(A/N): Hiya! Hmm...well...the song in this chapter is called "Something There" in the Beauty and the Beast movie from Disney. I like it muches :). If you want to hear it, just click on the link in my profile ;). Also, I just want to claim that the beginning was terrible for me to write...I had to write the first half in like nine different sittings, but the last half was done in like half an hour...don't ask :).

Chapter 5 – A Date to Remember

"So what do I do again?" asked Edward for the umpteenth time, pacing around the room in the late afternoon light.

Alice sighed loudly. "Edward, you come in dressed nicely and greet her most politely. And then, you pull out her chair for her and allow her to be seated before you get seated yourself. Dining…er…praise the food you are given and make small chatter…Edward!" Alice suddenly shouted. "Are you even listening? Edward! EDWARD! Stop pacing and start listening!"

Oblivious to Alice's rant, Edward continued pacing around the small parlor, muttering incoherent words under his breath. Jasper, who was curled up on a sofa, rolled his eyes and said, "Seriously, why are we telling you all the etiquette of politeness and dinning when you've learned it just as Emmett and I learned it? Come on, Edward, you have to remember something about all those manners the manners tutor taught us!" He chuckled. "Remember that time when we practiced pulling out chairs for that one lady what's-her-name…Jessica, I think. She didn't think we were pulling the chair out for her so she sat just as we were pulling out the chair and managed to sit on air…"

Edward remembered that…he remembered that quite well. Amusement washed over him as the unremembered memory played across his eyes…

"I present to thee, Lady Jessica of London," the messenger said proudly, bowing the lady through. Lady Jessica was a very short and young lass who obviously thought very highly of herself. Her nose high up in the air and her chin almost perpendicular to the flat floor, she made quite a sight

Her first fault was her pride. Edward never liked self-obsessed pride. In an effort to get rid of that 'air' around her that seemed to say 'I'm so perfect, all the men wants to grovel at my feet', Edward inconspicuously tossed a small ball of yarn across the floor. With perfect timing, the ball landed in the Lady's path. Luck did the rest. Lady Jessica's four-inch-high heels were caught with the yarn, unbeknownst to her. Peanut, who had suddenly taken an interest in the mysteriously 'bouncing' yarn went to investigate, had caused the Lady to land on her rear end in the most indignant manner possible

But, apart from losing some of her dignity, Lady Jessica acted as if nothing had happened. Dinner rolled around. Edward, who was sixteen at the time, had to pull out the chair for the Lady and seat her, as was customary in his small kingdom. Lady Jessica, being high-nosed and conceited as she was, had flirted in the most annoying way possible with Edward although he was two years her junior. Wishing to revenge her annoying attitude, he pulled out the chair only a little – barely enough for the lass to squeeze through. However, when the chairs were pushed in, he pulled his out. His excuse was that he didn't give the Lady enough room to stand before the chair…and he got away with it

Lady Jessica was quite scarred for life when she left for London the next day. It was quite a sight – her attempts to continue being pompous where dampened by her embarrassment in front of the royal family. She didn't know what to do, and literally fled from Kimberley.

Edward's memory receded, the image of the fleeing Jessica replaced by an incessant waving paw.

"Perhaps we should knock his head with a shovel," Rosalie was saying. "He seemed so out of it."

"I'm not out of it and I'd prefer my head stays away from an attacking shovel, Rosalie," Edward replied, shaking his head furiously. "And, as much as you might need the exercise, Alice, I'd also prefer you to stop waving at me with your paw and maybe practice on someone else. I'm sure Jasper would really appreciate it." He smiled in amusement. Jasper snorted.

"Nah, I'd rather my nap undisturbed by crazy paws," he smirked. Alice harrumphed indignantly. Just then, a clock struck five in the afternoon. There was a moment of complete silence before chaos ensued. Alice, Rosalie, and Esme ran outside in record time, dragging a completely confused Bella inside while the males dragged a protesting Edward into the depths of the castle.

Bella never had a chance to escape. She was 'tossed' here and there while Alice, Esme, and Rosalie took turns trying to apply her make-up, picking out the perfect dress and matching accessories, and forcing Bella to put them on under the threat that one of the boys would tie her down so they could do it themselves.

When all was finished nearly two hours later, Bella was towed to a floor-length mirror. She was dressed very simply: her hair was tumbling naturally down her back in large cascading curls; her large innocent eyes were enhanced by the slightest touch of eye shadow; her usually pale skin was tinted the slightest of red blush, making it look more delicate. As for her dress, it was a floor-length puffed-up yellow ball gown. The yellow-green sash-like belt hugged her skinny waist and trailed into a graceful bow at the small of her back. The dress itself had delicate flowers embroidered into its various hems and collars. Lace-trimmed and intricate, it brought out the shine in her hair and twinkle in her eyes. A small topaz pendant hung on a silver chain on her neck with matching earrings. Alice claimed that Edward would faint if he could.

----------

As the bells tolled seven, Bella and Edward stepped into the grand ballroom through opposite staircases that joined in the middle. He bowed and she curtsied, both smiling with unknown joy and both shaking with nervousness on the inside. When Edward offered his arm, she took it without a word and descended the last of the staircases together.

There's something sweet
And almost kind
But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined
But now he's dear, and so unsure
I wonder why I didn't see it there before

The ballroom was in its full splendor that night. All of its twenty-five glorious chandeliers were lit with bright white candles, casting flickering light onto the exquisite decoration of streamers. They sat across from each other on the sides on a long table big enough to seat fifty.

Dinner was quiet. Only the clatter of plates and utensils on bowls disturbed the booming silence. Edward ate little, always staring at Bella, discovering that the golden color of his eyes also meant he had to eat regular food as well as drink blood. In his eyes, Bella had never been more beautiful, more tempting. Her dress brought out the best in her, highlighting her best features in a way that made Edward's breaths quicken and made his heart twitch in heavenly ways.

Bella was no better. The sight of Edward in a dark blue tailored suit – so formally dressed seemed to have made him refined. He was no longer a merciless cannibalistic monster, but rather just Edward Cullen, a handsome gentleman that had a knack of making her thoughts go a-flying.

When the plates were cleared away, silence turned into tension. Bella tried to stare everywhere but Edward, though she had the distinct feeling that he was watching her every move. Sighing now and then, Bella played with her fingers, wondering how things got this awkward.

Finally frustrated and nervous to the point of no return, Bella blurted, "Let's dance." Edward snapped his head up.

"What?"

"I said, 'let's dance'." Stepping away from the table, she took his hand and pulled him to the middle of the ballroom. "You do know how, yes?" Edward shook his head as if in a daze. Nearby, a thud was heard as if someone was banging his or her head against the wall. "No matter, just follow my steps."

As if on cue, the flowing melody of a simple waltz floated into the air. The awkward couple stumbled around the ballroom, Bella trying to lead but failing miserably; Edward trying to follow but always feeling as if he was the wrong part. There were times when both were near-collapsing on top of each other and other times when they were knocking into each other so badly it was causing Bella bodily harm. When the last notes fled away, Bella wanted to hide. It was the most terrible dance she ever had.

Thinking it was over, she turned away, repeating to herself not to run over and over again. Nearby, there was another thud. Just as she was about to disappear through the door, a cold hand grabbed hers. Bella whirled around, suddenly finding herself staring into Edward's golden eyes.

She glanced this way
I thought I saw
And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw
No it can't be, I'll just ignore
But then she's never looked at me that way before

Hands still connected, they stared at each other, as if trying to dig for unknown secrets – examining each other's souls. Tension peeked as both had an urge to touch the other but neither knew what to do about it. A small breeze came through the door, flinging several curls out of place. Hesitantly, Edward tucked them away, reveling in the feeling of her soft skin. Bella's breath became a little shallow.

"Dance with me," he said hoarsely, his voice melodic. "Just dance…"

She mutely nodded, allowing herself to be led onto the dance floor again. The soft voices of a string quartet filled the room as Edward led her into a sarabonde. This time, however, there was no stumbling. He twirled her around the room, doing a spin here, a toss-up there, a tumbler and a hop. It was different – much different – than their last one. This was filled with grace while the other with clumsiness. Footsteps barely making a sound, the pair practically flew around the room until he surprised her with a low dip at the end.

Bella curtsied, her face warming up in a blush while Edward bowed, his expression shocked.

"I know how to dance," Edward marveled just as Bella said, "You know how to dance."

"Since when?" they both asked at the same time. Nearby, someone was abusing her forehead again.

"You just found out," Bella answered when Edward said, "I just found out."

"Stop saying what I say!" again, at the same time. The pair stared into each other's eyes. There were several forehead-abusers doing their forehead-abusing job. Then without warning, Edward laughed, his musical laughter bouncing off the walls. Bella joined him a few moments later, and the two collapsed into an ungraceful heap.

The clock struck eight-thirty when the giggling finally stopped. He led her outside into the warm night air, watching as the last of the sun disappeared behind the horizon, leaving behind millions and billions of other stars to light up the sky. Stopping in a small meadow at the far end of Kimberley, Edward suddenly dropped down to the soft grass, pulling Bella haphazardly down with him.

New and a bit alarming
Who'd have ever thought that this could be?
True that he's no Prince Charming
But there's something in him that I simply didn't see

"And that's the Big Dipper, always pointing to the Little Dipper which always leads to the North Star," Bella said, pointing to a cluster of stars in the sky.

"No way! I always thought they call it Ursa Major or the Big Bear and Ursa Minor or the Little Bear!" Edward cried in disbelief. "They can't make that many changes in a century!"

"Silly Edward," Bella giggled. "They're the just different names for the same thing…I just call them the dippers…but whatever floats your boat…" She shrugged, which earned her a playful yet indignant nudge.

"They shouldn't give a group of stars so many names," Edward grumbled softly.

"Does Edward need a kiss?" Bella teased, still giggling, before stopping suddenly in mid-giggle, just realizing what she said. "I…er…um…"

"Real eloquent," he commented. "Yes."

"What?!"

"Yes, Edward needs a kiss," he said with a small teasing tone and a smile.

Bella sat up and lightly pecked him on the nose. "Does little Eddie feel a better now?" she cooed. Edward's face scrunched up in mock-horror, though his eyes twinkled with badly-hid amusement.

"Is little Bella getting bugged by those meanie mosquitoes?" he cooed back, watching as Bella unconsciously slapped away some little critters. She stuck her tongue out at him before running back into the castle, laughing all the while.

"Catch me if you can!" her voice flew into his ears.

"Not fair!" he shouted back before sprinting at full speed after her.

She had gotten more than a fair head start. When he finally caught her, even with the help of super-speed and all, she had just made it to the living room. He leaped for her, wrapping her in a safe cocoon as he landed on the nearest sofa, laughing the whole way.

"Nice going, slow-poke!" she said, her eyes dancing in the light of the warm fire.

Their eyes caught – gold staring into innocent brown, unknowingly closing the space between them until their noses touched.

And then, with only the slightest of hesitance, Edward closed the remaining space. In the flickering light of the fire that warm evening, a lad and a lass shared a simple, yet very sweet kiss.

They broke apart after a moment. He watched as her face heated up in a scarlet blush. He knew he would have blushed as well if he could. "I…um…good night," she said, her voice a faint whisper. In a rustle of skirts, she left. Edward closed his eyes and sighed, but froze when he felt her soft lips brushing against his forehead. His eyes snapped open to reveal a smiling and blushing Bella before she ran away to her room.

Well, who'd have thought?
Well, bless my soul
Well, who'd have known?
Well, who indeed?
And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?
It's so peculiar.
Wait and see
There may be something there that wasn't there before

And his eyes closed to leave his mind reveling in his new-found feelings and host a new stampede of memories.

I thought the ending was fluttery. Sighs. Review!

--Cathy