It's All For You

Written By: sw1m4l1fe
You can read the original here:
All credit goes to the original author

For me, it was one of the most dreaded days of the year; Valentine’s Day. I loathed it. I didn’t see the point in dedicating such a random day to flowers, chocolates, stuffed animals, cheesy cards and overtly expressing your unwavering love for another. I mean, seriously, what was the point?

It’s quite possible that I felt this way because up until this year, I’d never had a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day, or at all for that matter. However, dating Edward Cullen meant that I, too, would be grouped along with all of the other giddy teenage girls on this horrible day. He would go all out on this one and there was nothing I could do about it. We bet on something earlier in the year and I lost…Valentine’s Day was at stake. Edward won, so he got full right to buy me a gift and treat me like a ‘queen for a day’. Joy.

***

I woke up to the patter of rain hitting my window. I opened my eyes and immediately groaned after realizing the date. It was the day I’d been dreading for the past week; Saturday, February 14. I dragged myself out bed and headed downstairs.

“Morning, Bella,” my father greeted me as I walked over to the fridge. He was sipping on a cup of steaming hot coffee while reading the paper.

“Morning, Dad. Want some eggs?” I asked him as I pulled the egg carton out of the fridge along with some milk.

“Sure, kid. Thanks,” he replied. “So, what are your plans for the special day?”

“Oh, uhm. I’m not really sure. Edward wouldn’t tell me anything. He said that he’d call me this morning and tell me what I needed to know,” I said with a slight frown on my face.

“Don’t look too enthused about it, Bells. Wouldn’t want people actually thinking you’re happy to be going out with your boyfriend on Valentine’s,” he chided in.

I slid his plate of eggs across the table and it landed right under his newspaper. He folded it up and looked at me. I gave him an intentionally sarcastic smile before shoving a forkful of eggs into my mouth.

“No worries there,” I smiled.

No sooner had I put our empty plates in the sink when the phone rang. I briefly glanced at Charlie before getting up to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hi, love,” he said sweetly to me. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Yeah, yeah. Same to you,” I replied. I kind of felt like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, except more like Cupid Gone Hateful.

“I’ll just play your cold attitude off on the fact that you haven’t had a chance to warm up in the shower yet,” he said.

I could practically see his crooked smile I loved so much creep across his face.

“That’s definitely the reason,” I said reassuringly. “So anyways. What’s the plan for today?”

“Well,” he started. “After you shower, you’ll find a box on your bed. It’s a gift from Alice, and it is your outfit for the day, so you have to wear it. You know how she gets when you don’t do what she wants,” he chuckled.

“Fine,” I groaned. “What else?”

“That’s all you have to do. Just be dressed and look like your stunning, beautiful self and be ready to go at five.”

“I guess I can try to look stunning, but no guarantees,” I laughed.

“That’s more than enough for me. I’ll see you at five then!” he said eagerly.

“See you then…love you, Edward,” I said to him sweetly.

“I love you too,” he replied before hanging up the phone.

Charlie had been eavesdropping. “So what are the plans?”

“I still don’t know the details, but he’s picking me up at five. If you want to know where I’ll be or when I’ll be getting home, you’d better call Carlisle or Edward to find out. I’ve been left in the dark…” I trailed off.

“Nah. I think he’s earned my trust back. Just call me and let me know if you’re going to be late so I can leave the light on for you,” he said to me.

“Okay,” I said. I was secretly hoping he would call and ask one of the Cullens so that I could eavesdrop on him. But of course, I could never be so lucky.

I went back upstairs and grabbed my bag of toiletries off of the nightstand. I dragged a brush through my long brown hair before getting into the shower. I took my time. After all, I had about five hours to get ready. The heat of the water calmed my nerves and woke me up.

After getting out, I didn’t feel so horrible about it being Valentine’s Day. I was going to be with the best guy on the earth, and it would be all about us. I guess I couldn’t justify complaining anymore.

I was going to straighten my hair, but decided against it after remembering that Edward liked it being down. I brushed my teeth and put on a little bit of makeup before returning to my room. Just as promised, there was a large white box with a red bow on the top of it waiting for me on my bed.

I sighed and reluctantly went over to sit next to it. Before I opened it, I contemplated all of the scanty outfits I could have been suckered into wearing by Alice. I could only hope she went easy on me.

I carefully untied the bow and opened the lid of the box just enough so that I could peek in. I even squinted my eyes a little so that I wouldn’t have to open the box more than necessary. Go figure, the shoes were on top.

Giving up on being careful, I threw the box lid open and gasped. I would likely die from the size of the heel on the dress shoes Alice picked out. They did, however, match the color of the fabric of the dress that I assumed was underneath it. It was Edward’s favorite color on me; navy blue. I warily set the shoes aside and began to pull the piece of fabric out. It was a beautiful dress. I guesstimated that it would come to just above my knees. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the plunging neckline. I guess Alice had to have her way somehow or another. Aside from that, it had an empire waist with thick straps leading to the back which had a plunging backline. The material was soft and stretchy. It tiered down from the waistline and came tightly together again at the bottom. Alice also included a silver belt to match the jewels on the shoes.

I didn’t want to wear the outfit all afternoon, but I wanted to try it on. I shrugged the dress over my head and it fell nicely over my body. Alice definitely knew her stuff. I wrapped the belt around my waist and cautiously stepped into the shoes. I turned ever so slowly to face myself in the mirror, and I was shocked. For once in my life, I thought I looked pretty.

I took it off and hung it up in my closet. I decided sweats would be safe until it was five.

I didn’t do much while I waited. I hand crafted a card for Edward and wrote a simple quote inside. It was by Aristotle and read “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” It seemed appropriate because Edward doubted the existence of his soul. I put the card, along with his build-a-bear I’d made for him, into a red gift bag. If he was allowed to give me a gift, he had better accept mine.

Apparently I got carried away with the card because it was already half past four when I looked at the clock. I set the bag next to my door so I wouldn’t forget it, and changed clothes. I picked up my small silver clutch from inside my closet, grabbed the gift bag and made my way slowly down the stairs. I’d officially made it ten minutes without killing myself in the shoes.

When Charlie heard me clanking down the stairs, he parted his eyes from the television for a split second. His mouth dropped open in a little ‘o’.

“Wow, Bella. You look beautiful.” Before I had the chance to think about it, he quickly snatched up a disposable camera and snapped a picture of me. “For the scrapbook your mother gave you,” he said trying to play his action off.

“Sure, sure,” I said. I sat down at the kitchen table and twiddled my thumbs while I waited. I felt butterflies in my stomach and hoped that they would stay securely there. I didn’t want any disasters tonight.

A few minutes before five, I heard a car pull up outside of our house. Not even a minute later, Edward knocked lightly on the door. I moved to get up but Charlie pressed me firmly back down.

“You stay there, I’ll get it,” he said.

“Daddddd,” I groaned. He looked at me sternly and I figured I didn’t have much of a choice. He meandered over to the door and opened it widely. Edward’s eyes searched desperately for me.

When they found me, his mouth also dropped open in a little ‘o’.

“Would you guys stop with the whole jaw dropping thing? It’s just a dress!”

Edward closed his mouth abruptly. “Sorry,” he said looking past Charlie. “You did exactly what I told you to; look stunning and beautiful.”

I blushed a little before Charlie started his charade.

“Now Edward,” he started.

“I know, sir. Treat her like the lady that she has become and don’t have her out too late. And of course, be careful because she can be a bit clumsy,” Edward said as he finished my dad’s thoughts for him.

“Yep,” he muttered looking a bit stunned. “You covered it all…made my job a whole lot easier. Anyways, you two kids have fun! Bella, if I’m not up when you get in, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay, Dad. See you later,” I said before standing up and walking as fast as I could to Edward’s open hand. He placed it on the small of my back and we walked outside.

Rather than waiting a year for me to make it down the stairs on the porch, he swept me off my feet and placed me securely on the ground at the bottom of the steps.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“Welcome, my Bella,” he said possessively. I loved it when he did that.

I was looking for his shiny silver Volvo, but it wasn’t there. He’d borrowed Carlisle’s Mercedes. He opened the door for me and waited for me to sink in before closing it and getting in on his own side.

“Before we go anywhere, I want you to promise me something,” Edward said as he stared deeply into my eyes.

“Okay,” I replied curiously.

“You have to promise to accept my gift, okay?”

“That was part of the bet I lost earlier in the year,” I reminded him.

“Yes, I know. But will you just promise, please?” he practically begged.

“I promise to accept whatever gift you give me,” I said to him reassuringly. “As long as you’re not proposing to me on Valentine’s Day…that’s too cliché,” I added on.

“I’m not proposing,” he replied before starting the car. “Now that you’ve agreed, we can be on our way.”

Edward sped off down the road towards the highway. I still knew where we were, and I had a good idea about where we were going. As soon as he pulled off on a dead end road, I was positive of where we were going; our meadow. I just couldn’t understand why I had to get all dressed up to go hiking.

“Okay,” he said. “We’re here.”

We both got out and I climbed onto his back, his present in hand, as he weaved throughout the trees and plants in the forest. It didn’t take long to get to our meadow. My hand went instinctively to my mouth and I almost felt tears building up when I saw what Edward had done- no doubt he had help from Alice. The meadow was glowing from luminarias (the bags with sand and tea candles inside of them). In the middle of the field, a small table had been constructed for two. It was decorated in red and white and had two candles sitting on top of it. I finally understood why girls acted so stupidly over this day, though I doubt any of their boyfriends did it as well as mine.

“Edward,” I gasped. “This is…this is beautiful!” I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and hugged him with all of my strength.

“Careful, sweetheart. We wouldn’t want you to break me,” he joked.

“Yes, that would be quite awful,” I surmised.

Edward interlaced his fingers with my own and led me to our table for two. He politely pulled the chair out for me and I sat down. From somewhere near his seat, he pulled out a bottle of sparkling cider and poured two glasses of it.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” I said to him.

“You’re welcome, fine madam,” he replied playing along with my old English talk.

After a minute of sipping, he rummaged through a cooler at his side and produced our meals. Well, my meal. It was one of my favorites; his home cooked mushroom ravioli. Considering he didn’t eat human food, he could sure cook well. I took my time eating as we chatted in between my bites. We reminisced on the past few months of our relationship and talked some about the future.

I finished in good time and patted my stomach. “That was delicious, Edward. Thank you!”

“Of course. Anything for my Bella,” he said as he swiped the dishes off the table and put them back in the cooler. “Do you want dessert?”

“Not now. I’d just rather spend time talking to you rather than stuffing my face,” I laughed. “Oh! Here,” I said as I gave him the bag.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Don’t play that card,” I said. “I’m sure Alice told you I was giving you something. And you’re giving me something, so it’s only fair. And it’s not that much anyway.”

“Okay,” he sighed as he opened the bag. He pulled the bear out first and a smile instantly spread across his face. I had decked a little bear out in blue jeans, a black shirt and sunglasses.

“It reminded me of you,” I said. “That first day that we walked into school holding hands, you were wearing an outfit very similar to that one.”

“Not bad for a human memory,” he joked with me. “I love it, Bella.”

He set the bear on the table and picked up the card from inside the bag. Again, he smiled as he looked over its’ craftiness and opened it. He read the quote I wrote in it, and I felt like I could see right through him in that brief moment. It was like all of his barriers were gone and he wanted to cry tears of happiness. “Isabella Swan. This is by far the best Valentine’s Day card I’ve gotten in my 107 years of existence. I didn’t even know you knew Aristotle, and here you are quoting him in words that touched our soul.”

“I love you, Edward. I’ll love you for more than an eternity, if that’s possible,” I told him.

“With us, anything is possible,” he gleamed. “Your turn,” he said as he handed me my own present.

It was a thin and rectangular and wrapped in pink paper with hearts all over it. I shook it and nothing moved around.

“Just open it, will you,” he pleaded.

“I suppose so. I’ve never been good at guessing presents by their shape anyway…,” I trailed off. I unwrapped it without ripping the paper and was shocked to find a candy bar left in my hands. I looked at him questioningly.

“You have to eat your Wonka Bar before you can have your real present,” he said to me.

“Really? You’re making me eat dessert before I can have my present?”

“Yes, I am. Go on then,” he urged me.

“You’re so weird sometimes. I hope you know that.”

“I know. You still love me, so it doesn’t matter,” he said.

I flipped the candy bar over, label up and ripped it open. I glanced quickly up at Edward and back at the candy in my hand. His eyes begged me to continue, so I did. I set the Wonka Bar down and opened the wrapper all the way. There was a golden ticket waiting for me on the top. I smiled as I picked it up to look at it. It Edward’s beautiful handwriting, it read: “This golden ticket obligates (1) Isabella Swan to attend the Forks High Senior prom with boyfriend Edward Cullen on April 7, 2009. She must attend in formal clothing and she must also at least pretend to have fun and enjoy herself. Oh, and one last thing- she must wear the necklace given to her on Valentine’s Day.”

I looked up at him in awe. He now offered me a small, velvety black box. “Edward…” I started.

“You promised,” he reminded me.

“Isn’t prom enough? I’ll go to prom without a peep, I swear,” I promised.

“Bella, please, just take the box.”

Reluctantly, I took the box from him. I opened it and instantly felt tears welling up. Not only was it the most beautiful necklace I’d ever seen, but it also matched my attire for the evening. It was a Journey necklace with diamonds on a thin, silver chain.

“Edward, this is too much. Don’t get me wrong- I love it. But I gave you a teddy bear, and you give me this?”

“Yes. I give you that along with this card,” he said as he gave me the card to go along with everything else.

I opened it, and yet again in Edward’s script, it read: “Through our journey together, my night has become a sunny day, and it is because of you and you alone.”

My emotions betrayed me as tears began to stream down my face. They were the best tears of happiness anyone in the world could have ever cried. Edward was at my side in an instant, gingerly wiping the tears away from my hot cheeks. He took the necklace from my hands and fastened it around my neck.

He kissed me lightly on the side of my neck and took my hand in his. He pulled me up to my feet and walked to the center of the meadow. We stood there for a second before music started playing. I didn’t know where it was coming from or how it was even playing, but at that point I didn’t care.

Time stood still for us as he supported my weight and danced for both of us. The candlelight from the tables and the luminarias were the only thing emitting light now, and it only made our evening more romantic.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, my Bella. Je t'aime pour toujours,” he said sweetly to me.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Edward. And I will love you forever, too,” I replied to him.

“It’s all for you, sweetie. The real thing; our love, it remains the same,” he whispered in my ear.

“Mmmhmm,” was all I managed to get out.

It had been an evening of pure ecstasy, and men would be trying to live up to our date for centuries. I was just fine with that.