Chapter Thirty-One

As much as I wanted to be, I wasn't a wallflower.

I was still noticed, having Alice in the same college as I was both a blessing but also a curse. I wanted nothing more than to sink into the wall when I was out with Alice, she was a beacon of warmth and welcome.

People flocked to her, and she never pushed them away no matter what. It didn't matter what race they were, what their sexuality was, or their religion. She welcomed them all with open arms. I both envied her but also didn't at the same time, I couldn't imagine myself being just like her. She didn't want me to be just like her, so that was my saving grace, she only wanted me to be myself.

The months began to come and go, the leaves dried and cascaded down onto the dry grass. The naked trees quivered from the wind and I went to the church every Sunday with Alice so that I could attend the sermons.

I always thought of Carlisle as I would sit in the lovingly used pews, my eyes peering at the different details that were throughout the church. Alice would always smile at me, wearing her best Sunday clothes, she often gave me some of her own Sunday clothes—Carlisle had beamed brightly when he heard we were going to the church at the college. I wondered if he ever went to church after he became a vampire again, but he never told me anything other than he was proud of me.

It was two weeks before we were going off to Forks for Christmas, and we were leaving the church in our formal wear—I was wearing my graduation dress from high school underneath a stylish red peacoat that Alice had lent me. She was wearing a similar dress as me, with a matching red peacoat as me. We were both wearing our crests, so we really looked like best friends, in ways like sisters.

We were barely on the second to last steps of the church when whispers radiated throughout the campus around me. I frowned and looked away from where I was looking at, the fountain that was off in the distance, and towards the source of where the staring and gossip was directed towards.

Jasper Hale stood in front of me, with his hands deep in his jean pockets of his pants. His deep golden peacoat brought out the color in his eyes, the black turtleneck sweater showed off his muscles and his long neck. His hiking boots weren't the most elegant look but then again, we weren't aiming to be anywhere that was elegant. He looked perfectly fine in what he was wearing. Even though he wasn't overdressed, he was still ostentatious in the vampire way, in the cliché Cullen/Hale way.

He hadn't texted me earlier in the week, or even told me that he was coming to visit me and Alice. I let my eyes wander over to Alice, she merely gave me a half smile. I didn't make myself think more of what was happening in front of me, knowing that she was simply happy because Jasper was here. Or at least that was all that I was making myself think of, because he was here in front of me.

Making my way towards where Jasper was it was obvious for us to see those that were stunned with the sight of the golden eyed boy, some of the girls had paused what they were doing and were staring at him with interest, along with a couple of boys too. Jasper didn't even bat an eyelash towards them, his eyes were focused completely on me and no one else on the campus.

Reaching him I threw my arms around him and wrapped myself around him. He wrapped his arms around me, cocooning me into him, as he soaked in my warmth and my scent. He gently pulled away and bent down so that he could press a kiss onto the top of my forehead in greeting. I blushed and pulled away completely, allowing him to wrap his arm around me.

"What are you doing here? Not that I don't love having you here," I admitted, as I probed, gentleness washing throughout my voice as I peered up at him with patience. Jasper let his eyes wander over the campus, taking in the scenery around him again, his eyes pausing when he saw a bench a few feet away from us for us to sit down on while he was visiting me.

Gently sitting me down onto the bench, Jasper took a deep breath, making me frown as I studied him. I could sense there was tension that was radiating from him, with a strength I hadn't expected. Usually, it was me that was the tense one, the one who needed to be calmed down and reassured. Today it just so happened to be Jasper that was the one who needed to be comforted, not me.

"I have something that I wanted to ask you…" Jasper started before he sat down next to me. I moved so that I faced him completely, the trees around us cast down lineaments. We were shielded from most of the sunlight, though not strong today, it still was brighter than I would have liked it to be for Alice (and now Jasper).

My eyes flashed towards where Alice had been standing minutes ago, but now she was gone. I frowned, furling my eyebrows, she seemed to have disappeared. She didn't have any classes today, but maybe she decided that she was going to the fashion department so she could see what was being made. She had already modeled some of the clothes that some of the fashion designers had created around school that that the students could get honest opinions on their clothes.

"Bella…"

I tore my attention away from where I had been staring and let my eyes land on Jasper. He reached into his peacoat and pulled out a small black box, a ring box. My heart raced in my chest before getting caught in my throat. I gulped deeply, not able to say anything as Jasper took a deep breath before he managed to speak.

"Isabella Marie Swan. Two years ago, you came into my life, turning my life upside down. I never thought that I would be able to have someone love me unconditionally, but you came into my life and proved me wrong. I can't imagine not being with you for the rest of my life, and now that I know you feel the same way, I cannot help but ask you if you will marry me."

All was quiet, silence resonated between me and the golden eyed vampire. Thankfully, none of the humans could hear what was happening around us. They could see the jewelry box; the lid was still shut though. I reached my hand out softly and brushed my fingers against the surface of the lid. It was velvet, soft to the touch, grounding me and reminding me that I needed to answer Jasper.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded my head, "yes, I will marry you, Jasper Whitlock Hale." Tears cascaded from my eyes down upon my pallid cheekbones. I pulled my hands away from the box and wiped away the tears, not paying attention to Jasper opening the lid before he pulled out the ring.

I softly handed my left hand to him, my eyes widening at the beauty of the sapphire stone that sat in the middle of the thin silver band. It was a small ring; the stone was on the verge of being on the larger side. It was striking against the silver band, there were no other jewels or diamonds that were etched into the ring, there was just my simple sapphire birth stone.

He placed the ring upon my finger gently, as though he was afraid that even putting it onto my finger hard would break the euphoria that was radiating around us. I smiled brightly as the ring settled onto my finger, the sapphire shimmering slightly from the sunlight that managed to crack through the lineaments and onto us.

I couldn't even blink before people came up to us and gave us congratulations, I almost wanted to curl myself inwards or let Jasper hold me in his arms—shielding me away from them. We thanked them of course, before they slowly began to walk away from us. I took a deep breath and allowed Jasper to help me up from the bench. We went in the direction of where the dorms were.

To others they would have puffed their chests out at the knowledge that a beautiful vampire had proposed to them. I on the other hand almost wanted to disappear, but that wasn't because he was a vampire. It was mainly because becoming engaged meant that people would pay more attention to me. I already was having a hard time in college; I wasn't even finished with my first semester and I was already engaged. I didn't know what the rest of my time here at Seattle University would bring me.

I sighed in relief when we went into my dorm room, I slumped against the wall and Jasper glanced around the room. My laptop was charging, a light beeped allowing me to know that the laptop was fully charged. I went over and unplugged it before turning off my laptop, I wasn't in the mood to bring up Facebook and see the statuses that any of my Facebook friends had posted.

None of the Cullens/Hales had Facebook, nor did they have other social media pages. Partly because they never aged and another being that they weren't social creatures to begin with when it came to posting their daily lives.

Carlisle didn't even have his photo on the clinic page, where they would have pictures of the doctors and nurses so people would know what they looked like. Sure, he would have information on there about him, but he made sure there wasn't a lot that he would tell about himself. He couldn't just tell them all that he was a vampire and was born in the seventeenth century, that would have been an interesting topic towards humans. He would either have people that would think that he was kidding or others that wanted him to go to the mental ward in the nearest hospital.

Still, I knew that I needed to text the others and let them know that Jasper had proposed to me. I had gotten plenty of congratulations but didn't get a reply from Rosalie, which still made my heart ache in the knowledge that she wasn't letting me know that she had accepted the proposal.

I didn't know how to feel about Christmas, when I would go back to Forks and be greeted with everyone. I knew that Alice would take me out tonight to celebrate, to some nice restaurant and Esme and Carlisle would have a mini engagement party for me at the house. Emmett and Edward would welcome me with open arms, allowing me to know that they truly were happy I was going to be their sister through marriage. Rosalie though, I didn't know how she would be.

When it was time for Christmas Break, I shifted uneasily in the passenger seat of Alice's car, thankful that it had heated seats. I pulled out my iPod and began to play some of my favorite artists with my earbuds nestled perfectly in my ears, allowing Muse and Linkin Park to take control for a while. I didn't want to think much, at how there would be the one family member I would be welcomed with that didn't like me. It wasn't like I was one of those people that had to have everyone like me, but Rosalie had never felt the need to show any positivity except in rare moments.

"Rose is going to tell you," Alice softly spoke, making me break my attention away from my music to her. The spunky girl had a knowing tone in her voice, as she turned and looked at me. I nodded my head, accepting what she had told me. I didn't say anything to this, but she added, "I know that you've been wondering, why she's so against you choosing immortality, but she's willing to give you a chance if you hear her out and decide whether or not you really want to go through with the marriage."

Anger radiated from me, strongly, as I clinched my jaw, "She's not the one who is the deciding factor in the marriage between me and Jasper. I'm still getting married to him, but I am willing to listen to her explanation on why she's been so frosty towards me these past few years."

It wouldn't be until we were having a small engagement party a few nights before Christmas at the Cullen/Hale house, that Rosalie caught my eye. She was wearing one of her signature winter red dresses, her leather boots were simple but had a good height to the heels. Her beautiful golden curls cascaded against the sides of her face as the twinkling lights that were throughout the room. She let her eyes wander away from the door that led out to the back porch to me, before motioning for us to head out to the back porch of the house.

Moving away from Jasper I slipped on one of the multiple coats that were spread throughout the room, this one being Esme's coat out of anyone's. It was a bit bigger and longer than mine, but that didn't matter. It would keep me warm when I went out of the house and saw Rosalie standing on the back porch with her hands in front of her, her bare fingers brushing against the top railing of the porch. She turned her head towards me, "thank you for following me out here."

"Alice told me that you wanted to tell me your reasons for me to not become one of you," I started slowly, but surely, making Rosalie sigh before she nodded her head. She looked forward, before she started, "I was born during the Roaring Twenties, and while others would perish during this time due to starvation and disease, I was born to those that were of the high class. My father worked at the bank in town…"

I moved so that I was standing next to her. She continued, "for a while everything was perfect. I was the most beautiful girl in town, I was adored, everyone loved me. Every girl wanted to be me. Then Carlisle, Esme, and Edward came into town. They were the center of attention…but I had managed to catch the attention of the bank manager's son, Royce King the Second."

I flinched, as I looked down and saw that her hands had gotten harder against the railing, the splintering of the wood cracking from her hands on them made her blink a few times and tear her hands away from the railing. There were imprints of her hands on the railing, a victim to her anger.

"I became engaged to him. I was young, in love with the idea of being loved. Everything was fine, perfect, until the night before our wedding…" Rosalie turned so that she was looking towards the people that were in the living room, everyone was there…except for Renee and Phil. They would come to the wedding; Alice had assured me of this.

"I was heading home from visiting my friend, she was a simple girl. She had just had a baby boy; oh, he was beautiful. Those curls and dimply face, that laugh! He was pure innocence, a true angel…" There was this longing in her voice, as she thought back on that boy, before her eyes and the rest of her hardened again.

"I ran into Royce and his friends a block from my house. They were drinking, and Royce grabbed me before yanking me towards him. He showed me off, as though I was a prize that no one else could ever have. Normally this would have been okay, but there was something different in his tone that night…the way he acted…"

I opened my mouth, about to ask her if she wanted to continue, but she spoke before I had the chance to do so. "He tore at my clothes and raped me. He didn't need to encourage the others; he was offering me towards them despite my protests. They took me eagerly, hard, without mercy…"

My heart stuck in my ribcage fell through and broke at the words she spoke. I knew it still wouldn't be the best for me to speak. She straightened up and smoothed her clothes, "Carlisle came and rescued me. Even now I cannot forgive him, I would have rather be dead. I cannot have children, grow old. I got my revenge, I killed them all, I saved Royce for last. I wore my wedding dress, there was no need for it anymore…"

I tuned out anything else she started to tell me, how she had ended up seeing Emmett being mauled by a grizzly bear. She had taken him to Carlisle because she couldn't change him herself. She was the only other one than Carlisle who hadn't drank human blood, even Esme had a slip up one time.

"Do you want me a part of this family or not?" I turned towards her after I pulled myself out of those thoughts, my eyes caught on the blonde-haired vampire next to me. She turned to look at me, she stepped forward and reached her hand out and put it on my cheek, "are you truly able to say that you will not regret leaving this all behind? You are okay with the knowledge that you cannot have children?"

I almost chuckled dryly at the questions she was giving me, but I knew that she was serious. Instead, I nodded my head, "I am serious, Rosalie. I know that you had your life taken away from you, and your death in a way also. I know that you battle with your own problems, but I ask that you respect my decision and respect me enough to know that I am doing what I am wanting to do. I have a choice, unlike you, and I choose to become one of you."

The back door opened, revealing Jasper standing in the doorway with a jacket on over his handsome clothes, all for appearance sake. He arched one of his deep hued eyebrows up, his eyes flickering to either of us as though asking us silently if he needed to use his gift. Rosalie shook her head and turned to me. She leant forehead and kissed me on the forehead, surprising me, "welcome to the family, Bella. It is an honor to know that you will be my sister, and everything that Jasper needs."

Rosalie pulled away from me before she went towards the doorway. Jasper moved away, allowing her to come through so that she could go to see Emmett. Jasper turned to look at me, I knew that the falling snow had come and cascaded down enough that my brown hair was coated with the white substance. He chuckled some and stepped out, shutting the door behind him before he came up to me. He leant down and kissed me on the forehead this time, wrapping his arms around me and keeping me in his arms so that I wouldn't be able to go anywhere else.

My engagement ring glistened from the light that came from inside the house. The sapphire was still so striking, shyly asking for attention. It made someone draw their attention towards it for a moment before they would look away, a piece of eye candy that would attract those who loved diamonds and other jewels but didn't make me look like I was a gold digger. I couldn't say that wasn't the same for Rosalie, her wedding ring jewel was the biggest out of any of the women's in the family.

"I'm ready," I whispered, letting my eyes flicker up to Jasper. He craned his head to the side, his soft curls that fell against his shoulders was pulled back in a low ponytail. So, his features were sharper and on display tonight. He reached out and took my other hand in his other hand. He squeezed it too, "me too."

FIN

I think that I am satisfied with this as the ending. I know that you don't get to see the wedding, which I know, sucks but I can't really imagine myself writing it. :( I do though think that this was a good ending. It just puts it all together in a bow. I hope that you enjoyed this story. It took 2 years to finish! Can you believe that? Anyway, let me know what you thought of the story.

-Emmy

TWILIGHT DOESN'T BELONG TO ME