17

I woke up the next morning feeling very sore and exhausted. I could see the worry in Edward's eyes but I needed to go to school. It was the one part of my life that normal. We took a shower together. I was finding it harder and harder to do things for myself. We dried off and I pulled on a pair of jeans and my Bon Jovi t-shirt. We made our way downstairs and I grabbed a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. After we were done, Edward and I got into his car and we drove to school. We parked next to Rose and Emmett. We all made our way into to school. We found Alice and Jasper waiting for us just inside the building with Garrett, Kate, Ben and Angela.

"Congratulations, lovebirds," I chuckled.

"Thanks," chuckled Garrett.

"Did you guys get everything worked out with your parents?" I asked.

"Yes," said Kate. "Thanks for whatever you said to them. They came home and told us they understood now."

"I'm not sure what I said to help but I'm glad they are accepting your marriages. Where are you all living?" I asked.

"Garrett and I are living with his parents while we look for an apartment," said Kate.

"Ben and I are living with Ben's parent's until we can find an apartment also. I don't think my parent's could handle us living with them," chuckled Angela.

"I'm sure that is right," I laughed.

"We had better get to the office," chuckled Alice.

"Have fun, kids," I chuckled.

They all just chuckled as they went down to the office. Edward and I made our way down to our lockers. He kissed me goodbye before I made my way down to English. I took my seat in the back and waited for Rose and Alice to come in. A few minutes later, they came in chuckling together. They went up to Mr. Owens and handed him their slips. He quickly read them both and snapped his head up at them.

"Are you both serious?" he asked.

"Yep," chuckled Alice.

"Well, congratulations to you both," he chuckled as he signed their slips.

"Thank you, sir," chuckled Rose. She and Alice came back and sat next to me.

"How's it go?" I whispered to them.

"I thought Mrs. Cope was going to have a heart attack when the eight of us came in with our marriage licenses. She had us go talk to Mr. Stevens who just laughed," explained Rose.

Mr. Owens started class so we had to stop talking. His class went by pretty quickly. Once the bell rang, Alice, Rose and I made our way done to trig. Edward, Emmett and Jasper were waiting for us. Edward and I just chuckled as we took our seats in the back of the classroom. Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice came in and went up to Mr. Varner and handed him their notes. He read them quickly and just started to chuckle.

"I think we may have an epidemic starting," he chuckled as he signed each slip. "Congratulations to all of you. I hope you have long happy marriages."

"Marriages?" asked a blond girl as she came in. She looked up at them. "Did you guys get married?"

"Yes," said Emmett.

"Why would you do that?" she asked. "You're so young."

"Because we love each other. Life is too short to waste," said Rose.

"But you have you whole life ahead of you," she said. "It's not like you are going to die tomorrow."

"How do you know that?" I asked. She looked back at me.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Sophie," she said.

"How do you know that tomorrow you won't find out that you are dying, Sophie?" I asked as a tear slipped down my face.

"Because I am healthy. I take care of myself," she said confused.

"So?" I said harshly. I could feel everyone watching us. "What if you were told that you had six months to live? Would you waste time or would you try to fulfill your dreams?"

"I guess I would try to fulfill my dreams but are you saying that they are dying?" asked Sophie.

"No, I'm not. My point is that you never know what could happen tomorrow. I'm not saying that you should run off and marry some guy. I am saying that you should try to live your life to the fullest," I said softly.

"I guess I just don't understand," she said softly.

"I hope you never have to," I whispered to myself.

Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice came back and sat down. Mr. Varner started his class but nobody was paying much attention to him. I saw Sophie really thinking about what I said. I looked around and saw several students really thinking about what I said. The bell rang and I kissed Edward goodbye and I went to history with Emmett and Jasper.

Mr. Taylor just signed their slips without saying a word to them. We took our seats and he started class. His class went by pretty quickly. The news of their marriages spread quickly through the school. The bell rang and I went down to music. I walked in and found Garrett, Ben, and Edward in an heated exchange with Mike.

"I don't care what you say. She is a fucking bitch," snapped Mike.

"Mike, don't talk about my wife like that," snapped Edward as he lunged for Mike. Garrett and Ben pulled him back.

"What did I fucking tell you, Mike?" I snapped. They all turned and looked at me. Garrett and Ben pulled Edward out of the way as I walked up to Mike. "Why am I a bitch?"

"You and Edward have filled Jess's head with bullshit about getting married," snapped Mike. "I'm not ready to get married."

"I'm not either, Mike," said Jessica from the door. We all looked over at her. "I never said I was. All I said was I think it's great that Bella and Edward have each other. It's nice to see two people love each other like that."

"Jess, I love you but to me it sounded like you wished it was me and you. I'm only eighteen," said Mike.

"I'm only eighteen too, Mike. I'm not ready to get married either but Bella has made me realized that I want to live my life to fullest. I will never give up on you. One day when we are ready, we can decide if that is a step we want to take," said Jessica.

"How did she inspire you?" asked Mike as he went over and pulled her into his arms.

"Just by being an incredibly strong woman," said Jessica.

"You are too, Jess," I whispered through my tears. "You are strong too."

"I'm trying," she whispered.

"Baby, let's go talk," whispered Mike.

He and Jessica left and we settled into our music class. Peter looked very confused by the whole situation until Garrett and Ben had him sign their slips. He just chuckled and congratulated them both. We all worked on our music for the competition. I was getting closer to getting the lyrics for my song right. The bell rang for lunch and we all went down to the cafeteria. Edward and I went in and grabbed a sandwich while Ben and Garrett waited for Kate and Angela. They walked in with Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice. Everyone stopped and stared at them as they made their way to our table. They sat down and just chuckled. The rest of the day went much like this. They shared stories about how their teachers took to their marriages. Most of them were pretty cool with it but a couple like, Mr. Taylor and Coach Clapp, seem to think it was ridiculous. The bell rang for lunch and we went to our afternoon classes. Biology and Spanish went by without any thing special happening.

As soon as school was over, I went to my chemo appointment. I insisted that Edward go to practice so Rose and Alice came with me. Carlisle got my IV started and Rose, Alice and I gossiped like the girls we are. As soon as my treatment was over, we walked out to the waiting room. I found Edward waiting for me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me down the elevator. We got in his car but we didn't go back home. He pulled up in front of the large brick house across the street from Charlie's. It has been for sale for months.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"This is our home."