This chapter is pretty much a rather long filler. Well, not really a filler. Okay, kind of. It's pretty much settles the first part of this story. Yes, there are going to be TWO parts to this story. The second part happens in the next chapter. OH SHIT. You guys excited? Remember when I said, "In two more chapters..." Yeah, well that's what I meant :) Actually, a LOT of things are going to happen next chapter.

HappyKitty95: Yeah, I know. There are a lot of time jumps in this story. I'm sorry if it does get annoying. But don't fret, the time jumps will end soon.

Like I was telling HappyKitty95, YES, the time jumps will end soon. In fact, it's going to end next chapter :) That's also one of the things that will happen next chapter. Actually, the most major time jump will happen in the next chapter. After that, the pace of this story will pretty much mellow out.

Also, I haven't really made Renee and Phil a big part in this story. Yeah, they won't really make much of an appearance, even in this chapter.

Yeah, sorry about that :) I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 9: Letting Go

Bella POV

Even when I was still a freshman back in Arizona, I've heard that high school will, not only be the best four years of your life, but also the four fastest years of your life. You could be a freshman one minute, and a senior the next. I'm certainly feeling the effects of it now.

Waiting in line behind Jessica, during the graduation ceremony, isn't really what I had in mind for this perfect day. I can tell that she's itching to bitch at me for making her last couple of years miserable, taking away the spotlight from her and Lauren. Imagine my surprise when she turned around looking apologetic. Jessica… apologetic… Ives is going to have a field day with this one.

"Bella, I'm so…" she trailed off, biting her lip nervously.

"Yes?" I asked encouragingly. She sighed and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you ever since you've been here," she finally spit out. I raised an eyebrow.

"You weren't entirely a bitch in the beginning," I pointed out. She laughed uneasily.

"Actually… I haven't always talked so fondly of you, even when I was being nice," she admitted. I wasn't shocked at the piece of information.

"It's okay," I assured her and myself. After all, what are the chances that I'd see her after this day anyways?

She beamed at me. "Seriously?" I nodded. She squealed and hugged me. I was tense at first, but I slowly returned it. "I can't believe we're graduating. Can you?" she asked after pulling away. I smiled softly as we began to converse.

After a few minutes of an actual decent conversation, it was time for the S's to be called up.

"Jessica Stanley!" the Principal announced. I gave her a bright smile as she climbed up the stage. I wooted for her, despite the bad blood we once shared. While Jessica was shaking hands with the school board, I took the chance to search.

I looked left and caught eyes with Daniel, who was still walking down the aisle. He waved at me and I grinned. I looked again and this time caught eyes with Landon. He had gotten his diploma much earlier, considering his last name started with an F. He gave me two thumbs up and his heart-stopping grin. My breath caught in throat as I smiled back.

"Isabella Swan!"

I could distinctly hear the Fiores and Charlie's cheers. I met Charlie's eyes briefly from the stands. He gave me the proudest smile he could. I smiled and nodded at him. Rene and Phil were standing beside him. I waved at them too. I took a deep breath and took my turn towards the future. I stepped on the stage and shook hands with all of the school board. I smiled at them as they said their 'Congratulations.' Once I reached the Principal, she gladly handed me my diploma.

She knew of the hard struggle I had during those few months. I was dangerously close to not graduating. Luckily, that was around the time the Fiores had shown up at Forks.

"I'm so proud of you, Bella," she smiled. I grinned at her and merrily shook her hand.

I finally made my way towards the aisle. Landon and Daniel cheered loudly as I passed them. I couldn't wipe the grin on my face.

As soon as the ceremony finished, I launched out of my seat in search for Landon. Even in the massive crowd of people and hats being thrown everywhere, I knew exactly where to find him. As soon as we met each other's eyes, both of our lips curled up into smiles. I ran at him full force, jumping on him. He caught me easily as I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.

I laughed as he brushed our noses against each other. "We're finally done!" I exclaimed with glee. He grinned and kissed me softly.

"About time too," he smiled against my lips.

"Ahem." I blushed and slowly got off of Landon. I turned around to see Charlie and the Fiores smirking at us. Landon chuckled as he hugged me to him.

"Congratulations, you guys!" Rayne beamed while she linked arms with Daniel. I nodded at Daniel at a 'Sup?' kind of way. He smirked back at me, doing the same thing.

"This is so not fair," Ives whined, "I still have one more year with this chick." Rayne thumped him on the chest.

"Wanna run that by me again?" she snapped. He laughed and held his hands up in defense.

"I'm still here too, you know," Patrick grumbled, obviously ticked off. Ives grinned widely at him.

"Oh, I forgot about you there for a second," he said cheekily.

"Fucker," he spat.

"Whiner."

"Hey, break it up boys," Cassandra laughed. She walked to both Landon and I and gave us a big hug. "Don't mind them. I'm proud of you guys," she smiled, kissing our cheeks.

"Thank you," I grinned. Landon did the same.

"How does it feel to be out of high school?" Charlie asked us. I looked up at Landon and Daniel. We all grinned at each other.

"Awesome!"

The family laughed at us with the exception of Marc and Rhia. Cassandra and Adrien had originally planned for the two of them to come, but they had school today, and neither wanted to skip, which was odd, considering Marc would usually do anything to stay home and Rhia didn't want to associate with children.

"La Bella Italia?" Adrien suggested with a wink. I grinned at him and nodded eagerly.

"We'll meet up there?" I offered to my Dad. He nodded and pulled me off of Landon for a brief moment. He hugged me and kissed my forehead.

"I'm proud of you, kiddo," he smiled softly. I smiled and squeezed him.

"Thank you for everything, Dad."

We pulled away and got into our respective cars. Landon and I took my truck with his motorcycle in the back. Landon may not admit it, but I can tell that he's gotten attached to my car, no matter how vintage it may be.

I sat on the passenger seat and held Landon's hand. I scooted over and rested my head on his shoulder. His thumb caressed the back of my hand. I smiled.

"What's after this, Landon?" I asked contently.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are we going to the same college? Am I gonna keep aging while you're not?" There. I finally asked the question I've been dying to ask him. He told me before that he wanted me to be sure of us before I decided anything. Well, I'm sure now.

His shoulders slumped as he sighed. He slowly got off of the road and parked to side. He turned towards me and held both of my hands in his.

"Are you sure about this, Bella?" he asked seriously. "I know how I feel about you and I know how you feel about me, but this is a big decision. I don't want you to turn your back on everything for me, no matter how much I'd like you too."

I gave him a small smile. I cupped his face and lowered his face onto mine. He fervently returned the kiss, tugging me on his lap. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled away enough so that only our noses were touching.

"I've known you for eight months. You've been my best friend for a little bit over than seven months. You've been my boyfriend for six months and twenty-three days. I'd say I'm pretty damn sure," I murmured tenderly.

"Six months, twenty-three days, and two hours," he grinned, gazing into my eyes. I closed my eyes as I chuckled. He pecked me once, twice, and thrice. "How does Thanksgiving sound?" he asked.

"It sounds pretty good to me," I grinned. He smiled broadly and hugged me to him. "A bit more of humanity wouldn't hurt."

"Are you saying that we're not humane?" he joked. I playfully smacked his back.

"No. Stop twisting my words. I'm just saying, I'd be saying goodbye to getting older, which don't get me wrong, is a good thing. I just don't know how I could face Charlie ten, fifteen, twenty years from now and still look like my eighteen-year-old self."

"We could always clue him in," Landon offered. I pulled back from the hug and stared him down.

"You'd let me do that?" I asked, delighted. He chuckled but nodded.

"Of course. Besides, he likes us and we like him. Adrien has a field day with making him taste everything he cooks."

I laughed, nodding. It was definitely true. Ever since Adrien found out about Charlie's affinity for anything edible, he'd taken a liking to making him his food taster. Charlie was more than happy to oblige.

"So… how does the process happen exactly?"

He hesitated. "Umm, how about we cross that bridge when we get there?" he nearly pleaded. I somehow understood his hesitation about it, so I nodded. He smiled. "Thanks."

"I get it. I saw what you went through firsthand. I get why you're so iffy on it," I understood.

"Yeah, I don't want to put you through that. You saw how bad my transformation was. Yours will be a lot worse, considering you won't be able to grow into it like the rest of us did. It's just going to happen almost immediately," he finally explained. I flinched at his description.

I took a deep breath. "I can take it," I said courageously. He chuckled and pecked my lips.

"I know you can."

"This is the start of our future," I stated, smiling at him. He grinned.

"I can't wait to have a future with you," he said softly, staring into my eyes.

I leaned in towards his embrace. "Me either."

He finally pulled up on La Bella Italia's parking lot. We intertwined our fingers as we made our way inside. Daniel was leaning casually on the side of the door. We looked at him questioningly.

"They wouldn't let me inside unless I was with you guys," he explained.

"They do know that you can hear them, right?" Landon chuckled. Daniel smirked.

"I know. They don't really give a shit," he laughed.

"Alright, you guys," I spoke up, "I think it's about time we walked in." I opened the door and gasped.

"Surprise!" everyone cheered. Adrien was grinning cheekily at me. Freaking Adrien, I laughed to myself. Daniel, Landon, and I looked at each other and grinned. I moved to give Charlie a hug.

"You know I hate surprises," I muttered against his chest.

"The three of you deserve this," I could hear the smile in his voice, "You deserve this after everything you've been through."

"Thank you, Dad. Really," I beamed.

"Alright, none of this mushy stuff," he smirked, "Now, go say thank you to Adrien. He's the one that planned this anyways." I nodded and swiftly hugged Adrien.

"Thanks, Adrien," I grinned.

"No problem, Bella."

"You just love throwing parties, don't you?" I teased. "You brought the entire Forks in here!"

He laughed. "I do anything I can to show off my skills," he grinned. Cassandra appeared next to him, smiling.

"Stop hogging, Bella, Adrien," she joked, taking me away from his arms. I chuckled and hugged her back.

"Thank you, Cassandra."

"Anything for you and the boys. You're already family," she smiled.

"Bella!" I heard Ives and Rayne shrieked. Cassandra pulled away just in time for the two of them to jump on me.

"You guys," I whined, laughing. Ives ruffled my hair with a grin.

"I can't believe you're out of high school already," Rayne pouted. Ives agreed with her. Patrick appeared behind them.

"There's no one to defend me against these two, now," he frowned. I patted his cheek.

"I thought you said that you didn't need defending," I said with mirth.

"Well, I take it back." I chuckled and hugged him.

"It's only college, you guys. It's like I'm going away forever," I pointed out.

"Still," the three of them complained. I just shook my head at them.

"Bella!" Marc's unmistakable voice shouted. I grinned as I saw him running towards me, Rhia lagging behind. I kneeled down and opened my arms for him to run into.

"Hey, Munchkin," I greeted. "I thought you guys were at home."

Rhia finally managed to catch up. "Not really. We just asked Adrien to leave us here. Besides, graduations are such a drag." I rolled my eyes at her.

Daniel showed up, wrapping himself around Rayne.

"Where did you apply to?" he asked me.

"I got accepted to NYU!" I exclaimed, "It's pretty much where I've always wanted to go." This brought a wide smile on Daniel's lips. "What?"

I got picked up off of the floor and was spun around. I laughed, throwing my head back. Once Landon placed me back on the ground, I tilted my head up and was met with his amazing smile.

"Daniel and I got accepted there too," he grinned. I squealed and hugged the two of them.

"College is going to be so fucking amazing with you two around," I smirked. I met Daniel's eyes and he beamed.

"Fuck yeah!" I laughed.

"Those other college boys better keep their hands off of you," Landon hissed.

"That's supposed to be your job," I smiled. He wrapped his arms around my waist and flushed me to him.

"You'll be around me so often, they won't even have the chance to look at you." He finally leaned down and neared my lips.

"Gross!"

"No PDA! No PDA!"

"Ugh! You guys are disgusting!"

"You're such pigs!"

"I think it's kind of sweet."

Landon smiled against my lips. "Fuck off."


"I can't believe you're going off to college already," Charlie sighed as he sat on my bed. I turned around and gave him an assuring smile.

"I'm going to visit every chance I get. Besides, do you really think any of the other Fiores would let me not visit. They'd drag me if I they have too," I chuckled.

Graduation day has long passed. Summer went by much too quickly for my liking. I guess being with the Fiores just makes time fly by. Pun intended. Tomorrow, Daniel, Landon, and I will be flying to New York to get settled in our dorms. School starts in about a week. I'm doing my last minute packing.

"I know that," he smiled, "It's just… it feels like you've grown up so fast."

"I've always grown up too fast," I frowned at him.

"I know and I regret that." I plopped down next to him and rested my head on his shoulder.

"I don't regret anything. Whatever I've gone through made me the person I am today. I wouldn't change a thing," I said softly. He smiled at me.

"I'm proud of you, kiddo."

"Thanks, Dad." I bit my lip and hesitated about whether or not I should tell him the Fiores.

He looked me over. "Is there something you want to say?"

"Dad, what if I told you that I haven't always hung out with normal people?" He laughed at this.

"Well, obviously. The Cullens were hardly normal and have you taken a look at Ives? I question his sexuality sometimes," he grinned. I couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped my lips.

"Seriously, Dad. The Fiores… they weren't… they're not…" I sighed, "human."

Charlie assessed me. "What do you mean?"

I began to ramble, "I mean, they are human, but there's a part of them that isn't. Dad, they can do things that a normal human can't. They do things that should be impossible. They themselves should be considered impossible, but they exist, Dad, and I just happen to be in love one of them. And when the time comes, I'd like to become one of them too."

Charlie quickly held up a hand to stop me from talking any further. "Bella, I trust you. I trust you to know what's right and what's wrong. If you had said this about the Cullens, I would have done everything in my power to dissuade you, but I like the Fiores. They're not like the Cullens. They just seem right. If I feel that way and you feel the same, then we must be on the same page."

My eyes glistened. "Are you saying that – "

He smiled and nodded at me. "I know for a fact that you aren't making a mistake in this situation. So I'm giving you my blessing to do whatever you would like to do. I trust Landon too and I know that he's never going to hurt you. Just… promise me that whatever happens, you will always make time to see me. I don't care if you never age, if you suddenly look different, I won't ask. Just keep me on a need to know basis."

I squealed and hugged him. "Thank you, Dad! You don't know how much this means to me."

He smiled at me. "I think I do."

"I'm going to miss you so much, Dad."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Bells."


"You promise to always call?"

"If you don't answer I'm going to give you a surprise visit."

"Ugh, thank God she's leaving."

"I'mma miss you, Bella!"

"Please don't leave me with these people."

"You better not ditch me for some other guy. I shall always be your best friend, dammit!"

I chuckled at them. I pulled them all in for a group hug. "You can just always teleport, you know," I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, why didn't we think of that?"

I laughed and squeezed them. "It will be like I didn't even leave. Besides, why am I the only one you're saying goodbye too? Landon and Daniel are leaving too, you know."

The Fiores looked at Landon and Daniel with blank faces.

"Wow, we feel the love guys," Daniel said sarcastically. Rayne grinned at this, giving him a hug.

"Of course, I'm gonna miss you. Just not as much as Bella." She turned around to wink at me. I smirked.

"Be safe, you hear?" Cassandra said. I smiled.

"Yes, Mom," I joked. I had meant it as a joke, but I saw her eyes water at my declaration. She pulled me into a tight hug.

"Alright, honey. You're crushing her," Adrien chuckled. He hugged me as well and whispered, "You keep them in line, okay?" I nodded.

Once he released me, I walked over to Charlie. He held out his arms and I ran into them. I couldn't help the tears that were threatening to escape. I sniffled.

"Shh, it's okay," he soothed.

"Thank you, again. I know I've said it so many times before, but I just can't say it enough."

"It's alright, Bella. Really." He pulled away, holding me by the shoulders. "Now, wipe away those tears and smile, okay?" I sniffed but nodded, giving him a smile. He finally let me go.

Landon was quick to grab my hand. I looked up and smiled into his currently brown eyes.

"Are you ready? Because this is it, there's no more turning back," he said. I smiled softly and nodded.

"Flight B209, now boarding," the flight attendant announced. I took a deep breath and looked back at everyone. Oh, screw it! I gave them all one last hug.

"We're gonna miss you, Bella," Rayne said. I smiled at her. I turned to look at Rhia. She grunted.

"I can't believe I'm admitting this…" she grumbled to herself, "I'm gonna – I'm… ugh! I'm gonna miss you too, okay?"

I shrieked with delight and hugged her. "I knew you couldn't resist me."

"Yeah, yeah," she scowled. I grinned. I bounded back towards Landon and Daniel, as we got ready to board. I waved at everyone one last time.

Landon wrapped his arms around me. "You've got one last chance."

I looked up at him with confusion. "One chance for what?"

"To back out."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Daniel laughed at the two of us and went ahead.

"Landon Drew Fiore, are you trying to get rid of me?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. He held up his hands in defense.

"Of course, not!"

"Well, nice try. You aren't going to get rid of me that easily," I grinned.

"As if I would let you go anyways."


"Oof!" I grunted as I dropped myself onto the bed. We went directly to our dorms as soon as we arrived at NYU. We first went to the boys' dorms and then we went to mine. Daniel and Landon had already managed to get everything inside their dorm. Daniel stayed behind to go get our schedules for all three of us. Landon chose to come with me to my dorm.

Landon grinned as he hovered over me, putting either hand by my head. "Tired?" he asked huskily. I smiled seductively and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Nope," I whispered, nearing my lips towards him. Just when our lips were about to touch, a loud thud caused the both of us to pull away. Our heads snapped towards the origin of the noise.

"What the hell?" a pretty, blonde girl snapped with wide eyes. I blushed a scarlet red as I pushed Landon off of me.

"Hi," I greeted, standing up to offer her my hand. Instead of shaking it like any other nice person, she looked at it with disgust. When she finally looked up, her eyes landed on Landon. She pushed me off to the side and sauntered toward him. My jaw dropped.

"Hey," she nearly purred at him. I kept in the remark that was threatening to escape my lips. That stupid bitch!

"Umm, yeah," he said rudely, shoving her off of him. I smirked at her face. He grabbed my hand and led me out of the room. "We were about to leave anyways." I threw the chick a glare before Landon dragged me down the hall.

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. "Well, that wasn't the kind of impression I was intending to leave my roommate," I grinned at him.

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around my waist. "If she gives you any trouble, you're always welcome at our dorm."

"But girls aren't supposed to be in the guys' dorms and vice versa. Won't I get caught?"

He smirked at me and leaned in towards my ear to whisper, "Come on, be a rebel." I giggled and playfully pushed him away.

"I'm dating you, aren't I?" I teased. He leered at me.

"You know it."


College went by much more quickly than I expected it to. I always thought that college was supposed to be a drag, but it didn't feel like it. The only thing that probably made college feel like hell was Jeanine, my roommate. She just won't get the hint that Landon isn't interested. She takes every chance to make a pass at him, which Landon all fortunately ignores. She was the biggest bitch to me for a while, until I set her straight. I'd rather not get into it.

Anyways, three months has already passed and Daniel, Landon, and I will be flying back to Forks. In fact, we're not even going to be flying. I figured out a couple months ago that we could just teleport back and forth whenever we wanted to. I freaked out at first, because when they teleport, a huge fire consumes them. When Landon teleported with me the first time, the fire didn't scorch me at all, like I expected it to. Instead, it felt like a blanket being wrapped around me.

All of the Fiores have been constantly popping in and out during school. Ives, most especially. I swear, he just can't get enough of me. Just kidding.

"Ready?" both Landon and Daniel asked me. I nodded. Daniel went first. It still never fails to amaze me when I see them teleport. A reddish-orange blazing fire consumed his entire body. By the time I blinked, the only remnants of him were the scatter of smoke.

"That never gets old," I murmured to myself. Landon chuckled beside me.

"I know, right?" He grinned. He held out his hand to me. As soon as I grabbed it, I saw the same fire wrap itself around the two of us. I close my eyes and felt it around me. "We're here," he announced.

I opened my eyes and was glad to see that we made it back in Forks.

"Bella!" I laughed as Marc attached himself onto my legs.

"Hey, Kangaroux," I grinned, ruffling his hair.

"Finally, you guys are back!" Rayne exclaimed as she, too, saw us. I hugged her as soon as she came close enough.

"You guys see us everyday, anyways," I chuckled. She smiled at me.

"Come on. Daniel's already inside." She grabbed my hand and began dragging me towards the house. I chuckled and tugged on Landon's hand, tagging him along.


The next couple of days were spent with both the Fiores and Charlie. We've been doing so many things in one day that I just feel so spent.

The time for my transformation has finally come. It's Thanksgiving Day. I'm getting nervous just thinking about it. The only thing that helps me get through it is the thought of forever with Landon.

"It's Thanksgiving," I murmured as I rolled onto Landon. He groaned, but wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Already?" he muttered with disdain. I sighed and laid my head on his chest.

"It was gonna arrive sooner or later."

His wings cocooned us together. He tugged me upwards so that our faces were nearly touching.

"Are you sure about this, Bella? I want you to be a hundred percent sure."

I slowly dropped myself onto him and kissed his lips. "I'm sure."

"This means letting go of the life you already have."

"I know."

"You're not going to age while everyone else around you is."

"I know."

"Your life is never going to be normal ever again."

"It never has been, anyways."

He sighed and gazed deeply into my eyes.

"This means forever with me."

I smiled and closed my eyes.

"I know."

Oh dang! So what did you guys think?

Remember what I said, the next chapter is going to be where all the action is going to happen. Just to get you guys all riled up, I've taken the liberty to give you guys a sneak peak :) So, get them REVIEWS ready. You're mind will be blown away. LOL. These are just a bunch or random snippets. Anyways... here goes :)

My eyes snapped open as I felt a strange warmness overcome me. My eyes widened as blazing flames suddenly began to engulf me.

"Geez, you guys. It's been fifty fucking years. You guys need to get over this shit. Otherwise, Fate is going to force you to get over it."

"No. You are not allowed to beat people just because they're being annoying. And in no way, no how, will you set another kid's hair on fire!"

"I just… I feel like something bad is going to happen today. Do you feel it too?"

You've just started a war...

OH. SHIT. How's that for a sneak peak?

Remember guys, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!