Okiday! I'm so sorry this took so long...I've had a bizillion things going thru my mind and haven't been able to concentrate on just one. I decided to split this into two sections because i felt so bad that i was taking so long to update!
Again...Stephenie owns all;
ENJOY!
The drive to Port Angeles wasn't long, and with Anthony's lead foot, the trip was even shorter. My efforts to take a nap along the way had been in vain as the two of them refused to let any semblance of silence enter the vehicle. Realizing that fact, I decided I might as well enjoy the drive and take part in the conversation. Anthony was excited that he had a date and surprised Mike and I both when he admitted that he'd had a crush on Angela for a while. This was news to me as he'd always seemed to ignore her when she was around. He claimed it was because he wanted her to see him as "dark and mysterious", to which Mike pointed out that she hadn't seen him at all.
I had to admit that I was enjoying myself. Port Angeles was a beautiful area, and the bright orange sun shining through the clear blue skies made it even better. I would have liked to take a walk along the boardwalk by the bay but the guys insisted on heading straight for the large department store.
"So tell me Eddie, when was the last time you went on a date." Anthony smirked, sharing a quick glance with Mike. Somehow, no matter what we were talking about, my social life always found its way in the conversation.
"I'm sure you already know the answer to that." I grimaced.
"You're right, it was about six months ago." He laughed, pulling another shirt from the round-rack. I was so used to his by now, so I just shook my head and laughed with him.
"Why is that Eddie? I mean, it can't be because you can't find a date. I mean, you turned down two in one week." Mike remarked, standing in front of the mirror and holding up several shirts to his chest.
"I don't know, I guess I just haven't met anyone that interests me." Until recently.
"I think he's holding out for Bella." Anthony laughed again. As usual, the blood rushed to my cheeks at the mention of her name. I rubbed the back of my neck as I tried to keep from smiling.
"I wouldn't say that I'm holding out for her. Is it my fault that there aren't any interesting girls around?"
"Yeah, but how do you expect to find out how interesting someone is if you don't talk to them?" This was surprisingly a valid question. I guess the truest answer was because I always got the feeling that girls just didn't want to talk to me. The times that I had got up the courage to smile at someone or show them I was interested, I always got the "you must be crazy" look.
"For the record, I have tried to talk to them. Can I help it if they don't talk back?"
"Well, that's funny cuz I hear it's the other way around." Mike joked. My eyes widened in shock.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, girls are always asking me why your so shy and why you brush them off whenever they try and talk to you." He explained.
This threw me for a loop. I tried to remember the times girls had initiated conversations with me. The only ones I could think of were in class where they would ask to borrow a pen or a piece of paper; or if they had missed class, they would sometimes as to see my notes.
"Mike, I don't think asking for a pen qualifies as talking to me. Besides, I don't know much about ballpoint pens so I'm sure the conversation wouldn't get too far."
"Smart ass!" Anthony hissed from behind a shelf of jeans. Mike shook his head and laughed. "I'm gonna go at some sneakers."
"Hey Eddie, why don't you help me find a tie." Anthony called as I was turning to follow Mike.
"A tie? Why do you need a tied for a frat party?"
"Its not for the party genius, it's for a meeting I have. Just come and help me find one." He laughed, throwing his arm around my neck and tugging me along. I knew he was up to something because I didn't know anything about ties; I hadn't worn one a day in my life, a fact I'm sure he was aware of. I decided to keep quiet and see how long it would take for him to start the questions. I browsed through the section of striped ties, pretending as if I were really interested in finding a good one.
"So…Edward, tell me. What is really going on with you and Ms. Cullen." It had taken him less time than I thought. I shook my head and laughed.
"I keep telling you guys, we're just…friends." My brows pulled together, struggling to say the word for the first time.
"Friends, huh? So you wouldn't mind if someone were to ask her out. You know, someone like me?" he questioned innocently, alternating two ties as he held them up to his neck in front of the wall mirror.
I just stared at him, as I felt the heat rising within my body, quickening my pulse. I had not right to be angry. I had never really told him or Mike how I'd felt about her, but that didn't stop me from wanting to strangle him for even thinking of such a thing. I let my eyes fall to the ugly, brown carpeted floor as I gave myself a chance to cool down.
"Well…no, I guess not." I responded quietly, not lifting my eyes. He burst into a fit in laughter, slapping the ties against the small, wooden shelf, almost knocking it to the ground.
"What's so funny?" I was confused by his reaction.
"You man, you're such a bull-shitter!" he wailed, still laughing loudly.
"What?"
"Man, you should have seen your face. You looked like you had seen a ghost, I've never seen you so pale."
"Whatever man, I don't know what you're talking about." I mumbled, my face getting hotter by the second.
"If you don't know, then why is your face so red?" My hands quickly flew up to my cheeks, immediately feeling the heat.
"I told you before; you're too emotional; your face gives everything away. You gotta learn how to control yourself, man." He commanded, balling his hands into fists. I had heard this criticism before, so many times as a kid, from my dad.
"So tell me the truth, do you like this girl or what?" He was serious now, as he came to stand in front of me. I wished he would just let it go, but I knew as long as I remained "mum" on the subject, he would keep badgering me.
"I don't know, she's ok I guess." Again, the blood rushed to my face.
"That would be a yes!" he smiled, squeezing my shoulder.
"Here's what you need to do…" he began, quickly rambling off suggestions on what I should do to get her to go out with me. I laughed and tuned him out because he had had just about as many dates as I did, which obviously meant there were some holes in his program.
Somehow between the talking and laughing at me, he'd managed to find three ties, four shirts and two pairs of jeans; all of which he purchased. I never said anything, but I sometimes thought his love of shopping rivaled that of most females. Once he was sure he had everything, we made our way down to the men's shoe department and found an empty handed Mike, talking to one of the sales clerks.
"Man, you haven't found anything yet?" Anthony sighed, as we reached Mike's side.
"I've been a little pre-occupied." He mumbled under his breath.
"Ok, we'll wait for you outside." Anthony told him as we headed for the exit. We were almost to the door when Mike called for us to wait up.
"Man, I gotta work out more." He huffed, stopping to catch his breath. We had planned on grabbing some food at a small Italian restaurant on the boardwalk, but the hung for shirts hadn't taken as long as we'd expected. The guys were going to take their clothes back to the car and then head towards the bay; probably to look for girls. I wasn't that interested in tagging along so I told them I'd meet them at the restaurant in an hour or so; I wanted to stop by a bookstore I had seen. Of course they weren't interested in checking out books so I didn't have to waste time trying to convince them not to come.
I was sad to see that the bookstore wasn't what I was looking for. The crystal and dreamcatchers in the window were clear signs for me to move it along. I knew there had to be a descent bookstore somewhere around here, so I followed the direction of the traffic, hoping it would lead me downtown. As usual, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going; staring at the colors of the setting sun on the horizon had me thinking of Bella. Were my feelings for her really that obvious, I wondered. I thought I had done a pretty good job of keeping them concealed, even if my heart did try to undermine all of my efforts.
I knew she didn't know how I felt; how could she? Other than the few talks we'd had, if you could them such, she'd barely said two words to me. This was all the more reason why I was utterly stunned when she had offered to drive me to Seattle. I stopped in my tracks, my face sullen as I realized it had to be some sort of practical joke. Why else would she waste her time on me?
With a bowed head, I trudged along south, toward some glass fronted shops that looked promising. I sighed to myself when I arrived in front of them and saw they were merely repair shops and vacant space. I still had a lot of time left before I had to meet the guys, so I tried to get my bearings straight before I headed around the corner.
I had already crossed another street by the time I noticed I was going in the wrong direction. All the people I had seen before were now heading north and the remainder of the buildings seemed to be mostly warehouses. This was definitely one of those times I wished I had one of those handy GPS devices. With no one around to ask, I decided to turn east at the next corner, and then loop around after a few blocks and try my hand at a different route. A group of four guys came around the corner I was headed for. I figured they weren't tourists by the way they were dressed, but something about them told me not to ask for directions. I moved to the far side of the pavement to give them room to pass.
"Hey there! Those are some nice sneakers." One of them turned to me and yelled.
"Thanks." I mumbled, trying to pick up my pace. I ended up on a sidewalk that lead me past the back of numerous, dully colored warehouses. I glanced across the street, searching for a store or shop I could step into, but there was only a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, protecting a storage yard. I stopped and peered up and down the street, thinking maybe there was someone I could get directions from. A dark blue van roared past me, and then the road was empty. I sighed heavily as the sky darkened and glanced over my shoulder.
Two men were walking quietly behind me. They were from the same group I'd seen before, but none of them were the one who had spoken to me. I took a deep breath, turned my head forward and walked quickly. I was not a fighter, but I knew if it came down to it, I could take at least one of them. That is, if al four didn't attack at the same time. I tried to remember some karate moves I had learn in the eight grade.
"Yeah, right." I chuckled darkly to myself.
I listened for footsteps behind me, but heard none. At least they weren't getting closer. I focused on the right hand turn I saw coming up in front of me. I thought of running, but I knew this would only land me face first on the rough concrete. A tan car turned onto the street from the south and sped quickly past me. A thought had crossed my mind to jump in front of it, but my reflexes were slow and then it was too late.
I reached the corner then, but a quick glance told me it was juts another row of empty buildings. I threw up my hand in frustration. How the hell was I going to get out of this maze? I shook my head in defeat and move along up the sidewalk. I listened to see if those guys were still behind me. I barely heard there footsteps now, which meant they were probably further back. A quick glance over my shoulder verified this however; both of them were staring at me.
A wave of uneasiness washed over me as I realized I had no idea where I was and no idea how to get where I needed to be. I faced forward and walked faster, praying that a different turn I saw up ahead would lead me back towards the boardwalk. I picked up my pace then, and almost ran for it. I reached the street and turned, only to find another long row of indistinct warehouses. I moaned heavily as I decided to see where this road would take me.
I stopped abruptly when I heard the sound of laughter, not so far in the distance. I peered down the long corridor in time to see two of the men step out into the road. Almost immediately, I heard the sharp tap of footsteps behind me. I jerked my head around, feeling my stomach sink as I recognized the other two men who had just been walking I thought was a safe distance away from me..
"Hey, hey! Where you going, kid?" One of them called out. I swallowed hard as I noticed the baseball bat that had suddenly appeared in his hands. Again I heard the wild laughter of the two men in front of me. I swirled around, bewildered; they had gotten closer.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" The one with the bat shouted. I jerked by head back and forth between the two groups, afraid to turn my back on either completely. My heart was racing in my chest as adrenaline surged through my body. I knew I could take a least one of them, but I also knew it would take nothing short of a miracle for me to make it out of here alive.
I turned my body sideways in order two see both groups of men approach simultaneously. My feet were planted firmly to the ground as I balled my hands into fists; preparing for the fight of my life.
Sorry i had to make this sort of a cliffhanger! i figured it was the best place to stop since i haven't quite finished.
I dont know...i think this chapter was harder to write because i couldn't decide if i wanted to follow the events of the book or make up something totally different. As you see, i finally decided to stick with the book...sort of :)
Please Read and Reveiw and thanks again for everyone who's taken the time to read it!
