It was Tuesday night when we went out. Jessica picked us up, and we talked about the dances and potential dates.
"It's too bad your mystery boyfriend doesn't come here," Lauren said. "Then he could tell the boys to step off of you."
I blushed. "Meeting him would definitely be effective."
"Why?" Jessica asked. "Is he big or something?"
"More like he knows how to get what he wants done," I said, trying to keep it vague but honest.
"Why don't you just have the guys meet him then?" Lauren asked accusingly.
"He really just can't come for a while," I insisted.
"Really?" Lauren quirked an eyebrow. "How long."
I decided to be completely honest. "Five months."
"Specific, there," Lauren said. "Are you sure?"
"About what?" I asked, frustration creeping into my tone.
"About this mystery boyfriend," Lauren said. "You've never shown us a picture, or told us his name, or anything about this guy that isn't really vague. And you don't reject the guys nearly enough for it to be true-"
"That's enough!" Jessica barked. "It's none of our business, Lauren."
"Thank you!"
Angela turned up the radio.
In the dress shop, I helped run about and fetch the dresses and match up accessories. It kept me busy. While in there, I saw a pretty powder blue lace dress. Angela saw me eyeing it and smiled.
"Try it on," she urged. "We're here."
"We're here for you," I protested.
"Oh, come on," Jessica said good-naturedly. "What's your size?"
"Ten."
She grabbed it off the rack and thrust it into my arms. "Try it on."
I obeyed and stepped into the dressing room to try it on. I admit, it actually made me look like a princess. I almost tripped on the hem stepping out to show it off, but Angela gave me a slow clap, Lauren and Jessica quickly joining in. In a moment of giddiness, I spun around. The skirt billowed out, really pretty and everything.
"I'm not getting it," I said after I changed back. "I don't plan on going to prom, so-"
"But Prom's in five months," Lauren said, her cornflower-blue eyes all too wide and innocent. "Your boyfriend could come."
"He's two years older than me," I said flatly. "I don't think administration would like that much."
"Excuses," I thought I heard Lauren mutter. I hung the dress back up, and helped the girls check out and move their goodies into the car. When I came back into the store with Jessica's car keys, they were gone. I started wandering down the streets of Port Angeles, trying to look for them, when I wandered down the wrong alley.
That's when some strangers emerged from the shadows. I began to run, but when I turned the corner, they were there, waiting for me, and when I turned around, they were there. The youngest, a girl of about my age, approached, and I saw her glaring red eyes. I gasped, and raised my hands to shield my face when-
I heard a strange sound and saw an indigo ball of energy surround me, and the girl bounced off of it. I heard a car coming and dived out of the way, scraping my exposed arm on the pavement. I leapt to my feet as the car door swung open. Edward Cullen was driving it.
"Get in!" he yelled.
I jumped in and slammed the door shut. I buckled the seatbelt as he almost ran over the attackers, and started driving back to the dress shop.
"Where are the others?" he demanded.
"The others?" I asked. "I don't know- wait, are you stalking me?"
He didn't answer the question. "You don't know how much danger you were in."
"I think I was handling it just fine," I said, thinking of the indigo energy field.
"I could hear what they were thinking, the boy would have thrown fire at you next," Edward said.
"And that shield would have probably shown up again," I said. "I would've been fine, Edward."
He sighed as he pulled into a parking space. "The girls are coming now."
I stepped out of the car and handed a panicked Jessica her keys.
"You never showed up at the restaurant- we were getting worried about you," she chided.
"I didn't know where you went," I said with a frown.
"I thought Lauren told you."
"Oops, I must've forgotten," Lauren said, looking the picture of innocence.
"It's okay," I said. "Let's just get-"
"If you ladies don't mind, I'd like to take Bella to dinner," Edward said, sounding obnoxiously suave and arrogant.
"I'm not hungry," I said, then frowned at how petulantly childlike I sounded.
"You're in shock," Edward said. "Come on, Bella."
"Just let me grab my jacket," I said.
He frowned, but allowed me to do so. I then reluctantly joined him in his car. It was cold in the car, and silent.
"How are you stalking me?" I asked. "Also, why?"
"I can read minds," he said. "I've been reading your friends' minds, and because you're the only exception."
"Only exception to what?" I demanded frustratedly.
"To the mind-reading."
"Of course I am," I muttered.
Once in the restaurant, I got a Coke and began to feel that fear, that stress. I hugged my jacket closer around me. It used to be Harry's, so it was a little big, but it still reeked of his cologne, even after all these months.
"What are you, Edward?" I asked. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen," he said.
"How long have you been seventeen?" I clarified.
He hesitated. "A long time."
"And what are you?" I repeated.
The waitress bounced in, interrupting our conversation.
"What are we having this evening?" she asked cheerfully.
"The ravioli, please," I said.
"Coming right up," she said. "Anything for you?"
"Another Coke, please?" he asked, dazzling her.
He waited until she walked away. "How much do you know?"
"I know the Quilquete legends," I said. "Are the true?"
A smile crept up his face. It wasn't a pleasant expression. "They deserve more credit. As do you, for figuring it out."
"Thanks, I guess."
"You fascinate me, Bella," he continued. "I haven't known anyone like you in all my years-"
I put my hand up. "You should know something."
He frowned, confused. "What?"
"I have a boyfriend," I said.
His frown grew deeper. "Everyone thinks it's a lie. . . So I did too. Who's the lucky man?"
"Harry Osborn," I said, a smirk growing across my face.
His jaw dropped, and his golden eyes widened. "You're the girl from the news, the other girl that Spider-Man saved on that clock tower!"
I sipped my Coke in satisfaction. "In the flesh and blood."
He then became like stone. "I wish I'd known."
"You never asked. And I don't want people knowing," I said with a shrug.
"You meant it when you said you'd been with the bad guy," Edward continued. He shook his head.
Then the waitress returned with the ravioli. The car ride back was silent.