Edward helped me into his car, being very careful of the wisps of silkand chiffon, the flowers he'd just pinned into my elaborately styledcurls, and my bulky walking cast. He ignored the angry set of my mouth.

　　When he had me settled, he got in the driver's seat and headed back outthe long, narrow drive.

　　"At what point exactly are you going to tell me what's going on?" I askedgrumpily. I really hated surprises. And he knew that.

　　"I'm shocked that you haven't figured it out yet." He threw a mockingsmile in my direction, and my breath caught in my throat. Would I everget used to his perfection?

　　"I did mention that you looked very nice, didn't I?" I verified.

　　"Yes." He grinned again. I'd never seen him dress in black before, and,with the contrast against his pale skin, his beauty was absolutelysurreal. That much I couldn't deny, even if the fact that he was wearinga tuxedo made me very nervous.

　　Not quite as nervous as the dress. Or the shoe. Only one shoe, as myother foot was still securely encased in plaster. But the stiletto heel,held on only by satin ribbons, certainly wasn't going to help me as Itried to hobble around.

　　"I'm not coming over anymore if Alice is going to treat me like GuineaPig Barbie when I do," I griped. I'd spent the better part of the day inAlice's staggeringly vast bathroom, a helpless victim as she playedhairdresser and cosmetician. Whenever I fidgeted or complained, shereminded me that she didn't have any memories of being human, and askedme not to ruin her vicarious fun. Then she'd dressed me in the mostridiculous dress — deep blue, frilly and off the shoulders, with Frenchtags I couldn't read — a dress more suitable for a runway than Forks.

　　Nothing good could come of our formal attire, of that I was sure. Unless…but I was afraid to put my suspicions into words, even in my own head.

　　I was distracted then by the sound of a phone ringing. Edward pulled hiscell phone from a pocket inside his jacket, looking briefly at the callerID before answering.

　　"Hello, Charlie," he said warily.

　　"Charlie?" I frowned.

　　Charlie had been… difficult since my return to Forks. He hadcompartmentalized my bad experience into two defined reactions. TowardCarlisle he was almost worshipfully grateful. On the other hand, he wasstubbornly convinced that Edward was at fault — because, if not for him,I wouldn't have left home in the first place. And Edward was far fromdisagreeing with him. These days I had rules that hadn't existed before:

　　curfews… visiting hours.

　　Something Charlie was saying made Edward's eyes widen in disbelief, andthen a grin spread across his face.

　　"You're kidding!" He laughed.

　　"What is it?" I demanded.

　　He ignored me. "Why don't you let me talk to him?" Edward suggested withevident pleasure. He waited for a few seconds.

　　"Hello, Tyler, this is Edward Cullen." His voice was very friendly, onthe surface. I knew it well enough to catch the soft edge of menace. Whatwas Tyler doing at my house? The awful truth began to dawn on me. Ilooked again at the inappropriate dress Alice had forced me into.

　　"I'm sorry if there's been some kind of miscommunication, but Bella isunavailable tonight." Edward's tone changed, and the threat in his voicewas suddenly much more evident as he continued. "To be perfectly honest,she'll be unavailable every night, as far as anyone besides myself isconcerned. No offense. And I'm sorry about your evening." He didn't soundsorry at all. And then he snapped the phone shut, a huge smirk on hisface.

　　My face and neck flushed crimson with anger. I could feel therage-induced tears starting to fill my eyes.

　　He looked at me in surprise. "Was that last part a bit too much? I didn'tmean to offend you."I ignored that.

　　"You're taking me to the prom!" I yelled.

　　It was embarrassingly obvious now. If I'd been paying any attention atall, I'm sure I would have noticed the date on the posters that decoratedthe school buildings. But I'd never dreamed he was thinking of subjectingme to this. Didn't he know me at all?

　　He wasn't expecting the force of my reaction, that was clear. He pressedhis lips together and his eyes narrowed. "Don't be difficult, Bella."My eyes flashed to the window; we were halfway to the school already.

　　"Why are you doing this to me?" I demanded in horror.

　　He gestured to his tuxedo. "Honestly, Bella, what did you think we weredoing?"I was mortified. First, because I'd missed the obvious. And also becausethe vague suspicions — expectations, really — that I'd been forming allday, as Alice tried to transform me into a beauty queen, were so far wideof the mark. My half-fearful hopes seemed very silly now.

　　I'd guessed there was some kind of occasion brewing. But prom! That wasthe furthest thing from my mind.

　　The angry tears rolled over my cheeks. I remembered with dismay that Iwas very uncharacteristically wearing mascara. I wiped quickly under myeyes to prevent any smudges. My hand was unblackened when I pulled itaway; maybe Alice had known I would need waterproof makeup.

　　"This is completely ridiculous. Why are you crying?" he demanded infrustration.

　　"Because I'm mad!""Bella." He turned the full force of his scorching golden eyes on me.

　　"What?" I muttered, distracted.

　　"Humor me," he insisted.

　　His eyes were melting all my fury. It was impossible to fight with himwhen he cheated like that. I gave in with poor grace.

　　"Fine," I pouted, unable to glare as effectively as I would have liked.

　　"I'll go quietly. But you'll see. I'm way overdue for more bad luck. I'llprobably break my other leg. Look at this shoe! It's a death trap!" Iheld out my good leg as evidence.

　　"Hmmm." He stared at my leg longer than was necessary. "Remind me tothank Alice for that tonight.""Alice is going to be there?" That comforted me slightly.

　　"With Jasper, and Emmett… and Rosalie," he admitted.

　　The feeling of comfort disappeared. There had been no progress withRosalie, though I was on quite good terms with her sometimes-husband.

　　Emmett enjoyed having me around — he thought my bizarre human reactionswere hilarious… or maybe it was just the fact that I fell down a lot thathe found so funny. Rosalie acted as if I didn't exist. While I shook myhead to dispel the direction my thoughts had taken, I thought ofsomething else.

　　"Is Charlie in on this?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.

　　"Of course." He grinned, and then chuckled. "Apparently Tyler wasn't,though."I gritted my teeth. How Tyler could be so delusional, I couldn't imagine.

　　At school, where Charlie couldn't interfere, Edward and I wereinseparable — except for those rare sunny days.

　　We were at the school now; Rosalie's red convertible was conspicuous inthe parking lot. The clouds were thin today, a few streaks of sunlightescaping through far away in the west.

　　He got out and walked around the car to open my door. He held out hishand.

　　I sat stubbornly in my seat, arms folded, feeling a secret twinge ofsmugness. The lot was crowded with people in formal dress: witnesses. Hecouldn't remove me forcibly from the car as he might have if we'd beenalone.

　　He sighed. "When someone wants to kill you, you're brave as a lion — andthen when someone mentions dancing…" He shook his head.

　　I gulped. Dancing.

　　"Bella, I won't let anything hurt you — not even yourself. I won't let goof you once, I promise."I thought about that and suddenly felt much better. He could see that inmy face.

　　"There, now," he said gently, "it won't be so bad." He leaned down andwrapped one arm around my waist. I took his other hand and let him liftme from the car.

　　He kept his arm tightly around me, supporting me as I limped toward theschool.

　　In Phoenix, they held proms in hotel ballrooms. This dance was in thegym, of course. It was probably the only room in town big enough for adance. When we got inside, I giggled. There were actual balloon archesand twisted garlands of pastel crepe paper festooning the walls.

　　"This looks like a horror movie waiting to happen," I snickered.

　　"Well," he muttered as we slowly approached the ticket table — he wascarrying most of my weight, but I still had to shuffle and wobble my feetforward — "there are more than enough vampires present."I looked at the dance floor; a wide gap had formed in the center of thefloor, where two couples whirled gracefully. The other dancers pressed tothe sides of the room to give them space — no one wanted to stand incontrast with such radiance. Emmett and Jasper were intimidating andflawless in classic tuxedos. Alice was striking in a black satin dresswith geometric cutouts that bared large triangles of her snowy whiteskin. And Rosalie was… well, Rosalie. She was beyond belief. Her vividscarlet dress was backless, tight to her calves where it flared into awide ruffled train, with a neckline that plunged to her waist. I pitiedevery girl in the room, myself included.

　　"Do you want me to bolt the doors so you can massacre the unsuspectingtownsfolk?" I whispered conspiratorially.

　　"And where do you fit into that scheme?" He glared.

　　"Oh, I'm with the vampires, of course."He smiled reluctantly. "Anything to get out of dancing.""Anything."He bought our tickets, then turned me toward the dance floor. I cringedagainst his arm and dragged my feet.

　　"I've got all night," he warned.

　　Eventually he towed me out to where his family was twirling elegantly —if in a style totally unsuitable to the present time and music. I watchedin horror.

　　"Edward." My throat was so dry I could only manage a whisper. "I honestlycan't dance!" I could feel the panic bubbling up inside my chest.

　　"Don't worry, silly," he whispered back. "I can." He put my arms aroundhis neck and lifted me to slide his feet under mine.

　　And then we were whirling, too.

　　"I feel like I'm five years old," I laughed after a few minutes ofeffortless waltzing.

　　"You don't look five," he murmured, pulling me closer for a second, sothat my feet were briefly a foot from the ground.

　　Alice caught my eye on a turn and smiled in encouragement — I smiledback. I was surprised to realize that I was actually enjoying myself… alittle.

　　"Okay, this isn't half bad," I admitted.

　　But Edward was staring toward the doors, and his face was angry.

　　"What is it?" I wondered aloud. I followed his gaze, disoriented by thespinning, but finally I could see what was bothering him. Jacob Black,not in a tux, but in a long-sleeved white shirt and tie, his hairsmoothed back into his usual ponytail, was crossing the floor toward us.

　　After the first shock of recognition, I couldn't help but feel bad forJacob. He was clearly uncomfortable — excruciatingly so. His face wasapologetic as his eyes met mine.

　　Edward snarled very quietly.

　　"Behave!" I hissed.

　　Edward's voice was scathing. "He wants to chat with you."Jacob reached us then, the embarrassment and apology even more evident onhis face.

　　"Hey, Bella, I was hoping you would be here." Jacob sounded like he'dbeen hoping the exact opposite. But his smile was just as warm as ever.

　　"Hi, Jacob." I smiled back. "What's up?""Can I cut in?" he asked tentatively, glancing at Edward for the firsttime. I was shocked to notice that Jacob didn't have to look up. He musthave grown half a foot since the first time I'd seen him.

　　Edward's face was composed, his expression blank. His only answer was toset me carefully on my feet, and take a step back.

　　"Thanks," Jacob said amiably.

　　Edward just nodded, looking at me intently before he turned to walk away.

　　Jacob put his hands on my waist, and I reached up to put my hands on hisshoulders.

　　"Wow, Jake, how tall are you now?"H............