Author's Note: Hello, my lovely fans! I am going to be starting school next week on Monday! Yes, sadly, my summer vacation is coming to a close after five weeks of hard summer school work and spending two weeks out of the country. I just feel like it wasn't enough time. So unfair. Sniff, sniff. But you know what that means? It means I probably won't be able to update very often. I'll try, of course, but as of now, I simply don't think there will be enough time. Just so you know. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.


Chapter 34

Bella's Point of View

I blew out a nervous sigh and stared at my squirmy reflection in the mirror. I was wearing a light blue dress that came up to my knees, with my hair pinned up nicely with matching sapphire clips. And, of course, with formal dresses, matching high heels were a must.

After one more deep breath, I took my graduation gown and put it on, then picked up my cap. I was ready. I could do this.

"Bella!" Renee sang loudly from downstairs. "You're going to be late!"

I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't believe I was about to graduate from high school. The remainder of junior year and all of senior year in Florida had gone by so fast. At the blink of an eye, everything was about to leave me.

"Coming!" I called, my voice wavering slightly.

I took another deep breath before opening my bedroom door and descending the staircase as carefully as I could in my killer shoes. I smiled when Renee and Phil met me at the foot of the stairs, whistling low and gushing about how beautiful I looked.

"Oh, I can't believe it," Renee said, sniffling. "My Bella is all grown up! You'll be off to college soon!"

"Mom," I said, chuckling. "Don't get all weepy on me. I'm already nervous as it is."

"Aw, come on, Bella," Phil said easily, grinning. "What's there to be nervous about? You've got your speech all memorized, don't you?"

I glared at him halfheartedly. "Yeah, but what if I forget?"

"Oh, don't be silly," Renee said, smoothing my hair back gently. "You'll remember every word and make me cry."

I rolled my eyes. "Right."

"Speaking of college," Renee said, her voice clipped and icy as she narrowed her eyes at me, "you need to decide where you're going. Now."

I made a face. My parents had been pestering me to choose which college I was going to attend. I had gotten accepted in my dream colleges, meaning Dartmouth and Brown. Renee and I had freaked out and pranced around in happiness.

"Give the valedictorian a rest, will you, Renee?" Phil said, jumping to my rescue. "She needs to be calm right now." He winked at me when I shot him a grateful look.

Phil really was an okay guy. He was a total opposite to my mother, responsible and level-headed, the perfect person to rein her in. I was glad she had found someone right for her.

"Alright, alright…" Renee tossed the car keys at him. "Charlie's meeting us at the school, Bella. He's so excited."

I smiled at the thought of meeting my father for the first time in a year. Sure, we had talked on the phone, but it just wasn't the same. I'd missed him.


I could see Renee up on the bleachers, crying to her heart's content as I finished up my speech.

"…and now, I present to you," I said, smiling widely now that I'd finished, "the senior class of 2013."

"WHOO!" the entire senior class, all five hundred of them, got to their feet and threw their caps into the air.

Grinning, I imitated them, then jumped off the pedestal, caught my cap, and ran to join my friends.

"Bella!" they screamed. I saw that half of them had cried during my speech. "I'm so proud of you! That was a great speech!"

"Thanks," I said warmly. "Congrats, guys! We made it!"

They all giggled and cheered. "Alright!"

"Amy!"

"Val!"

"Brit!"

My friends all squealed and ran to join their boyfriends, who were waiting with open arms. I watched from afar as they all rejoiced, glad that the pressure was over. They were ready to head off to college to have fun and fulfill their dreams.

And I was still alone, unable to move on. He was still my life.

But that was okay. I knew that I would find him some day. And we would be together. I wasn't regretting a thing.

My face soured when my thoughts turned to college. Where was I going to go? Time was running out, and I hadn't decided yet. What should I do?

"Bella!"

I whirled around at the familiar voice, and I grinned widely as I jumped into the arms of my father. "Dad!"

"I'm proud of you, Bells," Charlie told me, looking proud. "Congratulations."

I laughed joyfully. "Thanks."

"Oh, Bella!" Renee screamed as she reached for me, sobbing. "I'm so proud of you. Thank you, honey. That was a beautiful speech."

Phil was there too, with a bouquet of pretty flowers. "Congrats, Bella."

"Thank you," I said, touched, as I accepted the flowers. "Thank you for coming, all of you."


"Bella, you need to make a decision, and you need to make it now!" Renee protested as she followed me around the house. "I'm telling you, go to Dartmouth! You've always wanted to go there!"

I threw my hands up in the air and turned around to face her. "Mom! The more you pressure me, the more I can't make up my mind!"

Renee looked frustrated. "Why are you hesitating? I thought you wanted to become a doctor."

I sighed and plopped down on a chair. "I'm so sure anymore."

She sat next to me. "What do you mean, baby? You took all those extra science and math courses to get ahead in high school. You were preparing for this. Now, you just want to give it up?"

I shrugged. "I just feel…tired. I don't have that same energy with me anymore. The motivation… It's gone. I don't feel confident that I can do it."

I missed Edward so much. These days, I hadn't been thinking about much except Edward. As my senior year had drawn to a close, I couldn't help thinking that I was finally going to college, something that we had talked about a lot during our early teenaged years. And I couldn't help but wonder what college he'd decided on, what he wanted to be.

I missed him so much that it was like I was missing a limb from my body. I still felt pain every day, his rejection ringing in my head like echoes, and I felt hollow without him. I needed the rest of my heart with me. My soul mate and true love.

Renee was studying me carefully. "I see. I see now."

Startled, I looked at her. I hadn't even realized that my thoughts had drifted. "What?"

She had a small smile playing around her lips as she looked at me knowingly. "You miss him. Edward."

I lowered my gaze when she mentioned him. "Is it that obvious?" I asked, embarrassed.

To my surprise, she laughed. "To be honest, no. I didn't even realize that you've been slowing down for a bit because you were thinking more and more about him. I just thought it was senioritis, but I can see that it was Edward now. How could I have missed it? Of course it's him."

She was sympathetic now. "You miss him a lot, huh?"

I nodded slowly.

"You still love him? That hasn't changed?"

I shook my head.

"Call him."

I looked at her. "I…" My voice contained shame. "I heard that he changed his number. I didn't ask for it."

She raised her eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you weren't talking to any of the Cullens."

"I wasn't," I said haughtily. I cleared my throat. "It was a Hale."

She started laughing. "Which one?"

Resigned, I answered, "Jasper."

"What about Rosalie? Have you been talking to her?"

I shook my head no. "I just couldn't trust her. I knew she would talk to Alice. And even though Jasper is Alice's boyfriend, I can trust him to never talk about me. He promised. And…I didn't call him for about six months, after I heard about Edward going out with another girl. It was too painful."

"Well," Renee said thoughtfully. "You went out with some guys a few times."

"It never lasted," I said bitterly. "I think fate has me intertwined with Edward. If his relationship didn't last either."

"I'm sorry, honey. Why don't you try calling Jasper again?"

I shook my head. My gaze fell on the stack of envelopes on the living room table. Almost like an instinct, I reached out and grabbed the pile. I began rifling through them, looking for the one college that I was suddenly interested in attending. It was like I'd known exactly where to go all along.

Renee peeked at the envelope that I was staring thoughtfully at. She looked horrified. "The University of Washington? Bella, are you crazy? You got accepted into two Ivy Leagues! Why would you turn that down? It was your dream!"

I was shaking my head slowly. "I just…I don't know. I have a feeling I should go to UW. There's just something that's making me want to attend."

"Then attend," Phil's unexpected voice said from behind me.

I looked at him. "You think so?"

Renee scoffed. "Now you're starting to listen to your stepfather?" But there was affection in her eyes. "Bella, do whatever is best for you. And if you're really positive about this, then you should let them know. What if they don't have a spot left for you?" She winked and left the room with Phil.


I was back in Washington. I'd only been gone for a year, but it felt like a decade. It felt so good and relieving to see the familiar greenery rush past as I rode a taxi to the university's campus.

I thanked the driver and got out of the cab with my luggage. I gazed around my busy surroundings as I walked to my dorm room, watching the freshmen buzz around in excitement at the fact that they were finally attending college.

When I got to my room, I noticed that my dorm room was slightly open. Was my roommate not in?

I struggled inside with my bag, and regretted it almost instantly.

She was inside alright. But she wasn't alone, and she was kissing her boyfriend so fiercely that I had to look away and clear my throat. Luckily, they heard me and broke apart.

"What the-" I heard a familiar voice stop himself from cussing.

I looked up, shocked. "Jasper?" My eyes fell upon the small pixie I immediately recognized. "Alice?"

Alice squealed in delight as she jumped on me. "Bella! Oh, my God! I can't believe it! You're my roommate? You applied for UW? I can't believe it! Rose and Em are going to freak!"

"You're all here?" I asked, staring at them in wonder. "Like, all of you?"

Jasper smiled and nodded, looking genuinely pleased to see me. He had his turn hugging me, and we sat down on the floor, just staring at each other in fascination.

"I can't believe you're back," Alice kept murmuring. "I've missed you so much. We've all missed you."

I smiled. I felt comforted and home at last. "I missed you guys."

Jasper chuckled. "We missed you too. When you cut off contact six months ago, I was worried."

"Shh!" I glanced at Alice nervously, but to my surprise, she was calm. "Wait, Alice, you knew about this?"

"He told us when he lost contact," Alice said calmly. "Of course, I was furious with him and didn't speak to him for two weeks."

"It was hell," Jasper said flatly.

I laughed. "Sorry."

Alice suddenly looked like she'd been shocked with electricity. "Oh, my God. Rose! How could I forget her?" She jumped up and ran to the phone and began dialing a number.

"Don't forget Emmett too," Jasper added, purposely evading to mention the name that mattered most to me right now. I was thankful for it, though. I wasn't ready to face him just yet.

"Rosie, guess what? You'll never believe me."

The phone was pretty loud, and we could hear what Rosalie was saying sarcastically on the other end, "Try me."

"Bella! She's here! At the university! She's back!"

Silence. And then, "Did you have a drink already, Alice?"

I stifled a laugh when Alice looked impatient. "No! I'm serious! Look, are you going to believe me or do you want to confirm it with your own brother?"

"I think I'll confirm it with my twin, thank you, before I get my hopes up. Put Jasper on."

Jasper took the phone and said, "It's true. She's right here. She's Alice's roommate."

Rosalie gasped, promised she'd grab Emmett and meet us right away.

"Shouldn't take that long," Jasper muttered under his breath.

Sure enough, it had barely been five minutes when Emmett and Rosalie burst in, out of breath.

Rosalie squealed with happiness as she threw herself at me gleefully while Emmett laughed. "Oh, Bella! I missed you so much! Welcome back!"

"Thanks," I said, grinning. "I missed you too."

Emmett was grinning as he kissed my cheek. "We've missed you, Bella. A lot."

"So what happened?" Rosalie asked, pulling me back down on the floor, looking eager. "How are you back?"

I told them about how I'd applied for the University of Washington and had been offered a huge scholarship. I'd turned down two Ivy Leagues and come here because I had a weird feeling.

"It turns out you were all here," I said, grinning. "Funny, right?"

"Hilarious," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes. "But still, good to have you back."

Emmett kept glancing at the clock and muttering inaudible things. Finally, Alice snapped, "What's wrong with you, Em?"

Emmett sighed. "I, uh, called Edward before we came here."

My heart stopped, then began beating faster. He knew I was here?

"Wait, so he knows?" Alice asked, shocked.

Emmett nodded. "Yeah. He said he'd come over, but I'm not sure if he was really planning on it." He glanced at me, apologetic.

"He'll come," Jasper said confidently. "If he said he'll come, he'll come. Besides, Bella isn't the only one who's missed Edward." He winked at me, already having seen through everything, even though I hadn't said a word about Edward.

"I told him not to bring You-Know-Who," Emmett said, glancing at them meaningfully, "but I'm not sure about that either."

"Then, Bella, there's something you should know," Alice said quickly. "Don't be so shocked if he brings a girl with him."

My eyes widened. "What?"

She opened her mouth to quickly explain, but there was a knock on our door, and a cute-looking girl peeked inside. "Hi, guys!" she greeted us with huge enthusiasm. She skipped into the room. "How's it going?"

Alice and Rosalie cast dark, distrustful looks at her while Emmett and Jasper tried to smile but grimaced instead. I just stared at her. Who was she?

There was another knock, tentative this time, and my heart stopped.

Edward Cullen was at the doorway, looking more handsome than I thought possible in simple jeans and a UW hoodie.


AN: Oh, snap! They meet again after a year! I hope you're glad that I didn't drag out their separation for too long. Really, it was just one chapter. Heh.

IMPORTANT! So…I took all your opinions about a new story under consideration. As usual, when I ask this question, I had two opinions: one, most people want me to do new stories to replace my finished ones, and two, few people want me to finish my stories before I start a new one. Usually, I don't listen to those few people, and I post a new story.

But quite frankly, I'm so…pressured. Handling five, six stories at a time was manageable, but I'd always felt that I had to write to satisfy my readers. I don't want that to happen again. When I feel that way, I can never come up with good inspirations. Luckily, you guys were awesome and always loved the way I dragged out my stories.

But this time, I'm willing to take choice number two. I'm going to wait until all my stories at least, which won't be long, I promise. If, at the end of the last story, I feel as though I can keep up with regular updates and schoolwork, I'll post a new story. Until then, I'll keep writing the new story in my spare time, along with my current ones. Are we good? Reviews!