Chapter 10
"Bella! Do you have a date for the dance yet?" Alexandra asked me in Algebra. I was so bored. Edward already taught me all this stuff last summer. I was bored.
Alexandra was a really good. Not best friend; I don't have a best friend, I have so many friends and people that I talk to, I couldn't place one friend as closer to me than another. Her flaming orange hair and fair skin gave her a porcelain doll look. Her petite frame and soft voice all added to the doll effect.
"No," I replied. "No's asked me yet."
"Tanner asked me last night. On AIM. Not very romantic, but he's so shy, he probably couldn't work up the confidence to ask me himself."
"Lucky you, Tanner is really nice."
"I wonder who will ask you."
"If they even do. I think all the guys look at me as only a friend. I mean they talk to me, but they never ask me out, or call me." I said with a frown.
"That's because of your intimidating brothers. I hear all the guys talking about them. Ryan told them how big and strong they were when he came to pick you up from your date with him."
"It wasn't a date!" I had to say this to at least fifteen people. But I gave Ryan a really good talking to about spreading rumors. I guess we aren't going to be friends anymore, because he was pretty upset. He thought I was giving him mixed messages. He is really stupid.
"Oh right, sorry." She looked sincere. "But I heard that Scott was going to ask you to go with him." She said excitedly.
"No way! I have totally had a crush on him this entire year."
"I know! That's why I told him that he should totally go for it. I said that I heard you mention his name as someone you were interested in and he looked totally convinced."
It was true; I do have a huge crush on him. But who wouldn't? He had shaggy blond hair, and an easy smile. We talked a couple times in gym. He was a water polo player too. And that also meant that he was built. As built as you could probably be for a fourteen year old. He had hazel eyes that sparkled in the sun, and was the heartache of every teenage girl in the middle school. It was not only his looks that attracted me to him. It was his attitude. He acted like he didn't know what affect he had on girls. He wasn't snobbish, and actually liked to read. I would see him at lunch time in the court yard sitting with a book. Not the Aeneid like some overachiever, even though I hear he has average grades, but crime dramas like John Grisham. It really did impress me that he could get away from his friends and be alone, to read.
At lunch I sat in the cafeteria with my friends. I took a bite of my pizza and then looked up to see Scott headed for my table.
"Oh my God, Bella!" Becky squealed. "Scott is totally headed toward our table, and he's looking at you! Oh my God, he is smokin'!"
"Does my hair look okay? Any food stuck in my teeth?" I asked nervously. Scott was only ten feet away.
"You look beautiful." Tally answered.
"Thanks" I mouthed to her, because Scott was now at our table.
"Hey Bella," he said awkwardly.
"Hey Scott," I hoped I didn't sound too eager.
"Can I talk to you outside?"
"Sure." I smiled. I couldn't believe this was happening. When he turned around to lead me out of the cafeteria, I turned around to smile at Becky, Tally, Alexandra, and Camille. They gave me a thumbs up with a supporting smile. They all already had dates.
"So do you have a date to the dance this Friday yet?" He asked while staring at the ground.
"No, no one has asked me yet." I said slowly.
"Oh, well, I don't know why not. You're really cute." He said, looking up to meet my eyes.
"Uh…thanks." I didn't want to sound bitchy, and say something like brag.
"So, I was, uh, wondering, um, if you want to, you know, go with me, to the, uh, dance?" he put his hands in his jeans, and he trying to stay articulate.
"Sure, I would love to go with you to the dance." I said with a smile. I didn't like to see him squirm, unlike Ryan, I actually liked Scott and I wanted to be comfortable with me.
"Okay, thanks. Um, I can get my dad to drive us." He said. He looked immensely relieved.
Remembering the escapade with Ryan and my brothers, I felt nervous now. I didn't want them to scare Scott, the way they scared Ryan. "Um, maybe we should meet at the dance. I don't know if you've heard, but my brothers can be pretty intimidating."
"I don't mind." He said grinning. "I've actually been wanting to meet them. I know your brother, Jasper, is your water polo coach. We probably have some stuff in common. And plus, they are only protective of you, because you probably get strange guys asking you out all the time." He was too good to be true.
"Something like that."
"Okay, so I'll see you in gym." He said. So he remembered that we talked in gym.
I walked back to my table with a huge smile plastered on my face. I think the whole cafeteria was staring at me. While I was out, Camille probably told everyone what was happening. So I sat back down in my seat and didn't say anything through my smile.
"Oh my God, Bella! Just tell us!" Camille cried. The whole cafeteria had definitely heard.
"He asked me to be his date for the dance." I said evenly.
"And? What did you say?!" Camille now shouted. Everyone kept staring at me.
"I said yes, of course!" I laughed. Finally getting it out felt so good.
"Oh I have the best idea!" Tally said. "We should all get ready for the dance together."
"That's a great idea! We can do it at my house. My sister, Alice, has tons of makeup and hair products." I offered.
We all agreed that they would come home with me on Friday, we would swim for a little bit, then take showers, do our hair and make up and then they would go home to change and get picked up by their dates. After the dance they would come back to my house for a sleepover. The dance is more of an end-of-the-school-year party. I couldn't believe that I would be graduating and going into high school. I was so ready to start playing water polo on a team. Playing against my family was fun, but they held back, not wanting to hurt me. And swimming once in a while with the community water polo practice was almost the same. They weren't that good.
When I got home and told my family the plan, they were so happy. This was the first time I actually had any friends over. Let alone a sleepover.
"Oh I need to get some ice cream and pizza for Friday night. Do sundaes sound good, Bella?" Esme asked as she started to make a list.
"Sounds perfect," I answered.
"Maybe I should get some extra mattresses, pillows and blankets for the girls to sleep on. We move all of the furniture out of the living room so you girls could watch TV in bed." She templated.
"So Bella", Edward started, "who is your date to the dance?"
"Oh I can't believe I forgot to tell you!" I almost started jumping. I had given up on keeping my crushes a secret a long time ago, knowing it was a lost cause to a secret in this house. "Remember that guy that I was telling you about?!"
"Which one?" Emmett rolled his eyes.
"Scott! Oh my God! So I was talking to Alexandra in Algebra today," I started.
"While still paying attention, I hope," Carlisle added.
"Of course. Anyway, so I was talking with Alexandra about her date, Tanner, and she asked if anyone asked me yet, and I was like no. Then she said that she heard Scott talking about asking me!"
"Wait, which one is Scott?" Jasper asked.
I rolled my eyes. "Scott is the blond, with all the muscles. He's the one that plays water polo. I told you about him. He is so hot! Oh my God!"
"And it starts," mumbled Emmett.
"Anyway, back to the story, so Alexandra told me that she told him that I was interested in him. Which I was, of course. So she told him that he should totally ask me to go to the dance with him. And he was like yeah." I started actually squealing now. "So then at lunch, Scott totally comes up to my table and was like, 'hey, Bella,'" I tried to do my best guy voice.
"Like totally," Emmett mocked me. I scowled, but got back into my mood.
"And I was like 'hey, Scott', but I tried to sound totally cool, but it sounds like squeak, I was so embarrassed. Haha. So then he was like, 'can I talk to you outside?' and I was like 'sure'."
"Oh my God, does this story, like, have an actual purpose?" Emmett asked trying to sound like me.
"I'm getting to the best part! So then he asked me if I had a date to the dance, and he was so nervous, it was so cute." All the guys rolled their eyes, the girls just awed. "So I said, no, no one has asked me yet. And he said 'I don't know why not, you're really cute'." I was smiling so hard, as I relived the memory, I started blushing. I couldn't believe that his words had affected me so much.
"Oh, how cute!" Alice cooed.
Rosalie just hugged me and said, "you're gonna be a heartbreaker!"
"Wait! I'm not done yet! So I said thanks, and then he asked me if wanted to go to the dance with him. And he was stuttering and had his hands in his pockets, and was just so cute! So I, of course, said yes. He said his dad would drive us, so that means he's probably going to have to meet you guys. But when I told him this, he was totally cool with it. I mean, he heard about you guys." I looked to the boys. "Because of you four, all the boys in school are scared as hell to ask me out. Thank you." I said sarcastically.
"Your welcome." Edward replied with a smile.
"Our job is done." Emmett said.
"Mission successful." Jasper added.
"It's really for the best." Carlisle said.
"But it's not going to stop Scott," I singsonged.
"Oh something will," Edward murmured. Emmett high fived him.
"Don't you dare even think about it," I looked Emmett, Jasper, and Edward in the eyes. "I really like Scott, and if you three screw it up, I will never talk to you guys again." I said with as much fierceness I had.
"Gosh, geez, Bella. We were just kidding. Chill out." Emmett said.
"Alice…" I trailed off suggestively.
"Yay! Shopping!" She said as she went to her room to grab her purse.
"Wait a minute. How much homework do you have, Bella?" He asked me like a real father.
"Not much, only a little algebra, which I already know because Edward already taught me everything last summer. The rest I finished in study hall; there was no gym today." I said gratefully. Even though I was very graceful in the water, I was not so lucky on the land.
"Okay, then. Don't be out too late. Have fun." Carlisle said as he walked to his study.
"Thanks, Dad. See you later."
I couldn't believe that I was actually looking forward to shopping, so that I could find a dress perfect for Scott.
It was going to be the best night of my life.