Mom had sneakily placed a pair of silver ballet flats on my bed, but I was thankful. Alice would have given me heels.

I threw on a white cardigan and grabbed my hand bag before heading for the stairs. I could hear Jacobs husky voice talking to my dad, making me suddenly nervous. I hadn't done anything like this with Jake before, and it was like I had asked him out on a date instead of just prom. But we were friends, that's all I needed from him.

I took a deep breath, readying myself. When I appeared at the top of the staircase, the creak underneath my foot alerted everyone, and they all stared at me. Phil had mom by the waist, while she held Charlies hand. It looked as though she was about to start crying. This was what I was trying to avoid. Attention.

Jacob was unexpectedly handsome. His hair was smoothed back and tied into ponytail. He must have burrowed the tux, because I knew for a fact that he didn't own one in the past. His eyes were soft and warm, and suddenly I yearned for the comfort of his bizarre heat.

Jacob took a stride forward and offered me his hand. "You look very, very nice." He whispered into my ear.

I had to suppress a laugh. "And you scrub up well, don't you?"

We turned to face my parents. Charlie was still smiling, but his eyes were tight. Renee stepped up to hug us both, and kissed my cheek. "You both look incredible."

"Of course." Phil agreed, hugging me too.

"Picture time!" Charlie exclaimed, pulling out a camera from his pocket. I groaned, but Jacob didn't seem to mind. He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around my waist. I placed my hands on his chest and tried to force a genuine smile.

Charlie flashed the camera. "Nice." He commented.

"My turn!." Renee squealed, hoping in between me and Jake. The camera flashed again.

Phil took his turn, and then Charlie. Jacob took a family one of us after that.

"Okay, that's enough." I huffed, taking Jake's hand. I pulled him toward the door.

"You have fun sweetie." Mom called, tagging along as we made our way to Jacobs Rabbit.

"I will." I replied. Jacob opened the door, and lifted me in with one hand. He went around to the drivers side while I waved back at my family. They continued to wave as we pulled out and headed down the road.

"That was horrible." I complained, finally letting myself relax. "I really needed to get out of there."

"Glad to be in service." He mused.

"A limo would have sufficed." I grudged, pretending to be disgusted with the rusted metal of his vehicle.

He glanced side ways at me, and saw the mockery on my face. "Real funny."

I let out a laugh and jabbed his arm with my elbow. "I don't mind Jake. I don't need a fanfare."

He sighed in relief. "Well that's good, cause a limo was way out of my league."

I leaned against his shoulder, fiddling with the hem of my dress. He pressed his cheek against my head. "Thanks for doing this with me, Jake."

"I know why you're doing this, Bella. You want to satisfy your parents, to show them you can be normal."

It was funny because that was why I was doing this. If my parents really believed that I was well and healthy, then I wouldn't be caught dead at prom. This had to ease their worries a little bit. I really wanted to stop being babied.

"I know." I whispered softly.

"You can be normal, Bella. With me."

I sat up abruptly. glaring at his composed face. "So I'm not normal without you? Is that it?"

His eyes widened. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Whatever." I muttered and faced away from him, glaring at the downpour outside the window.

It wasn't the first time he had insisted to take matters further. I was sure I made it clear that he was only my friend, best friend at that. What was so hard to understand? Why couldn't he just accept my feelings and move on. I was about to ridicule him of just that, but my mouth snapped shut. What kind of person would I be if I told my best friend to shove off and stop loving me? I knew the exact words that would spill through his lips if I had. "Well why don't you accept his feelings and move on, Bella!" Yes, that's exactly the sort of thing Jacob would say back to me, and I wasn't going to give him that chance.

I felt his hand grasp mine, but it was too late to turn to him because a tear had escaped the corner of my eye.

"Your such a cry baby." He mused, squeezing my hand. It was so warm.

I let out a small chuckle that burned my throat on the way out. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just nervous, that's all."

"What's there to be worried about?" He asked curiously. "I'm here, and I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know that, Jacob. But its prom." I gasped the last word.

He laughed, and the sound of it comforted me a little. "Well you're in for a ride, because we're here."

Jacob managed to find a vacant parking spot, and then he helped me out of the car. The school hall was booming with loud music, and students were filing through the double doors.

"Lets do this." I spoke with false enthusiasm, which Jake picked up on and laughed.

He put his arm around my shoulders and gently kissed my forehead. "Lets do this."

It was just how I imagined. Painfully dreadful.

Multi-colored lights were flashing around the room that was no bigger than my backyard. Streamers and balloons hung from the ceiling, and individual tables were set up with food and drinks on them. There was a small amount of space for both the dance floor and stage, where an anonymous band was playing a rock ballad which had couples jumping up and down to the beat.

He towed me over to an empty table, and we took our place. I wondered what we looked like from afar. A pair going to the school prom? I knew the whole friend act didn't fool anybody, but all I needed to know was that Jacob was only my friend.

"Bella!" A voice exclaimed. Jessica and Angela were waving frantically from the dance floor. Mike and Ben-their dates-were too busy admiring the blasting music. They came rushing over to us with linked arms.

"Hey. You both look great." I complimented, and they did. Jessica wore a stunning pink strapless dress that hugged every line of her body perfectly, and Angela looked fabulous in her light blue dress that flowed around her ankles.

"You to." Angela replied.

Jessica eyed Jacob for a long moment, and then gave me a sly smile. "Is this your friend from La Push? Jason, right?"

"Jacob." I corrected.

He smiled and offered his hand. "Nice to meet you both."

For some uncanny reason, Jessica blushed and felt the need to look away. I hope she wasn't developing feelings for Jake. I knew I wasn't romantically bounded with him, but he was my date after all.

I cleared my throat, hoping to break the tension. "So I wonder who's going to be voted prom king and queen."

Jessica's eyes lit up. "Speaking of king and queen, guess who got nominated?"

I rolled my eyes. "You and Mike of course."

"And you." Angela added sheepishly.

I felt my mouth drop wide open. My heart reacted to her words in an unnatural way. "You've got to be joking!"

She shook her head. "It's true Bella. I'm on the committee, and when I found out that you were nominated, I was ecstatic." She glanced at Jacob quickly, and then back to me. "Though, I wish we had of known you were coming with...."

"Oh no," Jake interrupted with a smirk. "Prom King is way too cheesy for me."

We all laughed. Mike and Ben came over when the rock jam had finished and a female replaced them with a slow tune. Couples began to settle down. The guys wrapped their arms around their dates waist, holding them close. Ben took Angela's hand and began to lead her towards the soft music.

"Well uh, I guess I'll see you afterwards." She blushed, and followed Ben.

Mike sat at our table watching me shrewdly. I tried to ignore him, wishing he would just ask Jessica to dance already. Jessica sighed in frustration. I guess she was wishing the same thing.

"Dance with me." Jacob unexpectedly whispered in my ear.

I turned to face him with wide eyes. If he knew me at all, he would know that dancing was a really bad idea. I scrutinized his face searching for any sign of sarcasm, but he was completely serene. A small smile on his lips.

I just nodded, not really sure what I was doing. His smile grew bigger, brightening his features just a little bit more. He took my hand and led me to where everyone swayed and twirled gently. I had to admit, the girl singing was amazingly talented. Her voice went along with the melody, like a tender breeze of the wind.

Once we were in the midst of the huddle, he pulled me into his arms. I wrapped my fingers around his neck, gazing at him cautiously. We swayed from side to side while others did elegant twists and bends. It didn't trouble me that we weren't as fluid as everyone else, and Jacob seemed just as content as I was. But being here with him just bought back old memories that I didn't want to remember. Especially not tonight. Maybe it would be better if I had taken the pills. I leaned my head against his chest and sighed.

"What's wrong?" He asked, stroking his fingers through my hair.

"I don't know how long I can keep this up." I admitted, closing my eyes. I could hear every beat of his warm heart. It was like listening to a different kind of song that only I was familiar with.

He kissed the top of my head and I looked up at him. His eyebrows furrowed in concern and he touched my cheek, collecting a tear. His expression twisted into pain, causing my heart to accelerate. I was hurting him too much.

"I'm sorry Jake. Please, don't be upset. I'll try to behave." I quickly apologized. "I promise...."

"Promise what?"

I shook my head, not wanting to continue on. Was I ready to make this decision? Perhaps I could deal with whatever pain this bought me later on, if I just let go. I had to make him happy somehow. I can't keep turning my back on him.

Slowly and hesitantly, I stretched on my toes so that I could reach his lips. His breathing was erratic. My hand was placed over his heart, and I could feel it pumping wildly as I edged closer to him. This was it.....

"Bella." He whispered my name. His tone was husky with some emotion in it that I could only guess was denial. My eyelids fluttered open, and I was staring into his dark eyes. "Bella, I don't think we should do this now."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What?"

I stepped away from him, staring at him like he had gone utterly mad. He gazed back, but not with the same intensity. His face was contorted in pain, but now that I really focused on his features, I could tell that his pain wasn't because I was hurting him.

"I just think you need time Bella." He murmured, taking a step toward me.

The feeling of major rejection washed over me like a tidal wave, sweeping me off the ground and sending me into a miserable vortex. He was giving me time? I couldn't understand why his rebuff stunned me so hard that I could barely breath. I thought I was giving him what he wanted. But I guess I was wrong. Totally and completely wrong.

I wasn't in control of the words that came out of my mouth next. It punched the hole inside my chest even bigger. "You....don't....want me?" Deja-vu much? I couldn't help but saying them out loud. They were the only words that made sense to me at the moment, but getting them out into the open made my head swirl.

Jacob seemed to be in as much pain as I was. He stared at me helplessly, not sure whether his next move would send me flying out the doors. "I love you so much Bella. More than you know." He took another careful step toward me and reached for my hand. I was too numb to move away, so I let him take me in his arms. "You're in a contradiction, Bells. You want me because you want to get over that leech-" He broke off suddenly, feeling my body freeze automatically. "I love you that much because I want to make sure that you are completely over him. So when you come to me, you'll love me for me. Not because your trying to be strong and conquer your remaining feelings, but because you actually do love me. Jacob Black."

His words swirled around in my head, refusing me to make meaning of their objective. I knew I would've crumpled to the floor if he wasn't holding me up. The song ended softly, and everybody started to clap.

Principle Greene walked up to the microphone. "Attention please." He ordered. All the noise seemed to dull down, but there was a constant ringing in my ears. "I am proud to announce that this years prom has been very successful. Everyone looks absolutely spectacular, and I want to take this time to thank a few staff, and students."

There was a low groan from the audience as he began a long list of thank-you's. I ignored them, and tried to look into Jacobs eyes. He was staring toward the double doors, his face suddenly livid.

It wasn't long before I knew that I couldn't stand being here anymore. The dim lights were giving me a headache, and standing in Jake's arms after he had just rejected me, was beginning to be consuming.

Principle Greene moved onto a different subject, but I was in too much pain to understand what he was talking about. If he didn't want me, and Jacob didn't want me, then who was left that I could go to.

"I have to go." I said, shrugging out of his arms. I made my way back to the table to grab my purse and headed toward the exit. I paused when I was at the door, turning back towards the crowd. All I could see was Jacob, still glaring and looking like he was about to explode any minute. His whole frame was quivering. I thought about going back to him, calm him somehow from turning into a werewolf in front of all my friends. Possibly hurting all of them in the process. But I couldn't. I had no will left in me to do that.

I turned back to open the door.

"And the prom queen is........Isabella Swan!"

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