Chapter 9

I'm not sure what happened the few weeks that followed my visit to Port Angeles. I sort of "shut down". The new Angela, the one who lead an exciting, dangerous lifestyle of witchcraft, vampires, and werewolves, was slowly leaving. And soon came back the old, shy, quiet Angela, who's biggest worry was a test. I didn't exactly want or plan on doing it, I just...did.

I stopped going to see Grandma Rose. She seemed disappointed at out last visit. I felt bad, but I eventually stopped. She never called to ask if I was coming back, but I knew she wanted to.

Edward didn't notice, though he would smile and wave once in a while. He was surrounded by Bella. I knew how much they wanted each other. I could just see it. The sparks that flew between them, it was incredibly romantic. I was still waiting for my fireworks. It definitely was not with Eric.

Yes, the dance came and went, and I had lots of fun! But, Eric was...Eric. He was very much a gentleman, but nothing connected us. There was no sparks. I never expected there to be any, anyway. I knew he wasn't the one. So, he didn't lose anything there...or gain anything for that matter.

It wasn't until the end of the year was nearing that I saw him.

It was a regular outing that Jessica had planned, more for her and Mike to get closer. I spotted him through the large crowd of people with us. He had dark, black hair that hung around his face in a messy-neat way. His almond-shaped eyes pierced right through me. He caught me staring at him and I quickly looked away, only to find my way back. He was looking back at me this time. And that moment, I knew. I'd never felt so warm inside.

Jessica saw the connection and dragged me over to him. I blushed and so did he. At this point I realized how much shorter he was than me. It didn't matter though, I didn't care.

"Angela, this is Ben. Ben, this is Angela." Jessica smiled at us both and slowly crept away.

"Hi," Ben said.

"Hi," I repeated quietly.

"Are you...having fun?" He laughed nervously.

"Yeah," I laughed too. "Are you?"

"Sort of. It's kind of...about Mike and Jessica, though. Isn't it?" He had read my mind.

"Yeah," I smiled.

We made small talk for a few more minutes, but as the night moved on, we became more comfortable with each other. We talked about school, movies, life. It was the best conversation I'd had in such a long time.

At the end of the night, I was sad to go. I felt depressed and lonely suddenly.

"So...will I see you around school?" Ben asked.

"I hope so," I smiled as bright as I could. I he returned the smile, and then we parted.

When school came around Monday morning. I rushed out of bed, with a happy feeling growing in my stomach. I was going to see Ben again. I kept checking in the mirror, feeling self-conscious. Ben had made small but appreciated compliments. I used those to keep me from looking at the mirror one last time before I left for school.

It seemed like years before lunch finally rolled around. I raced to the lunchroom. Jessica was suspicious, but I shot them down. Lauren also spotted something about me, but I tore her down too. I didn't want them doing their 100 questions game with me. I was in love, and I didn't need them meddling in my happiness.

And there he was. Sitting at our regular table. He had a vacant seat next to him. When he spotted me he waved and gestured toward the empty seat next to him. He was the most beautiful thing I'd seen all day. I smiled and made my way to the chair next to him. Today our topic of discussion was hobbies. He liked action-comics and video games. He recommended I try some of them. I would have done anything he told me to, as long as I was able to see him again.

Things went on like this for a while, months, actually. Prom neared, everyone was so excited. I prayed that Ben asked me. And someone must have been listening because he called one rainy evening.

"Angela?" He asked after I'd answered.

"Ben?" He didn't need to tell me who he was. I knew his wonderful voice anywhere.

"Hey, how are you?" His voice was calm and steady, unlike Eric's had been.

"Good, how are you?"

"Awesome, actually." He cleared his throat.

"So, what's up?" Ben had no idea that he was making my heart speed up.

"I was actually wondering if...you wanted to go to...prom with me." He sputtered out.

It didn't take even milliseconds for me to answer. "I'd love too!"

"Great!" I could hear the smile in his voice.

And from that moment on, there was an unspoken relationship between us. We spent our weekends together. We talked every chance we got. We would call each other and talk for hours. It was amazing and wonderful. It was the second time in my life that I felt so alive (the first was when I had begun to study witchcraft).

Life was going great. Everything was going my way. Everything, was, that is, until spring break.