Soundtrack:

That we belong together
Like the moon and stars and midnight
We'll be strong forever
Cuz we belong together
Whoa, whoa... whoa whoa

-Together

by Michelle Branch

Chapter Twenty

Bella Swan

Today, I officially began my career as a waitress.

Okay, that's not precisely true since today was only a "testing day", according to my new manager Rachel. Can't say I liked her; she was probably in her thirties and was arrogant to the extreme, always making sure she looked superior in front of me and the other waiters and waitresses. Anyway, she wasn't impressed with my performance. I almost tripped over a customer on my way to the kitchen and I got one of the orders wrong, or so she said. So needless to say, the entire morning had been disastrous. With the evil eye that she had been giving me and my worries on meeting the mysterious Hope King in the afternoon, my heart came close to exploding with the amount of stress bubbled up inside of me. The only comfort I found from my newest working environment was my co-workers, who all seemed really eager to help me around.

I left the café at noon and the moment I set my foot out of the door, I wanted to scream to relieve the tension. She said she'd call tonight to tell me her decision on whether I was hired or not. To be frank, I kind of hoped that I wouldn't get the job… after all, hadn't I just escaped from one boss-from-hell? Was I ready for another?

No, Bella. You need the money. Endure. Endure. Endure…

The buzz of my cellphone snapped me from my thoughts. It was a text message from Edward.

Stuck in a meeting. How was work?

I giggled like a little girl and hastily pressed the reply button.

Long story. Tell you later. LOVE YOU. Say hi to Aly for me:)

Little things like these were what made me want to get into my car, dash to the hospital, and throw my arms around his torso to give him a hug. I loved the fact that he still texted me, the same gesture that we had been keeping since high school. There was something about it that made me feel connected to him.

Love you too. By the way, if that douchebag is there, call me and I'll go screw up his face. Work or no work.

Work or no work. I didn't doubt his words. Edward always meant business when the Royce subject was brought up. When the topic came into discussion the other day, he was beyond furious. Would it be sick of me to say that I felt protected and secretly pleased to see him react so strongly? Well, I did. Until he listed a bunch of things that he wanted to do to Royce that I was sure would land him in jail…

Starbucks was only a couple of blocks away so it didn't take me that long to get there. The nerves kicked in as soon as I got to the front of the shop. I was convinced that I was mentally prepared for this. I had no idea who Hope King was aside from the fact that she was related to Royce. Frankly, that didn't exactly put my mind to ease.

I scanned the tables and half-expected to find Royce in one of the booths, smiling his unpleasant, eerie smile at me. With an intake of breath, I blinked and unclenched my fists. Royce King wasn't here. If he was, I had all these people here as my witnesses. He wouldn't do anything inappropriate.

Then what caught my attention, what snapped me from my surmise was the blonde woman sitting by the window, waving at me when she met my eyes. It was her. Hope King.

She's pretty, I noted as I approached her table. Definitely not Royce's mother since she didn't look much older than me.

She got to her feet and smiled when I reached her. With a hand extended, she said, "Miss Swan. Thank you for meeting me here today. I'm Hope King."

Staggered, I gaped at her for a good five seconds before accepting the handshake.

"Err… you're welcome."

"Shall we sit down? Maybe you'd like to order something to drink first?" she asked.

I shook my head at her and slid in the booth, sitting right across from her. "No, it's fine. I just had some coffee before I came."

She smiled politely. "If you're sure."

I nodded and gulped. Jesus. Why the hell was I so nervous?

She sighed, hooked her fingers together, and looked down to her lap before picking her head back up to meet my eyes. Hope really was beautiful. She had wavy blonde hair and hazelnut eyes. As I took in what she was wearing, I instantly felt bad for not being more dressed up for our meeting. Technically, it wasn't my fault since I came straight from work, but she didn't know that.

"Miss Swan-"

"Bella," I cut her off.

"Bella, you're probably wondering why I called you. First of all, let me tell you more about me. I'm Dalton King's daughter and Royce's sister. And I'm taking over Media Today since my father is retiring due to his health conditions. Your contact information was never erased from our list of employees so that's how I got a hold of your number." She paused. "I have two purposes meeting you here today. One is to apologize for my brother."

I widened my eyes at her.

She grimaced. "I know about his harassment toward you. I've talked to a couple of your colleagues to ask why you left the company so suddenly when you weren't fired…" She had to mean Vanessa and Tessa. They were the only ones from Media Today who were in the know of why I quit. "And I was beyond furious when I heard what my brother did to you. Such behavior is inexcusable. And I assure you I'm not letting him off the hook just because he's my sibling."

Her eyes were burning with rage. I wondered if she had experienced similar treatment.

"My father's informed of this as well. Not just your situation, but of everything my brother had inflicted. That's why he asked me to come back from Seattle. To take Royce's place. Permanently."

I nodded in apprehension. Ever since Royce had filled in for Mr. King, the entire company had been in chaos. Everyone panicked all of the time and because of that, the quality of our magazine has dropped drastically. We'd received complaints from subscribers for missing pages, damaged copies frequently… and it got worse and worse as time went on.

"Which brings me to my second point," she smiled graciously and unfolded her hands from her chest. "Miss Swan- Bella," she mended. "Would you consider working for Media Today again?"

I made an O shape with my mouth. There was no way that this was happening.

She cleared her throat. "My brother hired someone to fill up your position right after you quit. He's…" She shook her head. "The hell with it. He's a bloody idiot."

To say I was stunned with her revelation would have been an understatement. Hope just seemed so composed and serious; I wasn't expecting her to make such a bold statement.

"You don't have to give me an answer right now," she said graciously. "I know you have another job going for you at the moment, as you've mentioned over the phone… but weigh out your options and tell me what you decide. Media Today would love to have you back."

"Umm…" I let out an uneven breath, still not over the fact that this was happening- truly happening. "Okay. I'll… err… consider it."

"Great. Well, here's my card,"- she thrust something into my clammy hand- "and call me whenever you decide. I'm chairing a staff meeting this afternoon so I better get going." She took a final sip of her coffee and smoothed her hair out a little bit. "Thank you for meeting me, Bella."

"You too, Miss King."

After bobbing a polite nod, she slid out of the booth and headed gracefully for the door.

My job. She was offering it back to me.

Edward Cullen

"Hey, you. Whatcha thinking?" I snaked my arms around Bella's waist when I got home and found her staring at the kitchen cabinet. God, I loved that she was here. Loved that she was back. I buried my nose into the crook of her neck and inhaled. She was wearing my favorite perfume on her- the scent was a combination of strawberry and cinnamon.

She gave a little gasp. "Jeez, Edward. I didn't hear you come in."

"Your mind was pretty preoccupied," I pointed out. "A penny for your thoughts?"

She spun around, my hands not leaving her waist, and looked at me with gleaming eyes. "You know I met up with Hope King this afternoon."

King. The sound of that alone was enough to piss me off.

"He wasn't there, was he?" I hissed.

She shook her head hastily. "No, no. He wasn't. Hope is his sister-"

"So is she a total bitch too?" I chuckled sourly, making a face. I couldn't help it. Every time Royce was brought into our conversation, I had no self-control when it came down to my temper. The guy was an ass that deserved to be beaten up. Too bad Bella didn't want me to do it.

She sighed. "Will you let me finish, Edward?"

I hugged her closer. "Sorry. I'll try not to interrupt." Yeah. As if.

"Hope is actually really nice," she murmured, smiling. "She's the opposite of what I expected. Aside from having blond hair like Royce, they had nothing in common. And-"- she took a deep breath- "she offered to give me my job back."

I gaped at her with my mouth hanging open. "No way."

"And I think I'm going to take her up on it. Waitressing doesn't work for me. It's been quite an eventful morning," she muttered, blushing as she looked down to our feet.

I laughed at that. I couldn't really imagine my girl serving coffee. Sure, Bella was athletic, but she could be ridiculously uncoordinated whenever she was nervous. I assumed today was one of those occasions.

Kissing the top of her head, I swayed us from side to side and ruffled her hair. "I'm happy for you, sweetheart. But… are you sure about this?"

She bit her bottom lip thoughtfully and nodded. "I think so. Media Today is where I belong. Working someplace else just doesn't feel right. Besides, if Royce is gone, there is no reason for me to be afraid of that place anymore. I really miss writing, getting all worked up over a deadline, reading the feedback of our subscribers… you know. I miss it all."

I smiled, picked up the phone from the counter and handed it to her. "Then make the call."

She beamed at me, snatched it excitedly from my hands after studying it for about two seconds, and kissed my cheek. "You're right. I should. No,"- she shook her head, her grin widening- "It's 'hell yeah', I should!"

Confident, nothing-in-the-world-can-be-in-my-way-when-I-want-something Bella Swan was back. My girl was back. The thought of that made me chuckle. God, I had missed this side of her.

We're going to be okay.

I could hear Bella rambling exultantly into the phone as she informed Rosalie and Alice of the good news after she called Hope King. My sister and Jasper were returning next week from their European honeymoon, which meant Emmett was getting beaten up by s girl pretty soon. Knowing Alice, she would never let Emmett get away with his petty prank when the matter of clothes was involved. Her clothes.

"I can't believe I have my job back!" Bella said giggly, dancing on the couch with her arms up. Her hair was all over the place and her cheeks were flushed- I liked it.

"Well," I said, "This calls for celebration. Let me take you out tonight."

Instantly, her eyes softened. "Edward, you've spent so much money on me over the last couple of weeks. You can't spoil me-"

"Bella," I took her face in my hands, fully prepared from the panic attack that I was sure was following, "You. Are. Worth. It. Now say it."

Her gaze shifted to the floor. "This is stupid."

"It's not stupid. My stomach is growling but I've got all night, baby." I glowered at her and crossed my arms.

"Edward, don't-"

"Say it."

"No."

"Isabella."

"Grr. Don't call me that. No."

"Bella, say it."

"Fine!" She shouted, thrusting her arms heavenward exasperatedly. "I. Am. Worth. It. There. So pushy and stubborn," she muttered with a pout as she eyed me with mocking distaste.

Right. Stubborn. As if I could ever be as stubborn as her.

I smiled triumphantly and draped an arm over her shoulder. Even though she hadn't gotten off the couch, I still was taller than her.

"Exactly," I snickered. "Grab a coat or something. Let's go."

Despite her wishes, her lips curled up when she felt me leading her to the door. I wanted to get out of here already. Celebrate and just… hang out with her.

"Edward, at least give me some time to change! Alice or no Alice, I am not going anywhere in my pajamas and slippers!"

I froze and craned my neck to look at her. Indeed, she had on her old university sweatpants and pink slippers. I hadn't noticed. In fact, I don't think I'd ever torn my gaze away from her face while we talked.

She gauged my expression and giggled.

I cleared my throat, evidently embarrassed. "I'll… err… wait here then. Take your time."

She wrapped her arms around my neck, kissed me gently on the lips and smiled. "You're silly but I love you."

"Silly?" I cocked my head. "Me? Silly? Hmm…" I put a finger under my chin as I pretended to ponder over what she had just said. "Smart, maybe. Sexy, definitely. Cool? Hell yeah. But silly? Nope."

She chucked a pillow at my face, threw her head back and laughed. It was the hearty, carefree laugh that I adored.

"Edward Cullen, I swear to you that this whole imperious attitude that you have going for you won't be able to last forever. One day someone will put you in your place."

Running a hand through my hair, I squared my shoulders and smirked. "If I do recall correctly, you have already put me in my place. Six years ago."

She snorted. "Apparently not. I mean, look at you."

"Gee, thanks, Bella."

She hid her smile by biting her lip as she skipped to our bedroom. I heard her singing to herself while changing, the lyrics expressing exactly what I was feeling.

It doesn't matter how far apart we are now

You can add up all the miles in between

If you take a good look all around now

All you see is you and me

When I look at myself in the mirror

I see you standing there smiling at me

And I'm right back at the beginning

Lost inside this memory

I won't ever let go, all that I want to hold onto

"Okay. I'm ready," Bella soft voice sounded from the doorway, breaking me from my trance. "Edward? Are you okay?"

I snapped my head up to look at her. A broad smile was lit on my face when I saw my beautiful girlfriend standing there studying me with her head slightly cocked to the side. She had on a pair of black skinny jeans and a dark blue coat that suited the silk scarf that she had around her neck. God, she was gorgeous…

I took a step toward her and took one of her hands.

"Do a whirl for me, Bella," I chuckled.

She blushed but did what I wished. The singer was right; I wouldn't ever let go. Bella Swan was all that I wanted to hold on to.

-

-

"Thank you for both dinner and the movie, Edward. They were great," Bella murmured with a smile and wrapped her arms around my waist as we strolled down the pedestrian street, the sweet scent of her hair hitting my face whenever the wind blew. A couple of drunk guys in leather jackets and pants- seriously. Who did they think they were? Danny from Grease?- flashed her an up-to-no-good smirk when we passed by. It took every ounce of my self control to not jump them right then and there. Being drunk didn't give them the excuse to look at Bella like she was a piece of item from an auction.

"You're welcome, sweetheart. Though you have to admit, the movie kind of sucked."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Edward, sometimes I don't know why you chose to be a doctor. You're like Simon from American Idol- incredibly hard to please. In fact, you should be a movie critic or something."

Hey, it wasn't my fault that the film sucked. I thought it was a good title for an action movie and I had heard Tanya praising the movie to the other female co-workers a couple of days ago while we were off the clock. I thought if she and the other girls liked it, Bella probably would too. And she did.

However, I didn't. Every time the male protagonist came on screen, the teenage girls sitting in the back row would scream and gasp. And God, when he began doing his hero crap- which included him taking off his shirt in the process- girls whistled. And whistled. And whistled… Bella didn't do any of that, but I could tell she was impressed by the actor. She kept on saying he was "a natural at playing emotional scenes" and even cried at the end when he almost died.

Phft. You're such a loser, Cullen. You're jealous of a petty actor. An ACTOR, for Pete's sake.

"So I was thinking that maybe-" She suddenly tensed under my arms. Abruptly, all of the pointless jealousy was pushed aside. My only concern was her and only her. Skimming the surrounding was my first reaction, to check if there was something or someone that could possibly cause her harm or threat.

"It's him," she muttered disbelievingly. "I don't believe it."

Him. It was a male.

"Who?" I demanded to know, my nostrils flaring. "Royce King?"

Her reaction wasn't the one that I had expected to see. No anger, no fear. Instead, she was smiling. Freaking smiling.

"Oh my gosh! I don't believe it! Dean Winchester! What are you doing here?" Then she very subtly dragged me along, twining our fingers together as she skipped to the intersection to greet a guy that I didn't know wearing an unstylish olive green jacket. The guy wasn't tall but was burly. He looked a couple of years older than us and had a confident smile. I didn't like it. He looked surprised yet pleased to see Bella, despite having a brunette standing right beside him, who I assumed was his date even though they weren't holding hands or touching.

This night just got better and better. First petty actor and now this? Who the hell was Dean Winchester? Bella said his name as if they were best friends or some shit. I was beginning to feel nauseated.

"What are you doing in L.A.?" Bella exclaimed. It made me feel better that she hadn't released my hand. "Oh, Dean Winchester, this is my boyfriend, Edward Cullen."

Dean's eyes narrowed as he sized me up. I glared at him and straightened myself to remind him of the fact that I was taller than him. Then to my utter bewilderment, he extended his hand and let out a good-natured laugh.

"Ahh. So I see you worked things out with the boyfriend. Glad to see that. How are you doing, man?"

I frowned at him, a bit taken aback by the turn of conversation. He knew about me? He knew about me and Bella? Who the hell was he? I had never heard of a "Dean Winchester" before in my life.

I wasn't going to act like an asshole in front of Bella. "Good, thanks. How about you?"

"A bit surprised, actually. I wasn't expecting to see Miss Bella Swan again after we got off the plane."

Then Bella explained to me how she sat next to Winchester on the plane and spilled everything to him as a result to her bad mood. I admit, I was not fond of the idea of her telling some random stranger about our relationship, but when she said it made her feel good to have some release, I did not resent Dean Winchester for knowing about us.

"So what are you doing in the area? What happened to northeast?" Bella questioned.

He rolled his eyes. "Everything there costs too much. And it was much too cold. Gah. I'm complaining like a chick."

I chuckled, feeling instantly sorry for the stranger. "You shouldn't have said that."

"Why?"

I pointed at Bella with the tip of my chin. She was, indeed, glowering at him. "Big feminist over here."

"Oh." Dean Winchester shot her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Anyway, guess I'll be stuck in UCLA for another half year."

"Huh. Is that right?" Bella murmured.

The girl beside Winchester was now tugging on the sleeve of his jacket and whispering something in his ear. This was the first time that I had seen them touch each other for the entire time that we had seen them.

He grinned. "Sorry. My sister just reminded me that I haven't made the introductions yet. Anyway, this is my little sister- Sammy. Sammy, this is Bella Swan - you know, the girl on the plane that I told you about. And this is the boyfriend of the story."

"Sister?" Bella laughed. "I thought she was your girlfriend or your date!"

Dean Winchester's face morphed into a mixture of horror and disgust. "My girl- Dude. That's sick!"

Sammy widened her eyes. "So you guys do exist!"

"What?" Bella and I asked simultaneously. What the hell were we? Imaginary?

Sammy shook her head. "I thought Dean had made up the 'plane conversation' that he was telling me. It was a couple of weeks ago. My boyfriend had just broken up with me and Dean was trying to explain how all the guys are jerks. He used your story as an example." Then she blushed. "I've said too much."

Bella snickered while I sneered at Winchester and said, "Thanks, man."

"I didn't know it was going to work out, okay?" Dean Winchester looked kind of flustered. The guy was blushing. So… weird. "Let along meeting you again. Both of you."

I decided that I might actually like this guy. He was pretty entertaining.

"Oh! Here goes the light. Well, we're going this way."

I nodded my head. "Bella and I are heading this way." The opposite direction. I swear to you I'm not making this shit up just to get rid of him. My car really was parked there.

So we quickly said our goodbyes and even exchanged phone numbers. Dean Winchester was a little strange but he didn't give me a bad vibe, which was surprising considering I had wanted to take him down not too long ago before I knew who he was.

"See ya, Dean Winchester!"

"Later, Bella Swan!"

I had no idea why he and Bella referred to each other by their full names. When I brought this up to Bella, she just shrugged and said she didn't know either. According to her, "it sounded right". Whatever.

"So…"

"So?" I smiled at her, wondering where she was going with this word.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but…" She looked down to her feet, smug. "Were you jealous back there? At first?"

I grinned wryly. "You're not wrong. Don't worry; I won't arrange a blanket party for him. He seems like a decent guy. Strange, but decent. "

She shaped her mouth into a perfect O, appearing to be thoughtful. It took a while for her to speak again and when she finally did, she halted us both into a stop when we reached the Volvo.

"Edward, wait."

"Hmm?"

She stared straight into my eyes. "I've never told you this but the month that we weren't together… or the month before, when we were distant to each other… breaking up had never crossed my mind. I mean, even when I shut the door at your face back at Rosalie's, I had never considered it. Not once." Her eyes began to water. "It's you. It has always been you, since high school. I know a while back I told you people change, that we might not be the same people that we were back when we first met… but I want to tell you that I don't feel that way. Because after all these years, Edward, my feelings for you haven't faded. It's the little things you do that make me love you more and more every single day: holding my hair while I puke, taking care of me while I'm sick, sharing your day with me when you come back from school or work…" She rubbed her nose and sniffled. "I'm sorry. I don't know where this sudden outburst came from. I just want you to know how much you mean to me. I'm sorry that I'm crying. I'm sorry-"

"Bella," I chuckled, holding a finger over her lip. "Stop." Then I kissed the top of her head and brushed her bangs from her eyes. "I love your sudden outburst. And most importantly," I whispered the last couple of words. "I am insanely in love with you. Just thought you should know."

She looked at me from beneath her wet lashes and gave a soft laugh. "Thanks. Can I tell you something that is really sick?"

"Sure."

"I kind of like it when you get jealous of the other men who talks to me. Sure, your possessiveness can be kind of overboard sometimes, but I like it. It's sickening, huh?"

"Good. Because in case you haven't noticed, I have jealousy issues. And I don't think they're going anywhere any time soon."

She giggled. "Same here. I mean, back at the restaurant when that waitress was ogling you, I pictured different scenarios where I would beat her up senseless."

I smirked, a wave of smugness rolling over me. "So that's why you kept on emphasizing the word my boyfriend while she took our order."

A beautiful blush crept to her cheeks. "We're a messed up couple, huh?"

I shrugged then pulled her into my arms. She was so small in comparison with me. Small, warm, and soft…

"No. We're Bella and Edward. We're not perfect, but we belong with each other." I smiled at my own statement, at how right it sounded. "Hey, let's go to our beach. We haven't been there for a really long time."

"Fine. On one condition: you are not pulling me into the water, like you've done so many times before."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Bella Swan

I was exhausted. I couldn't feel my legs and I think I was beginning to lose my voice from laughing so loudly on the beach a couple of hours before. Edward kept his promise and didn't get me wet, but at the same time, he forced me to slow-dance with him. There was no music. I imagined that we must have looked ridiculously stupid but thankfully no one was there to judge us.

He pulled out all of my embarrassing stories from high school and college while we danced, leaving me no choice but to fight back. So we spent the last couple of hours laughing over our stupid mishaps and mistakes.

He carried me into the house when we pulled into the garage. I didn't care if I was being a child; like I've said before, I was exhausted. The energy in me had completely burnt out. Now all I could think was I need sleep.

The second he situated me on the bed and pried my fingers loose from the front of his shirt I whimpered. The bed was too cold, the pillows were freezing and I had nothing to snuggle against. Before I went into Where-are-you-Edward? panic mode, I felt the other end of the bed shift and a pair of arms around me.

Now this was comfortable.

"Goodnight, Bella."

I smiled despite the drowsiness. Edward's voice was raspy too.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Your voice. It sounds… sexy," I giggled, wondering if my incoherency made me statement incomprehensible.

"Stop teasing me," he sighed.

"I'm not! I'm telling you the truth. It's seeeexy."

"Bella, are you drunk?" he asked, incredulousness dripping into his every word.

I snorted. "How can I be drunk? I haven't had any alcohol tonight. You're the one who drank the beer. Maybe you're drunk."

"Not likely," he chuckled, now tracing my nose with the tip of his finger. "Fine, if I'm drunk, I shouldn't be able to tell you what came in the mail this morning."

My eyes snapped wide open. I stretched, lay on my stomach so that I was facing him and gaped at him with expectance. "What came in the mail this morning?"

He smirked and threw an arm over his eyes. "Not telling. I'm completely worn out. I'm going to call it a night. Goodnight, B."

I glared at him. First, he accused me of teasing him, and now he went and left me with a huge cliffhanger? He was so mean.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, you better tell me right now."

He grimaced, his eyes still closed. "Using my middle name isn't going to help. I hate my middle name so in fact, you just made not telling you easier for me."

I growled with irritation. Damn it. Damn it.

"Edward, if you don't tell me… I'll… I'll… not speak to you for a year!"

Lazily, he laughed. "Bella, not talking to me for a year will kill you. You are simply not immune to my attractiveness."

Arrogant jerk. Though I guess he did have a point there. I'd rather die then not talk to him for a year.

So threats weren't working, huh? Fine. I'll use my feminine wiles on him.

Gently, I gave his left shoulder a little nudge. I shook him with both of my hands when he didn't respond to my touch. "Edward, wake up."

Dear God. He could not be falling asleep for real. But with him, you'd never know. He was a really good actor.

"Edward?"

The corner of his lips twitched. Barely noticeable.

So I leaned in and stroked the side of his face. "Edward," I whispered, caressing his lips with a kiss. And another. And another… "Please tell me. I love you."

He gulped. Good. That meant he wasn't asleep. He never was. I wasn't losing my touch after all.

So I went for the kill. I drew myself closer to him and kissed his earlobe. Then making sure my breath was hitting his skin, I whispered his name again. And again. And again.

He slowly opened his eyes. I stared at him with my best if-you-don't-tell-me-then-I'll-break expression and bit on my bottom lip. God, I wanted to know what he was being so secretive about. Nothing ticked me off more than being left in the dark.

He cursed then groaned. "Damn, Bella. Cut that shit out. You know I won't be able to tell you no when you look at me like that."

I smiled proudly. "Exactly. So tell me."

He pulled me to him and kissed the top of my head while rubbing circles on my back. "You don't fight fair, you sneaky girl."

"Speak for yourself."

"Okay. I'll tell you. What came in the mail today was… drum rolls please…"

"Edward!" I groaned. "Will you just get to it? My patience is slipping."

"Was the invitation to our high school reunion."

High school reunion? I thought it was… okay, never mind. I had no idea what it was but it certainly was NOT the invitation to our high school reunion.

"But don't people usually wait ten years for the reunion?" I frowned. "It's been what, five or six years since we graduated from high school?

He shrugged, yawning. "ECA has never followed other schools' tradition, has it? Anyway, if you don't want to go, we can-"

"No!" I screamed. He raised his eyebrow at me. Blushing, I buried my face into the arch of his neck and mumbled, "I wanna go. I mean, only if you want to go. Do you want to go?"

Jeez. I was babbling like a moronic idiot.

"I want to go too."

I lifted my head and saw that he was smirking.

"I want to go and flaunt the fact that we're still together to everyone," he said smugly. "Students, teachers… hell, if we see that janitor who used to interrupt every time I tried to make a move on you, I'll show you off in front of him too."

I laughed at his absurdity.

"So it's settled. We're going?"

He nodded his head. "We're definitely going. Now, if you don't mind, I really need to get some sleep. I'm as tired as shit and I don't want to pass out on you in the middle of a conversation."

"Okay. Goodnight, Edward. I love you."

"I love you too. More than you can ever imagine." He kissed the top of my head."' Night, Bella."

Contently, I pressed my cheek to the front of his shirt. I couldn't believe it. High school reunion. Now that was something to look forward to.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Hope you enjoyed the update and I hope you're having a nice holiday.

You know what to do... please review :) They make writing so much easier :D