A slight breeze flowed within the wind. The air felt crisp and smelled of lilacs and the sea. It was early morning. Jasmine Mayfield roamed the meadows, holding a small sunflower in her hand, and pulling golden petals; letting them blow in the wind. She was on her way to Renesmee's home. Jasmine continued to walk to her friend's house and arrived soon enough.
Feeling timid, she knocked gently on the Cullens' door and waited for somebody to answer.
Renesmee skipped down the stairs and called out "I'll get it!" to her mother. She looked at her mother,
who smiled. She reached for the handle and her father suddenly swooped her into his arms. She giggled. She watched as her father opened the door and let her down. She hugged Jasmine as soon as she saw her. "Hi Jasmine!"
Jasmine smiled and hugged her back. "Hi," she greeted to Renesmee's parents, Bella and Edward. Then she turned back to Renesmee. "What do you want to do today?" she asked.
Renesmee grinned. "Anything!" she exclaimed. She looked at her parents. "Momma, Daddy, can me and Jazzy play outside?"
They nodded.
She hugged her mother and father and ran outside, holding Jasmine's hand.
Jasmine sat down under a shady sycamore tree and began to pull blades of grass and piling it on her side. "School starts in half an hour," she sighed. "Anything new?"
"Aww," Renesmee mumbled. "Oh! Guess what?" She sounded so full of joy and excitement, which was actually natural for her and her dear aunt, Alice. They were full of the same qualities and dreams, only Renesmee wanted to live life like her mother.
Jasmine tilted her head. "What?" she asked curiously.
Nessie made druming sounds loudly and said, "I'm going to the same school as you!" She ran inside and reached up to her mother. "Momma," she whispered. Nessie touched her mother's neck and showed Bella her dream school. Bella smiled.
"Oh, how awesome!" she grinned, clapping. "Are you ready to go yet?" she asked, carrying her messenger bag on her shoulder.
Bella had put Nessie down, who nodded. She ran upstairs to get her bag, closed her door and ran back down. She kissed both her parents on their cheeks and ran along to school with Jasmine.
The screech of the bus hurt Jasmine's ears. The bright, yellow bus came to a slow stop and automatically opened. She entered the bus along with Nessie and sat in the fourth seat. The bus began to drive to school. Nessie kept staring ou the window and smiling. She waited until they arrived to school. The bus came to a complete stop when they arrived at school. The two young girls stepped out of the bus. Jasmine grabbed all the books and supplies She needed and walked to class along with Renesmee. When they arrived in the class, they did an art project.
For their class project, they had to make nametags and decorate them. Nessie wrote her name clearly on the small piece of paper. She looked at Jasmine, sitting next to her and smiled.
Jasmine smiled back at Renesmee and decorated her name tag with stickers. Her name was written in cursive letters. When she finished making her name tag, she placed it gently in front of her and the teacher. A loud bell rang.
"Okay, finished or not, put everything where it is and go out for recess," she said, opening the door. A flood of children came running out the door. "Come on, Renesmee." Jasmine smiled, grabbing her hand and walking out the door with the rest of the students.
Renesmee giggled. "Coming!" She walked with Jasmine to recess.
Jasmine and Renesmee went to the playground area. Jasmine sat on a swing and rocked back and forth slowly. It was silent for a moment. "Have you heard of somebody named Jacob Black?" she asked softly. "He came to me the other day and claimed to be looking for you."
Nessie sat on the swing and started rocking back and forth, confused. "Um... he's my mother's friend," she said. She looked down at her feet and thought to herself ...destined to be with me forever.
Jacob met Renesmee and Jasmine at the front of the school. He was smiling.
Nessie ran up to him and hugged him. "Hi Jake," she whispered.
Jacob unchained her arms and chuckled. "Hey there."
Jasmine looked at Renesmee's tall friend, expressionless. She didn't really know what to do, so she stood there shyly. It was unnatural for someone to be as tall as Jacob.
Renesmee saw Jasmine's expression and giggled. She cupped her hands on her ear and whispered, "Don't be afraid,
he's just going to take us home."
"Okay." Jasmine followed Jacob and Renesmee home. She still had questions about who this stranger was, but didn't bother to. It would've made him uncomfortable.
Jacob looked at the two. "So how was school today?" he asked, not that much curious. His eyes wandered off to the sky,
not really paying any attention as to what they would say to him. He could've done a lot better with Nessie... the little girl who held him to the earth.
"Good." Nessie grinned and looked at Jasmine.
Jasmine glaced at Renesmee, not knowing what to say, so she kept quiet. They arrived at her home and all went inside.
Renesmee's mother seemed delighted to see an old friend of hers and Edward just grinned at him. They were all having a chat in the kitchen. Jasmine looked around the house and spotted her cousin. "Jessica!" she said, running over to hug her.
Renesmee spotted Jessica and glared. Why is she here? she thought to herself. Nessie ran over to her mother and jumped on her lap. She put her hand on her neck, asking the same question. Bella just shook her head. "Momma, why?" she whispered.
Jacob looked at Edward and smiled back. "Edward, Bella." He looked at Jessica. "And what are you doing here, Jessica?"
he asked, still smiling a little.
"Oh, I wasn't busy this afternoon, so I decided to come see the girls for fun since I don't see them very often," Jessica answered politely, smiling to Renesmee and Jasmine. Jasmine ran over to Renesmee. "Wanna say hi to Jess?" she asked, grinning.
Bella brushed Renesmee's hair with her fingers. "Don't worry about it," she whispered. "She is on our side." But Nessie shook her head. Bella sighed. She looked at Jasmine, then at Jessica. "We'll talk about it later," she said to Jessica. She picked Nessie off her lap and put her on Edward's. "Excuse me." She left the kitchen and went up to Renesmee's room. She sat on her bed and stayed there thinking for a while.
Jasmine looked at Bella, then turned to Renesmee. "Is your mother alright?" she asked curiously.
"I'm not sure," she whispered. She watched Bella walk down the stairs, looking at the wall on the other side. Nessie ran to Bella and reached for her to take her in her arms. The two of them must be close, Jasmine thought to herself.
Bella sighed and picked Renesmee up. "I'm okay, Renesmee. Go, play with your friend." She forced herself to smile, but Nessie saw behind it. She stared at Bella.
Are you sure? she spoke in her mind.
"Positive," she whispered. She put Renesmee down and watched her run off. She leaned against the wall while Edward walked over to her.
Renesmee looked at Jasmine and shrugged. "She says she's fine but something's wrong, I think. But I don't wanna invade her privacy." Jasmine's head tilted a bit. Haha, she's probably wondering how I know this stuff! I study too much. I should be in high school by now!
"What do you want to do now, Renesmee?" Jasmine asked, looking at Bella. She seemed disconnected and confused about something. Jasmine was curious, but tried to shrug it off her shoulder.
Renesmee thought to herself, questioning Edward from her mind as well. Daddy, is something wrong with Momma? She looked at Edward. He shook his head at Renesmee. She sighed but perked up a little. "Wanna play outside in the backyard? It's very roomy,"
she said.
Edward looked back at Bella. "Are you okay, love?" he whispered. She thought to herself for a moment. I can't lie to him, I would never. She shook her head.
"Something's not right." He kissed her forehead and put his hand on her arm. Bella shook her head. "Something is playing with my sheild, Edward. And I don't know what."
Jasmine nodded. They both went outside. "Is your mother okay?" she asked. "She seems... disconnected from everything."
"Umm... it's nothing you need to know or ever find out..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say. What can I say? I can't just tell her our family secrets... but she's like a best friend to me. "Hold on a sec," she said, and ran off to get Jacob.
"Oh, well, okay then..." Jasmine softly whispered, a little too late. She's hiding something from me, I know it. She thought to herself while waiting for Renesmee to get back.
Jacob was being pulled by Renesmee to the backyard. She looked worried as she turned to him. Jacob chuckled because Jasmine was right behind her. Nessie groaned and led him further into the forest. "She's going to figure out the secret!" she whispered.
He shook his head. "No, she can't. There is no way she can figure out something like that, Nessie, she is a kindergartener." He picked her up and kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry."
Renesmee sighed and nodded. He put her down and she ran back to Jasmine. "Sorry," she apologized.
Jasmine nodded, expressionless. Then she turned to Renesmee and sighed. "Are you hiding something from me?" she asked, hoping for the truth. There was nothing else she could hope for.... nothing to hear from her best friend rather than the truth. She wouldn't lie to me, I know she never would.
Renesmee's eyes widened and closed. "I can't tell you," she said, still closing her eyes, making them tighter. "It's a... family secret." I hope she'd understand that. It is the truth. She opened her eyes to see the expression on Jasmine's face. She looked either confused or worried, she could not tell.
Jasmine pulled a blade of grass from the dirt and looked down. "Okay then," she answered. It was silent for a moment. Then she sighed.
"I guess I gotta go now. Later." She turned to leave, and thought about Renesmee the whole time.
Renesmee started nibbling her nails, making them all uneven in size. She didn't want to say another word on the subject, or to Jasmine the rest of the day. But she said, "Okay, see you tomorrow." She shook her head when Jasmine wasn't looking. I'm the worst friend in the history of friends, she thought.
Jacob walked to her and hugged her. "It'll be okay, I promise." He put his head lightly on her shoulder.
She turned around and hugged him back.
Jasmine ran down the meadow, not wanting to turn back and into the house. Her mother and father were already asleep, exhausted from their day of work. She went into her room and closed the door, sitting on her bed. I thought there were no secrets between us. She changed into her nightgown and went to bed. She checked the clock; it was only eight o'clock. She stayed up and looked at the dictionary for 'secret'. "Why am I doing this? I understand completely," she muttered to herself. So she just sat in the bed until she fell asleep.
Renesmee soon fell asleep in the family room. Jacob carried her off to her room and tucked her into bed. He sat by her on the bed until Edward kicked him out. Nessie saw pictures, not dreams or nightmares. She was questioning herself on what to do with Jasmine. I can't, I won't tell her. I can't trust her enough. A tear rolled down her cheek.
Jasmine yawned and got dressed into comfortable layers of clothes. She wore a plain yellow t-shirt, brown skirt, and dark green boots. She grabbed a coat and went outside. She sat upon the meadow and under the sycamore tree. In view, she saw Renesmee's house. Jasmine turned and began to play with the grass.
Bella shook Renesmee to wake her up. She sat up, yawned, and streched her arms. Bella left her room to give her privacy. Uh okay... Nessie thought to herself. She got dressed in ten minutes. Nessie picked a pink tang-top, plain blue jeans, and flats. She went downstairs and sat at the kitchen table to eat breakfast. "AB Positive, Momma?" She smiled. She'd forgotten about Jasmine already... or not.
Jazzy walked around the meadows, blowing blades of grass into the wind.
Bella smiled back and nodded. "If that's what you feel like today," she said, softly. She searched the cabinets and found five more bottles of AB Positive blood. She laughed, picked one and poured it in a cup. "Hurry. You have school in fifteen minutes. I'll walk you today if you like, dear."
She sat down next to Renesmee and gave her the cup.
She nodded and said, "Okay, Momma." She drank her cup in seconds than ran outside to play for a little while Bella got ready. She saw Jazzy in front of her house, turned around. She ran around to the backyard and sat down under a tree, tring to forget about yesterday.
Jasmine waited a few minutes. It wasn't long before the bus arrived. "Jasmine grabbed her bag and went inside.
Nessie looked up at the bus. Oh, right. Momma's taking me.
When they reached school, Nessie found Jasmine walking into the front office. Nessie kissed her mother on the cheek and walked straight to her classroom. Bella waved before she could zoom away.
Jasmine signed in, then went to class. She went directly to her desk. Beside her was Renesmee. Jasmine looked down and let a curtain of hair fall down to the side of her face. The teacher wrote words on the board and picked students to learn how to pronounce them.
Renesmee kept looking straight at the teacher, trying to ignore Jazzy. She looked at the words. Haha, I can read that! She raised her hand and the teacher called on her. She tried to sound it out slowly so it didn't seem like she was bragging. "She.... walked... down... the... hall...."
Jasmine thought for a moment and hesitated. She ripped a piece of notebook paper out, grabbed her pencil, and wrote: I know your secret. Then she passed it to Renesmee.
Renesmee looked down at the piece of paper. She took her pencil out and wrote on the paper. Then what is it? She regretted putting that on the piece, but pushed it toward Jasmine. Jasmine picked up her pencil and began to write. You come from a family of vampires. YOU are a vampire. She gave it to Renesmee.
Renesmee's eyed opened wide when she looked at the paper. She shut her eyes tightly. She wrote without having to look. Okay, I'm half vampire.
Jasmine crumpled the paper and stuffed it in her desk. "I knew it. But I promise, I won't tell anybody. We're best friends." She smiled.
Renesmee sighed. "Okay. I'm trusting you on this, Jazzy," she said when the bell rang.
Jasmine nodded. "I promise."
"Thanks," she said. They ran off to recess together and tried to ignore the subject. Nessie smiled the whole time. She sat on the swing and started rocking back and forth. It was silent for a moment. Jasmine tried to keep quiet but couldn't help asking questions.
"So I'm curious," she blurted. Jasmine swung slowly back and forth, her face expressionless. "Do you, um... drink blood?" she asked.
Renesmee looked down and stopped swinging. She sighed. "Sometimes," she whispered. "But only the kind Grandpa Carlisle buys." And don't worry, my bites aren't venomous, she wanted to say.
"Oh." She didn't really care if she was a vampire or not... they were still best friends. As they always say whenever they heard it, true friends are never apart. Maybe in distance, but not at heart. They were never going to be away from each other.
Renesmee read her expression and blushed a little. "Do you have any more questions?" she asked, while looking at her.
"Nope, no more questions." The bell rang and the two girls went to class. They learned how to spell simple words, then it was time to go home. Jasmine walked home with Renesmee.
Renesmee giggled, suddenly remembering the words she read in class today. "Those words were easier than the ones I learned when I was three months old." She saw Jacob sitting on the grass field in the middle of Jasmine and Renesmee's houses.
He looked up when he heard their footsteps and slightly grinned. Nessie smiled back.
Jasmine followed Renesmee up to the hill to her house. "So what now?" she asked.
Nessie smiled. "I want to show you something." She looked over at Jacob and winked. He grinned a bit wider. He ran behind the house and changed into wolf form. He came back and started wagging his tail. He looked hungry, but didn't mind it.
Jasmine's eyes widened as Renesmee's friend had a sudden transformation of a human to a werewolf. Then she turned to her friend. "I thought you said you were a vampire..." she said, a puzzled expression crossing her face.
Nessie giggled. I am, but Jacob is a wolf. He won't bite. He is a good doggy," she said. She ran up to Jacob and hugged his leg. She motioned Jasmine to come forward to pet him.
Jasmine giggled and stepped forward to Jacob. She petted his fur and laughed. "He is a nice doggy."
The wolf's friendly smile trickled down Nessie's back. She laughed and got on his back. "C'mon, Jazzy!" Nessie held onto the thought of Jake giving her and Jazzy a joyride. She giggled silently.
Jasmine approached Jacob hesitantly and climbed on his back, grinning. "Have you rode on him before?" she asked, just to be safe. She was a little worried about riding on such a gigantic wolf.
Renesmee nodded, still smiling. "Of course. But it's helpful to hang onto his fur." She grabbed pieces of his hair, not so tight, just strong enough. The wolf's head turned around and licked Nessie's face, which made her giggle loudly.
Jasmine grabbed hold of his fur gently. "Ready," she breathed. She was obviously nervous.
Jacob looked up at the sky and howled. Nessie turned to the front door and saw Bella leaning against the frame, smiling a little. "Okay,"
Renesmee whispered in Jacob's wolf ear. He started to run, just fast enough for the little girls. Their hair was blowing in the wing as he ran through the forest and back.
Jasmine was having fun. When they finished riding, Jasmine asked Renesmee if they could do it again the next day. Of course, she said sure. "Can I have dinner at your house? My parents are working late today."
Renesmee smiled. "Okay. My auntie loves having people over." She thought about how Rosalie would react to Jasmine, since she was human. Rose used to tell Nessie stories about her old relationship with her mother, which was odd. Then she thought about Alice. Auntie Alice wouldn't mind, I'm sure she wouldn't.
Jasmine followed Renesmee inside the house and took a seat at the dinner table. "Hi Bella, hi Edward."
Jacob walked inside, looking normal again. He was smiling. Nessie looked at Jacob and smiled at him back. "Hi Momma, hi Daddy," she greeted her parents. "Jazzy is staying for dinner, is that okay?" And Jake usually stays for dinner, she thought to herself and Edward.
"So, what are we having?" Jasmine asked, helping out by setting up the table. Then she took a seat.
Nessie smiled. "You didn't need to do that, you're the guest." She heard Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper coming down the stairs and turned her head around. "Hi Auntie Rose and Ally! Hi Uncle Em and Jazz!" she exclaimed, running toward them and hugging each one.
"Hi guys!" Jasmine grinned, hugging them all back. The dinner began. She sat on the seat properly. She didn't want to disappoint anybody,
so she acted ladylike.