A/N: This is the longest chapter ever! That's why it took me so long to shell out :) I'm apologizing in advance if it seems a bit rushed, but I wanted to get everyone done as quickly as possible. And this was definitely the cutest chapter to write, too. Anyway, here you guys go. Remember to review and enjoy!

I could tell Tanya was trying her best to be indirect about what she did to me; she never spoke to me again but I knew every time she noticed me, a triumphant smile would be plastered on her face. It didn't faze me though; I knew I had plenty of time to bust her. The question was, how?

Alice suggested I go back to that Jessica girl and squeal it out of her, but I couldn't. For all I knew, she was just an innocent bystander in this predicament. I would let the idea sit in my head for a while before I do anything irrational.

The month of October was quickly turning into November, which brought on two things to fuss over. The first being Alice's ballet, and the second- Visitation Day. I didn't have to worry about it really; Charlie said he couldn't make it, that the weather in Washington would be a nightmare to fly in. I didn't mind it too much; he was probably only saying it to avoid the sunny rays of LA. Either way, it might've been a bit awkward. I made occasional phone calls to him, but they all but lasted 2 minutes tops. Charlie and I weren't big talkers, but that's just how we are. But even in those two minutes, I still hadn't told him about Edward. It would be a story for another time, I decided. I still had the nerve to work up, considering I'd never introduced him to a boyfriend before.

But I wouldn't worry about that now; I still had plenty of time. I was trying to hype Alice up, who had gotten a case of cold feet as the month approached quickly. Jasper especially tried his best to reassure her, but her overactive imagination was getting the best of her. I sympathized with him.

"Hey, Bella," I heard Jasper's voice call out as he found me in the courtyard again. I gave a warm smile back at him as he took a seat across from me.

"What brings you here today?" I asked. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to figure out how to say what it was he wanted to tell me.

"I've been worried about Alice; I mean it's not like her to get so nervous. I guess she's taking it all in too fast and doubting herself."

I nodded in agreement.

"So I've been wanting to do something nice for her on Halloween."

"You mean you haven't been doing nice things for her this whole time?" I asked with a chuckle.

"I mean something extra special, to make sure she knows that she'll be amazing up there, so that's why I need to ask you for a favor," he said, giving me a tentative look.

"Of course, what do you need me to do?"

"Um, maybe if you could… stay the night in Edward and mine's room on Halloween?" he asked quickly, and if I didn't know better he could've blushed right then and there. "I swear nothing's going to happen, it's just that I need the entire night to make my plans go smoothly."

"Its okay, Jasper, I understand! I'll ask Edward if it's alright, I'm sure he won't mind," I said trying to reassure him. On the inside, I was doing somersaults.

"Oh you don't have to, I already asked if it was okay with him and I think he's just as excited about it as I am," he perked up, but as soon as he caught my expression he almost shouted, "Not like that, Bella!" I only giggled.

"Okay, okay, Jasper. It's not a problem at all. Does she know?"

"Nope, not a clue, so I need you to leave around eight at night, make up an excuse like you're going on a date with Edward or something, but leave the door open." He must have planned this out a long time ago.

"I can do that, what're you planning for the night anyway?"

"Wouldn't you rather hear about it from Alice? She likes to make things grander than they are, and I know she tells you everything anyway," he said, we both laughed.

"True, I guess I can wait."

We must have been in someone's good graces because Halloween was falling on a Thursday this year. The dorms were strung with all kinds of decorations- hanging lanterns, streamers, signs of all sorts- truly the works. The decorations had gone up two weeks before the day. Not even my old high school ever went all out like this. It was a pleasant change.

When Alice wasn't too busy freaking out about the upcoming opening night, she was freaking out about finding the perfect costume for Halloween. I so badly wanted to tell her that she wouldn't need it, but I kept my mouth dutifully shut.

"What are you dressing up as?" she asked me Wednesday evening as she was rummaging through her stuff. I hadn't planned on dressing up; actually I still wasn't planning in it. I hadn't truly participated in Halloween activities outside of handing out handy since 5th grade.

"I'm dressing up as Bella Swan, isn't that frightening enough?" I joked as Alice gave me a pointed look.

"Ha, ha, so funny you are, Bella, but I'm not letting you out of this room tomorrow without a disguise."

"Aw, come on, Alice. I haven't done this stuff in a long time, and I'm sure nobody else is going to be dressing up. We'll look like idiots, childish idiots," I tried my best to whine.

"Rosalie is dressing up," she said simply. Both my eyebrows flew up.

"As what?"

"Minnie Mouse," she said grinning. I rolled my eyes. Rosalie looked dashing in red.

"Well you and Rose have fun dressing up, but you can count me out. I don't have a costume anyway," I thought I had won this argument but the glint in her eye told me otherwise; I let out a sigh.

"Bella, I'm a dancer. You're talking to the queen of costumes," she said before attacking the heap of multi-colored fabrics again. I don't know how she hauled all this stuff to school when I could barely manage regular clothes. She was smack-dab in the middle of the pile when she pulled out a lilac, tulle skirt I immediately recognized as one of her ballet tutus. All the color drained from my face.

"There is absolutely NO. WAY. on earth am I walking out of this room in that. On Halloween even!" I huffed at her. Alice pouted at me.

"Come on, Bella! Lighten up a little; didn't you ever want to be a ballerina when you were younger? It's not even that bad, I have leotards and a top you can wear too, and I'll even let you borrow my ballet slippers too," she crooned the last part at me hoping it would hook me in. I did want to be a ballerina when I was four, but of course, my two left feet always prevented that dream from becoming real, even on Halloween. I pursed my lips, lost in thought of how just one night would be harmless. And ballet slippers were my one true weakness; I absolutely adored the way they looked when put on.

Alice was looking at me anxiously, taking in my silent contemplation for approval. She almost squealed with delight and clasped her hands together, already divulging to find the perfect outfit for me. I let out another sigh and let her have her fun.

Alice finally picked out an ensemble for me ten minutes later, handing me black sleek leotards that ended below the knee and surprisingly fit me, and another black and purple, thin-strapped top that was far from what a real ballerina would wear. The colors meshed into an intricate design, and a small sequin was stitched in the middle of each pattern. It was flattering, well, it would have been on Alice. But on me, it was different, not bad, but cute enough. It definitely made me feel like I was ten years old again. Alice just beamed with pride at her finished product.

"I don't have to wear this for long right? I mean, only for like an hour or so?" I asked Alice, hoping she would let me off easily.

"Bella! Don't be such a spoil-sport. You only have one class tomorrow, what's it going to hurt if you just wear it all day? Not everyone around this school is all serious business, some of the professors dress up, too," she tried convincing me.

"And how do you know that?" I tried to catch her in a lie.

"Rosalie and Emmett," she said with a grin. I scowled.

I tried getting out of the costume bit the next day, I was too anxious for the night. Edward had told me that Jasper and Alice weren't the only two who had something planned for the evening, and it only made me dread even more. My only hope was to try and slide by Alice before she could catch me. Of course, I failed, and stormed out of my room in a frilly tutu and ridiculous ballet slippers, which I had to admit, were quite comfortable if I had been able to take the wooden blocks out of the toes. At least I knew the ballerina secret, now.

Much to my surprise, and more annoyance, was that Alice had been right; almost everyone looked like they belonged to a circus. I saw standard witches, goblins, zombies, mummies, ghosts, and of course- clowns. I had to laugh to myself at the sight; this school was certainly peculiar and was immensely glad I was a part of it. I walked a little more confidently to class.

I was complimented quite a lot on my costume, I guess I was the only one who didn't look like I was about to rip off someone's head. Well, except for Tanya, who I had the utter pleasure to see wearing a cheerleading uniform, no doubt from her high school. She caught me looking at her too, and the all-too-familiar sneer fell on her face as she saw I too, wasn't dressed as a monster of the night. She wasn't going to falter my mood; I had way too much to look forward to tonight.

I hadn't seen Edward all day and it had become 7:45 already. I knew Edward was punctual, but I couldn't help but feel he might have forgotten or gone somewhere and was sidetracked. It was ridiculous, but I had become accustomed to seeing Edward at least once a day. Not that I'd become a leech on him; it just happened to fall that way. I had already told Alice that Edward and I had plans, so she was sulking and freaking out at the same time now. I was trying to console her as best as I could, and as soon as the clock hit 7:59, I almost jumped for joy at the sound of a knock on the door.

"It's open!" I nearly yelled, and Alice's scowl became more prominent. Edward walked in, and my heart nearly exploded. It was amazing just how seeing him for the first time today made me realize how strikingly attached I'd grown to him. It was frightening, but still amazing. He grinned crookedly at me but hung close to the door, his eyes transfixed on me. I didn't want to look away, but I had to say goodbye to Alice. I reassured myself that she'd be beaming by tomorrow morning.

I ran across to give her a giant hug, which she returned loosely. Even at her most desperate times, Alice was still loving.

"Don't worry Alice, I'm sure there's going to be a nice surprise for you tonight, "I couldn't help but suggest as Alice's eyebrows flew into her hairline. I hurriedly grabbed Edward's hand and made our way out of the room before Alice could stop me and ask. Once the door was closed, I nearly pounced on Edward, my arms slithering around his neck to pull him down to my level to place a kiss on his lips. Truly I had been missing that the entire day.

"What was that for?" he asked, loosening my death grip on him.

"I missed you today, is all," I couldn't believe I was being so truthful. I probably had inflated his ego so much so far, what could a little more hurt?

"Did you, now?" Oh yes, he was definitely playing it up. Before I could make a witty remark, he took my hands from where they were resting on his neck to hold me out; I had forgotten I still had on my silly costume, and now Edward was sizing it up. I had a feeling he was going to tease me until the end of time for it. I noticed he hadn't dressed up, something I had figured. Great, now I was going to look like an idiot.

"It was Alice's idea, okay, no jokes!" I said before he could get a word in.

"You'd have made a beautiful ballerina," he said with a smile on his face while I blushed.

"Not as graceful as one, though," I mumbled. He chuckled.

"As long as I get to catch you," his voice dropped an octave and my heart patted in its cage, threatening to rip out of me. How did he still have this effect on me after all this time?

"Do they really have wooden blocks in the toes of them?" he asked, looking down and nodding towards the slippers I had on. I grinned at him, slowly trying to rise on my toes in true ballet fashion. Why I did, I'll never know. I suppose the part of me that liked to show off was itching to come out. I succeeded for a second, silently screaming at the wincing pain in my toes but I still managed to get all the way to the tip. Edward's face looked as if he was feeling the pain I was in. Of course, I was only able to last two seconds on my toes before I stumbled forward right into Edward's arms. I tried to balance myself as he held me upright, laughing.

"You did that on purpose."

I rolled my eyes, laughing at his accusation. Right, because I absolutely love falling all the time. One thing was for sure- never again will I try that.

We walked down the stairs hand in hand, Edward stopping me right before we got out the doors. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long piece of fabric. I eyed it warily.

"Excuse me, what do you plan on doing with that?" I asked him. He only smiled grandly at me.

"You trust me, right?" My mind noted how he meant to say it as a statement rather than a question. Maybe he knew me better than I thought.

"I do, but-"

"Then you'll believe me when I say I won't let you fall or get hurt and you'll just turn around so I can blindfold you, right?"

"That is the most dangerous thing you could ever ask me, you know," I said. I wasn't keen on blindfolds, and to add to the fact that I had no idea where he was planning to take me wasn't helping. I wanted to see step by step where we were heading.

"But you trust me," he said softly, his eyes pooling into mine. The dim light made them seem darker. If I could ever pull myself out of his trance it would be too late. I agreed, not fully aware of what exactly I was doing.

He gave me another smile before turning behind me a little. He gathered my hair and pushed it to the left side, bringing the cloth in front of my face and tying it securely behind my head. Everything was pitch black, and I was hoping if I could avert my eyes downward I could at least see my footing, but of course, I couldn't. I felt a slight change of breeze in front of my face, the only thing I could interpret it to be was Edward's hand waving in front of me to see if I could see or not. I laughed, it was so childish.

Satisfied I couldn't see, he readjusted my hair to fall behind me, and I felt his lips press lightly on the back of my head. I smiled to myself, a slow feeling of confidence erupting in me. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

He led me out the doors, minding me of steps or cracks with both of my hands in his. He stopped short, his hands leading me to touch something metallic and cold. I could only decipher it as a car. He opened the door, taking my hands back in his and told me to duck my head. I obliged and was soon sitting on a slick seat. He buckled my seatbelt and I waited patiently for him to open the door on my other side and get in. The engine purred to life, and I felt myself jerk forward a little from the car going in reverse.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Nope, just hold tight for a little. It's kind of a long ride," he said reassuringly. His hand intertwined with mine in my lap, and I couldn't help the smile that crept on my face. I hoped he didn't notice, from what I could feel of the speed of the car, he needed full attention to the road.

"I wonder if Alice is in a better mood yet," I wondered out loud.

"From what Jasper told me, I think Alice is going to be in an extremely better mood by tomorrow," he said with a laugh. Visions of defilement in the room I shared with Alice filled my head, and I scrunched my nose. I could only imagine how wide Alice's grin will be tomorrow.

"Please don't remind me," I said.

"Not like that, Bella, jeez. Jasper's a gentleman," he said with a scoff. I laughed.

"Gosh, you men are so quick to declare how pure and PG-rated your intentions are," I said sarcastically.

"That may be so, but you're the one assuming everything."

"I am not! You both made it seem like… like…," but I couldn't finish my thought. My cheeks flushed again. Edward's velvet laugh filled the car and his thumb was rubbing circles on mine. Suddenly I wanted to throw myself out of the car.

"He hasn't told me what he's planning for her anyway, just like someone else hasn't told me where we're going!" I tried changing the subject.

"Patience," he said with another beautiful laugh, I huffed.

I finally felt the car halt to a stop after about half an hour later. Instinctively, I turned my head both ways to hear any sounds, but I couldn't make anything out. I felt the outside breeze hit my leg as Edward opened my door, taking my hands again and leading me out. My other four senses heightened at the loss of sight temporarily, and I could smell wet earth from underneath me. Sure enough, we stepped onto wet grass and climbed uphill. I made a note in my head to get a new pair of ballet slippers for Alice; I knew the ones I had on would stain terribly.

We walked for about five minutes until he finally pulled me to a stop, in the distance I could hear soft orchestral music. My eyebrows furrowed automatically as I tried to figure out where I was.

"Okay, ready?" he asked me as I shook my head furiously.

I felt the cloth fall away from my face and I slowly opened my eyes, ready to adjust to any bright lights. I blinked a few times, and took in the sight around me. Off in the distance a little was an amphitheatre lit up with stage lights. The stage had a half circle of chairs and music stands set up, and the people sitting in them were all playing a soft piece. The audience was massive; I'd never seen so many people in one gathering. That's what small-town living does to a girl.

"I didn't find out about this until the day Jasper asked if we could give him and Alice some alone time, and by then all the tickets were sold out. But we still have the best seats," Edward said softly in my ear. I didn't realize I was smiling like an idiot. So he had brought me to a concert in the park, only someone like Edward would think of that.

"I agree, this is the best seat," I said as I turned to him, my fingers latched onto his again. He grinned down at me.

He knelt down to sit, and when I looked down I saw a thick blanket covering the grass underneath my feet. Edward had probably laid it out while I was still blindfolded. I followed suit, the tutu around me flowed out and hid my legs. It only then dawned upon me how ridiculous this getup was for a setting like this, and was certainly glad I wasn't sitting down in the amphitheatre below us.

My head rested on Edward's shoulder and his arm came around my waist. Although the music was a bit faint, it was still audible, and it was really beautiful. Kind of odd, though, considering it was Halloween. Perhaps I'd just been expecting something spooky.

I took in a deep breath of air and closed my eyes lazily. The music was already taking me to another place, and images of shapes and colors filled my head. I thought of a color and shape for every instrument I heard, each fighting for dominance, just like the music.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward's voice said in my ear. I hated it, usually, when people spoke to me when I was trying to listen to music, but Edward's voice only let my thoughts go even more untamed, almost as if I was intoxicated.

"The music," I said, although he plainly knew that already.

"What's it like?"

"I wish I could explain it, but it's always too hard to put into words. It's like… being a drug addict and getting locked in a chemical lab, or you know how depressed, single women eat ice cream all the time… like being one of them and then having ten tubs full of rocky road in the freezer. Or like being on top of a hill with that special someone on Halloween," I smirked, looking up at him for a reaction. His face showed understanding of what I meant, a light smile playing on his lips.

"You're truly remarkable sometimes," he said as he let out a breath.

"Only sometimes?" I poked.

"The rest of the time, you're too busy being amazing," he said with a laugh.

The remainder of the little concert was truly nice, and it was just a little amusing that the orchestra played "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Toccata and Fugue," both being Halloween-like songs. Edward and I trekked back down the hill, and my eyes fell upon a silver Volvo parked by the street. Almost instantly, I reached for his pockets and fished out his keys, running as best as I could to the driver's side of the car.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" his voice only half-serious. I grinned mischievously.

"I haven't driven for almost four months; I need to refresh my memory! And besides, you drive like a maniac, even when I couldn't see, I was gripping my seat out of fear," I said as I hurriedly got into the driver's seat before Edward could object. Thankfully he didn't, he merely shook his head and climbed into the passenger seat.

"You don't know how to get back," he said.

"That's okay, I have my own little map right here next to me," I said brightly, leaning over to place a kiss on his cheek. He silently fumed and gave in and I brought the engine to life.

We arrived back at the dorms in a much longer time frame; I hadn't realized Edward drove so fast. He led me back into the building and I noticed my heart gave a big leap as I remembered that I was staying with Edward tonight. He swung open the door and pulled me along inside. My nerves were jumbling around inside me.

Then another realization had dawned upon me- I forgot to get my pajamas.

Oh, this was absolutely amazing. How could I have been so stupid? I silently huffed at myself, figured there'd be no shame in asking Edward for a shirt or something. But with the way the conversation had been earlier, he'd probably think I was suggesting something. No, he won't, he'll clearly see that you forgot to bring extra clothes, stop thinking like an idiot!

Edward had grabbed a couple of articles of clothing from an open drawer and then headed off to the bathroom, which was a big relief on my part. I suppose if I just borrowed his clothing without really getting permission, he wouldn't mind. Quickly, I dug through the drawer, pulling out a shirt at the way bottom. I slipped it over my head, on top of my own top and swiftly, yet intricately, took of Alice's purple top underneath Edwards. How I did it without strangling myself, I'll never know. Lucky for me, Edward's shirt fell past my thighs, so even if I just took off the ridiculous tutu and stayed in the leotard's I'd be comfortably set. I rumpled Alice's clothes in a heap and threw them in a corner and finally sat down on Edward's bed to remove my slippers. They definitely had gotten a little muddy and were a bit soaked, but I could probably just clean them for Alice and make peace.

I finally pushed myself to the middle of Edward's bed and sat cross-legged. My mind ran over the day's events; I had gone out in public in a tutu all day long. Back at home, the very idea was ludicrous, but here it was… playful. Almost carefree. I liked it; it was a sense of finally fitting in, which I never felt in Forks. I wasn't exactly a social outcast, but I did have a hefty list of things that I had experienced without a friend really being there. Maybe being here was truly where I was meant to be.

Edward finally walked out of the bathroom dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and… no shirt. My eyes roamed over his pale, chiseled chest and I tried my best to not make it noticeable, but my cheeks gave me away.

"It seems as if my shirt has mysteriously disappeared," he said with a nod towards me; I had almost forgotten I had borrowed one of his as I followed his gaze down to my own garment. I tried my best to grin through my flush.

"I didn't suppose you'd mind since I forgot my own tonight," I said as he made his way to the edge of his bed. I didn't make any motion to move; I wanted to know his reaction first. Instead my eyes fought to stay on his face and not back down to his chest.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you about that earlier," he said smiling sheepishly, "I didn't see you with any extra clothes and I meant to tell you before we left, but you just seemed too eager to leave."

I dropped my hand into my hands, this time hoping to hide my tomato red cheeks. "I'm sure you have such a wonderful impression of me, now," I said sarcastically as I groaned. To my dismay, Edward only laughed. Then I felt my hands being peeled away from my face and a hand lifting my chin up to meet eye-to-eye with Edward's own emerald orbs. The color in my face drained only slightly as he smiled at me.

"No, I think you're a clumsy cellist with a knack for getting into awkward situations," he teased, but I knew he meant well by his words. I couldn't help but to laugh. Then slowly but surely, his face hovered only a mere millimeters away from mine, settling there as I breathed him in before he gently pressed his lips to mine. My arms instinctively flew around his neck, pulling him closer to me. He obliged, crawling closer and settling his hands around my waist. His mouth moved against mine for a few more blissful moments before he pulled away slightly to take in some air. I hadn't realized I was holding my own breath and suddenly oxygen was like sugar down my throat.

He smiled against my own lips before rolling off to the side, pulling out the covers from underneath him and me, throwing the top over both our heads. I scooted forward a little to lay back comfortably, my head hitting the pillow as Edward drew me closer to him. It wasn't dark enough, so I reached out from under the blanket to switch his table lamp off. As the room dimmed, my heart was suddenly lurching violently inside me, my stomach threatening to do cartwheels.

I could only barely make out Edward's face in the dark, my hand reaching up to trace his features. As my fingertips lightly touched the corners of his lips, I felt his hand enveloping mine, bending my fingers and pressing soft kisses on my knuckles.

"Its funny how this started out as a ploy to lighten Alice up, but I got the best end of the deal tonight," he said softly. I raised an eyebrow at him, although he probably couldn't see it.

"You seem awfully concerned about Alice, tonight," I poked. He chuckled lightly before moving closer to me to place another soft kiss on my lips.

"You're the only girl I'll ever be concerned about, Bella," he whispered. I couldn't say anything, my heart rose into my throat. Instead I wrapped my arms around him, desperate to snuggle against him as much as I could. My eyelids were already feeling heavy as every one of our limbs intertwined somehow, and before I knew it, I was off to dreamland, Edward right by my side.

Sleeping with Edward, in every literally and non-explicit sense of the word, brought us to a different level of closeness. I hadn't determined my feelings for Edward to be exceptionally running deep, but soon enough I found myself in a hole of emotions. Edward was too perfect for his own good and I'd never been in a serious relationship before. I wasn't used to this, even though being with Edward felt natural. I didn't have to pretend or act differently with him. It was just… comfortable. Even the smallest of kisses managed to shake me up, as if we kissed for the first time all over again. It was everything a romantic movie promised- fireworks, head spinning, blood level rising, and gag-inducing. I was becoming a sap, and I couldn't stop myself. I didn't want to stop myself; I wanted to stay by Edwards side, idly playing with his hand in mine, every waking second of every day. And the realization of these feelings scared me senseless, and brought me to a higher level of happiness. One that I never thought was possible.

Alice, as planned, was on cloud nine the entire week. I hadn't really bothered to ask her what Jasper had done for her that night, but she did figure out that Edward and I were in on it. She wasn't upset as I thought she'd be for keeping a secret from her, in fact, she even hugged me tightly when I walked back into our room the next morning (clad in her tutu, might I add).

That being so, Alice was definitely more approachable the entire week, and I was practically dancing with excitement as the opening night of Coppélia was creeping upon us. Alice had asked if I could volunteer myself to hand out programs about half an hour before the show, and being the good friend I am, I agreed. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the job required a uniform. Lucky for me it was all black, so I simply chose my concert attire- a sleek, spaghetti-strap black dress that required no help or assistance from Alice.

Friday came quickly, and I found myself getting ready at five o clock. I slipped the dress on as fast as I could before heading into the bathroom to see what I could do with my mop of hair. This was a moment I definitely wished I had Alice here. My hair fell in their natural waves, and I had no real experience with a curler to define them, so I didn't even risk the chance. Instead I opted to scrunch them up a little with hairspray- it didn't do much but it would do.

After about another half hour of primping, I finally headed out to the big theatre to meet Alice. She had been in dress rehearsal all day, and Edward had promised to meet up with me later, so my trek was lonely. I walked hurriedly to the double doors and into the hallway, going through another case of double doors and was met by ballerinas in frilly tutus and ballet music on stage. I found Alice easily, her hair being quite noticeable in a room full of blondes. I decided to linger back and watch rehearsal finish up. Alice never once noticed me until I called her when 6:15 rolled around and everyone was hurrying backstage to get into full costume. She ran up to me at full speed, squeezing me tightly.

"Wow, Bella, you look cute, and you didn't even need my help. It's a miracle!" she said. I swatted her arm.

"So I'm here, now where's my station?" I changed the subject on her. She pulled me back out the double doors to the hallway, situating me by the doorway as she swung it open.

"Stand here, and just make sure everyone gets one of these," she said, pointing to a bunch of large stacks of folded pink papers with "Coppélia" written across them in a fancy scrawl. "There'll be a few more people out here, but they'll come later."

As soon as Alice finished, there was a knock on one of the doors that led to the outside. Alice turned back to me with a smile on her face.

"First people to arrive, oh thank you so much for helping, Bella!" she exclaimed, bringing me into another tight embrace.

"Alice, it's no big deal!" I tried struggling out of her arms. The couple who had knocked were walking towards us, and it was my cue to hand them a program. The woman smiled at me, thanked us and went to take a seat.

"I have to go get into costume now; you'll be okay out here?" Alice asked me. I nodded with a smile.

"I think I got the hang of this job."

"Good, I'll see you later then!" she said as she bounced off to the dressing rooms.

I did my job dutifully, smiling brightly at everyone who walked in. Some I recognized from my classes, others were elderly people or parents of the dancers. At about 6:50, Edward walked in with Jasper. Both had definitely put effort into looking nice tonight, and I couldn't help but smile like an idiot as I noticed Edward had worn my favorite black shirt, his sleeves rolled up in his trademark fashion.

"Hey, Bella!" Jasper said, I could tell he was just as happy as Alice had been as was extremely proud of her. He had a small bouquet of roses in his hands, no doubt for after Alice's performance.

"Hey, I'm glad you two came a little early, I think you might need to save us some seats," I said with a nod towards the inside of the theatre. It had gotten pretty packed already.

"Yeah, I can see that, I'll see if I can find anything close to the stage," he said as he headed inside. I smiled after him before turning back to Edward, taking in the full sight of him. He was gazing back down at me, his eyes roaming all over my body. By the look on his face, I was extremely glad I had chosen to wear my dress tonight.

"You look beautiful," he said as his eyes made their way back up to meet mine.

"Thank you, you don't look too shabby yourself," I said, moving closer to place a small kiss on his lips. He lit up as he pulled away.

"I better go find Jasper; he's probably trying to beat down an old lady for front row seats. He's been bouncing up and down the entire time," he said with a shake of his head. I laughed and handed him a couple of programs.

"I'll see you in a bit," I said softly, not wanting to take my eyes away from him. Oh if only all these people weren't around. I went back to handing out programs for the remainder of the ten minutes.

As soon as I saw the clock strike seven, I dropped whatever papers were left in my hand on the table and headed in, making my way down towards the front knowing that's where Edward and Jasper would be. The theatre had dimmed, but after a few seconds of head searching, I finally found them in the middle of the second row.

I inched by people, careful not to step on anyone's toes and finally plopped down next to Edward, Jasper on his other side. He turned his head quickly to me and smiled, wrapping his hand around mine and threading our fingers together. Finally, the curtains pulled back and the audience clapped, but none clapped as hard as Jasper.

The ballet was sweeter than I had anticipated; Alice danced beautifully and Angela was the best doll-ballerina ever. I couldn't help but notice that every time the boy dancer, Franz, got too close to Alice, Jasper's knuckles would whiten as he gripped his seat a little more tightly. Edward and I only exchanged glances and silently laughed.

We went backstage to congratulate Alice and Angela briefly before leaving her and Jasper alone. Edward and I headed back to our rooms hand in hand.

The night had cooled down considerably, and I clung to Edward a little closer than normal to keep warm, cursing myself for forgetting a jacket. Edward wrapped his arm around me, bringing me right into his side. We walked in comfortable silence.

Sooner than I hoped, we were in front of my room again.

"Will you tell Alice I said congrats again for me?" Edward asked me and I nodded in response. He gave me one of his crooked smiles before drawing closer and kissing me with a little more than I had expected. He pulled away and I instantly breathed out; I always forget how to breathe when he does that.

His forehead rested on mine for a few moments before he whispered a goodnight to me, reluctant to pull away. I watched him make his way down the stairs before I turned around to the door to unlock it.

Just as I had jiggled the key and placed my hand on the knob, an icy voice hit my ears by the other side of the building.

"Hello, Bella."

A sense of dread that I hadn't felt in a while ran down my spine.