I do not own any of the characters below – they are owned by the great SM

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Chapter 20 – Press Conference

BPOV

We stepped out into the hallway with Jane close by and found James and Felix were waiting to escort us to the press conference. Neither one of them said anything as we made our way to the elevator so I decided to break the ice before we had to discuss the night in question with the press.

"James, Felix." I said hesitantly.

They both turned their heads to face me and James spoke first, "Bella, I already know about the note from this morning and I can assure you that we will find him."

I paused for a minute as I wasn't expecting him to bring the death threat up right at that moment, "That's not what I wanted to talk about."

They both looked at me with surprised expressions when I continued, "I just wanted to apologize for leaving the club the other night without letting you know where I was going."

Felix relaxed his tight frame before he spoke, "It's not your job to apologize to me. If anything, I should apologize to you."

James cut him off before he could say anything else, "Listen Bella, this isn't the first time we've had to deal with personal security issues and I'm sure it won't be the last. I understand that you've had to give up a certain amount of freedom with someone hanging around you all of the time but we're only trying to keep you safe."

Edward spoke up at that, "Well I guess that's part of my job now."

Felix looked at him and grinned, "Maybe you could be my assistant."

Edward chuckled and before he could say anything else, James spoke, "I don't think that's going to work out."

"Why not?" Edward asked.

"I have brought in a personal security guard for you once Felix let me know about the note from this morning." James responded in affirm tone letting Edward know this wasn't open for negotiation.

I think both Edward and I were shocked about this new revelation and before Edward could protest, James continued, "We don't know who we're dealing with at this point, and trust me I wish we did. You two are married now and we didn't know how The Hunter would respond until you received the note this morning. I'm afraid you guys have may have angered him and I'm just trying to take the necessary precautions to make sure nothing happens to either of you."

Edward pulled the note from his pocket and handed it over to James without saying another word. The elevator finally arrived and we rode it down to the floor where the press conference was being held. As soon as the door opened we were greeted flashing lights and people shouting out to us. There was a big guy who was larger than Felix standing in front of the elevator doors when they opened and I saw James nod his head at him.

The big guy immediately started clearing a path for us to move to the back entrance of the conference room where we would be waiting until it was time for us to answer questions. As soon as we made it the room and I saw who else was in there, I wanted to turn back around and face the paparazzi by myself. Edward gave my hand a little squeeze as we walked through the door to face our band mates.

They were all there and as soon as we entered the room, Alice came running at me full speed and wrapped her arms around me. She started crying on my shoulder and murmuring in my ear, "I'm so sorry Bella. I never should have left you the other night."

I tried to hug her back when I noticed Edward hadn't let go of my hand so I gently pulled my hand away so I could hug Alice back and reassure her that she wasn't the one to blame and

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." I said back to her while she was still hugging me.

I looked up and saw Jane looking at me skeptically when I remembered I had a part to play, "Besides, we don't regret it at all."

As soon as the words left my mouth she pulled back and looked at my face with disbelief coloring hers, "Are you kidding me?"

I looked over at Edward as he shifted his body toward me and wrapped my arm around his waist, "No, I'm not. We're really happy."

She studied my expression for what seemed like an eternity and when I think she was satisfied she smacked me in the arm, "I can't believe you got married and I wasn't even invited."

I leaned back into Edward and rubbed my arm where I was sure a red mark was forming, "Well it's not like we planned falling in love and finding out that spontaneity is really quite the aphrodisiac."

I was laying it on thick but I could tell she was buying into it by the way her eyes started to get misty and she was clutching her hand over her heart. She reached up and pulled us both into a hug while whispering, "I'm so happy you guys were finally able to really see each other for who the other one is and realize that you're perfect for each other."

My eyes started to tear up and I wasn't sure if I was crying because I knew that we were pretending to be in love and I was feeling guilty for lying to my best friend or at the fact we were finally starting to get along and become friends because of this whole arrangement. She finally released us and when I heard someone clear their throat beside us, I knew it was my brother right away.

I pulled back and came face to face with my brother whose face was much softer than the last time I saw him, "I'm sorry I was such as ass yesterday Bells."

I looked up at him before wrapping my arms around him "It's okay. I understand you're trying to protect me but you need to back off a little bit and give Edward a chance."

He pulled back and looked at me with a shocked expression, "I thought you were going to get an annulment."

I cleared my throat before Edward started speaking, "After a long night of discussion, we've decided to give our marriage a try."

His mouth dropped open along with everyone else's that was standing in the room. I looked over to my right and saw Jake standing there seething. His fists were clenched at his sides and before I had a chance to say anything he stormed over to where we were standing and jerked Edward away from my side.

The next thing I know he punched Edward in the stomach and started yelling at him, "How the fuck could you do that to me asshole?"

Edward straightened himself up, "What are you talking about?"

He pointed his finger at me, "Her, you knew how I felt about her."

Edward narrowed his eyes at him before he responded, "I thought you were just friends."

Jake didn't say anything else before he brought his arm up to throw another punch at Edward's face. Edward saw it coming this time so he ducked and came back with a counter punch right to the side of Jake's face causing his face to split open and blood to start falling down the side of his face. At this point Emmett grabbed Edward's arms and had them pinned behind him while Sam was holding Jake back.

Jacob stopped struggling and directed his gaze on me, "I thought we had something special, I can't believe you led me on like you did."

The sight of Jake's blood and the callousness of his words caused me to start swaying and the next thing I know, I had slumped to the ground and my vision had gone blurry. I hunched over and put my head between my knees to keep myself from fainting and ease the wave of nausea that had swept over me. I could hear buzzing in my hears and could make out the faint sounds of someone yelling but I couldn't move.

I was sitting there when I felt two arms wrap around me and in that instant I knew it was Edward. I thought it was staring that I could feel his presence without looking but then I remembered all of the jolts that flowed through my body every time he touched me. I don't know how long I had been sitting there but I started to regain focus and pulled my head up. As soon as I opened my eyes, I was met with a piercing set of emerald green eyes staring at me with concern emanating from them.

I moved to stand up and Edward wrapped his arm under me to help me before talking in a low voice, "Are you alright?"

I nodded my head, "Yeah, I just can't handle the sight of blood."

He chuckled softly before leading me over to a chair to sit in. I let him help me and was grateful that he wasn't being the same old jackass that he sued to be. In that moment, it almost felt like a loving gesture. I felt my heart begin to swell at the thought of him doing something so nice for me but then remembered why we were in this room in the first place. It wasn't hard to lose myself in Edward's presence and had almost forgotten there were other people in the room.

I had regained my composure and moved my head to see what everyone was doing. Everyone except for Sam and Jake were still watching me while those two were huddled in the corner having what appeared to be a heated conversation. Edward moved to sit beside me and kept an arm draped across my shoulders as I tried to recall what happened before I almost passed out.

I looked at Edward's face for a brief moment and could see that he had his eyes trained on Sam and Jake as if he were trying to figure out what they were saying. He must've noticed that I was looking at him because he turned his face toward mine and gave me his crooked grin before placing a tender kiss on my forehead.

He leaned into me and whispered, "I think Jake's pissed at us."

I gave him a guilt ridden look before whispering back, "No shit! I feel terrible."

"You don't have anything to feel bad about" He said trying to reassure me and squeezing me a little tighter.

"He's hurting right now and it's all my fault." I said gesturing toward Jake who was holding a towel on the side of his face where it had spilt open.

Edward moved away from me slightly and looked directly in my eyes, "How is this your fault exactly?"

I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "I just couldn't return his feelings for me. I told him that I only wanted to be friends and I thought he was good with that but apparently that wasn't the case."

"Well it's too late now. He's just going to have to get over it." He said as if Jake's feelings were no big deal.

"How can you act so nonchalant about it, I thought he was one of your best friends." I said while I raised my eyebrows at him.

"He is, but trust me, he will get over it" He said without any worry in his voice.

I was about to say something else when I saw a shadow looming over us. I looked up and Jake was standing there with a worried expression written on his face while Sam was standing to his left and shooting daggers with his eyes at both of us.

He looked at me first and began, "I'm sorry Bella, I don't know what came over me."

I was shocked that he was apologizing so quickly so I stood up and gave him a hug, "It's okay. I'm sorry if I ever gave you the wrong impression but I'd still like for us to be friends."

I pulled back and he turned to Edward, "Sorry, dude and held his hand out for a fist bump."

Edward hesitated for a minute and then returned the gesture with a small smile on his lips, "I'm sorry about your face."

Jake smiled back at him, "It wouldn't be the first time."

I looked at Edward who put his arm back around my shoulder and gave me an innocent look, "I told you we'd be okay."

I sighed and turned around to see James and Felix had come into the room with the big guy. They were watching us intently as if they were ready to intervene if need be. Everything had calmed down and I was about to make my way toward my brother who was talking with Alec when Jane opened the door and motioned for us to all go through. As soon as the door opened I could see flashes of light and a loud buzzing of mixed voices on the other side. We all moved to the door and as soon as everyone else had gone through, Edward gave me a gentle squeeze and led me into the conference room.

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EPOV

As soon as we were in the conference room, flashes were going off like crazy and everyone was shouting at us. Aro was standing at the podium and motioned for the small crowd of reporters and photographers to quite down before he began speaking, "I'd like to thank you all for coming. Today is a great day for Vamp Records. We knew from the beginning when we signed both Breaking Dawn and Crimson Eyes that we would be making music history. Just a few short months ago, we began our United Front tour with these two bands co-headlining all across the country and I can tell you, they are taking the country by storm. I've had the privilege of working with these young people and I can't think of a better group of musicians I'd rather work with."

He cleared his throat before continuing, "These two bands have formed a greater bond since they were both brought on to our label and it goes without saying, we are standing up here today as a United Front."

"Now, as some of you may have been told, Breaking Dawn and Crimson Eyes are now officially united with the marriage of their respective lead singers, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. We at Vamp Records couldn't be happier for the young couple and want to wish them the best as we move forward."

At that statement I couldn't help but almost roll my eyes from the bullshit that was spewing from his mouth. If only the press knew exactly how happy Aro was for us, they'd have a field day with him. I started to tune out all of his well wishes before he stepped back and looked at Bella and I while the crowd erupted in applause.

He motioned for us to move up to the podium so I looked at Bella who was smiling at me nervously and pulled her forward. The noise died down and Victoria began pointing out who could ask us questions.

She pointed at a young blond girl first, "Bree Daniels from TMZ. First I'd like to say congratulations to both of you." We smiled at her as she asked her question, "How long have you two been together?"

I recalled the history of 'our relationship' had been covered in the paperwork that we had signed earlier that day so I took the chance to answer, "We've been together for about a year."

She looked shocked at my answer but proceeded on to her second question, "Did you plan on marrying getting married in Vegas prior to your wedding night?"

I felt Bella tense beside me and knew she would have trouble with this one as well so I answered again, "I proposed to Bella about six months ago, right after the Grammy awards. I wanted to make it a night to remember and when we found out we would be playing in Vegas during this tour, we decided to tie the knot while here in town."

I heard a small chuckle escape from Bella's mouth as I'm sure she was recalling the same memory from that night that I was, the red drink in my face. I couldn't believe I was standing up here answering questions about our fake history after I was so pissed at her that night. I almost started laughing at the strange turn of events my life had taken.

Bree looked at her small notepad before asking her final question, "Are there any plans for children?"

I was about to answer when Bella stepped up and responded with a sweet voice, "We plan on having children someday but right now we'd like to focus on our careers and each other."

She looked up at me and flashed me a smile before winking at me. I couldn't help but return the smile and leaned down and pressed my lips to hers lightly. I could hear all of the cameras going off but in that moment I didn't care. After all that had gone on over the last few days, I felt like I was actually falling for this woman and when she talked about us having children someday, it made my heart flutter a little.

I knew this whole thing was supposed to be fake but I couldn't help but think about all of the possibilities if we actually stayed together. I pushed that thought to the back of my head and returned my focus to the crowd.

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We answer questions for about an hour and I felt pretty good about the response we received from all of the reporters. I was a little nervous when a few of them started directing questions to other members of our bands but they all expressed their happiness for us and heartfelt wished.

I was a little surprised when Alec had actually started singing the lyrics to one of their songs, Forever, as part of his response:

When I'm starting to drown
You jump in to save me
When my world's upside down
Your hands they shake me and wake me

Oh, tell me You're here
That You will watch over me forever
Oh, take hold of my heart
Show me You'll love me forever

Oh, tell me You're here
That You will watch over me forever
Oh, take hold of my heart
Show me You'll love me forever, forever

It was a song from their first album and I had only heard it on my Ipod as I listened all of their songs over and over again while relaxing on the bus. It was actually a fitting song for a newly married couple and I was glad that he seemed to take this whole thing pretty well.

We left the conference room through the same door we had come in through and sat down on the chairs they had situated all over the room. Aro and Jane stayed behind and answered a few remaining questions about Vamp Records and when they walked in the room, I could tell they were both happy about the outcome of the actual press conference itself..

The stood at the front of the room and Aro began to address all of us, "Alright, we are going to be making a few changes for the duration of the tour."

No one said anything as he continued, "One, we are moving some of you around on the bus's. Edward, Jasper, and Rosalie will be moving onto Crimson Eye's bus and Quil and Alec will be moving to Breaking Dawn's bus."

I wasn't expecting this as I looked around the room to see the expressions on everyone's faces. Quil jumped up excitedly, "Awesome, we'll be on the party bus."

Bella started to question Aro before he started speaking again, "I thought we weren't going to make any changes during our travel time."

Aro shot her a warning look as Quil sat back down before he ignored her question and went on, "Two, we had such a great response from Edward's performance with Crimson Eyes the other night, we'd like to incorporate a collaboration on one song during both shows. Bella will sing one song with Edward when Breaking Dawn is performing Edward will sing one song with Bella when Crimson Eye's is performing."

I turned and looked at Bella's face and I couldn't tell if she was angry or sad about these new changes. I couldn't help but get a little excited at the prospect of us performing together on stage like the other night.

"Three, I'd like you all to meet Demetri." He said while gesturing toward the big guy that helped get us to this room before the press conference had started, "He will be working as part of the security team moving forward."

We all turned and looked at him while he wore an expressionless mask on his face. Aro went on to tell us that he would be returning to L.A. and Jane would be accompanying us to Chicago. We would be leaving as soon as he was done as all our personal effects had already been moved to the appropriate bus's that would be meeting us in Chicago. We were taking a private jet to Chicago later that day and would have a day to rest before the next show.

We all stood up to leave when he was done and I reached down and grabbed Bella's hand, "On to Chicago."

She gave me a small smile before answering me, "Chicago."

With that we left the Bellagio and headed to the airport.

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The song:

Fireflight - Forever (A special thanks to kaulitz . twilight . lover for recommending this band. I was having trouble finding a song with the right lyrics and this one worked well.)

Edward and Bella will be meeting their respective in-laws very soon. Also, just to give you a little advanced warning, there will be a lemon in the next one as well.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!