Glances

"Congratulations, Bella," I murmured. I smiled warmly at her. My friend looked gorgeous. Not only had someone (Alice, probably) done a fantastic job with her hair and makeup, but, as with most people, happiness also added to her looks.

And, tonight, there was no doubt that she was happy.

Edward, handsome as ever, looked more magnificent than he ever had. He kept one arm around Bella's waist at all times, and, occasionally, he would look down at her with such emotion in his eyes that it made me wonder if I knew exactly how strong their relationship was.

"Thanks, Angela," Bella said. "I'm so glad you could come."

I hugged her tightly, while Ben shook hands with Edward. There was a long line behind us, so, taking Ben's hand, I led him away.

"Do you want something to drink, Ang?" Ben asked.

"A little punch, maybe," I said.

"Back soon!" He stood on his tiptoes to kiss my cheek. I felt myself turning bright pink. I felt strangely sad as he walked away, though I knew he'd be back in less than five minutes.

I decided to sit in one of the chairs, smoothing my dress out. I felt extremely self-conscious- this dress had a lower neckline than I was used to.

There were three girls in the three chairs to the left of mine. Each of them was obviously waiting to be asked to dance. One by one, they were offered hands and smiles, and they whirled away. Nobody came to ask me.

When I was younger, this would have offended me. It would have made me go home and cry, and wonder why I wasn't pretty enough for everyone. Would have made me go sit in front of a mirror for hours and try to attain that flirtatious look other girls seemed to have without trying. But, when I was sixteen, I'd accepted I would never be a boy magnet, and I was okay with it. Plus, Ben more than made up for every other guy ignoring me. The thought made me smile. Yes, Ben was worth more than a million other guys.

It had been a few minutes; I wondered idly what was taking Ben so long.

To occupy myself, I decided to people-watch.

I couldn't find Bella and Edward anywhere – they must have gone away somewhere by themselves or were surrounded by guests. Edward's parents, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen, were off to one side, whispering, heads bent close together. Every so often, Mrs. Cullen would shoot a worried glance into the forest. I wondered what was going on, but then, it wasn't really my business.

Alice was dancing with Jasper, who'd come home from college for the summer, apparently. It was the first time I'd seen her take a break from doing whatever it is Alice does to make things perfect. Emmett and Rosalie were home, too. Rosalie looked even more beautiful than she had last year, and I was so certain that wasn't possible…even Ben had been looking at her rather wistfully.

A bunch of people from La Push were here. They didn't seem very comfortable, though. Except for one tall boy I'd noticed earlier…but I couldn't see him anywhere. Anyway, he'd seemed perfectly at ease.

Ben was back then, carrying two glasses of punch. "Thanks," I said. Ben sat next to me, draining his cup in one gulp.

He waited patiently while I finished my drink, and then, with his usual energy, bounced up and reached for my hands. "Let's dance!"

"Ben, I really don't think-"

"It'll be fun! You'll see!"

With a sigh, I rose to my feet. If I didn't love him so much, I thought to myself, I would never be doing this.

Ben pulled me close, so close that his forehead was resting against my chin, so close that there was no space between his tux and my dress. That wasn't anything new- it wasn't like we didn't make out like a normal couple. It's just…my dad was here. Mom had left with the boys about an hour ago, but Dad, the one who would get upset, was still here.

I didn't want to, but I made myself pull back a little. "Ang?" Ben's face looked hurt.

"Dad," I explained.

"Oh! I forgot." Ben looked around, checking to see where my father was.

Luckily, he was busy eating a piece of cake and talking to Chief Swan. But he was too close for us to dance like we did at prom, for example. "Leave room for Jesus!" He always told me before I went on a date with Ben. Every single time.

"I will," I always promised. I know

Dad meant "Leave room for Jesus" as in "leave room for someone else to fit in between you two", but I decided to interpret it differently. Since God was everywhere, surely, as long as there were a few molecules of space between Ben and myself, Jesus could technically fit there, if he so chose. I felt bad for deceiving Dad, but not bad enough to quit. It wasn't like Ben and I were sexually active or anything.

Ben and I danced for a bit longer, and then, feeling a little reckless (was there something in the punch? I didn't know why I was suddenly so giddy; that was unusual for me), I pulled Ben far into the shadows.

I kissed him, and he replied with enthusiasm. I always had a crick in my neck after kissing Ben while standing up, but the trade was worth it, in my opinion.

After about ten minutes, I decided we needed to stop. You see, Ben has these wandering hands that I tolerate in private, but so close to so many people…not happening.

"Behave yourself!" I hissed, slapping his hands away halfheartedly, being sure to smile at him as I did so, to make sure his feelings weren't hurt.

He grinned mischievously. He kissed me once more, gently and sweetly, before taking my hand and leading us back to the dance floor.

This time, a slow song was playing. I looked into his dark eyes and didn't look away. We didn't have to talk, didn't have to think. We just had to look at each other.

The sparks that always flew in my vision when I looked at Ben's eyes were turning into full-fledged fireworks. Needing a break, I quickly glanced away.

That's when I noticed someone was watching me. It was the Quileute boy who seemed so at ease. He looked about twenty or so, with cropped black hair and liquid dark eyes. He was dancing with an older woman that had to be his mother.

I expected him to glance away when I caught him staring – it's what I would have done, without hesitation – but he continued to gaze, and there was something in that gaze that I couldn't comprehend. I felt my face heating up, so I looked down again. But not at Ben. I was too disconcerted by the guy staring at me. Ben would see it in my face, would demand to know what was wrong, and, when I told him, Ben would proceed to blow things completely out of proportion and go give the guy a talking-to.

So I stared at our feet.

A deep, warm voice said, "May I break in?"

I raised my eyes, and it was him. The man who'd been staring at me. Ben shot me one bewildered look before saying, "Um…sure." And he backed away.

The man wrapped his huge hands around my waist –tightly, but not so tight that it hurt. "Have we met?" I asked. I glanced up once at his face. He was looking at me with that odd expression in his eyes again. It was tender, and adoring, but it made no sense that he should be looking at me this way. I didn't even know his name.

"No. I'm Seth Clearwater." I chanced another peek as he spoke. He was…quite good-looking, actually. And very muscular. And ridiculously tall. He was nearly six inches taller than my six feet. I was worried then, worried that Ben would be jealous or hurt. What if he felt threatened by this guy? Though I felt that Ben knew how much I loved him, I couldn't even imagine how jealous I would be if Ben danced with a beautiful girl, though I trust him completely.

"Angela Weber," I replied. I tried as hard as I could to keep from touching him too much. My hands barely brushed at his shoulders. I wanted to find Ben, wanted to see his face to make sure he was okay, but that would be rude. Plus, there was something very compelling about Seth's face…I liked looking at it.

We were quiet for a long time. The song changed then, and I cleared my throat. I couldn't stop my eyes from darting up to his face every few seconds. I removed my hands from his shoulders, and stepped back. He seemed reluctant to let go of my waist.

"It was nice to meet you, Seth," I murmured.

"The pleasure was mine," he said, smiling softly.

I was about to turn to walk away, when he said, "Angela?"

I whirled back around. "Yes?" I was glad to have an excuse to look at him again.

"I-" he stopped himself, frowned, and then seemed to change his sentence. "I hope we can hang out some time."

This confused me more than anything else had. We hadn't even talked, just danced awkwardly. But, as I thought about it, I realized I would like to see him again. "Me, too," I said, before I could stop myself.

He beamed, his eyes lighting up.

He watched me walk away, still grinning from ear to ear. I wrung my hands together. Though I'd only said I'd like to hang out with him sometime, the things I was thinking and feeling throughout my dance with Seth made me feel horribly guilty, like I had cheated on Ben.

I couldn't find him anywhere, and, as I grew more frantic, I pushed Seth Clearwater and the mysterious attraction I felt for him out of my head. Ben was who I was attracted to, Ben was my boyfriend of over a year.

"Angela!" His voice came from behind me.

"Ben!" I cried, relieved.

I ran to him and hugged him.

All the doubts I'd had went scampering away when my boyfriend's arms wrapped around me, because every part of me knew that I loved him. Seth and his strange eyes were forgotten entirely. It was me and Ben, simply the two of us.

Just the way I liked it.