I was in a daze for the rest of the night after Jake had said he loved me. I knew it probably meant nothing, but he had never said that before. I was distractedly making dinner when Charlie came home, my mind in a different place than focusing on the chicken I was cooking.
"Bells?" Charlie asked in a surprised tone as he walked in. "I thought you were out. Your truck's not here." I blushed, with the sudden memory of my faintness in Biology today. I had completely forgotten about it after my conversation with Jake.
"Oh yeah. I wasn't feeling very good in Biology, so one of my classmates gave me a ride home. They're picking me up tomorrow too to bring me to school, so you don't have to drive me or anything." Immediately, Charlie's rushed over to me.
"Are you okay? Was it because of yesterday? Are you sure you should go in tomorrow?" I sighed. I loved Charlie, but sometimes he was as bad as my mother when it came to worrying.
"I'm fine!" I insisted. "I just wasn't feeling so good. There was a bit of blood in the experiment along with bleach, it was just a bit much after yesterday. I'll be as good as new tomorrow. Don't worry." I shook my head at him. As I finished dinner, I set the table and Charlie and I ate quietly. I was pushing my food around my plate, my thoughts whirling around Jake and the dance. I really did have to get something semi-formal…hopefully I'd find something that I looked alright in.
"So…what are you plans for your birthday? You want anything special to do? I know that we're having the party with Billy and Jake on Saturday, but what do you want to do on your actual birthday?" I looked directly at my plate while I said my next words so Charlie couldn't see my increasingly red face.
"Well…actually Jess and Angela are dragging me to the dance on Friday, and I wanted to hang out with Jake too, so he's coming too…" I didn't dare look up. "And Jess, Angela, and I are going to get dresses for it tomorrow after school."
"Hmm," Charlie said. I still didn't look up. "That sounds good. As long as you're not too tired to go to the party tomorrow." I looked up a little surprised. "And, you'll need some money for dress shopping…" He pulled out his wallet for a second and gave me $40, which I could add to the $50 I already had. I could get a good dress with that, right?
"Thank you dad…" He smiled across the table from me.
"Of course Bells, that's what dads do. Just make sure you have a good time and look really pretty for Jake." I blushed and Charlie pretended not to see. After dinner, I quickly cleaned up as normal, and went up to my room, showered and did what little homework I had.
That night, I dreamt of Jake and me waltzing at the dance, out onto the football field, where it almost had a surreal glow in the night. Of course, as soon as we were about to go back home, I woke up. Just my luck. I had set my alarm clock early, not quite sure when Edward was going to arrive to pick me up. The idea of walking to school sounded somewhat appealing still. But I sighed, and put on one of my favorite pairs of jeans and a chocolate brown v neck shirt. If Jess, Angela and I were going somewhere after school, I wanted to look somewhat presentable. Plus, I didn't exactly feel like changing after a long day of school. I wanted out of Forks.
I rushed down the stairs, thankful that Charlie was gone to work already. I didn't exactly know what reaction he'd have if he knew it was going to be Edward Cullen picking me up. As I peered out the door, I saw a car in the driveway that certainly wasn't my red truck or Charlie's cruiser. It was too shiny, too new, and too expensive. It was a silver Volvo with tinted windows rolled all the way up, so I couldn't see if his family had ridden along. I walked over to the Volvo grudgingly. As I walked closer to the car, the backseat window rolled down.
"Hi Bella!" Edward's sister, Alice said, her hand bobbing back and forth. I noticed that Jasper was next to her, with a somewhat pained expression on his face. Maybe he had hurt himself or something?
"Hi…" I said awkwardly. I barely knew Edward and I was traveling with his family too. This would be interesting. Edward seemed to grimace as Alice enthusiastically greeted me. He muttered something under his breath that I didn't quite catch and she giggled.
"Get in Bella! I can't believe Edward didn't introduce us after what happened two days ago." She glared at him. "It was quite rude."
"I didn't realize that I would have to introduce her after I helped her to the emergency room. Excuse me for thinking she might need to rest instead of be introduced to my family." He said this in an annoyed tone, and she pouted. I shook my head and gingerly got into the passenger's seat. "Anyways, are you feeling any better Bella? I suppose you don't need anyone to pick you up again?" He said, a sparkle in his golden eyes. Now it was my turn to glare.
"No thank you. And I was perfectly capable of driving myself home yesterday." He rolled his eyes.
"Of course you were." He said sarcastically, a smirk appearing.
"I was." I insisted, unintentionally sounding more like a ten year old than I might have wanted. Alice giggled from the backseat again. I turned back to see why she was laughing.
"I'm sorry, the two of you just sound like an old married couple." She giggled behind her hand. "Don't they Jazz?" Jasper nodded, and Edward shot her a glare that could have frozen Egypt. She stopped, and he begun to drive towards the school. Alice, the talkative one decided to try and create conversation. "So, Bella, are you going to the school dance this Friday?" She seemed genuinely interested, but for some reason, Edward's knuckles on the steering wheel tightened.
"Actually, yes, I am. My friends are on the dance committee, and I helped to figure out the theme for the dance, so they're dragging me along." I rolled my eyes. Alice leaned forward eagerly.
"You helped figure out the theme? Moonlight in September?? Ohmygosh, I am SO excited for that! Do you want to get a dress after school today??" She was a bit overwhelmingly eager but I smiled. It was endearing, like a jazzed up six year old.
"Well, actually, I'm going with Jess and Angela today, but you can come if you want…" I said, not really thinking if Jess and Angela would be okay with it.
"Really?! That'd be awesome. Rose already has a dress she's been dying to wear; I swear, her wardrobe is even bigger than mine, and I have absolutely nothing to wear for it!" Both Jazz and Edward laughed at this. "So we'll all go afterschool! It'll be great!" She said, ignoring their laughter. I smiled. While she chattered away about dress fashions, we quickly arrived at the school. "Well, I'll see you later Bella! After school, don't forget!! C'mon Jazz, let's find Rose and Emmett." She pulled him out of the car, leaving behind Edward and me.
"Sorry about that…" Edward said. "She gets a bit…overexcited when meeting new people." I smiled.
"Don't worry about it. It sounds like she doesn't get to have girl time a lot. So, I'm sure she's just excited." Edward turned to me, a crooked smile on his face.
"Yes, that's actually exactly it." He shook his head. "By the way, that color brown really brings out the color in your eyes." I blushed slightly. "Your eyes really are beautiful," he said, staring into them.
"Erm…thanks. For the ride and everything. It was really nice of you." I babbled, backing out of the car. "I'll see you in Biology. And Lunch. Okay, bye." I ran towards the door. Jess and Angela looked at me with wide eyes.
"What was that?" Jess said, a look of disbelief on her face.
"Later." I hissed. Of course they had to see that. Of course. Then I remembered a slightly crucial detail about our after school plans. "Oh, by the way, Alice Cullen is coming shopping with us after school."
"Wait, what?" Angela looked a little surprised. "Alice Cullen? She usually doesn't hang out with anyone besides her family…" Then Angela shook her head. "Wow Bella, you're starting to shake the social structure in this town. First, you've got Eric, Tyler, and Mike after you, and now you're hanging out with the Cullens and us. Worlds are colliding!" She said almost happily. "Finally, some change in this town." I didn't know what to say, so I just said,
"C'mon, we're going to be late to class."