A few weeks had passed since Valentina's gender reveal, and Bella had sat in on countless discussions about the upcoming baby shower. She could never give any great ideas, however, and the whole ordeal eventually started to suffocate her. As much as Jake and Val had helped her in the depressive state she had been in over Edward, knowing that his entire family came back without him just made her fucking sad.

At one point, Bella could imagine her entire future, and all of it surrounded Edward. Looking back, she could see just how absolutely stupid that was to let her mind be encapsulated by the idea that he would even be willing to spend eternity with her. The Cullens' return was definitely to play with her mind, just another manipulation tactic on his part. Once she reflected on that, however, it was entirely self absorbed to think everything they did somehow revolved around her.

Besides, as happy as she was for Val, and by association - Paul, she had never been too interested in children. Seeing Valentina as excited as she was about the twins was enough of a reason for her to trudge through conversations which held topics she knew nothing about. Jake had been busy, much to her aggravation, with pack responsibilities. Sam had given some leeway to Leah and Paul, having found their imprints, which left the other to pick up their slack. Whenever Jake wasn't patrolling, or sitting through long meetings about vampires, he was exhausted, and slept until he had something else to do.

After Edward had left, Bella hated the feeling of being alone, it was mind-numbingly depressing. In all honesty, though, she had made it that way. Her lack of self-care and want - if not need - for him to come back to her made for a pretty lackluster environment. Now, being alone wasn't a chore, but a way to decompress. Even then, she still hated the thoughts about what her life could have been like that occasionally slipped through her brain. They made it that much harder to get over him, even though she convinced everyone she already was. It hadn't been easy, but her friends no longer asked about the Cullens, or him, whenever lunch rolled around, nor did they have to stop their incessant whispers about her - because it was no longer interesting and she was better.

With graduation approaching, Bella had also made her college decisions. Her acceptance to Dartmouth arrived in February, when she had tapered off the rest of the world. Charlie still made the motion to approve her for next Fall, but she could tell he was constantly worried about the cost. Even with her scholarships and accolades, she hadn't received a full ride, so it would still cost a hefty amount. Still set on going, she talked to her father about her options, and decided to take a gap year, where she could make some money, and hopefully graduate with less debt. They were both accepting of this decision, and agreed that it was the best route. Who cares if she would be a year older than most of the students in her grade? She deserved an Ivy League education, especially after all she had been through. What plagued her mind now, however, was telling Val and Jake that she would be moving across the country in a year, leaving them temporarily.

Mr. and Mrs. Newton graciously accepted her return to the store, though they figured it wouldn't be very long until she desired a job that paid much more than they could offer. Bella was a hard worker, though, and they would appreciate her for as long as they could. She apologized for her many missed months, but they waved it off, just happy to have her back, especially after what their son had relayed to them about her wellbeing. She realized that everyone if Forks had fully expected to be attending her funeral, and that broke her a little. The cautious smiles and avoidance of the topic that she knew they were dying to know made her slightly angry, but she knew they would never overstep their bounds, specifically for Charlie's sake.

At school, it was almost as if nothing had happened with her, she talked amicably with her friends and brought her grades back up and never ever looked at the Cullens (even though it was only Jasper and Alice that remained). Once she returned home, she would do as much homework as she could before her shift at Newtons, where she stayed until closing - 9:00, then she would finish the remainder of her work at home. She ate small meals, but always managed to make sure Charlie had dinner before she had left for work. On her few weekdays off, she would go over to Val's, who had been feeling a little lonely now that Paul was expected to fulfill his responsibilities to the pack, and hang out with the Thurston children. Addy had finished her schoolwork early enough in the spring semester, and took all of her finals ahead of time, so that she was out for the summer.

The blonde spent a lot of time on the rez, with Leah, who had fully forgiven Sam, which surprised everyone. She didn't want the anger inside of her anymore, and didn't want to continue to feel hatred in his presence. Bella hoped she could one day forgive Edward, but she wasn't sure if she could ever get over the lies and the love he had forged for her. Maybe one day.

One Saturday - April 29th, to be exact - Bella was informed by Mrs. Newton that they wouldn't need her until about one, that afternoon. She took advantage of her newfound day, making breakfast for Charlie and then decided to go to the bakery to see Val. The girl's budding bump was getting hard to hide, and she felt bad that people would surely talk about her the coming Monday. Hoodies and large sweaters were perfect for the winter and extra rainy spring months, but it was starting to warm up (not that the rain stopped) and wearing those wasn't the best idea in the non-air conditioned buildings of Forks High. Val's head was up high when she walked into the bakery, though, as if nothing could phase her. Bella ordered a small coffee and sat where she could talk to Val over the counter. In the middle of a sentence, though, Val's face contorted painfully and she hunched over.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked worriedly.

Val waved it off, "Yeah, it's just Braxton Hicks, very common."

"How often do they happen?"

Val sort of shrugged but Emily answered for her, "Pretty much whenever they want to. If you need to lie down for a second, I won't stop you." They smiled at each other, but the teen insisted she was fine. Emily had placed a chair behind the counter, so that Val wouldn't put so much weight on her feet.

"Exercise is good," Emily had explained, "but standing in one place for too long is just begging for swollen ankles."

"So, Em, how's the wedding planning? Decided on a color scheme yet?"

Again, Bella hadn't really cared about these things, but the key words are for herself, it didn't bother her to hear other people's elaborate plans for their weddings or their baby showers, but those were things Bella didn't want. She would be fine with a courthouse wedding and having a bunch of children that loved her as an aunt. She was even considering fostering children, eventually. The thought of pregnancy scared her, if she was being honest, and perhaps it was selfish, or simply her just knowing that babies weren't something she wanted from life. Fostering or adopting children with Edward would never be an option, so she had been content with just living her life with him. Knowing that she could give a child a much needed home, however, satisfied her so much more.

"Yes, actually! We're going for neutrals," whispering, "wolf colors."

Bella laughed. "Nice!"

"Oh, and you guys are both invited, we're just kind of debating dates right now, but it'll be sometime in July."

Most people would have sent out invitations six months in advance to a wedding. Emily and Sam, however, were not most people. They didn't have relatives in other states, just two different tribes, and Bella, Val, and Addy. Short term notice didn't quite apply in their situation. Their real hope was that it didn't rain too much. In La Push, rain was kind of unavoidable, but considering their outdoor wedding plans, they didn't want guests to be soaked.

A boisterous laugh rang out behind her, and she immediately knew it was Jake's. Turning around in her seat, she saw that he and Quil were engaged in what was surely a dumb boyish conversation. She smiled at him, and he approached her.

"Sorry I haven't been able to hang out lately," he did that nervous thing where his hand scratched the back of his neck.

Laughing at him, she lamented, "It's fine, I get it. You have things that you have to do, things that don't involve me. You don't have to apologize."

"I just wish there was something I could do to make it up to you."

"Well, I have an early shift tomorrow. Take me out to dinner."

Now, Bella Swan had never exerted an ounce of brash confidence in her life. There was only one other time she could think of - not that she really wanted to - and it was when she had admitted to Edward she knew what he truly was - in hindsight, he was more of a dick than a vampire. Jacob gave her this new air of confidence, and the only reason that she could think of as to why was that she liked him. It wasn't necessarily a new idea, but admitting it was much different than it simply being there. He was pretty and he stood up for her and a million other things attracted her to him. Namely: he was there for her, willing to wait for her, never embarrassed of his love for her.

She caught him off guard, but he agreed, stuttering over an agreement. He smiled at her one last time before leaving with Quil, who had ordered their food during his talk with Bella.

"Girl! Where did that come from?" Val grasped Bella's hands in her own, astounded at her friend.

Even she wasn't really sure, and she was back to shy, flushed Bella, "I don't really know…"

"Well good for you! Let Addy and I help you get ready tomorrow." There was no room for argument with Val, so Bella conceded.

i know this is slightly different than the usual story content, but i've been planning on doing a bella chapter for a hot minute but was trying to figure where it would make sense. i hope you guys don't hate her so much after this, i truly believe bella's a good person but edward just isolated her from normal people for so long that she doesn't know how to be the best friend to them - not that i hate him in most cases, this is simply an au where i have made him totally unlikeable. anyways, hope yall liked this chapter, and that you had a great holiday - whatever you celebrate!