DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. Creations belong to their rightful owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Sweet Dream or Beautiful Nightmare

by bluegrey atticus

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:: Chapter 9: You Picked Me ::

I've been looking for that special one, and I've been searching for someone to give my love

And when I thought that all the hope was gone, a smile, there you were and I was gone

I always will remember how I felt that day, a feeling indescribable to me

I always knew there was an answer for my prayer, and you, you're the one for me

You're one in a million

You're once in a lifetime

You made me discover one of the stars above us

x One In A Million, Bosson x

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"Bella, calm down, okay? He needs you in one piece. Let's get your hair done and before you know it, he's already here."

Rose had tried her damnedest to keep me from pacing across the room, her words soothing me as a mother's would to her child. But I cannot bring myself to sit down and collect myself. Just not yet. Until I knew he was alright. I bit my lower lip nervously and looked at her, my eyes beseeching for understanding.

"But Rose, please. I'm worried for Edward. He's not yet here. What if… what if something happened to him? You know h-how that would feel? Can you expect me to just sit there?"

Rose exhaled and flipped her phone open while I fidgeted with a few stray locks of my hair. Not wanting to pester my friend more than she had to endure from me, I listened furtively for any arrival of automobiles all the way to the driveway or anyone walking from the hallway and knocking on my door.

It was our wedding day. We both had agreed to have the ceremony in the property—house and all the land the reception needs—which had turned into a fairy-tale, except mine was in reality. There were white and green on every surface; he said white was for my skin and I chose the green from his eyes. I had not seen the rest. Yet.

The reception would be out on our lawn, which from our room, was teeming with life. I could even hear the songs they were playing, songs Edward and I had chosen. Some classics and good contemporary.

Happy as anyone should expect me to be, I was. No one can see me wearing a frown and I was bouncing on my heels every time I move, as if a dance would be on. That was until Jane—the vain human inside that small frame—walked in and brusquely informed us that Edward was not yet downstairs but left a message for me not to worry as he was on his way already. Throughout the months of my residence in the mansion, through the months of the wedding planning, Jane never warmed up to me. To be fair, I didn't also. My panic seeped in and Jane popped every surface with her seeming nonchalance. That and the way she delivered the message didn't sit well with me. So there I was—a fidgeting mess.

"Talk to her, please." Rose's histrionic voice reached me from the bubble of my musings before she physically could.

I looked at her blankly. She huffed and nudged the phone, placing it near my ear. Gingerly, holding it in place with my own hands, I spoke through the phone.

"Bella." His voice brought calmness but I never missed the reproach it entailed.

My throat tightened. "Edward." I breathed in relief. "Are you alright? Is everything okay?" Even through the phone, I heard his sigh.

"Everything's fine, love. I am perfectly fine. You just don't know how more than fine I am right now. Just some time lapse I needed to fix for this day, which have been settled. Nothing to worry about, Bella. I'm sorry you have to worry, baby. You should be happy today."

"I am," I swooped in. Never would I want him to misinterpret my tone for other things. "I am so happy, Edward. I'm just worried for you, you know."

Seconds ticked by but I didn't hear from him. Just stomping and voices and his heavy breathing.

"Edward?" I asked as I rose on my feet in agitation. Come on… who wouldn't be on their toes if their groom was missing hours before their own wedding? "Babe?"

"Sorry about that, baby. I'm here."

"What? You're where?" I asked, perplexed. A knock on the door. My head immediately snapped to my door and I all but walked to rush to it.

"No! Na-ah." Rose, who I had actually forgotten to be in the room with me, suddenly flung her body against the door. She was wagging her manicured index finger to me, and it was more of like an annoying reminder, a prohibition of what I wanted. "You can't see each other before the wedding, you two."

"Rosalie," Edward and I whined at the same time.

Rose rolled her eyes. One thing about her was that she was tenacious, really tenacious.

"No pouting will work on me, Bella. Edward, get out of here. Get ready downstairs!" she ordered.

"We can't see each other but can I please hold her hand?" Edward's voice reached us from the other side of the door and even through the phone I was still gingerly holding.

My face immediately beamed, my feet carrying me nearer to Edward. That was not bad, at all.

"Yes, Rose. That's right. Please."

"'That's right'. You two lovers gang up on your friend," she exclaimed with sarcasm but I saw her hand twist the knob of the door. With a stern look, she opened it and posed herself on the side. "You have two minutes."

His hand popped in from outside. He may have been wearing his shirt already as I saw the cuffs of it, leading me to his hands. I held it in between mine.

"Bella," he breathed at the same time I also enunciated his name. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze and I was lapsing into calmness. "Just a few more hours, love. I can't wait to see you. I can't wait to marry you."

"Me, too, Edward," I answered. "Just some enduring under a blonde's supervision and I'll be running away with you."

He laughed. Music. Rose snorted. Nice accompaniment.

"Hmm… How many times have I told you how much I love you?" he asked.

Rose gave the door a little push, not enough to hurt any of us. Of course, she would not want either the bride or groom to be limping on any part for the ceremony and subsequent photos or video footages.

"Oh, puh-lease. Thirty seconds, my dears," she said as she smiled sardonically.

"I love you, Isabella Cullen." I froze at my soon-to-be new name. I liked it. Very, very much.

"I love you, too, Edward Cullen. Forever. In spite of all that would come our way."

"Time's up." Rose was smiling at me, mocking on every curve of her lips.

"I'll see you later, baby. I'll be the one in white," I remarked, squeezing his warm hands before letting go.

There was a pause before he returned the gesture. "I'll meet you at the altar." With that, he raised my hand and… very ardently, kissed it.

I had just sat in front of Rose's primping mirror, all content and calmed, when my phone rang.

"Sooner than it is supposed to be as I want, you'll not be wearing anything later and for the next days. Or weeks." With that, Edward's call ended before I could answer and I was left with blood boiling under my skin and coursing through my veins.

That rascal! It was not like we never made love before but hell! My body started to electrify with his words.

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I gripped the billows of my dress. My wedding dress. It was a tube-styled white gown that hugged my breasts perfectly and pronounced the curves I was not aware of having, which Edward contradictorily said was there all along. The thought of him alone sent the wildest flutters in the pit of my stomach and I was on my hyperventilation-prevention breathing again.

There was the intricate veil on my head, a family heirloom that Elizabeth Masen had used when she became one with Edward Cullen, Sr. Wagner's spectacle made its way to my ears but footed me on the ground. Tripping was not I would be worried of, just the reaction of having so many people staring at me. It nerved me.

But it was the vision of Edward, the man I loved, the man I had conquered for to be with, the man who was waiting for me from this treacherous stairs, at the end of the aisle. As it was in the end of everything, when I thought of my life having been ended by my own doing months ago for my tragic fate, he was there and he saved me.

He once told me: it was him whom I had saved. It was him whom I had rescued from a pit of darkness, of a life without knowing me. A life, he said, not worth living at all.

It filled me with happiness and gratitude that we had this same feeling for each other. For I may had come a long way and went through many roads, got calloused and cut and everything, but having him in my life for all of it was what I would have wanted all along. If my parents knew this and saw me on my wedding day, I knew they would be happy for me.

"Don't let other people say what's right, who's right for you, Bella." My mom once told me this. "Even in the strangest circumstances, you can find the man who's just made for you… but say, this world is strange, dear.

"People would scoff – it's the human past time – and they would say you're not good for him or that he's not good for you. But good is a very ambiguous word, right? What's good for you is different for them. Once you've found him, you've found joy; you'll know he's worth everything and you deserve him."

Yes. I believed in my mom. There was certain relativism among us. With that, I made my way, with Rose and the rest of the fanfare in front of me. I was subtly blinded by the flashes of light that welcomed me as I walked to the aisle. But I ignored them, all of them—the spectators, the crowds, the visitors; my vision tunneled through the haze. And there he was.

Wearing a divine white tuxedo, Edward broke into a smile when our eyes connected and I was not marching with the rhythm of the music anymore. It was our song, our pace and it was what we would follow. As my hands touched the miracle of his, I knew I was home, as I had been all these time. I knew I was staying at the right place. We promised our vows and we gave each other more than those. We slipped our rings to each other.

I used to denigrate this sacrament, treating it as something trivial. But really, having your own—and as beautiful as it was—would turn your perspective. I could still hear every word of the day.

"I do," I rang victorious.

"I do." Edward choked on with tears.

His beautiful emerald eyes sparkled with them, his luscious lips mirroring his felicity. Without further much ado, he cradled my face with his hands and leaned down to me—the minister festinating with his cue words. But Edward and I were good—we were faster.

Our lips met, and I welcomed his hot mouth into mine. It was a devouring. Not a quest for domination. It was a point of conciliation, of union. We barely heard the applause of the visitors as I threw my arms—bouquet and all—around his neck and pushed myself deeper into our kiss. Here was when time became inconsequential. We smiled against each other's lips, lingering and pressing for a few more before Rose would stand and interrupt as. After a final whisper, he turned me toward the visitors, who in turn, applauded once more.

The reception flowed seamlessly and we were bouncing from arms to arms with the greetings and well-wishing. There were Edward's business people and friends, the women all looking fleetingly to my, er, husband. I had to admit, that would not have to get some getting used to.

I knew that feigned look they were sporting. All smiles at me and Edward, wishing how beautiful our marriage and relationship would be. All the time as I was wishing well for their gnashes and claws. Knew it well enough. I just laughed and when Edward asked the reason behind it, I candidly answered.

"I'm just showing the world that you've been officially off the market."

In return, he looked to where my vision was and joined in with my laughter. "You're evil," he teased with a wicked glint in his eyes, nuzzling on his niche in my neck. "But I think that's part of your charm…"

The laugh came again and I could have giggled all the way if not that my lips—and hands—became too preoccupied.

There were Rose and his humongous but bear of a husband, Emmett and their little Henry McCarty. Angela was next with Ben. Also, my new in-laws were there, Carlisle and Esme.

"I have not thought I would see him smile again and now, he's totally beaming. Thank you for bringing such happiness to our Edward, Bella," Esme whispered to me. We both looked at him and he was exuding of joy.

Carlisle seemed to voice out what passed between me and his wife.

"Look at you, Edward. All smiles and everything. You're Aunt Esme and I are very happy for you. Make each other happy."

"Thanks, uncle. It's all because of Bella," he answered.

When I looked up on his face, he was looking at me with pride and reverence. There was nothing else I could do but to stand on my toes and kiss him. Literally, we were snuggling and kissing throughout – but hey, we were already married – and we cannot get ourselves off of each other. A throat cleared and we had to break apart for anyone who it was that approached us.

First I saw was a tall, blonde man, smiling endearingly at us. Based on the look he was giving Edward, it was a mental pat on the back of a friend. Before Edward could introduce me to his friend, a thrilling voice broke through us, a figure popping from behind the man.

"Congratulations, Bella!" She rushed to hug me and I stood frozen before recognition hit me like a wrecking ball. My friend! Oh, geez, my friend!

"Alice! I can't believe it! It's you!" It was a surprise! "I didn't know you'll come. Is this -?"

My husband smiled his lop-sided smile. "Surprise," he whispered to me.

"I love you! Thank you! I love you, forever!" I was hugging him fiercely and peppering his face with kisses.

He caught my lips and sealed it for a passionate kiss. The laughing visitors cheered. "I think I'm going to like giving you… surprises," he said without breaking his glance on me.

"You know what surprises I'd like," I leered. Realizing, I looked behind Alice and recognized the man she was with. "Hello, Jasper."

"Congratulations, Bella. Let me just say you're beautiful, as your husband have always boasted to me," he jested, leering on Edward.

"Oh, yes, you are so beautiful, Bella. We should've been here earlier but there were some troubles back at the airport. Thankfully, Edward helped us out earlier. Thanks again."

"Earlier?" I asked my husband. Was that what he did earlier?

"It's a part of it, love," Edward answered, already knowing what I was referring to. "Alice was pestering me that she would not take it if she cannot be in time for the very beginning of the ceremony."

I cannot help but smile. Alice was like an important family to me—since I had lost my biological parents and there were few acquaintances I had left at home—and as it happened, he arranged having them here for our wedding. After all, she was the one who brought me to Edward. That alone was enough and every reason worth for me to be grateful to her.

"Not that I don't like the wedding for it's totally majestic, Bella, but I would've loved to plan this wonderful day, too. It's the only thing I can do for thanking you, for all the support… you know, back then," Alice murmured, giving an approving look on our surroundings. Kudos to Rose and Ang for everything. "I should've helped. Oh well, there's still the christening!"

Our dance suddenly came on and Jasper and Alice left me and my husband regrouping ourselves as we spun around, our arms wrapped on each other.

It was not that I had not thought of it. I had. There was no naivety of what we were capable of aside from loving each other intensely. What had me pinned was the thought of how Edward would react to that. He was a career man and all. And most man like that hated it to be brought up, like the thought alone was a deal breaker. So I was peeved and frustrated and sad and…

And all my fears went through the drain when he answered a thing against all grains of my preconceived mind. He dipped his head on my shoulders, tremors of his breath tickling my heated skin.

"I'd love that. Having children with you. I have been thinking of it since… since you came into my life. I want them badly. I imagined having a little boy that would come running up to me when I get home from work; I want a boy first so we could have a prince who would protect his siblings. He would have your eyes, your beautiful face." He was whispering, his hot breath wafting against my neck. "And I imagined having our princess, a sweet but brave daughter who would take up on you. She would be as beautiful, sweet and caring as her mother…"

We were no longer dancing; we just stood in the middle of the dance floor, embracing each other. And there I was content. I smiled to myself, kissing his cheek tenderly, making him sigh and lean down more comfortably to me.

"You just don't know how relieved and happy I am to hear that," I whispered, emotions so profound assaulting me.

"Don't cry, love," he whispered, his forehead resting on mine as he kissed my tears away. Flashes of light feverishly drowned us, but we didn't care.

A song—one we both sang to each other and had loved it ever since—broke through our little bubble, and we sang with it, staring at what we had—each other.

Edward tightened his hold around my waist and we were flushed on each other. His eyes were gleaming, the song breaking into an attention-grabbing opening as he planted a devious kiss on my ringed hand. Everyone may have been watching us.

"One, two, three, counting out the signs we see, the tall buildings, fading in the distance, only dots on a map… Four, five, six, the two of us a perfect fit, you're all mine, all mine," I declared, the words were like my arrival.

"And all I can say is you blow me away… Like an apple on a tree hiding out behind the leaves, I was difficult to reach but you picked me, like a shell upon a beach, just another pretty piece, I was difficult to see but you picked me, yeah you picked me…" Out of nowhere, he picked me. Saved me. Loved me.

"So softly, rain against the windows and the strong coffee warming up my fingers in this fisherman's house, you got me, searched the sand and climbed the tree and brought me back down, and all I can say is you blow me away…"

Edward specifically loved this stanza; it reflected how he was an uptight, no nonsense man before there was me, as he once told me in the midst of an intimate talk we had. He had never allowed other people to meddle much with his life, just a chosen few, and when his parents died tragically, it pushed him farther away from humanity. Work and work. And now, I had introduced him back to the world.

"Like an apple on a tree hiding out behind the leaves, I was difficult to reach but you picked me, like a shell upon a beach, just another pretty piece, I was difficult to see but you picked me, yeah you picked me…"

We never made it past the instrumental part this time, as we were already kissing each other, my tears mixed in it. Applause erupted around us and if I was not busy, or if I was one of them, I could have had made a standing ovation.

But, even for all of those musings, I would never want to be anywhere else than where I was at that moment. Anywhere where there would be Edward, there would be me.

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