A/N:

Hello everybody and sorry for the delay! I was sick the entire week and was unable to write because of my huge headache. I hope you guys will be happy with this chapter :)

Have fun reading and please review afterwards! :D

( In this chapter I describe the dress and shoes Bella is planning on wearing for the talent show. On my profile is a link to my Photobucket where you can find pics of the dress and shoes :) Feel free to check them out. )

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, I just used the magic world that Stephenie Meyer created.

This chapter is unbeta'ed, every mistake is mine and I apologize for those.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Previously on Stay:

"Can we leave already? I'm starving!" Emmett exclaimed, suddenly standing next to Edward's car.

Edward and I linked hands and walked towards the car. Edward and I sat up front with Emmett sprawled out on the back seat. We linked hands on the center console and drove towards the Cullen mansion.

I swore I could already smell the casserole when we entered the mile-long driveway which made my stomach grumble. Both Edward and Emmett heard it of course and they laughed out loud which made me blush once more.

Edward stroked my cheek lovingly, eyes flicking from the road to my eyes, and I drowned in his eyes once again, knowing I would for a million times more.


Chapter 9

BPOV

"No, the note is f not e," Edward corrected me. It was the day before our grand performance and we were just adding the final touches to our play. We were sitting at the baby grand at Edward's house with barely an inch of space between us.

"Edward, it will be fine. You're just stressing out." I took his hand in mine and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I'm not stressing out, Bella. I just want everything to be perfect."

"Edward, it is perfect as long as we're both on that stage doing what we both love," I cupped his cheek and leaned forward, pressing my lips softly to his.

I sighed into the kiss and Edward cupped my neck with his hand, the other wrapping around my waist and pulling me close.

And then we were interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind us.

I looked over Edward's shoulder and saw Bree standing there with a blanket and a book in her hand.

"Oh, hey, Bree," I smiled.

"Hey."

She had opened up a little to me over the last week. We had even had a full conversation two days ago about our favorite books. I admitted that I liked reading old English literature like Romeo and Juliette and Wuthering Heights. She was more into the stories which took place in current time.

"What book are you reading?" I asked politely, showing interest.

She walked toward us and held it up for me to take. She was wearing a more fitted hoodie right now in a more fresh color which made her face look more alive; red.

"It's set in the future and it's about a community divided into groups by a test they have to take at age 16. This story is about a girl whose test is left undecided because she can't be fit in just one category. It's really cool," she smiled at me which made me feel good. Edward told me that she barely even conversed with him and they were the ones related.

"It sounds cool indeed. If you ever want to borrow any of mine you can just ask." I returned the book to her and saw that her bookmark was only a few pages away from the back cover.

"Okay. I've almost finished this one so if you want it?"

"Sure. Just tell me when you're finished and I'll read it then. Thanks," I smiled and turned back to Edward who had continued playing during my conversation with Bree. When I had started to learn how to play Say Something, Edward decided he wanted to learn it too so now we could play it both fluently.

Bree exited the room and I reckoned she went to find a peaceful and quiet reading spot.

"I really don't understand why she can't converse with me like she does with you. I'm her cousin for Christ's sake," Edward said frustrated, pressing random keys on the piano to emphasize his feelings.

"Do you really think that because I'm male she assumes I'd hurt her as well?" The look in Edward's eyes I recognized as pure pain. I could see that he hated being feared by his cousin which I understood completely.

I dragged my hand through his hair and scratched his scalp softly. As a response, Edward leaned his head into my head and closed his eyes; a tiny moan escaping.

"I just think she feels a little bit more comfortable around women right now. She'll come to you once she realizes you're just a soft mama's boy," I shook his head a little by pulling on strands of his hair and he whined.

He stilled my hand. "Don't pull so hard, baby," he scolded me.

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Does mama do it more softly?" I said with a smile-full pout and extracted my hand.

Yeah, that's totally possible. A smile-full pout.

"Actually my mama hasn't done that in a while so keep scratching, woman." He grabbed my hand and put it back in his hair.

It felt amazing to have such an effect on him. Right now there was nothing I'd wish differently in my life; my parents were great – although they weren't home often, they cared about Emmett and I dearly, I had a great boyfriend, fantastic group of friends and although my brother might be a pain in the ass once in a while, I knew I could count on him and I loved him.

"You know," I said extracting my hand from Edward's hair which earned me a whine. "We can do this." I made a gesture towards the piano.

"Let's quit trying and let's do something else." Edward stood and grabbed my hand an evil smile on his face.

"I don't want to get injured a day before our performance, Edward." I pulled slightly on my hand.

"You won't, I promise," Edward said and led me towards the couch.

He held up two DVDs.

"The expendables or Die Hard?" he wiggled his eyebrows which earned him a soft punch in the gut.

"Just put Die Hard in, Edward. I need my weekly dose of Bruce Willis," it was now my turn to wiggle my eyebrows. Edward rolled his eyes.

"You have a Bruce Willis fetish," Edward stated, pressing play.

"No, I have a Jai Courtney fetish."

"A what?"

"You know, the co-star of Bruce Willis in this Die Hard movie," I clarified.

Edward nodded and seated himself next to me.

"I want something to snack on." Edward grunted and lifted himself off the couch again.

"Popcorn or potato chips?" Edward yelled from the kitchen.

"Do you even need to ask?"

"Potato chips it is then," I heard Edward mumble from the kitchen and I giggled.

When Edward entered the living room with a bag of chips and a bottle of coke, the movie had only just started because I had purposefully not skipped the trailers.

"C'mere." Edward pulled on my arm and into his side once the movie had started.

I snuggled my face into the warmth of the crook of Edward's neck and planted a kiss there; Edward shivered. I then leaned my head on his shoulder and watched the movie from there while Edward's arm was wrapped around my waist, holding me close.

About half an hour later I felt Edward dose off against me during a gunfire.

How could people sleep through those while I start only from hearing a gunshot on TV?

I moved away from him and he whined and grabbed my arm.

"No I'm just moving, one sec." I let his back slide down the couch so he was lying horizontally. I grabbed his head and held it in my lap while I dragged my hand through his soft tufts of bronze hair. Little strands of brown and red made it the extraordinary mélange it was.

Edward hummed approvingly and he moved his arm around my waist, facing my stomach and nuzzling it with his nose.

It was cute and my heart swelled at the sight of him. I scratched his head softly while I continued watching the movie, but I couldn't help but let my eyes move away from the screen once in a while to watch how my boyfriend slept.

His eyelashes fluttered against his pale but beautiful skin and I realized then how beautiful he actually was. I knew he was cute, when he was younger every mom would compliment Esme on her son, but he was actually beautiful – scratch that – hot right now.

I was brought out of my reverie by footsteps coming closer. I could hear by the footsteps it was Esme, also Carlisle wasn't home yet so they couldn't even be his.

"Aw look at that!" Esme smiled and whispered as to not to wake Edward.

Gunfire can't wake him so Esme's soft voice wouldn't either, but I appreciate the thought.

"This is when he's at his best behavior," Esme beamed.

I chuckled. "Like Edward is so much work?"

Esme seated herself next to me and reached for Edward's head to put a strand of his hair behind his ear.

"Not at all, but I can enjoy some quiet time, can't I?"

I loved Esme. She was an amazing mom to Edward and I considered her as a second mother as well.

Edward squeezed his arms a little around my waist and snuggled closer, curling his legs in.

Soft snores entered the room and Esme and I chuckled.

"Seriously?!" I questioned incredulously.

"Welcome to the world of males," Esme touched my arm and smiled.

She pretty much always smiles. Have I mentioned I love her?

"I heard you and Bree are getting along better," Esme stated.

Her caramel-colored hair was curled up in a neat bun on the back of her head, but little loose curls hung around her face. She had her legs pulled up on the couch, and supported her head with her arm while she faced me.

I nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, she's really nice. A bit shy, but nice."

Esme nodded along.

"It's just that she seems so wary of Edward. It's bugging him." I looked at Edward and drew circles with my index finger through his hair, making it even more messy than usual.

"I've noticed. Do you know if she socializes with men at school at all?"

I shook my head from left to right. "No, she's pretty much on her own all the time. Occasionally she speaks to Angela, but that's rare."

At Esme's confused look I explained further.

"Angela, the girl who helps her mom bring up her two twin brothers after her father ran away with some younger woman?"

I could see the recognition in Esme's eyes.

"Ah, that girl. Nice family," Esme said.

"They are," I confirmed.

At that moment Edward began to twist a little which was a sign he was waking up.

He was humming and making weird noises which made me snicker.

He grabbed my hand from where it was resting next to his head. "Continue," he ordered me and put it back in his hair.

Esme smacked him on his head. "That's not how you talk to women. Have you learned nothing from all the things your dad and I taught you?"

"Auch! Mom!" Edward was now sitting up and caressing his head as if Esme had really hurt him.

"Aw, poor baby. Come here." I grabbed his head roughly and kissed his soft hair.

"It hurts here too." Edward pointed at his lips.

"Well, I'd have to kiss it better then, right?" He cupped my face and kissed me softly, pulling me flush against him. We were in an awkward position right now. I was practically in his lap, but not completely. Not to mention that Esme was still seated on the couch only a few inches away.

She scraped her throat as to remind us of her presence. "I think I'm going to start on dinner. Are you staying for dinner, Bella?" She addressed me.

"Sure," I answered and smiled at her before she left the living room.

The DVD was still playing but I hadn't watched it for over half an hour or so. It was that I'd seen it so often before, otherwise I would've had no idea what it was about.

Edward pulled me in his lap, so I was straddling him. My legs were on either sides of his, and my arms were wound around his neck and my fingers were either in his hair or playing with the little hairs at the nape of his neck. Edward's arms were resting on my hips and his hands met on top of my ass, a content smile on his face.

He pulled me in for a kiss which made me forget my surroundings. We were smiling against each other's lips and saliva was exchanged. Edward tasted amazing. His flavor couldn't easily be described; he tasted like a hint of mint and tobacco, and a whole lot of yumminess that could not be compared to anything existing.

It was like a game of tic-tac-toe, when you were above a certain age, no one would win anymore. During our battle of the tongues nobody won; both parties experienced the same amount of pleasure. It was an infinite pull of adoration and devotion and maybe even love.

After what felt like hours – but could have been only a few minutes seeing the movie still hadn't ended – we came up for air and our breathing was heavy and irregular.

I looked outside through the window, finding rays of sunshine breaking through the cloud bags and the forests of trees.

"You want to go outside?" I questioned, playing with the hem of Edward's shirt. My face was buried in his neck and I was kissing the skin there.

"I must say I'm enjoying myself immensely here too," Edward snickered.

"Me too, but hadn't you promised to teach me skateboarding?" I pulled away from Edward's neck and looked him in the eye. I lost my balance slightly but steadied myself by holding on to his muscular upper arms.

"It's called longboarding, not skateboarding. How many times do I have to tell you that?" He pulled on his messy hair which made it stick up.

"Skateboarding, longboarding; it's the same damn thing. It's both a piece of wood on wheels."

"You did not just say that."

"I believe I did actually."

And then I was pushed down and Edward's body was lying on top of mine, tickling the hell out of me.

"Edward!" I screamed. "Stop!"

"Kids! I'm trying to cook here and I don't fancy throwing in too much salt because you're startling me with your yells!" Esme called from the entrance to the living room with a wooden spoon in her hand.

Edward stilled on top of me and we both looked towards Esme.

"Sorry, mom. We're going outside." Edward stood and pulled me up too before turning off the movie.

"I want you back here in an hour for dinner, okay?"

"Yes, mom. We're just going longboarding on the hill." The hill was the only place in Forks where it was slightly higher so you could speed up a little. It was situated close to the school, nearby the forest lines. Whenever you'd tell anybody you were going to the hill, everyone knew where you were talking about; it was like a secret code or something.

Edward grabbed both our coats and beanies before going to the garage. I just followed him suit and when he handed me my coat I put it on. During the last week, Edward had always been the one to put on my beanie so he did this time again and kissed me soundly as our ritual always allowed. He grabbed his wooden board on wheels from a closet at the back of the garage and went back inside.

"Where are you going?" I asked. I knew Esme was very against bringing stuff from the garage back inside.

"You'll see," he answered, winking at me. I felt my cheeks heat up, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

So what if I blush at getting winked at by Edward? It's hot and he's hot, so, yeah.

"Edward, get that thing out of here. You know I don't want those in my kitchen," I heard Esme scold her son.

I didn't hear his reply but when he entered the garage again he was proudly holding a black permanent marker. He pushed the button to open the garage door and held out his hand for me to take, which I gladly took. We walked towards the hill, but I wanted to practice a little beforehand so we went on the school premises and practiced some on the empty parking lot.

"Here," he handed me the marker and turned the board upside down so I could write something on the underside.

"What should I write? Or should I draw something?" I questioned.

"Be my guest," Edward shrugged with his signature smirk etched on his face.

I decided on a part of the lyrics from 'Say Something' because it meant something to us both. I did change it a bit to fit the circumstances.

I wrote in an elegant writing: "And I won't swallow my pride

You're the one that I love

And I'm never saying goodbye"

I changed will to won't because I was proud of him and of us, so I didn't want to swallow my pride and I added never to the last sentence because I was never going to say goodbye to Edward.

I gave the marker back and brushed my lips against Edward's jaw while he read what I'd written.

"It's beautiful," he said and dipped down to kiss me properly. We hadn't told each other 'I love you' yet but we didn't even need to since we knew that we did.

"Okay, let's get to the actual longboarding." He grabbed me by the shoulders and put me on top of the board after he had turned it around.

"You just have to push off with this leg and then put it next to the other one. It's not that hard." He now held my hips so I was standing in the middle of the board and I couldn't lose my balance.

"Edward, I can't push off and then put my foot there again! I'll fall!" I exclaimed, raising my voice.

"No you won't. Here, see." Edward did exactly what he had just described and went from one side of the lot to the other. It indeed looked easy.

When he returned he told me that I could do it but I was afraid that I'd fall, break my arm and have it in a sling when we had our performance the next day.

Rose and I had bought me a dress for the talent show last Tuesday after school in Port Angeles. It was a beautiful dark grey dress that hugged my curves in all the right places. I didn't want it to be too distracting since it was all about the music, but I did want to look amazing. It was a halter dress, which I normally didn't like at all, but it had a beautiful pattern of intertwining lanes of grey. It looked fabulous and ended about eight inches above the knee, so it showed a fair amount of skin. (Link on profile)

With the dress, I was planning on wearing four inch black heels with silver and grey studs on the back so they matched the dress. Rose was going to do my hair and make-up, and she wanted to do curls. Edward hadn't seen my dress, but I had been there when he was picking up his suit.

Yes, suit. You read that right. My Edward will be wearing a suit for our performance.

He had chosen a simple black suit with a white undershirt and a black tie. It was simple but classic and my man was going to look amazing.

"Come on, baby. You can do it," he cheered me on.

"If I end up with any limbs in a cast it's your fault, okay?" I poked him in the chest.

"I'll take my chances." He took me by the arm and softly pushed me on top of the board.

He went to move away but I grabbed his sleeve. "Please, don't go," I begged him.

"I'm just standing back a little to give you space," he explained with a chuckle.

"I don't want space," I pouted and he walked forward, standing behind me on the board. He held my hips and he stood flush against me.

"Alright then. I'll push off and you just stand here," he chuckled and pushed off the ground so we were moving forward. When we had gained enough speed, he wrapped his arms around my waist and ducked a little so his head fit into the crook of my neck. I held out my arms and closed my eyes, feeling the cold air rush past. Edward placed a kiss on my neck and I shivered, opening my eyes and holding onto Edward's arms around my middle.

Because the parking lot was quite old, a lot of gravel was lying on top of it so it wasn't very pleasant for the board. After making several rounds together and a few on my own, we stepped off and headed for the hill. We held hands and walked close to each other while Edward held the board underneath his arm.

When we reached the hill, he checked whether or not there were any cars in the neighborhood and offered to go first.

It was a hill, but not a gigantic one. It luckily wasn't like in San Francisco where the slopes were so steep; you gained so much speed the wheels could light up.

He kissed me once before pushing off the ground and heading down the hill. He was ducked a little as to gain more speed, which I was not planning on doing. When he was at the bottom of the hill – where a few trees were standing – he grabbed the board under his arm and made the run to the top.

"That was so awesome!" He exclaimed when he'd reached me.

"There are a few cars coming so we should wait a few minutes, but then you should totally do it, Swan." He pinched my cheeks a little which made me smile.

"Edward, I'm really afraid," I admitted.

He wrapped his arms around my neck and held me close. "You've got nothing to be afraid of, but if you don't want to.. I guess I need to look for a girlfriend who actually is some sort of a daredevil and isn't afraid to skate of a tiny slope," he said sarcastically.

He was right, though. Why wouldn't I do it? What's the worst that could happen? Edward did it and I knew a lot of other kids did it as well, so why not me?

"Alright then," I grabbed the board and stood at the top of the hill to push off.

"Be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt," Edward said.

"Oh and now you do care if I get hurt?" I played. "You're able to play the piano to 'Say Something' too so I guess it wouldn't be that bad if I broke my arm," I added.

"Just terribly inconvenient," Edward said and smiled before waving at me. I took it as a sign to push off and pushing off I did.

I went down the hill, where I felt gravel hit the underside of the board. I was going fast; too fast in my opinion but the feeling was terrific. I saw the left side of the road come closer so I tried to move the board to the middle, which worked surprisingly well. I smiled at my achievement and ducked a little, wanting to feel more of the cold air rushing past me like the trees and bushes did.

But then I looked in front of me and saw the tall trees coming closer and closer. I realized that I needed the board to move drastically to either my right or left side and I needed to slow down. I stood straight again, but I kept going downhill fast. Everywhere I looked I saw trees and the wood became dangerously dark. I debated jumping off the board, but I didn't want to ruin Edward's board so I didn't.

I heard someone yell my name loudly before my head hit the trunk of a tree. I was thrown off the board and heard something crack before everything went black.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


A/N:

What did you guys think? :D

In the next chapter I'll be using the Prologue, so I guess you guys now know what happened.

Please review because it means so much to me if you do!

X Nathalie

**The book I was referring to is Divergent by Veronica Roth, definitely a recommendation.

**The movie I was referring to is 'A good day to die hard' with Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney.

I own neither, I just used them.