As Jacob and I stared at each other uncertainly, a woman and her two kids came into the bakery. The kids immediately ran over to the doughnuts and began yelling over the other as they picked out what they wanted while the woman gave me an apologetic look before quietly telling them to use their inside voices. Jacob hovered near the counter display as I moved to put their choices into a box, smiling at the kids and telling them which ones I liked when they asked for suggestions.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jacob smile at the sight of me interacting with the kids and my heart sputtered a beat. Cheeks flushed from embarrassment, I rang up the order and waved goodbye as they left the bakery, each kid happily eating a free sample cupcake. Slowly, I turned my attention back to him, unable to stall any longer.

"You wanted to talk?" My voice squeaked, causing me to cough before I grabbed my water bottle from under the counter.

"Yeah," Jacob rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away from me. I motioned him to follow me and I headed for the side parlor.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked him as I slid into a booth in the back corner.

"I wanted to apologize for avoiding you over the summer." He confessed, guilt written across his face. "After what I said to you at the roller rink, I felt horrible. And every time I went to talk to you, I got scared and chickened out. It hurt me to see you at the beach, knowing that I was awful to you."

"You weren't the only one avoiding that conversation. I wasn't sure if I would've yelled at you, or done something wrong." I shrugged at his surprised expression.

"I just wanted you to know that I never intentionally wanted to hurt you." His voice quieted as he dropped his gaze to the table.

"But you don't know how you feel about Bella." I added, causing him to grimace. "Jacob, she's with Edward. Why would you want to put yourself through that, knowing she's with someone else?"

"I don't know." Jacob sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know, I need to figure out what I want. And I will."

"Okay," I said, refusing to acknowledge the sad feeling that settled into my bones. "I have to get back to work."

"Wait." Jacob reached for my hand as I started to get out of the booth. I looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I... I wanted to ask you... can we start over? As friends? You know, hang out at the beach or at each other's houses. Get to know each other."

"Sure. We can be friends."

"Great." A smile broke across his face. "I'll see you later?"

"Okay." I smiled back at him and he left, waving goodbye to my mom who was putting out fresh cupcakes.

"That went well," Mom said as he disappeared from sight.

"About as well as it could've, I guess." I sighed. "Maybe this is a good thing. After what happened with Reed, I'm definitely not ready for a boyfriend."

"It will happen when the time is right." Mom kissed the top of my head. "Don't rush things."

"I won't," I promised her. "Let's get ready for the parade. It'll be starting soon."

By the time 4 pm rolled around, Mom and I were covered in flour, grinning as we stacked the last boxes on the counter. I wiped my hands on my apron as my friends walked into the bakery, laughing and talking about the parade. Mom handed me a platter of treats that we made especially for my friends, and they happily took the desserts.

"Where's Jessica?" I asked, noticing she was missing from the group.

"She had a makeup test for Biology." Eric answered before stuffing a mini cupcake into his mouth.

"These are really good, Mrs. Watson." Mike took a bite of the cookies and cream bar. "Can I order some for my mom?"

"Sure." Mom motioned Mike to follow her to the register.

"Hey Autumn, did you hear? You made the top five for Miss Forks!" Angela squealed.

"What?" I gasped in surprise. "How did that happen?"

"What's going on?" Mom asked as she rejoined us.

"Angela just told me I made top five for Miss Forks!"

"It's our version of announcing the homecoming queen." Angela explained to Mom.

"Oh, that's amazing!" Mom hugged me as she shrieked in delight. "I'm so happy for you, baby!"

"Let's not get too happy." I laughed. "There's a good chance I won't get it."

"I know that. I can still be happy!" Mom swatted my shoulder playfully.

"They're going to announce Miss Forks tonight before the bonfire. And there's a float for the top five in the parade, which is why we brought you this." Angela motioned to Mike and Tyler, who disappeared into the side parlor and reappeared with a garment bag and Angela's makeup case.

"How did you manage this?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, as part of the Homecoming Committee, I basically know everything." Angela winked. "I had this for the last two weeks. As the only bakery in town, I knew you and your mom would be busy with preparing the desserts."

"Thank you." I hugged her, tears swelling in my eyes.

"Alright, let's go get you changed. We have a little less than an hour before the parade starts."

Angela shooed me into the bathroom, where she handed me the garment bag before setting up her makeup on the counter. Unzipping the bag, I gasped as I stared at the dress. It was a beautiful lavender, with spaghetti straps and an A-line skirt. In a separate bag attached to the hanger was a sparkly faux diamond necklace with a matching bracelet and earrings. On the counter was a shoebox containing a pair of silver strappy heels that glittered.

"Angela, have I told you lately that you're amazing?"

"At least once a day." She laughed while I stripped down, arms above my head as Angela helped slide the dress over my head.

"I think I'm in love with this dress." I said, looking into the mirror as Angela zipped the back.

"You look good. Alright, put on the jewelry. I'll get your mom so she can get a picture."

After Mom took pictures and cried tears of happiness, Angela led me to where the float was lined up in the parade. Mrs. Snow, the PTA coordinator, smiled when she saw us.

"Don't you look beautiful, Autumn!"

"Thank you." I blushed at the compliment.

"Okay, so now that we're all here, let's go over what's going to happen. Brittany, you stand here."

Mrs. Snow directed Brittany to the front of the float, positioning her on a small platform before moving on to the next girl.

"And lastly, Autumn. You're going to be on the top riser." Mrs. Snow directed to me, helping me up the steps.

As I took my place on the float, Angela's phone rang and she walked a few feet away to answer it. I watched her face as she listened to whoever was on the other end, her eyes flickering to me. A sense of dread swelled in my chest and I quickly pushed it away, turning back to Mrs. Snow as she explained the parade route and the duties of Miss Forks during the Fall Festival.

"Okay, ladies. Five minutes until the parade starts." Mrs. Snow checked her watch. "Remember to smile and wave, and just have fun. I will see you at the end of the parade, in the town square."

"Who was that on the phone?" I asked Angela quietly as Mrs. Snow left to talk to the driver.

"It's nothing for you to worry about right now," Angela said, not looking directly at me.

"Angela." I gave her a stern look.

"We'll talk about it later," Angela said as she started to move away from the float. "I'll meet you at the end of the parade route."

"I'm holding you to that!" I called after her as the truck began to slowly move forward.

As the parade weaved through the neighborhoods, I did my best to forget about Angela and her mysterious phone call, smiling and waving to people like Mrs. Snow instructed. Kids who befriended me at the bakery grinned when they saw me, excitedly pointing me out to their parents.

The parade route turned down my street and I smiled as I noticed Mom and Charlie standing together at the end of his driveway. They both waved when they saw me, and Mom gave me a thumbs up. I blew her a kiss before realizing Billy was next to Charlie, a huge smile on his face.

My heart leaped in my chest as my eyes fell on the person next to Billy; Jacob was staring at me as if he was seeing me for the first time, and I realized he hadn't seen me dressed up since he crashed our prom a few months ago. Heat crept into my cheeks and I looked away from him, focusing my attention on waving to three little girls dressed in princess costumes.

By the end of the parade, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much but the feeling of happiness overpowered the pain. In a short amount of time, I had become a part of a community that made me feel like I was home. The feeling of belonging engulfed me like a warm blanket and for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel alone.

As the realization overcame me, Angela was standing next to the float with Mike and Eric, smiles on their faces. Mike held his hand out to help me off the float.

"There she is, our next Homecoming Queen!" Eric made a "ta-da" gesture with his arms as I walked down the steps.

"I haven't won yet." I teased him.

"Oh, please. You practically have the crown in the bag." Eric pulled out his tablet, showing me the school newspaper's website. "According to our online poll, you virtually are in the lead."

"But in reality, it could be any of us who wins."

"Don't be a Debbie downer."

I laughed at Eric's pout and linked arms with Angela as we made our way to the center of the town square where the mayor was getting ready to cut the ribbon to the festival. As the crowd cheered when the ribbon fluttered to the ground in two pieces, I caught sight of Mrs. Snow signaling to us to meet with her at the PTA booth.

"Good job, ladies! The parade went well." Mrs. Snow beamed. "Now, you can go change and enjoy the festival. Keep an eye on the time, we're going to meet at the Watsons' bakery for the announcement before the bonfire at 8:00 pm. Have fun!"

With a sigh of relief, I turned to Angela who already had a bag in her hand. We headed for the bakery and I quickly changed into an outfit that my mom had helped pick out; sliding the dark blue jeans over my thighs, I felt comfort replace the anxiety I had during the parade. Readjusting the brown tank top over my bra, I pulled the aquamarine long sleeve shirt over my head and made sure the two shirts were layered. Once my brown Uggs and matching scarf were on, Angela helped me clean up the bakery and hung the dress up in the kitchen before heading outside to find Mike and Eric.

"Let's have some fun!" Mike whooped, taking off for the fair rides with Eric and Tyler following behind him as we laughed.

"Ready?" Angela asked.

"Ready." I nodded and we took off after the boys, laughing and tripping over each other.

After riding the fair rides and eating too much food, we ended up at the high school where the teachers and the PTA committee were supervising a haunted maze through the school that ended the other side of the woods. We shared a look and grinned, thinking the same thing; we were going through the maze. As we approached the booth, I noticed Jacob and a couple of his friends standing in line. He caught my eye and waved; I gave him a wave back, hoping none of the guys would notice.

"Hey, isn't that Jacob?" Mike asked, causing me to inwardly groan. Of course, Mike would see him.

"Yeah, I think you're right." Tyler said, squinting. "Hey, Jacob!"

I turned toward Angela with fear in my eyes, silently pleading her to help me as Jacob and his friends came over. Angela patted my shoulder reassuringly.

"Hey, guys. Angela, Autumn." Jacob smiled as he greeted us.

"Hey, man. Why don't you join our group?" Mike first bumped him, which made me smile. At least my friends get along with him.

"What do you think?" Jacob turned to his friends and they nodded.

"Sure. Sounds like fun," Quil said, winking at me. "We miss hanging out with Autumn anyways. She's more fun than Jacob."

"Yeah, we'd rather hang out with her than him any day." Embry teased.

"Jerks." Jacob mumbled under his breath. I laughed and high-fived the boys.

"Thanks, guys. At least someone likes hanging out with me." I pretended to pout and bat my lashes at Jacob.

"Low blow, Autumn." Jacob clutched his chest, pretending his heart was wounded.

"If you two are done flirting," Eric made a gagging noise before laughing. "Let's go before Autumn has to get back to the bakery."

"What do you have to go to the bakery for?" Quil asked.

"I made the top five for homecoming queen, and they're announcing Miss Forks before the bonfire."

"Well, we're rooting for you."

"Thanks, Quil."

"Come on, guys. Let's go!" Tyler whined.

Shaking our heads, we made our way to Mr. Masen who was at the entrance. He waved to us before letting us into the maze.

As we made our way through the maze, student volunteers set off jump scares and hidden traps, causing Angela and I to squeal and laugh. The guys tried to act tough but ended up screaming as they were scared by a clown popping out of the shadows or a spider falling from the ceiling. Once we made it through the school and started for the woods, I had drifted toward Jacob as we walked down the path.

"Ten dollars says Mike gets spooked before Eric," Angela leaned over and whispered to me, snickering.

"You're on," I whispered back, shaking her hand discreetly.

"Twenty bucks, they both run for the hills," Jacob whispered, smirking. Angela and I shared a look before turning back to him.

"What did you have in mind?"

"We'll handle this." He nodded to Quil and Embry, who disappeared into the woods off of the path.

Five minutes into the woods, we started to hear strange noises, almost like bones breaking. A twig snapped somewhere off to the left, causing Mike and Eric to both jump and cower toward each other. Angela and I slowed down, putting some distance between us and them as Jacob scanned the treeline. Our breaths held, we waited for something to happen. Suddenly, Quil and Embry dropped from above us, right in front of the guys, and scared them. Mike and Eric screamed and took off running down the path as we broke out into uncontrollable laughter.

"Okay, okay. You win." I said to Jacob in between fits of giggles. Jacob beamed and high-fived his friends.

"Autumn, we have to go." Angela glanced at her watch as we exited the woods. "See you guys at the crowning!"

With a wave, Angela and I broke into a run. Panting slightly, we came to a halt in front of the bakery where Mrs. Snow was standing by herself. Within minutes, the other girls showed up, their outfits similar to mine except for the color of their shirts and boots.

Mrs. Snow led us to the stage where the high school principal introduced us and we took our places on stage. I caught sight of Jacob and his friends weaving through the crowd to stand by Mike and the guys, smiling at me when he met my gaze and gave a thumbs up.

"And the new Miss Forks is... Autumn Watson!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd as I gasped in shocked surprise. The principal waved me over to center stage as Angela and another girl on the homecoming committee came over with the tiara, sash, and a bouquet of flowers.

"I had a good feeling it was going to be you," Angela whispered as she placed the tiara on my head and gave me a hug. I wiped away a tear and laughed as I hugged her back.

"Congratulations, Autumn! And now... time for the bonfire!" The mayor announced into the microphone, dispersing the crowd.

As I walked off stage toward my friends and Mom who were cheering, Charlie appeared, panting as he tried to catch his breath.

"Julie... help... Bella's missing!"