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Shelley looks at herself for the millionth time from the mirror, letting out a sigh. Bella left with Edward half an hour ago and she's still insecure about her looks for the prom. The lavender dress is stunning and long covering her heels as her blonde hair is styled up to highlight the long silver earrings. For a certain extent, she looks good, but it doesn't satisfy her mind enough. She opens the door to find Esdras waiting awkwardly near his BMW, dressed in an elegant suit. But even calm Esdras is unnerved by Charlie's glare. They both look up at her, making her smile nervously. She descends the steps after a sigh. "I don't think I would fit the prom-"
"You're perfect…" Esdras cuts her off. "I'll take good care of her, Chief."
"Heard that before from your brother as well." Charlie snorts and Esdras moves to open the car door. Charlie holds his younger daughter back. "I put the pepper spray in your bag."
"Dad."
"And… you look beautiful."
"Thank you, dad."
They share a smile before Charlie speaks again. "Don't forget to take care of your sister and also yourself."
"Okay."
"Goodluck!"
Soon, Esdras's black BMW pulls up to this lovely inn with light bulbs shining around like stars.
"I'll be right back." He says as she steps out of the car, and drives away for parking.
"Shells." Shelley turns around to the voice to see Jacob standing there. She quickly wraps her arms around him giving a hug, which he gladly returns. "Jacob. Hey."
"Nice." He compliments.
"You are too. Are you crashing into the prom or something, are you coming with a date? If I knew that you're into proms, my date would be you." She jokes, knowing proms are not his material.
"No. Uh… my dad paid me to come talk to you. Twenty bucks." He says, nervously scratching through the back of his neck.
"Let's hear it."
"Just don't get mad, okay? He wants you to break up with your boyfriend. Both you and Bella. It's just… he said uh… 'we'll be watching." He states.
"I'm not dating Esdras. But Bella does date Edward." She replies with a shrug and Jacob stares at her, bewildered. "Okay, well, tell him 'thanks' anyway."
"Okay."
"And to pay up."
"Okay."
"Bella must be inside somewhere with Ed."
"Yeah, I'll look for her." He nods when Esdras appears.
"Jacob. I'll take it from here."
Esdras and Jacob glare at each other.
"Guess I'll see you around, Shells."
"Um."
Jacob leaves, giving her a final look.
"I leave you alone for two minutes and the wolves descend." He shakes his head in disbelief.
"Hey, he's my best friend." She complains jokingly as he guides her through the Monte Carlo styled prom to notice Mr. Molina and other teachers are there.
Esdras stops at his tracks and turns to her with a look which she cannot explain within a few words. "What am I then?"
"You're… ah… I don't know." A blush creeps into Shelley's cheeks as she looks away at his direct stare on her. It's like he's waiting for a reaction from her. "I can't believe you're making me do this."
He changes his expression into a grin and guides her around a corner to gaming tables and roulette wheels. Guys in tuxes and girls in gowns gamble for prizes, dance and socialise.
"You really are trying to kill me."
"Prom is an important rite of passage. I don't want you to miss anything."
Since Shelley cannot be mad at him, she just shakes her head affectionately. They continue into the prom. Several heads turn. She sees the dance floor, where a gap has formed. In the middle, two couples whirl gracefully. It's Alice and Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, looking absolutely stunning.
Rosalie glances over, indifference has replaced fury and envy. But Alice waves brightly.
Bella is with Edward in the other corner, talking to each other with huge smiles placed on their faces. Bella is still in the recovery of her injuries, which leads Charlie to prohibit dancing for her. But she seems to enjoy his company at the moment.
Shelley returns it with a smile as they hear a crossfade into the next track. It's Eric at the turntables, making the room bounce. Next to him, Angela wears the headphones, flipping through a stack of vinyl.
They nod at her and she shoots them a smile when Mike and Jessica stand in front of an Aston Martin cut-out. She catches their eye to see Mike who does his best James Bond impersonation. Jessica poses like Pussy Galore.
Esdras smirks, then turns to her. "Shall we?"
Shelley laughs, then realises it is not a joke. "You're serious. I can't dance-"
He doesn't wait for an answer, more or less drags her to the dancefloor and starts to move. She actually begins to enjoy it for a moment when he speaks. "See? You're dancing."
"At prom." She adds. As they dance, she feels his grace, his strength. Becomes thoughtful. Finally, she looks at him. "What is in your mind?"
"A lot."
"Mind sharing?"
"Not yet." He kept dancing, slowly, hoping this was the last word.
Accidentally, she looks at Rosalie to see her glaring at Esdras and her. She has no idea why Rosalie's so upset with her and it's hunting Shelley to see the blonde vampire like that. She then turns her gaze to Bella to see Jacob now talking with her. Edward is glued by her side with a dead glare.
Jacob, being himself, ignores Edward and keeps talking to Bella while looking through the crowd to finally set his eyes on Esdras and the blonde. Shelley swears, she notices some kind of jealousy on them. She wishes she could read his mind right now. His long hair is messily flowing down his white shirt looking handsome as always.
Esdras's grip on her tightens, pulling her out of her thought bubble and off Jacob's eyesight. She looks up at Esdras to see him giving a sharp look at Jacob, he looks angry.
"Esdras." Shelley calls out, making him look at her.
He releases his tight grip on her as he realises what he's doing without his knowledge. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." She smiles. They whirl around, gliding on his grace, never looking away from one another, in each other's arms.
