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I'd like to thank my wonderful Beta, shelikesthesound, for all of her hard work.

In the Long Run

Chapter 14

EPOV

The week of the State Championships was crazy. Everyone was keyed up and acting like it was Homecoming, while the teachers had a hard time keeping the students focused on their studies. No one was doing the assigned homework, and Coach was working us twice as hard as usual. We were doing most of our preparations indoors because the weather wasn't cooperating. It was rainy and overcast, and a cold front had moved into the area. It had already snowed, but none of it stuck around for any length of time. It was just enough to make us all miserable. Coach had plenty of game film of the other team that we reviewed and used to strategize, but it wasn't the same as getting outside.

Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, he allowed us to hit the field for some light scrimmage. Coach was always careful to keep us from getting hurt, no matter what the cost to the team. Jasper and I ran through a few passing plays, no defense, just to make sure that our timing was still together. Then Reg and I ran through a few hand-offs, again, no defense. The ground was too muddy to risk a torn up knee. Then Coach sent the three of us to the locker room to get cleaned up while the offensive and defensive lines ran through a couple of plays.

On the way back to the field house, Reg asked me how Bella and I were doing. I told him about her getting kicked off of the cheerleading team. He was stunned. He had bought our story about her quitting for the baby's health and said, as far as he knew, the rest of the school had as well.

"Well, I'm glad we pulled it off. Bella was devastated about the whole thing," I said.

"I could see why. Did he try to kick you off of the team?" Reg asked.

"No. He actually said I wouldn't get disgustingly fat and obviously pregnant," I said.

"He's such a dick," Reg said, and Jasper and I agreed with him. "I think we should do something about him."

"Like what?" I said.

"I don't know. Let me think about it. I'll come up with something that fits the crime," Reg said.

"I don't know. I don't think that I can get in too much more trouble," I said. "I'm teetering on being sent to the alternative school as it is."

"Don't worry about it, then. You're out of it. I'll take care of everything. He's such a prick. He's gonna deserve what he gets," Reg said.

"Come on, Reg. Don't go and get in trouble because of me. Believe me. From what I've learned, there's a hell of a lot of things not worth worrying about in the long run," I said.

"Don't worry about it, Edward. It's gonna be fine," Reg said.

I thought that was the end of it, that he had gotten my message Mr. Green wasn't worth worrying about. It turned out he hadn't, or I assumed he hadn't, because starting the next day, bad things started happening to our illustrious principal.

Thursday morning was bitterly cold, but the morning was bright. The roads to school and the parking lots were clear. Well, all except for Mr. Green's space. It seems, for some reason, there was a very thick layer of black ice on Mr. Green's parking space. It just so happened, Mr. Green wasn't expecting there to be ice in his parking space, and when he hit his brakes to stop, his car didn't. It slid right into the administrative building doing quite a bit of front end damage to his classic 1964 ½ Mustang. The building withstood the damage much better than the car did, much to his chagrin.

I sought out Reg to ask him about the accident, but he wasn't around. He was absent on Thursday. I was worried about him, but when I asked Coach about him, he told me that Reg was suffering from the sniffles, and he told him to stay home for the day just in case he got worse and couldn't play in the championship game on Saturday. Jasper and I ran some routes, and then we went inside to change. We never brought up what Reg had said the day before.

Friday was the last day to sign up to ride the spirit busses to the championship game which was being held in Seattle the next day at three o'clock. Bella was going to ride with Mom and Dad since she wasn't a cheerleader and couldn't ride the players' bus. I was going to be miserable without her, but the gang said that they'd keep me entertained.

The next day, Bella and I drove to the school to drop me off for the busses to drive to the game. I kissed her several times before I let go of her to get on the bus. Jessica was there as well, I assume to get on the pep bus, and she was watching our every move. I was still stalling getting on when Coach came by.

"What's the problem getting on my bus, Cullen?" he asked.

"Just don't wanna leave my girl behind, Coach," I said, pulling her to me and kissing her again.

"Then grab her by the waist and drag her ass on the bus with you. Now, load up!" Coach said.

"You mean it, Coach? Bella can ride with us?" I asked.

"Sure, Cullen. She might as well be part of the team. Now you two load up," he said.

"I'll call Mom and Dad from the bus. Get on," I told Bella. She smiled at me and jumped on the bus. The players made room for her to get down the aisle, and we took our usual seat. I took out my cell and called Mom, letting her know that Bella was coming with us to the game, and they could leave without her.

The trip to Seattle was one of the best of my life. We all were hyped because of the upcoming game, and we all had our girls. We were anxious to arrive at the stadium and get changed. We all had nervous energy, and Coach Davis called me to the front of the bus for part of the ride to go over some game pictures and plays with him. I felt prepared and knew the game was gonna go our way.

Approximately an hour and a half before game time, we pulled into the stadium and unloaded the bus. The cheerleaders gathered with Mrs. Hall, and Bella went with them as we headed into the locker room. I knew that Mrs. Hall would take care of Bella until my parents arrived, so I wasn't really worried, much.

After we changed into our pads and uniforms, Coach ran us through another round of instructions, and then we took the field for calisthenics. Once we were adequately warmed up, we went back into the locker room for our final instructions. We were going to bring home the state championship trophy! We all knew it! Coach announced the captains, the usual five of us. We would take the field to participate in the coin toss. Clyde Humphries, our noseguard and the only senior of the bunch, would be making the call and the decisions. We all gathered, and after our chant and yelling, "Forks Spartans," we left the locker room and headed down the ramp to the field entrance. We'd never played in a stadium that size before, and it was a bit overwhelming as I scanned the crowd, searching for Bella and my parents. I couldn't find them before I heard the drum corp start with the signal for us to break through the cheerleaders' banner.

Breaking through the banner was beyond anything that I'd ever done. The crowd was enormous, and the volume was ear splitting. Our band was drowned out by the yelling as we took the field, the overhead lights blazing our path. As we gathered on the sidelines, Coach tried to reign in our attention. Too many of us were spellbound by the grandiosity of our surroundings to pay attention to what was going on. As I brought my attention back to him, he smiled at me.

"She's third row, our forty yard line," he said, and my eyes went directly to her, her smile warming my heart. I waved as I took my helmet under my arm to go to mid-field for the coin toss. I tapped Jasper and Emmett on their shoulders and together we walked to Reg and Clyde.

"Ready?" I asked as the referee blew his whistle, signaling that it was time for us to meet the other team captains at mid-field for the coin toss. As we walked to the fifty yard line, the sound in the stadium seemed to diminish as my attention focused on what I was doing. I walked on the end of our line, being the youngest of the team captains. Next to me was Emmett, then Clyde was in the middle, then Reg, then Jasper was on the other end.

We stopped as we approached the referee who stood on the center mark. The referee looked at each of us in turn.

"I expect for each team to play a clean game. No dirty tactics. We will be calling the game close tonight. Forks is home team. Mount Pleasant is visitors. Mount Pleasant, call the coin toss."

"Heads," their captain said.

The referee tossed the half dollar, and we held our breath as we waited for it to fall to the ground.

"Tails. Forks do you want the ball, or will you defer until the second half?"

"We'll defer 'till the second half," Clyde said.

The referee turned to Mount Pleasant. "Which goal do you want to defend?"

Their captain chose the goal to our left. The referee blew his whistle and turned on a microphone, and then he announced and made the appropriate signals for the decisions that we'd made. The game was on. We jogged back to the side line where the defense got ready to take the field.

We played the game of our lives, and nothing could touch us. The defense was all over them. The inside work must have been just the thing because, no matter what their offense did, our defense was ready for them. Then, when I got my hands on the ball, it was as if magic was happening! I could do nothing wrong. Jasper and I connected on every play I threw it to him. The defense could be double teaming him, and I just laid the ball into his hands. I could hand off to Reg, and he was like a mongoose in a field full of cobras. He dodged, twisted, turned, and avoided the defense's strikes like he was running for his life. It was nothing to say that the score was very lopsided early on. It was almost like watching an embarrassing Super Bowl. By halftime, we were ahead by 42 points. To be honest, it felt great!

In the locker room we were whoopin' and hollerin' when Coach came in. He managed to quiet us down with one word. "Enough!" he yelled. We became silent. "Do you think that the number two ranked team in the state can't come back in a half? Do you think that they're over in their locker room crying and giving up? I don't! I think they're working their asses off, coming up with a plan to stop this offense and looking to poke a hole in this defense! Now let's get to work!" He was never one to mince words. We worked the rest of the allotted time on strategies to keep our game fresh. We knew that they'd be coming after Jasper and Reg. Hell, they'd been coming after Jasper and Reg all game. They'd just not been able to touch either one of them.

Before we went back outside, I made a special effort to find each of my offensive linemen and tell them what a wonderful job they were doing. They were giving me such a long time to stay in the pocket I had all of the time I needed to throw the ball. My success so far was due to them. I think they appreciated the recognition that I gave them at least.

As we made our way back out of the tunnel, I again marveled at the crowd. I looked for Bella and quickly saw her. I waved at her, but didn't have much time to communicate because we had the ball for the start of the second half. As Coach predicted, Jasper was covered much more effectively during the second half, and Reg was hit almost as soon as he got the ball. I had to change up my offense a good bit, but I was really used to that from the regular season. I ran a couple of trick plays where I handed the ball to Reg and he handed it back to me, and then I passed it to Jasper. That worked several times. We had worked on that in theory during the week indoors. We had never tried it, even during the week before the game, so I was exceedingly happy when it really worked. Jasper actually scored on two of the plays, so it was well worth the risk. The final score was a resounding whoopping! 63 – 21. We were the State Football Champions!

As the final whistle blew, marking the ending of the game, we all gathered around Coach, and yes, we poured the Gatorade container on him. He shook it off and beamed like a proud father. Hell, he was like a father to so many of us. I rushed up to him and started to shake his hand, but he pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Cullen! You did it!" he yelled over the shouts of the team.

"We all did it, Coach!" I yelled back. He only nodded. I went to find Emmett and Jasper. When I did, we all ran together and jumped up hitting chests. When we came down, we all high fived each other.

"We did it!" I yelled.

"You did it!" Emmett yelled. "You're gonna get MVP!"

"No, it'll go to a senior," I shouted to be heard.

"Nu-uh. You're gonna get it," Jasper shouted back. "Just wait and see! They're getting ready to announce it now!"

I looked over to the fifty yard line where they were setting up a microphone, and Mr. Green and Coach Davis were gathering with men in suits and the referee. Our crowd was still standing, applauding, and yelling. Their crowd was on their feet, having thinned out during the game. The only people left were the parents of the band, cheerleaders, and players, and maybe some of the die-hard fans. There were maybe two hundred people left on their side of the stands, but they were all standing as well.

"May I have your attention, please?" one of the men in the suits asked, and the crowd died down. "My name is Bradley David, and I'm the president of the Washington State Board of High School Athletics Association. It is my honor, no, my privilege to be here today to present Forks High School's Football team, led by Head Coach Leo Davis, the State Championship Trophy." He paused for the thunderous applause from our side of the stadium as he gave Coach Davis the trophy. Coach Davis stepped in front of the microphone.

"Thank you, Mr. David. I would like to thank my assistant coaches for a season well done. I'd also like to thank my players for their hard work they've put in this year. Now, for the MVP of the year. This wasn't really a hard decision for the assistant coaches and me. It was a unanimous decision. The Season MVP for Forks High School as well as the State Championship Game MVP is Number 15, our quarterback, Edward Cullen. Come get your trophy, Edward."

Emmett and Jasper pushed me towards the microphone and the team made a pathway for me to get to Coach. I was truly stunned. I had honestly thought that it would go to a senior. I started walking towards Coach, and my teammates all hit me on the back as I made my way to him. They didn't seem surprised or jealous, even the seniors. They seemed to expect it. The crowd was going wild. They were cheering like we'd just won the game again. Even the other side of the stands was cheering.

When I reached Coach, I tried to shake his hand, and he pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back, in front of the hundreds of people there. "Thank you," I said.

"You deserve it, Cullen," he said. "You've played your heart out all year. You've given this game your all, despite adversity, and you've led this team to victory time and again. I'm proud of you, son."

Mr. Green covered the microphone with his hand and said, "I can't believe you'd give such an award to him. He's doesn't deserve to be recognized as a role model. You know that, Leo." Obviously, covering the microphone didn't work because the crowd started booing.

"Go to hell, Green," came from a familiar sounding voice in the football section of the crowd.

"You have no right," came from an equally familiar sounding male voice in the stands.

Mr. Green's face turned pale as mine turned red. I looked at Coach Davis wondering what to do. Mr. David and the referee were shocked to say the least.

"Congratulations, Edward. You deserve this award for all of your fine football excellence throughout the season and for a fine game today." The crowd started clapping and cheering even louder than they were before, and I held up the trophy for a second, before the team engulfed me. They drew me into them and surrounded me, almost as a mother hen would take her chick under her wing if it was in trouble. I was soon lost in the crowd.

Reg, Emmett, and Jasper soon found me. Reg put his arm around my shoulders and said, "That Green sure didn't seem to learn his lesson, did he? We're gonna have to see what else we can come up with to make his day just a little more miserable."

"So, you are responsible for his car?" I asked.

"What happened to his car?" Reg asked.

"You know...the ice?" I asked.

"What ice?"

"The ice that made him wreck his baby. The patch of ice on his parking spot?"

"I don't know anything about any ice on his parking spot," Reg said, winking at me. I finally understood. He'd deny everything, but he'd done it, all right. Reg was taking things too far.

"Look, Reg, I agree that he's a dick, but don't. Okay. He's so no worth it. If anyone were to find out about any of this, it could mean trouble, and I'm in enough trouble as it is. Trust me, it's not fun."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Edward," he said.

"Just think about it, okay?" I asked as we were hustled into the locker room. We were getting undressed when Coach Davis came into the room with the Championship trophy. We all gathered around to touch it. It would definitely need polishing before it went into the school's trophy case on Monday.

"Okay, team, settle down. Settle Down! First of all, congratulations! I knew that we had the team this year that could come in here and win this, and you put in the hard work and dedication to make that happen. Secondly, I want everybody to make sure that all of your equipment gets on the busses. Nothing gets left behind. And finally, I want to address what Mr. Green said. I want you boys to know I think it was totally inappropriate. Going back to what I told you before, Edward is your teammate, and we all know him. There is no proof that he has done anything wrong, and until they have the proof in their squirmy hands, we're gonna support him one hundred percent. We have his backs gentlemen, just like on the field, and if I hear any differently, you will answer to me. Understood?"

"UNDERSTOOD COACH!" was their shouted reply. I looked around me at the faces, and not one of them was looking away. Each of them was looking me straight in the eye. Several of them patted me on the back.

"Now, State Champion Spartans, showers, you need them!" Coach said.

"YES, COACH!" we all shouted.

As we gathered on the bus for the trip home, spirits were high. Reg started looking immediately for paper, and Coach gave him some. Then he begged Coach's game pen and clipboard. Coach sighed and handed them over. Reg sat down and went to work. When he was finished, he got off of the bus and went to the other bus for a few minutes, and then he came back to ours. He went to the windows and started putting the papers in the windows. I couldn't help but watch him. From back to front, the signs that he made said, "HONK IF GREEN IS A DICK!"

"No, Reg. That's going too far. You're gonna really get in trouble. He's gonna find out all about it, and everybody knows who did it, including Coach," I said, starting to take the signs down as we pulled out of the parking lot. Immediately, the cars around us began honking. Several people had stayed to wait on the team and were gonna travel back with us. We were gonna stop and eat as a group. Luckily, Mr. Green had gone on ahead of the buses. We stopped at a Ryans, a buffet style restaurant, and got in line to eat. We were still quite the rowdy bunch from the win. Bella and I got in line with our gang. We managed to be seated together, and we were able to eat a good meal before we left. That time there was no Jessica to cause any problems, thank God. All of the way home, people would honk their horns as they passed the two busses.

Once back in town, I drove Bella and me home. We gathered with the gang in the basement and listened to some music while just chillin'. We didn't really do anything that afternoon. We talked about the game until we were blue in the face, our favorite plays, and so forth. We played a little Guitar Hero. We went to bed early, the six of us tired from the early start and the game.

Sunday morning, Bella and I got up and went to church. It was nice to be able to get dressed up and get out of the house. It was nice to be able to see my old friends again. It truly had been too long since I'd been at church. Brother Tucker pulled me aside when he saw me and gave me a hero's welcome. He said he'd been at the game and wanted to know if Mr. Green's comments had bothered me. I told him I'd been battling Mr. Green since it had all started, and I was okay. Mr. Green wasn't going to get me down.

When the service was over, several of the older women came up to Bella and me, Mrs. Ross being one of them. She pulled me to her and gave me a hug. "I've been wanting to do that since the day you asked me to move your seat," she said. "How are you and Bella doing, really?"

"We're taking it one day at a time," I said as a hand grabbed me on the shoulder. I turned to see Mr. Thompson, an older gentleman in the church.

"Congratulations, my boy. That was a fine ballgame you played yesterday. I saw it on the television," he said.

"Thank you, Mr. Thompson," I said, shaking his hand. "It was a team effort." Bella came up to me then and took my hand. "Are you all right?" I asked. She nodded, but her death grip on my hand told me differently. "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Thompson, I think that my parents are looking for me." He nodded, and I led Bella to the side of the pew. "What's wrong," I whispered to her.

"I just feel like I'm on display. I don't know why. Nobody has said anything, but I'm ready to get out of here. Maybe it's a guilty conscious. I don't know," she said. We began walking towards the front of the church when it happened. Mrs. Long, one of Mom's rivals on the Church Council, came up to us.

"Good morning, Edward. It's good to see you back in church, though it is a little surprising that you'd show your face here," she said, not bothering to keep her voice down.

"Good day, Mrs. Long. I thought everybody was welcomed in the House of God," I said.

"So, you admit that you've done things to be undeserving," she said.

"Edward, let's go," Bella said, pulling on my arm.

"Mrs. Long, I think that we're all undeserving. That's what Jesus died for. Now, if you'll excuse me," I said, trying to move around her and past the crowd that had gathered.

"Not all of us have been arrested for raping a young girl, Edward," she practically yelled as I pushed my way through the crowd. I stopped dead in my tracks. I hung my head. Now everyone at my church knew my shame. Everybody who I looked up to knew what Jessica had accused me of. How many of them would believe it? Mrs. Long obviously did. I slowly turned around and looked Mrs. Long in the eyes.

"Mrs. Long, you've known me since I was a baby. If you could believe I could do something like that then I don't have anything else to say to you," I said, and I turned and walked out of the church. Mom and Dad were talking to Brother Tucker and when I walked past them they followed me to the car.

"What's wrong, Edward?" Mom said as soon as we got in. I just shook my head. She looked at Bella who filled them in on what had happened inside the church. Mom got angry, and then she got mad. Before we got home, she had called Mrs. Ross and got her side of what had happened, and then she called Brother Tucker and told him what happened. She wasn't the first one to call him. Evidently, several of the other witnesses had already called him with their accounts of what had happened. All of the stories had matched Bella's account. He had planned to come and see me that afternoon, after we'd had time to eat, and then he was gonna visit Mrs. Long and have a long talk with her about casting the first stone.

True to his word, Brother Tucker did visit during the afternoon, and it made me feel better. He told me he'd known what I'd been arrested for, and he had faith in my innocence. He hadn't known me since I was a baby, but he'd talked to several people who had, and they'd all reassured him I was of the finest morals, and I was absolutely not "that kind of boy." He hoped I would continue to attend church, and he'd be telling Mrs. Long if she couldn't attend church with me, that he'd prefer it if she stayed home. He apologized profusely, and then he, Bella, and I talked about our wedding. He told us he would be happy to officiate it for us, but he would like us to attend some sessions with him before we got married. It was something that he asked of all engaged couples, not just us, and we gladly agreed. We called Mom and Dad in, and the four of us agreed that Christmas Eve would be a perfect wedding day. Bella wouldn't be showing much, if any, and Brother Tucker agreed to perform the wedding on that day. The only thing left to decide was where to get married. Bella wanted it done at my house, but I wanted to give her a church wedding. I wanted her to have the wedding of her dreams. She finally relented, but she said we'd only be inviting a few friends and family.

After Brother Tucker left, I pulled Bella aside. "I'm so sorry you were embarrassed today at church. I'd understand if you never wanted to go back with me again."

"I'll always be by your side. Wild dragons couldn't drag me away from you," she said.

"Then there's something I want you to do for me," I said.

"Anything," she said.

"You should know what it is before you say that, my love," I said.

"You know I'll do anything for you, Edward. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to ask your dad over for supper. I want you to tell him about the wedding, and I want you to ask him to give you away."

"He'll say, 'No,' and it'll break my heart."

"I don't think so. You didn't see his face. I think if you'll give him a chance, he'll surprise you. Trust me, please."

She leaned into my chest and nodded. I held her close as the tears streamed down her face. It was such a huge leap for her to take that chance and open her heart up to be broken again. I knew it, and I knew I was asking a lot. All I was going on was the lost look in Charlie's eyes when he was hitting me. I knew that lost look. It was the look Bella had when her mother died. I was hoping that by offering her back to him, the life would return to his eyes.