Here y'all go! That thing happened again where I had two ideas that were too short on their own so I combined them into one thing here!

marsolino: Thank you! I hope you like this one too!

sansaxlannister: Haha! Believe me, I was cringing the entire time I was writing it! What the hell were we thinking?!

TheLadyO: Thank you! It's not really a 'historical period', but it was different to now, and I try to take this sort of thing seriously because it has its differences.

Guest: Golly! I guess I was the real racist the whole time! What a twist!

overlordred: Thanks, baby! I love how much you're loving all this! I freaking love Rosalie, and think Meyer did her so dirty. She's guarded, but for good reason, you know. Also, I totally love 2000s pop songs are my guilty pleasure (Sexy Back is a BOP). And you guessed it, the Cascada song they were dancing to was 100% the slow version of Every Time We Touch.

Okay, enjoy. Also, sorry in advance. ;)

...

Graduation was coming up way faster than Alia expected it would.

Maybe it was because the holidays that year were spent drafting college applications and freaking out over how to mail them.

Even while she was pouring over university pamphlets and researching the differences in literature programs, it hadn't hit her that she'd have to pack up and go to them.

It only hit suddenly when her parents sat her down one January morning before school, something unexpected all on its own with how they were both there and not at the hospital. "Have you thought about what you want to do with your life?"

Of course her mother would get straight to the point. Alia looked down at the cup of coffee on the table and steeled herself. "I want to study literature."

Her parents exchanged looks at that. "A BA? Your grades aren't that bad." Her dad offered, probably in ways of comfort. "Have you thought about nursing? It's difficult, but if you work hard—"

"Dad." Alia stopped him. He looked at her, surprised. Alia realised that she had never interrupted him before. "I've thought about it a lot. It's the only thing I'd like to study. Maybe a bit of history, but… that's about it."

"There's always law school afterwards. If she picks an easy degree, she can get the grades for a good graduate program." Her mom said to her dad. He nodded, and they both seemed assured at that. Alia sighed, not bothering to correct them. If they wanted to think that'd be her path, they could go ahead. She could mention Avantika but didn't want to drag her sister under the bus for no reason, especially when she wasn't there to defend herself.

"Edward's going to go into medicine, isn't he?" Her dad asked, making Alia freeze in her tracks.

"He seems the sensible sort." Her mom said. "More so than the others. What are they doing?"

"I don't really know." Alia said, moving for the stairs. "I'm gonna go get ready."

The truth was, that while Edward sat with her and helped her fill out college applications, he didn't fill out any for himself. When she asked, he shrugged and said he was sick of school and planning to take a year or two off like his siblings. Theirs was a close family, and they valued each other too much to go in different directions. Alia had always assumed… or at least hoped… that she and Edward would end up going to the same place. But it was becoming more and more clear that they'd be separated. The thought made Alia's heart ache.

Well, she wasn't going to ruin her day by thinking about things that were months away just because her parents chose that day to show an interest in what she'd already made her mind up about months ago. Thanks to her therapist, she was good at managing things that caused her stress. Most of her applications were in, before the due date, and she needed to focus on finals. She could worry about the future some other day.

January was gone in a flash and the new semester began. A strange phenomena occurred, where everyone, even the goofiest slacker began to take classes more seriously. It seemed that everyone in their senior year was beginning to feel the nerves that came with upcoming graduation.

Alia was pulled out of the ever-encompassing threat of the last semester of classes when one rainless March day, Edward all but dragged her to go hiking with him. "Stressing yourself out isn't going to help." he'd said casually.

"We can't all be as cool as you." Alia rolled her eyes.

They talked all the way up the trail, the tension leaving Alia the higher they went. Finally, they reached the familiar mountain bench. Alia felt bad for neglecting it the past few months. If she hadn't been working at the library, studying, or filling out college applications, she was using her free time to read in the treehouse. The flowers she'd planted by the bench last summer were naturally wilted with the changing season.

Edward seemed to have thought of it in advance, pulling out a pack of wild rose seeds. "Esme said they'd be best for this time of year."

"Wow!" Alia grinned, excited at the prospect of the flowers. "Be sure to thank her for me."

They got to work clearing out the remains of old flowers and patting in the seeds. They didn't need to worry about watering them as they were in one of the rainiest parts of the world. Edward assured her that wild roses took little maintenance and would flourish in a few months time.

Once the seeds were planted, and they'd washed their hands with Alia's water bottle, they sat and enjoyed the view of the mountains and treetops. Alia noticed, as they sat there, watching the mist covered forest, that Edward was quiet. Not in the normal way when they were both focused on individual tasks and were just enjoying the other's company without needing to fill in the silence, but in the way he'd specifically get when he was thinking too hard about something. "What's up?" she found herself asking after a moment's deliberation.

Edward looked at her, clearly not at all surprised by her question. He gave her a crooked smile and let out a sigh. "I don't know how to say this." he admitted.

Say what? That was cryptic. "You can tell me anything, you know."

He let out another breath. "I wanted to give you something… well… important to me."

Alia tilted her head. "You want me to hold on to something for you?"

Edward laughed, and rubbed the back of his head. "That's one way to put it. No, I meant as a gift. For you to keep… See. I knew you'd make that face. It's not a special occasion, so I knew you'd protest."

What could she say? She didn't like uneven exchange. Birthdays and holidays were fine for gifts, because she always made sure to reciprocate, but something out of the blue felt unearned, like she was being spoiled. "What is it?" she asked.

Edward pulled it out of his pocket. It was small, wrapped in white cloth. He hesitated, before gently uncovering it. Alia gasped softly. What was hidden by the cloth was a delicate silver ring. It was engraved with what looked like leaves. Alia had never seen a ring like that before. It felt very vintage, and yet, it had a refined beauty to it.

"It was my mother's." Edward said softly. At the wide-eyed look he got from Alia, he smiled. "My birth mother's."

"Right. You mentioned her." Alia swallowed, looking to the ring again. Edward had told her of his life before being adopted by Carlisle. He only really remembered being close to his mother, his father being very distant. Both his parents died when he was very young, and Carlisle, who had been treating them, adopted Edward. She didn't press for any more details than he gave her, because she knew it made him sad.

"I was looking through her jewelry the other day… when I found this. I almost forgot I had it. I want you to have it." At the look on her face, he smiled. "Only if you want it, of course. I know you don't like this sort of thing."

Alia shook her head frantically. "It's not that! It's just… it was your mother's! Are you sure you want me to have it?!"

"Well, it won't fit me." When Alia laughed at that, he continued with a grin. "She wouldn't have wanted it sitting in a box in my room. I've given some of her other jewelry to Esme, Alice, and Rosalie. I just wanted to share some of it with you too. You're… important to me, Alia."

Alia could only smile like an idiot at that. As much as she desperately wanted to be more to Edward, it warmed her heart to know he valued her as much as his mother and sisters. "I can tell it's important to you." she nodded. "Okay. I'll accept it. And I'll take super good care of it!"

The resounding smile on Edward's face was absolutely radiant. "I know you will. May I?"

Alia held out her right hand, and Edward gently slipped it onto her ring finger. "Wow, it fits perfectly!" She laughed, holding it up to the daylight. "Thanks, Edward."

Edward watched her eye the ring from all angles, and couldn't help feel a combination of euphoria and utter melancholy. It was his one little indulgence, giving it to her… even though it was on the wrong hand.

It felt natural seeing Elizabeth Masen's wedding band on Alia's finger.

...

That felt a little evil of me. Mwuhaha.

So, some more of my Twilight opinions that nobody asked for and are a decade late:

Elizabeth Masen would have gotten married in the 1880s, which is late Victorian. Engagement rings, especially diamond engagement rings weren't a thing until roughly the 1930s, unless you were VERY wealthy (like nobility). Even the very rich favoured gemstones over diamonds, which weren't widely mined until the latter part of the century. Normal people just had wedding bands, and some didn't even have those, but since the Masens were probably middle class, I choose to believe they could afford nice wedding bands.

I'm not an expert on historical jewelry or anything, so if anyone is, feel free to add more info. Researching this was a fucking pain, because when you look for historical rings, pinterest and etsy imitators that are basically modern ruin your search results. My point is that Bella's book and movie ring is A. hideous, and B. not accurate to the time period, so I choose to have Elizabeth's ring as a simple silver band that modern people would view as innocuous, but at the time, was the norm.