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No Silly Business

Walk with me

[10]

Embry couldn't stop staring at her.

Everyone was seated outside, enjoying their dinner while his eyes were glued to Beatrice. He couldn't believe it.

Okay.

Her eyes swiftly met his before she looked down at her plate, staring at her unfinished bread roll. Slowly, she chewed the remaining bread bits as he just watched her, completely entranced.

Let's be friends.

… Was it really that easy? Did she seriously like him now, after all the mistakes he had committed? Whatever it was, he couldn't comprehend the whole situation yet.

He actually never meant to ask her, it sort of just blurted out of his mouth. All he wanted was to talk to her, get her attention. And the way she was looking at that dream catcher, eyes wide with intense fascination, something in him just snapped. On instinct he confronted her and …

Now they were friends.

The whole situation kept replaying in his head. She had accepted the offer before gracefully walking away, leaving him speechless again. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to think. It was all too fast, too confusing. More importantly, why wasn't he happy?

His heart was on the verge of explosion but something in his gut told him not to get too excited. And the way Beatrice was currently avoiding eye contact with him made it clear that he'd have to wait a little longer before celebrating this improvement.

Beatrice swallowed her last bite of grilled chicken before getting up to clean her plate. Dinner had been delicious and the environment around the table had been lively, energetic. However, Embry Call was another matter.

She had expected him to be joyful, feasting himself full along with his friends but strangely enough, he had been quiet during dinner. He didn't eat much either. His was… out of character.

Frankly, she didn't know what to do to. He confused her way too much - it was as if he was constantly scheming of something or trying to prank her. She was always on full alert around him. Her emotions were always wavering around him too, unfortunately.

"Bea, we're gonna go to the beach after cleaning up, is that cool?" Kim asked, bursting Beatrice's pattern of thoughts.

She nodded, hoping that the change of scenario would distract her from her current predicament.

Shortly after, everyone was piled in their cars ready to go to the beach. Luckily for Beatrice, Embry wasn't riding with her; he was in his own truck while she was in Kim's car. And coincidentally, both Kim and Beatrice were alone - surprisingly - so now she could talk freely about what was bothering her.

"… Embry and I are friends now," she said, glancing at Kim.

Kim nodded, "Okay. And what's wrong with that?"

Beatrice opened her mouth to answer but didn't know what to say. Certainly, this was not how she had expected Kim to react - Kim was supposed to freak out and give her some sort of advice but instead she was casually driving her car, completely nonchalant.

"Beatrice, I'm telling you that he's a good guy. Why don't you just believe me?" countered Kim, turning the steering wheel.

"I don't trust him," she replied, staring out the window.

"Well, then start to! You can't just become friends with somebody you don't trust. Gosh, this is common sense Bea," Kim barked, slightly angry at Beatrice for acting so clueless.

"Don't snap at me. I just… what do I do?" she wondered.

Kim sighed, "Talk to him. Get to know him better. What else are you supposed to do?"

I'm supposed to find out what's cooking inside that little head of his.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

Kim parked the car, "Bea, don't over think this."

Beatrice frowned. Kim hadn't even listened to her full story yet and she practically was blowing her off. And the fact that she ran into Jared's arms, before Beatrice even got out of the car, reminded her that her friend had other things on her mind.

Besides, what was that big deal anyways?

"You okay?"

She whipped her head to the sound of the voice, startled. Embry was leaning against the car, waiting for her to step out.

"You seem sad, Bee."

She halted. He was calling her by his nickname - he was regarding her as an insect. Suddenly, anger seemed to take over as a primary emotion. She slammed the car door shut, annoyed by this whole situation.

"Please, don't call me that," she hissed, glaring at him.

He simply rolled his eyes in response, "Yeah, yeah. Pester me all you want but now that we're friends, I have the right to call you by anything I wish."

She froze; He was right. They were friends now which meant he could crawl under her skin and hit a nerve anytime he wanted to. Something about that made her quickly walk away from him. He was making her annoyed. Confused. Bewildered.

Hell, Embry Call was making her emotional.

And it didn't take him long to catch up with her either. They were the last two people to the reach the beach while everyone else seemed to being doing their own thing - whether it be cliff diving or intimate couples cuddling.

Beatrice cringed, suddenly feeling out of place.

"Walk with me."

She looked at Embry, oblivious. He waited for her reaction but she seemed lost.

"Bee, walk with me," he said again, softly leaning towards her so she could hear him better. It must've worked because her eyes had dilated and she automatically took a step away from him, uncomfortable by their closeness.

He wasn't surprised by all of this but still wanted to do something - and this time, he could. After all, weren't they friends? Embry boldly grabbed a hold of her hand and forced her to walk with him, regardless of her say.

Beatrice was startled by his move. One minute, he was whispering in her ear. The next minute, he was holding her hand. What exactly was he thinking? She just couldn't understand him. Nevertheless, her steps trailed behind his while his hand clutched her fingers.

Walk with me.

They had gotten pretty far from the rest of the pack and were walking along the beach. The ocean kept sliding against the sand as the moonlight seemed to glitter above the water. The air was cold and if it wasn't for the warmth erupting from Embry's hand, Beatrice would've been shivering to death by now.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked, breaking their silence.

Beatrice replied, "Green."

And the silence presumed again. He didn't say anything or even turn his head to look at her. He was just leading her on this walk, holding her hand as an excuse to drag her along. But, this wasn't so bad, was it?

Beatrice bit her lips, thinking. Maybe Kim was right, maybe she was over thinking this whole friendship thing. She'd hate to admit it but, what if Embry Call wasn't exactly… crazy?

Talk to him.

What if her expectations were just too high?

Get to know him better.

Even though doubt lingered her mind, she took initiative this time, "What about you?"

He glanced at her, "What?"

"What's you favorite color?"

He grinned, "Definitely hot pink."

Beatrice looked away, a smile threatening her features. However, that didn't stop a little giggle from escaping her lips.

"I knew it - you did have a sense of humor," Embry stated, smirking. He had to admit, she did hold a good expressionless façade but nothing could stop the sneaky attack of laughter; after all, laughter was the best medicine.

Pleased by her reaction, he kept talking. He asked her questions relating to her likes and dislikes; and when she finished answering them she would look up at him, her eyes motioning him to answer as well.

After a countless round of questions, they arrived back at where they originally had started - near the parking lot with the rest of the pack. Their walk must've been long but it had passed by rather quickly.

And it wasn't until Beatrice went to sit in Kim's car that she realized Embry and her were still holding hands. He seemed to have noticed this as well, considering the goofy smile he gave her when he squeezed her hand while saying goodbye.

Kim jumped into the driver's seat, "well that was fun, wasn't it?"

Beatrice looked out the window to see Embry climb into his truck, along with Quil and Paul. He was blasting music when he suddenly looked over - he smiled. Beatrice slowly raised her hand to wave goodbye before turning away.

"Yeah," she whispered, "it was alright."

A/N: I love this chapter, yes I do! I mean, with all their confused feelings and handholding, I wonder how long they'll keep behaving like 'friends' LOL I never had a walk along the beach with any of my friends, did you? :P

Overall, let me know what you think ~ and please do review ^^ I was wondering, can you guys help me reach 50 reviews this time? Let's see… :]

R&R