alrighty. YES.

you shall see. :D

R&R for more. trust me, you're gonna want the next chapter. :) i think the next chapter makes me happier than this one does, but they both just...aww. :D anyways, i have to tell you that i thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter. lots of it, really. :) it makes me sooooo happy.

R&R to read the next chapter, which makes me laugh. :D ha. hahaha. Ha. HA. :D

...not as much as my most recent ex's new girlfriend. XD ah, this is great. :) i wouldn't be such a bitch about it if he wasn't such a dick about our breakup. but he was, and now it's relieving.

ha.

anyways...you probably wanna read. XD so, here it is. :) R&R

23. Chemicals React: Aly & AJ

Realizing that he loved me cleared up a portion of the aching inside of me. I mean, I was over what Blade did, to an extent, but that didn't mean I was happy about it. Inside, I still cried every time something reminded me of it, and there were quite a few things that did. You wouldn't imagine how many things there were.

But I had a reason to go on now, a reason to be happy.

The weirdest thing happened this morning. I woke up with tears in my eyes and one rolling down my cheek. It was weird only because I was beginning to get to where I was okay. I knew, though, without even having to think about it that I had dreamed of Edward—possibly Blade again too.

As I got dressed for school the next morning, I went to a section of my closet—the biggest section—that I hadn't been in a long time. It was the clothes I always wore, the ones that were more me than anything else. Up until, well, today, I had no reason to dress up, no reason to look good. So, I just wore jeans, t-shirts, or sweats with old converse. It didn't matter that I looked like crap. Hell, most of the time, I didn't even bother messing with my hair. I didn't even bother putting it up in a ponytail. Sure, I brushed it—of course I took daily showers—but I didn't bother making it look good.

Until today.

I found myself getting up early, six o'clock to be exact, and plugging in my straightening iron. I found myself picking out something completely and one hundred percent me.

Yeah, it was a dress, but it was something different; actually something new.

I decided to wear a strapless, short dress. It came to about the same place my prom dress did, but it was ice blue instead. It was made out of a satin material with a complete mesh layer on top. It was tight, for the torso part, and from the bottom of the torso part until the bottom of the skirt, which came about four inches above my knee, it was rather loose and almost like a tutu skirt; it wasn't that poufy, though. It was really kickass, if you ask me.

To go with it, I had my solid black fedora; a pair of black and ice blue striped fingerless gloves, the kind that came to the crease in my elbow; and my newer black and white ankle converse—or the converse that I could wear with my boot. Auggie seemed to sense my brighter, optimistic mood, because her tail was wagging uncontrollably.

Before I even started with the makeup and my hair, I looked in the mirror at my reflection. I saw a new girl, but she wasn't really new. In reality, she was a sad version of the old me—scarred but healing. I could see that sparkle in my eyes again; the glowing, bright luminance they shone. My skin wasn't so dead looking anymore, and that smile I put on no longer looked faked.

I looked like a human being again, something I knew Charlie would love.

Of course, I straightened my hair and then put on my fedora. I also put on ice blue shimmery eye shadow, black mascara that made my eyelashes look much longer and fuller than before, and shimmery charcoal eyeliner.

My eyes popped.

The difference in skin color on my arm wasn't really noticeable, simply because the rest of my skin had gotten lighter too. Unless I pointed it out or thought about it, it was the same color. But, if pointed out, you could slightly tell.

While I waited on Alice, I decided to paint my fingernails black. No; I'm not emo or gothic just because I paint my fingernails black. It looks cool, okay? Back off.

Right about the time I got them done, I heard the Volvo horn honk from outside.

"Alice is here!"

I couldn't help but smile a little at the timing and the fact that Bella called her Alice. Alice tells me over and over again that she and Bella will be best friends one day, and I can see it; unlike Rosalie and me. The point is, Bella can actually tolerate Alice, and slightly Emmett, but that's only sometimes. Others, she hates him just like the rest of my family.

Oh well. She can go fuck a spider for all I care.

When I walked downstairs, Bella and Charlie were sitting at the table eating breakfast. Instead of skipping breakfast, like usual, I grabbed a banana off of the counter. They were both gawking at me the entire time I was in their sight.

Charlie was the first to say something, but that didn't occur until I was at the door opening it. "Mayze! You're . . . you . . . ."

I smiled. "He'll be back soon, Dad, because he loves me."

That was all I had to say, though, because he grinned at me. Bella just rolled her eyes, grabbed her bowl of cereal, slammed it in the sink, and stomped her way upstairs.

Alice was squealing when I got in the Volvo and shut the door. "You look . . . Mayze! You're beautiful! Oh my gosh! This is amazing! You could've done without the gloves, the fedora, and the converse, but . . . ah! It's you, Mayze! You're back!"

I laughed. "Alice, he's coming back for me soon. When? I don't know. But, he will be back sometime."

She sighed. "I can't see when either, which bothers me, but he is in the future. Our future is set. Now, he just needs to hurry and get his ass back!"

I smiled brightly and nodded. "Agreed."

The lunch table was the normal. When I had arrived, everyone freaked out. Bella was pissed off, all day long, but I didn't care. I was me again, and if she's really mad about that, that's her problem.

I was about to scream. Why? Well, remember me saying that the lunch table was normal? That meant it had the normal people, and those normal people were freaking because of the dress. According to Alice, it was because I looked more beautiful than ever before, and they couldn't help themselves.

So what were they doing?

Hitting on me!

The worst part was the fact that there were four of them hitting on me—Mike, Tyler, Eric, and Chase, one of the new guys—and they were all taking different approaches. Mike was being cheesy and corny, Eric was being straightforward, Tyler was being a pig, and Chase was trying to make me laugh.

Ugh!

"What would you give me if I agreed to sleep with you?" Tyler started, and my eyes widened in absolute horror.

"Agreed?" I snorted. "Do you really think I'll ask? No, don't answer that. I'll answer it for you—I won't."

Chase rolled his eyes at Tyler but gave me a flirty smile. "Did you know that they say that men with the biggest dicks have the smallest mouths?"

I pretended to play along and leaned in close, lips tight. "Well, I could park a car in your mouth, so that doesn't really give you a good outlook."

"It's not size that matters," he reminded me, working quickly with what I had tried to do—hit him below the belt. "It's what you do with it."

"I bet you're real good at making it invisible to the naked eye," I said in a sarcastic agreement tone. Then, I rolled my eyes. "Guys, can you please just—?"

"Look, Mayze, I don't expect to have sex with you on our first date," Eric interrupted quickly, and I just began grinding my teeth together in frustration. "I'm quite restrained."

"Yeah?" I asked tightly. "I'm even more restrained. I don't expect to have a first date with you."

And that was when he gave up, leaving three more to go.

"You look like you've never done it in a water bed," Tyler tried again in his alluring voice, mouth close enough to my ear that he actually bit it a little.

I leaned away from him, scowling bitterly. "Yeah, well, you look like you've never done it."

He laughed seductively, shrugging. "Oh, trust me, baby. I've done it many times. I can give it to you real good."

My eyes got dark as I looked back to him. "Call me baby one more time, and you won't be giving it to anyone."

Chase scoffed. "Tyler, stop being an obnoxious ass. Look, Mayze, I just want to know. Have you ever done it with a real man?"

My eyes got bright, loving the easy route he gave me quite a lot, and I smiled in my own seductive way as I leaned closer to him. "No. Why? Have you?"

He laughed a little and shook his head. "No, babe. I'm completely straight." He cocked an eyebrow at me. "What? Edward not man enough to screw you?"

"He's man enough to wait until I'm damn ready," I said simply. "Man enough to take no as an answer. Seriously, guys, I—"

"Mayze, let's cut the crap and get down to business," Tyler interrupted, and I began to stand up. "Wait! I have a condom with your name written on it."

I shook my head. "No, Tyler, I think you're mistaken. My name is Mayze, not Trojan Extra Small."

Alice made her way over to me quickly, eyeing each guy with a dark glare. "Any problems, sis?"

"Nothing I can't handle," I said firmly, giving her a tiny smile. "Trust me, Alice. I'm fine."

She smirked a little, still eyeing the guys around me. "I'm not worried about you. I'm more worried about them. When he gets back . . . ."

The guys didn't even seem phased, and Alice just shrugged. The two of us sat back down, and Mike was nice enough to give her his seat and scoot over one. I was surprised how quiet he was—probably thinking of a way to go so that I couldn't put him down too.

"I want to be really dirty with you," Tyler moaned. "Come on, Mayze. You can't torment us like you have from the day you first graced us with your beauty and then not even try dating us."

Alice rolled her eyes. "You guys are disgusting. I wouldn't try you either."

"Agreed," Angela, who sat down on the other side of Alice, groaned. "Will you guys just give it a rest?"

Chase shook his head firmly. "When someone is as beautiful as Mayze, when someone grabs your heart as firmly as Mayze has grabbed my heart, you can't just 'give it a rest,' Angela."

She snorted. "Yeah, which in translation means you're ticked because you can't bang her, and every other girl you've come across that you wanted let you. Alright. Cool story, bro."

Tyler tried another route, and he leaned in really close. "You know, underneath these clothes, I'm completely naked."

With a devious gleam in my eyes, I leaned over to whisper in his ear in the most seductive voice I could manage with him. "Prove it." After pausing a few seconds and getting him excited, I leaned away and rolled my eyes. "To someone else who actually gives a damn."

"Mayze, it is great to have you back," Mike finally spoke up, probably realizing I was about to go insane and kill the two still trying. He was smiling at me, and I could see true sincerity in his eyes as he looked at my face. "So, what do you think? Movie tonight? Dinner? I'll pay."

I laughed and shook my head, loving the sex-free route he took a lot but not enough to change my mind. "Mike, honestly, I'm flattered that you just keep trying, but he's coming back for me, okay? I know that now, with a million and seventy-four percent certainty. I don't know when, but he'll be back; probably a month. But, I'm sorry, Mike. I can't. I'm in love with Edward."

"It really is nice to have you back," Angela said kindly, saving me from the other two and breaking the awkward tension going on. "You look really gorgeous today, Mayze. You always have, but when you try, it's amazing how much more beautiful you are."

I smiled. "Thanks, Angela. You really are beautiful too."

Mike frowned at me. "Mayze, I would go to the end of the world for you."

For a second, I just gave him a strange look, staring at him as if he had lost his mind. He had to have, to say that. But, I decided to pretend it was a joke and say, "Yes, but would you stay there?"

He shook his head. "I'm serious, Mayze."

"And I'm serious when I ask you to just leave me alone," I said firmly. "If you really care as much about me as you say you do, you'll back off."

"I care too much about you to stop trying."

"Edward has my heart," I said simply, shrugging. "I don't know why you don't understand that. I can't love anyone else. I've tried, Mike, but I can't. I love him."

Angela gasped beside me, breaking up this awkward conversation again. "Speaking of Edward . . . ."

"Edward!" Alice squealed beside me, jumping up and basically dancing towards the lunchroom door.

I was frozen in shock, but my eyes followed Alice's path to see him standing there, not looking at anyone but me. He hugged her, but that's not what he wanted to do. Anyone could see that, and I'm sure Alice could tell. She, while she was very important to him, wasn't his main concern right now.

My mind didn't comprehend it as I stood up, but when Alice let him go and gestured for me to come over there, I was standing and looking at him; taking in his appearance carefully as if to never miss a single detail.

His perfect face was shocking, but not even for a whole second. It was dimmed by my dreams and memories, like I had figured it would be. Seeing it again made me want to cry all over again, but I didn't. Crying just wasn't an option right now.

He was panting, as if there was something wrong. Well, it wasn't really like there was anything wrong. It was sorta like I was doing right now. It was all I seemed to be able to do, actually.

The lunchroom was completely silent as I gazed at him and calculated everything. My heart was back—full beating, fully healed. He was back, forever, where he would stay. I hadn't read him wrong, and all along, deep down, I knew. As we stood here, looking at each other with the most passionate, loving looks we had ever shared, it was as if he had never left, as if he had been here the whole time. It was like all that pain I had felt was just a nightmare that seemed to never end. But, he was here now, and it was finally over.

It was super hard to do, but I managed to take a step away from him. The movement was so slight, but he saw it. Bella saw it and felt false hope. Alice saw it and was utterly confused.

I was the first to speak, but I was a little nervous because everyone was listening and watching. I had to be careful what I said.

"You said you loved me," I whispered, eyes tightening a little as I looked him right in the eyes. "But then you left, just like you promised you wouldn't."

"I . . . ." He hesitated, and in this hesitation, I saw pain and raw agony, the things I had felt for so long. It wasn't what I wanted to do, though, so instead of listening to whatever he wanted to say, I ran out of the lunchroom.

I knew he would follow—I knew. I also knew what I was gonna do when he did.

He was out in the hallway with me before I even had time to turn around, and now, we were alone. Now, everything was private, and I could do whatever I wanted.

Then, I was running over to him and throwing my arms around him, which surprised him. He fell back a little in surprise, but he was hugging me all over again.

I was still panting as I pulled back away from him and looked up at him, only to find him looking at me now with a curious, confused look. But, nonetheless, he gently cradled my face in his hands and leaned in to kiss me.

Well, he tried to kiss me anyways. I pulled away from him, which was the hardest thing I had ever done—it seemed anyways. I needed to breathe, though, and I had to get myself under control before he did that.

He was so confused, to the point he just gazed brokenly at me. He was looking deeply into my eyes, though, as if they held a treasure he had been searching for a long time. "Do you still have it in you, somewhere, to love me?"

I was gaping at him now, completely thrown off by his question. Did . . . he just . . . I swear! It's like what I told him before he left just went in one ear and out the other! And, I thought Seth had kept him updated!

"Of course I do!" I exclaimed, giving him a hard, icy look as I glared up at him. "You can't change that. Nothin' you ever do will, so don't even bother trying."

And then, in that moment, my favorite smile spread across his lips. It made my heart gallop wildly in my chest to finally see it again, shining brighter than I ever remembered. It shocked me.

"That's all I wanted to hear," he breathed before his lips met mine, making Alice squeal with excitement. This kiss was more eager, more determined and passionate, than I ever remembered. It was so much easier than I could've ever imagined; letting him back into my life again, that is.

"Hey!" Alice exclaimed, making us both pull apart quickly and look over at her standing in the doorway behind us. She wasn't looking at us, though. It was more like she was glaring at the student body trying to gather around the doorway. "There's nothing to see here that's any of your business! Go on. Keep talking and socializing and eating. Leave the two be. Go. Shoo, shoo."

Edward let out a soft, breathless laugh. "Mayzie . . . ."

I smiled up at him as my eyes started filling up with tears. I struggled against them, though. "Edward."

His fingers softly rubbed my cheeks, making my heart speed up even more than normal with his touch. He, of course, grinned at me. "I love you."

Those were the words I longed to hear, the words I had to hear. They had been missing so long, it seemed, but they were back. He was back in my arms again.

"I love you too."

He pulled something out of his pocket, a little velvet box. When my eyes shot wide open, he laughed. "Don't worry, Mayze. I'm not asking you to marry me yet. This is something to say . . . I promise you I will never leave you. I promise to love you forever and ever. You're my Mayzie, and I can't let you go anymore." He opened the box to reveal the most gorgeous ring I've ever laid eyes on. It was white gold, but it had a blue topaz oval diamond in the middle with two small tourmaline diamond circles beside it. The actual ring was unique, in itself, because there were unique, very beautiful designs shaped into it.

I stared up at him in awe as he put the ring on my finger. "I love you too."

"I know," he whispered, putting the box back in his pocket. "As much as I hate saying this, I really have to go Mayze."

"No," I breathed quickly, aware my heart stopped in my chest and my arms instinctively tightened around him.

He hugged me securely against him, our bodies intertwining perfectly; as usual. Now, though, we seemed to fit even more perfectly together than we did before, because I had finished growing.

"I'm not leaving you, Mayze. You have to believe that," he whispered, his voice low and full of pain.

"I do."

He smiled and kissed my forehead softly. "Then know I'll be at home seeing my family. You better believe that I'll be here to get you after school. I'll be back at school on Monday, okay, baby girl?"

I bit my lip to hide my smile. "Baby girl?"

"You're so much more to me than you are to them," he murmured lovingly, stroking my cheeks softly for a second. "So you're my baby girl—only mine."

I nodded. "Forever."

He looked down at me, spun me around, and continued to smile my smile at me. "I picked a good day to come back."

"Any day was a good day to come back," I reminded him.

"Touché."

He had to force himself out the school doors, which was clearly extremely hard. I could tell, but it was also hard to watch him leave. But, he managed to do it, and he made his way to the woods, where he must've taken off running.

Alice walked with her arm locked in mine back to the lunchroom and over to our table, beaming. "I told you!"

I rolled my eyes but laughed. "Yeah, Alice, you did."

"Lemme see it," she insisted, grabbing my hand and glancing at the ring. "Damn. He goes all out for a promise ring."

"Yeah," I muttered. "Which terrifies me. If this is the promise ring, what's the engagement ring gonna look like?"

To me, it looked like she was checking to see, because she had that glazed over look in her eye that she always got when she was having a vision. When she was back to reality, she hugged me again before sitting back down.

"It's gorgeous, Mayze."