As always: Everything and anything related to the Twilight saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. This is a work of fiction based on her writings. No harm is meant by it.

Special thanks and much adoration to my beta Kelly

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Odd Endings and New Beginnings

Bella woke up on Monday morning to the distant sounds of the alarm clock on her cell phone going off. The familiar sound was beeping incessantly from across the apartment in her room. Though all she could really hear was a faint beeping sound from where she was in Edward's room, it was still enough to wake her up. Edward however was not affected by it at all; he was still in a deep sleep.

Bella shifted her head to look over Edward's shoulder to look at the clock on the nightstand. It was difficult to move without waking Edward up. His arm was heavy on her shoulders; it felt like dead weight. As she read the red, blinking six-o-five on the clock's LED screen, she finally felt the small prickling at her lips.

There was a dull ache pounding away at them. With every breath she took, little tingles pulsated, and whenever she would so much as brush her fingertips across her mouth or pursued them, the ache would grow worse. Her lips felt swollen in the best possible way; she could only imagine how they looked.

She had spent all of yesterday afternoon in Edward's arms, kissing him like a young girl who had just been kissed for the first time. That was exactly how it had felt. It had felt like being kissed for the first time all over again. With every kiss, and every breath taken in, Bella had felt so alive, and so loved. She couldn't even remember the last time she had been kissed in such a way, let alone remember the last time she had wasted a day making out in bed. It felt incredible juvenile but she didn't care. Every moment felt more glorious than the one before.

Even as the night had approached, Edward had continued to lavish her with kisses, moving away from her mouth for a bit, and kissing along her neck before trailing his wet lips back up onto hers. Every kiss had felt like a new beginning. Every kiss had felt different and yet the same; each one felt as magnificent as the one before. No kiss was insignificant. The chaste pecks were just as beautiful and lovely as the long, drawn out ones. The gentle movements were just as spectacular as the fast and rough kisses. Edward's lips had molded against her in ways she never knew they could.

Last night had been amazing, and her dreams had been filled with a replaying of every kissed shared. Waking up had been the last thing that she had wanted to do, but the alarm clock had rang and disturbed everything.

As she pulled herself away from Edward, her face was slightly stuck to his chest, slick with a thin layer of sweat from her having been laying there most of the night. Bella couldn't help the smile making its way across her face as she sat up on the bed. It hurt to smile, but it was virtually impossible to stop; it was a wide, bright smile filled with so much joy that she could only imagine how it would look to others. She was sure it would be blinding and incredibly revealing. One look at her and people would be able to discern the events of the previous night.

She pivoted her torso to look down at Edward, whose body was still curled in the position it was while Bella was in his embrace. His eyes were shut lightly, his eyelashes fanned out adorably over the tops of his cheeks. His lips were in that constant pout he always wore when he was in a deep slumber; always looking like he was waiting for a kiss. Locks of his rust colored hair were spread across the pillow and his forehead, and Bella subconsciously swept away the hair hiding his right eye. The movement caused him to stir in his sleep and move in closer to where she had been sprawled. His head now rest on her thigh and his arm wrapped around her knee.

At that moment, lip jutted out, and an adorable frustrated expression on his face, he looked so much like the boy she had grown up with; her best friend.

She remembered watching him sleep the morning following their first time back when they were sixteen. His hair was shorter than it was now but still full, and some strands were still streaked blue. His eyes were shut delicately and his lips were in that all too familiar pout. In his sleep, he was wearing a tiny smile and he was gripping something under his pillow. When Bella had finally taken the time to look at what it was, she had found that it was her bra. At first she had found it odd, but later on, she realized that Edward had been trying to find some kind of object to remember his first time with, and her bra had been what he had chosen.

She wondered now if he still had that bra stashed away somewhere. She chuckled lightly to herself at the thought. The shaking of her torso caused Edward to shift again, now his eyelashes lay flat against Bella's thigh and tickled her with every twitch of his eye. She sat there taking the sweet torture for a brief moment before she had to shift away from Edward.

"No," he groaned, his voice meek and heavy with sleep. "Come back," he mumbled sounding like a young boy.

"I'm not going anywhere," she giggled. "Not yet, at least. It's only six, there's still time to get ready."

"Ready for what?" he groggily asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes or at least tried to.

"For work Edward. It's Monday."

"Damn," he groaned as he tried to sit up on the bed, but plopped right back down on it, causing Bella to laugh.

"Come on, sleepy head. You have to go. You just landed a big campaign, I'm sure there will be cake and champagne waiting for you in the office."

"I know; I'm just so exhausted. Stupid jet lag and what not," he whined and Bella hit his shoulder lightly.

"Come on," she said as she shook his shoulders; Edward let himself be rocked. It almost felt like a she was lulling him back to sleep.

"No," he groaned again, petulantly, grabbing Bella by the arms and using them to make her lay back down and be pinned to his side. "I like this much better."

"As much as I agree with you, I have to shower and get ready for work," she argued, giggling the entire time as she tried to wiggle her way out of Edward's embrace. He simply held her tighter, and she smiled. Being in his arms felt so incredible and warm, and so unbelievably right. It felt like the interlocking of the final piece in an unfinished puzzle.

"Can I join you?" he asked sheepishly, running his fingers down her spine. He lightly made circles with his fingertips at the small of her back, causing her to writhe against him. The entire time his eyes were still heavily lidded, only a tiny sliver of green was visible to Bella.

"Of course," she sighed in rapture. "But all we're doing is showering!" she added and Edward sighed in defeat.

"Party pooper," he teased, chuckling as he leaned down to place a small chaste kiss on her lips. Bella smiled into the kiss and he smiled right back.

"I love being able to wake up and do that," Edward commented and Bella nodded against his shoulder.

"Me too," she responded, placing a kiss of her own on Edward's mouth. "Now, come on. The sooner we shower, the sooner you can make me breakfast."

Edward scoffed loudly as Bella pulled away and stood up.

"Why do I have to be the one to cook?" Edward griped as he stretched and Bella watched mesmerized by the way the tight muscles stretched in his abdomen as he arched his back. It was baffling to her that she hadn't truly ever noticed how handsome Edward really was. Even with the severe case of bed head he was wearing, hair sticking out in every which direction, he looked adorable.

"What?" Edward asked as he stopped stretching, and Bella shrugged.

"Nothing."

"You were just staring at me. There had to be some reason for it," Edward argued and Bella shook her head.

"I just never actually noticed how sexy you are," she blushed and Edward smirked as he made his way to her. Once he reached her, he pulled her in close, slipping his hand under the thin camisole she had been wearing since he arrived the day before. Again, his hand found its way to Bella's spine and caused her to wriggle in his arms as he ran his fingers up and down.

"Well, I've always known that you were beautiful," he whispered lovingly as his free hand brushed her hair behind her ear. Bella bit at her lip as she looked up at Edward, and saw just how sincere he was being. There was nothing but adoration and pure honestly resonating in those beautiful green eyes.

"I love you, Bella Swan," he declared staring straight at her. The statement hit Bella like a ton of bricks. It was a firm affirmation, an honest confession, and her heart filled and burst all in one breath as she tippy-toed and connected with Edward in a searing kiss.

She pulled away, and smiled up at him, but quickly the smile faded away as she took in the somber expression on Edward's face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, pulling away from Edward to see the dejected manner his posture had suddenly taken.

"Nothing, Bells. I just, I heard some stuff at work the other day. I wonder when it will really take place."

Bella took in the way he wouldn't look directly at her and the way his shoulder were hunched forward. He was lying to her.

"You're lying. Why?" she asked, wondering why Edward would choose to lie to her instead of answering her question. He was never one to hide anything from her; he always let her know what was going on in his head. Whenever he was upset, he would tell her why. Whenever he was happy, he would tell her why. It was odd to have him flat out lie to her that way.

"Bella, it's nothing to worry about. I promise," he answered, smiling wistfully as he pulled Bella back into his arm by her waist. "Trust me, Bella. It's nothing to worry about."

"Okay, I believe you," she replied though she didn't. She knew something was wrong, but she would let Edward tell her on his own time.

"Good," he smiled brightly. "How 'bout that shower now?"

"Yes, shower…only shower," Bella stated, pointing her finger at him and Edward chuckled biting it gently and winking at her.

"Fine and maybe you should brush your teeth as well," he teased as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Behind her hand, a muffled, "Because you're one to talk", was uttered.

=x=

"You're an idiot!" Rosalie nearly shouted as she sat at the local diner with Bella during Bella's lunch hour. Rosalie was still on vacation for another month and a half before the school year started up once more. Bella had spent the first ten minutes of their lunch briefing Rosalie on everything that had happened the day before. No detail was left unshared, and now her best friend was verbally assaulting her for her idiocy.

"I know that, Rose. You don't have to shout at me. I just, I can't tell him. I know that's what's wrong. I know I should tell him, but I can't. You just don't understand. You have Emmett."

"Why can't you tell him you love him, Bella? You obviously do," Rosalie frustratingly stabbed at her salad as she talked to Bella.

"It's not that simple," Bella protested in a huff. She too was absentmindedly poking and prodding her salad.

"Of course it is, Bella," Rosalie argued. "You were the one who initiated the whole 'ending the game' conversation. You were the one who said you wanted more, and when Edward tells you he feels the same, you don't tell him? Bella, that's fucked up."

"Rose-"

"No, don't Rose me, Bella. Why?"

"I don't know, Rose, I really don't."

"The man gave you a fifteen hundred dollar diamond necklace Bella," Rosalie addressed and Bella nodded her head in shame, her fingers outlining the heart key around her chest.

"How could you not tell him? He gave you the key to his heart. How are you so dim?" Rosalie screeched at Bella, making her feel worse than before.

She had been in a semi-decent mood since last night. There was a bit of residual anger from Edward lying to her earlier in the morning but it wasn't enough to deter the smile on her face or the spring in her step as she left for work.

"It's just a necklace, Rosalie."

"It's not just a fucking necklace, Bella. How can you be so stupid and not see it for what it is? It's the key to his heart. He's in love with you."

"Rosalie, I've never really been in love, how do I know that I love him? All of my relationships have been failures. I can't afford to start something with Edward and have it end badly," she admitted and watched as Rosalie just barely held back the urge to fling her glass of water at her.

"You're a fucking idiot," she began as their waiter came around to clear their plates. He asked them if they wanted anything else to drink before he brought out their meals, but neither of the women at the table even acknowledged the young man. Eventually he took the hint and walked away to retrieve their meals.

"Rosalie, look at it from my perspective-" Bella began to defend herself, but Rosalie wouldn't have it.

"You told me that you loved him, that you were in love with him. How could you tell me, but not tell him?"

"I don't know, Rose!" Bella shouted, catching the attention of the entire restaurant. "I don't know," she lowered her voice this time as she repeated it.

"Bella, you can't string him along like that. You can't expect him to give you the world and you not give it back to him."

"What are you talking about Rose?" Bella asked bewilderedly as the waiter returned with their meals. He wore a scared expression as he lowered both plates gently and practically flew from the table.

"Edward has given you everything you asked for, and you couldn't even say it back," Rosalie argued, and Bella sat silently as she listened. "He gave you his heart and what did you do, you took it, placed it in your pocket, and walked away. You didn't give a piece of yourself to him. You didn't say it back, Bella. How could you do that to him?"

"Rosalie, it's not like I did it on purpose," Bella fired back. "I don't know what love is Rosalie. My father and I were never really all that close. My mother left us and every relationship I've ever had has ended before the concept of love could ever be brought up. How do I know what I'm feeling is love? What if what I'm feeling for Edward isn't love? What if I grow bored of what we have and want to leave? I can't do that Rose. I need to have him there. It's selfish, I know, but I need him."

"Bella, you told me, you've said it before," Rosalie exasperated pointed out. "How can it be that now, you don't know?"

"There's a difference between-" Bella began to say, but Rosalie interrupted her.

"Bullshit, Bella, bullshit! What the hell are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not good enough for him, Rose," Bella admitted, her voice warbling as she tried to control the tears that were beginning to well in her eyes.

"What kind of nonsense are you babbling?"

"Rose, he's a successful, good looking businessman. He's intelligent, he's witty and funny. He sincere, compassionate, and passionate. He could have any girl hanging from his arm. If he were to walk in here now, every single woman would turn their heads to look at him and be thinking the same thing. Is he married? Is he single? What's his name? And if he were to come in here and sit down by me, the first thing that every woman would be thinking is, What is her doing with her? He deserves better than Bella Swan, book editor."

"What a load of shit!" Rosalie exclaimed loudly, once again causing all the heads in the restaurant to turn in their direction. "You and Edward are soul mates. Two people have never fit together better than you two. You two have practically been married to each other for the last twenty years. Anyone would be blind not to see that. Fuck, a blind person could see it. You love him, Bella. You have to tell him."

"I…I…I-"

"No I's, Bella, and no buts. He's the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about at night. You see insignificant little things on the street and instantly you're reminded of him. Bella that's love. When every thought is consumed by that person, and all your senses long to feel, see, and smell that person, it's love Bella. That's what love is," Rosalie preached and Bella let the tears flow freely now as she let everything really set in.

She knew Rosalie was right, but there was still that doubt deep within that kept preventing her from admitting it. Her friendship with Edward had already changed, but if she were to admit it, to say it out loud to Edward, that would be the end. There would no longer be Edward and Bella, best friends of twenty years and beyond. They would be Edward and Bella, lovers with the potential of an end.

=x=

After her lunch with Rosalie, the rest of the day seemed to pass by quickly, yet at the same time parts of it seemed to drag on, especially the last hour. She tapped her foot furiously under her desk as she thought about getting home. She couldn't keep her mind focused on the novel in front of her, rereading the same paragraph three times before realizing that she had read it twice before.

When five o' clock finally hit, Bella sprung out of her chair and ran passed all her coworkers, waving and wishing them a half-assed good night; she couldn't care less if they had a good night or not.

It felt like forever before she was parking her car in the condominium's garage complex, noticing quickly that Edward's car was already there. She couldn't help the surge of happiness that ran through her, knowing that Edward was already upstairs.

Bella was unbelievably inpatient at the moment. The elevator couldn't come fast enough for her nor could it get up to the apartment fast enough.

She ran as fast as her heel covered feet allowed her to, which was just a series of pattering footsteps. She struggled with her purse as she tried finding her house keys, cursing her large purse. That's the problem with large purses, she thought as she searched. You can throw everything in there, but never find it when you need it.

Finally, she managed to open the door and found Edward walking around the living room in a pair of jeans and a flannel button down.

"Hey," she greeted him and he greeted her right back with a big smile and walked across to room to kiss her forehead.

"How was your day?" he asked as he held her in a hug.

"It was okay. Work was fine. I had lunch with Rosalie, which was a bit tough to get through."

"What? Why? What did Rosalie say?" he asked genuinely wondering why.

"Nothing I didn't already know," she replied and Edward nodded in understanding.

"That's good to hear. Now go change, I have a surprise for you."

"What do you mean?"

"You heard me. Go put on some jeans and a t-shirt."

"What are we doing?" she asked as she walked into her bedroom, Edward following her. Once inside, Edward sat on the bed and stretched out, across it, one arm resting beneath his head. The pose and the tiny sliver of skin that showed whenever he took a deep breath tantalized Bella.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Where are we going?" Bella asked as she removed her heels and slipped off her slacks. Edward watched from the bed as she threw on a pair of faded jeans.

"You'll see," he replied, smugly as he watched Bella unbutton her blouse.

"Seriously though, what are we doing? I'm really tired."

"You'll see," Edward answered again, this time a Zippo lighter flicking open and close in his right hand.

"Why do you have a lighter?" she asked as she stood in front of him, awaiting his next move.

"You'll see," he grinned as he grabbed her hand and walked them out of her bedroom.

"Edward, where the hell are we going?" she asked again as she watched Edward grab a backpack off the floor by the door.

"Up to the roof, I have a surprise for you."

Bella bit her lip to suppress a girlish squeal. No guy had ever set anything up for her before. No man had ever surprised her with anything. No man had ever bought her jewelry either. Edward was in a class all his own.

On the roof, Edward had a blanket spread out and two buckets there, one of them was filled with water.

"What is all this?" Bella asked, and Edward smiled as he sat down on the blanket, helping her sit down in the process.

"You'll see," he answered again, pulling a closed rectangle shaped Tupperware bowl from one of the buckets.

"Stop saying that," she protested and Edward chuckled, passing her the Tupperware bowl. Bella grabbed for the bowl skeptically and opened it finding odd colored sticks inside.

"What are these?" she asked and Edward smiled.

"Sparklers," he responded as he pulled one out and lit it. The tiny flames sparked about for a few brief seconds before dimming. Edward quickly threw the burning stick into one of the bucket.

"Are you serious?" Bella asked and Edward just chuckled lighting another one and dipping it into the water.

"We're celebrating," he announced and Bella just stared at him confused.

"What are we celebrating?"

"The end of our game," he answered pulling the hat out of the bag.

"What are you talking about? There are still twelve more letters to go."

"We don't need it anymore," he stated dropping the remaining pieces of paper into the empty bucket.

"Are you serious?" Bella asked as he pulled another one of the sparklers from the Tupperware container.

"Yeah," he said as he lit the small wooden firecracker.

"Wait!" Bella stopped him as he was set to drop the lighted party favor into the bucket.

"Why?"

"Are you sure about this, Edward?"

"Very," he affirmed once again dipping the waning sparkler down but Bella pulled it out of his hand and dipped it into one of the buckets with water.

"Bella?" he questioned and turned to face her.

"I…I think that we shouldn't be so quick to end the game."

"We don't need it anymore, Bella," he said, quietly and Bella nodded.

"I know we don't need it, but I think we need to end the game properly just to solidify it."

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes a dull green that was tearing Bella's heart apart.

"Two letters, we can pick them. We can look through all of those and decide. We'll play the game as it was supposed to be, on a Saturday, but it doesn't have to be exactly as it was."

"I'm still not following you, Bella," Edward complained.

"I want to show you, I need to show you, what I can't say," Bella answered and Edward finally understood what Bella was saying. Bella could almost see him figuring it out.

"I love you, Bella."

"I..I-" she stuttered but Edward stopped her.

"Okay, what letter do you want?" he asked, and though he seemed upset, Bella knew that Edward would be fine with the arrangement.

"I want the letter U," she answered, taking Edward by surprise.

"Why U?"

"You'll see," she teased, causing Edward to chuckle, and suddenly the tension that had been building up since the morning slowly began to dissipate. Bella knew it was only temporary, but she would take what she could get.

"And what letter do you want?" she asked and Edward smiled.

"The rest of them," he began and Bella scoffed while rolling her eyes. "But," he continued, "I'll take the letter X."

"X? Why would you want X?"

"You'll see," he responded causing Bella to roll her eyes again.

"Okay, so Saturday you'll go, and then next week I will," Bella stated and Edward shook his head.

"No, you go this Saturday, and I'll go next," he replied and Bella stared at him incredulously.

"Why?"

"Because if we're going to do this like before, I would have gotten the last letter."

Bella nodded her head and began looking through the letters and found the letter U but couldn't find the letter X.

"I can't find the letter X," she informed Edward, and he whistled and looked away.

"How long have you been hording the letter?"

"Since the beginning of the game," he confessed and Bella's mouth dropped open.

"You're a dirty cheat, Edward Cullen."

Edward shrugged his shoulders and placed all the unfolded pieces of paper back into the bucket and lit one of the sparklers on fire.

"Do you want to do the honors?" he asked, handing her the sparkler as she nodded. "Make a toast."

"Ummmm…" Bella struggled for something to say before it finally came to her.

"To the end of what we were and to the beginning of what we will become. To us," she said as she dropped the burning sparkler into the bucket. The sparks caught hold of one of the papers and set it ablaze, causing a domino effect with the rest.

"To us," Edward reappeared as he pulled Bella in for a kiss.

"I will wait to hear those words for as long as it takes," he whispered into her ear as he held her against his chest.

"I will, I promise. This is all new to me," she stated.

"I know Bella."

Bella turned and smiled up at Edward. Seeing him smile back, Bella pulled him down for another kiss, and just like the night before, the two lay embraced in each other's arms, just kissing, hoping and praying silently for the feeling to never end.