May I? Do let's!

" So lets get you ready to the ball!!" Alice very nearly screamed in excitement.

Bella smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. Alice had always been the most exuberant person Bella had ever met.

" Come on!! I have to get you looking nice for Edward and then I have to go look nice for my sweetheart!" Alice said.

" Wait a minute! Who said I was going with Edward?" Bella demanded.

" Didn't Emmett tell you? You two are going together! The king and queen suggested it. I'm sure that Edward already knows. He must have guessed. If you just think something near him he can almost guess what it is." Alice rambled on. Bella just sat there looking mutinous. Alice saw the expression on her face and sighed.

" I thought that you liked Edward? " She inquired sneakily.

" I do like Edward, but recently he's been acting strange, for example, he is talking to me and even going to the extent of smiling at me when what I remember him saying is ' I don't know you any more'. He's so cryptic all the time." Bella said, relieved to be able to confide in her friend. Bella felt the slight tugging of the hairbrush going through her hair.

" Your hair is really beautiful but those helmets make it so flat and tangled. Ugh!" She complained.

" Alice if you are going to torture me, why can't you do so silently or without complaint, at least." Bella complained also. Alice didn't respond, she just sighed. After about two hours of complaints on both sides Bella was half way presentable. The only thing she was missing was…

" Alice I don't have a dress to wear to the ball even though I look good." Bella said with a tone of stating the obvious.

" Bella, how stupid do you think I am? You think that I would forget to bring the dress? The queen thought it would bring out your eyes." Alice said. " And I'm sure Edward would like it…"

" Enough stalling. Bring out the weapon of torture." Bella said reluctantly. Alice went into the bedroom from the bathroom and took the dress from Bella's bed and returned with a beautiful turquoise ball gown (picture will be on my profile if anyone wants to see it). Bella looked at the gown in disbelief. I can't pull off a look like that no matter how nice Alice makes me look, she thought. When she voiced these thoughts a voice she wasn't expecting to hear spoke to her.

" You know I don't think that you are looking terrible now and I'm sure once you get dressed you will be even more magnificent." Said Edward, his voice coming from behind her in the doorway. She turned around and saw him smiling his crooked smile at her. Then all of a sudden she realized she was wearing nothing but her girdle and underskirt. She turned bright red and Edward tried to keep himself from laughing as Alice pushed him out of the room. Alice tried to make conversation with Bella, but all Bella would do was stare at the place where Edward had been standing a few minutes ago.

She put on her gown and waited in her room. Soon enough she heard a soft knocking on her door. She got up and nearly tripped over her dress. She hurriedly opened the door. Edward was standing there looking as handsome as always. She stood there with her jaw gaping open staring at him. He smiled his special smile at her and started walking towards her.

" Edward?" she inquired.

" The one and only." He said, his smile fading into a concerned frown at her expression. " What's wrong Bella?" he inquired while walking her to the ballroom. He looked at her tortured expression and his eyes softened.

" Don't worry." He said. " I don't bite." He winked at her. She had to laugh at that. He smiled at her change in attitude.

" Do you want to dance with me?" he inquired. She was free to decline but his green eyes scalded her brain and made her unable to speak. All she could do was nod feebly. He smiled although the smile did not reach his eyes. He seemed to be looking past her at someone or something and she wasn't sure whether it was good or bad. She turned to see what he was glaring at. It was Mike Newton. Since her hands were pressed against his chest, she could feel the growl deep inside starting to emerge.

" Behave yourself, Edward!" she whispered urgently.

Chapter Tease

" I have to leave tomorrow." Edward said conversationally, to get Bella's mind off of the recent conversation. She was still glaring at Mike's back. His voice seemed to bring her back from whatever thought she was immersed in.