Thanks to everyone who held on during this story!

Chapter Six

I sat, sighing, as I stared at the makeshift hoop I had made some time ago. It had been agreed by both myself and Dottie that we would stay a few more days. Time hardly passed in our world. I had been an idiot, like always, and had turned shy around Edward. I knew I shouldn’t have. In just a couple days I had fallen in love with a demon. I didn’t even know what he felt like. I sighed again and looked down at the ball in my lap.

How pathetic.

“Ellen.” I blinked, looking up to see Edward standing over me, his hands tucked in his pockets. Two buttons were undone, exposing his chest. Yikes. “What are you doing out here by yourself?” He queried softly, a small smile on his lips.

“Thinking,” I responded, spinning the ball in my hands, gazing down at it, refusing to look at him. “You know, it hasn’t been total hell here.”

“Mm hmm.”

“Dottie disagreed, but I wanted to show her the good of it...So...” I shrugged. One of his hands slid over my head and I blinked, tilting my head back. Once again, I was confronted with an unfamiliar expression.

“Is that the only reason that you stayed?” He queried quietly. I shrugged, avoiding his gaze again. He knelt next to me and I stopped fiddling with the ball, raising my eyes hesitantly to his face. He slid his fingers down the side of my face to my chin. He caught my chin and gently kissed me on the mouth. I sighed, leaning into the kiss, letting my eyelids drop. “You should stay here, Ellen.” I laughed shakily.

“Don’t you think I would, Edward? I don’t belong here, though. And I have a family and there’s Dottie...” I lowered my head, shaking it. “I couldn’t stay here and you know that better than anyone.” I raised my eyes and saw it in his face. He had known all along what my answer would be. He had still asked, anyway. “I’m sorry, Edward.”

“I know.” I pushed the ball away from me and inched closer to him, raising myself on my knees, circling my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He slid down, drawing me on his lap. I buried my face against my arm, afraid that I was going to start crying. Jesus! I’ve never cried as much in my sixteen years as I did during this whole escapade. “Ellen.” He gently drew me away. “Let me make this last night one to remember.” At any other time, I would have said no. I wouldn’t have even thought before I answered. But this was Edward. And I would never see him again in my life. I knew that. We both did. The queen had said it herself, knowing what I felt for him. The only reason I’d been brought in this world is because that creature broke through the seal on the portal. As soon as I had come in, the seal had locked in again. It would lock in again after Dottie and I went home.

“...Alright,” I murmured.

Dottie and I stared at the pond. It had been here all along. The seal had just locked the portal in. The queen was beside us, her expression neutral. Edward and Alex had come to see us off, too. I sighed and turned back to the two males that I had been with since I first arrived here. Alex launched himself at me and I hugged him tightly as he cried in my shoulder. “I don’t want you to go, Ellen,” he sobbed. “Why can’t you stay?”

“I have a little brother at home,” I told him, smiling sadly. “And a family. And how would Dottie survive without me?” Dottie gave a small smile. “You understand, don’t you, Alex?” He sniffed and nodded. I wiped the tears from his cheeks and kissed him on the head. “Edward will take care of you.” The last word caught in my throat and I cleared it, forcing a bright smile on my face. Edward’s expression was guarded, but I could tell by that look in his eye that he wasn’t happy to let me go. The feeling was mutual for my part.

I shifted my gaze to him and felt a blush creep on my cheeks, recalling what I’d done with him last night. I wasn’t ashamed of it, though. Not at all. Edward slowly raised his hand and brushed my bangs from my face, his palm sliding on my cheek. I raised my eyes. He bent his head and kissed me softly, lingeringly. “I love you,” he whispered against my lips.

“Edward,” I moaned, hugging him hard. “Oh, Edward...” Dottie averted her gaze from us, kicking the ground idly. “I love you, too, but I...”

“I know. I understand why you have to leave. I knew it all along.” He cupped the back of my head. “That doesn’t make me any more happier to see you leave, though.” He kissed me again, this time hard and with his tongue. He brought himself from me and slowly backed away, his mouth taut, his expression pained. I felt my hands tremble.

“It’s time to go,” the queen announced. When her eyes met mine, they were sympathetic. I lined up next to Dottie.

“Ellen,” Dottie softly said as the pond glowed. “You love Edward very much, don’t you?” I didn’t reply. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. I knew that after this, I would never love someone else. He was the one that I wanted, not someone else. Not a human. “Ellen...I won’t be that lonely. You know I have other friends.” I turned to look at her.

“But Dottie...” She gave a sad smile.

“You came here for me. You didn’t leave because of me. You’ll live like always, Ellen, but I know that when we leave here, you’ll never forget him. You’ll never really be happy. You’ll look at two people in love and think of him. You’ll be alone on Valentine’s Day and think of him. Ellen. Your family would understand, I know that. And I understand that.”

“I don’t belong here, Dottie...”

“It doesn’t matter.” Dottie leaned forward, glancing behind them. “Look at him, Ellen, and tell me if he’ll care.” I stared at her for a moment before slowly turning my head to look at Edward. He was frowning and his brow was furrowed. I knew that he was stubborn and protective. But...

“But Dottie – ”

“Ellen, please stay here. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if you went home and were always aching for him.” I stared at her for a long moment, not speaking. This wasn’t a dream, I knew. And Dottie was being sincere. But could I do it? Could I leave everything at home? School, basketball, beating up people for Dottie, the wrestling with Jacob over the remote, the lectures from my mother, Bozo’s declarations of love, my cat’s mood swings?

“Dottie.” It was the queen. “I’m afraid this can’t happen. She is right. She would not fit in. There are no humans here. You two and that man were the only ones. This is a world for unnatural creatures. I’m sorry, but you both must leave.”

“How can I leave him?” I whispered. “I love him so much...”

“And I know Edward feels the same. I do not want to see him heartbroken, but he cannot leave with you and you cannot stay.” I didn’t speak. I turned to look at Edward again, this time with longing. I had always scorned love. Now I felt as though I was dying from it. My own heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest. When I think of living without him...

I sighed, licking my lips. “I understand,” I whispered. I looked at Edward again. His lips twitched and he gave me a sad smile. I returned it with one of my own. I left the queen and Dottie, moving over to Edward. I undid my old leather choker. He watched me remove it. “So you’ll never forget me,” I elaborated. He stared at it, and then smiled. He removed a ring from his hand and slid it over my ring finger, kissing my hand.

“And so you will never forget me.” As I handed him the choker, he kissed me one last time. “Goodbye, Ellen.”

“...Edward...” I turned from him, biting my lip. I took Dottie’s hand and swallowed. The queen stepped back from us and I took a deep breath. “On the count of three?” I asked my friend. She nodded. “One...Two...” I paused, swallowing. “...Two...” I couldn’t say it. Oh, why did love have to be so hard?

“Three,” Edward softly said. Dottie jumped into the pond with my following her. I saw a last glimpse of Edward’s sad, longing eyes peering at us over the pond before darkness filled my vision.

X

“What can I get you?”

“A Double Shot Caramel Mocha.”

“Alright. Double Caramel Mocha!”

I don’t know how I got through the day after I returned home. All I know is that I still had Edward’s ring around my finger. I could still remember every detail of my adventure. No matter how many times I tried to forget, my heart continued to yearn for him. My life was incomplete. If the queen had let me, I would have stayed with Edward. I knew that. Dottie giving me permission was all I needed. And, when I got off work and walked in the darkness of the spring night, I knew why the queen hadn’t allowed me to stay, why Edward had been the one to say ‘three.’ I had a life that I was obligated to. I was never supposed to end up in that world. Fate had been screwed up and it shouldn’t have been. I didn’t like it, but accepted it, just as Edward had. This was how things were supposed to be. But God, did I miss him.

“You, there!” A screech came from my neighbor as I came to my home. “Show respect for your queen!” I paused and looked to Ms. Doberman. I smiled at her and swept into a deep curtsy. Because, hey, she might be crazy, but there was a woman in there that I had a feeling knew about that world where Edward and Alex were.

“Your Majesty,” I murmured. Ms. Doberman smiled at me and returned the curtsy. I chuckled to myself and started up the sidewalk to my door. When I looked back to my neighbor, I didn’t see Ms. Doberman, but the queen in the other world. When I blinked, it was just Ms. Doberman. She was still smiling. Then she went back inside her house. I stared at where she had been and slowly shook my head.

Later that night, it all came together. Those people in that other world? They were the same people that were in this world and I think the queen knew it. Edward was somewhere out in this world. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find him. But until I do, I’ll go on with my life. I’ll hurt every day of my life, but I’ll just look at his ring and be comforted, knowing that I have a piece of him with me just as he has a piece of me. Somehow, it doesn’t hurt so much after that.

X

Kanna-sama: That’s so sad. I had struggled with the ending, to be honest. I wanted so bad to keep Ellen in Edward’s world, but when I started this story, I had decided how it was going to end. I didn’t want to go back on it. For once, I actually had a story with an unhappy ending. And it broke my heart. Anyway, please review and tell me how you liked it. It’d be much appreciated. Sayonara!