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Chapter 7 – Dreaming of You

After my ever so joyous house arrest from my post surgery, the day had finally come for my very first date with Bella. After much consideration, I decided to take her to the lovely meadow I found, deep in the woods of our backyard. I wasn't sure if she would appreciate the peacefulness this spot brought to me, but I really didn't feel like the clichéd date of dinner and a movie. That just wasn't my style. School had fortunately flown by my first week back and now Friday had arrived. My sister Alice was over at Bella's making sure she was dressed appropriately for our very first date and of course had put herself in charge of doing Bella's make up. I had to laugh; that just wasn't Bella, but when my sister puts her mind to something nothing can stand in her way.

Emmett was nearly as bad as Alice was for Bella when it came to my attire and he made sure the gel I used in my hair actually kept my hair in place. I eventually kicked him out and threatened him that if he didn't stop fussing over me that I would tell Rosalie that it took him eight years to be fully potty trained. He immediately stopped, huffed, and left my room. I glanced at my alarm clock and saw that it read 5:45. I had only five minutes before I left to go pick Bella up. I grabbed a light jacket, placed my wallet in my back pocket, and headed downstairs where my parents, Emmett, Rosalie – who was seated in my brother's lap – and Jasper waited. I knew I was in for a long five minutes of teasing and advice.

"So bro, where are you taking Bella for your first date?" My older brother asked me with a sly smirk on his face.

"None your business, Em." I answered in a rather calm voice.

"Oh, come on, Eddie! We need to know the facts. It's your first date ever, man. This is a special day in history."

"Ever the theatrics, Emmett. Aren't I allowed some privacy in this house?"

"Son, for once, I agree with your brother. It's my right as your father to know where you are going. What if something happened tonight and we had no way of helping you because we didn't know where you were?"

"There's always my cell phone to call…"

"Edward…" My father's voice was stern.

I took a deep breath. I knew I had stepped out of line with my response. "Fine, father, if you must know…. I am taking Bella to my special place in the woods that I find very relaxing."

My mother gasped and covered her mouth with her hands to cover up her excitement. When her hands came down, I noticed the motherly pride in her eyes, "The meadow! You're taking Bella to the meadow. That is so sweet of you, Edward. She'll love it there."

"You really think so?" I asked my mother. I knew she would answer my doubts honestly. "I wasn't sure if Bella would appreciate it or not."

"If she has any class, then she most definitely will."

Emmett groaned, "Man, Eddie's a hopeless romantic like mom."

Rosalie elbowed my brother in the side and mumbled, "Oh, shut up, Emmett. Edward's doing something sweet for Bella. Why can't you do anything romantic like that for me?"

Emmett faced me and glared, "Great… thanks, Eddie. You got me in trouble."

I shrugged my shoulders and smirked, "Oh, Emmett, I can't help it if I'm more romantic than you are."

"At least I've gotten some unlike I can say about your virgin dick," my brother growled.

Then he gasped and his eyes grew as wide as saucers. I had to chuckle. That's my brother for you, he never thinks before he speaks. My parents had no idea that he wasn't a virgin. He had lost his virginity eight months ago. Now his lack of self-control had just earned him trouble with my parents.

"Emmett Cullen, how could you? After all the morals we raised you with…."

I groaned, picked up my car keys, and headed out the door chuckling as I heard my parents reprimand my older brother. We had been taught to believe that marriage and sex are two things that go together. That on your wedding night was when we are to join unions so to speak. Oh well, it was nice to have my parents' focus on someone else other than me for a change.

Minutes passed before I rolled up outside of Bella's house. I had mentally prepared myself for the on-set of questions I knew I was to face when Charlie pulled me aside before I took his daughter out. Taking a deep breath, I walked up the stair case and knocked three times on the door. Only a few seconds ticked by when the door opened and there stood Chief Swan.

"Good evening, Chief Swan, I'm…"

Charlie cut me off, "You're Edward Cullen, Carlisle's son. Bella told me you're taking her on a date tonight. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir, that is correct."

"Come in," Charlie said as he stepped aside and allowed me through the doorway. "Follow me into the kitchen, son. I want to sit down and have a talk with you before I let you go out with my daughter."

"Certainly, Chief Swan. I had thought you would do this."

"Would you care for a drink of water or some soda?"

At the mention of water, my brain registered the fact that my mouth was dry and water seemed welcoming, "Water, please."

I watched Charlie stroll over to the refrigerator and grab two bottles of water. One for me and one for himself. He slid his chair back and sat down as I did the same.

"So, Edward, tell me, do you get good grades?"

"Straight A's, sir."

"What are your plans for the future?"

Ouch! That struck a nerve. I had accepted long ago that I didn't have a future to look forward to, but sometimes when someone threw a question out there unexpectedly about my future plans, the question would hurt.

I carefully answered his question but made sure he realized I was only speaking hypothetically, "Well, I had always planned on going to the University of Washington for a medical degree."

"Following your father's footsteps?"

"Yes, sir, my dad has been a very influential person in my life. Growing up, I had always told myself that I had wanted to be just like him."

"What field in the medical world?"

I stared at Charlie incredulously. Why wasn't he catching onto my hypothetical responses?

"I would've gone on to study surgery and been a surgeon like my father."

Confusion crossed Charlie's features. Finally he had caught on.

"Would have? Did you change the field then?"

"Sir, how much has Bella told you about me?"

"Not much. Why?"

"Sir, I might not even see my high school graduation…"

"Get out! If you're some high school dropout, I don't want you anywhere near my daughter. I don't need any of your negative influence rubbing off on her."

"Sir, that's not what I meant. I am not a high school dropout nor would I ever plan to be. I'm dying, sir. I have been for two years now. I would love to walk across that stage and receive my diploma but there's a high possibility I'll never do that."

His emotions flickered from despair to understanding and I saw him nod, "You have cancer don't you?"

"Yes. Brain cancer, sir. Brain cancer is a death sentence. I know Bella had leukemia, sir, but she got lucky. Her cancer was treatable and she was able to fight and beat it. I don't have that luxury."

"Now I can see why Bella's been smiling more…"

Charlie trailed off leaving me bewildered, "Sir, I'm not quite following you…" Why would Bella be acting content about my cancer?

He seemed to freeze as he thought back on what he said, "Oh! No, Edward, please don't think I mean she's happy about your illness. I just mean that you are a very positive influence on my daughter."

"How so?"

"She is finally able to help someone. She understands exactly what you're going through, son. She can help you through your suffering. No one could do that for her when she had leukemia. No matter how much her mother and I tried comforting her, we could only do so much because we didn't truly understand what she was enduring. But she's been there, Edward. Please continue allowing her in your life."

I felt tears threatening to show their presence but I fought them back and simply nodded.

"Bella! You can come in now. I approve of Edward."

My eyes widened at Charlie's sudden declaration but my shock soon dissipated when Bella walked into the kitchen. She looked absolutely stunning! Alice had certainly worked her magic. Bella was dressed in skin-tight baby blue jeans and a tan floral top that showed her figure. I had to restrain myself before Charlie kicked me out. If I had it my way, my bottom jaw would be hanging on the floor by now. Bella looked sexy!

"Are you ready to go, Bella?" I asked once I had found my voice.

"I sure am," she smiled at me.

"Have her home by eight-thirty, not a minute later," Charlie warned me in his strict fatherly voice.

"No problem, sir."

I held the door open and Bella walked out of her house. As soon as I made sure we were both buckled in, I pulled away from the curb and headed back in the direction to my house heading for the meadow. A few minutes later I pulled up to the driveway of my house and parked the car. Bella glanced over at me and her expression was confused.

"We're having a date at your house?"

I smiled at her, flashing my crooked grin, "No, silly Bella, but where I plan on having the date is located behind my house."

"In the woods? But aren't there a lot of wild animals back there?"

As we hopped out of the car and Bella made her way over to me, I noticed her walk seemed hesitant.

"Are you afraid?" She gave me a small nod of confirmation. "Oh, Bella, you should I would never let anything bad happen to you. But honestly, there is nothing to be afraid of. I'm taking you to a place I've been to several times since we moved here. This place is my sanctuary. I call it my meadow because it is absolutely gorgeous and brings me peace."

"How far into the woods is the meadow?"

"It's about a fifteen minute walk. But I promise you, in the times I've been there; I have never run into a bear or mountain lion or anything, just the average bird and squirrel." She gave me an encouraging smile, "So are you ready? I mean if you aren't, then we can just go do dinner or something?"

"No, I want to go and I know that you'll protect me."

Smiling, I opened the backseat of my car and picked up the picnic basket my mother had prepared for us. Leave it to Esme to help make my date a success.

"What's in the basket?"

"Dinner," I replied shrugging.

"A picnic? How romantic…"

Bella's voice was full of wonder. I could tell she was surprised. This evening was certainly not turning into the evening she had planned in her head.

"My mom thought a picnic would be more romantic. She knew I was taking you out to the meadow, so she thought it'd be nice to have dinner out there as well, instead of having to cut our time short so we could make it to dinner in Seattle."

"Your mom sounds very intelligent."

"She is," I smiled. "You ready to go to the meadow?"

With her nod of acceptance, I took her hand in mine and I led us into the woods. The walk too us longer than I had expected because Bella kept tripping over rocks and branches. I made a mental note to myself for future reference. Bella was naturally clumsy and would need extra looking after and caution when we went on adventures.

When we finally arrived in the meadow, I set the picnic basket down on the forest floor and took a look at my girlfriend. Her jaw was slightly dropping as her eyes took in the beautiful scenery that the meadow offered. The green forest trees and grass along with an assortment of wild growing flowers coming up from the grass painted the Washington peninsula with a rainbow of nature's majesty. Then there was the cloud embankment that was slightly broken with the sun's rays softly shining down upon us.

"Oh, Edward, I've never seen anything so beautiful… No, beautiful isn't even the correct term to use. This is absolutely breathtaking. How did you ever stumble upon this?"

I reached into the basket and grabbed the red checkered blanket that my mother had packed for us and laid it out on the ground. I grabbed Bella's hand and guided us down so we were sitting, facing one another.

"As you know, we moved to Forks shortly after I found out I had brain cancer. So when we first arrived here, I was in complete denial. I was a sixteen-year-old kid who was told he was dying and had no future. I did have a moment in the beginning when I had the attitude of please pity me. So instead of troubling my family with my weakness, I decided to take daily walks in the woods behind our house. It was on the third day of my walks that I discovered this sanctuary. And I've come here once a week since that day."

"I can see how it helped eased your mind."

I smiled when I heard Bella's stomach let out a small growl. I looked up and she was blushing, clearly embarrassed. Simply, trying not to increase her discomfort, I said, "Shall we see what my mom packed for dinner? I'm starving."

"I would love to," Bella replied.

Thirty minutes later, we finished eating our lovely meal that my mother had packed us. The fruit salad and potato salad were as enticing as ever, and the almond chicken salad my mother had made was delicious as well. During our meal, Bella told me more about what she had gone through during her intensive chemo treatments. I shuddered at some of the detailed descriptions she had explained to me. The vomiting, losing her hair, the achiness and overall fatigue; that was exactly why I chose not to receive the treatment. Bella also told me how the chemo affected her nerves, which was why she is so clumsy. When she has a grip on something, it is never strong, and that's because she doesn't have full feeling on the tips of her fingers.

I heard Bella yawn and saw her stretch her arms, "I wonder what time it is?"

"I glanced down at my cell phone. It's a quarter till eight."

"As much as I'd rather stay out here with you and talk to you more, we should head back. Charlie will want me home. And seeing as we have to walk back to the car –"

"We should head back now," I finished for her. I sighed, "All right, well just let me pick up our things and we'll start walking back."

I gathered up the trash and placed in the basket, moving on to the blanket next, folding it up neatly and placing it on top of the dinner dishes. I then took Bella's hand in mine and smiled as our eyes met, "Ready?"

"Ready," she confirmed.

At exactly 8:30, we pulled up in front of her house. I got out of the driver's seat and walked around the car and opened the passenger seat. Ambling up her front porch, we stopped at the top step.

"I had a really nice evening with you, Bella. Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for inviting me. This was the greatest date ever."

"By the way, Bella, I just wanted to say my sister chose the sexiest outfit for you. You've never looked better!"

I saw her blush and I nodded, satisfied with myself. I leaned forward and kissed her lips. That was our first kiss ever! I heard her gasp and her cheeks became even more flushed.

"Will I get to see you anymore this weekend?"

Her expression turned to disappointment and she shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Edward. My dad promised our friends we would spend the weekend with them out on the Quileute Reservation."

"Oh, well, have fun," I said, trying to hide my disappointment. "Then I will see you Monday?"

"Yes, I will see you Monday."

"Oh, and Bella? On Monday, come sit with my family and I at our table."

She smiled, "That sounds great."

"Have a great night, Bella."

"You too, Edward."

I watched her walk inside before heading back to my car. Five minutes later, I was walking inside my house. Much to my despair, my entire family was sitting in the family room staring at me as I walked in.

"So, little bro, how'd it go?"

"It went well," I stated sheepishly. I knew I was blushing. I had just kissed my first girl; of course I was going to be unable to hide my excitement.

"It went better than well! I know that look, Eddie, you kissed her!"

"Shut-up, Em!" Clearly I did not want to discuss my kissing my girlfriend in front of my parents. Who would?

"I knew this would happen! Oh, I am so happy for you!" Alice exclaimed, running up to me and throwing her arms around me. "Didn't I tell you Bella was something special?"

"Son, I am very pleased that tonight went well for you."

"Thanks, dad," I bit my lip, holding back the sarcastic remark that wanted to spill out due to the impish grin on his face.

"My little baby is growing up and experiencing love. Tonight is one of those moments in motherhood that I will never forget. Oh, Edward!" My mother exclaimed, with motherly pride, as she wrapped me up in a tight embrace.

Embarrassed, I whined, "Mom…" and wiggled myself free of her arms. "Now that you all know I had a successful first date, before any more corniness can erupt, I am going up to my room and going to bed. Goodnight all!"

They bid me their farewells and I made my way up the staircase. I couldn't help but smile and squeal silently inside. For once in my teenage years I felt normal. I was a seventeen-year-old boy with a girlfriend who had just received his first kiss. Could life get any better?

A/N: I re-read my story and realized I already had a set time for Edward donating to the hospitals and that isn't until November. So unlike what I promised last chapter, this chapter was just focused on Edward and Bella's first date. SORRY!!!

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