CHAPTER 7. Nightmare

Summary

Upon returning home, Bella tries not to think, listening to a CD that Phil gave her for Christmas. Despite the raucous sound of the band, the music distracts her enough until she falls asleep. However, she has a nightmare where she is in the forest and can hear the ocean nearby. She follow the sound of waves but Jacob Black emerges, telling her to run for her life. She then hears Mike calling out to her from the trees and Jacob turns into a wolf. Edward then steps out of the trees and beckons to her, telling her to trust him. As she walks towards him, the wolf that was Jacob leaps for Edward's jugular, at which point Bella awakes. It's already early morning and Bella tries to pass the morning without thinking before going on the internet - which is a slow dial-up connection - to research vampires. She finds a good deal of information on a site called Vampires A-Z, looking at different traditions behind vampires, but finding little that matched her own experience with Edward or Jacob's own stories. She goes out for a walk in the forest, which makes her suspicions seem less absurd, and she ponders what to do about her relationship with Edward. She realizes that in her nightmare, what made her cry "no" at the end wasn't the possible threat of Edward but that Edward could be harmed, making clear her choice.

The next morning was a sunny day, which boosted Bella's mood. She arrives at school early and daydreams in the warm weather. Mike approaches her and asks her out to dinner that night. Bella says no, saying she doesn't want to hurt Jessica's feelings, which surprises Mike. In Trig class, Jessica asks Bella to join her and Angela and Lauren to Port Angeles to shop for dresses for the dance. Bella doesn't commit, as there is still tension with Lauren. Bella is afraid of seeing the Cullens at lunch but is further disappointed when none of them are in the cafeteria, nor Edward in Biology class.

When she gets home from school, Bella receives a call from Jessica that the shopping trip is canceled because Mike asked her out to dinner. Bella sends an e-mail to her mother and tries to read some Jane Austen, but is put off by the names Edward and Edmund in Austen's novels. When Charlie arrives home from work, Bella asks for permission to go dress shopping in Port Angeles with Jessica and Angela; he is puzzled at first since he knows Bella isn't going, then realizes the error in his thinking that was a problem. The next day Bella finds out the shopping trip is on for that afternoon and that Lauren cannot make it. After school, the three remaining girls head off in Jessica's car.

Notes

Bella's nightmare foreshadows the love triangle that will emerge in future novels. There are more references to vampires in lore and legend when Bella researches on the internet, with specific attention given to the "good" vampires of Italy, the Stregoni benefici. Jane Austen is another well-known literary figure in romances, with her novels focused on the social nature of marriages. The connection between Edward's name and those of Austen's heroes helps romanticize his image further, also providing a clear antecedent to his haughty, aristocratic bearing.