AN: Thanks to VampiresandHorses4ev3r, twilightlvr4vr, and twilightfang66 for reviewing! You guys are three of my most avid supporters!
Mine-Taylor Swift—this song helped me write :) Thanks, Taylor ;)
DISCLAIMER: ALL TWILIGHT CHARACTERS BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.
We stood there, staring.
"Bella?" Edward nervously said. I continued staring past them, as did my friends, from what I could tell.
"Rose?" Emmett waved his hand in front of Rosalie's face. His vampire hand. His vampire hand that had five fingers like ours.
"Alice, are you okay?" That was Jasper's voice. Jasper's vampire voice. Vampire voices were…hot. That was unexpected.
Did vampires respond when we talked to them?
"Edward?" I said. My voice sounded wobbly; uncertain.
"Yes, love?" his perfectly smooth voice replied.
I nodded to myself. Yes, they did.
"I love you," I said, trying again.
I heard nothing. And then, "I love you, too, Bella. More than anything else in the world." The voice sounded as emotional as I felt. I slowly opened the eyes that I didn't realize I'd closed.
There was his face. His flawless skin. His beautiful topaz eyes. His bronze hair. He had sounded like he was crying, but there were no tears.
"No tears," I said robotically. I found myself wanting to touch his face.
No, Bella, my instinct warned me. Danger.
But why? I asked myself. He's never hurt me before. Why would he do so now?
No.
There still weren't tears in his eyes, but there were tears in mine. They threatened to leak over. I willed myself to speak normally, to get this whole thing figured out.
"Edward, it's true… that I love you. But, what is this? I've always noticed something…off…about your family. But I didn't think it was this…serious."
Edward smiled. "Wait, I thought this would be the part where you guys would run out screaming."
"No," I said, a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. "I just went a little mentally unstable for a bit."
Humor. Humor was good. The air was less tense. I could feel Alice start to relax a little.
Edward chuckled quietly, but then his smile disappeared. Emmett was standing a little behind him and had given him a pointed look. How could he have lost his good mood at the same time that Emmett had done so? It was almost like he had…
Read his mind.
I shivered as I listened to what my…vampire boyfriend…was saying. "Are you going to ask us about our diet?" he grumbled.
"Human blood!" Rosalie screeched. Everyone looked at her. Alice and I in shock, Edward, Emmett, and Jasper in horror.
"No, no, not human blood," Emmett said, trying to calm her down. "We, err, utilize animal blood."
Rosalie was panting a little. Her hands were clenched into fists and I could tell she really wanted to believe him, but her instinct's voice wouldn't let her. Why the heck did we have instincts, anyway? If God had known we were going to end up falling in love with a bunch of vampires?
That's exactly what it was. It was love. Nothing less, nothing more…expect maybe eternal love.
This was all a mess. Their declaration, my thoughts, my reaction, my friends' reactions, everything. I needed time to process it all.
Edward was going to start talking again, but I held up my hand.
"We need time to absorb all of this, Edward," I said, sounding as tired as I felt. "I'd love to know more, but I'm still…stuck on the first stage," I smiled wearily.
"Of course," Edward nodded. His breathing hitched. "But…can I still…kiss you?" he asked.
I was aware that he was not of my species. I was also aware that I had strong feelings for him, whether he was human or not.
"Yes."
He reached down and tenderly cupped my face and pressed his lips to mine. It felt just the same as it always had. Beautiful. Vampires could show affection.
And I believed that after time had passed, I wouldn't care what Edward was, so long as he and I would be together. I could only hope that Rosalie and Alice felt the same way.
-.-.-.-
Rosalie POV
"Is the last of your baggage in that grad car?" Dad asked me.
I gave him a smile. "Yup. All set to go."
He returned my smile and leaned down to place a kiss on my forehead. "I might not be around enough to tell you, but I really am proud of you, Rose. Good job, honey."
A lump formed in my throat and I refused to show him my face.
"Just promise me that you won't do anything reckless," he said.
I swallowed the lump and tried to put on my bitch phase, the one phase that let me get away with not having emotions. "Of course, Dad. Thank you. And I love you. I'll see you for Christmas, okay?"
"You'd better. Bella's mom would freak if she found out you were planning on skipping the party she's planning," he winked.
A steady breeze had picked up. It was easy to throw my head back and laugh into it, the sound being carried away forever.
"Bye," I said one last time…before Christmas.
I got into the car that my parents had given to Spoiled Rosalie Hale three months ago and drove down the roads, intending to reach the downtown Forks area to get on a highway to Seattle. My mind went on autopilot instead. I found myself driving to the Cullen residence. I tried to turn back, but it was kind of too late. I was already driving down their long, narrow driveway that was impossible to make a U-turn in, and Emmett Cullen had been sitting outside in the warm August air and spotted me.
"Rosalie Hale," he said.
"Emmett Cullen." I tried to sound just as confident. Just as strong and sure of himself as he did. This man, that wasn't of my species. This man, that could grab me and drink my blood right now. This man, who wouldn't do that. Because this man, right here, loved me.
Vampires were incredibly fast, pale, and dangerous.
But they also had an immense capacity to love and to protect.
They were meant to be monsters, but they could, through their own decisions, become better people. That was exactly what the Cullens had done. Were doing.
"Where were you headed?"
"Designer school," I said shakily.
"Ahh," he said, as if he was actually interested. This man, who I loved more than anyone I ever had. Me, the had-been spoiled bitch of Forks High.
"So, you're going to college." It was such a simple statement.
"Yes, I'm going to college."
"You're going to graduate in four years. You will be twenty-two."
"Yes."
He leaned closer to me. I could smell his beautiful scent. "And then what?"
I looked down. "I don't know…but I do know this," I said with a sudden burst of my old confidence. "I love you, Emmett Cullen. I have no idea how we're going to make this work, but I'm willing to try. I'll be in school, but I'll drive back to see you as much as I can. You are still my boyfriend and nothing will change that. We'll find a way to be togeth—" Emmett crushed me to him, kissing me like he'd never done before. I was a bit worried. Out of the things I'd learned about vampires online was the fact that their thirst was almost impossible to control. Yet, I thought as I kissed him back, he had had no trouble before I knew what he was.
"I love you, too, Rosalie Hale. So much. And we will find a way," he said firmly.
I didn't know how much time passed as we sat in each other's arms, but I finally pulled away and gave him one final kiss. I had to go. I had to go fulfill the human part of my life.
As I left, I knew I'd have to choose one over the other one day. The fact made me shudder. But, I had a funny feeling that I knew what I would choose. Who I would choose.
I could only hope that Bella and Alice felt the same way.
-.-.-.-
Alice POV
Mrs. Alice Cullen.
Mrs. Jasper Cullen= Alice Brandon.
Alice Brandon= Mrs. Cullen
Alice Cullen + Jasper Cullen= love.
I grimaced as I looked through my old senior year math notebook. It had only been six months since those days, but it felt like it had been forever. Now that I was in my freshman year of college, things were so different and distant. It didn't feel like I'd belonged in that world once upon a time.
Once upon a time, an ordinary, plain, and boring human girl fell in love with a handsome, blonde, vampire prince.
I thought maybe if I left for college without telling anyone, especially him…it would have been easier for me. But I'd been wrong. Christmas was coming up in two weeks. I'd have to go home and meet…him…talk to him and his brothers. I still wasn't over him. It wasn't the right answer. I loved him and that wouldn't change.
But he was so magnificent.
And I was me.
And, I mean, after I had left, he must have found some beautiful vampire chick that loved him right away for who he was instead of what he was.
I wasn't worthy of him.
But I wasn't getting over him anytime soon. So I put my game face on, finished my homework, and called my mother. I was going home for Christmas. I wasn't going to expect anything bad or good to happen. I just wanted to see if the love of my life loved me back, and if he did, I'd probably, with time, be able to love him for whom he was completely. If he did not, I would leave his life much more subtly than he had made me enter, much the same way as I'd escaped to school. I was ready for either my happily ever after or happily never after.
And if I had to choose between my human life and my maybe-to-be boyfriend…
I could only hope that Bella and Rosalie felt the same way.
AN: I know that I haven't updated in FOREVER! So I tried to make this chapter perfect for you guys. I hope you like it, because it seems like my writing style has evolved A LOT.
The good news: the story isn't over yet. There is probably one more chapter left. I'll let you know next chapter if it's the last or not. Then we can all cry together :,(
The other good news: If you really do love my writing enough to read my other stories and are also a Harry Potter fanatic, check out my new HP and Twilight crossover, Hogwarts, School of Edward Cullen. My sister says she liked it :)
Leave some love!
-ummmm26
(P.S. This story is almost one year old :) Happy early birthday, On the Inside :))
Review by clicking the magic birthday button below! The story would greatly appreciate it :) That way you won't have to buy it anything! Think about it... o_O lol til next time!