Chapter 10: Worrisome Propositions

"I…I…uh…I…" I stuttered, over and over. Even though I loved Edward, with all my heart, there were two things stopping me from saying yes to his unexpected proposal.

1. I was seventeen

2. I was completely afraid of getting married

You know all those stories on the television, where they show messy divorces and complaining parents? That was my childhood in a nutshell. Renee, my mother, hated where Charlie, my father, lived, worked, and who he had for friends. She hated Jacob, someone I've been friends with forever, and Alice, who's the most likeable person in the world. I can still remember the fights they would have that were like all out UFC fighter matches, and that was when they first began. I grew up surrounded by screaming faces and abusive parents. Renee finally left him, after Charlie beat her senseless when he was drunk, and married Phil, who's an excellent match for her.

But back to the point.

I had no guarantee that as much as Edward and I loved each other, we would grow to hate ourselves for marrying so early. Edward would probably have to cut his career in half (no more tours, late night autograph signings, or night club opening) and I would have to become a stay-at-home mom – if we had a child. I opened my mouth to explain that to him, but something entirely different came out.

"I'm way too young to get married, Edward. I can't be a mom, and my mom is downright bitchy and we would never make this work. We'll hate each other and I'll die alone and you'll be off charming some other famous movie star with big boobs and –"

"Bella!" Edward exclaimed. "What are you talking about?!"

I took a deep breath and tried again. "Can we wait a few years before we get married?" I whispered, trying to stop my mind from running over scenarios of his reactions in his mind.

Scenario #1: "Well, if I'm gonna wait, I'm gonna be nailing some girls on the side, you know? I don't just want to stick to one girl who's not putting out, right?"

Scenario #2: "What?! Wait?! Why not now, Bella?! Is there something wrong with getting married now?! Do you hate me?! Is that it?!

Scenario #3: "Well, Bella, I sort of want to marry you now, or not at all, so how about we just forget what I said, ok?"

And Edward said… "Ok, how about in five years?"

My mouth dropped open before I could stop it, and he chuckled as he closed it. "What, Bella? You didn't think I would leave you just because you wouldn't marry me now, right?"

I cringed as his hammer came crashing down on my nail. I blushed bright red and ducked into his shirt. He laughed loudly as he pulled me into a deep hug. "Alright, we've done enough work for today, let's get something to eat."

During the car ride to the Coffee Monster ( yes I did this on purpose, go back to chp.1 if you don't understand), we chatted about life in general. I learned that he not only sang, but played the piano since he was four. I was fascinated as he talked about his passion for writing music. We sang along to some old rock songs, Edward holding an invisible mike, me doing the air guitar. I teased him about his beautiful sister, Rosalie, and he teased me about my crazy roommate, Alice. We walked into the CoffMon (my nickname for the place) and seated ourselves, still chatting, when Jacob walked over.

"Hey, Jingle Bells (srry, I've always thought that this would be a cute nickname for her). The usual?" He asked. I nodded my head and looked over at Edward. Jacob seemed to stiffen, but it was so fast, I thought I imagined it. "And what will you have, sir?" Edward's eyes flicked up quickly, and I could have sworn a cold wind swept over our table.

"What do you want, Edward?" I asked politely, feeling Jacob's eyes bore into my brain.

Edward smiled sweetly, "Whatever you're having, love." And then he placed his hand over mine. I just about passed out from the joy I felt, but I also noticed that an almost hostile atmosphere had formed between Jacob and Edward. After I ordered Edward's meal and Jacob left the table, I slipped between the seats, telling Edward I wanted to say hi to Angela, who also worked here as a waitress.

I went into the kitchen and headed straight for Jacob. "What the heck was that?" I demanded.

"What?" Jacob replied, acting dumb. He scooped the hot chocolate mix into the cup and started warming the milk.

"Don't act dumb. Why the heck were you so…" I searched for the word. "Hostile towards Edward."

"Look, Bella, that guy just rubs me the wrong way. If you can, try not to see him again, ok?" I was shocked that Jacob was being so blunt, but I had a secret that would knock his socks off.

"Unfortunately, Edward, we're dating, so I will be seeing him a lot, ok? Don't be so rude next time." I stalked out of there, leaving Jacob frozen to the spot. I passed Angela, said my hello, then headed over to Edward's table. Just to prove the point that we really were dating, I sat in Edward's lap. He fiddled with my hair for a while before he spoke.

"May I ask what the new position is for? Not that I mind, personally," Edward said with a sly grin, "but this isn't what normal people do to dine, right?"

I flipped through the dessert menu as I answered him. "Just making a point."

2 hours later, after Edward dropped me off and gave me a passionate goodbye kiss, I grabbed the mail and leafed through it. All the norms were there, bills, school report card, fashion magazines, but an unmarked white letter addressed to me was on the bottom of the stack. Curious, I placed the other mail on the counter and headed to my room. Alice wouldn't be home for another 2 hours, from her phone call from Jasper's place. I opened the envelope to find a surprising note.

Bella,

Since our talk, I feel very close to you and have decided

to help you out in winning Edward's heart.

Please come to my office at

Volterra Enterprises at 8 pm so we can talk

Rosalie

I looked at the clock and panicked. It was already fifteen minutes to eight. I quickly secured a taxi, since it was downtown, and was there by eight twenty. From what I could gather at the front desk, Rosalie was an up-and-coming manager, who already had three incredibly successful artists under her wing. Her office was on the fifth floor, and as the bell dinged for the floor, I raced out and practically flattened her door getting into her office.

"Rosalie, I'm here! I'm so, sorry! I just got your note 30 minutes ago!" I was held on to my knees as I panted.

"Oh, no problem, Miss Swan." An unfamiliar male voice said. I looked up and in the chair behind the desk sat a man, an old, old man whose skin looked like it was glued on to keep from melting off. Leaning on the desk was a gorgeous strawberry blonde woman with iridescent blue eyes. Based on a description from Rosalie, this was Edward's ex-girlfriend, Tanya. She looked the part too.

I straightened myself as the old man spoke. "I'm terribly sorry to have to use one of my subordinates names to get you here, but I was afraid you wouldn't come if you knew who we were." His voice was gravely, gratey, and made me wince just by listening to it.

"And who are you?" I asked.

The old man smiled evilly and stood up before continuing. "My name is Aro, and I am the CEO of New Moon Enterprises. From what we've heard," he glanced over at Tanya and she nodded back, "you have an exceptional voice that has gotten one of the best singers in history to notice you." He paused before continuing.

"We would like you to leave Twilight and sign yourself over to Volterra Enterprises."

I stopped here, because I was afraid if I wrote anymore, it would overstimulate your brains. Not only did Bella; set a future date to get married to Edward, tell Jacob to get over himself and deal with the fact that they were dating (srry guys, I just loved how Stephenie made Jacob still a part of Bella's family in Breaking Dawn, but I am not a JacobXBella fan), but now Aro (EVIL VAMPIRE KING) is asking her to go to the dark side! How much more could I dump on you guys!?