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Songs: 'Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's and "In My Arms" by Jon Foreman and "You and I" by Ingrid Michaelson
Thanks so much for reading; I have really appreciated all of your support through this! A Summer to Remember: Chapter Thirty-Eight: Hey There My Bella
BPOV
I couldn't focus on the song Jake was strumming due to the flashy ring resting on my finger like it had always been there. I gave up playing before I even began. Everything was so overwhelming.
EPOV
While 'saving' Bella, I began playing with her fingers to help ease her evident nerves. When I told that guy she was my fiancée, I almost burst out laughing. Not only at his reaction, but Bella's too. Surly by now she knew I was so helplessly in love with her that nothing would change that in a million years. As Bella's body sagged against my own as the creeper walked off, she smoothly thanked me; calling me Mr. Cullen in the process. I couldn't resist my next move.
I slipped my hand into my pocked, without Bella noticing, and pulled out my mother's ring that had been burning a hole in my pocket since Esme suggested I take it with me, just in case.
As I slipped off Bella's simple, silver, promise ring and slid on the engagement ring, I whispered, "Anytime, Mrs. Cullen." As I continued playing with her fingers, silently hoping she'll say yes once she sees the ring.
She shivered in my arms and I wrapped my arms around her tightly, loving the way she fit into my arms perfectly and the way her strawberry scented hair intoxicates me as I place a kiss on the top of her head. I desperately want her to see the ring so I can propose properly and make her Mrs. Cullen as long as we live; that would be a dream come true.
Reality finally caught up with my fantasizing and I mumbled that Bella needed to find Alice, but she didn't care, and of course Alice had to ruin everything by yelling at us as she marched down the book aisle, grabbing my Bella away from me, but not without flashing me an ecstatic smile when Bella wasn't looking. Of course Alice would see the ring before Bella would. She was probably eves dropping an aisle over anyway.
I rolled my eyes and looked for Jake. He and I needed to get changed for tonight because we 'don't look cool enough' according to Alice. Jake rolled his eyes for my reasoning. Regardless, we headed to the small supply room to change.
"Dude, what's got you so fidgety?" Jake asked as he pulled a t-shirt over his head.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yea…unless it's something I really shouldn't and won't want to hear about." He replied putting his wallet, keys, and a few guitar picks in his pockets.
"I guess I should tell you because more than likely tonight's performance won't go as expected."
"How so?" he asked skeptically.
"Well, I kinda just slipped an engagement ring on Bella's finger and she hasn't realized it's there yet." I said quickly not sure if he caught what I just said.
Jake starred at me blankly as the silence ate at me.
"So…" I prompted.
Jake's face broke out into a giant smile. "Took you long enough! So she still hasn't figured out you slipped it on her finger? How'd that happen?"
I quickly gave Jake the abridged version of the creeper story and by the end he was smiling like an idiot.
"She's going to flip once she realizes what you've done. You know that right?"
I chuckled. "Yea, I figured she would."
"So once she realized, are you going to propose on stage?"
"I'm not sure-"
"What do you mean?" Jake asked extremely confused.
"I was thinking about singing a song to her first, then proposing." I told him nervously.
"Which song?" he asked in the same tone.
I smiled. "Has she ever told you about our song?"
He shook his head no.
"When she left on tour, I gave her an iPod when a playlist for each day. One or two tracks would be telling her how much I missed her and how I couldn't wait to see her again. Then the rest would be songs I know she likes, and often times that included "Hey There Delilah" because it depicted so much of what our relationship is.
"While she was gone, I rewrote the lyrics to fit her and not Delilah, and I was thinking about that…" I trailed off unsure about what he thought.
"That sounds perfect. She's loved that song ever since it came out, it would mean a lot to her." He smiled.
"Really?"
"Do you really have to ask?" he asked rolling his eyes. "Do you need to use my guitar?"
"If you don't mind, that'd be great!"
"No problem. I think we'd better get outta here before anyone begins rumors that you and I are gay." He laughed.
I nodded and we left. I headed over to the tech closet to wait for Bella. When she came out, I couldn't help but tell her how beautiful she looked. Automatically, her beautiful blush began flooding her pale cheeks.
"Hey, look up." I prompted her. I could look at her all day and never get tired of how beautiful she looks.
"Thanks." She mumbled softly as I opened up my arms to her.
Obviously, she still hasn't realized the ring change…or maybe she has and didn't like what she saw, or wasn't ready. What if-
Thankfully, Perry broke me from my thoughts announcing the show was getting ready to begin in his loud, jolly voice. I gave Bella a reassuring look and we walked onto the stage.
Jake announced us to the small crowd of probably fifty people that had shown up then he began playing out first song. It was an acoustic version of "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service.
Bella's part didn't come in for a while, but as soon as she put her violin up in playing position getting ready to begin, she froze. She saw the ring, and I was more nervous than I have ever been in my entire life.
She didn't even play. I couldn't tell if she was happy, angry, surprised, frustrated, doubting, or anything and it was driving me insane! Why couldn't she turn around and smile or something at me to let me know it's a yes or she's not mat?
The song finally ended and Jake moved from his perch on the stool as I made my way from behind the keyboard to the front of the stage.
"Hey everyone," I began, my nerves calming slightly, "Um, so there's this girl here tonight who I've known for years and years and years, and tonight I want to ask her something." I told the crowd before glancing at Bella and smiling her favorite smile, then beginning the familiar tune.
Hey
there my Bella what's it like in all those cities Hey there my Bella don't you worry about the
distance Oh it's what you do to me Hey there my Bella, I
know times are getting hard Hey there my
Bella, I've got so much left to say Oh
it's what you do to me A thousand
miles seems pretty far My Bella I can promise
you Hey there my
Bella You know it's all because of you Oh it's what you do to me
I'm a
thousand miles away
But girl tonight you look so pretty, you
always do
The stars can't shine as bright as you, I swear it's
true
I'm right there if you get lonely give this song
another listen
Close your eyes, listen to my voice it's my
disguise
I'm by your side
Oh
it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's
what you do to me
Will you marry me
But just believe me girl, someday I'll
pay the bills with this keyboard
We'll have it all, we'll have
the life we knew we would
My word is good
If every simple note I
played for you
Would take your breath away, I'd play them
all
Even more in love with me you'd fall, we'd have it all
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's
what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
But we've got phones and mail and
chat
I'd walk to you if I had no other way
Our friends all
make fun of us
And we just laugh along because we know
That
none of them have felt this way
That by the time that we get through
The world will never
ever be the same
And you're to blame
You be good and please accept me
Two more months and
you'll be done with tour
And I'll be waiting at home just for
you
We can do whatever
we want to
Hey there my Bella here's to you
This one's for
you
Oh it's what you do to
me
Oh it's what you do to me
Oh it's what you do to me
Will
you marry me?
I let the chord hang in the air as I looked at Bella for the first time since I begun playing. She had tears streaming down her face alone with a brilliant smile. She quickly put down her violin and I handed off the guitar to Jake as she walked over to me and jumped into my arms, wrapping her legs and arms around me tightly.
"Yes." She whispered in my ear, hugging me all the tighter.
A smile broke out on my face and I hugged her as tight as I could against me.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you my love." I whispered back in her ear.
At that point, I heard the cheers and clapping coming from the audience and my smile became even bigger.
I walked back over to the microphone stand with Bella still in my arms and proudly announced, "If ya'll didn't hear, my Bella said yes."
The crowd continued clapping and cheering. Eventually, Jake came back and took his place as Bella unwrapped herself from me giving me a kiss on the cheek and whispering, "I love you Mr. Cullen."
"I love you too, soon to be Mrs. Cullen." I whispered back.
"Alright ya'll, now that I can't out beat that," he said looking back at us, "but I can give you a few songs. Is that okay with you?"
The crowd cheered and Jake began playing a few of his songs and cracking jokes along the way as Bella and I accompanied him. At the end of the set, Jake began his last spew.
"So tonight's been a great night, thank you all for comin' out. As our final song, let's see if we can't get Edward and Bella to play one of their original songs for us."
The crowd began clapping.
"Aww come on, they're equally as stubborn and this isn't going to be easy to get them to play, so do you want them to play?!" Jake asked again, earning more whistling, cheering and clapping.
Jake turned back to us and I looked at Bella. She rolled her eyes but nodded, and I began playing the beginning chords of a song that's been nagging me since Bella and I got together.
She closed her eyes and began playing when she felt the music mover her like last time. The emotions this time were different. Both her and my melodies were filled with the love we had for each other and the longing we've had for each other and the hurt we've felt apart from each other.
As the song came to a close, Bella opened her eyes and her eyes connected with mine. I hit my last note moments after she played her final note, and we let it linger in the air.
Just as the last time we did something like this, the crowd was silent, but after a few moments one after another they began clapping and cheering. Bella and I waved then made our way off stage. The crowd continued cheering for a few minutes without ceasing.
Jake came back to where we were and asked, "One more?"
Bella looked at me. "What do you want to do Romeo?"
"It's up to you Juliet." I responded back and gave her a peck on the lips.
She sighed and looked deep in thought. "Do you all know the song 'You and I' by Ingrid Michaelson?"
Jake shook his head no while I shook my head yes.
"Alright, just follow along Jake." Bella told him as she walked back out earning more applause. She picked up her violin holding it in guitar position and began strumming the strings like a ukulele.
When the male part came, I went out and sung it directly to Bella. We couldn't hold back our smiles the entire time we were singing. Towards the end of the song when the chorus was repeating, Jake came out and finished it off with us.
We thanked the crowd and walked off for good this time, smiling to ourselves about the crazy performance.
The crowd dispersed after a few autographs, and we began cleaning up our equipment.
"Good show tonight guys! It sounded amazing; I've never heard anyone play with passion like that! And I must say that the wedding proposal was definitely a first for this old shop." Perry said with a smile. "Congratulations."
"Thanks Perry, we'll have to come back sometime." Bella told him with a smile.
He nodded and we began loading everything in the car. Alice and Sarah were bombarding Bella when she came back in to get the last of the stuff. I quickly went over to her and wrapped my arms around her. She smiled and continued talking to the girls for a few minutes until Alice declared that they would have a girl's night to fully discuss it.
Once they left, Bella's body sagged against mine.
"Tired love?" I asked.
"More than you can imagine. It's been one of the longest days I can remember." She told me yawning.
"Come on love birds! Everything is in the car, let's go home." Jake yelled from the door.
I nodded and picked Bella up bridal style and carried her to the car despite her weak protests, then gently slid her into the middle of the backseat. Five minutes into the trip back home, Bella's head was on my shoulder fast asleep.
I couldn't help but smile. She's always so beautiful. I put a piece of hair behind her ear, then whispered, "I love you. I love you so much, my Bella."
And that's that yos. So do you wanna tell me what you thought of it? I think you do! Thanks so much for stickin' with me! I less than three ya'll who review! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! So please, make my day!