Disclaimer: Twilight and all of the characters herein are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer and her publisher Little Brown
I stared at the raindrops collecting on the window outside my bedroom. It was early morning and I knew that everyone would be waiting for me, but I was having trouble dragging myself out of bed. I had looked out that same window every morning for the past six and a half years seeing the same trees, the same sky, the same small world. My life was lived in a tiny bubble away from the eyes of people who might question my unusual patern of growth. The story was that I had been sent to a boarding school in france. It was the only way to explain my absence to the locals and keep prying eyes away. At first I was content with my sheltered life but as I got older I started to develope a meloncholy that came and went often accompanied by a feeling of being trapped.
I felt heavy, like the dark grey clouds above were pushing down on me. I knew this way of life couldn't last much longer; we would have to go soon. How long would it be before everyone realized that the rest of my family wasn't aging? I tried to stop myself from thinking about it. It made me feel like I was being ripped in two. On one side I was eager for change, on the other I would be losing my best friend. Jake always made me smile. He could make my existence seem a little less dull. Sometimes seeing him was the only reason I got out of bed at all.
I pushed the covers down and stood up trying to stretch away my sleepiness. I opened my closet and tried to find something to wear that wasn't too frilly. It took me a while to sort through all the gorgeous, but not practical, outfits that Alice had taken the liberty of stocking my wardrobe with. I finally found a pair of jeans, a pink button-up shirt and a pair of tan boots to put on. I brushed my teeth and tried to do something with my wild curls but it was no use. I ended up pulling them back in a ponytail like always and hairspraying the hell out of it.
I steped out the front door and took in the smell of the forest for a moment before setting off on my run for the main house. It felt good to run. The air rushing past me and the feel of my muscles pushing me foreward always helped me clear my mind, which was a good thing to do right before seeing my dad. Just seconds had passed when I arrived but it was all the time I needed. I put on my best smile and stepped through the door.
"'Bout time you woke up sleepyhead!" said Emmet, flashing me a huge grin.
"Good morning. Sorry I took so long," I replied in my most cheerful voice.
"I hope you're hungry princess," Dad said, as he came out of the kitchen with a big plate of scrambled eggs for me. Eggs and chocolate were the only two foods that appealed to me at all, but I still prefered to hunt.
"I guess I'm kind of hungry," I said, " but could you please stop calling me princess it makes me feel like a little girl."
"You'll always be my little girl, and besides not to long ago you were a little girl. It's just a little hard for me to see you all grown up."
"Well, my birthday is coming up so I guess you'll have to come to terms with that pretty soon," I said, quickly stuffing a spoonful of eggs in my mouth to keep from smirking. Dad just stared at me blankly.
"Speaking of birthdays," chimed Alice, as she danced her way down the stairs, "I have to start planning your party and buy you a new outfit to wear of course." Alice, Alice, Alice. Any excuse to torture me with dress up. Dad tried to stifle a laugh as he went back into the kitchen to clean up.
"Sure it'll be fun," I said even though I knew it would be the same old party in the same old place.
Mom came over to hug me and I pressed my palm up against her cheek for a second. Where's Jake? She shrugged as she let go.
"He hasn't been here yet this morning but you know he can't stay away from you for too long. He'll be here soon."
"Yeah, it wont be long," said Alice, rubbing her temple, "It looks like you're going somewhere with him later. At least I'll be able to see part of my day." I sunk down in my chair a little. I hated being the cause of her blindness. It didn't feel right for her to have to work around my schedule.
"Where are you planning on going?" Rose asked from in front of the T.V.
"I don't really know, maybe he has something planned. I guess I have been wanting to get out of the house though."
"Well, just be careful and try not to be seen," Dad warned.
Yeah, god forbid anyone know I exist. The corners of his mouth turned down slightly as he heard that last thought and I watched him make a silent exchange with Jasper. I knew he wanted an explination for my slightly negative additude, but before I could open my mouth there was a knock at the door.
Blood rushed to my cheeks and a small smile crept its way across my face as I ran to answer the door. Jake stood on the porch in a pair of cut-off jeans dripping with rain. He picked me up and spun me around. I couldn't help but giggle.
"What's up shorty?" Jake asked, grinning at me.
"I may be smaller than you but I'm still faster," I teased, sticking my toungue out at him. It was amazing how just being around Jake could turn my entire mood around.
I grinned back at him and grabed his hands towing him over to the table where Mom and Dad were sitting. Dad was reading the paper and mom had a severely tattered copy of Wuthering Heights in front of her.
"Hey Bells, Edward" he greated them.
"Hi Jake," Mom replied. Dad just nodded in greeting.
"Can we go now?" I asked, rocking back and forth on my feet impatiently.
"Sure," She said smiling at my blatant eagerness, "But first, I need to know what you want for your birthday."
"I'm not sure..." I just couldn't think of anything I wanted that I didn't already have except maybe freedom and that would be impossible. I sighed.
"I think I have an idea for a gift already Bella," Dad said locking eyes with Jasper for a second then looking back at mom, "Why don't we just let them go, Alice can help with what I have in mind."
"Go on," Alice said shoving us out the door, "The sooner you go, the sooner I can see what we're getting you."
When we got outside Jake took a minute to strech. As I watched him I felt a strange sensation move through me. It was happening a lot lately. I felt sort of jittery like grasshoppers were jumping around in my stomach. Blood rushed to my cheeks for no aparent reason. I even had a little bit of a dizzy feeling. Sometimes I thought I knew what it was, but I refused to admit it to myself. It would just be too strange. Jake was my best friend.
"Ready?" He said, holding out his hand. I hesitated. I didn't want him to know what I'd been thinking. It was pretty embarasing.
"I have an idea," I said withdrawing my hand, "Why don't we race? It'll be fun. Besides, I could use some exercise. I've been kind of couped up lately."
"Sure," he agreed, not waisting any time, "On your mark. Get set. Go!"
I let my mind wander as I wound my way through the trees. He hadn't said where we were going but I could tell by the direction we were headed. The woods around me gradually started to smell more and more like wolves and soon it was mixed the salty sent of ocean.
We arrived at a small outcropping overlooking the sea not too far from where some of the kids from the reservation liked to cliff dive. It had been our special place for a long time. Even when I was a little girl Jake would put me up on his shoulders so I could look out at the water.
I walked to the end of the cliff and sat down letting my legs dangle over the edge. Jake came to sit beside me and pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. It had stopped raining but the sterling clouds still churned ominously in the distance.
"I thought you said you were faster than me," he said turning toward me and smiling.
"I guess I'm not really in the mood for competition today," I said letting a little of my earlier mood overtake me.
"What's wrong? You seemed pretty happy when I got to your house."
"I've just been thinking a lot, about the future, about my problems...about us. I keep feeling like somethings gonna happen. I don't know if it's good or bad, but I know it's big "
"Whatever it is, I know we can handle it."
I could hear the confidence he had in what he said. Jake was so sure of his future, like he had it all planned out. I wasn't sure of anything at all about my life. It was so complicated I just couldn't have everything I wanted. If I got one thing I would have to give up another.
Jake put his arm around me and pulled me close to him. I let my head rest on his chest and inhaled his earthy scent. He was silent for a moment like he was contemplating something.
"Your worried about leaving, aren't you," he said solemnly, "I've been thinking about it too. People will start to notice eventually."
I didn't know what to say. Just hearing him talk about it made my heart feel like it was breaking. The thing that scared me the most about having to go was the way I felt about Jake. I had always cared about him but the feeling was changing into something more, something deeper. If I was falling for him would I have the courage to do something about it before it was too late?
"Yeah, I guess...Why don't we talk about something that's not so depressing. I'm sorry I brought it up. I don't know why I've been so caught up on it," I said trying to sound more upbeat.
"Okay," He agreed, "I've been wanting to ask you about your birthday anyway. I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me to celebrate."
"Just us? Like a date?" I asked as blood filled my cheeks.
He seemed like he was choking on something for a second. Great. I guess I know how he feels about that.
"Well," Jake said coming back to reality, "Not really, more like just two friends having some fun together."
"Oh...Yeah, sure I would love to. I just wanna know how you're gonna convince Mom and Dad to let me go. You know how strict they are about me being seen in public."
"I thought maybe we could get up early and drive to Olympia, it's pretty far so I think it will be okay. You deserve to get out of forks at least once in your life."
"I do deserve it don't I?" I agreed.
Jake stood up, leading me to my feet.
"So what do you wanna do?"
Now that I had something to look forward to, I could feel my dark mood be replaced with the giddy sensation of possibilities. I looked out at the water and found the answer to Jakes question. It was right in front of me all this time and I had never done it. I looked Jake in the eye and smiled.
"I want to jump."