Thank you, Lisa and Rags, for being great betas.

This is coming to an end, by the way.

February 24th, 2012

"Who's going to this thing again?"

"Emma, Angela – of course – me, Jacob, Serena, Pete, Gabriel and Sabrina," Emmett says.

I don't like this lipstick. I wish Kate was home to help me with this.

"Hey, Em, which lipstick color should I go with – pink or red?" I ask, pursing my lips at the mirror. No, brown is definitely not my color. I look emo.

"What the fuck do I know?" he replies, laughing. I hear him talking on the phone with someone. It must be Angela.

"Fine. I'll text Kate then. She'll know what to do."

*.-.*.-.*

I'm ready half an hour later, and Emmett's bugging me to move along. I don't know why, but I want to look good tonight. Or maybe I know why, and that scares me a little.

"It's just dinner with friends. Why do you have to be all dressed up?"

I scoff. "You don't know what you're saying. Your girlfriend is thin as a stick and her hair is straight. She doesn't have to do what I have to do to look good."

"Damn right, she doesn't," he replies, earning himself a smack on the shoulder.

He suddenly stops on the way to his car, turning to me with a serious expression on her face. "Are you sure you're okay with Jacob being there?"

"Sure. I don't get why Angela would invite him of all people, but I don't have a problem with him."

He frowns, getting in the car. I follow him and get in the passenger's seat, quickly putting my seatbelt on. I turn on the radio, and "Wonderwall" is on. It's been a while since I've heard this song.

"But I thought you were okay?" he says, starting the ignition.

"We were, until he started dating that Ellen girl. I knew it was inevitable, but still… Kate was devastated."

He looks quickly at me but says nothing.

"What? You want to say something; I can tell."

"I don't get it. They were at it a couple of weeks, one month tops. Why so much drama?" he asks, clearly confused.

I sigh and rest my head on the window. "He's made a real impact on her. I sort of get it," I say, immediately thinking about Edward.

"How come?"

I look at him and arch an eyebrow.

"You mean Edward?" he asks nonchalantly.

"Yeah, Edward."

He's silent for a moment and pulls into the parking lot. This restaurant is beautiful at night with all the torches and the rich smell coming from the beach.

"I thought you two were a thing," he says out of nowhere, turning off the radio.

I quickly turn to him, a little bit alarmed. "What? Are you insane?"

"Jacob mentioned that you and Edward had coffee the other day, so I thought…"

"After everything that happened, you immediately thought that just because I had coffee with him that we were a thing?" I ask, getting extremely angry. "We had coffee because I had no choice, Emmett. It wasn't exactly a date."

"Okay, I got it," he replies as he turns off the ignition. "Let's go eat," he says, getting out of the car.

I sigh and get out too, even if my appetite is gone.

"Look," I start, turning to him, "You know me, right? Just because I'm talking to him to see if I can move on doesn't mean that I want to date him."

"Then what do you want? You don't see me talking to Rosalie or even tracking her down," he says, staring at me blankly.

"You wouldn't want to do that," I warn him quietly.

"Why not? Do you know something I don't?"

"She's a mom now. She's a single mother with two kids, and she works at some bar. That's all I know."

He scoffs, looking at me incredulously. "That's all you know? You know more than I do, that's for sure."

What a nice way to start the evening.

"You know what I think?" he says, his voice lower. "You still have feelings for him, and this date you had with him isn't going to be the only one."

I sigh, muttering under my breath, "Whatever."

"I'm going inside. My girlfriend is waiting for me."

*.-.*.-.*

Twenty minutes later, I enter the restaurant. I'm getting ready to tell Angela that I'm feeling indisposed, when she hugs me and practically forces me to sit down.

Emmett is forcing a smile of his own, and I see everyone is already drinking something. I greet them and notice that Jacob hasn't arrived yet. Serena, a redheaded girl from UW who doesn't seem to like me very much, makes small talk with me.

"Do you know what you're majoring in yet?" she asks, pursing her very red lips at me.

"I'm thinking journalism, but I'm still undecided."

I see Emmett looking at the door, and I immediately follow his gaze. I gasp and my heartbeat accelerates, making me look down. The newcomers both take their time to get to our table, and it seems like an eternity.

"Hey, everyone," I hear Jacob say. "Sorry we're late."