Dawn to Dusk

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On Sunday morning, Bella and Charlie woke up to an overflowing breakfast table and a beaming Hermione.

"I sure can get used to this." Charlie said as he slid into one of the dining chairs.

Bella smiled and nodded. "Me too."

"Are we still on for the mall?" Hermione asked once they finished their meal.

"Yeah." Bella said. She stood up to help Hermione with the dishes. "So, how was your trip to the beach?"

Hermione felt her blood rushed to her cheeks when she remembered a certain man she had met, Jacob Black. With skin as beautiful as melted caramel and eyes as dark as night. The moment their hands touched, she felt like she had been shocked with electricity. Her whole body reacted to the small contact. He was handsome and all, but Hermione knew her attraction was not based on that. It was something more. It was the sense of calmness yet excitement and safety she felt by being in his presence alone.

She stayed up late last night thinking about him. The way his eyes shone when he looked at her, the way his lips curved when he smiled. Her chest filled with warmth and her belly filled with butterflies at the memory. But then her gaze had fallen onto a photo of her, Ron and Harry on her bedside table and all those feelings washed away, replaced with guilt and embarrassment.

She had a boyfriend for god's sake. She shouldn't be thinking about another man this way. Ron should be the one she thought of. With a long breath, she had finally decided to put Jacob Black in the back of her mind and had gone to sleep.

"It was okay." In the end that was the only answer Hermione could give to Bella. Fortunately Bella didn't ask for more.

At noon, Bella and Hermione were getting ready to the mall. They asked if Charlie would like to join them, but he declined.

"I have to meet a friend." He said. Bella knew he meant Billy. He would have to explain their family's situation to his best friend after all.

So the girls headed for Bella's Chevy and she drove them to Port Angeles, where she said the best shopping center was. The seaside town was only an hour drive from Forks. It was a small city, but more populated and looked less gloomy than Forks. They drove through the city for a few minutes before stopping near a wide building that Hermione assumed must be the mall.

"Well, this is it." Bella said as she and Hermione walked through the front door. It wasn't as big or as crowded as the one she usually visited back in London, being only two stories high, but it still contained a variety of stores. From boutiques and restaurants to art and souvenir shops. But Hermione was more interested in the book store near the entrance.

She was a little hesitant to ask Bella to go there because her friends usually didn't enjoy shopping for books as much as she did.

"Do you mind if we go there?" Hermione asked, pointing at the bookstore. She was prepared for Bella's halfhearted agreement or rejection, but to her surprise she found Bella looking at her with sparkling eyes.

"You like to read too?" She responded with joyous disbelief.

"Y-yeah."

"Me too." She said excitedly, dragging Hermione into the book store. "Most of my girlfriends don't care about books. They're all about dresses or boys." She made a face.

Hermione sympathized with her and she was glad that they had found a common interest. The two of them bantered about their favorite literature while strolling through the rows of books. An hour and fifteen minutes later, they ended up at the cash register with a few new romance novels and books about the folklore and mythology of indigenous tribes in Washington.