A/N: Okay, this is one of the last chapters. There might be two more, but no more than that. The next chapter may be the last. And then I'm going to finish the first chapter of the other story I'm working on, which I'm obviously going to publish. Make sure to put me on Author Alert and check it out when I publish it!

My eyes felt heavy as rocks as they slowly opened the next morning to find a smiling Edward lying beside them. He was so beautiful, and my hand reached out to stroke his face. Edward smiled wider, and gripped my hand to squeeze it lightly.

Charlie was up when I went down the stairs. He was hovering over a local newspaper, and made a grunting sound as I entered the kitchen. I interpreted it as a "good morning", and greeted him with one to. I was feeling extraordinarily happy today, even though I hadn't forgotten about Jacob. His number would be the first one my fingers would dial after breakfast. It was important for me.

"Alice called," Charlie muttered slowly as I sat down beside him with a plate in my hand.

My eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "When?"

"Couple of hours ago," he said with a yawn. "She woke me up."

"Okay."

That was unexpected. Each time Alice called, she was very thorough with calling on appropriate times, and it was very strange that she had, all of a sudden, decided to break that habit. What could she want that was so important?

"Did she say what it was about?" I asked as I started chewing on the corner of my sandwich.

Charlie shook his head. "No, but she told me to tell you to call her when you were up."

"Hmm… she usually doesn't call that early, right?" I wondered, wanting to confirm my theory of her breaking the habit.

"Yup. Gotta be something important."

I nodded and continued eating under silence.

If I knew Alice right, she had something of value to tell me, something important. I decided to talk to Edward before I called her back. The plan about calling Jake first would simply have to wait. It wasn't what I would have preferred, but I was so sure about the fact that what Alice wanted to tell me was important.

I quickly finished my breakfast, and told Charlie I was going up to my room again. He didn't object. His eyes were still fixed on the front page of the newspaper, and they didn't look up to see me walking out of the room.

Edward was waiting on my bed, holding "Wuthering Heights" in his hands, reading my favorite book so quickly that his eyes were in a blur.

I smiled and sat down beside him.

"How many times have you actually read this book?" he asked and eyed the covers with a raised eyebrow.

"Many."

He smiled and kissed my forehead. "How was breakfast?" he began and put the book away on the bed.

"Good."

"Lovely."

"Alice called," I said. "Early."

A troubled wrinkle appeared on his otherwise smooth forehead. So he also thought there was something important behind Alice's call. I hadn't been totally wrong.

"Why?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I was going to ask you. Do you think it's important?"

He paused, and shifted his gaze to something invisible in front of him, obviously thinking deeply. I waited patiently for him to answer, and subconsciously started thinking about Jake again. How was he? I knew he hadn't taken the engagement that well, I'd seen that, and I felt bad for not calling him to see how he felt. Jake was my best friend – I couldn't understand how I'd forgotten to call and talk to him, to see if he was alright.

Edward interrupted my thoughts, and a smug smile appeared on his perfect lips.

"I think I might have a possible idea to why Alice called… I might be wrong… She thinks it's important, but I don't know about you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I wanted to know.

He smiled the crooked smile that made goose bumps raise on my neck. "You'll see," he responded shrewdly.

I sighed – I didn't like surprises, and I was pretty sure that I wouldn't enjoy this one either.

I was right it turned out. After a few minutes of conversation with Edward, a quick shower, and my daily tooth brushing, Alice beat me to calling her. Her pitch was high and full of excitement, and she was very eager to get to the reason for why she called.

"Bella, can you come over?" she asked almost instantly as I lifted the receiver up to my ear. "It's really important. Really, really, really important," she added.

I insecurely glanced at Edward, who was sitting beside me, for advice. He shook his head and smiled slightly, making my heart flutter.

"Er –," I began, unsure if to say yes to her proposal, and still distracted from Edward's beautiful smile. "I… guess I could come…" I said and hesitantly.

Alice didn't let me finish. "Great, see you in ten minutes!"

"Boy, she sounded eager," I said as the phone call ended. "What's this about?"

Edward smiled smugly. "I have my guesses."

I sighed. "And of course you won't tell me," I declared.

"I don't want to spoil the surprise," he defended himself with, "It will make Alice disappointed, don't you think?"

I shrugged my shoulders. Deep down, it felt as though Alice was about to do something that wouldn't be approved by me. A little, tiny feeling gossiped about the fact that I wouldn't like the following hours very much. What Alice had planned was doomed to be disliked by me. You didn't need a psychic to realize that. It was something in her voice that made me convinced.

I was right, it turned out. Very, very, very right. I was not enjoying what Alice had planned for me. It was pure torture, and I couldn't seem to realize why Alice had wanted me to come. She knew I wouldn't enjoy it, and especially since Edward wasn't allowed to come.

"Good," she said as I opened the door to Edward and Alice's house to find that Alice had been waiting in the hallway for me. Obviously wanting to be the person to see me first, so she could smartly snatch me before anybody else would be hovering over me with questions.

I barely got to say "hi" before she quickly dragged me up the stairs to push me inside her and Jasper's bedroom.

She closed the door quickly after her, and thought for a moment.

"Hopefully, they won't smell you," she said thoughtfully and turned the key briskly in the lock, even though both of us knew that it was actually irrelevant.

"So," she said formally and sat down on the white bed, making room for me to sit beside her. "Has Edward spoiled the surprise yet? I knew he would guess what we were going to do."

"Uh…" I said numbly and sat down beside Alice. "No."

Her face broke into a wide smile. "Lovely. I thought he'd told you. Well, let's get to work then," she said and bent down to reach for something under the bed. She dragged a big black plastic box out from under the bed, and effortlessly lifted it up to the bed.

"Let's see," she mumbled to herself and lifted the lid off. The box was full of papers, files, folders, a set of black pens and a few photographs. She grabbed a large folder, and opened it.

"Er, Alice, what's all this about?" I asked hesitantly and leaned forward to get a better look of the contents inside the box.

She sighed, obviously irritated. "Bella, the wedding of course."

I gaped. "All of these stuff are for the wedding?!"

"Of course, what else were you thinking?"

I looked wide-eyed at her, not believing what I was hearing. This was everything I had wished not to come true. Alice had fixed the entire box with things for the wedding, making it far bigger than I wanted. Why couldn't she just listen to me this once? Weren't I allowed to decide the most basic things about my own wedding?

Alice quickly rummaged around in the well-organized box. It made me want to reach out and rip the thing out of her small hands. And I did, maybe I shouldn't have, but I did. I took it away from her, and placed the heavy books in my lap. It weighed a lot, and it was at least two feet long.

"What are you doing?" she asked irritated and folded her arms across her chest.

"Alice, I want you to listen to me," I said and bit my lip nervously. She simply couldn't do this. I knew that I would hurt her, but I needed to give her some clear limits, boundaries. If she was going to be allowed to do our wedding, she would just have to listen to me.

Her gaze darkened as I spoke to her, and I felt a throbbing pain inside my chest. I was hurting her, and I knew that instant that I simply would have to endure it. It was worth a try to make the wedding in a way I liked better.

Without knowing it, I started chewing on my lip again and avoided her gaze.

"Alice – I," I started, staring down at the white carpet on the floor. "Don't – why can't…" I sighed and looked into her penetrating eyes, knowing that I wouldn't be able to do this. "Please," I pleaded, "don't tell me that there's, much, much more than this." My head tilted towards the box. She could do the wedding. She was my best of all friends, and I couldn't take it away from her. I wanted her to be happy, even though it would be the last thing I ever did.

For a moment, her face lit up and seemed to sparkle with excitement, but then, it gradually faded away, as though she was realizing something. Her gaze moved to the floor, and she met my wondering eyes for a second time.

She opened her mouth insecurely to reply, as if she wasn't sure on what to say. Then, she seemed to decide what to tell me. "I'm sorry," she said, sounding as though she actually didn't mean it. "but there is more, a lot more."

My eyes widened in terror, and I watched frozen as Alice pulled out four other boxes from the bed.

"Of course," she said, her eyes fixated on the box, "this is only the beginning. I've stuffed a few things about the ceremony in the closet. This is simply about the details, flowers, accessories, invitations… And the clothes section is something entirely else, I've stuffed a few things that you might want to look at in Edward's closet…"

"Okay, that's enough," I said.

Her warm eyes met mine again, and she smiled apologetically. "Bella, I'm sorry, I just – I couldn't hold myself."

I sighed. "Fine." We'll see what Edward thinks about this, I added silently in my mind. Abruptly, I brushed the thought away. It was inexcusable to let such a thing cross my mind – I couldn't think like that. This was Alice's time to shine; I wanted her to be happy, didn't I? It might mean that some things would have to be sacrificed, but it was for Alice, and bearing that in mind, the choice was already made.

Though it still troubled me a bit. To know that this wedding was going to be in the exact way I had tried to prevent was heartbreaking in a way. The thought of how so many people would have their gazes fixated on me was terrifying. I would probably cling onto Edward so much as possible, and he would laugh at me…

The thought reminded me of him, and it got me remembering on how much I missed him. How there was an aching hole in the place were my heart was situated. I was giving up Edward for being with Alice, and it got me thinking. Why wasn't Edward allowed to come?

When I asked Alice, she shook her head.

"Ah, Bella. Don't you know your own fiancé? Imagine his reaction to all this," she explained and looked at the five black boxes in front of her. "He would freak out, and you know it. That's simply the reason for why I didn't let him come. Though I guess he'll find out in one way or another sooner or later. His ability of reading minds does make the whole topic a bit more complicated, what with it having to stay hidden… But oh well, it will work out perfectly," she said and lifted off the lids of the other four boxes. "Very well, let's start."

"With what?" I asked and sat down on the floor next to Alice, surrounded by boxes.

She laughed her angelic laugh, it sounded like music. Like a river with pouring water, a light breeze in the trees. Her light voice was so beautiful, so full of harmony. "With doing a wedding? Are you mentally prepared for what you're about to dive into?"

"Er, what am I supposed to answer to that?"

"Yes of course," she said as if it was obvious.

ONE HOUR LATER

"Okay, Bella, pale white, or chalk white?" Alice asked, holding up two pieces of paper in front of me. She didn't seem to understand that they looked exactly the same.

"Alice, what's the difference, really?" I asked tiredly, leaning down to lie on the white carpet, staring up at the ceiling above.

"Hello!" Alice said and waved a hand in front of my face. "Wake up call! Seriously Bella, we're not even half way to finish what I planned for today, we have no time to waste! Come on! Get up now and decide the color."

Never had I thought how something as simple as wedding planning could be so exhausting. On top of it, I missed Edward. He was the only thing on my mind, well, apart from what color the flowers was going to have. But apart from that, all that was visible in my mind was his perfect form. It ached terribly to know how far away he was, but yet so close…

My head was full, and mostly with completely unnecessary things. The wedding didn't matter one single bit for me. There was only one thing, one person, that mattered, and he overshadowed everything that might be important. I didn't care about anything else than marrying him, to get it all over with so we could be together forever. Las Vegas seemed so tempting at the moment. To make all of Alice's ideas of how my shoes were going to be to disappear was all I wished.

On the other hand, I was aware of Alice's passion for human experiences, and how she appreciated the opportunity I had given her. If it weren't for that, I probably would have left for Vegas as quickly as possible with Edward.

I just wanted to get married. Was it really that hard to fix? I didn't want any of the other things that naturally had to be a part of the wedding. What I wanted was Edward forever, us together.

The main reason for why I wanted the wedding to come was of course that I would be united with Edward forever, but it wasn't the only thing. Immortality was so close, and it was hard to wait, knowing that there soon would come a time where it was possible to live forever with him. The thought made me want to laugh out loud in happiness.

Alice's wish to want to organize the wedding pushed away all possible thoughts about Jake in my head. I had forgotten him totally, and as I realized that, I felt bad. Bad for how he must feel right now, heartbroken and miserable. He probably thought I had forgotten him too.

Why did it all have to be so complicated? Why would Jake and I become natural enemies when I would be a vampire? Why couldn't we just see through that, and let the friendship flow instead?

I knew that Jake's hatred for vampires wouldn't exactly vanish the minute I became one, but I wanted us to find a way to spend time together, even when we would smell disgusting to each other. It wouldn't exactly be pain free to give him up, and I knew that I would miss him every day if we wouldn't be able to spend time together anymore.

I wanted him to know all that, before he went berserk because of my sudden beauty and coldness.

Small drops of rain started to fall slowly onto the roof, making me tired. The constant sound was like a lullaby, a peaceful song. I stood up and went to look out the window, ignoring Alice's strenuous protests, to catch a small quick glimpse of something reddish brown outside.

I quickly turned around to meet Alice's irritated glare.

"Is Edward here?" I asked quickly, penetrating her with my gaze. Or, at least I tried to penetrate her with my gaze.

She sighed heavily and put aside a folder which she was going through, then she nodded. "Yes," she said simply. "He's here."

I gave her an apologizing look before I jerked the door up with a loud sound and rushed down the stairs.

Edward was here. Suddenly, it was the only thing I could think about. My heart sped up at the thought as I flew down the stairs to see my favorite person in the entire world standing a few feet in front of me.

I flew into his open arms, wrapped my arms securely around his waist, and inhaled the familiar smell of the place where I always wanted to be; in his arms.

He lowered his arms around my waist to take my hands in his.

"How have you been?" he wondered.

"Bored to death," I responded while snickering.

Edward smiled a crooked smile. "Oh, really."

"Really," I teased.

We were interrupted by Alice, who appeared out of nowhere.

"Why did you have to come now?" she said sourly to Edward, and put her hands on her hips. "Bella and I were actually really busy on planning the wedding…"

"Screw the wedding," I muttered, and received an angry glare from Alice. "What?" I defended myself with. "It's not nice to lie."

She ignored me. "You're just distracting her! I need Bella right now, you have to share!" It sounded as though they were kids, fighting over a toy.

"Alice, I know you want to do our wedding, but torture Bella doesn't really involve doing a wedding," Edward explained. Alice gaze darkened as he finished talking, then she turned to me.

"Bella, just so you know, I'm doing you a favor here! In a few years you will thank me for doing such a perfect wedding," she told me.

"Alice," I started hesitantly, paused and gazed up at Edward for support, he was still holding my hands in a gentle grip.

How was I supposed to tell her? It didn't mean anything to me if she would be the one to plan everything. But would it hurt her to say that she could do it by herself? Was she expecting me to help?

"Uh, Alice. I – I don't care what color the napkins are going to have… I – I just want to marry Edward. You can do this without me… I know it will be better if I simply stay out of it…"

Alice didn't react how I thought she would at all. She seemed… relieved. It was as if someone had lifted a stone up from her chest, it was almost as though she had wanted me to stay out of it all.

"Oh thank God," she said with a sigh. "I thought I was going to lose it there…"

I opened my mouth in surprise.

"What?" I asked, confused.

Even Edward seemed to be baffled. "Alice?" he asked and raised one eyebrow.

She shrugged her shoulders. "No offense, Bella, but you're a real pain in the ass when it comes to planning wedding. Where's the spirit?" she wondered and looked at me. "I mean, I know you think it's boring, but you don't need to show it that clearly…." She trailed off. "You kind of kill all the good stuff in planning."

"What?" I repeated, astonished. "You mean you're not mad at me?"

She looked at me as though I'd just told her I was going to operate my nose. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know, maybe you expected me to help…"

She shook her head. "No. I was just asking you to come over to not make you disappointed. I'd rather do it all myself, to be honest."

"Woo, that's a relief," I said.

"A great one," she admitted.

"You should've seen the boxes Edward," I told him. "She's got many…"

He chuckled. "I can imagine."

"Seriously, that was really nice to get over with…" I said.

"You bet," she said with a smile.

It felt so good to have worked it all worked out. I didn't need to worry about hurting Alice anymore – it was soothing. One thing was still left on the list though, someone that I rudely had waited to deal with. Jacob was still tattooed in the back of my scull, itching. All the time, there was something bothering me. The constant feeling of that I had forgotten something important.

It surprised me that I had so pungently pushed away Jake from my mind. He usually was one of the very few things on my mind. Jacob didn't need a reminder, because I always remembered him.

Maybe the wedding was making me crazy, maybe I was too dazzled by Edward, maybe Alice's wedding planning had brainwashed me, but none of those excuses were enough. Jacob was my best friend; best friends kept in touch, best friends didn't forget to call each other.

Werewolves and vampires didn't exactly make the subject easier to solve, but we had so far managed to work all that out, right? I knew that it was going to become harder when I would be immortal, inhuman, but it would work out, right? Because it was Jacob. He mattered. And because of that, everything would be all right. Everything had to become all right.

I suddenly shivered involuntarily. Jake didn't know about how my days as a human were counted. What if he wouldn't accept it? It would be like him. What if he wouldn't want to be with me anymore?

A sudden ache appeared out of nowhere and punched on the place where my heart was situated.

Jacob. I missed him. I needed to talk to him. I needed to hear his voice. I needed to tell him how much he meant to me. Now. It couldn't wait. Now.

"Can I borrow your phone?" I said quickly, changing the subject.

Edward arched one surprised eyebrow at me.

"Jacob," I said slowly, hoping that it wouldn't ruin his mood. "Please," I added pleadingly, hoping it would help my chances of speaking with him. I would have to sacrifice a few precious moments with Edward so I could speak with Jacob. Edward wouldn't mind. Hopefully.

He froze, and thought for the split of a second. I saw how the hesitation spread across his face for that moment, as though he knew something I didn't about Jacob. What could that be? "All right," he responded in an expressionless voice.

A smile lit up my face. "Thank you," I said, showing the gratitude I felt in my voice. Edward's puzzled look reappeared on his face. I tried hard to not let it stop me.

He smiled weakly, and I reluctantly let go of his hand to reach the black wireless phone resting on a small table next to us.

I dialed quickly, wanting to speak to him as quickly as possible.

Signals passed… Seconds passed… Heartbeats… Moments… And then, finally, someone bothered to answer. It wasn't the voice I had hoped for.

"Quil?" I said surprised.

"I'm here." His voice seemed darker than I had remembered it; he sounded more like a man.

"It's Bella."

"Oh, hi."

"W – Where's Jake?" I wondered, still surprised over the fact that it wasn't Jacob who had picked up the phone.

"Oh." He paused. "He's…" Another pause. "Bella… He's –." He hesitated for a moment. "He's gone. He – he ran away last night…"

I almost dropped the receiver to the ground. What? Jake had left. Where? Why? And he hadn't told me, he hadn't bothered to say goodbye. What if he was tired of being the second best, my second choice?

A cold hand swept across my face, making it lifeless and expressionless. The cold hand frightened me, it made me want to curl into a ball in the corner of the room. From the corner of my eye, I could see how Edward stiffened.

Jake was gone? He had left? Why?

At first, I couldn't bring myself to answer. I feared the worst. He didn't want me anymore. A sudden dizziness overwhelmed me – I needed to sit down.

The way Quil had said it… It was as though it was bad news, as though he wasn't coming back. And what if he wasn't coming back? What if?

My knees folded under me, and I slowly sat down on the ground, too afraid and shocked to move.

"Why?" I managed to choke out.

"Er," he started with a nervous laugh. Why did he sound as though what he was going to say was going to hurt me? Why? It couldn't hurt me, it wouldn't, right? "He's kinda, upset, if you know what I mean. Just running all the time, away from everybody else…" He laughed nervously again.

"Why?" I asked again persistently.

"He's – upset. About… Your marriage."

Oh no. Please let me be dreaming. Please, please, please say that Jake didn't leave because of me.

"Are you sure?" I asked anxiously.

"Well, yeah," he said hesitantly, weighing the words as he said them out loud. "Though he tries to not think as a human."

"What does that mean?"

"Mainly, he focuses on his instincts only. Food, water, oxygen. He keeps moving all the time, never stays too long in a place." He paused. "Bella, I'm sorry. I know how you must feel, but he's not coming back."

"What? What do you mean he's not coming back?" I yelled, on the verge of tears. Jacob had left because of me, I needed to get him, tell him that he mattered so much to me. He couldn't do it, run away. He wouldn't do that to me…

He just did, a hostile, poisonous, voice said inside my head. I ignored it best as I could.

"Bella – I…"

"Where is he?" I asked furiously and miserably at the same time.

"Alaska? I don't know, it was a couple of hours since I tried to communicate with him…"

"Tell him to come back!" I yelled, and felt a cool hand on my shoulder. I didn't shake it off.

"I've tried," he answered nervously.

"Than try again! He needs to come back. He's supposed to be my best man…"

"It's not only about that. He thinks… He thinks you're becoming like them."

I froze.

"I'm sorry Bella," Quil said in a desperate attempt of trying to soothe me. "I really am."

"It's not enough," I said in a hoarse voice.

"I know," he continued, "but…"

"Tell him to come back," I interrupted.

"I will."

"Bye Quil." My voice was so hoarse it was hard to make out the words.

"Bye Bella…" he said slowly and hesitantly, as though he was considering if those words really were the right ones to say.

I hung up slowly, turned around to face Edward and Alice, and burst into tears.

A/N: Pretty long chapter, huh? A final drama. I'll probably publish the next one next Saturday. I'll obviously try to update on Saturdays mostly… REVIEW! I always update faster with reviews, :-D!