Friday morning dawned far too quickly for my liking. As I got ready for school, my mind flashed over last nights events. I still had a weird glowy feeling in my stomach when I thought about Ash, but other than that I was focused on the big ball of dread that had settled in my stomach. I grabbed my backpack and made my way downstairs Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge were sitting around the table chattering at Mom as she made our lunches.
"Morning guys, morning Mom."
"Hi Max!"
"Morning sweetie, food's on the counter."
"Thanks." I dished up a heaping plate of food from the buffet style line up on the counter. I began to eat, listening to the kids debate whether or not the lower school was haunted. I was almost done when the doorbell rang. Angel and Gazzy leapt out of their seats, racing to be the first to answer it. I glanced at the clock, it was 6:30 in the morning, who would be here at that time?
"Maybe it's an emergency..." Mom glanced at her vet bag which sat on one of the counters, she always kept one at home for emergencies. I shrugged and shoveled in the last few forkfuls of egg on my plate.
A moment later Angel and Gazzy reappeared, two people behind them. I started coughing when I realized who it was. Swallowing quickly I smiled at Ash who was looking at me bemusedly. Alice smiled at me impishly as she introduced herself to my mom.
"Hi I'm Alice Cullen, Ash's sister."
"Hello, I'm Dr. Martinez, you can call me Valencia. Would either of you like some breakfast?"
"No thanks, we already ate. Actually I'm here because I think Max might have forgotten about a little date we have after school today." Alice's smile was scary all of the sudden.
"Date?" Mom glanced at Ash, then at me.
"Alice is taking Max shopping for a dress today." Ash clarified
"Yeah, we're all going into Rockfort this weekend to go dancing and we're making Max come with us, and she said she didn't have a dress so we just have to get her one!" Mom looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"You're going dancing?" I stared at Alice then Ash for a minute before I got myself together.
"No! Most definitely not!"
"Max you should go! It would be totally cool! And you'd be wearing a dress, I think you would look good in something floaty, silver or blue maybe, and you could wear some really cute heels!"
"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Alice smiled happily at Nudge.
"Great so it's settled then?" Nudge looked at me, sensing my refusal she did bambi eyes. I groaned and glanced at Angel, only to be met with bambi eyes on her end too."
"Fine!"
"Well then!" Mom was smiling softly as she reached for her purse.
"Oh no Valencia, this is our treat, besides I have a special discount at the store we're going to." Alice smiled at Mom who hesitated for a moment before putting her purse down.
"If you say so. Now when are you going dancing?"
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"Dancing? Are you serious? I have no idea how to dance! And a dress? And heels? I"ll kill myself!" Alice looked back at me as she skipped down the front porch's steps.
"It'll be fun, and Ash can teach you how to dance. He's a great dancer." I glared at Ash.
"You!"
"What about me?" He quirked an eyebrown at me and I almost forgot to yell at him (almost).
"You were part of this...scheme!"
"Max, I have learned never to try and stop Alice when she gets an idea in her head." I rolled my eyes and stalked over to Ash's car.
He held the door open, an annoying smirk on his face. Alice stood outside the car for a moment, her head cocked to the side.
"Ash I'm going to catch the jeep, they're about to reach the driveway." Ash nodded and walked around the the driver's side. Alice smiled and leaned down to my window.
"I'll see you after school Max." Before I could reply she was gone.
I shook my head, still unused to the Cullen's speed.
I was silent for a moment, as Ash started up the car. He pulled out of the long driveway and pulled into the road, I could see Emmett's jeep a ways in front of us, the lights making bright spots in the early morning fog.
"I suppose I don't have a choice in any of this?" Ash glanced at me and shrugged.
"Well you do," his voice dropped to a low purr, "but I would be very sad if you didn't come, it wouldn't even be worth it." he placed an emphasis on the 'very', drawing out his words till I was about ready to melt in a little puddle of hormones. I took a deep breath and locked my eyes on the road ahead, which was flashing by far too quickly though I refrained from commenting on that.
"Well then, I guess I'll just have to suffer through it." I crossed my arms and shifted my wings against my back, my eyes locked on the jeep's headlights.
I was startled when I felt cool fingers against my face, Ash slowly brushed as strand of my hair behind me ear. I glanced at him, only to be met with his golden eyes, his perfect features nearly stole my breath away, before I realized that he wasn't watching the road.
"Ash! Watch the road!" He laughed and turned back to the road, but only after he grabbed my hand, letting his cold one and my warm one rest on the armrest. I glanced at our fingers, wound together, and smiled.
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"That one, most definitely that one." Alice nodded in satisfaction as soon as I walked out of the dressing room. She had guilted me into trying on atleast 20 dresses so far, all of them acceptable by my standards, but not, apparently by Alice's.
Now I was wearing a dress made of deep blue, almost purple, floaty material, that had some sort of lacy silver stuff layered over it. It came to about mid thigh and it covered up my wings in the back. I didn't completely hate it, though the fact that it was a DRESS made it pretty annoying. Alice sighed one more time in satisfaction before banishing me to the dressing room.
I waited patiently while she paid for the dress (after she explained how much money they had I gladly let her foot the bill) and headed out of the mall. The mall was in the next town over from Jericho. Ash had driven us over and dropped us off, claiming he didn't want to be put through the torture of shopping (I would have gone with him except for the fact that I was Alice's victim of choice). Now that we were done, we waited outside for one of the Cullen's to pick us up.
"Don't worry Max, you're going to look absolutely great and-" Alice stopped talking, her eyes suddenly focusing on something far in the distance.
"Alice?" I waved my hand in front of her face but she didn't seem to see it. "Alice!"
She started and looked at me.
"Oh my gosh!"
"What? What's wrong Alice? What's happening?"
"A sale!" I stared at her incredulously.
"You have got to be kidding me. You got me all worried for a SALE?"
Alice ignored my angry tone and got to her feet in one swift movement.
"I have to get there now! It's at my favorite store! Well, one of them atleast. I'll get Jasper to drive me home later, but you just wait here Max. Bye!" before I could say anything, she was gone.
I stared after her in amazement. Alice was undoubtedly different. Resigned to my fate of a solitary wait for whatever Cullen would rescue me, I scanned the parking lot again, looking for one of their expensive cars. Nothing. Resisting the urge to just fly home, I glared at a pair of guys who were smoking near me.
"Do you mind?" The shuffled away and I crossed my arms in front of my chest impatiently. I was trying not to think about this weekend, and the dancing. How the heck would I survive that? I mean, these were incredibly graceful and coordinated vampires we're talking about.
"You're alive!" I looked up to see a sleek black car pulling up to the curb. Bella sat in the drivers seat and Rosalie in the passenger side. I could make out the faint outline of a small body, I assumed it was Renesmee.
"Yeah, but just barely though." It was Bella who had spoken and she looked properly sympathetic. I grabbed the bags and opened the back seat door, sliding in next to Renesmee. "Alice had a premonition about a sale, she said she'd have Jasper come and pick her up."
"That's Alice for you." Bella steered the car away from the curb with a small smile on her face.
"What did you do wrong?" I was startled to hear Renesmee's voice, her face looking oddly anxious.
"Nothing that I know of."
"Oh. Well you're in trouble."
"What are you talking about Renesmee?"
"Uncle Ash said you have to come straight home, and you can't escape...Daddy only does that when I'm in trouble."
"Umm." Rosalie turned in her seat to face us.
"What Nessie means is that we are under strict instructions to deliver you to your house with no added stops, and without you leaving the car." At my puzzled look, Rosalie grinned. "Dancing lessons."
I groaned and looked ruefully at the locked doors. "And there's no way you could just lose me? Accidentally of course."
"Nope. You're going to learn how to dance Miss Birdy." I glared at Rosalie who only smirked at me. Shopping AND dance lessons. There is a god...and he hates me.
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"Okay, don't try to lead this time. Let me guide you." I nodded and took a deep breath, putting my hand in Ash's. I was hyper-aware of his hand on my back, holding me just close enough to wonder where all the air had gone. "Okay, now Angel."
Angel pressed the play button on the CD player we were using and some sort of classical music started up again. Angel and Gazzy were curled up together on the couch watching our dance lesson and occasionally commenting or laughing, as the situation deserved. They had chosen to stay at home rather than go to the grocery store which was where Ella, Nudge, and Mom were. Fang and Iggy were at Katie's house with a bunch of other kids.
We were about half an hour into the lesson and I was starting to think someone had designed the waltz just to torture me. I glanced down at me feet, ready to step when Ash moved.
"Eyes up Max." I looked into his eyes, which were a dark golden color at the moment, and tried to focus. "Now just let me guide you." I let all my breath out and waited for Ash to move, focusing on feeling his body against mine.
I focused on his eyes and let him begin to move me around the room, a sudden feeling of lightness invaded me and it felt as though the only thing keeping me tied to the floor were Ash's arms. He spun me around the library floor we had cleared off as though I were made of glass. I felt a smile creep onto my face as the rightness of it settled in.
"I'm doing it!" Ash smiled at me and I almost lost my breath. Angel and Gazzy were whooping and jumping on the couch chanting, "Max can dance! Max can dance!" I laughed as Ash twirled me around one last time before dipping me low to the floor before quickly kissing me softly on the lips.
"Eeew!!!" Gazzy made puking noises as Angel giggled. Ash swept me back up to a standing position and looked in my eyes. "I think you'll do just fine Max."
I cleared my throat and looked at the floor, trying to regain my composure.
I looked up as the waltz music was replaced with the macarena Gazzy and Angel had leapt from the couch and stood in front of Ash, their eyes widened to angelic proportions.
"Will you please teach us the macarena, PLEASE." Ash glanced at me then at the kids.
"Why not? Every kid has to know the macarena." Grinning, Angel and Gazzy moved to stand beside Ash, tugging me along with them.
"Okay, first you put your hands out..."
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"Hold still!"
"But this is taking forever!"
"You're almost done, quit whining." I glared at the wall in front of which I had been placed.
Nudge and Alice were doing something to my hair that was taking way too long. Ash, Rosalie, Bella, Edward, Emmet, and Jasper were all supposed to meet us here, at my house soon. But right now all I could focus on was the strange edgy feeling that had persisted all day. Nudge and Alice's hands on my hair were only a brief distraction. For some reason, something felt wrong. Yanking my thoughts away from the feeling, I tried to focus on Nudge and Alice.
"Am I done now?"
"No." I waited for a moment.
"How bout now?"
"No." I grinned a little.
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"No!" Nudge and Alice yelled simultaneously. I sighed. crossing my arms over the silvery whorls of the lace like netting that made up the top layer of my dress. It was already seven o'clock and we should be leaving soon to go dancing. Angel, Gazzy, and Fang had left to go on sleepovers. Not that I had heard that directly from Fang, I was still mad at him.
"Okay, NOW you're done."
"Great, let's go." I stood up, and made my way (thankfully without falling in the stupid heels I was wearing), to my bedroom door, Alice and Nudge right behind me. We made our way downstairs, just as the doorbell was ringing.
Mom came out of the living room where she, Iggy, and Ella had been watching TV.
She paused for a moment, smiling quietly as she looked at me, then she opened the door. Ash was standing on the front porch, looking especially amazing in dark Jeans and a button down black shirt.
"Hello Ash, how are you?"
"I'm fine Valencia, thank you." He stepped inside and paused, just as I was descending the last bit of the staircase.
He stood stock still, staring at me. The look on his face made me shiver just a little bit, a mixture of amazement, wanting, and something else that I couldn't quite place. I suddenly felt a little bit scared and a lot nervous.
"Hi."
"Hi, you look, amazing."
"Blame those two." I gestured towards Alice and Nudge who were watching our exchange with smug little smiles.
"Well, we'd better get going. Bye Valencia." Alice waved to my mom who nodded and smiled.
I hugged Nudge and yelled a goodbye into the living room where Ella and Iggy were.
"Bye Max! Ash, Anything you do to my sister, I'll do to you!"
"Iggy!"
"Well not like that!"
"I'll keep that in mind Iggy." Ash was smirking as he led me out to the big SUV that held the rest of the younger Cullen's. Dr. Cullen and Esme were going to stay home with Renesmee (lucky ducks).
Jasper came out to help Alice into the car, kissing her hand as he did, a sweetly romantic gesture that looked as though it belonged in a movie.
Once we were all loaded into the car, Emmet turned on the engine and gave out a whoop as he pulled out of the driveway.
"Do you guys do this often? Go dancing?" I asked Bella.
"Not really, but Alice had a vision of us in this dance club right after you told us who you were, so here we are!" I glanced around the car, suddenly feeling very plain. Rosalie, Alice, and Bella all looked amazing and I suddenly wondered why Ash even paid attention to me. There was a sudden return of that edgy feeling as we sped by the woods. My thoughts suddenly turned to Fang and the feeling increased.
"Are you all right Max?" Jasper was looking at me speculatively and I shrugged.
"I'm just worried about Ash."
"Why?"
"He's taking me dancing, why wouldn't I be worried?" The Cullens laughed and Ash pulled me closer to him on the seat. Jasper laughed along with them but I saw him regarding me worriedly for a moment before a wave of calm engulfed me. I gave him a small smile and he nodded before glancing quickly at Edward.
"You really do look beautiful." Ash pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I was stiff for a moment before I slowly relaxed into him, content to stare out the window at the ever darkening sky.
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A/N:Ha! That was a long chapter so you can't complain! Well technically you could complain about the story, but who would do that? I mean look at it, it's perfect! JK, lol, I hope you guys like it, I'm working on the next chapter now so you can start holding your breath...On second thought, don't.