AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Well, that may be the longest time I've ever spent sitting on the computer. FOUR HOURS.

And the story's not even complete yet.

It took a lot of thought to put this together, but I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with it, so constructive criticism in reviews is appreciated. I tried to think this scene all the way through before writing it down, but it came out too short, so I extended it a bit. It's still really short for the intensity that I wanted it to hold.

Hopefully, you'll like it.

Hopefully.

Yours Truly,

Fifteen Noodles

The visitor's pale skin stood out in the pitch black night.

They wore a face that was unfamiliar to me; it was as if they had been torn in half and sewn together again. Half of the face was smiling hugely, in a state of bliss, but the other half looked disgusted.

I realized that I was trembling violently. I automatiaclly tried to freeze up, but the shaking was uncontrollable.

What my mind had been unable to comprehend before now surged through every part of me as if I'd been struck by lightning.

He was here.

Still unable to hold myself together for more than two seconds, I almost forgot how to breathe. His eyes were golden, shining topaz in the darkness. For a while, I just stared into them, barely able to retain conciousness. I finally stood up, tripping over nothing several times, and managed to speak.

"Edward?"

I blinked once, twice, three times. Rubbed my eyes. Pinched myself behind my back, so he wouldn't see. Blinked again.

He hadn't spoken yet. In fact, he seemed to be dazed.

"Edward?" I spoke yet again, trying to get him to snap out of it. This Edward was not one that I'd ever known. He was foreign, a silent stranger of a mysterious world. He seemed unable to even make the slightest of movements. He wasn't in shock, no. He appeared to be in deep thought, completely absorbed in a different world.

He stayed like that for an immesurable amount of time. An hour? Five minutes? I had no idea. He just stared, immoble, impossible.

I finally drew up the willpower to say more than one word.

"Are you... okay?"

His crystal voice rang throughout the room in a deep whisper. The smile on the joyful side of his face perked into a sly grin.

"No, I am not okay. I am much, much better than okay, better than you'll ever know."

Relieved that he could speak, the important questions finally started to fire away as my mind caught up with my body.

"Why... why are you... here?"

Edward opened the window and stepped inside in one swift movement. A troubled expression entered his face as both halves merged into one.

"Bella, there's something important that I need to tell you."

Still marveling at his perfection, I waited.

"When I left... I didn't leave because I wasn't in love with you. That would be... completely... impossible. It was torture, every single moment I was away, and I couldn't bear the pain anymore."

My eyes grew wide. No. This was impossible.

My entire being, body and mind, went into lockdown. Edward's words began to flow faster and faster, but I didn't comprehend any one of them. Only the last sentence rolled around in my head, tumbling very slowly.

It was after about ten minutes that I realized that I was supposed to say something. He was waiting for a response to some unknown question, and I wasn't answering.

"P-p-p..pardon me?"

He sighed. "I asked if you could ever take me back after all of the pain I've caused you. I've come to beg for your forgiveness."

"You want me t-to take you back?" This was impossible. Completely crazy. A figment of my imagination. I hung my head and sighed. "I don't care if I'm dreaming," I muttered so low that even Edward probably couldn't hear it. The words came out so slurred and inaudible that, even if he could hear something, he couldn't make out what I was saying.

"But... you...," I whispered a bit louder.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but did you hear one word I said?"

"You may h-have to give me a rundown on a few parts," I said, a half of a smile crossing my face.

"Well, did you hear the begging part?"

"Don't even bother repeating that part. It's pointless; you know what I'm going to say," I responded, smile growing larger. Even if I was dreaming, I should at least play along.

"Wait. Bella, are you sure? I hurt you so much..."

My actions and words collided yet again. I needed to think about this. Not about taking him back, but about... everything.

"Give me a minute," I instructed him.

But I could only think of the fact that Edward was here. Here. Actually here. In all his glorious perfection, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen was here.

And he wanted me to take him back.

How could he be in love with me? He'd been tired of pretending to be human, tired of me...

I cringed at the memory of my final day with him. Suddenly, I knew exactly what I had to tell him. He'd want to know this more than he'd want to know the obvious fact that I would take him back.

"Edward, Victoria came back."

His eyes popped wide open. A low snarl emerged from the depths of his throat.

"She's looking for me. Laurent tried to kill me, but a few... friends... killed him first."

The snarl grew louder. Suddenly, Edward looked menacing, absolutely terrifying.

"See, these friends are sort of... werewolves," I continued, "but they wouldn't--"

"Bella, I promise, I'll keep you safe," he interrupted me, eyes growing soft.

I kept pondering why he was here without responding. Abruptly, I grew worried. If I did take him back, what could I do from becoming my old obsessed self? How could I keep from attacking him whenever he kissed me, just as I had the first time? I didn't want to scare him off.

"Bella?"

"Oh... oh."

"What's wrong?"

"I was thinking there was something I'd like to try," quoting him exactly from the first time he'd kissed me.

"Bella, I wouldn't hurt you. I'm not going to kill you. I just got you back," he told me through an anxious, worried expression.

"No, silly, I was worried that I would attack you," I noted with a chuckle as I brought my lips to his.

Our lips parted, and I knew everything was fine.

In that moment, Victoria didn't matter. Jake and his pack didn't matter. Nothing mattered aside from Edward. He was truly here, and I would never let anything seperate us.