Preparation is Key

Paul drove my car, I sat passenger and Jared was in the back.

By the time we pulled up at my house, Embry was already there. "Geez, the only time I see him get anywhere fast if is there is food involved." Paul joked after seeing how quickly Embry got here.

Jared chuckled. "Pretty sure that's you." Jared teased his friend.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Paul agreed as he pulled up. Paul turned to face me. "Lover boy is here to see you." He teased playfully.

I felt my cheeks burn hot but I wasn't sure if it was because I was sick. "Thanks for everything." I told the two as I hopped out the car. Embry jogged towards me and wrapped his arms around me.

Paul and Jared walked over. "Here's her keys." Paul handed them over to Embry.

Embry nodded at them. "Thanks for helping her."

Jared waved his hand. "It's no problem." He turned to Paul. "But we better get back to patrolling."

Paul nodded before facing Embry. "You might want to make sure she has a hot shower. She was freezing." He explained before the two boys jogged towards the woods.

Embry helped walk me inside. He looked around the house as he placed my keys down. "Where are your parents?" He questioned.

I glanced around. The house was empty. I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe at work or shopping or visiting a friend." I tried to think of different possibilities.

"Anyway, you better have a shower." Embry led me upstairs to my room.

I grabbed out dry clothes. "I'll be back. Make yourself at home." I told him before walking to the bathroom.

I looked in the mirror. I did not look presentable. I undressed as I turned the shower on. I hung my damp clothes on the rack. When the shower temperature was right, I hopped in.

This reminded me of the time I first met the pack. Kim and I had been soaking from the storm as we showered at Emily's.

The bathroom filled with steam as my body began to warm up. Eventually I got out and dried myself. I removed the plaster from my leg and threw it in bathroom bin. I got dressed into comfortable, warm clothes.

I reached into the drawer and grabbed another plaster from one of the packets we owned. I also grabbed some flu medication before I exited the bathroom.

When I walked back to my room, Embry was sitting on my bed. I closed my bedroom door and threw the medication packet on my desk before walking over to him.

I sat down and pulled my pant leg up to reveal my injury. I could see Embry frown. I know he must have seen my plaster when we arrived but he didn't say anything. I held up my plaster, about to put it on. Embry reached over. "Here. Let me do it." He offered.

I handed the plaster over to him. Embry opened it and carefully put it over the graze. He had a sad expression. Like it hurt him to see me hurt. Once he was done, he just frowned at it.

I bit my lip as I rolled my pant leg back down. I took the plaster rubbish and stood up. I walked over and placed it in my bin in my room. I didn't like seeing Embry blame himself for my carelessness.

I grabbed the medicine and opened it. I removed two tablets and grabbed my drink bottle. I swallowed the tablets before moving back to the bed. I gave Embry a sad smile as I sat down.

Embry pulled me closer to him. "You shouldn't get too close." I warned him. "I don't want you to get sick."

Embry refused to release me. "I can't get sick. My temperature burns it off." He explained before resting his head on my shoulder. "And even if I could, I still wouldn't care. As long as I'm near you."

I couldn't help my smile as I cuddled up with him. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"For what?" I asked.

"You got hurt and I wasn't there to help you." He muttered with disappointment.

I turned around to face him. "It wasn't your fault." I stated. "And there was nothing you could have done." He looked at me in sadness. "But you're here now." I smiled at him.

This finally got him to smile as I cuddled up to him again. "What happened today?" He asked me.

I sighed. "We were doing life skills of navigation." I began to explain. "But the map was being read wrong and we got lost. Then our map blew away, we misplaced the radio and it began to rain." I paused to take a breath. "So, I blew the whistle and Paul and Jared found us."

Embry understood as he nodded along. "Is that how you got sick? Because of the storm?" He inquired.

I shook my head. "I think I was sick before it but the storm made it worse."

"So, how did you get that." Embry pointed to my leg, referring to my injury.

I felt my cheeks turn red from embarrassment. "I tried to chase the map as it was being blown away." I bit my lip. "But I tripped."

Embry didn't say anything and instead just held me closer. Most likely his way to comfort me. I'm just glad he didn't laugh at me but that wouldn't be like him. "See, there was nothing you could have done." I reassured the boy.

He seemed more calm after I explained everything. "You should take the next few days off to recover." He mumbled in my ear.

I smiled. "I guess I should."

We fell into a comfortable silence until I brought up the next topic. "Hey, Embry." When I heard him 'hmm' I continued. "I was thinking about Bella and Edward's wedding."

"What about it?" He questioned carefully.

I took a deep breath. "I think I should go." Embry didn't reply so I continued. "They did invite me so it would be rude not to go."

"They're vampires, remember." He argued.

"I know." I said. "But the Blacks and Clearwaters are going, right? There will be humans there too."

Embry thought about it. He didn't seem thrilled with the idea but he didn't hate the Cullens. He just wanted me to be safe. "As far as I know, Billy, Seth and Sue are going." He mumbled. "I guess if Seth is there he can protect you."

"Does that mean I can go?" I turned to look at him.

"Yes. If that's what you want." Embry smiled at me. I grinned back as I snuggled into him again.

Following Embry's advice, I took the week off school to recover. It also prevented me from giving my cold to others at school.

Embry visited me every day. He kept me company, helped me study and got me anything I needed. He was just there for me, even when I looked like a sick mess.

After the week passed, I had recovered. It was Friday and Bella and Edward's wedding was tomorrow. Which led me to now. I was at Emily's in hopes of borrowing a dress for the wedding since I didn't have many.

However, either the dresses didn't suit the occasion or they didn't fit properly.

I walked back down to the dining area with Emily. "Any luck?" Embry asked when we got there but I shook my head.

Emily apologised. "I'm sorry. I thought I had one you could wear."

"It's fine." I reassured the girl. "I guess I will need to buy one."

"What do you need to buy?" Paul asked as he walked into the house. He had just finished patrol and Embry was about to take over him.

I looked at the boy. "A dress for Bella and Edward's wedding tomorrow." I explained.

Paul thought for a second. "I'm going to Rachael's house now. Maybe you can borrow a dress from her." He suggested.

I held up my hands. "I don't want to disturb her-"

Paul cut me off. "Don't worry." He reassured. "She loves this kind of stuff. She would be over the moon to help."

"I guess we can try." I spoke slowly.

Paul grinned. "Good. It's decided. Let's go now."

I turned to Embry. "Good luck." He told me with a smile.

"I'll see you later?" I asked.

"Of course." He gave me a hug before running out the door into the woods.

Paul was waiting by the door as I walked out with him. "Have fun." Emily called as she waved goodbye.

Paul led me into the Black house. "Coming in." He called out.

I heard footsteps running down the stairs as a girl coming flying towards us. "Paul!" She shouted as she jumped into his arms and kissed him.

"Hey, babe." He said as he pulled away.

I recognised the girl from the bonfire but this was my first time really meeting her. Paul stepped aside as he gestured to me. "Rachael, this is Maddi."

Her face lit up in recognition. "Embry's girl, right?" I nodded. "It's nice to meet you."

"Same here." I smiled at the girl.

Paul spoke up. "She's going to Bella and Edward's wedding tomorrow but she needs a dress-"

Rachel cut him off as her eyes got stars in them. "Say no more." She grabbed my hands. "You can borrow one of mine."

I didn't have time to say anything as she dragged me upstairs to her room. She opened her wardrobe to reveal a bunch of dresses. I gulped. I was kind of scared right now. "Let's begin." She grinned.

Dress after dress, I continuously tried them on. Most of them fit but Rachael was trying to find one that 'suited me' as she said.

Between trying on all the dresses, I got to know the girl. "So, your Jacob's sister." I started as I slipped on another dress. "I didn't even know he had a sister."

I heard Rachael chuckle. "He has two actually." She clarified. "I'm a twin."

I felt my jaw drop. "You have a twin?" I asked with disbelief.

"Yep." Rachael said popping the 'p'. "Her name is Rebecca. She got married and moved to Hawaii and rarely comes home."

I nodded my head in understanding as I zipped the dress up. I looked in the mirror at the cream coloured dress. It reached the floor and was too long for me. I sighed as I knew it was another failure.

I glanced at Rachael's desk to see some textbooks. From the looks of it, she studied computer engineering at Washington State University. I smiled at the thought. Rachael seemed like an intelligent, independent and strong young woman. I liked her already. "You study computer engineering?" I asked.

She looked to see me staring at the books on her desk. She grinned. "I did. I've graduated now." She explained. "I came home afterwards to visit. I hadn't been home for a long time. Rebecca and I had a heard time dealing with our mother's death."

I remained silent as she spoke. "I wasn't planning on staying long but then I met Paul." She glanced at me. "I assume you know what that's like."

I knew she was referring to the whole imprinting thing. "Yeah, I'm aware." I joked with her.

"After learning… everything." She tried to find the right words. "I decided to stay here and see how things went with him. Hopefully, after a while we can move away together." She said sadly.

I assume she must still feel uncomfortable in La Push after her mother's death. I knew not to push it any further. "Anyway." She cheered up. "Let's try on some more dresses." She stated after seeing the dress I'm currently wearing was too long.

We tried on some more until Rachael clasped her hands together. "That's it." She grinned. "That's the one."

I looked in the mirror. I was wearing a short, black dress. The top was beaded and laced and wrapped around my neck. The skirt was smooth and stopped above my knees. I had to admit. It was pretty. "I agree." I smiled at the girl.

She smiled back before yelling downstairs. "Paul, come have a look."

It didn't take long before heavy footsteps were heard. Paul walked into the room. He looked at me and nodded. "Looks good. Is that what you are wearing?"

I gave nod as I watched him moved next to Rachael. "I'm a genius. I know." Rachel smirked at her boyfriend.

"Sure are." Paul agreed. "Only thing." He suddenly said which made us two girls look at him. "Are you going barefoot?" He pointed down at my feet.

I glanced down to see I was barefoot. "I mean there's no problem with it." Paul joked. "I'm always barefoot."

Rachael playfully smacked his chest as she walked over to her wardrobe to find her shoe collection. She reached down and searched through them until she found what she was looking for. "Here. Try these on."

She handed me a pair of black heels. Luckily the heel was thicker since I know I cannot walk in stilettoes. I sat on the edge of her bed as I put them on. I carefully stood up but still wobbled from the lack of balance.

"They look good." Rachael approved.

Paul scoffed. "Yeah, if she could walk in them." He teased.

I had to agree with him there. They suited the dress but I was just not used to wearing heels. "I'm not very heel experienced." I mumbled with embarrassment.

Rachel walked up next to me. "It's okay." She reassured. "Everyone starts out that way. We have some time to practice."

The next few hours were spent with me practicing how to walk. It involved a lot of hugging the walls and gripping onto people's shoulders. I think I only fell twice.

Billy was there and had to watch the whole thing too. Let's just say there were lots of giggles from Billy and Paul. Along with a lot of warning looks from Rachael at the two.

I improved. I could eventually walk in them but not too fast. That and I looked awkward with each step I took. Rachael's best advice for me was to not over think it. I think the fear of falling was what hindered my ability.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Rachael went to answer it. "Maddi, it's for you."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion as Rachael led someone into the living room where we all were. My face lit up at the sight of Embry. His did the same exact thing.

I tried to make my way over to him but in my haste, my heels played up. I tripped slightly as I fell into his arms. Luckily, he caught me. "I think I just fell for you." I joked awkwardly.

Embry chuckled as he helped me stand upright. "You fell for me ages ago." He replied with a smirk.

I nodded my head. "Well, you're not wrong." I stood back a bit. "So, what do you think." I gestured to myself.

He took in my appearance. "You look stunning."

I smiled as I blushed. "Well, you have my stylist Rachael to thank." I gestured to the girl.

"I had a good model." She winked at me. "Although, we need to do your hair and make up as well. But I think we can leave that for tomorrow."

I nodded my head as I agreed with her. Tomorrow was the wedding and for some reason, I felt like it was going to be a hectic day.