Author's Note: Before we start let me say that I take MAJOR license with the dates and deadlines mentioned in this chapter. We're beginning to wind down now. There's two more chapters after this that are already written and then the epi which is giving me fits. I'm sorry for the delays guys. Seasonal plot bunnies that I wanted to get done before New Year's, planning for my book sequel, Induction, and RL have really slowed me down on this one. On the plus side though, if you read Return of the King, I've had some major inspiration on that one and have cranked out several chapter this week. Things are getting chilling!

Thanks to my beta, AgoodWITCH for fitting in her beta work for me between her push to meet the New Year's Challenge to complete her plot bunnies. She works hard for us. If you want to thank her, why don't you go check out her work, a lot of which I beta for her also ;) Hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading.

Chapter 21

The whirlwind mess that arose thanks to Tanya and Gianna actually didn't last that long, and once the drama passed, the gossip died shortly afterward. Edward and I continued as we had been and it wasn't long before the only sour looks we got were from the two instigators and a few of their friends. To everyone else, we were just another couple, and really, we were.

That doesn't mean that I didn't look into our legal options, even though Edward insisted it wasn't worth the trouble. In the end, he was right, although our family lawyer, who was more than a little surprised at the state of our relationship when we came to him, filed away a copy of the information just in case another situation arose in order to show historical proof of malicious intent. They were getting away with it this time, but if they tried that crap again they were going to find themselves in court for libel faster than they could flutter their mascara coated lashes.

In the meantime, life continued with a relative sense of normality. Classes demanded our attention, my course load even heavier this semester than the one before. I worked hard, spending many late nights studying in the library. Edward worked late too in the music hall just a few buildings over. He was really excited and anxious for the big production and said that his professor kept singling him out to encourage him. Every night after practice was over, Edward would swing by the library to pick me up and walk me back to the dorm. Usually we'd play house swap with Alice and Jasper and spend the rest of the night cuddled up studying or doing anything but studying.

Most of the time, we would convince Alice and Jasper to stay in Edward's room while we camped out in my room. While Emmett was getting used to seeing us together in public, I really wasn't prepared to bump into him on my way to the bathroom the next morning, sex hair on display to rub it in his face. I was pretty sure he tried to forget what was going on most of the time.

With all that was going on, we didn't get to socialize much, but when we did, we had fun. We were careful around them, but did go out once or twice with Emmett and Rose, as well as a movie night or two with Alice and Jasper. We even went to a SAE party together and chilled with Jake and his new regular squeeze Vanessa. Jake was still the party guy, but hanging with Ness really helped calm him.

Things were winding up for Edward as we inched ever closer to mid semester, midterm tests and papers looming but coming in second behind the concert. He was really excited, insisting he had a surprise for me. It wasn't too hard to reason what it might be. The concert had a two-fold purpose, the primary was to showcase the composition skills of each student and then their ability to take their composition from the written page to a full on performance. Edward had told me on many occasions that I inspire him, so it wasn't a big stretch to guess his big surprise. It made my heart feel warm and mushy just thinking about it.

I wasn't sure when the change happened, but Edward's whole attitude shifted sharply about a week and a half before the performance. The smile disappeared from his face almost completely, a serious scowl taking its place. I tried and tried, but no matter how much I attempted to support him, he wouldn't share what was going on.

Instead, I did the only thing I could…quietly support him and try to be available while staying out of his hair. This became especially important when I discovered the week before the concert that he was leaving rehearsals to walk me back to my room and then returning to finish. I hated that he was breaking up his rehearsals just to walk me, and arranged other escort so he would be willing to stay knowing I was getting back to my room safely. It's hard to explain his reaction, but it was this weird place between disappointed and relieved. Not knowing what was going on behind those green eyes was driving me nuts, but I was trying to be a good best friend turned girlfriend and let him deal with it how it suited him, which was HARD!

I had a paper due two days before the concert, so I was struggling in my own right during that last countdown to the big event and barely saw Edward as he spent every waking hour and most of the ones he should have spent sleeping tidying up last minute details. I didn't even get to see him at all the day of the concert.

Emmett eyed me with concern as he and Rose met me in the lobby to go together to the concert. I was wearing a conservative black dress, showcasing a beautiful, but still relatively conservative halter neckline. I shot Edward a quick text message asking if he wanted me to find him before the concert or wait until after. I put my purse in my pocket and tightened my dress coat, smiling as he responded immediately.

Text me when you get here and I'll come get you. I really need a good luck kiss.

I licked my lips with a giggle before replying 'of course,' finding myself far more relieved that he wanted to see me than I wanted to let on. I had to admit that his distance for the past week and a half had been disconcerting; no matter how badly I didn't want it to be.

Emmett walked tall between Rose and me, making me smile. When we reached the theater, we checked our coats and I immediately set my fingers to tapping. Edward responded with some directions for me to follow. I hugged Em and Rose, promising to come find them before the show started, and began to wander through the large vestibule toward the door to the far left marked Staff Only.

I knocked and smiled when the door opened inward a little before long tapered fingers attached to an arm clad in white cuffs and black tux jacket grabbed me and pulled me inside. Smooth lips captured mine as I was pushed against the wall. After a few seconds, they left me panting before an intense looking Edward pulled back to gaze down at me. His eyes were almost dull with anxiety. He tugged me down a hallway before turning a corner and taking me down another. There were several others that branched off, but we did not take any of them, before entering a door at the end of a hall.

I smiled as Edward captured my face in his hands, attacking my lips again in the empty room. When he released me, he rested his head against mine. "I know I've been a shadow lately. I'm so sorry, Bella. I promise that once this performance is over, we'll spend more time together again, and once finals are over, we have all summer to spend together."

I smiled and nodded, tipping up to kiss him some more. When I pulled away, I reached up to wipe away some lipstick I had left on his lips. "I should probably get going and find Em and Rose. I just wanted to wish you luck and tell you how much I love you and how proud I am of you."

Edward smiled, brushing a hand across my cheek. "If I did my job well, in a few minutes you're going to hear how much I love you. You are my everything, Bella. I know I haven't shown that this week, but trust me when I say you always take first priority in my heart and in my life."

I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch with a small smile. "I know, as do you in mine."

He kissed me one last time before leading me back to the door I had entered. He hugged me tightly before opening the door and leaving me in the lobby to finish his final preparations. I hurried to find Em and Rose and took a seat just before the lights flashed to warn the audience that the show was about to start.

I teared up as I looked down at the program. Edward was toward the end of the performance, but what touched me was the title and his professor's description of the piece for the program. "La Bella Vita is a testament to a love that surpasses time, space, and social presuppositions. The works of Edward Cullen always have such breadth and depth of emotion, but La Bella Vita has been voted unanimously within the music department the most emotionally and technically advanced piece that any freshman in the University of Washington music department has ever produced. Mr. Cullen is most definitely a rising star."

The first performances were quite good. I even had to admit that both Tanya and Gianna were quite talented. If only their personalities matched the beauty they provided the world through their craft. My knee bounced as I waited for Edward's turn.

Edward took my breath away as he stepped to the front of the stage and took his seat at the sole spotlighted black grand piano. He settled and let his long tapered fingers rest upon the keys, closed his eyes and began to play. The tune was soft and beautiful, with a hint of sadness and longing. The feeling and tempo reminded me of Moonlight Sonata though the notes themselves were nothing like it.

The forlorn notes grew louder and deeper in intensity until suddenly with a slight key change the music morphed into the sweetest, tinkling dance of notes that made me smile and my heart jump. It took a few seconds for me to realize that it reminded me of the fluttering of a happily excited heart, like I felt when we first discovered the love we had for one another without the tempering of anxiety I felt in regard to how others would handle it. It was as if he had captured how it would have felt if we'd had a normal beginning. I watched his fingers appear to blur as they raced across the keys, only him visible in the vast ink of the stage.

The music slowed to a soft whisper again at the same moment the lights on the stage slowly rose behind Edward to reveal a small orchestra which joined in behind his ringing notes. Tears welled in my eyes as my brother reached over to take my hand and squeeze it. My heart literally ached at how beautiful and heartfelt it was. It was like Unchained Melody times a thousand.

My hand shook as I lifted it to wipe the tears from under my eyes. I watched Edward's face, eyes still closed, face so soft as he took a deep breath. The orchestra dropped away leaving only Edward to play the last soft notes which floated away into oblivion leaving silence in the room. Edward looked right at me and our eyes locked, the words unspoken screaming between us as the silent room burst into boisterous applause.

Edward stood and took his bows, but his eyes never left mine as I stood and clapped feverishly. I mouthed the words, I love you, forever. He smiled and blew a kiss at me before exiting the stage and making room for the next act to take the stage behind him. As rude as I knew it was, I couldn't wait.

Emmett shot me a concerned look as I stood up and started shuffling past him down the row toward the center aisle. He grabbed my hand, which I squeezed with a smile and leaned down close so he could hear.

"I can't wait until this is over. I have to go find him now."

Emmett chuckled and nodded before releasing me. I darted down the halls back the way Edward had led me before the show to find him, only to round the last corner and find him cornered by Tanya and Gianna. His face was hard and angry as they sneered toward him.

"She's not worth it, Edward. Nothing is worth passing up on that scholarship offer, especially not that mousy girl."

Edward glared at Tanya. "You don't understand. She's more important than everything. I'm not leaving her behind."

I could hear the eye roll in her voice as Gianna replied. "She's a nobody from nowhere and she's holding you back. You might not like us very much right now, but you know we're right."

Edward leaned in close, a growl in his voice. "It's not holding someone back if the person chooses to pass something up. There are more reasons than just Bella for my decision."

"Really? Name three." Tanya shot back.

There was silence and this was when I finally decided to step in. From the first second I overheard the conversation, I wanted to run and hide and just cry, believing all that they said, but I had done more than enough running in my life. It was time to be a grown up, so I squared my shoulders and walked around the corner.

"What's going on, Edward? You've been hiding things from me for over a week now. I gave you space, but I think it's time now for you to talk to me."

The girls glared at me over their shoulders before looking back to Edward.

"Cut the cord, Eddie, and do what's best for your future." Tanya crooned, freezing and her shoulders tensing when Edward's only response was, "She is my future."

Both girls walked past me to exit the hall, but not before grumbling at me as they passed. "Way to ruin him completely. You are such a spoiled, selfish brat."

I crinkled my brow as they walked by before moving to stand in front of Edward and taking his hands.

"That was so beautiful tonight, Edward. I have no words, but that will have to wait, because we have more important things to discuss first. I didn't overhear much, but I did hear something about you passing up some amazing scholarship over me? You need to tell me what's happening."

Edward sighed and moved to run his hand through his hair, stoping with a chuckle when he realized my hands were gripping his and not letting go.

"Can we go somewhere else and talk? I'm not needed, so we can go find a quiet place."

"But what about Emmett and Rose? They came to see you…"

He stopped me with a soft kiss. "We can text them. They will understand."

I nodded and handed him my phone before letting him lead me through a door and down a long corridor to a quiet unused dressing room similar to the one we had been in earlier, but much more secluded. As soon as the door closed behind us, he led me to the couch and positioned me to sit across his lap, kissing my lips softly before resting his forehead against mine with a long sigh.

"You are everything to me, Bella. Everything. Music, my career, my future, it all means nothing without you."

I lifted his hand to kiss his long talented fingers and nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

"Last week, my professor called me into his office after class, saying he needed to talk to me. He told me that he was very impressed with me and made a few calls and had arranged for a team of scouts from Julliard to come and see the performance."

My eyes bugged as a wide smile spread across my face. "Oh wow, Edward! Oh my gosh!"

He smiled sadly and caressed my cheek before continuing with a sigh. "They offered me a scholarship as soon as I left the stage, but I turned them down."

I moved to kneel beside him with a frown. "You what? Edward, what the hell are you thinking?"

He cocked his head, looking hurt. "That I didn't want to leave you. Is it that easy for you to let me go?"

I rolled my eyes and slapped his shoulder. "Hell no, you moron…For goodness sake, Edward, there are a ton of law schools on the east coast. I might not get a free ride like I did at U Dub, but I could probably get in out there somewhere in the fall. Columbia has an amazing law program, if I could get in to their prelaw too, that would be so amazing. Then we could go together and be away from Washington and all the fear of stigma. I actually considered it when Gianna and Tanya posted those flyers, but never brought it up because I didn't want to run and hide like I was ashamed of us."

Edward blinked at me slowly, his eyes looking troubled and his shoulders heavy-laden. I shifted again to straddle him, holding his face in my hands and kissing his lips before leaning back a little to look into his eyes.

"You should do this, Edward. Even if I don't get in out there, you owe it to yourself to do this. I believe in us. I know we would survive if we had to, not that I plan to just sit back and not fight heaven and earth to go with you. Go find the guy, Edward. Tell him you changed our mind. I may hate Tanya and Gianna, but they aren't wrong here. You can't let me hold you back, not that I am because I'm already mentally planning my transfer application proposals."

His hands, which had moved to grip my waist the moment I moved astride him, gripped me a little tighter, his thumbs rubbing small circles as his eyes burrowed into mine.

"Are you sure? I've never once heard you mention the East Coast or Columbia before. I don't want you to do something you don't really want to do just to make me happy."

I rolled my eyes with a smirk. "You mean like your willingness to sacrifice your opportunity and an even more amazing career to avoid potentially making me unhappy?" I snorted before leaning in to kiss his lips again, this time he responded much more enthusiastically, his hands pulling me tighter against him, his hips beginning to shift a little under me. "I never mentioned it because I didn't want to end up on the east coast alone. I wanted to be close to you, and Em, and Mom and Pop, but I would go in a heartbeat if I got to take you with me. Columbia would be amazing, and even if I couldn't get in as an undergrad, I would most definitely apply to the Law School once I graduated pre-law. The east coast is littered with great Law Programs too, so even if I didn't get Columbia, I would have a ton of other choices as well, since with any luck, Julliard would lead to a career in New York anyway."

Edward's shoulders slowly seemed to relax and his fingers became more exploratory as I spoke. His eyes softened as a hint of hope began to glint in them. His hands slid to my thighs massaging my muscles as they slowly slid the skirt of my dress higher.

"Maybe we could even get an apartment together somewhere nearby. Columbia and Julliard are only a couple of miles apart. It would probably only be about six or seven subway stops apart most likely even on the same line. If we split the difference, we could get a small place on the upper west side if we convince Mom and Dad to help. It could be pretty great, but only if you're with me."

I smiled down at him, starting to see it all come together. "Yes, it could, although without their help, we'll have to live in some hole of a place like most young students in the city, but even that would be great as long as you were with me. Either way, it will be an adventure."

There was no warning this time as Edward smiled hugely at me, his eyes twinkling in excitement as he pulled me hard against him and kissed me hard, his hands getting lost under my skirt, tugging at the top of my hose. I kissed him back for a while before stopping his hands and leaning back with a wide smile.

"We have plenty of time for celebration later tonight. For now, you need to hunt down that Julliard scout and not smell and look like you just had a quickie in a dressing room while you do it."

I stood up smiling at his whimper before pulling him up with me. "Come on, let's get you straightened up."

I helped him look nice again before pushing him toward the doorway, only for him to grab my hand as he reached it and tugging me behind him. "No, you're coming with me. Maybe a visual of what was keeping me from saying yes right away will give me a bit of amnesty, that and you always charm most everyone you meet."

I laughed as he tugged me down the hallway through the darkness toward the light beyond. I felt light and happy, looking forward to an adventure in New York City with the only man I've ever loved. I knew the reality would never live up to the ideal, but right now I couldn't help but picture a cute little apartment that the two of us would share together without the need of overnight bags and worrying who might see us sneaking out of one another's rooms the next morning.