Hey guys. Yeah, I'm sorry I've been kinda dead. I've been really stressed out. After my theory exam, I had a school exam and two weeks later we had our finals. Yeah. It's been really tough. So now, I have about 3 months of nothing to do and I'll try to update best as I can.

I'd also like to thank all of you for your supportive and encouraging reviews. I swear, you guys are like protein bars which keep me going! Yeah, weird interpretation but that's just me --shrugs--

The song 'Innocence' by Avril Lavigne somehow suits well with this chapter. How Edward appreciates everything around him. Enjoy :)

So without further ado, here's chapter 22.

Disclaimer: -someone pokes me with a stick- You dead?

If I said yes, will you give me the rights to Twilight?

Hahahahahahahaha. No.


Its been a year now. And I couldn't be any more in love with Bella. She was just so wonderful. I loved everything about her - they way she was nice and non-judgemental to anyone, they way she would smile to anyone or anything or even the way she was just so innocent to those around her. I only had eyes for Bella. Any other girl besides her dulled completely in comparison to Bella. It was like they were a blur; and the only clear thing in my life was Bella.

As cliche as it sounds, my life had been a black and white film before I met her. She colored my world, gave me feelings I never knew I would feel. When she smiled at me, my heart melted. But when I heard the words 'I love you' come out of her mouth, I felt myself crumble. It was my weak point. I loved it. I loved her.

To describe how much I loved her seemed to be impossible. It just felt so overwhelming, like my heart was going to combust spontaneously. The way I felt about her couldn't be put in words, it was just this feeling which made me feel like I was on top of the world, like nothing God did would be able to bring me down. She did all of that.

And she was beautiful. Boy, was she beautiful. I may seem bios, but it is true. Sometimes I felt like keeping her locked away in my room, shielding her from the eyes and perverted glances of other men. Besides that, she was oblivious to it all. I had never truly understood jealousy until now. When I saw any man besides those of my family talk to her, I just felt kicking them in the gut and just snatching her away from them.

And there she was, sitting on the swing outside, her nose in her book. The sun's soft light radiated off her skin, making her glow in the middle of Esme's greensward garden. The evening breeze gently blew by her, ruffling her silky brown hair. The colorful flowers beside her looked pale with her in the middle of it all. She looked more delicate than all the flowers combined. I must have looked like an idiot, standing there with two cups of hot chocolate in my hands, a goofy grin plastered on my face.

Finally noticing my presence, she looked up from her book. When her chocolate eyes connected with mine, I was immediately winded. I could never get used to the depth of her beautiful eyes. I smile slowly spread across her lips as she stared at me. I made my way towards her and sat on the swing beside hers.

"Hey," I passed her her cup. "What're you reading?"

She shrugged. "Same old, same old..." she trailed off. I noticed she was reading her old, tattered copy of 'Wuthering Heights'. She put up such a fit when I tried to cajole her into buying a newer and more intact version. I shook my head, the girl could be so stubborn sometimes - but it was one of the reasons I loved her.

"Hey, so the guys were thinking of taking you girls to the beach. What do you say? You've been working pretty hard lately and I think its time for you to relax and let loose a little," I tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry about that. I just feel so useless compared to everyone here, you know? I know nothing about the world and its like I can't do anything but be a pretty face," she sighed and started taking interest in her feet.

"Bella, you're beautiful and much, much more than that. There's much more to you than just a face. Trust me. You're kind, compassionate, funny, very random," she giggled at that, "and absolutely adorable,"

She blushed but leaned in to give a a soft kiss. Taking her by surprise, I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her on my lap, keeping my arms firmly around her. She let out a small squeal and squirmed in my lap. Her body was so tiny and delicate compared to mine.

I leaned my head on her shoulder. "Mmm, its been a while since I've held you like this," I murmured as I placed butterfly kisses on her neck.

She placed her arms over mine and tilted her head backwards. I had never felt more content. Her body molded perfectly into mine, every curve fitting with mine, like completing a puzzle. We just sat there wordlessly, basking in the silence. All that could be heard was the slight chirping of birds and the lithe ruffling of the autumn leaves below us. Everything else seemed to be frozen. You could also hear tiny squeaks from the rusty swing as we slowly swayed back and forth.

"Edward, where - " she turned all of a sudden, catching me off guard. She looked so alarmed.

Because of her sudden actions, I became unsteady and fell backwards, off the swing, pulling Bella down with me.

"Ouch," I half groaned half chuckled.

Bella had fallen on my chest, her hair all ruffled. She looked around cluelessly, waiting for her brain to register what had happened. I sighed, she could be so adorable sometimes.

"Sorry," she blushed.

I just chuckled. God, I love her. "So what was it that was so important that you had to assault me and push me off the swing?" I smirked.

She smacked my arm playfully. "It just hit me that we were going to the beach, and since I had skillfully avoided myself from letting Alice and Rosalie making me wear a bikini the last time we went, I need to know where they are before they find me and - " she looked so adorable as she continued to mumble worriedly.

"You are just so silly sometimes, Bella," I said, wrapping my arms around her waist. When she least expected it, I started tickling her with my arms around her waist, restraining her from escaping from my grasp. She shrieked and started squirming against my body. "Edward!" she squealed.

"Oh, Bella..." a voice suddenly called from inside the house. Bella stiffened. Then, it was eerily silent. Bella had stopped screaming and squirming, her eyes widened and she struggled free from my grasp. I got up, leaning my weight on my arms and saw Alice standing at the doorway with her hands crossed against her chest, her eyes fixed on Bella, like a predator stalking her pray.

"No, I won't let you catch me," Bella cried, dashing off in the opposite direction from Alice. Just as quickly as Bella had made her getaway, Alice kicked off her heels and sprinted right after her. The scene was so comedic. And almost as if Alice knew, Bella tripped on something and fell down with an 'oof' after a few dashes forward.

I rushed towards her to make sure she wasn't hurt. I really wish she wasn't so clumsy sometimes. As endearing as it is, it terrifies me to know that she frequently got hurt and that sometimes I may not be around to help her when she does.

"Bella, are you oka- "

Alice grabbed on to Bella's wrist, restraining her from running away again. She stood between Bella and I in a defensive position, like a mother chicken protecting her chicks, and shot me a menacing look. I even think she snarled at me. As intimidated as I was of Alice, I still wanted to make sure Bella was okay.

"But Alice - "

"No, don't come near, Edward," she cut me off, her eyes narrowing to slits, "I am getting her into a bikini, whether she likes it or not. And if come any closer, she's probably gonna jump on you and that would make my job a hell lot harder. So let's just save ourselves the trouble. She's fine and now, we're heading up to my room to get changed," she said, smirking at the last part.

Turning her mood a whole hundred-and-eighty, she smiled and skipped off into the house, one hand still firmly grasping Bella's wrist. Bella glared at me as she was being dragged off. "Sorry," I mouthed. Though I really wasn't. Bella in a bikini was one of the most glorious sights ever. I got to see her killer curves and more of her porcelain skin. I smiled to myself.

I went back inside the house and up to my room to get changed. I put on a pair of board shorts and a t-shirt and went back downstairs. I could hear the shouts and taunts Emmett and Jasper were giving each other. That meant that they were playing with the Wii console.

I found them in the living room, swinging the controllers with their fists towards the television, fervently boxing each other into a K.O. From where I was standing, it looked as if they were beating the crap out of the television. They were so into the game, they didn't even notice me come into the room and plop down onto the couch.

Emmett had a thin sheet of sweat on his forehead while Jasper had sweat trickling down his chin. It was hilarious. They were playing a boxing game - Emmett had his eyes fixed on the screen, his punches were thrust so powerfully that I was afraid he might break the television in front of him. Hey, it has happened before.

Jasper's punches looked more easy and fluid than Emmett's. Sure, they were hard but he didn't give much into those punches like Emmett did. Yet, he seemed to be winning, much to Emmett's dismay. Jasper ended up winning, leaving Emmett to complain and whine about how it was unfair, creating all kinds excuses to why he should have been declared the winner. Jasper and I rolled our eyes.

I decided to play against Emmett. We agreed to compete in the 'cow jumping' game. In this game, you had to race and knock down as many hay stacks and running scare crows as fast as you can and jump over as many amount hedges to receive more points.

When we heard the starting beep, we immediately tilted our controllers forwards, eagerly racing towards the haystacks. During the game, we were tilting our controllers forward like there was no tomorrow and doing a hopping motion with our hands fervently, making our cows leap over the barriers.

A few seconds later, I had shot both my hands into the air as a sign of victory and Emmett had stalked off somewhere into the kitchen, sulking like a little boy. Jasper and I just snickered.

Then, I could hear the small creaks of the wooden stairs. In a flash, I turned my head towards the noise, just in time to see Bella appearing, wearing a plain white tank top and dark blue shorts. My eyes trailed downwards, following the shape of her leg. They seemed nearly endless.

I felt someone nudge me. "Dude, quit staring. You're starting to drool and its disgusting," Jasper whispered teasingly.

I quickly looked away from Bella and went to the kitchen to find Emmett, inconspicuously wiping the bit of drool that was threatening to leak from the corner of my mouth. When I got to the kitchen, I saw a bunch of food scattered across the table, there were plates with crumbs and stains on them while some had only were only half eaten. I found the culprit who had his head in the fridge, scavenging for more food.

"Emmett, you do know that the food's not gonna run out overnight, right?" I said, raising an eyebrow at him

He stuck his head out of the fridge with an innocent look on his face. "What? I was just fixing myself a few snacks before we went."

I was about to say something but decided against it and left the kitchen to look for Bella. I found her sitting with Alice, Rosalie and Jasper in the living room, debating against Alice and Rosalie how bikini's are totally unnecessary. I'm guessing the reason Jasper was on Bella's side was because of all the looks men gave Alice when she wore one of her extravagant bikini's which, being Alice, was extremely eye-popping. Plain for Alice was like exclusive for any other normal shopper. I can tell dad is thankful that Alice is a successful designer, or else he would've been broke within they first few days of fashion week.

Secretly, as much as I loved to have Bella dress up in nice dresses and blouses, I'd rather have her wear what she was normally comfortable in, which consists of either a plain tee of tank top with jeans or shorts. That way her clothes won't outshine the beautiful face and personality she has. I hope everyone sees what I see in her. Her warm soul.

A huge burp echoed through the house and Emmett appeared from the kitchen. "Right, I'm ready. Let's go," he said ecstatically. Everyone rolled their eyes at him as we left for the beach.

When we got there, there were many people - from babies, to teens, to parents, to seniors. The beach was packed with people. We set our stuff in an empty spot in the middle of the crowds.

"Hey, let's go ask those guys whether we can join them. They seem nice enough and its been an awfully long time since I've played," Alice said, motioning to the four people playing a game of beach volley ball. Everyone agreed and walked over the the tall men.

"Hi there. We were wondering if we could join your game. If you don't mind, that is," Alice said politely.

"Sure," the guy said with an earnest smile. The four men had tan, russet skin and long black hair. Their bodies were nicely toned and their long hair had been tied into a pony tail.

"I'm Alice and this is my husband Jasper, that's Rosalie and her husband Emmett, and finally we have Edward and his girlfriend Bella," Alice introduced.

"Nice to meet you guys. I'm Jacob and this is Sam," motioning to the fittest of the four, "And the short on over there is Seth," Seth's face scrunched up at the mention of being short, "And that's Embry," he pointed to the last guy furthest from us.

We waved 'hi' at them and decided to take turns since there were too many people. Bella and I decided to sit out the first game.

"Psst, Edward," Bella whispered, as if she were in class and was trying to talk while the teacher was lecturing.

"Yeah?"

"Teach me how to play. I don't know a single thing!" Bella groaned, burying her head into my shoulder.

I smiled. "It's simple. The point of the game is to make sure the ball doesn't hit the ground. You can't grab on to the ball, only bounce or hit it. Just lock your palms together and make sure you bounce the ball on your wrists," I showed taught her how her hands were supposed to be placed.

Emmett and Rosalie were teamed up with Jacob and Sam while Alice and Jasper were teamed up with Seth and Embry. Emmett smacked the ball down towards the other side of the net but Alice leaped forward and gently bounced the ball and it went soaring back up into the air and over the net towards Emmett's side. Emmett smack the ball even harder but Alice leaped again and gently bounced the ball over to the other side of the net. Alice looked so graceful - as if she were dancing. Emmett just looked frustrated.

I'd have to say the best players were most probably Jacob, Rosalie and Seth. They were so quick in their movements and knew just when to hit. Seth looked like he was no older than sixteen yet he could play twice as well as Emmett who was probably three times bigger than Seth.

After the score had reached seven to four with Jacob's team winning, Emmett and Rosalie decided to switch with us. Bella zealously ran out towards the net. Bella stood closer to the net while I took the stop diagonally behind her. Jasper served the ball, hitting it towards the back. Sam lunged backwards and smacked it over the net. Seth bounced it back over, towards Bella. Bella jumped, looking as if she were going to smack it. Then, missing the ball, the ball bounced off her head and she fell down, bum first.

"Bella, are you okay?" I rushed towards her.

She was giggling. "Yeah, I'm fine. Did a ball just bounce off my head?" she asked incredulously.

Everyone started laughing along with her. After a few more games, we ended up winning by two points. We decided to hang out with them a bit. We set up a small bonfire and gathered around it, getting to know each other better. The boys were from the Quilette tribes.

I found Jacob extremely awesome. He could basically dismantle cars and later put them back together perfectly.

I looked up, the sky looked beautiful and the sun was beginning to set. "Let's go take a swim," I whispered into Bella's ear, dragging her towards the water.

"But I haven't swam in ages! I don't think I can. What if I drown?" she said worriedly.

I pulled her deeper into the water. When it got a little deeper, I wrapped Bella's legs around my waist and held her tight. "Who said I was going to let go of you?" I breathed.

The feel of her soft skin around me was so distracting. It was so smooth. That's all I could think about.

Smooth...

Suddenly, Bella dipped herself under water and pulled me down with her. I could see her, making funny distorted faces in the water. I joined her but stopped when she did, my breath taken away by the sight. Her face looked so calm - her eyes were fixed on mine, her hair was flowing everywhere. She looked so beautiful. It was in that moment that I decided that I couldn't wait anymore - I had to have her.

I pulled Bella and myself up without breaking eye contact. When we reached the surface, we were both breathless, her eyes still gazing at mine. "Bella," I breathed, leaning in towards her ear. "I love you. So much that it just feels that everything that I do isn't enough. Like nothing I can do would ever be enough to show how much I love you. I wish there was a way, but there isn't. You smile, you laugh, the way you talk in your sleep - everything about you Bella. Everything that you do makes my heart melt even more."

I looked up and her eyes had gone red. Tears were running down her cheeks and her lips were quivering.

"Bella, what's wrong? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that - "

Her lips cut me off. She kissed me aggressively as if it was our last. Soon, her lips had gone softer and I poured myself into the kiss. All of my love for her, the willingness to sacrifice myself to see her smile, and the measures I would go to to see her happy - all into that one kiss.

"Bella," I broke the kiss of, leaning my forehead against hers, panting heavily. "Will you marry me?"

She let out a small gasp but still kept her eyes on mine. After a while of silence, I couldn't take it. I looked at the water below me and pursued my lips. Suddenly, a small sound escaped her lips.

"What?" I looked up at her.

"I said yes," she giggled and hugged me tighter.

I pulled her as close to me as I could. I could basically feel my hear my heart flying. All I that was running to my head was

She said yes.

She said yes.

She said yes!

I pulled her away and kissed her senseless. I didn't care if there were other people around. I just needed her with me some way.

When we finally broke apart, stared at each other and started laughing. "God Bella. I was so worried you'd say no. You don't know how much this means to me." I whispered into her hair.

She snorted. "Like I could say no. And I understand," She said, looking at me.

After a while, we decided to head back to the others. They were laughing and snuggling beside the bonfire. We sat down and Bella leaned against me.

"Why do you guys look so smiley?" Alice was grinning, almost as if she knew.

Bella and I shrugged. I think she mouthed Alice a 'later'.

The Quilette boys decided that they had to be going so we exchanged phone numbers and waved them goodbye. It was getting late and the stars were out. I felt so content. Bella, my soon-to-be-wife, was leaning on my body, my arms protectively holding her, just like how it should be.


I hope I didn't disappoint. I must say, I'm relatively proud of this chapter, though there isn't much. I think that my writing is much better than it was the first few chapters. God, I reread them and realized how fast paced I was going with everything. I think I still am but I'm trying to tone that down as much as I can.

Oh, I don't think that there's going to be a sequel for this story but if you want, I can prolong for another few chapters. If not, this might be one of the last. So what do you think?

Review and tell me what you think of this chapter and whether I should add just a few more chapters. And I'll try to update as soon as possible.

-Sabrina.