Bella had been floating on a cloud ever since Edward asked her to prom. She had never been a dance person, what with actually having to dance and all, but she was looking forward to this so much it hurt. She had this sinking feeling that it was all a dream or a mean joke or something. But it was real. Bella Swan and Edward Cullen were going to prom together. Who would've guessed?

The last few weeks before prom were hectic, to say the least. Alice and Rosalie dragged Bella to about a million different stores in order to find the "perfect" dress, and Alice was crazier than usual, what with planning the limo, making reservations for dinner, and figuring out who was in their group.

Bella was just glad that things were going as smoothly as they were. After all, knowing her luck, something was bound to go wrong eventually.

It was the week before prom, and Bella and Angela finished their biology lab early. Like usual, Edward and Tanya were already finished and sitting on opposite sides of the room. Bella and Angela made their way to their seats, talking quietly. A few minutes later, Angela excused herself to go to the bathroom. Tanya made her way over to Bella and sat down where Angela had been sitting before.

"Hey Bella," she said.

"Hey," Bella replied. "What's up?" They had talked a few times throughout the year, but Bella didn't consider Tanya a close friend. An acquaintance maybe, but not much more.

"Nothing. I'm just getting tired of Edward ignoring me."

"He's still ignoring you?" Bella arched an eyebrow.

"Oh, he's much better than he was before," Tanya said quickly. "He hasn't been so nice to me in a long time. But that's only during bio. Outside of doing labs together, he doesn't really talk to me, and it gets kinda frustrating, you know?"

"He's never really struck me as the talkative type," Bella mused. "But at least he's being nice to you now."

"Yeah, I know," Tanya agreed. She changed the subject. "So are you going to prom? You're a junior, right?"

"Yeah, I'm going," Bella answered absently. She was distracted by the way the sunlight streamed through the windows and made Edward look like a model. He was so beautiful.

"Who are you going with?" Tanya asked.

"Hmm? Oh, uh," Bella hesitated, before deciding to just tell the truth. Tanya would find out anyway. "I'm actually going with, uh, with Edward." Her voice dropped at the end of the sentence, and she was afraid to look at Tanya.

"Oh." Tanya was surprised. "It's alright, Bella."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's not your fault or anything. How did he ask you?"

"Well…" Bella hesitated again. She wasn't sure if Tanya was just being polite, and she didn't want to hurt her more. "It was really casual. Just like, 'hey, you wanna go?' And I said sure."

Tanya nodded, trying to keep her emotions under control. She certainly hadn't expected Edward to ask her, but it still hurt.

"So are you going with Alice and Jasper?" Tanya asked.

"Uh, yeah. The four of us are going together in a group with a few others."

"That should be fun."

"Yeah."

The conversation was starting to get extremely awkward, but at that moment, Angela returned and they talked about other topics. Eventually the bell rang and the girls made their way toward the door.

"Tanya," Bella called as the girl was about to walk away.

"Yes?" She turned back.

"I really am sorry."

"I know. And thanks."

Bella smiled, and Tanya smiled back. Bella was grateful that their relationship wasn't messed up because of something like prom. They might not have been close friends, but she didn't need anymore enemies.

"Oh, and good luck on prom queen," Bella called out as Tanya started to walk away. Tanya turned around and nodded her thanks as other students pushed their way in between them. Bella sighed. This whole prom thing was more complicated than she had anticipated.


Bella woke up the morning of prom knowing that that day was going to be the best day of her life. Or rather, that night would be. The daytime itself might not be so great. After all, she had been forced to promise Alice free reign over dressing her, and to be perfectly honest, Bella was a little scared. Not of Alice, although she could be scary. It was more of putting all this time and effort into looking good for Edward, and him not liking it. She trusted Alice; Bella knew Alice could make anyone look gorgeous, but still, she hesitated. If she was going to be uncomfortable in all that makeup, Edward had better like it.

Bella sighed before rolling over to look at her clock. It was 10:00. She still had a couple hours before she was supposed to be at the Cullen's. She rolled back over and fell asleep again.


Edward woke up to an insistent knock on his door. He rolled over and glanced at his clock. 10:30 on a Saturday morning. What's with this family and waking up early?

"Yeah?"

"Edward, it's time to get up." Alice burst through the door. "Here's a list of all the things you need to do before tonight." She thrust a piece of paper at him. "Everyone is meeting here for pictures at 5:00, so make sure you're ready."

Edward looked at the list and groaned. "Seriously, Alice? Why do I have to do all this stuff?"

"Because you want Bella to have a good time tonight."

Edward had no reply to that, and Alice breezed out of his room a moment later. Edward rolled back over to try to go back to sleep, but he was interrupted.

"Edward!"

Edward groaned into his pillow. "Seriously? What is wrong with this family? Haven't you heard of knocking, Emmett?"

Emmett smiled unapologetically as he sat at Edward's desk. "The door was open, which means that Alice was already in here, so it's not like you were asleep."

Edward kept his head buried in his pillow, refusing to look at his brother.

"Look, Edward, I just wanted to make sure that you know what's expected of you tonight."

Edward sat up. "Em, I've been to prom before, remember? We were in the same group and everything."

"Yeah, but you went with Tanya. You've never been to prom with a girl you really care about," Emmett explained. "So shut up and take notes."

"I hate to break it to you, Emmett," Edward replied, "but I would never take relationship advice from you. You may know what works for you, but I'm not you and Bella is most certainly not Rose."

"Eddie, Eddie, Eddie." Emmett shook his head. "There are certain things that all girls love. Bella and Rose may not have a lot in common, but they are both female. So that means that you should open the door for her, hold chairs out for her, and get her punch. Just be a gentleman. Or at least try."

"Jeez Emmett. I'm not a complete idiot. I planned on doing all of that."

"Well, then good. I was just checking. You don't exactly have the best track record."

"Believe me, I know."

"Which is why, by the way, I'm curious. What changed your mind?"

"About what?"

"Asking Bella. I mean, you used to avoid her like the plague. And then you would talk, but not on a personal level or anything. And then randomly you ask her to prom? It doesn't really make sense."

"Did Rosalie tell you to ask me?"

"Uh… maybe. But that's not the point."

Edward chuckled. "Of course not. I was just pretty sure that you didn't have that insight."

"Whatever. But you didn't answer my question. What changed your mind?"

Edward shrugged. "I don't really know. I mean, Bella's just always been there, you know. And she's always taken care of us, our whole family. And at some point, I guess, I just kinda realized that I like her. As more than just a friend. But by that time I was pretty screwed up. Bella deserves more than I can give her. Someone who doesn't have a reputation as an ass."

"Someone like Newton?" Emmett joked. Mike's attempts to ask Bella out had been a long-running joke in the family.

"Fuck you." Emmett laughed at the expression on Edward's face. "Mike Newton is definitely not the perfect guy for her." Emmett raised an eyebrow. "I'm not saying that I am," Edward defended himself, "but maybe I could be, eventually. I'm certainly willing to try. And as soon as I came to that conclusion, I realized that the best time to try to start changing is now. So I asked her. Is that an acceptable answer?"

Emmett nodded. "Dude, you are so whipped."

"So are you!"

"Yeah, but at least I'm actually dating my girl."

Edward flinched. Shockingly, Emmett was exactly right. For once.

"Well, at least Bella doesn't call me a monkey man."

Emmett's face went bright red. "Hey, that was once! And you shouldn't have been eavesdropping."

Edward rolled his eyes.

"Edward! Are you up yet? You better have started on my list! And Emmett, don't think that you're off the hook! I need your help, too!"

The brothers rolled their eyes at their sister. But both got up and started to do what she asked.


Bella was going crazy. Alice and Rosalie had been working on her for hours, but she wasn't allowed to see herself. The dress was gorgeous, and she knew that Rose and Alice were pros with hair and makeup, but it was still disconcerting that all of the mirrors had been covered. Something about only being allowed to see the finished product…

Bella was currently sitting with curlers in her hair while Alice got ready. It took her half the time, and she was doing everything herself.

"Alright," Alice said, straightening up from in front of a makeup mirror. "All finished."

"Oh, Ali," Bella breathed. "You look so pretty."

Alice flushed with pleasure. "Thanks, Bells. Don't worry, you're going to look even better!"

"I still don't understand why you guys are spending so much time on me," Bella complained as Alice moved to add finishing touches to Bella's makeup.

"Because Alice already has her guy," Rose explained. "Edward may have asked you to prom, and I know he really likes you, but until you guys are actually boyfriend-girlfriend, we're gonna go all out."

"And besides," Alice added, "it's fun!"

Bella rolled her eyes, but allowed the others to finish their work on her. She just hoped that Edward would appreciate all of the torture she was going through.


Edward was getting impatient. It was after 5:00, and everyone was gathered in the living room except Rosalie, Alice, and Bella. Edward knew his sister wanted them to make a dramatic entrance, like in the movies, but he just wanted to see Bella. She had been over for hours but he had yet to see her. It was driving him crazy.

Rosalie entered the room just then, making a beeline for her boyfriend. She glanced over at Edward and smirked. Edward was a bit wary because of her expression, but he shrugged it off. She was always looking at him as if she knew some big secret.

Alice entered next, and she was stunning. Jasper was dumbstruck, and Emmett laughed at the expression on his face. Alice walked to her boyfriend, but not before smiling at Edward. He was starting to get nervous. Why were the girls looking at him that way?

At last, Bella walked in, and the room fell silent. She was beautiful. Rosalie and Alice clearly knew what they were doing when it came to hair and makeup, and the dress was perfect.

Edward was floored. His jaw dropped, and his heart stopped in his chest before rapidly starting up again. He couldn't believe that she was his, at least for the night.

Bella tentatively walked toward her date, unsure if he liked it. He was just staring at her, his eyes darker than normal. About a foot away, she hesitated.

Edward saw her hesitation, and it brought him out of his stupor. He stepped forward and offered his arm. Bella gladly took it.

"Isn't Bella beautiful tonight?" Alice asked her brother meaningfully.

Edward shook his head. Bella bowed her head, tears starting to form. He didn't like it, didn't like her.

He lifted her chin with his finger. "Beautiful does not even begin to describe you tonight," he whispered in her ear. Bella blushed. She made a mental note to thank Alice later.