Hey I'm So so sorry for the very long hiatus... But I'm back in the fold! This is chapter 10 and the date has ben moved to the next chapter But this is basically a pre-date chapter... Oh and a new character appears later in the chapter Enjoy!!!

Chapter 10: Getting Ready

Where… where am I? I asked myself.

Somehow, I was in the middle of a forest with a large cabin in my view. Though the cabin had a rustic feel to it, the wood looked beautifully crafted and peaceful as the curtain of sun shined down on the field that the cabin sat in. I was enjoying the sun while I could… I really hadn't seen it in so long… but then I heard footsteps and voices coming towards me. I turned and saw a boy about my age if not a bit older walking next to a beautiful woman with long flowing auburn hair.

The boy looked vaguely familiar. I could swear he looks like Allen. I took a closer look. That is Allen! But wait. If that's him, who is the woman? "Oh funny Allen dear, but get your sister and father. We are heading out," the woman said, her voice stern.

"But why mother?" Allen asked. Oh, so that's his mother? Amaryllis.

"We need to leave. We have been here far too long. You know we can't stay here for too long or the humans will wonder why we don't age."

"But we've been here for only five years… why leave now?" he grumbled. His mother only sighed and hugged the boy.

"Oh, Allen. I don't want to leave either but trust me. I have a feeling that one day you will thank me for this." She kissed his forehead, her golden eyes gleaming with warmth. "Don't ever forget Allen, I love you and your sister more than anything. So come, let's get ready." She said as they walked into the sun light.

Allen gave a sigh and replied, "As you wish mother," but he smiled. It was so radiant that it shined in the light just like his and his mother's skin. As they walked towards me, I tried to say something but I only phased through them as if I weren't even there. And then the world went black…

"Hey, Nessie, wake up." A male voice ordered. I felt extremely warm hands shake me, rousing me awake. I opened my eyes and saw Seth standing over me.

"Oh! Seth, I'm sorry," I said and sat up noticing that I wasn't on the couch but in the guestrooms bed. Seth must have carried me here when they got back. "I didn't realize that I fell asleep for that—" I gasped, "I don't have clothes for today!" Seth only chuckled.

"Don't worry, Nessie; Rai brought you some of her clothes since you're around the same size." He then handed me a bright yellow t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

"Thanks, Seth!" I cried hugging him, then I shoved him out. "Let me get dressed!" He laughed and closed the door. I quickly got dressed, brushed my teeth, and went down surprised to see Keira sitting at the table, conversing with Lizzie.

"I'm fine, Lizzie. Tired but fine," Keira muttered not noticing me.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on Brody. He had a point about the imprint thing, and I thought you liked him anyway." Lizzie noted. She then noticed me and smiled. "Well hi, sleepy head. How are you?" I only smiled embarrassedly and gave a nervous chuckle. "Seth and I found you passed out with the TV on." She laughed happily as I sat down at the table.

"So, did I miss anything?"

Keira looked away with a frown on her face, "Not really."

Lizzie rolled her eyes, "She's worried."

Keira gasped and growled, "Lizzie…"

"About what?" I questioned.

Keira sighed, "A lot. But I know things will be okay; maybe not right away but soon."

I nodded, "Seems about right." I got a red apple from the basket in the middle of the table and took a bite out of it. "There's a lot going on lately… but your right," I gave her a reassuring smile, "things will work out."

Keira smiled in relief that I didn't press the subject and Lizzie grinned knowingly, as if she expected this from the both of us. We finished eating and] eventually got into my truck.

"Where's Aiden? I'm surprised he didn't show up to bug the heck out of me about not getting up." I noticed her brother wasn't here but it made me curious not to see him show up at all.

"He wasn't feeling too well. Mom says he might be having probably having problems with his medicine

even though he's been taking them since he was six," she said calmly.

"Did e have a seizure?" I asked remembering the first time he had one.

"Not since he was eleven. Those meds helped him but…" She muttered .

"Can we change the subject? I'm having flashbacks." I muttered shaking my head and turning my attention back to the road. Eventually we made it to school and finally found a good parking spot. "I'll see you in art Keira." I said as we got out.

"Okay, see you soon!" She replied as she ran to her class and I walked into Algebra, seeing Caitlyn sitting by herself doodling in one of her notebooks.

"Hey, Cait. Watcha doing?" I asked as I sat next to her. She jumped in surprise and turned to me.

"Nothing really. I was walking in the forest near my house and I could have sworn I saw something that looked like a giant wolf so I decided to draw a picture of it." She showed me a sketch of a massive gray wolf with a large black spot over the eye. I felt my eyes widen in shock. When did she see Brody in wolf form?

"Uh… Cait, when did you see this 'giant wolf'?" I asked carefully.

"Uh, yesterday around nine .I like to walk around the backyard with Dominick."

"Oh, did your little brother see it too?" I asked doing damage control.

"No. I only saw it for a few seconds so I doubt he saw it," she muttered.

I breathed an internal sigh of relief. She didn't get a good look of Brody after all. "Well I'm sure it was a site to see."

"Yeah, it was. The wolf was huge! I think it could have eaten me," she laughed.

"Perhaps you should cut down on the horror movies," I joked.

"I guess. But for me to see something like this, even in my head, it's kinda freaky."

I nodded in agreement though I had seen freakier. Class ended quick enough and Caitlyn and I walked to Anatomy, chatting happily. We arrived to class and Caitlyn looked shock to see the table empty. "Where's Aiden?"

"Rai said he wasn't feeling well, so he didn't come to school today. He should feel better tomorrow." Cait brightened up a bit, sat down alone at her table, and began drawing again. I sighed and sat next to Allen, who had a grin on his face that made me just more annoyed.

"Why hello, Nessie. You look awfully gloomy today."

"Aiden isn't feeling well, so I'm worried 'bout him. You see—"

"He has epilepsy correct, which causes him to have bad seizures. But he hasn't had one in years because he takes medication that suppresses it." I glared at him.

"You know, it's rude to read minds. Where did you get that?"

"From his sister… her mind is highly intriguing; I swear that girl has no filters about anything." He chuckled.

"Allen! Have you ever heard that reading a woman's mind is incredibly rude!?"

"Yes. Actually Brandi says the same thing all the time." He admitted sincerely.

"Ever thought of listening to her?"

"No. She keeps throwing things at me when she tries to tell me these things."

"I wonder why…" I muttered sarcastically.

"Well, it's not like I can help it! It just happens." He whispers to me in an angry tone.

"Sorry. That came out wrong," I apologized.

"Tis alright, Mrs. Nessie. I shouldn't be so jumpy," he said with a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair as he tried to follow what was going on in class. I felt my face flush from embarrassment and looked at the time.

"Looks like class is about to end…" I observed.

"Yes, it is… So, what time do you want to pick you up tomorrow?"

"Wha-what do you mean!?" I stuttered with my face turning a bright red.

"I was going to take you out to dinner, remember? You do remember, right?"

"Oh, sorry. It slipped my mind for a second there." I said doing damage control. "You can pick me up around seven-thirty, kay?" He brightened up considerably at that.

"That would be lovely, Nessie." The bell rang at last. "See you then." He charmingly kissed my knuckles and left the room with my face fire-engine-red. I packed my stuff into my bag, ignoring the venomous glares I was getting from the other girls.

"Hey, Nessie, wait up!" Caitlyn's voice called. I slowed down and let her catch up. "What happened between you and Allen?" she inquired. "I've never seen him smile that big."

"I agreed to go out to dinner with him tomorrow."

"Oh? Where?"

"Some fancy Italian restaurant in Port Angeles."

"Oh, you mean La Bella Italiana or in English: The Beautiful Italian." I looked at her surprised.

"You know Italian?" She only shrugged.

"Not much to be honest, but my family always goes there Christmas Day."

"Oh, that's next week. We don't have school till the third, right? So, you're going to Italy?" She nodded.

"Yeah. I have to go Christmas shopping this weekend for it too. That'll be fun." She sighed. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Nessie." She walked off to class and I did the same into health as Mrs. Glens was beginning to write the notes for today on the smart-board.

"Oh Miss Glens, good to see you back. I thought you wouldn't be back till after Winter Break!?" I said surprised. Mrs. Glens's husband had taken ill and she had to take a leave of absence, which was why Mr. Collins had been teaching the class for the past two months.

"Ronald is feeling better since e is back to logging . Thank you for your concern, dear."

"No worries, Ma'am." I said and sat down and relaxed waiting for the other students came in. Miranda was one of the last of them and she smiled as she sat down next to me.

"Hey, Nessie. I haven't had the chance to talk to you since the party." I smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Miranda. My life has been going a bit wild for the past few days." I told her and she gave me a knowing smile.

"You still surprised that Allen confessed his love to you?" She asked.

"H-how do you kno—" I managed to utter until she cut me off.

"I know everything that happens in this school. Trust me," she said with a wink I blushed.

"Yeah, it was a shock," I admitted. "I mean, I had a feeling but I didn't expect him to actually admit it." She only shook her head and patted my back.

"Well Nessie, I don't know how it was a shock to you; everybody else pretty much figured out that he liked you." I sighed annoyed. Was I the last to find out? "Yes you were." She answered as if reading my mind.

I was about to reply but Mrs. Glens called class to order. Class went by smoothly, just like the others and I finally got the chance to the question that was in the back to my mind.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?" She said confused.

"You answered the question asked in my head before... It was weird."

"It was a good guess, I guess… To be honest I get that a lot," she admitted. "Does that make me a freak?" She asked worried.

"Miranda, trust me; your not a freak. It's probably just a coincidence. That and most people can read emotions pretty well on a person's face. And I'm like an open book in the emotion department." I comforted her. She gave smile in return.

"Thanks Ness… Well the bell is going to ring in a few seconds. Have fun on your date with Allen." She said, got up, and walked out of the classroom. But I didn't mention going out on a date? I thought confused. I brushed it off and walked to English… that passed quickly as well and I found Keira waiting for me halfway to our next class.

"Hey Rai, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure what do you need?"

"I need your help getting ready for the date…"

"Really…?" Her eyes brightened.

"Yeah, I trust you and you usually do a great job."

"I know I do," she said smugly. "We'll go to Port Angeles after school then."

"Why?! I have clothes!" I yelled not wanting to go on another trip to shopping hell.

"Yeah but you don't have any good dresses! And the one I bought you before was ruined." She retorted. I gulped and sighed. I wasn't going to get out of this…

"Fine…" I muttered unhappily.

"What are you girls talking about?" We jumped and turned to see Nathan standing behind us.

"Damnit Nate! You could have given us a heart attack, you know that!?" Keira yelled. Nathan winced a bit.

"Aye, no need to yell Rai. I can hear you!" He muttered rubbing his ears.

"Sorry but you shouldn't surprise people like that."

"Gotcha," he nodded. "So what were you two talking about?" I blushed.

"I asked Keira to help me out… you see Allen asked me out to dinner." I muttered embarrass. He only blinked in surprise.

"You… and Irving…? I'm surprised. I thought he wasn't your type?"

"He's a nice guy, he likes me… and I like him." I explained. More like he is in love with me and I am trying to like him more than a friend, I added mentally.

"Oh. Cool, I guess…" He muttered as we walked into class.

I then noticed someone new sitting in the extra seat at our table. He was handsome you could say, looking of Native American decent by his coopery skin, black hair, and dark eyes framed by a pair of black glasses.

"Hey, what's your name and where you from?" I heard Keira ask.

"Dolan Burke… I moved here a few days ago from New York." He answered with surprise that there was someone talking to the new kid.

"Wow. New York? How did a guy like you end up going from a big city like New York and arriving here in the tiny town of Forks Washington?" I asked curiously.

"My father grew up on the Reservation here."

"Oh, so you're Quileute?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I guess so…" He seemed to be getting a little uncomfortable.

"You okay?" I asked him. He only shook his head.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to so many people talking to me… you see, I was pretty much wallpaper at school back in New York."

"It's going to be different here. It's a small here. There will be no way you wouldn't be noticed." Keira said kindly.

"Err… thank you…" He said and was silent for the rest of the class. The bell then rang and as we head out, I noticed just how tall Dolan was… He had to be t least six-three.

"Wow, you're pretty tall…" was all I could say.

"Yeah. The kids back home also called me Dolly the Dumb Giant." He muttered unhappily.

"Hey, those kids were jerks then. It's obvious that you're not dumb and there are several kids who are as tall as you are… you should see my brother." Keira sternly told him.

"Yeah, don't be so hard on yourself." I agreed. "If you are, that means those horrid bullies win."

"If you say so…"It was a bit awkward walking to lunch as we tried to get him to open up but he was like a rock!

"What other classes do you have?" I asked in a last attempt to start a conversation. He handed me his schedule. "Hey, you have gym and history with me."

"Really?" He didn't sound too interested.

"Yeah, you really do… but I warn you: I'm a terrible klutz."

"Really…?" He asks again. This time he actually sounded interested!

"Yeah. Aiden makes fun of me all the time."

"Who's Aiden?" Oh, I forgot. He's new here.

"He's Keira's twin brother… great guy."

"But he makes fun of you. What kind of friend is that?"

"It's all in good fun. His comments are always meant for a laugh rather than malice." I said defending Aiden.

"You two seem close… you dating or something?" I growled. "Is something wrong?"

"I am getting tired of saying this! Your okay since your new, but Aiden and I are nothing more than best-friends. And besides he already has a quasi-girlfriend."

"Oh. Who is this girl?" He asked nonchalant.

"Caitlyn Cheney."

"I met her in English… she's a bit odd, isn't she?"

"A bit odd but she's a good person." We entered the cafeteria a few minutes after Nathan and Keira. I saw Allen sitting next to Brandi and I waved when I got his attention.

"Who's that?" Dolan asked confused.

"That's Allen. He's a good friend of mine."

"Why is he glaring at me ?"

"I don't have a clue. I can't read minds." But he can. Maybe it's something you're thinking.

"Hey, who are you?" Miranda asked as we sat down with our lunches.

"This is Dolan Burke, he just moved here from NYC." Keira introduced him. "And Dolan this is Miranda Newton, Abigail Uley, Claire Young and Caitlyn Cheney."

"Nice to meet you all," he said uncomfortably.

"Are you really from New York, Dolan?" Miranda asked, obviously interested.

"Yeah, why…?"

"My parents are living in New Jersey while I'm here with my grandparents. Where did you live up there?" We all chattered for the rest of the lunch period as Dolan opened up just a little more. As we walked to History, we saw Brody. Keira swallowed her fear and went to talk to him. He really did seem bad off.

"Hey Brody…" He turned his tired, dark eyes to her and she gulped. "I'd like to say I'm really sorry about being a bitch yesterday… Can we at least be friends?" We all waited in silence till:

"I'd be glad to be friends again, Rai… you really don't have to apologize." He seemed happy; his eyes brighter and not as tired.

"Yeah I do. I should've never said those things to you." She said ashamed.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it. You were freaked out, and I know it. It is okay." He hugged her and just as fast, he let go. "We all better get to class. See you guys later." And he ran off to his last class.

"Well that was interesting…" I said. Dolan looked to me confused.

"What's that about?" He asked.

"Long story… let's get to class." And we went to] History in silence.

"Now who can tell me who the commander of the Confederate Armies?" Mr. Heffernan asked. I immediately raised my hand. "Yes Ms. Cullen?"

"Robert E. Lee, sir."

"Very good; do you know why he went to the confederacy?"

"He was unwilling to turn against his state. Since Virginia left the union, he left to serve his state."

"Very good, Ms. Cullen," he smiled. "I won't give you homework today." I felt the entire class glare at me. "Now if you actually participated in class, maybe I would not give you homework as well." He said firmly.

Class ended soon after and we were in my truck driving towards Port Angles. Keira was on the phone telling her parents and Charlie where we were going.

"Yeah, we'll be back before then, Dad. See you later." She said and hung up. "We are in the clear to shop."

"Whoopee."

We arrived in Port Angles and quickly went into] the mall. Keira sprang into action. "Okay try this, this and this!" She said handing me a short black dress, blue dress that went past my knee, and a brown dress that was above the knee. This is stupid, I thought to myself cynically.

"Can we go soon?" I asked her annoyed after going through dress after dress.

"Yeah I like the blue dress." She told me and we paid for it. We finally made it back to La Push and as] we walked into the house Jacob greeted us from the couch.

"Wow, I thought you girls would've been longer."

"Thankfully, we managed to cut it short. I only had to try on five dresses," I told him.

"Yeah if Alice would have gone, she'd be trying five-hundred dresses." Keira added with a small smirk.

"Where's Aiden?" I asked.

"I think he's in the shower. He should be out by now." I thanked him and went upstairs. I was going to wait outside his room, but my plans had changed when I tripped on a knot in the carpet and go flying forward just as Aiden was leaving the bathroom only wearing a towel.

"Watch out!" I yelled. He turned shocked but didn't move and we landed on the floor with a loud crash. We stay there for a few minutes, both too embarrassed to move or speak. I felt my face burning and I saw a lot of pink on his copper cheeks.

"Uh… Ness, can you get off of me please?" He asked after awhile and I hurry a to scramble off of him.

"So-sorry Ai-Aiden! I tri-tripped on the carpet..." I turned away. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I feel great. I think it was one of those one day bugs." He said. He looked around for a minute and clear his throat. "I'm going to get dressed, err... I will tell you when I'm done, okay?" He went into his room and closed the door. I waited for a little bit and he came back out wearing a pair of sweatpants and a black tank-top.

"I heard you had to go shopping with Rai?" I nodded as I walked in. Aiden's room was interesting. The walls were dark brown like his eyes and his bed was pretty big too, a necessity for a future werewolf if you think about it. His desk was cluttered with books and pictures. And he had several posters on his walls; most of them were cars.

"It wasn't that bad…" I told him. "It's not that I hate shopping, I just…"

"Hate shopping with Alice? Don't blame ya. She's scary when she shops."

"Tell me about it." We talked for a few more hours and eventually go down to eat.I called Charlie after dinner and told him that I ws staying over at Jake's for the night and for him not to worry. I headed up to the unused room that I stayed in whenever I visited and laid down.

Tomorrow's going to be interesting… I thought to myself as I drifted off to sleep.