I wasn’t ready to answer. I felt a depth of rage that closed my throat. So the Quileutes were going to keep pushing, straining against the treaty they’d made, the treaty that did nothing but protect them. It was as if they couldn’t be happy until we did kill someone. They wanted us to be monsters.
Bella twisted in my arms to see what I was looking at.
Jacob Black walked hesitantly through the door, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the low light. It didn’t take him long to see what he was looking for.
Dang, she is here. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe my dad thinks that guy is an actualvampire. This is so completely stupid.
He didn’t hesitate, though, despite his embarrassment. Ignoring the ticket stand, the boy marched like a soldier through the ring of dancers toward us. Even in my anger, I had to admire his straightforward courage.
Should’ve worn some garlic, I guess.He snorted.
I didn’t realize I’d snarled audibly till Bella hissed, “Behave!”
“He wants to chat with you.” There was no way to avoid it. Like the first dance, better to get it out of the way. I shouldn’t let myself get angry. Did it really matter if that group of toothless old men broke the treaty? It wouldn’t change much, even if they paid for a billboard on the 101 that read: The local doctor and his children are VAMPIRES. You have been warned. No one would believe. Even his son didn’t believe.
I held still as Jacob approached. He mostly looked at Bella, his expression comical in its reluctance.
“Hey, Bella, I was hoping you would be here.” It was obvious this was the exact opposite of what he’d been hoping.
Bella’s voice was warm when she answered. I was sure she could see his distress, too, and being Bella, she would want to ease it. “Hi, Jacob. What’s up?”
He smiled at her, then looked at me. He didn’t have to look up to do it. The boy had grown several inches since the last time I’d seen him. He didn’t look as much a child as he had then.
“Can I cut in?” he asked. His tone was respectful; he didn’t want to overstep.
I knew my anger was pointless, and it certainly wasn’t directed at this blameless boy, but I couldn’t quite keep it in check. Rather than let either of them hear it in my voice, I just set Bella gently on her feet and stepped away.
“Thanks,” Jacob said in the cheery tone that seemed to be his default.
I nodded, inspected Bella’s face once to make sure she was comfortable with this, and then walked away.
Huh, Jacob was thinking. That is an awful perfume Bella’s wearing.
Strange. Bella wore no scent besides the flowers in her hair. But perhaps another couple had strayed closer, now that I had moved away.
“Wow, Jake, how tall are you now?” I heard her say.
“Six-two.” This was a point of pride.
She looks totally fine aside from the cast. Billy’s blowing things out of proportion, as usual.
When I reached the north wall of the cafeteria, I turned around and leaned back against it. Lauren Mallory and her date were circling stiffly just behind Jacob’s back. I wondered if she was the one who smelled bad.
Jacob and Bella weren’t exactly dancing. He had his hands at her waist, and her hands were resting lightly on his shoulders. She swayed a little to the music, but seemed nervous to try to move her feet at all. Jacob shuffled in place.
“So, how did you end up here tonight?” There was no real curiosity in her voice. She’d already figured out what this intrusion meant.
Jacob was eager to place the blame where it belonged. “Can you believe my dad paid me twenty bucks to come to your prom?”
“Yes, I can,” she said, her voice still kind, though it must have been annoying to have a near stranger trying to supervise her life.
She’s being so nice about this. She’s the nicest girl I know.
“Well, I hope you’re enjoying yourself, at least,” Bella continued. “Seen anything you like?” She nodded playfully to a line of girls standing along the wall to my left.
“Yeah,” Jacob said, “but she’s taken.”
This information was not a surprise to me—I’d been witness multiple times to his crush on Bella. His blunt honesty, however, was unexpected. Bella didn’t know how to respond. After one glance at his face to see if he was joking—he wasn’t—she looked down at her unmoving feet.
Probably shouldn’t have said that, but what the hell. Nothing to lose.
“You look really pretty, by the way,” he added.
Bella frowned. “Um, thanks.” She changed the subject, bringing it around to the one he most wanted to avoid, the one that would send him on his way. “So why did Billy pay you to come here?”
Jacob shifted his weight from foot to foot, uncomfortable. “He said it was a ‘safe’ place to talk to you. I swear the old man is losing his mind.”
She’s going to think I’m crazy, too.
Bella laughed with him, but the sound was forced.
“Anyway,” Jacob continued, grinning to ease the tension. “He said that if I told you something, he would get me that master cylinder I need.”
Bella smiled in earnest now. “Tell me, then. I want you to get your car finished.”
Jacob sighed, moved by her smile. I wish he was a vampire. That might make some room for me.
“Don’t get mad, okay?” She’s already been nicer than I had any reason to expect.
“There’s no way I’ll be mad at you, Jacob,” Bella promised. “I won’t even be mad at Billy. Just say what you have to.”
“Well—this is so stupid, I’m sorry, Bella.” He took a deep breath. “He wants you to break up with your boyfriend. He asked me to tell you ‘please.’”
Jacob shook his head, hoping to distance himself from the obnoxious message.
Bella’s smile was full of compassion. “He’s still superstitious, eh?”
“Yeah. He was… kind of over the top when you got hurt down in Phoenix. He didn’t believe…” That they didn’t do it. He thought they sucked your blood or something crazy like that.
Her voice went flat for the first time. “I fell.”
“I know that,” Jacob said quickly.
“He thinks Edward had something to do with me getting hurt?” Sharp now.
They were both perfectly still, as if there were no music.
Jacob looked away from her glare.
Now I’ve pissed her off for real. Should have told Billy to mind his business or leave me out of it.
Bella’s mien softened, reacting to his upset. “Look, Jacob,” she said, kind again. Jacob responded to the change, meeting her gaze. “I know Billy probably won’t believe this, but just so you know… Edward really did save my life. If it weren’t for Edward and his father, I’d be dead.” Her sincerity was impossible to doubt.
“I know,” Jacob agreed quickly. He didn’t want to think about Bella dying. A swell of gratitude started to build inside his mind. He wouldn’t listen the next time his father said something disparaging about Carlisle.
She smiled up at him.
It was strange how much older he seemed tonight. They looked like peers now, maybe just because of his new height. As awkward as her injured leg made their dance-adjacent movement, she seemed more comfortable with him than with many of her other human friends. Perhaps his very pure, open mind had that effect on people.
A strange thought crossed my mind, half imagination, half fear.
Would that pretty, cluttered little house be in La Push?
I shook the idea away. It was just irrational jealousy. Jealousy was such a human emotion, powerful but senseless—based on nothing more than watching her pretend to dance with a friend. I would not let the future trouble me.
“Hey, I’m sorry you had to come do this, Jacob,” Bella was saying. “At any rate, you get your parts, right?”
“Yeah,” he muttered.
Would he know if I lied? I can’t say the rest. It’s enough.
Bella read his expression. “There’s more?” she asked, incredulous.
“Forget it,” he mumbled, looking away. “I’ll get a job and save the money myself.”
She waited for him to meet her gaze. “Just spit it out, Jacob.”
“It’s so bad.”
I shouldn’t have come. This is my own fault for agreeing to this.
“I don’t care,” she insisted. “Tell me.”
“Okay… but, geez, this sounds bad.” Jacob inhaled deeply. “He said to tell you, no, to warn you, that—and this is his plural, not mine…” Jacob lifted his right hand and with two fingers made quotations marks in the air. “‘We’ll be watching.’”
He watched for her reaction, ready to bolt.
Bella broke into a peal of laughter, as if he’d just told the funniest joke she’d ever heard. She couldn’t stop. Her words came between chuckles. “Sorry you had to do this, Jake.”
He was overwhelmed with relief. She’s right. It’s hilarious.
“I don’t mind that much.” She looks so pretty. I never would have seen her in this dress if I hadn’t come. Worth it right there, even with the gross perfume. “So, should I tell him you said to butt the hell out?”
She sighed. “No. Tell him I said thanks. I know he means well.”
The song ended, and Bella let her arms drop. My cue.
Jacob kept his hands on her waist, unsure if she could stand without help. “Do you want to dance again? Or can I help you get somewhere?”
“That’s all right, Jacob. I’ll take it from here.”
Jacob recoiled from my voice, so unexpectedly close. He took a step back, a sharp frisson of fear shooting up his spine.
“Hey, I didn’t see you there,” he mumbled. Can’t believe I’m letting Billy get in my head this way. “I guess I’ll see you around, Bella.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you later,” she said with enough enthusiasm that he recovered his composure. He waved, then muttered, “Sorry,” one more time before he headed for the door.
I pulled Bella into my arms, sliding my feet under hers again. I waited for the warmth of her body to erase the coldness that enveloped mine. I wouldn’t think about the future. Just this night, this minute.
She nestled her cheek against my chest, humming with contentment.
“Feeling better?” she murmured.
Of course she would read my mood.
“Not really,” I sighed.
“Don’t be mad at Billy. He just worries about me for Charlie’s sake. It’s nothing personal,” she assured me.
“I’m not mad at Billy. But his son is irritating me.”
It was too much truth. Though the boy didn’t really irritate me; a mind that expansive would always be a welcome respite from the average human’s. It was what he represented that hurt me. Someone good and kind and human.
I needed to force myself into the right frame of mind.
She leaned away, staring up at me with curiosity and a little bit of concern. “Why?”
I mentally shook off my funk and answered her playfully. “First of all, he made me break my promise.”
She didn’t remember.
I forced a smile. “I promised I wouldn’t let go of you tonight.”
“Oh. Well, I forgive you,” she said easily.
“Thanks.” I frowned in what I hoped was a joking way. “But there’s something else.”
She waited for me to explain.
“He called you pretty.” My voice made the word into something unpleasant. “That’s practically an insult, the way you look right now. You’re much more than beautiful.”
She relaxed now and laughed, worry for her friend evaporating. “You might be a little biased.”
I smiled better this time. “I don’t think that’s it. Besides, I have excellent eyesight.”
She stared at the twinkle lights spinning around us. Her heartbeat was slower than the tempo of the song playing, so I moved to that rhythm instead. A hundred voices, spoken and thought, swirled past us, but I didn’t really hear them. The sound of her heart was the only sound that mattered.
“So,” she said when the song shifted again. “Are you going to explain the reason for all of this?”
When I didn’t follow, she looked pointedly at the crepe paper garlands.
I thought about what I could tell her. Not the vision; she would have too many objections. And that was so far into the future, a future that I was trying very hard not to think about. But maybe I could tell her a little of the thought behind it. Though this wasn’t something we could discuss with an audience.
I changed the direction of our dance, spinning her toward the back exit. We circled past a few of her friends. Jessica waved, unhappily comparing Bella’s dress to her own, and Bella smiled back. None of her human classmates seemed totally happy with their night besides Angela and Ben, staring blissfully into each other’s eyes. That made me smile, too.