Chapter Sixteen

"Sweetie, wake up," Dad said, shaking my shoulder ever-so-gently. I groaned.

"I just slept not an hour ago," I protested. Dad stayed silent for a second and I almost got back to sleep.

"It's 7am," he said. It was my turn to sigh.

"Yes, and I fell asleep at 5:30. My math isn't that good when I haven't slept well," I muttered. He shifted beside me on the bed, I could feel the covers move.

"Well, I don't usually wake you up before I head to work," he stated,"But I heard you cry last night after you got back from the game." I almost slapped myself for this. It was the most stupid thing to do, crying out loud when your parents are just a door away. I wouldn't be surprised if Allen asked me the same question today.

Oh wait, I'd be surprised.

I decided to play dumb,"Really?" I asked, closing my eyes tightly shut."Me? Crying?" Well, it was better than a lie 'cause the last thing I wanted to tell him was why I cried. The last thing you'd usually tell your father is that you bumped into your ex who kissed you and your boyfriend saw you and isn't answering his calls. Honestly, the last.

"Mary Grace Anderson you'd better not be hiding something," he said sternly, yet his voice was extremely concerned. Ouch. The last time he used that tone I ended up grounded, and the last time he used my full name like that- well, I can't even recall it. I remember him doing this to Allen all the time but not me.

"Dad..." I mumbled, my voice pleading and my eyes still closed."Please, just- just give me some time and I'll tell you, I promise." Maybe a day, maybe a year or even a decade. I might even consider a century, if I live that long, which I wouldn't which is kind of the point.

He kissed the top of my head,"No you're going to tell me when I come back from work," he said with finality."I can drive you to school; you're-" I cut him off, my eyes snapping open.

"It's Friday!" I concluded. Crap; I totally forgot about school! I mean, we only had half a day because of the dance this evening but, still.

"Yeah..." he said,"Ten minutes. I'll be waiting downstairs." He shut the door behind him. I quickly grabbed my phone, cash and keys and stuffed them into the smallest pocket of my backpack along with my eyeglasses that I, for some reason, had got out of it. I had not time to shower so I just settled with washing my face, noticing my bloodshot eyes and red nose in the mirror, which definitely didn't help my case with Dad. I untied my hair then did it again but in a decent ponytail, leaving my bangs free only because I didn't feel like thinking about what to do with them. Then I quickly changed into the same outfit I wore last night except that I didn't wear the jacket and I wore my white flats instead of the red converse. And, of course, I didn't wear the PA cap today.

I picked up my backpack and ran downstairs to find only Dad waiting for me, his face unreadable.

"Come on," he said and stood up, leading me towards the door.

We kept silent the whole way to school and I got there just on time for the bell which I was deeply grateful for; I didn't need to confront anyone about yesterday- let the school celebrate the winning. I ran upstairs and headed directly to English, where Matt was. I took my seat next to him and his eyes glanced at mine as soon as he heard me; he had been looking at the desk. I gave him the best smile I could muster at that moment, which, if you ask me, isn't worth being called a smile.

"Hey," I breathed and got out my notes. I doubted we would need the book today- it was the last day anyways.

"Hey," he answered and glanced towards the empty teacher's desk then back to me,"How are you?" he asked and his tone suggested he was annoyed. Oh, great. One more person to worry about today. This was just getting better and better...

"I'm sorry, okay?" I said,"I just don't want to talk about it now." He shrugged.

"Don't apologize," he said,"I'm just worried- what the Hell did he do to you?" he asked, obviously referring to Max that has been there last night. I avoided the question.

"Allen told me yesterday that he was going out with Chloe again," I said and Matt's fist met the desk but not loud enough to attract attention.

"If you want it that way, Mary, then fine. I'm sorry I ever asked," he said and the teacher entered before I could speak. I didn't need him to get mad at me, too. I felt like I could cry; I was at the verge of tears before anything to start with. I stood up and headed towards the teacher. She looked at me questioningly.

"Do you need anything, Miss Anderson?" she asked. I took a quick breath. I was so getting in trouble for this.

"Yes, actually, I need to be excused for just ten minutes," I lied,"I forgot something really important in my locker." Which I never really use.

"Oh," she said,"Okay. Don't be late; we're continuing A Tale Of Two Cities and we need a Lucie." I smiled at her.

"Sure." Not.

And I headed out of the door slowly, never throwing a second glance behind me. I left my backpack behind, in the class. I ran right after I was out of the teacher's sight and towards the entrance of the school, almost tripping on the stairs as I went out.

"Where do you think you're going?" I heard a voice say from behind and I froze. On the only time I try to ditch...

Alice came by my side,"You really don't know, do you?" she asked. I sighed and shook my head.

"I really don't," I breathed. She nodded.

"I know," she said,"I got worried about you." I frowned at her.

"Why?" I asked.

"I could actually see your future," she said,"That's reason enough. What happened?" she asked as she led me towards Edward Cullen's silver Volvo that she opened for me. I slid inside, trusting her. I didn't have any reason not to. And we had met a couple of times and went shopping for accessories for both Nessie's and Charlie Swan's weddings. That I don't know right now whether I would be attending or not.

"Embry thinks I kissed my ex," I said, refusing to use the term 'cheated on'. She gasped faintly.

"How could he?" she asked and frowned,"This kid," she mumbled. Sometimes I forgot she was way older than we were.

"I don't know," I mumbled, taking a deep breath to prevent myself from crying."Where are we going?" I asked.

"La Push," she simply answered,"But I'll drop you at the boundary line and call Jacob; I can't cross it." She rolled her eyes and called Jacob.

"He's mad at me," I said after she finished," I- I didn't even- God!" I said, a few tears escaping my eyes; I couldn't hold them. She patted my back with her ice cold hand twice.

"I know," she said,"How did he come to that conclusion, though?" Just when I was about to answer her, she spoke again,"Oh."

"You saw me telling you?" I asked and she nodded.

"I can't believe it," she muttered then turned to me with a smile, about 20 minutes later,"Matthew is going to take your stuff. You are in trouble but I think you'll Dad wouldn't be so mad, but you have to tell him."

"You think?" I asked. She shrugged.

"The lesson isn't over yet so they didn't make the decision to tell him," she said."You have detention when we return to school, though." I nodded and she stopped the car. I saw Jacob's VW a couple of feet away.

"Okay," I said, not really caring about detention now.

"I'll pick you up later. We have some dressing up we need for tonight," she winked at me.

"But-" she cut me off.

"I already called your Dad yesterday," she said and pushed me out ever-so-gently,"Now, go." I nodded and got out of the car, heading towards the other. I opened the passenger door and slid in for the third time today.

"Hey," I said. Jacob sighed.

"Hi," he said."Look, I don't know where exactly he is but I'm guessing home or else he would be in his wolf form which he's not." I looked down at my hands guiltily. Everyone was mad at me, apparently.

"It's not what he thinks," I whispered,"I don't know how he'd ever consider that." Jacob frowned and stayed silent for a second.

He muttered something along the lines of 'I told him so' then he spoke more clearly,"Just be careful," he warned as he stopped in front of the Calls'. I frowned.

"Okay but, why?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Just keep your distance until he gets it, got it?" he asked. I nodded and hurried out of the car, my heart pounding in my chest as I knocked the door. I just hoped any of them would be awake at 8:30am. Luckily, Amber answered as Jacob took his car and left me.

"Oh," she said,"Hi, sweetie." I could tell she was confused.

"Hi," I replied and put my hands in my pockets nervously,"Is Embry here?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yes," she answered,"Come in." I did as she said."I'm afraid he's asleep right now, but you can always wake him up; he needs to get up now anyways." She was cheerful. The only one today so I guessed she knew nothing about last night. I debated in my head whether I should wake him up or not but decided to do; I didn't have much time; I needed to get back to school at least before Lunch."His room is the first one on the left upstairs," she informed with a smile. I nodded and hurried upstairs. I found his door half-open already so I stepped inside

He was asleep indeed, the covers thrown on the floor. I blushed at the view as he was shirtless but luckily had his jeans on, which I found quite weird. I guessed that he was in his wolf form until late last night. The room was messy; clothes were thrown everywhere- on the floor, on the chair and even on the desk. But it was clean. Untidy but clean.

I sat down on the bed beside him and my hand was shaking as I nudged his shoulder. I didn't have the nerve to talk right then. His eyes snapped open and he sat up immediately.

"Wha-" he said and ended the word with a yawn then glanced at me, which made him freeze. We both stayed in awkward silence for a moment then I decided to speak. It was the National Decision Day for Mary Anderson today.

"It's not what you think." Was my very smart statement. He looked away.

"I think I know what I saw," he said, annoyed and started shaking slightly. I crossed my arms over my chest like a kid.

"I really don't know how you could be mad at me while it's not my fault," I muttered," I swear it isn't."

"First of all, I'm not mad at you- I would very much love to right now but I literally can't," he snapped and stood up, not facing me, and ran a hand through his awesome hair.

"Well, if that's what's going to make you listen then be mad at me!" I said, my voice rising the tiniest bit, very unlike me but I wasn't myself today,"Yell! Do whatever you want but listen. All I want you to do is listen," I said. He snorted.

"Listen to what?" he turned to face me,"To how you two love each other and you can't be my girlfriend anymore?" he snapped and I was too surprised to answer,"To how you just realized that you never got over him?" he growled and I wished I could shrink in my seat.

"No," I said,"No, Embry that's NOT what I want to say!" I tried to snap but couldn't, it sounded too weak."I don't love him!" He raised his eyebrows.

"So what was that kiss? Some kind of- what?" he asked, shaking harder now and coming closer to me.

"I never kissed him!" I answered truthfully and he cut me off before I could continue, his body lines getting blurry.

"I saw you," he said and I let out a few tears at his tone.

"Would you please listen?" I asked," HE was the one who kissed me and I pushed him away! I never kissed him!" I defended and, still crying, looked at him straight in his eyes, pointing my finger to his chest,"And you thought it was something entirely different, you don't trust me, Embry. Let alone how you left me to deal with him alone," I said, my tears now uncontrollable. His shaking got noticeably slower until it faded away." You don't even trust your-" he cut me off by taking my face in his hands- in a very different way than Max's- and kissed me.

It began rough but became slower as he continued, I kissed him back just as roughly, my hands reaching for his hair and his for my waist. He moved from my lips to my jaw line.

"I'm...so...sorry," he apologized between kisses, my heart doing laps as he did- and it wasn't beating normally before-."I...should've-" he paused when he came back to my lips, on of his hands on the edge of my red sweatshirt- his favorite. His lips moved again from mine but to my neck this time,"I love you so much, you know that?" he asked and pulled away, looking in my eyes, our foreheads leaning on each other.

"I know," I breathed,"I love you, too," I said," I don't know-" he cut me off.

"I shouldn't have done that, I know," he said," What do I have to do to make it up to you?" Oh, you think what you just did makes me remember anything before?

"What about you come with me to the dance tonight?" I asked, smiling. He kissed my forehead.

"Of course," he said. That was when Amber walked in on us in a very...compromising situation, with him still on top of me and my back pressed to the back of the bed. She chuckled.

"Breakfast's ready," she announced.

"For a vampire, you're either really slow or you're putting too much make-up," I accused, my eyes closed.

"I know I'm not slow," she mused,"But it isn't too much," she concluded.

"You finished Nessie in no time," I protested. She laughed a musical laugh.

"You're just too eager to go out and see ton petit ami," she said.

"You knew I'm not good at French, right?" I asked before she applied my lip-gloss.

"Yeah," she simply answered and I would have rolled my eyes if my eyes weren't still closed; she told me not to open them except when she tells me to."It means your boyfriend."

"I guessed that much," I said and Nessie joined our laughter."I'm heading downstairs now, 'Kay?" she said.

"Sure, sweetie," Alice said and I nodded."Now you can open your eyes," she said and I did. I looked at the mirror and I felt my eyes widen at the reflection I saw.

The girl I saw in the mirror was exceptionally beautiful, her dark hair half-raised up and the edges of her bangs were slightly curled. Her light, simple sparkly eye-shadow enhancing her dark brown eyes and matching her red lip-gloss that went perfectly with the shade of the strapless, slightly tight, long red chiffon dress that was truly simple with only a black belt on her waist. I moved my head to the left and was surprised a little to find the reflection move with me. Wow. It really was me.

"You're a miracle maker," I said and she smiled proudly and kissed my cheek.

"Now I'm going to go dress up, you go meet Embry downstairs, I can hear him getting impatient," she said and turned away. I stepped into my black heels and wore what Alice called a black bolero before I went downstairs to find Embry waiting at the edge of the stairs- somebody must have told him. He grinned widely and held out a hand for me that I took gladly. He kissed my forehead.

"You look stunning," he whispered in my ear and I blushed.

"You don't look so bad yourself," I said. Actually, no. He looked more than awfully handsome in the black suit he had on, his hair just as I remembered it from that dream I had a few days ago. He smiled and engaged my arm in his.

"Let's go," he said.

"I demand a picture!" Alice said from upstairs and ran to us, her camera in her hands. Everyone laughed.

I wrapped my arms around his neck again as he put his hands on my waist. This dance was thankfully slow. I loved how I could look at him straightly without having to look up now I was on my heels.

Bryan finally believed I did have a boyfriend. I was glad he did. He came with that cheerleader, I think...What was her name, again? I don't know. I talked to Matt today at school, which I got detention at but they, thankfully, didn't call my parents. He said it was okay and he was just worried about me. Matt was a great friend, really. And he deserved the best. He had a date for tonight...I wonder if there's something more, but I'll ask later.

I found a text message from Allen when I took my stuff from Matt today at school. He was actually worried about me- he heard me, too. That honestly surprised me, but then I concluded that my little brother is finally growing up, something I never expected to happen, not in this lifetime anyways. But I knew he would deny that he actually cares that much about me but it's the thought that counts.

"What are you thinking about?" Embry asked.

"Nothing important," I said,"I really want to sleep," I mused. He chuckled.

"Me, too," he agreed," And I'm hungry, too." I chuckled.

"You boys are always hungry," I commented. He scowled before he laughed along with me.

"So do you want to get out of here and go grab something to eat?" he asked,"Anywhere. But I doubt McDonald's would be very appropriate with our formal clothes on." I smiled.

"Sure," I said and he led me out of there as quickly as possible. I sat, facing the right side, on his motorcycle-that I'd insisted he'd bring us in- and he sat behind me, opening his jacket. He kicked it to life.

"Ready to go, angel?" he asked, using my newest nickname.

"Let's go, Zoro." My Zoro.

The End

Disclaimer (since it's the last time here, why not?): I do not own any of the Twilight characters, I do own Mary, Matt, Allen, William, Amelia, Amber, Stacey, Brad, Bryan and Max though =)

I hope you liked it. I know I enjoyed writing it very much.

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