I glanced over at the clock on my bedroom wall – 10.05am.
I was almost ready, just needed to pick out a suitable outfit and fix my hair up. Seeing as though I was going to be in a cold environment, I decided on a pair of black skinny jeans and a white turtleneck sweater covered with a denim jacket. My hair looked surprisingly good the way it was, but I ran my hairbrush through it, causing the ends to go wavy. Just as I walked over to close my window, I saw Edward pulling up at the end of the driveway. He looked up and noticed me watching him so I waved back, motioning that I'll be down in a minute. I slipped on a comfortable pair of sneakers, grabbed my handbag and ran down the stairs.
"I'm going out with a friend, I'll be home later dad" I called out to him as I passed by the kitchen.
"Ok, Bella. Have fun dear" He replied without lifting his head from the newspaper he was reading.
I got to the front door and opened it, noticing that Edward was casually leaning against the side of his Volvo.
"You're early" I stated, walking down the driveway towards him.
"Better than being late. So, are you ready for this?" He asked, watching me as I made my way around his car to the passenger's side.
I stopped just before getting into the car and looked over at him. The sun shone down from behind him, making him look almost angelic.
"Ah, not really. I'm a little nervous to tell you the truth"
"Don't be" He assured me, giving me a lovely genuine smile.
As we got into the car and fastened our seatbelts, I turned to look at him. "I like it when you smile" I admitted, watching as he turned his head and smiled at me once more.
"I'll try to do it more often then"
"Good. You know, you're a lot more happier than when I first met you the other day"
He was silent for a moment as he started up the engine and focussed on reversing out of the driveway.
"Maybe it's because I've got a lot more to be happier about these days"
I thought about asking what it was that had him so serious and moody, but on second thought, I decided to keep my mouth shut and not ruin the moment.
"So why ice skating? Do you get a kick out of seeing me embarrass myself or something?"
"No" He said simply, keeping his eyes on the road. "I thought it would be a great way to practice some dance skills"
"Huh? How is ice skating going to help with that?"
"Well for one thing, composure and balance definitely plays a key role…"
"Ok and what else?" I asked, not realising I was about to regret asking.
"There's also the um, body contact issue"
I squirmed in my seat a little and gently bit my lower lip. Body contact? He seemed to notice my discomfort and then continued to elaborate to make it sound better.
"You know, if we're going to be holding each other and dancing close… Then it's a good idea to get used to it. Don't you think?" He finished by glancing briefly in my direction.
"Um, yeah… I suppose"
The rest of the trip was slightly awkward after that, and little was said until we got inside the ice skating place.
"I think I've changed my mind about this…" I said worryingly as I looked at all the advance skaters out there on the ice.
"Oh no you don't, you're not getting out of this. Now put those skates on" He said rather seriously, pointing to the skates beside my feet.
"But I'm going to make a fool of myself… Look at how good those little kids are!" I said as I pointed to a group of young children who looked like they were right at home on the ice.
"Bella, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Listen, how about I go out there and show you how its done, and then I'll come back and help you ok?"
"Fine" I mumbled as I got out of my seat and stepped over to the side of the rink.
Edward confidently made his way onto the ice and took off, gliding perfectly around in a large circle. His arms moved in sync with his legs and he never faltered or stumbled, not once. After a few minutes of showing off his abilities, he skated over and stopped at the wall in front of me. He casually leant over it and grinned up at me.
"See? It's that easy!"
"Yeah, but you're like perfect at it" I muttered, pulling the sleeves on my sweater down over my hands to warm them up.
"Come on, it's not that bad when you get out there" He reassured me, but I still felt nervous.
Awkwardly, I stepped over to the gate and placed one foot onto the ice. The blade easily slid across the cold, icy surface as I moved it back and forth.
"Bella, try not to think about it. Just do it"
I moaned in a rather un-lady like way and attempted to maneuver myself onto the ice so I was gripping onto the side wall for stability. The moment I turned around sideways, my hands slipped off the wall and I fell over backwards, straight onto my butt. Edward started laughing as he made his way over to help me up.
"Don't laugh at me, this is really slippery" I said, narrowing my eyes at him as he easily picked me up off the ice. I instantly clung back onto the wall for balance.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh" He said, clearing his throat. "Now try positioning your skates like this, let go of the wall and take hold of my hands when you're ready"
"What? No, I can't do that"
"Yes you can. I'm going to hold you" Edward held out his hands for me to grab.
"I'm only going to drag you down with me" I said, ignoring the weird glares I was getting from other skaters.
"No, you're not. You'll be fine, I promise"
I stubbornly looked at his face and shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that"
"Well you're going to have to" And before I knew it, Edward had taken hold of my waist and pulled me off the wall.
"Edward!" I shrieked, looking at the stretch of open ice before me. "Far out! Not so fast!"
I heard him chuckle again, but thankfully he listened to me and slowed down to a decent pace… Ok, snail pace. He then let go of my waist and grabbed my arms, moving so that he was now facing me and skating backwards.
"Show off!" I said to him without taking my eyes off the ground below.
Everything was going fine for a while until some idiot suddenly decided to skate past us really fast, and bumped into me. I stumbled forward, and Edward was caught off guard. He lost his balance as well and stumbled backwards, pulling me down on top of him.
"Bella, are you alright?" He asked while raising his head to try and see who it was that bumped me.
My eyes which were still tightly closed, slowly opened to find a very concerned Edward looking at me.
"Yep, I survived. Thanks for breaking my fall" I breathed a sigh of relief.
"No problem" He smiled up at me, before managing to get us both back on out feet.
"Can you take me in, I want to have a break" I told Edward, who nodded and proceeded to help me over to the edge.
"Are you sure you're ok?" He asked again, quickly glancing over my body.
"Yes Edward. Go and have some fun, I just want to rest for a moment"
He waited until I was successfully off the ice before he skated off around the rink. The moment I made my way over to the seats, and grabbed a bottle of water from my bag, someone shuffled over beside me.
"Hey, I saw you out there. Are you ok?"
I turned my head to find a rather attractive young man staring back at me, waiting for an answer. He had long jet black hair and a lovely warm smile. Not as nice as Edward's though I thought to myself.
"Yeah, I'm fine"
"My names Jacob Black" He said as he extended his hand for me to shake
I hesitated a little before being polite and reached out to shake it. "Bella Swan"
"First time out there, huh Bella?"
"Is it really that obvious?" I said, and we both laughed.
"Would you get mad if I told you, yes?"
I sighed and took another sip of water from my bottle. "No, I can't blame you. After all, I do suck"
"No, you're not all that bad. You just need a better teacher"
I followed to where he turned his gaze which was directly on Edward, who just happened to look over at as at that second. If looks could kill… I'm not sure if Jacob would be alive right now. But Jacob seemed to ignore the death stare and focus his gaze back onto me.
"You're boyfriend shouldn't have been so bold, seeing as thought it was only your first time out there…" He had the hide to add.
"Um, he's not actually my boyfriend" I informed him, watching as a huge grin appeared on his face.
"Is that so? Well then, I suppose he wouldn't mind if I asked you to skate with me?"
I hadn't even noticed that Edward had made his way off the ice and was now making his way towards us. It wasn't until I heard his voice…
"Actually, I would mind!" And let me tell you, his voice sounded deep and full of venom.
"Oh, forgive me. I was just talking to Bella here -"
"Now that you're done, I suggest you get away from her before this blade of mine accidently comes into contact with some part of your body" Edward spoke sternly before slamming his left skate on the ground between Jacob's feet.
Jacob immediately raised his hands up in defence and smiled at me before getting up to leave. "See ya, Bella. Nice to meet you"
I simply nodded in return, and I heard Edward growl from deep within his throat. I rolled my eyes and looked up at him as he made sure Jacob was out of sight before turning his attention to the empty seat beside me, purposely avoiding my gaze.
"That really wasn't necessary" I said before placing my water bottle back inside my bag.
"I leave you alone for one minute and some jerk hits on you!"
"You think everyone is a jerk!" I retorted feeling a little peeved.
"When they look at you with hungry eyes, they are!"
I scoffed and looked up at him in disbelief. "And what makes you any different from the rest of them? Edward, I am not your girlfriend… I can talk to whoever I want!"
His expression suddenly changed from being pissed off, to looking sightly embarrassed and taken aback.
"I'm aware of that, it's just -"
"Then stop acting like you own me or something" I quickly cut him off and took off my skates. "Look, I've had enough can we just leave?"
"Sure" He said softly, watching as I walked away in a huff.
As I stormed way ahead of Edward, I noticed that Jacob was out in the parking lot putting a motorcycle helmet on. My eyes roamed over his expensive looking bike, studying it curiously.
"See something you like?" Jacob called out, lifting his visor up to look at me.
I wandered over to him, and stared at the bike in awe. "Wow, this must've cost a fortune"
"Nah, not really" He replied, running his hand along the leather seat. "My father owns a motorcycle shop over in La Push. Someone brought this in about a month ago, didn't want it becasue it was slightly damaged. But we fixed her up and now she's looking brand new" He said proudly, looking at me before focusing his attention on something over my shoulder.
"Bella, come on. Let's go" I suddenly heard Edward call out.
After sighing heavily, Jacob looked down at me and pondered for a brief moment.
"You know… If you're having problems with him, I could drop you home if you like"
My eyes shot up to meet his and I searched his face. I know better than to catch a ride with someone a barely just met, but he seemed so honest and innocent looking. I turned around to see Edward with a concerned expression.
"Bella!" He called out to me. "What are you doing?"
Without properly thinking things over, I turned back to Jacob and asked him "Do you have another helmet?"
Surprisingly, his smile grew wider and he lifted up the back compartment, pulling out an extra helmet. I quickly put it and Jacob fastened the strap.
"Bella!" Edward called once more, this time sounding extremely panicked. He ran over to where we were and demanded that I get off the bike immediately. "Don't do this! Please... I'm sorry" He pleaded, and for a moment I thought about actually getting off the bike. But I closed my eyes and turned my head the other way, clinging tightly onto Jacob.
"See ya!" Jacob teasingly said before revving the engine and tearing out of the parking lot, leaving a very stunned and angry Edward frozen on the spot.