Disclaimer: I don't own Eclipse, or anything Twilight related. I do own Melody Waters and any other characters I make up!

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Please please leave reviews, they motivate me!

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Jessica was radiant in her yellow cap and gown, standing at the podium on top of the stage. I had to admit; valedictorian looked better on her than it ever would have on me.

The decorations around her were our school colours, alternates of blue and yellow. The Forks High School crest hung on a banner behind her. It was a reminder that this was it. We had made it. The day we spent the last four years working towards: graduation.

Never in my life did I think I would graduate from Forks High School. I mean, I knew it was a real place, but not a place where the actual Cullens existed, or a place where I'd ever attend. I know I said my whole life changed when I first opened my copy of Twilight, but my life truly changed the day I stepped foot in this school, completely unaware that my true love actually existed and attended this school.

My face warmed at the thought of how somehow, I was lucky enough to meet and fall for Edward Cullen, and have him fall for me. I risked a glance at Edward and Erica beside me. Edward looked bored; I'd be too, if I were him. This wasn't the first high school graduation he'd sat through, and odds were it wouldn't be the last. Erica, however, bounced up and down in her seat. This was the day she wasn't totally sure she'd see, at least not back in Salt Lake City. Being in Forks had changed her life just as much as it had changed mine.

"When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up," Jessica began, her voice firm and steady despite the panic attack she nearly had on me right before the ceremony. "Our answers were things like astronaut, president, or in my case a princess." The crowd chuckled at her joke. "When we were ten they asked us again: we answered, rockstar, cowboy or in my case a gold medalist." Another round of laughter. "But now that we've grown up they want a serious answer. Well, how about this, who the hell knows?!"

That raised a round of laughter and applause from us students. "This isn't the time to make hard, fast decisions," Jessica continued, and my hands froze mid-clap.

Edward's hand found mine, twining our fingers together. I offered him a grateful smile as Jessica went on. "This is the time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere. Fall in love…a lot."

At the mention of falling in love, I squeezed Edward's hand. He flashed me the quickest grin. "Major in philosophy, because there's no way to make a career out of that!

"Change your mind and change it again, because nothing's permanent," Jessica said. "So make as many mistakes as you can, that way someday when they ask what we wanna be we won't have to guess, we'll know." She drew a deep breath. "I'm honoured to have been the graduating class's valedictorian." She pumped her fists in the air. "We did it!"

We let out another whoop, and then it was time to receive our diplomas. When I walked across the stage, I caught my family's gaze. Dad, as expected, was openly crying. Mom's eyes glistened with tears but not a single one dropped; she had to be strong for Dad, after all. Uncle Charlie and Aunt Sarah clapped hard, their hands turning pink from the force.

Then my gaze shifted to the Cullen family, the family I'd be leaving them to join. I bit my lip to keep my smile in place as I graciously accepted my diploma.

Once the ceremony ended, I went to find my family in the crowd. Mom pulled me into a big hug. "Oh honey, I'm just so proud of you!" she cried.

"Thanks, Mom," I wheezed, shrugging out from her grip. I turned to Dad, his eyes redder than the time he had first watched Titanic and he was trying to make sure none of us saw him cry. "Dad, it's not a big deal. It's just graduation."

"It's not, though," he said. He wiped at the corner of his eye. "It's just... watching you on that stage, I just saw your whole life flash before my eyes. In four years we'll be here again, watching you graduate college. And then I'll be walking you down the aisle. Your kids will run around me. You're just growing up so fast. You have such a bright future ahead."

My breath hitched, and my first thought was that I prayed Edward wasn't around to hear that. My gaze flickered over to Mom. She knew the truth; I had told her as much when I visited. She kept her face neutral, betraying not a single hint of what she knew, but I could see the sadness in her eyes, almost as if she had just realized that she wouldn't be seeing any of that for me.

Holding my tears back, I threw my arms around Dad's neck. "Whoa," he said, stumbling back, but his arms were around me, firm and strong and ready to protect me, like they always were. "You just said it wasn't a big deal."

"I know," I said, proud of my voice for not wavering. "It's just a big, big day."

My parents took me out for dessert before Alice's party (I always felt badly whenever Edward had to eat to keep up pretenses, but I couldn't help but giggle at his subtle grimaces) so I arrived a bit later than everyone else, so it was already in full swing by the time I got there.

People were laughing and dancing and eating, but I couldn't help but notice the tense air that underlined the celebrations, as if everyone here couldn't believe they were actually at the Cullens' house.

I grinned when I caught sight of Erica dancing with Angela and Jessica. They all smiled and came to meet me halfway, and I hugged them. "You made it!" Angela said.

"Yeah, my parents are in town," I told them, though they were currently on their way to the airport with Carlisle and Edward tailing them. I didn't want Mom and Dad coming here for grad at all, given Riley and the newborn army's close proximity. But I finally relented after Mom agreed that she and Dad would leave the same day. Carlisle and Edward would stay at the airport until they physically saw the two of them get onto their plane and then they'd return.

"How'd you like my speech?" Jessica asked eagerly. "Too easy-breezy? Too self-helpful? You hated it?"

I laughed. "Give me a second to answer," I said, and she laughed too. "You were great. Really. The stuff you said really struck a cord."

"Yeah?" Jess gushed. "It's like I was born to lead, right?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, of course!"

The music suddenly changed, and Angela squealed. "Oh, I love this song!" She gestured to the dance floor. "Let's go!"

Before I could protest, Erica's eyes locked with mine. Your chances for human experiences are getting smaller and smaller, she reminded me wordlessly.

She was right. I braved a smile and let them drag me out to the dance floor. I laughed and shimmied as I danced with Erica, Jessica, Angela, Mike and Eric. Mike and Eric did a poor imitation of the moonwalk, and Jessica and I took turns twirling each other.

As much as these characters had irritated me when I read them for the first time... now they were actual people I couldn't imagine my Twilight experience without. And I was going to be sad when I said goodbye to them at my future wedding, knowing it'd be the last time I saw them.

I was mid twirl when my eyes landed on three figures walking into the room, and I froze. Erica's gaze followed mine, and her eyes glowed as she ran over to them, throwing herself into Embry's arms. Jacob, on the other hand, stood where he was, not quite meeting my gaze.

I steeled myself, gave the group a quick "I'll be right back!" before heading over to them. I crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you doing here? You don't go to our school."

"You invited me, remember?" he tried nonchalantly.

I rolled my eyes. "Do you not remember my fist meeting your face?" I grumbled. "Consider that your invitation being revoked."

Jacob sighed, long and deep. "Look, Bella, I'm sorry about... you know..." When I raised a brow and he realized I wasn't going to make this easy for him, he sighed again. "The kiss, and your hand. I'd blame it on the whole 'inner animal' thing but it's really just being an ass. I'm really sorry."

...dammit. He wasn't totally forgiven, but he was moving out of the 'I'll punch you again if you come anywhere near me' territory. I guess that was evident on my face, because he risked a smile as he reached into his pocket. "I got you something." He produced a charm bracelet with a hand-carved wolf dangling from it. "A graduation present. I made it myself."

My fingers were reaching up for it before I could think about it. It was smooth to the touch, the details so intricate that I knew he had spent a lot of time on it. "It's beautiful," I allowed. I looked up at Jacob, and the corner of my lip lifted up in a tentative smile. "But that doesn't mean you're totally off the hook."

A full smile played on his lips. "I can live with that."

Before I could retort, Alice skidded to a stop next to me, her golden eyes wild and panicked. My heart skipped a beat as she said, "Bella-"

She didn't have to finish her sentence. "They're coming," I groaned. We were all hoping that the presence of the Cullens and the wolves would be enough to scare them off, but when it came to love, no threat was bigger than your want for revenge.

"The bloodsuckers?" Jacob blurted, and his eyes skimmed the crowd to make sure no one heard before he turned back to us. "They're coming?"

I looked around at the humans in the crowd. "Not here," I said. We all redirected to a quieter room in the house, and by the time we had, Carlisle and Edward had returned. My heart thudded as I went up to Edward, grabbing his hand. "My parents?"

"Safely on their way back to Salt Lake City," he confirmed, and I loosed a worried breath as he quickly kissed my forehead. We returned our attention to the matter at hand.

"Four days," Alice reported. Luckily I'd had the foresight to tell her that the other wolves in the pack had no idea that Twilight was a thing, so she spoke like all of this stuff was new to her.

The Cullens were way better actors than I thought they were, because Carlisle sighed and leaned against the wall. "This could turn into a bloodbath."

"One that we'll win," I cut in. "Look at us! We know that it's Victoria and Riley." I was practically an expert at hiding my Twilight knowledge at this point, so I felt pretty good that I didn't mention that we knew this because of the books. I knew it would just be easier to agree to the arrangement than fight over it. "We have Jasper's newborn knowledge and if the pack and the Cullens work together this'll be a breeze."

"It's a good idea, Jacob," Carlisle said. "Do you believe Sam would agree to an... understanding?"

Jacob considered it for a second, then nodded. He knew the outcome as well as we did, but he had to keep his thoughts clear from his brothers. "As long as we get to kill some vampires. Just name a time and a place."

"Perfect!" I clapped my hands. "Who's up for a vampire training montage?"

I pulled my sleeve down so that Edward wouldn't notice the bracelet around my wrist, but when he reached for my hand, his cool fingers grazed it anyways. He pushed my sleeve back up, took one look, and rolled his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me."

I tugged the sleeve back down. "What's the matter? You've never seen a hypocrite before?"

I returned my attention to the Cullens plus Erica present, and one by one the wolves emerged from the woods. A silver-grey wolf trotted over to Erica happily, and she grinned as she buried her face into his soft fur.

"They don't trust us enough to be in their human forms," Edward said. I gave him a disapproving glare, and he sobered up.

"They're here," Carlisle insisted. "That's all that matters. Will you translate?"

Edward went over to the middle where Sam stood, and I walked over to Erica. "Can you believe this is happening?" I whispered.

She nodded, running her fingers through Embry's mane. "Nope. But we'll be safe." Embry growled under her touch, nudging his snout against her face.

I looked away from them, wanting to give them a teeny bit of privacy, when my gaze dropped onto Jacob, panting a few feet behind Sam. I gave him a wave, making sure my bracelet was on full display. "Hey, Jake!"

Jacob tipped his muzzle in my direction, but quickly looked away as Sam shot him a glare with a sharp growl. I fought the urge to growl at Sam myself, turning my attention back to Edward and Carlisle.

"Welcome," Carlisle greeted, a friendly smile on his face. He gestured to Jasper. "Jasper has experience with newborns. He'll teach us how to defeat them."

Sam looked over at Edward beside me. I guess Sam must have directed his thoughts to him, because Edward said, "They want to know how the newborns differ from us."

"They're a great deal stronger, because their own human blood lingers in their tissue," Carlisle explained. "Our kind are never more physically powerful than in our first several months of this life." A shiver ran down my spine at his words that I pointedly ignored as he turned to Jasper.

He stepped forward. "Carlisle's right. A newborn army doesn't need thousands like a human army." He paused. "But no human army can stand against them." Jasper began a pace, never breaking his stare with the wolves. "Now the two most important things to remember are; first never let them get their arms around you, they'll crush you instantly. The second, never go for the obvious kill, they'll be expecting that and you will lose."

Jasper and Emmett got into position. "Don't hold back," Jasper advised his brother.

Emmett flexed. "Not in my nature."

He charged right for him, and then they were a blur of dirt and white and limbs. It ended with Emmett flat on his back, and Jasper failing to conceal his smirk. "Never lose focus."

Then it was Edward and Carlisle's turn. "This should be good," I muttered to Erica.

Edward, obviously having heard me, dropped his face next to mine. "Who are you betting on?"

"Carlisle," I teased. When he pouted, I raised my hands in defense. "No offense, but the guy's got at least a few centuries on you."

"Thank you, Bella," Carlisle joked from his spot in his fighting position.

I turned back to Edward's pouty-face, and to pacify him I blew him a kiss. "Just kidding. You're always my number one."

Invigorated, Edward got into his position. Carlisle nodded once, and then Edward launched himself at him. While Carlisle dropped low and skidded across the ground, Edward jumped high over Carlisle. They started fighting again, and eventually Carlisle ended up on his back.

"One more thing," Jasper started as he walked past his father and brother. Just as he did so, Carlisle switched their positions, pinning Edward onto the ground. "Never turn your back on your enemy."

As I watched the rest of them go at it, Jacob stepped over to me. I instinctively leaned into his warmth. "I know how this ends," I said, dropping my voice low, so low that only Jacob's hearing could pick it up. "So it is stupid that I'm still scared?"

Jacob looked at me. You're never stupid, Bella, his eyes read.

I gulped. "I just don't want to take the chance that for the first time things deviate from the books... it's at the expense of someone else's life."

He lowered his face, pressing his fuzzy cheek against my stomach. I smiled softly and ran my hand on top of his head, in the spot in between his ears, just like I scratched my dog Radar back home. I even rested my chin briefly on top of his head. "We'll be okay, right?" I whispered delicately into his ear.

He rumbled again my chest. Yes. We will.

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