ELSA'S POV

Anna helped me into her car, being very careful of my bulky walking cast. She ignored the put out expression on my face.

When she had me settled, she got in the driver's seat and headed back out the long, narrow drive.

"So are you ever going to tell me what's going on?" I asked. I wasn't overly fond of surprises and, as much as I enjoyed being with Anna, I would rather be in my bed right now.

"I'm shocked that you haven't figured it out yet." She threw a mischievous smile in my direction, and my breath caught in my throat.

"I did mention that you looked very nice, didn't I?" I verified.

"Yes." She grinned again. I'd never seen her dress in ice before, and, with the contrast against her pale skin, her beauty was absolutely surreal. That much I couldn't deny, even if the fact that she was wearing a forest green tuxedo made me very nervous. Even if the slim cut of it did make her look absolutely amazing.

Not quite as nervous as the deep blue dress I was in. Or the exceedingly expensive shoe. Only one shoe, as my other foot was still securely incased in plaster. But this beautiful, leather shoe wasn't going to help me as I tried to hobble around. I could barely walk in sneakers.

"I'm not coming over anymore if Alice is going to treat me like her own personal Barbie doll when I do," I griped. I'd spent the better part of the day in Alice's staggeringly vast bathroom, a helpless victim as she played hairdresser and stylist. Whenever I fidgeted or complained, she reminded me that she didn't have any memories of being human, and asked me not to ruin her vicarious fun. She had put some loose setting product in my hair and gently styled it back, my hair was getting rather long for me and she considered cutting it for a moment before decided that the medium length curls looked 'rather adorable,' in her words. Then she had me put on the most expensive looking dress I had ever seen in my life. It was perfectly tailored to my body and extremely comfortable. I couldn't help but think I looked good—maybe more appropriate for a fashion magazine than Forks—but still damn good.

I was distracted then by the sound of a phone ringing. Anna pulled her cell phone from a pocket inside her jacket, looking briefly at the caller ID before answering.

"Hello, Agnarr," she said warily.

"Agnarr?" I frowned.

Agnarr had been… difficult since my return to Forks, and justifiably so. He had compartmentalized my bad experience into two defined reactions. Toward Frederic he was almost worshipfully grateful. On the other hand, he was stubbornly convinced that Anna was at fault—because, if not for her, I wouldn't have left home in the first place. And Anna was far from disagreeing with him. These days I had rules that hadn't existed before: curfews… visiting hours.

Something Agnarr was saying made Anna's eyes widen in disbelief, and then a grin spread across her face.

"You're kidding!" She laughed.

"What is it?" I asked.

She didn't answer. "Why don't you let me talk to him?" Anna suggested with evident pleasure. She waited for a few seconds.

"Hello, Tyler, this is Anna Cullen." Her voice was very friendly, on the surface. I knew it well enough to catch the soft edge of menace. What was Tyler doing at my house? The awful truth began to dawn on me. I looked again at the fancy dress Alice had forced me into.

"I'm sorry if there's been some kind of miscommunication, but Elsa is unavailable tonight." Anna's tone changed, and the threat in her voice was suddenly much more evident as she continued. "To be perfectly honest, she'll be unavailable every night, as far as anyone besides myself is concerned. No offense. And I'm sorry about your evening." She didn't sound sorry at all. And she hung up the phone, a huge smirk on her face.

My face and neck flushed crimson with embarrassment.

She looked at me in surprise. "Was that last part a bit too much? I didn't mean to offend you."

I ignored that.

"You're taking me tothe prom!" My voice sounded panicky.

It was completely obvious now. If I'd been paying any attention at all, I'm sure I would have noticed the date on the posters that decorated the school buildings. But I'd never dreamed she was thinking of subjecting me to this. Didn't she know me at all?

She wasn't expecting my reaction, that was clear. She pressed her lips together. "I'm sorry, Elsa, please don't be angry."

My eyes flashed to the window; we were halfway to the school already.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I demanded.

He gestured to my dress and her suit. "Honestly, Elsa, what did you think we were doing?"

"You never tend to do things casually, for all I knew we were getting milkshakes and you thought we should dress up." I glared.

"Touché."She smirked.

"Oh god, this is awful." I sighed.

"Why are you so upset?" She demanded in frustration.

"Because I didn't want to go to prom!"

"Elsa." She turned the full force of her scorching golden eyes on me.

"What?" I muttered.

"Humor me," she insisted.

Her eyes were melting away my fury. It was hard to argue with her when she cheated like that.

"Fine," I glared. "I'll go. But you'll see. I'm way overdue for some bad luck. I'll probably break my other leg! This fancy shoe doesn't have any traction! Look at it!" I held out my good leg as evidence.

"Hmmm." She looked me up and down, approvingly. "Remind me to thank Alice for dressing you up so nicely tonight. I am quite fond of that color on you."

"Alice is going to be there?" That comforted me slightly.

"With Jasper, and Cassandra… and Rapunzel," she admitted.

The feeling of comfort disappeared. There had been little to no progress with Rapunzel, despite our phone conversation in the hospital. However, I was on excellent terms with Cassandra. she enjoyed having me around—she thought my bizarre human reactions were hilarious, and she loved when I told Anna off for her temper. Cassandra had even bought me a set of weights as a 'Get Well' present and was carefully showing me how to use them without hurting myself. Her hope being that the next time I was in danger I could put up a better fight.

Rapunzel, on the other hand, acted as if I didn't exist. While I shook my head to dispel the direction my thoughts had taken, I thought of something else.

"Is Agnarr in on this?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Of course." She grinned, and then chuckled. "Apparently Tyler wasn't, though."

I rolled my eyes. How Tyler could be so delusional, I couldn't imagine. At school, Anna and I were inseparable—except for those days rare sunny days.

We were at the school now; Rapunzel's red convertible was conspicuous in the parking lot. The clouds were thin today, a few streaks of sunlight escaping through far away in the west.

She got out and walked around the car to open my door. She held out her hand.

I sat stubbornly in my seat, arms folded, my face resolute.

She sighed. "When someone wants to kill you, you're brave as a lion—and then when someone mentions dancing…" she shook her head.

I gulped. Dancing.

"Anna, I won't let anything hurt you—not even yourself. I won't let go of you once, I promise."

I thought about that and suddenly felt much better. She could see that in my face.

"There, now," she said gently, "it won't be so bad." She leaned down and wrapped one arm around my waist. I took her other hand and let her lift me from the car.

She kept her arm tightly around me, supporting me as I limped toward the school.

In Phoenix, they held proms in hotel ballrooms. This dance was in the gym. When we got inside, I couldn't help but giggle. There were actual balloon arches and twisted garlands of pastel crepe paper festooning the walls.

"This looks like a horror movie waiting to happen," I snickered.

"Well," she muttered as we slowly approached the ticket table—she was carrying most of my weight, but I still had to shuffle and wobble my feet forward—"There are more than enough vampires present."

I looked at the dance floor; a wide gap had formed in the center of the floor, where a beautiful couple whirled gracefully. The other dancers pressed to the sides of the room to give them space—no one wanted to stand in contrast with such radiance. Jasper was intimidating and flawless in a classic tuxedo as he spun Alice around the floor in her striking black satin dress with geometric cutouts that bared large triangles of her snowy white skin.

Cassandra stood near the dance floor grinning widely, looking very Beautiful in her own classic tuxedo. She waved at us when she saw us. Rapunzel stood near her looking… well, like Rapunzel. If I thought I looked like I belonged in a fashion magazine, Rapunzel looked like she belonged on the cover. Her deep pink dress was perfectly tailored—accentuating her small waist against her slender shoulders. Her long blond hair was loose and fell to her shoulders. I pitied every girl in the room who might compare themselves to her, and felt just as bad for every guy in the room who was gazing at her longingly.

"Do you think if I threw myself into the sound system it would end the prom?" I whispered.

She laughed, "Anything to get out of dancing."

"Anything."

She bought our tickets, then turned me toward the dance floor. I cringed against her arm and dragged my feet.

"I've got all night," she smiled.

"Okay, can I be honest a second?" I finally sighed, "I'm a terrible dancer, sure—I'm clumsy as hell—but… I've never danced with a girl." I could feel the panic rising. "And this is Forks, after all. Maybe I can be affectionate with you at school when no one is looking… but dancing at prom? In front of everyone?"

Anna looked at me confused, "Is that what you've been worried about?"

"A bit, yes." I admitted.

She considered this for a moment, "We don't have to dance if you don't want to."

I sighed and looked over her shoulder. I immediately locked eyes with Rapunzel who was standing there watching us with an unreadable expression. He sighed, then reached out and took Cassandra hand and led him to the dance floor.

Anna spun around, no doubt hearing all the thoughts in everyone's minds. I could even hear a few hushed whispers as Rapunzel and Cassandra reached the center of the dance floor where Jasper and Alice were. Rapunzel put her arms around Cassandra's neck, and Cassandra happily put her hands on Rapunzel's waist. They effortlessly melted into the dance with Jasper and Alice.

Rapunzel caught my eye one more time, her expression clearly saying well? You've got no excuse now.

Anna was smirking as she looked back to me, "That's Rapunzel's way of saying she's glad you're here."

"Oh, fine." I huffed. I let Anna lead me out to where her family was twirling elegantly—if in a style totally unsuitable to the present time and music. I watched in terror.

"Anna." My throat was so dry I could barely manage a whisper. "I honestly can't dance." I could still feel the panic bubbling up inside my chest. Even if most of the school was watching Rapunzel and Cassandra, they were still watching us.

"Don't worry, love," she whispered back. "I can." She put my arms around her neck and lifted me to slide her feet under mine.

And then we were whirling, too.

"I bet I look like a fool," I laughed after a few minutes of effortless waltzing.

"Quite the opposite," she murmured, pulling me closer for a second, so that my feet were briefly a foot from the ground.

Alice caught my eye on a turn and smiled in encouragement—I smiled back. I was surprised to realize that I was actually enjoying myself.

"Okay, this isn't half bad," I admitted.

But Anna was staring toward the doors, and her face was angry.

"What is it?" I wondered aloud. I followed her gaze, disoriented by the spinning, but finally I could see what was bothering her. Honeymaren Black, not in a tux, but in a long-sleeved white shirt and black tie, her hair smoothed back into her usual braid was crossing the floor toward us.

After the first shock of recognition, I couldn't help but feel bad for Honeymaren. she was clearly uncomfortable—excruciatingly so. Her face was apologetic as his eyes met mine.

Anna snarled very quietly.

"Behave!" I hissed.

Anna's voice was scathing. "she wants to chat with you."

Honeymaren reached us then, the embarrassment and apology even more evident on his face.

"Hey, Elsa, I was hoping you would be here." Honeymaren sounded like she'd been hoping for the exact opposite. But her smile was just as warm as ever.

"Hi, Honeymaren." I smiled back. "What's up?"

"Can I cut in?" she asked tentatively, glancing at Anna for the first time. I was surprised to notice that Honeymaren didn't have to look up. He must have grown half a foot since the last time I'd seen him.

Anna's face was composed, her expression blank. Her only answer was to set me carefully on my feet, and take a step back.

"Thanks," Honeymaren said amiably.

Anna just nodded, looking at me intently before she turned to walk away.

Honeymaren put her hands on my waist, and I reached up to put my hands on her shoulders.

"Wow, Maren, how tall are you now?"

She was smug. "Six-two."

We weren't really dancing—my leg made that impossible. Instead we swayed awkwardly from side to side without moving out feet. It was just as well; the recent growth spurt had left him looking gangly and uncoordinated, he was probably no better a dancer than I was.

"So, how did you end up here tonight?" I asked without true curiosity. Considering Anna's reaction, I could guess.

"Can you believe my dad paid me twenty bucks to crash your prom?" she admitted, slightly ashamed.

"Yes, I can," I muttered. "Well, I hope you're enjoying yourself, at least. Seen anything you like?" I teased, nodding toward a group of girls and boys lined up against the wall.

"Yeah," she said sighed. "But she's taken."

Hsh glanced down to meet my curious gaze for just a second—then we both looked away, embarrassed.

"You look really beautiful, by the way," she added shyly. "Your eyes are really beautiful."

"Um, thanks." I blushed. "You're not looking too bad yourself. You've got that rock-star, don't-give-a-lick vibe going for you."

We both laughed as we swayed.

"So, why did Billy pay you to come here?" I asked softly, though I knew the answer.

Honeymaren didn't seem grateful for the subject change; she looked away, uncomfortable again. "Hsh said it was a 'safe' place to talk to you. I swear the old man in losing his mind."

I joined in her laughter weakly.

"Anyway, she said that if I told you something he would get me that master cylinder I need," she confessed with a sheepish grin.

"Tell me, then. I want you to get your car finished so maybe you can come visit me once in a while." I grinned back. At least Honeymaren didn't believe any of this. It made the situation a bit easier. Against the wall, Anna was watching my face, her own face unreadable—to anyone but me; I could see a twinge of frustration in her marble expression.

Honeymaren looked away again, ashamed. "Don't get mad, okay?"

"I could never be mad at you, Honeymaren," I assured her. "I won't even be mad at Billy. Just say what you have to."

"Well—this is so stupid, I'm sorry, Elsa—he wants you to break up with your girlfriend. He asked me to tell you 'please.'" she shook her head in disgust.

"he's still superstitious, eh?"

"Yeah. He was… kind of over the top when you got hurt down in Phoenix. He didn't believe…" Honeymaren trailed off self-consciously.

"I fell."

"I know that," Honeymaren said quickly.

"she thinks Anna had something to do with me getting hurt." It wasn't a question and I could hear the frustration in my tone.

Honeymaren wouldn't meet my eyes. We weren't even bothering to sway to the music, though her hands were still on my waist, and mine around her neck.

"Look, Maren, I know Billy won't believe this, but just so you know"—she looked at me now, responding to the new earnestness in my voice—"Anna really did save my life. If it weren't for Anna and her father, I'd be dead."

"I know," she claimed, but he sounded like my sincere words had affected her some. Maybe he'd be able to convince Billy of this much, at least.

"Hey, I'm sorry you had to come do this, Honeymaren" I apologized. "At any rate, you get your parts, right?"

"Yeah," she muttered. She was still looking awkward… upset.

"There's more?"

"Forget it," she mumbled, "I'll get a job and save the money myself."

"Nope! Just spit it out! You're getting that damn cylinder thing."

"It's so bad."

"I don't care. Tell me," I insisted.

"Okay… but, geez, this sounds bad." she shook her head. "He said to tell you, no, to warn you, that—and this is her plural, not mine"—she lifted one hand from my waist and made little quotation marks in the air—"'We'll be watching.'" she watched warily for my reaction.

It sounded like something from a mafia movie. I laughed out loud.

"Okay, duly noted," I snickered, "now tell Billy to pay up."

"I will," she managed a half smile.

"Sorry you had to do this, Maren," I smiled.

"I don't mind that much.she grinned, "I got to see you." Her eyes were appraising as the raked quickly over my Dress and face. "So, should I tell Billy you said to butt the hell out?" he asked hopefully.

"No," I sighed. "Tell him I said thanks. I know he means well."

The song ended, but we remained standing the way we were.

"And thank you, Honeymaren," I said, "I know you wouldn't have agreed to come down unless you cared about me."

Her hands felt hesitant at my waist, and she glanced at my bum leg. "Do you want to dance again? Or can I help you get somewhere?"

Anna answered before I could. "That's all right, Honeymaren. I'll take it from here."

Honeymaren flinched, and stared wide-eyed at Anna, who stood just beside us.

"Hey, I didn't see you there," she mumbled. "I guess I'll see you around, Elsa." she stepped back, waving halfheartedly.

I smiled and pulled her back into a quick hug, "I'll see you later, Honeymaren"

she stepped back and glanced between my face and Anna's. "Sorry," she said again before she turned for the door.

Anna's arms wound around me as the next song started. It was a little up-tempo for slow dancing, but that didn't seem to concern her. I leaned my head against her chest, content.

"Feeling better?" I teased.

"Not really," she said tersely.

"Temper," I warned, "Don't be mad at Billy," I sighed. "He just worries about me for Agnarr's sake. It's nothing personal."

"I'm not mad at Billy," She corrected in a clipped voice. "But his Daughter is irritating me."

I pulled back to look at her. Her face was very serious.

"Maren? Why?"

"First of all, he made me break my promise."

I stared at her confused.

She half-smiled. "I promised I wouldn't let go of you tonight," she explained.

"Oh. Well, I forgive you."

"Thanks. But there's something else." Anna frowned.

I waited patiently.

"she called you beautiful," she finally continued, her frown deepening. I stared at her again and she quickly added, "That's practically an insult, the way you look right now, you're much more than stunning."

I laughed. "You might be a little biased."

"I don't think that's it. Besides, I have excellent eyesight."

We were twirling again, my feet on hers as she held me close. She still seemed tense.

"You're jealous." I stated with dawning realization.

A guilty look crossed her face, "I told you before, I'm not used to feeling that way. You should have heard what he was thinking about you."

"Oh?" My curiosity was peaked.

Anna sighed, "she thought you looked absolutely wonderful, and that you're the sweetest, kindest, most perfect person she knows." Anna smiled a little then, "She thinks I'm incredibly lucky to have you."

I couldn't help but smirk, "what do you think?"

She spun me around, holding me tightly, lowering her lips to my ear. "I think I'm the luckiest woman in the whole world."

I felt a shiver of excitement run through my body.

"she was completely accurate with one compliment he gave you." Anna kissed my neck gently. "Your eyes are beautiful."

I felt myself blush as I pulled back to look at her smiling down at me.

"So are you going to ever explain the reason for all this?" I wondered casually, trying to keep my mind off how absolutely amazing she looked and how badly I wished we weren't surrounded by a gym full of people.

Her expression became confused, and I glanced meaningfully at the crepe paper.

She considered for a moment, and then changed direction, spinning me through the crowd to the back door of the gym. I caught a glimpse of Jeremy and Makayla dancing, staring at me curiously. Jeremy waved, and I smiled back. Angela was there, too, looking blissfully happy in the arms of little Ben Cheney; she didn't look up from his eyes, a head lower than hers. Lee and Sam, Erica with a girl named Justine, Lauren and Conner, and Logan, glaring at us; I could name every face that spiraled past me. And then we were outdoors, in the cool, dim light of a fading sunset.

As soon as we were alone, she swung me up into her arms, and carried me across the dark grounds till she reached the bench beneath the shadow of the madrone trees. She sat there, keeping me cradled against her strong chest. The moon was already up, visible through the gauzy clouds, and her face flowed pale in the white light. Her mouth was hard, her eyes troubled.

"The point?" I prompted softly.

She ignored me, staring up at the moon.

"Twilight, again," she murmured. "Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end."

"Everything ends, eventually." I said wistfully.

She sighed.

"I brought you to the prom," she said slowly, finally answering my question, "because I don't want you to miss anything. I don't want my presence to take away anything from you, if I can help it. I want you to be human. I want your life to continue as it would have if I'd died from the influenza like I should have."

I shuddered at her words, and then shook my head angrily. "In what strange parallel dimension would I ever have gone to prom of my own free will? Even if I didn't have a broken leg, I would have been sitting in my bed with some ice cream and a book if you weren't here."

She smiled briefly, but it didn't touch her eyes. "It wasn't so bad, you said so yourself."

"No, but it helped that I was with you."

We were quiet for a moment; she stared at the moon and I stared at her.

"Will you tell me something?" she asked, glancing down at me with a slight smile.

"Don't I always?"

"Just promise you'll tell me," she insisted, grinning.

I knew I might regret this, "Fine."

"You seemed honestly surprised when you figured out that I was taking you here," she began.

"I was," I interjected.

"Exactly," she agreed. "But you must have had some other theory… I'm curious—what did you thinkI was dressing you up for?"

"I told you in the car," I rolled my eyes, "I have no idea with you." I ran my hand through her strawberry-blonde hair, "You tend to go for extremes though. Maybe we were going to a movie, or a fancy dinner date."

"You didn't think…" She hesitated. "You didn't think I was going to… to change you." She practically spat out the words.

I stared at her, confused. "Is that normally a blue-dress occasion?" I teased, touching the front of her dress.

She scowled, and I kissed her cheek.

"If I had been planning..." she trailed off. "If that was what I was going to do, what would you have said?"

I thought about it for a moment, "I don't know. I don't think I could leave Agnarr or my mom, or my friends. After everything that happened with Hans I realized how important they all are to me." I paused, "But I would be lying to myself if I didn't admit that a big part of me wants to say yes."

She sighed deeply. "Are you really that willing?"

There was pain in her eyes. I bit my lip.

"So ready for this to be the end," she murmured, almost to herself, "for this to be the twilight of your life, though your life has barely started. You're ready to give up everything."

"It wouldn't be the end, it would be a beginning," I disagreed softly.

"I'm not worth it," she said sadly.

"Do you remember when you told me that I didn't see myself very clearly?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "You obviously have the same blindness."

"I know what I am."

I sighed.

But her mercurial mood shifted on me. She pursed her lips, and her eyes were probing. She examined my face for a long moment.

"Would you be ready now, then?" she asked.

"Um," I gulped. "Yes?"

She smiled, and inclined her head slowly until her cold lips brushed against my skin just under the corner of my jaw.

"Right now?" she whispered, her breath blowing cool on my neck. I shivered involuntarily.

"Yes," I breathed the words out. I couldn't even tell if I was bluffing anymore. I knew that one day this is what would happen. I'd already made that decision. In this moment, it seemed to be happening so quickly, but did that matter? My course was set, who knew how much time I had before I reached the conclusion Alice had seen in her vision. Perhaps this was it, perhaps now was the time and I was okay with that. I felt the shivers of electricity run through my body as her lips brushed against my neck. I felt my heartbeat rise in my chest.

She chuckled darkly, and leaned away. Her face looked amused.

"You can't really believe that I would give in so easily," she said with gently mocking tone.

I could only manage a shrug and a slightly euphoric smile.

Her eyebrows rose. "Do you want to become a monster so badly?"

"Not at all," I frowned. "I just want you. Forever."

Her expression changed, softened.

"Elsa." Her fingers lightly traced the shape of my lips. "Iwill stay with you—isn't that enough?"

I smiled under her fingertips. "Enough for now."

She frowned at my tenacity. No one was going to surrender tonight. She exhaled, and the sound was practically a growl.

I touched her face. "Look," I said. "I love you more than anything in this world. That's enough."

"Yes, it is enough," she answered, smiling. "Enough for forever."

And she leaned down to press her cold lips once more to my throat.