AN: This chapter was inspired by the fact that this year is my 10 year anniversary since graduation. I wrote this in honor of the Class of '20. If I have younger readers, I am so sorry some of you guys weren't able to walk at your graduations this year. I wanted to share my feelings from my graduation to try and help form a picture in your minds (if this reads deep enough to imagine yourself when you read "I") to help.

~**Chapter 24: Bella's POV**~

Of course I can't sleep and tomorrow is literally one of the biggest days of my entire life. Angrily I toss and turn trying (and failing) to find a comfortable position. It also doesn't help that Paul isn't here. Anne is flying in for my graduation and he has to leave at 4am to be able to make it to the airport on time to grab her. Lately she has been spending a lot of time in North Carolina with her boyfriend Isaac, the guy she met when we vacationed there a couple months ago. When they arrive back to town they'll have to come straight to the school; luckily my last name is pretty far down the list so they should make it in time.

Since I can't sleep, I start going over every minute of tomorrow. Once the graduation ceremony is over, Ren, Ang, and I will be having a joint graduation party on La Push beach. Everyone is bringing a dish to pass and then we'll have a huge bonfire. As usual, once the parents leave we'll bust out the booze. We've decided that we'll all crash at Paul and Anne's because it's big enough to fit us comfortably and she makes the best hangover breakfast. When I try to stop thinking of that, I think of the fact that Paul and I found the perfect place and will be moving in together in just over a week. The combination of both graduation and moving has my mind in overdrive and is causing said lack of sleep. It's a vicious cycle that frustrates me even more. I check my phone to glance at the time. 2:56.

Sighing in defeat, I throw off the blanket and climb out of bed. Hopefully a late night snack will do the trick and help me sleep. I tread quietly so I don't wake my parents but as I move past their room, I can hear them whispering. I shudder hoping that I'm not about to hear anything that might scar me for life. I quickly shuffle down the stairs to the kitchen to begin raiding the fridge. I settle for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich so that my stomach isn't all in knots tomorrow morning. I head back to my room and climb in my bed and lay down.

As soon as I close my eyes, I see Edward clear as day. He's standing in his graduation gear with a half smirk on his face. I smile back at him and nod my head just as he disappears. My heart starts to ache in sadness all over again for him and his family. Elizabeth has hardly come out of her house and Edward Sr. is just going through the motions. It's truly sad the way everything played out and what happened. Suddenly, I feel drained and pass out into a dreamless sleep.

The Next Morning

"Bella! You should have been up by now!" My mom cries rushing into my room.

"Why what time is it?" I ask groggily.

"Your alarm went off 20 minutes ago! I came up because I didn't hear you moving around," She tells me.

"It's fine, don't panic. I showered last night so I wouldn't have to do it this morning and all I have to do is unbraid my hair then I'll have my perfect hairstyle," I inform her rubbing my eyes.

"Oh good! Well hurry up and come downstairs so that you can get something to eat," She urges before leaving abruptly.

With a heavy sigh, I climb out of bed and venture over to my mirror. I look at myself long and hard debating whether I need some makeup or not. I decide against it before going to the closet to grab my dress for this morning. I lay it on the bed and then head downstairs to eat a quick bite before I get ready. With my luck I'd spill something on my dress so it's better to be safe than sorry.

"There's my graduate!" My dad says happily.

"Not quite. Hungry daughter is more like it," I joke.

I make some toast to go with the eggs my mom just finished making. While I eat, we go over the plan for the rest of the day. I start to feel a little sad because I won't have too many more mornings like this with my parents. They are aware that we looked at a place halfway between Forks and La Push, but we haven't told them yet that the landlord chose us. We will meet the following Monday to sign the lease and get the keys. I pull myself out of my thoughts and then go back upstairs to get dressed. I check my phone to see if there are any messages from Paul and of course there is one. Happy Graduation Day Baby! I love you so much. One step closer to the rest of our lives. I feel myself smile as I read and type a quick response back.

I slip into my dress and quickly unbraid my hair so I can have controlled waves. I want my cap to be able to fit. I look myself over in my full body mirror and smile softly. Finally I'm done with school, I think to myself. My eyes drift to the nightstand where my yearbook sits and find myself moving to pick it up. I carefully sit on my bed and flip through the pages before tearing up at the memorial for Edward. I touch his face in the picture and that is how Paul finds me when he sneaks in. I quickly close the yearbook and wipe the tears that are rolling down my face.

"Hey are you okay?" Paul asks, sitting down next to me.

"Yeah I'm okay. Just came across Edward's memorial in the yearbook and got a little sad for his family," I sniffle.

"You can be sad for you too, Bell," he says gently.

I look over at him in awe. He still finds new ways to amaze me. "Thank you. I love you so much," I tell him, leaning into him.

"I love you too baby. Do you need a minute?" He asks.

"Uhm, yes please. I'll be quick. I know we have to get going," I answer.

"Take all the time you need babe. Today is your day," Paul tells me. He leans over to kiss my forehead and then stands to leave.

"Thank you," I say to his back as he's closing the door.

I close my eyes and take a few deep calming breaths, trying to get it together. Next, I murmur a quick prayer, say Amen, and open my eyes. I feel a little refreshed so I stand and move towards my gown. I slowly put it on, shaking just a little because I'm so nervous and excited. I actually close my eyes so I can feel the material against my skin. I zip it up slowly before lifting my hair from inside the gown. I shake my hair out gently and stare at myself in the mirror, tearing up again. Enough. Which side does this freaking tassel go on? I shrug my shoulders, turn to grab my phone, and venture down the stairs.

No surprise, my parents are standing at the bottom of the stairs with cameras in hand. I use my phone to cover my face as I walk down the remaining steps. "Come on guys at least take the pictures at the school," I sigh.

"Sorry it's not every day my baby graduates high school," Mom says excitedly.

"So how are we doing this? I do not want to pull up to the school in a cruiser," I tell them.

"We need both vehicles for all of the food for the party but let Paul drive. You shouldn't have to drive yourself to your own graduation," Dad uses that fatherly tone.

"Okay sounds good to me," Paul says, looking at me.

"Me too. Well let's get this show on the road!" I exclaim.

During the drive to the school, I start to feel myself getting a little nervous. This only increases when we pull into the parking lot and I see my classmates moving about nervously. Paul reaches over to rest his hand on my thigh and it instantly calms me down. We find a spot to park quickly but I take my sweet time to gather my things before getting out of the car. We stand behind the Jeep for a few minutes to wait for Ang and Ren. Once my girls arrive, I say goodbye to Paul and send him off to find my parents.

"I can't believe today is finally here!" Ang says excitedly.

"It feels like it took forever," I mumble with a smile.

"Not for me!" Ren jokes since she skipped a grade.

We slowly make our way to get in line to do the walk with our class to our seats. They start right on time and here comes the boring speeches that no one will ever remember. Everything goes just as smooth as we practiced at the rehearsal we had last night. Naturally they have us sitting alphabetically so neither of my girls are close to me and I definitely am not going to talk to Jessica fucking Stanley. I start to look in the crowd to see if I can spot my family. Thankfully I have a giant boyfriend so I spot them quickly. They have monopolized an entire section with most of La Push present so I smile and wave. After what feels like forever, the principal announces they are going to start handing out diplomas. I find myself clapping when I hear Alice's name being called which grants me a glance from Jessica and a few others around me. I ignore all of them and watch as my classmates are handed their diplomas. I hear the crowd erupt when they call "Renesmee Cullen" and can't fight the urge to stand up to shout for her myself.

"You're not supposed to do that, Bella," Jessica hisses as I sit back down.

"Kiss my ass," I say as I cock my head to look at her as if to say, "try me."

"Whatever," she responds, turning to look ahead.

No more words are spoken between us as the principal goes down the list calling us up. Jessica is directly in front of me and the person in front of her is about to be called. All I can hear is my blood rushing through my veins and I feel my palms starting to sweat. She starts to walk up the ramp to the stage a little bit before her name is called. Fuck I'm next, man I hope I don't trip. I look down and make sure there's nothing I can trip on and follow the stage to check for cords and shit. My attention is snatched when I hear the sound of my name. I feel my feet start to move and feel myself being pulled forward but I can't hear anything. I see lips moving, people are shaking my hand, hell I'm even moving, but all I hear is my own heartbeat. I can't tell you how I made it without tripping, I don't know if I smiled or even responded to the staff talking to and congratulating me. I swipe my hand over my cheek and I'm surprised to find tears. When the fuck did I start crying? Why?

I make it back to my seat and open my diploma that I don't even remember accepting. I finally get my wits about me and look back into the crowd to see my family taking pictures, wiping tears, and smiling hard at each other. I feel myself smile and throw a hand up for whoever to capture on camera. I start to focus again as I hear them getting closer to Ang's name. Just like with Ren, I stand and cheer for my best friend to Jessica's annoyance. Luckily for her, she doesn't comment this time. I clap again loudly for Jasper once they call his name. Two more names are called before we are allowed to move the tassel to the opposite side. Once they've declared us graduated and finish their well wishes, the entire class removes their caps and tosses them high into the air. I caught mine and quickly escaped the crowd to be easily visible to my family. They're leading the pack of families rushing to their graduates. Ren and Ang make their way over to me and we all exchange hugs before bracing for impact from our families.

AN 2: Hey all! Sorry about the abrupt ending but I was so anxious to get this out to you guys!