a/n: sorry, guys, it's been awhile. I've known what I wanted to do with this for a while, even picked the dresses and hairstyles a few weeks ago, but just couldn't write it until today. I had no school so I set my mind to writing, and, well, I think it turned out about the way I wanted for it to. It's pretty long for an outtake, long enough to really be a full chapter, but I decided I wanted to really put the full effort into it. So, hours later, here it is. I'm sorry if there are mistakes, but I just couldn't wait any longer to post and I tried my best to proofread. When you get there, listen to the song "Taking Chances" by Celine Dion if you can. You'll know when it is.
Anyway, life's been busy, but anyone who has sent a review recently should have gotten a reply. I've got my website up and good and ALL OF THEIR WEDDING DRESSES ARE UP THERE! I hope you enjoy this, and if there are any other outtake ideas (I've been hearing a few that I will most definitely be writing) please feel free to submit it in a review.
If you love me, you'll review. Love you, Jordi Brooke. Happy Good Friday/Passover/Easter Weekend!
BELLA'S POV
"Wow," I whispered in awe as I stood beside my friends, looking in the large wall of mirrors in Alice's studio up in the attic. The stylists were done, the dresses were on, the hair was pinned, and now it was just the three of, staring at ourselves, wondering how we got here today.
"Who would have thought?" Rosalie wondered aloud, and Alice smirked.
"Even I didn't see this one coming."
I laughed and they both did too. Nothing could bring any of us down today.
It was amazing how far we'd come from the first day we met each other. I couldn't help the huge grin that grew. "Hey guys, you remember that first day, back on the UW campus?"
They understood my grin all too well.
"Of course! How could any of us forget?"
Flashback
Jacob carried my bags up to my room for me, but there wasn't much. Mainly, it was the clothes I'd need, my laptop, and a few other things that were important to me. A few essentials for the dorm life were thrown in there, and then he left to go set himself up with a quick hug and a kiss goodbye.
The dorm room was pretty big, had three separate bedrooms, which surprised me, but I paid no mind to that as I simply picked the room with the smallest dresser. I didn't have much and most girls had three times what I did. It wasn't necessary for me to be taking all the extra, unneeded room.
As I was putting away my clothes, a Victoria's Secret model walked into my dorm, three buff guys carrying around boxes and furniture and suitcase. Wow, she had a lot of stuff. She picked one of the rooms, the one that looked the largest, and started putting away her things. I could hear her moving about the dorm, saying, "Joey, put that down before you break it," or "Jackson, take that to my room" or "Doug, for the last time, go home, we've got this. Amy is going to pop any second and you're leaving her alone with Annie!"
I finished folding my clothes and organizing them in my drawers before starting to make my bed and set up my room so that it looked somewhat homey. I placed my picture of Jacob and me on my nightstand, and then a few pictures of my parents and me on my dresser. When I was finished, I went out into the living room, watching as the blonde super model and her buff servants or movers or friends or whoever the hell they were moved her things into the apartment.
She brushed past me, not even acknowledging my presence.
Another girl came in, very short but stunningly beautiful as well. Her dark black hair stood out in the still relatively bland dorm room against the white paint of the walls.
She perked up as soon as she saw me, bouncing toward me as two guys carried suitcases and other things into the dorm. She told them to just put the stuff down by the door and that she would take care of it before bouncing happily toward me and smiling.
"Hi! I'm Mary Alice Brandon. Please call me Alice, because only my parents call me Mary. Looks like we're going to be roomies. What's your name?"
I tried to keep up with the little bundle of energy, but failed miserably as I slowly repeated what she said over in my head. Finally getting it, I smiled at her nervously. "I'm Isabella Marie Swan, but I go by Bella. It's nice to meet you." I stuck my hand out for her to shake, but she pushed it away. At first I was offended, but then she pulled me into a hug which I returned awkwardly.
The blonde strutted into the room, still not acknowledging me or Alice. The guys carried one last suit case into the dorm and brought it back to her room before they finally finished and stood at the door. She hugged each of them and kissed their cheeks, wishing them some things and calling them her 'lovable idiots' before they each left. One of them, I think she'd called him Joey, ruffled her perfect hair and she punched him in the gut playfully, but she was clearly stronger than she appeared and knocked the wind out of him, causing the other two guys to laugh.
When they left, she closed the door, and she walked past us again. Alice huffed and walked in front of the woman, stopping her in her tracks, giving her the same greeting she'd given me, but with more force behind her words.
"That's good for you, pip squeak," the blonde replied before stepping around Alice and continuing on.
Alice froze for a second, but then spun around on her incredibly expensive looking high heels. "Hey you! Don't think for a second you can treat me like that. I may not be as tall as you, and maybe not strong enough to knock the wind out of a guy like that, but I can promise you that you do not want to be on my bad side. So let's try this again, shall we? My name is Mary Alice Brandon, you will refer to me as Alice, you will not ignore me, you will walk over here, shake my hand, and tell me your name, and then you will greet Bella kindly as well. Do I make myself clear?"
Even I was shaking in my Converse sneakers, and Alice's anger wasn't even directed at me.
The blonde looked at her for a moment, stunned, before she started laughing. "I like your spunk, little one. Alright, fine. I'm Rosalie Lillian Hale, but you can call me Rose if you'd like." She sounded pretty friendly when she spoke then the looked up at me. "And I'm guessing you're Bella."
"Yes."
"Is that short for something?"
"Isabella."
"Nice name."
"Thanks…I think."
"Well, since this was a pretty rocky start, I think we need to do something to improve the evening and really get to know each other," Alice quipped.
"And what would that be?" Rose and I asked.
"Girls' Night!" she chirped.
And so the chick flicks, the nail painting, the chatting, the (now tradition) twenty questions, and the laughing commenced.
"I have a feeling this is the start of beautiful friendship, girls," Alice said.
End Flashback
"Damn super pixie feeling prediction thingies," Rose and I both muttered under our breath and all three of us began cracking up.
We settled quickly, however, and just hugged, careful. "It's been a long journey here."
Alice smiled softly. "Ain't about how fast I get there, ain't about what's waitin' on the other side, it's the climb," she quoted Miley Cyrus's new song. I rolled my eyes at her knowledge of the teenage pop singer. She'd seen the movie just last week.
Still, I understood what she meant. In the end, it didn't matter where we got to, so much as how we got there. We were still climbing to the top of our mountain, together. We'd all started at the bottom and followed our paths, and they joined together somewhere along the way. There were so many turns we could have taken along the way, but each of us decided to continue the path we took, and slowly, three more paths converged with ours. We were all still following the same path, now, as we climbed our way to the top of our mountain together, knowing everything that happened along the way counted in the long run, and that one wrong turn away from the other could separate our paths and only once we reached the top or took another turn could we join our climbs as one once again.
"We've still got a long climb lain out in front of us, girls, and I'm not backing down from the challenge," Rose replied.
"Best friends forever, we take every step together," I spoke.
We joined hands in a little circle, our eternal symbol that it would always be the three of us against the world no matter what happened. The only difference now was that we were no longer our perfect little trinity. But it would be us.
I smiled softly, looking at Alice in her dress, and then Rosalie in hers. They each looked stunning, and I felt I did as well. Alice had done an amazing job in her designs, and each dress suited us. Alice in her strapless, sweetheart neck lined dress, the perfect beaded and embroidered designs along the hemline and over the torso. Rosalie in hers with straps that went over her back and met at the center of it, revealing a good portion of her back, and V neckline. The designs were similar on her dress as well. Mine with the halter straps and the whiter color, the designs very similar, but only embroidered, no beads. All of ours had long back that trailed out behind as we walked.
Alice had her hair pinned against her head and two strands of hair on either side of her face, straightened and shaping her slender features.
Rosalie had her hair down in loose wavy curls and parted to the side, her face shining behind the lustrous silk.
And I had my hair in a high almost bun, but not completely because we then allowed the hair to flow down my back in curls. My bangs were pinned up, and my hair was shining. The stylist had wanted to put a beautiful crystal flower into it as well, but I loved it too much without.
And we each wore our necklaces, Alice's with the J and mine and Rose's with Es. Each of us had one picture inside, engagement pictures, and the other sides of the lockets were empty. The new pictures would be inserted when we got home. The wedding pictures.
I smiled at my girls again.
The day after Edward had asked me, I had come up with an idea. I remembered the night in Phoenix when Alice and I had been talking about how we were beginning to drift, and what better way to assure each other of how valuable we hold our friendships than to spend the most important days of our lives, the one that would be shared with our men to prove our love for them, to be one where we prove our love for each other as well, sharing it with each other.
When I'd told Alice, she'd changed nearly everything she'd been planning, and the three of us began to plan our weddings together. Now, a year later, our busy work had paid off, and as we stood there together, we knew that this would not be the end, but the start of a new chapter in our lives, one where it wasn't about the three of us each meeting three new character, but where all of us six characters became the focus of the story in equal capacity.
I looked back at my life as our fathers all entered the room, meaning the ceremony was about to begin.
Chapter 1: Growing up without knowing any of the others existed.
Chapter 2: High school and wandering between the crowds that would no longer mean anything to us in a few years.
Chapter 3: Beginning to become the women we are today.
Chapter 4: College, us meeting. The beginning of everything that I held dear to me now.
Chapter 5: Out goes Jacob, in comes the comfort. When we begin to realize how much more we need each other.
Chapter 6: More than best friends, we're sisters.
Chapter 7: Jasper joins the club.
Chapter 8: Emmett's not far behind.
Chapter 9: A new home, a new family, knowing how important everything I have is to me.
Chapter 10: Enter Edward.
Chapter 11: Beginning to drift.
Chapter 12: Renewal.
Chapter 13: Remembering.
Chapter 14: The completion of our family of six.
Chapter 15: Us against the world. We're all that mattered. This chapter begins today.
My father took my hand and we walked together down the steps, Alice with her father, and Rosalie with hers. As the wedding march began, we all walked out onto the front porch and Rosalie walked to her soon to be husband, then I did, and then Alice.
Standing there in his tux, smiling like me with sparkling eyes, was my Edward. Charlie released my hand into Edwards, and with a deep breath, I smiled in return at him, as the priest began to speak the opening words to our beautiful new chapter in the Book of Life.
EDWARD'S POV
I kissed my beautiful bride when finally given permission, not caring who was around. The surroundings had melted away the second she'd appeared at the end of the aisle.
The cheering and the clapping of hundreds of people sitting out on the front lawn of the house that would no longer be our home when we returned from our honeymoon.
"I love you, Isabella Marie Swan Cullen."
"And I love you, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen," she answered.
"Missus Cullen."
"Mister Cullen."
I laughed and kissed her again in utter joy, pulling away with a goofy grin on my face that matched the beautiful one on hers.
We walked down the aisle after Alice and Jasper. Emmett and Rosalie had yet to come up from air. We took pictures later in the yard as people talked in the backyard where our reception was set up. We'd all wanted a wedding here at the house, where we all came together permanently.
I hugged my mother and smiled at babies Emma and Elliot, one being held by her, the other in my father's arms. Emma looked exactly like Dad, and Elliot, he was definitely a mama's boy. I kissed Mom's cheek and let Bella chat with my mother while I stole baby Elliot, going to speak for a moment to my own father.
He grinned at me. "Congratulations, son."
"Thanks, Dad. Man, who would have thought that coming out here for a job would lead to love?"
He laughed and Emma giggled cutely, looking up at me with those ice blue eyes that twinkled in infantile delight. Elliot pulled on my jacket and I looked to see his eyes were just a slightly different shade of blue, though I knew they wouldn't be that way for long. My eyes had been exactly that color until I was around three and they began to form the vibrant green Bella claimed to adore.
"Love will find you when you least expect it to, Edward."
I nodded. "I've heard Bella saying it a lot lately, mostly when she's sleeping." I chuckled at the thought of some of the ridiculous things she said as she slept. Although, more recently it was a lot of talk about love, my name, and things that she's said since we met. "I think it's all of that writing that's getting to her. She won't give me even a clue what it is."
Carlisle had this knowing look that said he knew exactly what she was writing. I narrowed my eyes, but he zipped his lips and began talking with his daughter. God help that poor little girl.
Bella finished speaking with my mother and came over to Carlisle who offered his congratulations and whispered something into her ear that made her giggle, and she whispered something back, blushing. He laughed and she kissed his cheek. I handed my little brother back to Mom and grabbed Bella around the waist so we could go and speak with other guests.
There were hundreds of people here. Most of the people living in Forks, people at Bella's publishing house and at the new one she was releasing her most recent book with, people who Rosalie had known and knew through her family, people who Alice knew and some of her favorite clientele. There were people Jasper, Emmett, and I were more than familiar with, and then of course all of our parents had a few requests of people they were closed to who any of us had once known as children and that we couldn't remember, but sometimes got birthday cards or Christmas presents from.
People smiled, laughed, congratulated, chatted, and just enjoyed themselves. The night was beautiful.
Originally, we had planned on having our first dances together, the three of us on the dance floor, but we changed our plans two months ago.
Flashback
"No way are we dancing to that!" Alice protested.
"Aw, come on Alice. We all know you ride your little cowboy over there," Emmett boomed, laughing. Bella had suggested 'Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy', jokingly of course as neither of us had yet forgotten the night of Emmett's engagement in the hotel room, but Emmett decided it would be a real submission for possible song choices.
Alice smirked. "One, he's not little, and two, I ride his horse good, so shut up and let's be serious." Bella was laughing so hard at this point that no sound was coming out. Emmett and she had been making a number of hilarious suggestions for the past ten minutes. I was barely keeping myself in control. "Now, I was thinking that we should dance to 'When You Look Me In the Eyes' by the JoBros."
"The second you said the JoBros that song was disqualified," Rose replied.
" 'Before He Cheats' by Carry Underwood!" Emmett tried. We all ignored him and started making more legitimate suggestions.
Still he continued.
"What about 'Hot in Herre'?"
"Yes, Emmett, because we all want to watch you strip at the reception."
"Okay, then what about 'I Touch Myself'?"
"Do you really need me to respond to that?"
"In Love with A Girl?"
"Jizz in My Pants?"
"Yes, because that's the song I want to dance to at our wedding."
"This Ain't Sex."
"Love Is Gone."
"PUNKB*TCH!"
"No Emmett!" we all shouted.
"White & Nerdy! That is totally your song Edward!"
"Ooo! Ooo! Slow Dancing In a Burning Room!"
"You do know that's about a failing relationship, don't you?" My brother shrugged and moved onto other suggestions.
"If We Were a Movie!"
"Welcome to the Black Parade."
"Starstrukk."
"Brother bear, your song choices are epic fails."
"Womanizer!" Surprisingly, Alice suggested this. We all laughed and, just for fun, started throwing out random ones that we knew wouldn't work.
"Don't Trust Me." That was my suggestion.
"Mmm Papi," Bella threw out there.
"Ew, Bells, we don't need to know what you say to Edward in the bedroom," Emmett grimaced.
I laughed as Rosalie suggested, "Maneater."
"You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)."
Then we all got serious again (except one very obvious person) as we continued suggesting songs, though we couldn't agree on anything.
"Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)!" He flicked his hand out like Beyonce and gave a little pouty face. I rolled my eyes.
Bella, Jasper, and I were in agreement on one of my suggestions, but Rosalie and Alice weren't buying into it, so it was put to rest.
"What about Claire de Lune?" Bella suggested. It would be a nice piece, and there would be no words to worry about.
Just as four of us were in agreement (Bella, Jasper, Rose, and me) Emmett had to throw one more piece out there.
"My Life Would Suck Without You!"
Unfortunately, Alice agreed.
End Flashback
So Alice and Jasper danced first to Bubbly by Colbie Caillat.
They danced well together, and I knew why they each had selected it. Clearly, it was Alice's bubbly face that made Jasper think of it, but it was all about feeling the way that they did, and wow, did we all know it. A little too well.
Rosalie and Emmett danced to Without You by Christina Aguilera. Dangling sex, or a lack there of, in front of Emmett really could motivate him to be serious. It was like life or death with him in a situation such as that. And it was funny because it was true.
Bella and I danced last of all.
Don't know much about your life
Don't know much about your world but
Don't wanna be alone tonight
On this planet they call Earth
You don't know about my past and
I don't have a future figured out
And maybe this is goin' too fast
And maybe it's not meant to last
When Bella had selected this song, I hadn't understood her reasoning. When she explained it to me, I began to understand and felt this was the perfect song for us.
But what do you say to takin' chances?
What do you say to jumpin' off the edge?
Never knowin' if there's solid ground below
Or a hand to hold or hell to pay
What do you say? What do you say?
She told me that when I first arrived, she was losing her footing in the world, even if she hadn't realized it. That she was alone, even if she was surrounded by four people who loved her dearly. She had a future set for herself, but nothing was right about it, because it didn't involve me, and she hadn't realized that until then.
And then she told me about the day she had kissed me, about how the entire drive to Seattle that day she had spent convincing herself she needed to take the chance with me. She wasn't going to do any what-ifs or could-haves. She was going to take a leap of faith, and hoped she would land on both feet.
I just wanna start again
And maybe you could show me how to try
Maybe you could take me in
Somewhere underneath your skin
She told me about how the second we were together, she was trying something again, something that she felt she'd failed at the first time, something that she wasn't sure how to try the first time, and was even more unsure about the second. I knew exactly how she felt, because a lot of the time we were together, I was trying something new, something I didn't understand fully, and I was starting anew in a whole new world that she helped me to adjust to without a problem.
The chorus repeated as we continued to dance in each other's arms. It felt so right. It always felt so right.
Hey now, hey, my heart is beatin' down
But I'm always comin' back for more, yeah
There's nothing like love to pull you up
When you're lyin' down on the floor, babeShe admitted that she'd fallen a lot further after Jacob left than she'd ever really realized, was down on the ocean floor, and I didn't just help her reach the surface, but brought her to shore and sat beside on the beach, watching the sunset.
Don't know much about your life
And I don't know much about your worldWe knew nothing about each other when all of this started, but we went for it, and were more than rewarded with our other halves.
"I love you, Edward," she said to me, standing up on her toes so her lips were at my ear. I turned my face and pressed my lips to hers.
"I love you, Bella, more than anything."
"You are my life now."
"And you are mine."
Just as we finished our dance, the song changed to another and I smiled as Charlie approached and he began to dance clumsily with his daughter. Rose and Alice danced with their fathers as well. I listened to the song, Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle, and laughed as my dad cut in with Bella for a short time and Jasper's dad cut in with Alice. He returned Bella to her father and danced with Rose for a while too. Jasper's dad returned Alice to her own father after a short while and my mother joined my father while my aunt distracted my uncle.
When the song, Wind Beneath My Wings, played, Jasper and I surprised our mothers by stealing them to dance. I remembered the time Bella and I had been kissing and I told her to ignore the call, only for it to be her father. I chuckled at the memory, now truly realizing how truthful my final comment to her father had been. Breaking her heart would mean breaking mine as well.
Emmett stole Mom from me so I stole Aunt Lizzie from Jasper and danced with her for a moment until Jasper cut in with Mom and Emmett with Aunt Lizzie. I saw my dad holding Emma and Elliot and motioned for him to come over. He handed Emma over to me and Elliot over to Bella who had decided she wanted to come on the floor to join me when I was left partner-less.
I chuckled as we each placed the child we held on our hips so they could lie against our chests and shoulders, and then pulled Bella to me so that she was against the side on which neither of us held me twin siblings. I wrapped my free arm around her waist and she turned toward me slightly, putting her free arm up around me neck and playing with the hair there. We swayed together to the music, smiling at each other.
I watched as the night wore on and people became too tired to stand or too drunk to stand without swaying. Mom and Dad put the twins to sleep in mine and Bella's room, since we wouldn't be staying there tonight. I could see Bella tiring, but even still she remained radiant.
I picked up her hand and kissed the back lightly, promising her we'd be leaving soon. We were flying out for our honeymoon. The thought made me nervous. I was going to play her the lullaby I had written, and Bella seemed nervous too, which scared me a bit. I almost suggested we play her lullaby for our first dance, but decided against it, because it was hers, and only hers. She could do with it what she wanted, but it was private and ours and was not meant for the large crowd that was now slowly thinning out.
Charlie, who had recovered well from his heart attack, approached us, smiling at his daughter with his arm wrapped around his girlfriend.
"Hey, Bells." He hugged her and then pulled back. "The wedding was perfect. Congratulations, kiddo. Don't forget to visit every once in a while."
She smiled at him and leaned into me. "Don't worry, Dad, we will. I promise."
I kissed her temple and shook Charlie's hand. In the past year, we'd begun to get along rather well. When he would talk to Bella, we'd have a short conversation, sometimes about sports, sometimes about his health (that was never his favorite topic), sometimes about how Bella was doing when he could tell she wasn't giving him the whole truth, and sometimes just to get to know each other better.
Renee and Phil walked toward us, laughing together about something. They each appeared a little tipsy, but seemed still completely in control of themselves.
"Have fun with the married life, baby. You more than deserve a man like Edward, don't you ever forget that," Renee said to her daughter, imparting wisdom that I hoped Bella would take in fully.
I leaned in to Bella's ear and said, "It's I who does not deserve such a perfect woman like yourself."
"Oh hush you," she replied, smacking my arm playfully before saying goodbye to her mother and step father.
We said many more goodbyes to people we'd invited and our families. Billy had come and wished Bella the best, the both of them quoting a line from a Disney movie…the name escaped me at the moment. I didn't understand why, but it put a perfect little smile on Bella's face.
Saying goodbye to our little group had been the hardest of it all, at least for the girls. Sure, it was never easy to say goodbye to your brother and cousin, knowing you'd be separated for two weeks and when you'd come back, you would be living in different houses in the same city, but with less time to see each other. The girls hugged and congratulated and cried and laughed and smiled together, huddled in a little group, until we finally pulled all of them apart, knowing that Bella and I had a five hour drive to Seattle we needed to embark on and Emmett and Jasper had to drive their girls down to California before morning where they would get on their cruises.
When finally we were finished, I took Bella into the house and into what had been Bella's room before we became engaged and moved all of her things into my room. We changed into our travel clothes, seeing that it was nearly 2 AM, and Bella hung her perfect dress in the garment bag that would be put away in a box by my mother in the morning. Almost everything else in the house was packed and heading for our new, smaller home in Port Angeles.
When we were each in our comfortable shorts and t-shirts, showered, and into my car, I leaned over the console and kissed her thoroughly.
"I love you, Bella, and from now on it's you and me, and the other four crazy people we will always love. I'm so happy to finally be able to call you Missus Cullen."
She laughed cutely and kissed me in return. "I love you, Edward, and it's the six of us forever, but more importantly, it's us. I'm euphoric to finally be called Missus Cullen."
I chuckled and held her hand in my lap as I drove, spinning the band around on her finger with my thumb. The band that I placed there not hours ago. The symbol of our love, just like the one I wore on my left hand. I was hers, and she was mine. It was now us against the world, all six of us against the world.
It was us, just us.