A/N: So, it is only now, after rereading the beginning of Twilight that I realize that Bella only went to Forks for a month in the summer. Woops. Well, come on! How do you expect a relationship to develop in so short a time?? Also, I've been trying to figure out which grade Bella is in in New Moon. 12th right? Because in Twilight it's her junior year, and it goes freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, doesn't it? My school uses grade nine, level 1 2 and 3.

Actually, Stephenie Meyer messed up Bella's age. She should only be 16 in Twilight. Because I'm in the eleventh grade now and people are only just turning seventeen now. If Bella was seventeen she'd have been held back a year! So that's been confusing me. Anyway…

Chapter Nine: Do You Want To Know A Secret?

I didn't want to open my eyes because I knew that if I went through the day then that meant it would have to end. I stretched out in my bed, my fingers tapping against the wall and my feet slipping form underneath the covers. I opened my eyes, heavy with sleep.

Edward was across the room sitting in my rocking chair, staring towards me. His expression was blank, like he'd been staring into space. I smiled and sat up.

"Good morning," I whispered. He slowly looked up to me and his eyes changed, they filled with … love? A warm smile spread across his face.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," he whispered. He glided across the room, sitting next to me. "It's about time you were up. I've been waiting for a while."

"I'm sorry," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Can you ever forgive me?" he grinned in and pressed his forehead against mine. All I could see were his dark lashes.

"Maybe," he whispered, then his eyes shot up and I could see the beautiful dark gold. Then, he leaned in to kiss me and I couldn't help but smile against his lips.

"What's on the agenda for today?" I asked once we had broken apart. Edward frowned then and stood up.

"I'm afraid that Charlie has been making plans for you to go out with the common folk today." I was confused and my expression clearly said it. "Mike, Jessica, those common folk," Edward verified. I nodded and my head dropped slightly.

"Why would he do that?" I asked, though I knew the answer. Edward shrugged and walked to the window.

"I really don't know, all I know is that I have to share you today." I pouted and crossed my arms. This forced another grin to come from him and he kissed my forehead lightly with his cold lips. "I'll be seeing you after supper, for sure." I smiled and before he could kiss me again, moved my head up so that he 'accidentally' kissed my lips.

His eyes grew wide and then kind and playful. "Later," he whispered. And, when I opened my eyes, he was gone. I dressed as slowly as humanly possible. Getting ready for a day out in Forks with people I'd rather not be with was not on the top of my list of priorities. I stumbled down the stairs to where Charlie was in the kitchen.

I was surprised to find a full course (almost) breakfast waiting for me. Charlie had actually gotten up to prepare this for me, my last real breakfast in Forks… for a while at least. I ate my meal with Charlie in silence. Neither one of us liked too much conversation. When I started to pick up the dishes Charlie beat me to the sink.

"Jessica and your other friends are expecting you, so I'm driving you there, don't worry about cleaning." I frowned when he was finished. He smiled awkwardly; "This will be your last chance to say goodbye to your friends, we're leaving early."

I froze as I pulled on my sneakers. "How early?"

Charlie froze as well. He turned slowly towards me. He knew I wouldn't be angry about the time, just how much sleep I'd be loosing.

"I think your plane from Port Angeles leaves at six am…" I sighed heavily and my shoulders slumped. "So that means we'd have to leave here before five…" he seemed to be trying calculate an exact time in his head.

"Let's go, Dad…" I muttered waling out the door.

I managed to only stumble once on the way to Jessica's, and that was when I was climbing the steps to her house. My 'party' involved everyone I had met there that summer sitting around in Jess's living room, watching television and chewing on snack foods. I was talked to very little the entire time. No one exactly knew me. At all.

In the early afternoon we walked down to the drug store and rented a new movie I'd already seen with Renee, long before I had arrived here. Before I left to go home that evening I was given a picture of all of us at the beach, Jacob, Rachel and Rebecca included. I tucked that into my jacket as I walked through the streets, a warm mist was drifting down, putting an end to the driest and hottest day I'd had all summer.

I turned down the street to Charlie's house and couldn't help but smile when I saw the cruiser parked in front. I had successfully found my way home. When I walked up to the front steps I heard something in the backyard. Something that sounded an awful lot like bad singing.

I trotted across the lawn to the back of the house where I found Charlie wearing a blue striped apron and working away at the barbeque. He was badly singing with an old song on the radio and swaying his hips as he poked at some meat.

"I'm back Dad," I said loudly, just so he knew I was there.

He jumped back and yelped, his singing immediately ended. It became one of those awkward moments where the singers' voice fades away, like they were pretending they had never actually been singing. After a few moments of an awkward silence and nervous glances Charlie loudly cleared his throat.

"Bells, you could have called me, there was no need for you to walk home!" I smiled and slumped down in the grass.

"It's fine, Dad, I didn't mind," then I grinned. "I actually enjoyed trying to find my way around Forks." He smiled sadly and went back to work at the barbeque. I took a guess that the sadness barely hidden behind his smile was because while I had been able to find some enjoyment here, my mother never had.

I sighed and jumped up, running inside. I placed the photo of everyone on the table and pulled out dishes and a drink for Charlie. The two of us wound up eating our dinner sitting on the grass in the backyard staring at the forest. No cutlery was used. Just fingers and a napkin.

As the silence ticked by the misting stopped and the sky merely clouded over. Despite me filling my stomach, there was still an ache. The kind you get when you really need to eat or when you suddenly remember something important you had forgotten.

"Hello Bella, Chief Swan," was the nest thing I heard. Charlie and I both jumped from where we ere in our damp seats in the grass. I was acutely aware that the pale tan Capri's I were wearing had a great, dark blotch on the bottom from sitting on the wet grass, and I wiped crumbs off of my black and white striped shirt.

"H-hello Edward," I stammered. Charlie looked over the gorgeous boy in front of us curiously. I worried that now was when he began to wonder just how much time I spent with him. "What are you doing here?"

Charlie then stood up and looked Edward directly in the eye, as he wasn't an amazingly tall man. I felt my cheeks burning at how fatherly my father was being. Edward laughed.

"My sisters are inviting you over, they sent my brother and I to come and get you," he was looking past Charlie to me. "If that's alright with you, Chief Swan." When he looked Charlie in the eye he staggered for a moment, then went back to his usual self.

"That's fine with me, Edward, if Bella wants to go." They both turned to look at me and I blushed an even deeper shade of red.

"Of course I want to go," I murmured as I stepped forwards towards Edward.

"We won't keep her late," Edward called to Charlie as we walked away. I noticed that Edward waited until we were out of sight before placing his arm around my waist. Waiting in my driveway was Edward's Volvo, Emmett behind the wheel. I sat alone in the back while the two brothers chatted away in the front.

Edward helped me out of the car and stayed by side all the way up to his house. A small voice in the back of my head said that it was to catch me if I tripped. That small made my face burst into an uncontrollable smile. This was received with a few questioning glances from my escort which I shook off as we entered the house. I lookedaround and notice no one was there.

"Did Alice really invite me?" I asked innocently. Edward grinned and rolled his eyes away from me to look distractedly around the room.

"No...actually, I want you all to myself tonight." He looked at me again and smiled the crooked one I liked best. My heart was hammering in my chest. "Come here," he motioned for me to join him. "I want to show you something." We sat down on the bench of his baby grand piano and he lifted the cover to reveal the ivory keys. Without a moments hesitation he began playing away at one of the most beautiful songs I'd ever heard.

"You're musical?" I asked disbelievingly. He grinned and nodded. I sighed. "Is there anything you're not good at?" The music never stopped as he answered.

"A few," was his whispered response although I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear it. "That was Esme's favorite," he added as the music changed to a slower, softer piece. I recognized it almost immediately as the song he sang me to sleep with.

"This one was inspired by you," he turned to look me straight in the eyes. I became obsorbed in his beautiful features.

"You wrote this for me?" I asked. I could feel tears pulling at my eyes. He nodded slightly and I turned back to watch his fingers almost dance across the keys.

I couldn't help but cry as he finished on one lingering, melancholy note. The tears began pouring down like rain.

"Bella?" he asked. I could hear the concern on his voice. "What's the matter, sweetheart?"

"Why would you write something for me?!" I screeched through the tears. He smiled warmly and cupped my face in his hands.

"Bella... don't cry," he whispered. "You mean so much to me, that's why." His voice, his face, the way he smelt and his cool touch. The way he said my name. Everything about him made me cry harder until I was developing a headache.

"Bella?" He sounded paniced. "What's the matter?!" I threw myself onto him and wrapped my arms tightly around his chest like iron chains. He lightly placed his hands on my back.

I cried and cried onto his chest, soaking his shirt until I calmed down enough. When I moved back to look at him I had stopped sobbing, but tears kept falling.

"Sorry," I said weakly, motioning towards his shirt. He chuckled softly and grinned playfully. My lip barely quivered into a smile.

"So will you tell me what's wrong now?" he asked softly, smouldering me with his eyes. I stared blankly for a moment before snapping back to reality.

My lips turned down as I spoke and I nearly choked on my words. "I'm leaving," I whispered. The expression on his face changed so quickly and made me let out a loud sob.

"When?" he asked quietly. His face was filling more and more with sorrow. It was breaking my heart to see him that way. I turned my eyes to stare at the pedals of the piano.

"Tomorrow," I murmured. "Early in the morning." His face dropped even more when I glanced from the corner of my eye.

A movement next to us broke the awkward moment. Alice had come in and was staring at me.

"You're leaving?" she whimpered. "Why?"

I tried to smile but it probably looked more like a grimace. "I don't live here," I whispered. It felt like whispering was the only way I could speak without breaking down crying. "I live in Phoenix. Staying with Charlie is just a summer thing." Alice's face changed from sad to serious in half a second.

"We'll come and visit you a lot while you're in Phoenix," she said simply. I smiled at her gesture but I knew she could see my eyes were still sad.

"You can't, Alice. Phoenix is almost always sunny." Her face dropped again and she danced over to sweep me into a strong hug. She kissed my cheek.

"Just come see me before you go home this evening," she whispered in my ear. I smiled and nodded to her. After she left I turned around to Edward. He was frowning at the door through which Alice had just left.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked. he looked back to me but kept on his angry face.

"I can't hear what she's thinking," was his quiet reply. "She's up to something..." I giggled at him and stood up. He looked at me curiously.

"Come on, let's do something on my last night here." He raised one eyebrow in question and then something sparked to life inside of him. He grinned and grabbed my hand, taking me out into his car. I had no clue where we were going. He played lots of music and we asked each other trivial little questions about anything in particular.

In no time the trees around us began to thin and I could very clearly see the ocean in the distance ahead. We drove up to a cliff point and Edward stopped the car. The sky was clear tonight and there was a gentle breeze blowing. There were tiny waves on the water that glew a thousand different colors in the setting sun.

Edward was grinning the entire time he was helping me out of his car. We walked down to a grassy slope that led to a rocky beach. I sat down in the grass and lay down, staring out over the water.

Edward stared down at me and when I became aware of it I looked up to him. "Care to join me?" I asked. He grinned and lay down next to me.

"Anytime," he whispered. We lay in silence and just stared at the different colors. Stars peeked through the pinks and purples nutil the sky was completely lit up and the brightest light was from the moon. I managed to drift to sleep holding Edward's hand and wishing on a shooting star that the year would go by quickly until the next time I'd be in his arms.


When I woke up the light from my alarm clock seemed blindingly bright. It lit up my dark room. I saw from the green numbers that it was just after 1am. I was at Charlie's, in my own bed. I got up and fetched myself a glass of juice. When I climbed over the stairs I found a package at my door. I lazily opened the bag to find an envelope containing a rather long letter from Alice. I was too exhausted to read it. Instead I found a small photo album. It was filled with pictures of all the Cullens and me, some of us together. Then there were pictures of Edward and I that I'd never known were taken. I smiled and tasted a tear when I realized how much I was going to miss them.

My favorite pictures were the last four. The first three were of Edward at his piano. Staring at his music, looking up surprised and then the crooked smile. A sequence of his turn to the camera. The very last one was a black and white picture of Edward and I sitting together. I waslooking down and smiling while he kissed my cheek. I remembered the day as one of the first times he'd kissed me.

I went back to sleep smiling.


"Bella," I heard someone whispering in my ear. My shoulder was being lightly shaken. I rolled over quickly and my eyes hurt in the light shining in from the hallway. Charlie was staring down at me.

"What?" I asked sharply and loudly.

"We have to get ready to go, Bells. Get up now." I sighed and flung my arm over my eyes. I waited until Charlie left the room before i slid off the bed. The room instantly chilled me after being in a warm nest of blankets.

I moved like a robot as I dressed and quickly packed away the rest of my things. I bid farewell to my new, adult room and ran downstairs to meet Charlie in the car. We got breakfast on our waythrough town.

I saw the sign telling me I was leaving Forks and I turned around, bidding farewell to the dark, rainy town. Farewell to the vampires I'd come to know and love.

It took an hour to get to Port Angeles in the cruiser. The sun was just coming up as we climbed out of the car. Charlie carried most of my things up to the airport. My stomach was doing sickening flip flops when I thought about leaving Forks behind for an entire year.

We entered the terminal and sat down, waiting for my flight to be announced. People walked sleepily by us and workers chatted with each other about their nights out. I felt my eyes droop and forced myself to stay awake.

"What's this?" Charlie asked, pulling the photo album out of my carry on bag.

"Just a gift from the Cullens," I murmured and rolled over next to him to look through it together. He laughed warmly at a picture of Alice tackling me while the others looked on, and I saw a happy smile when he looked at pictures of Edward and me. In one, I was laughing and Edward was holding my waist tightly and swinging me in circles.Charlie stiffened when he saw pictures such as Edward and I asleep on the couch and another one of my favorites. Edward had pinned me against the side of his house. The hand visible to the photo was pressed to the siding, he was leaning against me, his face hidden behind mine, resting on my shoulder. All of the pictures were in black and white except for the firstseven. Each of these were single pictures of all the Cullens in glorious color.

Charlie laughed at the three of Edward at his piano, and cleared his throat nervously at the last one, the kiss on the cheek. He saw me smile at it though and simply put away the album without another word.

"I'm going to walk around while we're waiting," I told him and launched myself out of my seat.

I wandered aimlessly around the terminal, noticing the increasing light from the glass walls I passed. I watched a couple argue in a language I had no hope of deciphering, and giggled at a security guard who jerked awake before he fell down. I heard my flight being called over the system and decided to find Charlie again. When I turned around I crashed into someone who caught me before I could fall.

"I'm so sorry!" I nearly screamed. A low chuckle was the first thing I heard and my eyes looked into the unmistakingly beautiful face of Edward Cullen.

"Hello Bella," he said almost sadly. I smiled wildly, throwing myself at him in a vicious hug.

"I'm so happy to see you," I whispered. before pulling away from him. His eyes looked down at me with bright golden iris', filled with affection. He must have gone hunting.

"I don't want you to leave," he murmured, twirling one of my curls around his finger. I swallowed a large lump in my throat. ONe of those Oh-God-I'm-about-to-cry lumps. I was completely aware of the looks we were recieving from other people.

"I don't want to go," I admitted. "But I have to. I can't stay." He frowned and his eyesgrew sadder.

"But you are coming back next summer, right?" He seemed so innocent. A kid at Christmas.

"Bella!" I heard Charlie call. I turned around and saw him motioning for me to go to him. I held up my indexfinger.

"Of course I'm coming back," I replied with a smile. "What would you do without me?" He grinned again and leant down. I heard Charlie yelling again.

I finished the connection, leaning up on my toes so that our lips met. I tried to be good as his lips moved against mine, but the need for keeping him from the breaking point was overpowered by the need for him. My lips parted slightly and he didn't pull away. Although brief, it was the deepest kiss we had had. He leaned away from me and gave me the crooked smile I simply adored.

"Edward?"

"Yes, Bella?"

I smiled and gave him a quick kiss before running back to Charlie.

"I love you," I called. That was the first time either of us had said it out loud. The first time I had said it to anyone. I boarded the plane before I could hear his answer.

You'll never know how much I really love you

You'll never know how much I really care.

Listen, do you want to know a secret,

Do you promise not to tell,

Closer, let me whisper in your ear,

Say the words you long to hear,

I'm in love with you.

I've known a secret for a week or two,

Nobody knows just we two.

Listen, do you want to know a secret.

Do you promise not to tell,

Closer, let me whisper in your ear,

Say the words you long to hear,

I'm in love with you.

A/N: The end.

Thanks for reading.:3