A/N: You lucky ducks! Two chapters two days in a row! Hopefully you guys are all having a nice Christmas break =] And happy new year! Leave a review telling me your resolutions.

"There's always one…"

The stream of profanities pouring from Eric's lips was almost as startling as the crimson river flowing from his nostrils. He cupped his hands beneath his chin, quickly gathering a puddle of blood. Oh, that's just great. I felt my stomach twist.

"Oh my Gosh! Are you okay?!" Angela cried, her blue eyes filling with sympathy.

Eric groaned, swiping his wrist beneath his nose, still able to keep the small puddle of blood efficiently trapped in the cup which was his hands. "I think he broke my nose."

Emmett rolled off of our laps, onto the floor. "Jeez, man. I'm sorry," he apologized to Eric.

"It was my fault," I piped up. "I was the one who sent Emmett into convulsions."

"It's not your fault," Edward assured me, resting a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded fervently anyway. "Yes it was," I insisted. Then I unbuckled and scrambled toward where the partition to the driver's seat was. "Sir?" I called through the thick glass. "Do you know if there's a hospital nearby?"

"Why?" he asked, clearly startled.

"Um… I think we broke someone's nose," I admitted.

"Uh," he had to think for a moment, "sure. I think there's one off the exit outside of the park."

"Could we make a stop there, please?" I questioned.

"Of course, miss."

"Thank you," I told him, and then settled back in my seat as he raised the partition again.

"Here," Angela was saying, offering a Kleenex to Eric.

"Thanks," he mumbled, beginning to mop up the blood. Then he licked another one, swiping at where he assumed the dried blood would be on his face.

Angela quickly offered to help, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

When the nurses saw a whole entire wedding party pile through the emergency doors to the hospital, all of their faces went blank.

"Um, hi," I said, approaching the desk. "We're pretty sure he," I gestured to Eric, "broke his nose. Well, actually… I think I did, but anyway, can we get a doctor to look at him?"

The nurse stared at me as if I were seven feet tall.

"Dude!" Emmett blurted, shoving me out of the way. He slapped his palms to the faux-granite countertop and leaned forward. "We need a doctor because we need our pictures taken now before Edward and Bella's families begin their rabid witch search for us. Also, it would be nice to start before Eric's face turns into some sort of marble manifesto, taking over his face like mould on a week old orange. But we can't start until his nose is repositioned because it would look super lame in the photos."

Surprisingly, the nurse blinked and then was all business again. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. What? Was I speaking German or something?

"Sure. We'll get him in as soon as possible," she told Emmett. "Just take a seat in the waiting room for now."

Everyone found seats in the waiting room while I slipped outside to answer my ringing cell phone. I pulled it out of the small clutch I was carrying.

"Hello?" I asked, bringing the phone to my ear.

"Hi, Bella. It's Melinda," the woman on the other line answered.

"Oh, hi!" I said. "Uh, yeah. I know we should be at the picture place right now, but on the way there Emmett broke Eric's nose by accident, so now we're at the hospital…"

"Oh! Is he okay?" she asked.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. We'll be there as soon as possible, kay?"

"Okay," Melinda answered, clearly way more worried than she cared to show.

"Thanks. See you later," I said, and then hung up. I slipped my phone back into my clutch as I drifted back through the hospital doors, ignoring the bewildered stares I got from people.

When I joined everyone in the waiting room, they were laughing about some joke or the other. Edward took my hand as I flopped with difficulty into the chair beside him.

"Ugh, this dress is so long," I complained, lifting my feet so I could pull the trapped piece out from underneath me.

"BELLA!" Alice screamed suddenly, bolting toward me, a magazine in hand.

"What?!" I asked, staring up at her with, I'm sure, a startled demeanour.

"LOOK!" she cried, stabbing one of the pages with her finger. "KELLAN LUTZ!"

I grabbed the corner of the magazine to steady it. "Quit moving around so much!" I giggled.

Alice obeyed, her body quaking with suppressed excitement.

"Who's Kellan Lutz?" Edward asked, leaning over.

"No one." I said, pressing the magazine page against my stomach.

He stared at me with knit eyebrows.

I smiled innocently, and then bowed my head, pulling the magazine maybe an inch away from my body so I could peek at the page. Then I burst out laughing.

"Ohhh my Goooodddd!" I squealed through my hysteria, doubling over.

Alice was now in the chair beside me, unable to hold back her laughter either.

"He's a kitty!" I cried, gesturing to the cat ears atop his head and the face painted whiskers across his cheeks.

"LEMME SEE!" Edward whined quite childishly.

"No! You can't handle the truth!" I quoted, still laughing.

"Yes I can!" Edward protested.

I rolled my eyes. "Ohh kay…" I said, "You can see the picture…. IF YOU CAN CATCH IT!" I then tossed it through the air.

"OWW!" Lauren cried.

I gasped, clapping my hands over my mouth when the corner of the magazine hit her in the side of the head. When she looked our way I stabbed my finger Edward's way, while Alice did the same.

"OW, EDWARD!" Lauren screamed at him.

"What?!" he asked, turning toward me and Lila. I quickly dropped my finger in my lap and stared straight ahead, moulding my face into composure.

"What's—"

"Eric Yorkie?" said a doctor, stepping into the waiting room, "I can see you now. Just step through this door," he instructed him, gesturing to the first door on the right. "I'm just going to warn you that this may take some time," he then said, turning toward us.

I bit down on my bottom lip, my eyes involuntarily shifting to the clock on the wall. It was almost three o' clock. Our photo session had started at 2:30.

"Um… okay," I started to confirm, but Eric cut me off.

He stepped back towards us. "You all go. I don't want you guys to miss this. It's an important time of your lives. I'll just… y'know, Photoshop my face in later," he said with a slight smirk.

I grinned. Then I jumped up to go and hug him. "I don't doubt you could," I laughed, looping my arms around his neck.

Then we all filed back into the parking lot, climbing into the limo.

It began to rain in the middle of the pictures, and we took refuge beneath the Caterpillar tent. At least we got a sufficient amount taken.

"Well, this sucks," Angela observed, shaking out her wet hands.

Alice sighed. "Well, Bella and Edward cast bad luck upon themselves when they contacted each other today. That's what you get," she said, turning towards me.

"When you let your heart win!" I cried in her face.

Rosalie, Lauren and Angela rolled their eyes while Alice and I burst into the chorus of Paramore's song for the second time that day.

Jessica's shriek cut us off though. "MIKKEEE!" she screamed like a stuck pig as he slung her over his shoulder. "STOOOOP!" she begged as he leaped out from under the awning, into the pouring rain. "YOU'RE GONNA RUIN MY HAIR! AND MY MAKE UP! AND MY DRESS!"

I laughed as Mike plunked his hat over her curls.

"NOO!" she shrieked. She yanked it off and whipped it to the ground, beginning to kick, trying to free herself from the fireman-esque embrace. Jess caught him in the stomach with her knee and he buckled over, gasping for air.

Jessica's feet luckily made purchase with the ground and she stood up tall and confident, completely oblivious to the fact that the rain was dripping like icicles down her back and her deep brown suede heels were being ruined.

"That's what you get," she told him.

"When you let your heart win," I muttered in Alice's ear.

She giggled softly in response.

We arrived in front of the Wainwright Hotel just as a yellow taxi pulled up. Eric emerged from the front seat, grinning beneath the gauze over his nose.

"What did the doctor say?" I asked, rushing toward him, ignoring the fact that the trail of my dress was dragging along behind me, gathering dirt.

Jessica squeaked as she rushed behind me, gathering the white silk in her hands, lifting it off the floor.

Eric shrugged, his mouth twisting. "He thinks I have a body well enough for porn,"

I felt my mouth gape and my eyes widen. "What? He actually said that?"

Eric laughed. "No, silly girl!" he cried, socking me gently on the arm.

"Phew!" I sighed dramatically, wiping my fingers over my forehead.

"Ready to go inside?" Edward asked, approaching us along with the rest of the wedding party then.

"Yeah." I said, peering up through the sun—set low in the sky—at the quaint, old hotel.

As of now, everyone had been ushered into the ball room to await our arrival. Before, as we were getting our pictures taken, the children had been allowed to roam about the old village --on the promise that they didn't dirty their clothes—while the adults dallied in the tavern.

It was only spitting, but we rushed up the porch steps anyway. Besides, it wouldn't be raining much longer. The sun was showing through the clouds, and most of the rain clouds had gathered on one side of the sky.

The roar of the chatting guests about overwhelmed me when we stepped through the front doors. We were in the front of the hotel, and everyone was in the ballroom, so no one could see us.

"Attention, please," a male voice called from the podium. I recognized it as my brother. "Hello?"

The guests ignored them.

"YO!" Jasper, Edward's older brother yelled into the microphone. Everything went abruptly silent and I couldn't help but giggle.

"Thank you, everyone. This just shows how much you love my side of the family," Jordan joked. "The wedding party is going to enter the room in a moment, and we'd like you to keep your pants on. Also, we have to go over a few regulations because the staff of the hotel is—"

"Making sure the well-being of the old hotel stays in tact." Jasper interrupted. "One. The bathrooms are right over there, the men's on the left and the women's on the right. If the lines are too long, you can go upstairs. The washrooms are right over these ones here. But, could you please not run upstairs? This roof is made of tin and is really quite disturbing to people down here…"

"Can I change into my jeans now?" Angela begged from somewhere behind me.

"Angela" Alice and Rosalie groaned.

"What?" she asked, blushing. "This dress is really uncomfortable."

I planted my hand on my hip, cocking a freshly waxed—not necessarily by choice—eyebrow at her.

"No!" she rushed, blushing even brighter. "I meant because it's wet, and… like…" she cut herself off, sighing. "You know how much I hate wearing dresses. If I hadn't been a bridesmaid, I probably would have worn jeans, you know that," she told me.

I couldn't help smiling. No one knew how right she actually was. "Yeah. Well, you'll just have to sit through dinner like this. But then you're free to be comfortable, kay?" I told her.

Angela sighed, giving in and nodded. "Alright," she said.

"Bella!" a familiar voice said from behind me. I turned to see Rachel in the ballroom doorway. Behind her, Edward and my brothers were still lecturing the crowd.

"Rache!" I squealed subduely, rushing toward her. I nearly tackled her with my hug. I grinned, pulling away. "I like your dress," I complimented her. The sea-foam, mid-thigh length, thick strapped dress popped against her fair skin, brightening her cobalt blue eyes. Her buttery hair had been styled into waves which drifted down her back like a beautiful sunshine river, and her cheeks were rosy with blush.

"I like yours!" she returned, spinning me. "It's so pretty!"

I giggled. "Thanks. Hey, how'd you get out here? Aren't you supposed to be in there?" I asked, nodding toward the ballroom.

Rachel nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, but I snuck out," she admitted.

"What'd you do? Crawl under the tables? Those guys have got eyes like a hawk." I joked.

Rachel laughed. "Yeah, that's what I did."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Well, you'd better get back in there. We're gonna be called in soon," I told her, leaning in for one more hug.

"Okay. You look really pretty," she said again, and then turned and rushed back into the ballroom.

When I turned back to the groupies they were laughing hysterically. Pressed up in the vintage phone booth were Emmett and Eric. Eric's palms were pressed to the glass, and his face was contorted in a horror-struck facial expression. He was obviously terrified of getting his nose bumped.

"Yes, yes," Emmett's muffled voice seeped through the glass. He was on the phone, and he was pretending to be oh so very poised. He pretended to tug on his moustache. "That's right,"

"So, now, without further a due, I present to you, the best man and maid of honour!" Jasper called.

"Emmett!" Rosalie snapped, trying to yank open the door. "We have to go in!"

"Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale!"

"EMMETT!" Rosalie barked in a hushed tone. "Come on!"

"Emmett! Rose!"

Emmett finally stumbled from the booth, sending Eric flying into the glass face first.

His scream of terror inevitably reached the guests' ears. It about blew my ear drums.

Rosalie rolled her eyes as Emmett grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the ballroom.

The thump of fingers against the microphone and the screech of it in protest to Emmett's prodding interrupted the dining of the wedding guests. I looked up to see him standing at the podium grinning like a Cheshire cat. Obviously, he was willing to get peoples' attention—if it was in a good way or not.

"Hello!" he exclaimed to the room. "I'm gonna start the speeches," he told us then.

"Uh oh," Edward and I both conveniently muttered under our breaths.

"Let's see…" he was saying as he patted his pockets and rummaged through his jacket. "Where did I put that speech?" He came up with nothing. "Oh well. I guess I'll improvise," he said nonchalantly.

I couldn't resist slamming my forehead into my folded arms on the table.

"Hmm, okay. So… I've been friends with Edward since 6th grade, and I've been with him through just about everything. Including Bella…" I shot him a death glare that he didn't quite intercept. "Man, they've been through a lot. Like the time in eighth grade when they tried out dating… I believe Edward asked her out over MSN…" I bit my lip, sneaking a side glance at Edward's face. His elbows were rested on the table, the sleeves of his shirt pushed up to his elbows. His face was buried in his hands, but I could make out the blush that stained his cheeks. "How many days did it take you to answer him, Belly?" he asked, turning toward me. God, he knew how much I hated that nickname. "A week? Or was it two?"

I rolled my eyes.

"It was three days, dummy!" Someone called from the crowd.

Emmett held his hands up in surrender. "Now, now. No need for discrimination against the sexy people in this room… Let's move onto another subject. Edward, did you by chance take any dance lessons before this night? Because, I remember this one time…"

"Oh, crap," I heard him whisper from beside me.

"I might even still have the proof," Emmett was saying, "saved in the hard drive of my computer. Anyway, our girlfriends at that time wanted us to make a video of us lip syncing and dancing to the Pokémon theme song."

I heard the laughter slip through my lips at the memory. I'd accidentally stumbled across the video on YouTube.

"Let's just say, Edward here wasn't so enthusiastic about it." Emmett shot him a dark look, which Edward returned with a patronizing 'get on with it' glare. "Hm… not funny enough. Let's move onto some high school parties."

Edward's eyes widened, and this time in true fear.

"See, he was trying to find his girlfriend. And he couldn't find her anywhere. Wanna know why he was trying to find his girlfriend?"

"No," Edward muttered.

This was Rosalie's cue. She stood up from the head table and made her way toward the podium.

"C'mon. Someone guess."

No one did.

"Okay, I'll tell you. Edward and I had made a bet that night. He was set on finding his girlfriend, because that night was the night he was going to lose--"

Rosalie slapped her palm over Emmett's mouth, grinning beautifully at the crowd. "Isn't he hilarious?" she asked. Hip checking him out of her way, she took over the podium.

"Hey!" Emmett began to protest, but the applause of the guests drowned him out.

"Isabella Marie Swan, which is kinda unique because she has a best friend named Marie… and that, is Bella's middle name. Did u know I have two baby cousins with the names Isabella and Angela… they are sisters… Which is awesome because Bella has another best friend named Angela! Creepy eh? But enough about my cousins… let's focus on Bella this evening, shall we? I remember meeting her in grade 7 at MPS. Time sure flies eh? Seems like just last week we had our first Chinese food in a box and Ben and Jerry's night in. That's was our very first taste of college life, and we continued to have our weekly Ben and Jerry's night in all through college as we both went to the same university… her major in creative writing and mine in acting. Although our bad eating habits started early on, so did our friendship. Let me just warn you now, this may get quite sappy. Now where was I, grade seven? I met Bella through…"

The lights shone golden and soft as Edward led me onto the dance floor for our first dance as "May I" by Trading Yesterday flowed through the speakers. His arms were like protective, shielding walls around me, and I rested my head to his shoulder, closing my eyes. Encaging me in the darkness in his arms swelled my heart to an overwhelming feeling. I felt so safe, so loved, right here, right now.

I felt his lips press to my forehead just beneath my hair line.

"Are you surprised we made it this far?" he mumbled, pressing his cheek to the top of my head.

"Not at all," I replied, my voice far away as if I were asleep.

We swayed as if we were on a boat to the song. I didn't lift my head to better see the camera flashes. I didn't open my eyes to take in the expressions on my parents' faces or Edward's. I already knew how it looked, anyway.

"I love you," he muttered simply. It still surprised me to that day to hear those three words. It sent my heart into splutters, and stretched a smile across my cheeks, no matter how much I didn't want it to.

"That's why we're here," I said, finally ducking out from underneath his chin to gaze into his face. I stretched up to kiss him. Cameras flashed feverishly.

His ring burned through the gossamer layers of silk, making its way to my bare flesh, burning its promise into me—forever held—unbreakable.