Absolutely stunning.

That was the only fathomable way I could descrive the beauty that was sitting across from me. Stunning.

She tried to deny it, and I knew in her mind, her being beautiful was a far, far away truth. She thought she was disgusting, ugly. But, God, did I know better.

Bella seemed to be uncomfortable, being in public as much as she way. I had to hand it to her, she really handled a lot. It'd be the first time that she'd really been out of the house since her…accident…and she was doing okay. A little quiet, but then again, she always was.

My heart jumped a little when she basically told Alice that she preferred the clothes I bought her to the others. Probably because I bought her what she wanted, and not some overpriced, crazy looking thing.

I smiled at her as she bit her tongue and told Alice that she loved the clothes that she'd gotten her. I'd taken a peek at the shopping bags when Alice wasn't looking, and yikes. It was all lace and sparkly. Bella didn't go for that, and I knew she wouldn't find maybe one of the ten or fifteen garments Alice bought her wearable. Alice didn't understand that Bella didn't go for that stuff. Bella was simple…Bella was…

Beautiful, Bella was beautiful.

'Not even you, Bella Swan, can resist Alice's evil powers.' I scribbled on a napkin and pushed it towards her. She peered over at it, and I smiled as her features lit up in a real smile. A smile that reached her eyes. She wrote something back, and I looked as soon as I could, filled with curiosity.

'Shut up and look at your menu' I smirked and kicked her shin lightly. She was blushing, and I made a mental note that it would be fun to tease her in the future. That cute little pink blush was too good to forget about.

The future. Oh, what would the future bring? I already came to terms that I had feelings for Bella when Jasper and I were sitting at my house after the girls left. He insisted on watching the football game, his favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, were playing, and, as the Civil War Junkie that he was, took great pride in the fact the southern state Texas beat the New York Giants. The game held no interest to me, so it allowed me time to think on what Jasper said. I knew there was no doubt she couldn't feel the same way. I mean, she was in a state of mind where love wasn't a possibility. She only saw me as the nice guy who saved her life and is letting her room with him for a little while, while she got back on her feet and stabilized herself. Nothing more.

We all ordered our burgers, and it hurt me to see Bella struggle through just placing the order. Was she that bad with strangers? Her eyes looked like they were just about to cry, and I mouthed that it was okay, hoping she wouldn't get too worked up. Bella didn't look allright though, she looked paler than usual, as if she was going to vomit. What was happening? Faster than I could blink, she was out of our booth and rushing to the bathroom. I watched after her until the door to the ladies room closed. When my eyes returned to the table, I could see two pairs of eyes watching me expectantly.

"What?" I asked, eyes wide. Did they think I caused this!?

"Well?" Alice questioned. When I offered no reply, she sighed "Aren't you going to go after her?"

"I-"

"You'd better go, she doesn't look so good." Jasper said, his mouth a tight line. "We'll cover the check, you just make sure she's okay." He said, a slight southern drawl noticeable. I nodded, somewhat dumbstruck. Alice gave me an encouraging smile and they both watched as I went to the bathroom door.

They left, and as time passed, and I waited. Waited, worried, and over-analyzed the situation. After a while, I began to think something happened in there. What if something happened in the bathroom? I couldn't hear anything from in there, and that was scaring me. She could've…I closed me eyes tight and raked fingers through my hair. No. She's fine, I told myself.

A few seconds later, my beautiful Bella stumbled out. She looked horrible; her face was smeared with the black makeup that was once solely on her eyes, her eyes were red and tears were still falling from them, though she looked like she was trying to hide it. "Bella!" I said in surprise. I kneeled a little so I could get a look at her. "I wanted to make sure you're all right…you washed the makeup off I see…" She only nodded, looking absolutely heartbreaking right there. I wanted to take her in my arms and hold her until her tears went away.

If only I could hold her.

I brushed a stray tear from her cheek, and then uttered something that immediately changed both of our lives forever " It's okay Bella, I think you're prettier without…" Then, like a little brown haired rocket, she shot forewords and clung onto me. I stood there dumbfounded a second, and then slowly wrapped my arms around her and pulling her close. It came true. I was holding her. And she was holding me back.

I whispered that it'd be okay, and massaged her back a little to get her to calm down. Whatever happened in the bathroom didn't matter. All that mattered was that beautiful Bella was crying. And that was a major problem.

When she was ready, I led her out to the car, opening and closing the door for her before getting in myself. I didn't know what to say, and she was still crying. I couldn't get it go on, it was agonizing to watch the tears fall from that beautiful face. Trying humor, I turned to her and blurted "We keep ending up like this, eh?" Immediately after I said it, I felt like an idiot. But, to my surprise, she began laughing. And hard, too. I stared at her, for a moment considering that she'd lost her mind. But the musical laughter that danced out of her mouth was contagious, and soon I was laughing along with her.

After the laughter died down, things got serious again. "You okay, Bella?" I asked softly.

"Yes, I will be Edward," It was a lie, and we both knew it. She was a bad liar.

I drove home in silence. She went straight to bed after that, and I went into the kitchen to think over what had just happened. Sure, she clung onto me for support, but only someone stupid would mistake it for more than it was. She just needed a friend to be there for her when she cried, and that's what I was. All I was.

Soon, I noticed that there were mumblings coming from Bella's bedroom. Was she having a bad dream? As I walked towards her room, her voice became louder, and it became known that she was screaming my name. I rushed in and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her as hard as I could while still being gentle.

She snapped out of it soon, her eyes opening but still glazed over from a dream wearing off, "Bella? Bella! I'm here, it's okay, it was just a bad dream…" Her eyes widened, now completely in this world, and she took my shoulders and stared at me, her face dangerously close to mine.

"Edward…?"

"Yes, Bella…I'm right here…" I whispered, my eyes reflecting into hers. Oh, they were so beautiful, even when horribly terrified.

"Oh, Edward…" She brought her head closer to mine, so close we touched foreheads "I thought I l…I thought you…oh Edward…"

"I'm here, Bella…I'm here…" I reached up and pressed my lips to her forehead. She stared at me then, in a sort of strange way, and I could tell she was thinking. What was she thinking about? If only I could peer into her head and get an insight on what thoughts were forming in that beautiful head of hers.

"Edward…" She whispered my name, and before I could react her soft, warm lips were pressed to mine in the gentlest of notions. My heart screamed as I gently kissed her back, not wanting to push her too hard or move to quickly. I wanted to savor the moment; to savor this beautiful moment with Bella.

Beautiful Bella.

My Bella.