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Chapter 19

Burnin' Love.

Elvis Presley.

A/N: Do you guys want me to write outtakes for this story? Review what you want, and you got it.

"Bella, you really shouldn't be late for your own graduation..." Edward chuckled as he walked into my room, where I had been sitting quietly at the foot of my bed, my feet dangling off lazily.

"I know." I nodded once, not seriously listening to his words.

"Well, I'll be out and waiting in the foyer, love. Don't take too long." He kissed my temple softly, and I could have sworn I felt him suck some air in. He was smelling me, breathing me in. I closed my eyed, nodding as he turned and walked away. Once the door had closed with a light click, my eyes flickered open and I bit my bottom lip.

I was beyond nervous about the long day ahead of me. I was finally graduating high school, but it felt completely and utterly wrong. Slowly, my eyes trailed downward. I looked over the blue dress that Rosalie had picked out for me. It wrapped around my ribs and chest, and tied behind the neck, holding it in place. Beyond that, it cascaded down and over my legs, ending mid-thigh. It was a beautiful dress, and I knew that I looked nice. That wasn't what was holding my nerves so tightly though.

It was the slight bump on my lower abdomen that the dress was hiding from the world. My baby bump. We had chosen the dress to specifically cover that area. I had yet to tell Edward that I was the one who had gotten a positive on that pregnancy test, and not Rosalie. She was pregnant, but the test that he saw was mine.

I had lied to Edward.

I was far from proud of myself. I simply panicked, and said the safest thing that I could muster.

"Edward..." I had breathed, looking up at his confused face. His green eyes were concerned and locked directly on the test. "It's Rose's. I mean, she just wanted to be sure, because you know...she's hardly showing and she didn't know what to think."

"Bella..." Rosalie hissed and I shot her a look, daring her to tell him the truth. "Yeah. Sorry...I know it's stupid, and embarrassing...I just...I don't know."

"No." Edward shook his head, all of the worry disappearing. A slow smile graced his lips. "I understand. It's not a big deal, right Mom? You said that women sometimes forget that they're pregnant, and that it can freak them out."

"Right, Edward." Esme agreed, backing me up. I shot her an apologetic look. She just shook her head, and then looked back at Edward. "I think that we should all take a break for the night?"

I was pregnant and Edward didn't even know. I loved him with everything in me, but every single time I tried to bring it up, I choked and changed the subject. As much as I loved him, I was still scared. I was scared that Edward wouldn't want the same thing. That he wanted to spend our first months out of the house together, alone. I couldn't provide that and that caused me to freak out and worry constantly.

I had promised Rose that I would tell him today, or else she would. She told me that even though I was her daughter, and she loved me, that she wasn't going to let me drag things out any longer. I wasn't very thrilled with her options, but I knew that she meant serious business. She said that Edward would be overly thrilled and that I needed to just get it out there. She apparently didn't like the fact that I was willing to keep something so important from him. Rosalie was right, of course. I was too terrified to acknowledge things until last minute.

I carefully pushed myself off of the bed. As I drifted past the ceiling-length mirror, I took one last glance at my appearance. Rosalie had gone ahead and curled my hair and then pulled it into a half pony-tail. We kept my makeup light, and natural. My lungs let out a long sight as I picked up the hideous, yellow gown. I seriously was behind on time but I had no intentions to hurry.

"There she is! Our little brainiac!" Emmett laughed loudly as I approached the group.

"Here you go," Rosalie spoke softly, grinning as she handed me my cap. "You'll do great today Bella. Don't worry about a single thing."

"You keep saying that." I muttered, shaking my head with a grim smile.

"Come on, Debbie-Downer." Emmett slung his heavy arm around my shoulder, leading us all out and towards Rosalie's cherry red BMW convertible. It was nice out, and she wanted to use it for the occasion.

"Here you go." Edward grinned slyly as he opened my door for me and then helped me into the back. I thanked him shyly, watching as he quickly ran around and got into the seat beside me, from the other side. "This is your big day, Bella. Be happier about it."

"Sorry. It's just such a big step. I almost thought I'd never see this day." I told him the same thing that I had been telling him since I found out I was pregnant.

"If you say so." He laughed, pulling my hand comfortably into his. I leaned happily into him, taking every bit of him into me.

When we pulled up to the school, it was extra busy. We found Esme, Carlisle, Jasper, and Alice quickly. They were standing in a group, laughing about something in the distance. I pulled myself snugly into Edward's side as we approached them, still feeling a bit uneasy about Alice's inability to filter her words. I was terrified that she would realize I was pregnant and shoot her mouth off about it in front of Edward. She was the first one to notice us, of course.

"Bella! You look stunning!" She squealed, running over and pulling me into her arms. I let go of Edward, for fear of breaking my arm in the strong hug. She just kept laughing, pulled back, and then turned to greet the others. She was so quick, from one thing to the next.

"You should probably head to the locker room." Edward whispered and I nodded, remembering that we were all meeting up in that hallway, by the gymnasium.

"I love you all. Thank you for coming." I thanked them quickly, earning several 'your welcome's in return. As soon as they had finished talking, I nodded once and then ran off to find my place in the lineup.

I found my place behind Jessica Stanley, whose face quickly grimaced at the sight of me. Instead of making a comment, or even acknowledging her, I turned and looked at the wall. I was in no way shape or form planning on screwing up that day. It was already going to go badly when I had to tell everyone about my baby, I really didn't plan on getting into another fist fight on top of that. With my luck, they'd take away my degree.

Before I could totally collect my thoughts, the age-old tune began playing. The line was moving in seconds, and I found myself following the crowd. Up until we got a good way into the gym, I had been watching my pair of silver flats as if they were my lifeline. The sound of Edward's voice made my head slowly raise, and my eyes lock on his form. He was standing beside a chair near the front, by the aisle, and waiving proudly at me. Emmett, being Emmett, was standing up on the chair behind him, wolf-whistling the entire time. I smiled at them, trying to look away from Edward and at Esme and Rose's flashing cameras.

It was a battle that I was struggling with, not locking eyes with Edward.

"Congrats, baby!" He cheered as I walked by him and I smiled widely.

When we finally filed into our chairs, I found myself twisting around to see my family. Edward blew me a kiss and winked, making me giggle.

"That's your boyfriend?" Jessica whispered and I nearly fell out of my chair.

"Yeah...yes." I nodded, not totally sure if I was supposed to answer her or not. On top of that, it was weird referring to him as my boyfriend. He seemed like so much more than that. I didn't think that Jessica would appreciate 'baby-daddy' though.

"He's...pretty. Really." She nodded and I shrugged.

"I know. I love him."

"Good. You...you should." She didn't look at me, but rather turned her attention back to the speaker. I pursed my lips, choosing to leave things like that.

I never expected to end it on a decent note with her.

The echoing voice seemed to drag on forever. I thought that I was going to explode with anticipation by the time that he finally finished his speech. It was the principal talking, the one who had broken up the fight between the girls and I. Other than that, I didn't know the guy at all, and I felt no attachment to him or my class. So when it came time for me to stand up, and accept my diploma, it didn't feel as gratifying as it should have.

While at the same time, it felt so much better.

I was done. That was my only thought as I walked up and shook his hand, taking the diploma into the other. He smiled at me, although it certainly wasn't very personal. I didn't care. I was too busy turning my head to flash a smile at my family. For one moment in my life, I was a normal girl. I was graduating and moving onto a normal thing in life. I was done with high school and I had a family rooting me on along the way.

After stepping off of the stage, and returning to my seat, I turned to see Rosalie. She had tears in her eyes, with Emmett's arms wrapped around her upper arms. Esme was standing with Carlisle, holding her camera up proudly. Edward had Rose's camera, and he had yet to stop snapping pictures of me, with Alice clapping him happily on the shoulder. Jasper just stood, his hand on her arm, smiling supportively. I smiled back at them, relishing in my moment of pride. I had never been proud of myself before.

But I was.

My stomach fluttered and I giggled, thinking of the fact that my baby had probably just moved. I was probably two months along and I knew what quickening was through Rose and Esme. Even my baby was excited for me, as silly as that thought sounded.

My hand casually sat on my lower stomach, and I smiled even brighter. I loved my baby, I really did. I was suddenly less worried about things, watching Edward watching me, his eyes so proud and happy. There was no way that he could hate me, whether he wanted it or not. Because the baby had been made with our love. That was that and that couldn't be changed by anything.

After announcing our class, and tossing up and collecting our caps, I took no time stopping to hug my friends goodbye. Those kids weren't my friends. Instead, I began weeding my way through the crowd, making a beeline for the group of people that I knew were waiting for me on the other side of the mess.

"Edward!" I cried out upon seeing him. He laughed, running to meet me halfway.

I was in his arms, being spun around. There were flashes in the background, and I heard several awes, but I was too focused on the man kissing my neck to care.

"Good job, beautiful! You honestly have no idea how proud I am of you!" He finally huffed, letting me back on my feet. He hadn't let me go though, his arms still snugly placed around my waist. I smiled, leaning into him to kiss his lips.

"Thank you. Thank you for being here, for me. I love you." I giggled.

"Excuse me!" A random voice called and I turned around to see a random woman, who looked to be in her twenties.

"Yes?" I frowned, turning to look at her giant, black camera.

"I'm here for the Forks Weekly, and I was wondering if you would mind me using a picture I took of you two for our next cover?" She asked, holding up her camera. I looked at the picture. It was a full-body picture of us. I was in his arms, my arms around his neck. We were both grinning madly, and our eyes were locked and full of excitement. It was a beautiful picture. His navy dress shirt matched the tassle on my hat, and the sash on my robe. It was simply a mesmerizing picture.

"Oh...absolutely, if you want to." I nodded, and Edward grinned in agreement.

"Great! Can I get you guys' names and maybe a story?"

"Well, I'm Bella Swan..." I nodded.

"I'm Edward Cullen, and this is my gorgeous girlfriend." He kissed my cheek. "I work for the Forks Police Department and I've waited a long time for this day. We'll be going to the University of Washington this fall."

"How lovely!" She giggled, sounding truly excited as she took note of our story. "You say you've waited a long time, how so?"

"Well, this year we met my birth mother, who has been missing me for a long time, and then I was hit by a car, beat up, drowned, and shot."

"You were in the shooting?" Her eyes went wide and I nodded.

"Yeah, I was shot in the back...it's really been a long year. But I have come out so much happier and stronger, with Edward and my mom. I have a family." I explained and she chuckled. Slowly, she backed up and held her camera up. "Can I get a family picture?"

"Sure!" I smiled, moving to wrap my arm around Edward's side. Rosalie came up and wrapped her arms around my side. Emmett took her hand, and Alice and Jasper stood on his side. Esme came over and wrapped her arm around Edward's waist, placing her hand on my arm, while Carlisle held her other hand. We all squeezed together and smiled happily for the camera.

"I'll email those to you!" She told me, having me write my name and email down on the paper. "Congratulations!"

"Wow! You made the cover, Bells!" Rosalie laughed, hugging me. "I'm so proud of you. You have no clue."

"Thank you, Mom. It means a lot." I explained and she nodded, smiling.

"And that means a lot to me!" She hugged me again before pulling away. "Let's all take some pictures and then go to dinner."

After we finished taking pictures, we did go to dinner. We drove out to Port Angeles, because we knew that the Lodge in town was going to be packed with graduates. Esme and Alice had made reservations at La Bella Italia, because it was my favorite. I thanked them profusely, and they didn't even care, telling me that it was my day.

"You guys are way too nice." I told them as we finished up our food.

"We just love you, Bella." Esme smiled, taking my hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

"Well, I love all of you. Earlier this year I was afraid that I wasn't going to have anyone at my graduation, and that I'd be stuck here...but you all proved me so wrong, and I love you all so much!"

"Jasper and I should really get going." Alice sighed, checking the time.

"We'll drive you." Esme told her, nodding as she and Carlisle stood. I stood up, going over to hug each of them goodbye.

"Really, thanks again for the support." I sighed.

"Thank you for being such a good girl." Carlisle told me and I smiled.

"I'll see you all again before I leave, right?" I asked and they nodded.

After they left, and Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and I hanged out for a while, Rose and Em left. Edward asked me to go somewhere with him, so I agreed and drove with him. He took me to the boardwalk, where the carnival was placed on the pier. I giggled, remembering our first time there together. It made me smile.

"Come with me." He breathed, taking my hand and leading me through the crowd.

I gasped when I saw what he was leading me towards. There was the very bench that I had fallen for him on. Only now it was covered in rose petals, and there was a single satin box placed in the middle of it. I covered my mouth, stopping myself from letting out a cry of shock as he continued forward to it. Slowly, I inched on over and stopped in front of him.

"Isabella Marie Swan..." He sighed, shaking his head with a bright-eyed smile. "I love you more than anything I have ever even thought about. This bench...this is where I truly realized that I had fallen for you. Where I had legitimately fallen in love with you, whether I was willing to admit it or not. I want this to be the place where we make that love official and forever...

"So, Miss Swan," he spoke softly, kneeling down on one knee in front of me. I giggled, tears falling free from my eyes. He reached up and tenderly took my hand in his, placing the most gentle kiss on my knuckle. "Will you do the honor of making the rest of our lives the most beautiful thing we can make it, by becoming my bride? Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Oh, yes, Edward. Yes!" I cried, the tears becoming bigger and the sniffling becoming stronger. "I love you so much, thank you Edward."

"I love you too, my beautiful angel." He sighed, pulling the ring from the box and slowly sliding it up my left ring-finger. The cool medal sent a sweet chill down my spine. I watched quietly as he kissed each of my fingertips before finally kissing the ring itself.

"Get up here!" I laughed, moving so that he could stand up and kiss me.

"I love you!" He laughed into my lips, kissing me strongly.

That was when I noticed the cat-calls and cheering. My face heated up as I pulled back from him a bit. I turned to see everyone from dinner standing around us. There were also some strangers, watching us with wide-eyed curiosity. I couldn't help but laugh and lean up to kiss him again. I didn't even bother with the people watching us.

I was going to marry Edward Cullen.

Mrs. Bella Cullen had a nice ring to it.

"Thank you." He sighed after I pulled back a bit. I noticed that his eyes were glossy, and that he had even cried a bit. "I love you, Bella."

"Don't cry, handsome. I'm here and we're getting married."

"I can't take it anymore!" Emmett's voice interrupted our sweet bubble. I felt myself being lifted off of the ground and spun around. "You're getting married, kiddo!"

"I know! Put me down before I vomit!" I officially crushed the moment, and everyone laughed, walking over to join us.

"Let me see the ring!" Rosalie giggled, taking my hand into hers. I finally got my first look at it, a smile gracing my own lips.

It was perfect. It had a touch of old fashion. Vintage. The ring was a large oval, and place all over it were small multi-faceted diamonds. It was gorgeous, and a perfect fit. I turned to Edward, grinning madly at him.

"It was my grandmother's," he spoke proudly. "I knew you'd love it. The fact that it fit was just icing on the cake."

"Thank you. It means the world, really." I told him, looking at my Claddagh ring. I smiled widely, moving to place it on my left hand. I had the heart facing out for engaged, even though it couldn't go on the same finger as my bigger ring. "There. Forever."

"Forever!" He sighed.

"Edward, there's something I need to tell you." I spoke suddenly, shocking myself.

"What?" He was still looking at my rings, his eyes full of pure love and romance. I rolled my own eyes, but then shook my head slowly.

"You promise not to hate me?" I asked softly.

"What?" His head snapped up, his worried eyes locking strictly with my own. I pursed my lips, waiting on an answer. "I could never hate you, Isabella. Never. What's going on?"

"Edward..." I sucked in a deep breath, letting it go. Finally, I closed my eyes and said it. "I'm pregnant."

"Bella..." He spoke after a short, heart-breaking silence. My eyes were still shut tightly, refusing to see the horrified look on his face. "Bella!" He shook me a bit. My eyes flickered open, meeting his surprisingly thrilled ones. "Bella...how would I hate you over that? I love you! We're having a baby, Bella! Our own little baby! This is a miracle!"

"You really think so?" I immediately began to cry again, mentally blaming it on my hormones.

"I know so!"

"A miracle, huh?" I asked, smiling slyly and moving in to wrap my arms even more tightly around him.

"The only miracle bigger than how much you love me back." He breathed, his lips centimeters away from mine. I could feel his warm breath on my face, and it took everything in me not to just kiss him.

"I love you." I shook my head, reminding myself that he already had everything in me.

I simply gave in and kissed him.

The End.

REVIEW FOR OUTTAKES :)

Pregnancy, wedding, how Rosalie met Emmett, other POV's, you get the drill. Let me know what you want!