Even if I could sleep, which I can't do since I was seven years old, I'd spend this night rolling on my bed, too worried about the next day. Besides the gorgeous brown eyes, I inherited the awkwardness my mom felt by any attention driven to her; and, as if that wasn't enough, my aunt is the most dangerous and unstoppable natural force – my dad's words – when it comes to party planning . But my point is, I'm sixteen... At least, it's been 16 years since I was born. I don't have the body a sixteen years old should have, and I know way more than sophomores learn in school. I look like a woman in her middle twenties; it's been like that since I was seven, that's when the only human feature in me resumed in the weird beating heart. Anyway, last year my family decided to matriculate me in the same high school they went to, so I could "really live the way the half-human in me should" and, against my will, I've been a Forks High School student since then. All I really wanted to do though was to spend time with my Jacob.
Oh, my Jacob. That's a subject I can really spend hours talking about. He's been with me since I was born. Poor ball of fur, even if he didn't want that way he would have to, thanks to imprinting. Anyway, he is my everything, just like my father is to my mom, even thought I think our connection is stronger. He's been my nanny, my best friend, my safest alternative when a bunch of Italian vampires came to hunt me. If there's anybody in the universe with whom I would be willing to spend my eternity with, it would be him. And I just couldn't wait for us to be more than just the shallow high school couple we are for the people in Forks. Seriously, I'm a half-vampire and he's a werewolf. We have the strongest bond I've ever seen. We cannot just pretend that we're just high school sweethearts. We should like, be married at this point. My father was Jacob's age when he proposed to my mother. But the problem is, I don't want to push him to do anything he doesn't fell ready to just to see me happy. Damn, God knows just how much I wish he felt the same way I do.
Holy crow, vampires do distract a lot. Again, back to my point. Alice, my aunt, has been planning a huge sweet sixteen for me for the last couple of years. She knew I liked anything related to venetians carnivals, masquerade balls, kind of Phantom of the Opera thing and since my grandpa's been there on his golden days, it would be a piece of cake to bring the theme back to reality. My family was excited it would be possible for them to be with me on my - ugh - special day without surprising anyone. For everyone in town, the Cullens have moved to Europe ten years ago, their house bought by a scholarship agency, and I was a scholarship student from a family with very bad taste at choosing destinations – is there anything special about Forks? - that happened to live in that house, so the masks and costumes fit perfectly for their purposes.
My dress was a marvelous, and probably way too expensive, long red strapless dress, with crystals all over it. Matching with it, there were my mask and my shoes, both with old yet sparkling beige thing going on. As insane as Alice is, she sent the outfits for every single person invited for this event – she prohibited me to talk about the party as just … a party – and made sure that everything about the night would be the biggest craziest things that this little town have ever seen.
So this was it, the sun finally came up, illuminating me while I was sit on the big house's roof, making my skin shine, not as the others, more like those cosmetics people use to make it look like they're healthy. It was beautiful, no doubt about it. I saw my parents leaving the cottage, crossing the river and coming exactly toward me, both with wide smiles on their faces.
"Happy Birthday, sweetheart" they said together, and then they kissed me on each cheek and hugged me. My mom took a little box from her pocket. "That's what I won when I was sixteen, it was your grandma's, and even before it was your great grandma's. Hope you like it" Inside it there was a ring with small rubies and brilliants surrounding a big diamond. "It so beautiful, mom, I so loved it. Thanks, really", I said while touching her, after putting the ring on my finger. Just like any woman on Earth, jewels enchant me. Afterall, diamonds ARE a girl's best friend.
After, it was my father's turn. He took my hand and led me to the garage. When he let me open my eyes, there was a beyond perfection silver Lamborghini waiting for me. I was just like daddy when the subject was cars. He could read the overwhelming joy I felt, but I still felt like saying something the show it. "Oh my God, I just cannot believe it! I'm speechless".
"Well baby, it's not an antique like the ring your mom gave to you, but Alice saw how happy you would be with this little silver toy… And I can see she was right again."
Dad was right; Alice always knows what's better for everybody around her. So I guess she would know if the party would be a total disaster. Well, I probably shouldn't be so concerned. The day went by normally, Charlie and Sue stopped by, right after Billy and the other Quileute boys had arrived. It felt nice to have my loved ones around me, it calmed me down, though I thought Jasper had something to do about it.
The guests were supposed to arrive at 9 o'clock, so Alice started dressing me up around six. She pulled my hair back into a messy yet classy ponytail. "Oh Ness, you are such a lucky person that your hair is this beautiful. It just matches perfectly with the hair-do I'm putting up. Huum, lemme see… "
All of a sudden started staring at me like there was something really messed up with my face, making faces as she was thinking how she could make it right. "Rose! Come here! NOW! I really don't care if Emmett is helping you to choose your outfit or anything, I NEED your help"
I just couldn't ever get used to how fast they move, I mean, I do run faster than every human I've ever met, but these guys are unbelievable even for a pretty quick half-immortal. Rosalie was here before I could turn my eyes to the door.
"What? It better be something extremely important… I was really having a great time with"
"Ok, cut it, I don't want to know how that two-wrapped-in-one Dumb and Dumber entertains you. This IS urgent. Go to my room and inside the closet there are some drawers. Inside the third there's a box with a ruby and diamond hair clip. Grab it for me please."
"Oh, c'mon… Couldn't you go and grab it yourself?"
"Oh dear, if I stay one second away from this masterpiece I'm creating, I'll totally lose my focus and my train of thought. Now, please, hurry."
I wondered if Rosalie would get back before the party. Alice's closet was something monstrous, hard to imagine, but it was much bigger than the cottage's closet she made for my mom. I've been there a lot of times, since I was a toddler, and I still get lost every time I sneak into it to look for something cool to wear.
It felt like forever to me, but I was finally ready. Alice had done my hair several times before she decided it was perfect. Make-up took another hour. But I must admit that she did a great job, I did look – well, not exactly the right word, but… - stunning. My family was already downstairs, I was told to wait here until somebody announced my entrance.
"Ladies and gentleman, I shall proudly introduce the reason we all are here in this marvelous night. Renesmee Carlie Cullen, would you please come down."
Goddamn, wasn't I embarrassed enough by the 'spotlights on me' thing? Emmett really needed to announce me in such a cheesy way? Anyway, I should come down now. Suddenly, it occurs to me that this party was actually a good thing. I was going to be with my friends, my family, my Jacob in such a cheerful situation. Alice guessed right afterall. I needed to thank her later.
As I started walking through the steps, I felt every gaze in the room stick to me. Jacob was waiting for me at the end of the stairway. He looked absolutely gorgeous in a black tuxedo, with his short hair messed with mousse. Jacob Black was definitely my prince charming even though he would never be able to ride a white horse without hunting it. Whatever. He was the only one for me. When I reached for him, he took my hand, kissed it, and led me to the center of the living room/dancefloor.
Then a slow song started to come out from the speakers. It was beautiful, like the songs you imagine when you're dreaming about your personal fairy tale. I looked at my parents, they we're hugging and glancing at each other like the music meant something really special to them and I heard my mother saying in a way to low tone for humans to hear.
"I love you, and you never get tired of surprising me, huh? I just couldn't be more thrilled to have my own lullaby being played in our daughter's most special dance"
So my mom has her own lullaby. Sweet, no doubt about it. But then I reminded that it was my parents I was thinking of. I was pretty much as a normal teenager at this point, I so didn't like to see the love birds acting like love birds…
"Nessie, sweetheart. There's something I want to ask you" Jacob said pressing his warn lips against my ear. "I love you, always have and always will. You are my one and only and there's nothing in this whole damn world that can keep me away from you. Would you marry me?"
I started crying, and I realized that I shouldn't, just because nobody heard the beyond amazing thing he just asked me, I was supposed to be just normal happy, not crying thrilled. I really didn't mind. It was our moment, Renesmee and Jacob. It felt like there wasn't anybody else in the room.
"Yes. Yes. Yes. And I'm gonna say yes how many times I need to. I do want to be your wife, Jacob Black. And I love you more than anything. I'm yours, always have been and always will." I just could not believe he felt exactly the same way.
So this was really my day. The most special one. I enjoyed the party completely, until the last guest was gone and the only ones in the house were my family and the pack.
"Well Jake, guess you decided to be a real man – like me - right kiddo?" Sam said mockingly while holding Emily, his recently-became wife, and their newborn son.
"Guess we have to learn how to play wisely with the cards we are dealt with… or stuck with, in my werewolf case" He replied smirking at me, probably trying to make some joke. But I was just too overwhelmed by the situation to realize how not funny my soon-to-be husband is.
"I just could not be happier for you. I mean, lets see if for once a couple in this house is able not to destroy the place where the live while"
"Enough Emmett" My parents said in a threatening tone. It is probably as awkward for them to think about my love life – with a werewolf – as for me to think about theirs.
"So big boy, when is the great party going to happen?"
"Oh, give me a break, Quil. I'm done with huge parties where the focus is basically on me for, like, six months. I need some time to reload my Social Renesmee mood. What do you think about it, puppy?"
"Six months sounds perfect for me, as longs as It makes you happy" I knew it was something that comes along with the imprinting thing, but I just can't get used to how cute Jacob can be trying to make me happy all the time.
"Okay Edward, you can stop trying to swallow all your old-fashioned jealousy with your kid. It's making me almost sick" Jasper said really looking like he was about to throw up, as if such thing was possible.
"Hey y'all. Just changing the subject a little… Thanks for the party. I truly mean it. I didn't think it would be that amazing. I love you. Especially you Alice, I know you're the brain behind it, and… Alice what's wrong?" Her face was really bewildered, like the face you see on a student face on the Calculus surprise test day. When she realized that I was talking to her, it was like she had woken up from a nightmare.
"Great. Really, great. How am I still sitting here with so many things to do in such a short time? You guys are driving me nuts, seriously!"
"What are you talking about honey?" Esme said in a warm voice.
"I mean, they really wish that I will be able to put a whole wedding together in just six months?! For real girl, it took me three five years to plan you parent's wedding… It was, like, even before they had met each other!"
"Chill out, Alice! We don't want anything over the top."
"Shuush, you are distracting me. Just talk about essentials now. Who's up for a shopping trip?"
"Alice, it's five in the morning, humans sleep at night…" My mom said.
"Oh, useless lazy humans."