Chapter Ten: It's Jessica's Weekend, Not Bella's

No excuse, no excuse. I know.

Our entire server crashed. I ran out of time to sleep or eat, even, as soon as classes started. I finished this chapter about a month ago, actually, though, if that's any consolation.

After reading Breaking Dawn, I was so disappointed--it read like a mediocre fanfic--and suddenly, Twilight just didn't seem so great to me anymore. Besides, I want to spend my time creating my own characters rather than borrowing somebody else's overused ones. Thus, as soon as I finish Newton, I'm done with this website to move onto bigger and better things.

Now that all the depressing stuff is done, enjoy! (This isn't mine. None of it.)

The last thing I wanted to think about was Bella. But Jessica insisted on talking about her and telling me about how Edward was going with Bella to Seattle on Saturday. Annoyed, I wound up "accidentally" hanging up on her. Then, I realized that I didn't have a nice outfit for Saturday night. Jessie would kill me if I didn't have anything nice to wear! She was already treating me like she had done me a huge favor by asking me to the dance, and if I didn't wear a really nice shirt with a pair of decent slacks, she would never forgive me. That's just the kind of girl she is.

So, I left a note for my mother (she was working a late shift, and who knew where my dad was), then hopped into my car and drove off. When I reached the store, I walked in, only to find half of the boys from Forks High School there, looking for clothes themselves. I walked up to a senior who was in my math class and asked him for advice on a shirt. The boy looked at me like I had three heads and stalked off.

Frustrated, I went over to the cashier to see if he could advise me. But the person working was none other than Tyler Crowley! "May I help you, Mike?" he asked courteously.

I growled. I'd find a shirt on my own! After poking around for awhile, though, I realized that all the best shirts in my size had already been bought. Time to go to another store! The problem was, I wasn't sure if I had the budget to afford any other store—they were all more expensive, and I'd already blown a lot of my money on that date with Jessica, as well as gas. Just because I live in the middle of Nowhere, Washington, doesn't mean I've escaped the gas-prices crisis!

Oh, well. I spent the last of my money on an extremely nice new shirt. It was a blood-red color that I thought offset my skin great. Not to mention how it played off of my hair so nicely—oh, listen to me! I sound like a girl with that! There's my lesson for hanging out with Jessica and Lauren too much lately.

Right then, my phone rang, and the Caller ID said "The Witch". In other words, Lauren was calling me for reasons unknown. I picked up the phone against my better judgment. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mike!" she gushed. "Tyler told me that you were looking for some clothes for Saturday?"

"Yeah, I was. But I already found some, thanks," I replied, trying not to be cold like her.

"Jessica is SO excited about Saturday!" she continued, as if she didn't hear me. But then her voice abruptly changed. "Listen to me. Jessica is my best friend, and if you do anything at all to break her heart…" she trailed off her malicious threat. "You get the point. Well, I've got to get back to work. I'll talk to you later!" Her voice was all chipper again.

Lauren, work? Really? Those two words didn't belong in the same sentence! I didn't understand the point of that telephone call, but didn't particularly care, either. Lauren was Lauren, and nothing would change about that. She was awful, conniving, and vicious. She'd been getting worse and worse as time wore on, but it's not like I understood why. Girls are cruel, and they refuse to make sense.

With these confused thoughts in mind, I succumbed to a deep, mad slumber which lasted until pretty late—I ended up half an hour late to school. I noticed that Bella seemed very…different. Happier, with her cheeks flushed. And every moment that she got a chance, she was with Edward Cullen. Whatever. None of my business, I tried to tell myself. But then, him and his sister Alice left at lunch! I wondered why before telling myself, again, to butt out.

Before they left, I noticed the beautiful blonde senior, Rosie or whatever, glare at Edward and Bella. Yet again, I was forced to kick myself out of their business. Part of me wondered why, when Edward left, Bella didn't go with him. All of us expected him to take her along when they left—many money bets were made—but several of us lost out big-time because Bella was left all alone at that table.

I found my chance to make up some lost money from the last bet when I saw her alone at her Biology table. But she didn't even notice me when I tried to talk to her. No matter—I tried again in Gym. "Have a good time in Seattle, then!" I said to her as we were leaving the gymnasium.

"Actually, Mike, I'm not going to Seattle at all," she explained carefully. "I really don't think my truck will be up for the trip." It was a valid reason—there was no way that monster truck could make it all the way and back from Seattle.

Well! It looked like I was going to lose my bet AGAIN…"Are you going to the dance with Cullen?" I asked her, trying but failing to keep the irritation off my face.

"No, I'm not going to the dance at all." That was to be expected, what with the going to Seattle, but then what would she do? Why not stop by at the dance?

"What are you doing, then?" Please, please…I can't afford to lose any money…

Smiling, she said, "Laundry, and then I have to study for the Trig test or I'm going to fail." Lies! I knew it! She wouldn't fail out of Trig—she was far better than Jessica, at least, and Jessica wasn't having any problems in the current unit!

"Is Cullen helping you study?" I inquired excitedly.

"Edward," she replied disdainfully, emphasizing his name, "is not going to help me study. He's gone away somewhere for the weekend." Oh, darn.

"Oh." Wait! That meant that she would still be sort-of available! "You know, you could come to the dance with out group anyway—that would be cool. We'd all dance with you." Especially me, but I didn't say that. For fear of Jessica's wrath more than anything.

"I'm NOT going to the dance, Mike, okay?" she said huffily, starting to walk ahead.

"Fine," I replied. Why did she have to get so snappy? "I was just offering."

She ignored me. Her loss.

The day ended with the usual mad rush to get out of school as quickly as possible, myself included. Why not? It was Friday, and nobody could ever wait to leave this place, even on a regular weekday, much less the day before the huge, annual spring Sadie Hawkins dance. A monster roar from the opposite side of the parking lot alerted me to the fact that Bella was driving her truck—I didn't remember hearing it in the morning; hadn't she caught a ride with Cullen? Whatever. I backed out and sped home, hoping that a cop didn't see me.

Just my luck—flashing lights pulled me over, and a heavyset cop with donut crumbs dotting his beard lumbered to my window. Amiably, I rolled it down, stuck my head out, and grinned at him. "Sonny, where's your license?" he asked, bored.

I pulled out my wallet, rummaging through, and finally pulling out an ID card, handing it to the cop, still grinning. "Here you go, sir."

He accepted it without any comment, pretending to study it, and then said, "You were going well over the speed limit, Mr.…ah…" He glanced at the card for a name. "Sparrow?" Then he peered at the picture. "This," he blustered, "This isn't you! It's that man from the pirate movie! I need legal, American ID!" He continued on for awhile, then abruptly started laughing. "I'll let you off this time for having a good sense of humor. But if I ever catch you again…" he warned.

In actuality, I was pretty sure he was just too lazy to deal with persecuting me, so used my wit as an excuse to get him out of work.

As a result of this episode, I was pretty late getting home. Mom was out of her mind. "Where were you? I called your cell at least twenty times!" Sure enough, when I checked my voicemail later, there were fifteen messages, each more frantic than the first. "Why didn't you pick up?"

I ignored her. She would stop eventually, and the chances were, I wouldn't have to answer any time soon, anyhow. So I let her rant while I pulled a bottle out of the fridge and poured myself a glass of Coke. I let her rant while I drank that glass and then three more. I let her rant while I walked up the stairs, and finally cut off her voice with my bedroom door.

To keep my mother from yelling at me some more, I busied myself by picking up the mountains of dirty laundry from everywhere. It was beginning to stink, too, and it was pretty unpleasant. Especially the old socks under my bed. When were they from?

After I finished this job, ate dinner, finished my geometry, and had a few IM wars with friends, I collapsed, deeply asleep.

My dreams were awesome, starring foremost Bella and Jessica. It was a pretty even divide between the two girls. Though I didn't remember many specifics afterwards, I kind of remembered a couple scenes.

"Mike!" whispered Bella's voice. It was so real, but I was back on First Beach, and I couldn't tell where the voice originated from.

"Bella?" I called. "Bella! Are you here?"

She giggled. "Of course I am, silly!" Then, Jessica stepped out from the driftwood fire, blazing blue, voice changing from Bella's to her own as she spoke. "It's not my fault you're such a jerk and a player. The generic nice boyfriend, that's how you think of yourself, right? Let me tell you, you're wrong, Mike, so wrong…so wrong…so wrong…

"All you know how to do is break hearts. You already broke how many so far?"

I woke up in a cold sweat, unsure how much of that had been a dream. It didn't really matter—it was nine already, and I had to get up to make it to my shift at my parents' store on time.

Work was pretty slow that day. Until, of course, Jasper Hale walked in. I groaned inwardly, but smiled at him as he entered the automated doors. "How may I help you, Mr. Hale?"

He raised his eyebrow at me, and I caught sight of several crescent-shaped scars that I hadn't noticed before just below his brow. How had he gotten them? He had been orphaned, right? So maybe he was in the accident that killed his parents or something. But there was no way for me to ask something like that.

He browsed around, eying some of the new camping equipment. "This one is the newest in stock. Great reviews," I told him, pointing to my personal favorite tent.

"Hmm." He eyeballed me, as if searching for something. I kept smiling—it was my job. Then he shrugged, and walked over to the rack of baseballs and bats. "Which is the strongest one, do you think?" he asked me.

"Well, I'd have to go with this one," I advised, pulling out a purple and gold bat.

"Thanks," he replied, tipping his hat slightly.

"Anytime." I rushed to get out of his presence; he kind of scared me sometimes.

Suddenly, I heard a crash, like two boulders smashing into each other, from behind me. But when I turned back, there was nothing out of order. Jasper was still there, handling the bat, but now he was smiling and nodding. "I think this one is pretty good," he said. "Strong enough."

It was pricey, but for the Cullen family, I knew it wouldn't be a problem. I wondered why he needed a strong bat—was he actually a serial killer in disguise? Was he planning to bash somebody's head in or something?

Either way, work's monotony was definitely getting to me if I was making up conspiracy theories about every small item people bought. I was terrifically glad when my shift ended at four.

I showered, changed, and polished myself up as quickly as I could without letting quality suffer, all ready by five. The dance started at eight; I still had time. Nevertheless, I couldn't get myself to just sit down, so I jumped in the car and drove to Jessica's house. Checking my hair just once more in the mirror, I stepped out, put a gentlemanly smile on my face, and rang the doorbell. Her mother answered.

"She'll be right down, Mike," she told me after we exchanged pleasantries. "Would you like to come in and wait?"

"Sure. Thanks, Mrs. Stanley."

She led me through the foyer into the living room. It was so pristine and white, and I was terrified of messing it up even though I had just cleaned myself up, even put on a tie. I never wear ties. I hate them, the murder weapons. It's the easiest way to commit suicide—choke yourself by tying your tie too tight. I can just see it: "Oh, how did I die? Let's see…well, I was getting ready to get married and tied my tie too tight. Just before the 'I do' part, I toppled over, dead by strangulation." Lovely.

This mindless daydreaming helped me pass the fifteen minutes I spent sitting on the clean leather couch. Jessica swept down the staircase past my half-asleep face, jerking me down to Earth again, swathed in a knee-length, ice-blue, revealing number that accentuated her eyes. Her hair was done into an elegant French bun, with curly wisps hanging out stylishly. She looked awesome. Instantly, her mother appeared again, incessantly snapping pictures of the both of us.

After the too-long photo shoot, I took Jessica by the elbow and led her to the car. "Where do you want to eat? We have, like," I paused to check my watch, "an hour, hour and a half."

"What about the Lodge?" she suggested.

I knew that I couldn't afford it. I had lost money on all those bets on Bella and also bought a new shirt and tie, so I had no money left. Nevertheless, I smiled. "Sure!" I had my "emergency" credit card, anyway—this counted as an emergency, didn't it?

Dinner was a quiet, pleasant affair. Neither of us knew what to say to the other, but we held hands for awhile, and it was sweet in a silent, awkward way. Romantic as it was, I was glad we were going to the dance next.

Eric was selling tickets at the door—it was the only way his mother would let him come, apparently. Thankfully, this wasn't as expensive as dinner—seven bucks a person wasn't too bad. Part of me wanted to look around to see if Bella had shown up after all, but it was worthless, I knew. It wouldn't matter anyways; it wasn't like she was very interested in me. Besides, I had a girl, and I needed to remember that. I concentrated only on how pretty Jessica looked tonight and nothing else.

The dance was almost as uneventful as dinner. Jessica and I danced together through almost every song, and I felt more and more attracted to her every minute. I was quite happy that I had chosen her over Bella. Every once in awhile, we would take a short break for a glass of punch, but other than that, we didn't really break apart. She didn't once go talk to Lauren, and I never left to talk to Tyler. It was a night of just us two, and I was amazed at how much I liked that thought. As the dance dwindled to a close, the songs grew slower and more romantic. As we slow-danced, Jessica rested her head on my shoulder, which was perfectly okay with me.

In the very last song, though, things changed—she looked up at me, and I looked down at her. Totally entranced by the hypnotic music and her icy blue eyes, I drew closer, my eyes half-closed…