For You, I Will

“Can you zip me up?” I asked Nessie, holding my dress up with one hand and brushing my hair out of the way with the other.

“Sure, Lil. This is so cute! I’m glad you got this one,” she told me, pulling my zipper up. Letting my hair fall down around my shoulders, I began to adjust my dress as I said,

“I like it too. You sure it’s not too short?”

“No way! It looks so cute. Trust me.”

Smiling a bit more now, I looked in the mirror. It wasn’t that bad. The dress fell down to mid thigh, hugging my body nicely. I tied the black ribbon around my waist, letting it rest in a bow off to the side.

There was a soft knock on my bedroom door, and my mom asked,

“Girls? Can we come in?”

“Sure,” Nessie called, smoothing out her dress.

“You two look beautiful!” My mom exclaimed, beaming at me. I blushed and ducked my head. Nessie grinned at my mom and her mom, twirling around to show off her dress. I laughed at her.

“Are you ready for hair and makeup?” Bella asked, pulling Nessie into a hug. As we nodded, I spotted Lucas walking past the door in a flash of pink.

“Oh my god, is Lucas wearing a pink tux?” Nessie asked, bursting into laughter.

“He is! He is!” I laughed, watching as Lucas reappeared in the doorway to stick his tongue out. When he wasn’t with Arabella, he was actually a pretty decent brother.

“When is Lindsey getting here?” I asked, following my mom out of the room to the kitchen.

“In a few minutes,” Lucas replied, waiting for Nessie and Bella to pass by him, then following us. “You guys sure you don’t want to go with us to dinner?”

“Yeah, thanks though,” I told him, sitting down at the counter, with Nessie beside me. “Jake and Cade are taking us to Solini.”

“Have fun, then,” Lucas said just as the doorbell rang. Lucas was at the door in record time, yanking it open. Lindsey and Lucas had been together almost since Lucas started high school. She wasn’t his imprint, but he still really liked her. And why not? Lindsey was gorgeous. She had long, dark hair and beautiful dark eyes. She was nice, too, which was a surprise. But, like I said, Lucas was only an asshole when Ara was around. He was a complete gentleman with Lindsey.

Lucas led her inside, his pink tux exactly matching Lindsey’s strapless dress. Her dark hair had been pulled back and it fell down around her shoulder in a silky wave. She beamed when she spotted Nessie and I; she was always so great to us.

“Hi, Mrs. Clearwater, and Mrs. Cullen,” she said, smiling politely up at our moms, who were busy with our hair. “You two look so adorable,” she added, perching on the last stool beside me. I smiled at her, saying,

“So do you. And I’m surprised you got Lucas to match you!”

Lindsey laughed and wrapped her arm around Lucas’s waist, pulling him closer.

“He’s a great guy.”

“He’s okay, for my brother I mean,” I teased, sticking my tongue out at Lucas, who stuck his out back at me.

“We’d better get going,” Lucas said. “Arabella and Em-“ he broke off awkwardly, cleared his throat, and said, “Ara’s probably waiting for us at the restaurant.”

I ignored his mistake, turning to look at Nessie. She smiled comfortingly at me. Lindsey hopped off the chair and said,

“Bye, Lillie, bye Renesmee, see you at the dance!” She called as Lucas pulled her out of the door.

“Bye mom! Bye dad! Love you!” Lucas hollered as he slammed the door.

Once our hair was finished, our moms helped us with makeup, and finally my mom disappeared to grab the camera. Bella beamed at the two of us, just as the door opened again.

“Look at those gorgeous girls!” My dad exclaimed, coming into the kitchen with Edward. Nessie and I laughed as our dads pulled us into hugs.

“Did you bring the camera?” Bella asked Edward, allowing him to pull her into a hug.

“Of course,” he said, pulling it out of his coat pocket and handing it to her.

As my mom reappeared, she said,

“Alright, girls, smile!”

About half a million pictures later, there was a knock on the front door. Nessie rushed to answer it, with me trailing behind a little more nervously. Jacob looked great, his purple suit matching Nessie’s dress exactly. He pulled her into a huge hug, lifting her up and spinning her around a few times, giving her a loving kiss.

Cade followed in, a half-smile on his face.

“You look gorgeous,” he told me, pulling me into a hug. I blushed, pulling away and mumbling,

“Oh, thanks… you look great too.”

Cade’s eyes flicked up as a shadow fell over us.

“Is this your date, Lillie?” my dad asked, his voice taking on an unusual threatening tone. Cade swallowed hard and said,

“Yes sir, the name’s Cade Warren.”

He and my dad shook hands, and my dad said,

“How old are you, Cade?”

“Seventeen, sir,” he replied, managing to keep his cool.

“Do you drink?”

“No, sir.”

“Smoke?”

“No, sir.”

“Do you have any felonies I should know-“

“Dad!” I cut in, blushing fiercely.

“Pictures!” My mom exclaimed, ushering us onto the front porch.

After another flurry of pictures, I finally cut in and said,

“Mom, we’ll miss our reservations…”

“Oh, right, okay honey, then I guess you’d better get going!” she said hurriedly, pulling me into a hug. After being passed hug-to-hug to everyone else on the porch, I linked my arm with Cade’s, and we followed Jake and Nessie to the little red rabbit.

My mom and Bella waved to us as Jake backed out and headed to the restaurant.

ღ

“You ready?” Cade asked, opening up the back door for me and giving me a hand out of the rabbit. Taking a deep breath, I shook my hair away from my face and said,

“Yeah, let’s go for it.”

Cade linked his arm with mine and led me into the dance, right behind Jake and Nessie. Once we were in, I followed my best friends to an empty table and dumped our stuff off. Immediately, Jake was leading Nessie to the dance floor; Cade caught my eye, smiled, and held out a hand. Blushing, I took it and let him lead me out right after Nessie. On the dance floor, Cade grabbed my waist and began to sway in time to the music. It wasn’t really a slow song, but Cade set the pace, and I found myself wrapping my arms up around his neck and allowing myself to be spun around in slow, melodic circles.

We had only been dancing for what seemed like a few minutes when I felt someone bump into me. Glancing back, I caught Lucas’s eye, and smiled at him. He grinned at me, then flicked his eyes to Cade, and then wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Blushing fiercely, I bumped my brother away from me and continued to dance with Cade.

I caught sight of Jake and Nessie making their way back to the table; Jake disappeared to go grab her a drink.

“Are you thirsty?” Cade asked, noticing where I was looking.

“Yeah, wanna take a break?”

Spinning me over to the table, Cade peeled away from me and followed Jake’s path towards the refreshments. Plopping down beside Nessie, we began to chatter about how much fun we were having. A few moments later, Jake slid into the seat on the other side of Nessie and gave her a drink.

“Where’s Cade?” I asked, glancing around. Jacob shrugged, taking a sip of soda.

“Didn’t see him. But there’s a long line at the soda machine, so he’s probably still there.”

I shrugged.

“Are you coming over to my house tonight?” I asked Nessie, my eyes observing the other dancers on the floor.

“Yeah, that sounds like- oh my God! Look at what Ara’s wearing!” Nessie gasped, her jaw dropping in disbelief. I whipped my head around; my jaw dropped too.

Ara was storming towards our table, wearing some sort of red and black striped dress with a fishnet collar. Her naturally sleek blonde hair was pulled away from her face and twisted into a ridiculous hair do, with red ribbons streaming from it. And of course, following Ara’s nature, she was wearing red, five-inch stilettos.

“What the hell went through her mind when she put that on?” Nessie asked me in disbelief. “That’s just… God, that’s hideous!”

“Yeah,” I said, frowning. “But why is she coming over to us? And why does she look like she’s constipated?”

“She always looks like that,” Nessie joked, though she frowned with me. “What did you do?”

“Nothing! Well, not today at least,” I mumbled, beginning to feel uneasy.

Ara reached our table, and for a moment, she just stood there, glowering down at me.

“Can I help you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“You are such a slut,” Ara hissed at me, leaning forward and slamming her hands down on the table.

“Well, if we’re comparing me to you, I’d say you were the slut, but go on,” I said, leaning back in my chair.

“You just can’t handle that I got the hot guy, can you?” she taunted, her brown eyes alight with anger.

“Mind elaborating on that?” I asked, frowning at her.

“The second you thought he liked me over you, you just had to go out and get him back, didn’t you?”

“I’m still not following you,” I told her, leaning forward again. “Embry’s here with you-“

“I’m not talking about Embry!” she snapped. “He never even asked me out! Cade asked me out, and before I could tell him yes, you just had to swoop on in there and try to get him back!”

Shock, relief, happiness, and confusion all swam through my mind. Embry hadn’t asked her out! He’d never wanted to go with Ara! But wait… Cade had asked her out!? Then why was he here with me?

“He’s not getting you your little drink,” she sneered, standing back up and crossing her arms over her chest. “He’s waiting for me to come back so we can go, and I can give him what he really wants.”

“What, a tranny slut in a poorly-made duct tape dress?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as well.

Ara’s eyes widened, and she hissed,

“You better watch yourself, Clearwater, because when I’m through with you-“

“I think you’re through with her now,” Lucas said coolly, coming up beside her. Jake, Nessie, Ara, and I all looked up, slightly stunned at Lucas’s show of affection for me.

“Excuse me?” she hissed, rounding on my brother.

“Annoying my little sister is one thing,” he said, his voice low with anger. “But going behind her back like the slut you are and stealing her homecoming date is pretty fucking low, Arabella.”

“Well if your little slut of a sister-“

“You say one more fucking word about my sister, and I’ll make sure you’ll never see straight again.”

“You can’t fucking touch me,” she laughed, rolling her eyes.

“No,” Lindsey said. “But I sure as hell can. So why don’t you back the fuck off before I knock your fucking teeth in.”

Ara blinked in surprise, taking a step back. Letting out a huff of breath, she sent one last glare at me, but didn’t say anything as she stormed off into the crowd. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes. Then slowly, Nessie slid her arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to her, giving me a comforting hug.

“I’m sorry, Lillie,” she said softly as we pulled apart.

“It’s okay,” I assured her, shrugging. “I really didn’t like Cade at all.”

Okay, so I’d thought he was pretty hot, but I didn’t feel connected to him like I should have. Though I was a little bummed I didn’t have a date any more, I felt even worse because Embry wasn’t here with me. He hadn’t gone out with Ara, but I’d gone out with Cade. Guilt swept through me. Before I knew what was happening, though, I felt another pair of arms engulf me in a hug.

Startled, I looked up to see Lucas giving me a quick hug; he pulled away almost immediately, standing up and looking around. His cheeks were tinted with pink.

“If you want me to take you home, just let me know, and I will,” he assured me, stepping back beside Lindsey, who gave me a comforting smile.

“I’ll be okay,” I told him, smiling.

“You can come dance with us,” Nessie told me, standing up. “Come on, come dance with me!”

“You two dance the night away,” Jake said, getting to his feet. “I need to make a call.” Nessie gave him a quick kiss as she stood up, then watched as he disappeared out the gym doors.

“Wanna dance?” Nessie asked, wiggling her eyebrows at me. Laughing, I took Nessie’s outstretched hand and let her pull me to the dance floor. Nessie began to twist around, rocking out to the song. Laughing even harder, I danced along with her, matching her moves. I knew we looked completely ridiculous, but I didn’t care. We were having too much fun.

I caught sight of the door opening, and as Jacob slipped inside, he gave me a huge grin. I rolled my eyes at him, figuring he was making fun of my dancing. Taking my hands, Nessie began to twist with me, partially singing along to the song. As another song began, Nessie went off on a whole new dance move, pulling me along with her. Nessie glanced up at me, and as we both grinned at one another, her eyes slid past me and looked over my shoulder.

Her grin widened, but before I could look back as well, Nessie held me firmly still. Taking my hands, Nessie spun me around in such a fast twirl that I nearly lost my balance as I stumbled away from her. Before I could even begin to fall forward, a pair of strong arms caught me and held tightly to me.

“Hey, short stuff,” Embry teased, smiling down at me. Happiness flooded through me; I was so relieved I could barely stand. Embry tightened his hold and began to sway to the music.

He’s here! He came for me! I cried in my head; an indescribable feeling of safety and love came over me, and it was all I could do to keep myself from screaming with joy.

“Feel like dancing?” he asked, tucking a stray curl behind my ear. I simply nodded, sliding my arms up around Embry’s neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close.

“So you never asked Arabella to the dance?” I asked in disbelief. Embry shook his head.

“Why would I want to go with her when I could go with you?”

Blushing, I mumbled,

“You put your arm around her, and-“

“So putting my arm around someone means I’m madly in love with them and want to spend the rest of my life with them?”

His hold tightened around my waist, and I blushed. Was he talking about Ara, or someone else…?

“Then why did you do that?”

It was Embry’s turn to blush a little.

“I was just doing it to make you mad,” he mumbled, looking away from me. I rolled my eyes and said,

“Men. Honestly.”

Embry nudged my leg with his, knocking me off balance. He steadied me, then asked,

“Where would you be without me?”

“Off in the middle of a group of guys, showing off my dance moves,” I said sarcastically.

Embry frowned at me.

“Smart ass.”

“Yep, and proud of it,” I laughed, nudging his leg with mine.

As the night drew to a close and people began to filter out to go home, Embry led me to the table where Jake and Nessie were playing an intense round of thumb war. Slipping into the seat beside Nessie, Embry and I watched in amusement as Jake relentlessly beat Nessie, who refused to give up.

“You guys ready to go?” I asked, grabbing my purse and standing up. Sighing as Jake pinned her thumb again, Nessie stood and grabbed her purse as well.

“Sure, I’m tired.”

“I’ll drop you guys off at your house,” Jacob offered, following Nessie and I as we headed to Jake’s car.

“Actually, could you drop Lillie and I off at the beach? I’ll walk her home.”

Jake and Nessie exchanged amused glances.

“Sure, why not,” Jake agreed, opening the door for Nessie; Embry opened my door and I slid in, moving over to let him get in as well. The ride home was fairly quiet. Jacob turned on some music, and he and Nessie chatted softly in front. I was sitting in the back, my mind hard at work.

Why did Embry want us to go to the beach? Did he need to talk to me? Was he planning to kill me? A small giggle burst through my lips; not just because I couldn’t ever imagine Embry being that violent, but because he was the one who was always protecting me from any kind of danger. Whenever I’d been in trouble, Embry had been right beside me, keeping me safe. He’d never hurt me.

Only now did I notice that Nessie and Embry were staring at me, probably wondering why I’d started laughing to myself. Jake kept shooting glances back at me as he drove.

“Nothing,” I said, waving my hand for emphasis. Nessie rolled her eyes and turned back around; Embry gave my knee a squeeze, smiled, and turned away.

As Jake pulled up by the beach, Embry jumped out of the car and rushed around to get my door before my seatbelt was even off. Laughing, I stepped out and took his hand as he helped me up.

“Just make yourselves at home,” I told Jake and Nessie as I shut the door. “We’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Have fun,” Nessie giggled as Jake backed up and headed off towards my house.

I had never, ever had a reason to be nervous around Embry, and tonight was no exception. Taking my hand, Embry led me down the grassy hill towards the beach, completely silent. My mind was buzzing with questions; what could Embry want to talk about that was so secret?

Reaching the beach, Embry kicked off his shoes and bent down to roll up his pant legs. I kicked off my heels and smiled as my toes sunk into the sand; I headed towards the water, and gasped as the icy waves swept over my feet.

A warm hand took mine, and I smiled up at Embry.

“So what’s up?” I asked, turning back to stare across the ocean.

“Lillie, you know you’re my best friend, right?”

“Of course I do,” I said, smiling. “Even when you’re being a hormone driven male.”

Embry let out a chuckle, giving my hand a squeeze. The waves lapped at my ankles; there was a small splash as Embry turned towards me, tugging my arm so I’d turn as well. Gently, his other hand took my hand, and he stared down at me, his golden-brown eyes so intense I almost couldn’t look at him.

“Lillie, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a very long time. It’s… well, it’s the most important thing in my life, and I can’t hold back any more. Your mom doesn’t want me to tell you, but I just can’t keep everything in.”

My heart was racing; what was Embry saying? What did my mom not want me to know??

“Lillian Nichole Clearwater,” Embry said, his deep, husky voice no louder than the waves. “I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you. You’re my imprint, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else I’d rather be with than you.”