I was home at last, just a day later than expected. I crawled into bed, thankful for Grams as she'd washed it completely, sterilising it so there weren't any kind of germs on the sheets whatsoever. I was in heaven. I heard her open the door, and she ambled into the room, taking a gentle seat beside me and pulling the covers back so I could see her. She gave me an easy smile. "So, I found this on the porch this morning." She pulled back her hand to reveal a single rose wrapped in paper.

A small smile appeared on my face and she shook her head with a soft, sweet sounding laugh. "That boy has to be one of the most determined ones of this era I've seen and met in a long, long time." She chuckled and I smiled a little wider. She paused, reaching over a tracing my smile with one wrinkled finger. "I haven't seen you smile like that in a long, long time, my sweet girl." She nodded thoughtfully. "He's good to you, and he seems determined to save your life, and anyone whose that determined to save the life of my only grandchild earns my approval and my ultimate respect." She admitted.

Her words took me by surprise, but she wasn't done yet, gently holding one of my hands and giving it a quick squeeze. "I saw you in the hospital with him, you know. I have a sneaking suspicion that this newfound friendship goes above and beyond just friendship, and both ways too. Why haven't you told him how you feel?" She whispered softly.

I swallowed. "Grams, I couldn't even stand him at first, but then he made it clear I wasn't a game, some twisted amusement to pass his time." I whispered back. She nodded, showing that she was listening. "We were in Port Angeles, at the cinema, and a group of girls were watching me, laughing at me, so we left earlier than planned, and they followed. Do you know what he said?" I swallowed the rising lump in my throat. "He said I was worth more than all those girls put together. I started coughing badly, something that would have landed me in hospital, but he'd talked to someone he knew, his friends mom whose a nurse, and learned how to help me should something like that happen. Who does that?"

She was silent for a moment before nodding slowly. "Someone who cares for you just as much as your Dad and I do, my sweet Ellie." She answered before sighing. "You know, for someone who said she wouldn't love anyone or become attached to anyone, you sure seem to have gone back on those words.

I didn't have an answer, merely smiled, hiding my face beneath the covers once more before she could steal them from my grasp once again.

(W*W)

I twisted and turned in the mirror, staring at myself in disbelief. I couldn't believe it. Carrie stood behind me, a bright smile on her face as she adorned her own smart clothes in the form of a tight fitting green dress that contrasted with her darker than black hair, making her beauty all that more obvious. I couldn't believe my own appearance, let alone hers. Grams was waiting downstairs, no doubt a camera poised, waiting, in her loving hands.

Carrie laughed suddenly, her hands clamping on my shoulder to stop me turning from side to side to see just how on earth this person in the mirror was me. She adjusted the side bag that was carrying a smaller, more transportable, oxygen canister that would do for tonight. I had been given it by Dr Cullen, free of charge, something that really surprised me, and was a little bit suspicious too, to be completely honest.

"You need to stop worrying," she soothed gently. I met her eyes in the mirror. She smiled a small, warm smile. "He won't care what you look like, Nora. Come off it. Stop worrying for nothing. He's been by your side since March, and he hasn't abandoned you yet. Let's go see Grams." She sighed, moving towards the door, myself following slowly behind her.

Grams beamed a bright smile. "Don't you look amazing!" She exclaimed, pressing a kiss to Carrie's cheek before embracing or rather swallowing me into a tight hug. "You look beautiful, my love." She whispered, pressing a kiss into my raven black hair. I smiled into her neck where my face was tucked into, and then she pulled back, grabbing a camera that I just knew she would have lying around here. I sighed softly, Carrie linking our arms together as we both smiled for. The flash stung my eyes, but I maintained my smile throughout it, knowing how much a memory like this would mean to her.

(W*W)

The school gymnasium at Forks High School was packed, the school apparently having loaned their facility once they learned of what Jake was planning, and the cause, aka myself, would be. It was jam packed full of people -I couldn't even tell how many were here. Were there actually that many people in the surrounding area? I had no idea.

But I couldn't see Jake anywhere. I could see some of his friends -Embry and Anna were off in a corner, laughing and almost wrapped around each other. I could see the guy, Paul, who'd came to the hospital with some others who weren't here. He was in the middle of the room, a tall, dark haired girl about my age chatting with him, her dark eyes shining brightly.

Carrie too was looking around, and then she looked at me. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't actually heard from Jake all weekend. He usually messaged me, checking up on me when we weren't with each other, making sure I was alright. It was weird that I hadn't heard from him, and the tiny nagging voice in the back of my head began its snide tirade -See, he didn't want you, just like your mother. He couldn't even turn up to something he organised, its ugly voice spat, making me swallow the lump. Where was he?

Anna caught sight of us and gestured for us to come over, which we both did. I smiled slightly before looking around once more. "Where's Jake?" I whispered.

Her smile fell before she wrung her hands worriedly, her eyes flashing between her boyfriend who was around ten feet away, to around the room once more, then back to me. "Uh, Jake is-"

"Right here," a familiar and all too wanted voice answered, a warm arm looping around me waist. I let out a soft sigh. He too was dressed smartly, his black trousers and white shirt making me smile. I didn't even know he owned something like that.

Jake grinned at me, his eyes warm and soothing. "Hey you," I whispered and his smile softened before he glanced at Carrie and Anna. "Mind if I steal her for a while?" He joked and both girls held their hands up, their own grinning smiles adorning their faces. "Hey, you just go." Carrie joked back and he grinned before taking my hand and pulling me away from them.

We stopped in the middle of the room where some people were dancing, and he pulled my arms over his shoulders, my hands clasping to hold them there, his warm hands resting on my waist.

He just stared down at me until I smiled nervously. "What?" I whispered and he smiled back, this one more relaxed than mine. "You look beautiful," he whispered back, and I could feel a warmth spreading across my russet coloured cheeks. He smiled a little wider, and then I remembered something. "You alright? You were kind of quiet this weekend, you know." I asked and he sighed, his eyes moving from mine to focus on something across the room before he looked back towards me. "I hurt myself, knocked myself out, and then got ill." He replied, looking straight at me.

I grimaced and he shook his head. "I'm all better," he reassured, knowing how susceptible I was to illnesses. He then chuckled. "Besides, do you honestly think I would miss this, miss seeing you dressed like this?" He added and I smiled, my eyes crinkling at the edges no doubt in that weird way they did when I smiled too wide. "No, I didn't think you would." I whispered back, his grin answering it for me as he released a hand from my waist to bring it up to my face. The warm fingers traced the line of my jaw, the caress as gentle as anything I had ever known. I couldn't stop leaning into it, my eyes falling shut as I did so.

My eyes opened after a moment, and he smiled slightly, stroking his thumb over my bottom lip. I swallowed as the look on his face changed, a look I knew all too well from movies and shit. He sighed. "I want to," he breathed, and I swallowed once more. "Why don't you?" I replied softly and he sighed. "I could hurt you, give you a breathing attack or something." He answered and I shook my head. "I want to," I whispered. "I'll be alright, one little kiss isn't going to kill me." I added.

His eyes widened as he took in my words, and before I could blink, he leant down, his mouth moulding to mine with a gentleness that I had never known before. His hand cupped my cheek just as my eyes slid shut, his thumb brushing under my eye as his mouth moved gently against mine with a sweetness I had not felt before, ever. It was a feeling I could only describe of being, feeling complete, like the universe had stopped continuing, that the world had stopped spinning. I never, ever wanted it to end.

And it did, in the form of a nasally voice calling out to the boy who held my heart in his hands.

"Jake!" It called, and he pulled back from me, his mouth curling downwards in something other than pleasantness. He pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth before pulling back, his mouth hard and set as he turned to face the owner of the unpleasant sounding voice. It was a she, a girl not too older than us with long brown hair, pale skin and chocolate coloured brown eyes. She was beaming at Jake, but when her eyes cut to me, she frowned, her nostrils flaring unhappily at my presence, and the fact that she'd probably see our kiss, well, kisses. "Whose this?" She asked, rather rudely, her eyes narrowing upon me before she looked back towards the boy who still held me close to him, protecting me.

He narrowed his eyes back. "Does he know you're here?" He retorted, something akin to a snarl echoing in his voice. She smiled, although I could see she wasn't pleased with my being here. Jake was, and that was all that mattered. He threaded one of his hands through mine, his other arm wrapping around my waist as he moved me ever so slightly behind him. "He doesn't need to know, Jake." She replied and then it clicked. This was her, the one who Anna had been talking about in the hospital before the operation, the one who'd broke Jake before I met him.

I shook my head. "Don't you not have a boyfriend?" I asked with a frown and her eyes cut to me, narrowing once more. "I wasn't talking to you." She snapped and Jake scowled. "Don't talk to her like that. You need to leave me alone, Bella. Didn't I make it clear I wanted nothing more to do with you? I'm sick of your games. You can't have both, and I don't want you anymore. Eleanora is all I want, not you, not anyone else, not now, not ever, never." He snarled.

My eyes cut to him as he said that, my heart thudding in my mouth as he did so. No one had ever said that about me, and it nailed the final nail in the coffin. I was sold. He would never hurt me, not once, not ever, never.

She gave a soft screech before storming off, her short dress swishing behind her as she did so, retreating over to one side of the room before remaining there, glaring at us.

Jake whirled me around, turning me so that I was facing him, and only him. He went to say something but I reached up, placing a gentle hand over his mouth. "You don't have to explain anything," I whispered softly, his eyes softening as I did so. "Anna already did." I finished, and he gently pulled my hand from his mouth, pressing a kiss to the palm before placing it on his shoulder. I glanced over my shoulder to find the girl, Bella, still glaring towards us, her mouth set in a permanent scowl. I looked back towards Jake who too was looking towards her with a less than pleased expression. "She's still looking," I whispered.

His dark eyes looked down at me, and he pulled me flush against him, his fingers taking a gentle hold of my chin as he leant closer towards me. "Then I guess we'll just have to give her something to look at." He whispered back, pressing his mouth towards mine once more, a smile gracing mine as he moulded his mouth against mine, that feeling of being complete coursing through my veins once again as he did so.