Goodbye, Mom; Hello, Highway.
There was a hazy mist on the air today, Jacob noticed. The sky was clouded and grey, and it looked as though it might rain at any moment. He should put on a parka, before Rosalie started complaining about the scent of wet dog.
He stood alone, near the end of the driveway. This was taking an awful long time. Sure, he could understand their apprehension, their reluctance, their difficulty letting go. But they'd had weeks to prepare themselves for this day, and he was all ready to get a move on.
Renesmee stood, wrapped firmly, securely, suffocatingly in the arms of her mother. She'd been like that for about forty-five seconds; she couldn't help counting, and she saw the sheepish smile on her father's face over Bella's shoulder. Bye, Dad. I love you. Don't worry, I'll be fine. She thought the words clearly and he nodded, looking proud, but worried anyway.
"Mom, I mean it. Jake's waiting," Renesmee said after they reached seventy seconds. She squirmed, and Bella's grip slowly lessened.
"I'll miss you, baby," her mother choked out, looking lost for something to hold when her daughter stepped just beyond arm's length. Edward stepped forward and took her hand.
"I know, Mom. I'll miss you, too," she assured, retreating toward Jake's distant figure.
"Keep safe."
"I will." She was past Grandpa's car.
"You listen to Jacob, if he tells you something."
"I always do."
"And don't talk to strange vampires. Not without Jake."
"Eh, well, don't you think-" Renesmee stopped when she saw her father shake his head, a signal to be quiet.
The truth was, if she were to just waltz up to the average vampire with a werewolf in tow, it'd probably start a problem and ultimately put them both in danger. Her mother clearly hadn't thought about it completely, and if someone brought it up she might feel compelled to go on a protective rant, or insist that Renesmee just stay home a bit longer. Okay, so pointing out the truth of the situation wasn't the way to go. "Yes, Mom."
"I love you!" Bella called out a bit louder. She was just a few feet from Jake now, and she waved.
"I love you too! Don't worry, I'll call!" Watching her family beckon farewell from the porch, she inched closer to Jacob and muttered under her breath, "Let's get the hell out of here before she decides to chase us."
He nodded. "Yeah."
They were about to the Oregon border when Renesmee decided she was bored already. Riding around in the hand-me-down Volvo for three hours wasn't her idea of fun. They hadn't left the 101 since they hit the road; further north it boasted a pretty view of the ocean, which managed to keep her attention for a while. After that it had been trees, trees, trees. Some fields. Some houses. Some empty stretches with the carcasses of burnt firs, remnants of forest fires. And then, as always, more trees. It was the evergreen state for a reason, she supposed.
"Why can't I drive?" She whined, head falling against the back of the seat.
"Because you've been raving about excitement and adventure nonstop for the last week. Like hell I'm letting you get behind the wheel. You'll try to kill us or something."
She lifted her head again and pouted. Resting her chin in hand, she gazed out into the rainy, forested roadside. "Nature is great and all, but if I wanted to see the woods I could've just gone out back at the house. I want to see some cool, supernatural-type thing."
"Supernatural?" Jacob wrinkled his nose.
"Yeah. Nothing boring like vampires or werewolves; those are everywhere. I want to see ghosts, and poltergeists, and zombies and demons and things like that."
"Why in the world...? What for? And you do realize they probably don't exist anyway."
"I realize no such thing. You know, humans say the same thing about creatures like us."
Jake paused, an odd look on his profile. "Creatures? Ness, we're people."
She nodded, "People, sure. Human? Not quite."
"Just don't say we're creatures. It makes us sound... I don't know. Creepy."
"Well, you and I aren't the same thing. I guess we could call you a beast."
"Beast, I like. I can live with beast," he grinned in approval. "But what's with your fascination with... dead stuff? It's freaking me out."
"It's a morbid curiosity. Indulge me," she shrugged.
"Ness, you don't fool around with demons and spirits. Not ever. That's just common sense."
"Not all that Quileute hocus-pocus. You scare so easy."
"So ghosts can exist but tribal legends are just fairy tales?"
"I believe in things that have a feasible explanation. Curses and magic and all that, it's absolutely asinine. They have no basis in our world."
"Oh, really? How do you explain all those magic powers that vampires have, huh? Or what about my transformations?"
"First, vampire powers aren't magic. They're a predatory edge that's there for a reason. I suspect they're caused by the same element that makes them immortal. Though I haven't quite figured out what that is. But that doesn't mean it's inexplicable."
"And werewolves?"
"Stop saying werewolf. You're not a friggin' werewolf."
"Well what do you call us?"
"Wolf-men."
His jaw went slack. "Wha-? Wolf-men? You know how messed up that sounds?" He visualized a rather macabre half-wolf, half-human breed, which was distinctly different from the proud, stoic predators Renesmee envisioned at the term.
"I think it's more accurate. You're a man, and a wolf. Werewolves are beasts cloaked as men, and on the full moon the beast comes out. Very different."
"I don't care how accurate you think it is, it sounds-" he stopped mid-sentence, sighing. "Eh, nevermind."
"And as for what makes you transform, I honestly don't pretend to know. But I still feel there's some kind of rationale that figures into it."
He stayed quiet for a while. Renesmee almost thought he was mad at her and was giving her the silent treatment. She opened her mouth, ready to accuse him of being impossible and childish, when he spoke.
"Fine; I'll go ghost-hunting. But we're leaving the spirit world alone, understand? Both of us. No demons. And zombies, only if we kill them, and not stand around making friends."
"Okay, deal."
Jake had passed out after maybe five minutes. She watched his resting figure and stifled a giggle- he looked so much like a puppy when he slept, it was ridiculous.
They'd decided to stretch their legs in a small town called Astoria, just off the highway. They'd meandered around for hours, trying out different food and snapping pictures of the massive Columbia River. The whole town was less than four square miles in size, and didn't keep them occupied for long. Eventually they got a motel room for the night, looking forward to a fresh start in the morning.
She exhaled loudly, relieving a pressure in her chest she hadn't noticed until it was gone. Here she was. Embarking on the adventure that was life. She could romanticize it until the aliens invaded, but when it came down to it, all she'd done today was stare at trees and chit-chat. And even now, she was leaning against the headboard of a motel bed, flipping through the basic cable options with half-lidded eyes.
She hoped tomorrow would prove a little more interesting.
I'm curious to see what kind of appeal this has. I'm inexperienced with the world of Twilight fanfiction, and even less with the Renesmee fanbase, so I'm just taking a wait-and-see approach. The focus of this story is not romance; it's more akin to a coming-of-age type story.
If you want to see more, just let me know. Thanks for reading, one way or the other.
-Louisia