Helloooo my dear readers. I know what you're thinking: Who's this Quina? I don't remember subscribing to this story...And all I have to say is: I'm sooooo flipping sorry for the long wait. I just did not have the...creativity?...to write this chapter. So, if you all want to shoot me, go ahead. I'm sure I deserve it.
But...guess what? This is the longest chapter I've ever written!! (3,501 words - without the long author's note :D) Props for Quina! During one of the many times I sat down to write this, I realized that I've been totally ignoring the Cullens...so there's a little bit of the vamps for your reading pleasure.
This chapter is named after Rufio's song, One Slowdance, which was covered by the amazing, Simple Plan.
Read and Enjoy!
12. One Slowdance
The week passed as my excitement grew. Saturday could not get here soon enough. Jake and I weren't officially going out yet, but we were certainly taking steps in the right direction. I faintly worried about how Seth was going to react because I was almost positive Jake hadn't let anything slip.
Friday, I sat next to Jake in communications. Beneath the table, I felt my hand be squeezed by a bigger, warmer one. And I was...perfect.
I smiled, bit my lip, and blushed simultaneously.
"Well someone's extremely impatient," he chuckled, "I can feel it!"
I giggled. "I've never been to a dance before."
"Really?" he asked in disbelief.
I nodded. "I was never asked and didn't feel like going with friends. Moving makes it difficult to have friendships. It just makes the change harder."
"Yeah," he agreed, his expression slightly upset.
I didn't have time to ask him why before class began. Our hands stayed twined under the table. For once in my life, I was glad I was a lefty.
That night, I couldn't sleep to save my life. Nervousness and excitement swam in my veins, making me fidgety, unable to keep my eyes closed.
I guess I was finally able to fall asleep, because the next thing I knew, it was Saturday.
A glance at the clock told me it was eleven. I stumbled downstairs in sleepiness, to find my mother in the kitchen.
"Good morning, sunshine. Ready to go shopping?" she greeted.
I perked up instantly. Today was the day. "Of course! Let's go."
She laughed, watching me as I began to grab my coat and slip on my shoes.
"Go change, then we'll go."
I looked down and blushed. "Right," I responded dumbly before skipping back up the steps.
Grabbing the nearest matching clean clothes, I threw them on and rushed to the bathroom to prepare for the day.
By the time we were in the car and ready to go, it was noon. I bounced in anticipation as we neared Port Angeles.
We first stopped by a fast food place to get some lunch (or in my case, breakfast). Afterwards, when we pulled into the parking lot of the department store, I all but ran to the dresses. My mom caught up to me, laughing.
"I remember my first dance." She sighed happily, reminiscing her teenage years. "I went with Max Finley. He was a doll."
I rolled my eyes. She would frequently go on these rants. This one had been told quite a few times. I simply tuned her out as I rummaged through the racks of dresses.
We were there for at least an hour, and still hadn't found anything that was quite right.
I groaned, turning to my mom.
"There's nothing!"
"I'm sure there's something," she responded, still looking through the limited selection.
I slowly spun around, hoping to catch sight of the perfect dress, when instead I found a short woman with spiky black hair. An idea sprung in my head, and before I even had the chance to think about it, my phone was vibrating.
I pulled it from the front pocked of my jeans before flipping it open. "Hello?"
"Of course I'll help you," a trill voice replied back. "I'll see you in half an hour."
A smile grew on my face. "Alice, you know my mom doesn't drive that fast."
"That's why I'm coming to you. See you soon."
"Bye," I said, before flipping it closed. I turned back to my curious mother. "Do you mind if Alice joins us?"
"Not at all! She'll definitely find you the perfect outfit. That girl…you'd think she would be a designer by now." She shook her head lightly, an admiring smile on her lips.
After thirty minutes of pointlessly going through the dresses for the billionth time, Alice appeared with Rosalie on her heels.
"Bri!" she squealed, running over to me and capturing me in a hug. "I haven't seen you in so long!"
I nodded. After the incident back in September, the pack didn't trust the vampires enough for me to be around them. This was the first time I had actually seen any of them since then. "I've missed you so much," I told her.
Once Alice finally let go, I was once again in cold arms. "I never thought I'd miss having a human around," Rosalie whispered to me.
I giggled. "Thanks, Rose."
When I pulled away, my mom said, "It's nice seeing you again, girls, but I think I'm going to go get a massage while you shop. Are you going to be home before the dance?"
I looked to Alice, then Rosalie who were shaking their heads. I should have known they would want to play Barbie. It made me wonder how long it has been since they had the chance.
"Alright, but take pictures! Be safe. Have fun!"
"Thanks. Bye, mom."
"Bye, Michelle!" the Cullen 'sisters' called.
"Goodbye, girls."
Once she was gone, Alice glanced around, her face horrified. "I'm ashamed of you, Bri. A department store? You can't honestly find something here." And with that, she grabbed my wrist and towed me out of the store.
We were in Seattle in record time. I had forgotten how fast their driving really was. Alice brought us to a rather expensive looking dress shop. As long as I didn't look at the prices, I would be okay.
Once I stepped through the door, I was hit with a wave of flowery smells. The walls were a light brown with floral designs etched all over them. In the center of the high peaked ceiling a crystal chandelier hung, illuminating the store. Below it were racks and racks of beautiful dresses, from cocktail, to formal.
Alice and Rosalie pulled me to somewhere in the middle. They became a flurry of dresses as they pulled one after another out and held them up to me for consideration before shoving them back in their spots. I merely stood, dazed.
After about forty dresses, Rosalie held up a cute, black, one-shouldered dress that reached my knees.
"What about this one?" she asked her 'sister'.
Alice shook her head. "It's a Valentine's Day dance, not a funeral. She needs color!"
Rose simply rolled her eyes before putting it back and rummaging again.
This time Alice held up a dress. It was a baby doll, stopping just above my knees, with two inch straps and a ruffled bust. At the top it was a vibrant magenta that gradually faded into a deep purple at the bottom.
She looked up at me with excited eyes. "This is the dress."
I stared at her, dumbfounded. We had been here, how long? No longer than twenty minutes, I'm pretty sure. Alice sure was a fashion genius.
She impatiently shoved me into the nearest fitting room. Within minutes, I emerged in the dress. Their faces lit up excitedly and I could already see the plans for my makeover forming in their minds.
"It's perfect," they both said in unison.
I blushed and they laughed before I was shooed back into the room.
When we were at the counter, the woman at the cashier asked, "Would you like the accessories that go with this dress?"
Alice lit up, brighter than the sun. And I think she squealed.
"That would be a yes," Rosalie responded for her.
"Alright, let me run and get those." She began walking into the back room before turning around again and asking me, "What size shoe do you wear?"
"Nine, I think," I replied.
She nodded and went back, returning in less than a minute with a bag. "Here you are," she said, handing the accessories to Alice. "Will that be all?"
Alice nodded, digging in her purse for her credit card.
"The total is…" I plugged my ears to save the guilt of the expenses. I knew money wasn't an object for them, but when they went spending thousands of dollars on one piece of clothing, it was a bit much.
Alice dragged us to the car, once again, complaining that we only had three hours to get home and Barbie me. We were pulling into the long driveway of the Cullen household in record time. I was practically carried up the stairs at vampire speed by Alice. A call of hello from the family could barely be heard as I disappeared into Alice's useless bathroom.
She pushed me down into the chair and commanded me to stay.
"I'm not a dog, you know," I muttered.
In a matter of seconds, Rose and Alice became a blur around my head, making me dizzy. I clamped my eyes closed, wishing for it to be over soon. They began to tug lightly on my hair, twisting and pulling until I wanted to cry out. A single tear fell from my eye and Rosalie slapped at Alice's hands.
"Sorry, Bri, we're not exactly used to working on humans anymore," she apologized, carefully wiping the tear.
"It's alright, that always happens," I assured her.
"Okay. We're almost done."
A couple more seconds of a pixie and blonde blur, I was complete.
"You can look," Alice told me.
I looked shyly up into my reflection, only it wasn't me. The person in the mirror was gorgeous. She looked confident and, well, not me. Half of her dirty blonde hair was pulled up into a messy, but beautiful bun, leaving the rest hanging down, containing several ringlets to frame her face.
The lids of her blue eyes were dusted with a light periwinkle and her eyelashes were coated with black mascara. Her cheeks were painted with blush, but this time it wasn't from embarrassment. The usual pink of her lips were shining with a darker gloss.
My gaze turned to Alice's reflection. An excited smile was pasted on her cheeks. Rosalie had a similar expression, but not as exuberant.
"Thank you," I breathed.
"No, thank you," Alice enthused. "We haven't been able to do this for ages!"
I laughed. I'm sure Bella was able to get away easier now that she was a vampire. She had told me all about what she could remember from times like this. None of it was positive.
"Now, time for your dress!" Rosalie cheered.
They helped me out of my clothes, careful not to mess up my makeup, and into my dress. After, I pulled on the nude tights as Rose clipped the necklace and earrings into place. Alice slipped the pearly heels on my feet and I wobbled slightly as I got used to the new height. She then pulled me into her room to the full length mirror.
I was completely transformed. The dress fit like it was personally sewn for my body. "It's perfect, you guys! Thank you!"
"It was no big deal. I just can't believe you thought you could find something at that…" Alice's sentence was cut off by a shudder and Rose and I laughed.
"He's almost here!" Edward called up.
Once again, Alice squealed as she and Rosalie pushed me down the staircase. Several gasps came from the family of vampires stationed in the living room. One at a time they came up to hug me. Of course it started with Esme.
"You look beautiful, honey," she told me in a motherly awe.
Carlisle hugged me saying, "She's right. It's nice to have a natural beauty in this house again."
Rosalie scoffed from behind me and Carlisle rolled his eyes. "You're more than welcome here, stop by any time. We miss having you around."
"Thank you," I whispered.
Emmett stood up from the couch and I stepped back. Everyone chuckled. He took a few steps towards me before Edward burst out laughing as Alice pounced on Emmett.
"No!" she scolded him. "You can't ruin this."
"Alice," Emmett whined, "You always ruin my fun."
Everyone laughed. Emmett then came over and carefully wrapped his arms around my shoulders before squeezing the life out of me. No pun intended.
"You look great, B," he told me, about to rub my head, but was scolded by Alice. I giggled.
Edward and Bella came over now, hugging me softly.
"Will I ever know how you managed to get away?" Edward whispered in my ear.
I looked at him in confusion before blushing. "Oh, um, probably not," I whispered back as I blocked my thoughts from him.
He looked quite frustrated for a second before going back to neutral. It must be difficult being able to read everyone's mind except me. And Bella of course, but he's used to that now.
"I'm sorry," Bella told me, a look of shame present on her face.
Once again I was confused before sighing and saying, "It's fine, Bella, I understand. Are you okay, though?"
She nodded.
The last family member looked a little wary of approaching me. I felt bad that it was difficult for him that I was here. After a few long, silent seconds, he finally took the steps between us and pulled me into his arms.
"Hey, Jasper," I breathed. For a while, I had had a silly crush on Jasper Hale, and every now and then it would pop up again. This was one of those moments.
I smiled into his shoulder before he pulled me to arms length, an amused expression painting his face.
"Bri…you look amazing."
I blushed and he stiffened slightly before smiling.
"Thanks," I replied.
"Sorry to break up this lovely reunion, but your date is here," Edward announced.
"How did he–?" I began to say, but was cut off.
"I called him," Alice chirped.
I should have known. Of course she would be on top of everything.
There was a knock on the door before the handle twisted and Alice pushed me into the kitchen, away from view. The Cullen boys stood at the doorway to keep me company.
From where I was standing, I couldn't see Jacob, but I could kind of tell where he was by the look of the Cullens. I felt anxious to see him, just one glance would be fine.
Jasper looked over his shoulder to wink at me and I flushed again.
"Long time, no see!" Jacob greeted. "How's it going, Bells?"
"Hey, Jake, I've missed you. Where've you been?" she asked, stepping forward to hug him. Jealousy clouded my mind. For all I knew, he still loved her.
Jasper, once again, turned his head to give me a reassuring smile. Damn you, empath.
"Aw, you know, the usual."
She laughed. "Well, it's nice to see you again, Jake."
"You too, Bella," he replied. "So where's this lovely date of mine?"
A wide smile involuntarily spread across my cheeks, all jealousy forgotten.
"Bri, you can come out," Alice sang excitedly.
I took a few steps into the living room, glancing shyly through my lashes with my hands clasped in front of me. Once I finally looked at Jake, I stopped. He stood in front of the open front door in a black tux with a blue button up shirt. His hair was gelled so it would stay in place, but still held that adorable tussled look.
I couldn't help the giggle that came when I took note of his wide eyes and open mouth. "Hey, Jacob."
There was a pause as he attempted to compose himself. "Wow, yeah, hey. You look…unbelievable."
I blushed. "Thanks. You don't look to bad yourself." And that was quite the understatement. I couldn't believe this was the same boy that only wore shorts most days.
"So, how about we get rolling?" he asked, finally himself again.
"Yeah, um, I'll just grab my purse." But before I could go anywhere, Alice shoved a clutch in my hands that was the same color as my shoes. I laughed. "Thanks."
"Now get going! You're going to be late!" she commanded, shoving me towards Jacob. He caught me as I lost my balance and nearly fell to the ground.
Once again, I blushed. What was with me today?
Jacob chuckled before wrapping his arm around my waist.
A chorus of "aww"s came from the vampires and a few clicks of cameras. I rolled my eyes, but smiled anyways. After several pictures were taken, Alice pushed us out the door and into the awaiting Rabbit.
"Bye," they called to us as we drove away.
By the time we arrived at the school, almost everyone had shown up. In the gym music was blaring from speakers near a DJ booth and a dance floor. Along the far wall was a long table containing food and drinks.
At first we just mingled with the pack and a few of our friends until I pulled Jake by the hand onto the dance floor.
We danced crazily to the steady bass of the faster songs, but sooner or later they had to play a slow one. After the fifth song we had danced to, L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole sounded through the speakers. I leaned my head back against his chest, turned away from him in his arms. My hands were crossed over my stomach, grasping his. We swayed intimately to the beat.
"Love, is all that I can give to you," Jacob sang in my ear. A smile lit up my face. Sure, he wasn't the greatest singer, but it was really sweet.
"Take my heart and please don't break it," I sang back, a couple lines later.
"Love was made for me and you," he sighed, kissing my hair. Right then is when I knew it. Jacob was who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. He could have proposed right now, and I wouldn't have hesitated. I turned in his arms, pulling me as tight as possible to his warm body. I felt like I wanted to be one with Jacob. A single soul. I could stay here forever. The more time I spend with you, the more I need to be with you. I looked up into his never ending eyes. They glistened, a hint of surprise in them.
You feel the same, he cooed before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine. Sure, we had kissed before, but this was so much different. We loved each other, and we both knew it.
Once we pulled away, breathless, I heard a low moan in my head that didn't come from Jacob. It was a sound of pain. Glancing around the room, I noticed a tear stained face bolt for the door.
"Seth," I gasped.
As I weaved through the crowd, my own tears formed in my eyes. In my head, I tried desperately to talk to him, but he was blocking me. I held my dress as I ran helplessly after the speedy werewolf. I made it to the middle of the school yard, before I collapsed, burying my face in my arms.
Hearing Jacobs footsteps crunch the soft grass, I realized I should have expected him to follow. He kneeled down to take me in his arms.
He's going to be alright, Bri. He just needs some time, Jake soothed.
He was just fine earlier. I pondered what could have changed between then and now. Does he know about us?
Jacob's expression altered slightly into a guilty one.
Jacob, how could you? It's one thing for him to hear about us going out, and a whole other for him to see it himself!
He dodged my accusation. We're going out?
I blushed. "That's not the point, Jake. I dumped him for one of his brothers! How would you feel?"
He thought about it for a moment before responding frantically, "Oh, God. No, no, no. Seth...shit."
"What?"
"We have to go after him, Bri," he said, pulling himself off the ground.
I stood up to face him. "Jacob, what's going on?"
He took my face in his hands. "I'm sorry, Bri, I should have told him."
"Come on, just tell me," I pleaded, bringing my hands up to curl around his.
"Leah thinks…"
A sob exploded from my chest and I silently pleaded he wouldn't say what I was dreading.
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tightly to his chest.
"Shh, he's going to be fine," he assured me, rocking back and forth.
"I need to talk to him," I whispered.
I felt him nod against my hair before he pulled me onto his back and started for the trees.
Bleh. Lamesauce ending. Next chapter is the unlucky thirteen...thought I'd make it a little gloomy, just for...fun? Hahaah. Fun. Yeahh.
Review? Sneak-peak!
If you love this story with a fiery passion, be sure to check out the three one-shots I've posted.
Remember: YOU'RE AMAZING :D
You and me, dancing the night away; you can feel my heart beating so hard; we look eye to eye, and I'm swept away.
-QC-
