Dance with Me

Today was the Talent Show in 's class.

It was also the last day before Christmas break. Which meant my teacher was letting everyone dress up in their jingle socks and ugly Christmas sweaters. I had a Christmas sweater granny had knitted for me last Christmas, but it wasn't ugly. And a couple of the jingles on my socks had come loose after one too many washes.

I looked like Cindy Loo Hoo on a budget.

I could only hope Edward would look past it.

I'd learned over the last several months that Edward was willing to look past a lot of things. Like the day when he found my blanket, secretly stashed between my bed pillows. Or how now every time he comes over and Granny is here, she insists on giving him a big, wet kiss.

Instead of fleeing like most sane people, he'd just smiled. Sometimes he even giggled.

He'd become a fixture in the Swan Household. An honorary member of the family. He knew almost all of my secrets, and I liked to think I knew all of his.

More than anything, though, I was nervous about the talent show today. Mainly because I didn't actually have a talent. I wasn't sure what Edward's talent was. Breathing, maybe? Because everything that he did was perfect.

But I was not Edward. I could not go up on stage and just stand there, allowing everyone to bask in the brilliance of my existence. I was Bella. I had sneakers that lit up when they walked, and a nervous laugh that was sometimes mistaken for a wounded animal. Those were the most interesting things about me, and as I stood there, watching as my classmates pitter on and off the stage, horror pulsed through me, hot and thick.

Would this be it? Would this finally be the moment when Edward realized I wasn't nearly as cool and talented as he was? When he realized I was so boring, there was no way he'd ever spend the rest of his life with me.

I drew in a sharp breath and shook myself.

No. Edward would never do that. Even if I was boring. Even if he was the most interesting person on the entire planet earth. He was too nice. But oh god. What if he'd already come to the conclusion that I was boring. What if he was just tolerating me-

"Bella?"

I snapped my head to the left. Edward was staring at me, a slight frown on his face as his eyes drifted between me and the stage.

"Oh. Hi." I forced a smile and tried to pretend like I wasn't dying inside.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I responded a little too quickly. "Well. Kind of nothing. It's just, I don't really have a talent."

"I told you not to worry about that. Remember?" Edward flashed me a crooked smile.

"Yeah. But its for my grade. I can't just not worry about it."

Edward opened his mouth to protest, but as he did, called him to the stage. I watched, wallowing in my misery, as Edward took front and center. A strand of curly bronze hair slipped out from behind his ear as he cleared his throat.

"For my talent, I need a volunteer." Edward looked towards me pointedly. "But it can't just be any volunteer."

"Oh." 's eyes shone with amusement as she glanced over at me.

Apparently Edward and I had become a thing at school. I wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but I'd heard talking about it with another teacher one day. Later when I asked Mom about it, she explained that two people can become a thing when they hang out all the time and get along really well.

"Bella?" Edward beckoned me forward shyly. It took my mind a couple seconds to push past the terror of the situation for my feet to move forward.

"What are we doing?" I whispered to Edward.

Edward turned towards me. Something flashed in his eyes, and for a moment, I forgot about my classmates. I forgot about the talent show and the teacher and breathing, and all I could think about was the way Edward was looking at me. His eyes were warm and his cheeks were flushed and he was looking at me so intensely that I wondered if maybe I'd done something wrong.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. But-"

"Then that's all that matters."

He smiled and the world came back. After a couple seconds, he turned back towards .

"My Mom taught me this. She used to dance all the time. She doesn't anymore. But that's okay. Cause I have a new dance partner now."

Edward turned towards me and extended his hand. I took it. His hands were sweaty, and they shook slightly as he stepped forward and began the dance.

"Just follow my lead." Edward whispered.

I nodded. Because in that moment my brain refused to form words. Edward- shy, lanky Edward- moved like art in motion. His body swayed with the music, steps in time with the beat. But his eyes never left mine. Even when I stepped on his toes. By the time we were done, his face was red and my hands were slicked with sweat from where they'd held his.

And I didn't even care. Because, apparently aside from being perfect in every possible way, Edward could dance. My man could dance.

I swooned inside.

I'd been right about Edward. He wasn't a knight. Not at all.

He was a prince.

We invited Edward over for Christmas.

Usually Mom didn't let me have friends over on Holidays, citing family time. But Edward was an exception. Apparently.

The moment he'd arrived, he'd been off. Jittery. Like he could barely sit still. He'd paced the length of the living room as I recounted all the gifts I'd gotten so far.

"Santa got a dream Barbie car. And a new fancy pencil. Look! See! This one has yellow polka dots-"

"Santa?" Edward froze mid stride. He turned towards me slowly.

"Yeah. Santa got me all those gifts. What did he get you?"

Edward stared at me for a moment. Then he smiled softly and took my hands in his. "That's really cool Bella."

I shrugged. My toys were pretty awesome, but Santa brought me presents every year.

As if suddenly remembering something, Edward shoved his hand into his pocket. "I got you something too. But this isn't from Santa."

My eyes went wide. "You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." When Edward pulled his hand out of his pocket, his fingers were curled into a tiny ball.

"You did?"

"Yeah, but you have to promise me you'll remember this is from me and not Santa."

"I promise!" As if I could even forget. Edward could give me a rock at this point and I would cherish it till my dying days.

Edward nodded and took a shaky breath. His hand jetted out towards me, like he was holding a hot coal. "It's not much, but…" Edward looked down shyly and opened his hands. In his tiny palm was a shiny, glossy bottle of pink nail polish.

"You remembered!" Warmth spread through my chest as I remembered how Edward and I had first met. "Is this the same one? The same color as what you were wearing?" I babbled excitedly.

"Yeah. If you don't like the shade I can take it back and get a different one-"

"No! I love it!" I took the bottle and held it to my chest, around where I figured my heart was. Edward grinned from ear to ear and stood a little straighter. He looked so proud that I couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm glad you like it."

"More than like it. It's perfect."

"Like you."

I blushed and turned back towards the Christmas Tree. Edward had been saying things like that a lot lately. And I knew he meant them by the way he said it. His expression was always so serious, with just the faintest flush on his cheeks. I kneeled and retrieved my present for Edward from the Christmas tree. Taking a deep breath, I prayed he loved his present as much as I loved his and handed him the intricately wrapped box. Mom had helped me with the wrapping and the bow, because since I was giving it to Edward, it needed to be perfect.

Edward carefully unwrapped the box, taking his time to unfold the wrapping and untie the bow instead of tearing it. He lifted the lid to the box and froze.

"This is for me?"

"Yeah." My gut dropped. "Do you like it?"

"Bella, it's…." Edward's voice trailed off, eyes lowered in reverence. "It's everything."

My shoulders sagged in relief. "I love it." Edward lifted the Captain America t-shirt from the box. Mom and I had spent a week trying to find the perfect one.

"I figured you needed another one. Since your last one got stretched out." I left out the part about Scott Matheson. Edward didn't seem to mind, thumb smoothing white cotton.

Chewing on my cheek, I contemplated my next words. There was something else I wanted to ask. I wasn't sure if I should. Because I wasn't sure how Edward would take it. But it was Christmas, and Mom had said Edward could stay till nine tonight. Two hours later than normal. And I was feeling brave.

"Hey Edward?"

"Yes?"

"There's one other thing I wanted."

"Oh?" Edward's face fell slightly.

"I want you to dance with me."

Edward blinked at me, but before I could backpedal, his hands jetted out. My smaller palms fit perfectly in his as he lifted our hands, adjusting us to a starting position. Slowly, we began to move, swaying in time with the Christmas music that filtered in from the kitchen.

Edward's movements were stiff at first. His hands shook slightly, and he wouldn't look at me, eyes focused just past my shoulder. His cheeks were red, brows wrinkled, like he was concentrating very hard on something.

"Edward?" I whispered, as to not startle him.

"Y-yeah?"

"You said your mom taught you how to dance?"

Edward nodded. The motion was jittery and disjointed. "She did."

"Did you guys used to dance together?"

"When I was younger. But not anymore." Edward's eyes darkened. They looked so sad and heavy that I almost regretted bringing it up.

"Why not?"

"Because. Mom doesn't like me anymore." Edward stilled. After a couple seconds, I realized we'd stopped moving. "The burns scare her. She's not brave. Like you."

I squeezed Edward's hands softly. I wasn't sure what to say.

"Do you miss her?"

"Sometimes. But she's busy. She doesn't really have time. Mom still loves me. I swear she does. She just…"

"Maybe she's just not that good at showing it. Granny says people are like that sometimes."

Edward nodded. "Maybe. But that doesn't matter. Not anymore."

"Really?"

"Really. Cause I have a new dance partner now." Edward studied me for a moment, expression serious. "Bella. Will you promise me something?"

"What?"

"Promise you'll never change. Promise you'll never change your mind. About me."

I smiled softly and pulled Edward into a hug. "I can't promise I'll never change. I'm pretty sure I have to get taller so I can be an adult one day. But I can promise you this. No matter how I change, you'll always be my favorite."

Edward grinned. And so did I.

I wasn't sure what the future was going to hold for us. How I would change. How he would. But I knew one thing. Whatever happened, we were going to be together.

And that was all that mattered.

A/N: Since the majority of people preferred age progression throughout the story, this will probably be the last chapter with them in Elementary School!