Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.

A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.

Chapter Thirteen

A Date with Destiny

Edward was amazed at how much he had progressed over the last week. Like he had planned, he had taken all of the precautions he thought would be necessary at this point to ensure Bella's safety from him. He had not hunted in more than two weeks and he didn't feel himself slacking on his restraint at all. Obviously he was more tempted by her the longer that he didn't hunt, and he found himself breathing less and less around her, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

He knew the scent would always be the sweetest thing he will ever come across, and the venom that formed in his mouth wasn't going to go away whenever he reacquainted himself with her after the few hours he left her alone. However, he didn't expect it to be this easy to ignore … or more like, after encasing this issue in a small part of his brain, he was able to concentrated most of his energy on her.

Take now for instance, he was talking to her, they were sitting on the couch at his house alone for once as his family was nice enough to give them some peace. Her hand was resting against his and yet he didn't feel any primal instincts to hurt her.

"So, tomorrow's Saturday," Edward said. He was feeling anxious about what he was about to say. He had never actually asked a girl out before, and though he was confident what her answer would be, he found that he was still quite nervous about this.

"I know," Bella said looking at him curiously, as if asking why he was stating the obvious.

"I was wondering if you were free?" Edward asked.

"Edward, I'm always with you …" Bella asked, again confused by his line of questioning.

Edward sighed. "I was thinking I could take you somewhere nice, and then perhaps we could go to the Meadow," he said hoping he was getting across what he was trying to say. It was odd to ask something like this when he had been spending almost every minute of the day with her all this time, but he wanted this day to stand out among the others.

Bella looked at him for a long time and he felt himself get more uncomfortable the longer she stayed silent. Again he longed to know what she was thinking behind those beautiful brown eyes. "Are you…" she started to say, her voice coming out as uncertain and yet hopeful, "are you asking me on a date?"

The blush that colored her cheeks bolstered his sense that it really was time, for all he took for the reaction was pride. "Yes," he said and looking down uncomfortable to try and mask his growing excitement as he thought of what that would mean. "If you don't want to …"

"Oh stop it," she said swatting at him and then trying to hide the fact that her hand stung from her rash attack. "You know I've been waiting for this since we've met."

"Me and you both," Edward chuckled. "Of course you know that this means I can't stay with you tonight …"

Bella's face fell slightly at that, she had gotten used to him always being there, but she nodded her head in understanding. "I suppose that makes sense."

"It's getting late," Edward said, and again Bella grimaced, he would normally go home with her but this time he wasn't going to and she knew it. "Don't worry, I'll pick you up at eleven tomorrow … that's only a few hours away and you'll be sleeping for most of them."

"If I can sleep tonight," Bella muttered under her breath uselessly. She then got up, and of course he followed her, walking her to the rusty thing she called a truck. She looked up at him, just as unwilling to be separated from him this short time as he was her. "Goodnight, Edward."

He felt a desire to lean down and kiss her, but he was not going to give in to that when his eyes were still black as coal. He settled for brushing her face with his thumb, and staring deep into her eyes until he heard her heart race and her breath catch. "Goodnight, Bella," he sighed, and then watched her go.

Are you ready? Emmett thought as soon as Bella's truck was out of sight and a second later he was clapping a hand on Edward's shoulder.

"What?" Edward questioned but he heard what his brother was thinking about before he could even finish his question. Emmett was planning on going on this quick unannounced hunting trip that Edward was now planning on going on. "How did you even know …?"

"Alice told us things were finally going to move forward with Bella," Emmett said smirking. "Seeing as this is your first date, you need advice from your big brother …"

"Argh," Edward groaned and growled at the same time. "You mean you couldn't let this opportunity to tease me to pass …"

Emmett snickered at that, you know it. But seriously, Edward, I want to be there for you so you don't over think things before you even go on the date.

"Okay," Edward sighed, it wouldn't be so bad to go hunting with Emmett. "Though I'm surprised that Alice isn't here, too, with the way she likes to interfere with everything."

"Are you kidding?" Emmett's laughter boomed like always. "She's already started thinking about what she's going to do to make sure Bella is ready for this date."

"Argh," Edward groaned again.

"I don't know if Bella is ever going to forgive you for setting Alice loose on her without even a warning," Emmett continued to laugh. "And don't even think about interfering with that … you know you'll never get Alice to back off and you really do need to hunt."

"You're right," Edward sighed.

"If it's any consolation, from the sounds of Alice's muttering as she left the room, Bella is going to put up quite a fight about something," Emmett smirked and Edward couldn't help but smile at that idea. Bella was stubborn enough to even stop Alice from getting everything she wanted.

"Let's go," Edward sighed and the two vampires ran in hopes of finding some prey that would be halfway satisfying. He knew that he couldn't travel where he would normally like to and he was likely going to have to settle for some elk or other herbivores. He did hope to come across at least one predator.

O

Bella was so nervous with excitement about actually going on a date with Edward that she couldn't pass Charlie without him asking questions about her day. As she had already talked to him during dinner, the conversation didn't last long, but she was aware by the grimace he gave at the end of the conversation that he had gathered the importance of tomorrow. Luckily he didn't seem to want to make anything of it, for he let her go after he knew where she was going to be.

Once she got to her room she wondered what she was going to wear, until she realized that she had already known exactly what it would be. She had been saving this for a special occasion and she knew this was it. She looked at the clock and noticed that she had another twelve hours before she was going to see Edward again … for their date!

That thought had her on edge again and she made her way to try to get ready for bed. As she remembered how he had asked her out … by mentioning the meadow, all the progress she had made to calm herself down evaporated. She had always thought it was an unspoken agreement that Edward wouldn't take her there until he was ready to take the next step. The place held a sense of enchantment for her that she couldn't explain, and she knew that after tomorrow everything between her and Edward was going to change forever … and she couldn't wait for that.

Taking a leaf out of her own book, Bella decided to take some cold medicine before going to bed. She could just imagine what the others would say to that but she didn't care, she knew that she wouldn't sleep at all if she had to rely on doing it the natural way.

Her alarm rang at eight o'clock sharp; she felt that was enough time to get ready. What she didn't count on was having an annoyed vampire in her room, one who didn't seem to agree with her earlier thought.

"I didn't think you were ever going to wake up," Alice huffed at her, "now I can only do half the things that I was planning on."

"What?" Bella questioned the little vampire, trying to understand what was going on here. "Alice?"

"Yes, yes, I'm here, now get up, Bella," Alice said impatiently. "There's so much to do in so little time."

Sighing, Bella got out of bed and had to listen to Alice grumble about how slowly she reacted in the morning. In fact, it wasn't for another half hour before Bella found herself at Alice's complete mercy … she had been allowed human time to do things like eat and use the restroom.

When she got back to her room she saw that Alice hadn't been idle in her time alone, there was a vast number of products lying on her dresser along with clothes and other accessories. Bella groaned, now understanding completely what her book self had meant when she said that she felt like guinea pig Barbie. She noticed Alice's excited expression and sighed, but at least this was keeping her from panicking over what was going to happen in a few hours.

"I wasn't sure what you were going to wear," Alice said as she came in. "No matter what I picked I couldn't see you in it … I suppose that meant that I was actually going to let you choose." Clearly she found that thought odd, but she shrugged her shoulders. "So hurry up and pick so we can get started."

"I already know what I'm going to wear, Alice," Bella grumbled and looked over the other outfits that Alice had brought. They were all obviously expensive and seemed nice for both going out somewhere and hiking through the woods, which she assumed she was going to be doing.

"But …" Alice said in disbelief, "it took me forever to think of how to dress you …"

Bella narrowed her eyes at the tiny vampire, and set her jaw in her most stubborn way. "I'm not going to change my mind about this. I have been saving this blouse since I first learned that Edward liked it, for a day like today …" as she spoke she pulled out the blouse in question.

"Hmph," Alice said, her eyes glazing over and her scowl turned into a pout. Bella felt her resolve loosen slightly, it was hard to stay firm with Alice when she was looking so sad. Bella noticed Alice's mouth twitched upward before it fell again. "It looks like Edward agrees with you."

"Huh?" Bella said.

"He'll be happier if you wear your blue blouse," Alice sighed, "but that's okay, I've brought enough options to be able to handle anything you would wear. I'll have you looking amazing by the time I'm done with you."

"Are you saying that I don't always look amazing?" Bella questioned, trying to keep her tone teasing though she agreed with the statement more than her friend needed to know.

Alice rolled her eyes, "you know what I mean … if Edward isn't speechless when he first sees you, I'll buy you a pony."

"Oh, I've always wanted a pony," Bella said with false enthusiasm.

"Isn't that what all teenage girls ask for?" Alice laughed and Bella laughed with her, letting Alice do whatever she wanted. She wouldn't mind it one bit if Edward was speechless when he saw her.

O

"Argh, you would think we would have found more than one carnivore in ten hours of hunting," Emmett grumbled as they came back to the house. "You seriously owe me for letting you have the bear."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Edward chuckled at his brother's grumbling. "Though suffering though all your comments about what I should do today seems like a fair enough trade off for your generous gift of allowing me to have the tasty, highly irritated grizzly bear."

Emmett narrowed his eyes at his brother; see if I'm ever nice to you again.

Edward chuckled again, though he was thinking of a way to repay his brother for not only allowing him to have the best spoil of their hunt, but also keeping his mind off worrying about what was going to happen today. He wasn't sure if he was going to buy something for his brother or to agree to Emmett's next challenge (he supposed he would just have to see what the challenge was before he decided).

He ran upstairs to his room and noticed an outfit lying out on his bed for him with a note from Alice. He wavered for a moment on whether or not to wear it, but he decided there was no point ignoring her help. She was right that having Emmett come with him last night was a good thing after all.

Not sure what to do with himself after he was dressed, he went downstairs where he found Esme fluttering around, fixing things up. She normally didn't do such things and he knew that she was only doing it now because she was excited about something and he could guess too easily what that was.

"Edward," she beamed when he got downstairs, "you look so handsome." I can't believe that it's finally … La, la, la … at this point she started to focusing on her favorite song, the one that Edward had written for her so he couldn't hear the rest of her thought. He was grateful, though he knew the general direction they were heading, it was still nice not to hear.

"Thanks, Mom," he said with a smile, using the term that he knew would always bring a smile to her face. He didn't often call her Mom, but it felt right for this moment, because she was definitely acting like a mother happy that her son was going on a date with a girl he really liked.

Like every other time he had to wait for time to pass before he could see Bella again, he felt anxious for the time to hurry up. This time he forced himself to stay at his house. He was going to give Bella the time he said he would. So, he sat down at the piano and played a number of songs as he waited for the seconds, minutes and then hours to go by.

Finally it was time and he ran to his Volvo and raced down the drive towards Bella's house. He got there seconds before he was expected, the instant it was eleven o'clock he was knocking on the door. He smiled as the door opened only a second after that. Obviously she was just as anxious for this to happen too. She must have been standing by the door.

His breath caught when he saw her beaming at him a little anxiously as if not sure what he was going to think about her. She didn't have to worry as he looked her over; his eyes paused as he noticed the blue blouse and how it seemed to bring out the natural beauty of her skin. The creamy skin seemed to subtly change in tone as a blush crept into it and Edward continued his progress upward, to her face. He knew at that moment that Alice most definitely had been there because of the professional way the makeup Bella was wearing had been applied.

As always her eyes were the main focus of his gaze and the fact that they were somehow made even more brilliant with the subtly lining that surrounded them had him taking shallow breaths to relax himself. It didn't help when he noticed the other drawing feature of her, her lips, were a very tempting shade of red. He was having trouble deciding on what he should focus on and he felt grateful that he was a vampire and he could take in everything more than a mortal could, though even his concentration didn't feel like it was enough at the moment.

"Edward," she was the one to speak first, her voice breathless. His attention immediately focused on her lips and he felt a chill go through him as she said his name.

"Hm …" Edward said, unable to form words at the moment.

"I suppose I don't get a pony now," Bella said smugly, and that caused Edward's brain to snap back in place. Her laughter at his expression helped him gain even more control of himself.

"What?" Edward asked, his mouth going thin in his own amusement now, she never says what he thinks she will.

"Alice said she would get me a pony if you weren't speechless when you first saw me," Bella shrugged.

"I see," Edward chuckled. "Well, if you really wanted a pony I'll make sure you have one."

"Honestly, Edward," Bella rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'm quite pleased I'll not be getting a pony."

"Hm … I don't know how you could have doubted Alice when you look like that," Edward said looking over her again, though this time he didn't let himself get lost in her features. "You look exquisite! I must say that I've been waiting to see that blouse on you … Once again reality has exceeded my expectations."

Bella blushed a deeper shade of red and Edward held out his hand for her to take. Once they got into the car, Edward turned to her, much to Bella's surprise.

"I wasn't sure what you would prefer," Edward answered the questioning look before she could voice it. "I was thinking that we could either sick with events that had occurred in the book and go to La Bella Italia or if you would want a more original idea, for which I'm prepared …"

"La Bella Italia sounds good to me," Bella interrupted him, she didn't care where they went, honestly, she was looking forward to going to the meadow more than anything and going to Port Angles would mostly likely be closer than any other place.

Edward just smiled at her for another minute and she wondered if he was lost in her appearance again. The thought had her blushing before she could stop it and he smiled before he started the car and they were racing off to Port Angles. He had mastered the art of keeping her from really noticing how fast he was going. He kept her mind on him the whole time, which she found was increasingly easy for her to do.

The hostess at the restaurant was definitely not the same one that they would have met, she was older and though she noted how incredibly handsome Edward was, she thought the two made a lovely couple. Or at least that was what Edward informed Bella she was thinking. Bella hoped that Edward had tipped this hostess even more generously than he did the one in the book for that comment. The waitress, however, was annoying, as Bella could see the jealous glares she gave her, and the longing ones she gave Edward. Edward decided it was best if Bella didn't know what the waitress was thinking, and didn't even tell her when she asked.

Putting that aside, Bella found that she was having a great time being with Edward, even though he laughed at her when she ordered the mushroom ravioli. "You don't have to do everything the same you know."

"I know … but it sounded good in the book," Bella shrugged and she wasn't disappointed, it really was good. Edward ordered something this time, the eggplant lasagna, telling her with a smirk that it was the only thing he could order besides her own dish that was vegetarian. She rolled her eyes at his comment and how amused he seemed by it. She watched him closely and was barely able to catch his moments as he slowly made his food disappear … looking like he was eating it.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Edward asked after they had left the restaurant.

"I thought you were going to take me to the meadow," Bella said.

"Hm … are you sure you wouldn't want to go to a movie?" Edward asked. "I could try to use my never before tried dating moves on you."

Bella raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant by that. It sounded intriguing but she wasn't going to let anything talk her out of the trip to the meadow. "No, I want to go to the meadow."

"Okay," Edward said, "but I feel I should warn you that it won't look as enchanting as it did in the book at this time of year … And there will be no sparkling on my part today."

Bella laughed at that. "Consider me warned … but you should know that it doesn't matter what the meadow looks like, it's what it means to me that makes it appealing."

"And what is that?" Edward questioned but Bella shook her head. She didn't think she could explain it, and she didn't think she really had to … he must feel it, too.

She felt herself getting more and more nervous as they drove towards the meadow, and she could tell from his voice that he was nervous, too. As they got out of the Volvo, Edward looked back at Bella with a questioning look.

"What is it?" Bella asked.

"I was wondering whether you wanted to hike to the meadow yourself or if you would want me to carry you there?" Edward asked.

"Oh," Bella said, biting lip. The thought of walking for hours while she was this anxious was difficult, but at the same time she didn't know if she wanted to run with him. She had gotten sick after he did that in the book and she didn't look forward to that. However, she understood how much he loved running and she felt that it was something that he would like to share with her somehow.

"If you close your eyes, I'm sure it wouldn't be so bad," Edward said to her softly, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. He didn't want to influence her, but he couldn't quite manage it.

"I suppose," Bella smiled at him and when his face broke into a smile she knew she said the right thing, even if she did become sick afterward, she would do anything to see that smile on Edward's face.

Edward moved quickly, and before she knew it she was on his back. "Close your eyes," he said softly and she saw him moving his head to look at her before her eyes shut. If it wasn't for the breeze that had suddenly picked up she wouldn't have known that they were moving. He didn't jostle her once during the time he ran them towards the meadow until he finally said, "you can open your eyes."

She expected to be in the meadow when she did, but she knew she wasn't when she opened her eyes. The trees gathering around her were like any other she could find anywhere. "What …?"

"I thought you would get the full effect of the meadow if you walk into it," Edward shrugged, impishly, he had obviously enjoyed the run and was feeling excited about what was going to come next … whatever it was. "Though, like I said it's not quite the best season for it."

"That's okay," Bella said. She couldn't help but be affected by his excitement, he was adorable.

He held out his hand for hers then and she took it without conscience thought of moving. She wondered where all the fears she had felt in the car had gone and how it now seemed as natural as breathing to walk with Edward toward the future that was unknown to her, but held promises of brilliance. She smiled when Edward looked back at her pointedly, his expression holding expectations but she couldn't tear herself away from his gaze to appreciate her surroundings. She could be standing in the middle of a dump right now and it wouldn't have mattered.

However, when he raised an eyebrow she forced herself to look up, and what she found was breathtaking. There weren't the wildflowers the book had described, and the grass was a different shade of green, without the cover of the trees or the forest it almost looked yellow in comparison (which she thought was a nice change of pace). She could hear the enchanting sound of the bubbling stream that wasn't in view but filled the meadow was a sense of music. She felt as if time was stilled for her and everything was how it was supposed to be, though if breaks in the clouds could come and she could see Edward in the sunlight, it would perfect. However, she felt the fact that it wasn't raining was a good enough trade off.

"It's beautiful," Bella said smiling at him, almost surprised at the intensity with which he was staring at her. He seemed to be taking in every expression she made as she looked at the meadow.

"Yes, beautiful," Edward agreed, but she had a feeling he wasn't talking about the meadow. He brushed a stray lock of hair that had fallen across her face away, his hand lingering on her cheek for a long time. "Breathtakingly beautiful."

And she was, her breath was taken away as he stared at her like that, her heart beating in anticipation of what she wasn't sure of but she waited for patiently anyway.

He wasn't sure either, as he looked down at her all he wanted to do was embrace her, kiss her with a passion he knew he couldn't use with her. Did he really have the strength to be gentle? Did he have the strength to resist if she attacks him like she had in the book? If it weren't for her eyes, he never would have tried (or at least he didn't think he would have), they were so trusting, so filled with love that he felt in that moment he could never do a thing to make them stop looking at him that way.

"Bella," he breathed softly, and as his scent hit her she shivered slightly, bringing herself closer to him, her eyes still filled with love and trust. "Please, Bella, don't move."

"I'll try," Bella responded in a whisper that a human never would have heard, her heart beat was so loud at the moment it drowned all the other sounds in the meadow out … it was the only thing important in that moment.

Edward leaned down slowly, hesitating like she had said in the book because he was trying to test himself … but also hesitating because he had looked forward to this moment for a month and a half … no, he has been waiting for this moment for more than a hundred years. He was sure if he were human, his palms would be sweaty and his heart would be pounding just as hard as Bella's was. As it was, his stomach was tense and he was feeling even more aware of everything as he slowly moved towards Bella.

He watched as she slowly closed her eyes in anticipation, he heard her take shallow breaths; he focused on her beautifully shaped red lips. He stopped himself from thinking of the scent she would have as he got closer to her, it was locked away in the deepest most guarded chamber of his mind. And then his lips touched hers and it was incredible how much feeling shot through him in that instant. There was nothing in this world he wanted more than to be kissing Bella.

Bella's mind went blank as she felt the cold hard lips touch hers. All the strength she tried to put in making sure she stayed still, so that she didn't make this harder on him vanished as every inch of her longed to be closer to him. Her arms where raised, almost touching his face before she found any sense of herself, and the majority of her didn't wanted to listen to her logic. Edward … I need Edward, she thought but with a sharp remembrance of the pain it would cause him she stopped the advance (with a grumble). She still sighed when he pulled away, she didn't want him to stop!

"Well," Edward said in a prideful voice, smiling down at her smugly. "It seems that you showed a little more caution than you did in the book."

"And you're happy about that?" Bella said. "I thought you were smug about the effect you had on me."

"Oh, I am," Edward assured her still grinning, she was sure he wasn't going to stop anytime soon. She noticed that she was grinning as well. "And from what I can see, I still have that effect on you … you're just bettering at controlling yourself."

"Well, don't think it's going to last for too long, mister," Bella said, trying to look stern. "I'm sure I'll be attacking you as soon as I'm sure you're ready for it … and I predict that's going to be pretty soon."

"Argh," Edward groaned, not in an angry way, but in a way that made her think that he wanted that to happen very much, but was terrified at the same time. "I suppose that's just something I'm going to have to get used to," he eventually said, leaning down to rest his head on hers, breathing her scent in this time, after stilling his body. Mouthwatering, yes it was still that, but it was more now, too. It filled him with burning and love in equal measure now, and he knew he wouldn't be as affected as much anymore.

They stayed standing like that for awhile, but Edward sensed that Bella was starting get uncomfortable staying in the same place for so long. So he pulled away, for which she of course protested, and then led them deeper into the meadow. He found a nice patch of grass and sat down opening his arms for her. She didn't hesitate a moment and flung herself at him with a little more force than was necessary, but it only caused him to chuckle, especially when she started to blush. They stayed like that for the remainder of the day until it was twilight; just lying in one other's arms.

A/N: Well, I seriously hope I did okay with this chapter. I never considered myself the best at dealing with something like this … I don't pay enough attention to details for that. Anyway, I thought it came together nicely … but only the reviews will tell. Oh, and I wanted to say thanks to gottaloveashley for mentioning the Bella barbie, because I don't think I would have had the Bella/Alice (and Edward/Emmett) scene, and I enjoyed writing it. Well, on to next week, which will go into the werewolves again.