When the veil was lifted from her face, Edward had Bella's full attention. Looking into his honey-colored eyes, she could no longer sense the world around her. He was all that was left in the world, and the world was silent except for her breathing and his. Every part of Bella was on autopilot; she was unable to stay conscious of her hands, which had been shaking horribly before the ceremony started, or of her voice, which she'd previously been struggling to suppress for fear she'd laugh out of nervousness, or start whimpering. Here was the day, and immediately here the moments she'd be expected to remember for the rest of her life, and yet she vaguely knew that the only thing she'd be able to remember was the unfathomable look on Edward's ever-breathtaking face as he leaned in to give her their first kiss as husband and wife.
Then again, how was remembering only him any different from the way she'd been spending a majority of her life since coming to Forks?
That was the last coherent thought she could manage before his lips were on hers, and she was drowning in his cool, comforting embrace.
There was a space in time that Bella could put no definite length to when everything was gone. Even Edward disappeared from her, and she drifted into a blank void so dark it seemed to pull at her from all sides.
"Can you hear me, Bella?"
Edward's silken voice urged her back to reality. Ah, so he wasn't gone after all. Wait, of course he wasn't. How could he be? The world came rushing back in full force. She cold feel his cold marble arms wrapped around her, and hear the cheers from the crowd.
Though she couldn't put her finger on what it was, exactly, Bella felt different. Everything around her was brighter, more vivid and detailed. The applause and whistles tickled her ears with their deafening rhythm, the claping almost melodic in its depth and complexity. Suddenly, all of her doubts and worries were gone. There was something exhilirating about how much more beautiful and intense the world was now.
Bella was suddenly unquestionably happy to be Edward Cullen's wife.
--
He met her at the bookstore on Friday afternoon. They'd set the date for 4:00, but both Carissa and Jacob were almost an hour early. When he walked in and spotted her, he couldn't help but chuckle.
He slid up beside her in one fluid movement, humor dancing in his dark eyes. "Looks like you were even more eager to be here than I was."
Carissa's expression brightened in surprise. "Only about five minutes more eager. Actually, I wanted to look around a bit before you got here. Shall I tell you to meet me an hour later next time?"
Jacob smirked. "If you do, I'll see right through it and come even earlier."
She scrutinized him. "Somehow, I don't doubt at all that you would."
He shrugged, suddenly made nervous by the thorough way she was appraising him. "Well, by all means look around if you want. I won't bother you 'til you want me to."
"Nah, I can come here any time I want; I'll have plenty more opportunities to look at books. I'll make the most of you being here, so please bother me now." She clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at him in an almost childishly playful way.
"Fine with me." Jacob smiled.
The two found some over-soft chairs to sit in and angled them towards each other. Carissa found herself staring at the magazines on a table beside them. She felt so at ease when they were laughing and talking, but the loaded silences in between made her feel awkward and nervous. Jacob enjoyed talking with her, and they could hurl quips back and forth with skill. Of that Carissa felt assured. But when all was silent, she was all too aware of Jacob's eyes on her. She felt a heavy degree of self-consciousness about her lifeless ash-colored hair and her plain face, which still bore traces of a scar stretching across her right cheek that she'd gotten when she was nine.
She gulped and looked up. Sure enough, Jacob was gazing at her intently, apparently sharing none of the same reservations. And of course, thought Carissa, he had no reason to. His sun-kissed skin was flawless, and his long, thick black hair framed his face nicely and gave off a healthy-looking shine.
"So," Carissa said, not yet having thought of anything to say, but unable to stand the silence any longer, "how's uh… how's everyone?"
Jacob tilted his head to the side. "You mean the other guys from the reservation? They're good, I guess. They've been asking about you a lot." He said the last sentence with a strange sort of grin that Carissa could not quite read.
She blushed. "About me?"
Jacob nodded. "They wouldn't stop asking why… why I was coming all the way out here to see you." He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
Carissa shifted in her seat. This was almost just as bad as silence. This was the one topic she did not want to discuss, for fear of discovering what Jacob's feeling for her really were, or more accurately, what they weren't. She had forced herself not to get her hopes up by suppressing thoughts on the matter entirely, but Jacob had a tendency to make it very hard to do so by bringing up the subject.
"What was your answer?" Carissa cursed herself, but her curiosity was just to strong to keep the words from spilling out in a hurry.
"I told them to mind their own business. Not that they can." A moment after saying so, Jacob's eyes widened a little bit and cleared his throat. "So, how's everything on your end?"
"Fine," said Carissa. She could tell he was trying to change the subject, but her curiosity got the better of her again. "What did you mean when you said your friends couldn't mind their own business?"
Jacob shrugged the same way he always did when he was uncomfortable and made an attempt to brush off the question. "Nothing much. We're just really… close. They have a hard time letting me keep my thoughts to myself."
Carissa rolled her eyes. "I know what you mean."
Jacob seemed shocked. "Huh? Oh, uh, right. Really?"
Carissa laughed a little. What was with that reaction? "Yeah. My dad is really nosy. Overprotective, too. He doesn't know what I'm up to right now, or he'd freak."
"Why?"
Oops. Carissa gulped. "Well y'know, 'cause you're like… male. I mean, even if there's nothing going on at all, or if there is… I mean… well you know what I mean. Regardless, he doesn't take well to me hanging out with guys."
Jacob nodded solemnly. "So that might be a bit of an obstacle."
An obstacle. He wanted to see her again. Carissa hid a deep breath. "It might not have to be. It was a big risk, but I told my dad about you."
"What did you say about me?"
Crap. The very question Carissa was trying to avoid. She could feel the elephant in the room pacing uncomfortably close.
"Nothing specific. Just that I met someone in La Push who… that I, y'know… might want to hang out with… more often. Or something like that." She kept her face down, trying to disguise the fact that it was taking on a bright shade of scarlet.
Jacob leaned in closer. "And?"
Carissa made the mistake of looking up into his endless black eyes. She was instantly mezmerized. "Uh… huh?" she said smartly.
"What did he say?"
Carissa looked away, trying not to be transparent so she could pull of a half-lie. "He wants to meet you," she said.
--
Author's Notes: Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry everyone—it's another boring chapter. Oh, and it's short, too. I apologize. Summer vacation starts for me on Thursday, so I promise to write longer and more exciting chapters from here on out. As requested, we begin with another scene from the wedding! At least that was good, right? Well, the characters have started to take creative control without consulting me, so in the future this fic will focus a lot more on Bella. For some reason, she's just screaming for attention. In the future, some things that happen to Bella will be inspired by The Little Mermaid, but not in ways that you might imagine. Am I being to cryptic? Haha. Anyway, The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite stories. I love Hans Christian Andersen. Actually, the Mermaid-inspired bit has already begun, or at least it's been hinted at. Now I bet you're really confused. I apologize for being boring and annoying you with half-riddles. Hah. Well, I've rambled far too long at this point… See you all next time!