Moving Forward - J. Black

iii.

EDITED

The next week passed and Forks experienced one of its very few sunny days, keeping the Cullens home that Friday. The next day Eliza parked a couple of blocks from the dress shop in Port Angeles and walked into the store to meet Angela. The two girls had exchanged numbers the week before and Eliza decided to hang out with the girl. Eliza was on her way to the dress shop when Angela had sent the vampire a warning text that Jessica had invited herself and Bella to the outing. Angela profusely apologized in the text, but Eliza knew the shy girl struggled to stand up to Jessica sometimes.

The bell rang as Eliza walked into the shop, Angela grinned as she saw the vampire. "Hey!" Angela's greeting pulled Jessica's attention away from picking out dresses. "Hey, Ang." Eliza smiled at the girl, trying not to notice the suspicious look that Jessica was giving her. "Come on, let's find you a dress." Angela smiled at the blonde. "I'm sorry, again." Angela whispered an apology when she and Eliza were out of Jessica's earshot. "It's fine, really." Eliza brushed it off, wanting to enjoy spending time with someone outside of her Coven. Bella stayed quiet and awkwardly tried to avoid contact with Eliza when the girls began trying on dresses.

"Okay, I like this one. It makes my boobs look good." Jessica stared at herself in the mirror. Eliza stood beside Angela, who was wearing a light blue dress, in a red dress of her own when a bunch of teenage boys came by, knocking and whistling at the three girls. "Oh, God." Angela hid behind Eliza in discomfort. "That's uncomfortable." Jessica played dramatically into the situation, a blush appearing on her cheeks at the attention. "That's disgusting." Bella looked up from her book for what seemed like the first time since Eliza arrived. "Bella, what do you think?" Jessica took the opportunity to question the girl, showing off her dress. "That looks great," Bella answered nonchalantly, exasperating Jessica. "You said that about, like, the last five dresses, though." the girl's tone was heavy with annoyance. "I thought they were all pretty good." Bella shrugged off Jessica's attitude. "You're not really into this, are you?" Angela gave pity instead of judgment. "I actually really just want to go to this bookstore." Bella confessed to the group, eager to get away from Eliza. "I'll meet you at the restaurant?" Bella gathered her stuff, checking the plan out with her friends.

"Are you sure?" Jessica gave a side glance toward Eliza, glaring as if Eliza was the problem. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you in a couple of minutes." Bella dismissed herself. "Okay, yeah." Angela nodded, sending an encouraging smile at the girl. Time flew for the three girls as they tried on dress after dress, still hesitant about whether or not they had found the perfect ones. It was time for the store to close and the three girls made their way to a local restaurant. Bella never came back from the bookstore that she ventured off to and the group grew concerned for the human. Angela left multiple messages for Bella before they finally just went into the restaurant themselves.

After pushing her food around and pretending as if she had actually eaten her pasta, the check for the three girls was paid. The teenagers were making their way down the steps of the restaurant when they ran into Bella and, much to Eliza's surprise, Edward. "Hey, you guys, I'm sorry. I just-" Bella approached with an explanation, but was cut off. "Where were you? We left you messages." Angela's voice showed her stress and worry. "Yeah, we waited, but we were like starving so we-" Jessica didn't finish her sentence as she finally took notice of Edward, who stepped closer to Bella. "Uh-I'm sorry I kept Bella from dinner. We just sort of ran into each other and got talking." Edward lied to the group of girls. Angela nodded unsure of the situation, but Jessica was gleaming at the drama in front of her. "No, we totally understand. I mean, that happens, right?" Jessica laughed obnoxiously.

"We were just leaving so-uh. Bella if you want to..." Jessica looked unsure of what to say next. "I think I should make sure Bella gets something to eat if you'd like." Edward offered to Bella and her friends. Bella looked at Eliza, and then her two friends before nodding mutely. "I'll drive you home myself." he offered, looking to the human for permission again. "That's so thoughtful." Angela smiled awkwardly, still uncomfortable by the unexplained tensions between the two vampires and human. "That's really thoughtful, yeah." Jessica gushed over the formation of a new relationship. "Yeah, I should eat something." Bella finalized her decision. "Okay, so we'll see you tomorrow." Angela bid goodbye to the girl, Jessica and Angela left to walk Eliza to her car. 

More time went by and Eliza's new friendship with Angela forced the blonde to get used to the presence of Bella Swan. Edward began leaving the house more often and Forks High School jumped at the news of Edward finally going official with someone, especially new girl Bella Swan. Eliza took notice of the looks she got walking down the halls. Everyone in the Cullen household took notice of how tense Eliza was when it came to going to the high school. Edward and Eliza had never been secretive about their affections, but they never addressed rumors or informed their fellow students of their relationship. The whispers and looks weren't too bad, it was just the endless sympathy looks that pissed Eliza off. Most of the rumors looked at Bella as a homewrecker and Eliza as a victim, Eliza hated being looked at as the victim.