A few months earlier…

I was busily spreading rose petals of various shades around our meadow…

A little red there, some pink here, add some extra white rose petals… Perfect!

The candles I had set up in a circle around the quilt on the grass still needed to be lit.

"Dammit!" Where did I leave those matches…?

Aha! Found 'em!

"Gotcha now, suckers!" I laughed aloud to myself, only to be startled to hear a high pitched giggle from behind me.

"Alice?" I turned around to face my sister, placing a hand over my heart.

"You scared me to death! Don't just pop out like that. I thought you were Bella. You better have not brought her already, you evil little pixie…" I warned her. And all she did was laugh. Was I really not that threatening?

"Are you sure you're really in the position to be threatening me, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen? I'm out of breath from that name. Anyway, crazy person who talks to matches, no, I didn't bring Bella. I left her at home with Emmett. She's all dolled up and ready for you," she said with an evil glint in her eye.

"What did you do to her? You know she doesn't like being treated like a Barbie."

"I know," she said with a shrug. She knows, and yet she still does it. It almost killed me to see how much she was like Emmett in that way. Shaking my head, I continued lighting candles with the help of Alice.

"Well, thank you, dear sister," the sarcasm was dripping from my voice, but I really did mean it, "I'll be off to pick up Bella now."

"Uh, no, you're not."

I turned around in bewilderment. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, mister. You're really gonna leave all of these candles around? Yeah, right. I'm not watching you get taken away in handcuffs for starting a forest fire, intentionally or not. I'll get her, you stay here."

She cut me off before I was about to add in my own two cents.

"I know what you are about to say. Don't worry, I'll blindfold her. Better me than you; at least I won't smudge her makeup."

She walked off through the trees in her four-inch heels all without tripping. How is it she could do that and Bella couldn't, even in sneakers that were double-tied and me helping her? She's even brought me down with her before, and that's not easy since I was probably almost 50 pounds heavier.

"Thanks Alice!" I yelled before she was out of earshot.

I went back to setting up, taking food out of the picnic basket, my mind never leaving Bella, the best thing in my world.

I remember the day everything got started.

It was that day in junior high, eighth grade, May 7th, a Saturday, at exactly 8:09 pm, I had my first kiss, and it was with Bella Swan. I was eternally grateful to Mike Newton's birthday party and that absurd game of spin the bottle. Thank you for that suggestion Jessica!

After that first kiss, we kind of hit it off from there. We were young, but we felt that undeniable spark.

I was snapped out of my reverie when I heard the gravel crunch from not too far away and an engine being turned off.

Finally! Alice was here with Bella. I ran as fast as I could without knocking down candles and I wove through the trees and made it to that ostentatious canary yellow Porsche 911 Turbo before Bella could even unbuckle herself from the passenger side.

I opened her door to find those precious chocolate brown eyes once more. My eyes darted to Alice and I nodded my thanks; she just winked.

Helping Bella out of the car, I finally saw what she was wearing.

It was a bit warm out, so the outfit Alice chose for my Bella was seemingly appropriate, but the way it looked on her was absolutely lethal. The two of them would be the death of me.

Well, mostly Bella would. She didn't really need Alice to that.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and all those thoughts of why Bella was with me when she could do so much better. I loved this girl with all of myself, but that still wouldn't express my love enough.

"Ready for dinner, my darling?"

"Of course," Bella answered in the voice that always drew me in.

The sundress that Alice had put on her looked absolutely stunning, and the way the moonlight shine on her pale skin that was exposed was absolutely breathtaking.

The way that brown ribbon wrapped around the dress's yellow waist showed how slim my Bella was, and the swirling of the brown hem around her legs made her look like she was floating. (a/n: link to dress picture is hopefully on my profile!)

I could have that image in my head and die happy. Her hair was curled and pinned here and there with light makeup covering her natural beauty.

My Bella didn't need makeup. She was perfect like this.

"So, Edward… what was so important that you needed all of this fuss over dinner? Is it really that important?" She turned her questioning gaze towards me, and I was putty.

"Well, yes," I answered breathlessly.

"What could be so important? It's not like you were planning on asking me to marry you or anything," she said with a laugh.

"Umm… well, actually… you see I was kinda…" Oh holy shit! Damn that evil pixie and her big mouth. I was in for it now.

"I, um, uh…"

A/N: Haha, I finally updated! Whew! I have had this hand cramp for soooo long, not even funny. Well, the dress picture should hopefully be on my profile!

And I want to rant but I won't. I won't have my unhappiness rain down upon you. I am dedicating this chapter to notsomuch2say, check out her stories, and Christine!

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!
vvvvvvv
vvvvvv
vvvvv
vvvv
vvv
vv
v