Chapter Twenty-Eight

Alice spent hours on my makeup and hair, and I still didn't know what the occasion was. She refused to tell me. All she told me was that she wanted me to enjoy every single moment of my life. She went on to tell me that she had been a vampire for years and couldn't remember her human life, so it was my duty to let her make my life memorable--every detail of it. She made it sound like she would cry if I didn't let her dress me up.

So I gave in on the matter. I sat on a stool we found in the attic. In the bathroom, she did my hair and makeup. Like before the party, she wouldn't let me see how I looked until she was done. In the third hour of my makeover, I started to become impatient. Alice wouldn't even let me see the colors she was using. Not my dress, which she repeatedly said was gorgeous, not my shoes or sweater or jewelry. It was frustrating, but Alice was enjoying herself, humming as she continued to curl my hair. So I tried to keep all my frustration bottled up other than tapping my foot impatiently.

Alice slipped a beautiful, rich blue dress over my head once she finally finished my hair. I was sure Dad would hate that it was a halter dress and showed half my back without the sweater. She handed me my sweater, played with my curls once more, and spun me around to look at myself. I cringed at how quickly I lost my balance. It was even worse with my stupid cast on.

The dress brought out my eyes. I'd never found a blue that complimented my eyes that way. I wore a new pair of Converse. Only my cast was on one leg. Alice smiled at me, like I imagined Mom would. Then she opened the door. I started downstairs where Dad was waiting with Edward.

They heard me clumping down the stairs. Charlie followed Edward to the bottom of the steps. Edward was dressed in a black suit, his tie loose around his neck. Dad leaned against the banister, obviously uncomfortable with the situation already. I smiled shyly at Edward when I reached the last step. My attention was on my cast. It looked horrible. "Uh..." I muttered. "Alice got me the dress," I told Dad, hoping it would help. He only nodded. Still awkward silence. "The cast is... the worst thing ever."

"You're perfect," Edward told me. He was trying to comfort me, but Charlie turned to glare at him. It made me want to laugh. Dad opened the door for us and I was sure he didn't want me to leave. "Can you give us a minute?" I asked Edward, and he left. I smiled at Dad, who smelled strongly of the cheap beer he always bought. I didn't know what to say and I didn't even know where I was going. Part of me hoped Edward would change me into a vampire that day. But I hadn't really asked him. More just hinted at it whenever we were alone. Charlie looked terrified, which told me he knew where Edward was taking me. So I was pretty sure he wasn't changing me, but I still hoped. "See ya," I said, and hurried out after Edward.

Edward opened my door for me. He was driving his Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. I smiled, but it made me nervous. The last time he drove that car, I broke up with him the next day. I didn't know if the party had anything to do with that though.

We started down the road in silence. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" I asked him.

"You've got three guesses," he told me with a grin.

I glared at him. Three guesses to find out where he was taking me. But by the time I came up with three reasonable guesses, we would be at our destination already at the speed Edward was going. But Alice seemed to think it was extremely important. She wanted me to enjoy the night and I promised I would, but it would be a hard promise to keep unless I figured out where we were going. And the way Edward didn't tell me, it made me think he, too, thought I would be angry about wherever we were going. I frowned suddenly, realizing the date and the time. "Prom," I whispered, remembering how long Alice and I spent helping our friends pick out their dresses. "You're taking me to prom," I concluded, not bothering to hide my annoyance.

Edward nodded and handed me a rose bracelet that had been hidden under his seat. I smiled, but prom wasn't exactly where I wanted to be. I usually didn't mind crowds and parties. But there was so many other places I would rather be with Edward. Exploring, hiking, talking as the sun set in the distance. But prom was still something I had always looked forward to. And now I was on my way to prom with Edward Cullen. Dressed in a beautiful dress with the most handsome boy ever and we pulled up in an Aston Martin. Naturally, everyone was staring.

Edward smiled at me gently--I must have looked terrified as I stepped out of the car, my hand in Edward's. He squeezed my waist, still gentle due to the recently broken ribs. "Don't worry. I won't let go of you," he promised, and he meant it. I knew he wouldn't let go of me. That helped my confidence slightly, but I was sure I would be the only person alive who could manage to fall over with him right next to me. Edward wouldn't let go of me, so I most likely wouldn't fall or break my other leg. Though I knew it was more than likely if Edward did let go of me.

"Don't look so shy," Edward instructed, smiling in that cocky way. He was torturing me and enjoying every moment of it. "It's prom. It's important. You should be so happy you can't stop smiling. Would it have helped if I picked you up in a limo?"

I glared at him. "No. I would be in a better mood if I'd been a little more prepared," I told him. "You never asked me if I wanted to go."

Edward grinned, tightening his grip on my waist as we walked towards the photographer. "I asked your dad," he explained. "He threatened me a lot in his thoughts. It's rather amusing actually. A cop's thoughts as his baby girl leaves for her first prom," Edward muttered. "But I'm glad you stayed for a few seconds. He finally finished his debate then."

"His debate?" I inquired, looking up at him.

Edward nodded. "He couldn't decide if he should trust me with you or not. After the whole thing with James and the supposed stair incident. He kept assuming I would get you pregnant this time. It wasn't in my plans, but I can appreciate why he would think that with what everyone's been thinking."

I hugged Edward's waist. I knew how much he hated his gift sometimes. He thought it was a curse. He was from a time when boys were taught to respect women. Now respect pretty much didn't exist. I felt sorry that he had to listen to everything. "How does it work exactly? Do you have to specifically listen to one person or what?"

"No, it's like everyone's shouting at me. Except you, of course. So they're all yelling at me and I have to listen to specific pieces of it usually."

"I'm not yelling at you. I wouldn't be anyway."

Edward laughed. "You'd be surprised," he muttered as we reached the photographer. At first, I refused to look or pose or anything. I hated having my picture taken just then. I was with Edward. I was safe with him. I wouldn't fall. My makeup and hair looked perfect. But ending up in the yearbook terrified me. I knew why--because Edward would remain beautiful and young forever while I would wither away into old age. He would never change--at least not physically--and I would look even worse next to him.

"Smile. It's not that hard," Edward instructed, sounding annoyed at the delay. He honestly thought he would be able to get me into a room and dance. Ha!

I looked at him, annoyed, but I managed to smile. It was harder than he thought it was. I wore leggings with lace around the bottom, a gorgeous blue dress, a shrug, and my Converse. I looked good. Even I would admit it, but after I spent so much time with the Cullens, there was no way I would look at myself in the same way. I looked nice. I looked like myself, only more shy. I stood out, but I was afraid it was because I was with Edward. I would never be that beautiful until I was a vampire.

Once inside, I scanned the ground for my friends to see who exactly went with who. Jessica was with Mike. They looked great together! Laughing and dancing like Edward wanted me to. Hell, no! Angela and Eric were dancing and they looked happy together. In love. Lauren and Ben were the same. I turned to Edward then. He looked just about as uncomfortable as I felt. I smiled at him as if I was Alice comforting--and encouraging--Jasper. My hand rested on Edward's chest, he walked me to the side of the dance floor. I grimaced at the thought of me dancing, but Edward made up his mind already.

He put a firm hand on my back for at least three reasons. A first, to make sure he was still holding on to me in order to keep his promise. A second, because he wanted to prevent me from falling. And a third, because it was probably obvious I was ready to run out of the room, even though my cast prevented me from going anywhere quickly.

"So..." Edward said with my favorite crooked grin. He started moving gracefully, leading me clumsily with him.

"Can I cut in?" someone asked. I realized it was Jake and frowned. If you ruin this, Alice will kill you, I thought, and I had no doubt that was true. But Edward handed me over to Jake reluctantly. I wondered why he seemed so angry. It wasn't because of the stupid treaty. It was something else for that time anyway.

"So are you crashing prom?" I asked, suddenly terrified because Edward was twenty feet away getting a drink. For me, I assumed.

"No. My dad paid me to come talk to you," Jacob replied, looking embarrassed. "Twenty bucks."

I laughed. "Okay. You look really nice."

"You too. I like the cast too." Jake stopped when he caught my glare. "Dad wants you to break up with your boyfriend. Dating a leech isn't a good idea. You should dump him. But I know by now you're too damn stubborn for that, so we'll be watching. If the treaty is broken, his whole family will pay for it."

I nodded. "We know. And nothing will happen. I trust Edward, okay? But tell Billy thanks. And to pay up," I said because I knew any money would go to finishing his car. I knew how badly he wanted to finish it. Even if it annoyed me that Jacob cut into my dance with Edward, I could be nice. Jacob grinned and handed me back to Edward, glaring furiously at him. I smiled a little. Edward gave me a can of Dr. Pepper with a straw and I laughed at the look on his face. "What?"

"The wolves descend," he muttered. "He made me let go of you."

I laughed. "So I'll hold a grudge against him, not you. And luckily, he didn't let me fall."

Edward nodded. "You wanna get out of here?" he asked, but he didn't need an answer. I took a huge gulp of my soda, then set it down and followed him outside. He stopped under the lights on a tree where we could be alone. He smiled. "What are you thinking?" he asked, lifting me so I was standing on his feet. And he started dancing again. "You're dancing," he said in a musical voice.

"At prom," I added with a shy smile. "I'm thinking about James. If you'd just let the venom spread, I would be like you now. We wouldn't have to be careful. We'd be together forever. Just how we are."

"Timberlee, you don't know anything about newborn vampires or what we deal with. If you changed, you would be out of control. You couldn't see your friends or your family. We would have to lock you up somewhere. We would all have to move and then it would be obvious who you were with to your father. Your eyes would change color. To red first. Not topaz."

"I don't care. You would help me."

"No. I'm not going to end your life. You have too much to live for."

"I want to be like you. I asked Alice and she said she saw me like you, with you forever. So why don't you just change me now?"

"You dream of being a monster?"

"No. I dream of being with you forever."

"Are you ready then right now?" Edward asked me. I could only nod as he dipped me, bending over my tiny frame. He was smiling, but I didn't know why. Before, he had refused. I expected to argue about it until I was old. I knew what I would become--a vampire. I knew how to become one--a single bite. I knew the pain--an excruciating burn that slowly spread through my veins. I knew what I would thirst for--blood. I knew all the pros and cons of it. I knew what they had told me and what I had read. I knew how hard it was for Edward to stop once he tasted my blood, but he did before. I knew I would be awkward and struggle like Jasper. But I didn't care. I had my dream, my wish. I wanted to be sixteen forever and to have Edward by my side every second of forever.

Edward's cold skin touched my neck and my heart accelerated. I wasn't nervous. I was ready. I wanted my dream to come true. One hand on my neck, the other on my back, Edward leaned in closer. His breath was on my neck and it was faster than usual--like he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop this time. I trusted him though.

I closed my eyes, but there was no pain. The touch was so gentle. It tickled a little. He kissed me, then pulled back. He looked me in the eyes with a grin. He thought this was funny. "You didn't really think I would give in that easily, did you?" he asked quietly, sounding so amused at his little joke. It was like he thought I didn't mean it. I did want that. I always would.

I shrugged as we straightened up. "A girl can dream," I said softly.

"And you dream of being a blood thirsty animal?"

I nodded because arguing the animal part wouldn't serve a purpose. "If that's what I have to become to be with you forever, not just for the rest of my life. I'm dying. Right now. Every second, I get closer."

"That's how it's supposed to be." Edward saw how my face fell. I shrunk back into his arms, still holding me close. He smiled, touching my cheek. "Isn't it enough to live a long and happy life with me now?" he asked.

I nodded. "For now," I whispered as we continued to dance, me still standing on his feet.

No one will surrender tonight. But I know what I want. I want to be with Edward forever. And I will fight for it, fight until I win or until I die. I know what I want. And I won't give in.

The End

A/N: I have my own versions of New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, and two additions the series. I will definitely be posting those very soon.