The Twilight Twenty-Five

thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: # 25

Pen Name: GemmaH

Pairing/Character(s): Bella, Edward

Rating: K

Word Count: 470

Photo prompts can be found here:

thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

"So, what do you think?" I proudly hand her the print, and smile as I wait for her words of praise. Instead she lets out a loud and unladylike snort.

"I think it's just about the cheesiest thing I've ever seen," she says, still smirking as she casts me a disbelieving look. "This is a joke, right? Tell me you didn't pay anyone to come up with this." She flicks it back at me and I catch it. I look at it through new eyes, taking in the train tracks, the suitcase that can only possibly be holding a change of underwear and socks, and the homemade cardboard 'be home soon' sign.

"You don't think it's an option for the album artwork then?" I enquire.

"I'm sorry, I thought you liked your career," she shoots back. Ouch.

"Shit." I flop down, letting the print drift to the floor. Bella crawls onto my lap and I wrap my arms around her.

"Do you really have to go away?" she asks. I know she's pouting, I can hear it in her voice.

"You know I do. Just long enough to sign the contract and lay a few tracks down."

"I hate this. I want you to do well, but if you do, I know this will get worse."

"If I do well, I promise you can be with me all the time. I just can't afford to look after us both right now."

"You look like you can't afford to look after yourself," she tells me, poking her finger through a hole in my old flannel shirt.

"Hey!" I protest. "This is my favorite. It has sentimental value." She smiles and holds my face so she can kiss me.

"I'm scared you'll find someone else out there. LA is full of beautiful girls."

"I don't want a beautiful girl, I want you," I tell her. I lean in to kiss her but she pulls away, looking at me accusingly.

"Okay, bad choice of words," I acquiesce. "I don't want any other beautiful girl. Just you. Better?"

"Yes." She smiles and snuggles in against me.

"Let's hope you can snag a photographer with some good ideas as part of your contract," she says.

"It's really that bad?"

"Yes. What's it even supposed to mean? Who's the sign for? And you sure as hell won't be home soon if you carry on squatting on train tracks like that." She prods me in the ribs and I tickle her in return.

I hope LA isn't all it's made out to be, because I don't want my head turning and my priorities changing. How conflicting to want things to be better and to stay the same, all at the same time. I wonder if it's possible to have a new beginning without anything having to end.

A/N - So, this is the end! I never thought when I was press-ganged into joining up *coughChocaholic123&SparrowNotes24cough* that I would probably finish this. I know I can thank those girls for the fact that I did - especially when Choc was running alongside, stretched out a metaphorical hand and dragged me along. I'd never written a flash before I signed up for this and I was under the impression that I couldn't write from picture prompts. I guess I laid that myth to rest :).

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, I'm a self-confessed review h00r, so thanks for feeding my addiction!

A final thanks to the Twilight 25 team :)

Gemma x