Well, This is Awkward!

Chapter 1

Alice had seen that Victoria was coming after Bella. It frightened us. We loved Bella. Alice had informed us all that she was to be seen in the forest tonight. As Bella was off the hook for the whole Italy thing. Bella and Ed had gone down to Florida to visit Bella's mom. In the hunting for Victoria, we were going after her tonight. I was going to a dance first. I wasn't sure that I wanted to go. I wanted to help with the others to get ready, but Alice insisted that I would be back before they needed me. Kate had sent me the dress that we had looked at. It was the same cream colored short dress with the same black heels with the bows down the front. Kate had made the assumption that it would be cold so she sent a black fur shrug. It must have been expensive. Alice had taken the liberty of doing my hair, she had smoothed out the normally ratty braids into beautiful locks of flowing hair with sparkles stuck inside. I couldn't believe my reflection. It wasn't me. The person looking back at me wasn't an awkward teenager sporting a tee shirt and jeans with the braids and Red's hat. Instead the person in the mirror was an elegant, romantic, beautiful woman. I didn't mind being dressed up like a monkey completely, I felt beautiful, which was a good thing. Bad thing, I didn't like the fact that I wasn't completely comfortable dressed up. I worried that I would mess it up.

The phone began to ring profusely. I answered being the only one at home. "Hello?"

"Tabitha, where is the drive to your home?" Stella's voice became somewhat frantic. No one could find the way into our home. "We can't find it."

"How about I meet you at the driveway in a few minuets?" I told her laughing. I had originally planned on riding my bike to the dance until Alice found out. She told me it was un presentable.

I grabbed my bag, inside was my new Red's hat for luck. I had lost the other one jumping down into the Volturi's hole. I made it to the end of the drive and waved them over. I climbed into the minivan where Stella and Arielle sat. Stella's dress matched her perfectly. It was gaudy. It had sparkles all over it, it was what Alice liked to call a bubble dress. She had paired the dress with a lovely pair of black shoes that had strap about the front with a peep toe. Arielle had a longer dress that played her elegant height. The dress was deep blue with a glittery band about the waist. I liked it. I always felt shorter around these girls. Undeveloped and young even if my actual age was much superior to them. The girls chattered on as we got to the dance. We were going as a group of friends who didn't have dates. Stella made sure that she was in our happy party.

We hopped out of the van to the front of the gym. We watched as many others arrived. We were not the only ones without dates, but there were many who held each other dearly. The boys usually were stiff, but some embraced their dates even kissing them. I did not think that I myself would ever be loved in any way but the way I was by my family.

"Exciting isn't it Tabitha?" Stella said as we made our way in the door.

"Yeah, exciting." I told her as I sat down at a table.

"I love this song. I am going dancing!" Arielle said running out to the dance floor. Stella joined her and I watched as they bounced up and down to their hippie hoppy music.

I watched a while and danced a small amount. I had sat back down when a smell I recognized but only slightly drifted my way. A smell that had been developed since the last I had the pleasure of perceiving. My chest flipped as I saw the boy who had entered the room. He was in a blue dress shirt with a striped tie, it clung to his chest. His hair was much shorter than what I remembered. Mary Anne, apparently his date made me want to ensnare her and rip her to shreds. Seth Clearwater entered the room. I didn't understand what inside me stirred, but I felt uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. I felt that if I had a soul, it would have shed itself of my skin and went in the other direction. I looked the other way as if I myself had never noticed his existence. I didn't know why I was suddenly nerves around him. I wondered if he had noticed me. Of course he had. I smelt bad to him. He sat a few tables away from our own. I took a quick look at him, then looked the other way. I needed an excuse to act like I hadn't seen him. I went out on the dance floor. I sort of moved back and forth awkwardly. I looked over to him for a moment and he looked back at me. I spun around and looked away. When I took a peek back at him again, he was still staring. He must still hate me. His eyes never left me. I again sat back down to my seat trying to avoid his unchanging gaze. I didn't know why I felt that way suddenly. All I could think about was him, and whether he noticed me.

He walked over to our table, and in the most recognizable way, leaned across the table at me. "Hi Tabitha!"

"Seth," I said looking at the table. He called me by my name, curios no cold stone or Snow White? I forced myself to look into his dark brown eyes. "How have you been? I am sorry about your dad!"

"Thanks, Leah isn't taking it well. She has a lot on her. So does mom." He sat down beside me.

Why was he being so nice. Where had his date gone? "So you have grown a lot!"

"Yeah, you should know why!" He told me smiling.

"You're a dog now!" I said with a girlish enigma.

"Yeah, and I know what you are Miss Cullen. I finally know why I hated you so much in Junior High!"

"Yeah!" Why didn't he hate me now? He should hate me now more than ever, he should be threatening me! I kept quiet avoiding his gaze. I looked into his eyes for a glimpse. I didn't want to linger on his eyes. I didn't want him to see.

"So are you here with a date?" He asked me awkwardly. "Because, I could have a problem with that!" I thought he meant that because of the whole Bella and Ed love thing that they were not thrilled about. The inflection of his voice sounded like he was attempting to flirt. I couldn't tell.

"Um, no, no date. I came with some friends." I told him. "I see you came with Mary Anne."

He looked over to Mary Anne who was giggling with Stella. "Yeah, we are kind of dating." Now I really wanted to kill her. He looked back over at me. "I don't get her though! She is constantly into herself and no one else. If she starts on her own subject I can listen, but if I start on my own subject, she doesn't even listen. I have to listen about fashion and girly pop music all the time!" He seemed upset. I didn't know what to say that wouldn't sound stupid. He spoke interrupting my inaudible fear of stupidity.

"Maybe if you danced with me, it would convince her that I am no longer interested?"

"With me?" I was surprised he would give the idea, being a dog.

He hesitated. "I, I, I just think maybe if she saw me with you, she would know I was desperate to get away from her."

"That would break her heart!"

"Yeah, I don't have another plan!" He said laughing as he took a drink of soda.

"Tell her your not interested!"

He started laughing. He looked at me and told me he would be right back. He walked over to where Mary Anne was. I felt bad for her. I needed to get out of there. He might be coming back.

Stella came over and sat by me. "Seth has been staring at you all night. What did he come over here to talk about?"

"I don't know, but he just told me he is breaking up with Mary Anne! I can't believe he was talking to me."

Stella had the face of shock. "He is breaking up with Mary Anne?" She watched Seth for a moment. "That is weird. He talked to you. He used to hate you. You haven't changed in a year, no offence, but you haven't"

"I know!" I looked at her ticked.

"He has changed though!" She looked over at him while he was trying to get to Mary Anne. "He is a lot taller, and he is a lot hotter!" I laughed at her. I would never admit it, but he was hot, literally, like 200 degrees or something. I looked over to Mary Anne, she was dancing with another guy. Seth looked upset, I worried that he would become really upset and transform from being cheated on. He didn't, he just kind of laughed it off. He walked back over to me and sat by me. His eyes never leaving me.

"Umm, Tabitha, will you dance with me?" I stared at him in shock as he spoke.

"Your date just dumped you and you are asking me to dance?" What was he doing? "Are you feeling ok?"

"Um yeah, told you she wasn't a good date. Turns out she has been cheating on me!" He smirked.

"You can sure pick them!" I sarcastically told him.

"So do I get an answer or not?"

I looked over at Stella who lifted her eyebrows as if to tell me to say yes while she was dancing with guy who had asked her moments after Seth had sat down. I took in a breath and did something that surprised even myself.

"Ok," I told him. "But if my family gets wind of this, I am going to be more inanimate then I am already." I stood up. We walked over to the dance floor. We kept distance from each other. He took my hand on his shoulders. I had to get on my toes to reach him and he bent over. He was very warm, I pulled off afraid that my frozen skin would sting him. He laughed and took his hands and put them back on his shoulder.

"I don't want to hurt you!"

"You aren't!" He laughed. "Even if you did, it would just heal right away."

I didn't relax my hands on his high shoulders. I was afraid of two things. One I would somehow hurt him, or that he would hurt me. I kept resisting the urge to destroy him. Not for his blood, but for the pure hate I felt for his kind.

I swayed back and forth to the music looking at the floor. I didn't know what I should do. I looked up noticing that he had yet to take his eyes off of me. I looked up at him. My eyes involuntarily stayed locked in that position. He still smelled awful. His beautiful brown eyes had almost made up for that fact I wanted to vomit at his repulsive smell.

The end of the song came much to quickly. I let loose a little through the night. I did those line dance type things and had some fun. The DJ at one time asked if anyone wanted us to play songs on your Ipod. I brought up mine on a dare by Stella. The DJ was really new aged. He had only played like a couple older type songs. So when he saw my hundreds of 40s-80s songs he was a little surprised. He didn't know how to chose so he put it on shuffle and what came up was an old song by the Beatles. The entire room went silent. I couldn't believe how much fun I was having.

After a while I needed some air from the smell of amazing teenagers with their blood pumping mixed with Seth's repulsion. I stood outside just breathing in the fresh air.

"Hey Tabitha!" Seth ran out behind me. "I never knew you liked old music."

"Well I did live through a lot of time. Not the hippie stuff but the rock and roll. It is not like I listen to dark and depressing music all day." I laughed, sort of upset by the fact my smell happiness was gone, but happy that he was there. I didn't mind being able to talk to someone who also had a weird monster secret. "It's a thing that annoys most of my family when I have it turned up real loud. Only Emmet doesn't really mind! He laughs it off."

"Well it is cool. I don't know many girls who like this type stuff." He said flashing his adorable smile.

"Well I am not a normal girl!"

"You wouldn't be normal even if you weren't a vampire!" He said with a gleam in his eye and a laugh.

If I could blush I would have been red all over.

"Tabitha!" Stella's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Time to go, my mom is here!"

"Coming!" I called to her. I looked back at Seth. "Nice seeing you again!" He looked down then back at me with disappointed eyes. "Hope to see you again!"

I ran to the car. I sat in the back with Stella, I not breathing.

On the way back the two other girls were singing along to every song they knew on the radio making their hearts race. I just sat quietly. Stella's mom noticed my absence of talk. I wasn't that talkative normally so I wouldn't smell the closeness in the car, I was talking even less than that. My mind was on other parts of the night. Mainly Seth. The way he looked at me and how he complemented me. How he didn't mind his date cheating was very odd. My thoughts were only interrupted by Stella's sudden badgering.

"So Tabitha, what was going on with you and Seth?" Stella asked giggling. "I mean, I thought you hated each other?"

Arielle was just as surprised at Stella's question and asked one of her own. "He is a bit old for you, I think. When is your birthday?"

I thought to myself. When was my birthday? I didn't use my real birthday anymore. I told them the only date I did use. "March 12th" The day I changed.

"Oh my gosh that is his birthday." Arielle laughed.

"How do you know?" That was not the right answer for me.

"Mary Anne told me!" Arielle laughed. "She is such a good friend. Not all up in the brain though. Off with two guys at the same dance. What was she thinking?" They went on talking about her apparent lack of knowledge about dating. My mind was still racing about Seth himself. What was wrong with me?