Chapter One

I was daydreaming again. This time, me and Jacob were sitting in the meadow that my father used to take my mother to when she was human. Jacob was in his human form, gazing at me lovingly as my skin sparkled lightly –barely noticeable even- in the sun. I smiled back at him happily as we lay back and enjoyed the feel of the sun on our skin. My daydream stopped suddenly when Lindsey's voice interrupted my concentration.

"Your sisters looking at you," She told me, nudging me lightly with her elbow. I looked over to the corner where the rest of my family sat, trying to blend in I assumed but not doing very well. My mother, or 'my sister' as I called her at school was staring at me with a look of concern in her eyes but as soon as she caught my gaze she looked away quickly and I imagine she would have blushed if her body had allowed her to do so. "What do you think she wanted?" asked Lindsey, opening her chocolate bar, snapping it in half and offering me some. I took it gratefully. That was another good thing about being half human. If I was a vampire then I would never have known how good chocolate was.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "If it's anything important then she'll bring it up again later." I continued, knowing that if it was something important then I would probably never know since my parents seemed so keen on protecting me. "There are some things you have to tell her" Jacob always said. At least he was always honest with me, even when it got him in trouble. The bell went for the end of lunch and I sighed, dumping my tray as we left the hall.

Lindsey came back to mine that night. She always preferred coming to mine rather than me going to hers, even though in my opinion her house is much nicer. Yes, the Cullen mansion is... well, a mansion but it's also always noisy, always busy and sometimes just plain annoying. I do love the big garden and all the rooms and the widely stocked library but it's sometimes nice just to leave that all behind when I go stay at Lindsey's where it is quiet because her parents are usually out. We were working on our science project even though science seems like such an unnecessary subject since Carlisle has been teaching me his passion since I first showed an interest in it a few years ago. I knew enough science to at least get me through my A level exams and I hadn't even sat my GCSE's yet. I looked over at Lindsey who was frowning at Carlisle's medical book and chewing the end of her pen.

"Want some help?" I offered, shutting my exercise book. She nodded gratefully.

"Sorry, Nez," she moaned. "I guess I'm not much good as a partner. I'm rubbish at science."

"No," I wanted to tell her. "I'm just unnaturally good at it." I ignored that thought and pointed at the picture in the book. "That one's Anaphase," I told her. "And that one's Metaphase," I continued, jabbing my finger at another picture.

"Ok," she mumbled, writing it down. "I wish my dad was a doctor. I can't understand this at all."

"Want to leave it for tonight then?" I offered. "We could go see if we can move Emmett from in front of the TV, or we could go to my room or get Edward-," I cringed, wanting to call him dad. "To make us some food," I finished.

"I think I'd better go home," she sighed, sounding like she'd much rather stay here and do all three of the things I'd just suggested. "My parents will be home soon and I need to print off our English homework."

"Ok," I shrugged, getting up from the floor to see if someone would drive Lindsey home. Mum was getting the keys to the Volvo from the table in the hallway, having already heard Lindsey say she was leaving from the other room. I helped Lindsey get her stuff together and we chatted about what more we needed to do with our project on the way to hers.

"Thanks Bella," she smiled when we got to her small, but welcoming house. Mum waited until she was inside her house before starting the car again and beginning to drive home. She was driving faster than she usually did, and I guessed from the tense look on her face that dad had told her I was still thinking about the anxious stare she'd given me at lunch. Not wanting to disappoint, I leaned forwards in the back seat until I could reach her cheek with my palm, replaying the lunch scene in my head. When I was finished, I sat back and waited expectantly. To my surprise, she laughed.

"And what is it about my face that interests you so much?" she turned to me, now smiling and successfully hiding any of the tense expression she held only a minute before. Shame she didn't have Jasper with her to wipe out the tense atmosphere still lingering. I raised my eyebrow at her.

"I'm not stupid, mum," I told her, "You were worried at lunch, and I'm guessing that it wasn't just about your chemistry test, and I want to know what's up."

"Renesmee," she started, addressing me with my full name. She turned round to give me a disapproving look from the front seat. "I will not have you speaking to me like that." I rolled by eyes and crossed my arms childishly, glaring at the back of her seat when she turned back to the road. "I was not worrying," she continued, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than she was convincing me. "I was just thinking about something. Something that is no business of yours." Then she relaxed her grip on the steering wheel as we turned into the driveway. I could tell my mum was confident that the conversation was over. Well we'd see about that.

I ran into the house and went to find dad who I could hear was playing my mother's lullaby on the piano. As soon as I reached the doorframe he stopped playing and sighed, turning round to face me with a look that said I've just heard your thoughts and you're not getting anything more from me than you've already heard from your mother. Glaring at him, I turned back towards the back door and stormed out the house. Rosalie and Alice were in the kitchen as I ran through, grabbing my phone from the bench and slamming the door loudly behind me. I could feel their stares burning into my back but neither of them made any effort to stop me and for some reason this infuriated me even more.

I started running, eager to get away from the stress of my family and the feeling of being left out. I dialled the numbers while I rang and I was already at the border by time he picked up.

"Hey Nessie!" his voice greeted me, excited. "You coming over?"

"Yeah," I smiled into the phone. "I'm just past the border," I slowed my run down to a walk as I entered the more residential and mostly non-werewolf part of La Push. "Come meet me?"

"Sure!" he agreed happily. I hung up, glad that at least one person seemed to be in a good mood today. I refused to let my family, or anyone in my new school call me my old nickname of 'Nessie' but I allowed Jacob the privilege, only because he looked so upset when I said he couldn't that I immediately changed my mind.

I noticed Jacob running towards me from the distance and I looked around automatically but the streets were empty of people so I turned back to him and smiled as he approached. He grabbed me in a bear hug and the stress and worry of the day melted away as his warm, strong arms wrapped around me protectively. He let go and smiled at me warmly, "What brings you here?" he asked, taking my hand as we began walking back to his house. I placed my palm on his cheek, replaying first the look my mum gave me at lunch and then the confrontation with her in the car and my dad's refusal to give me any information. He frowned when I'd finished and I took my hand off his face, waiting for him to give me some sort of explanation. A few minutes passed and he was still silent.

"Well?" I asked, growing a little impatient.

"I have no idea," he told me honestly. Jacob could never lie to me and I sort of expected he wouldn't know what it was about since he told me practically everything anyway.

"I'm just sick of it," I ranted, clenching my free hand into a fist, the nails digging into my skin. "They always treat me like I'm a baby."

"Yeah I know," he said, attempting to lighten the mood. "You're like what now? Seven?" he laughed at his own joke.

"Physical age only!" I insisted. "Mental age of about fifteen. I'm a quick ager if you remember right. Talking when I was what? Less than a year old," I continued smugly.

"Ok, ok," he held his hands up in mock surrender as we finally reached his house. I love Jacob's house, always try to spend as much time there as I can so I can talk to Billy and see Paul since he spends most of his time there with Rachel. I got on with Jacob's family and the rest of the wolf pack amazingly well which pleased him to no end and meant I was always welcome down in La Push. When Jake drove me home, my mood darkened a little and I went straight to bed, the one place I could escape the rest of my family since none of them were physically able to sleep. I didn't say anything to them before I went up and no one came to see me before I fell asleep. For the second time that day, it only made me more infuriated.

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