Chapter 10

"Ow. Damn it, Leah. Stop pulling," Bella whined.

"If you would be still, I wouldn't have to pull," the other girl bitched. "Don't you have any girly friends who knows how to do this? We're hopeless," she said with a sigh.

Bella bit her lip. "Maybe. Gimme my phone." She quickly dialed a number and held her breath. "Rosalie? It's Bella Swan. Leah and I are getting ready for La Push's prom, and we are in a bind. We need help." A pause. "Really? Thanks a lot, Rosalie." With that, she hopped up, as much as she could with the big belly, and turned to Leah. "Rosalie is going to help us. She's calling in reinforcements in the form of Alice."

"The hyper pixie?" Leah wondered. "Oh, spirits help us."

**TPP**

"This is really pretty, Bella," Rosalie commented as she placed the headpiece on Bella's head.

"I don't remember that," Leah said. "Where'd you get it?"

"Aunt Maggie, believe it or not." Bella clarified for the other two girls, "Emmett's grandmother. She saw my dress. The next day she gave me this. Said every fairy princess needed a crown when she . . ."

"When she what?" Alice pushed when it seemed Bella wouldn't continue.

"When she got married. Aunt Maggie has Alzheimer's. Right now, she thinks I'm either my grandmother, Emmett's mom or her sister, Molly. It depends if I'm with anyone."

Rosalie paused in her ministrations. "With anyone?"

Bella heaved a deep sigh. "If I'm with Emmett, he's Tucker, his dad, and I'm Felicity, his mom. When I walk into the house with Paul, we're Molly and Quil."

"And if you're by yourself, you're Helen," Leah finished. "Bells, that is so fucked up."

"What happened to Emmett's parents?" Alice inquired.

"You remember that fishing boat that went down eight years ago?" Bella asked.

Rosalie shook her head, but Alice nodded. "The three men on board were never found. Oh no."

"Emmett's dad and grandpa, along with Four," Leah said. "Molly's only son."

"Felicity just left after that, leaving Maggie with an energetic Emmett," Bella completed. "When she was diagnosed a few years ago, Dad moved them in with us."

The girls were quiet as the finishing touches were put on hair. "Why's your hair so short, Leah?" Alice asked. "It would be beautiful long."

Bella snorted. "She had to get it cut over the summer."

"It's not funny, Swan," Leah grumbled.

"Now I have to hear this," Rosalie said.

"A friend of ours came to visit with her three kids. The oldest two had just turned two. Leah decided to let them play with her hair. They somehow got ahold of scissors and took a huge chunk out of it."

"My hair was down to my ass," Leah wailed.

"It'll grow back, Lee," Bella giggled. "I actually think I heard her screams all the way to the general store on the Res."

They got started on the makeup. "Isabella Swan, if you don't want me to jab this in your eye, stop moving around," Rosalie said, threateningly holding up the mascara brush.

"See what I had to put up with," Leah complained. "She never sits still. Always fidgeting."

"Where are you going out to eat?" Alice asked.

"Bella Italia in Port Ang," Leah replied. "We told Sam and Paul we didn't have to. The diner would have been fine."

Alice gasped. "I love that place, Jasper's taking me there before our prom. OH! Bella, why don't you and Paul join us?"

"Who's us?" Bella asked warily.

"Well, Jasper and I, of course, and Rose and Royce. Come on, it'll be fun."

"We already made plans with Jane, Felix, Angela, Ben, Alec, Eric, Emmett and Peter."

"Peter's coming in?"

"Yeah. He's crashing the prom. Or going as Emmett's date. We haven't figured that one out yet."

"Emmett doesn't have a date?" Rosalie asked.

Bella thought for a moment. "Rosalie, if Emmett couldn't go to prom with you, he didn't want to go with anyone else."

"Dude's been in love with you since eighth grade. Ow, Swan. What the hell," Leah fussed.

"He didn't want her to know," Bella hissed.

"And why not?"

"Cause she's still with Royce."

"And she is right here," Rosalie huffed. She hesitated, nibbling on her lip. "He's really been in love with me all these years?"

"Girl, the sun shines out of your ass, according to him."

"God, Leah. The word is tact. Learn it, use it," Bella said.

**TPP**

When the clock struck six, the living room at the Clearwaters' was packed. Charlie, Maggie, Molly and her husband, Quil, their grandson, Quil the fifth, Sue, Harry and their son, Seth, Allison Uley, Greg and Nana, and of course, Emmett, Paul and Sam, were all feeling like sardines by the time Leah made an entrance.

Sam met her at halfway. With shaking hands, he pinned her corsage on. As Sue and Allison took a dozen pictures, Bella entered the room. Paul stood there, gaping, until Greg nudged him forward.

"Spirits, you're beautiful," he breathed when he reached her. He held up her corsage. "It goes on your wrist. Knowing you, you'd stab yourself with the pin and end up getting blood on your beautiful dress."

Maggie clapped her hands as their pictures began. "Doesn't Molly and Quil look delightful, Mr. Ateara?" she asked Quil.

"That they do, Maggie May," he replied.

"And when little Quil gets here, he and my Tucker and Geoff's Charlie are going to be the best of friends, no matter what any stuck-up people in Forks say."

Quil turned away, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes. A knock at the door saved him. Billy Black was wheeled inside by Jake. "Kinda late, Billy. They're just about to leave."

"Someone took forever just to put on shoes," Billy said, glancing over his shoulder at his son. Jake just glared and moved away from everyone.

"Still pouting about Bella?" Quil asked with a smile.

Billy sighed. "Always. She never led him on, but he's got it in his mind that she's meant for him." He waved at the couple. "I've seen that look before, Quil."

The shaman nodded. "I see it every day." He lowered his voice so only Billy could hear. "Molly let it spill that they chose baby names. Cheveyo Nashoba and Tala Sooleawa."

"Those are unusual."

"Wait till you hear the meanings. Wolf spirit warrior and silver wolf."

Billy sucked in a breath. "Great spirits. You don't think. . ."

"That Taha Aki had a hand in this?" Quil shrugged. "Stranger things have happened. You gave him the silver wolf charm. Why carve ten wolves and give them to certain people?"