Wow! I am amazed with myself- I have posted two days in a row and kept up with my school work! That is a testament to how much emotion can encourage writing- to explain Robert Pattinson was in Philadelphia today and I was supposed to go and get an autograph, but my mom wouldn't let me skip school and all the tickets were sold out before 7 am in the morning. I totally wanted to cry, but he was on a radio station, so that was at least something! Anyway I forgot to thank you guys last chapter, and wanted to say thank you now. And since I was trying to get this up, I didn't respond to every review yet, but I haven't forgotten you, I am going to respond once this is posted. Show some thanks for two chapters in as many days with a little r and r-ing please!

Thanks as always to Nancy!

Meg

Edward Pov:

She stepped up to the mat looking nervous, but her expression quickly became focused. I found myself unconsciously leaning forward on the edge of my seat. She saluted and with no other prelude or indication of action, she flipped her body through the air. I felt my heart jump into my throat as her head came too close to the balance beam for comfort. It was so close that I could just imagine the faint thwapp that her ponytail made as the end of it hit the beam. I had barely recovered from that heart attack when it looked as though she would miss the beam altogether. At the absolute last second however, her hands flicked out impossibly fast to catch herself. It seemed impossible that she would be able to control the trick against gravity and keep the momentum of her flip from pulling her body from the beam, but somehow her legs pulled themselves parallel to her waist. Then she had pulled her left arm from the beam and swung the left leg under it, balancing herself in a perfect handstand. It seemed she had hardly paused before flipping backward onto the edge of the beam. It was all completed flawlessly in a matter of seconds and each moved flowed into the next making what she accomplished that much harder.

The seemingly impossible combination was somehow brought together in a disconcertingly graceful, artistic way. I was in awe, and I wasn't the only one.

"Wow!" I heard the announcer exclaim. "I have never seen a mount like that one before! Completely original and darn near impossible to perform especially in combination like that!"

"I don't think anyone has seen a mount like that before, Carl!" The second announcer joined in. "That was amazing. I don't think most gymnasts would even attempt those moves on a beam, let alone in combination! I wouldn't be surprised if what we just saw is named after her."

"Beautiful! Look at that, a back handspring step out, back layout step out, back layout combo. She barely has any beam left. I can't even imagine how much concentration and power it takes to perform those on a beam that is only four inches wide and five meters long!"

I held perfectly still as Bella landed with no beam left behind her! Her foot was actually on the edge, but it didn't seem to throw her at all. She just flipped forward on one leg and extended her other leg in what I thought was a scale.

"This routine is equal parts tradition and innovation, Leanne, and all parts infeasibility. She just perfected a Liukin, a move that maybe only three gymnasts in the world can execute, one being the gymnast who brought us this move all around gold medallist in the 2008 Olympics, Nastia Liukin. I wonder if this is any indication that she will follow in her footsteps, or will it be Alice Cullen, her roommate and teammate of these games who takes the gold?"

I watched as Bella completely bent backwards, her hand touching the beam behind her ankle as easily as a normal person bends forward to pick something up.

"That is a tough call, Carl. It could go either way, in a repeat of the dream team of the 2008 games, Nastia and Shawn Johnson. It has even been reported that Cullen and Swan have adopted the one, two, gold, silver philosophy of their predecessors…. Oh look at that beautiful full complete turn on toe, straight into a one leg, 3/2 turn with forward arabesque at horizontal. A split jump into a double stag ring jump. Not even a single balance check or mistake so far. This is INCREDIBLE!"

I now had a new appreciation of what Esme and Carlisle experienced when they watched me compete, and I had to resist the urge to hide my face like Renee was doing. It was one thing to be competing under Olympic standards, but a completely different thing to watch someone that you cared about do it and not be able to help. I always felt nervous for Alice when she competed, but this was something different. It was like my dreams were connected to hers in that minute, my hopes tied to hers as she pulled the weight for us both. I was on the edge of my seat, tensing every time she threw a trick that should have dumped her on the ground, but instead she alighted on the beam like she had 40 feet instead of just four inches to land them. It was as though she had wings. There was a look of pure concentration on her face, but it was also one of peace. The same peace that I felt when I was swimming and nothing could touch me; she was at home.

"I don't think I have ever seen anything like this Leanne! You are right, I have not seen a single mistake so far. This routine is the epitome of perfection; if she keeps this level of perfection at this degree of difficulty, she will sweep the gold! Gorgeous side semi, and there is some of her renowned ballet moves. I don't think I have ever seen a gymnast with this amazing combination of grace and power! It is very unusual to see a gymnast change her routine like this, especially in such a high level competition once they reach security in a routine they might use it for months. But she has changed both her bars and beam routine in the course of these Olympics, and with her it seems the way to go- perfection!"

"Me neither, Carl, did you know the reason she uses ballet moves like those demi jetes's are because she was originally a serious ballet dancer…. Oh there is the bell signaling her ten second warning. If she can nail this landing…. Back layout 1/1- she is just throwing out some of the hardest tricks without any effort at all it seems…..WOW! She just threw an Arabian double tuck- that is one of the hardest dismounts out there and is rarely completed or even attempted and it has never been connected to a 1/1 back layout…. Can she stick it?!"

I was frozen, as still as a statue. I knew that this was one of the hardest moves out there and almost impossible to stick…. I couldn't tear my eyes from her as she flipped and time seemed to slow until it seemed as though it had almost stopped. She flipped three times, her legs to her chest, muscles contracted in strain….

She hit the mat and you could have heard a pin drop in the stadium- everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Her body contracted, struggling to stick it and stay on her feet. Her torso seemed to be leaning to the left, the rest of her body was following it. I could see the strain as she fought to keep from losing balance….

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Bella Pov:

Time regained itself and if anything seemed to speed up. Gravity took hold of my body and I began to lose my balance. I fought for control with everything that I had, hoping it was enough.

Edward's face flashed across my vision, and I pulled up a hidden reserve of strength that I didn't know I had. My feet seemed to glue themselves to the mat and I centered my body weight. My body froze in place and I straightened up, throwing my arms up victoriously in the salute, as I stuck the perfect landing of the most perfect routine of my life.

It was so silent as I became aware again of my surroundings, and the crowds, gymnasts and coaches were silent with shock. As I began to worry about my routine, wondering if somehow I had made a huge error that I didn't realize. I looked down to make sure I was in line with the beam and looked straight back up as a deafening sound reached my ears.

It took a second to realize that it was cheering. I saw Bela, Carlisle, Esme and Alice waiting for me at the edge of the mat. I practically ran over to them and the second I was out of the competition space, I was bombarded by hugs. Alice was screaming nonsensical things that I couldn't make out, Bela was shouting 'you are a champion, my dear' Carlisle was saying how proud he was of me and Esme was sobbing happily. It took a little while for me to realize that the crowd surrounding me was composed of more than just my party- it was interspersed with other gymnasts, such as Molly from Great Britain.

I felt a little faint, realizing that I hadn't been breathing and Carlisle shepherded everyone back a little so I could breathe.

I heard the announcers babble in the background as I waited for my score.

"That is one of the best routines I have EVER seen! She should get a perfect score or very close for that routine. It will go down in the histories books, and gymnasts will be talking about it and trying to emulate it for years to come! This has to have won her the gold and…. Here comes her score….."

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Edward Pov:

I released a breath that I didn't know I was holding as she stuck her landing.

There was a moment of shocked silence before cheers at an ear busting decibel split the air.

"I don't believe it, she stuck it!" the announcer shouted, as I rose with the crowd, screaming at the top of my lungs.

Renee seemed to be having a heart attack in her seat.

"That is one of the best routines I have EVER seen! She should get a perfect score or very close for that routine. It will go down in the history books and gymnasts will be talking about it and trying to emulate it for years to come! This has had to have won her the gold and…. Here comes her score….."

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Bella Pov:

I felt my heart stop beating for a second as my score came up. 17.25! I was in shock. People were shouting cheering, and congratulating me, but I was unable to comprehend it all.

"17.25! That is the highest score in these games, and the highest score since the new system was introduced, barely beating Nastia Liukin's 17.1 on the uneven bars back in 2008! WE ARE LOOKING AT THE NEW OLYMPIC ALL-AROUND GOLD MEDALLIST; ISABELLA SWAN OF THE UNITED STATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The announcer shouted over the roar of the crowd.

I was buffeted back onto the mat by Bela Karolyi to wave at the crowd. It was AMAZING! I still couldn't quite grasp it, but then the crowd started chanting my name. Time stopped for me for the second time tonight as I saw one face standing out of the crowd. I threw him a kiss and smiled when he returned it. I became confused however, when he turned and left the stands. I didn't have time to fathom his actions however as I was pulled back into the world of my dreams come true.