Chapter 10: Port Angeles
A few more weeks went by without incident. Bella was starting to feel a little more at ease, especially since she was accepted into an Ivy League school.
One day, Bella sat at the table with her friends with a small smile. "Hey, Bells, you have to come to Port Angeles with us," Alice told her.
"Why?" Bella asked, taking a bite of her salad.
"We're going to Winter Formal," Angela replied.
Bella gave them a quizzical look. "What makes you think I'm going?" She asked.
"Come on Bella, just one dance won't kill you," Alice answered.
Bella sighed, taking another bite of her lunch. "Jake just wants to go to one dance with you, you only enjoy life once," Angela pointed out.
"Don't worry Bella, Alice is dragging me too," Edward chuckled.
Bella smiled a little. "Who are you taking to Winter Formal?" She asked.
"No one," he replied.
Alice gave him a glare. "Tanya Denali," she told Bella.
"Over my dead body," Edward muttered.
"Don't you like her a little?" Alice asked.
"Like a cavity," he replied.
"She's not that bad," Alice defended.
"Really? Are we talking about the same Tanya?" Edward asked.
"Who's Tanya?" Bella asked.
Edward took a drink of his soda before answering. "Tanya Denali is the daughter of one dad's former coworkers in Chicago. Once a year they come out for a Christmas party, well this year Tanya decided she wants to come early when SOMEONE told her about Winter Formal," Edward explained.
"It was just a conversation Edward," Alice answered.
"Yes but now she expects me to take her," Edward muttered.
Alice rolled her eyes. "One date won't kill you," she told him.
"Yes it will, I'd rather ask Emmett if I could borrow Rosalie for it," he answered.
Everyone at the table winced at the comment. They all knew how Edward and Rosalie were constantly at each other's throats. "Alice stop trying to set me up on these dates. The last one you set me up on it was with Rosalie before Emmett got the guts to ask her out," he told his sister.
"It wasn't that bad," Alice answered.
Edward gave her an incredulous look. "Here's the thing Alice, listen closely…okay you listening? Emmett almost killed me!" He exclaimed.
"Emmett did not almost kill you," she answered.
"Do you not recall Emmett throwing me against my car saying 'I'll kill you Edward'?" He asked.
Bella was laughing behind her hand at the argument. "Will you at least try to take Tanya to the dance?" She asked.
"I'd love to Alice but I'll be too busy listening to people drag their nails across a chalkboard," he answered.
"So Bella will you come?" Angela asked.
"Yeah, sure," Bella answered.
Bella finished off her salad and grabbed the apple that was on her tray. She shouldn't be unfair to Jake, he wanted to enjoy high school too, she should be fair and go to a dance with him.
----------------
In Port Angeles, Edward was standing there with his sister. "Bella come out," Alice whined.
"I don't want to," Bella answered behind the curtain.
"Bella we promise we won't laugh just come out," Angela insisted.
"I promise no laughing," Edward put in.
They heard Bella sigh and push back the curtain. Edward felt his heart stop when he saw Bella come out in the dress Alice had picked out. Bella stood there, biting her lower lip. "I look weird," she told them.
The dress was blue with a scooped, halter neckline, the straps tied around her neck, it had a shirred midriff along with a waist sash and a flared, a-line skirt.
Edward stood there in disbelief. She looked absolutely stunning. "So…what do you guys think?" She asked.
"Bella you look awesome!" Alice answered
"You look beautiful," Angela put in.
Alice walked around her to make sure everything looked right on her. "Edward?" Bella asked.
"Yeah," he answered.
"What do you think?" She asked.
Edward cleared his throat. "You look beautiful," he answered.
Bella felt her cheeks tint pink hearing the compliment from him. "And we'll get you some nice flats," Alice commented.
"Okay…" Bella answered.
Edward cleared his throat. "I'll meet you outside," he told them leaving the store.
Later on, Bella was sitting outside while Alice had dragged Edward in to get the right outfit for the formal. She looked at the dress in her hands and let out a sigh. She felt guilty for blushing from Edward's compliment. For some reason coming from him it made it feel…right. She shook her head and looked at the charm bracelet on her wrist. She shook her head as she got up and walked away from the store.
Bella had stuffed her dress into Angela's car before she started wandering around on her own, just thinking. She had nowhere to go, she would go back before they came out of the store and noticed her go. She pushed her fingers through her hair and started thinking more. She jumped when her phone rang and saw that it was Jacob calling. "Hello?" She answered.
"Hey, where are you?" He asked.
"I'm in Port Angeles," she replied.
"For?" He asked.
Bella bit her lower lip. "I was buying a dress for Winter Formal…I mean if you want to go yet," she replied.
"Wow…sure I want to go…what made you change your mind?" He asked.
Bella sat down on a bench again. "I started thinking that I'm not being fair with forcing you to not go to these things and I know you want to go," she replied. She looked up when Alice and them walked out of the store. "I have to go, I'll call you later," she told him.
"Wait Bella before you hang up, there's something I want to tell you," he answered.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"I love you," he told her.
Edward was walking out of the store when he saw Bella's frozen expression on her face. "I--" Bella trailed off. She looked up to see Edward standing there.