Five words...

I'M EXCITED ABOUT THIS CHAPTER!

Artist: Bruno Mars

Song: It Will Rain

I'll never be your mother's favourite.

Your daddy can't even look me in the eye.

But they're just afraid of something they can't understand.

But little darling, watch me change their minds.

Cause there'll be no sunlight,

If I lose you, baby.

There'll be no clear skies,

If I lose you, baby.

Chapter Ten

Perfection At It's Finest

The car journey was quiet, except for Edward glancing over at me every so often with a look that spoke a thousand words.

I was becoming more and more used to that look.

We left Forks, much to my surprise, and he drove quite fast along the highway.

"Are you in a hurry?" I laughed over at him softly.

He smirked crookedly, "Sorry."

His foot came off the gas slightly, but within two minutes it was right back on it again.

We'd reached Port Angeles faster than was probably wise, and soon enough Edward had parked the car beside a small building. It was dark out now, so I had to squint my eyes to properly see what it was called.

Bella Italia.

I turned towards him, seeing his shy smile as he pulled the keys out of the ignition, "Bella Italia?"

"Yeah, it's a lovely place." He nodded, jumping out of the car quickly, coming around to my side to open my door for me.

I smiled up at him as a blush crept over my cheeks, attempting to ignore to intense look in his green eyes as I whispered, "Thank you."

He locked the car, and we walked up the steps towards the restaurant. I glanced over at the windows, and the dim lighting that seemed to elude from the place. It really was beautiful.

The simple red writing above the door proclaimed it as Bella Italia, and the sign hanging confirmed it was open for business.

Edward opened the door, letting me slip inside as his face watched mine, waiting for my reaction.

We waited by the wooden stand that held numerous menus, as I took a closer look around the place. There were paintings on the walls, and a mix and match of different tables and chairs which each had a candle on them.

"Hey there." A young waitress had approached, looking quickly at me before staring at Edward, her eyebrow raised in appreciation, "Table for…"

"Two." Edward pointed out obviously, motioning with his finger between the both of us.

Her strong New York accent filtrated between us all as she spoke again, "Oh of course."

"And, could we get a table at the back?" Edward asked politely, "If you don't mind."

Her eyes flicked to mine, "No, not a problem."

She led us to the back of the restaurant, which was completely empty and quiet. We picked a booth in the back corner, and Edward let me sit down first before he slipped in beside me.

The waitress placed our menus in front of us, "You do realise there's two sides to the booth, right?" Her tone would suggest she was joking, but I believed that both Edward and I knew she wasn't.

"I'm aware." Edward nodded.

She blinked, licking her lips in frustration before she spoke again, "Any drinks?"

"Um, I'll have a coke." Edward nodded, "Bella?"

"A coke." I echoed.

The girl nodded, turning around and strutting away as slowly as she possibly could.

I laughed a little, glancing down at the table before I heard Edward's voice, "Are you nervous about being here?"

Thinking for a long moment, I eventually answered him, "Not really."

"Makes one of us then." He laughed a little, and as I glanced up at him I watched as he swallowed, rubbing the palm of his hand on his knee as he glanced around quickly.

"Edward? Are you okay?"

He stilled, breathing in a deep lungful of air before he turned towards me, "Alright… Do you know what today is?"

"Umm, Saturday?" I laughed a little, noticing how he was becoming increasingly intense as he gazed into my eyes.

"It's the 22nd September… We met each other exactly one year ago."

My heart melted a little at his words. Of course I knew it had been a year, but I didn't want to admit it and seem like a complete lovestruck seventeen year old girl.

I smiled up at him, nodding a little, "Wow, one year."

"Yeah… A year…" He shut his eyes for a long minute, "Okay, so… I have something I need to say…"

"Two cokes?" The waitress's voice interrupted him, and he turned to look at her, eyeing up the coke immediately.

"Yes. Thank you." He reached for his coke as she placed it down.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Not just yet." He answered before placing the glass to his lips, drinking half of it within three seconds.

The waitress nodded a little, backing away as Edward set the glass down again. He wiped his palms on his jeans, sighing loudly as he shook his head.

"Hey…" I whispered softly, reaching for one of his hands. I entwined our fingers slowly, looking up into his eyes as he gazed at me, "What are you so nervous about? Calm down…" I smiled.

He faintly smiled back at me, but his eyes were staring so deeply into mine I was wondering if he was daydreaming. He looked down at our hands, "That's surprisingly calming." He admitted.

He took another breath, nodding to himself before he began to speak again, "Bella… On your first day at Forks High, I was completely dumbfounded by you… You just seemed so different from everyone else, you seemed like… A girl version of me…" He chuckled softly, "Normally, I wouldn't just go up to someone new and start speaking to them to make friends, but you… You just captured my attention… To be completely honest, I wasn't terribly surprised that we became such good friends… But within a month," He shook his head, "No, not even a month… A week… I was beginning to realise that, yeah you're an amazing friend, but I didn't want you to be just a friend to me… I've been too afraid to say anything, but this past year I've been trying to work up my courage, trying to get you to feel about me how I feel about you… When you agreed to go on this date with me… To say I was shocked would be an understatement…"

"Why?" I interrupted softly, "Why were you so shocked?"

"I was shocked you actually liked me… Like that."

I couldn't help the slight giggle that escaped me, "Edward, are you blind?"

"What?"

"I've liked you all this time…" I whispered it so low, I wasn't sure if he heard me.

He wasn't the only one who'd been nervous about tonight, or admitting feelings… I'd be harbouring these feelings for a year, and saying them aloud to him was making my heart hammer against my ribcage.

He stared at me for so long I was beginning to wonder if he was even breathing. He blinked suddenly, his fingers tightening around mine, "Bella…" He murmured, "I know, we're seventeen years old… I know, this might seem crazy… But Bella, you are perfect… You're beautiful, and smart, and kind, and caring, and funny, and shy, and stubborn, and you love music, and you love my music, and you love reading, and I love the books you read, and you love the books I read, and basically…" He gritted his teeth for a short moment, "Basically I can't imagine my life without you in it… Not anymore… I mean, up until a year ago I thought I had everything I could possibly want, and now it all seems so irrelevant, and I realised that it's been irrelevant since the moment I saw you trip over the doorjamb on your way into Biology on your first day… Bella, you're an amazing friend, and best friend… But… What I want is for…" He shut his eyes, opening them after a few seconds to stare deep into my own, the green seeming to burn right through me, "I want you to be more than my friend, my best friend… I want you to be my girlfriend… Bella, will you be my girlfriend?"

A slow smile had been growing on my face since he'd begun speaking, and now I was smiling so much I was pretty sure my face was going to spilt in half.

"Edward… " I shook my head slowly, "All this time, I've been hoping that one day this would happen… You shouldn't be so nervous because my answer, without a doubt, is yes…"

He let out a breathless laugh, squeezing my hand reflexively, "Wow… Thank God that's over… I was worried you'd tell me we were better off as friends…"

"Never." I swore, smiling back at him as his free hand reached up to cup my cheek.

He gazed down at me, moving closer as all the sensations began to overload in my body. The feel of his fingers interlaced with mine, the indentation his eyes were burning into mine, his nose brushing ever so softly against my own, and then… His lips pressing gently on mine, our first kiss making my body warm up as I kissed him back.

With one of my hands still locked with his, I used my free hand to reach up to his neck, holding him to me as his lips claimed my own. The kiss was soft, gentle, and burning right to the heart of me. I traced my finger up his neck and into his hair, causing him to shiver slightly before he pulled away, smiling as his forehead laid against mine, "That was well worth a year's wait."

"Are you guys ready to order now?" The waitress was back, her accent breaking through the bubble we'd made for ourselves.

I glanced up at the familiar red writing of Bella Italia, smiling as Edward's hand found my own. We walked up the steps, and he once again opened the door for me as we headed inside.

I blinked in surprise, seeing the same young waitress by the wooden stand, waiting somewhat impatiently for us to approach her.

As we did, her eyes widened ever so slightly, and I knew she recognised us, "Table for…"

"Two." Edward said, "And could we have a table at the back?"

"You guys want the same booth as last time too?" She raised an eyebrow, but her sarcasm wasn't wasted on Edward.

He smiled widely, "That would be great."

She sighed slightly, bringing us to the back corner booth. I sat down first, before Edward slipped in beside me. She placed the menus in front of us, "Drink order?"

"Two cokes." Edward nodded, smiling as she began to walk away, "Well, someone's chirpy." He noted.

"She's probably angry she has to work on Valentine's Day." I replied, "I know I would be too, if I were her."

As I spoke I glanced at the table decorations. Just like the first time we'd been here, there was a candle in the centre of the table, but this time there was heart shaped confetti glittered over it, making it seem even more romantic.

"I can't believe it's been over a year since we've been here." I said, my eyes moving back up to Edward again. His face was pale white, and he looked just as nervous as he was the first time he'd brought me here.

He turned towards me, grabbing my hand to entwine our fingers, "Okay… I can do this…"

"Edward?" I began to speak, but he shook his head as he turned to face me fully. The waitress put the two cokes on the table, but Edward didn't even notice her, "Thank you." I nodded in her direction as she walked away again.

"Bella…" Edward was whispering low, his eyes beginning to reflect that deep, passionate look that seemed to be there permanently, "I know we're only eighteen… And I know we only starting dating a year and a half ago, but… There's no doubt in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life with you… You're perfect. I know I've said that all before, but you don't realise how much I truly mean it. I love you, more than I've ever loved anything or anyone before… You're the one for me, and losing you would just result in me losing myself… That's why I never ever want to be apart from you, because you make me who I am… I want to marry you before we go to College, so I can see us both enrol in Seattle University as Mr and Mrs Cullen… I want to marry you now because I don't want you to be my girlfriend anymore, I want you to be tied to me in every way possible… We're eighteen, we don't need our parent's permission, though my family love you nearly as much as I do, and maybe if we get married it'll prove to Charlie and Renee that I want to spend my life with you and that nothing can break our love… I want us to move to Seattle, train to be a Doctor and a Nurse, and we'll have our own place, and then after our training we'll move back to Forks and work at the hospital there, and we'll get a big house just like the one you told me you want, and we'll fill it with happiness and love, and we'll spend time together as husband and wife, and then when the time's right, we'll add some babies to our family, and they'll be just like you… They'll be perfect." Tears were threatening to spill over onto his cheeks, just like mine had done when he mentioned the word marriage, "Isabella Swan, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I want you forever, and I'll love you every single day of our forever…" He moved off his seat, pulling me to the edge of the booth as he got down on one knee, still holding onto my hand tightly, "It seems so silly, to think that I could love you as much as I do… People probably think I'm just some silly eighteen year old boy, but… I'm not… I'm not silly, I know exactly what I want… And it's you…" He reached into his pocket with his free hand, lifting out a diamond ring which he held up with slightly shaking fingers, "Bella, please say you'll be mine… I want you to be more than my friend, my best friend, my girlfriend… I want you to be my wife… Bella, will you marry me?"

My cheeks were wet with the tears I'd been crying throughout his speech, and I laughed a little as he stared up at me with hopeful, nervous, and slightly desperate eyes.

I reached down with my free hand, running my fingers through his hair before resting them on his neck, "Edward… All this time, I've been hoping that one day this would happen… You shouldn't be so nervous because my answer, without a doubt, is yes…"

His face broke out into a smile as he stood up, grabbing me from my seat as he lifted me and spun me around. I was laughing as I held onto him as tightly as I could.

"Oh my God…" He kept saying over and over, "I love you… I love you so much…"

When he eventually put me down, I gazed up at his smiling face.

I'd never seen him so happy.

Stepping up on my tiptoes, I kissed him deeply, letting him take hold of me again as he kissed me back.

I pulled back after a long minute, "I do have one complaint though."

"What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

I giggled, shaking my head, "No, of course not… But that ring, it's too expensive."

He smirked, "I knew you'd say that… But… Actually, it's Esme's."

My mouth dropped open as he held it up again, "What? It is?"

He nodded, lifting my left hand as he slipped it on my ring finger, "And now it's yours…"

"It's perfect…" Another tear dropped onto my cheek, "I love you, Edward…"

"Forever?" He smiled.

I nodded, "Forever."

He wrapped his arms around me again, kissing my shoulder before he chuckled, "You will have to get used to expensive gifts though… Once I become a Doctor I'm going to shower you in them… Starting with that big house you want."

I rolled my eyes, "We'll see, Cullen."

He pulled back, "Yes we will see, Cullen."

"Bella?"

"Bella?"

Someone was shaking my hand, and I opened my eyes a little, blinking up at Edward's face.

"Huh?" I frowned.

"We're here… You fell asleep…"

I blinked again as I woke up a little more, glancing around at the inside of the car.

"Where are we?"

Two seconds ago we were sharing our excitement about our engagement.

And now…

"We're having dinner… Bella, are you okay?"

Edward frowned gently at me, and I took in everything about him.

He wasn't wearing that shirt a second ago.

I turned my head to look out the window, and that's when I saw the familiar red writing of Bella Italia.

I'd been dreaming?

I could feel myself frowning as I realised it wasn't real, and to be completely honest I wanted to cry. I could feel the happiness running through me in my dream, and I wanted so desperately to go back there.

I wanted to go back to that Bella and that Edward…

I didn't want to be here, where I could barely remember him.

I wanted so badly to remember him…

I took a breath, gathering up the slight courage I had left, before turning my face to look at him.

"Booth in the back corner?" I asked, watching his eyes widen as I pulled on the handle of the door, jumping out of my seat.

When I proof-read that chapter, I even caught myself out with the "first date" thing.

How did you guys enjoy it?

I also love the song lyrics used for this chapter, and I think it's cute how Edward believed he could change Charlie and Renee...

The next chapter will be Edward and Bella "present time", and I was wondering if there is anything in particular you guys would like to see happen?

Please review and let me know what you thought?