This was an outtake I did for Fandom4TwiFanG… Thank you, to those who donated!

I own nothing, as usual.

"The worst is over now and we can breathe again." Broken, Seether

Bella

"Why do you even bother looking at the trash?"

I shrugged at my mother's question before throwing the tabloid back onto the bar. "Because I'm idiotically curious about what people are saying about us."

She sat down, stirring her coffee, and shaking her head. "What matters is what you and Edward think. Not anyone else."

My mother was right, I knew that. But it was becoming more and more difficult to ignore the onslaught of magazines that we graced the cover of. It was hard not to read the tabloids, watch the news specials, and follow the blogs. I wanted to know what lies were being told so I could set them straight. I didn't want people speculating about what had happened with Jane, Aro, Sam, Emily and Garrett. The trail had been going on for close to a month, and for two weeks straight, during our testimonies, Edward and I were paraded through a mass of reporters, photographers and some not very nice "fans". I couldn't do anything about what they took pictures of, but I could damn well do something about the rumors they started.

Looking down at the gossip rag I'd discarded, my mother asked, "So what does this one say? The usual about Edward being a drug dealer before seeing the error of his ways?"

I didn't feel the need to tell her that wasn't exactly fiction, so I just answered her question. "Supposedly an 'inside source' has told them that the stress of Edward's past, as well as his fame, is pulling the two of us apart. Apparently I've postponed the wedding several times."

She smiled and flipped through the pages, looking at the pictures they'd included. "Little do they know that we're going to start looking for wedding dresses soon."

"Yeah," I said as I took the magazine from her and tossed it into the trash. "Little do they know."

Truth be told, the trial was having a huge impact on my relationship with Edward. And after everything we'd been through… how could it not? It was drudging up his past, my past, lying all of it on the line for everyone in that court room to hear and judge. The prosecutors had tried to paint him as an abusive drug addict for five straight days. And supposedly, I'd had a sexual relationship with Garrett which then compromised my character. How were we supposed to walk away from that, and not bring pieces of the resentment and anger back home with us?

"Well," My mother patted my hand. "You know the truth, Bella. And so does Edward."

"I know…" Looking down at stack of tabloids I'd yet to read, I sighed.

xXxXxXx

"So, you don't want me to go?"

Edward covered his face for a second before dropping his hands, forced a smile, and then shook his head. "Bella, for the hundredth time, I don't care. If you want to go, then go. If you don't want to go, then I understand."

I wanted to throw something at him, but instead, I sank further down into the chair I was sitting in. "I don't want you to be upset if I don't go. I just… with everything that's been going on, I think it would be too much."

We'd been having this discussion for days, about if I would or wouldn't go to some charity concert that he was playing. It wasn't that I didn't want to see him play, or that I didn't want to support him, I just… I didn't know if I could handle the press being forced down my throat.

"Then stay here." He shut the lid on his guitar case, quickly. "Either way, I'm late. If I see you there, then I see you there. If not, then I'll see you when I get home."

He leaned down to kiss my forehead and was about to pull away, but I held on to his arm to stop him. Looking up at his face, I waited a few seconds before asking, "We're… okay. Right?"

I didn't get the automatic reassuring response I was hoping for. Instead, I got a sullen nod of the head and another kiss. "Can we talk about this later? I've got to go."

Letting go, I watched him walk away. As soon as I heard the front door shut behind him, I used several cusswords before throwing the remote across the room. But I stayed where I was, in a living room filled with a ton of pictures that showed a happy life between the two of us. But the longer I sat there, looking at our smiling faces, the more I wondered how we'd let this happen.

It felt like things were slipping away, farther and farther out of my reach. It wasn't that long ago that my relationship with Edward had been perfect. We'd decided, together, that we were worth fighting for… worth working for… but now it was like both of us had gotten lost in our own personal turmoil and forgotten about the fact that we were each struggling… together and separately. And I had to find a way to fix it.

We were supposed to be blissfully planning a wedding. If there was arguing, it should be over color samples and dinner options. It shouldn't have been over things from years past. We should have fallen asleep every night, wrapped around each other. Not with each of us on our own side of the bed, not touching, and not talking. We should have been making passionate, all consuming, love… instead of just having sex that was nearly passionless. This was not who we were as a couple. And I refused to continue down this road.

In a hurry, I grabbed my keys, my cellphone, and broke several traffic laws while making my way to Zilker Park. I left my car in a no parking zone, telling the little attendant that they could tow it if they wanted to, and ran through the a crowd to find the backstage entrance.

Inside, I nodded to people who recognized me, smiled when they said it was good to see me, and followed their directions as to where Edward was. Once there, I found Alice and Jasper, watching as Edward played the beginning of his set.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, smiling. "Edward said you were staying home."

"Yeah," I said, trying to catch my breath. "I changed my mind. Did he just start?"

Jasper nodded, letting me take his spot so I could get a better view. And I watched as he performed the familiar song. It was the same lyrics, same music, but the energy that surrounded him was completely different. It was all music… with no heart. His soul wasn't into the performance and seeing him like that only steeled my resolve.

"I need you to fit me for a mic."

"What?" Alice asked, yelling over the music.

"A mic, I need a mic."

She shook her head. "Bella, you can't just walk out on the stage and-"

"I know the songs! Just give me a fucking microphone!"

She looked completely startled by what I was telling her, but motioned for one of the sound techs to give me what I wanted. They worked, pulling wires and slipping packs into my back pockets, while I held my arms out.

"What are you doing?" Jasper asked. "Bella, he is in the middle of a performance!"

"Yeah," I nodded, fitting the earpiece into my ear. "And he shouldn't be doing it alone."

Both of them were still trying to convince me that I was crazy while I walked up the steps that lead to the stage, but while Edward started playing the beginning of his next song, one that was originally supposed to be a duet, I took a deep breath.

I could do this. I could. I knew the lyrics, I knew the music. And I wouldn't be singing alone. I'd have Edward right there with me. Another breath, another quick check that everything was plugged in, and I knew I couldn't turn back.

Waiting until it was time, I carefully took a step out onto the stage. Then another, and another, until I was standing next to the bassist, singing the lyrics that Edward had written. As a testament to his performance, Edward's playing never stopped as he watched me walking towards him, but the look of absolute surprise couldn't be ignored. Everyone watching knew this was not a planned performance.

"Walk away, they said," I sang, looking up at him. "Let him go, they said. But they don't know me like you do. They don't love me like you do."

Smiling, slightly, he followed. "Turn away, they said. Let her go, they said. But they'll never understand me like you do. They'll never fight for this like you do."

"So, let them wonder, we said. Let them judge, we said. Because baby, they're not us."

We finished the song just like we'd started it, staring at each other and completely unaware of the people that surrounded us. And I didn't care that our pictures would be all over the internet and on magazine covers, because for once, it would be the truth.

It wouldn't be information from an inside source, or pictures taken while we were trying to hide from the cameras. This story, these pictures, they were the two of us proving that we were more than the celebrity gossip. We were in love and because of that, we could get thought anything as long as one of us was willing to stand up and fight for our relationship.

"You're crazy," Edward said against my ear, hugging me as the music came to a slow finish. "And I love you."

Smiling, I held on to his sides. "You needed me."

He slowly let go of me before leaning into the microphone in front of him. "Ladies and gentlemen," he motioned towards me, still holding on to my hand. "Miss Bella Swan!"

I blushed at the applause that followed his introduction, but didn't hesitate to grab the front of his shirt and pull him down to my mouth. He smiled against my lips before kissing me back, but within a few seconds the two of us were completely oblivious to anything but each other.

Nothing short of a miracle would have gotten me back on stage, or so I'd thought. But it was seeing people dissecting my relationship with Edward, turning into something cheap and phony, that forced me to prove that we were above all of that. We were above the rumors, above the gossip. We were each other's forever after, and now, everyone else knew it too.