"Will you stop squirming?"

"Will you stop trying to pull my hair out?" Valeria shot back. "And why can't I wear my hair up? You love braiding my hair."

It was the night of Forks High's Senior Prom, and Rosalie had offered to help Valeria get ready — Alice was pouting in the corner due to the no touching Valeria rule. She was also pouting about the dress that was "far too plain" in her expert opinion.

"Because you wear your hair up in a braid or a ponytail every day," Alice spoke up, supporting Rosalie. "Let her style it down and show off that pretty face just once."

Valeria grumbled to herself, knowing that the hair would fly in her face as she danced, but eventually gave in. Rosalie did at least pull the sides back with some simple hair pins with pearls on the end.

"Now the glitter eyeshadow!" Alice suggested.

"Not the glitter eyeshadow!" Valeria shot back, never a fan of sparkly makeup.

"How about an eyeshadow with a light shimmer?" Rosalie suggested. "It's called a compromise, though I don't think the two of you have ever heard of it when it comes to each other."

After a moment, Valeria nodded. She could handle a little bit of shimmer. She made sure to stay still as Rosalie dusted makeup on her face. It felt weird, as Valeria really only ever wore tinted chapsticks and blush — mainly to make her look a little more alive.

After a while, she finally finished. Really, Rosalie hadn't been working for more than thirty minutes at a regular human pace, but it felt like forever to Valeria. But Alice and Rosalie didn't want her to look at herself until she was finally dressed.

Alice brought the prom dress that Leah picked out and handed it to Valeria. "I certainly wouldn't pick it or wear it out but I don't hate the dress. I request to add one little accessory."

As Valeria slipped off her robe and changed into the dress, she eyed Alice carefully. Rosalie zipped up the back while Alice rushed over to her closet. She came back with a thin strip of fabric.

"Tie this around your waist. It'll show off you figure and offset all the white," Alice stated. "Plus it matches your lipstick."

Her eyes went wide as she took in the deep red color. "You put that color on my face? I'll look ridiculous. Like a clown!"

Rosalie sighed at her dramatics before snatching the fabric and tying it around Valeria's waist. "We wouldn't let you leave this house looking like a clown. Em and Jasper might, but not us."

"Yeah, but no one is used to seeing me in makeup. They'll look at me funny," she said, nervously fidgeting. Alice lightly swatted her hands with a lipstick tube even though she knew it wouldn't break the human habit.

Valeria was also a little nervous of how she looked because of who she was going with. No, she didn't mind what Seth thought of her, but she did care about how Sam saw her. And she knew that the wolves shared a mind link when shifted. What if Sam saw her through Seth's eyes and thought she looked ridiculous?

But then Rosalie was gently turning her towards the huge mirror that was in Alice's room, and Valeria couldn't help but step closer at what she saw.

Valeria was never one to give much thought into her looks, both before and after becoming a vampire. She never thought about her appearance in terms of good or bad either.

But with red lips and a golden shimmer on her eyelids and a light dusting of blush on her cheeks and nose, Valeria though she was, well—

"I look... pretty."

"Don't have to sound so surprised," Rosalie said with a smile on her face.

She brushed Valeria's hair back off her shoulders. Leah's dress did look good with the pop of color, Valeria had to admit. It fit her well and flattered her features just as Leah said it would.

"Alice, did you lower the neckline?" Valeria asked, playfully glaring at the other vampire.

"Perhaps," she said, avoiding eye contact. Then she grinned. "I'm so excited. We've never gotten to dress you up before!"

"I suppose it wasn't horrible," she told her. Then Valeria hugged Rosalie tightly. Alice simply accepted her appreciative smile, knowing that she'd have to be wearing a long sleeve shirt and gloves to hug her.

The trio made their way downstairs, and much to Valeria's embarrassment, the entire family and Bella were waiting. Carlisle was holding a camera in his hand and gave her a knowing smile.

"Oh, you look so precious," Esme cooed, stepping forward to admire her.

"Thanks, Esme," she said — Valeria hadn't been with them quite long enough to call her Mom.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to look like you didn't just roll off the couch after a three hour nap," Emmett teased, earning an elbow in the gut from Rosalie for mocking her masterpiece.

"Sweetheart, pictures," Esme ordered, glancing at Carlisle. Immediately, the doctor began snapping candids. Valeria groaned as any teenager would, but she knew arguing would make it worse.

"I had to go through this last year. So do you," Edward told her with a smirk on his face. Emmett was wrapping his arms around Valeria and doing a standard pose that she would have done with a date. Jasper followed with an equally as awkward pose for their photo.

"These are going right over the fireplace," Carlisle joked.

"That's the fastest way to make me move out," Valeria replied, grinning widely. "I do need to get going, though. I'm running there and supposed to meet Jess and Mike at the door."

"You truly do look beautiful, Valeria," Carlisle complimented. "I hope you have a nice night with your friends."

Valeria may have pretended to not notice the displeased looks on her siblings' faces at the mention of her friends, but Bella certainly did. It wasn't until Valeria was out the door that she asked.

"Why does it seem like you're bothered by her hanging out with our friends from school?" Bella asked. The question was more directed at Rosalie, Jasper, and Carlisle, who looked the most bothered.

Edward wrapped an arm around her waist as he grimaced. "We've all lived long enough to learn our lessons about making mortal friends. Valeria hasn't."

"Learned your lesson as in... they all get married and have grandkids and die," Bella realized. "While you stay the same."

"Carlisle has tried to talk to her about it," Alice softly said. "But you know Val. Maybe her humanity gift makes it harder, but she can't stop making friends."

Bella nodded, knowing just how true that was. Not only was Valeria just as close with her human friends as she was with her immortal siblings, but she had even branched out and befriended the wolf pack in secret. Losing them over the years would be difficult for her.

At least Bella had the privilege of coming to terms with the fact that she'd lose all the people in her life before becoming a vampire.

"She'll learn," Edward stated.

"She shouldn't have too," Emmett mumbled glumly. It was times like these where he shouldered all the guilt for bringing Valeria into this life.

Not wanting to linger around the room that had suddenly become somber, Edward took Bella's hand. "Ready to go to Port Angeles?"

In lieu of going to Prom again, Bella and Edward had made plans to go to Port Angeles and visit a few bookstores. Even though it was far, they'd probably still make it back before Valeria, who was going to the after party at Tyler Crowley's lakehouse.

At least, Valeria would be stopping by. Bella knew that Seth Clearwater would be meeting Valeria at the school. Since he was only fourteen, she didn't think it was a good idea to let him hang around the party that would no doubt be full of bad influences. So, she'd be dropping off Seth at the treaty line before going late to the party.

"Yeah, let me just grab my coat," Bella said. The moment she said it, Edward zoomed to the living room and grabbed her jacket for her, making her smile.

"You two will have a great time," Alice said, grinning brightly. Then it faltered a bit. "It's nice knowing at least someone will have fun tonight."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bella asked, confused.

"Alice hasn't been getting as many visions of Valeria lately," Edward answered for her. "It's not necessarily concerning, and Alice has been focusing most of her efforts on Aro and Victoria's decisions."

"I'm sure we'll hear all about her night when she gets back," Esme assured them. "And that Angela loves to take pictures and videos, so we'll be able to see those. You two drive safe."

Bella couldn't help but snort, knowing safe was not a word to describe Edward's driving. As they left the Cullen home, the human girl was silently hoping that Valeria had a nice night.

Hopefully, nothing would ruin it.

☽︎

"Woah! You look so pretty!" was the first thing that Seth said when he met Valeria in the venu parking lot.

They could hear music coming from the small event center in the middle of town, and students were making their way inside, stopping to take pictures at the door. It was agreed upon earlier that Seth and Valeria would take a set of pictures together that he'd get to take home, and then Valeria would take some with friends to show her family so that they wouldn't be suspicious.

"Thanks, Seth!" she said, beaming. "You look super handsome."

Seth was wearing a black suit that he had borrowed from Quil and his hair had been slicked back — a product of his sister and mother forcing him in a chair as they combed gel through it.

"Leah was saying she picked out a nice dress, but I didn't believe her," Seth said, shaking his head.

"Well, when you get home, tell her I love it." As she talked, Valeria twirled from side to side, making the skirt fan out.

"Do a spin!" Seth said excitedly. She laughed as he did his own spin, making the ends of his jacket flare out the smallest bit.

Valeria and Seth goofed off in the parking lot for a few more minutes before the limo carrying her friends arrived. It only took a few minutes for Seth to be introduced to everyone before heading inside.

When they stopped for pictures, Valeria had a considerably better time than the simple pictures at home. Thankfully, the photographer had no qualms about taking the real photos with Seth followed by the fake ones where Mike, Eric, and Tyler. It was a standard Prom pose, similar to the one Emmett had used. Except as Mike wrapped his arms around Valeria's waist, Eric wrapped his arms around Mike's waist, and Tyler wrapped his arms around Eric's waist. It certainly had everyone laughing.

"Seth is absolutely adorable," Angela said to Valeria as they made their way inside.

"Yeah, I kinda thought having a fourteen year old with us would bring the mood down, but he fits right in with the guys," Jessica added. Then she grabbed both girls by the hand. "To the dance floor!"

Leah had been absolutely right when she said that Seth was a bad dancer. Not only was he a bad dancer; but he didn't care. He had no shame on the dance floor, and that confidence had spread to Mike and Eric — at least Tyler had the decency tap out halfway through their nightmare routine to Cotton Eyed Joe.

At one point, Seth had taken a break and visited the snack table with Valeria accompanying him. She held the glass of punch he offered to keep up appearances.

"This tastes funny," Seth mumbled, taking another sip to try and identify it.

Immediately, Valeria sniffed the drink and ripped it from his hand. "Someone put alcohol in it. You're way too young."

Seth only chuckled as they made their way back to the dance floor. "V, I'm pretty sure werewolves can't even get drunk — we burn it off too quickly, kind of like Thor and Captain America — which is really gonna be a bummer in a few years."

"Look at us," she mused. "A couple of supernatural kids incapable of getting drunk."

As the night went on, Valeria made plenty of memories she'd cherish. She never wanted to forget Mike ambushing the DJ station and playing eight Taylor Swift songs in a row per Jessica's request or how Seth attempted to do the Dirty Dancing lift with Valeria — they had succeeded and Angela got it on video as proof.

Eventually, people started leaving. With the promise of meeting her friends at Tyler's party, Valeria walked with Seth through the forest and to the treaty line.

"I know you can't keep the formal ones in case your family finds them, but maybe these are small enough to hide." Seth was holding out the small printouts from the photo booth that was set up.

"How about we split them?" she suggested. "You take two and I take two."

Seth nodded and ripped the strip of photos in half, handing Valeria the top two while he kept the bottom. She grinned as she examined their ridiculous poses. The first was Valeria holding Seth in a headlock, and the second made her laugh.

"I don't think anybody but us will find this one funny," she said. "Some might say it's in poor taste."

The second photo had been all Seth's idea. His neck was bent while Valeria hovered over him with fangs bared, acting as if she was about to bite him. One of the photos on Seth's half was one where he had his tongue sticking out and his hands curled up like paws, pretending to be a dog while Valeria pet him.

"We have great taste," he said, scoffing. They reached the border and he crossed with an easy smile on his face. "Thanks for inviting me. I had lots of fun. Sorry for stepping on your toes during the slow dances though."

"No problem." She giggled, remembering how disastrous all the slow songs had been. "Thanks for coming with me. It was definitely better than going alone."

"I gotta get home, but I'll see you in a few days," he said, waving. Then he paused with a somewhat mischievous smile on his face. "Maybe hang back for a minute or two. One of the guys on patrol might stop by. More people to show off Leah's dress."

"Okay. Have a nice night, Seth. And seriously, tell Leah thank you."

Once Seth was through the trees, he carefully removed Quil's suit and shifted. His request to have Valeria stay behind wasn't totally innocent. He immediately let out a howl before heading home that signaled his return and Valeria's presence at the border.

Valeria was humming a song to herself and dancing around, trying to recreate one of her dances with Seth — minus the toe smashing — when Sam came across her. He spotted her through the branches, her bare feet moving across the grass, dress fanning out as she twirled. He didn't say anything to get her attention, content to watch her mindlessly dance around in the moonlight.

When Valeria did eventually spot Sam, she froze. He was silently leaning against a tree and watching her with a fond smile on his face. He wasn't dressed as nice as Seth had been, but she'd certainly never seen him in jeans and a button down.

"Hey, Sam," she greeted softly.

"Valeria, you look..." Sam was at a loss of words for a few moments. "Beautiful. But then again, you always do."

God, if she could blush, Valeria's cheeks would be as red as her lipstick. "Thank you," she replied shyly. "That's sweet of you to say."

"Did you, uh, have a nice night?"

"It was great," she said, grinning brightly. "I had so much fun. It was almost the perfect Prom."

"Why not perfect?" he asked.

She smiled wryly. "I love Seth, but it's not exactly a girl's dream to take a fourteen-year-old goofball who can't slow dance to her Senior Prom. Everything else was great, though."

All the complaints and teasing comments from his pack mates about not making a move were rushing through Sam's mind. His whole plan had been making a move while she was all dressed up and still on cloud nine from the dance. If he didn't go through with it, he'd never hear the end of it.

"So dance with me," he said, barely registering that the words had left his mouth.

Valeria tilted her head as she looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"You're all dressed up, and I promise not to step on your toes," Sam said, taking a step over the treaty line. He hadn't been in the Cullens' territory since that night Bella had disappeared in the woods, but it didn't seem so wrong when he was doing it to get closer to Valeria. He stuck his hand out for her to take. "Just play a song on your phone and dance with me."

Things far stronger than butterflies were fluttering around Valeria's stomach as she did just that. She slid her hand into his big, warm one, neither caring about the opposing temperatures. Tingles shot through her arm, and Valeria was convinced that his hand was made to hold hers as sappy as it sounded.

Sam had spent weeks wondering what it'd feel like to touch her, to hold her, and now he knew. The imprint bond made it seem like the whole world faded away, and the only thing that mattered was Valeria, his hands on her waist and hers around his neck. She softly ran her fingers through the hair at the base of his neck, sending a shiver down his spine.

It was an ABBA song that she had chosen — Andante, Andante — and it put a smile on Sam's face, remembering their first conversation.

"Am I a better dancer than Seth?" he asked with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Considerably so."

With careful hands, Sam tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear that had slipped out of its pin, letting his thumb linger on her cheek as he brushed the skin. Then he moved his fingertips across the loose ends of her hair. "It's nice to see your hair down like this."

Maybe Valeria wasn't completely annoyed with Rose for making her wear it down.

"You know, if not for that rule, I would've asked to take you to your prom," he admitted in a quiet voice. He kept his eyes on hers, feeling like he could drown in their golden color.

"I would've said yes," Valeria said softly. She pressed against his firm chest, wanting to be even closer. "In a heartbeat."

"If things were a little different, I could've picked you up at the door and gotten you a corsage. I'd stay by your side the whole night. Drop you off right at curfew," Sam told her, conjuring up an idea of a perfect date. "Given you a kiss goodnight not caring about nosy family members watching through the window."

Sam's gaze traveled to her parted lips, and she had never wanted someone to kiss her so much before. With one hand still on her waist and the other cupping her jaw, guiding her face, he leaned down to do just that. Valeria needlessly held her breath in anticipation, letting her eyes flutter shut as his lips barely brushed against her own.

And then her phone rang.

The song was harshly cut off by Edward's personal ringtone — some classical number that he had chosen. Sam sighed as he leaned his forehead against hers, knowing the moment was gone. Valeria smiled apologetically before pulling away and grabbing her phone.

"What, Edward?" she asked, not able to hide her annoyance at the interruption. She glanced at Sam once more, biting her lip. He smiled, letting her know that it was okay.

"You need to come home," Edward said in an urgent tone.

"But I—"

"I don't care about Tyler's party. Everyone is at the house, and Bella is safe, but you need to come home. Now," he stated.

Valeria frowned, realizing that something must have happened. "Did — Edward, what's wrong?"

"It's not safe."

"What does that even mean—"

"I will tell you when you get home," he said. "Valeria, please just listen to me for once."

"O - okay," she told him. "I'll be there in five."

After hanging up, Valeria shared a confused look with Sam, who had overheard the conversation. "They may have spotted the redhead nearby. I need to get to the others."

"I'll let you know for sure what it is and if the threat is still ongoing," she promised. "And let Jake know that Edward said Bella is safe. I know he worries about her."

"Let me know when you're safe too," Sam requested, already worrying about her short trip to her house.

"I will," Valeria told him, smiling softly. "And I'll see you tomorrow to drop off some blueberry muffins."

Sam grinned as she turned to leave, but then Valeria paused. She took a deep, needless breath before spinning on her heel and walking back up to Sam. As she stood on her toes, his hands instinctively found her waist to steady her.

Valeria gently kissed his cheek, leaving behind both a tingling warmth and a red lipstick stain on his skin. She bit her lip shyly as she backed away, taking in the endearing look on Sam's face.

"Thanks for the dance."

It was almost impossible to wipe all thoughts of Sam from her mind as she made it home. And as soon as her feet met the floor of the entryway, Rosalie was ushering her into the living room where the rest of the family and Bella were waiting, aside from Jasper and Emmett, who were out trying to track whatever the threat was.

"What is so important?" Valeria asked, her blissed out mood from being with Sam gone. "This better be a real threat and not some dumb attempt to ruin my night."

"There was another vampire in Bella's house," Edward said, clearly frustrated. "We came back from Port Angeles, and I smelled them as soon as I opened the door."

"I know you're safe," Valeria said, relieved that Bella was fine. "What about Charlie?"

"They left him asleep in the living room. Unharmed," Edward informed her.

"Who was it? Someone we know?" Carlisle asked.

"This stranger, I didn't recognize his scent," Edward told him.

"A nomad passing through?" Esme guessed.

Valeria was the one to shake her head. "A passerby wouldn't have left Charlie alive." She didn't know much about living as a vampire, but she could remember enough about her insatiable thirst before her humanity gift put a stop to it. "He'd be dead."

"She's right," Rosalie agreed. Bella was sitting next to Valeria on the couch and grabbed her hand for comfort. She squeezed it reassuringly, letting her know that they'd take care of her and her father.

Then, Emmett and Jasper returned to the house after following the scent as far as they could. "The scent disappears about five miles south of Bella's house," Jasper told them, the best at tracking after his time in the vampire army.

"Someone's orchestrating this," Carlisle declared.

"Victoria?" Bella asked, no one else coming to mind.

Alice shook her head. "I would have seen her decide."

"It has to be the Volturi," Edward stated, unable to see it any other way. "Not just for Bella. They know we have a new member of the family. Even without knowing Valeria's power, they'll want to meet her eventually."

Emmett immediately moved in front of Valeria, guarding her from the threat that wasn't even there. She placed a gentle hand on his arm, letting him know that nothing was wrong. They needed to focus on Bella.

"I don't think it's the Volturi either," Alice told them. "I've been watching Aro's decisions too."

"So we keep looking."

Carlisle nodded in agreement with Emmett, not wanting to leave anything to chance. "We'll also take shifts guarding Bella at her house."

Rosalie sharply looked at the leader of the coven. "Another protection detail?"

"Rosalie," Carlisle said in a soft but authoritative tone.

"No, she's right," Bella said, shaking her head. "I mean you can't protect me, watch my dad and search for the intruder."

"And for Victoria," Rosalie chimed in.

"And keep yourselves fed," Bella finished.

"I'm not leaving you here defenseless," Edward declared. "Even if it's just Valeria — she has to hunt the least out of all of us."

"I'm not gonna let you or Val starve yourselves, and I wouldn't be unprotected. I - I have..." Bella trailed off, losing most of her confidence.

Edward studied her with his eyebrows scrunched up. He wanted nothing more than to be able to tell what she was thinking. "What?"

Valeria was the first to get it and she leaned back on the couch, cupping her hand under her chin and doing her best to not look amused. "Oh, Bells, you are far braver than I."

It was then that Edward looked into Valeria's mind and understood just what — who — Bella's solution was. It was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do, and yet, they had to if they wanted to keep Bella safe.

They had to go to the wolves for help.