Chapter 34- Ella's POV

Days passed, and weeks eventually rolled by. Christmas passed by in a blur, and somehow, for once, my mum wasn't working that day. I spent it with her and with my brother.

I wasn't on bad terms with Malcolm, to be honest, even though I had found out he was taking drugs. But he had realised I was being a bit miffed with him and he had asked me, time and time again, if something was up, and mentioning Edward occasionally. I guess he thought I was angry at him for what happened with him, or that we were seeing each other again. Well, we weren't.

Edward had been the most amazing person ever after I had found out about Malcolm. He was so supportive and held me while I cried and tried to figure out what I was going to do. And in the end, I didn't make up my mind on what to do. I just did nothing.

I blamed Edward, at first. Heck, for me he was to blame because he had kept the truth from me. I had accused him of holding it against me so that he would use it when he needed. And then I realised that he wasn't to blame, I just wanted to point my finger at someone. Edward had only known for a couple of days, why should he tell me immediately? We weren't even talking.

Edward and I weren't together now, if that's what you're thinking. We were on very good terms and he helped me a lot, but that was all, unfortunately. It was what he wanted. He didn't want to risk everything again. Not when someone was still threatening him. And we still hadn't found out who it was. Nathan never talked about it again.

Nathan had abandoned me as well. He had started seeing Jessica Driscoll now, my friend from Physics, whom I used to spend so much time with before I started going out with Edward. They met while clubbing and had happily been together for more than a month, living in their own paradise and unconsciously leaving me on my own.

So in a way, I had no one to hang out and somehow ended up spending my time with Edward, still. This is what I was going to do today, in fact. It was a Friday and I had a free lesson right after break. I was going to go to Edward's classroom during breaktime to work further on portraiture, and then I had planned to ask him if I could stay until the last lesson, which would then be with him. It was usually fine with him, as long as I didn't intrude into his lessons. Obviously, I never did.

When I got to the art room, the door was ajar, but I could hear voices inside. I strained to listen.

"You don't understand," I heard Edward say.

"What's there to understand?" the other voice said. "I know, Edward."

John. That voice belonged to John. I haven't spoken to him in ages.

He continued speaking. "You have been ignoring me ever since that day! Almost two months!" He was right, it was the end of January now. "And it's not fair that you spend all your time with Ella but then you refuse to even talk to me!"

Great, now he's putting me into this.

"I am talking to you right now, aren't I. And of course I'll talk to Ella, she didn't do anything. You did."

My heart fluttered at the thought of Edward sticking up for me.

"I said I'm sorry! I am, okay? Just, please, stop acting like you don't even know me!" John sounded frustrated now.  "It's not fair on me."

"Fine! I'll stop acting like I don't know you. I'll talk to you and treat you the way I used to before I found out, if that's what you want. But don't you dare forget what you did." Edward's voice was vicious now, and I didn't blame him. I was actually surprised how quickly he gave in. But maybe it was just because he wanted John to shut up.

"I won't, you know I won't. But you know it was a mistake and I'm sorry for it. I didn't mean for it to turn out the way it did." He paused. "Thank you," he murmured. I heard footsteps walking towards the door.

Great. He's coming to the door. I took a step back so that I didn't look like I had been eavesdropping, even though I had. I turned and looked out of the window, just as John pulled the door wide open. His eyes landed on me immediately. He smirked.

"Have you been listening in on our conversation?" he asked.

I shrugged. "What conversation? I only just got here."

"Please, like I believe you," John said, his wonderfully green eyes looking into mine. He straightened, looking suddenly serious. "So how are you?"

I shrugged. "Good." I didn't like small talk, especially with him.

John nodded. "So what are you doing here?" he asked.

I shrugged for the second time. "I have a lesson later."

"Last lesson? You're early," John said, looking at me knowingly.

I rolled my eyes and walked past him, but he gripped my arm. "Are you sure you're okay? I never see you with your friends these days," he said.

I was about to say, what friends?, when I heard someone clearing his throat from behind us. I looked up to see Edward standing at the classroom door, arms folded and frowning at us. I felt my face get red. Why does he always have to walk in on an uncomfortable moment? I shook my hand free of John's grip, gave him a meaningful look and started walking into the classroom. John pursed his lips, looked at Edward and started walking away.

As I took a seat by Edward's desk, I wondered why he had wanted me to stop talking to John. At least, I thought he had, with the way that he had cleared his throat to inform us of his presence. It wasn't like we were going out. We had already been apart for longer than we'd been in a relationship.

Edward walked in after me and sat at his desk. His eyes locked with mine. There was nobody in the room but us, since it was breaktime. He drummed his fingers on the table, keeping his eyes on mine, and said, "There won't be the next lesson, apparently the majority of the next class had an outing." He shrugged.

"Oh," I said. "I was going to ask you if I could stay." But I guess not, now.

"Sure, why not," Edward's eye twitched as he looked away. "What was John telling you?" he asked. I could tell that he had been wanting to ask that.

"Nothing really. He just asked if I'm okay. I haven't spoken to him since December." At least I wasn't lying here. I had tried steering clear of him, with the hope of getting Edward back. It hadn't worked.

Edward frowned. "Then why was he holding your arm?" he asked.

I shrugged for the third time. "He asked me why I'm not hanging out with my friends anymore."

Instead of Edward asking me to tell him the answer to that or to specify which friends John meant, he grimaced. "Ella, if you and John are seeing each other, you don't have to hide it from me. I'll be okay with it, I promise."

Great, now he thinks I'm with John, and is actually all right with it.

"I'm not dating John!" I yelled.

Let's face it, I'm never going to get Edward back.

Edward regarded me warily. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Of course!" I batted back.

Edward sighed and didn't say anything, instead turning his attention to the computer screen in front of him. This scene was pretty much what my daily dose of Edward was, but I have to admit that it was much better than nothing. If I weren't spending my time with him here, I would be stuck with the newly loved-up Nathan and Jessica. No thank you. It's not like I'm invited either. At least, in this way, I would be hanging out with Edward.

I took a deep breath and stared far-off. My life had never been perfect, what with my father's strange life and us living in his consequences, with my mum working all day and my brother handling with working in the morning and going to university in the evening. But now, it felt like it had taken a turn for the worse. My brother was taking drugs and aside from the guy I'd fallen for being my teacher, we couldn't be together because he was too scared of what might happen. And this was all because of his crazy stalker. Oh, and John. If it weren't for him being such a flirt (and me succumbing to him, of course), we would be okay right now.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward startled me with his words, and when I looked up I found him sitting a lot closer to me. I moved back, surprised.

"Hmm?" I asked.

A half-smile formed on Edward's lips, making him look even more attractive than usual. "When I looked at you, you seemed to be deep in thought... you look worried. What's up?"

I shrugged. "Like you care," I muttered.

"Hey... I do care," Edward said softly. "I always have and always will." He put his hand on mine, making me almost jump with astonishment. Edward and I hadn't been in any kind of physical contact for months. He too looked surprised at his own gesture, looking at his hand and then at me.

I didn't answer immediately, and when I did, I was stiff in my words. "It just doesn't seem like it," I said.

Edward squeezed my hand. "I'm here," he said. "Whenever you need me, you know I'm here." He sounded sorry and I wondered what the reason behind it was. He held his gaze on me while I looked away.

"Yeah well," I said after a few seconds of silence. "I do need you right now, because I haven't felt this lonely in ages."

A concerned look crossed Edward's features and he sighed. He glanced up at the door, as if to check that the door was closed, and then looked back at me. "What's wrong?" he asked. The way in which he asked the question showed that he really did care.

I blinked a couple of tears away, trying not to let Edward notice that I would be crying if I were on my own. "Everything. My brother complains about you and yet he's the one who's doing the wrong things, my mum's invisible..." I paused to look at Edward, who was still looking at me in concern. This was the first real opportunity in which I could really talk to him, after such a long time.

"My friends have all disappeared, John's a huge flirt, I'm scared of your stalker, and don't even get me started on my love life," I concluded, glaring at him.

With my last words, Edward smirked. "What love life?" he asked.

"Exactly." I glared at him for the second time.

Edward let go of my hand and ran a hand through his hair. The look on his face was serious now. "I'm sorry Ella," he said.

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"For giving up on us. But you know how my situation is. Believe me, I want to, but-" He paused and shook his head. "Nothing."

I narrowed my eyes. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing, nothing," Edward said.

Just then, the bell rang. Edward sighed, stood up and stretched his arms. He walked towards the window and opened it, resting his arms against it. He didn't say anything else, but instead kept on looking out of the window. I kept on sitting on the chair for a couple of minutes, until I got bored and stood up, wandering towards him. Nobody was supposed to be coming in here for their lesson now, so I thought it wouldn't hurt if I stood next to him.

Edward smiled at me when I approached him. He too looked thoughtful, yet flawless. For the first time that day, I took in what he was wearing. Black button up shirt, blue jeans, and black boots, just in case it rained as it had been forecasted for today. It hadn't rained yet, though.

"I don't want you to feel lonely," Edward whispered, inching closer to me. My heart started beating more rapidly instantly.

"But I do," I said in a small voice. Everything was wrong and nothing was right. I had started the year feeling terrible.

"Why?" He frowned, still looking at me worriedly.

I looked up into his perfect blue eyes. "Because it feels like I'm all alone in this world, with nobody to help me fight my battles."

Edward reached out with his hand, and put a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Sometimes, I feel like that too," he said in a low voice. "But in the end there's always a ray of sunshine. You should be positive, too. You're not alone. There are people out there who care about you. I do."

A tiny spark of hope fluttered in my stomach as Edward said the last two words. I looked away from his perfect profile.

"I miss you," I whispered, feeling a tear falling down my face. It was too late to try to blink it away, Edward had seen it. He wiped it away with his thumb and stepped closer.

"I miss you, too," he answered. "I don't want you to feel like no one cares, Ella. I do. You know that." He lifted my face up to meet his gaze. It was perfect... almost. Him saying that he cared was not enough. I needed him with me.

Right then, I realised it. John's words from around two months ago came back to me.

"You love him, don't you?"  he asked. "I see the way you look at him and talk about him, it's so obvious."

It is obvious, I suddenly realised. I did love Edward. All the feelings of sadness and feeling like I needed him with me... it was because I loved him.

"Ella?" Edward asked, looking at me in concern. "Are you okay?" He had probably seen the thoughtful look on my face. I looked up at him, my eyes locking with his.

My voice was barely a whisper as I uttered the words.

"I love you," I said.

Edward's eyes widened. "Sorry?" he asked, but I knew he had heard me the first time. I repeated it, more clearly this time, and felt Edward's grasp on me stiffen. He smiled at me. His look was perplexed. Then he spoke.

"I love you too, Ella. I never stopped loving you."

And he pulled me in closer to him and kissed my lips slowly and softly, making me feel the reminiscence of the fireworks I had felt the first time.

Hey guys, an update! Hope you like it, though I feel like it's not the best part. But I know that you liked the way it finished ;) Please vote and comment, it means the world to me :)

Dedicated to my sister :)

Thank you so much! take care xxx