Epilogue: Prom
I was lost. I had no idea where I was, and I was cursing Jared's name. I was literally shaking with anger.
"Mel!" Jared called from behind me. "What the hell are you thinking?!"
"Go away!" I snapped, moving forward. Well, limping forward, I still had the stupid cast on my leg.
"Come on Mel," he said. "You're being stupid."
He was still following me so I whirled around to face him. "You are the one who brought me out here in the first place. I don't want to see your face right now, okay? You pissed me off pulling that little stunt, and when Paul finds out…"
"Mel, stop," he said. "This is insane. I know the way to Emily's, Paul is probably worried sick about you. He and Sam are probably there. Please let me take you there."
"I don't need your help," I practically growled.
"I will carry you there," he warned.
I limped away from him. I heard him running behind me. He grabbed me, and spun me around to face him.
"Let go of me," I commanded, trying to pull my arm away from him, but he had grabbed my bad arm, so it was basically useless.
"No," he growled.
"Let go of her, Jared," warned a husky voice from behind us, which prompted Jared to let go of me right away; I spun around to see Paul and Sam emerging from the trees. Paul's face was absolutely thunderous, while I couldn't quite read the expression on Sam's face. I limped over to Paul, and he wrapped one of his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. I breathed in his scent and relished in the warmth of him.
"What you did was unacceptable," Sam said to Jared.
Jared hung his head. I found Paul's hand, and squeezed it, he squeezed mine back. I felt the anger ease out of me slightly. Only slightly though.
"Apologize," Sam commanded.
"I'm sorry," Jared mumbled, not meeting our eyes. I didn't look at him, neither did Paul. I didn't want to see his face right now.
"Come on," Paul snapped. He was still angry, I could tell. Hell, I was angry too. I knew Paul wasn't angry with me, but I knew better than to talk about it to get him angrier.
I started to limp away from him, but I was lifted off the ground. Paul was carrying me home. I was in Paul's arms, and I was right where I wanted to be. I snuggled close to him. He took me back to our apartment, and didn't even mention Jared. I had a feeling he didn't want to talk about him just as much as I didn't.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled once we were lying in bed together.
He gave me a weird look. "What are you sorry for?"
"For what just happened," I said, looking away from him.
He turned my face back to his. "It isn't your fault."
"But now because of me…" I trailed off.
"Hey, it's okay. This has nothing do with you–" At my look he hesitated. "Okay…it does have a lot to do with you, but what he did today isn't your fault, Mel. He knew that you didn't want to go out there with him, but he just didn't seem to care. That isn't your fault, and I'm not angry with you."
I took a deep breath. "I know but…I still feel bad."
"I have a surprise for you," he murmured, obviously wanting to change the subject and get his mind off of Jared. "But you can't have it yet."
"How is that any fun?" I pouted.
"Because," he said with a wicked grin.
A few weeks passed, and he still hadn't given me my surprise. I sighed; walking around the school was really no fun with all the prom posters up. One day after school, Alice was waiting for me in my car. She didn't say a word, just started driving.
"Where are we going?" I asked. She didn't answer, so I whined, "Alice!"
"If I tell you, you'll probably jump out of the car," she said. I crossed my arms tightly over my chest, and made a face at her. This was notfun. She pulled into the parking lot of a mall somewhere in Seattle. We hadn't been to this one before. Wow, she drove fast. It never ceased to amaze me how quickly she could get places. She dragged me into a dress store where Rosalie was already waiting.
"No, Alice!" I complained. "I am not going to prom!"
"Oh yes you are!" her and Rosalie said at the same time.
"Who am I going with?" I asked.
"You'll see," Alice sang. I glowered at both of them and Rosalie smirked at me. Rosalie and Alice raced through the store picking out a bunch of different dresses for me to try on. I didn't even bother trying to follow them, so I just sat down and waited.
The first one was pink and strapless. It went just past my knees, and had black lace around my stomach area. It was nice. But I really wasn't a pink girl.
"We can get it in a different colour," Alice promised.
The next one was baby blue, with thick straps, and it went to the floor. I liked it...but it wasn't it. The next one was a dark red colour, it went to my knees, and had a pink bow around the waist. Not one of those huge bows, but a nice slim ribbon tied at the end. I liked everything about it–especially how the colour looked against my skin–except for the bow. The next one was black, but in the same style as the red one, without the bow. I really liked it. I think it was my favourite one.
"Okay, which one?" Alice asked when I was back in my regular clothes.
Rosalie grinned. "Can't you see which one she's going to choose?"
"Yeah, but you can't!" Alice complained. "Nice choice, Mel."
"Thanks," I muttered. Rosalie looked at me expectantly. "Oh, the black one."
"Ooooh!" she cooed. "That one looked amazing against your skin!"
"Now, we have to look for Bella's!" Alice exclaimed. Rosalie rolled her eyes and I tried to mask the giggle that threatened to escape from me. We found it. It was absolutely gorgeous…but apparently it was the wrong colour.
"This is perfect," Alice gasped, marveling at the fabric of it.
"Edward's favourite colour on her is blue, remember?" Rosalie said.
Alice pursed her lips. I was still staring in awe at the thing. It was deep purple. It was frilly, and its sleeves went off the shoulders of it, and had draping sleeves that gathered at the wrists. In front it was cut in a way that you could see the different layers of fabric, which got lighter with every layer in the bodice.
"Excuse me?" Alice asked a clerk. "Do you have this in blue?"
"Let me check," she said in a nasally voice, staring wide-eyed at Rosalie and Alice, then looking at me, and cocking an eyebrow. I made a face at her receding form. Alice looked like she was about to faint. I felt like she should be fanning herself if that were necessary for vampires. She got very into her shopping.
"If they don't have it…" she muttered in annoyance.
"Can't you just look?" I asked. She stood still for a moment, concentrating hard on something, then her brow furrowed.
"She's going to come out here, and tell us she doesn't have it," she growled.
"Go in there!" Rosalie urged. Alice sprinted in there, this was obviously an emergency.
Rosalie smiled. "She's giving the clerk hell back there." I held onto my dress, shifting on my feet. "What's wrong?" Rosalie asked me.
"Nothing, it's just…" I cleared my throat. "You guys shouldn't have to pay for this."
She laughed. "It's the least we can do."
"Are you going?" I asked. She looked confused, so I specified, "To prom, I mean."
"Of course!" she exclaimed. "Alice and I already have our dresses."
"What do they look like?" I asked.
"Well, mine is red, it has no back, and cuts down to my waist in the front, and has a huge billowing skirt. Alice's is black with geometric cut-outs that show a bit of skin."
"Wow," I breathed. "Those sound wonderful."
Rosalie smiled. "Thank you."
Alice came out of the back of the store then, with a deep blue dress in her arms and a triumphant grin on her face. The saleswoman came out a few seconds later, looking absolutely terrified. I almost wanted to ask what Alice had said to her, but her grin made me think not to. Alice grinned at us. She pulled my dress away from me, and went to the counter to pay. I sighed. I didn't like that the Cullens insisted on paying for things for me.
"When is prom, anyway?" I asked. Rosalie stared at me. "What?"
"Mel, it's tomorrow," she said.
"What?! No!" I said. "It can't be!"
"Well, it is," she said. "Alice wanted to come shopping with you sooner, but your wolf wouldn't let you out."
This was impossible. "I'm not ready!" I screeched.
"You will be," she smiled. "We're getting our nails done, and you're sleeping at our house tonight."
"I need to call Paul." I said.
"He already knows," she promised. Oh, so he was in on this? I was going to kill him next time I saw him.
Alice came over to us. "Now we need shoes!"
I groaned. We actually found a nice pair, they were black and strapped. There were stilettos. Of course.
"What about Bella's?" I asked.
"I'm not sure of her size," Alice said. "I'll bring her here tomorrow."
We drove to the Cullens' massive home. Well, Alice drove. I sat in the back. I was still shocked at the magnitude Cullens home. I couldn't get over how huge it was–and how open it was!
Alice pushed me up to her bedroom.
"Ooh, I could give you a French manicure!" she trilled excitedly.
I looked at my nails. "They're not long enough."
She rolled her eyes. "I have acrylics."
"If you want, I don't care," I said with a shrug. "Do whatever you want."
"Tips it is," she said. "Besides, I wouldn't want to paint your nails black, it would be too much black. Your hair, your dress, your heels…it'd just be too much" I sighed as she put the fake nails on my nails. Okay, they did look great. She then insisted on painting my toes black, and added little designs in silver to my big toes.
"Thank you so much, Alice," I breathed. "They're gorgeous."
She grinned.
"What about your nails?" I asked.
"I'm getting them done tomorrow, with Bella, so that we can buy her shoes," she said. "I need to keep it a surprise that she's going to prom."
I laughed. "Like you did with me?"
"Exactly."
"Alice, who's my date?" I pestered her. "Paul can't come over the border; you and I both know that. And I don't want to go with anyone else."
"You'll see," she said, a wicked grin lighting her face. I groaned as she pursed her lips. "How should we do your hair?"
"Curls?" Rosalie asked, coming into the room. "Big curls would look nice."
Alice nodded. "Will you do that while I'm out with Bella tomorrow?"
"Sure, I'll make Emmett and Jasper help me," she grinned.
"Oh! You need food, don't you?" Alice addressed me.
I laughed. "Yeah, I sort-of do."
"Come with me," she commanded.
I followed her to the Cullens' kitchen. "Edward!" she yelled. I knew it was just for fun, he could probably hear us talking from down here when we had been upstairs.
"What?" he asked, facing the stove.
"Mel needs food. Are you still cooking?" she asked.
"Yes," he said, and turned to smile at me. "I want to cook for Bella tomorrow night; do you think you could test it for me? I wouldn't know if it tastes good or not."
"Sure," I said, and sat down. He handed me a plate of food, and it was really good. It was chicken parmigiana and spaghetti. "This is amazing, Edward!"
"Thank you," he smiled. "I've been practising."
"No problem," I said, continuing to eat. Alice was watching my nails worriedly. "I won't break them, Alice. I'll be careful. I promise."
"You better be," she growled.
Edward laughed. "You are one feisty little monster."
"Shut up," she said.
Jasper came in then; he smiled at me, and wrapped his arm around Alice's waist. I returned his smile. They looked so happy together; it was like they fit together like a puzzle. For the rest of the night, I helped Alice arrange things for Bella's arrival for tomorrow, and helped Alice lay out all of her hair products and makeup. It took us the whole night! I collapsed onto a bed, I wasn't even sure whose it was, but it was comfy.
I woke up to Rosalie scowling over my head.
"We don't have much time!" she exclaimed. "Alice can do everything for Bella in an hour, but you need to be out of here before she gets here."
"Why?" I asked, still drowsy.
"Someone wants to take you out," she smiled. I glanced at the clock, it was noon.
"What time are Bella and Alice getting here?" I asked.
"Three o'clock," she said.
I took a deep breath. I was still half asleep. "Let's get ready." Rosalie washed my hair, and used nice smelling shampoo, it was grapefruit and mint. It smelled really good, and the feeling of Rosalie's fingers on my scalp was making me drowsy all over again. she was really good at washing hair.
"Do you normally have many knots or tangles in your hair?" she asked.
"Not really," I said. "It may be long, but it doesn't tangle very much."
She bit her lip, and then muttered something that sounded like, "Well, just in case," and proceeded to comb some yellow goo through my hair. She started drying my hair, and then called for Esme. Even with the two of them, it wasn't going fast enough. She had to call Jasper and Emmett to help. Emmett was cracking jokes the whole time. He was making fun of my human-ness.
"Are you as clumsy as Bella?" he asked, trying to hold back laughter.
"Hardy har har," I said dryly. "I actually don't trip that much." He laughed, and I swear it rocked the entire house. After my hair was dry, Emmett and Jasper made their escape. Esme and Rosalie put big hot rollers in my hair.
"Let's get you dressed," she said.
We got the dress on, and I have to admit, I did look really good. Rosalie sprayed some good smelling perfume in the room. She pushed me back to the bathroom, and took the rollers out. My hair looked really good. They were nice curls, not poufy, frizzy curls that I normally got when I tried curling it.
Rosalie looked into my eyes. "Green eyes." She murmured, and then found liquid eyeliner that was a purplish brownish colour. Apparently it would make my eyes look even greener.
"You don't need much makeup," she said. "Your skin is very fair."
She put some dark red lipstick on my lips, then helped me into my shoes, yes, she had asked Carlisle if my ankle cast could come off. He had examined it and let me take it off last night.
"Now what?" I asked, wobbling a bit in my heels.
"I need to drive you…somewhere," she said cryptically.
"Somewhere?" I asked. "Where?"
"Wait and see," she grinned. I got into her shiny red BMW convertible. She drove me to a restaurant.
"Go inside, someone will be waiting at the door for you," she advised. I went inside and there stood my wolf in a black tux. I smiled shyly at him. How had I not anticipated this? He held his hand out for me, and I took it.
"Reservation for, uh, Cullen," he said, clearing his throat.
"Alice arranged this?" I hissed.
"Yep," he said, looking very uncomfortable about that. We ate dinner together–well; it was more like a late lunch-early dinner. After we were finished, he helped me into his car, and drove to the school.
"You're not supposed to be here," I smiled.
"Alice granted me permission," he said, wincing slightly as he said her name. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Would they ever get along?
I grinned at him as he helped me into the school, considering my shoes were slowly starting to kill me. We go to where the dance floor was, and Paul started dancing with me. Of course, he led; I wasn't even close to stable enough to move in these damn heels. Other couples were dancing around us, but then the Cullens came in.
Alice and Rosalie looked absolutely gorgeous in their dresses, and the boys looked equally handsome on the girls' arms. As soon as the Cullens came to the dance floor and started twirling elegantly, the other couples all automatically left, and leaned against the walls. I tried to follow suit, but Paul held on tight, and Alice elbowed me from behind. I knew I wasn't going anywhere for a while. I blushed a lot, not liking the fact that everyone was looking at us.
Well, they probably weren't looking at us, just at the Cullens. Paul twirled me, and to my horror, everyone was staring at us, jaws slack. None of them knew who he was–he was basically a stranger to them. I felt my face heat even more. I needed to get off the dance floor.
"I'm thirsty," I murmured. Paul danced us off the dance floor, and led us to the refreshment table. I felt eyes on me the whole way there. Jessica was staring at me so I stared right back at her. She didn't look happy. Well, neither was I. She was staring at us without shame, and I didn't like that. Mike's face was angry, and also a little bit jealous. Hmm…maybe he and Jessica were having problems. Or…were they still together? I couldn't remember–and I really didn't care enough to think about it.
Bella and Edward came in then, and when she saw everyone standing at the walls, I could tell she just wanted to leave. I really didn't blame her. She looked absolutely mortified. Paul and I had a pretty good night, by the end of the night people started leaking onto the dance floor again. Jessica shot lots of jealous looks in my direction. At the end of the night, Paul drove us home.
"Thank you," I said, holding his hand as we walked through the front door of the apartment.
"For what?" he asked.
"For…" I hesitated. What was I thanking him for? There was so much he had done for me. I don't think I'd ever be able to thank him enough. I loved him so much. I never wanted to be away from him. I never wanted anything to come between us. I knew that someday something would happen that would separate us, but I didn't want to think about that. whether it was Jared, or vampire-wolf drama, or whatever it was, I knew that there would be something in the future that would bring us apart, but I didn't linger on it for too long. Right now, he and I were together and we were happy. Nothing could change that. "For everything."
He didn't say anything; he just grasped my face in his hands and kissed me.
Life with my wolf was pretty good. And I would never ask for anything more.
AN: This isn't the last chapter of the story. This story is separated into four separate books like the Twilight series is, so this is the end of what would be the "Twilight book". Next will be New Moon, then Eclipse, and then Breaking Dawn and it will all be posted in the same story file on this site.