~1~

I was running through an open meadow, the sunlight dancing across the open field, as a wall of trees struggled to block its passage. I watched my skin sparkle, the little glints of glitter tickling my skin. My flowy white dress was billowing behind me as I ran against the wind, my long bronze hair swarming around my face. My bare feet hit the grass, hardly making a sound. At last, I slowed down my pace to reach the edge of the forest in front of me. I watched the shadow approach me from the dark passageways of the forest, creeping into the sunlight. I was as calm as could be, with impatience and excitement running through my veins. I looked up to find my vision hazy, unable to recognize the creature in front of me. The haze surrounding it was like that of an angel, a glorified halo sent from heaven. It was then that I was able to pick out the outline of a wolf glaring at me through the haze. I should have ran, but my mind told me this was nothing to fear….

"Renesmee!"

The screeching yell of my teacher broke me out of my daydream. I looked back at him in a daze.

"Huh?"

"This is the fourth time today I have yelled at you to pay attention and to stop slacking off! Now, can you please tell me how Brutus died at the end of Shakespeare's Julies Caesar?" yelled Mr. Flint.

Oh great! I had still not read our reading assignment from two weeks ago.

"Uhhh, Caesar killed him?" I answered back with the first thing that came into my head.

Mr. Flint didn't even bother telling me if I was right or wrong. It didn't matter, I knew I was far off and he knew I was aware of it.

"See me after class", was all he said sternly with a look of disapproval.

I sighed and went back to thinking about my dream. It was the same dream that kept coming to me a few nights as I slept for a month. It always stopped at the same part too. I was just able to make out a wolf standing in front of me and then….. That's as far as I got every time I had that dream. I tried several times to figure out its meaning, but all I got was a blank. I had even asked my dad to help me interpret it. He was a mind reader, so he was able to see my dream as I slept. When I woke up in the morning, he said it was just something silly and I should forget about it instead of dwelling on it, but I knew he was hiding something. I could tell from the look on my mom's face as he told me to leave it alone.

The bell rang then. I jumped up out of my seat ready to bolt to the door to avoid another conversation with Mr. Flint, but I was too late.

"Uh, where do you think you're going Ms. Cullen?"

I turned around and headed back to Mr. Flint's desk. He went on and on about how I should be trying more in his class, but it only went out the other side of my ear. As soon as he was done, I sprinted out of the class, racing to get to lunch.

My mind was still so occupied with my dream as I ran off to lunch, that I hardly noticed when I bumped into a scrawney boy and my books were flown out of my arms.

"Darn it!" I yelled as I reached down to pick them up.

"Oh I'm sorry. I wasn't looking when I turned the corner. Here let me help you", said the boy as he reached down to help me.

I met the blue eyes of a boy with messy brown hair, the color of chestnuts. "It's alright. I was in a hurry. Thanks Aiden."

"No problem. So you looked completely zoned out in English today. You okay?" he replied back to me.

Aiden was one of my closest friends in school, and I didn't have many. Actually, I didn't have any. Everyone acted as though I was weird and avoided me at all cost. All except Aiden. He wasn't exactly in the in crowd either. He was what they all liked to call a "weirdo", but not to me, I liked him. He was always nice to me and had my back.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just had a lot on my mind you know?"

He let out a short laugh. "Yeah I get you. So, care to escort me to lunch?"

This time I laughed. "Hmm, isn't the male supposed to escort the lady?"

He let out a snort, "Wow, way to brush my gesture off!" he added kiddingly.

"I'm not one for traditions, but I'd love to walk with you to lunch. I'm starving!"

"Well then let's go!" he said with the enthusiasm rising in his voice.

We linked arms and trodded down the hall as best friends would. I just laughed at the many nasty and disapproving faces we received, but they didn't bother me and I know they didn't bother Aiden in the slightest.

As we reached the edge of the café, I caught the eyes of someone sitting in the corner, all alone. I knew that was my time to leave Aiden in his happy human life.

"See ya later Aiden. My lunch buddy is waiting for me!" I said as I waved goodbye.

"Yeah, see you Biology, Remy!" he shouted back at me. The familiar nickname made me smile. Ever since my first day of school when our Bio teacher accidentally called me Remy instead of Renesmee, he had nicknamed me that. It was yet another thing that symbolized our simple friendship.

I made my way over to far table in the corner to see a familiar face, with short, pixie-like hair smiling at me, dangling an apple from her sleek hands.

"Hey Alice."

~2~

Alice was the only other member of my family who went to school with me. Her shortness and her spunky personality made her the most likely to pass for a young teenager. Even though my dad was 17 and my other aunts and uncles could pass for a teenager in high school too, they figured Alice was the one best up to the job to go to school with me, but most importantly, to protect me. My mother and father were busy going to college (again) and Emmett and Rosalie were on another one of their trips to visit the Denali clan, and well, Jasper just didn't fit the job description of going to school with me. He had low tolerance for humans, so Alice was the perfect person for the task. Alice pretended to be my sister and a senior, while I was a sophomore.

"Fraternizing with the humans I see", she stated with a soft ring to her voice. She put down the apple and glanced up at me with a sly smile on her face.

I sat down next to her. "He's my friend and so what if he's a human. I don't have any friends and he's the only one who will acknowledge me."

"I know, I'm just kidding. I think it's nice you have made friends here. We're supposed to be fitting in." she answered back kindly. If there was one person I could always count on in the world, it would be Alice. She always guided me and never doubted me.

"Yeah, and I'm trying. I think I've made a pretty good job of it too. But of course, us sitting here all alone secluded from the rest of the student body doesn't help. So this begs me to ask, how are you fitting in Alice?" I questioned in a joking tone.

"I have no desire to make friends. I have all the friends that I need. I've been alive for more than one hundred years and I have met plenty of new humans, but their all the same more or less. Besides, my only job here is to watch out for you, not to make friends", she said sweetly.

"Okay you got me. I'm the only one who needs to make friends here", I said back to her, joking nonchalantly.

She smiled and sat up straighter in her chair. It was as weird to watch as an ice sculpture moving, but it the small movement was still so graceful. "But, I'm curious, you said you didn't have any other friends besides that boy Aaron, but what about all your friends in La Push and Forks like Seth?"

I trilled a tiny laugh, smiling back at her "His name's Aiden and they are all my friends, but their thousands of miles away in a different time zone and I'm here in Buffalo so I have to make the best of it. But I do miss them very much."

"Jacob, too?", her eyes full of curiosity.

Just then my heart saddened to think of my true best friend. My brother. Ever since I was little, Jacob was a constant in my life, always revolving around me. He had always traveled with my family, but now that La Push was in a threat to another coven of vampires moving in, he was obligated to stay there while I remained in Buffalo with my family. I missed him deeply, but I tried not to think about the last time I saw him 6 months ago.

"Of course I miss him", I retorted back at her, "Very much. It's been two days since he's called."

"He's been busy", she said, this time her sad expression mirrored mine.

I sat and stared out the window in front of me, watching the rain fall. It reminded me of all the times we used to play in the rain together. We run and jump through the puddles and try to catch raindrops on our tongues. I missed the brightness he brought into my life that was so often full of darkness and the wonderful connection we shared.

"Don't worry, he'll be back soon." Alice's soothing voice brought me back from my trance.

I smiled at her to let her know I was alright. "I know. I just miss him. So, have you heard anything about these new vampires in La Push?"

This time it was Alice who glanced out the window. "Nothing new, just the same. The wolves are still trying to get rid of them." I knew she was lying to me. They always did that when there was something bad they didn't want me to know. She turned back toward me. "I don't see why it's taking so long. I mean, if we were there, we'd have them all gone in a minute!"she said, her tone rising.

"Calm down Alice. I'm sure the wolves will be able to handle it", I replied back, trying to cover up my curiosity in the pressing issue. I knew Alice wouldn't tell me even if I begged, so it was best to keep my mouth shut about it before she went tattle-taling to my parents.

"I hope so", she said, the smile coming back to her face.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Alice quickly got up and walked away. "Meet you at the car!" she called back to me.

I sighed and started picking up my books and the uneaten food. Funny that throughout my whole conversation with Alice I was too distracted to eat anything. Oh well, I wasn't hungry anyway and human food wasn't as appetizing as what I really craved-blood. But our hunting trip wasn't until this weekend so I would have to wait until then.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. After lunch I had history with Mr. Walker, listening to another one of his boring lectures. He just droled on and on and hardly ever came up for air. After history, I had Biology. It was one of the only other classes that I had with Aiden. We had a lab, and I was naturally partners with Aiden, but he was a science geek so I just let him do the whole thing while I just sat and watched. Throughout the rest of the day, I only had one thing on my mind-- my dream.

~3~

At the end of the day, I rushed out of the school, hurrying to get to the car and drive home with Alice. On my way, I passed many students just hanging out, celebrating the end of the day. In a way, I envied them; the no constant moving around, the discrete way of life, the weird appearance that got everyones' attention. In a way, I wished I was human. Not a half-breed, half vampire, half human, but whole-heartedly and one hundred percent human. Maybe then I would feel as if I had a place in this world.

I looked up to the sky to see the sun starting to break through the patch of clouds. I knew then that I had to hurry up and find Alice before the sun would expose my true identity to the world. As if on cue, I felt the vibration of my phone in my jean pocket from a new text message from Alice that read "The sun is breaking through quickly. I'm in the car ready for you."As I read the text, my heart sank a little. I knew this was because I had wished it was a call or at least a text from my Jacob.

I rushed to the yellow Porshe to find Alice already at the wheel with the engine running. I jumped into the front seat next to her.

"Looks like it will be good hunting weather this weekend. The sun is finally coming out", said Alice as she backed out of the school drive.

"Yeah, too bad the snow isn't gone though", I said. It was still February in Buffalo and the snow was still falling and left on the ground.

"Well this is Buffalo!" she replied all cherry-eyed.

I rolled my eyes at her, but I didn't have time to see her reaction. I was already thinking about what I would say when I went home to call Jacob. I needed to talk to him. I missed him too much.

When me and Alice arrived home, the house was empty except for Esme tidying up the front room. Jasper was probably running around the woods somewhere, while Carlisle was still at work and my parents were at school or on another of their romantic getaways. Yuck!

As usual, Esme questioned my day at school, but Alice did most of the talking. It raged me to know that I was the one getting treated like the baby in the family when I was only a few years younger than the rest of them, well, physically anyways.

After Esme's inquisition, I ran up to my bedroom and immediately picked up the phone to dial those familiar numbers. As the phone rang on the other line, I looked around my room. The design of my room reflected my lifestyle perfectly. It was all pale pink, with everything neat and organized. Not one thing out of place. It was exactly the same as my life; boring, drab, the same schedule every day. When Jacob traveled back to La Push, he took all the excitement in my life with him.

The phone kept ringing for what felt like hours when it finally went to his voicemail. I sighed with disappointment as I heard Jacob's voice come through the phone, "Hey, it's Jake. I obviously can't come to the phone right now, so feel free to leave a message!"

I thumbed through my mind quickly of what to say, and I ended up spitting out, "Hey, it's Nessie! I thought I'd just call to catch up with you. We haven't talked in a few days. So, uh, call me back I guess?"

I hung up and sat down on my bed, staring at the pale pink rug under my feet. The color went perfectly with my white pale skin, both two soft colors.

I through myself back on my bed, when I heard a ring go off. I sat up quickly and grabbed the phone, throwing it open without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello!" I practically screamed with joy into the phone.

"Uh, hey, it's Aiden. Wow that was more excitement than I expected, but anyways what's up?"

"Oh, um, yeah sorry, I was just, um…", I said startled, my heart sinking to my knees. At this point, it was bound to be out of my body by the time Jacob ever called me.

"It's okay. But anyways, I was just wondering, um, my cousins are going up skiing this weekend in the mountains, so you know, I was just wondering, if you wanted to, um, come with me?" he said. I could tell he was nervous, though I had no idea why. I mean we were practically best friends in school, why would he be so nervous?

I answered back as politely as possible, without sounding too formal. I didn't want this one phone call to doom our friendship into awkwardness forever. "Well, I have to see. Can I talk to my parents and let you know tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot about that, but yeah perfect! See ya tomorrow then!" His voice filled with enthusiasm and excitement.

I smiled to myself. "Great, I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye!"

It hurt me to know that I would be disappointing him. After all, I had a hunting trip and the weather was supposed to be sunny so I couldn't go anywhere outdoors in public. Just another reason why being human would be so much easier.

I heard footsteps coming down the hall and knew they were my mother's and Alice's. They walked into the room, looking as beautiful as ever.

"Hi, Nessie did you have a good day at school?" asked my mother.

I gave my mother a smile and decided to not take my frustration out on her. "Yeah, it was okay. Just another day."

My mother grew a look of concern on her face she knew I wasn't happy. My father had probably filled her in on my thoughts downstairs. "Well, I'm sure it will get better soon. So, who was that you were talking to?" Her voice rose up with hope. I knew she also wished it was Jacob. She had a special connection with him too, and was probably the only other person who would understand my need for Jacob near me.

Knowing I couldn't conceal the truth, I sighed and let it out, "It was just a friend from school asking me if I wanted to hang out this weekend." I wasn't sure how my parents would take me having human friends.

"Is it that boy Adam from school?" cried Alice in joy.

I shot her a "thanks-a-lot" look and replied, "Yeah, and his names Aiden. He's just a friend. He's in a few of my classes, that's it."

My mother suddenly looked like the happiest person on Earth. "That's wonderful! See, I told you it would get better! You finally made some friends. Of course you should go hang out with him, it's not a problem!"

I was completely confused. My mother was so protective of me and now she was practically kicking me out of the house. "But mom, what about our hunting trip this weekend? And the weather?"

That finally recalled her back from her moment of joy. "Oh, well I mean you can always go hunting tomorrow with your father, and I'll have him check up on the weather. What did he have mind of doing with you?"

Alice jumped on the question before I did. "He wants to take her skiing with his cousins in the mountains!"

I shot her another look. She just shrugged at me and replied, "I had a vision of your parents talking about it this weekend." I should have known. Alice and her visions.

My mother then said, "Well, that's fine then. You will have gloves and a hat and goggles and other things to cover your skin up outdoors. And I'm sure the sun won't be as bright in the mountains. I'm sure it will be perfectly fine for you to go, but I'll check with your father anyway."

"Oh, Nessie! You have to let me pick out your skiing outfits for you! Please!", cried Alice.

"Yeah sure Alice", I said half-heartedly.

"Yay! I'm going to start right now!" I watched as she bounded out of the room.

I was about to let my mother know that I had no desire to go on this trip, no matter how much I liked Aiden when my phone rang. I jumped over the bed to get it.

This time, I looked to at the caller ID first and my wish finally came true. It was Jacob.

I was beaming as I opened up the phone and yelled, "Jake!"

I heard my best friend chuckle on the other line. One of the sounds I loved most in this world. "Hey Nessie! How's it going? Sorry I haven't called you in a few days. I've been out chasing vampires." I could hear his smile through the phone when he talked.

"Oh, I've been good. Just going to school as usual. Same old same old." I decided to add in about the ski trip just to make it sound like I wasn't desperate to talk to him and he wasn't always on my mind. "I have plans to go skiing this weekend with my friend from school!"

"Wow, sounds like fun! Wish I could go with ya. Have you ever been skiing before?" he questioned.

"Nope, but there's a first time for everything I guess", I said back cheerfully.

This time his voice was serious, "Oh, maybe your mom or dad should go with you. It's a dangerous sport you know, and I wouldn't want you to get hurt. Or what about the weather? Is it going to be cloudy there this weekend?"

I sighed. Sometimes, Jacob was more protective of me than my own parents. "Don't worry, they said it was perfectly fine for me to go. You Have nothing to worry about", I added reassuringly.

"Ah, okay, but just be careful. Oh that's right, I wanted to tell you about…Oh, wait, hang on, sorry….Paul go away I'm on the phone!....Paul!....Shutup, I know!...PAUL!.......Uh, hey listen, Nes, I gotta go. Paul thinks he found something", he said, a thump in my throat slowly creeping up.

"Oh…okay", the disappointment surely showing in my voice.

"Listen, I'll call you back later, I promise. I….Paul I'm coming!....Uh, I miss you so much Nessie, but I'll talk to you soon! Bye!" his words coming out in a rush.

The line went dead. "Miss you too," I uttered into the phone.