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Edward loves to dance. Bella wants to make him happy.

Silhouette on the Shade

by silly bella

Hunting with Emmett was always fun. I enjoyed the friendly competition and camaraderie. But not so much when you added Rosalie to the picture. She'd decided to join us at the last minute. For some reason, Rosalie and I just seemed to rub each other the wrong way. I'd been lucky hunting, and after feeding twice, I decided to run home. Emmett and Rosalie could have some private time. I could at least watch Bella sleep tonight.

It was dark when I arrived, and I expected her to be in bed, if not asleep. But I heard her stirring, so I waited outside. I couldn't resist looking in her window. She had on her pajamas, a nice cotton set instead of the old ratty sweats and tee-shirt she used to wear. She held a piece of paper in her hands as she moved awkwardly around the room and bobbed her head as she muttered something. I listened more carefully.

"Slow, slow, quick, quick. Slow, slow, quick, quick." She looked down at her feet and frowned.

Was she dancing? I chuckled quietly. I guess you could call that dancing. I was so glad I'd come home early from hunting. This was going to prove interesting. I backed away from the window and slipped quietly to the spruce in the front yard. I climbed to a spot on one of the upper branches, just high enough to provide a nice view of Bella's room but not so high the top bowed over.

"I think I zigged when I should have zagged," she said as she bit her lip in frustration. She started over again.

Zigging and zagging? I held back my laughter. What is she talking about? She counted off something and began to move again. I followed the pattern of her feet as she counted off the steps again. Between her steps and her counting, I figured it out. That's a Foxtrot. At least, I'm pretty sure that's a Foxtrot. I stared, puzzled. If she wanted to learn to dance, why didn't she ask me for help? I felt a little hurt. Why would she hide something as innocent as dancing?

Then she teetered and fell. I wanted to catch her, but I didn't think she'd appreciate me suddenly appearing right now. Luckily, she landed on the bed, so she wasn't hurt. "Of course, I might surprise him by breaking my neck while he's hunting. Although, given my coordination, that might not be much of a surprise."

She wanted to surprise me? That's what this was about? She was learning to dance to surprise me? She'd just gotten her cast off and one of the first things she does is try to dance for me? I smiled. Now it made sense. She'd waited until I left to hunt to practice. This is like opening a Christmas present while everyone is gone and having to wrap it up again and wait until Christmas to let anyone know you know what it is.

Another sigh before she stood up again. "Practice makes perfect," she assured herself. "Or at least it makes it less likely that I'll fall." She started repeating the steps once more.

I wondered how long she'd practice. It didn't matter, I'd watch even if she practiced all night. I might have ruined her surprise, but knowing how hard she was trying made it all even sweeter. Bella hates dancing, but she's learning to dance to surprise me. I counted along with her, "Slow, slow, quick, quick," as she swayed around the room.