Disclaimer - I do not own Twilight, I merely play in the sandbox. I do however lay claim to my original characters: Ella, Adrian, Eldre, Christine and the small inclusion of the Fey world.

AN: Another week, another Monday.

Chapter Eighty-Eight – A Snapshot ~ Part Three

I'd experienced many degrees of 'mushy couple syndrome' with Edward the last five years.

Had it really been five years?! – Wow.

Edward and I had put the past behind us and had become closer than ever in the last few months, earning us the title of 'most famous genius couple' in our university. Second year washed away all the hurt and the anger, bringing in third year like a new spring of possibilities and undying love.

Third year had started our quiet but was fast becoming the most stressful of all the years. I was fortunate enough that I could travel and see my family at every holiday, without their support I would have slipped before the first hurdle. I understood why we were being pushed so hard by our Professors, it was because we were the 'cream of the crop', the best in our respective fields, so we needed to be pushed to attain greatness.

It was still hard, being pushed so far often resulted in stress and anxiety and Edward spent many nights trying to get me to relax and I spent many nights trying to calm Edward down from a rant.

I was used to being one half of the couple in the spotlight in Forks because living in Forks was like living in a fishbowl. I had been unprepared for the attention here, thinking that because the campus was so big and there were so many people milling around, that we wouldn't be the sole focus. I should have remembered the allure that Edward could give off without warning that came pass in parcel with being a vampire.

We had long since put the rest our jealousy and oddly that made people try harder to separate us. We had been militant in continuing to be honest with one another and our relationship had helped from that act. Edward was always the one who knew me best outside of Bella but now Edward knew every part of him and I him. This level of knowledge was intimate, and I could feel my soul sing when he was near. Edward had become more vampire the more we'd gotten to know each other.

Of course, that sounds silly, as Edward has always been a vampire, but he had always been reserved with me. Now he would come to me and bury his head in my neck, his nose skimming the side of my neck as he breathed deeply. His possessive streak had become more obvious and he would growl low in his throat when he felt another get too close to me. Equally he would purr in contentment as we moulded our bodies together.

I suppose I should have been worried about these 'vampire turns' but I had always been accepting of Edward and his vampire side coming out in these instances wasn't hurting anyone, and I got a secret thrill out of the fact that I could still have that effect on Edward. He never mentioned it, so I never thought to bring it up, it was merely a change we were both working through.

Outside of my relationship with Edward, the work load for this last year had been chaotic and heavy. I often found myself taking time out to control my breathing considering the stress I felt over getting things done. I was still receiving top grades for what I produced, so it wasn't all bad. I would sometimes get the most intense creative block which frustrated me to no end. I put it down to being made to work to such a demanding schedule. It wasn't something I was accustomed to – even though I had been doing it for three years – and it was something that angered me.

Outside of university our family was booming. Bella, who I talked to every day, was blossoming under the light of her engagement to Adrian. Her studies were going swimmingly, and she was taking extra lessons to help prepare her for her life in the Fey world. Dad was happy and joyous when I spoke to him, and it always surprised me when he told me of what new thing he'd discovered or done for it reminded me what a positive impact Christine had had on him. Angela was still trying to find her knight in shining armour, having given up on Ben entirely now that she'd admitting they had nothing in common. Lauren was living her best life in Volterra, pranking the Elite Guard when she was too bored or stressed to function. I even had regular phone calls with the three Kings who wanted to check up on me and see how I was getting on.

There was never a moment where I felt alone or unloved. The person I was before I moved to Forks, the person who didn't recognise when someone was offering unconditional love or friendship was a shadow in the face of who I was now. I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self that things would get a whole lot better if I could just cling onto life for a little longer. Life doesn't work that way though, and even if I hate to think of my younger self suffering, there was no suffering to be had now. I lived a full and positive life and had become the best version of myself.

University was a learning curve that I was – now it was near the end – enjoying to the fullest of my ability. I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on this adventure, it had been exciting and challenging.

Edward and I experienced having a lot of enemies during our third year. Simply put, we turned from creating music separately to creating music together. There were those that stood in awe over what Edward and I created and there were those that stood in anger. Writing and producing music with Edward was like walking on air. It was intense, intimate, and giving. Our music had so much of us in it that each piece told a story that was multi-layered and could be interpreted in many ways. There was always a level of innocence to our work which I enjoyed, a piece could be dark and intense but then have a soft flowing moment of innocence.

A lot of what we created was classical, but we did a fair amount of jazz as well. We also dabbled in speakeasy music, turning well known hits into the format of 1920s speakeasy music.

If I wasn't working on music with Edward, I was creating another masterpiece canvas. I was an unusual student here, taking both music and art and thus having a demanding workload. Music was more demanding than art, art was usually based on big projects that could take up to months at a time to complete. I usually tried to create landscapes of bright colours or created portraits or busy scenes that were inspired by my family. One thing was certain, I spent a lot of money on art supplies to the point that I now had a discount card from the shop I frequented.

Being at University felt more like being in a bubble as every day passed. Both Edward and I were finally acclimatising to life at University and were learning what worked for us and what didn't. Parties for example, were a right of University life and yet after attending a couple, I couldn't think of anything worse. I didn't particularly like alcohol that much, nor did I like the hands that wandered from bodies or the flirting that ran high in the air.

Edward was very much intent on me doing every little thing a human should experience at University, but I was done with certain aspects of it. I was all for having fun and letting my hair down but that didn't mean I wanted to experience vomiting into a bin or amnesia from a night of drinking. We compromised in that I tried everything once, if I enjoyed it we did it again and if I didn't, it was never spoken of again.

University had a way of making me feel old and young at the same time. Old because my teens had slipped past my fingers and my early twenties were now upon me. Old because I had experienced so much in my young life and my education was over and old because it was a reminder that time moves regardless of whether you want it too or not, we could all look back at our past achievements, but we could never walk where we once stood.

I felt young because I'd entered a new world when I stepped into University. This new world was difficult and challenging and I'd mistakenly thought it would be a bigger version of school and that prediction had been smashed to smithereens the moment I started at University. I felt young because I still had so much to learn, not just academically but about my relationship with Edward and myself.

I found it interesting how time moved around me, I could almost feel it like a gentle caress as the clock hands continued ticking and live moved forward without my consent. I didn't mind, not really, for life was moving at a steady speed and not flashing before my eyes. I had become better adept at dealing with change, but University had been a constant now for three years and knowing that was soon to change was a little unnerving for me.

Edward would tell me not to worry and encourage me to get out of my headspace. In fact, he told me that a lot, the 'get out of your headspace' bit because I was notoriously bad at doing that. I just couldn't stop myself from taking a nosedive and spiralling out of control when it came to the thoughts in my head and how often I would repeat the same thought looking for control or answers.

It wasn't a new development either. It was something I'd always had and something I'd always struggled with. As with everyone else who struggled with mental health, sometimes I would have a bad day and a bad day started with those persistent thoughts.

I had been stuck in one of those repetitive thought strands as I reminisced about my time at University and the time that was slowly ending. I would hate to admit how long I'd been locked in my brain for, but I felt myself come back to the present and sensed my eyes had become unglazed.

I was standing in the bedroom that Edward and I shared, the bed covered in clothes I had thrown there in frustration. Edward had announced this morning that he had a special surprise for me and I was quickly overthinking what it could be. It wasn't like we didn't have date nights and as far as I could tell, this was a date night. Except, there was something in the tone of Edward's voice that sent a thrill through me and took me to this panicked state of trying to find something to wear.

I could have cheated and phoned Alice to ask what I should wear but I didn't want to play to fate that much. I wanted to make my own decisions regardless of what Alice saw as the future. In the end, our bed had completely disappeared under the volume of clothes I'd chucked there. I knew logically, that I should clear everything away, but I was too hyped up to think of anything other than meeting Edward at the address he'd given me this morning.

I had chosen to wear a dark green chiffon dress that had capped sleeves and a V-neck front. It hugged my breasts and clinched my waist before flowing out in folds of fabric that moved as I moved. It stopped short of my knees, leaving my legs on display. The heels I wore were middle height and shaped my legs nicely. I'd accessorised simply because I didn't want to take away from the dress – which was beautiful. Simple bracelets, a simple necklace all of silver, matched the bag I paired with the outfit.

My makeup was simple, a cross between a 'natural' look and a 'innocent beauty.' I didn't think it was the night for heavy or bright makeup.

Any night with Edward was a glorious night in my book. Lauren still teased me on the sex front, but I understood Edward's reasons for wanting to avoid that for the time being. I couldn't miss something I had no experience of anyway. I knew I would be with Edward forever, therefore, I could wait for sex to become a factor in my life.

I got a taxi to the address Edward had given me, my taxi driver, not a happy man but happy enough to tell me all about the problems in his life. Honestly, it was a relief to exit the taxi at the end of the journey. However, as I turned and saw the petalled ground and fairy lights that led the way into the building, the butterflies and the nerves reappeared, making me think for one moment that getting back into the taxi would be the better choice.

I didn't need my nerves to fail me now, Edward had obviously gone to a lot of trouble tonight, and I wasn't going to spoil it just because I couldn't get my head out of my thoughts.

I walked through the building as the fairy lights guided me and studied the walls that had art work adorning it. My heart fumbled a little at realising there were quite a few pieces of my own art work on the walls. I would have stopped at once but the lure of the trail before me kept me moving. It was all very romantic, and I felt my heart squeeze in mushy goodness. My hands trembled at my sides, my heart doing flip-flops as I thought of my love for Edward. It always surprised me that I still felt so strongly about Edward. He still had the ability to make my heart race and cause butterflies of nerves to eat away at my stomach.

It was like I instinctively knew that something was different about this date night. Edward had surprised me before, but I had always been relaxed about those. It was the way Edward had acted this morning that had set me on edge, I didn't know that vampires could be twitchy but Edward's behaviour this morning had proved me wrong.

I continued and tried to put the worries behind me. Edward was my life and my soul, nothing beyond the doors now in front of me would bring our relationship to an end. The fairy lights stopped twinkling at the closed door, but I could still see rose petals peeking out from under the door. With a shaky hand, I opened the two doors before me and was plunged into the darkness of the night.

Looking around I tried to make sense of where I was, the darkness consuming me and limiting my sight. One by one candles were lit all around me until I could see the pristine garden around me, see the picnic blanket on the ground and see Edward standing before me, dressed sharply in a suit, and looking at me with such intensity that I was sure to melt on the spot.

Edward looked incredible and I was surprised but the heat that engulfed my body the longer I stared into his eyes. He held out his hand to me and I followed like a puppy on a lead. I melted against his touch, sizzled at his kisses, and purred in contentment. The kisses lasted till air was needed for me, then Edward took a step away from me and I mourned the loss.

Smiling with his crooked grin, Edward looked positively sinful as he reached for something in his pocket. I was lost to the world as I gazed deeply into his eyes. All the earlier worry I had about this date had flown out the window as soon as I had seen Edward. Looking at Edward reminded me that I was home, wherever he was I would be also, and our love would burn brightly above us.

"I imagined a thousand times over how you would look this evening but none of my imaginations could have come close. You look like you have come from the stars above, shining so brightly and radiating such power. Every time I look at you I see something new, every time we kiss I feel my dead heart beating and every time I feel your presence near me my soul purrs in absolute completion. I have walked a long and troublesome road to find you and will not rest for a moment if you are unhappy. My entire life revolves around you and I wouldn't have it any other way, for you complete me in a way I didn't think possible. When we touch I can hear our souls melding together, you fill every broken lonely part of me and I could never imagine a life that didn't have you in it."

Edward's words were spoken with such passion and conviction that I knew they came from his heart. My own heart started racing but for a completely different reason, my mouth was drier than it had ever been and all I could do was lick my lips in anticipation. Edward's eyes zoomed in on my lips and his eyes blackened with need.

"Ella, I have thought of this occasion more times than I can count. There were so many variables and so many times when I thought the moment was right, but I never acted upon my thoughts. I stewed and festered and talked myself out of it so many times. I argued the values of life with myself late at night, I drew diagrams of all that could go wrong, I had daymares of abandoning me. All at once I experienced what you experience on a daily basis, my brain working against me made me look at life through a different lens and I realised how important it was to me and to us that this next step was taken. I can't promise that there won't be fights, I can't promise that we won't go to bed angry or that we won't call each other hurtful names in our anger but I can promise you that my love for you will burn brightly with passion and never wain and never dim. I can promise you that I will always stand by your side whether we are fighting or loving each other. I can promise that I will keep your life a life of happiness, excitement, joy, love, and pleasure. Ella, I promise you everything you have ever wanted in the world, as I kneel before you, will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes."

To the guest reviewer from Chapter Eighty-Seven – Yes, Edward is OCC. If you had read the warning at the beginning of chapter 1, you'll have seen that I warn that characters might be OCC. You pointed out something obvious that didn't call for a comment. I wonder what your motives were. Please accept this polite request to buzz off.