Long ass AN: Why, hello there! Yes, still here, still writing, I guess.

I'll start by saying this story is near and dear to my heart, but it's also one of the saddest ones I've ever written. So if you're looking for fluff, this ain't it. This one hurts for sure, but I hope you'll still be there for the ride. The story is fully written and will update twice weekly.

Couldn't have done it without my star team: _LittleLovely_ and everywheresky pre-read and mcc101180 betad. As usual, sometimes I change stuff after they've worked on it :s so any remaining mistakes are mine!

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters, I just make them be best friends and fall in love with each other.

CW: This story involves potentially triggering themes. If you're worried, and don't mind being spoiled, send me a DM and I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Finally, you can find me on Facebook (Ronnie Macaroni) where I post teasers about this story.

So, without further ado, here's Ready For Forever

Musical inspiration:

Arctic Monkeys - I bet that you look good on the dance floor

CHAPTER 1. It's Forgotten

~o~

NOW

~o~

A 3-bedroom apartment in the center of Capitol Hill. Seattle, Washington. Saturday, May 11th, 2013.

The midday sun shines through the window. Isabella's body lies motionlessly on the bed. Her legs stick out from under the blankets. Thick, chocolate-colored hair spreads over most of her face. A soft snore can be heard from her lips, where a faint trail of drool drips onto her pillow.

With a soft groan, Isabella slowly opens her eyes, flinching at the brightness reflected on her white walls. She covers her head with the pillow, groaning a little louder as images from the previous night attack her.

Edward.

Edward on top of her, his chest exposed.

His arms caging her as he slammed into her.

"Shit!" She sits with a jolt, palming her clammy forehead. A jackhammer noise is drilling into her conscience as she tries to breathe away the bile threatening to rise from her stomach.

She stumbles out of bed, suddenly noticing the only thing that covers her body is Edward's Nirvana T-shirt. The jackhammer noise fades, and she registers the voices outside of her room.

In the living room, Jazz—one of her roommates—sits shirtless at the table, a coffee mug next to his laptop where he types the latest addition to his art blog.

"Morning, Maudlin Beery!" Jazz peeks up from his laptop, greeting Isabella with a wink.

"Shhhh…" She heads to the fridge, pulls out a bottle of water, and chugs it desperately. She sits on one of the stools at the table next to Jazz and spots Edward—her other roommate—out on the balcony with his back to her as he smokes.

As if he senses her staring at him, Edward turns and peeks at her over his shoulder. He puts out the cigarette and slides the glass doors open to come back inside.

She stares at him shyly as the images of him naked and on top of her continue to replay in her head.

Edward scratches the back of his neck, seemingly uncomfortable with the attention, and hurriedly races around the couch, into the kitchen, to retrieve his keys from the bowl next to Jazz's laptop.

"Hey," Isabella whispers softly.

"I gotta run. I open the studio today." As soon as his keys are in his hand, he heads for the door without looking back.

"Oh… okay," she murmurs disappointedly as she looks at the clock. It's 15 past eleven in the morning—the studio has been open for a while now—so she knows he's full of shit.

"And that, my friend," Jazz says as he takes his mug to the sink, turning back to Isabella and tapping her chin with a finger, "is the quickest way to ruin a friendship."

"Ugh!" Isabella's head hits the counter with the weight of a guilty conscience and the stinging of the remaining alcohol in her system.

~o~

A crowded college town bar. Late at night, on that same day.

Sweaty twenty-somethings dance and sway to the rhythm of the overplayed tunes coming from the underage DJ's booth. Edward walks in the bar, after having finished a smoke, hoping the nicotine surging through his body calms him enough to face Bella in a somewhat civil way. He knows she must be pissed, after how he stormed out that morning and how he avoided their place like the plague the whole day.

Once inside, Edward is immediately uncomfortable, unable to decide what he despises the most: the crowd, the place, or the music.

He pretty quickly decides what he loathes the most is the moronic frat boy whose body is pressed against Isabella's.

He finds Jazz at the other end of the bar and decides to start there. As soon as he sees Edward, Jazz orders a shot of whiskey for him, which Edward downs in one gulp before sitting down.

"Oh, honey…" Jazz pats a hand on Edward's shoulder. "Did you guys talk?"

Edward shakes his head as he fists his hair out of habit. When he sees Bella walking to them, he tenses up.

Isabella wraps an arm over Jazz. "I don't know if he's more into me or you…" She gestures to the frat boy that accompanied her before.

"Well…we already established that he clearly plays for both teams, so…let me see what I can do for him." Jazz winks at Isabella, getting up from the stool. "Now, you two…huddle," he instructs as he leaves.

"Oh hi…" Isabella's face stretches with an over-the-top, fake smile that lasts for less than a second. "Bye."

Edward steps in front of her, blocking her way, and grabs her arm. "Can we talk?" he begs.

She faces him for a couple seconds, just enough for his eyes to trail down to her cleavage. The loose white tank top she's wearing leaves very little to imagination, and Edward can see the lace edges of her black bra. It's very distracting.

"Nope." She wriggles her arm free and pushes him out of her way.

Edward orders a beer in frustration and sips it until Jazz comes back.

"So…did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Edward asks, but immediately regrets it, as he could predict exactly what Jazz would say next.

"That you absolutely adore her. That she's the moon of your night. That you've been lusting after her since before you could grow facial hair."

Edward chuckles but decides to ignore Jazz and turns to face away from the bar. He immediately wishes he hadn't, as he could now clearly see Isabella grinding her body next to yet another guy.

"Yeah, I'm out of here." Edward turns back to Jazz who flashes a sad smile at him.

"I'll stay…" Jazz says with a hand on Edward's shoulder. "I'll make sure she gets home safe."

~o~

The Capitol Hill Apartment. Out on the balcony. Same night.

The night is clear, and the air is fresh. Edward is out on the balcony, having just finished a smoke, when Isabella comes in, much earlier than he expected. As soon as they make eye contact, Edward starts his way in, but not before Isabella rushes to her room and slams the door.

With a sigh, Edward stands by the door of her bedroom, his head leaning on the door frame.

"Bella." He knocks softly. "Bella, please, just hear me out."

He waits for a response and sighs when he gets none.

"Please, c'mon," he begs in a whisper, a finger tracing over her door where he just knocked.

When she opens the door, her eyes are watery, and her eye makeup is smeared. She's been crying, which completely disarms him.

She doesn't say anything, just stares at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Shit," he whispers under his breath.

"Is that all?"

"No, of course not…" he says, coming in, pacing around her room, and fisting the hair on the back of his head.

He takes a couple deep breaths and then it all comes spilling out of him. "I'm sorry, okay? I panicked! I wake up next to you, and I don't know what to do with myself. After all of these years…it's you and me, you know? I don't know—I panicked, and I just had to go. I'm so sorry."

She sighs, coming closer. "It doesn't have to be a big deal."

"Bella…"

"So we got carried away…it happens…" She shrugs, standing in front of him, her fingers twiddling with the cords of his hoodie, her eyes avoiding his.

"What?!" Her reaction was not at all what he expected, and his voice comes out squeaky in shock.

She wipes the remaining tears under her eyes. "Edward…you're my best friend in the world. You're my rock. I don't know what I would do without you. I wouldn't want anything to jeopardize having you in my life. I don't want to lose you." She sticks her hands in the front pocket of his hoodie, pulling him to her.

"I'm sorry I flaked, Bella. I'm not going anywhere." His hands reach for her head, and he tucks loose strands of her hair behind her ears.

"Can we just…" she finally looks up at him "…forget it happened?"

Their eyes lock for a few seconds until he exhales through his nose and wraps his arms around her while she hides her face in his chest and holds on to him tightly.

"Is that really what you want?" His hand closes around the fabric on the back of her shirt instinctively as he takes a shaky breath, relieved that it seemed at least things with her were going to be okay, but unsure that he truly could forget it had happened, even if he wanted to.

She nods slowly into his chest without letting him go.

His chin rests on the top of her head as he stares out to her room, pondering on her proposal. "If that's what you want…it's forgotten then." He sighs, closing his eyes.

~o~

A/N: Are we in?