After days of dark clouds and pouring rain, Friday morning brought blue skies and warm sunshine. Everyone seemed to have the same idea of taking advantage of the sun that day at school; people were wearing shorts and tank tops, eating outside for lunch. Jessica was sprawled out in the grass, sunbathing, as Bella and I sat at the picnic table. Bella tried not to make it obvious she was scanning the courtyard for Edward, blushing when Jessica spoke up.

"He's not here. Whenever the weather is nice, the Cullens disappear."

"They just ditch?" I asked, incredulous.

"No, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen yank them out for hiking and camping, family stuff. I tried that on my parents once. Not even close." She gave a laugh and rolled her eyes, before soaking in the sunshine again.

"I think that's pretty cool, to be honest." I said, thinking back to my middle school years. "My family used to do things like that."

Bella squeezed my hand in support, giving me an understanding smile. Just then, Angela ran over to us, throwing her arms around Bella.

"I'm going to prom with Eric!" She yelled happily. "I took control, just like you said, and asked him this morning."

"That's awesome!" Bella hugged her back.

"Are you sure you have to go out of town that weekend?" Angela pretended to pout.

"It's a family thing." Bella half-heartedly smiled.

"We need to go dress shopping," Jessica interrupted excitedly, her eyes twinkling with happiness; Mike had asked her to prom and it was all she could think of. "We need to hit Port Angeles before all the good dresses are gone."

"Port Angeles?" Bella asked, her eyes lighting up for a moment. "Do you mind if I come with you?"

"Well, duh. I need your opinion." Angela told her.

"What about you, Autumn?" Jessica turned to look at me. "You're going to prom, right?"

"Of course." I smiled. "Count me in."

"Are you sure you don't want to find a date?" Angela asked as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

"I'm fine without a date," I reassured her. "Besides, I would rather hang out with my friends."

"Okay, so after school?" Jessica looked at us, and we nodded before heading off to class.

* * * * * * * *

"You have to try that one," Angela said as she ruffled through the rack. I was holding a gold off-the-shoulder dress to my body, looking at the mirror.

"You really think so?" I asked, a little skeptical.

"Definitely," she smiled warmly.

"As long as you try on that one." I nodded to the periwinkle dress she picked out.

"Deal."

"Hurry up, guys." Jessica huffed impatiently, holding onto a hot pink halter top dress. We shook our heads as we shared a grin, following her into the dressing rooms.

A few minutes later, we walked out to where Bella was sitting, Jessica striking a provocative pose in the floor-length mirrors.

"I think this halter makes my boobs look big," she said as she adjusted the front. "What do you think, Bella?

A group of guys walking past the shop made catcalling noises in oggling appreciation, making us roll our eyes. Bella shook her head distractedly.

"Earth to Bella." I called out teasingly.

"It looks good," Bella said, blushing from embarrassment.

"You said that about the last five dresses." Jessica pointed out, pouting in disapproval.

"You're not really into this, are you?" Angela asked understandingly.

"I'm sorry," Bela frowned. "It's just that, I was kind of hoping to go check out this bookstore. Do you guys mind if I just meet you at the restaurant?"

"Go ahead." Angela nodded. I looked at Bella.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, you should stay and find your dress." She pulled me aside from the girls, lowering her voice. "I found a book about the Quileute legends Jacob was telling us about. I want to go check it out. I'll come over later and we can go through it together."

"Yeah, okay." I agreed. "You better go before it gets too much later."

I watched as Bella left the dress shop, heading down the street before disappearing around a corner. As I made my way back to Jessica and Angela, I kept thinking back to the night Jacob told us about the cold ones. Bella and I spent all weekend researching old Quileute legends, trying to figure out what we thought about the tales. Shaking my head, I brought myself back to the present.

"I think you should get that dress, Autumn. It looks really good on you." Angela said when I came back, Jessica nodding in approval.

"I agree. Bella was right," Jessica turned to look back at herself in the mirror. "This halter does make my boobs look great."

"Are you getting that one?" I asked Angela, who was peering at herself in the periwinkle dress. Her face lit up as she nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, I think this is the one." She gushed happily.

Pleased with our decisions, we fanned out to find the perfect shoes and accessories. After paying for everything, we left the shop with more excitement blooming within us.

"What do you guys want to do now?" Jessica placed her bag in the trunk of her car before turning to us. Angela and I looked at each other, shrugging.

"We could go look at some new makeup." Angela suggested. "At least until we have to meet Bella at the restaurant."

"Let's go." Jessica linked her arms with ours and led us down the street, laughing as we talked about prom plans.

As we passed an outdoor shop, a familiar face appeared in the window. He caught my eye and grinned before walking out the door, causing my heart to skip a beat. What was that about?

"Hey, Autumn!" Jacob said, his voice husky. "Jessica, Angela."

"Jacob, right?" Jessica looked him over before giving me a sly smile. Jacob noticed the expression on her face and tilted his head as if he knew what that look meant.

"What are you doing here?" I interrupted, bringing his attention back to me.

"Just picking up some camping stuff," he replied, pointing to the shop behind him with his thumb. "It's a tribe thing. What are you doing in Port Angeles?"

"Prom dress shopping."

"Ah, right. Prom is in a couple of weeks. Are you going with anyone?"

Jessica made a coughing sound and I glared at her, silently willing her to shut up. Jacob's smile seemed to widen, his eyes twinkling with laughter.

"No, I don't have a date."

"We'll meet you at the beauty store," Angela said as she tugged on Jessica's arm, dragging her away. "It was good to see you again, Jacob."

"You too." He waved at them, chuckling. My cheeks were on fire, which earned another chuckle from Jacob.

"How's your dad doing?" I asked, ignoring the fact that my heart was pounding in my chest.

"He's doing okay. Just as stubborn as ever, but he's good." Jacob replied casually. "I never pegged you for the dressing-up type."

"Well, it is prom." I said jokingly. "Besides, I'm going because it'll make my mom happy, knowing that I'm out with friends and not home alone on a Saturday night."

Jacob must've sensed the sadness in my voice because he motioned me to follow him. Curiosity got the best of me, and I followed him across the street to a little coffee shop. Standing at the counter, Jacob studied the menu for a minute before focusing on me and turning to the barista.

"One coffee and one hot chocolate with whipped topping and... a dash of cinnamon on top."

I gaped at him in surprise while he paid for the drinks. Chuckling, he led me to a small table off to the side.

"How did you know that I put cinnamon on my hot chocolate?" I finally asked, willing the words to come out of my mouth.

"Bella told me, the day you came to La Push with your friends." Jacob smiled sheepishly, a slight blush coming to his cheeks. "I asked her."

"But why? I mean, why did you want to know?" I mentally slapped myself at the rudeness I could hear in my voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just, I don't know why the interest in me."

There was a short silence between us as the meaning behind my words slowly sunk in. Jacob grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Who hurt you so bad that you can't let anyone in?" He muttered under his breath, almost too low for me to hear.

"That's a story for another time," I smiled gravely as my phone chimed. Looking at the screen, I saw a text from Angela. "I have to go. My friends are waiting for me."

I stood up from the table, grabbing the cup of hot chocolate, and turned to Jacob. His eyes were watching me, concern mixed with something else, something I couldn't place my finger on.

"Thanks for the hot chocolate. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah. See you around."

Without another word, I quickly left the coffee shop and hurried across the street to where Jessica and Angela were waiting outside the beauty store. They teased me about crushing on Jacob, and I loudly hushed them, glancing over my shoulder to see Jacob smirking as he headed back to the outdoor shop.

Great, he probably heard them, I thought to myself before wrinkling my eyebrows in confusion. What does it matter if he did? Did I have a crush on him?

Choosing not to dwell on my thought process, I headed inside and began looking at makeup with my friends.

An hour and a half later, we found ourselves outside the restaurant with no sight of Bella. Jessica huffed impatiently as I tried calling her for the hundredth time.

"Still no answer?" Angela looked worried.

"I'm sure she's okay."

"We waited long enough. I'm starving." Jessica turned on her heel and walked inside. Angela and I shared a hopeless look before following her inside.

When we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, a familiar silver Volvo pulled up out front. Releasing a breath I didn't realize I was holding, a wave of relief washed over me when Edward got out of the car and walked around to the passenger door, helping Bella out. I nudged Angela, who gasped when she noticed the pair, and nudged Jessica. Her expression was mixed with jealousy and surprise before changing into one of relief.

"There you are, Bella! We were worried about you!" Angela scolded gently.

"We left you tons of messages," I added.

"We would've waited for you, but we were hungry." Jessica said sheepishly.

"I'm sorry I kept Bella from dinner," Edward said, smiling at us. "We ran into each other and got to talking. Time just seemed to slip away from us."

"That's okay," I spoke first, raising my eyebrow at Bella, who nodded slightly. We would talk about that later.

"We totally understand." Jessica said, her eyes on Edward. "Um, we were just leaving. So..."

Angela and Jessica started to walk toward the parking lot before turning to glance at Edward and Bella again.

"I was thinking that I should make sure Bella eats something..." Edward's voice trailed off as the four of us gaped at him. "If you'd like, Bella. I can take you home afterward."

"Uh, yeah. I probably should eat." Bella said, slowly walking over to Edward. She turned to us. "I'll talk to you guys later?"

"Yeah, uh, later." Jessica flashed her a "you better call me" look before waving goodbye. She and Angela walked away, giggling to each other. I made eye contact with Edward, who was watching me with a bemused expression on his face.

"I'm watching you, Cullen." I glared at him. "That middle finger was nothing compared to what I'll do to you if you hurt my best friend."

"Noted, Autumn. Don't worry, she'll be home safe and sound soon enough for you to bombard her with questions." Edward smirked before leading a slightly confused Bella into the restaurant.

Smiling, I left in the direction the girls went, catching up with them outside of the car. We exchanged looks of bewilderment before climbing inside and going home.

The clock read 10:21 pm when Edward's Volvo finally pulled up in front of Bella's house. The headlights bounced across my wall, causing me to put my book down. Crawling out of bed and crossing over to the window seat, I watched as Edward drove away. Counting to ten, Bella's light turned on and the curtain moved, revealing Bella sitting on her window seat. A few seconds later, my phone buzzed and I answered.

"Come over." She breathed, slightly out of breath. "The back door is unlocked."

With a click, the line went dead. Pulling on a sweatshirt over my tank top and tucking my sweatpants into my Uggs, I went downstairs where Mom was watching a movie in the living room.

"I know it's late, but Bella just got home and she needs my help on a research thing. I have my phone, a charger, and if it gets too late, I'll stay over there. Is it okay for me to go?"

"Autumn, it's the weekend. As long as you tell me what's going on and you're safe, I'm okay with it." Mom smiled. "Tell Charlie I said hello."

"Thanks, Mom." I leaned over the couch to kiss her cheek before heading out the back door.

Within seconds, I was in Bella's backyard, letting myself in through the kitchen. Charlie was sitting at the table, going over some files. He looked up when I walked in and smiled.

"Hey, Autumn. Bella's upstairs."

"Hi, Charlie. Thanks," I stopped at the fridge and grabbed two bottles of sweet tea. "Mom says hi."

Charlie nodded in response, and I took that as my cue to go to Bella's room. I knocked briefly on the door, before pushing it open. Bella was sitting at her desk, her laptop open to a Google search. She turned to face me, her eyes wide; whether it was from fear or surprise, I couldn't exactly tell.

"Autumn, I don't think Jacob was just telling us a story."