Author's Note: Oh. My. Freaking. God. Thank you guys so much for pushing CYKAS to the 127 review mark! So SUPER MEGA ULTRA HUGE GIGANTIC thank yous to: MyDarkTwistedWorld (Hehehe, caps lock SURE IS AWESOME~), MeFromMars (I really can't wait to go to a 30stm show! What was their set-list for the show they went on? Did they play Kings And Queens? That song has to be my most favorite, even though their earlier songs from when they first arrived on the scene was pretty good, I think their newer songs hold more meanings to them. Oh god, I'm hogging up the space. Sorry! D=), luhexayy, AliceRosalieBellaCullen1234, dvickd (Yeah, I've actually read some stories where Charlie doesn't really want to accept Edward, and I thought, hey, why not make this story . . . different? I really wanted to let the readers see that Charlie isn't like a sideline here in this story. As for Rachel . . . well, I suppose she will get over her anger and hurt emotions eventually. But as of now, she views Bella as a monster for being the cause of Jacob's death. Jeez, even though I'm the author of this story, I can't help but want to slap Rachel myself. =P And before I forget, *gives an air-kiss* That's for the kiss you gave at the end of your review. Haha, sorry, I'm a bit mental today. =D), and Mrs. Haley Lautner (I'm so glad you enjoyed it. =) I've also noticed that you've reviewed my other story, so thank you for reviewing this as well!)

Finally, if you've ever wished that Edward was your boyfriend, feel free to leave a review!

So huddle up on that seat, grab some munchkins, and ENJOY!

~Serene.

P.S. I've created a new story. It's called The Beginning Of After. Please give it a chance! 'Cause I myself find it quite . . . enticing. xD And also, I know this chapter was a little short, but please, please, please forgive me!

Disclaimer: Twilight will never belong to me. Period.

EPOV

You've just got to love Billy Black.

As Bella and I walked in through the door of the Black's house, I couldn't help but sneak a look around. It seemed fairly cozy, but nowhere near as comfortable as any other normal house would be. Pictures of the Blacks lined the walls, but I didn't get to see any pictures of Jacob.

I knew how he looked like. Bella had shown me a picture of him.

If they loved Jacob so much, where were the pictures?

"Take a seat, Bella, and um . . . ?" Billy Black looked at me questioningly. His daughter, Rachel, glared at the floor behind him. He wheeled himself opposite a low coffee table sitting in front of a fireplace. Why would someone living in sunny Phoenix need a fireplace for? It wasn't as if the winter here was teeth-chattering.

"Edward," I introduced myself, tightening my hold on Bella. She shifted to lay her head on my shoulder, making a wet spot on my sleeve. I couldn't care less though. So what? Only Alice would be disappointed.

My siblings were all in the Jeep outside, waiting for me to give them the signal when things were going to go out of hand. It wasn't me who'd made them wait there; it was Bella. She didn't want to cause raised assumptions with the Blacks.

"Okay then. Take a seat Edward." Billy gestured to the couch, and Bella and I moved over. Rachel glanced up and scowled as she heard the springs in the couch squeak, but other than that, she kept quiet.

It was freakishly quiet for a long time. Bella kept on crying soft sobs that broke my heart. My stupid hands did nothing to soothe her.

"I'd just . . . I'd like to ask, Bella, why did you . . . why did you do that to Jacob?" Billy was having trouble fragmenting his question.

"I-I d-don't know. I think . . . I think I w-was just stupid a-at that t-time. I d-didn't t-think of the con-consequences. I-I thought it was j-just some pointless g-game to others. I didn't w-want a-anyone to get h-hurt. Es-especially Jake." Bella was stuttering, and I could barely understand what she meant. I looked down at her red, regretful face and brought my hands up to wipe her wet cheeks.

Her chocolate brown eyes were in pain.

I couldn't bear to look at them.

"Bella . . . I don't blame you." Billy Black said softly, kindly.

Okay, wait. Rewind.

"Bella . . . I don't blame you." the echo of Billy's voice replayed in my head.

Whoa.

So I wasn't daydreaming.

"What? Dad, she-" Rachel's annoying voice got interrupted by her father. I gave her a dirty look, remembering the argument that she'd presented me just now. I'm not one of those assholes who'd like to pick a fight with a girl, but no one, and I repeat, no one, is allowed to hurt my Bella or judge her without knowing what her real character is. I'd been inches away from slapping that girl's face if not for Bella.

"Rachel, that's enough. This wasn't Bella's choice in the first place. It was Jacob's."

"You don't understand, Dad. She may look like the innocent little bitch, running around, feeding on the attention given to her, but the truth is, she's just using us, Dad! She's using you like how she used Jake! And if that's not enough, look at the fucking asshole holding her right now! If she really, truly, loved Jacob, she would have never found another guy to love! It would have always been about Jake, and only him!" Rachel screamed, her words touching me like venom.

I'm going to say this only one more time.

No one speaks about Bella like that ever. Especially not in front of me.

Yes, yes, that's right! Let your inner protector defend your girl! the monster inside of me goaded, but another tiny, little annoying voice whispered, but what if what Rachel is saying is right?

Don't doubt your girlfriend, asshole! Defend her now!

But Rachel may have a point!

Shut up and kiss my ass, conscience.

Why you little-

I had absolutely no idea where the voices were coming from, and why the heck were they fighting inside my own brain? But it didn't matter, because I listened to the first voice and opened my mouth to verbally abuse Rachel. She was not going to get away this time. And no one was going to stop me. Not even Bella, whose hands tightened on my arm warningly.

"For your information, Rachel," I spat, "Bella was reluctant. In fact, when I first saw her, she was at the lowest point possible. She isolated herself, shied away from all forms of attention possible. She didn't go around gloating that she'd held a competition whereby boys fight for her, and one of them died. No, instead, she spoke in freakish whispers, and she barely even looked up.

"It was like freaking hell for her Rachel. You think you have it hard, but Bella has it even harder! What do you think you will feel if the love of your life died because of you? Died for you? Guilty, right? Well, Bella's guilt was only intensified when you went around calling her names and sending her hate mails! I saw them, Rachel. And they're all bullshit.

"You think that you're in the right, and maybe you are right. But Bella's taking a step towards closure and you should learn to appreciate that. Only a true monster would never have attempted to apologize, so look at you now. Who's the monster now?"

I was never this angry before.

All I could see was red.

I held back the words bitch, fucking retard, and fuckwit from exploding in my mouth. I could have a very expletive mouth if possible, but I never use them anymore.

Rachel Black spoke nothing, eyeing my arms around Bella. Her gaze softened for a mere fraction of a second as she registered my words, but then she hardened it, looking away.

But it wasn't fast enough.

I saw the tears already making their way down her cheekbones.

"Rachel, get our guests some drinks, honey." Billy Black said much later, through Rachel and Bella's quiet cries.

She sighed and took off like a bat from hell, heading into a room of what I assumed was a kitchen. Bella relaxed a little in my arms, but she never stopped the tears. I began to get a little worried. What if she got sore eyes later?

"I'm sorry, Bella, Edward. Rachel is just . . ." Billy trailed off, looking into the distance.

"Paranoid? Over-reacting?" I offered bluntly. Bella hit my shoulder but I could feel her tiny smile on my sleeve. Billy chuckled, but then sighed. "No, not really. I suppose 'hurt' is a better word. But who can blame her? She adored her brother, and her bond with Jacob was really deep, unlike my other daughter, Rebecca."

"How is s-she co-coping?" Bella asked Billy through her sobs.

"Alright, I guess. She stopped calling awhile ago. I think she got tired of Rachel's rantings about you, and maybe she wanted to get away from me as well. I wasn't a very good father to them. I should have taught them better-" he got interrupted by my girlfriend, who glared at him passionately.

This time, she didn't stutter in her words.

"How can you say that, Billy? You're a great father! You raised Jake and Rachel and Rebecca up really well! Even without their mother, even if you're wheelchair bound, you still did an amazing job! Ask Edward, I'm sure he knows what a real father really is!"

Billy and Bella turned to me and I felt my ears grow hot with embarrassment.

"Edward?" Billy asked, curiosity in his voice. I gulped.

"My father abused me when I was younger-"

"What?" Billy interjected, his black eyes wide with disbelief. I only nodded and swallowed. "Yeah. So what Bella is saying is right. I know what it means to know a true father, and you're doing an amazing job. I'm very sorry for your loss, sir."

Bella gave me a timid grin, and she huddled closer to me, pressing her warm body to my side.

She was comforting me, telling me it was okay.

But there was no way in hell I was going to explain my past to someone who I met just thirty minutes ago.

"Well . . . thank you, son." he nodded, and I thought I heard the hesitation in his voice.

Someone set two cups of hot tea on the coffee table in front of me. I didn't dare to touch it, wary that Rachel might have spat or added poison in them. Bella didn't look at them, biting her lip in worry.

"Billy," Bella took a deep breath, "Rachel, I came here not looking for a fight-"

"Not looking for a fight, my ass." Rachel spat, giving Bella a glare.

My baby girl straightened up, somewhat finding confidence. She matched Rachel's glare evenly, emotionless, as she continued flawlessly, "I came here to say sorry to your family. All of them, including Jacob. Before I met Edward, before all of this happened, I was already in love with Jacob Black. It was only stupidity that made me create that competition. You don't know how much I regret it . . ."

Bella trailed off, but then picked up soon after.

That's my girl.

"But the love that Edward and I share . . . it's something more than I felt for Jacob. Even if I didn't create that competition, even if Jacob and I were together, I would give it all up just to find him," she snuggled closer to my side, sending jolts of buzzing running on my arm, "and because of this, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for Jake's death.

"The truth is, I really do miss him, and a part of me is still with him. This is the reason why I went with Edward's plan to come back here and find my-" Bella closed her eyes, "closure. I know that saying sorry won't bring him back, but Rachel," she spoke to Jacob's sister now, "hating me won't bring him back either. I know for a fact that Jacob wouldn't like to see you hurt like this-"

"You don't know him. You don't know anything." Rachel interrupted, her black eyes glinting with anger once more.

Bella looked down at the floor, before looking back up at Rachel's hateful eyes. "But I do, Rachel. I really do. He spoke of you like you're his world, did you know that? Every single time I met up with him, he was always talking about you, saying how glad he was that he had you for a sister. He loved you, way more than he loved me, and I think that's why you're mad at me, because he died for me.

"At the very least, Jacob died knowing he had a loving family. I wouldn't exactly tell you that he died peacefully, but do you know what he said to me, even as I sat there, with his head in my lap?"

I was stunned. Bella never told me this part of the story before.

Neither did Rachel, because she leaned in unconsciously.

"Jacob told me, 'Tell Rach that I love her. Tell her that I made my decision. Tell her to be happy.' That's what he said. He didn't say he loved me, Rachel, he chose to say that he loved you in the end. I know that I deserve more severe punishment than this, and if you still hate me, I'm alright with that. I just wanted to tell you that Jacob really does wish for you to be happy. And I'm sure that he's watching us right now. I'm sure that he's somewhere up there, reading his Spiderman comics, and looking down at us, chortling, because that's what he always does."

This was the first time I've ever heard Bella speak freely about Jacob before. Her beautiful brown eyes were assuring, speaking the truth. You couldn't doubt the sincerity behind them, and through her wide brown eyes, I could see Jacob Black's last moments.

Holy shit.

My girlfriend can be a freaking philosopher.

Rachel and Billy were quiet. Billy was smiling gently at Bella, and in his hands, he held a photo-frame. It contained a little boy with the same skin color as he did, and a little girl. The little boy was holding hands with another little girl as a younger looking Billy sat behind them in his wheelchair. All of the children were grinning, the little boy showing off an empty, irregular square space right at the front of his teeth.

The little boy was Jacob, and the little girl he was holding hands with was Rachel.

Brother and sister.

"He moved on to Superman." Rachel mumbled, looking down, her tired black eyes softening as she slumped down another chair beside her father.

"He did?" Bella asked, surprised.

"Yeah. He was still hung up on Spiderman though. But I think he preferred his X-Men series the best."

I fought to keep a smile from breaking out. There was still a hint of bitterness evident in Rachel Black's hoarse voice, but she couldn't help but give a timid smile at the photo-frame that Billy was holding.

"Jacob loves you too, you know. He'll always love you. But I think he'll love you in the right way now." Rachel continued. She looked up to give me another small smile, then her eyes zeroed in on my arms around Bella.

I looked down at my girlfriend, who was beaming in exuberance. I couldn't help but smile, too. She was just too cute.

Oh, no. Here I go again with corny thoughts.

"Thank you, Bella. Thank you, Edward. For coming today. I think we all needed that talk." Billy smiled at Bella and I. He glanced at Rachel, who sighed and leaned her head against her father's shoulder. "My son will always be remembered. But you're right, Bella. He is up there, watching us, waiting for us."

"Dad. Enough with the corny talk. We're through with that, okay? I don't know about you, but I've missed eating at Mickey D's." Rachel said in a light tone.

"Order me a Big Mac, will you?"

"Uh-uh. No way. The doctor said you're not allowed to eat too much greasy food now. I may be over Jacob's death, and I might start to forgive Bella, but I'm sure as heck not going to allow you to follow in Jake's footsteps that fast. You're going to stick around for much longer, whether you like it or not. Now where the fuck is that phone? I'm going to kick Reb's ass for not being here with us."

I chuckled along with Bella. Getting the impression that Rachel really might be forgiving Bella, I don't think she'll get over her foul mouth. My ears seemed to have been branded with so much profanities. Rachel could give Emmett a run for his money.

"Now, now, Rachel. Don't be too harsh on Rebecca." Billy disapproved, shaking his head at Rachel.

"Whoa, wait. Does this mean that I can still kick her ass, but not too hard?"

This time, Billy and the rest of us burst out laughing. Rachel chuckled quietly, but that was the first stepping stone. I think.

"Yes, Rach. Kick your sister's ass. But please don't send her all the way to Antarctica. But before that, could you call McDonalds? I'm starting to get hungry too." her father rubbed his belly, unabashed.

As Rachel and Billy reached for a phone each, I turned to Bella. And then I hugged her tight. She hugged me back, burying her face in my chest, as I gave her lithe kisses all over her head. "You don't know how proud I am of you, love. You handled that very well."

"Not in the beginning though. I was a bit spooked. But then I thought of you and got over it." she murmured through my chest.

She probably didn't know that she was fanning my ego by saying those words. She made me sound like a god and both heaven and hell knows that I'm far from being a saint even. But I ignored the negative comments that I was mentally scolding myself with.

Meeting the Blacks? Check.

Getting them to hear my Bella's story without kicking her out? Check.

Rachel promising not to send Bella anymore hate e-mail? Check.

So all in all, the first thing on my list for 'Bella's closure' was already struck out. Next on the list: getting every single friend of Bella's and making them listen to her apology.

The problem?

How the heck am I supposed to get the whole of Phoenix State High to gather at one terribly small house that could barely fit in my own giant brother?

"That's one down." Bella echoed my thoughts, pulling away to give me a brilliant smile. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks still wet. So I gently rubbed my hands against her cheeks and kissed her eyelids. I felt her skin heating up under my lips, and I knew we'd be making out in less than three seconds.

And since this isn't exactly the ideal place for a make-out session, I pulled away from her grasp. She pouted a little, but I gave her a quick kiss on her lips.

"So are you going to invite your friends in or what?" Rachel suddenly spoke, breaking me and Bella's intense stare-down match. I gave my girl a crooked grin before turning to answer her. "Is that okay with you?"

"Uh, yeah? There's this little person with spiky black hair that's jumping up and down the hood of your Jeep. And um, there's this really big dude that trying to find ways to sneak into my house." she answered, walking over to the window and pulling back the curtains.

And then I saw Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and Jas-freaking-per all leaning against the window frame. Startled, Rachel jumped back and started cussing out expletives. "What the fu-" she was saying and I began to tune her out.

My siblings are dead.

They are so dead.

Narrowing my eyes at them, I got away from Bella's laughing form and moved over to the frontdoor, where Rachel was leading me. She pulled it open and Alice lunged herself at Rachel. "What did you say to my sister? Did you do something really horrible to her? Why did I hear sobbing? Are you the one making her cry? Because if you are, you're in for one hell of a-"

"Alice!" I groaned. Behind me, Bella giggled. Rachel only blinked at my little sister, whose mouth was being covered by Jasper's right hand. He muttered an apology at Rachel.

"Is she always like this?" she asked, looking at my sister, who was trying very hard to pull Jasper's hand away from her mouth.

"Yeah. All the freaking time!" Emmett boomed, and I swear, I saw the doorframe shaking a little.

Groaning again, I rubbed my hands against my face. Bella's small hand patted my back reassuringly. She then proceeded to wrap her arms around my waist, burying her face in my back. She was shaking, holding back laughing fits.

"I am so, so sorry, Rachel," I apologized through my hands. She only looked back at me, questioning my sanity, and started dialling a phone number. She moved off the room where we were earlier, and I followed, tugging Bella along.

We ended up staying for quite some time in the Blacks' household. Rachel still had the sadness in her tone, but she was now starting to hide it. She no longer glared at Bella and me, and she even attempted a few jokes with Emmett. The two of them were going swimmingly, both foul-mouthed and perverted minds think alike.

And as I looked sat down on the futon of which Bella had laid out when we went back to her old home, I realized that there was an obvious lift in Bella's aura. Okay, maybe that came out wrong, but Bella seemed . . . more happy. Like, a part of her had been sewed back into place.

Part by part, Isabella Swan was returning.

But part by part - with every passing day - Edward Cullen was breaking.

BPOV

"Morning, love." Edward kissed my hair as I started to stir awake.

Blinking and looking around, I realized that I was the last one in bed, er, futon. Alice and the others were sitting around me, munching on some toasts and sipping coffee. Well, not really sipping. Emmett was gulping down milk like some person who wasn't fed two hours ago.

My big brother of sorts caught me staring, and he swallowed his bite of toast before saying, "What? Can't a man eat in peace?"

I giggled. Em was pissed because the cable broke. He'd been trying to get it to work, but whatever means of repair he tried, it never worked. So for the whole of last night - and maybe this morning - he 's been irritating the shit out of Edward and Jasper, his two favorite victims. I came in third, but that was okay. I didn't need a bear hounding me with every single word that came out of my mouth.

And Edward . . .

Well, he's been different. After that visit with Rachel and Billy yesterday, Edward's just been . . . off. In front of me and the others, he'll smile and joke about. But when he's alone - and he seemed to isolate himself more often nowadays - it's like there's this cloud of despair hanging off him.

I was starting to get worried for him.

Edward was usually confident, and maybe a little arrogant. Okay fine. He is arrogant. And egocentric. But after what happened yesterday, it's as if he's starting to shut himself out to other people. By now, he would have snapped at Emmett for his antics, but the weird thing was, he wasn't.

And I'm starting to think that I could be the cause of his shifting moods.

My heart raced as I thought of yesterday. It brought some sense of closure to me, and I was glad I had Edward by my side. But is he starting to doubt my love for him? I didn't want to know the answer, feeling sick of what it could be.

Stomach lurching suddenly, I felt as thought there were icicles inside it. My palms were turning sweaty, and my eyesight blurred. Oh, god.

It's got to be me.

I'm too selfish.

I should have thought that Edward would have felt this way.

Shit.

I never should have agreed to this trip in the first place. Never. Now, because of my past, I might lose the only person that matters to me now. I might lose my guardian angel, as cheesy as that sounds. I might lose my protector, my best friend, my Edward.

All because I needed this freaking closure trip.

"Bella? Bella! Edward, I think she's going to be sick!" Alice screamed through my reverie. I couldn't care less. Bursting out of my futon and its sheets, I ran to the bathroom.

And that's when I began puking my guts out.

The weird feeling of deja vu overpowered, making me remember how I felt when I saw Leah and Edward together. Closing my eyes and willing the pain in my chest to go away, I couldn't help but start crying through my moans. Someone was holding my hair back, rubbing my spine, and I knew who it was just by his touch.

Even until now, when Edward is seeing a monster selfishly begging him to stay with her in her twisted mind, he still wanted to take care of me.

Another roll of sickness overwhelmed me.

But it wasn't enough to justify the sudden, splintering and glistening hole in my chest. If the thought of Edward leaving me felt this wrong, this much hurtful and absolute pain, then what more when he left me for good?

It felt like my heart was burning in the pits of a smoldering fire which ripped at my heart.

Jacob's death wasn't this painful.

And this frightened me.

When it was over, when I finally finished vomiting and had flushed the toilet, I moved over to brush my teeth. Edward still held my hair, this time, he was tying it expertly. He tied it into a low ponytail which twisted on my back in a mess.

Brushing my teeth meticulously, I still couldn't find a way to stop the tears. Edward was hysterical, screaming at Emmett, thinking that his big brother was at fault, since he was the person who'd taunted me earlier. As much as I wanted to say 'stop,' I couldn't find my voice. Spitting out the foam, my tears still wouldn't stop.

After I rinsed my mouth, with my tears still falling like a waterfall, I lunged myself at Edward, who stiffened, surprised by the sudden contact. He rubbed my back, smoothed my hair from my face, and kissed my forehead, all the while murmuring, "It's okay, it's okay. I love you, it's okay."

But he must have been lying when he said 'I love you.'

Emmett and the others left me alone with Edward, giving us a private moment together. They must have realized that this was something between Edward and I, and that I needed him at the moment.

God, I felt so guilty.

His siblings were there to support me, abandoning everything else just to stick by me, and here I was, pushing them away. What was wrong with me? Why am I always doing the wrong thing? Why is it that everything I touch has to be destroyed?

Is this karma? Were the words I'd spoken yesterday in the Blacks' house wrong? Did Jake still hate me because of what happened? Or maybe this was just a belated punishment.

I buried my face in the crook of Edward's neck. He sat me on top of his lap as he took a seat on the covered toilet bowl. He kept quiet, which only made things worst, because I needed so much to hear his voice one last time, before he said goodbye.

Before he said goodbye . . .

"Edward, d-don't leave me." I begged him, feverishly pressing my lips against his exposed skin. He wore no shirt one again, and this time, instead of lust, it brought along a set of torture for me.

"Leave you? What on Earth are you talking about? Bella, I will never leave you!" he protested, as if it was utter blasphemy.

And yet I couldn't bring myself to hope. After all, he really could be lying.

This hurt me even more.

"H-how do I know y-you're not l-l-lying?" I stuttered, demanding, as I pressed myself closer to him. The irrational need to be close to him was scaring me, and a thought flew across my mind. What if he pushed me away?

But he didn't.

Edward kissed my hair, harder this time, and said firmly, "Isabella Marie Swan, I have vowed to myself and to your father that I will always stick by your side, no matter what. And if I should ever be ripped apart from you, it will only be if I died. And even then, I plan to be with you."

"R-really?"

"Of course, you silly, beautiful, over-sensitive girl. What gave you the impression that I was having second thoughts about you?" and then he shuddered at his words, mentally chastising himself.

Suddenly, the hole closed, and I blinked, sitting up to look him in the eyes. His brilliant green eyes were worried sick, almost crazed, and they were burning so sternly that my pulse quickened. They were darker, and the last time I received that look, we were both getting intimate. But today was different.

He was freaking out.

And in his frantic eyes, I could see the love and devotion he was portraying.

It struck me then, how much Edward really loved me, and how I didn't deserve this amount of love from him. But nothing I feared could change that. Edward will always love me and vice-versa. He was too strong now to be torn away from me. I was too weak to be ripped away from him, either.

The lion and the lamb.

Who would have ever thought?

"Say something, Bella. I'm kind of losing my mind here." he begged, his tight arms wounding around me even tighter. It was very difficult to breathe, even with his delicious breath fanning my face. As usual, Edward smelled of mint, honey, lilac-and-sun. It was criminal for a human to smell this intoxicating.

"I just . . . I thought that you were going to leave me." I melted right into his gaze, memorizing his face, tracing the strong outline of his jaw, his long nose, the curve of his lips. And lastly, his soft eyelids, which fluttered against my hand.

"Bella, allow me to repeat this one more time: I will never leave you. Never. I love you, always have and always will. I need you like I need air to breathe. Not a wish, but a necessity. Do you understand me? It hurts to be away from you. Hell, it kills me to be away from you even for the slightest second."

That was probably the most sweetest thing I've ever heard Edward say to me, ever.

"I love you too, Edward. I'm so sorry for acting that way."

He was quiet, his melting eyes turning sad, and I asked, "What's wrong?"

Edward sighed and leaned his forehead into mine, closing his eyes. I closed mine too.

"The date of the disownment . . . it's coming closer and closer. I guess I'm just letting it get to me, but every single freaking time I think of it, I see Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper . . . Alice. I think of them like my own family and breaking away from the Cullens is like a death wish for me. I can't imagine how-how I'll wake up every morning and . . . Em's not there. Or when I can't find a shirt and Alice will . . . well, she'll dress me up like a life-sized Ken doll.

"I don't want to live a day without Rosalie's crazy hugs. And there's no one to play Warcraft with me if I were to lose Jasper. All of them . . . every single one of my brothers and sisters . . . I'm-I'm frightened of losing all of them. I don't want to lose them, but this really wasn't my decision."

The tears were coming back. But this time, it wasn't because I was afraid of losing Edward.

My stoic, strong, and completely cocky boyfriend was crying. Real sniffles, ones that reminded me of a little boy.

Trying not to sound like I was going to break down as well, I hugged him tightly. "Edward, not having the surname 'Cullen' doesn't mean you're going to lose Alice and the others. They'll always be right next to you, fighting with you, and so will I. There's no way in hell that Emmett will let one day pass without forcing you to hear him sing Mama Mia, and I'm sure Alice will drag several clothes to you and make you wear them.

"Neither will Jasper let you kick his ass at Warcraft. You know how competitive he can be. I mean, for that single Pac-Man game he played with me, he made it sound like he was off to fight for the war! It will be alright, you know. Rose will still give you her hugs. It's okay, Edward. Really."

And then I pressed my lips against his, comforting him in the way I knew how.

His lips were still, and then his hands splayed across my back. He kissed me in earnest, his right hand moving up to tangle into my hair.

Suddenly, I remembered where we were, and what the horrible liquids that came out of my mouth not too long ago. I pulled away from his lips, breaking away, panting. "Er, maybe we shouldn't do this here?"

"Why not?" his lips were insistent on the side of my neck, his tongue flicking out to tease me. I bit back a low growl. "In case you didn't have eyes earlier, Edward, I just puked my guts out."

He chuckled and I was glad to hear it.

Edward lifted his head, his green eyes a little bloodshot. His cheeks were still wet, and his nose was a faint tinge of red. He looked cute in the aftermath of his crying, and I couldn't help but touch his red nose.

"Yeah, yeah, I look like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. I get it." he grumbled, looking down in embarrassment. I laughed at his theory, but I shook my head.

"Sure, you look like the Reindeer, but you're my reindeer."

A sudden knock on the bathroom door startled us, making me jump on Edward's lap. He let out a tiny growl, one of which I would have never heard if I wasn't so close to him. I laughed and buried my face in his shoulder, looking towards the sound of the noise.

"Er, Bella? There's someone-" Rosalie was saying in a rather stressed but borderline calm voice.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN, YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW AND TELL ME WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING BACK HERE?" Another deeper voice shouted, interrupting her.

I will recognize that voice anywhere.

Edward made sure to steady me first as I ran to the tiny door. He wrapped his long arms around my waist, half-shielding me from whatever he thought was a menace.

But this guy sure as hell wasn't a menace.

As I pulled open the door, Jared, Embry, Seth, Paul . . . Leah, all of my former friends, stood facing me, their faces screwed in anticipation.