Unedited
Bella Jones
"Oh my gosh."
Lacey was gushing over me. I had finally found the time earlier that day to get- as Lacey would put it- the perfect dress for the dance. Which happened to be only.. a half hour from now. I shouldn't have been this nervous, yet my hands were coated with sweat. I tried my hardest this wipe the sheen onto the sequined sides of my dress, but it simply wouldn't remove itself from my palm.
"Okay so, Landon and Trey should be here any minute," Lacey squealed, obviously to lost in the moment to think of her hatred for my mate.
No sooner had Lacey said this the door bell resounded through her house. I sighed in exasperation and placed a hand on my clammy forehead. This is it. The moment I've been dreading and worrying about and a ton of other things. Sure, it was an exciting prospect going to the dance with Landon, it was causing more stress than it was worth. A million scenarios raced through my head, and I probably gained a few grey hairs at the age of 18.
We hit the front room and his scent made it's way into my nose, spiced with Stetson cologne. It was almost intoxicating, as weird as it sounded I could have spent an eternity smelling him.
Lacey made a move to open the front door, but I grabbed her arm in attempt to stop her. She turned to me in most likely pure confusion waiting for an explanation.
"I'm not ready," I whispered, hanging my head in shame.
"You'll be fine," Lacey told me with a promise in her voice I didn't know she couldn't keep. I simply nodded and she turned back at the task at hand. As soon as she opened the door, I heard a growl.
"What in the hell is she wearing Lacey?" Landon snapped, and I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Oh my god, I knew the dress was ugly. I probably looked like a clown.
"Um, it's called a dress boy genius. Should I spell it out? D. r. e. s. s," Lacey sighed, reprimanding Landon in a tone that was only used on children.
"No it's not! That's underwear! Should I spell that out for you?" Landon retorted, snorting.
"Would you stop? She looks perfectly fine and your making her self conscious," Lacey said, holding my hand in a comforting way. My eyes were about to leak- and I had eyeliner on so that was definitely not a good thing.
"I don't care. She's not going like that," Landon snarled. Lacey only growled in exasperation and led me past Landon towards the supposed car.
"Lacey dear, you look wonderful Love!" Trey shouted after us, and I chuckled despite the situation. How doting of him.
I slid over the leather seat by the window, and unfortunately Landon followed. Sighing, I turned my body to where I presumed the window would be.
Suddenly, a warm cloth was thrown over me. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I gripped the leather jacket collar. Landon's scent engulfed me.
"Just put it on. Then people will know you're not available," Landon mumbled, and my eyes widened in response. A soft giggle escaped my lips in response, and I pulled the fabric closer to me. The drive to the dance was long yet comfortable. Everyone but Landon and I had their own conversations going. It wasn't necessarily the best time, but that doesn't mean we weren't enjoying each others company.
I finally felt wheels crunching gravel and my heart fluttered at the thought Landon and I were actually going to dance together. A cold sweat broke out on my hands again and I nervously wiped it away on the silky fabric of my dress.
Landon slid out before me and I heard his shoes hit the rocks as he speed walked to my side, opening the door for me. He grabbed my hand from my lap and pulled me from the interior, slamming the door behind him. To my surprise he didn't let go of my hand the whole way into the dance.
"Excuse me, would the two of you like to take a picture?" A voice called out as we were about to enter the school. Loud music was audible throughout the entire school, and I could smell the sweat from the dancing that was no doubt happening at this very moment.
I was about to politely decline the offer when Landon surprised me with his own acceptance.
"Sure. Come on Bella," He answered, pulling me behind him to the booth. My shock was short lived when the click of the camera went off.
"Wait, I wasn't ready!" I cried, turning to the cameraman.
"Sorry, one picture per couple," The man said nervously, and I heard rustling as he packaged our picture. I sighed and pouted my lips out- now Landon probably had an embarrassing photo of me. Landon chuckled and accepted the photo, leading me back towards the dance.
The others had obviously went ahead of us, leaving Landon and I all alone. The first few moments were tense, especially since Landon was growling at anyone who so much as accidentally bumped into me.
"Stop that," I reprimanded, flopping into a booth. The area was coated with humans, and their scents were making me nauseous.
Someone please introduce these boys to some Stetson.
"No. Everyone here is staring at you like your meat. Don't take the Jacket off, I'll go get something to drink," And then he was gone. Sighing, I lay against the booths back and closed my eyes, wishing the noise would just dissipate all together. Several agonizing moments later Landon still wasn't back yet, so I got up and followed along the wall of booths. As expected, everyone in my path parted as I stumbled along. I mentally reprimanded myself as I walked, why did I think this was a good idea?
I finally ended up in some small, quiet hallway that reeked of cleaning supply and weed. My fingers found the cold lockers and I pressed my back to the surface, sighing in content. Only then was I aware there were voices arguing in the room next to me, making me frown when I identified Landon's.
Walking forward, I found the door crease and pressed my ear against it.
"She deserves too know," Winfreys voice snapped- his voice sounded angry and frusterated.
"Bella can never find out- It will ruin the small chance we have at being mates," Landon growled, and I flinched as his fist came into contact with the wood on the other side of my metal door. My curiousity grew every second, reaching a boiling point as soon as my name was mentioned.
"I think she deserves to know about our little game Landon," Winfrey said. My mouth dropped open in shock- game?
"I'm not losing the chance with my mate so I could tell her about some silly bet we made in the past. You're the one who suggested I make her fall in love with me in the first place!"
With this, an audible gasp breached my lips, and my eyes filled with tears. Gulping, I backed away from the door as someone opened it from the inside. My ears were met with Landons curses and my own quiet sob. Someone appraoched from the end of the hallway and I heard Lacey calling my name.
"Is it true?" I asked, my voice bitter. Lacey reached me now, placing a hand on my arm.
"Is what true Bells?" Lacey probed in concern, and Landon remained silent.
"That my mate made a bet that he could make me fall in love with him," I snapped, a tear falling down my cheek. Several seconds of shocked silence followed soon after, and then he finally spoke.
"Yes," Landon replied stiffly.
And just like that my world came crashing down.
A/N
Soooo these chapters are continuosly winding down yikes. Probably about ten to go. ANYWAYS, Bella found out the truth- what do any of you expect to happen over the next few chapters?
QOTD: Should there be a sequel to this book- if so, what about?
I don't know- this book hasn't really received a lot of comments recently which is making me nervous.
Don't forget to...
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