A/N: Okay, this is where it starts getting interesting. Just a disclaimer, my story is going to begin to run into Stephenie Meyer's version - there were certain events I thought could change, but some things that inevitably will not. That being said, I'm throwing it out there RIGHT NOW: you are GOING to recognize things. My plan is that, at the end of this story, Breaking Dawn would be able to take over without missing a beat. Either my version or the real version, whichever you prefer haha. I just wanted to make sure I said that because some things will be very much the same, and I just chose to reword them a little. Conversations and events that are familiar to you ARE so because Stephenie Meyer already wrote and published them. I just thought it would be fun to write a side story in the middle that twists its way back to the original plot.
Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer and I don't own any of the Twilight Saga stuff... just playing with it.
Chapter Nine
"I really could use another hour or so of sleep," I yawned as Edward ran me back toward my house.
"Really?" he asked. "You slept pretty soundly last night."
"Yeah, I'm still a bit tired though… near death experiences tend to take their toll on me," I said lightly. Edward scowled. "I don't really want to sleep though. Perhaps we could do something else."
"Did you want to get anything done around the house first? I'd hate for you to feel guilty about lying to Jacob later," Edward said seriously.
"Ah, maybe I better," I gave in. There was no way to completely avoid feeling guilty; however, maybe if I actually got something done like I said I was going to, I wouldn't feel quite so terrible later.
We walked back into the house and I surveyed for what I could do. "Why don't you do some laundry," Edward suggested, "and I'll clean."
"Deal," I agreed, and headed upstairs. My laundry really did need to be done, and Edward could clean much faster than I could. I gathered all of my clothes and Charlie's, and went to put a load in.
"The kitchen and living room are clean," I heard Edward's velvety voice call from what sounded like the bathroom. For a moment, I was incredibly embarrassed at the thought of Edward cleaning up the mess I had made in the bathroom, but upon reflection I realized that he probably wouldn't care in the slightest, and so I refused to let it bother me.
Once a load had been started, I returned to the living room to find Edward sitting in the center of the sofa, looking completely at ease. "The whole house is clean now," he said with a grin. "I even folded the clothes you threw all over the place in your room."
"Well, at least Charlie will believe that I stayed home and cleaned all day," I muttered. "That's about how long it would've taken me by myself." I settled down on the couch beside him. "So, what now?"
"Well," Edward began, intertwining his fingers with mine and setting them lightly in his lap. "I did hope that we could discuss a rather serious matter. So we are now together, correct?"
"Correct," I sighed.
"And you want to be together, correct?" he asked.
"You have no idea how much," I agreed.
"I think I probably have a clue," he said with a smile. "It's only a fraction of how much I want to be with you."
"Ughh!" I moaned, exasperated.
"What's the matter?" he asked quickly, and he dropped my hands. Maybe he thought he had crushed them or something.
"I wish you could see inside my head!" I cried. He seemed to understand the direction I had taken and relaxed. "I can't imagine that anything in the world could compare with how much you mean to me – not even how much I mean to you."
"We'll never agree on this, so we might as well continue for now," he said with a smile. "Now, it's clear we won't be able to part from each other again. At least I won't."
"I won't either," I breathed.
"So I'm going to keep putting your life in danger as long as your heart keeps beating," he said furrowing his brow.
"'heart keeps beating'…?" I repeated, catching the key words of that sentence.
"Yes… as much as I hate the idea of changing you – not because I don't want to keep you forever, of course, but only because of my concern for your soul – I see no reasonable end to this scenario except to do just that. Making you immortal seems to be the only way I'll ever be able to keep you," he said with a sigh.
"You mean it?" I whispered, eyes growing wide. "You'll really make me one of you?"
"On one condition," he said firmly.
"Anything but time," I whispered again, "just name your price."
"Well, yes, I figured once I proposed the idea, there would be no convincing you to add more time," he sighed. "But anyway, my one condition. Marry me first."
My heart began to beat erratically, and my stomach felt like it was full of rocks. The idea of marriage terrified me; I didn't want to be that young 18-year-old girl who married straight out of high school! What would everyone say?
I swallowed hard. "That's your… only condition?" I asked.
"Yes."
"What if I changed my mind… what if I decided I was okay with giving you more time?" I asked.
"Marriage is my condition, Bella," he said seriously. "I don't care about time anymore – just this. And please calm down; the speed of your heart is making me nervous. You sound like you're having a heart attack."
I had to think for a moment. On the one hand, there were so many bad connotations with marriage… divorce, rumors; people would think it was a shotgun wedding. On the other hand, I seriously doubted those rumors could ever come true, so it would eventually become clear that was not the reason. As for divorce, well, it was clear that would never happen to Edward and I. Suddenly, the only thing standing in my way was potential disappointment from my parents, particularly Renee. I could deal with that though, right? Slowly, my breathing and my heart rate returned to normal, and my panic subsided. Edward smiled warmly at me.
"Well?" he asked.
"I guess marrying you wouldn't be the most awful thing in the world," I said with a smile.
"Come on," he said, his grin stretching from ear to ear. He pulled me off the sofa and dragged me out the front door and toward the woods. In seconds, I went from sitting on my sofa to flying through the woods on Edward's back.
"Where are we going?" I asked breathlessly.
"My house," he said.
I had never experienced Edward running quite this fast; it made me a little dizzy, but the knowledge that I was going to be making him mine forever made me so giddy I had to contain myself to keep from laughing aloud. We arrived at the Cullen house in no time at all; instead of walking through the front door, Edward cut around to the back of the house and leapt directly into his third story window that was already sitting ajar.
"We could've taken the stairs," I mumbled, unable to hide the hint of a smile in my voice. He set me down and beamed at me. "So what are we doing?" I asked.
"Sit," he instructed softly, gesturing toward his leather sofa. I did as I was told. Edward crossed the room to a small end table, opened the top drawer and reached inside. I craned my neck to see what he was reaching for, but I was sidetracked at the sound of Edward's bedroom door slamming hard into the wall behind it and leaving a dent.
"Oh my gosh!" Alice ran in screaming, running to Edward's side. "I can't believe it, I want to watch!!"
I assumed Alice had seen me agree to his proposal, but I wasn't sure what she wanted to watch now.
"No," Edward growled. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever heard, but Alice wasn't fazed.
"Please oh please oh please!" she moaned, grabbing Edward by the wrists and rocking his arms back and forth. "When am I ever going to get to see it again?!"
"Go watch it in you head," he growled again, pushing her toward the door and slamming it shut behind her.
"What was that about?" I asked, startled by the whole transaction.
"Sometimes Alice doesn't understand when people want personal space," he said, but he was smiling now. I heard a "hmmph" from Alice behind the door and chuckled. "You can come in when I'm done," he said with a sigh, giving in. This time, I heard Alice squeal.
"Done with what?" I asked, turning back to Edward.
He grinned my favorite crooked smile, and came to stand in front of me. He lowered himself down onto one knee, and I realized he was holding a tiny black box in his hands. Oh my God. Suddenly, the pieces all clicked. But hadn't he already proposed?
"I want to do this the proper way," he said, reading the expression on my face. "Please humor me."
"Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me?"
Even though I had already agreed, somehow it was unbelievably difficult to force that one word out of my mouth. "Yes," I whispered, tears brimming in my eyes.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" I heard Alice screaming as the bedroom door flew open and she came dashing in once more. Edward quickly slipped the most gorgeous ring I had ever seen onto my finger (A/N: We all know what it looks like, so I'm skipping the description) as Alice scooped us both into her arms and hugged us tight.
"Alice," I gasped quickly as her arms all but crushed my ribs.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Bella!" she said quickly backing away. "I was just so excited, and I was hugging you both at the same time, and oh my gosh can I please do the details for your wedding??"
"Alice let her breath," Edward warned. "This is all very sudden; don't throw a million things at her at once."
"Of course not," Alice agreed quickly. "I'm going to go work on your dress!" she squealed, beaming at me. She turned and ran from the room.
"My dress?" I croaked out. Suddenly it was all too real.
"Don't worry love," Edward said quietly. "We can go get married in Vegas if you'd like… just the two of us."
"Don't even think about it!" Alice roared from below, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"I couldn't do that," I sighed. "Renee, Charlie, and everyone else deserve to be there… it could be the last time I ever see them."
"It doesn't have to be," he said seriously. "We'll figure it out."
I nodded and began to slip the ring off my finger. Edward raised an eyebrow at me. "Technically, I'm still dating Jake," I said, and felt a fresh wave of guilt. This was the first time I'd considered his feelings. I would need to break up with him and then give it some time before I could even make the engagement official. And now that the promise of immortality was so close, I really wanted it before my nineteenth birthday. I wasn't giving myself much time to play with. I sighed once more.
"You need to end that soon," Edward said softly, but didn't press the issue. He just sank down onto the seat beside me and wrapped both his arms around me. He kissed me softly, and the reaction it stirred in me kept us occupied for the rest of the afternoon, except when various members of his family came in to offer their congratulations. I made them all promise to keep it quiet until things were official, and they were all more than happy to oblige. Alice was more that elated at the knowledge that not only did she get to plan my wedding (and be my maid of honor) but I would be becoming one of them, and her sister, soon.
As the afternoon wore on, my guilt about Jacob just continued to increase. "Maybe I should go spend some time with him," I would repeat uncertainly. Edward always made it clear that I was free to do whatever I wanted to, but somehow I couldn't manage to pull myself away from his arms to go do it. As it grew closer to five, my stomach began to growl and I couldn't fight it anymore.
"Go have dinner with Jacob," Edward finally said with a sigh. "We don't have much human food in the house at the moment, and I don't want you to go hungry."
"Alright," I agreed, "Just let me give him a call."
Edward handed me his tiny silver phone and I dialed the Black's house. Billy answered.
"Hi Bella, what can I do for you?" he asked warmly.
"Is Jake around?" I asked.
"I think he's out in the garage, let me holler at him," Billy said, and set the phone down. I heard the muffled sound of Jake's name, and then the announcement that I was on the phone.
"Hey Bella," Jacob said a little too coldly for my liking into the phone. "How was your day?"
"I got the whole house cleaned, and some laundry done," I said. "Pretty boring stuff." No need to add that it was Edward who had cleaned the whole house in seconds.
"Oh… yeah, I've just been tuning up the Rabbit," he said, his voice beginning to lighten up.
"So, I was gonna head down there for dinner, if that's okay?" I asked.
"Oh, yeah, sure!" Jake said warmly. "But what about the bloodsucker? I thought he wasn't letting you leave his sight."
"Oh, um…" I began, turning to Edward.
"I'll sit at the Quileute border and wait until you're done," he whispered.
"He's gonna let me go for a little while," I laughed.
"Excellent. He's going to bring you I assume?" he asked.
"Yeah," I agreed.
"Okay, I'll meet you at the border then. See you soon," he said, and I heard the phone click.
"We'll take the Volvo this time," Edward said, standing and walking toward the door.
"Is it here?" I asked. We had done so much running all over the place lately, I couldn't even remember the last time I'd seen the car.
"Yes, it's down in the garage."
I could tell from his tone that he didn't like the idea of leaving me alone with Jake, even if it was only for an hour or so.
"I'll be okay," I promised. "And I'll try to figure out how to end things uh, nicely," I added.
He nodded once.
Edward drove me to the border between the Quileute and Cullen lands. When we arrived Jake was already there sitting in his car waiting. Edward stopped the Volvo and put it into park; he began getting out of the car.
"Edward, what are you…?" I began, but he shushed me.
"I'd like a word with Jacob," he said.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yes… don't worry, I'm not doing anything rash," he insisted, walking forward.
Jake hopped out of the Rabbit and started toward us. Suddenly, I began to panic. How was I supposed to handle this situation? Surely I couldn't go kiss Jacob in front of Edward, my – I cringed mentally on thinking the word – fiancé, but wouldn't Jake expect that, at least, from his girlfriend? The weight of exactly what I was doing hit me. I stopped about a foot from Jacob, wrapped my arms tightly around me, and looked back and forth between the two of them.
"Jacob," Edward said formally, nodding his head. Jacob did little to acknowledge Edward's presence. Edward pressed on. "While I don't foresee anything terrible happening in the next few hours, I will be staying in this exact spot regardless, until Bella is back with me and safe once more."
"Fine," Jake said, and turned back for the car.
"Bye," I said weakly to Edward, and turned to follow Jake. He grabbed my hand lightly, barely holding onto it, and led me back to the Rabbit. I asked if everything was okay, but he just barely mumbled a response and sighed.
The drive back to La Push was incredibly awkward. Surely, some of it was my fault; I was thinking about the best way to handle things, and that had me a little occupied. However, Jake was to blame, too. He wasn't my Jake, he was Sam's Jake; furrowed brow, scowling, generally unhappy. I would've liked to press the issue, but I was afraid of upsetting him further; we already seemed to be on dangerous ground.
"Let's go for a walk," he suggested as we pulled up to the house. I wholeheartedly agreed; if I was going to attempt to end things, having Billy near by for an audience would be more than mortifying.
As we strolled down the beach, Jake once again held my hand very loosely and sighed. Was it possible he was heading the same direction I was? Once we were long out of hearing distance from the house, Jake stopped short and turned to me.
"Bella, I'm in love with you," he said simply. "Absolutely, one hundred percent, head over heels in love with you. And you're in love with me too. You know you are."
"I," I began weakly, unsure of what to say.
"Obviously you're in love with Edward, too," he continued as if I hadn't said anything at all. "Now, that sucks for me, but it's true. It sucks for you, too, because now you need to choose. You can't keep stringing us both along; it's not fair to anyone. In love with both of us though you might be, you need to choose." He carefully articulated the last four words, as if trying to force their meaning to sink in.
"Jacob, I–" I began, but was cut off once more.
"I won't cut you in half anymore."
I was shocked, and couldn't seem to find any words to express how I was feeling. I looked up at him helplessly, my face a torn mess.
"That's what I thought," he sighed. "You're going to go back to him. He'll hurt you again! I'm so much better for you, so much healthier; I can't make you choose me, but you can be damn sure that I'll fight for you."
Suddenly, I found my voice. "Jake, you're going to imprint someday, and this thing between Edward and I, it's not something I can fight. I imagine imprinting for you is something like the relationship Edward and I have. It's an unstoppable force of nature. I love you Jake, I really do, but I don't know that I can be with you, either. I can't imagine life without either of you, but being away from Edward… it's painful. You remember how I … I was, before… I can't fight that."
"You could, if you realized how in love with me you really are," he said, denying my statement. "But you just don't realize it yet. Like I said, I'll fight for you, and you can be sure I won't fight fair."
"I wish you wouldn't," I sighed. "Can't you just be my best friend? Can't that be enough?"
"Not when I want so much more," he said, shaking his head. We stood in silence for another moment, not sure of what to say. "I'll let you get back to Edward," he sighed. "I guess we're broken up now, but with any luck you'll remember that you hate the cold and come back to me." Amazingly, he smiled.
Jacob was far too good for me; I didn't deserve someone like him. Of course, I thought the same thing about Edward, but was not willing to release my hold on him, no matter how much I felt he could do so much better than me.
"I guess this changes the whole situation with Victoria," I mumbled. "The Cullens are probably going to need to rethink their game plan, if it's just the seven of them now." I shuddered. It was painful to imagine the seven of them going up against twenty something newborn vampires and coming out unscathed. The thought made my stomach hurt.
"Not at all," Jake insisted. "There will be bloodsuckers reeking havoc on Forks soon; you can bet we'll be there to fight them. This was never just about you Bella."
"I was afraid of that," I sighed, but on the inside, relief swept through me. The wolves would still help – the Cullens were so much better matched with their help. I was glad the situation between Jake and I wouldn't be affecting that outcome.
"I'll take you back," Jake said, throwing an arm loosely around my shoulders. I looked up at him and raised one eyebrow. "Just because you're – temporarily – not mine, doesn't mean I'm not going to start fighting right now," he insisted.
I was still so in awe of the fact that our breakup had gone so smoothly, I didn't press the issue or insist he remove his arm.
Once we reached the border, we found Edward's car sitting in the exact same spot as before – he hadn't moved an inch. Jake came around to my side of the car and opened my door, reaching in a hand to help me out. He shut my door behind me and then, suddenly, swept me off my feet into a dizzying, something-from-the-movies kiss. I was totally caught off guard but this sudden, passionate kiss from my now ex-boyfriend. He had never once kissed me like this through the entire course of our relationship.
"Goodbye kiss," he said with a grin, setting me back on my feet.
I looked to Edward sitting behind the wheel of the Volvo, expression hard and eyes cold. "That was mean," I reprimanded Jake.
"Not fighting fair," he repeated once more.
"See you later Jake," I sighed. "I'm going to make Edward take me to the training session later."
"Excellent," he agreed. "Bye Bells."
As I made my way back to Edward, he got out of the car and met me at the line. "Two can play that game," he said in a hushed voice, and he too swept me off my feet into a passionate kiss. For Jake's sake, I tried to control myself and not kiss back as passionately as I would've liked.
He set me back on my feet and had to hold me steady; my head was spinning. "You're mean, too," I sighed, trying to keep a level head.
"I won't fight fair, either," he too said with a grin.
I turned back to Jake, and felt like I had been stabbed in the stomach; his expression was one of deep despair. Witnessing the kiss had been too much for him. He began to shake violently, and Edward instinctively pulled me back behind him.
"Get in the car," he hissed, crouching low into a defensive stance. I didn't think it was necessary, but did as he asked anyway.
I watched Jake convulse from the safety of the Volvo, waiting for the moment when the shaking would cease and he would regain control. That moment never came. Instead, I saw him kick his shoes off just seconds before shreds of fabric flew through the air and there was a great russet wolf standing in the middle of the road where my best friend had once been.
"Edward!" I moaned, wishing he would get in the car with me and just leave. I knew he heard me, but Edward didn't acknowledge my plea. Instead, he walked forward to join Jacob in the center of the road.
As usual, the slightest feelings of emotion betrayed me and sent tears streaming down my face. Things had gone so well on the beach; why did they always need to push each others' buttons?
Edward spoke low and fast under his breath to Jake for a few minutes; I wasn't able to hear a thing. I couldn't even be sure he was speaking, but that was the only thing that made sense in this scenario. He could read Jake's mind, but he had to be conveying his own opinions somehow.
After a few tense moments, Edward returned to the Volvo and slid into the driver's seat. "Buckle your seat belt," he instructed, turning the car around quickly and speeding back toward Forks.
"What happened?" I asked, tears finally slowing. He wrapped an arm tightly around me and pulled me close. "Why didn't he phase back?" I turned and stared at the great wolf fade into the distance out the back window as the car sped away.
"Well, he destroyed his clothes," Edward stated, as if this should've been completely obvious. In fact, it really was. "He didn't want to phase back to human naked in front of you. He was smart to remove his shoes first, though… I'm amazed he was able to keep his head level enough to do that."
"What happened?" I asked again, pressing the issue.
"Don't worry about it," Edward said soothingly. "It's all taken care of."
"What a crazy couple days," I sighed.
"Yes, indeed," Edward said, clearly distracted by something. "Where to now?" he asked. "Back to my house?"
"Um, well actually," I began, but my stomach growled, giving away the rest of my sentence.
"Ah, but of course," Edward agreed.
"It's just… I really should cook for Charlie, too," I explained. "I was going to eat dinner with Jake, but that never really happened."
"Say no more," Edward insisted, hitting the gas a little harder. "Charlie will probably be home soon."
When we got home, Edward watched me make Charlie's dinner, then disappeared as Charlie pulled in the driveway. He insisted he'd be running circles around the house until he heard me retire to my room. Charlie was exhausted from a long day of fishing, so he didn't talk much or ask many questions, for which I was grateful. He turned in early and I followed shortly after, returning to the comfort of my room and the boy there waiting for me.
I showered quickly and threw on jeans and a heavy sweater before crawling into bed.
"Isn't it a little early for bed?" Edward asked. "And interesting choice of sleeping attire, I might add."
"The clothes are for the meeting later," I explained. "And I really should try to get a little rest if I'm gonna stay up all night. I want to be ready when it's time to go, hence the jeans," I said. "And you are taking me with you."
He sighed. "Under any other circumstances I would say absolutely not," he said seriously, "but since I'm afraid to allow you to leave my sight, I suppose you'll get what you want."
"Good," I yawned, plopping onto the bed and leaning in against his chest. "Wake me when it's time to go."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and once again as a reminder, this IS going to be making its way back to the original plot! I'm a fan of writing stuff that is BELIEVABLE, so concievably all of this could have happened in the segments between the start and end of this story. oh, and please review!! reviews make me happy.