I am sorry for taking so long. This was a hard chapter to write.
Aiyanna Clearwater: Haha, no it was hideous, tacky, and not suited to either of their personalities.
marlastiano: :D
sansaxlannister: Well... here it is! Thanks for reading!
TheLadyO: That is the sweetest of you to say. I hope you still feel that way after this chapter, aha.
overlordred: Thanks, boo! I hope you're feeling better! You're gonna need to be for this chapter...
Gabbstterr: cute and cruel sums this story up perfectly, I think. Thanks for reading!
Sam2357: Thanks! It was pretty divisive, but I'm glad I stood my ground.
Here's this chapter. I hope ya'll enjoy!
...
Graduation turned out to be more anticlimactic than anything else.
Even though Alia had spent the past few weeks worrying about the ceremony and tripping in front of a crowd of scrutinising parents, she ended up fine the day of. The valedictorian gave an inspirational, yet cliche, speech that had everyone applauding. When the principal called names, Alia cheered for Edward, who came earlier in the order then settled in for the wait for the Vs with Alice (who was the last one after Alia with a last name starting with 'Z'). Alice managed to keep Alia smiling throughout the whole affair that got boring as soon as Edward had walked across the stage and they had to sit there waiting for an hour. When it was finally her turn, Alia was more eager to get it over with than anything else, shaking the principal's hand and taking her diploma without even worrying about it.
Once they were all seated with their diplomas, and their hats were thrown in the air (Alia lost hers after chucking it too far forward), it was over. She had graduated...
Except not really. Even after the ceremony, there were still three weeks left of school, which undermined the finality that should have been there. When those three weeks were done, and finals were done, and grades were out, Alia had nowhere left to hide when it came to deciding the outcome of the rest of her life.
Edward, having collected another high school diploma that was thrown into the Cullen collection along with Alice's, awaited Alia's decision with trepidation. While they still spent time together, Alia pointedly avoided talking about her plans, and Edward didn't ask, not wanting to break the peace. He knew, with the virtue of his gift, that she had received offers from four places out of the seven she applied to, with two that she was actually interested in. Once she had decided on a university, they could spend that last summer together. Edward vowed to cherish every moment of it.
That was until, one day, while he was playing a now familiar song on the piano, that the ring of his phone shattered the peace forever.
Seeing Alice's number, he picked it up curiously with one hand. She and Jasper were out on a romantic getaway in Europe, having headed out as soon as the school year was over. What was it that made her call him and not the home phone?
"Edward!" Alice's voice was frantic as he answered, making him still in his one handed playing.
"What is it?" he asked immediately. Alice only took on that tone for one reason.
He heard movement in the receiver and low muttering. Jasper. "It's Alia." Alice explained. "She's okay!" she said quickly as Edward inhaled sharply and got up from his bench. "She's not in danger. But Edward, she's made a decision…" At his expectant pause, she continued. "She's… going to take a year off. Stay in Forks. She wants to stay because of you, Edward."
Edward could only take it in quietly. "She's not going..." he said at last. "... because of me."
"No." Alice said. "Oh that's great! I was so worried! That means she'll stick around longer. There's plenty of time to figure things out, right? And the two of you can finally… no… NO! Edward! Don't you dare!"
Alice began to curse at him, and Jasper's voice came in. "What did you see, Alice? Edward, what did you do?"
"I've just made up my mind, that's all." he said coldly. Alice ordered him to stay on the line, under threat of bodily harm. Edward snapped his phone shut. Even though he couldn't read minds over the phone, he knew how Alice's worked. They'd be on the next flight back. But by that time, it would be too late. When the phone rang again insistently, he turned it off and threw it aside.
He was out of the house as soon as daylight struck and in front of Alia's house. "Hey, you're like way early!" she grinned at him as she opened the door, hair a mess.
"Do you want to go for a walk? I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Sure, that sounds good! I gotta tell you something, too. Lemme grab breakfast first." Alia pushed him to take a seat and even threw on a movie for him before she hopped over to the kitchen and stuck a bagel in the toaster. She was cheery this morning, her mind relaxed. Edward felt a sharp pain in his chest as he watched her from the living room sofa, the action movie going ignored. I should look into getting another job, now that I'm sticking around for a year or two. Maybe Edward'll wanna go on a trip or something. We could go somewhere nice and warm. We both love the classics, so maybe Italy! I can afford it now that I won't be paying for tuition!
"Forget the walk!" he snapped, standing up in a hurry, as the feelings got worse and threatened to smother him.
"Edward?" Alia said, dropping her half buttered bagel. She wiped her hands of crumbs on her jeans and got up. "What— what's wrong?"
He took a long look at her, committing to memory the creases on her cheek from sleep, the chipped nail polish on her fingers, the way her hoodie strings were drawn too tight, before schooling his features. "I'm not going to be able to spend time with you anymore."
Alia only looked at him, the words not fully going through. Finally, she laughed. "Good one." When he didn't laugh, the smile on her lips fell. "Hold on. What the hell are you talking about?"
If this were three years ago, she would have suspected what he was about to say. The fact that she didn't hurt even more. "I don't have time for you anymore."
Her jaw fell, and no words came out. Edward continued, his words a little too fast. "I've decided I'm going to leave Forks. I just can't waste my time anymore."
I… but where is he… I thought he wanted to stay with his family— that doesn't make any— why can't we hang out after he comes back?! Wait… what the hell? "What do you mean 'waste your time'?" Alia narrowed her eyes. "Is hanging out with me a waste of time?"
Edward met her gaze, full of ire, and matched it. "Yes." She was stunned at that, too stunned even to think besides a jumble of hurt thoughts. "I could be doing a lot of other things, more productive things... To put it simply, I can't be friends with you anymore."
That did the trick, Edward saw with despair. She finally understood. It took her a minute, but what emerged finally was anger. "We can't be friends anymore? What are you, ten?" she snapped, eyes blazing. "This isn't elementary school, you asshole. You don't just break up with your best fr— friend!" Her voice broke and to her chagrin, angry tears began falling unbidden from her eyes.
She turned her back to Edward and wiped at them furiously, cursing herself. His hand reached forward involuntarily, before he glued it back to his side. "It's easier this way." he muttered. "We're going to different places, so why bother keeping up the act? It's time to move on, isn't it? We're not kids anymore. Did you expect to be best friends until we were eighty?"
He really hates me then, doesn't he? "Phones exist. Emails exist. That's not an excuse. You clearly don't want to be friends with me anymore for some other reason. But you know what—" she whirled around, uncaring now of her now puffy eyes and dripping nose. "Fine. I don't want to know why. It's fine. Also fuck you. Also, get out."
It took all his willpower to move his body to the door. He turned back and glanced at her briefly before opening the door. "Wait!" she stopped him before he left.
"Alia, don't…" he said hurriedly as he saw what she was doing.
Even in her anger, she took off the ring with care, holding it outstretched in her shaking hand. "Take it back. There's no point in me having it."
"It was a gift. It's yours." He swallowed the lump in his throat, as he closed her open fist with the ring in it. This is the last time I'll touch her, he realised in agony as he registered how warm and soft her skin was. His hand lingered for a moment longer than it should have before he withdrew it. "If you don't want it, you can throw it out." He walked out. It had begun to drizzle.
"Why did you even bother?!" Alia had run out after him. He stopped. "Why did you bother becoming my friend if you were gonna do this to me?" He turned to look at her. The rain was mingling with the tears on her face, and gluing her clothes to her body. She looked so small standing there, held up by her pain. Edward wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms. "I have to know." she said quietly.
"Because I'm selfish. I was lonely and I wanted a friend." Edward said simply. "But life is short and it has to keep going. Goodbye Alia."
He left her, standing in front of her door in the rain. Once he was out of sight, and couldn't hear the sound of Alia's sobs anymore, Edward collapsed against a tree, feeling dry gasps arise from his own lungs.
It had to be done. It had to, he told himself. Somehow, she had convinced herself that he was worth sacrificing her future for, that they could have a life together, that if she just waited for him, they could continue as they had been. He knew he had to break off their bond so that she could have a better life. He knew it was the right thing to do.
And yet, the right thing sure felt like heartbreak.
...
I'm so sorry. Please don't be too mad. I was kind of building to this moment for a while, and it had to happen. This story will have a happy ending, I promise. The next chapter will deal with the fallout.
The songs for this chapter are Crushcrushcrush by Paramore and Cherry by Lana del Rey.
