EPOV

Dear Mr. Cullen,

We would like to congratulate you on your acceptance to Dartmouth University . . . .

I stared at the paper in my hands, unsure of the course of my life for the first time. It had only been a month and a half since I had started dating Bella but I couldn't imagine being apart from her. We'd grown practically inseparable. The thought of moving to the other side of the country was not nearly as appealing as it once was.

It was irrational, even I knew that. Hell, I hadn't even asked Bella to officially be my girlfriend yet, let alone been serious enough to make this big of life altering decision. But I couldn't help it, I wanted to be with Bella.

I knew my parents would support me in whatever I chose to do, but it would definitely disappoint them if I didn't follow through with Dartmouth. Not to mention that my heart had been set on attending Dartmouth since I was in diapers.

I'd pulled up the University of Washington's website on my laptop and was glancing through the information on their medical program.

"Edward!" Esme yelled up the steps, then I heard a soft knock at my open bedroom door. "What time are you picking Bella up?"

I glanced at the clock on the wall, "I need to get going." Esme nodded and headed back down the stairs.

Shoving my acceptance letter into the desk drawer, I quickly threw my tux jacket on and grabbed Bella's corsage from my desk. I hadn't told anyone about Dartmouth yet. They all knew I'd applied, of course, but not the acceptance.

I was picking Bella up at her house for the Fork's High formal Christmas dance. Alice had gone over there hours ago so the two could get ready together. I couldn't help but smile, remembering Bella's reaction when I had invited her. I think it had taken quite a bit of convincing on Alice's part to get her to agree to come. Bella wasn't comfortable in formal attire and she was convinced my feet would be black and blue by the end of the night if I insisted she dance with me. I had to laugh at the thought of that sweet tiny innocent girl actually harming me, whether intentional or not. I couldn't wait to see her all dressed up.

BPOV

"Do you really think this is all necessary?" I asked Alice as she sprayed even more hairspray at me. She had spent the last three hours working on my hair and make up for our Winter Formal. I was seriously wavering on whether or not I wanted to go to this thing. I hated dressing up and I hated the idea of being in heels, but the idea of being in Edward's arms for any length of time was pretty appealing and the only thing that would make this night bearable.

"Of course it is," Alice replied, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "Don't you want to look stunning for Edward?"

I sighed, she had me there. Only Alice could make my plain looks as impressive as she did. She had my long brown locks half back with curls rolling down my back. She had given me natural looking make up that still managed to brighten my face up tremendously. The dress, well, the dress made me a little nervous. It was a shimmery dark blue satin that ran clear to the floor. It was held up with two thin spaghetti straps and clung to my curves in all the right places.

"Ali?" I asked tentatively, not sure I truly wanted to bring this up with Edward's sister, but she was my best friend and I needed to talk.

Apparently she heard the serious tone of my voice because she quickly came to sit next to me on the bed and put a comforting arm around my shoulders. "What is it B?"

I shrugged, trying to come up with the right words for my concerns. "Has . . Has Edward said anything to you about us?" Edward and I had grown so close over the past few months but I couldn't keep my insecurities from rearing their ugly head. I couldn't understand why perfect Edward Cullen would want to be with me. I had been doing good to keep my insecurities in check until the night before last. Edward and I had been curled up on his couch watching movies, which had basically turned into a make out session. In my Edward induced haze I had come so close to slipping and telling him I loved him. That thought scared me. Not the thought of loving him, I'd been in love with him for so long that it seemed like an integral part of who I was. No, what scared me was the thought of his reaction to my words. What if it scared him off? What if I was being too serious for him? It would destroy me if I lost him now, after finally getting to experience what it was like to be with him.

Alice's forehead scrunched, "What do you mean?"

I knew my voice was shaking when I continued, "Has he . . has he said . . . oh I don't know." I was frustrated and seriously letting my insecurities get the best of me. Why, oh why couldn't I just pull my jeans and hoodie back on.

Alice was the best possible best friend there was, but there was no way she was letting me out of this dress tonight. "B, Edward is absolutely crazy about you. He talks about you constantly and he's always daydreaming about you," she smiled, "That is, for the little amount of time you aren't actually together."

A little smile crept on my lips. I knew she was right, I was just being paranoid. It didn't help the fact that Edward and I had never talked about the specifics of our relationship. Of course we were dating, but my dad had asked one day if he was my boyfriend and I hadn't known how to answer. I would have done anything to be able to call Edward my boyfriend, but I didn't even know if he was ready for that yet. Was a month and a half long enough of dating to be an official couple? I thought so, but I was definitely no relationship expert.

It was only a few moments later when the doorbell rang, announcing Edward's arrival, with Jasper right behind him. They both looked gorgeous. Alice had, of course, picked out their outfits so that they went perfectly with our dresses.

"You look stunning," Edward breathed, pulling me close.

I couldn't stop the ear to ear smile from breaking across my face. "You look pretty good too, Cullen."

An hour later, Edward and I were twirling around on the dance floor. There wasn't any feeling better than being in Edward's arms.

We were dancing to 'When You Say Nothing At All', a hopelessly romantic song that I couldn't help getting lost in. For the moment I didn't even mind the high heels Alice had forced me in to. My arms were locked around Edward's neck, my hands occasionally running through his soft beautiful hair.

Edward's arms were around my waist, holding me tightly to him. I didn't even notice a flinch or grimace on any of the numerous occasions I stepped on his feet. Edward lifted his lips to my ear, his warm breath blowing on my skin. "I love you Bella," he whispered into my ear.

I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. I'm sure my eyes were wide as saucers when I pulled back to look at his face. He looked so sincere, with a hint of concern or maybe self-doubt. I grinned from ear to ear and tightened my arms around his neck, practically choking him. "I love you too Edward, so much!"

Edward's arms tightened around my waist and the next thing I knew he was swinging me around in a circle across the dance floor. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that," he said when he set me down.

I couldn't help but giggle at the ecstatic look on his face. I felt almost high I was so happy. "So does this mean I get to call you my boyfriend?"

Edward continued grinning at me, "I would be honored to be called your boyfriend."

Ten minutes later Edward was leading me back to our table. Alice was sitting in Jasper's lap, smiling and laughing with him.

"Ali," I started, unable to control my face splitting grin, my hand locked in Edward's.

"Yeah?" Alice responded, returning the smile and placing an arm over Jasper's shoulders so she could turn to partially face us.

"I just wanted to introduce you to my boyfriend, Edward." I told her, tilting my head towards her brother.

The squeal Alice let out was deafening. Even Jasper turned his head in an attempt to save his hearing. She quickly jumped out of his lap and was hugging Edward and I. "I knew it!" she continued to squeal. She turned on me then, "See, I told you there was nothing for you to worry about." She was still smiling and playfully poking me in the ribs.

Edward sent me a questioning look, but I just rolled my eyes at him.

A short while later, the boys went to get us all some drinks and left Alice and I alone for some girl talk.

"So how did he ask?" Alice demanded, grabbing hold of my arm, her enthusiasm not slowing in the slightest.

I sighed dreamily. "It was so sweet Alice," I started then continued to fill her in on the exchange between Edward and I.

Alice smiled at me, tilting her head thoughtfully, "You're happy?"

I nodded at her, "Absolutely."

One Week Later

BPOV

"Hey B," Edward started, getting up from his position at the kitchen table. He had been working on his English essay whie I had been cooking our dinner. He had offered to help, repeatedly, but I declined. I felt so at home and comfortable when I was working in the kitchen.

"Yeah," I responded, glancing at him over my shoulder as I continued to brown the hamburger.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He suddenly looked nervous, which in turn, made me nervous. "We need to talk."

My fingers tightened around the spatula I was holding. My mind was running a mile a minute, automatically going to the worst possible scenarios for why Edward would need to suddenly have a serious talk with me.

"Hey," Edward soothed, wrapping his arms around me and prying my fingers off of the spatula. I hadn't realized I was gripping it so tight that my knuckles were white and I almost bent the thin metal. Edward's arms around me helped calm me, but couldn't completely take away the nerves that were now plaguing my body. Edward glanced down at the hamburger, which was officially browned and moved it off of the burner, reaching around me to turn the stove off. He took my hand and led me to sit at the table.

Edward sighed, it almost looked like he didn't know how to tell me what he needed to.

I reached forward to keep hold of his hand. I just needed to be touching him. "You can tell me anything you know," I told him, trying to sound reassuring.

Edward took his free hand and reached into his back pocket, producing a very folded and worn sheet of paper. "I got this in the mail the other day," he said, holding it out to me.

I had to release his hand to hold the paper and be able to unfold it so that I could read it. It was an acceptance letter . . . to Dartmouth. Edward had gotten in.

"I'm so proud of you!" I yelled, jumping from the chair and locking my arms around his neck. It's a good thing his balance is so much better than mine because I about tipped us both onto the floor.

Edward's arms wound around me, holding me close as he buried his face in my hair.

After a few moments and my nerves calming down enough, I pulled back and playfully swatted Edward's arm. "You jerk! You don't say 'we need to talk' when it's good news. You about gave me a heart attack."

"I love you," Edward said, smiling at me. He turned thoughtful for a moment, then looked back at me, now firmly perched in his lap. "You sure this is good news?"

Was I sure? Of course. Edward had wanted to go to Dartmouth since he was in kindergarten. The fact that he had to choose a school that was clear across the country from me didn't sit very well, but this was his dream. And this was Edward. I'd wait for him forever. "Yeah, it's good news."

Edward pulled me tight against him again, "I don't know that I know anymore. I don't think I can give you up."

That stopped me short and I jerked back to look him in the eyes to see if he was serious. "What?"

Edward shrugged, trying to lighten the situation. "I was kind of thinking about going to U-Dub, staying a little closer to home."

"No." I stated emphatically. He got into Dartmouth – he was not giving that up. It was his dream.

His brows furrowed and he looked like he was desperately trying to figure out what I was thinking. I lifted a finger to his lips, "You have always wanted to go to Dartmouth – you are doing this," I paused, then brought up the part of his earlier statement that scared me. "Now, why do you think you would have to give me up?"

He sighed, his eyes darkening in color. "I can't ask you to wait for me while I go thousands of miles away to school. It wouldn't be fair to you."

I sighed, Edward was always so selfless. "Edward, do you want to still be tied down to this little town when you are off in New Hampshire?"

He knew what I was asking. "I always want to be with you, whether I'm in the same room or across the world."

"And why do you think I wouldn't feel the same about you? I want to be with you. No matter what. And I want to be able to support you and your dreams. You can go to school and I'll still be here for you when you're done."

Edward leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. "You'd do that for me?"

I smiled, pressing my lips more firmly against his. "Of course."

EPOV

Bella's response to my acceptance to Dartmouth was better than I could've ever expected. I didn't have to think twice about the idea of a long distance relationship. I'd do anything if it meant being with her.

Of course my parents were thrilled when we told them. Bella had come with me.

Alice had already announced that she planned to follow Jasper to Texas for school. It didn't hurt that Jasper was going to Texas A&M which also had a great design program, which was what Alice had always wanted to do.

I was starting to feel guilty that we were all going so far away from Bella. It wasn't like she was that much younger than us, Alice and I were born in June, while Bella was born in September. Unfortunately July 1 was the cut off for our class, which meant Bella would graduate a year after us.

Even Emmett was moving on. Rosalie had decided to go to school in Seattle and he was going with her. Actually, I have a feeling that Rosalie told Emmett he was going with her.

Bella did at least have her friend Angela, who was also a Junior. Unfortunately, everyone else Bella hung out with was going to be leaving Forks come August.

She insisted she was okay with it, but I knew she'd be lonely. I just didn't know any way around it.