Am I doomed to an eternity of being followed around by an average-looking local who often smells like wet dog? Renesmee thought to herself, hearing the all too familiar sound of Jake's motorcycle. Yep, sure looks like it.
My name is Renesmee Carlie Cullen, and for the record, I never asked for any of this. I didn't, and still don't, want the boy next door-esque romance. I don't want romance, period! But what do I get? Jacob Black. Jake has always been in the family, dating back all the way to when mom was still human. You heard me, when she was human. My mom's a vampire. And so is my dad, and all the rest of my family. Jake on the other hand, is his own brand of weird, supernatural creature of the night. He's a werewolf. Everyone knows vampires are immortal, but this particular werewolf is too. Here's the best part of it all: he's immortal because he imprinted on a vampire. It's kind of like when you take your dog on a walk, and they pee on that same fire hydrant every time, because it's theirs. Except in this case, Jake's the dog, and I'm the fire hydrant, the vampire he imprinted on. Every day this kid takes a giant piss on me. Metaphorically speaking of course. Pretty weird huh?
It only gets weirder from there. Imprinting isn't just a universal werewolf kind of thing. It's a Quileute thing. The Quileute shapeshifters used to be rivals of my family, but now we're family. Jake comes from their line. The shapeshifters, or werewolves, find their one true love by imprinting. It's not something they choose to do, it's this supposedly incredible phenomenon in which they find their soulmate. Normally, and by normally I mean I'm pretty sure this is the only case where this has ever happened, the werewolves imprint on living, breathing beings. Not vampires! And bingo, you guessed it, Jacob Black went and imprinted on a vampire, me. So what does that mean for Jake? Since I'm immortal, so is he. It's some freakish, imprint-caused mutation with him that caused him to stop aging as soon as I did. I stopped aging at about 18, and I'll stay 18 forever. (But that's a whole other story for another time.) Jake was 19 when I was born, and he'll be 19 forever. It sounds weird, but you have to remember I aged faster than the normal infant. In my first few years of life, I matured both physically and mentally to the age of 18. Then it just, stopped.
This sounds like an ideal life right? I'm immortal, and so is my soulmate. But the thing is… Jake isn't my soulmate. He's like a brother to me, there's no feelings whatsoever. When I was little, I adored him. But everyone totally twisted that around. It wasn't because there was some predetermined infatuation, it was because he was my best friend. I was attached to him, and he gave me all the attention in the world. As I got older, my love for him stayed brotherly, he's always been my best friend. He on the other hand, is totally head over heels for me. But enough of the backstory, let's get back to the present.
Jake walked through the front door, tossing his helmet on the floor next to it. He always welcomed himself inside. Renesmee rolled her eyes, averting her attention back to the novel she was reading.
"Reading that old thing again? How about we go for a ride!" Jake said, plopping down next to her on the sofa.
"No, that's fine, I think I'll just stay here," Renesmee said, her eyes never leaving the pages she had read so many times, they must have been engraved into her eyelids.
Jake grumbled to himself, propping his feel up on the ottoman. Usually he had never ending optimism when it came to getting Renesmee out of the house, but today he seemed… off. Renesmee sighed, slipping a bookmark inside the novel and setting it to the side.
"What's wrong?" He didn't seem like he was very eager to tell her. His hands were clasped in his lap, and his brow was furrowed in a way that told her he had something big to say. There was rarely ever a time where Jake found it hard to open up to her.
"Look Nes, I know you don't care about me like that, but I gotta tell you something or it's gonna eat me alive. I kinda, well… I'm going on a date tonight," he said, his face growing flush. Renesmee felt her eyebrows climb before she could stop them. Of course she was shocked. You spend your whole life having someone dote after you because they're deeply in love with you, and they finally show interest in someone else.
"Jake, that's fantastic! You deserve someone who treats you right," she beamed. She meant that, too. While Jake wasn't the guy for her, he certainly was a great guy. He owed it to himself to try and go out.
"You're sure?," he began, "I can always cancel. I mean, I can stay here. We can watch some movies or something. I really don't mind to-"
"Jake, don't cancel. There's nothing here for you other than the same boring routine. Besides, you know this is my favorite book."
He nodded, his eyes falling back down to his hands, still folded together in his lap. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She felt bad, she didn't mean to break his heart every day. But she was glad he took her words of encouragement, glad he was going through with his plans.
"At least try and act a little excited. You're going to scare her off if you show up with this attitude. Who is it anyway? Where, what time?" she prodded, doing her best to get him more enthusiastic. It was another Quileute, he explained, one that Renesmee had met a few times. She was nice enough, and certainly attractive. She was good, and that's all that mattered. Jake needed someone good, like him.
The conversation didn't last long, Jake grew more and more visibly uncomfortable. Finally he got up, wiping his palms of his thighs as he did.
"I guess I better go meet her… talk to you later, Nes," and with that he rushed to the door and left, snatching his helmet up as he went. Renesmee felt sad that he was so uncomfortable with this change, but hopeful that it would go well. Maybe if he meets the right girl the imprint will break, she thought, but deep down she knew that the imprint was a lot more serious than what it seemed. She went back to reading her book then, picking up where she left off.
That's weird… she thought, putting her book aside. Normally once she started reading it, she didn't put it down until the last page had been turned. But now she couldn't seem to stay focused. An uncomfortable knot had formed in her belly, seemingly squirming around as she tried to relax. She wondered how Jake's date was going. Hopefully good! She tried to smile to herself, but the muscles didn't seem to want to cooperate in the way she wanted. I'll go for a walk, she thought. Maybe that would clear her head and the uneasiness of her stomach.
Her parent's cottage was the ideal spot for exploring. Right now they weren't home, they were visiting their cousins in Denali. Their house was in the woods, surrounded by beautiful wildlife. Renesmee headed deeper into the woods. As she walked, she thought she would find solace in her surroundings. But instead the memories they brought only worsened her unease. Over there, between those two dogwood trees, was where her and Jake used to lay at night to watch the stars. There was a break in the trees overhead, and from their they got the best view of the night sky. To her right was a stream that flowed into a nearby river, where her and Jake would swim during the summers. So many good memories here, so why did that untimely knot in her belly continue to grow and grow?
She decided to walk to the dogwoods now, the sun had just set and the first few stars were starting to shine. She settled herself in the grass between the trees, laying down to admire the rapidly appearing stars. Her vampire eyesight helped her see and learn all of the constellations, and she searched for her and Jake's favorite, Lupus. Ironic that their favorite constellation was the same as Jake, a wolf. Finally it caught her eye, and she turned to look next to her. Normally when she was here, Jake was there too. Renesmee was surprised by the empty feeling she experienced when she realized her stargazing partner wasn't by her side.
Suddenly that knot in her belly exploded. It didn't just explode, it blazed. It consumed her from head to toe. Not in a painful way, an absolutely mesmerizing way. A rush of memories captured her mind, and she saw her life with Jake, from past to future. She saw her first memory of him, when he held her after birth. She saw him measuring her rapid growth on the kitchen doorway, the notches growing daily. She saw him gazing at her in utter adoration, on multiple occasions. She saw things she had never noticed before, like the endearing way his hair curled at the nape of his neck, and the way his eyes weren't truly black, but a dark amber in the sun. She saw the beauty of Jacob Black.
What was going on? She wasn't frightened by the sudden surge of emotion, but in immense awe of it. Finally she was released, and she practically jumped out of her skin. She felt the same, physically. Still Renesmee. But inside something had changed. Her heart skipped beats when she thought about what she had just experienced. Jake explained what it felt like to imprint on her a million times, and while she knew it was a trait unique to the Quileute shapeshifters, she knew in her heart that was the closest thing a vampire could experience to imprinting. She jumped up then, running back to the cottage. It took no time, she hadn't strayed far and her vampirism came with a few kicks, like speed.
Renesmee picked up the phone and dialled Jake, he answered on the first ring. His deep voice melted through the phone, and she had to pull herself together before she could even say hello.
"Hello?" Jake repeated, a worried tone to his voice.
"Where are you?" she queried, hoping she wasn't interrupting anything. (Or maybe she hoped she was.)
He took a moment to answer, she could hear the nervous hitch in his breath as he replied. "You're not gonna be happy, but I didn't exactly go on the date-"
"Tell me where you are, and I'll come to you now." Shocked for a moment, he quickly told her and she was out the door in seconds. When you're a vampire, and you're in a rush, you don't waste times with mortal conveniences. She didn't drive to him, she ran like the wind. For vampires, that's literal. The wind might not have been able to keep up with her, she ran so fast.
In minutes that seemed like hours, she had reached him. He was sitting outside of his house, in the surrounding woods. There was a log fallen long ago that had served as a hang out spot for them many times. Jake was laying back on the great oak, his arms crossed under his head and his legs propped up on a branch. He too had enhanced senses, so he knew she was there before she made herself known. He sat up when she came into the clearing, swinging his legs over the side of the log so that he was in an upright position. Renesmee climbed up the tree then, sitting herself next to him.
"So… are you going to tell me why you're acting so weird now or what?" Jake said with a fond smile. Renesmee felt nervous around Jake, which she had never felt before. She didn't know how to explain the experience in the woods by her home, but she had to try.
"Tell me again how it feels to imprint on someone. I know you've told me, but I want to hear it again." Jake looked at her oddly, but sighed and began.
"I told you, Nes… It's like a change of gravity. You would do anything for them. You would be anything for them. The meaning of your life changes, because they become your purpose. Why, Nes? What's up?" he prodded, his brow furrowing. She could tell he was confused.
"Jake, I know it's not possible. And I know I told you a hundred times over that I didn't feel anything for you. But tonight after you left I felt this… thing. I don't know how to explain it. It felt like every nerve in my body was rewired, every memory and perception altered. And I saw you. I saw you… and I saw us. I can show you better than I can explain. Is that okay? Can I show you?" she hesitated. With wide eyes, he nodded, and she lifted her palm to his cheek. Renesmee had a gift of showing people her experiences, with a simple touch of the hand. When her hand connected with his cheek, he experienced what she did, he felt and saw everything she felt and saw. It took only seconds for him to see it all. When it was over, he looked at her in complete and utter shock.
"I don't know what it was, Jake. Maybe it was you finally trying to love someone else that triggered it. I don't know. But I swear Jake, it was like I imprinted on you. I know that's not possible but I-" Jake interrupted her as he leaned in, his lips finding hers. In all the books and movies they say fireworks go off when you kiss the one you love. Fireworks didn't even come close to what the pair experienced in those short, sweet moments of their first kiss. Mountains moved, the ground quaked, volcanoes spewed, and oceans roared. In that moment, reality shattered. When it was over, it all began again. A new beginning had risen from such a simple act.
"Don't ever make me wait that long for a kiss again," Jake said teased, nothing but love in every aspect of his face.
"I couldn't if I tried," Renesmee breathed.