A/N: Here it is, the last chapter of American Girl. Make sure you have me on author alert so that you know when the first chapters of 'American Boy' come online in the next few days. I know, original title. I suck at titles.

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews on the last chapter and please keep it up. I think I'm going to wait till I've reached 1,000 reviews before I post the new story. If that happens too fast though, you will all have to wait until I've done at least one chapter! LOL

I don't own twilight, but I do own a copy of Entertainment Weekly with the tiny story about New Moon.

EPOV

The next three weeks were boring at best. Class was winding down for the Christmas break and I was dreading it more than anything before, unless you count when I thought Bella was going to Northwestern and I was going to NYU. Bella and I had worked our way back to our normal routine of seeing each other on Wednesday nights and spending time together on the weekend, so I was at least happy about that. When Bella casually mentioned one night that she already had my Christmas gift, I was a bit nervous because I had been so wrapped up in her and school I had forgotten I needed to get something, so I called Alice for advice.

"I never talk to you anymore and you call me for gift ideas for your girlfriend I've met once?" she said angrily as I tried to soften her up by offering her anything she wanted for Christmas. "Nice try Edward, that's Jasper's department," she explained as I shuddered at the thought of my best friend and little sister together.

"Please Alice. I was going to ask Rosalie, but she would tell Bella that I was having trouble finding something for her. I just need something that doesn't need to be expensive, but something that says I love her," I explained to her while begging for her help. After a few more minutes of annoying the hell out of her, she finally relented and threw out a few suggestions.

"What about an iPod filled with her favorite songs?"

"She's got that already. Hell, I put most of them in there."

"What about something related to her major, art history right? You could get her some books about her favorite artists."

"Not going to work, she already has like a dozen books about every single one of her favorites. I thought about taking her to all the galleries and museums here in town, but she apparently went to two of them while I was back in Boston the week before thanksgiving.

"How meaningful do you want the gift to be?" asked Alice curiously as I leaned back on my bed and looked at the ceiling, as though it would give me the answers.

"Very."

"Since you guys aren't ready for marriage, what about one of those promise ring things? I think they're a bit cheesy, but Bella might like it. I think it sort of implies engagement, without the formality of an engagement ring," said Alice as I thanked her for her help. I was still unsure of what to do, but this was one of the better suggestions. While I spent my afternoon deep in thought, Jasper interrupted to see if I was interested in ordering a pizza with him, and I jumped at the chance to discuss my gift issue with him.

"What are you getting Alice for Christmas?" I asked while we sat on the couch, after he had already ordered dinner. He looked at me with trepidation, clearly not wanting to tell me.

"I can't tell you. Let's just say its better you don't know because you are her brother," he said calmly as I mocked puking beside the couch.

"Alright then. Let's say you were in my shoes and your girlfriend didn't pick out some kinky gift for you to get her, what would you get her?" I inquired curiously as he raised his eye brows at me.

"Okay, so pretending I was dating someone other than Alice, I would probably get them something meaningful to our relationship, but that would depend on the girl. If I wasn't getting Alice what she is forcing me to get her, I would probably get her a necklace with a charm on it that was special to our relationship," said Jasper confidently as he reached down and grabbed the remote to the Xbox and challenged me to a game of Tiger Woods Golf.

"I already got her a bracelet in Paris which I gave to her on our last night together in Europe. Alice suggested a promise ring, you know, as a promise of our future together," I said casually as we waited for the game to load.

"That might work. I don't think it would scare Bella off since I am sure she pictures forever with you anyways, but what do you want to give her for Christmas?"

"Me." I said quickly, before I even realized it. "I should give her me. I wonder if I can convince Mom and Dad to do Christmas on Christmas Eve and then fly out to spend Christmas with her?" I asked Jasper as he looked at me in disappointment.

"You finally get your parents to act like normal people and now you're going to ditch them on Christmas? How fair is that?" he said as we started the game and I turned my attention to it instead of my Christmas problem. Later that night, Bella called while I was getting ready for bed and she sounded upset, which made my heart sink into my chest.

"I'm heading back to Forks tomorrow. Charlie was in a bit of a fender bender while on duty and my mom needs my help. I'm only losing like three days of class and all my teachers are okay with it. I'm sorry we're going to miss our Christmas together," said Bella as she started to cry into the phone.

"Do you want me to come over? I know it's late, I just thought we could at least go to sleep together," I suggested, hopeful that she would say yes, but she didn't. I ended up spending the next half an hour reassuring her that I was fine with her going back home, even though I was saddened. "Charlie's health is a lot more important. We can exchange gifts when you get back before New Years."

"I love you Edward and I promise to call you every single day we're apart," she said sweetly as I heard her sniffling on the phone.

"I love you too and I won't get mad if you miss a day. Go home and help your mom take care of Charlie. Call me and let me know you got home safe though, okay?" Bella agreed and as we hung up the phone, I went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer, cracking it open and sitting on the couch beside Emmett.

"She dump your ass yet?" asked Emmett as I punched him on the shoulder.

"No. Her dad got in a car accident and she's heading back to Forks tomorrow morning." My head was hung low against my chest and Emmett immediately apologized for being an ass. "I didn't want her to go, but I still have no idea what to get her for Christmas. At least now I have an extra two weeks to decide on something."

"If it helps, Mom and Dad won't be around for Christmas so you don't need to buy for them either," said Emmett casually, but I looked up at him in complete shock as I took another sip of my beer. "I guess Alice didn't tell you. Grandpa Brandon is sick and Mom and Dad are leaving Sunday to go and see him for a few days. Dad couldn't get out of work any earlier and they won't be back until the 27th," he explained as my face fell and I was clearly upset to have been left out of the loop.

"That blows. Now what the hell am I going to do?"

BPOV

When I finally got off the plane in Port Angeles, I was pissed to discover Jacob holding a small placard that said 'Swan' on it, waiting for me. He was laughing easily once he saw my expression of both frustration and hate.

"Oh calm down Bella. It's a forty minute drive, that's it. Your mom couldn't leave Charlie by himself and everyone else was busy. I got home two days ago and she begged me to come and get you," said Jacob has he led me out towards Billy's old pickup truck.

"The moment Edward finds out about this he's probably going to come out here and kill you," I said with a laugh as I pictured Edward's reaction to the news that Jacob had to pick me up at the airport.

"Then don't tell him. He's way too possessive over you anyways," sighed Jacob as he tossed my bags into the back of the truck and climbed in beside me.

"Whatever," I retorted as I crossed my arms over my chest and stared out the window, wishing for the next forty minutes to be over as quickly as possible. Jacob kept staring between me and the road, which was making me very annoyed.

"So, since I've got you alone, I'm going to take this time to apologize," he said calmly as I looked over at him, feeling more frustrated with him than ever. "Edward's not here to beat me up for talking to you, so I'm taking my chance."

"Doesn't mean I won't beat the shit out of you when I get out the truck," I said firmly as he smiled at me genuinely.

"I missed the real Bella," Jacob said as he gripped the wheel and stared straight ahead. "I'm sorry I cut you out of my life when my mom died. It was stupid and selfish of me and I never once thought about how you would feel at us not being friends anymore. Things would have been different between us now." I looked back at him, not surprised that he was insinuating that we would be dating now had things been different.

"I don't think they would have been that different Jake. It's possible I might have dated you, but I know I would have wound up with Edward in the long run had I not met him in Europe," I said confidently. "He's the brother of my roommate's boyfriend, we would have been together regardless, it just would have started differently."

"Not necessarily. If we had dated, like I knew we would have, it would have been perfect and you wouldn't have gone to Columbia." Jake sounded so sure of himself, but I knew he was dead wrong. I would have gone to Columbia anyways because they had the best Art History program in the country.

"If I simply say that I accept your apology, can we move past this? I'm not with you, I'm with Edward and I plan to be with him for as long as he will have me," I replied confidently as Jacob pulled the car off to gravel shoulder and looked at me seriously.

"You're not marrying him are you?" he asked, sounding very concerned that I had done something far more serious than getting a tattoo with him.

"No, but one day I'm sure we'll do it. We've discussed it and neither of us is ready for that step. We've only been dating for six months, I'm a bit impetuous, but not stupid," I said with a laugh as he looked relieved and turned behind him to check the traffic before turning back onto the road.

"Okay, you've accepted my apology and I've accepted that your boyfriend is a douchebag, let's move on shall we?" joked Jacob as I punched him lightly on the shoulder. We chatted happily for the rest of the ride and he told me about Parsons and how much he loved the school and the big city. Our friendship was always an easy one when we were younger, but it was much more trouble to maintain now that we had grown up. When he pulled out front of our house, I offered up a small hug before I hopped out of the truck and grabbed my bag from the back. He waved slowly as I walked up to the porch, eager to see my parents.

Charlie was sitting in his old recliner with his leg in a huge green cast. It was a gigantic eyesore, and I could only imagine that my mother insisted it be green to match her Christmas decorations. "Hey Stranger," I said with a grim smile as I leaned down and hugged my father, after leaving my luggage by the door.

"Hey Kiddo. It's good to see you, I only wish it was a few days from now," he said with a smirk as I mussed up his salt and pepper hair and looked around for my mom. "She's working on laundry down in the basement," he said as he noticed me looking for Renee.

"So, what happened? Do I need to put a hit out on someone?" I asked with a laugh as my father frowned at me. Always the police officer, I thought with a smile.

"I was responding to call and some jackass missed a stop sign and hit the cruiser on the driver's side. Everyone said I was lucky that there was nothing more than a few broken ribs and a broken leg," said Charlie casually, clearly not too affected by the injuries. "Your mom has to work for the next three days so you get to play nursemaid for me. Care to start now? I could use a beer," he asked I stood from the couch beside him and went towards the kitchen.

"No Beer," my mom shouted as she walked in the living room carrying a big basket of laundry. "They mess with his prescription, so no beer." I looked down at my Dad and frowned because he had tried to trick me, but he just shrugged his shoulders and I realized that spending all this time alone with my mother would probably require me to have a drink or ten.

We ended up enjoying a quiet dinner in the living room with Charlie still perched in his chair. They both made small talk to me about school and they both apologized for having to send Jacob to come and get me at the airport, which I just brushed off. It wasn't important anymore. "What's Edward up to for Christmas?" asked Renee casually as I glanced over at Charlie, recalling what Edward had told me about asking for me to join him for the holidays in Boston.

"He's at home with his family," I said casually as I picked up all of our plates and went to the kitchen to start the dishes. After dinner, my mom gave me a list of all of the things I was supposed to keep away from Charlie, which was basically everything he liked. She had already made lunches for him and they were in the fridge and simply needed reheating, which was nice. I ended up going to bed early that night after I texted Edward to let him know I had arrived safely.

I'm home and it's painful. I miss you –B

It didn't take him long to respond to me, not that I thought it would. He seemed just as bored as I did and it was already after midnight there.

Can't sleep. Playing golf with Jasper. Tell Charlie I hope he feels better. I love you –E

I sent back a quick message telling him that I loved him too and curled up in bed, my pillow close to my chest as my heart ached to be away from him. The rest of the day I found it easier to think about him, but now as I lay alone in my old bedroom, I was pathetically sad without him.

When I woke up the next morning, it was snowing like crazy outside and my dad was on the phone in the living room talking to someone. "She's awake. I'll see you later in the week," was all I managed to decipher before he hung up the phone and wished me a good morning.

"What's so good about it?" I huffed as I strolled into the kitchen and grabbed myself a big cup of coffee. "Do you need anything right now?"

"A beer," he said with a laugh as I rolled my eyes and walked back into the living room, sitting on the couch and wrapping a blanket around me as I took a sip of my coffee, letting the warm liquid soothe my entire body. "So it looks like a white Christmas."

"Um, yeah," I said casually at my dad as he began flipping through various channels. The rest of the day went pretty much the same as the morning, with Charlie trying to convince me to give him things he wasn't allowed and then talking on the phone about random things. I gave up around noon trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about and headed outside to shovel the walkway and snowblow the driveway before Renee got home from work.

I called Edward shortly after dinner, but he seemed as normal as always. He was heading back to Boston tomorrow morning with Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie. He wasn't excited about the holidays, but insisted in pretending for the sake of his parents. I was about to mention the fact that Jacob had picked me up from the airport the day before, but decided against in. Instead, I told him how much I loved and missed him and promised to make it up to him when I was back in New York.

EPOV

The moment Emmett told me that my parents weren't even going to be around for the holidays, I knew what had to be done. I had to get to Forks to see Bella. I looked up flights online and found one that would get me to Port Angeles around 4 on Christmas Eve Day. It would be perfect, but I didn't want the expense of paying a cab to take me to Forks, so I called Charlie and told him my problem. Since he was laid up and unable to get me, he insisted he had someone who would be willing. I didn't feel overly comfortable about spending a forty minute drive to Forks with a stranger, but Charlie said he trusted the person implicitly, and that was enough for me. I was willing to do almost anything to see Bella on Christmas.

After I grabbed my bag from luggage claim, I walked towards the exit and stopped when I noticed Jacob standing outside with a little sign that said 'douchebag'. Had I actually liked this guy, I would have been laughing my ass off.

"Lucky me," I said with a forced smile as Jacob shrugged his shoulders and led me towards a beige pickup truck. I threw my bags in the back and hopped in beside him. "Thanks, I guess."

"No problem. I'm Charlie's limo service these days," he said with a confident laugh as I took in his words and realized he probably picked Bella up a few days ago.

"Well, thanks anyways."

"I would do anything for the Swans', they are practically family," he said as he glared at me before turning the truck on and pulling out of the parking lot. "I know she loves you, hell she's even mentioned marrying you; I just hope you don't break her heart."

I was kind of shocked at the words coming out of Jacob's mouth, but quickly assumed that if Bella was stuck in this truck with him for almost an hour, they probably had to talk about something, and I realized I wasn't mad about it. "I won't. I don't think I could live without her if I did."

Jacob just nodded his head as we turned out onto the two lane highway and headed off to Forks. He actually tried to pull me into various conversations, although I was not really proficient in any topics until he discussed his architecture classes at Parsons. I told him how my mother had gone there for the same program several years ago and had even designed our current home, which surprised him. "Yeah, it was before the marriage, so if you see Esme Brandon on anything, that's my mom."

"No shit," he said with a grin as he recounted one of his older teachers mentioning her in passing a few weeks ago. He seemed impressed with this newfound knowledge, but I knew it was just a piece of paper on the wall of her office now. She didn't do anything even remotely design related once us kids were born.

As we turned onto Bella's street, I found myself apologizing to Jacob for being an asshole to him in the past, and vice versa. We shook hands before I stepped out the car, reassuring him once again, that I would do nothing to hurt Bella. Once I grabbed my bag and looked up at her unassuming house, I smiled brightly, knowing that Bella was now only a few feet away from me. I climbed the steps of her porch eagerly and knocked on the door, peering into the glass to see who was coming for me.

As the door opened quickly, Bella stood there for a moment, but was looking towards the living room, not me. "Here's a twenty, no change needed," she said as she thrust the money towards me, clearly expecting some sort of delivery.

"All I'm worth is twenty dollars?" I said as I huffed at her indignantly and laughed when she turned towards me, her face covered in pure shock. "Merry Christmas."

"Holy Shit," she called out excitedly as Charlie chastised her from the living room and I smiled as she reached out and wrapped her hands around my neck, hugging me tightly to her. "What are you doing here?"

It took her a few minutes to step away from me, but when she did, she was still beaming with excitement. "My granddad got sick, so my Mom and Dad are visiting him for a few days. Emmett's with Rosalie's family and Alice is obviously with Jasper's, so here I am," I said as I shrugged my shoulders and she finally moved enough to let me into the house.

"Hey Edward," called Charlie from the living room, where I noticed him sitting in his recliner, a big green cast propped up on the ottoman.

"Thanks for the help Charlie," I replied as I grabbed my bag and dropped it on the floor beside the door, only to have Bella pick it up seconds later and pull me upstairs with her to her bedroom. Once we were upstairs, she shut the door behind us quietly and grabbed me to kiss me passionately.

"I have missed you," I replied as I felt her tongue snake out and run along my bottom lip. "I see you've missed me too."

"It is so boring here. I've been waiting on my Dad for almost a week, talk about painful," she said with a groan as she fell back onto her bed. I climbed up beside her on the tiny mattress and wrapped my arms around her, kissing her neck tenderly. "I'm still in complete shock that you are here."

"Well, thank my sick grandfather. I wanted to come and visit, but Jasper convinced me that since I had worked to put my family back together, it wouldn't make sense to drop Christmas with them so that I could be with you. Of course, when I found out my parents wouldn't be around for the holidays, I booked a flight out and made arrangements with Charlie to pick me up." Bella turned around and looked up at me with bright eyes.

"Who picked you up?" she inquired calmly as I smiled back at her the biggest grin I could muster.

"Jacob. I killed him before we got to the truck though, so he won't be a problem anymore," I laughed as she punched me in the shoulder playfully. "Okay, he's still living and I didn't touch him, unless the hand shake when he dropped me off counts. We made amends, I guess you could say," I explained as I pulled her closer to me.

"I guess Christmas miracles do happen," she said with a giggle as we snuggled in bed for another ten minutes until Renee showed up and quickly threw open the bedroom door.

"Door stays open when you two are in here together," she said with a smile as Bella and I both rolled our eyes at her before following her down the stairs when the pizza had finally arrived. Our dinner was comfortable, as we sat in the living room with Charlie, eating our Dominos and watching a Planet Earth marathon on the Discovery Channel. Renee was on her best behavior and I figured Charlie probably had words with her before I arrived in an effort to make this a good Christmas for Bella.

When we finally got ready for bed, it was almost midnight. We had been watching 'It's a Wonderful Life' with Charlie and Renee while snuggling on the couch and every time I looked over at Renee, I would catch her smiling at us. Apparently I was winning her over, even though I wasn't trying anything. As we curled up in her bed, I decided to give Bella her Christmas gift then, away from her parents.

"Yours is back in New York, since I thought I wouldn't see you for a few more days," she said with a frown as I pulled her hair back from her eyes and gently kissed her cheek.

"I don't care Bella. Being with you right now is gift enough for me. In fact, feel free to return whatever the hell you got me," I said firmly, knowing full well she couldn't afford anything extravagant for me for Christmas.

"I didn't buy you anything, I made something," she said shyly as I kissed her cheek again, surprised that she would go to such effort.

"Can you tell me what it is then? That would be my gift."

"I made you a scrapbook of our summer together," she said sweetly as I wrapped her tighter in my arms and kissed her passionately, my tongue practically down her throat. "It's got train tickets, small mementos, receipts for restaurants… all the cheesy shit."

"That is the best given anyone has ever told me they got me," I said with a laugh when I finally pulled away. "I guess my gift will suck in comparison."

"Okay, give it to me. I'm ready for it," Bella said with a smile as she held out her hands to me and I pulled a small box from her dresser. Her mouth immediately dropped open and I laughed as I reassured her. "It's not an engagement ring."

"I would still say yes, if it was," she said with a grin. "But I'm glad it's not." When she opened the box, she immediately thought I had been lying, because in front of her laid a ring, just not an engagement ring.

"If you don't like it, let me know. Alice gave me the idea, and I sort of ran with it," I said nervously as she pulled it from the box and looked it over. "If you don't want to wear it, it's okay. I have a chain you can put it on," I added as I pulled another small box from the table and handed it to her. She didn't open the second box though; she just stared at the ring I had given her. It was a simple platinum band with a small heart in the center, and a small sapphire inside of the heart. It didn't cost nearly as much as I had been willing to spend on Bella, but when I saw her begin to cry, I knew it had been the right choice.

"It's a promise ring right?" she asked through her tears and I simply nodded. "What finger do I put it on?"

"I think if you want it to symbolize a future engagement then it goes on the left ring finger but if you want it to mean something else, you put it wherever you want," I replied as I stared at her, while she tried to decide where to put it.

"Where do you want me to put it?"

"Wherever you want to Bella. No pressure remember? I'm not proposing… yet."

I watched as Bella slipped it on her left ring finger, just like I thought she would. She raised her hand up and examined the ring again as I smiled happily and let a long breath free. "Oh, I have a gift for us from my parents," I added nervously as I pulled out the small box Alice had given me this morning before I left.

I handed it to Bella and let her open it, after all it was addressed to both of us. She pulled on the ribbon which was crushed against the box from being in my suitcase and smiled at me, the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face. "Do you know what it is?" she inquired as she began to pull the wrapping paper free, only to leave a long, thin white box. I curled up closer to Bella, my head resting on her shoulder as she pulled the lid from the box and pulled out the contents.

"They're plane tickets," I said as she opened up the envelopes to reveal two tickets to Paris. "Holy hell."

"It's not just plane tickets Edward. It's another Eurorail pass, for each of us, and they expire a year from now," said Bella anxiously as she handed me the papers and I began to examine them closely. She was right. Direct flights from New York to Paris which expired in a year and a Eurorail pass with the same expiration.

"I guess I know what we're doing next summer," I said with a laugh as I looked over at Bella. "What's wrong? Now we can go to Switzerland, Ireland and Portugal like you wanted to. Perhaps we can even rent that boat again in Amsterdam and finally have sex on it," I said with a grin.

"I kind of wanted you to spend part of the summer here in Forks with me and I wanted to spend some of it in Boston with you," said Bella as she nuzzled closer to me, her breath hot against my neck.

"We can do that Bella. We don't need to spend two months in Europe. If you want, we can spend only a month there, and then two weeks together in Forks and two weeks together in Boston. Then we can find our own apartment together in New York," I added in, trying to test the waters of what she wanted to do next year.

"Okay, deal," said Bella confidently as we lay back down on the bed, her head against my chest and my fingers running gently through her hair. "Thank you for coming for Christmas."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else Bella," I said firmly as I leaned forward and kissed her temple gently as we tightened our grip on one another, knowing full well that both of us was planning to never let go.

A/N: I know, shitty ending. Think positive, the new story should be started in a few days. It will not be a continuation from this moment; it will be a few years into the future.