PART ONE: DREAMING

October 2008:

I was officially entering my 52nd hour of being awake, and it wasn't for lack of trying to sleep. Ever since my childhood best friend, Jacob Black, got engaged, I hadn't been able to sleep. Jake was always my fall back, my insurance that I wouldn't end up alone. But his 2 a.m. call to let me know that he and Vanessa were officially engaged ended that chance.

I couldn't get back to sleep after that phone call; all I could think about was how I was destined to grow old with only cats by my side. So, at 6 a.m. two days later, I was laying in bed trying a relaxation technique I had found online. I began by relaxing my toes, and started working my way up. Somewhere between my ring and middle fingers, I was finally asleep.

I was staring at a wall full of my favorite paintings. Paintings I had never seen in real life before, and here they were, all in one place. As I looked around more, I realized I was in an art museum, and that I wasn't alone. I noticed the man on the bench at the same time the music started. His head was buried in his hands. The piano music was quiet in the background, so quiet that I wondered if I imagined it. But the man noticed, and picked his head up, locking his green eyes onto mine. The color was amazing, like the leaves of aspen trees right before they turn gold. He stood up and walked over to me.

"Come here often?" He asked with a knowing smirk. His voice was deep and soft, and all I could do was shake my head.

"I didn't think so. I've been dreaming about this museum for the past three nights, and every night it's been empty and silent. And now here we are, and there's music."

I started paying attention to the lyrics just then, "…so tell me why we're talking when we dance so good, and I know you can't stay, but I wish you would…"

This beautiful man pulled me into his arms and we quickly began to waltz, my mystery guy singing along lowly into my ear, "…sometime I wonder how you don't go mad when you're so beautiful…"

We waltzed around statues, and passes colorful paintings and photographs until everything else was just one blur of different colors, and the only ones I could focus on were the bronze of his hair, and the green of his eyes, and as the music faded away so did he.

I found myself staring at the ceiling, repeating the words that continued to echo in my head, "I know you can't stay, but I wish you would…"

I had only achieved four hours of sleep, though it felt like less.

December 2008

The weeks passes, and I didn't get very much sleep, but when I did, Green Eyes was always there. Always saying that I had kept him waiting, and then we would do something fun. Hiking, weaving dream catchers, picking wildflowers, reading to each other. We never exchanged names. If he was a dream, I figured it didn't matter. I had told Alice, and she would tease me endlessly. Tease me that I was falling in love with a beautiful figment of my imagination. It was the beginning of December, and I was sleeping less and less, I was worried that I would die of lack of sleep. I had been awake for four days before the frustration finally made me break down and cry. In the middle of cutting tomatoes for a salad, I began to cry and eventually I just lay down on the kitchen floor, and cried myself to sleep.

I was in the middle of a room, where all four walls were made of stained glass, and Green Eyes stood in the middle of the room, his back to me, watching the way the sun cut through the colored glass. I cleared my throat, and he pivoted, turning to face me.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming. I've been here for four nights, and as beautiful as this room is, I've missed you."

He took a step closer and observed me carefully, "Have you been crying"

I wiped my cheeks, and sure enough, they were still a little wet.

He cradled my face in his hands and swiped under my eyes with the pad of his thumbs. The music that was playing in the background built up and the raw, gritty voice of the woman sang about dreams and sewing machines. Green Eyes pressed his lips to mine passionately. The light filtered through my closed eyelids and I pulled away. There was sunlight flooding the entire room, but nothing could shine brighter than the smile that stretched across Green Eyes' face. He kissed me again and again until his lips grew lighter and lighter.

I found myself staring at the dusty floor under my oven.

After it became obvious I wouldn't get back to sleep, I resigned myself to pulling out all of the kitchen appliances and swept the floor beneath all of them.

May 2009

The months passed and my health began to suffer due to lack of sleep. Alice begged me to see a doctor, but I refused. What if I never saw Green Eyes again? I was in love with a dream, and I was too afraid to lose that love.

I was reading Water for Elephants the next time I fell asleep.

For the first time, I actually recognized the song that was playing. As Green Eyes and I stood locked tightly in an embrace, I heard The Smiths playing softly, the rain was so loud on the roof of the tree house that I almost didn't recognize the song at first.

This was the first time in weeks that we had been somewhere other than a meadow.

This time when Green Eyes kissed me, it was tender and desperate, and when he pulled away he had tears in his eyes.

"What's wrong" I didn't dare speak louder than a whisper. The rain and The Smiths and the sound of our breathing seem like the only three sounds I would ever need to hear for the rest of my life.

"I feel like our time is running out, and I've fallen in love with you, and I'm afraid that this is all I'm going to get. These moments we have are few and far between, and I wouldn't want to love anyone other than you."

He pulled me close and whispered along with Morrissey into the nape of my neck. "So, for once in my life, let me get what I want. Lord knows, it would be the first time."

I tried to hold back my sobs. I had been sleeping for shorter amounts of time, and so we had been trying to hold back whenever I started slipping away, but I always woke up quickly.

"Let me love you, beautiful. Let me marry you. Please."

I felt something cold slip onto my ring finger. All I could do was nod. I was crying too hard to see the ring. But I knew it was beautiful, instinctively.

"Oh god, I love you, Green Eyes."

"Edward." He whispered in between kisses on my neck. "My name is Edward."

"I'm Bella," I sighed out.

We made love to the sounds of the rain, The Smiths, and our breathing. I manage to stay asleep until the rain stopped.

April 2009

I hadn't slept since the tree house dream almost four days ago. Alice had asked me to meet her coffee so she could ask me for a favor.

I should have taken a taxi.

I should have double checked my blind spot.

I should have take side streets instead of trying to cut off five minutes of driving time by getting on the highway.

But instead, I changed lanes into another car and woke up in a hospital.

"It's nice to see you're awake, Isabella. I'm Dr. Cullen."

PART TWO: AWAKE

I stared into Dr. Cullen's blue eyes, "How did I get here?"

"Well, Isabella, you were in an accident. Your friend, Alice Whitlock, is here somewhere. She said you've been suffering some pretty bad insomnia lately?"

All I could do was nod.

"Well, luckily, your injuries weren't severe, and the other driver walked away without a scratch on him. You're free to leave here now, but I'm going to write you a prescription for something to help you sleep."

April 2009

Alice drove me home and cooked me dinner, saying I should rest.

"So, Alice, what was that favor you wanted to ask me?"

"Really Bella, it's no big deal, I can just find someone else."

"Why don't you just tell me what it is and I will tell you if I want to do it," Alice had been treating me like I was going to keel over any minute, and it was getting frustrating.

"Well, Emmett Cullen is having a fundraising even called Happy Hearts in June. His wife, Rosalie had a heart transplant two years ago, and I guess for a while they didn't think they would find a donor on time. This charity helps promote becoming an organ donor, and also help parents make the tough decision of donating their children's organs, so that children can get transplants easier. Anyways, Rosalie asked me to design a dress that would tastefully show her scar, and so I did, so I was invited. I was supposed to bring Jasper as my plus one, but he has some type of history symposium that he has to speak at. So, I was wondering if you would attend with me."

I had heard about this event in the news. Emmett Cullen was the quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, and Rosalie had been a swimsuit model before her transplant. Usually, I hated going to these events with Alice. They were full of rich people, and half of them wore her designs. Everyone knew each other, and each other's net worth, and I was always mistaken as a caterer more than once. I really wanted to tell lice no, but the past few months, I had hardly seen her.

So instead, I said yes.

May 2009

The sleeping pills helped a lot, I slept every night, all night, but I didn't dream of Edward. In fact, I didn't dream at all.

I was heartbroken. Heartbroken because when someone finally wanted to marry me, he wasn't real.

One weekend, I decided to stop taking the pills.

I finally fell asleep naturally, three days later.

As I walked down the aisle, the train of my dress trailing behind me, soft acoustic guitar echoed throughout the empty church. Edward's head turned towards me, his eyes full of love and wonder. As I finally reached him, his smile got even bigger.

"I was starting to think you had changed your mind."

"Never, Edward."

"I would have waited here forever, Bella."

My eyes filled with tears. I was so in love with this man, but as much as I wanted to stay with him forever, I couldn't let myself get as bad as I had been.

Since there was no minister, we wed ourselves.

I woke up was we fled from the church, rice falling from the sky.

June 2009

It was 11 p.m. on the night after Jake's wedding. I had broken down at the reception when they had played The Dress Looks Nice on You by Sufjan Stevens. It was the same song that had played at my wedding with Edward.

It had been six weeks since the last time I had dreamt. It was the longest I had been gone. I hadn't taken the pills last night or tonight. I wanted to tell Edward goodbye. I hadn't been able to at our wedding, and even though he was just a dream, he deserved a good bye.

He was lying in the middle of the beach, staring up at the stars. He looked so handsome and so broken. I must have made some kind of noise, because suddenly he was running to me and pulling me into his arms.

"Oh God, Bella, where have you been I've been so worried about you."

"I've been putting of saying goodbye. I don't want to leave you Edward."

"Then don't. Please don't. You're my wife. I love you so much. Please stay with me. Forever, Bella."

When Someday You Will Be Loved started playing, I couldn't keep in the tears.

"I can't, Edward."

We made love one last time, and afterwards, Edward showed me all his favorite constellations

As I started to fade away, I slipped off my wedding ring and whispered, "I'll always see you in the stars, Edward."

When I woke up, my ring finger felt painfully empty. I found some silver thread, and wrapped it around my finger, before tying it into a bow.

PART THREE: FOREVER

July 2009

Alice helped me zip up the back of the dress she had designed for me to wear to the Happy Hearts gala tonight. We took a limo to the hotel where they were having it in and Alice started making the rounds. I wrote out the largest check that I could afford to and handed it to the man taking donations sheepishly. He smiled, thanked me for my contribution, and went to help the next person in line.

There was a large amount of people dancing to the live piano music. I had read that Emmett's brother was a semi-famous piano composer, and that he was playing tonight.

Suddenly, a very familiar voice announced that, "this next song was written for my dream girl."

I turned towards the stage, and sure enough, Edward was sitting behind the piano. He hadn't seen me yet, he was so focused on the music, but I was pushing my way towards the stages as his honey sweet voice rang out, "I wake up and I feel alone, I was just asleep. Right where I belong inside this sad, sad song.

"I knew this was a dream, it was too good to be true. Coincidences were a bit much too. Who wants to wake up? Who wants to lose it? Who wants to live in this place? I don't. So I'll be sleeping in."

I had finally reached the bottom of the stage and stared up at my dream guy, my quasi-husband and all I could hope was that this song was about me.

"Blankets here keep me from cold, holding tightly my pillow. Frantically searching for her. Inside my head, she is somewhere. She is somewhere."

Edward finally made eye contact with me, and we both grinned.

The second he was done with the song, he leapt off the stage and pulled and pulled me into his arms.

"God, I've missed you, Bella."

"I've missed you too, Edward."

His hand found mine, and his finger traced around the thread I had put there.

As his smiled widened, I had a feeling that my insomniac days were over. And like vines, we intertwined.

THE END!

Song list:

Dance So Good – Wakey!Wakey!

Hide and Seek – Imogen Heap

Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want – The Smiths

The Dress Looks Nice on You – Sufjan Stevens

Someday You Will be Loved – Death Cab for Cutie

We Intertwined – The Hush Sound