Sophie helped me pick my dress after we ate (or drank, whatever). We went to the basement for Marcus' dresses collection, and found what we wanted.
"That purple dress looks so good on you!" I said. It was a short purple dress, strapless, with a silver petticoat under it. It had silver beadings on the top too.
"I know! But I think you should pick the blue dress, not the black. It will look better next to Alec," Sophie said.
"Really? But we won't be standing much together anyway, Aro may not know it," I said. "I take the black. It looks nice too." The long satin black dress seemed to be made for my body.
We went back to my room. Sophie did my make-up and hair. She didn't need anything herself, she was pretty enough already. Then we went to Alec's room.
"Knock-knock, we're ready!" Sophie said through the door. He was in a dark blue suit. Then behind him, Jane came out in a dress in the same blue colour. I wondered if Alec had told her about our date.
"We're ready too," Alec said. "Let's go." We went to the theatre hall. Many other vampires were already dancing. A small all-vampire band was playing songs from the '20s.
Alec came to stand next to me. "I will dance with Jane first. Go dance with another vampire, and we will switch in the middle of the song. Aro won't suspect anything," He whispered. I nodded.
Felix asked me to dance with him and I said yes. I was lucky my family taught me how to dance. Felix did very well. We chatted a little, but there was not much to say. Then Alec tapped my shoulder.
"Can I have this dance?" Alec said.
"Sure!" I felt relieved. Dancing with Felix was nice, but I was looking forward to Alec all the time. Being with him felt safe.
"Enjoyed dancing with Felix?" he asked.
"Yes, very much. How was Jane?" I said.
"She doesn't like us being together. She thinks she will lose me some day," Alec said.
"Well, let me make this straight. I'm only dating you, Alec. That's no guarantee that I will marry you, and go away from the Volturi, or my family," I said.
Alec looked disappointed. "You are right. We should have fun now. Do you want something to eat? I see they made food for you." He pointed at some plates with Italian snacks.
"No, thanks. We better concentrate on our dancing, there's a new song coming," I said. The rest of the evening we had lots of fun. Around 2 o'clock I was a really tired. Alec noticed it.
"You should go to bed. Come on, I'll take you to your room," he said. He brought me to my room, and while I sat on my bed, he took off the extremely high heels I was wearing.
"I'm sorry, I don't think it's usual to let your date take clothes off," I said.
"It's okay, Dawn. I've see you in underwear before. Now go brush your teeth, you need to sleep," He said. But I could see he was grinning a little, trying to hide it.
After I brushed my teeth and Alec took my dress off and put on my pyjamas, I went to lie in bed. Alec sat on the edge.
"I would give so much for just one night of sleeping, you know?" he said.
"Why? The Cullens don't mind it at all, they like the extra time" I said.
"Escaping from everything, with a good reason," he said. "Would you mind if I stay here a little longer while you sleep?" he asked.
"Uh, that's quite an unusual question. But, if it makes you feel better, you can stay as long as you like. Just don't listen if I talk in my sleep, runs in the family," I said.
"I'll be sure I listen," he said. Then he bent over and kissed me. I'd never been kissed before, and it was quite a surprise. My heart was racing. It was beating in my ears and my eyes fluttered shut. Then Alec let go.
"I'm sorry, did I upset you? That sounded almost like a heart attack!" he said.
"No, not at all. But I'm not sure if I'm able to sleep now," I said. He smiled at me. I had never noticed before he had such a beautiful smile. I know, sounds as in a normal faitytale, but it's true…
"Okay, sleep well then," he said. "I promise to be here when you wake up."
I had the most wonderful dreams that night. And Alec played a role in all of them. When I woke up I was almost sorry I couldn't sleep a little longer. But then I saw him sitting next to me, on the edge of the bed.
"Good morning, love! Had a nice sleep?" Alec asked.
"Very nice. And you? How was watching me sleep? I hope not to boring?" I asked.
"No, not at all. You kept telling me that you loved me. That doesn't bore me at all," he said. "I will get you something to eat. I'll be right back." And he was gone, in vampire speed.
Only a few seconds later someone knocked on my door. I expected it to be Sophie, so I was surprised to see Jane open the door.
"Hi, can I come in?" she said.
"Sure, is everything allright?" I asked. Jane closed the door.
"No, everything is not alright. What do you think you're doing? Dating my brother is against Volturi law, I thought?" she said, with a very, very angry expression on her face. Oops…
"Uh, I'm sorry Jane, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just… dating him. Nothing serious," I said.
"Well, I'm pretty sure what I heard last night. My brother is thinking about leaving our family to be with you!" Jane said. When she said 'you', her face looked like she was talking about something awfully dirty, and the word was like it was a disgusting taste in her mouth.
"Oh, no. That was before I said that I didn't want him to do that! Why are you blaming me for this?" I said. I was getting pretty pissed off by the girl.
"Because if you weren't here, Alec would still be my brother! Now he spends the whole night sitting on your bed," Jane shouted, throwing her arms up in the air.
"That's his choice. He can be wherever he wants to be. And if that is on my bed, that so be it!" I said.
"If you don't slow things down from now on, I will go to Aro. And if you ever, ever tell Alec I was here, I will rip your warm and bloody heart out! No, better, I will tell your parents that you date a Volturi vampire!" Jane said. And then she was gone.
Uh-oh. Not good. If my father would know… I didn't get time to think about what could happen, because Alec came into my room. He had some Italian food on a plate, and it smelled great. I stuck out my hand to taste it, but Alec shoved the plate away.
"No, first a kiss. Then you can eat," he said. Then he bent over, but I pushed him away, frightened about what Jane had said.
"Uhm, Alec. I was thinking, maybe we should slow things down a little. I only know you for such a short time, and you know, my family and things…"
Alec looked sad. "I don't want to slow down! If you lived in my time, we'd be married already!" Sounds like one of the bedtime stories Grandma Bella had told me once…
"But we don't live in your time. Really, Alec, I like you. But that doesn't mean that I will marry you. You are my 'now', weddings are for later." I said. Maybe I should have said it less straight, but this was how I felt about it.
"So that's how you feel about me? Someone to dump as soon as you find someone better? Dawn, I love you. And if you don't feel the same about it, why date me in the first place?" And then he stormed out of my room.
"No, Alec! Wait, let me explain," I said. He had to be at the other side of the building already, but I knew he could hear me. Two seconds later, he was standing next to my bed again.
"Give me one good reason why I should be with you," he said, his tone in an acid hiss. Why do people always say only girls can be Dramaqueens?
"Because I love you, Alec. I really do. But I like my new family, and my real family. If I choose for you, I will lose them both. Before I make that decision, I need to know you a little better."