Everything was ready.

I was packed for my two-day visit with "Alice," and my bag waited for me on the passenger seat of my truck. I'd given the concert tickets to Angela, Ben, and Makayla. Jeremy's vacation had gotten delayed, which caused me some panic, but Makayla ended up buying a fourth ticket to invite Jeremy which made me feel relieved. Billy had borrowed Old Quil Ateara's boat and invited David down for some open sea fishing before the afternoon game started. Collin and Brady, the two youngest werewolves, were staying behind to protect La Push—though they were just children, both of them only thirteen. Still, David would be safer than anyone left in Forks.

I had done all that I could do. I tried to accept that, and put the things that were outside of my control out of my head, for tonight at least. One way or another, this would all be over in forty-eight hours. The thought was almost comforting.

Elsa had requested that I relax, and I was going to do my best.

"For this one night, can we try to forget everything besides just you and me?" she'd pleaded, unleashing the full force of her eyes on me. "It seems like I can never get enough time like that. I need to be with you. Just you."

That was not a hard request to agree to, though I knew that forgetting my fears would be much easier said than done. Because it was more than just my fears for the coming battle.

As I had sat gazing at the moon the night before—resting against a werewolf, no less—I had been thinking about my life and the path it had gone down. I was thinking about humanity. Mine, to be specific. I considered what it meant to be human, especially being human in a world surrounded by non-humans. I was thinking about what I had missed out on and what I still had a chance to experience. Human experiences. Elsa was always so quick to push me into human experiences.

I thought about what my life would be like constantly on the run from the Volturi, or if we ran out of places to run and the only option was to change me. What would those new lives look like? What human experiences would I be able to have? What would I miss? Most importantly, which would I be willing to give up?

I had to prioritize.

I thought about David, Renée, and all my friends at school. I thought about all the memories we could make together. Try a fishing trip with David, go on another road trip with my mom. Go see a concert with all my friends. I thought about Kristoff and the La Push pack. I thought about my days in Kristoff's garage laughing over warm sodas from brown paper bags. Could I let go of all of that?

I thought about my aspirations, I thought about what I desperately wanted. I thought about staying human and going to college. Part of me wistfully imagined going to culinary school. I did love to cook. I thought about traveling abroad and seeing different sights. I even, briefly, thought about marriage. As frightening of a notion that was to me, part of me wondered if maybe I needed to get over my aversion to the idea. I certainly wasn't opposed to the idea of being with Elsa forever.

All these thoughts had been racing through my head since the night before. All pushing and pulling against each other, vying to be in the forefront of my mind.

What would I give up, and what would I insist on? I wasn't totally sure.

If I had to let go of things, move on, and create a new life for myself, it needed to be worth it. More than just worth it, it needed to be amazing. I needed to make everything count, and I needed to seize every opportunity when I could, because I was running out of time to do so.

I was confused by how nervous I felt as I drove down the long path to Elsa's house—I didn't know why I suddenly had such serious jitters. Elsa sat in the passenger seat, fighting a smile at my slow pace. I was surprised that she hadn't insisted on taking the wheel, but tonight she seemed content to go at my speed.

It was after dark when we reached the house. In spite of that, the meadow was bright in the light shining from every window.

As soon as I cut the engine she was at my door, opening it for me. She lifted me from the cab with one arm, slinging my bag out of the truck bed and over her shoulder with the other. Her lips found mine as I heard her kick the trucks door shut behind me.

Without breaking the kiss, she swung me up so that I was resting in her arms and carried me into the house.

Was the front door already open? I didn't know. We were inside, though, and I was dizzy. I had to remind myself to breath.

The kissing did not frighten me. It wasn't like before when I could feel the fear and panic leaking through her control. Her lips were not anxious, but enthusiastic now—she seemed as thrilled as I was that we had tonight to concentrate on being together. She continued to kiss me for several minutes, standing there in the entry; she seemed less careful than usual, her mouth cold and urgent on mine.

I felt a wave of refreshed nervousness and I realized what made it different; it was an excited nervous.

With a low chuckle, she gently pulled me away.

"Welcome home," she said, her eyes liquid and warm.

"That sounds nice," I said, breathless.

She set me gently on my feet. I wrapped both my arms around her, not wanting any space between us.

"I have something for you," she said, her tone conversational.

"Oh?"

"Your hand-me-down, remember? You said that was allowable."

"Oh, that's right. I guess I did say that."

She chuckled at my reluctance.

"It's up in my room. Shall I go get it?"

Her bedroom? "Sure," I agreed, feeling a flutter of excitement in my stomach. "Let's go."

She must have been eager to give me my non-present, because human velocity was not fast enough for her. She scooped me up again and nearly flew up the stairs to her room. She set me down at the door, and darted into her closet.

She was back before I'd taken a step, scooped me up again, and set me down on the edge of the bed.

"Okay," I raised an eyebrow. "Let me have it."

Elsa laughed.

She climbed onto the bed, and I felt my heart thump unevenly as a new wave of butterflies fluttered through my stomach.

"A hand-me-down," she reminded me sternly. Her hands went behind my neck, and before I could react I felt something slide down the chain of my necklace.

I examined it cautiously. Next to the little wooden wolf, there now hung a brilliant heart-shaped crystal. It was cut in a million facets, so that even in the subdued light shining from the lamp, it sparkled. I inhaled a low gasp.

"It was my mother's." She shrugged deprecatingly. "I inherited quite a few baubles like this. I've given some to Esme and Alice both. So, clearly, this is not a big deal in any way."

I smiled ruefully at her assurance.

"But I thought it was a good representation," she continued. "It's hard and cold." She laughed. "And it throws rainbows in the sunlight."

"You forgot the other similarity," I murmured. "It's beautiful."

"My heart is just as silent," she mused. "And it, too, is yours."

I twisted the chain of the necklace so the heart would glimmer. "Thank you. For both."

"No, thankyou. It's a relief to have you accept a gift so easily. Good practice for you, too." She grinned, flashing her teeth.

I leaned into her, ducking my head under her arm and cuddling into her side. It probably felt similar to snuggling with Michaelangelo'sDavid, except that this beautiful marble creature wrapped her arms around me to pull me closer.

I realized what I wanted tonight.

"So, can we discuss something? Please try to be open-minded and hear me out."

She hesitated for a moment. "I'll give it my best effort," she agreed, cautious now.

"I'm not breaking any rules here," I promised. "This is strictly about you and me." I cleared my throat. "So… I was thinking… about human experiences. Specifically, ones that you wanted me to have, and ones that I wanted to have."

"Go on." She said, a smile in her voice.

"Well, I think it's fair to put…marriageon your list of human experiences."

"I suppose it's a partial human experience," she mused. "Given that only one of us is human. But, yes." She smiled.

"I still have my problems with that one." I said.

"Actually, if it helps, I did have a compromise for you regarding the marriage."

"A compromise?" I asked, eagerly.

"Yes," she stroked my cheek. "I understand you don't like making a big fuss, you don't care for parties, and you have your trepidations about everyone knowing you're married."

"All correct." I nodded.

"So, what if it doesn't have to be a big production? I don't need any fanfare. You won't have to tell anyone or make any changes. We'll go to Vegas—you can wear old jeans and we'll go to the chapel with the drive-through window. I just want it to be official—that I'm yours, and you are mine."

"Okay, that's a fair compromise." I cleared my throat again, trying to change the subject. "College is on your list, too?"

"It is," she said, but her eyes narrowed slightly. "And if marriage comes first, then what's mine would be yours… like tuition money. So there would be no problem with Dartmouth."

"Well, I think I'd need to actually have thegradesto get into Dartmouth, not just the tuition money."

"Alright, well, how about we discuss the marriage idea further." She grinned widely.

"Okay, okay," I was starting to feel flustered. "Here's the deal."

"The deal?"

I got to my knees and tried to look her in the eye but my face was red. "Okay, so we're alone. In your bedroom."

"Yes…" her eyes were cautious.

"And, yes, we have to be careful."

"Yes…" she said it slowly, her body was starting to tense.

I leaned in closer to her. I put my arms around her neck.

"Anna…" she breathed.

"So there are a few human experiences that I would really like to have…" I mumbled, "Number one tonight is… Um…"

I took a deep breath, and swung my leg over her so I was straddling her. Her hands moved quickly to my hips, and I could feel the tension in them. I leaned in and kissed her. My hands ran through her hair and I felt her grip tighten.

I started feeling dizzy from the lack of air. I pulled away from her for a second, her eyes were still somewhat cautious, I went in again for another kiss.

This time when I broke the kiss, I moved my lips along her jaw to her ear.

"I really want…" I felt my face go red. "I feel stupid saying it."

"Tell me," she breathed.

"It sounds so…dumb," I murmured. "But I just want to have a crazy, intense… make-out session with my girlfriend in her bed..."

My face was burning red. It felt stupid saying it out loud. It felt juvenile. But it's what I wanted. It was a human experience, one any teenager should have at least once in their life, right? And when you're on the run there probably isn't time for stuff like that.

Her grip was still tight on my hips. I cautiously leaned back to look at her face. I expected her to look anxious or reproachful. Instead, all I saw wasdesire.

"Do you think," I began quietly, "we could try that?"

A wickedly devious grin slowly spread across her beautiful face.

"Oh, yes mam."

Before I realized what was happening, she had spun me over onto the center of the bed. This time she was on top of me.

She began kissing my neck, slowly moving her way up to my jaw. My heart was racing. Her lips found mind and the kiss was intense and passionate. One of her hands was still firmly on my hip, but the other slid up my body towards my chest. Her hand went under my shirt and the touch of her cold skin against mine caused me to involuntarily arch my back.

My hands shot up and grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling her deeper into the kiss. I felt her smile against my lips and my grip on her collar tightened.

I finally broke the kiss, purely for need of oxygen. Our eyes locked, I could only imagine the expression on my face was as intense as hers. I tugged, too hard, on her collar, coaxing her to turn over. She understood what I wanted and, in a flash, I was on top of her. Somewhere in the movement, I had accidentally ripped off a few of the buttons of her shirt leaving her stunning chest exposed.

I dove in, kissing my way up her chest to her neck. One of her hands was on my hip, the other was in my hair. While I kissed her neck, I tried to covertly unbutton the rest of her shirt. She realized what I was doing, and I felt her body tense up slightly.

I moved quickly to her lips again, this time I teased the outline of them with my tongue. She exhaled a moan of pleasure.

We were spinning again, and she was on top of me once more.

Her mouth was not gentle; there was a brand-new edge of conflict and desperation in the way her lips moved. I locked my arms around her neck, and, to my increasingly overheated skin, her body felt colder than ever. I trembled, but it was not from the chill.

She didn't stop kissing me. I was the one who had to break away, again gasping for air. Even then her lips did not leave my skin, they just moved to my throat. I couldn't keep myself from gasping. One of her hands gripped the wrought-iron bar of the bed's headboard above us, and the other pulled at my shirt. My fingers tangled in her hair.

"Elsa," I moaned her name.

I suddenly heard a keening groan and a sharp snapping sound from above me that made me jump.

Elsa froze.

My eyes shot up to her hand above me.

She had pulverized the metal bar of the headboard in her hand. I stared at the twisted metal in her vice-like grip with wide eyes. We both lay perfectly still, panting.

"Are you… okay?" I finally breathed.

"I think," she said slowly, "we need to stop."

Her eyes met mine, and though she looked anxious now, there was still desire in her eyes.

"Probably," I said. "But," I took a deep breath, "you want to go further."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement. I could see the look in her eyes and I knew thatIwanted to.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath herself.

"You can't possibly imagine how very much I would like to."

"So…" I trailed off suggestively.

"I don't think that's possible now." She said it slowly, like she was trying to convince herself. "Later, when you're less breakable."

"IfI become less breakable."

"Anna, I don't—"

"Do you… want to?" I breathed.

Her closed eyes tightened. She paused for a long moment.

"Yes."

"Well, so do I."

"Anna, I could kill you," she whispered.

"I don't think you could."

Without opening her eyes, she carefully extended her arm out over the side of the bed. She opened her hand and the twisted hunk of metal clattered to the floor.

"Okay, obviously we got a little carried away," I said quietly. "But you don'twantto hurt me… so much so that I don't think that you ever could."

She started shaking her head before I was done.

"It might not work that way, Anna."

"Might," I pushed. "You have no more idea what you're talking about than I do."

"Exactly." She opened her eyes and they bored into mine. "Do you imagine I could ever take that kind of risk with you?"

I considered that for a moment.

"Maybe, if we were more careful?" I offered. I moved my hands to her shoulders, and I gently coaxed her open shirt off, sliding it slightly down her arms I saw she had on a blue bra. "Took it slow?"

"Anna," she breathed. "You will be the death of me, I swear."

I chuckled. "I'm sorry, I don't want to try and force you into something you don't want to do."

She managed to laugh then. "Believe me, Anna. I want to."

I smirked and tugged at my shirt, trying to lift it over my head. Her hand caught mine and her lips were at my ear.

"Anna," she murmured, her voice warm and velvet. "Would you please stop trying to take your clothes off."

"Would you like to do that part?" I asked, confused.

She chuckled. Her lips kissed gently along my cheek and jaw. "I would…" she trailed off.

"But?"

She sighed, and moved to lay beside me.

"I think it's my turn to be embarrassed," she smiled her crooked smile. "Because your vampire girlfriend is rather old fashioned."

I curled into her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I want nothing in this whole world more than I want you." She said, stroking my cheek. "But there's just one rule I would like to leave unbroken."

"I'm confused."

"I want you, in this way," she began, "But I want to be married to you first."

I shot straight up in the bed, my eyes wide.

"Wait, what?"

"I don't think that's asking too much." She smiled.

"It's… a little old-fashioned." I finally said.

"As I said, so am I."

I stared at her, I felt like I was short on breath. When I didn't speak, she sat up.

"Anna, you believe I have a soul." She said quietly.

"Yes, I do."

"I don't know if I believe that, at least I didn't before I met you. But now, because of you, I'd believe that maybe I do have a soul. You've made me feel like so much more than the monster I am. You've made me feel… human again." She smiled. "And, if I am going to try to be as human as I can be, if I am to believe I have a soul, then I want to do things the right way."

I opened my mouth to speak, but she continued.

"I'm from a different era, Anna. Things were… much less complicated." She took my hands in hers. "Thankfully, we live in a time where I can even entertain the notion of marrying you. A time where I can hold your hand, declare my love for you in public without fear."

I nodded, unsure of what to say. She laughed.

"But, Anna, if I could have done things the way they were back then, I would have courted you the proper way. I wouldn't have coveted you so desperately, reached out and selfishly taken you. I would have sent you flowers and gifts every day. I would have gotten down on one knee."

She slid off the bed then, down onto her knee. My heart started pounding.

She reached into her pocket, "And I would have presented you with a ring." She pulled out a small black box.

I held my breath as she opened it. Nestled into the black satin inside the box, was the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen. The face was a rounded square, set with a large sparkling square stone in the center, surrounded by a border of smaller round stones. The band was silver—delicate and narrow, coming into filigree-like points holding the face. The silver made a fragile web around the diamonds. I'd never seen anything like it.

Unthinkingly, I stroked the shimmering gems.

"It's beautiful," I murmured.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes," I breathed.

"It was my mother's. I suppose it's a little outdated." Her tone was apologetic. "Old-fashioned, just like me."

"No, it's beautiful, Elsa."

"Anna?"

I looked up to meet her gaze.

"Anna Winters," She looked at me through her long lashes, her golden eyes soft but, somehow, still scorching. "I promise to love you forever—every single day of forever. Will you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?"

She took the ring from the box, and gently slid it on my finger. My eyes were wide. There were so many things I wanted to say, so many words that were caught in my throat. I felt my emotions bubble up and spill over as tears filled my eyes. I couldn't find many words, so I said the only one that really mattered, "Yes."

I could see the absolute elation fill her face as she rose to her feet. She scooped me off the bed and spun me in her arms. Then she kissed me, deeply and passionately.

so what did you think of this chapter and Anna saying yes to Elsa lol