A/N: I don't own Twilight or Maid in Manhattan nor am I affiliated in any way to the Vanderbilt family. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.
Reviews are always much appreciated -Allie
Bella POV
Usually, Astoria has a formal masquerade ball exactly one week after Halloween, usually held on the Friday of the first week of November. Here at Forks High, they seem to have something different. Homecoming.
Every time I watched on TV, Homecoming was about a football game followed by a huge dance. Here in Forks, since they're not very good at football, they just have the dance. This was all pretty irrelevant because I refused to attend.
Honestly, me going to a dance, held in a school gym? Yeah, right.
Clearly, I was the only one who felt this way about this event. It was pretty much impossible to take two steps in any part of the school without seeing a poster, or hearing people talking about it.
I step outside of the building and walk out towards the sidewalk, reach into my jacket for a cigarette and light it. I've had to make my stops a lot less frequent these days, since the Cullen's aren't really aware of my petty habit.
Beside me, is Lauren; a quiet girl in my math class that doesn't talk much. Today though, she has a huge smile on her face.
"What's got you smiling so big, Lauren?"
"My boyfriend just did the cutest proposal to ask me to homecoming, it was so cute!"
"Propos- wait, what? You mean, he asked you …"
"Nope! In Forks, Homecoming is kind of a really big deal. So the guys do big huge proposals to ask us to go with them. Kind of like a prom-posal."
I don't know whether I should laugh or cry at how absurd this all is. I decide to just nod happily for Lauren, finish off my cigarette and go inside. I spray myself with perfume, take my coat off and grab my money.
As I walk to the cafeteria, I witness a girl actually rejecting a guy because he didn't do a huge proposal to ask her to the silly little high school dance. What-the-fuck-ever.
I buy a Chicken Caesar Salad and go sit down with the Cullen's. It seems that everyone is watching Alice and Jasper's heated debate.
"Ali, babe, you know I love you-"
"If you love me, you'll do this then."
"But, at least give me an idea-"
"No. If you're the man I know you are then you won't need my help."
I watch with curious amusement and can't help but snort at Jasper's expression. "What did Jasper do now?"
Alice turns to look at me, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Jazz wasn't going to give me a proposal to the dance, can you believe it?"
"But Ali, baby, you know there's no one else I'd want to go with!"
"And?"
Alice's shriek nearly breaks my eardrum and I can't help but intervene. "What's the big deal?"
Although my comment seems to please Jasper, Alice now fixes me with wide disbelieving eyes.
"What's the big deal? Bella! Don't you want a big huge proposal for the dance?"
I laugh at Alice's question, how silly. "I don't care, it's not like I'm going."
"Isabella Marie, of course you're going."
I laugh, shake my head and stick my tongue out at the tiny girl. I wasn't going and no one was going to make me.
:.
This whole school has gone crazy because of this stupid dance; it's ridiculous and insane. I park my Honda in the driveway and walk towards the front door, surprised to see a single red rose on tapped on the floor with a note.
Always the curious cat, I bend down and pick up the flower as well as the note.
Bella, please accept my flower. It's as vibrant as your startling personality x
Trust me? Go to the Oakwood Park.
Please do this.
Should I do this? Probably not, but I'm bored and there's nothing to do. I have my cellphone in case anything goes wrong. And anyhow, this is incredibly sweet.
I slip back into my car and drive towards Oakwood Park. Ha, I wonder who's waiting at the end of the road. Probably, that Ben guy that keeps staring at me in class, or that Eric kid.
I park in an empty parking spot and walk towards the park. Where the trail board is, there's a red rose and another note. I pick up the rose and hold it with the other one, and grab the note.
Thank you for coming this far, Bella.
Go down the blue trail.
Please don' give up on this x
Might as well. I drove all the way here anyway. Following the colour code, I walk down towards the blue trail. I walk for about a minute and a half before I see the outline of a person. Is that- yes! It's the Ben kid! And he's holding a red rose!
"Hey Bella!"
"Hey … Ben?"
Ben looks at my surprised expression and chuckles. "Don't worry, this isn't all my doing. All though, I wish it was, it's a wicked idea. Here you go, turn left at the fork."
Ben hands me the third rose and walks off.
I let out a sigh of relief that the person behind all of this isn't Ben and walk down the trail, faithfully turning left at the fork. I walk down for a couple of minutes until I reach a staircase. A red rose is tapped to the railing as well as a note.
Just a few more steps until,
Don't give up x
I'm giggling with anticipation, surprised to see that I'm actually enjoying my little curious adventure. I go down the steps and find Mike waiting for me at the end with another rose.
"You lucky girl, you. Walk right and then make a left to get to the beach, have fun."
Mike hands me the flower with a wink and walks off. There's a beach in Forks? What? I shake my head with a wry smile on my face. Sure enough when I make a left, the paved road turns into sand and I can see the water in the horizon. Also in the horizon, I see another person. As I approach the person, I find myself hoping that this isn't the final one. Lauren's boyfriend, Tyler holds a rose in his hand as well as a note. He hands it to me the note, tells me to walk towards the right side of the beach and leaves.
Good things happen to those who wait x
I stop walking and slip off my shoes, so I can feel the sand sift through my toes. I walk for about a good five minutes and notice that the sand seems to get finer and whiter and the water seems to look ore calm and pretty.
I see a big brown woven basket on a white blanket with red rose petals scattered all over it. I walk over to the basket and see an intruding object preventing it from fully closing. I open it more fully and see a bouquet of about a hundred red roses. I sit down on the blanket it awe of how beautiful it all is. I hug the roses to me and notice a piece of paper in between two flowers. I pull it out and read it aloud.
Turn around.
I get up and turn around and find myself face to face with Edward. He's smiling a sort of smile I've never seen before; an insecure, shy smile.
"Isabella Marie Swan, will you go to homecoming with me?"
Although I've been bashing it all day, although I've been ridiculing and making a mockery of it's over exaggeration. Despite all this, I can't help my oh so typical three-letter screech of an answer.
"Yes!"
I run to Edward and throw my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. Edward puts his arms around my waist and lifts me up and spins me around before carrying me towards the blanket and making me sit down.
He reaches into the basket and pulls out two trays of spaghetti, two cups, which he fills with red wine, he 'borrowed' from the cellar and a huge slice of chocolate cake to share for desert.
Edward and I start feeding each other and drinking just enjoying each other's company. When we get to desert, I ask a question that's been puzzling me all night.
"So, why did you ask me of all girls to homecoming?" I ask, expecting some long bullshit answer.
"I maybe sort of kind of like you a bit," he answers with a boyish grin.
I laugh and push the piece of cake that I had on my fork onto his nose. Edward's eyes flash in surprise before he reaches for me. I'm clearly much faster than him and get up in a frenzy and run away laughing.
Edward chases after me and grabs me once I reach the water. He picks me up and spins me around before lifting me up above his head and walking deeper into the water.
"Edward! If you drop me in the water I swear-"
The salty ocean water hits my body and stings my eyes. I gasp for air, my ears ringing with the sound of Edward's laughter. I grin wickedly and grab his hand pulling him under the water with me. We both start laughing and shivering before we run out of the water.
I promise Edward to text him tonight and to take a hot shower the moment I get home and drive away from the park. Charlie is thankfully not home, so I'm saved from answering any questions about why I'm wet and holding flowers. I put my roses in a vase in my room and take a picture. I tweet it with a kiss-blowing emoji from my laptop before quickly before slipping in the shower.
:.
I lie in bed texting Edward, about to go to bed, when I get a message from Christian.
Christian Condor
Nice roses
I let out a cold harsh laugh before wishing Edward goodnight and turning off my phone, leaving Christian's message unanswered. I close my eyes, my mind filled with fairy tales, roses and boys. One-sentence echoes throughout my mind; 'I maybe sort of kind of like you'.
