Prom

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-short story set near the end of Twilight on the day of the prom.

This was an idea inspired from a prompt given to me by kinni113.

Part One-The Bribe

"Hey, Jake." Billy called to his son.

"What?" Jacob asked warily. His dad had that look in his eye.

"Take a seat, son." Billy gestured to the empty chair in front of him.

"Why?" Jacob was getting even more suspicious.

"Just sit." Billy tried to hide his impatience. "I want to talk to you about something."

"Okay." Jacob sighed heavily. He'd been on his way out to the garage to work on the VW Rabbit. God, he loved that car. It was a classic, and when he had her running right, which he would, he would be the envy of all his friends. Well, Embry and Quil anyway.

When Jacob was settled in the chair, Billy rolled his forward, essentially trapping his son between his wheelchair and any chance of escape. He smiled what he hoped was a friendly smile, but actually came across as quite frightening. "I have a favour to ask."

"No." Jacob said immediately.

"You don't know what it is yet." Billy protested.

"I don't need to know. I can tell by the look on your face it's going to be something unpleasant and will result in me looking like an idiot."

"I'll give you thirty dollars toward that part you've been trying to source for the Rabbit." Billy interjected quickly.

"Are you trying to bribe me?" Jacob pretended to be horrified.

"Yes." Billy didn't bother to deny it.

Jacob pondered his father's offer for a moment before finally agreeing to help. "I want the money up front."

"Damn it boy. You are just like your mother." Billy grouched. He dug his fingers into the top pocket of his shirt and pulled out a roll of used notes with an elastic band wrapped around them.

"I thought you said you had no money." Jacob complained as he watched his father peel off three ten dollar bills from the roll.

"I didn't." Billy wound the elastic band around the remaining notes.

"So, where did this come from then." Jacob snatched the money from Billy before he could change his mind.

"I won it in a game of poker against Charlie and Harry. I completely cleaned them out." Billy rocked in his chair as he guffawed loudly.

"You hustled them." Jacob guessed.

Billy's mirth vanished and he glared at his son irritably. "How dare you?" He said, affronted. "I won the money fair and square, thank you very much."

"Sure you did." Jacob muttered as he put the thirty dollars in the back pocket of his jeans for safe keeping. "So, what's this favour?" He asked dubiously. The things he did for the love of his car.

"I want you to go over to Forks now and visit Bella." Billy pronounced.

"No problem." A wide grin lit up Jacob's face at this suggestion. If he'd known that this was all Billy wanted then he wouldn't have needed to be bribed. He wasn't going to admit that to his dad, though. A thrill of excitement rippled through him. It had been weeks since he'd last spent any time with his long time crush.

"There's more." Billy said ominously.

"More?" Jacob looked at his father dubiously.

"It's Bella's prom tonight." Billy revealed.

Jacob scowled as he thought about the rich douche that was taking his girl to the school prom. Edward Cullen didn't deserve Bella. She could do so much better. Like him for instance. "Bells won't have time for me then. She'll be too busy getting-"

"The prom is hours away. Which gives you plenty of time to distract Bella." Billy interrupted before Jacob could continue. "We all know she's got a soft spot for you. I know she won't turn you away knowing that you cycled all the way to see her."

"You're not gonna drive me?"

"No." Billy said sharply. "Now, I want you to use the old Black charm. Entertain her. Get her to go out with you to watch a movie or treat her to a meal at the diner. Anything to get her out of that house and somewhere as far away from that blo...um...boy she's dating."

"There is no chance in hell that Bella is going to ditch moneybags to spend time with me. And how am I expected to pay for this dinner and a movie?" Jacob said sullenly.

"You've got thirty dollars." Billy reminded him succinctly.

"That's for the cylinder for the Rabbit."

"Do you want to win Bella's hand or not?" Billy demanded.

"I'm not going over there to propose."

"Oh, but you are, son. Not in the way you think, but you are definitely gonna present her with a proposition."

"I'm off now." Jacob said as he got ready to leave.

"Not dressed like that, my boy." Billy shook his head in disbelief at Jacob's ragged jeans with the oil stains on them. "Go to your room and put something smarter on. You want to impress the girl, don't you."

"Bells doesn't care what I wear." Jacob protested hotly.

"Of course she does. She's just too polite to say so. If you're going to woo a girl you need to do it properly." Billy sighed heavily. The younger generation were clueless, absolutely clueless. "Follow me." He ordered, wheeling his chair down the narrow hall toward Jacob's room. "I'll soon have you sorted out."

"Ow." Jacob winced as Billy used the nail brush to clean the dirt from under his fingernails. "Leave me some skin, old man."

"You need to tie your hair up as well. Let the girl see your face, instead of letting your hair hang around it like a pair of curtains. You need to rock those cheekbones." Billy gave Jacob's nails another harsh scrub. Jacob cried out again and snatched his hand back. "See, isn't that better, my boy."

"No." Jacob was beginning to think the thirty dollars wasn't worth all this hassle, even if it was in pursuit of the girl of his dreams. Billy had forced him into a pair of dark jeans with one of his crisp white shirts. Jacob was sure that his dad had starched the shirt. It was all stiff and itchy. When he'd tried to roll the sleeves up, Billy had growled at him.

"You need a tie, too."

"No freakin way, dad. I'm not taking Bella to the prom. I'm taking her for a cheap movie and a takeaway. Both of which don't need a tie. That's even if she agrees to it in the first place." Jacob grumbled.

"It was so different in my day. You kids today make no effort at all." Billy inspected his son carefully. "I'll suppose you'll have to do." He said grudgingly.

"Whatever." Jacob muttered. "Can I go now?"

"Yes, go. And remember be smooth. Use that natural charm you inherited from me." Billy urged him.

Jacob groaned and spun on his heel. He had a feeling this was all going to end in disaster. Billy was delusional if he thought that Bella was going to drop moneybags to spend the day with him so he could somehow convince her not to go to the stupid prom with Edward Cullen. But thirty dollars was thirty dollars, and he really needed that cylinder.

"Hey, Jake." Quil and Embry hailed him when he stepped out onto the front porch.

"Oh, shit. It's Quembry." He muttered under his breath. This was the last thing he needed. He had forgotten his two best friends were coming over to help him work on the Rabbit.

"Hey, dude, what's with the white shirt and jeans combo." Quil was the first to reach him. "That'll be covered in grease stains within five minutes."

"Yeah, you should change, bro." Embry added.

"Look, guys, um... there's been a change of plans." Jacob hedged. "I've got somewhere else to be. We'll work on the car tomorrow."

Quil's eyes narrowed as he took in Jacob's nervous body language. Something was up. There had to be a reason he was dressed so smart. "You've got a date." He guessed.

"Wow, who with?" Embry's dark brown eyes opened wide with interest. "So, you finally got over the Swan chick."

"Bells is not a chick and I haven't got a date. Well I have, but she doesn't know it yet." Jacob rambled as he tugged at the collar of the starched shirt. He was beginning to sweat. He rolled up the sleeves to his elbows now that Billy wasn't watching his every move.

"So you've got a date but the girl doesn't know it. Dude, you are insane." Quil laughed. He was enjoying seeing Jacob squirm. "Who's the girl?"

"Yeah, Jake, tell us." Embry asked eagerly as he looped his shoulder length hair behind his ears.

"It's not a date, date. I told you. I'm just going over to Bella's to see if she wants to spend some quality time together." Jacob huffed impatiently. Time was ticking on. If he was going to go through with this humiliation he needed to get on the road before Edward Cullen or his freaky family descended on the Swan's house.

"So, it is Bella." Quil snorted with laughter. "Dude, you have no chance. Isn't she still seeing that rich guy?"

"Piss off, Quil." Jacob didn't need to be reminded about Edward moneybags Cullen. "Anyway, Bells doesn't care about stuff like that. Now, I've got to go."

Quil exchanged a knowing look with Embry as Jacob slouched off. "We can't let him go by himself. He needs back up."

Embry was feeling nervous. He didn't like that mischievous glint in Quil's eyes. "I don't think he wants us interfering, Quil." He said dubiously.

"Of course he does. We're his wingmen." Quil winked at Embry in glee.

"Go home." Jacob hissed for the hundredth time as Quil and Embry cycled on either side of him.

"Not a chance." Quil puffed. "You need us."

"Damn it." Jacob scowled at his friend as he cycled faster in order to outrun them, but somehow Quil and Embry managed to keep pace with him. "You screw this up for me and you're dead." He warned them when he failed to shake them off.

"Chill, Jake, when have we ever let you down." Quil said breathlessly.

"Trust us." Embry panted.

"Oh, god, help me." Jacob sent up a silent prayer in his head to whatever spirits were listening as the Swan house came into view.

The doorbell rung, startling Bella out of her introspection. She darted a nervous glance at the clock. It was only ten thirty. Surely Alice couldn't be here already. She let out a resigned sigh, already picturing the trying day she was going to have with Edward's sister fussing over her all day. She was still annoyed about the whole prom thing after making it clear on several occasions to Edward she didn't want to go. But he was insistent that he wanted her to enjoy as many human experiences as possible.

"The prom is a rite of passage." He had lectured over and over.

The doorbell rung again, grating on Bella's nerves. For once she wished her father was here. But Charlie had left early, mumbling something about spending the day fishing with Billy.

"I'm coming." Bella yelled as the doorbell trilled again. She hobbled over to answer it, feeling very sorry for herself. When she opened the door she was expecting to see Edward's sister loaded down with a dozen designer bags, instead she was confronted by three grinning Quileute boys blocking the entrance. "Huh?"

"Hey, Bells." Jacob greeted her.

"Hello, darlin'" Quil said, winking boldly.

"Hi." Embry smiled shyly.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked as she stared at them in confusion. Quil seemed to have something in his eye as he kept squinting. Embry was fidgeting from one foot to the other. She focused on Jacob instead, her eyes widening as she took in his smart white shirt and dark jeans. "You look nice." She said without thinking. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Um...kinda." Jacob rubbed the back of his neck as he looked up at her from under his thick lashes.

Quil rolled his eyes and nudged Jacob hard in the ribs with his elbow. "What he means is we've come to see you. Can we come in?"

"Uh...I...um..." Bella didn't know what to say. They had caught her off guard. "I guess."

"Thanks, Bells." Jacob flashed her a relieved smile and she found herself tentatively returning it.

All three boys stepped through the door at the same time. They became wedged, scuffling with each other as they fought to untangle themselves. Bella stood back, watching them in bemusement. Quil was the first one to break free. He fell into the hall, quickly followed by Jacob and them Embry. "Idiots." He hissed at them before recovering his composure and winking at Bella again. "We know how to make an entrance, huh?"

"Do you have something in your eye?" Bella asked in concern when she noticed Quil doing that weird squint thing again.

Jacob felt mortified. Perspiration broke out on his forehead as he tried to save the situation. "Ignore him, Bells." He shoved Quil to one side and smiled brightly at Bella to cover his shredded nerves.

"Okay." Bella said slowly. "So is there a reason you came to see me?"

"Yeah, I-"

Quil pushed past Jacob and strutted in front of Bella, raising his collar and rolling his shoulders like a jock in a bad teen movie. "We've come to hang."

Embry clapped his hand over his face at Quil's antics, while Jacob glared at the back of his friend's head. Bella looked totally bewildered by the whole thing. Jacob reached out, grabbed Quil by his shoulder and pulled him backwards. "I'm sorry about him." He apologised. "His mom dropped him on his head as a baby and he's never recovered."

"Hey." Quil protested.

Bella tried to stifle a giggle. Jacob and his friends were quite funny. They started to bicker and she stood on the sidelines watching them in amusement. This was more fun than spending the day acting like a mannequin while Alice dressed her from head to toe in sequins. Thinking of Edward's sister sent Bella's mood crashing down. "Look, guys, I really appreciate you coming over here to um...hang and everything, but I really-"

"A dinner and a movie." Jacob interjected desperately.

"Excuse me?" Bella felt like her head was spinning.

"I have thirty dollars." Jacob babbled. "It's my treat."

"Uh...that's great and everything but you should really save your money. I don't think that will be enough to pay for all of us." Bella gave him a weak smile.

"I'm not paying for them." Jacob shot Quil and Embry a death glare.

"Well that's rude, isn't it, Em." Quil said defensively. "He invites us and expects us to pay for ourselves."

"You invited yourself." Jacob retorted. "Right, Em?" He looked at Embry for confirmation.

"Well, techn-" Em began.

"You so did." Quil sniped before Embry could continue. He and Jacob began to bicker again, their voices getting louder and louder. Then Quil shoved Jacob and he shoved him back. Embry tried to get between them before a full on fight ensued when suddenly there was a loud whistle.

All three boys turned around and stared at Bella in shock. Her cheeks were rosy. She was the one who had whistled. She had their attention now. Feeling flustered now that they were all looking at her, Bella drew in a sharp breath. "Why don't I just make us all some lunch, huh? Wouldn't that be easier?"

"Thanks, Bells." Jacob reached out and hugged her in his relief. Quil followed suit as did Embry.

Bella found herself squashed between them. "Air." She gasped. They released her at once.

"I'm sorry, Bells." Jacob apologised again.

"Sorry, Bella." Embry echoed him.

"Whoops." Quil did his weird winking, squinting thing again.

Jacob cuffed him on the back of the head. "Behave." He whisper yelled.

Bella was feeling overwhelmed. "Um...why don't you go into the lounge and make yourselves comfortable. I'll go and start lunch."

"Awesome." Quil led the way in followed by Embry.

Jacob lingered in the hall next to Bella. He gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry about them. Quembry don't get out much."

Bella snickered at his nickname for his friends. "Do they know you call them that?"

"No, that's our secret." Jacob bumped his shoulder against Bella's. "Promise not to tell."

"I promise." Bella pretended to zip her lips and throw away the key.

Jeez, she was just too cute and adorable when she did things like that. Jacob smiled at her sweetly as he caught and held her gaze. A faint blush coated her cheeks making her look more beautiful than ever. "Bells." He said huskily, reaching out for her hand.

Just then Quil farted loudly, completely ruining the moment.

A/N-thanks for reading!