, Edward Cullen would always be my first love that I couldn't forget about.

"You're thinking about Edward, aren't you?" Jasper teased as we got in the limousine.

"So what?" I asked. "I'm going to kill him for making me a loner."

He laughed. "I don't think that's what you were thinking about. You were thinking about how much you still like him."

I was glad to have the darkness of the car. He wouldn't be able to see me blushing.

"Of course not," I snapped. "I was really thinking about how he's breaking his promise to me." Man, I sucked at lying. I knew he saw through my pathetic lie.

"Sure, sure," Jasper said, grinning. "Look, Bella. Why don't you just tell him how you feel? Maybe he'll agree to put off college until you graduate high school."

I smacked his arm. "Stop teasing me! And I don't like Edward that way!"

Jasper couldn't stop laughing. "Ah, jeez. You guys are just so funny and frustrating, you know that?"

My eyes narrowed. He was going to keep teasing me? I knew just how to make him shut up.

"So did you tell Alice yet?" I asked innocently.

He stopped laughing abruptly. "What do you mean?" He sounded nervous.

"Did you tell her that you love her?"

Jasper's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? That's…that's ridiculous!"

I smiled smugly. "Yeah? If it's not true, then you don't mind if I tell Alice as a joke, do you? I'm sure she'll totally faint over what I tell her about you."

"Don't you dare, Isabella Marie Swan!" Jasper said, panicking. "If you tell her, I swear, I'm going to… I'll…"

"If you don't want me to say anything to her, stop teasing me about Edward," I advised. "Deal?"

"Deal," Jasper agreed. He paused, then grinned again. "But I notice that you don't deny it anymore, Bells."

I sighed. "You know anyways. What's the point of trying to hide it?"

He nodded. "True."

"I notice that you don't deny it either, Jazzy."

He pursed his lips. "Like you said…what's the point?"

I nodded. "True."

We glanced at each other, then burst into laughter. When Charlie and Renee slid inside, we were still laughing uncontrollably.

"What is going on?" Renee asked, staring.

We merely shook our heads, trying to stop.

"Alright, Johnny," Charlie sighed. "Let's go."

Johnny, our limo driver, grinned at us through the rearview mirror before starting the car.


"…will certainly be a day we will never forget," Edward said, wrapping up his speech. He was the senior class valedictorian this year. It wasn't surprising, seeing how he was the smartest in the whole school.

"We will never forget what this school has done for us," he continued. "Though we are letting go of this part of our lives and moving on to embrace the future, we will never forget. Thank you, South View, for helping us create the very best part of our lives. And now, it is my greatest pleasure to present you, the senior class of 2002."

As he finished his speech and the whole senior class stood up from their chairs, the large audience clapped like crazy as they got to their feet, whooping and whistling as they cheered for the valedictorian.

I was among the cheering crowd, with Alice and Emmett on either side of me. I looked at them as I clapped. They looked so pleased and proud of their brother for achieving so much…

I smiled sadly as I watched the seniors take off their cap and throwing it into the air. I saw Edward grinning happily, looking much more relaxed as he exchanged congratulations with his friends. He seemed relieved that everything was over.

I realized that we were all growing up. Emmett, Alice, and Jasper were already adults, studying to have some guarantee of their future. And Edward was all grown up now too.

It was safe to say that I was a junior in high school, although summer had just started. My battles started now. I was going to have to study like crazy if I wanted to become a doctor, like I was planning to someday.

I gazed up at the stars that had come out. It was completely dark now, and the only sources of light were the lamps standing around Central Park. Loneliness overwhelmed me. I was truly alone now. Edward wouldn't be there to help me through my hardships. I was standing alone.

It was almost too easy to break away from the crowd. Parents were pushing each other around to find their children, and it was getting chaotic.

I escaped the mob, content enough to stay alone for a while until the crowd dissipated. I saw Emmett, Alice, and Jasper breaking away from the crowd too. They spotted me and came over.

"Jeez," Emmett said, straightening his tux jacket. "I'd forgotten what graduation was like."

"I'd forgotten what South View's graduations were like," Jasper grumbled. "All the parents are so determined. They all want to brag about their children, which gets really annoying."

"You should talk," I said. "I have to endure these things for another two years."

They grinned.

"Aw, Bella, it's not so bad," Emmett said. "Edward was right about one thing in his speech. High school really is the best part of our lives. It's stressful, sure, but it's very straightforward. All you have to do is keep your head in the game."

"I'm not worried about Bella," Alice said, smiling at me affectionately. "She's doing so well already."

I smiled. "Thanks, Alice."

I spotted my parents with Carlisle and Esme. Edward was with them, smiling and answering a question Renee had asked.

"Oh, look, here they come," Alice said, bounding up. She ran towards her brother, yelling out his name.

Edward grinned when she collided with him and threw her arms around him.

"Congratulations!" we heard her saying. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, Alice," Edward said.

"Congratulations, Edward," Emmett said when they'd joined us. "I'm proud of you, man."

"Thanks, Emmett," Edward said, accepting his hug.

Charlie glanced at his watch. "Sorry, Edward, we're going to have to leave. We're running slightly late for our flight. Do you mind if Renee and I leave first?"

"Not at all," Edward said. "Thank you for coming, Charlie, Renee. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," Charlie said easily.

"Congratulations, Edward," Renee said, hugging him. "We'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Bye," we all chorused as they left.

"We're going to have to leave too, Edward," Carlisle said apologetically. "We have a plane to catch in thirty minutes. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," Edward said good-naturedly. "Go ahead, Dad. Thank you for coming. I know you're extremely busy."

"Of course, honey," Esme said, hugging him tightly. "Congratulations, Edward. You five can go celebrate. We won't be home until next week, so you can have a sleepover or something."

Alice perked up, glancing at me. I avoided her gaze. I knew exactly what she was planning.

"Okay, we'll do that," Alice reassured her mother. "Jasper and Bella are alone in that huge mansion, we should totally get together for the week. We'll have fun, Mom, don't worry."

I grimaced in horror. Alice's definition of fun was different from mine.

"Bye, dears," Esme said, waving as Carlisle led her to their limo.

"Congratulations, man," Jasper said, handing Edward his bouquet of flowers. "I liked your speech."

Edward laughed. "Yeah, right. That's the worst piece of writing I ever wrote right there. But thanks, Jasper."

I handed him my bouquet. "Congrats, Edward."

He grinned at me. "I thought you weren't coming. I was under the impression that you were angry with me?"

"I am," I said nonchalantly. "But I decided to wait until tomorrow to start nagging you."

He laughed. "Thanks for coming, Bella."

"Alright," Alice said briskly as she led all four of us to Edward's Volvo. "We'll have the sleepover at our house. We good?"

"Uh, no?" I said. "I don't want a sleepover. Can't Jasper stay over at your mansion while I study for-"

"Don't be ridiculous," Alice snapped. "It's summer. You can stop studying for one second. And we're having fun. Before we all go off to college again in the fall."

I made a face. "But-"

"No buts," Emmett chimed in. "We're playing all the games we used to play."

"You mean play Mario Kart on our Nintendo DS?" Edward asked dryly as he started the car.

"And play Truth or Dare?" Jasper asked, closing the door behind him. He sat next to me.

"And Hide-and-Go-Seek?" Alice asked excitedly.

I groaned. "I thought you guys were mature adults."

"Sometimes, Bella," Emmett said solemnly. "We deserve to have some fun. College is no joke."

"So humor us," Alice urged.

I glanced at all four of them who were waiting for me to agree.

"I guess I have no choice," I grumbled. "Fine. But no makeover, Alice!"

"Aw, come on, Bella!"

I glared at her until she gave up.

"Alright, then," Edward said mischievously. "Since I'm tonight's star, I get to pick what games we play."

"Deal," Emmett and Jasper chorused. Alice giggled.

"First…Truth or Dare."


AN: I really hope you're enjoying the way I'm starting off this story! And, yes, I know Edward's graduating in the year 2002. I just wanted it to be timed exactly right to the current year when the time skip happens. Thanks for supporting me guys!