Torn: Chapter 8

"You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you're sure they won't laugh if you trip."

- Jonathan Carroll, "Outside the Dog Museum"

Disclaimer: I don’t own Twilight.

An: I feel like I should explain my reasoning for Bella and Quil becoming as close as they are when she was unable to open up to Jake. Bella had told herself that she wasn’t good enough, not ‘whole’ enough, to be with Jake. But with Quil, he’s experienced almost as much loss as she has and so it kind of puts them on more equal ground. Hope that makes sense.

This chapter is now revised and reposted, big thanks to Buff82 for beta’ing and making it better.

Chapter 8: First Date

I spent Tuesday afternoon at Quil’s house. We had a somewhat of an every other day thing for whose house to go to. Quil’s mom and dad were nice but worked late sometimes during the week. On occasion I would cook dinner for him while I was there if my school work was finished. I continued to help Quil with his work as much as I could. He seemed very appreciative and was bubbling with excitement every time he showed me his improved grades. It was quite endearing to see, almost kind of cute.

Tuesday was no different except his mom and dad were home for once. Quil was animatedly telling me about getting a B on his English essay. I listened enthusiastically while I helped his mom make chili for supper. Charlie was having Billy over to watch a game so I definitely did not mind staying away from home for awhile longer. I had been avoiding him ever since Jacob stopped speaking to me.

The rest of the week passed by much the same. Get up, go to school, rush to see Quil; The last one happening to be my favorite part of the day. Friday was never mentioned but I could see his excitement and slight apprehension shining through, mirroring my own. I was only apprehensive and anxious since he said it was a surprise. I hate surprises.

Friday morning I woke up to the sound of my blaring alarm clock. I quickly dressed for school and then headed to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. My hair pulled back easily into a ponytail and I double checked myself in the mirror before heading downstairs. Charlie was already seated at the table with his paper and a cup of coffee.

“Morning Bells,” he greeted as I walked in.

“Morning Dad.” I reached into a cabinet to grab a pop-tart and then poured myself a glass of orange juice.

Charlie laid his paper on the table. “You going on that date tonight?” he questioned.

I swallowed my bite of food before replying, “Yeah. Not sure what we’re doing…he says it’s a surprise. You gonna be ok for dinner?”

“Surprise? You hate surprises,” he laughed.

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, “Trust me, I know. But he won’t even give me a hint.”

Charlie continued to laugh. “And Billy’s coming over again tonight so I’ll be fine for dinner.” He pushed back his chair and made his way to the front door to put on his gun belt and boots. “I got to get to work. Probably won’t be home until after you’ve left. Try to be back by midnight.”

“Sure dad,” I called out as he closed the front door behind him. Now it was my turn to gather my things and leave.

Classes felt like they lasted days as opposed to an hour. By lunch I thought I was so anxious for the day to be over I was practically bursting out of my skin. My stomach was doing small flip flops in anticipation for tonight so I decided just a soda might be best.

“What’s got you so jittery today?” I heard a voice question jokingly. I jerked my head to my right to see Angela taking a seat.

I let out a nervous laugh. “I have a date tonight,” I confessed. Angela’s entire face was caught somewhere between shock and complete excitement.

“That’s fantastic! With who?”

Angela’s obvious approval helped ease me, “He doesn’t go to school here. He lives on the Quileute reservation.”

“Is it that Jacob I’ve seen you with a couple times?”

My mood was dampened for a moment by her question. Of course she would think that I was going with Jake, Angela didn’t know he and I weren’t speaking anymore.

“I’m sorry…, “Angela started after seeing my abrupt expression change.

I cut her off. “No! Don’t be sorry! It’s just that Jake and I aren’t really friends anymore. I’m going on a date with one of his former friends, Quil,” I was quick to explain.

“Is he the reason for your happy mood lately?” At least Angela was good for not asking about things she knew were too personal. For example, why Jacob and I were no longer friends as well as why Jacob and Quil were no longer friends. She knew that if I wanted her know, I’d tell her.

“Yes, he is.” I smiled as I thought of him.

My simple reply seemed to be enough for her. She returned to her food as the others started sitting down. We maintained conversation around the table for the rest of the lunch period. I even joined in to keep my mind busy and away from whatever Quil might have planned for this evening.

Quil had told me yesterday that he would pick me up at six. So there I was, at five-thirty, standing in front of my closet frowning at the lack of clothing options. I had no idea what you were supposed to wear on date, let alone one that I didn’t know where I was going. It was one of those times when it would have been nice for Alice to be around, and I never thought I’d miss Alice’s dress up Bella moments.

Finally I decided it was only Quil and he wouldn’t mind what I wore so I grabbed my nicer jeans and a blue sweater Renee got me last Christmas. I had taken a shower when I got home from school, but left my hair down so it would air dry in soft curls down my back. Overall I didn’t think I looked that bad…the blue didn’t wash out my usually pale skin.

I finished just in time to the sound of knocking on the front door. Here goes nothing……I thought as I rushed out of my room and down the stairs. Unfortunately, in true Bella style, I tripped half way down and had to grab the railing to keep from falling. Very carefully, I finished down the last steps.

I opened the door to a very amused looking Quil. “Did you trip?”

“No,” I lied. Of course he knew I was lying and just proceeded laugh more than before. I took a minute to look him over, noting his dark jeans and very attractive black button down shirt. He had the sleeves rolled up showing off his dark bronze skin. The contrast in color made him look…beautiful. I looked back up to his face to see he had stopped laughing and was now staring at me just as intently as I was him.

“You look nice,” he complimented.

“You too.”

He smiled. “You ready to go?” he asked and gestured to the car parked in the driveway. “I thought I could drive.”

I grabbed my coat and followed him out. “If it’s alright with you, I thought we could go to my house and I could cook us dinner?” he questioned while holding my door open for me to get in.

I cocked an eyebrow up at him, “You can cook?” He shut my door and went around the front of the car, climbing through his before answering.

“I’m full of surprises,” he mused.

“My parents are out to dinner,” Quil explained as we pulled up to his house. Once again he held my car door open as I got out. He led me inside and I noticed that he had cleaned up, even lighted a scented candle it smelled like. We headed for the kitchen first where he gestured for me to take a seat while he started digging through cabinets.

“What are you making…?” I inquired while wiggling around in my seat to look around him. He was setting items on the counter, opening ingredients I couldn’t see with him standing in the way.

“You’ll see,” he answered cryptically. I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest while leaning back in my chair. Quil just sent me a smug smile over his shoulder.

I didn’t have to wait for long before the familiar smell of alfredo sauce permeated the air. My mouth started watering at the scent; I didn’t realize how hungry I was getting.

“Can I help?” I stood up and made my way over to where Quil was standing at the stove.

“Nope,” he answered simply. I figured arguing at that point was futile and took to leaning against the counter next to him instead. I watched as he stirred the delicious smelling pasta with a very concentrated look on his face. My lips twitched into a small smile at how cute he was making me dinner.

Cooking was something that I always did for everyone. Especially in Phoenix with Renee; she is better qualified for toast and sometimes even that is a feat. I wondered at times how she and I even survived before I took over the cooking. And Charlie would be content eating pizza and fish fry every night. No one has ever cooked for me. It made me feel special and I liked Quil even more for doing it.

He did, however, allow me to set the table. I set out plates and utensils while he finished cooking our chicken fettuccine alfredo dinner. He had even gotten some bread to go with it. I smiled as we sat down at the table together and he began serving us each some food. I eagerly took the first bite, twirling some pasta onto my fork.

Oh my God, Quil was a fantastic cook! I didn’t even know he knew how, let alone something that tasted this great. “This is absolutely delicious!” I complimented.

He smiled sheepishly, his cheeks turning a little pink under his dark skin, and mumbled, “Thanks.” We talked about our day while we continued eating. I shared some of the latest Forks High gossip since I had paid attention at today’s lunch discussions. The more we talked, the more at ease I became over this whole date thing. Being around one another was just so easy for us. It would seem only logical for us to become more than friends…effortless.

Every few moments I would sneak glances at Quil to watch him enjoy his dinner. And every time I found him looking right at me and I would blush and stare back down at my plate. Once we were finished I helped him with the dishes. He tried to refuse but I wasn’t backing down this time. Quil suggested we watch a movie and I agreed. It’s the perfect date: dinner and a movie. Completely simple, just the way I preferred which I am sure Quil knew. I loved him for it. Wait... love?

I followed him into the living room and settled into the couch, removing my shoes. Quil popped in the DVD and then joined me. He snuggled his body right up against mine and I nestled my head on his shoulder, curling myself against him. He started the movie once we got comfortable.

I heard a car pull up outside as the movie was nearing the end. My body instinctively sat up to move off of Quil. He too scooted over a bit to put some distance between the two of us. His parents came in half a minute later.

“Hi honey, enjoy your dinner?” his mom greeted.

“Yes…Quil is a great cook.” I smiled at him again to show my appreciation for the whole evening.

“Yes he is. So Quil, you had a good birthday then?”

My brows furrowed in confusion. “Birthday?” I asked, turning to face Quil again. He was looking down at his hands in his lap when he answered.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you, but it’s kind of my seventeenth birthday today.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me? I feel like a crappy friend not knowing it was your birthday.” I was upset he hadn’t shared that information with me. I didn’t get him a gift or anything. Why would he keep it a secret?

“I just wanted to have an evening with you alone. Be able to cook for you and spend time together. I didn’t want it being my birthday to be a big deal. I wanted tonight to be perfect.” By now his parents had exited, heading towards their room to give us privacy.

“Tonight was perfect,” I answered honestly. His head shot up, his face beaming with a huge smile. I definitely loved that smile.

“Want to go for a walk?” he asked suddenly. I nodded my head in acceptance.

We made our way towards the beach, his hand immediately reached out for my own and I gasped as he did so. “You’re burning up! Are you sick?” I nearly shouted at him. He just shrugged his shoulders at me.

“I feel fine.”

I let it go for the time being. We walked for a little ways more before Quil stopped and motioned for us to take a seat on the sand. It was getting cold out with the night air so I leaned into his side as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. His extremely warm body temperature was welcome although worrying. We watched the water and glanced up at the stars. The night was getting more perfect every minute. I took a moment to look up at his face and found him staring right back at me. I immediately began raising my face up towards his. It took him only a second before he realized what I wanted and leaned down to touch his lips to mine.

That kiss was even better than the first one. Our lips moved together perfectly and I never wanted it to end. My hand crept up to the back of his neck to pull him closer as his hand wove into my hair. I loved him. I knew it. With every minute we were together I loved him a little more and I knew he felt it too. It was a feeling I thought I would never experience again but I’d been proven wrong and couldn’t be happier because of it.

All too soon we parted to catch our breath. “Now it’s officially the best birthday ever, with the perfect ending to a perfect evening.” I broke out in a huge grin at that. Quil placed a single chaste kiss on my lips before standing and pulling me up with him. “Let’s get you home before Chief Swan thinks I’ve kidnapped you,” he joked.

Tonight was a night I would never forget. The night I realized I was most definitely in love with my closest friend.