Going Under
Ch. 8 – Dazzled
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon.
I was so nervous as I got ready that day for school. If my heart could beat, it would be out of control. If I could sweat, my hands would be dripping. The butterflies swam in my stomach and made me jumpy. After a while, I took a couple deep breaths and calmed myself down. My hands were shaking so badly that I had to!
I quickly stripped off my sweats and tank top, and reached for the sundress. It cascaded down my body, hugging my feminine curves beautifully, and ended in a graceful manner just below my knees. It created a striking contrast between my pale skin, bright gold eyes, and dark brown hair. I plugged my curling iron in and got to work on my makeup.
Since the Cullen's left and I had met Olivia Hadrian, she had perfected my beauty skills. For years she trained me on what colors are perfect for each other and what colors are not, what hairstyles were appropriate for what occasion, and just how much eyeliner my eyes really needed.
I put a very thin layer of powdery white eye shadow on my top eyelids and a little bit beneath my lower eyelashes. It was subtly sparkly. (A/N: Tongue Twister) I brushed on some mascara and a little bit of brown eyeliner. As a vampire I really didn't need makeup, but it made me feel prettier. I was still a bit unsure of myself.
After curling the ends of my hair, I poked a pair of crystal drop earrings in my ears and slipped my feet into my sandals. Realizing that I didn't have a white purse, I opened my bedroom door and walked to Olivia's room. Before I could raise my hand to knock, however, she opened the door and handed me a small, white Chanel leather purse.
"Thanks!" I said brightly.
"No problem," she Olivia replied. "You look fabulous today," she added.
"So do you," I commented, taking in her black skirt, boots, and matching sweater.
"Is Andrew ready to go?" I asked, and he emerged from behind his wife, wearing jeans and a light yellow Polo shirt.
"Excellent," I said, and we walked downstairs.
"Bye Aaron, bye Michelle!" Andrew called as he shut the front door and locked it.
"Why are you two so dressed up today?" he asked suspiciously, opening the door of my sparkling Mercedes.
"Why are you not?" Olivia replied, a slight smile playing on her lips. He looked confused for a moment, and Olivia and I laughed as she closed her door.
I put the key in the ignition, turned it, and my car revved quietly to life. Pulling out of the driveway, I saw Aaron in the upstairs window waving goodbye to us. I waved back, and sped down the street. My thoughts raced as we neared the school. Would he even be here today? Am I making the wrong decision? What if he never wants to see me again? They created a twister of over-thinking-ness that crashed through my calm façade and almost made me panic.
"Bella, just calm down!" Olivia said soothingly, patting my arm. I must have jumped a foot in the air, because she looked at me weirdly.
"Don't mind me, I'm fine," I told her reassuringly, but she just shook her head and kept watching me.
I found a good parking space and slid into it effortlessly. As I pulled the key from the ignition and opened the door, I took one last deep breath and willed myself to keep my head today. Andrew and Olivia were waiting for me patiently at the hood of my car as I got out, very slowly, and shut the door. Andrew put his arm out for me to take, and I took it politely. He offered his other to Olivia, and escorted us from the parking lot.
He opened the door for us and we entered the school together. It was a small school, like the one at Forks, but almost all the buildings were connected, so you didn't have to walk outside as much when you switched classes. The custodians had hung Christmas lights in the cafeteria, and erected a large Christmas tree, covered in garland, lights, and silver and gold ornaments. At the top sat an angel with frizzy blonde hair.
If I were human, I would not have noticed this very odd feature about the angel; she had no head.
"Olivia, is that angel headless?" I asked in astonishment.
She burst out laughing, a musical sound, and pointed this out to Andrew. I laughed at his reaction; his face was very docile and he looked almost mournful. Olivia and I stood in front of the large Christmas tree gasping for breath as we laughed about the headless angel, holding onto the arms of our brother, as he watched us with a weird look on his face.
I realized that there were people watching us, so we kept walking towards our lockers.
"Someone stuffed ribbon in her dress to make it look like a head," I said to Olivia, and she started to laugh again.
"Bye Freaks," Andrew said, and turned into his classroom.
Since Olivia and I had English together, our lockers were right next to each others'. We retrieved our books and our binders, and then made our way to class. Taking seats next to each other, we continued to chat about Andrew's reaction, releasing a chuckle every now and then, until the bell rang. I noticed Emmett was staring at me from across the aisle, and remembered suddenly that he had this class with me. I managed to send him a timid smile, and he returned it. The lecture began immediately after our brief exchange, and class seemed to go by ever so slowly.
After what seemed like hours, the bell rang and the class rose to their feet, exiting the small room. I gathered my books and Olivia and I made our way out of the class, but I stopped suddenly and turned around. Emmett was right behind me.
"Wow Bella, you're the last person I'd expect to see here," he said in his husky voice. It felt so normal to be talking to him that it almost scared me.
"Hey Emmett, I could say the same about you," I replied.
He pulled me into a bear hug. "It's good to have you back," he said when he released me. I grinned when he said that and turned to face Olivia.
"Emmett, this is Olivia. Olivia, this is Emmett," I said, introducing them. They shook hands and said 'hello', and Emmett ruffled my hair as he left us to go to his next class.
"That was…weird," I said as Olivia and I left.
"He's nice though," she commented, and I nodded in agreement.
The rest of the morning passed in the same slowness, and finally it was time for lunch. I wondered if any of the Cullen's had this lunch hour. I set my books in my locker and closed it in one fluid, graceful movement, earning myself looks of admiration from the other girls in the hall. It was easier to pretend that I hadn't seen them look at me.
I joined Andrew half-way down the hall, and he offered me his arm again. Andrew was changed during the seventeen-hundreds; he had loads of respect for women. "Olivia got a table, she's saving us seats," he told me. "Good; I don't feel like sitting with the humans today," I said quietly, and he chuckled.
We were in the cafeteria now, walking towards Olivia.
"Hey!" she said happily as I released Andrew's arm and he pulled my seat out for me.
"Thanks," I said, and was replied with a 'no problem' back from him.
"Any more sightings?" Olivia asked me excitedly as I crossed my legs and set my hands on the table.
"Nope," I replied, and she bit her lip, looking thoughtful.
"I am so tired of writing essays over the same book in English, I'm just going to copy the essay I used in my senior year several years ago," I said to make conversation, as if we discussed this kind of thing every day. Which we did.
"Isabella Marie Swan Hadrian! That is cheating and I will not have it!" Olivia exclaimed.
"It's still an original essay that I wrote! They never said it had to be a 'new' essay," I reasoned with her, and she backed down a bit.
Olivia opened her mouth to protest again, but she stopped suddenly. Before I could think about what had happened, a hand touched my arm.
"Mind if I sit with you today?" Emmett asked politely as I looked up at him.
"Sure!" I said, motioning towards the seat next to Andrew.
"Hey man," Andrew said, shaking Emmett's hand. They apparently knew each other.
"Have you two met?" I asked in surprise.
"Oh sure, Emmett's in my biology class," Andrew said as Emmett sat.
All three of us began to have a perfectly normal conversation about the headless angel. Olivia and I still found it quite hilarious, as did Emmett, and we all laughed. Andrew looked confused, as if he couldn't understand what was so funny about it.
A thin, blonde vampire appeared at Emmett's side; Jasper.
"Hey Bella, good to see you again," he said simply, and took the seat next to his brother.
"Hi Jasper, you too," I said, slightly astounded.
My cheeks were the tiniest, faintest shade of pink from laughing. I introduced him to Andrew and Olivia, and he jumped right in to our conversation. He was so much more outspoken and friendly than he used to be. I heard a squeal from behind me and Jasper's face lit up.
"Incoming," he said simply, and I stood up quickly.
There was a flash of inky black hair, and Alice Cullen barreled into me, hugging me furiously and exclaiming how much she missed seeing me. I hugged her back, grinning, and listened to her talk. After several minutes, I wasn't sure she was ever going to release me.
"Alice, let the poor girl go," came a voice, soft as velvet, from behind me; I stiffened.
Alice giggled and did as she was told. Quickly I smoothed the wrinkles from my dress and looked up Edward. It was a good thing this angel's head was not broken. We gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, and I wondered how I could have told this man to leave me alone several days ago.
"Hi," I breathed, all that I could manage.
"Bella," he said formally.
"D-do you want to sit with us? I mean…if you're not sitting somewhere else that is," I asked, fumbling over my words.
Edward smiled his boyish, crooked grin and dazzled me immediately. "I would be honored," he said, and took the seat next to me. I reached behind me to feel for my chair, never taking my eyes off of him, and managed to find it and sit safely down. It was then that I realized that everyone's eyes were upon me.
My cheeks turned that faint shade of pink again, and I cleared my throat. "Where did you get those shoes?!" Olivia exclaimed as she saw Alice's shoes. That was all it took for them to become deeply immersed in conversation about the latest fashion news. Andrew, Emmett, and Jasper were all discussing football. This left me and Edward to awkwardly sit by each other, not sure what to do or say. We made eye contact once or twice, but looked away immediately, hiding smiles.
"Bella," Edward said finally, and I looked over at him, relieved that he made the first attempt at a conversation. This was all it took to get me started. "I want to apologize for what I said the other day. And thank you for bringing me home," I said all in a rush. He chuckled darkly. "You're not the one that needs to apologize. I left when I never should have. I want to apologize for breaking my word and causing you pain," he said, his eye suddenly turning dark.
"I forgive you Edward," I said, and he looked absolutely shocked. I smiled shyly and he grinned. I glanced at the rest of the table, and they were all watching us. As soon as I looked them over, they all returned to their conversations immediately.
The bell rang and I stood up, slinging my purse over my shoulder gently. I told the Cullen's goodbye, along with Andrew and Olivia, and walked away. I was not surprised that Edward was by my side the whole time.
"Bella," he said, and I looked over at my perpetual savior.
"Yes?" I answered.
"Alice, Emmett, Jasper and I are going to the mall tonight. Would you like to join us? Andrew and Olivia are more than welcome to come too," Edward offered.
This was my chance. My entire future depended heavily on the next sentence that escaped my lips.
"Edward, we'd love to."
He smiled sweetly, excitement glinting in his eyes. "I can pick you up around five. Is that alright?" he asked, and I nodded. "That'd be great," I reassured him.
"Excellent. I'll see you in fifth hour," Edward said. He gently picked up my hand, on which he placed a single kiss.
Dazzled into unresponsiveness, I watched him smile again and turn around to leave.
"Oh, and Bella?" Edward added, turning around so that he could see me again. "You look absolutely beautiful today," he said, and took his leave.