A/N: The conversations seem to skip around a lot, you have to understand I was trying to make it as believable as possible. In a sense of that the characters have a lot they want to say to eachother, therefore they keep jumping from subject to subject.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

"There's a light at each end of this tunnel,
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out'
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again
If you only try turning around."

It was 2 am in the morning when she stirred in my arms, sleep had only taken her for two hours.

"Edward." she mumbled, "Are you still here?"

She was lacking coherency, still in a catatonic state. Half awake.

"Yes Lia, I'm here, I haven't left." I whispered reassuringly, soothing her back.

"You promised you'd stay."

"And I did"

"I'm sorry." she barely let out, "I messed everything up."

"No, no you didn't, it will all be alright."

"Do you promise?" She was more or less asleep by now..

"I promise." And I meant it, Carlisle was still letting her out, this place served no purpose.. It was a foolish jail cell, locking a starving girl in here wouldn't make her any better.

She fell back asleep, her breathing shallow.. And her heart slowly beating.

I was suddenly extremely anxious to get to Forks. The sooner we got there the sooner Lia would recover. I would make sure of it.

Alice didn't dare think of the future she had seen, as far as she was concerned, it was extremely blurry.

We were all blind as to how this would turn out.

Astonishingly, Rosalie was not at all opposed to Lia. I suppose after her horrible treatment of Bella, she reasoned that she had some making up to do. She of course, denied this, proclaiming that as far as Alice described her, that she genuinely liked the girl.

"She certainly isn't some pathetic whiney human like your previous pet." as she put it.

As far as Bella went, my wounds were slowly starting to heal, being with Lia showed me that there were far more important things than a broken heart. Lia had real demons, and her health was above mine.

I couldn't afford to be selfish, but she continuingly reassured me that I was anything but, and that in reality, she did not mind one single bit that I was moping for Bella.

I knew she was lying, because whenever I mentioned her name a very brief surge of jealousy would cross her mind, right before it was tucked away; replaced with sympathy and understanding for my grief.

6:30 a.m

Her alarm went off, along with a growl of frustration.

I chuckled, slowly unwrapping my tangled limbs from hers.

"I wish I could stay, but you need to get ready for your day, only six more to go."

I quickly kissed her forehead, and went out through the window before she had any time to recognize I was even gone.

"so accusing their eyes
Like they have any right at all to criticize,Hypocrites.
You're all here for the very same reason"

I woke up, bleary eyed, to the most hideous sound that has ever graced a human's ears.

The alarm clock.

Danm.

Danmdanmdanmdanmdanm.

Last night, I cut myself open again because the real world was getting too hard for the plastic doll behind the glass wall.

My throat was sore.

Just perfect. Wait till the girls hear me during breakfast, they'll know better than anyone.

Maybe next time you'll learn not to act like such a snob, hypocrite.

I slowly got up, tenderly touching my ribs, my legs, my hips.

They were blood red, scarred everywhere, it stung.

Good.

I noticed the broken mirror on the bathroom wall, recalling the late-night-half-conversation with Edward, I somehow knew that it would be fixed before anyone found out.

Cheater.

Not that I really cared for cheating, I was cheating my way out of here after all, it's not like I was nor would ever be getting any better.

I had figured my eyes were broken a long time ago.

I quickly brushed my hair and teeth, followed by some heavy duty foundation and concealer.

I looked like a mess.

Figuring to just do all of my makeup since I had already gotten started, I followed with blush, mascara, and eye shadow.

I finished with some tinted lip balm and I was ready to go; face the day and whatnot.

I gingerly stepped into some jeans and slowly put on a white blouse over my head.

I stepped out of my room, shut the door, and proceeded to the "café."

I really fucking hoped that none of the nurses or the girls decided to talk to me today, my throat was sore and my skin burned and if anyone said shit I would probably punch them in the face.

Well, not really, fighting was trashier than pairing a denim skirt with Ugg boots. I…whatever.

That was besides the point, the point was, Lia was in no mood for people today.

But since Jesus hated me, he deemed that today would be the perfect day for the girls to get revenge on my sanctimonious attitude.

"So Lillianne, I heard something crash in your room the other day.."

Ashley, the girl that was currently trying to humiliate me, was a Wal-Mart blond who used to live in Yakima with her grandparents. She wasn't mean, but she liked country music and had a crush on David Archuleta. Not to mention that her favorite store was Forever 21.

To me that was enough to deem her not worthy of even staring in her direction. And, bless the girl, she caught on rather quickly.

Revenge sure is sweet isn't it Ashley?

I contemplated on my next move, knowing that whatever was going to come of out of my mouth wasn't going to be pretty.

"Eavesdropping are we Ash? I suppose next time you'll start a conservation by telling me my exact bedtime routine."

She looked bothered. But alas, undiscouraged, she should've really just shut up.

She decided to snicker, "Eavesdropping, Lillianne… the entire hall heard it!" She looked triumphant, "did you really think that music was helping?"

"Wow, you know what Ashley? Thanks for informing me on whatever it is that you heard, I have no idea what I would've done where you not to have told me."

She continued staring, obviously unaware of my sarcastic tone.

I sighed internally, realizing that she didn't get the hint.

"I don't care." I pronounced slowly.

I looked at her with the most you-are-fucking-retarded look I could muster, according to 99 percent of my family and friends, I was good at these, apparently.

Ashley must've thought so too.

"I'm not an idiot, Lillianne, you are! You're pathetic, don't you think we know what you were doing? The shower head was on for at least an hour! Or haven't you noticed, all the plumbing is the same… we could all hear it."

With my bitchiest smile, I slowly told her.. "Yet I'm the one who's getting out of here in less than a week, and well… you? Let's just say you aren't going back home to grandmamma and granddaddy anytime soon."

My words nailed the target, she was flustered, embarrassed, while I sat back, victoriously.

"At least I'm not tipping the scale, that's why you did what you did, isn't it Lia? Because you couldn't stand the sight of yourself." She finished triumphantly, grinning contentedly.

I sat there, mouth hanging wide open, had she really just said that?

Even all her friends knew she had crossed an unspeakable line, they sat back staring at me with sorrowful glances.

I couldn't really remember what happened next, but I think it went along the lines of "you crazy bitch." and strawberry flavored goop on Wal-Mart's hair.

I think I just threw my yogurt at Ashley's face.

Because of Lia's rough night, I decided to stay in the immediate area, in case she needed me.

I left at 6:30, Carlisle called me at 7:00

He sounded tired, somewhere in the background I could hear Lia's shouts of indignation.

"Do you want to pick her up? Maybe take her somewhere for breakfast?"

I laughed to myself, my response laced in amusement "I'll be there shortly."

Luckily, Edmonds wasn't too big of a town, I was in the center in under two minutes.

"Look at what she did to my hair!" I heard a girl shriek

"Ooooooooh, are you mad sweetie? Maybe I should tell Dr. Cullen what you said to me during breakfast!"

"What did you tell her Ashley?"

I walked in finding a girl with a sour strawberry scent in her hair, and with an angry Lia trying to melt her face off with an evil x-ray glare.

"Yes, Ashley what did you say to me? Huh? Go on, tell him." Her arms were crossed over her chest, she was cheering inside, knowing that she was getting Ashley into trouble.

Quickly, the girl began to think over the events that happened during breakfast..

I.. Edward Cullen, gasped aloud.

She turned to look at me, mesmerized. Surprise, surprise.

Lia growled, yes, she growled.

"Are you just going to keep staring like an idiot Ashley? Or are you going to own up to what you did?" Even with Lia's haughty glare, I could tell that Ashley's words had wounded her.

The girl turned back to Lia, then looked at Carlisle, knowing she was in a huge mess.

Slowly but surely, Ashley confessed to her less-than intelligent retort to Lia's banter.

Me and Lia didn't stick around long enough to find out the consequences.

I couldn't help but notice the tiniest smirk that crossed Lia's features, as she saw the blonde staring longingly at me when we left Carlisle's office.

We quickly got in the car, Lia was still angry. Her once triumphant eyes were now stained with sadness.

I turned on some music, wondering how I ever became friends with such a feisty girl.

"Hey, you know you don't need to.."

"I know." she quickly shot me down, already anticipating what I was going to tell her.

We drove in silence, her lost in her thoughts, and me trying, unsuccessfully, to start a conversation. Every attempt was cut short by a clipped retort, and the silence continued.

We stopped at a local coffee shop, I opened the door for her, she muttered thanks.

I pulled out her chair, she sat down. She was shivering, I offered her my coat, she declined, I put it on her anyway.

"I'm not hungry."

I sighed, knowing this was coming.

"Don't sigh at me, you don't have to put up with me if it's such an inconvenience." She retorted, crossing her arms against her chest.

"I never said anything of the sort." I replied, trying to make eye contact.

She glared at me.

"You need to eat." I continued.

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to, I just had breakfast."

"That's a lie, and you know it."

"I didn't finish it. But I did eat."

"Most of it's contents where thrown immaturely at another girl's head, you need something in your stomach."

"You know damn well what I'll do if you force any food down my throat" she stated in a deathly whisper.

I was at a loss for words, I had no idea what was wrong with her.

"Are we back to this again? If this is about what that vapid girl said to you.."

"This has got NOTHING to do with her, don't you dare think that little bitch has any influence upon what I will or won't do."

I stared at her in confusion. I had never heard her so vulgar, so cruel.

"What has gotten into you? Why are you acting this way?"

I regretted the words before they even left my mouth, she was on the verge of tears, but her anger overpowered any other emotion that wanted to emerge.

"There is nothing inside of me that hasn't already been in there, and newsflash Edward, this is me." She finished with a dramatic wave of her hand.

"I guess you learn something new everyday then." I retorted.

She said nothing. She was lost in her thoughts again, the hostility thick in the air, pouring from her brain. I couldn't stand it.

I grabbed her hand.

"Please. Lia, talk to me." I pleaded, my eyes shining with genuine concern.

She thought of snatching her hand away, but she didn't.

I'm sorry I'm such a bitch, I'm sorry I'm complicating things, I'm sorry for last night, I'm sorry for being such a burden, I'm sorry I'm not good enough, I'm so..

"Stop it. Is this what it's about?"

She continued to stare at our entwined hands.

"Lia, you are never nor will you ever be any of those things, you're my closest friend, if anything, I'm being a burden to you, never the other way around."

She stayed quiet for a while mulling over her next sentence.

"Ok, but just one thing.."

"Anything."

"Promise me that when we get to Forks, you won't run screaming after my first day of school."

I looked at her in confusion.

Remember all those things I told you? I haven't necessarily changed.

Thus the confrontation with Ashley, I knew Lia was a lot more of a normal teenager than Bella, I had just never seen her in action.

"Which reminds me…" she trailed off slightly, unsure of whether to continue asking.

So she though it instead.

I AM going to be living with Bella…

I knew where this was headed.

"Just because we aren't together anymore doesn't mean we're hostile to each other." I assured her.

In reality me and Bella hadn't as much as talked since the last time I saw her, she believed it to be better this way. She supposedly still loved me, after all.

"I'll tell her how we met, and that we're friends, she's with Jacob now, I'm sure she won't care."

"That doesn't mean you don't" She replied.

It still hurt to think about it, seeing her with Jacob might be more than I could handle, but I had to try.

"Well, I need to get over it one day don't I?" I smiled weakly, squeezing her hand for good measure.

She smiled encouragingly, "No day but today."

I took her acceptance. We remained quite for a couple of minutes, my hand softly caressing her own.

"Do you want to hear something I composed?" I suddenly asked.

"You mean the song you were taking about last night?" She returned, her voice piquing in interest.

"Do you want to hear it?" I continued, I couldn't help but feel excited, I had finished it in a single night.

"How will we hear it? There isn't a piano in here." She reasoned, looking around as though one would magically appear.

"But there's one back at the center." I explained.

"Is there really?" she inquired, her eyes alight with newfound curiosity.

"Yes, and after you finish your coffee and pumpkin bread, I can play it for you."

She looked down at the contents on the table, then back up at me.

"Is this some kind of trick used to make me eat holiday flavored carbs?"

I laughed out loud at her accusation, then turned serious once more.

"No Lia, but it would mean a lot to me if you ate just some of the food, it's low fat." I offered.

She smiled, appreciating my efforts.

"Ok, but just half."

"No, all of it."

"How about all of the coffee, and three quarters of the pumpkin bread?"

Eventually, we both reached a compromise.

It took an hour for her to finish the pumpkin bread.

"2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake,
"Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?
I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season'"

She didn't want to go back to the center once she was finished with her food, so we strolled around town for a bit.

We found a small dance store that she insisted we go in.

She spent hours in the small area, longer than I had ever seen Alice shopping in one of her favorite stores.

She tried on leotard after leotard, skirt after skirt, warm-ups and pointe shoes and dance bags and little seemingly unimportant accessories she would stress where necessary for proper pointe shoe wearing or bun-making.

She tried very hard to not think that she looked fat in her clothing. I told her nothing, but merely held her hand. Reassuring her of her beauty in the subtlest of ways.

We got back to the center at 3:08 pm.

Lia had five bags filled with new ballet attire, she had said in passing that she planned on taking some classes a few days a week when she got back to Forks.

I was happy for her, as well as excited to know that one day, I would get to see her dance.

We walked through the Center, Lia unaware of the awed faces staring between the two of us.

I opened the door of her room for her, and she immediately went to her closet.

"So, where's the piano?" She inquired after we set the bags on the floor near her wide array of shoes.

I led the way towards the old music room, dusty and cold from the lack of use.

She coughed a little, but other than that it didn't seem to bother her. She liked to believe that the darkness of the room set the mood.

There was a violin on the far-right corner, the hard-wood floors creaking from the weight.

She took slow, deliberate steps, touching the piano softly, removing some of the dust that had accumulated.

She continued walking, her feet naturally turning out, her hand dragging behind, still on the piano.

She picked up her leg and did a slight turn, her hair swaying beneath her.

She looked ethereal.

She pirouetted once more, this time turning so she was facing me. Her eyes slightly wider, she beckoned me to sit down on the piano seat.

I walked toward her, momentarily stunned by the simple grace she seemed to carry.

She sat down right next to me, staring intently between me and the keys. She gave a soft smile, encouraging me to start playing.

I started slowly, an easy rhythm, weaving in a couple of new keys, the two sounds working in perfect symphony. The keys began to grow, faster… more complicated, then slower, softer, higher. While still keeping that easy rhythm in the background.

I was lost in the music, A feeling only experienced whilst playing the piano, I briefly wondered if this is how Lia felt when she was dancing.

I vaguely noticed that she was staring at me throughout the whole composition, it wasn't until the end of the song that I turned toward her.

She didn't break her eye contact.

"That's how I feel." she whispered, "When I'm dancing, just like that."

She was talking about the expression on my face, I was awestruck at the truth in her words, finding elation in knowing that someone had the same passion towards something the way I did.

"La Sérénade Sombre de la Rose, or Lia's Serenade" I murmured. "It's for you," I stated intelligently, "it's your serenade."

She was still staring right into my eyes, right into me.

"Thank you." She breathed, "I would say it was beautiful, but I don't believe that would be the correct word."

I searched her eyes, knowing without reading her mind what she was trying to say.

She reached for my fingers, carefully tracing each and every one.

"So cold." she muttered, "Maybe one day, I can dance to my serenade."

"You will." I assured her, relishing in the warmth of her soft hands.

A performance given to honor or express love for someone, in the open air at night, as by a lover under the window of his lady. I heard her mind recite. She stayed quiet for a moment, her thoughts a whirl of epiphanies.

"you love me." she whispered finally, unsure, yet, so sure.

2:00 a.m

A phone call from the person I had longed to hear for so long, a call from the one person who haunted my every waking minute.

"Edward," she whispered… "I love you…. So much. It's always been you, always will be."

"Bella?"

"Forgive me Edward, I'm begging you, I can't stand this anymore. I don't love him, Edward, I tried and tried but I can't."

I vaguely wondered if I was in a dream, an impossible feat, but this declaration had seemed impossible only moments before as well.

I didn't know what to say in response, so I uttered the words that first came to mind.

"I love you Bella."

"Please, forgive me. He was a mistake… it's always been you."

But my god, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles.

A/N: This was written between 1:00 and 5:00 pm.

I swear I'm not crazy. Plus, I have no idea how these perfect songs dawn upon me, I swear I have the idea for the chapter long before I find music. Ok, maybe not.

Inspiration:

Breathe (2 am) - Anna Nalick

Comptine d'un Autre Ete (Lia's Serenade) - Tiersen

translated- An infant's song of another. Basically a lullaby.

La Sérénade Sombre de la Rose - The Dark Rose's Serenade.