Hello, hello my lovely readers ! Welcome to another episode of your favorite story! (I hope, *crosses fingers*) I promised another chapter before 2010 finished and I'm sorry I couldn't hold onto that, but here it is.

A huge thanks and shout out to my betas Mcc101180 and TiffanyAnne3.

Just a comment, people: Remember that this is FICTION. I'm researching as much as I can to make it believable, but I do NOT live in NY, nor am I an actual ballerina, so unfortunately some details could (and will) escape me.

I own a huge ass mug of delicious coffee but Twilight, I don't.

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Bellarina. Chapter 13

Bella:

Développe… Grand battement…

My body seemed weightless as I danced to the music. My arms moved like actual wings, and I felt like a real swan. In that moment, I was a real swan. Light, beautiful and free.

Jete.. Jete… Attitude…

I closed my eyes for a brief second and just let the soft notes flow through my body. It wasn't me anymore dictating my movements. I was merely floating in the melody—letting it guide my dancing.

I could feel the burn in my muscles and the strain of my joints, but it didn't hurt. I acknowledged the sensation and embraced it as a part of my being.

The tone of the music changed. From being playful and harmonic, it developed into something deeper and stronger. I prepared myself for the pirouettes.

The slight air in my face as I spun swiftly and the way I batted my swan wings made my body almost believe I was about to take off in flight. The music picked up one more time, even more passionate and intense than before. I twirled again and again, moving my arms up and down gracefully before ending in a clean attitude.

In that split second before I fully stopped and the music played the last note, my mind out of its own volition prepared itself for Mrs. Von Wobeser's harsh reprimands and Tanya's snarky comments… but the moment never came. Instead, a deafening roar filled my ears.

My dancing-i-induced haze quickly dissipated. I remembered where I was and what that thunderous noise was. I was in the Academy's A uditorium Principal. The noise was the sound of applause. Two thousand people applauding, to be more exact. Two thousand people applauding…for me.

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It had been over for forty minutes now, and I was still in the dressing rooms. I couldn't believe it yet. It all seemed so surreal.

I had danced the lead part of Swan Lake in a crowded theater in New York City. I'd never thought I'd see the day. All those years practicing, all the hours rehearsing and every bit of sweat I'd put into it… I knew I still had a long way to go, but this was the beginning of it.

When I walked outside, through the performers' entrance, I saw Edward with a small, well trimmed bouquet of little, yellow flowers. My mom was standing next to him with her arm looped around his. Both of them had these looks on their faces, like they were shocked or in awe of something… pride maybe?

I was really happy to see my mom. Ever since she had remarried, we had grown apart, but I understood. She was young and newly married; it was only logical she wanted to enjoy her new husband. However, it had been over a year since I last saw her. Granted, we spoke regularly on the phone, but I still missed her spontaneous comments, eccentric point of view, and generally just her bubbly self.

I started walking faster and faster until I was running toward them. When I was barely at arm's length, I threw myself at my mother. The force of the impact made us stagger a bit, but luckily, Edward caught us before we crashed onto the floor.

"Bella, sweetie, you were great, I'm so proud of you," my mother murmured against my hair.

"I'm glad you could make it, Mom. I know you had to leave Phil all alone…"

With that, my mother broke apart from our embrace. I instantly felt ashamed that I had ruined our special moment with a poorly thought out comment, but then she gently lifted my chin with her fingers and looked at me with the most warm and loving gaze.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. You are my baby, my little girl, my daughter. You mean everything to me, Bella. I know that we haven't seen each other much, and that we've become distant over time. But that doesn't mean I love you any less. I could never do that. You have a new life here. You have to find your own way and fight your own battles. And when you win, I want to be able to share it with you. Even if you don't, I'll be there for you… I'll always be there for you, my baby. How could I not be here today?" A tear was running down her cheek, and when she softly swiped her fingers across my cheek, I realized I was crying too.

"I love you, Mom." I could have given her a big speech; there was so much I wanted to say to her, both good and bad. But those three simple words were enough.

"And I love you, little one. Now let's cheer up! This is a happy occasion!"

"These are for you, Bella," Edward said, as he offered me the bouquet. I took the flowers from him with one hand, and I wrapped my other one around his neck. He held me around the waist and pulled me closer to him. I kissed him softly and lovingly… rather short and chaste too, since we were in the presence of my mother.

"Thank you, babe," I said against his lips. There was no need for words; the sweet smile on his face told me everything I needed to hear.

"They mean success, you know," he blurted out.

"Huh?"

"The flowers, yellow poppies. They mean success. And I think you achieved that tonight. You were… amazing. I can't find a better word. I almost couldn't believe it was you. "

"Almost? What made you believe it then?"

"Baby girl, I could recognize those mile-l-ong legs anywhere," he responded in a smug tone, as he shot me a dirty look, waggling his eyebrows.

"Hmm… and here I was, thinking that maybe… I don't know… my face, or probably my freaking name in the program would give you a clue…" I answered, feigning offense.

"Oh yeah, that too." Luckily my mother had wandered away to chat with Mrs. A, one of my teachers.

"Such a charmer…"

"Yep. Charmed the pants off of you in no time… Come on, woman. Stop fighting with me, and let's get your mother fed." He wrapped his arm around me as he steered us toward where my mother was standing. I leaned my cheek against his side and closed my eyes for a second.

"I love you, Edward," I whispered against his shirt.

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After leaving the Academy, Edward, my mom and I went for some takeout from a cute little deli gourmet shop close by. I suggested it, since I didn't want my mom to worry about my eating habits, and they couldn't tell me that ordering a salad was "out of character" for me, since salads were half the menu in the place.

We ate in our apartment, bantering back and forth. It was remarkable how my own mother, my own flesh and blood, could tease me like she had. She was even worse than Stefan! I reached my breaking point when she started asking Edward if we had christened the studio yet. Apparently mirror sex was "fuck hot." Of course I knew that from experience… but it wasn't something I was willingly sharing with my mother.

A while later, Edward went to take a shower as my mom and I cleaned up the kitchen. I was washing the dishes, while she dried them and put them away.

"You're so serious now," she suddenly said.

"Me? I'm serious?"

"I mean you and Edward, your relationship."

"Mom, our relationship has always been serious."

"I just… hadn't seen it before. You're so in tune with each other, you orient yourselves around each other like magnets… or gravity..." The tone of her voice changed as her mind seemed to wander off.

"That's just silly, Mom… are you reading mysteries now? Or is it sci-fi?" I tried to brush her off, but sometimes her simple view just cut right through the truth of things.

"Yeah, but that's beside the point," she answered, clearing her throat. Her dreamy tone disappeared, and she was back to Serious Mom Mode. "What I was trying to say is that I thought that he was just a high school sweetheart, and that you would grow out of it."

"Mom!" The plate I was rinsing slipped through my fingers at her comment. It clinked loudly against the other dishes in the sink, but luckily it didn't break. "How can you say that? I know we're young and all, and we're not getting married any time soon, but I honestly don't see myself with anyone else but him. Edward's the love of my life," I answered softly.

"That's what I thought about your dad… and then about Steve… then about John…"

"Okay, okay! I get the picture. But we've been together for three years, and I still feel butterflies in my stomach when I'm expecting him to come home. He still makes me melt with his sweetness and his gestures… It still feels… new."

"I know that now," she said, smiling softly. "It just hurts to see that you're such a grown up woman. You know, I think he could be proposing any minute now."

"It's four, you know." Edward's deep voice startled both of us.

"Edward! Didn't you mother tell you not to eavesdrop?" I yelped.

"Four what, honey?" my mother asked sweetly, not noticing my embarrassment at all.

"Four years. She said that we've been together for three years. But as of today it's four," he elaborated.

"Oh my god! Edward! Our anniversary! How could I forget?" I started wiping down my hands on my jeans frantically, my mind rushing at a thousand thoughts per second, trying to figure out how to make this up to him. I had pasta in the cupboard, and I think some ground meat in the freezer. I could fix up some Bolognese and—

"Baby girl, it's okay. Just seeing you dance like today was enough of an anniversary gift for me." God, now I feel like the worst girlfriend ever.

"God… I'm the worst girlfriend ever." And now, I even lack a brain-to-mouth filter.

"No, you're not. Renee, you mind if I steal her away for a while?"

"Not at all, sweetheart. I was actually going to call it a night. I'm really tired." She almost got me for a second, but her exaggerated wink was a tell-tale sign of her obvious conspiracy with Edward.

"Where are we going?" I asked for the tenth time in the last five minutes.

"Just around," he replied nonchalantly.

"Edward!" I whined. "You do remember I hate surprises?"

"Jesus Christ, you're such a killjoy! We're going skating at Rockefeller Center. Happy now?" he finally relented exasperatedly.

"Yes, thank you." I pecked his cheek before panicking thoughts occurred to me. "But do you think it's a good idea? You know, plus it's 11:00 on Christmas Eve, we're going to be in line forever, they might even close before we get our turn and—"

"Isabella, you twirled twenty-three times in a row, without swaying once. You're going to pull that 'ice, skates and Bella Swan don't mix' bullshit now?"

"It was twenty-five times, thank you very much, and that was ballet, not figure skating, so you better not let me fall, Edward Cullen," I said with finality.

"I would never, baby girl."

I didn't know how Edward had pulled this off. We had completely bypassed the waiting line—that was impossibly long. He already had some very special-l-ooking tickets that he handed to a guy who was surprisingly waiting for us at the exit staircase.

No more than fifteen minutes later, we were twirling and sliding happily on the ice. Both of our butts were wet from falling down a couple of times. It had been a long time since we laughed like this. With all the stress about school, we had kind of forgotten the playful part of our relationship, and I missed it.

"Bella?" Edward called me.

I turned around, to see that he had lost the playfulness in his expression.

"Happy anniversary, baby girl," he said as he reached into his pocket, taking out a small white box with a pink bow. My eyes widened, and I think my heart missed a beat.

"…any minute now…" My mother had said. Proposing… Engaged… Married… Wedding…

"Don't go all Runaway Bride on me. I'm not proposing yet, Bella…" he said, rolling his eyes at me and effectively cutting off my inner freak-out.

"Oh… Okay." I took the box from him and opened it slowly. Inside was a beautiful, simple ring. It was silver with the shape of two ballerinas.

"This isn't an engagement ring, but I do want it to represent my commitment and my full devotion to you. I haven't forgotten, Bella, all the promises I've made to you. I want us to remember this day for the rest our lives, because what I saw today, what you did today…" He sighed and took a deep breath before continuing with an even more determined voice.

"WWe're getting there… with every day that passes by our dreams are getting within reach. We're halfway to our someday and I promise to be by your side until we reach the finish line, and even further after that." Edward took the ring out of the box and slid it smoothly on the third finger of my right hand.

"Edward…" I whispered. I couldn't find words beautiful enough to convey my feelings for him in that moment. What do you respond to the most romantic, thoughtful and sweet gesture ever given to you?

"I don't… I… I love you, Edward, I really do." I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging onto him for dear life. His words and his gesture, although simple, was the most perfect thing in the world. In that moment, I couldn't believe that such a perfect man was mine.

"My life is brilliant…" he sang as he started swaying us softly to the music.

"Edward? What did you do?" I asked him as I recognized the opening words of the song we danced to at his prom. I took a moment to look around and noticed that there was no one around us. This started to smell fishy… and expensive.

"I may have made some arrangements," he replied nonchalantly.

"What arrangements?"

"Shut up, woman, and dance with me."

My life is brilliant.

My love is pure.

I saw an angel.

Of that I'm sure.

She smiled at me at the diner.

She was with an ugly truck.

"Hey! The song doesn't say that! And my truck wasn't ugly, it was a classic!"

"Yeah, classic trash. And you did smile at me at the diner, remember? It was the first time I saw you."

But I won't lose no sleep on that,

'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.

He screamed the lyrics in a mock falsetto voice, faking a microphone with his fist. I played along and danced dramatically, looking every bit as ridiculous as him.

You're beautiful, it's true.

I saw your face in a crowded place,

As the chorus slowed down, he grabbed me by the waist and dipped me. He sang the last verses sweetly, looking directly into my eyes.

And I don't know what to do,

'Cause I'll always be with you.

"Stop changing the words," I whispered against his lips.

"But aren't they true?" he said before kissing me.

Yes, they were. What else could I ask from life?

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Edward bought an "engagement on ice package" It's real! I researched it! LOL… Although they didn't get engaged, it certainly served its purpose of getting a ring on a girl's finger :P

So thank you very much for reading! I would like to invite you all to visit the thread of this story over at Twilighted (link in my profile). I'm posting teasers there, and you can ask me questions, give out your theories or comment anything you want about the story.

I will also post in my profile pictures and videos for the chapters. I know I haven't updated those since chapter 5, but I will. There's this awesome video of the part I envisioned Bella dancing, and I'm dying to share it with you.

Please! Review!