Chapter Eight (in which Twilight almost goes the distance and becomes a Lifetime Original movie)

At one point in this chapter, Bella goes to a bookstore, only to discover that it's more of a hippie headshop. Through the window, she sees the friendly-looking old bat behind the counter and decides not to go in, saying that's one conversation she'd like to avoid. Of course. God forbid Bella should talk to anyone interesting. Stephenie Meyer stays well within her comfort zone in this chapter, so there's plenty of bland dialogue to go around.

CHAPTER SUMMARY-- Bella, Jessica, and Angela head off to nearby Port Angeles for dress shopping and a general girls' night out. A blessedly short amount of time is devoted to their dress decisions, shoe shopping, and accessorizing (eesh, not short enough), then Bella heads out to find a bookstore, promising to meet the others for dinner in an hour. Because Bella sucks at life, she gets lost and ends up in a sketchy bit of town, being followed by a sketchy group of guys. They corner her but, wouldn't you know it, Edward's car comes power-sliding up to the rescue, and he whisks her away to a cute little Italian restaurant. They run into Jessica and Angela (remember them?) who've already eaten, so at Edward's suggestion they leave Bella in his sparkly care and head back to Forks. He then insists that Bella get some nourishment, in spite of her protests that she's not hungry. They sit in a secluded table in the restaurant, where they talk about somewhat important but easily condensed things while Bella munches some breadsticks. Mostly, she gets him to admit that he can read everyone's mind but hers. She also gets him to admit that he followed her to Port Angeles in order to make sure she stayed safe, which is so peeping-creepy that even Bella knows she should be disturbed by it. Finally, Edward gets the check and they head to the car for more conversation, setting up what's sure to be a somewhat important but easily condensed beginning to Chapter Nine.

NOTABLE NOTES--

1. We find out in this chapter that Edward has the ability to 'dazzle' people... as best as I can work out, he basically flashes them a big smile, and they're rendered useless for roughly 4-6 sentences.

2. Thus far, the only known applications of the 'dazzle' are: temporarily impairing people's motor skills, inhibiting conversation, and causing waitresses to show up far more than is necessary for the reader to know about.

INTENSITY OF EDWARD'S STARE-- smoldazzling?