Bonjour! :) So here is the newest chapter, and a long one to feed all of your appetites! I tried out Edward POV in this one because it was the winner in the poll. You guys can still vote for POV's to be shown in this story on the poll on my profile though! I tried to write Edward POV as best as I could, but I think I sorta suck at it :) be nice in the reviews :D

I hope everyone sticks with me, because this story is about to start its climb right here in this chapter :)

PLEASE REVIEW :)!

PS: I won't be updating again until AFTER Christmas, I hope to get the next chapter out on the 27th or 28th of December. I hope everyone has a merry Christmas (if that's what you celebrate)!

PPS: WOW! 84 REVIEWS AND OVER 3,000 HITS! MY READERS ROCK :D thank you all so much guys!

Disclaimer: Me: "Hi. I own the Twilight Saga."

Edward: "No you don't. You only wish you did. Because then you would own Jacob and I."

Me: "...I think you're a liar Edward because I am obviously Stephenie Meyer and I obviously own both you and Jacob ;)"

Edward: "You don't own anything, and if you admit that, I'll allow you to take Jacob and I to a hotel room tonight."

Me: "I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY PLOT LINE AND CHARACTERS. KAY LET'S GO."



One Step At A Time

Edward Point of View:

I wrote down the questions the gorgeous creature in front of me had written down in an instant. I didn't pay any attention to the thoughts of those around me: wondering who I was, if I was single, how I was writing so fast, and how I'd look naked. The thoughts of most teenagers were the exact same. One person was still an exception to my gift though, the beautiful goddess in front of me, typing on her laptop. As she typed, her ring reflected in the light, shimmering around her. I loathed that ring as much as I loved it. I hated it because that ring meant she was no longer mine, and she loved someone else. I loved it because that ring meant she had moved on as I'd intended, and she was happy.

I could make her happy too.

I told myself to shut up, I didn't deserve her in the slightest anymore. I had given up my right seven years ago. Leaving her in the woods that day, was by far, the most difficult thing I'd ever done. But I knew for every moment of pain I'd suffered, Bella had suffered thirty times more.

I broke her. I hurt her. I told her the biggest lie, and crushed her.

I stopped my mental monologue before I started cracking up in the classroom. I looked down towards my paper and realized that I'd answered all the questions already. I flipped over my page and contented myself with staring at the beautiful Bella sitting in front of me.

Her hair was longer and fuller, and when the mid-November sun beams cast through the windows it sparkled a gorgeous brown with red undertones. I was cut short of my mental assessment of her by Jasper shouting at me through his mind.

'Stop that right now, Edward. I know what you're thinking. Don't creep Bella out by staring at her.'

Damn Jasper and his mood sensing capabilities.

I settled for reminiscing about the day Alice lost sight of Bella...

One day about three months after I had left Bella in the woods Alice came frantically running into my room. We had moved to Australia and I had taken it upon myself to not move, feed, blink, shower, or function without my Bella beside me. I had succumbed to the dark depression and spent 99.9% of my time in the darkest corner of my room playing her lullaby on the stereo and picturing her sitting next to me. When Alice came in that day, I didn't even register her presence.

My mind had stopped working properly, instead it just streamed obscenities at me for leaving my beloved, and came up with nonsensical ways to return to Forks and beg Bella's forgiveness.

Alice came in running at top speed, hurling into me and shattering a wall in the process. That didn't even snap me out of revere.

"EDWARD! EDWARD YOU BETTER FREAKING LISTEN TO ME. EDWARD! LISTEN RIGHT NOW! IT'S ABOUT BELLA!" That one word snapped me out of it, and I was instantly awake in every sense of the word. I stood up and grasped Alice's tiny face in my hands as gently as I could.

"What?! Alice! What's wrong with Bella?" yet another piece of my sanity withered up and floated away.

"I can't see her! She just...disappeared!" she sobbed and leaned in to hug me. The loving gesture felt so foreign to me it took me a few moments to respond and wrap my arms around Alice's tiny frame.

"Is she hurt?" I asked barely able to control my legs. They wanted to run. Swim. Get back to Bella in Forks.

"I don't know!" Alice cried desperately.

'Edward.'

The calm voice of Carlisle spoke in his mind.

'I will call Charlie and make up an excuse. I will check to see if Bella's all right.'

I was thankful for him offering to do that, but I was on the verge of a complete and utter breakdown. I wanted out of this monotonous life. I wanted Bella. I wanted to scream and break out of these four walls and run until my feet hit the ocean; then swim until my body hit the ground; then run and run, and even if it took me all of eternity, I would get back to my love.

But I couldn't. I promised her it would be as though I never existed.

If I knew then what I know now; I would have ran to find her. I would have gone back to Forks.

Jasper shifted beside me again and talked through his mind again,

'Edward, perhaps try and look like you're working. All the other students are staring, and Bella is looking.'

At the mention of Bella's name my head whipped up on it's own accord and waited for Bella's sweeping gaze of the classroom to land on me. Seven seconds later her eyes met mine, and I tried to convey all my emotions through my gold eyes to her deep brown ones. Love, sadness, anguish, so many things that were streaming through my mind I tried to let shine through my eyes. Bella's perfect lips opened into a perfect 'O' and I knew she saw everything. She quickly looked down and resumed typing, only to stop a minute later and fiddle with her engagement ring. She licked her lips and glanced at the delicate silver watch on her wrist, where it would show the time to be five minutes to the bell. Her small, slender fingers pushed a lock of gorgeous brown behind her ear, and she smiled at something on her computer screen.

'Edward. Stop being a creep. Control your feelings.'

Jasper yet again ruined my mood. I passed the rest of the unbearably long five minutes by staring at Bella through my peripherals. I needed her more than anything; and I would do everything to be anything in her life again. Even if I was someone she yelled at everyday, I would be content. I just needed to be around her, with her, I needed her. The bell rang and all of us stayed sitting as the rest of the class filed out, casting uncertain glances in our direction. A few students stayed back to ask Bella some questions about their midterm exam and I marveled at how poised, professional, and grown-up my Bella looked.

Not my Bella you idiot. You lost her.

I grew anxious in my seat, wanting everyone else to leave so my family and I could talk to Bella, face to face, civilized, for once in seven years. A quiet knock sounded on the door and it was pushed open by the man I recognized as Nathan.

Bella's...fiancé. I had to choke that word out.

Worse than that horrible word which should belong to me, Bella's face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning when she saw him. She got up and all but tackled him, he laughed and gripped her waist.

My waist. I growled under my breath and Alice kicked my shin from her desk.

Bella murmured to her remaining students that she'd just be a minute and she pulled Nathan out of the class and out of my vision.

I instantly tapped into Nathan's mind to see what was happening outside of my sight.

Bella Point of View:

"Were those the Cullen's in your class just now?" Nathan asked me, his eyes full of worry.

"Yes. But can I explain later? I know that reasoning is getting old, but it's a conversation better had at home." I asked pleading with my eyes, I needed to talk to the Cullen's before I spoke with Nathan about this. I was going to tell Nathan tonight about the Cullen's being vampires.

"Why were they sitting in desks? With binders? How are they students in your class?" Nathan proceeded to get more and more worried by the moment and I kissed him to ease his mind.

"I promise, I will explain later." I said locking eyes with him, showing him the truth in mine, his love reflected in his.

"Okay. I came by just to say hi. So...hi." he grinned and I giggled and batted my eyelashes at him.

"Oh golly gee! You came all the way out here just to see lil' ol' me?" I asked in my best accent. He laughed and hugged me tight to him. He released me and kissed my forehead and let out a happy sigh.

"Okay, well I have to get back to work. I'll see you at home then. I'll pick up dinner, don't worry about it." He smiled and started walking away, looking over his shoulder. I blew him a kiss and he pretended to catch it, pressing his fingers that caught my kiss to his lips. By then I was probably grinning like a love-struck fool, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I walked back into my classroom and sighed when I still had two students plus the Cullen's to deal with before I could leave for the day.

I turned with a smile towards Dylan who was waiting patiently by my desk. I quickly and thoroughly answered Dylan's and Natasha's multiple questions. I took a deep breath and focused my thoughts, before walking to the door and closing it. I turned around and faced the Cullen's.

"Hello again." I decided to start off as nicely as I could, and to my surprise I found the anger I had experienced the first few times I saw them was minimal now. Most of the anger had really evaporated away.

"Bella!" Alice squealed before launching herself at me. I laughed and swayed a little bit at the force of her hug.

"Hi, Alice." I said while patting her back. "I'm going to tell Nathan about you guys tonight." I blurted as I let go of Alice.

"He doesn't know who we are?" Rosalie asked. It took me a moment to answer Rosalie's question, I wasn't used to her acting civil towards me.

"He knows who you are, I've told him about my past. I meant I'm telling him about you all being vampires tonight."

"But why?" Emmett asked confused.

"Because we have a completely honest relationship and I'm tired of lying to him about something so huge, and now he's seen you as students in my twelfth grade class. He's going to need an explanation." I looked around at the Cullen's but avoided making eye contact with the bronze haired Greek God standing to the far left of me.

I had sorted out my feelings for him in my mind, but with the realization that I still loved him, I don't know, and don't want to know how I'd react to looking into his gorgeous golden eyes.

Especially after what his eyes revealed to me just a few short minutes ago, his eyes showed love, hurt, and how sorry he was. Was it possible he lied to me those many years ago? I shook my head to clear those thoughts, I shouldn't be thinking like that.

"When are you guys getting married?" Alice bounced excitedly and grabbed my hand to bounce with her. A full-blown smile graced my face and I sighed happily,

"July." I answered blissfully. Maybe telling Alice was a mistake, she suddenly looked like she was on the verge of explosion.

"THAT'S ONLY EIGHT MONTHS AWAY!" Alice screeched, I laughed and shushed her.

"Very good Alice, you can count." Emmett snickered. Alice lowered her voice an octave or two and started talking a mile a minute,

"OH MY GOD!-" she whisper yelled, "-You have to let me plan your wedding! Please, Bella? Oh please? It would mean the world to me! I can make it gorgeous! Unless you already have it started? Have you already started planning? You better have or I will hurt you, this is YOUR WEDDING BELLA, you can't not have already started planning! An amazing wedding takes at least a year to plan!-"

"Alice! Calm down!" I interrupted.

"We still have eight months, Nathan and I haven't started planning anything yet." I keeled over laughing at the look on Alice's face following that statement.

"BELLA! BELLA PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME PLAN YOUR WEDDING!" Alice was starting to look like a blur to my human eyes as she was moving so fast.

"Uhm, well that sort of depends on two things." I stammered, a little taken aback that the Cullen's would be willing to plan my wedding to another man given our history.

"And what two conditions are those?" Alice asked placing her tiny hands on her tiny hips with big attitude.

"Well first of all, I'm going to have to talk to Nathan and tell him the truth. See what he thinks about all of this. Secondly, are you guys sure you want to do this? I mean, you really don't have to-" This time Jasper cut me off,

"Bella, don't be ridiculous. We all love you, and it makes us happy to see you happy." Jasper smiled at me from his place beside Alice. I looked around and saw all the Cullen's nodding their agreement. I finally let my gaze land on Edward and I felt all the air whoosh out of my chest. His beauty momentarily stunned me and his eyes communicated unspeakable levels of tenderness, devotion, love, and anguish.

"We all want you to be happy, Bella. We all really do love you." Edward spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully.

I had to choke back a sob; his quiet, sweet symphony of a voice dripped with tender velvet.

I turned around and located a pen and paper. On it, I scribbled down my cell number, our house number, and our address. I handed it to Alice, who upon reading what was written on it, looked up and beamed a hundred watt smile.

"Oh thank you, Bella! Thank you! Thank you!"

"I have to go now, I need to talk to Nathan. Call me later tonight. Goodbye." I cast one last glance around the five of them, finishing on the man who broke my heart.

"I missed you all. It's nice to have you back." I concluded with a small, watery smile.

I turned and walked out of the door and down multiple hallways; got into my car and drove back to my home, where I was about to have one of the most pivotal conversations of my life.


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