What Hurts the Most

"Which store do you think we should go to, Nathalie?" Holly said happily as she skipped down the mall with my arm in hers.

"Um, how about JC Penny's?" I suggested, gazing around at the stores I would rather be at.

"We need to go to some expensive store!" Holly told me. "Now that we both have dates, we need really good dresses!"

"Have you checked the National Bank of Nathalie?" I asked. "It doesn't have much in it. Only $200 for a dress and shoes. I am not about to blow all of that on one dress. It's just a dance! There'll be others! Like the Valentine's one. And the Spring Fling. Even prom!"

"I know, but I want to look special!" Holly moaned. I looked at her. "Fine. JC Penny's it is." I smiled in triumphant and dragged her to the store. Holly ran for the dresses and began throwing some at me.

"Go try them on!" She shouted exuberantly. "I'll try these on!"

I walked into one of the changing rooms and examined the dresses that she gave me. There were about four of them. A long pink one that glittered, a short blue one that had spaghetti straps, a yellow one that was long and flowy, and a red one that was long and sleek. I tried on the pink one first, but pink was NOT my color. I hung it back up and tried the blue one and then the yellow. None of them shouted, 'Nathalie.' Finally, I put the red one on and it was perfect. I loved everything about it. It was a spaghetti strap that had a low cut and it layered perfectly down at the bottom. I stepped out of the room to show it to Holly.

"Do you think Ryan'll like this one Hols?" I asked, straightening my dress.

"I know I do," I heard a guy say. My head shot up as I took in the form of Jacob Black, leaning casually against the door frame.

"Ja-," I began to scream, but he put his hands around my mouth. He put his finger to his lips, silencing me.

"What are you doing here? And in the girl's dressing rooms?" I demanded in a slight whisper as soon as he had let me go.

"Suit shopping!" he answered. "Then I heard your voice and I just had to come over and say, hi!"

"Well you said hi now, so good-bye!" I turned to go back into my changing room. He grabbed my arm.

"Nathalie, you can't go with him!" Jake practically shouted.

"And why not?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"Because I-" He was cut off when Holly opened the door.

"Nathalie?" She asked quizzically. "Who were you talking to?"

I looked over to Jake but he was gone.

"Um, no one." I said nervously. "To myself. What do you think of this dress?"

"It looks great on you!" Holly answered enthusiastically. "And what do you think of me?" She asked, modeling herself to me.

"Not bad," I said, nodding my head. "I like it." Holly was wearing a dark green dress that shimmered in the light. It fitted her curves really well. We both paid for our dresses and then found matching shoes. I was shocked to see that Jake didn't show up again. I was always peeking behind racks and shelves to see if he was there, but he never was. We got into my car and I dropped Holly off. I sped off towards my home, still searching for Jake. I pulled into my driveway and walked into my house to my room. I hung up my dress in my closet and sat on my bed. I felt a small chill and turned around to an open window.

"Jake," I muttered, and walked over to it. I stuck my head out and was surprised to see Jake in dog form. He was sitting on the roof happily with his tail wagging. He was as big as ever. Jacob turned around, expecting me to hop onto his back. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my blanket. I jumped onto his back and he collapsed. I immediately jumped back off and covered my mouth with my hands.

"Oh my god, Jake!" I shouted. "I'm so sorry! I told you I was heavy!" Jake was barking. His bark sounded like laughter as he rolled around on the roof. I huffed and glared at him.

"That was so not funny." I snapped. He stopped laughing and sneered at me.
"Now I'm not coming," I announced, heading back to my room. He began whining and looking at me in a cute way. It was hard to resist. I sighed and crawled back on. He looked at me triumphantly.

"Just go already," I said, aggravated.

He brought me back to our forest. I took my usual position on my rock and he next to me. I turned around as he morphed into a human so I wouldn't see him naked again. He tapped me on the shoulder and I faced human Jake.

"Jake, one question," I began. "Will you stop following me around? It's really annoying and stalkerish."

"I can't help it Nat," Was his answer.

"Don't call me Nat!" I demanded. "You're not one of my friends."

"I wish I was more," He said sadly. I wrapped my blanket around me more tightly.

"If you're here to stop me from going to the formal with Ryan, it's not gonna happen," I told him.

"Nathalie," He began with a grimace. "You'd better not be just going with him to make me jealous, because that would be a fun story to tell old Ryan." He smiled at me.

"Of course not!" I shouted a little too loudly. "You know, you have a pretty big ego. You think everything happens because of you. I'm going with Ryan because I LIKE him. NOT to make YOU jealous."

"But you said you were going together as friends," Jake stated with a smirk. I swallowed.

"Yes, I LIKE him as a FRIEND," I said.

"Then why can't you like me as more than a friend?" He asked earnestly. I had to stop and think about what to say to him.

"Well, I um, you and I," I stuttered. As I continued to flab my mouth, his smirk grew wider and wider. I looked around for something to help me, but all I saw were trees and leaves. Oh, and a squirrel.

"Because I don't like you at all that way!" I screamed. Jake looked down sadly. It hurt my heart the way he was looking. Why was my heart hurting? I followed his gaze down at the ground. When I looked up again, he was right in front of my face, looking at me determinedly.

"Jake?" I asked nervously. "What is-" I was cut off by Jacob's lips crashing onto mine. I tried to pull away, but he was so much stronger than I. I eventually gave up and stood there. Waiting for him to get his fill. He finally let go for air.

"Feel better?" I asked, gasping for air. Jake was a good kisser...wait, no no no!!

"A little," He said with a shrug. "I would be so much better if you actually kissed me back."

"NOT gonna happen, Jake," I said bluntly. I turned around and tried to leave. Jacob was suddenly at my side.

"And where are you going?" he asked with a laugh.

"Trying to find my way home," I answered, not looking at him.

"You're not gonna have much luck," he said, still laughing. "I brought us pretty deep in here. The only way you can get back home is through me."

"Fine. Take me home. Now," I demanded as he smirked.

"Wait," He said suddenly. "Will you go to the winter formal with me?" I moaned.

"Jake, I'm going with Ryan!" I told him. Again. "That's not going to change."

"I know," He said. "Just thought you might change your mind."

"Maybe I'll save you a dance," I said with a smirk.

"Sure, sure," he said, a tad more happily. "Now hop on."

It took me forever to get my hair perfectly curled. I was literally standing in my bathroom for an hour, waiting impatiently for Holly to curl my hair, piece by piece.

"That's good enough!" I shouted, after Holly was finished.

"No, I just need to fix a few more pieces," she said, reaching for my hair.

"No! I'm done. Let's go, the boys are waiting downstairs," I said, jumping from her reach. She rolled her eyes and we headed for my living room, posing for pictures on our way down. Ryan and Peter were standing by my front door with huge smiles on their faces. I walked over to my date and he handed me a corsage. Since we live in such a small town, EVERYTHING is big, even silly dances like these. Ryan put it around my wrist for me.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in my ear as I leaned in to give him a hug.

"Not too bad yourself!" I complimented. "Now let's get in the car before my parents take anymore."

"As much as I love your mom, she takes about a million pictures," He said. Ryan held the door open for us and we filed out to Peter's silver corvette. And with that, we headed off for our school and the winter formal.

Ryan held the door open for me and grabbed my arm like a real gentlemen. The dance was hosted inside our school gym, with refreshments in the cafeteria. The gym was beautiful; the floor was covered with white cotton made to look like snow. Snowflakes hung from the rafters and the tables were covered with crystal-like tablecloths. Blue, white and silver balloons formed a rainbow over the DJ. It was great. Ryan immediately dragged me out into the dance floor where there were already people dancing. It was an upbeat song that I didn't recognize. We danced and we laughed through many songs with Peter and Holly near by. It was fun, but something was missing. I couldn't put my finger on it. A slow song popped on suddenly, and Ryan blushed. He held out his hand and I was about to take it when someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around and came face to...chest with Jake.

"May I cut in?" he asked.

"You can't cut in when we haven't even started." Ryan growled, glaring at him. "Leave Nathalie alone."

"What're you, her bodyguard?" Jacob asked with a laugh. Ryan swallowed. "You've been dancing with her the whole time, I think it's time you should give someone else a chance." He added, taking a step towards Ryan. Jake was a whole foot taller than Ry, which seemed to intimidate him.

"What if she doesn't want to dance with you?" Ryan asked, also taking a step forward. They were glaring at each other when I finally intervened.

"Ryan, Jake, stop it!" I commanded. They both looked at me sheepishly. "Ryan, why don't you get us some drinks?" Ryan nodded his head slowly, and left, but first giving a quick glare at Jake. Jacob grabbed me around the waist and locked our hands together.

"See?" I said to him. "I told you I'd save you a dance." Jake laughed.

"I almost thought you weren't going to let me near you for a second there!"

"I was thinking about it," I commented. He laughed again.

"I think I'm starting to grow on you," Jacob pointed out.

"There's that ego again"

"No it's not!" He argued. "Just stating the obvious."

"Stating the obvious? If you were to ask someone in this room about if I liked you or not, they would say I despised you."

"Hmph," He said, his brows furrowed.

"Struck a nerve, did I?" I asked, smiling triumphantly. Jake chuckled. Ryan came up between us, holding two drinks in his hands.

"I'm not done with my dance yet," Jake said, holding my hands tighter. Then the song changed to one with a faster tempo.

"Now you are," Ryan said, handing me my drink.

"You are beginning to get on my nerves, Ryeepoo." Jake said. "I think I oughtta-" Then he stopped. He looked towards the door and listened intently. He looked at me worriedly.

"I've gotta go," he declared. "There's trouble with my, problem." I understood what he was talking about, but not why he had to leave. Jake kissed me on my forehead and charged for the door. Ryan immediately filled in his place. I took a sip of my drink and then set it on a near-by table. Ryan and I began dancing to the music, well actually, he was dancing and I was rocking side to side. I kept glancing at the door to see if Jake would come back, but he didn't. He never did.

"Nat?" Ryan asked concernedly. I looked up in surprise. "It's over. Time to go home." I nodded and we headed for the car. The dance seemed to go by in a huge blur. We managed to find Peter and Holly making out in an empty classroom. We pulled them away and headed back to Peter's car. I stared out the window, still thinking about Jake. Where had he gone? Was he going to come back? What was the big trouble? I didn't even notice it when we were stopped outside my house.

"See you later Nathalie!" Holly said, turning around in her seat and giving me a hug. I looked up in surprise and hugged her back.

"Oh, bye guys!" I said distractedly. Ryan merely nodded, but didn't get out of the car to help me nor walk me to my door. My parents bombarded me with the usually questions, "Did you have fun?", "Was he behaving himself?", "Did you have enough money?", "Did he kiss you?", "Did you dance together?"

"Yes," I moaned, and headed for my room. "I'm tired. Good-night."

I trudged into my room slowly and sat on my bed. I was still worried about Jacob. I didn't even feel the wind blowing through my window until Jake took a seat beside me. I looked up and smiled. I was relieved to see that he was ok. I hugged him.

"Jacob! Thank god you're ok!" I squealed. He laughed and hugged me back. I pulled away and gasped. He was covered in cuts and bruises.

"What happened? Are you alright?" I demanded. He rolled his eyes and nodded his head.

"Yes, I'm fine." He said. "I heal fast. You'll see. It's a werewolf thing."

"Do you want a band-aid?" I asked, getting up to go to the bathroom. "How about an Advil? Tylenol?"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Jake laughed. "I'm fine! Don't worry." He pulled me back down on my bed.

"You sure?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah," He answered. "You look tired. Get some sleep. I'll explain more in the morning." He got up to leave but I grabbed his arm.

"Don't leave!" I shouted. He looked alarmed. "I don't want you to get hurt again. Please?"
He smiled and rolled his eyes again.

"Sure kid," he said. "Put some pj's on at least." I nodded happily and grabbed some and went to the bathroom to change. I came back and collapsed onto my bed, not caring that I still had my make up on. I tied my curly hair into a pony tail and lay my head down on my pillow. My room was freezing! Jake snuggled up next to me and wrapped his arm around my. He was so warm and comfortable. I slowly closed my eyes and fell asleep.