A/N: Hi there, this story was actually meant to be an entry to the 'Pick your own adventure' contest but since real life got into the way too much for me to make the deadline I couldn't enter. But I had already had my friend Love-it-away pick out the words I was going to use for the contest so I decided to write the story anyways as a thank you to her.
The words she picked were: Party, Lake, Flabbergasted, Cactus and Awesomesauce. And this is what I made of it :) I hope you enjoy it :) And I'm curious to know what you think :) And yes, I am aware that most of it is very random but yeah, that's just the way I am sometimes ;)
Prom
"You look wonderful Bells; will you just stop fussing with your dress please?" Jacob said slightly tired.
We were going to my senior prom, high school was over and apparently this was the occasion I just couldn't miss. Or so my friends seemed to think. The only reason I actually came along was because Angela had practically begged me not to leave her alone with Jessica and Lauren and their dates.
Ben had asked Angela to the prom but she was afraid that it was going to be awkward so we were all going as a group.
Just to make sure I would at least have some fun during the party I asked my best friend in the whole world to be my date. We both knew it was nothing romantic, we had been friends since we were both in diapers and I saw him more as a brother than anything else.
Jacob had already told me from the beginning that he was not getting me a corsage because that was just going to be too much money for him. Of course he had meant it as a joke and I had never expected him to show up with a corsage anyways. But I was slightly surprised to see his alternative though.
I opened the door for him and I immediately noticed the little plant in his hand.
"I had already told you I wasn't going to bring you a corsage but I felt weird showing up on your doorstep empty handed, it seemed not very gentlemanlike of me so I came across this cactus and decided this could function as my corsage instead," he announced proudly. "Don't worry, I don't expect you to wear it, I know how clumsy you are, knowing you you'll probably kill yourself with the thing. But I thought it was rather pretty and you don't have to take really good care of it so I thought it would be perfect for in your room," he continued with a smile.
It had been a pretty cactus and I was very happy with it, I would choose that over a corsage any day. Also because a corsage would just make this date seem that much more official and neither of us wanted to give off that image.
But now we were standing at my house and I was feeling pretty self-conscious in the slightly low cut dress I was wearing at the moment. Jacob had already told me twenty times that I looked fabulous but I was far out of my comfort zone in my high heels and dress. I would have preferred going to the prom in my sneakers, jeans and a sweater but according to both Angela and Jessica that was just simply 'not done'.
"Your hair is also fine Bella, please just come with me, we are already running late," Jacob urged. "Do you think I like this monkey suit? No I don't, but I'm wearing it anyways because you asked me to, and now you're the one trying to back out? No way missy! You are coming whether you like it or not! Even if I have to drag you out of this house, into my car and onto the boat for all I care!" he threatened playfully.
The boat! I had tried to suppress that part… Prom on a boat… Who would think of that? It was a disaster waiting to happen! Especially for a person like me, wearing heels on a wobbly boat, there was just no way was I going to survive this evening.
"I think you're going to have to carry me," I said jokingly.
Unfortunately Jacob chose to ignore my joking tone and before I knew it he picked me up off the floor and threw me over his shoulder. He walked into the living room, while I was kicking and hitting him, trying to free myself from his grip.
"Bye Charlie, we're leaving now, finally," Jacob told my dad. I could feel him rolling his eyes at my father and the low chuckle that escaped Charlie was something he was going to pay for later.
He should have been rescuing me from these things! Not encouraging Jacob to drag me along! He was the reason I didn't like parties in the first place.
"Have fun kids," Charlie said cheerfully.
Jacob turned around and now I was facing my father. I threw him a menacing glare but Charlie just smiled back at me serenely and waved goodbye as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
We reached the car quickly and Jacob slowly put me back on my feet, carefully eying me as he opened the door to see if I was going to make a run for it. I wouldn't dare. Firstly because Jacob could outrun me without going through any extra efforts. And also because I would undoubtedly trip over my heels and fall to the ground before Jacob even had to move one inch.
I let out a groan in annoyance.
"Bella, you were the one who chose to go to this party so you're going to stop your whining now and you're going to have fun!" Jacob warned me sternly. "Besides, isn't that guy you like so much going to be there?" he said with a wink.
I knew exactly who he meant but I wasn't going to let him have that satisfaction.
"I don't know who you're talking about," I replied confidently.
"I mean Edward Cullen of course," Jacob said while rolling his eyes at me.
Then he strapped me in and closed the car door. He was back behind the wheel quickly after that and all hopes of changing the subject went out the window as soon as Jacob revved the engine and continued exactly where he had left off earlier.
"It's so obvious that you like him Bella, you always talk about him with such admiration in your eyes. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't even pick up on something like that? And tonight I finally get to meet him," he said suggestively.
"No!" I exclaimed horrified. That would just make for too much of an awkward situation to me, Jacob and Edward meeting each other, I was pretty sure that Jacob would ask Edward all sorts of inappropriate questions.
Edward Cullen was an amazing boy, he was my lab partner in Biology throughout the last two years of my high school career and he was incredibly smart and insanely good-looking. In short, he was way out of my league. I would be lucky if I would be allowed to be the water bearer for women in his league, or maybe their mascot.
Edward and I talked during class hours and we acknowledged each other outside of class but that didn't mean we were friends or I had any hopes of ever being anything more. Even though his sister seems convinced that we will someday be together.
Alice Cullen, Edward's sister, was an amazing girl. She was beautiful, as were all the other Cullens for that matter, but very down to earth. She had become a very close friend of mine. The only downside to Alice was that she loved shopping and used every opportunity to drag me along with her. I hate shopping!
It wasn't long before we arrived at the lake, where an insanely expensive looking boat awaited us.
"Bella! You came!" Angela said relieved the moment she saw me.
"I promised you I would, didn't I?" I said feigning hurt.
"I know, but for some reason I still thought you were going to back out and leave me alone with them," she said suggestively before letting out a short laugh.
"Trust me, she tried," Jacob joined the conversation jokingly.
"I'm sure she did," Angela replied knowingly. "It's good to see you again Jake."
"You too," Jacob replied easily.
I had introduced Jake to my friends a long time ago and Angela and Jacob became good friends instantly. Jessica and Lauren were a different case but Jacob didn't like them much either so that wasn't a problem, they just avoided one another as much as possible.
"Bella! It's good to see you here," Ben greeted me with a small smile. "You look great," he complimented me sweetly before his full attention was directed towards Angela again.
I didn't understand why Angela thought it was going to be necessary to have me here, since she and Ben would just be too absorbed by each other to even notice anyone around them. But I was happy for them, Ben was a great guy and Angela was an amazing girl and the two of them deserved each other. I couldn't have thought of a more perfect couple than the two of them.
"Hi Bella," Jessica gushed as soon as she noticed me.
She was quickly followed by Mike, her date, Lauren and her date Tyler. We all greeted each other and after a bit of small talk we decided to get on the boat, since it was about to leave.
"Don't you think this is just the best idea for a party ever?" Jessica gushed enthusiastically as soon as we were on board.
"Not really, no," I muttered, unsure if Jessica actually could hear me but I couldn't care less.
After hanging up our coats we made our way to the dance floor. They had converted the ballroom of the boat into an ideal dance floor with a DJ and party lights everywhere. There were a few tables standing to the side for people who didn't really feel like dancing and I heard that there was an entire section available on the deck for people to sit and just talk and relax. I actually really wanted to go there and just sit there for the entire night but that was apparently not what Jacob had in store for me.
As soon as we reached the dance floor Jacob pulled me along and started a silly dance. I quickly looked around me to see if anyone was looking and as soon as I realized the coast was clear I gave up my worrying and decided to just have fun with my best friend and the rest of my friends tonight. I was never going to see these people anymore after tonight anyways. High school was over and it was almost time for my real life to begin.
I was careful when dancing though, I was clumsy enough without the heels so I was deathly afraid of falling over now that I was actually wearing these deathtraps.
But I managed to stay upright for the biggest part of the evening it seemed because after an hour of dancing I still hadn't fallen over yet. I was actually quite proud of myself for that.
The music changed into a slow song, the first of the evening but something told me that probably more would follow. I looked at Jacob and he seemed to notice the sudden change in atmosphere around us as well. People were either finding their date and started dancing or they got off the dance floor, too much romance for their taste. I couldn't quite agree more so I was ready to leave but Jacob took me by surprise as he made silly bow and held out his hand for me.
"Dear madam, would you honor me with a dance?" he asked in a highly pretentious voice. "It is your senior prom after all," he added a little more seriously.
I curtsied back at him before laughing and taking his hand. "Certainly good sir," I replied, matching his tone of voice.
We managed to sway to the music of the entire song, neither of us being good dancers it was quite an accomplishment. But I had to say that it felt nice to be in Jacob's arms, it was safe.
"Can I now please go sit down for a little while?" I asked Jacob after the song had ended.
"Sure, why don't you go sit and I'll join you a little later," he said in a rather strange voice.
His eyes seemed to be scanning the room and I immediately knew what was going on. He was looking for Leah. A girl he had had a crush on since as long as I could remember but he had never had the guts to actually ask her out. But she was going to be at this dance as well and I hoped that Jacob would now finally be bold enough to ask her out, or at least have a semi-intelligent conversation with her.
"Have fun," I said suggestively before I made my way to the stairs.
Why they had had their heart set on making this entire boat so dangerous was beyond me but somehow I managed to stumble up the stairs and I was glad to see it was relatively quiet on the deck. Luckily it wasn't a cold night tonight so it was actually quite pleasant to be outside.
I noticed Alice was standing at the edge of the boat and she waved at me as soon as she noticed me too.
"Bella! Hi! Come sit with us," she said enthusiastically.
I noticed the rest of her family sitting with her. I didn't really have a problem with any of her siblings, Jasper, Alice's boyfriend, was a very nice boy but he always seemed to be keeping his distance, Rosalie was beautiful beyond belief but even with that she was still a very kind and sweet girl and I loved talking to her. And then there was Emmett, Rosalie's boyfriend and Alice's brother, he was the kind of guy I would have loved to have as my big brother, he was funny and always knew a way to cheer a person up, no matter how down they felt. And then there was Edward, he was sitting at that table as well. He was the only thing making me a little hesitant to walk over there. I wouldn't know what to say to him. But clearly he had noticed me already because he was throwing me a small smile and I couldn't very well just turn around and walk back downstairs now, that would be rude.
So I slowly made my way over to the table. Focusing my attention on Alice just to make sure I wouldn't be staring at Edward and how absolutely fabulous he looked in a tux. He looked even more handsome than he normally already did, and that was saying something.
But by focusing my attention on Alice I failed to notice all the wires on the floor. I was walking near the railing, which on its own was already stupid, but when the boat made a slight turn my heel got caught behind one of the wires and I tripped. Instead of actually hitting the floor like I had anticipating I felt an iron bar hit my stomach and I was flipping over the railing. I could see the water come closer and closer and it felt like I was falling in slow motion. I wanted to scream but there didn't seem to be any sound coming from my mouth. I knew this was going to be the end of me. I was going to get stuck under the boat and I would drown. What a way to go! And while Edward was watching. If I would ever be lucky enough to make it out of here alive I would die of shame. I didn't know which way would be less painful.
That's when I hit the water, belly down. I guess this was going to be more painful because the impact of the water hurt like hell and water was rapidly closing around me. I couldn't breathe anymore and water started to fill my mouth as I tried desperately to gasp for air.
I lost track of what happened after that but I did notice another impact in the water not far from me, I had no idea what that could have been and I was too far gone to actually look. But then I felt two strong bars restraining me and I decided that fighting it was probably going to be useless and probably more painful in the end. So I shut down. But instead of keeping me under water the bars actually seemed to be dragging me to the surface. As soon as my head came above the water I could hear excited screams. I was too dazed to notice what was going on around me; I was just desperately trying to catch my breath.
As soon as I had evened out my breathing I noticed the two bars were still around me and I turned around to look at what had been able to drag me to the surface. To my surprise I was met by Edward's beautiful face and I was completely flabbergasted. Had he seriously jumped in after me to save me?
I didn't have time to ask him what he was doing in the water with me because someone threw us a lifebuoy and before I knew it we were in the air, slowly being pulled up and back onto the boat.
I was met by Alice's waiting arms as soon as we reached the top. She pulled me over the railing and ordered Jasper to get me a blanket. I heard Rosalie ask someone about a room we could go to because I clearly needed to warm up.
Only then did I realize that I was shaking, whether it was from the cold or the adrenaline I didn't know. But when I looked at my hands they were blue so I figured I must be cold.
Not long after that, a blanket was thrown around my shoulders and Alice was working hard to warm me up. She then guided me downstairs and into a room. She sat me down on a chair and waited for me to properly register what had happened.
"I think she is in shock," Alice said to someone standing behind me but I couldn't be bothered to look around. I didn't want to know how many people had witnessed my little clumsy moment right there. I already knew the one person I didn't want it to see the most had seen it and I just wanted to die of embarrassment.
I heard the door close behind me and all the music from the party suddenly disappeared.
"Bella? Are you alright?" Alice asked.
I had to think about that for a second. Was I alright? Physically I was alright I concluded after a quick inspection and I assumed that that was all she would need to know so I just nodded my head.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" Edward's voice came from behind me and I just wanted to pull my blanket over my head and make myself disappear. I did not need Edward to see me like this.
"I'm fine," I muttered weakly.
"Are you sure? Do you want me to call a doctor or something?" he pressed.
"No, really, I am fine," I assured him.
"Alright," he gave in after a short deliberation.
"I'm so sorry!" I muttered as I remembered that Edward was the one who had pulled me out of the water.
"You're sorry? For what?" he questioned genuinely surprised.
"Your tux is all wet, and you must be cold!" I said horrified when I noticed his appearance. He was soaking wet and although he looked extremely good with wet hair I felt instantly guilty for ruining his outfit and undoubtedly his evening as well.
"I don't care about that Bella!" he said sternly. "I care about you being safe," he added, causing me to blush.
The door opened again.
"Bella! That dive was completely awesomesauce!" I heard Emmett's enthusiastic voice from behind me.
"Emmett! Really? She could have died!" Edward exclaimed at his brother, clearly angry.
"I'm sorry, I already knew that she was safe," Emmett said slightly taken aback.
"Awesomesauce? Really?" Alice said with slight disdain in her voice.
"Yes, it's a word! Check google if you don't believe me! Besides, I'm pretty sure that everyone is going to be using it soon! That's my goal anyways," he said with a sheepish grin.
I couldn't help but laugh at the big goofball.
"At least Bella can appreciate it," he added with a smile in my direction. "But I am really happy you are alright Bella," he added more seriously.
"Thanks," I said smilingly. "I'm sorry I have ruined your evening," I continued embarrassed.
"Are you kidding? This was far more exciting than anything they could have come up with for this prom!" Emmett said happily.
"I'm glad I could entertain you," I grumbled.
"Emmett, why don't you and I go get Bella something warm to drink and search for some dry clothes somewhere, I'm pretty sure I have something that she could wear in my bag," Alice said before shoving her brother out the door, leaving me alone with Edward.
I wasn't sure if she had done it on purpose but I felt instantly more uncomfortable.
"I'm so sorry Edward," I said again after a moment of silence.
"Bella, will you please stop apologizing? It wasn't as if you did it on purpose now was it?" Edward said while rolling his eyes at me.
"No but," I muttered.
"No buts, really Bella, I am just very glad you are alright," he said softly.
"Thanks to you," I replied immediately. "Thank you for saving me," I added sincerely.
"It was my pleasure," Edward responded with a smile. "I'd do anything to keep you safe," he added to my surprise and I didn't know what to respond to that.
So I settled for the most brilliant response I had. "Oh," I muttered shyly.
His remark made me curious though and I started to wonder if it was actually true what Alice had been trying to tell me all along. She had said that Edward liked me as more than just a friend but I had never believed her. I would like to find out though. I was only holding on to the idea of Edward now anyways, I knew rationally that he would never be mine but my heart had different plans altogether. So it would be good to find out once and for all and this seemed as good a moment as any to figure it out. It wasn't like I was going to have to interact with him on a daily basis after tonight anymore anyways; we had no more Biology classes together. So if he would reject me at least I wouldn't have to face him anymore for a while.
"Why?" I asked brilliantly, unable to come up with a better strategy than that one.
"Why what?" Edward questioned.
"Why would you do anything to keep me safe?" I continued dumbly.
"Because I care about you silly," Edward said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
It didn't mean anything though; he could care for me just as a friend, which was probably the case anyways.
"Oh," I said, trying to come up with a way to ask him about it further.
I came up blank.
Luckily for me Edward helped me out. "I don't mean just as a friend Bella," he said uncharacteristically shyly.
"Oh?" I asked. It seemed that was the only word in my vocabulary nowadays.
"I know I probably shouldn't tell you this right now, after such a traumatic experience, but if I don't tell you now I'm afraid I'll never again have the chance to tell you," he started cryptically and I just stared at him, waiting for him to continue whatever it was that he was going to say. To my surprise he moved closer towards me and took my face in his hands. He stared into my eyes intently and it was as if he was trying to get some information out of me before he was going to continue. Of course I didn't know what he wanted to know so I just continued to stare at him like the imbecile that I am. "I like you Bella, I like you much more than I should but I can't help it! I have always liked you, from the moment we met in Biology, from the first time you smiled at me and said hi. You have been the only thing on my mind for the past two years and I never had the guts to tell you how I felt until now. I am sorry if this is inappropriate but like I said I couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. Of course I understand if you don't like me in the same way. Don't worry about hurting my feelings," he rambled.
I was in complete shock. I wasn't sure if it was my failed attempt to fly that had made me insane or if Edward was actually confessing his feelings for me right now. I was slightly afraid of making a fool out of myself but then I realized I had already managed to do that quite perfectly earlier this evening so I decided to just let everything go and tell him how I feel.
"I like you too Edward," I replied simply. "And not just as a friend, I like you as so much more. But I knew you would never be interested in a girl like me."
"Are you kidding me? There is no one out there more perfect than you are! Why would I not be interested?" he asked surprised.
I didn't have an answer to that and luckily he didn't expect me to answer because he moved his head closer towards me until our lips almost touched. He stopped for a brief moment to measure my reaction. I just sat there and stared at him, trying hard not to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming or not. He took my silence as consent and he closed the final distance between us. His lips were cold but I imagined mine wouldn't be much warmer at the moment and it was perfect nonetheless. I could taste the sweet taste of the water on his lips, it was mixed with his own personal taste and it seemed to be a perfect combination. The kiss was sweet and full of love. I had to fight to keep my focus because I was about to faint from all the emotions rushing through me.
It took an immeasurable moment before we both had to break for air. I was panting slightly and I was completely flushed.
"Wow," Edward let out as soon as we were both breathing relatively normally again.
I just grinned back at him like the idiot I was. I was completely euphoric.
Edward pressed a soft kiss on my lips once more and at that moment the door swung open again.
"Well, it turns out this night is indeed quite awesomesauce," Jasper said when he noticed our intimate moment.
"Not you too," I heard Alice groan.
"Sorry, blame Emmett," Jasper replied apologetically.
Alice gave me some dry clothes. I didn't know why she had actually taken a spare dress and pair of shoes and they seemed to fit me perfectly, it was like she had known. But I was too happy to actually think about asking Alice about it.
After Jacob had made sure that I was absolutely alright and I had given him the fully detailed version of the story, including the kiss with Edward, he pulled me in for a tight hug. "I can't believe I missed all of that! I'm so happy you are alright," he said relieved. "And I told you Edward liked you didn't I?" he added smugly.
"Yes you did," I gave in. "So how did it go with Leah?" I questioned.
"Really well actually," he said suggestively and I grinned back at my friend.
"I'm happy for you," I said genuinely.
"I actually really want to give her a ride home after the party, but only if Edward is willing to take you home that is," he said cautiously.
"I'm not going to ask that of him, but I could ask Alice, I'm sure she won't mind. You just go get your girl," I encouraged Jake.
Of course Edward didn't let Alice drive me home, he insisted on doing that himself. And so, after a wonderful remainder of the night on the boat and after I had introduced Edward and Jacob and they had had some laughs at my expense, Edward dutifully drove me home.
"I had a wonderful time tonight," I said sincerely once we were at my door.
"Me too, it's just too bad you had to fall in the cold water before we both realized what had been right in front of us the entire time," Edward said rather sadly.
"I know, but I'm happy it happened anyways," I shrugged.
Edward moved closer to me again and we kissed passionately for a few moments until it was really time for us to say goodbye. But Edward wouldn't let me go until I promised to see him again tomorrow. Of course I gladly agreed. So he gave me another kiss before I went into the house. This night really was awesomesauce! I thought with a grin.
A/N: Well, that was it for yet another One Shot from me; I hope you enjoyed it :) I sure had fun writing it :) The reason I came up with it actually was because I recently had a prom for school and it was on a boat! How awesome is that? :D So yeah, I couldn't deny our favorite characters that fun now could I? :P Anyways, that was it. I hope to be back with a new story soon :) But we'll see how much I can get done :)
Until next time!
Xxx
Thari