Author's Note:

I am so sorry! I have been sort of a pile lately with my writing and I am so sorry that I have been slacking off. Today we had our conference tournament for golf...and I tied for third overall in conference. I am literally bouncing off the walls. Anyways, I am deeply sorry about the wait for this chapter, and I will try my best to keep the updates frequent. Life kind of gets in the way of my writing sometimes. You know. Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter. I enjoyed them heartily. So, make sure you keep up the reviewing! I update sooner when I get more reviews.

Happy Reading!

I asked Santa Claus for Christmas to give me the Twilight Saga. He declined my request.

Ch. 12 Butterflies

Looking at you,

holding my breath,

For once in my life, I'm scared to death,

I'm taking a chance, letting you inside.

- First Time, Lifehouse

"Really? Come on, guys. At least let me look. I have been sitting in this chair for two hours without peeking once. I need to know what you guys did to me. Please!" I begged, shooting Emily, Rachel, and Kim my best puppy dog face. They snorted in unison at me. So much for guilt-tripping them.

"Claire, if you look at yourself, you'll think we over-did it, because you never doll up. And chances are, you'll try to reverse our expert efforts and set us all back two hours. So...no. You don't get to see. Sorry", Rachel told me, smirking as she did so. I started to feel nervous.

If she said that I would think they had overdone it, that meant they had overdone it. Big time. Oh god, what if I looked like some pageant dipstick with hot pink lips and neon blue eyeshadow. I am so screwed...

I looked back at my three captors, trying to plead with my eyes. No such luck. They all just smiled as they admired their overdone work. I was somewhat plotting to steal the handheld mirror away from Rachel, but decided against it when I noticed that her arm muscles were a lot larger than mine. Which wasn't saying much because my arms were wimpy little twigs since I never had time to work out.

"Okay, well, we called Quil at his grandpa's house earlier, and told him to pick you up for a date tonight at seven. It's about 6:50, so he'll be here pretty soon", Emily said, smiling softly as she cautiously searched my face for my reaction to her news.

NOOOOOO! NO, NO, NO! They invited Quil for a 'date'? Without telling me? And they did my makeup? Crap.

"Don't freak out, please, Claire? Quil was so excited, he asked me about five times on his outfit. He also spent the whole afternoon on the internet looking up resturants in Seattle, at least that's what Sam told me", Emily continued, trying to change the, most likely, grimace on my face into a smile. And it worked. For the most part.

Quil was nervous. To go on a date. With me. Claire Mason. He spent a lot of time preparing for this date. I needed to pull it together, and fast.

Then another thought hit me like a ton of bricks.

"I don't have a DRESS!" I wailed, my anxious jitters coming through in my voice. Kim yanked my flailing arms down to my sides and stared me head on.

"Don't worry, Claire. We have one already picked out. Your my size, so you can wear it. I'll go get it right now, and you can put it on, okay? No worries", she assured me, her quiet, but strong voice calming some of the nerves flowing through my body.

I nibbled anxiously on the inside of my cheek as I waited impatiently for Kim to come back to the room. Emily and Rachel were quietly whispering to each other, but I couldn't focus enough to strain and listen in on whatever their conversation was about.

"Here it is!" Kim announced, and I looked up to see the dress that would be mine for the night.

It was gorgeous.

It was perfect.

It was something Quil would love.

"It's, it's..." I stuttered, looking for the right words to describe the awe I was feeling.

The dress was a short, cocktail length dress, that would only reach my knees. It had a sweetheart neckline, and had a tight bodice. It puffed out into a bubble style skirt around my waist. It was black in color, making it spohisticated, yet still fun and flirty. Perfect date material.

"Perfect, I know", Kim finished for me, her smile lighting up her face when she saw that I liked it. She handed it over to me and gave a satisfied little smirk. Rachel and Kim perked up, too, when they saw how much my mood had changed.

"Oh, and here are the shoes. They're size sevens. I bought them the other day, but they ended up being a little too small for me. So, I figure you can keep 'em. Emily said you wear size 6, so they should fit", Rachel said, grabbing a pair of black patent pumps out of a plastic bag at her feet and handing them to me.

"Thanks. So much." I mumbled, looking back and forth between the two amazing pieces of clothing in front of me. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all...

"Okay, well, Quil will be here any second, so hurry up and put those on. You can look in the mirror now, since you have almost no time to change anything. Although, I don't see why you'd want to. You look gorgeous, sweetie. Have fun tonight", Emily said, exiting the small bathroom as Kim and Rachel followed behind her. Kim winked at me and Rachel made a kissy face.

I smiled and mumbled a soft goodbye before grabbing the mirror off the side of the tub and lifting it up to my face.

They were right.

It wasn't overdone.

It was perfect, again.

My dark brown eyes were highlighted perfectly by some musky, dark rosy eyeshadow that shimmered slightly. My naturally dark and full eyelashes were even longer than usual and incredibly thicker. My copper cheeks had been covered with peachy blush that brightened my face and made my natural skin color glow. My lips had on a thin layer of mauve colored lipstick, and a clear coat of lip gloss. My entire face lit up beautifully, still looking natural rather than overdone.

They had pulled my hair into a french braid at the crown of my head, and made a bun with the hair in the back. It was really pretty and looked effortless, despite my knowing of how time consuming the actual act of braiding it was. They had also sprayed some coconut shiner into it, which made my black hair look very healthy and pretty.

I pulled myself away from the mirror, remebering how little time I had left before Quil was scheduled to arrive. I yanked them both on carefully, being sure not to ruin my flawless makeup job. Rachel had been right, the shoes fit perfectly. I smiled happily as I looked at myself one last time in the mirror.

Just as I grabbed my light coat and gave Emily one last thank-you kiss and hug, I heard the familiar doorbell ring. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach, making me feel like a teen again.

I gave Emily a nervous glance, half-pleading for her to answer the door with my eyes. She seemed to catch on to my drift and shook her head.

"You do it, Claire. Your'e a big girl." She grinned when as she remembered the last time she had told me that. It was before I had left La Push when I was seven.

I gulped audibly and walked with shaky knees to the wooden door.

I gently grasped the brass door knob with my already sweaty palm and turned it.

The light from the orange and pink sunset hit me as I soaked in the sight of my date. My imprint.

Next chapter is the date scene. So...what'd you think? Let me know and review!

By the way...I love you guys. I have some pretty amazing reviewers.