His Wolf Pup - a Jasper Hale Story

22- Dress Shopping

The next day we all drove to school like normal, pretending like nothing had happened between Edward, Bella, and me. After a night of discussion, Edward had told us Bella didn't believe we were normal but also didn't plan on telling anyone. My job was to figure out if that was still true or if we needed to leave immediately.

Easier said than done.

Bella ignored me for a while after the accident, never looking at me for more than a second; but in that second, I could see how she was examining me. It made sense, though. I was the odd one out in The Cullen family. I'm sure it caused her wild speculations to be off more than she preferred. She wanted to know what was different about us, but my difference from everyone else made that hard.

That was when Alice came up with the perfect plan one day at lunch. "Go to Port Angeles tonight and accidentally run into them in the dress shop. Say you wanted to get a dress early so you could make sure Jasper would match whatever you find. Jessica will want to talk to you now that you're a Cullen to get some insider scoop on us. Then maybe you could talk to Bella while you're there."

"This sounds like a well-thought-out plan," Edward said sarcastically. "Did you just think of it?"

"Oh shut up," Alice told him. "It's the best plan we've got. And this way, she can't just run away. She has to stay with them to be able to go home."

"And how do you know all about this plan?" I asked her.

"I've been eavesdropping for the past few days," she told me.

"Of course you have."

And with that, the plan was in motion. Jasper drove me up to Port Angeles, dropping me off at the dress store 10 minutes before the girls were supposed to arrive, before driving off somewhere random to wait for me. I looked through the racks for a few dresses to try on so I wouldn't look suspicious. I grabbed a green strapless one and a black sequin one before going to a fitting room. As I started trying on the black dress, I could hear the three girls enter the store. Jessica was talking so loud I think everyone in the town could hear her.

Once I got the black dress on properly, I walked out of the fitting room to look at it in the mirrors. That is when Angela saw me.

"Oh my goodness, Emma. You're here too?" Angela almost ran at me as she spoke, gaining both Jessica and Bella's attention.

"Oh, hey Angela," I said, faking surprise. After living with the Cullens for so long, I was a pretty good liar. "You guys shopping for dresses?"

"Yeah, but we didn't expect to run into you," Jessica told me as she rounded the corner while holding at least 10 dresses in her hand to try on already.

Bella followed behind, looking at me skeptically. "Why are you here alone?" She asked me, ready to get straight to the point.

"Oh, Jasper dropped me off to pick out a dress. He's somewhere in town and will pick me up when I'm done," I told her with a smile.

"Why didn't Alice or Rosalie come with you?" Jessica asked quickly.

"They both already have dresses, so I didn't want to drag them out here when I could pick out a dress myself."

"Well," Jessica started saying, going into a fitting room of her own. "Now you have us to help you pick out a dress."

"Perfect," I heard Bella mutter under her breath.

While Jessica started trying on dresses, Angela made her way around the store, trying to find something to try on. Bella, on the other hand, took a seat by the window, waiting patiently. Soon Angela made it back to the fitting room area, and the three of us kept trying on dresses while Bella gave lack luster responses to our questions.

Just as I settled on a dress, Bella suddenly stood up from her chair. "You know what, why don't I leave you guys here while I go look at something down the street."

"What?" I asked her incredulously.

"Are you sure, Bella?" Jessica asked her half-heartedly.

"Yeah, and I'll meet you at the restaurant. No harm done." As she spoke, she started making her way out of the store.

Without thinking, I quickly changed back into regular clothes. I gave some random excuse to Jessica and Angela about not liking these dresses as I ran out of the store, chasing Bella.

As a wolf, I had some sense of tracking ability, but I wasn't the best at it. I tried following her scent before I lost it outside a weird book shop. I decided to try looking in there, hoping I could find her before she did something stupid.

I walked into the book store and saw Bella at the cash register paying for something. I made my way towards her as she turned towards me. My sudden appearance caused her to stop.

"What are you doing here?" She asked me.

"Trying to make sure you're okay. You just left out of nowhere."

"That doesn't mean you follow me." She started walking again and walked right past me out the front door.

"Wait, Bella." I turned and followed her out of the store as she turned down the street. "I just want to make sure you're safe. Walking around alone can be dangerous." I glanced around and realized that the sun had already set, making everything in this town worse. "Especially at night."

"I don't need you and your weirdo family stalking me." She quickened her pace, making random turns in an attempt to get away from me.

"Bella, please. I'm just trying to help." I quickened my pace and caught up to her as she entered a back alleyway. I grabbed her arm, trying to get her to stop.

"Quit it," she yelled at me.

"Oh, what do we have here?" I turned quickly in the direction of the unknown voice to find five drunk men staring at Bella and me.

"Nothing that concerns you," I told the man confidently.

I felt Bella move behind me as I glared at the five guys. I could smell the alcohol on them as they made their way closer to me, but my only concern was the girl behind me. I could feel Bella's grip on my arm tightened as she realized the danger we were in. Only she didn't realize I could take them if it came down to it.

"What are two lovely ladies doing out here alone?" Another guy asked me.

Before I could respond, I felt Bella's presence disappear from behind me. I turned quickly to see two more guys pulling Bella away from me. As I tried to go toward her, three of the original guys I saw grabbed me.

I can't save Bella against this many guys without phasing.

That's when I heard the squealing sound of a car's tires.