Recap (last sentence from Chapter 4)

Edward POV: The hardest part was over. On to Step 2, declaring my love for Bella in two public places.

Everything was set; all I had to was wait for tomorrow.

Chapter 5 – The Second Task:

Bella POV:

I woke up this morning with butterflies in my stomach. Today was Edward's day to announce his love for me, twice.

I could only imagine what kind of extravagant plan Edward had made. The feeling left me both nervous and curious at the same time.

I just hope he doesn't make a fool of himself, and me, I thought as I got myself dressed and ready for school. I couldn't help but wonder how he was ever going to find time to declare himself; after all, I was going to be in school all day.

Knowing Edward, he'll find a way, I laughed to myself, whisking downstairs to get breakfast and then leave in my truck.

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There was a strange atmosphere in school. Everyone was huddled in tight clusters, muttering to each other excitedly. The flow of fresh gossip surrounding me was overwhelming, and I hurriedly gathered my coat in my arms and darted for the front door. I had a feeling that whatever the big news was, it included me, for as soon as I entered the building, everybody stopped talking at once to glance at me, only to resume their discussions when I was safely out of hearing range.

I hadn't been the center of attention since I moved to Forks, and ever since I started to hang out with the Cullens, prejudices formed and no one (except for my friends) really talked to me. After the Cullens had left, my attitude took its toll and they got into a habit of ignoring me completely.

I smiled carefully at the huddled students watching me with vigilant eyes, assessing my reactions. Whatever they were expecting to see in my expression clearly wasn't there, and no sooner had I continued walking that they began mumbling to each other once more in disappointed tones.

Curiosity began to get the better of me.

"What's going on?" I asked Angela, who was circled with Jessica, Mike, and Eric.

"Oh," she said, surprised, "you don't know?"

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. "Uhh, no…" I replied hesitantly.

"Uh, come on, Ang, we're gonna be late for class." Jessica said quickly, pulling Angela swiftly by the arm in the wrong direction before I could get any answers.

Mike gave me an apologetic look before dashing away himself to class, leaving me to my inquisitiveness.

No sooner had I walked into the cafeteria at lunch that I saw what all the fuss was about.

Edward and Alice Cullen were back in school, occupying that same table they sat at when I first noticed them a year ago, as though they had never even left.

He wouldn't dare… I thought fearfully to myself. He would not declare himself here, at the high school, of all places. The last thing I wanted was the enormous scandal of a declaration of love to get everyone's chauvinism up and running.

I looked around nervously at the mob of students looking back and forth from me to him, obviously hoping that some sort of dramatic scene would take place. Little did they know the show that was about to unfold right before their eyes.

My worst fear was realized as Edward caught my eye and winked, standing up and taking a deep breath.

I had already begun to blush before he started yelling.

"I LOVE YOU!" In one swift motion, the entire student body had its eyes on Edward, and pen-drop silence followed shortly behind. "I LOVE YOU, ISABELLA SWAN! NOW AND FOREVER!" he screamed peacefully, with no hint of embarrassment or regret in his tone. The certainty of his words spilled and echoed throughout the entire room, making everyone gape at Edward in astonish. He was staring intently at me, more confident and sure of himself than I'd ever seen him. Even from a distance, his golden eyes dazzled me silly.

I had gone over a million times in my head how he would do it, and how I might react in response.

But as he stated the words that I had not heard in so long, my cheeks turned a dark hue of crimson, and my eyes filled with tears.

I love you too… I wanted to yell back. But I knew that his job was far from over, and I would not allow myself to forgive him until it was. So I just stood very still, as the world around me kept very silent, and let the happy tears flow down my love-stricken face.

Edward's eyes did not leave my face, though he sat back down to chat with Alice.

I felt a hand on my shoulder as the world slowly began to turn once more.

"Come and sit, Bella," came Jessica's giggling voice. It sounded a little too eager to me; too eager to hear the tale behind Edward's outburst.

Of course she'd want to talk to me now, after possibly the biggest scrap of gossip that Forks High had ever encountered had just surfaced. Nevertheless, I followed her to the table obediently.

"Well," Jessica's prying voice began when everyone was seated comfortably around me, "That was unexpected."

She paused, evidently waiting for me to begin talking on cue, but I wasn't quite out of the trance yet. My cheeks were slowly going back to their normal color, and the same timid, loving smile rested on my lips, though in some part of my brain I was consciously aware that I was no longer looking at Edward.

"Bella?" Jessica called, nudging me playfully.

I snapped back to the reality around me and looked around. "Yea?"

"What was that all about with Edward Cullen?" she asked, as the whole table leaned in probingly to hear my response, as though I was about to reveal a great secret.

"I guess that's his way of apologizing." I mumbled, feeling all the more embarrassed.

"Apologizing?" Jessica's brown eyes shimmered with interest. "For what?"

"For leaving six months ago." I answered simply. I really did not want to go into any more details about this at the moment, particularly in front of all the people who had been, up to five minutes ago, ignoring me.

"So, how do you feel about him now?" she continued, asking the question I wanted to answer the least.

"I guess I'll have to see how it all pans out." I replied, evading any real answer for now.

Jessica pouted in disappointment at my lack of enthusiasm on the subject matter.

Angela quickly came to my rescue before she could bombard me with any more questions. "So, what are you guys going to write about for your English Essays?"

To Jessica's dismay, the new topic spread easily and smoothly throughout the group. I gave Angela a meaningful smile for distracting the crowd with the easy chatter that we all knew and loved. For now, it seemed that there would be no more questions regarding Edward Cullen, but I had a sense that this would be one story that no body would soon forget.

Everyone watched and giggled as Edward took his seat by me in Biology class. I couldn't help but laugh myself as he winked and inconspicuously scooted his chair closer to mine.

"One down," he said with a grin as the teacher came in and silenced the class, with no immediate avail.

"My Goodness," he commented, "What on Earth has got you all so high-strung?" he paused. "Oh, welcome back, Mr. Cullen."

That sent a roar of laughter throughout the entire room, bouncing off the walls and flat in front of my ever-reddening face. I pulled a textbook in front of my face until the blush died down to only a mild pink. Edward, however, remained unchanging and silent, grinning victoriously all the way.

After school was over, I noticed that my truck was missing from the school parking lot. Beginning to panic a little, I saw Edward leaning against his shiny Volvo, gazing in my direction. Seeing the alarm in my eyes, his brow creased as I walked over to him.

"Something wrong?" he asked, twining our hands together without looking at them. And old habit; I didn't even realize it until I looked down to avoid being dazzled.

"I can't find my truck. What if it got stolen?"

He laughed gently. "The truck is fine," he said, "Alice brought it back to Charlie's at lunch."

I looked up at him. "Why?"

"Because I thought that maybe you'd like to ride with me." He replied, chuckling as he opened my door.

"You think I'm going to make this easy for you?" I said, determined to stay put, but his topaz eyes beat me to it, and before I knew it, I was seated in the inside of his car, thinking about how much I missed the way it felt to be dazzled.

"So, I think today is going surprisingly well." He said conversationally.

"Surprisingly?"

"Well, it could've gone a lot worse." He admitted.

I laughed. "You certainly intrigued Jessica."

"I know, I was into her mind even before I finished announcing it; the way that girl pounces on you is absolutely striking."

I looked at him curiously.

"I wanted to hear your reactions, and the only way to do that is through Jessica, or someone like her." He explained. I knew how he hated stooping to listening to my responses through other people's minds, so my impressions must have been very important to him.

I suddenly realized where we were for the first time. He was riding the highway all the way up to the main boulevard.

"Edward, why are you going this way? So many people take this route home from work; you'll get caught in traffic at this hour."

He grinned at me like I was missing something vital.

Once at the main square he parked his car in front of a nearby building. I had passed it before; its towering monstrosity always caught my attention as it was certainly the tallest structure in all of Forks.

He got out of the car, and I followed him intriguingly.

"Wait here." He said excitedly, disappearing into the building.

I wondered what he could possibly be doing in that building; it was after all nothing more than a simple building, undoubtedly owned by Mr. Salt, the richest man in Washington. Cars whipped past me every second, and scurrying passer-byers surrounded me. I shivered in the dampness of the mist that was falling from above and waited for my love's return.

Suddenly I heard a voice from above and I, along with the hundreds of others on the busy boulevard, looked up to find Edward on the roof of the Salt building, wielding a megaphone.

He wouldn't. Not here, on the busiest road in town.

"ISABELLA SWAN," his voice boomed. The curious bystanders stopped their hustling and bustling to listen.

"I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH; I COULD MARRY YOU, SO THAT WE'RE NEVER EVER PARTED! I LOVE YOU. EVERYONE, THAT'S MY LOVE, THE BEAUTIFUL ANGEL BELOW ME." My angel pointed his long finger down at me, and I blushed the same shade of crimson as in the cafeteria, making it obvious who he was talking about.

Everyone around me chorused a line of "aww"s and gave me encouraging smiles. Edward stared at me with the same loving expression as in the cafeteria. It made him look so sure, so confident, so…so…in love?

I grinned back up at him and motioned with one finger for him to come back down.

He was at my side in a flash, looking very happy with himself. No one had moved an inch, and I felt all two hundred eyes on us, evaluating what I would say. For the good of humanity, and for Edward's pure enjoyment, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest.

His cool arms wound around my waist and I felt his lips at my neck.

"I mean what I say." He whispered, tickling my ear in the process. "Always and forever."

The satisfied crowd unfroze and continued on their way, unquestionably speaking to one another about the episode they just witnessed.

To make matters even more embarrassing, a news crew for one of the local News Stations arrived on the scene. Stunned, I watched an overly-coiffed woman with a large microphone step out of the van, followed closely by a man supporting a camera that looked twice his weight. I hadn't known that there had been a hidden cameraman there the whole time, filming everything that Edward had just done.

I stared dumbfounded as the woman rushed in front of us and cued the cameras on.

"I'm Lauren Percival with WLN news," she smiled into the camera, "here with this young man—"

"—Edward Cullen," he clarified, flashing a daring smile of his own. I was the only one on screen who looked like a soggy mess.

"Yes. Edward Cullen here has just performed a most triumphant act; the kind that doesn't often get attempted here in the sleepy little town of Forks. Edward, can you tell us exactly why you were on top of the Salt Building?"

Edward took the microphone sweetly and grinned like the movie star that he was. "Well Lauren, I just love my girlfriend Bella so much that I decided I wanted to declare it to the world."

"Wow," Lauren said in an enthusiasm that was clearly accentuated.

"Yes, let all the Earth know it; I'm in love with her, and if I were more daring, than this certainly would not be the beginning. I would climb Mount Everest if I had to, to make a big enough impression." He said, beaming at me.

"What do you have to say about this, Bella?"

I was still frozen with utter shock, so I didn't know what to say. "I'm…stunned." I managed to say through the humiliation of freezing on camera, pulling Edward against my side and hiding my face in his shoulder.

"Well, there you have it folks," Lauren said, taking the microphone from Edward and wrapping up the segment. "Even in a small town like Forks can you find strong love like this. Edward Cullen has gone to great lengths today to show his loved one he truly cares. I'm Lauren Percival, signing out." And with that, Lauren Percival shook our hands and waltzed back to her truck, which quickly sped away.

"Don't worry; I picked a station that I know Charlie doesn't watch." He whispered.

I whirred around as soon as the truck was out of sight.

"What was that!" I demanded, flabbergasted.

"You said to declare my love for you publicly. I couldn't think of anything more public than a live broadcast over thousands of television sets."

My knees buckled and I felt as though I would collapse in shock.

I let Edward support my body as he dragged me back to the car.

"You could've told me." I whined as he drove me home.

"I suppose I could've," he agreed thoughtfully, "but you never would've let me do it, and I just love to make life more exciting for the good people of Forks. Now they'll have something to talk about."

"Very funny, Edward." I said dryly, thinking of every person who must listen to the evening news, gaping and laughing as they watched the segment.

"Are you angry with me?" he asked, mistaking my silence with anger.

I sighed. "No. As overly drawn-out as this day was, it was very…"—I looked for the right word—"…sweet."

He grinned from ear to ear and leaned in to kiss me.

It took all the force in my body to push him away. "No, Edward, you've still got one more day of proving to do." He scowled and muttered something unintelligible.

I sighed again. Only one more day of this silly proving business, then we could go back to our regular carefree love. The idea of tomorrow had me bouncing around on the edge of my seat. His last task was to turn me into a vampire. Not that I actually expected him to comply to the request right away, but I had very high hopes that a date would be set for me to join Edward's family…permanently. I smiled into the hazy grey and instinctively twined his cold fingers in mine.

12

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