After Glow

by kacci09OCD

Please REVIEW! 6 years after Breaking Dawn. Renesmee is at her mature age now, Jacob is her love and she deals with her family. But since she's mature, Nahuel visits again and wants to become her mate. And the Volturi aren't finished with the Cullens yet.

1. Chapter 1

The Twilight Saga:

after glow

Renesmee's story

Kacci Peters

2009-2010

Sophomore

It's been six years since me and my family's last encountering with the royal vampire coven from Volterra, Italy­—the Volturi. Everything has been normal and natural for me and my family. I've been going to school; I'm in high school as a sophomore. My mom and dad are sophomores with me—they've decided to protect the family secret—they've decided to start high school again, so they joined me. My dad was indecisive at first, because of how closely we resemble looks.

My Jacob is still seventeen years old. We're a couple today; he loves me so much, that you would think he was seeing the sun for the first time. I know he imprinted on me when I was just a baby, but he didn't think of it like that. More like I was his sister or his only daughter. Now, I am his soul mate, his lover for life. We both love each other more than we love ourselves.

Jacob knew my mom way before I was born, so he knew my whole family, dad's side too. I met his family last year in the summer—as his mate—instead of his "daughter". I could remember it like it was yesterday…

* * * * * * * * * * *

"I cannot wait for you to meet my family and friends!" Jacob gushed.

We could have just ran to his father's home—on the Quileute reservation in La Push—with him as a wolf and me on his back. But my mom considered it safer to have him drive around in his rabbit. She also said it was too bright and conspicuous to have a little girl riding on the back of a horse-sized wolf in the woods.

"I know. I've been waiting so long to meet Billy and your old pack." I admitted. I hoped my outfit wasn't too laid-back. I wore a peach-colored tank top, jean caprice, white sneakers, and my bronze curls pulled back into a ponytail. "I'm not too underdressed, am I?"

He chuckled loudly, "Nessie, look at me." He pointed to his shirtless body with his left hand, "I'm only wearing shorts and you think that you're too underdressed?" He snorted another laugh, louder this time.

"I guess I'm just a little more nervous than I thought." I looked to him with an anxious gaze.

He was staring at me, checking my wardrobe over. After a few seconds of observations, he made an "It's alright" facial expression.

I giggled and turned to look back out my window. It was quiet the rest of the way there. The weather was in the eighty's, so we had all the car windows down. I stared out to the ocean, memorizing the beautiful view. The bright sun in the sky said it was noon, and it brightened the dark blue water and turned it into a bluish-grey. The wind was breezy enough to push the waves from the ocean to the sandy beach and crash against the rocks.

Jacob rounded the corner, and pointed to a small, reddish, barn-like house. "There it is!" He introduced his father's home proudly.

He drove down to the house and parked. We got out and he grabbed my little hand in his humongous hand and we walked towards the door. I was so excited to meet new people, have new friends. I could tell he was excited too. Now we both had huge grins on our faces.

He opened the door to a small room full of his father, Billy.

"It's great to finally meet my son's imprinted lover!" Billy was very happy Jacob met me and is a part of their lives now.

Jacob groaned at Billy's greeting. I just laughed. By my theory, Jacob was the last to imprint because everybody had someone.

"Yeah it's about time Jacob finally imprinted. It's a good thing we don't age, because if we did, Jake would be and old fart and still be lonely!" By the way the guy made fun of Jacob; I was guessing that was Paul.

Then Sam threw a soda can at Paul's face and said, "Sit down and shut up, Paul!"

Obediently, Paul plopped down next to Rachel on the couch and opened the soda. He chugged down the soda in twenty seconds, and then crushed the empty can in his right hand. His other arm was around Rachel's shoulders.

Jacob shouted over everyone's conversations about the new imprinted addition to the pack, "This is Nessie! She is a part of this family now; I'd appreciate it if you would treat her like it." He grasped my entire body in his left arm and held me close, as if I was his trophy.

Embry—who was sitting on the floor near Paul—shouted back to Jacob and me, "Don't worry Nessie, we won't bite!" He chuckled and a few joined him. Even my ringing giggle chimed in, because it was ironic for him to say such a thing. I also laughed just to relax Jacob, who glared at Embry.

I met everybody there, Billy, Sam, Emily, Paul, Rachel, Jared, Quil, Embry, Sue, Leah, and Seth. I already met Leah and Seth years ago. When I was a baby, Jacob introduced us. Leah's not a big fan of my mom. But, she is a lot friendlier to me. Probably because I make Jacob so happy.

Sue offered me a kind of bread I never seen before, "Nessie, would you like some fry bread?"

I looked at her and the bread puzzled, "Um, what is fry bread?" Everybody started laughing lightly, knowing two things—first, they were expecting my answer and second, Jacob would rip their heads off—Jacob scowled.

"It's only bread, except it was fried and not baked." Sue reassured me. Holding the tray out in front of her.

"Well then, I'd love to try some!" I said beaming at her. I love to humor them, including Jacob. Later on the house felt it was getting too cramped, so most of us moved outside and sat by the cliff, around the bonfire.

As we sat around talking, I looked around at my new family. The smell that came off of them was woodsy, like the forest was inside the house. It was way different from Carlisle's home, his smelled similar to flowers and honeysuckle. Plus, Billy's home smelled like dog, but I was immune to it from Jacob.

Sam got curious, "How does your…talent work again?"

"I can show you what I am thinking by just touching you with my hands." I confidently explained. He looked nervous and eager to find out what I would do next. He was probably asking himself mentally, what will she show me? Or was I going to ask she's thinking?

Sam finally answered, "Is it like only what you're thinking right now, or everything you have ever thought?"

"Anything I want to show you, actually."

Everybody was silent now, listening to the strange, little, and beautiful girl. Finding out her mysterious power. Sam had a shocked expression on his face as he asked, "Can you show me?"

"Sure why not!" I stood up in a flash, everybody flinched back in their seats and stared at me, "What would you like to see?" I asked Sam eagerly.

Sam blinked out of his daze—I heard Jacob chuckle softly behind me—and said, "Um, what do you think of our reservation?" He challenged.

That wasn't much of a challenge for me; I already had the beach memorized in my head. "Perfect!" I squeaked my high soprano voice. I walked over towards where he and Emily sat. Before I touched his cheek with my bare hand I whispered, "Picture this." His cheek was a little warmer than my body temperature. I showed him my memory of the ocean and beach.

He gasped and startled Emily. She thought he was angry, so she pulled me away from Sam. Embry and Paul put their hands on Sam's shoulders and hovered. I was confused at first, but then I saw her scarred face—three lines down the right side starting from her eye to her mouth—I understood.

Sam lightly soothed Emily's arm, "No. It's alright." Then Sam looked at my concerned facial expression, "I was just amazed at the visual." Everybody wanted to see what my "amazing" gift could do.

After I showed everyone, Jacob declared that I had to go home. I gave my hugs and goodbyes and headed toward Jacob's rabbit with Jacob right behind me.

Before I could get to the car, Jake stopped me. I stared up to him with a confused expression. "I think I feel like running tonight." He took my smile as an agreement and ran towards the forest. I waited patiently for him to return.

When a huge reddish-brown—russet as my mom puts it—wolf appeared from the trees, I ran full speed towards him. Jumped up onto his back, between his shoulder blades, and grabbed two handfuls of his thick coat. We did this so much it was practically synchronized.

When he knew I was secure, he took off running. Running with him wasn't new, but I loved the feeling of it. The speed and velocity, it always fascinates me. He ran all the way back to my grandpa Carlisle's house.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Today was the end of the first week of school. I love to learn, make new friends, and got to school with my family. But it was boring and incomplete without my Jacob.

At school the kids keep their distance from my family and me. We are beautiful freaks to them, so I don't have too much friends. All seven of us—me, mom, dad, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice—sit at one table in the corner at lunch. Of course for transportation, I ride with my parents in dad's silver Volvo, the rest of the family rides in Rosalie's red BMW.

When I got home, Jacob was there to greet me. He always greeted me after school. Jacob went to Washington University to study to be a mechanic. He graduated last year, still seventeen years old. He could pass as a twenty five year old man because of his height.

I sprinted across the meadow to his waiting arms. Jacob picked me up and hugged me tightly kissing my cheeks, while I returned the favor. I could see my parents waiting for us on the porch steps. After Jacob ruefully set me down, we joined them and the rest of the family in grandpa Carlisle's home.

Esme greeted me once I put my coat on the hanger and sat my backpack on the floor next to the door, "How was your first week of school, Nessie?" she asked after hugging me.

Jacob flinched away from Esme's closeness, but stayed close while I answered, "Well it is a little better than freshman year, but other than that it's going great!" I lied. Knowing I was better at lying than my mom, Bella, she fell for it. I got that from my dad, Edward.

"That's good." Esme said as she turned away from me and Jacob and into the kitchen, "You two hungry yet? I could cook you guys something?"

Sounded good, Esme is a great cook, but I would want some alone time with Jacob. Why not hunt? "I'm not hungry," I answered Esme, then turned to Jacob behind me, "are you?" I reached up and touched his neck, showing him and me hunting alone in the woods.

Once he understood what I showed him, he told Esme, "Nope, actually we were just going to go-" I hit him in the stomach. I knew it didn't hurt him, probably felt like a tap. But he realized that I was trying to tell him something and stopped in the middle of his sentence.

I shook my head rigidly, "Uh no. We're not hungry yet." Jacob changed his answer quickly and smiled at me as if he asked me, happy? I just pulled him into the living room, and we sat on the couch.

Edward and Bella were near the grand piano. He was teaching—trying actually—her how to play piano. Bella wasn't the best musician, let alone coordinated, but she is trying.

Right when Jacob turned to me—probably going to ask why I interrupted him earlier—Edward interrupted him, "Renesmee, may I speak to you for a moment?" Edward had that "disappointed look" on his face.

Oh crap!

I forgot about my dad listening to my thoughts. He obviously heard what Jacob and I did to grandma Esme. Knowing my dad he would wait for my answer in my head.

Yes daddy!

I then turned to Jacob, "I'll be right back." I jumped up from the white couch and then to my disappointed, waiting father outside.

The Hunt

Edward and I walked out passed the meadow of the front lawn, and into the trees. Giving us more privacy, he started, "Renesmee." He was definitely disappointed and devastated. "Why did you lie to your grandmother Esme?"

I sighed. I looked up to his golden eyes with innocence, "Dad, I never meant to lie to her. I just wanted to eat and hunt with Jacob, alone."

"Well why didn't you just tell her that?" He asked with curiosity.

"If I did, then you, mom, or someone else would insist on coming with us. But I just wanted to go with Jacob for some one on one time. You know what I mean." I touched his cheek to show him a memory of him and mom walking together, by themselves.

He understood then, "Next time you want to go alone with Jacob, just tell us instead of lying." He looked at me with one eyebrow raised, "There are no secrets in this family. I would know." He laughed out loud at his own joke.

I interrupted him, "Is my talk over with?" I had my hands on my hips and tapping my toe impatiently.

He laughed again then said, "You are so much like your mother!" He started walking towards the house and I guess that answered my question. "I guess you did get that quick lying from me."

I giggled, "I forgot about that part!" How embarrassing! I quickly changed the subject, "So what are you teaching mom?"

He saw the blood flow in my face, blushing from embarrassment, but answered my question without commenting, "I'm teaching her two lullabies. Hers and then later on yours."

I was shocked, "You wrote me and mom lullabies? When can I hear them?" I was anxious now and he could read that. I bet Jasper is wondering what is making me feel this way.

"Well, I played your mother her lullaby by myself because it was a song of my love towards her. But your lullaby comes from both of us. And since she cannot play well yet, you will have to wait until she learns. I would play it for you, but it requires two people to perform the music piece." By the time he finished explaining we were already up the porch steps and entering the front door.

I was suddenly jumping up and down with anxious and excited emotions. "Can I mom's lullaby then?"

"Calm down, Renesmee." Edward looked over towards Alice and Jasper, "Jazz, a little help?"

Jasper nodded once. My jumping slowed and I was suddenly overwhelmed with relaxation. I almost fell to the floor, but Edward caught me and dragged me over to the couch. I slumped down next to Jacob's side looking up to Edward with pleading eyes.

Edward finished, "I'd love to play your mother's lullaby…after you go out to hunt." He winked at me with a crooked grin.

My shoulders slumped lower in defeat. The relaxing feelings washed away, so I stood up and walked over to my tone-deaf mother, who is playing some exercises my dad showed her. Jacob walked over by her before me and was trying to keep a straight face.

Edward sat down on the bench next to Bella and put his hand on her shoulder. "How are we doing?" He asked sweetly.

She stopped the ghastly music notes she played and glared at Edward, "I suck!" she hissed. "You know I'm not a musician, why are you making me do this?"

Edward looked up at me, then Bella, I smiled in response. Bella still looked confused, "Renesmee, I think it's time for your hunt. I'm going to talk to your mother alone."

I nodded and touched Jacob's warm neck. I showed him the both of us hunting alone again and finished with, "C'mon Jake, let's hunt!" We started toward the door, when I heard Esme in the kitchen.

"I'll be happy to cook you something." Esme suggested.

"Grandma Esme, we'd prefer to hunt…" I looked to Jacob as a hint for Esme to catch on.

She didn't comprehend. "Oh, we'll come with you, me and grandpa." She was about to call for Carlisle.

I turned to Edward across the large room by the grand piano. He saw my irritated expression without reading my screaming thoughts, "Esme, I don't think that is necessary." Edward insisted.

Esme had her hand by her mouth, showing concern, "But it's getting kind of dark outside and she's still a little young-"

"You don't think I can protest her?" Jacob snapped at Esme. Furious with her, his hands began to shake.

Esme looked as if she was going to explode with tears, but struggled to hold it back. She is too loving and protective about her children, but I was Jacob's imprinted lover.

And he was worst.

Esme objected, "No, that's not the reason at all." She paused, "Have a good time you two." She returned to the kitchen, humming to herself. The tension in the room settled, my parents were playing the piano, Jasper and Alice were reading magazines on the couch, and Jacob stopped shaking.

Before I exited the house, I murmured, "Thanks Jasper."

"Anytime Nessie." He responded not looking up from his magazine.

Grandma Esme was right. It was getting dark and it's only around seven in the evening. Hand in hand, Jacob and I walked towards the trees and through the meadow. It was quiet, but you could hear birds and crickets beyond us. There was no wind, but it just rained. There was something else I noticed that was too quiet.

"Jacob, what's the matter? I've never seen you so silent." I asked him suspiciously.

He didn't look sad, but just enjoying the scenery like I was. "I was just thinking about what your grandmother vampire said about me. She made me so angry." His voice was straight, but his hands started to shake.

"Um, excuse me Jacob," I stopped in my tracks so he would stop to look me in the eyes. "Esme didn't say anything like that. You just assumed that." I accused him.

"But she meant it like that!" He snapped back.

I looked at him with a shocked and angry expression. "No. What she meant was that she cared about my safety."—I touched his hot cheek for a moment to only show him Esme's expression when he snapped at her—"She's my grandmother and I'm her first and only grandchild. You can't blame her for what she—or you thought!" My voice rose pugnaciously.

He held my hand to his face then sighed, "I'm so sorry, Nessie. I'm sorry for overreacting and sorry for snapping at you when you didn't deserve it." He had sadness in his eyes and I knew he was sincere. He would never lie to me.

I smiled my dimpled smile, "I think you owe Esme an apology too. Do you want me to show you her reaction to you yelling at her or do you get the picture?" I asked the last part sarcastically because I knew he would refuse.

Jacob smiled back and shook his head. I dropped my right hand from his cheek, but kept me left hand twined with his right.

"Would you like to race and see who can get the biggest prey or do you just want to…?"

I bit my lip, "Let's race!" I said with a confident smile. We've done this frequently and I'm getting good.

"Alright then, any specific animal?"

"Elk or deer." Although I hate the taste of deer, they are easier to hunt down.

He began to take off his shirt, "Okay, but no cheating this time, Ness!"

I waited until he was changed—out of clothes and into wolf form—then I ran in the direction I smelled the blood of elk. A few yards later, I paused for a second to smell the air. I hoped for wind, sure enough a gust of wind blew from the north to my face. The air was saturated with the scent of elk. I ran full speed towards the scent. It was eight now, and I didn't want to go too far from home.

I was closer now because I could hear the multiples of heartbeats. They were slow compared to my thrumming heart. I hopped in the nearest tree and ran across the low tree branches. Hopefully, if I was very quiet, I could trick them into thinking I was just another small animal in the trees. I could pounce on the biggest elk using my swift and quick cat-like reflexes and bring it down.

I was above the herd of Elk, about nine all together. I searched for the largest one—once I spotted the large male elk—I swooped down from the lowest branch and bit into its thick and harry neck.

All of the other elk ran away, saving themselves from a predator, and leaving the largest for sacrifice. Since my bites are not venomous, I had to suck the elk dry before it knocked me off its back or else Jake would win the race.

This elk's blood tasted so bland compared to the donated blood that grandpa Carlisle had. Then again, it was human's blood. I promised Bella that I would stick to animal blood or human food.

I choose both.

The male elk collapsed when I was more than half way through. A minute and a half later, I finished. When I knew I was Successful, I stood up and shouted, "Jake! I win!" Then I whistled. I was certain I won, because if he did, he would have howled. I began to worry because a minute passed and he still hadn't come.

I whistled again. Soon after, I heard heavy paws against the earth ground. When he walked through—human form and fully dressed—the trees, I sighed in relief.

"What took you so long?" I asked nervously.

He walked toward me, "when you whistled, I just finished my kill. So I went to clean my muzzle off in the river. Guess it's a tie, huh, Nessie?" He smiled his beautiful, white teeth.

I examined his teeth and hands, they were clean. "Yeah, I guess it is." I said a little disappointed. "Let's get home; I want to hear my mom's lullaby!" Instead of him turning into a wolf, I just jumped on his back and rode the rest of the way like that.

He ran us home in five minutes.

Jacob stopped in the yard and I hopped off his back. He grabbed my hand and grinned really big. I couldn't help but smile back. Again, he had that look—like he was a blind man, seeing the sun for the first time—"What are you so happy about?" I asked happily.

"Nothing new. I just love you so much, Nessie!" He gushed exuberantly.

"Huh, I was thinking the same thing." I laughed, not because it was funny, but because he already knew.

Home

We walked in the living room, and this time it was just my parents at the piano again. I walked over to them swiftly and stood next to my mother, "Okay dad, I hunted and now I'm full. Now can I hear mom's lullaby!" I asked giving him anxious eyes and my lips pouted out.

He rolled his eyes, "Alright then." He positioned himself to the middle section of the piano. I skipped to the other side of him and sat down on the bench.

Then he started playing. It was so beautiful, even more beautiful when your eyes were closed. I imagined different colors, moving as if they were water, flowing down a calm but quickly moving river. I got up to stand in the middle of them and touch both of their faces. I told them, "Close your eyes."

I knew that this was my dad's song for my mom, so I visualized the memories I had of them together to make the lullaby feel more sweeter.

Once the music came to a slow and beautiful end, we opened our eyes back up. Bella patted my hand, "Thank you that made it even more wonderful."

I gave her a hug. Touching her face, giving her a silent, you're welcome. I turned around to Edward, "Wow dad that was amazing! I can't believe you wrote that."

"It wasn't that difficult," Edward looked toward Bella from behind me, "I did have my inspiration to help me." They smiled at each other. After ten seconds, He announced, "Homework time!"

I rolled my eyes and groaned. I got up and grabbed my backpack by the doorway, then sat down on the couch next to Jacob. I pulled my geometry, Spanish, and history.

"Man, I hated geometry!" Jacob said.

I opened my geometry textbook, "Hey, at least you don't have to do it." I sighed and got to work. Of course my parents were already done with their home work. They've been in high school multiple times before, except for Bella, this is her second.

For me, it took twenty more minutes until I finally finished. By that time, it was quarter to ten. That's when Jacob had to leave. All three of us—counting my parents and me—left to go to our cottage home. Jacob got to walk me home, and then he took off to father, Billy's house.

When we arrived to the cottage, Jacob gave me a big bear hug, lifting me off the ground. Since I couldn't breathe when he gave me these hugs, he made it short. When he put me down, he kissed my forehead and cheek, and whispered in my ear, "I'll see you tomorrow, Nessie. I love you." He half smiled as he walked away from me.

When he was out of sight, I walked in the warm cottage to the living room. My mom was sitting in the love seat near the fireplace, reading one of her favorite books, Romeo and Juliet. I sighed, because it was either that or Wuthering Heights. She was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, a black vest over it, with blue denim jeans, and sneakers. Ugh, she is so boring! Knowing that she has a huge closetful of beautiful clothes, but she wears that!

I heard Edward chuckle behind me because he agreed with me. He was sitting at the small table near the unused kitchen. He was writing in a pad of paper, smiling at my thought.

"What?" Bella eyed us suspiciously.

Edward looked at me, and then to her, "It's nothing, Bella. Renesmee was just commenting your wardrobe."

"So what's so funny about that?" Now she stared me down.

There are no secrets in this family, I told myself. "I just thought your outfits were so boring." I looked at her clothes again. "Alice has given you some beautiful clothes-"

"Would you wear a pink, silky cocktail dress to school?" She cut me off, with one eyebrow raised. She kept her stare on me with her golden eyes, waiting for my answer.

"Well no, but there has to be other casual looking clothes." I gestured my hand towards the closet.

She closed her book without putting a bookmark in the place where she stopped reading, or at least memorized the page number. She probably memorized the whole book and did need to remember where she was. At the corner of my eye, I saw Edward nod his head in agreement.

Bella got up and sat the book down on her chair, and then she turned to me. "C'mon, let's go to my kingdom of embarrassing clothes." She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the small hallway to her room. My parent's room was larger than mine. It had a big white bed in the middle of the room, light blue walls, and the floor boards were the shade of beach sand. Bella said it always reminds her of their honeymoon. Then she murmurs something about pillow feathers under her breathe, and it totally doesn't make sense about the beach theme.

Then we ended up in front of the closet with two wooden doors. Bella opened both doors and we entered the huge wardrobe towards the back where she usually doesn't go. Bella grabbed a white bag and unzipped it to revile a satin gray dress that was floor length.

"Beautiful." I commented.

"Yeah, beautiful, but this is not my style." Bella scoffed and pointed to the outfit she wore now, "This is." She fluttered the dress in front of me, protesting its flimsiness. "This is more like Rosalie's or Alice's."

"And do you know why?"

"Because they're beautiful and could pull this off."

"They are beautiful, because, they are vampires. You're just as beautiful. I'm sure you can pull this off just as well." I touched the satin.

Bella sighed, "Your father fell in love with my old look. And where do you suppose I wear this?" She questioned.

"Well, maybe you should try a new more attractive look. Have you worn anything like this for him before?" I questioned back.

Bella looked down and played with a string from the dress, "Yes, a couple times…but for a rational purpose."

"Okay and what was his reaction?"

She still kept her eyes down, and then she met my gaze. She giggled, "His eyes almost popped out of his eye sockets." She giggled again and sighed.

I smiled with her, "You see, maybe daddy would like to see you dressed a little more like Rose or Alice." I paused, "maybe even to bed." I winked.

I'm sure Edward can hear me and appreciate my gift for him. This time her laugh was louder than a giggle. It didn't take a lot of effort to make my mother happy; I guess I was a born as her happiness. Bella hung the dress back in the white bag and placed the hanger back on the rack.

Bella playfully pushed me toward the doors. Knowing her strength, I was surprised she didn't push me through the wall and outside. But she was always gentle and cautious about her strength and thirst, even when she was a newborn.

She put her arm around my shoulders and whispered in my ear, "Maybe I'll take your advice." We were outside of the closet by now; she closed the doors behind us.

"Um, it's great that you're taking my advice, mom, but I think I just decided to go stay the night at grandpa Carlisle's tonight."

We both laughed at my joke. She nudged me, "Oh knock it off! I didn't mean right this second, but in the future…" She shrugged, "I'll try to be more like a vampire."

When we returned to the small living room, Bella went back to reading her old worn out book of Romeo and Juliet, and settled back into her loveseat.

I walked over to Edward and gave him a hug goodnight. I thought to him, I'm guessing you heard our conversation?

We pulled apart and he showed me his notepad. It was a note for me, written in his very neat handwriting, Yes, thank you.

I smiled warmly, you're very welcome. I turned to my silent mother, "Goodnight, mommy." I walked over to her and kissed her cheek.

"Sweet dreams." Bella murmured.

I fluttered to my room.

My room was small and crowded. The same floors as my parents, but my walls had a lavender-shaded purple. Bella and Esme decided that I was a purple kind of person. Someone warm and sweet. I had a twin sized bed with a dark purple bed set to match the walls. My bed was pushed against the wall, next to my only window. My wooden dresser was on the opposite side of the room from my bed, I had all of my beauty products on it. It included my hair products—hair brush, hair spray, pins and hair ties—lotions or body sprays. Jacob doesn't really like the body sprays.

Next to my dresser was a shelf of reading books. Below that was my desk with all the appliances I need for homework and studying. On the back of my door was my shoe rack full of shoes, I counted at least forty pairs. Then there was my closet. I had a little more than what Bella owns. Plus, I had a hamper full of clothes that needed to be washed.

As I looked around my room, I remembered myself how spoiled I am.

I went to our little bathroom to brush my teeth and get into my pajamas. I lay back as I put the headphones of my MP3 player in my ears. I searched for Edward's favorite song. Once I found it, I closed my eyes and thought about everything. My Jacob, my parent's relationship, Bella's wardrobe, my hunting skills, Esme's feelings, school, and what I'm doing tomorrow.

I always listened to Claire De Lune by Debussy before I go to sleep. It helps me relax.

I fell into a deep sleep.

Apologies

I was awoken the next day by a small, but loud morning bird. He was chirping right outside my closed window. The sun was just rising through the trees and it told me that it was seven or eight in the morning.

I sat up on my bed and stretched, followed by a yawn. I walked out of my room to the bathroom. After I finished up in the bathroom, I wandered into the living room.

No one was around.

My parents never left me alone when I slept.

Then I saw a little piece of paper on the table. I unfolded the paper and realized it was a note from my dad.

Went to get a breakfast snack. Be back in a couple of hours.

~Mom & Dad

Well that explains the emptiness. But it's the first time they've left me home alone.

"Good Morning, honey!" A deep voice called from behind me, near the fireplace.

I was so startled, I screamed and jumped across the table, then searched for the stranger to see who I'm against.

"Whoa, chill Nessie!" Jacob had his hands up, surrendering. Then he chuckled, he knew I couldn't hurt him.

Oh, it was just Jacob. I guess it wasn't the first time my parents left me home alone. They could've written on the note, that they called Jacob to babysit me. When I recovered and exhaled, I threw the pen that was near the notepad at him.

Jacob caught the pen, of course, "What?" He had that devious smirk on his face—like a little boy caught doing something wrong, trying to act innocent.

"For scaring me and giving me a heart attack! You popped out of nowhere and shouted at me!" How did I not see him in the living room, just now?

"Hey, I'm sorry." Jacob walked over to me, "My bad, will you ever forgive me?" He grabbed my waist from behind and pulled me close to his body in an embrace. His body heat felt good on me after my shower.

I turned around, wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his stomach. I murmured against his skin, "Yes, I'll forgive you." I breathed in his scent of forestry and dog. I laughed to myself.

"Now what?" He asked, rubbing my damp hair.

I reached up and touched his cheek, and I chuckled again, I always wanted a dog. Now I guess I've got a companion for life. Igrinned at him.

Jacob smiled back, "C'mon master. Let's get some breakfast from Esme."

"Alright fine. I'll just leave a note for my parents." I grabbed the same piece of paper and started writing under my dad's first note.

Went to grandma Esme's to get

Some breakfast.

~Renesmee

"Wouldn't want them thinking you kidnapped me and took me to your place or something." I sat the note on the table.

"Guess you're right. That's actually not a bad plan." We laughed walking out of the cottage quickly, our hands twined together. We were in a hurry because we were both starving. We even ran a few feet before we reached the river, so we could just jump right across without hesitation.

When the three story white house came into view, I saw Alice looking out the window from the first story. She announced mine and Jacob's arrival. It's a coincidence Alice was there, it's not like she could see mine or Jacob's future. We usually blocked her visions.

Alice opened the door for us, "Hello, Nessie and Jacob." she greeted happily, "Where are Edward and Bella?"

I looked at as if she was mentally lost, "You should know where they are, Alice."

Alice closed the door, and walked back over to me, blinking her wide eyes, "Oh, I thought they would be back by now."

"Huh, what time did they leave?"

Both Alice and Jacob answered my question at the same time, "Five." They looked at each other for half of a second, and then scowled looking away.

Alice took a second glance back to Jacob, "How did you know?"

"Edward called me up to come and stay with her until she woke up." Jacob explained tightening his grip on my waist. "They left when I got there. So I just crashed in the living room."

Alice's face fell, "Oh. Why didn't Edward just call me to stay with you? I live closer to you than him." She jerked her little chin to Jacob. She was obviously talking to me and used Jake as a reference. "I just don't get it!"

Jacob shrugged and grinned, "It seems pretty simple to me. They think I'm safer for her to be with."

Alice hissed at him and started to close the space between her and Jacob. Jake growled in response, not afraid of Alice and took her challenge as an invite.

I stepped between them with my hands raised up and rested on their chests to stop them, "Hey you two!" I shouted. They paused and looked at me. "It's way too early, this fight is lame, and I am hungry. Now, just apologize to each other."

"Why should I apologize to that creature?" They said at the same time.

"Wow." I said under my breath. I turned to Jacob, "Because you offended Alice by saying she's not trustworthy enough to watch over me." I whipped my head in the opposite direction to Alice, "And because you hissed at him." I folded my arms across my chest and waited for the apologies.

Neither one said anything. They stood there glaring at each other. Both being stubborn.

I sighed heavily, "Fine. If you are not going to apologize, you only have one other option."

They looked at me with confused expressions. I touched their faces and pictured them hugging.

"NO!" They roared, objecting my thought.

I dropped my hands from their faces, "Then you know what to do."

Jacob said each word slowly and through clenched teeth, "Alice, I am sorry for offending you."

Alice tilted her head and looked down to the white carpet, "Your forgiven. And I'm sorry I hissed at you," she looked up, "will you forgive me?" Alice added sweetly.

"Sure, sure" Jacob mumbled.

Alice disappeared in a blur upstairs. Esme came down the stairs after, "Heard you two were hungry. What would you like?"

"I want eggs and bacon." I ordered.

"With toast!" Jake finished.

Esme nodded, walking toward her huge kitchen. She loved to actually use it. "It'll be done in few minutes, you guys get comfortable." You could hear the refrigerator open and close, while the stove clicked on, and can hear the bacon sizzle and pop.

We settled on the couch and Jacob turned on the flat screen television.

Jake had his arm around my shoulders, and I snuggled into his side. He was watching an action movie, something with karate fighting. My mind was thinking about Jacob and Alice's argument earlier. "You know I've never seen you and Alice fight, well not that big of a fight."

Jake didn't seem to notice, "I just told what was up," he shrugged, "The little drama queen just overreacted."

"Maybe you should keep your theories to yourself. Just to keep the peace around here." With my left hand, I reached up for his left hand—that rested on my shoulder—and put my fingers between his. "Can you do that for me?"

Jacob huffed a sigh, and squeezed my hand once, "I'll try."

The aroma of fried eggs and bacon filled the room. I turned my head to the kitchen and noticed Esme in the dining room setting the two china plates full of food on the table. "Here you go, get in here and chow down. No eating in the living room."

Jacob and I got up and ran into the dining room. We sat down in the seats where Esme sat the plates. "Thank you grandma Esme!" I picked up my fork, "This look and smells delicious!"

"Yeah, thanks for feeding me." Jake said shoving two bacon strips in his mouth.

"You're both very welcome. Enjoy!" Esme turned back to the kitchen and started.

"Wait, Mother Hen." Jacob stopped Esme.

Esme spin around and looked at our plates as if she forgot something. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry…" Jacob cleared his throat, "you know about last night." He looked up to her with sincere eyes. "I never meant to snap at you like that."

I already started eating the hot eggs and choked on them in surprise. Jake didn't look away from Esme during my choking, I guess he suspected it.

Esme's eyes widened too, "Thank you for apologizing, Jacob. You're forgiven." Then she turned again, and went into the kitchen, probably to clean up the mess.

I ate some of my breakfast. I frequently looked over at Jake.

Jacob had three times more food than me, and yet he still finished before me. He resumed watching his action movie.

"You have been apologizing a lot lately, haven't you?" I laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I should work on my attitude and self control." He looked down to me, then at my plate. He snatched my last bacon strip, and stuffed it in his mouth.

I slapped his shoulder, "You PIG!"

We both laughed. He grabbed my face in both of his hands and kissed my cheek with his greasy bacon lips, "Oops." He said sarcastically.

"Eeewww!" I wiped his grease residue off my face, "Yuck." I wiped it on him.

He didn't mind. He was too busy laughing at me. I didn't care either; just seeing him smile makes me happier than ever. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. I kissed him on his cheek and told him, "I love you, Jake."

"Love you too, Nessie." Jacob hugged me tighter.

I gasped, "Can't…Breath!"

He released me, "Oh, sorry." He rubbed my arm.

I looked at our empty plates in front of us, "I'd better get this mess cleaned up." I piled the plates and silverware up and carried them to the kitchen. I saw Esme wiping down the island countertop. I sat the dirty dishes into the dish washer, and turned around to look at Esme.

Esme leaned forward on her elbows, "I think you are really talking some sense into that boy."

"Yeah, I'm still training him though." I laughed.

"I can hear you!" Jacob shouted from the other room.

Esme and I both giggled under our breath.

My expression sobered, "No, but he's really trying." I said in a whisper.

She just nodded and threw the damp rag in the sink beside me.

The front door opened.

"Hey you two!" Jacob appraised, "Where have you guys been all morning?"

Suggestions

I rounded the corner and ran into the living room. Bella and Edward were walking to the couch—where Jacob lounged—hand in hand.

"Good morning, mom and dad!" I sat on Jake's lap, while they sat next to him. "Where have you been?" Obviously they have been hunting because the color of their eyes is bright gold. But they couldn't have been hunting this long.

"Actually, we were just having a little time away. The two of us." Edward answered my thought gazing into Bella's eyes.

"Yeah, and we were working on my anti-shield thing too." Bella added looking back to me and Jacob. Then, she returned her gaze to Edward, both satisfied. They must have gotten it to work, I guess.

Edward nodded, "Yes, she is progressing well. It's becoming a lot clearer every time we try."

"Excuse me, but what are you people talking about? What is an 'anti-shield thing?'?" Jacob asked, holding up imaginary quotation marks with his hands.

Bella turned around to face Jake, "I could turn off my shield for only a moment and Edward could read my thoughts." She clarified.

"Could I read it if you showed me?" Jacob wondered, with his eyebrows raised.

Both Edward and Bella chuckled. Edward answered, "No, it's nothing like Renesmee's talent. Bella only shuts off her shield, so I could read it. You know the mind reader?" He laughed again.

Jacob's hands began to tremble. So I tried to calm him down. I touched his cheek, don't be mad, my dad's just acting like a know it all. Like usual. I rolled my eyes and leaned closer to him and kissed his strained neck.

After my lips left his neck, Jake relaxed. He sighed.

I played with his hair; I combed my fingers through it, and then tried to fix the black strands. They were sticking up in the back.

"Hey guess what!?" Jacob startled me and I jumped. "Oh, sorry, Nessie." He rubbed my back, "The weathers nice today, suppose to get up to the seventies." He paused. No one understood except Edward, but he didn't say anything.

"We should go cliff diving!" Bella and Jacob cheered together.

I was a little surprised to see my mom get excited about cliff diving. It's such a dangerous thing.

"Sounds like fun Jacob, but there's one small problem." Edward said.

Jacob looked at him puzzled, "What's that?"

Edward rolled his eyes as if he was missing the obvious and continued, "We're vampires. Your pack won't let us pass the treaty line."

Jake wiped off the puzzled look and replaced it with a careless one, "They're not my pack, and I'll tell them that we're just cliff diving." He lifted me up to stand and sat me in his seat. "As a matter of fact, I'll go talk to them right now." He kissed the top of my head and ran toward the door, "Be back in a few!" He yelled from the doorway, just as he shut the glass door behind him.

I positioned my body so I faced Bella, "Have you cliff dived before, mom?"

She sat up and her eyes brightened up with excitement, "Yes, but only once."

"Well, tell me about it! Like, who was with you for starters?" I asked grabbing her cold hard hands in mine.

Bella bit her lip, "I was suppose to jump with Jake. But he was sleeping, plus it was really early in the morning. So I, uh, jumped by myself."

"Why did you do it in the first place?"

She looked depressed all of a sudden and snuck a peak at Edward. He face looked tense and kept his eyes on the television, not meeting Bella's gaze. She turned back to me and answered, "I did it to keep my mind off of your father, and it didn't work because every time I did something reckless or stupid, I heard his voice in my head. Telling me to stop."

"What?" I gasped.

"Your father left me years ago. He thought it would be best for me to be away from him and his family, to keep me safe. But it only made me more depressed." She sighed, "So, I started hanging out with Jacob again and began doing dangerous activities. Such as riding motorcycles and cliff diving. I even tried to confront drunk men at a bar one night."

Edward unfroze and glared at Bella, "You did what?!" He snapped.

Bella's eyebrows furrowed and turned her head to Edward, "I thought I told you?"

"Yeah, everything but the drunk men! What were you thinking?"

She rose one eyebrow, "What do you think?" Then she turned back to me. "Like I said, I heard his voice in my head to stop being so foolish and stop. I only obeyed with the drunken men at the bar."

I was amazed at how insane Bella was. Then again, if I put myself in her situation, and Jacob left me, I'd do the same just to hear his warm, husky voice.

"So mom, what's it like when you actually jump off the edge? You know, give the whole experience in detail." I asked trying to change the touchy subject.

Edward got up and ran to grand piano. He was sitting on his bench in a heartbeat.

Bella tried to ignore Edward's silent treatment and put on a smile. "It was amazing!" She ran her fingers through her hair, "But I can't tell you a lot, it'll spoil your experience. It is an adrenaline rush; the hardest part is actually falling off the edge and reaching the surface after hitting the water. I actually drowned, if it wasn't for Jacob—who rescued me—I would be at the bottom of the La Push beach."

The music Edward was playing, stopped abruptly, "Bella, please!" He complained.

Bella and I looked at him. His rigid back was facing us; he didn't turn in his seat. "Sorry, Edward." When the music resumed, Bella turned back to me and patted my hand that rested in her hands. "This is a very hard for your father to remember, let alone hear it. So this conversation is over."

I didn't understand, nor did I argue, so I just nodded. Then I remembered Alice earlier. "Oh, Alice was asking for you guys when me and Jake arrived."

"Let's go find her. You coming, Edward?" Bella stood up from the couch and ran over to him to whispered, "Are you going to be alright?" She gripped his shoulders.

Edward nodded once, "I'll be up in a moment. Just let me finish this piece."

Translation: Let me calm down.

Bella squeezed his shoulders once and kissed his hair. Then turned back to me, gesturing to the stairs.

We ran to the second story. There between Carlisle's office and Rosalie and Emmett's room was Alice and Jasper's room.

The white door was closed, so Bella knocked, "Alice?"

Alice opened the door with a smile on her small face, "Hi, Bella! Hey, Nessie. Won't you come in?" She stepped aside, opening the door wider.

"Thank you." Bella entered, passing Alice.

I followed right after her. Alice and Jasper's room was bigger than Edward's old room, but smaller than Carlisle and Esme's. Since it was for Alice and Jasper, they needed more room. Same for Rosalie and Emmett.

Alice's walls were purple too, but a darker shade than mine, eggplant. A white queen sized bed sat in the middle of the room next to the glass wall, looking out to a beautiful view of the forestry and river. The sun was shining from the sky to the earth ground. The other walls were covered of Alice and Jasper throughout the century. I noticed the different clothes; Alice wore a floor length dress with Jasper in a navy blue suit in the year 1928. The other photos are of the rest of the family.

The west wall had a shelf of books and the one below it had a long line of CDs and records. In the corner, was a wide, flat, and white computer—I would have thought it was a TV, if I hadn't seen the keyboard in front of it. Then there was a white leather couch—big enough for two—close to the bed. Jasper was sprawled across it with his feet up on one of the arm rests.

Alice left the door open and flitted in front of us. She tapped on Jasper's shoulder, "Jasper, do you mind?"

Jasper looked up from his book that his nose was stuck in, and noticed me and Bella. In a second, he was sitting in the computer chair across the room.

Bella and me sat down on the sofa. It was very cold and I automatically shivered.

Alice caught my reaction, "I'm sorry, sweetie. Do you want a blanket?" She was reaching for her white comforter.

"No, thank you. I'm alright my body temperature will adjust." I rubbed my arms to produce friction.

Alice sat on the edge of her bed, facing us. "So what brought you here?"

Bella crossed her legs, "That's what we want to know. Renesmee said you were asking for us—me and Edward—this morning?" She looked unsure.

"Oh, yes. I was wondering why you guys were hunting so long."

Bella smiled and looked down at her hands, "Me and Edward did go hunting and we went to our meadow to practice my shield techniques." She flashed her eyes to me, Alice, and then back to her hands.

"Whoa, Bella! Get any more anxious and excited than you are now, you might explode." Jasper told Bella.

"Thanks Jasper, that totally made me feel better." Bella said sarcastically, looking up to Jasper in the corner.

"So are you getting any better?" Alice asked resting her chin on her fist.

Bella snapped her head back up to meet Alice's wide eyes, "At what?"

Alice's eyebrows came together with a smirk, "Your shield techniques, silly!" She laughed her bell ringing laugh, "What else?"

Even I laughed with Alice. Bella put her face in her hands and chuckled at herself. If Bella had anybody in her body, she would be redder than ever.

"I wanted to ask you something else," Alice started again. "But I wanted to ask both you and Ed-"

A knock on the open door stopped her mid-sentence. Edward walked in and sat down on the couch next to Bella on the arm rest. What a coincidence that he showed up right when Alice mentioned his name.

"Well, since your both here." Alice said, as she looked over to me, then back to my parents. "When Jacob and Nessie came to the house, I noticed you guys were still gone. But you left her home with that mongrel!"

"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talking about!" I interrupted her with a scowl.

Alice turned her eyes to my angry expression, "Sorry, Nessie. I guess I got a little carried away." She shrugged, as if that would cool off my attitude and returned back to Edward to finish her rant. "Anyways, I was hurt to find out that you would choose Jacob over me to watch over her."

My parents looked at each other, skeptically. "Alice, we thought Renesmee would appreciate it more if Jacob was there to be with her." Edward responded.

Alice looked even more hurt, "But I live right though the trees—a five minute run away. He lives miles away. I think I'm more quicker and convenient. Besides, I don't think you leave them alone anymore, she is getting to that mature age…"

Now I was furious. "What?! You don't know mine and Jacob's relationship! You can't just tell us how-"

Bella hushed me by putting her hand over my mouth, and rubbing my back to soothe me. "Alice, I'm sure we can trust Jacob. I mean if he tried anything we would know what was on his mind, right Edward?" Bella dropped her hand from my mouth and put it on Edward's leg.

I kept my blazing eyes on Alice. She doesn't have the right to control what me and Jake do together. Why was she even getting infuriating about watching me? Maybe it was the bond between her and Bella. I sighed, folded my arms across my chest tightly, and stared at one of the trees outside the glass wall.

Edward nodded in agreement with Bella.

"Alice, we promise the next time we leave; you are the babysitter for Renesmee." Bella said.

I turned to glare at my betraying mother. How could she just decide for me like that? What—my opinion doesn't matter? "Excuse me." I got up and stormed out of Alice and Jasper's room. I rethought my questions and came up with the answer myself.

Obviously not.

Recreation

Hours have passed, it was around three in the afternoon and Jacob still wasn't back yet. He's either still talking to his friends or visiting his dad, Billy.

After our conversation with Alice I fled to my cottage. I laid back on my small bed and listened to my MP3 player. I probably listened to thirty two songs until I got back up and ran back to Carlisle's house.

When I walked in, Bella was practicing her piano lessons, Edward and Alice were playing chess in the corner, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett were watching a baseball game, and Esme was supervising. Carlisle must be at the hospital.

"Hey, you alright now?" Edward called from the other side of the room.

Everyone turned in my direction to stare at me. They had blank expressions, waiting for my answer. Except Alice, she had a guilty look on her face. Like she made me depressed. Which wasn't the case at all, she made me feel mad and betrayed.

"I, er- I'm fine." I stuttered.

Everyone resumed to what they were doing. I walked over to Bella and sat next to her on the piano bench. I listened for a few minutes. "You're getting a lot better. Improving well." I commented.

Bella stopped playing and pinned me to her chest, crushing me with her icy arms. She held my arms down so I couldn't return the hug, "Oh, thank you, honey!"

Edward noticed that the music stopped, "Bella,"

Bella still had her arms around my tiny, soft body, "Keep your skin on Edward. I'm just thanking Renesmee for commenting my improvements!"

"What improvements?" Emmett asked Rose and Jasper sarcastically. Rosalie snickered.

Bella hissed back at Emmett.

"I meant was to ease up on the hug. You're going to bruise Renesmee." Edward clarified, not looking away from Alice and the chess board.

Bella looked down to me and released her iron arms from around me, "I'm sorry." She rubbed my arms, and then resumed playing the broken and sour tones.

There was a knock at the door. I ran to the door, expecting only one person. Sure enough, it was Jacob and two of his friends. Quil and Embry waited in the meadow far from the porch. Looks like they wanted to go for a run, but still couldn't handle the smell.

"Hey!" We greeted each other by hugging. "So, can we go?"

"Sure, sure" He smiled a half smile. "As long as Sam and the other guys come along too. We've been discussing this all afternoon, you would not believe how this little outing could be such a problem to fix. It was hectic, but I did it just for you, Nessie!" He smiled bigger.

I ran back inside, "C'mon mom and dad! We can go to La Push!"

Everybody was alert now. Bella and Edward got up and ran in a blur towards the door. Esme was in front of us before we stepped near the doorway, "Why are you going to La Push? Do you want to get yourselves in trouble, or worst, killed?!"

Jacob spoke from behind her outside the door, "It's alright Mother Hen. They have our permission, I invited them." He grinned and winked at me.

Esme didn't take her suspicious eyes off of us, "That still didn't answer my first question, why are you going?"

All three of us—me, Bella, and Edward—answered casually, "Cliff diving." We shrugged and started for the door again.

Esme stopped us again, looking at me. "But…?"

Edward answered her silent question, "It's alright, Esme. Bella has done this before, even as a human. And do you think anyone of us, especially Jacob, is going to let anything dangerous happen to Nessie?" We all looked at Jake.

Jake had his hands in his pockets and grinning without showing his teeth. What a goofball!

But Edward was right. Esme couldn't argue with that.

Esme sighed and stepped away from the door, near me. She whispered in my ear, "Be careful."

Before we were out of the door, Edward yelled back to Alice, "We'll finish that game when I get back!"

Now we were free to do some crazy stuff the rest of the day.

We decided to run to La Push, so by the time I got outside all the guys were already wolves. I jumped on Jacob's back and we took off. I was flying again. Jacob, Quil, and Embry raced through the trees and over broken tree trunks on the soil. Even with me on his back, Jake was the first to get into the La Push boundary. He barked with laughter, and I giggled along with him, at the two slow wolves—that skidded to a stop when they saw Jacob standing by the edge of the woods.

Jacob turned his head to look back at me and nodded down.

I knew that look. I hitched my right leg over his shoulders and slid down his arm, until I felt my feet hit the ground with a thud. I walked around Jake and met up with my parents outside the trees. As we walked out of the last wall of the woods, I noticed Sam, Paul, Jared, and Seth waiting for us on the bare, sandy cliff.

Jacob surprised me by scooping me up in his arms, throwing me in the air, and catching me before I hit the ground. I laughed at the tickle in my stomach when gravity pulled me down.

"How long does it take to just pick them up and run here? Jeez, you kept us waiting!" Paul complained when we got closer.

"As long as it takes for you to calm down, Paul." Jacob defended himself.

"Good to see you again, Nessie and Bella." Sam said to us. Trying not to be obvious that it wasn't good to see Edward. At least Bella once was known to Sam when she was human and he had no choice not to like me. I was Jacob's imprinted love. Edward would always be a bloodsucker to Sam.

"Hi." I said happily. I don't see why I wouldn't; both sides of my families are here.

Bella just nodded once in acknowledgement. She didn't like the fact that he treated Edward as if wasn't here.

"So are we going to sit here, staring at each other all day, or are we going to jump off of a cliff!?" Embry shouted. All the wolves cheered like barbarians and ran to the edge of the cliff and peered down.

"Who's first?" Jake yelled back to us.

"Why not the guys first? I bet they've been dying to jump all day." I suggested.

One by one—Jared, Paul, Embry, Quil, and Seth—fell off the edge into the ocean with a shout or hoot. They were waiting in the water for the rest of us on top.

We all looked to Sam, "Aren't you going to jump?" Jacob asked.

Sam backed up and sat on some driftwood, "Nah, you guys go on ahead. I'll just watch Bella and Nessie scream their heads off." He chuckled softly.

Jacob started dancing around like a chicken and making bawk noises.

"Get going before I throw you off the cliff!" Sam threatened.

"Fine! C'mon, Nessie let's go. It's our turn." Jacob grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the drop of the earth. After that edge, all you saw was the dark blue Pacific Ocean, and the orange sun above the horizon.

I fought against his pulling.

Jake looked at me, "What? You don't want to do this anymore?"

"No, I do, but-"

"You want a running start?" He suggested.

"No, I want to go last." I looked away from Jacob to my parents.

Silently, they walked toward the edge. Looked at each other, grabbed their hands together, and looked beyond the ocean. I could swear Bella was sobbing tearless sobs. Wouldn't blame her, after what I heard about her last trip off of this cliff. I'm surprised she just didn't break down in hysteria. But I know she's tough, especially with Edward with her. They continued walking off of the cliff. There were no screams, only a little splash and the guy's cheers.

Jacob squeezed my little hand in his huge hand. He whispered in my ear, "Are you ready, Nessie?"

I took a deep breath and nodded sheepishly, "Let's get this done." My voice was shaking. I realized I was terrified.

Jacob noticed my trembling tone, "Don't be scared, Nessie." He pulled my face to look him in his black eyes, "I'll be with you. Holding you the whole time, there's no way I'll let you go. Do you realize... that when we jump off of this cliff, we'll be going through recreation? Born again, another life. And I can't be any happier because I'm doing this with you." He gazed out into the ocean for a split second, and then turned his head back to me, "Are you sure you still want to do this? Because if you don't, I'm not going to force you."

I touched his face, picturing us jumping off the cliff together. Recreation with you, I'm not passing that up.

From the bottom, I heard everybody shouting at us to jump already and screaming mine and Jake's names.

Jacob sighed—contently or irritated, I couldn't tell—and dropped his hands from my face. He grabbed my left hand instead. "Then let's go." We backed up four steps and paused.

I looked up to him and nodded.

"We're getting a running start!" Then he nodded down to me, too.

Then—like a sling shot that was held back to its farthest and finally let go—we were off. Three long strides, a pounce off the very edge, and we were in the open air. We started falling and my stomach rose up into my throat, but I still managed to scream. The fall looked, by my guess, was over two hundred yards long. I pulled Jacob closer, still screaming. Now he held me to his body, laughing, as if this fall was just jumping down from a low tree branch. I peered down and the water was getting closer.

Jacob shouted over my scream, "Shut your eyes and plug your nose!"

I obeyed. We hit the water two seconds after I plugged my nose. The water is ice cold, and when we went underwater, it felt like being stabbed with a thousand knifes all over my body. I was starting to become numb and we stopped sinking deeper into the ocean. Jacob swam us both up to the surface.

I remembered Bella saying the worst part was actually jumping off the edge and trying to get back up to the surface. It didn't really seem that much of a challenge. I guess it was because Jake was doing all the work.

The sound of cheers got louder as we got closer. When we broke the surface, we both gasped for air. When the cheering of the guys and my parents quieted, they waited for my reaction.

I was pretty cold but not yet numb. My body temperature was a couple degrees lower than Jacob's, yet still higher than a normal human's. I looked up to the high cliff top and back to the people surrounding me, "That was so awesome!"

We all laughed and swam back to shore.

7-Secret

After about three more jumps, we lost track of time and it was starting to set. It was almost seven, the sun was setting. It was getting colder too. No one would have noticed either—the wolves' body temperature is almost over a hundred, too hot. And my parents' temperature was so low they were already ice cold.

We just resurfaced the ocean again, when Jacob saw me. He pulled me on his back and swam me back to the beach like a speed boat. My parents followed right behind him.

When we got out of the water, he pulled me around his body and to his warm chest. I felt like a baby being cradled by his large arms. The gesture warmed be up a little bit.

Jacob turned back to Edward slightly, "Let's get her home so she can change into warm and dry clothes."

"Good idea." I heard Edward say from behind Jacob.

I felt Jake nod, and we were flying again.

I was exhausted from jumping off the cliff and screaming all day. I wanted to take a nap in Jacob's warm arms, but by the time I got into a deep sleep, Jake was setting me down.

We were in front of the cottage. I staggered to the door on my limp legs. I didn't even notice I fell until I the soil on the ground was inches from my face. Jacob caught me before I had a mouth full of it.

Jacob stood me up and hugged me. "I can't stay, Nessie."

"What? Where are you going?" I mumbled into his chest.

"I have to go pick up my dad at your Grandpa Charlie's house. I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest, honey." Jake whispered into my hair.

"You too."

"Bells, can you help Nessie to her bed. She's too dead to walk." Jacob called over my head.

I yawned and felt cold, hard arms pick me up. I fell asleep before I hit my bed.

The next morning, I woke up feeling great. I must've got a long sleep. I got dressed and ran to Carlisle's house with my parents.

Bella and Edward ran upstairs right away.

In the living room, Rosalie was sitting on the couch with Emmett resting on her lap, and she was stroking his hair. Rosalie turned to me, "Hey, Nessie! I didn't get to ask you how your day was yesterday. You fell asleep on me."

"Yeah, how were the cliff diving and dogs?" Emmett added, smirking at me.

I scowled back at him, "Fine." I said icily. "Just peachy" I turned back to Rosalie, "The cliff diving was the best and the guys are doing great."

She nodded and looked down to Emmett.

Emmett still had his golden eyes on me. "Man, I wish I could've gone with. What's the cliff diving like?"

I sat down on the arm of the couch with a happy sigh, "Do you want to see too, Rosalie?" I held out my left hand toward her.

She looked up and nodded once, "Sure."

I touched both of their faces and showed the height of the cliff from the top, looking down. I showed them how far down the water was. Then, I visualized what it looked and felt when you are falling in the open air. The last thing I showed them was how it felt hitting the water. I dropped my hands from their faces.

Emmett was grinning, "That's so amateur!"

I didn't care, "Well, I thought it was amazing! Hey, where is everybody?" I looked around the empty room and dining room.

"Esme, Alice, and Jasper went out to do something. They didn't say, and Carlisle is in his office." Rosalie answered slowly. She seemed bored.

I walked towards the stairs. Where did Esme take Alice and Jasper? Maybe Alice saw something. Something hazardous. Or they could just be buying more food for me. Maybe Edward or Carlisle would know.

I reached the second floor and went down the hallway to the last large door. I knocked three times lightly. Then I heard a calm and quiet, "Come in." The door wasn't closed, so I pushed it open slowly.

Carlisle was sitting at his large desk and writing on some papers for the hospital. He looked up from his papers to me, approaching closer, "Ah, Renesmee, I could recognize your heartbeat miles away. How can I help you this afternoon?"

I paused in the middle of the room, not knowing if I should've bothered him if he was busy, "I could come back later when you're not busy."

Carlisle stacked his papers and put them aside and folded his hands on his desk, "I'm not busy at all. I've got all day and night to finish them. Did you need something?"

"Oh, yeah." I realized. I continued forward and stood in front of his desk, "I just wanted to ask if you knew where Esme, Alice, Jasper went. Just curious." I shrugged.

Carlisle gestured his fingers to signal me to come closer.

I obediently leaned toward him.

He whispered near my ear, "They went out to get your mother's birthday present."

I touched his cheek and asked him if he knew what they're getting for her.

"I can't tell you. Because it's a present for both of you. From all of us. That's why we didn't get you anything for your birthday on Friday."

I straightened up, "Okay, that's all I wanted to know." I kissed his cheek and walked out of his office, "Goodbye, grandpa Carlisle!" I said looking back to him.

"See you later." He responded.

I ran up the staircase again, this time to the third story. I heard some classic music playing from Edward's old room. I noticed that it was familiar because it was one of my five thousand songs on my MP3 player. His door was halfway closed, so I figured I should knock first before entering.

Before I even got to touch the door I heard Edward's voice over the soft music, "Come in, Renesmee."

I should've known. I walked in rolling my eyes. They were just lounging around. Bella laying on her stomach—across their old golden bed—with her feet in the air and looking at some of Edward's books.

Edward was standing by his stand with all of his records and CDs on it. His room is too small for our little family, no wonder we moved into the cottage. The best part of Edward's room was his CDs and the view from his glass wall.

I skipped to his side, "What are you doing?" As if it wasn't obvious.

Edward had about fifteen CD cases in his hands and still searching for more, "Gathering some of my favorite music for the house."

"Hm." I murmured with my hands behind my back and my mouth in a hard line, looking at the shelf. I turned around to Bella on the bed, and then I noticed what she was wearing. I ran and hopped on the bed next to her.

Bella was wearing a dark blue, cotton, night dress. It had thin straps to show off her smooth shoulders. The dress was floor-length to my surprise. She kept reading her book and pretended I wasn't gawking at her.

I played with the fabric of her strap, "Nice outfit."

Now she looked at me, resting her head on her fist, "Thank you. I guess I'm finally taking your advice." She smiled.

I sat up, sitting pretzel legged, "And what was the outcome?" She hated the attention, and it was funny. She looked at Edward, still smiling. "Well Edward approves."

I glanced back over at Edward and saw him trying to hide a smirk.

I giggled, "You see, everybody likes your look. You should get more!"

She sobered, "I don't think so." She started but then seen my disappointed expression, "At least not dresses at school and in the middle of the day. Only at night." She bit her lip, waiting for my response.

I dropped it, "Whatever." I jumped off the bed and walked back by Edward, I touched his cheek. Do you know about mommy's present?

Edward didn't turn around to look at me or say anything out loud. He just nodded once. Bella would just get curious again.

I didn't touch him this time; I let him read my mind. Are you going to tell me?

He shook his head.

Why?! I whined in my head. I was frustrated now.

Now he turned to look at me and spoke, "Because it's for you too." We both snuck a look at my silent mother with her nose in a thick book. She didn't seem to care.

Fine. I looked to Edward. I spun around and sat on the little black couch. I sighed and listened to the music for a couple minutes.

Bella finally sat up and shut her book.

"I'm finished and I've gotten all of the CDs I need. Should we head back to the cottage?" Edward asked with a stack of discs in his hands.

We all started for the door and down the stairs to the first floor. Jasper, Esme, and Alice walked into the back door.

Before anyone of us had said anything, Alice was a black and white blur going straight up the stairs right passed us. Probably to hide the birthday gift from me and Bella. I didn't plan on asking Esme or Jasper where they went or what they got. They weren't going to tell me anyway.

On the way out of the door, I caught Edward and Esme looking at each other smiling and Esme give a slight nod to Edward. The trip was successful. The quick and silent conversation lasted a millisecond.

I guess I'll half to wait until tomorrow. September thirteenth.

Bella's birthday.

Attention

I ran into Bella's room in the morning, searching for her. She was in her closet. I hopped onto her back and hugged her stone-hard neck, "Happy birthday Mom!" I shouted.

Bella tensed, "You know I hate birthdays." She grumbled looking back at me with one eyebrow raised.

I hopped off of her back, and she turned to face me. I smiled angelically, showing my pretty and dimpled smile, "I know I just love torturing you." I took a deep breath, "How old are you now?" I teased and giggled.

She stubbornly folded her arms across her chest and looked at her clothes on her racks, "That's not funny."

I started to be serious with her, "So, what are you wearing on your big day for school?" I began to rummage through the clothes and drawers for a suitable outfit that would look gorgeous, and still approvable by Bella.

"I want to wear something nice, you know, to dress up, but it has to be natural for me." She started searching with me.

Still searching myself, I answered her, "Exactly what I was thinking." I laughed. I found a blue V neck blouse and smooth, black pants. "Here, this is good." I tossed the clothes to her.

Bella automatically changed into them and looked at herself in the large three mirrors. She did a turn to get a good look at every angle of herself. "This is perfect!" She ran to me, grabbed my face, and kissed my forehead. "Where did you find this blouse?" She pinched the fabric of the collar between her fingers.

"Right here by the other blouses. Why?" I looked at her puzzled, why would she care?

She turned back to look at herself in the mirror once more. Then she turned back around and we exited the closet, "Because this used to be mine, back when I was a human. I wore it on me and your father's first date. This blouse is his favorite."

I grabbed a dark blue scarf on the way out of the closet, "Where was the first date?" I wrapped the scarf around her neck.

"We went to an Italian restaurant. It was called La Bella Italiana." She fixed her hair in the bedroom mirror.

I watched her for a while, thinking of how that would work. "I thought dad doesn't eat?"

She laughed and turned back to me, "I didn't know he was a vampire at the time, and he took me there to eat something because of what happened earlier. I ate and he just watched me. Oh yeah, and he kept getting hit on by the hostess and waitress." She laughed again.

"Wait, hold on a second. What happened earlier that day?" I asked curiously.

She turned back to the mirror, "Your father saved me from four drunk men, who tried to attack me on a dark and abandoned street. That's all."

My eyes got big, realizing what she meant by the attacking part. "Whoa." I blinked, "Did he kill them?"

She stood up from her chair and pulled me close, "No. I talked him out of it." She put her arm around me, "He just scared them all away."

"But that night when you slept, Carlisle and I killed the man in Port Angeles." Edward finished the story, walking in the bedroom. He was already dressed and presentable.

"What? You actually killed that man?" Bella asked. Edward obviously never shared this with her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Edward shrugged, "It never came up. Besides the repulsive monster didn't deserve to live. I don't think that is a story you should share with Renesmee."

"It was just something that popped up in the story I was originally tell her. Speaking of that, Do you like my outfit?" Bella changed the subject.

Edward swept over Bella's clothes and paused on her blue blouse. His eyes turned sweet and I stepped out to give them some privacy.

I ran to grandpa Carlisle's by myself and ate my breakfast. When my parents came in Bella was automatically picked on for her birthday. Everybody tortured her, as I did in her closet. It gave us all a good laugh, especially Emmett.

Bella was just glad that nobody human talks or comes near her at school, that way she wouldn't get a lot of attention.

When we got to the school parking lot, we hung out until the first warning bell. We were all discussing about what we would do today, when all of a sudden Alice was quiet. She was starring out into nothing.

Jasper touched her shoulder, "What is it, Alice?"

She exhaled, blinked, and smiled. Jasper relaxed.

Edward smiled, "Yes!" in the background.

"What did you see?" Emmett got as impatient as I did.

Alice looked at him, still smiling with excitement, "Anybody up for baseball this weekend?"

Quietly—not to attract attention to us, as if it was possible any other time—they cheered with agreement. Except me, what's so great about baseball? I mean, even my mom cheered. I didn't think she was the greatest athlete.

Edward heard me, "Oh that's right. Renesmee has never seen us play baseball." He looked to them, "This would be her first time experiencing our way of playing."

The first bell sounded. We all said goodbye, then divided apart to go to our classes.

Third hour I have geometry. A boy named Nick sits right behind me and always stares at me or purposely kicks my chair to try to get my attention. It gets really irritating. Today Nick said "Hi" to me. I just turned my head and gazed at him in astonishment. I couldn't believe a human would say something to a freaky Cullen. I blinked and half smiled at him—dazzling as Bella puts it—and said, "Hello." It sounded as if I was singing.

Nick's eyes got huge and he gasped. I turned back to the front of the class and tried not to giggle. My classes went by fast. Before I knew it, it was lunch already. I walked to lunch with Rosalie and Emmet, and met up with the rest of the family in the lunch line. We all bought lunches. Theirs were props, mine was real. I was starving.

I ate nachos, red grapes, and apple juice. I finished and got up to throw my trash away. I dumped the empty cartons and containers, then smelled the delicious scent of that Nick boy. His blood smelled appetizing, but I wouldn't risk my family's secret for it. I turned to find Nick in my face. Actually he was looking down to me.

"H-hello Renee." He stuttered looking at his feet. Now that I see his face, he's pretty handsome. He was Caucasian with dirty blonde hair that was cut short. He had green eyes that glowed when he smiled, thin face, and he was a foot taller than me. He wore a long sleeve, dark blue shirt, with black denim jeans.

I looked back to his green eyes, "It's pronounced Ruh-nez-may." I said with emphasis. I put my hands behind my back, in case he tried to grab them or I accidentally touch his face out of habit.

He blushed deeply, turning his whole face red, "Oh, I know. It was just a cute, little nickname for you by me. I hope you don't mind…?"

"I kind of do mind." I got impatient, "Was there something you wanted from me? I know you didn't just walk up and in my face just to share your 'cute, little nickname' with me." I looked at my family. I wasn't surprised that they would be watching suspiciously. I envied my dad, I wanted his gift right now.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I wanted to know…If you wanted to go to the Homecoming dance…With me?"

Wow. I chuckled, but stopped short because it would hurt his feelings. I shook my head, "I'm sorry, it's not like that. It's just that, the one person to talk to me—other than my family—is to ask me to a dance." I chuckled again, closing my eyes to think. How am I going to do this? I opened my eyes, "I'm sorry." I shook my head and started towards my table, to my anxious family.

I heard footsteps following behind me. I turned just in time, before he touched my shoulder. I flinched away from his outstretched hand. "Why not?"

This guy just will not give up. I took a quick glance at my parents again, then back to Nick. "It just can't happen." I knew he had more to say, so I waited.

He crossed his arms and eyed me suspiciously, "What's stopping me?"

I crossed my arms across my chest too and responded, "My boyfriend." Now I knew he was speechless, so I turned and left him standing there in the middle of the cafeteria. I sat down next to Rosalie. I felt everybody's stare on me, it was a lot of pressure out on me, and so I met their gazes. "What?"

Bella spoke up, "What was that?" She seemed angry. Why would she ask? I'm sure they all heard what was said with their hearing.

I sighed, "He asked me to the dance and I turned him down. Why are you so angry with me?"

"You led him on." Edward answered.

Great. "How do you know? What was he thinking?"

He was looking around, "he thought you were lying about the boyfriend part because he never sees you with a guy other than us. He plans on asking you more tomorrow in geometry." He shook his head. "You need to tell him to stop. Or he'll get curious, and then he'll get hurt. Mentally and physically. Jacob could find out."

"You wouldn't." I glared at my parents accusingly.

Both, Edward and Bella, shrugged and exchanged little smirks. I knew what they were thinking. It was pretty obvious.

"Nessie, do you plan on staying home with us tomorrow, or are you going to school by yourself?"

I understood, "Sunny weather?"

She nodded.

"That's perfect! I'll talk to Nick at lunch." I turned and looked at Nick, "And give him a surprise." Me and Edward laughed because he knew what was on my mind.

Settling

We drove into the garage and parked. As soon as the Volvo stopped, I jumped out of the car and ran inside the house to call Jacob.

I dialed his number and listened to the ringing and waited. On the third ring Jacob picked up, "Hello?"

"Jake can you come over? It's my mom's birthday party and we have to talk." I was so excited to plan this out.

He laughed, "You're not breaking up with me, are you?"

I laughed too, "Just get over here!" and then we hung up. I turned around to find everyone in the living room except Bella and Emmett. "Where are mom and Emmett?"

Rosalie sat cross-legged on the floor and looked up to me, "Your mother took off to hide, and Emmett went to retrieve her. She couldn't have gone far."

I went into the kitchen to grab an apple and sat next to Edward on the couch to wait for Jake, Bella, and Em. The first to arrive was Emmett with Bella in his huge arms, being dragged in against her own will. Emmett sat her between me and Edward.

Emmett patted her head, "Nice, little Bella." He laughed.

Bella snapped at his hand, and snarled brutally.

Edward smoothed her shoulders and arms, "Relax," I looked at Jasper. Then back to Bella.

Her fists slowly unclenched and her shoulders slumped down. "Fine, but why is it always my birthday we always have to celebrate?"

"It's not like we're throwing a huge party, we're merely giving you a small present." Edward continued explaining. Then his eyes looked at me, "Jacob's here." He nodded toward the door.

I stood up and walked to the window and waited for him to appear. Three minutes later Jake walked through the trees and into the yard wearing only sweat shorts. He smiled when he saw me grinning in the window, and waved.

I waved back and I opened the door for him. We walked into the living room with the rest of the family.

I sat next to Bella again. Jake sat next to me on the arm of the couch, "Happy birthday Bells?"

Bella sighed, "Thanks." She bit her lip looking down at her hands, "So. Let's get this over with. Where's my present?"

Edward sighed too, "Carlisle."

Carlisle walked into the room with a small, silver, and rectangle box. He handed Bella the box, "This is for the both of you." He looked at her and winked to me.

She threw a confused look at me before ripping the silver paper off of the small box. Her eyes got big when she saw the plane tickets.

"Where are we going?" I asked Carlisle.

Bella finally recovered, "We're going to visit Renee!" She screamed and hugged Edward. Then she hugged Carlisle and Esme.

The last time I had seen my grandma Renee, was two years ago and I was the size of a nine year old I'm six years old and I'm the size of a fifteen year old teen. There's no way I could pull this off. I took another look at the tickets. Jacksonville, Florida. How was Bella going to stay out of the sun?

"Nessie's got a point." Edward heard me. He looked to Carlisle and Bella, and then they all looked to me.

I sighed, "I was thinking to myself—" I shot a glare at Edward—"about how I couldn't pull off my age with Grandma Renee and with mom and the sun." I looked at Bella and stroked the fair skin of her arm.

Carlisle looked at both of us—me and Bella. "Well. These tickets are meant for the Christmas vacation, so it shouldn't be too bright." He hesitated for a couple seconds, "As for your age, well. Maybe she won't notice. But if she does…Well, just tell her you're tall for your age."

Bella walked over and hugged me, "Don't worry about that right now. Just be happy to see your grandmother again." She released our hug.

"All right. It should be fun." I forced a smile. Then I looked at Jake, "Let's go talk." We stood up and left the house to sit on the porch steps.

Jacob sat on one of the stairs facing me, with his arm leaning against his raised knee. He waited for me to start.

I think he still believed that I was going to dump him, because he looked really confused and sad at the same time. I smiled, "So what are you doing tomorrow around lunch?"

His face was still confused, but not sad, "Why?"

"Well tomorrow is going to be sunny and my family won't be there. I want you to me on the campus." I looked at his hand in mine, and then played around with his fingers, "And I have to get this one problem resolved."

He looked away from our hands and into my eyes, "What kind of problem?"

I took a deep breath, "I need to get this guy to leave me alone and stop…liking me. Today he asked me out at lunch."

His hands shook in mine, "And what did you tell him?" His face was as hard as stone and was trying very hard not to explode.

I squeezed his hand, "I said no, of course! I told him it wouldn't work out because I have a boyfriend. But when my dad read his thoughts, he said that he didn't believe I had a boyfriend. So, I thought that if you could arrive at lunch and hang out with me, he would get the idea that I am taken and leave me alone. Will you help me?"

"I don't think if I could be near the guy without ripping him apart like a ragdoll." Jake confessed angrily. His was still shaking.

I rubbed his hand to soothe him, "Well it's my plan or he'll try to move on closer to me."

Jacob ripped his hand from mine and walked in to yard and away from me, just in case he would lose his temper near me. My hands burned. It took him a while to calm down. He finally turned to look at me, "Alright. I'll be there on my motorcycle by your lunch period."

I ran my fingers through my curls and smiled, "Cool." I stood up, stepped down one step and held my arms out for a hug.

Jake stalked forward to my invitation—like we were magnets, always drawn to each other—and wrapped his arms around my body under my arms. His fingers knotted into my hair as he grasped me. Even with me on the porch steps, Jacob was still taller than me. I hugged him tightly and locked my hands. Jacob rubbed my back with his other hand.

We finally let go after five minute, I'm sure he felt better and more relaxed than before, "I'd better get going. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow." He winked, smiling.

I smiled back, and then kissed his cheek, "Bye." I watched him leave and disappear back into evergreens. When I was alone and it was quiet, I turned to the house and went inside.

Nothing changed since I left. Bella and Edward were sitting on the couch, Carlisle sitting in the chair with Esme on his lap, Rosalie and Emmett were on the floor talking quietly with each other, and Alice and Jasper were looking at a photo album on the staircase.

I stood behind the couch and leaned against it.

Edward looked up, "So you settled for tomorrow?" He grinned a crooked smile.

I tugged on one of his bronze locks, "You know I do."

10-Mission

The next morning I got up and left my hair down. I ate breakfast at grandma Esme's and Edward drove me to school in grandpa Carlisle's black Mercedes, because his windows have the darkest black tint in the windows. So nobody could see Edward and his diamond sparkled skin.

Before I got out Edward asked, "So what is going to happen today?"

I turned to look at him and sighed, "Uh, at lunch I'm eating outside and lure Nick over by me, but before he ever gets near me, Jacob will arrive." I didn't sound confident.

He noticed, "And what if this doesn't work? What if he won't give up?" He remembered yesterday.

I shrugged, "If Jake doesn't scare Nick away, I'll let you, Emmett, and Jasper have him." I kissed his cheek and opened the car door, "See you later. Wish me good luck!"

"Good luck." He waved as I got out. Then he drove off back home.

I took a deep breath and ignored the stares when I just hopped out of a black, sleek Mercedes without the rest of my extraordinary and beautiful family.

My first two classed went by fast. I was trying to forget about the future event that will happen. I'm succeeding very well.

When I got to geometry class, Nick wasn't there. That worried me, my little plan totally bombed! He's never gone; he's always here before me. I sat down in my assigned seat and took out my books and pen. I was so nervous; I started chewing on my pen, lightly enough not to snap it in half.

Then I heard someone behind me sit down. But I didn't turn to see if it was really him. It had to be though.

After listening to the teacher talk about yesterday's assignment, we took notes for today's lesson. We had the rest of the time to work on our homework, so I used my time wisely instead of the rest of the class who sat around talking and listening to their iPods. I finished my homework in five minutes before class ended. It gave me time to listen to my MP3 player for a while.

I felt a rough tap on my shoulder and a held back a hiss in surprise. I took a deep breath, thinking of what to say. Then turned around to Nick, forcing a smile.

Once again, Nick gasped softly at my smile. Then he gulped loud enough for me to hear, and blinked, "So. Renesmee, do you want to have lunch with me?" He smiled nervously.

My eyebrows came together in frustration, "Nick, I can't-"

"Why not? Your family's not here, it can be just you and me." He insisted.

What a creeper! He knows when my family's here and not here? I can't believe he's trying to make this into a date, "What do you mean? Like a date?"

Nick flushed and chuckled, "Um. Kind of like that."

I stared into his green eyes, "Well, I am sorry, but I have a boyfriend. Like I said yesterday." I turned around and sat forward in my desk.

Unsuspectingly, Nick grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face him. He had a frustrated look on his face. "I don't believe you have one! Where is he? How come I never see you with a guy? How come he doesn't sit with you?"

I recoiled from his grasp, "Believe it or not, I do! I can have a boyfriend that doesn't go to this school, can't I Nick? Do you approve of that?" I stood up and put my bag strap on my right shoulder and glared down at him.

"No, I don't approve. You should go out with a guy that goes to the same school, so he could walk you to your classes and sit with you at lunch." He tried to reach out for my hand.

I snatched my hand away and shoved them in my jacket pockets, "I don't need your approval." The bell rang right when I finished my sentence. Perfect timing. I ran—as fast as I was suppose to—out of the building to the cafeteria. Leaving Nick sitting there.

Today is Tuesday, and so far I have done all of my morning classes homework. The bell rang and I was on my way to lunch. I bought a grape juice and I bought Jacob some Doritos. I purposely walked passed Nick's table and flipped my hair to get his attention. Then I walked outside where most of the other kids were and sat near the parking lot on a bench. I began drinking my juice and listened to my MP3 player again, Petite Suite by Debussey.

Nick and three of his friends came outside and sat across the area from me and talked. How lame is this guy? At least I did a good job of luring him out here for a good seat.

I heard a motorcycle engine coming through the parking lot, I turned off my MP3 player and looked for him. Sure enough, Jacob parked his black Harley in an empty spot and sprinted over to me. I was glad he was fully dressed with a white T-shirt, baggy jeans and sneakers.

I snuck a peek at Nick. He was watching Jacob approach me with a huge disbelieving eyes, and his mouth slowly opened in surprise.

I grinned happily at Jacob, and stoop up from the bench to hug him.

Surprisingly Jacob picked me up, into his giant arms. He kissed me tenderly on my cheek, very close to my lips. Wow, he's really putting on a show.

Jake whispered into my ear when he sat me down on the bench, "So which one is the punk?"

I was still on his lap and whispered back, "The blonde one sitting across from us on the picnic table, starring at us." I giggled. I reached for the Doritos and threw the little bag at his chest. "I knew you'd be hungry." I smiled when he chuckled.

"Thanks babe." Jake kissed my cheek and ripped open the bag.

I got off of his lap and sat on the bench right next to him. Jake put his arm around me. When he finished his chips, he asked, "So, what's going on with this fool?"

I sighed, "Well, in third hour, I sit in front of him. Yesterday he asked me to the homecoming dance. And today he asked to a lunch date." I looked at my hands while I spoke, "His actually tried to raise his voice and grab my shoulder. Of course I hissed at him."

Jacob grabbed my hands in his, "Did he hurt you?" He stared into my eyes, waiting for an answer.

I stared back into his black eyes, "No. He just startled me…"

He didn't believe me, "Don't try to be nice and protect him, Nessie. If he hurt you, I'll do the same to him, but harder." He was sitting at the edge of his seat, ready to get up.

I placed my hand on his face to show him the scene of what happened between me and Nick last hour.

Jacob's face was mad and looked as hard as stone again. He jumped up from the bench and away from me. He was heading towards the gawking blonde across from us.

It startled me because of how sudden and quick he was, "I can't believe…" He mumbled. Jake paused and rubbed his face and thought for a while.

Nick was watching for any sign of attack.

I jumped up and stood in Jacob's path for Nick, "Jacob, no!"

"I don't like the way he thinks he can touch you!" He roared.

"He's not worth it." I pushed on his stomach towards his motorcycle. I now had my arms wrapped around his waist and was holding my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. When we reached the bike, we hugged for a while. "I love you. You know that." I told him. "I'll see you later."

"Are you sure you don't just want to ditch for the rest of the day and come hang out with me down at La Push?" Jacob asked hopeful.

I turned to look at the kids, who got to see the show. I worried about the gossip that would go around. Ditching sounded like heaven,--especially spending my free time with Jake—but I felt the need to stay and learn, and not get in trouble. "I think I should stay in school, Jake. All right?"

"Sure, sure." He released me. He forced a half smile for me, but it didn't reach his eyes. He got on his bike and started the gas, "Mission complete?"

I laughed lightly, "Not yet. I know the dude has got some questions for me. Besides, Edward told me to tell him to stop or he would do it."

He shrugged, "I could do it." He chuckled loudly.

I laughed with him. "No, no. I'll do it. If this time he doesn't listen, then I'll let you join my dad to do the job."

We smiled at each other. Then Jacob took off down the street.
I spun around and ran back to the bench to grab my bag. I walked back inside the cafeteria and sat down at my family's table. I put my head down on my folded arms, on the table. I could hear voices around me in the cafeteria and outside. The outside voices were talking about me and the mysterious Indian man with the motorcycle. The inside voices were talking about me being alone and the rest of my family missing. Why wasn't I with them?

High school teens could be so judgmental.

"Cute bodyguard." A voice said sarcastically, very close by.

I jumped back and into the back of my chair. I crossed my arms when I realized it was just Nick. "Jacob's not my bodyguard, he's my boyfriend!"

Nick sat down across from me, "He acted more like a bodyguard to me." He mimicked me by folding his across his chest.

I kept my glare at him, "That's only because he knows how to protect his love." I looked out the window, and back to Nick. "You really need to leave me alone. You have to stop talking to me, looking at me, and more importantly, stop liking me! Or else my family will stop you."

He laughed at my threat like I was joking or as if this was just an excuse.

"I mean it! This is your last warning, leave me alone!" shouted at him and pounded on the table, then I got up and left the cafeteria.

The rest of the day, I was stared at by everyone. I just couldn't wait until the day was over. Being here at school alone without my family to protect me is just torture.

When the last bell rang, relief ran through me. I grabbed my jacket and headed for the school parking lot. But there was no Mercedes or Volvo. Where's Edward?

I looked around me, only to find more eyes staring at me. Even when I met the stares, they didn't look away. I tried to ignore them. The only eyes that I couldn't ignore were green and glowing.

Nick was four cars away from me and he was approaching.

I sighed and thought about just running home. But would people find that strange? I heard a motorcycle roar down the street. I turned to the noise as it grew louder. At the same time, Nick was only a few feet from me now.

Jacob screeched by Nick, almost hitting him. Jacob glared and snarled at the frozen boy inches away from Jacob's front tire. I ran and jumped on the bike behind him and locked my arms around his torso. "Let's go!" I shouted over the engine.

Jacob—still glaring at Nick—revved the engine twice and peeled out. Leaving Nick in his dust, going top speed. Show-off.

I reached up and touched Jake's cheek, Mission complete!

11-Better Than Deer

Jacob drove me back to Carlisle's house. I was pretty surprised he didn't take me back to La Push. But I guessed Edward sent Jacob to come pick me up and bring me home.

I ran inside with Jacob right behind me. Bella and Edward were playing the piano. Alice and Jasper were on the couch playing cards and Esme was running around and dusting the tables and shelves.

Edward got up from the piano and in a blink of an eye, he was in front of me and Jacob, "How did it go?" He asked Jake more than he asked me.

"Well dad, you didn't wish a good enough 'Good Luck'" I still answered, "Because when Jacob came, I should him what had happened earlier, and Jacob almost attacked Nick. And-"

"Wait!" Edward interrupted, "What happened earlier to make Jacob want to attack the boy?"

I touched his neck to show him the same thing I showed Jacob. Edward's eyes turned into glass topaz—hard as ice—and he looked at Jake. "I see what you mean."

Jacob threw his head back, "Thank you!"

Bella stopped playing, "What happened?" She sounded alert now. She ran over to us.

Edward put his hand on her shoulder, "That Nick boy grabbed her shoulder and spun her around without her permission."

Bella looked at me with expecting eyes, "You ripped off his arm, right?"

I scoffed, "Mom! I'm not as freakishly strong as you! But I did hiss at him."

"I bet that freaked him out! Hey, what about when I left? I mean, you said that he'd probably ask you more questions. Did he?" Jacob asked.

I touched my forehead lightly, "Yes."

"There's more!?" Bella yelled and sounded pissed.

I nodded ruefully, "Just let me say the whole story without interruptions." I took a deep breath and continued, "After Jacob left I went back inside the cafeteria to sit at our table and Nick followed me." They all got tense. "He sat across from me and said I had a 'cute bodyguard'. I told him to leave me alone, but he just laughed at me. I screamed at him to warn him that you would stop him yourself. That's it."

Jacob put his arm around my shoulders and half hugged me, "That's my little monster."

I smiled and sighed.

Bella noticed my reaction, "Well other than the Nick boy, how was your day with school?"

I groaned when I remembered how much gossip I spread around the school myself. "Next time it's sunny, I'm staying home with you. Don't make me go to school by myself ever again." I begged.

"That bad?" Edward asked.

I turned to Jacob and buried my face in his chest, "Yes! It's so lonely and dangerous." My voice sounded muffled. I turned to face my parents, "I'm glad it's over with Nick, hopefully. I just want to relax." I took a deep breath.

Alice looked up from her card game with Jasper, "Except Saturday! Baseball game, remember?!"

"Baseball? I didn't think you people had that kind of talent." Jacob jeered.

I reached up and touched his face, Be nice. I smiled happily.

Jasper spoke this time, "Sure we do. When you hear a crack of thunder during a thunder storm, that's me hitting a homerun." Jasper grinned widely.

Jacob laughed, "Sounds intense. Can I play?"

Edward shook his head, "I don't think…" Edward said slowly and didn't even finish his sentence because he didn't know how to explain it.

Rosalie and Emmett were walking down the stairs. Rose's golden locks of hair was bouncing around her angelic face, "Did I just hear the mongrel ask to play baseball with us?" She laughed tauntingly. Emmett was right behind her, stomping loudly, grinning hugely with dimples on each side of his face.

Jacob shrugged, "You heard right, blondie."

Edward turned to Rosalie, "That's I was trying to tell him." He turned back to Jake, "It is too intense for you."

"Yeah, I don't think you could keep up!" Emmett joked.

"Well Nessie's going." Jacob insisted, "She's no faster or stronger than me."

I snuck out of their circle of conversation and sat on the couch next to Emmett.

Edward touched Jacob's shoulder, "She's just watching, but you could sit and watch with her. Keep her warm-er." He added know my body temperature was almost as high as Jacob's.

Jacob thought for a minute. "Fine. I'll watch one game." He agreed.

I heard his stomach growl. Then mine did too. I ran up to my parents to look at their golden topaz eyes. I hadn't noticed before, but they were a real dark, almost black shade. "I'm hungry, let's go hunt." I suggested, "Anybody else thirsty?" I asked.

Esme, Alice and Jasper got up and walked to the door with us. Rosalie and Emmett probably already went out earlier today.

Edward nodded, and opened the door for Bella and Esme, "Shall we?"

We exited the house, turned on our senses and took off. Me and Jacob were running together, with him as a wolf. I looked up to his eyes and yelled, "I am too as fast as you!" Then I took off in front of him.

I learned how to hunt without ruining my clothes, or get blood on my face or hair not too long ago. I could go off campus at lunch in school and have a couple of deer or elk. Then return before my next class, as if I went out to a diner or something. I haven't tried it yet.

After I finished my last doe, I think I was fuller than I wanted to be. I walked away from the drained deer and called for Jake. I held my whole torso area when he arrived in human form.

He grabbed my upper arms gently, "Are you okay? What's wrong?" He stared into my eyes with concern.

I looked up still clutching my stomach, with a grimace, "Nothing. I'm fine, just full." I straightened up and fought to keep a straight face, so it wouldn't bother him. "Let's go find my parents." I started walking.

Jacob picked me up like a baby and started running southeast. I enjoyed the seven minute run. Until he came to a stop and I looked up in front of us. We were at least twenty feet away from my parents—both killing a little pack of mountain lions. It was near a cave on the mountains.

Jacob put me down next to him and held me close, he knew how my mother was when she was hunting and using her senses.

Bella was beneath the lion, holding the lion's head. It frightened me because the lion was biting and scratching her face and arms. I shouldn't be scared though. She finally finished the fight and snapped its neck, and then buried her face under the lion's jaw and into the neck.

Edward walked through the trees near her. Carrying a limp mountain lion—his favorite—and waved it in front of him to Jake, "Do you want the scraps, Jacob?" He chuckled.

Jacob growled. He walked forward to them when Bella finished and threw the lion off from on top of her. She wiped her mouth with her arm.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food, Bella?" Jacob chuckled behind me.

I kneeled down next to the dead lion, I looked up to Bella, "What does it taste like?" I picked up the lion's head in both of my hands.

Bella stood up, "Try it. It tastes better than deer." She walked over to Edward. Edward threw the dead lion in his hand to Jacob.

I had the lion in my hands. I raised it, so its neck is out and is easy to get to. I sunk my razor sharp teeth in the skin and sucked in the warm blood. It tasted sweet in my mouth—not like the scratchy taste from deer—and even though I was full, I wanted more of the lion's blood. I got mad that it came up dry in a couple of seconds. I stood up, "That was way better than deer!" I corrected Bella.

My parents laughed.

I heard little purring and scratching noises in the cave behind me. I spun around and ran inside the cave that was too small for anyone but me to fit in.

"Renesmee! Nessie! C'mon, let's go! Get out of there!" I heard my parents and Jacob called from outside.

I didn't listen. I went deeper into the cramped, damp cave, behind a rock on the side of the area. One small mountain lion was lying on the ground, crying. "Oh, my god!" I yelled. It jumped; I picked it up and stroked its soft fur, "Awe." I cooed. I walked out of the small cave with the baby cub. Although it was the size of medium sized dog, but it was small compared to its parents.

"Renesmee, what were you doing?" I heard Bella ask.

I held out the cub, "Finding this! Isn't it cute?" I asked them.

Edward cleared his throat loudly, ran a hand through his tousled hair, and looked the other way distantly.

"It looks delicious, actually." Bella agreed eying the baby lion in my arms.

I clutched the cub closer to my body, "You can't kill it! It's only a baby." I argued.

Bella slowly approached me and the lion, "Exactly. It has no one to look after it; we already killed its parents." She crouched, "It doesn't matter if we kill it."

I turned around to protect it, "I could take care of it." I insisted.

Edward grabbed Bella by the waist and answered my insane idea, "Renesmee, there is no way you could keep a wild animal around vampires that eat its kind. Of course, I'm speaking of myself. And your so busy with school. It's just impossible."

I looked at the baby lion. It's true, I wouldn't have any time to take care of it. Thanks to school and Jacob. Even if I did have the time, where would it stay? I would have to prepare it food, too. Plus, having it not getting eaten by my family was not easy. Edward's right, it is impossible. I took a deep breath and sighed, "Fine!" I threw the lion to Bella, "Enjoy!" I grumbled annoyed and angry. "Just wait until I get out of hearing radius."

Bella caught the cub and held it by its skin on the back of his neck. Her eye's glowed with thirst. She held it up to Edward, "Do you want some?"

Edward eyed the cub, and then he shook his head and looked down, "No thank you. You can have it."

I turned around and walked away. I almost got in the trees when I heard a snap.

Jacob walked me home, "Awe, cheer up, Ness. I think you have better and more important things on your mind to take care of." He wagged his eyebrows and grinned.

I couldn't help but laugh.

12- Nanuk

The next morning Bella was sitting on my bed next to me. "Good morning." She greeted me.

"Morning." I greeting back dryly. I was still mad at her for killing my baby lion.

She bit her lip. "I know you're still angry with me for killing your Nanuk."

I looked at her with questionable eyes, "Who is Nanuk?"

"I watched your dreams last night. As I had your hand pressed to my face, I saw you and your mountain lion. You named him Nanuk." She confessed. "The background was pinkish purple, but when I came into the picture, the colors turned red. I killed Nanuk and you were angry with me. I guess the colors are change with your emotions."

I sat up and looked at her, "Yeah. That sounds about right."

She looked back, "I'm sorry I hurt you. You know I didn't mean to, it's just that…" She took a deep breath, "There was no way you could keep it."

I hugged her, "Yes, I understand. And I forgive you. I'm just being stubborn. Don't worry about it anymore." I rubbed her back to comfort her.

"C'mon, let's go." She said getting up.

I got out of bed, "Where are we going?"

Bella turned around to face me, "Aren't you hungry?"

I exhaled heavily, "No. I'm still full from last night. I had a whole deer and a little bit of that mother lion of my..." I cannot believe I just thought of that.

"Well okay. I'm sorry I woke you." She left my room.

Today is Saturday morning. Bella and I are in my closet finding me proper clothes for playing vampire baseball. I wasn't lucky.

"Well maybe we can find something in my closet." Bella started out the door and down the hallway.

Edward caught us in the hallway, "Hey, Jacob's on the phone." He had the little silver cell phone on his hand. He tossed the phone down the short hallway to me.

I caught it with my right hand and put it up to my ear, "Hey, Jake."

"Morning, Nessie!" His voice was tired and husky. "When are we going to play baseball?"

"Well, Jacob. I'm not sure, but it's when the thunderstorm starts." Edward was holding a hand out for the cell phone. "Hold on Jake, my dad wants to talk to you." I handed Edward the phone.

Edward cleared his throat, "The game doesn't start until one in the afternoon. Go to sleep and rest for a couple of hours. You can come over around eleven or twelve. Here, I'll put Renesmee back on." He handed the phone back to me.

I put it back to my ear, "Yeah, Jake?"

"I'll be over at eleven thirty, okay?" Jake told me.

"Yeah. I'll be at Carlisle's. Get some sleep, please. You sound like you didn't sleep at all last night."

Jacob yawned into the phone, "Sure, sure."

We both hung up. I shut the phone and tossed it back to Edward. I turned to Bella.

Bella was tapping her chin with her index finger, looking at me. "I don't think you would fit in my clothes, let's go visit Alice. You look more like her size." She pushed me forward and toward the front door. "Are you coming, Edward?" She asked passing him in the living room.

Edward followed behind and shut the door.

It was cold outside, and I realized I was still wearing a tank top and shorts, with my hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of my neck. "Wait mom, I'm still in my pajamas!"

Bella didn't pause, "It doesn't matter, you're getting dressed there anyway." We ran the rest of the way there.

Alice was there to open the door for us again, "Hey you guys!"

"Good morning, Alice." Bella greeted back.

Alice looked at my clothes and then looked to Bella for an explanation.

Bella put her hands up to explain, "Hang on, Alice! That's why we're here. I figured you had a baseball outfit for her to wear. She could fit your clothes better than mine."

Alice grabbed my arm and pulled me upstairs to her room. She shut her door behind us and we went straight to her closet. Alice went searching for a shirt and pants. She pulled out a white long sleeved with black horizontal stripes. "Here, put that on." She tossed it to my chest.

I ripped my tank top off and slipped into the shirt. "Just fits."

"Good. Try these on." Alice tossed some skinny, black, and polyester pants to me.

I stepped into those too. Wow, I think me and Alice are the same size. "Thanks, Alice. This is really nice of you."

She grabbed some long white socks and shoes. "We're not done yet." She pulled me back into her room and sat me on her bed. Alice slipped the long white socks that go up to my knees. Then she tied on the white baseball shoes. "Wait here, while I get dressed." She ordered. She took off in her closet.

I sat there for about two minutes and she returned wearing her baseball outfit. She had a black long sleeve shirt on—that was tight to her skin, just like mine—and a white west that was unbuttoned. Same pants as me, and white socks that go up to her knees as well. And the same shoes. Plus, she had a black baseball cap on.

"Nice." I commented.

Alice held out a black and white baseball cap in her hands, "Almost forgot the last touch." She zipped over, put my hair in a high ponytail. Then pulled my ponytail through the back opening in the back of the hat and put in on my head.

I stood up and we both looked at ourselves in her huge mirror on her wall. "We look sweet!"

She fixed my top so it wasn't showing the top part of my pants, "Yeah, we look amazing! So are you playing?" Alice asked.

Huh, I'm not sure. Maybe they are too intense or I'm not fast enough. Or what if I'm really good at the sport, "I really don't know yet. I guess I'll watch first." That's the plan.

Alice fixed her hair, "Well, okay. Let's go show everybody our outfits!" She sang. She opened the door and we ran downstairs to the living room.

The first one to see us was my parents. I spun around to give them the whole 3D look. "So, what do you think?" I asked.

"Cute. You look great as an athlete!" Bella commented. She elbowed Edward in the ribs.

Edward flinched from her hit, "Very nice, very…Alice." He smiled and winked at Alice behind me.

I looked at the television, "Thanks." I muttered. I walked over to the couch and plopped down and put my feet up. "What time is it?" I asked, yawning.

"Ten twenty two in the morning." Carlisle called from the kitchen. He made his way in the room, "So I see you're coming with us today, Nessie. Are you going to play or watch?" He asked.

I shrugged, still lying on the couch. I seriously don't know.

"She doesn't know if we play too intense or If she would be good at this sport, so she'll just watch first. That's the plan." Edward answered Carlisle.

"Thank you, dad." I said dryly.

Edward didn't say anything. He sat down at his piano and played a soft and slow melody.

I fell asleep.

"Renesmee, honey wake up." Bella's voice woke me up. She was kneeling on the floor next to my head, by the couch.

I blinked repeatedly and stretched. I sat up and yawned, "How long have I been asleep?" I asked dazed.

Edward snuck over to Bella, still answering me, "Jacob's here, so an hour or so." He shrugged.

I stood up and looked out the window to the front lawn. In the next moment, Jacob walked through the trees. I hid behind the wall, so when he came in, I would surprise him with my outfit.

My parents were heading outside the door, "We're going to go change, and we'll be back in a couple of minutes. Five, tops." Edward said. He left the door as they left. I heard them outside, "She's waiting for you inside." Bella told Jacob.

Jacob walked in through the doorway and looked around the empty room, "Hello? Nessie?"

That was when I pounced on his back and locked my arms around his neck, "Boo!" I shouted.

He jumped a little bit.

I laughed and kissed his neck, below his jaw, "I scared you, Jake!" I whispered. Then I unlocked my arms and dropped to the floor on my feet.

Jake turned around to look down to me, "You're such a little monster—wow you look great!" He quickly changed his sentence when he caught a look at my borrowed clothes.

I blushed, "Thank you, you're looking pretty great yourself." I said.

He grinned, "Nessie, this is just my usual look." True, he was just wearing a grey T-shirt and jean cut-offs, with his sneakers. "So, where's everybody?" He looked around the empty area again.

"Uh, I don't know. I just woke up from an hour nap." I confessed, "But I know my parents left to get changed, so…"

Jacob looked to me, "Oh, right." We walked to the porch and sat down on the steps.

Edward and Bella returned holding hands. "Keep your pants on, Jacob. We're leaving now." Edward said. Jacob must've been thinking about missing the game or whining for my parents to hurry up.

Jacob and I stood up, "Are we running or driving?" Jacob asked.

Edward and Bella continued passed us to the garage, "We're driving." He answered and opened the garage door to Emmett's huge monstrous red jeep. We jumped in and took about ten to get to the empty field, even with Edward driving.

The field was between two huge mountains and it was surrounded by the woods. Jacob said it was the same place they fought a loud of newborn leeches.

When we arrived at the field, everyone was already here practicing or warming up.

We were walking towards them, when Jake asked, "I didn't know vampires played sports." He snorted.

"What do you think we do for our family time?" Edward asked with a sneer.

Jake shrugged, "I don't know. If you guys slept, I would have guessed that you hung from the ceiling. You know, like those old horror movies." He chuckled.

Emmett and Jasper were swinging the metal bats, testing how it felt. Jasper was doing tricks with his bats, such as flipping them around in his hands and under his legs. Throwing them in the air and catching them in the other hand.

Rosalie and Esme were throwing a baseball to each other so fast that it looked as if there was no ball. Alice and Carlisle were putting the bases down in the shape of a diamond, many feet apart from each other.

I gulped. Could I make it to one base and run to the next without getting out and being humiliated by being the slowest little half vampire here.

Alice took Esme's spot with Rosalie, and Esme ran over to me and Jacob. "So have you decided if you were playing or not?" Esme meant for the both of us.

I answered, "We're watching first."

Esme nodded, "All right. Then you'll want to stretch and warm up." She handed me a worn, old baseball.

I took the ball and handed it to Jacob. I looked back to Esme, expecting to be handed a glove. But she already turned away and started to walk away. "Wait, Esme!" She spun around to look towards me, "We need gloves, if we're going to play"

She was confused at first, and then she gasped and put her hand on her forehead in embarrassment, "Oh my goodness! I forgot about that." She confessed.

"No problem." Edward said from behind us. He threw two gloves at us, "I grabbed them before we left."

Jacob and I began to toss the baseball back and forth. The field was three times bigger than the size of any regular baseball field. So there was a lot of room for all of us to practice. After throwing the ball around I started stretching my legs—I'm going to need to make sure I don't pull a muscle when I'm running the long distance bases.

Jacob had the same idea.

Carlisle shouted from home plate, "Alright, let's figure out teams!"

Everybody ran and gathered around home plate where Carlisle assembled us, "Let's have me, Rosalie, Jasper, Jacob and Renesmee on infield. Emmett, Edward, Bella, Alice and Esme on outfield."

"But Jacob and I are watching first." I added to remind Carlisle.

Carlisle took in a deep breath to think, "We'll have Bella switch to our team for the first game then. Is that fine with you, Bella?" He asked.

Bella nodded, "Okay."

Then in flash everyone ran to their spots on the field. Esme guided me and Jacob to a huge boulder far behind the home plate. We sat there and watched them have small talk and stand around waiting.

"What are they doing? Are they going to play or what?" Jacob said with his arm around me.

"Slow your roll, Jake." I said calmly. "You'll know when they start; Alice will say when the storm will start."

13- Baseball

I looked to Alice at the pitcher's mound. She was juggling the one baseball in her hands and looking at the sky. She paused and look to Carlisle to home plate waiting with a metal bat. "Let's play ball. It's time!" She announced to everybody around her.

As soon as she finished her sentence, a crack of thunder erupted from the clouded sky and lightning flashed above the mountains east of us. I jumped at the thunder.

Alice nodded to Carlisle, and then to Esme, who was the catcher and umpire. Alice's pitch was glorious; nobody was as graceful as she was when they pitched. The ball flew from Alice's hand to Carlisle. Carlisle swung a crack of thunder—that came from the impact from the bat and ball—sounded all through the area and probably reached the city. The ball flew out to the trees and Carlisle took off to first base. Edward also flew after the ball in the forest. Carlisle made it to the second base and stopped because the baseball zipped from the trees and back to Alice.

"Holy crap!" Shouted Jacob, "Blondie wasn't kidding! This is intense!"

"Now we see why they only play baseball during a thunderstorm ." I told him over another crack of thunder. This time it was Rosalie running to first base.

"Safe!" Esme announced for Carlisle.

Carlisle stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants off. Then he gave Esme a peck on her lips and ran to Jasper's side.

Rosalie was just running to home plate when Emmett threw the ball back to Esme. Rosalie sped up and slid home. "Out!" Esme shouted.

Rosalie stood up and stomped away with her arms folded across her chest. Alice and Emmett jumped and hooted in their places. More lightning flashed above the field.

Jasper stepped up to plate and hit his feet with the tip of his bat. He nodded to Alice and she pitched the ball straight to Jasper. Boom! His was the loudest hit,—just as he told Jake—he took off running to first, and then to second. Emmett and Edward jumped up for the Jasper's fly ball. They got about forty feet in the air and rammed into each other, but Emmett still managed to snatch the ball. When they hit the ground, it felt and sounded like a earthquake.

"Out!" Esme called out Jasper.

"Whoo!" Alice cheered. "Go boys!"

The game continued on and then the teams switched from infield to outfield. Rosalie pitched when her team was outfield. She was good, but not as graceful as Alice.

Emmett almost broke the metal bat when he swung. Edward got two homeruns because of his speed. And Alice was staying in the game too, although Bella got her out on second base. The game ended and Edward's team obviously won.

"Alright you two. Are you guys ready to play?" Esme asked.

I gulped again. We had to go up against Edward and Emmett's team. No worries, I told myself. "Absolutely." I answered Esme. Jacob and I jumped off the boulder and ran for the field.

"Excellent! We're outfield again! Come on, Bella!" Alice chirped as she grabbed Bella's arm and towed her toward the pitcher's mound. Bella concluded to second base. Emmett and Edward ran out to the outfield for homeruns. And Esme stayed as the umpire.

A roll of thunder rumbled above us and it began to drizzle. We didn't care; to us it was a mist. More lightning flashed around us.

Jasper was up to bat first. He flipped the bat into the air and caught it. He pulled it back to his shoulders and nodded to Alice, at the pitcher's mound.

When she pitched it looked more like she was doing ballet instead of playing baseball. A loud crack of thunder sounded from Jasper's bat again and the ball went flying. Jasper took off to first base.

The ball flew to the trees, Emmett charged after it. But the ball hit the ground already. By the time Emmett threw it back, Jasper ran passed home plate. "Homerun!" Esme said.

"I'm up next!" Jacob said, surprising me and Rosalie, who was about to go next. Jacob stepped up to home plate with a metal bat.

Rosalie snarled, "Are you sure, dog? I don't think you're ready!"

Jacob put the bat behind his head and rested it on his shoulder and looked back to Rosalie, "You may think all you want because I know that I'm ready! Just watch and learn Blondie."

"Oh yeah! Show me what not to do!" Rosalie smiled sarcastically. Then she rolled her eyes. Typical fights between the two of them.

Jake waited for Alice to pitch, they nodded and she threw the ball at him. Crack! The ball flew in the woods, and Jacob ran to first base. Edward ran after it. Jacob was reaching second base, when the baseball flew to second from the woods. Jacob ran right across second base at the same time Bella caught the ball.

"Safe!" Esme shouted to everybody.

"Yeah! Go Jake!" I yelled to him, encouraging him.

"What? That was totally an out, Esme! I saw Bella catch the ball before he let one paw touch the base!" Emmett objected.

"No Emmett, I pretty sure he was safe. No cheating!" Esme confirmed.

Rosalie didn't care, she picked up the bat and got ready to swing. "Lucky hit, mutt!" She nodded to Alice. With the storm, she hit the ball with a thunder roar into the mountains. Emmett went after the ball in the west mountains, while Jacob ran passed home base and Rose rounding second.

I screamed with joy for Jacob, "You did it!" I hugged him.

Jacob picked me up and kissed my forehead. "I know, thanks to Blondie!" He looked to Rosalie—who was running past home base too—"Now it's your turn!" He put me down and nudged me closer to the home plate.

I swallowed hard. Then I picked up the metal bat. Emmett just returned throwing the ball to Alice with a frown. I was so nervous, the bat was trembling. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Renesmee, you don't have to play." Carlisle assured me.

I thought about it. "No, I want to play." I turned back to Alice, and nodded when I gripped the bat tighter.

She pitched the ball to me with less force than usual. When it reached near me, I swung as hard as I could. I hit the ball, but the noise was less fierce and sounded a little, harmless tink! The ball took off towards the northwest and I dropped the bat and ran to the first base. I was washed over with relief that I was safe and got a huge encouraging cheer from Jacob and Rosalie.

Up next was Carlisle. That's good, because he got a homerun on the last game. I was concentrating on getting past Bella at second base, when I heard a loud booming sound. I ran as fast as my legs could take me to second. The ball went through the trees again, so I had a couple more seconds. Maybe even less. I challenged myself and risked my team and ran for third. I was halfway there, just a couple of seconds away. I heard Edward return from the woods. Alice got the ball right when I stepped on third base. Safe.

"Great run, Nessie!" Rosalie commented.

I was trying to catch my breath, leaning over with my hands on my knees. I just put one thumb up for them and didn't say anything.

Jasper was up next. He nodded to Alice, and she threw the baseball whizzing toward him. In a swift motion, the loud crack of thunder sent through the field, and he took off to the first base. The ball went towards the mountains again and Emmett went to retrieve it once again.

That was my signal to go home. I ran straight for it, then in an instant, I ran past it. I got through the bases and got to home plate. I did it!

Jacob already picked me up and sat me on his shoulders, "All right, Nessie! Nice game!" He shouted.

Carlisle just ran past home plate right after me. I jumped down from Jacob's shoulders, "Thanks. I only got to home base because of grandpa Carlisle and Uncle Jasper." I looked at Carlisle, then to Jasper on second base.

Jacob didn't really care for them, "Yeah, but you are the one who ran out there on the bases. No help there." He winked to me with a huge grin.

I couldn't help but smile back, "Sure, but that's not the hard part." I fought back. More thunder roared, but no one was batting right at the moment. Then the clouds slowly cleared out, there was no more lightning or thundering. And the drizzle had stopped.

A large number of complaints washed over the field. The loudest whiner was Emmett. Emmett and Jasper grabbed all of the equipment and stored them in the back of the jeep. Carlisle stacked all of the white bases and sat them with the equipment. Then in two heartbeats the field was empty and it was just me, Jacob, and my parents.

Bella ran over to me and put her arm around my shoulders, "Good game, sweetheart! You know when you were running to second by me; I thought you were going to stop. I was surprised you kept going to third." She looked around the open area and looked towards the foggy forests. She shuddered, "Let's get in the jeep." She dropped her arm and grabbed my hand, we ran to the jeep.

When we reached the jeep, Bella put me in the back seat and buckled me up—like I was a four year old and I needed to be buckled in a car seat. "What's your rush, mom?"

Bella got into her seat directly in front of me, "Nothing. Just…a bad memory habit." She put her head down and looked at her hands. She quickly changed the subject before I ask anymore, "Are you cold?" She had her hand on the heater knob.

I didn't realize how cold I felt, I touched my face, my hands were ice cold. "Um, a little bit."

Bella turned on the jeep and twisted the heater knob so it was on its highest. The warm air blew into my face.

Edward and Jacob settled in the jeep now. Jacob put one arm around my body and his other hand held my left hand. He shuddered at the temperature of my hand, but didn't let go. When my hand was at regular temperature, I switched to the other hand. Jake didn't mind, he kept talking about the baseball game.

"That was a blast! I had the most greatest time! Hey next time you play, call me!"

Edward was driving through the woods and it wasn't the smoothest ride. Jacob and me were struggling not to bounce everywhere and not smash our heads in the ceiling of the jeep.

A couple minutes later, we were on the road and we finally could relax. Jacob and I were almost sweating, "Can you turn off the heater now. I mean, I already have a heater back here!" I laughed.

Bella clicked off the heater and turned around to us in the back, "That was fun, wasn't it? Did you see Rosalie's face when Jacob hit the ball?" She asked us with a laugh.

Jacob chuckled with her, "Yeah. I showed her!"

"Too bad we didn't get to bat." Edward said for the first time since we left the baseball field. "We would have shown you! You would be running for our fly balls the whole time." He looked at Jacob in the rearview mirror.

14- Charlie

Christmas break starts today. That means, visits with my grandparents. I'm spending the afternoon at grandpa Charlie's. Then Bella and I are flying to Florida to visit my grandma Renee.

My clothes were packed and I was ready for Florida. Bella and I plan on leaving tomorrow morning, so by the time we get into Jacksonville, it'll be nighttime.

Bella packed clothes that cover most of her body with hats, gloves, and sunglasses. Just in case she has to be in sunlight.

We headed out to Bella's red Ferrari. I loved her car, but she hated to drive it around town in it, because she hates the attention. She has a point though, my family's cars are too conspicuous for this small town of Forks, Washington. Especially to just drive to Charlie's house in town.

On the drive there, that's all I could think about. How excited I was to see my grandma Renee, but then again it had me thinking about the negatives too…How was I going to pull off my age with her? Would she expect anything? I couldn't think too much of the subject. We were already at Charlie's.

Bella pulled up in front of the house by the curb. Charlie's cruiser was parked in the driveway. Charlie was still the chief of police in Forks. Bella cut the purring engine of the Ferrari. We started up the walkway and climbed the stairs of the porch.

Bella knocked three times and opened the door. "Dad?" She walked in the house through the unlocked door. I followed behind. She continued through the hallway to the living room where Charlie was sleeping on the couch. She shook his shoulder gently, "Dad, wake up!"

Charlie grunted awake. His eyes slowly opened and brightened when he saw that it was us. He stood up and stretched, "Sorry, I keep thinking you still had that loud truck. I thought that would wake me up." He hugged Bella.

Bella hugged him back, patting his back softly, "Dad, that old truck died when I got married. Years ago." She told him.

Charlie turned to me, "And you, look at you! My little grandbaby, Renesmee!" He gave me a tight hug.

I exhaled, "Hey, grandpa! I missed you!" I hugged him around his waist.

He released his grasp to look at me. Oh boy, here it comes. "The last time I saw you, you were this tall." He put his hand up to my shoulder, comparing the contrast of my growth spurt.

I looked to Bella for help.

Bella shrugged with panic in her eyes.

I shook my head and brought some humor in the subject, "Grandma Esme feeds me more than the usual amount." I laughed nervously, hoping he would believe my cover.

Charlie chuckled and sat down on the couch again, "I don't want to know anymore than that…" He took a deep breath and closed his hands, "Or the real reason."

We sat and visited for hours, then Charlie and I watched baseball on the flat screen while Bella cooked us—me and Charlie—a lasagna dinner. I wasn't familiar with the teams playing, but it was baseball and I needed to learn more about the sport. Charlie cheered every time the red team scored.

In the kitchen, you could hear Bella, "Red Sox wining, Dad?"

"You bet!" He responded proudly.

Around seven o' clock, Bella called us into the kitchen for dinner. I stood up from the big, brown chair and walked to the small kitchen with Charlie.

Bella was putting two platefuls of lasagna on the table, "I haven't cooked in a couple years. I forgot how much fun it is." She laughed softly as she turned from us to the sink. She hesitated and spun to look at Charlie, "I meant for you."

I sat down at the table and dug into my lasagna without hesitation.

Charlie sat down and picked up his fork. But he looked over at Bella—who was standing by the counter and looking into space—and suggested, "Aren't you going to eat, Bells?"

Bella snapped out of her trance and turned her attention to Charlie, "No, I'm not eating."

"Why?" Charlie demanded after swallowing a mouthful of lasagna.

She looked around the small kitchen and mumbled, "I'm on a special diet."

Charlie rolled his eyes, "Bella, you look fine." He grumbled, "Now why in the hell would you-"

"Hey, great lasagna, mom!" I interrupted Charlie, hoping to change the subject.

Bella looked over me with a surprised expression.

I winked at her—when Charlie was looking down into his food—taking a bite of my food.

Charlie looked up at me.

I could feel his glare on me, but I ignored it and stared down at my food. Then I looked to Bella.

She looked back and forth between me and Charlie, and then finally answered, "Thanks. Like I said before, I haven't cooked in a while."
"For me." Charlie quoted Bella. He didn't look up to meet the glances that Bella and I gave him.

After my second helping of lasagna and Charlie's third, we talked more about Bella's and my trip to see Grandma Renee in Florida.

"So how long are you guys staying down there?" Charlie asked us.

We were still in the kitchen, Charlie and I were sitting at the table and Bella was washing our dishes. I didn't know how long we were staying with grandma Renee. So Bella answered, "Uh, a couple of days," She shrugged, "It depends, I guess."

Charlie looked out the kitchen window and into the darkened night, "I bet she'd just love that."

Bella turned the water off and dried her hands, she turned to Charlie, "Yeah she hasn't seen Renesmee in a year. And it's going to be difficult to explain…" Her eyes darted at me for a second and back to Charlie.

Charlie glanced over at me too, "Well, good luck with that one." He cleared his throat.

I looked down at the empty table. Charlie obviously knows more than any other human—that I know—should.

Charlie broke the silence, "It's getting dark, I better give you this before you get going." He jumped up and walked out of the kitchen to the hallway.

As soon as he was out of the room, I got up and ran over to Bella's side and touched her cheek with my right hand. He knows a lot. I informed her.

"I know." Bella admitted, not meeting my eyes.

I kept my hand on her face. What are you going to tell Grandma Renee? I thought with concern, picturing Renee's lovable, happy face.

Now she turned her head to me, "That is what I don't know." She looked as concerned as I felt.

I sighed. Then I dropped my hand. We both leaned against the counter, because we heard Charlie's boots slump down on the wooden-floored hallway.

Charlie rounded the corner and returned into the kitchen. He had a small box in his hand with red wrapping paper on it. "This is your Christmas present. I'm giving it to you now because you'll be in Jacksonville with your grandma on Christmas day." He handed the small, red box to me, "Merry Christmas."

I thankfully took the box and started ripping the shiny red paper off. I opened the top of the box and found a golden necklace with a golden template word on it. In gold cursive it read, "Renesmee" I put it on and put the box on the table. "How does it look?" I asked them.

"It looks beautiful on you. Dad, where did you get it?" Bella asked Charlie, as she came closer to get a better look. An act for Charlie—she could see it perfectly from where she stood.

"Sue Clearwater. She sells jewelry for extra money. Well, I thought it was suitable." He rubbed the back of his neck.

I walked around Bella and hugged him, "Thanks so much, grandpa! I love it!" I smelled in his scent, it smelled like laundry soap and the scent of his leather jacket. Weird. Then I caught a scent of his blood. I ripped away from our hug.

I stood behind Bella. Charlie was staring at me in surprise. I stared back in thirst. My throat itched a bit, only because I ate already, but the blood over powered my thirst.

"What's the matter, Nessie?" He asked with his shoulders raised and his hand stretched out.

Bella turned to look down to me, "What it is?" She asked quietly, only for me to hear.

I pressed my fingers to her face and showed her a visual of me biting Charlie.

Her eyes widened, and I dropped my hand to my side. I snuck another peek at Charlie from behind Bella.

He looked hurt and guilty, as if he made me sad.

Bella turned her head back to Charlie's direction, "Dad, we have to go. It has nothing, um, it's really hard to explain. You didn't do anything wrong, though. You understand though, right?" Bella put her arm around me and started walking slowly around him to the door.

He sighed, "Yeah. So, I didn't do anything to upset you?" Charlie asked me.

I shook my head quickly.

Charlie put his hand on his hips, "All right. I'll see you soon, have fun in Florida."

"Bye!" Bella and I said, then we bolted out the front door and we walked to the Ferrari in the dark night. We climbed in and shut our doors.

Bella turned the key in the ignition. The engine growled and then purred. She took off down the dark, empty street going sixty miles per hour. "I had fun."

I kept looking forward, out of windshield and to the street. "Yeah that was just swell!" I said sarcastically.

Bella didn't take her eyes off the road either, "Oh come on! So you wanted to bite Charlie, big deal. Okay it is a big deal, but it's a part of your nature. Ironically, it's in your blood and DNA." She grinned, "Be proud of yourself that you didn't do anything and controlled your actions." She looked at my expression.

She's right. At least I stopped myself. "Your right, it was fun. Aside from the trying to kill my own grandfather." I laughed a little.

We were driving through the winding trail through the forest that leads to Carlisle's home. Bella took a deep breath, "One grandparent down," She looked to me, "One to go." She said exhaustedly.

"I bet you just can't wait!" More sarcasm.

"No, I can wait." Bella laughed nervously as she pulled up in front of the house.

15- Leaving

This morning, Edward dropped Bella and me off at the airport. Bella was showing the ticket checking lady our tickets.

Bella had a long and tan drench coat on, with a white scarf on her shoulders, without going around her neck. Her hair was down and parted on the left side in waves of mahogany locks. Her golden eyes were the brightest and she looked phenomenal. She made heads turn when she strutted passed everyone.

The ticket lady was middle aged and eyed Bella with pure jealousy.

We boarded the plane and sat in our huge white seats. It's good to be rich and sit in first class, it was nice and classy. I sat by the window and Bella was stuffing our carry-on bags in the compartments above our seats. One of the male flight attendants offered to help her, but she refused with a dazzling, reassuring smile—that left the flight attendant stumbling a way in a haze—and sat down next to me.

I laughed out loud and shook my head.