I wanted to die. Not only was I stressing over the stupid dance, but I was beginning to believe that James would find me and kill me, whether he was detained or not. He was crazy, and he would do anything to anyone who got in his way. Alice was currently working on my hair for the dance that would take place in a few hours. She was doing a complicated twisty braid, and I had no idea how she moved her hands around to make my hair look like that.
"You're awfully quiet, Bella." Alice was noticing my "odd behavior" as she did my hair. It was strange to think that I wasn't planning on leaving anymore, and I was hoping that Jacob was right.
"Well, I don't want you to burn me or anything with that straightener, or the curling iron. Besides, I would just protest against what you are doing, and you would be winning anyways." Alice smiled and continued working. Rose must have heard our conversation, because she came in and said, "Bella, I don't know what you're thinking, but…"
"Eh. Leave her alone. She's got a lot to sort through." Emmett's voice came from the living room. He was right. I was coping with the fact that I was staying here and not leaving tonight. It was hard to think that way, when I had already packed what I needed, and it was just sitting there in my room.
"Wow, Emmett. How chivalrous. You think that you're helping her by letting her sit there and contemplate everything that has happened?" I don't understand why people talk about me when I am right there.
"Hello! SHE's right here!" Rose turned on me.
"What are you thinking, Bella? You've been acting kind of depressed all day." She wasn't in the back of the school when I talked to Lauren and Jacob, so she didn't know what I had been thinking about doing the entire day.
"Well, I didn't have a very pleasant surprise this morning…" Alice shook her head as she pulled on a knee-length blue dress with sparkles all over it. I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't even recognize myself.
"Alright! Done! You look gorgeous. We've got ten minutes everyone! Let's get a picture and get moving!" Alice was clearly more excited about this than anyone else in the room. Maybe except Edward. He was glowing, but I had no idea why. I was not looking forward to this dance. At all. Emmett and Jasper walked in from the backyard as we took our positions in front of the camera. Emmett kept trying to be silly and tickle me, while I was trying to hide. Finally, Alice placed us how she wanted the picture to look. Alice set the timer and ran to hold Jasper. I was content as Edward and I leaned into each other next to Em and Rose, while Alice and Jazz were in the front. I thought it would make a very nice picture, but I was still apprehensive about the dance. It had been a long day, and I was ready for it to be over.
"Alright! Let's go!" Alice was way too upbeat about this. As we piled out of the front door, Edward took my hand and whispered, "You look absolutely stunning," in my ear and I smiled as I blushed a deep crimson. I looked down, but he moved my eyes to his and smiled. He hungrily kissed my jaw and my forehead, finally reaching my lips. When he did, I embraced him and completely lost my self control as my hands moved toward his waist. He wasn't prepared for my advance and pulled away just so we could get in the car. Edward was taking me in his car and Alice was taking everyone else in her car. I kept thinking about how much we truly cared for one another, and I felt sad that I had thought about breaking us apart by leaving. I didn't want to let him go, so I held onto his arm in the car. Edward chuckled to himself and stroked my cheek as he drove us into the school parking lot, and I leaned my face into his hand. When we parked and got to school, he finally lifted my face with his hands and pressed his lips gently onto mine again. This kiss was much shorter than the last. As we exited the vehicle, I was pleasantly surprised to note that all of my apprehension had faded away. I realized that in this moment, I could be worry free and just let loose. Edward sensed it, too, and he looked at me curiously. He had a strange smirk on his face, but he also looked concerned.
"Bella! Edward!" Alice pulled up and shouted as she parked next to us. She looked at me suspiciously, but I wasn't sure why. The plan that I had thought up was sort of arbitrary now. I just smiled and waved as she walked toward us. She smiled at me and we began to walk toward the school. When we strolled into the gym, Alice was still badgering me for answers as to why I was so carefree all of a sudden, but I just sighed and shook my head. I still almost felt like leaving was the better option for everyone. Except me. Alice took me out into the hallway and cornered me.
"Bella, Edward told me what you were planning earlier. I can't fathom what your thought process was. Wait, you're not thinking about leaving still, are you? You know that will be our undoing. Just realize that staying is the only way to keep you and everyone else safe! Why are you so stubborn?!"
"Look, I resolved not to leave, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to think about it. I already promised Edward when he found out." This was really difficult for me to say, because I had already thought about breaking that promise ever since I made it. I was so full of joy at the thought of staying, but I felt like it would betray my feelings of dread when it came to James. How could I enjoy myself when James is out there somewhere?
"Bella. Please don't think that way. Running away never solved anyone's problems! I don't know how you think we'd be safer with you gone, seeing as we would risk our lives just trying to find you." Edward was walking toward us, so I just nodded.
"What are you two so intensely discussing?" He had a strange smile on his face. It felt as though he was getting ready to wink at me or something.
"Oh, nothing. Just girl stuff. You know, the usual." Alice was so good at playing this off like that. She studied me cautiously as I hung my head. Edward took my hand, and once again, I felt the electric flow in my veins that I've never really gotten used to. I didn't want to get used to it, but I didn't want it to go away either. I stared into Edward's eyes and relaxed as he smiled his dazzling, heartbreaking smile. This is where I belonged. How could I possibly have thought about leaving? I was meant to be with Edward, even during the hard times I didn't want to face.
"I love you." I smiled at how true these words were for both of us. He smiled his biggest smile, making my heart pound a million miles an hour. He bent down and whispered in my ear.
"I love you. Would you care to dance with me, love?" I pulled back and looked into his eyes, mesmerized. I instantly forgot everything that had happened and everything that was going to happen. I allowed Edward to take my hand and he turned me around like I was a princess. I sighed in contentment as he held me close to him. We just held each other on the dance floor for an endless amount of time, yet too soon, he let me go. Alice took my hand and led me to the hallway.
"So…how is the dance going?" It was going great, until she led me away from Edward.
"Fine. Why are we out here?"
"She smiled as she said, "I know you don't want to be away from Edward. We can all read it on your face. He has some business to attend to." What on Earth was she talking about? What kind of business could he be attending to that he couldn't tell me about it? I was starting to get worried. What if he has someone else to deal with? What if he saw James? What if he doesn't want to be with me anymore? I just stood there, with these thoughts racing through my mind. I could feel my face getting hot.
"Bella! Bella, my goodness! Bella, everything is fine! Why are you so upset? It's okay." Alice pulled me to her and hugged me to help calm me down. I swear, I was going to have a mental breakdown. This has been the longest day ever. All of a sudden, I heard a familiar tune coming from the instruments in the gym. I instinctually walked in, and couldn't find Edward anywhere. Maybe he left without me. I didn't think Alice would want to help him do that, though, so that couldn't be it. Where was he? Then I heard the lyrics to the song that was playing. It was a song that Edward had introduced me to, saying that he thought of me every time that he heard it. I was mesmerized as I glanced toward the stage just as the chorus came out of Edward's mouth.
I wont' give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up…
Tears were running down my face as all of the doubts, all of the fears that I had disappeared. As did everyone around me. All I could see was Edward singing in the microphone. To me. For me. It was beautiful, and I couldn't even comprehend the fact that this was happening. Then, near the end of the song, reality came back and everyone was staring at me. I had walked up to the stage and I was just staring at him. He was staring back at me, though, so it wasn't too horrible. At least I got to look into his wonderful, safe eyes. When he ended the song, he came down to me on the floor and kissed me. So this was the surprise he was working on. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. Then Edward looked up to the ceiling, and I looked there, too. There was a huge red heart-shaped object coming down to the ground. Edward led me toward the middle of the floor where it was coming down, and I saw the object was a balloon. There was something written on it, as well. When it landed in front of me, it was taller than I was, and I had to step back to see the words. It was so simple, yet it spoke volumes to me. In neat, gold lettering, the balloon said Bella, I love you forever. It was completely unexpected, and everyone was staring at my red face. I hugged Edward and buried my face into his chest as he just held me.
"Glad you like it," he whispered. Liked it? I could not even describe how amazing it felt to have him in my life at that moment. I just smiled and let him hold me. Tears started running down my cheeks for everything that had happened and might have happened. It had been a long day, and knowing how much Edward truly cared about me brought tears to my eyes. I could face anything that James decided to throw at me as long as Edward was on my side. I was at a loss as to how I could have even thought about leaving, being here in this moment right now. Edward loved me. How in the world could I have doubted it for even a second? Looking into his eyes, I could see everything. His love for me, his love for the world, and a world that included us together. When Edward noticed that I was crying, he started wiping the tears away, and dragged me into the hallway looking alarmed.
"What's wrong, Bella? What's going on? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing is wrong, Edward. It's just that, right now, everything is right." With that, I pulled him back to me and kissed him with everything that I had. He reciprocated, and we just stood there in the hallway like that. My hands wandered and discovered his hair, his face, and his shoulders. I wrapped my arms tight around him as his hands moved toward my waist, but no further. We were locked in a tight embrace that I never wanted to end when we were interrupted by my best friend.
"Get a room! Geez! I know you love each other, but my goodness!" My face was red with embarrassment, but Edward was just smiling that glowing smile, as always. I don't think he ever got embarrassed or felt awkward at things like that, but maybe he was just used to Alice a lot more than I was.
"What do you want, Alice?" I was not happy that I had to detach myself from Edward.
"Jasper and Emmett want a dance with their sister. I figured that you could pry yourself away for a few minutes, but apparently that is way too much to ask. Come on, you can get back to this later." I smiled at the thought, and instantly felt guilty for neglecting my brothers.
"Oops. I guess I should have thought about that before."
"Bella, you are here with Edward. It's fine. They demanded that I get you, though, but don't you dare feel guilty!" She was right. There was no way for me to know that my brothers would want to be with me tonight.
"Hey Jazz, Em." We formed a circle as the next song came on, which turned out to be a very fast song. Still, we just had a great time slowly spinning in a circle together. Although at the end of our dance, Jazz and Em let go, and I sort wheeled around the dance floor and ended up in Mike Newton's arms. Yuck! He was surprised, and I fiercely pushed him away, which made me fall on the floor. Edward came just in time to lift me up. He started dancing with me right away.
"That was pretty funny." Yeah, for him.
"I'm sure it was for an outsider like yourself." My face was beat red, and I'm sure it will a highlight of the evening, thanks to Emmett and Jasper.
Suddenly, crowds of people were swarming around us, it seemed. More and more couples came on to the dance floor until there was hardly any room to move. I didn't mind being pressed into Edward, but it was a little bit uncomfortable. Edward nodded at me as he led me into a deserted hallway this time. I looked at him inquisitively, but he just smiled. He put his hands on my waist and sighed. I never knew that love could be so happy, intense. I originally believed that I would end up alone. Until I met Edward. He changed everything. Yes, we have imperfections. Yes, we have problems. But we have something much, much bigger than all of that, and we would both fight anything to keep it.
"It just seemed so crowded in there for a moment." He laughed at my expression, which made me smile as my face turned red. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as I placed my hand on my cheek. Edward took it in his hand and kissed me passionately and purposefully. I was up against a locker and had no choice but to succumb to it-although I wouldn't have resisted even if I could have. We were there for I don't know how long. It could have been three hours and it still wouldn't have been long enough when we pulled away. In order to stop this madness, I tried to change the subject.
"So…the weekend will be fun, right?" He just smiled at my failed attempt.
"Nothing has ever been as radiant as you, Bella." I blushed again, but this time I walked away toward the gym before he could take me over once more. He followed me and put his arm around my waist as he caught up with me. As we walked, I thought about that morning again. How Victoria had helped me and I had no idea why. I hoped she was alright. All of a sudden, Jessica was pushing me out of the way and was forcing herself onto Edward. He did not look happy. They got into a very heated discussion and he pushed her off of him. Wow. He must be furious with her! Lauren helped me up and glared at Jessica. I had had enough. I had reached my breaking point, and I shouted at Jessica.
"Jessica. You are mean. You set me up in middle school and tortured so many people through mindless games. Now you are trying to break my heart, not to mention Mike's! He has liked you for centuries, and you are still trying to get with someone who doesn't want you! I have done nothing to you, and yet you still go out of your way to hurt me." Now, the whole dance floor was staring at me in shock. Everyone waited for a response. When Jessica didn't say anything, the couples went back to dancing as though nothing had happened. Edward looked at me, but the look in his eyes was different. Guarded.
"Edward, please don't believe anything that Jessica told you. I didn't know that was going to happen. I thought she'd-"
"Stop, Bella, stop. You have to understand something. I love you, and I know you. Nothing that Jessica, or Mike, or anyone else says will change that. I am not upset with you. Don't think that. I just need minute to gather myself. I have to guard myself around Jessica so that I don't fall into her traps." His voice was soothing, calm. He didn't look like he was upset with me. I should trust him. I don't know why that is so hard sometimes. I got so afraid that he would find a reason to walk away. I knew that I should know better, but it still entered my mind at times.
"Bella, what do you want?"
"Can you dance with me again?" He laughed.
"I would be happy to oblige, my love." Now, I laughed.
All in all, it was a good evening. I kept thinking about James and his plot, but he hasn't come back yet. I guess I will have to be watchful and careful in the days to come. But in this moment right now, all I thought about was enjoying Edward's arms wrapped around mine, right where they belonged.