Disclaimer: SM owns it all. Not me. Boo.

Chapter Five – Changes

"Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through"

-David Bowie

My flight was a peaceful one; of course, the five mimosas allowed me a nice nap somewhere over the Pacific. After a brief layover in LA I was finally in Washington, the time just an hour different from when I took off, 23 hours ago. I felt like Marty McFly. I took a rental car from Seattle to Port Angeles and called Bella somewhere in between to let her know where I was.

"Hello?" she answered breathlessly. Sweet mother of fuck...

"It's Edward," I said softly. I didn't know why people answerd the phone with sexy, breathless voices unless they were in the middle of… I shook the thought from my head and resisted the urge to vomit. I couldn't, no, I wouldn't think of her with anyone else until I knew for sure.

"Edward!" she cried, I heard giggling and a muffled, "Stop it!" before she came back on the line. "Sorry about that," she apologized.

"No problem," I answered quietly. "Listen, I'm about an hour from Port Angeles, but I'm beat. Did you want to get together tonight?"

"Tonight would be best for me," she sighed and I could imagine her twirling a strand of her curly brown hair around her finger. Was it still long? Had she cut it since I'd left? I loved running my fingers through the silky strands…

"Okay… Just give me a little while to clean up? I'll call you when I get settled?"

"Sounds perfect," I swear I could hear a smile in her voice. "Talk to you soon, then."

"Soon," I moved the phone from my ear to end the call but not before I heard her cry out again.

"Dammit, Emmett!! Put the water gun away!"

I laughed, relieved at the cause of her exertion and thoroughly wished that I would get a chance to see my best friend while I was around.

~*~

A shower and change of clothes made me feel less like a hobo, though I could've done with a good night's sleep before meeting with Bella. She had agreed to meet me at the edge of the pier, a private joke that had begun when we first started dating. We had tried to keep our relationship a secret, knowing that Emmett would most likely try to kill me with his bare hands if he'd found out. We would often sneak away from our families and meet in Port Angeles. It was somewhere we could just sit and talk, hold hands, steal kisses, and all those innocent things that would have given Emmett an aneurysm had he seen them. Our relationship was eventually outed and Emmett dealt with it rather well. After he punched me, of course. I rubbed my jaw at the memory and smiled to myself, but I stopped short of laughing.

I reached the small opening of shops just before the beginning of the pier when I saw her. She was sitting on one of the benches, staring out into the ocean and absently twirling a piece of her chocolate hair around her finger. Her hair was long, halfway down her back and cascading in curls around her pale face and the dark green of her cable-knit sweater. I could tell that her face was more round than it was five years ago, but she was still beautiful. Her head turned towards me, as if she could feel me watching, with a look of surprise on her face. The surprise was quickly replaced by a smile so glorious that caused my heart to all but stop beating. It was not the reaction I had been expecting, since the way we parted was neither cordial nor happy. The smile seemed nothing in comparison to what happened in the next ten seconds when she crossed the few yards between us and threw her arms around my neck. I couldn't do anything but hold her back just as tightly because I had dreamed of a day when I would see her again and nothing in the world would matter but the two of us.

"Edward," she said my name softly and I smiled into her hair. "I missed you."

BPOV

I missed you? Seriously, Bella. Why did you even put pants on this morning? I pulled away from Edward, trying to regain my composure. Feeling his arms around me, smelling his Edwardy-smell… I didn't know what had gotten into me. Oh, wait. Maybe it was the perfectly cut jeans and white t-shirt? Or the tan leather jacket and Docs? If I were being truthful I would say it was his gorgeous green eyes, unkempt bronze hair, and the way one side of his perfect mouth pulled up when he smiled. I sighed. It was all of the above.

The fucking smile was there on his perfect face and I nearly forgot the reason we were really there. Five years. Five long, lonely years it had been since I'd seen that pretty smile or heard his melodic voice. I pulled all the way out of his arms and turned back to the bench I was sitting on. I picked up my jacket and two cups of coffee that were sitting there. I fixed my face into a calm mask, though I felt nothing like it, before I turned back to him. He smiled when I extended one of the cups towards him.

"Black. Four sugars," I explained and he nodded.

"And you still fill your cup halfway with milk and add eight sugar packets?" He nudged my shoulder with his softly. I smiled up at him as we started to walk. I took a familiar trail to a small park just down from the pier, where you could still see the peaceful bay.

"Some things never change," I said softly. I got lost in his gaze and stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk. He grabbed my elbow to steady me, laughing as he did.

"You're very right," he relinquished his hold and I sighed, again. "So… How's everyone?" I risked another glance at him and saw just what I expected. Sadness.

"Good. Great, actually. Charlie retired two years ago," I explained and he laughed loudly.

"You're kidding me?!" He cried and I just shook my head and laughed.
"Nope. He and Sue are living out by the river… close to your parent's old place," I told him. "He fishes almost everyday."

"Good for him. What about Em?"

"Chief of Police," I stated, making Edward stop in his tracks.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. You know how he is. He always gave Dad a hard time, but Emmett always looked up to him. They're both really happy. Em's getting married," I added the last part softly and watched Edward's face carefully. His eyes searched mine for a long time before he ran a hand through his hair and sat down on the bench closest to us.

"I've missed a lot, huh?" He stared across the small park and I bit my lip to keep the hysterical laughing from my mouth. You have no idea.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"I'm sorry, Iz," he brushed a wayward lock of hair away from my face and I shivered. "I shouldn't have left. I should've stayed with you, with all of you, I – "

"Please don't do this Edward," I choked out through the lump that had formed in my throat at his apology.

"I need to. Just let me – "

"No!" I cut him off again, louder than before.

"Why not?" He looked at me, hurt.

"Because I don't deserve it," I managed to say. I could feel my eyes stinging with tears and I blinked them back, furious at myself. This was important. I had to get it all out and I had to be strong about it.

"What do you mean?" His eyes were deep green pools of confusion. "I left you. I abandoned a lifelong friendship and our relationship… of course you deserve an apology!" He tried to argue with me but I just shook my head.

I took a deep breath and reached into my purse, pulling something small out of it. His face was even more confused as I thrust the object quickly into his hands. He looked down, but I kept my eyes on his face, watching his reaction, seeing the understanding…

EPOV

I watched, bewildered as she dug through her bag. The deep breath she took before she all but threw the piece of paper in my hand was somewhat unsettling. I felt her eyes on my face as I looked down at the object she had placed in my awaiting palms. A picture. I didn't know what to think for approximately three seconds. Then, it hit me. Like a motherfucking lightning bolt. Green eyes. Red hair. Pale heart-shaped face. Freckles smattered across a perfect nose. I could hardly describe the different emotions that ran through my body and mind in those three seconds. Joy. Pain. Anger. Hate. Love. Anger. Betrayal. Happiness. Fucking anger… they gripped my chest, making it hard to breathe. I struggled to pull in air as the different feelings took me over. I was glad I was sitting down, but I would have surely fainted. Something wet hit the picture in my hand and I reached up, feeling tears on my face. I wiped them away quickly and when my eyes finally lifted to meet her anxious ones… I didn't need to hear her ridiculously insignificant words to validate what I already knew.

"He's yours."

*crickets chirping*

I hope you're still with me. Thanks to Becca Graymoor for being a fuckawesome beta... and to Messy for making me post this.

I appreciate all of your reviews. Thank you so much for your love, it makes me all warm and fuzzy on the inside :)

Just forewarning, not all chapters will be up this fast. These were just already done and I was trying to space them out, but I got too excited.

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