Chapter One


I was staring into space while my AP Calculus teacher was rambling on about whatever was on the board in front of us. All day I had been wrapped up in my own thoughts, not paying attention in any of my classes. The final bell rang, signaling the end of the day, and I was brought back to reality as I started packing up my stuff. As I stood up from my desk, the teacher announced to the class, "Don't forget to bring in your baby photos and the college your attending on Monday to the graduation committee. Have a great weekend everyone."

I walked out the door and down the crowded hall to my locker. Graduation was coming up in a week, and it was the reason I had been spacing out all day. My friend Ashley came up behind me as I opened my locker.

"Have you picked the baby picture you're going to bring in?" She asked, leaning against the locker beside me. "I'm thinking of bringing the famous baby butt one my mom took." She snickered "I'm sure the auditorium would get a kick out of that." Ashley always managed to make me smile. From the first time we met my first day of school in first period, we were instant friends. Ashley was beautiful and smart, but was the type of person that could care less about what anyone else thought of her. This came out in the way she dressed, her usual cargo pants and dark t-shirt gave her that 'don't mess with me' vibe. She had long straight blond hair and thick over-sized black glasses that hid her freckles and blue eyes that rarely showed excitement.

I chuckled as I put my books in my black backpack and pulled it out of my locker. "Are you allowed to bring a picture like that?" I asked, closing the locker.

"We'll find out Monday." She replied, we started walking out towards the parking lot. "Have you picked a college yet?"

I sighed "No, I still haven't brought it up to my parents yet."

"Why not? Graduation is next Friday man, you've got to talk to them about it soon. The fact your family even has enough connections to get you into one after the summer on such short notice is amazing."

"I know, I've just been dreading it." We walked down the steps into the parking lot. We came up to my Dad's Volvo Sedan that he let me drive to school. I unlocked the car and we hopped in, throwing our backpacks in the back.

"What's there to worry about? With your grades, you could get into any school you wanted. I'm sure your family will be proud of you regardless." She said as I started the car, she played with the radio until she found a song that she liked. "Oh my god, I love this song! Have you heard it?" She yelled, turning up the radio to a Kanye song. I laughed as I drove along listening to her sing along perfectly. Her outer appearance never matched her music choices.

It was a relatively nice day in Astoria, Oregon. The sun was shining through the clouds and the smell of the ocean and trees always made me feel calm. Ashley and I bantered back and forth about our day while we drove through town towards her house. I loved the architecture in this town, the way the buildings always looked older than they were and how you could always see the harbor behind them. We pulled up in front of her house, her dog parking happily from inside the fence when she opened the car door.

"As always, thanks for the ride." She stepped out of the car. Before she closed the door, she stuck her head back in, "Please talk to them about it, you'll feel so much better once you do."

"Yeah, yeah." I said, shooing her out of my car.

"I'll text you, see you Monday. Love ya." She called, blowing me a kiss and closing the door, walking to her house.

I sighed again as I drove back onto the road. If only things were that easy.

My name is Renesmee Cullen, I'm 5 years old, and I'm a senior in high school. Even though I'm only 5, I could pull off 20, and I'm probably smarter than one too. Last summer, my family made the 4 hour move from Forks to Astoria. They said that people were starting to talk about how good they looked after having lived in Forks for nearly 10 years. It was a tough move for me, seeing that the only place I had ever known was that small town. I missed Grandpa Charlie, the forest, La Push beach, and the pack. That was the reason they had chosen a place so close, though, so Charlie would still be close to us, and for Jacob. Jacob moved with us, and even though he knew it would be hard on him, he persisted. I'm glad he did though, that way my whole family could be together. I couldn't imagine making a move without my best friend.

When we moved to Astoria, my family had made the decision not to attend school, and to get a break, considering they had attended high school countless times. Jacob had chosen to get a job at a local car shop. Due to my homeschooling and ability to learn things quickly, I had no intention of starting school as a freshman. It would have been way too easy, not to mention that I looked much older than the younger classes. My grandparents Carlisle and Esme, acting like my parents, registered me as a senior. Even though I would only have one year of schooling, it was much better than sitting through 4 years of mind numbing courses, and even the senior courses were a bit easier than I would have liked. I liked learning, I liked finding out about the world and the things that inhabited it. I took interest in human politics and history, possibly because the human world always fascinated me. Even though I was a half breed, I still felt totally disconnected from them. I loved being friends with Ashley because she always interested me. She acted differently than most others that attended the school, and being around her and studying what she did made me feel a part of two different worlds.

Graduation laid heavy on my mind, as my time at the high school was coming to an end. This is what my family was worried about with me starting as a senior, that I would only have a year to do anything exciting in this town. I knew what I wanted to do, but the idea always frightened me. I wanted to attend a University. I knew my family would have no problem with it, but they wanted something different. They would want to go with me, to attend the same University. The thing was, I didn't really want them to come. I wanted to do it on my own, and experience being by myself for the first time. The move last summer and how it affected me, me being thankful it was so close to Forks, opened my eyes. We would always be together, and we would always experience things together. Growing up, I loved hearing stories of my families lives before they became a part of the Cullen Clan. I loved hearing about their adventures and always imagined myself in their shoes. When I was little I would pretend I was beautiful like my aunt Rose and would dress up in pearls and oversized heels and strut around the house pretending I was strolling down the park mid-day having a conversation with a prince, which was always played by Jacob. I would pretend to be Jasper and picture myself riding around on a horse and fighting off bad guys, which just involved me jumping all over the furniture and having sword fights with Jacob. This was all, of course, before they told me the dark sides of their past.

I just wanted to have my own adventure, to experience different things on my own. I loved my family, but spending forever always together doesn't exactly sound amazing.

Once I was on the outskirts of town, I turned off the driveway onto the half mile road I would consider our driveway. This road always reminded me of Forks; the lush and thick greenery that lined the road, the way the trees darkened the light from the sun. It was like you were leaving civilization into a fictional world. I turned the corner that revealed our house. It was big and open like our previous one, and in the distance you could see our private beach behind the trees. I clicked the garage door opener and drove inside. To my surprise, the only other car here was aunt Rose's new white Audi convertible that she had bought last summer when we moved. I parked and hopped out of the car, grabbing my backpack and headed into the house.

"I'm home" I called, closing the door behind me.

"Welcome back sweetheart" I heard grandma Esme call from the kitchen. I hung up the keys on the key rack and headed into the kitchen where she was sitting at the counter swiping through her tablet.

"Hey grandma, where is everyone?" I said, walking over to the fridge and checking what was inside.

"Your grandpa is still at work. Rose, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper went into town to run some errands, and your father and mother went for a hunt. Jacob, last I heard was working on his bike outside, but I don't know where he went off too."

I settled for a pudding cup and walked over next to her to see what she was looking at on her tablet. "What are you doing?" I asked

I watched as she swiped through different recipes on Pinterest. "I'm trying to get more creative with my cooking for you and Jacob. I'm looking for some ideas for dinner tonight."

"Well I can't wait. I'm going to head upstairs and start on my homework." I said as I kissed her on the cheek and headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room. I walked down the hall and opened my door, which was the last room right next to Jacob's. My room was very light and open, with a large window that made up an entire wall and looked out towards the beach. My walls were white, which looked good paired with the light brown wood floors. My canopy bed was decorated with light colored sheets and a white knitted comforter. In the corner was my desk which housed my printer and laptop. A large wooden bookshelf sat next to it, covered in rows of books, all of which I've read. I had a large mirrored closet on the opposite end of my bed. My walls were decorated in soft yellow lights and pictures of me and my family, the pack, and Ashley. I tossed my backpack onto my bed and turned on my TV that hung above my desk. What came on was a strange Hallmark movie, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I went over to my closet and searched for some comfortable clothing. I took off my jeans and shirt and replaced them with my black sweatpants and cropped hoodie that exposed my stomach. I couldn't help but notice my stomach was getting more toned, must have been all the exploring Jake and I had been doing on the outskirts of Astoria. I grabbed a hair tie from my desk and pulled my long auburn hair up into a high ponytail.

After I was comfortable I crawled onto my bed and took out my history book from my backpack. I was good at history, considering my grandpa was a walking history book. He always told me stories of the past and his experiences during key events in history. However, I did have a final coming up, and it didn't hurt to study a bit. I opened the pudding cup and ate it as I spent the next hour scanning through the pages of the textbook. When I got to the end of the chapter, I closed the book and looked out my window. The sun was going down, and all the colors of the sky were reflecting on the water. My family would be coming home soon, and I was dreading it. I had to tell them about going to college. I made sure to not think of it too much around Dad, but I knew he noticed that something was bothering me, but he never pressed me about it.

What would they say? Would they be completely against it? They know that even if they weren't going to let me do it now, they were going to have to let me go out on my own eventually.

The first one to come home, I could hear, was Jake. The sound of his bike coming down the driveway and into the garage pulled me out of my thoughts. I was happy he was home. No matter what mood I was in, he always made me feel better. I heard him say hello to Esme downstairs and jog up the stairs. He was coming down the hallway and I heard him stop in front of my door. I smiled "Come in."

He opened the door slowly and peeked inside. Once he saw me he grinned his famous smile, flashing his bright white teeth. He closed the door behind him and walked over to my bed, I noticed he was holding something into his hand. "Hey Ness, whatcha ya up to?" He asked as he jumped onto my bed next to me.

"Just doing some studying before my final." I pointed to my book

He chuckled "You know, you could probably pass all of your finals without even studying for them."

"Probably" I smiled "But it doesn't help to be overly prepared." I looked down at the tiny box in his hand. "What's that?"

He paused a moment before looking down at the box. "It's a graduation present."

"Jacob," I said, nudging him with my shoulder "You didn't have to do that. Besides, I haven't even graduated yet."

"I know," he looked up at me into my eyes and gave a small smile "but I wanted to be the first one to give you a gift."

I looked down, blushing a bit. He grabbed my hand and gently placed the box into my palm. It was a small box wrapped in red paper and tied with golden ribbon. I slowly undid the ribbon and tore off the paper, revealing a black velvet box. I felt the velvet a bit before opening the top. Inside was a shining silver necklace with two charms attached. One was a small silver howling wolf, the other was a crescent moon embedded with small clear stones. I just sat there with my mouth open, speechless.

"Jake, this is –" I stuttered. I gently picked it up from the box and held it in my hand. "This is beautiful."

He smiled. "I thought it would be a better upgrade than the bracelet I made you years ago."

I looked at him smiling and hopped off the bed towards the mirror. "Will you put it on me?" I asked, looking at him from the mirror. He slid off the bed and walked over. He reached around me with his arms and took the necklace, unhooking the clasps. He brought it around my neck and tied clasped it together. I could feel his warm fingers brushing against my neck, sending small shivers down my spine.

"There," he said, lowering his hands and looking at me in the mirror. The necklace looked beautiful as it hung from my neck. I touched the two charms with my fingers. "It looks even more beautiful on you."

I could feel my face getting hotter. From the mirror, he was looking into my eyes. We held our stares for a moment before we heard cars coming up the driveway. I quickly looked down, hiding my blush. "I think my uncles and aunts are home." Jacob's posture loosened as he put a hand on my shoulder.

"You go down and meet them, I'll be right there after I change." He jogged out of my room. I let go of the breath I realized I'd been holding. Moments like that started becoming more frequent between Jake and I. It started after we moved to Astoria and I grew into my final height and body. Before, back in Forks, he and I were only best friends. He was the only person I wanted to be around all the time. He was the only person that could cheer me up from a bad mood, and he always took my side in an argument, even against my parents. Recently, I don't know what's been happening. He was still my best friend, but whenever I was around him, my heart would speed up, and I paid attention to everything he did. I would notice the way he walked, the way his cheeks would curve up into a smile, and how his eyes would light up whenever he looked into mine.

I told myself I was just acting crazy, and I jogged down the stairs. My uncles Emmett and Jasper were sitting on the couch watching sports recaps. My aunts Rosalie and Alice were in the Kitchen with grandma Esme, and I could hear grandpa Carlisle with them too, he had returned from work. I waved hello and gave a small smile to my uncles as I walked passed them into the kitchen. Grandpa was standing next to grandma, watching her cook up whatever recipe she had found online. I walked over to my aunts who were sitting in at the dining table. I gave them both a kiss on the cheek. "Where did you guys go?" I asked, sitting down in the chair opposite of them.

"Well," Alice started in her usual cheery voice "the four of us went into town to grab graduation supplies."

"We needed the boys to carry the bags." Rosalie winked

"Graduation supplies?" I asked "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, two arms wrapped around me tightly from behind. "Yes Alice, tell her your good news." My mom said has she placed a large kiss on my cheek. I didn't notice my mom and dad return home, they were very good at stealth.

"Your aunts have been putting a lot of thought into this." I heard my dad say as he gave me a small hug and sat down in the chair next to me.

Alice's mouth curved into a huge smile. "We're going to throw you a graduation party!"

"Party?" I said in shock. The only outside person who had ever come to the house was Ashley. "What do you mean?"

"We threw your mother a party when she graduated." Alice chirped.

"Against my will." My mom huffed, leaning against the counter.

"Oh come on, you loved it." Alice smiled

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked "I mean I'm only friends with one person, and she isn't much of a partier."

"Trust me, you tell 18-year old's about a party, they come running, no matter where it is." Rose chuckled

"Party? I'm in." Jake said, waltzing into the kitchen, his hair still wet from his shower.

"Come on Ness, it'll be fun." Emmett said, suddenly appearing next to Rose. "It'll be a blast."

Jasper walked up behind Alice, putting his hand on her shoulder. The kitchen quickly became very crowded.

Grandpa placed his jacket on the chair at the head of the table and sat town as grandma brought over two plates of spaghetti and placed one in front of me and one next to me where Jake would sit.

"Are you ok with this grandpa?" I asked

"I don't see why not." He said "It isn't every day you graduate high school."

The family laughed at their inside joke. Jake sat down next to me and began gulping up his plate. Everyone started talking and going into different conversations. I pushed a meatball around my plate with my fork. I knew I had to say something while everyone was here, I was just scared too. Uncle Jasper noticed my change in emotion and looked over at me. Dad could hear my thoughts about speaking to everyone in my head and stopped talking to Mom to listen.

"Um, so on Monday I have to bring in a baby picture for the graduation slideshow." I started, my voice shaky.

Aunt Rose turned to me, "Well that should be easy, I have tons of pictures on my computer upstairs. I could give a few of my favorites if you'd like."

"Yeah, thanks." I said, not lifting my head. At this point my family noticed my strange behavior and they were all looking at me, except for Jake or course, who continued to devour his food. "I also have to tell the what college I'm going to after the summer."

"That's easy, just give them a name of a college you like." Grandma said, standing at grandpas' side.

"Well, actually," I began, my voice shaky. "I actually think I want to go to college."

They all looked at me, even Jake who had stopped his fierce eating.

"Well that's great honey." My mom said, giving me a hug. "You're so smart, I'm so proud of you. I actually wouldn't mind taking a few courses myself at the community college."

"Maybe some interior design?" Alice said excitedly, looking at Rosalie. They began talking about their options. Dad never took his eyes off of me, knowing that I wasn't finished.

"Actually," I began again. "I was thinking of going to a University." They all stopped talking. "By myself."

Everyone looked at me for a while, their expressions confused.

"Why by yourself?" Mom asked

I took a deep breath, putting the fork down on my plate. "I want to start trying things on my own. I listen to all of your stories and adventures before you became a family, and I want to have adventures of my own."

"Absolutely not." Mom said

"Why?" I said, quickly turning around in my char to look at her. "Why not?"

"You're too young." She said "You can't be by yourself, it'd be too dangerous."

"Mom, I'd be fine! I haven't done anything at all since I was born to betray any of you guy's trust. I'm a smart girl and I want to try things on my own for once!"

"You're just a child, Renesmee." Mom spat back, her voice letting me know she was done with the subject.

I turned to Dad who had been silent the whole time. He was looking at me with saddened eyes. "Dad, please, I can do this. I'm not talking about going far away. I'll go to a University that's close by. I can come home on the weekends." He continued to look at me, reading my thoughts. "Dad please, I can do this."

He continued to stare at me. Everyone in the room was waiting for his answer, the tension was thick in the room. He held my gaze a few moments longer until he closed his eyes, looking defeated. "Alright."

"Edward?" My mom yelled, shocked

Dad took my hand into his, slowly brushing his thumb back and forth along the tops of them. "Renesmee, though she is young, is wise beyond her years." He said, keeping his eyes at my hand. "If she wants to experience things on her own, who are we to stop her?"

"Edward it's dangerous." My mom stated

He looked up at my face. I was shocked in the way he was reacting to all of this. He smiled a somber smile. "She's a smart girl, she'll be alright."

I began to smile a smile that stretched ear to ear. I wrapped my arms around me dad so tightly it would injure any human male. "Oh, thank you Dad, thank you!" I said, almost crying.

He hugged me back "It has to be a college that's close though. And you're coming home on the weekends."

"I promise!" I said, looking over at Mom. She looked sad, but noticed how happy I was. She sighed, "fine." I squealed and ran over to hug her. "Thank you, Mom!"

Everyone else was surprised, but were none the less happy for me. Emmett was excited, as he started talking to me about some of his past experiences. Amidst everyone talking, Jacob suddenly stood up from his chair. We stopped talking as he slammed his fork onto the table and stomped out of the kitchen. I watched as he jogged up the stairs and heard him slam his bedroom door shut. I looked at my Mom and Dad who both looked sympathetic before going up the stairs towards Jake's room. I stopped in front of his door. I couldn't hear anything on the other side. I held up my hand to knock, but hesitated. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Jacob?" I asked.

There was no reply, and I slowly turned the knob and opened the door. I peeked inside. Jacob's room was much darker than mine, the color scheme representing more earthy tones. He was sitting at the end of his bed, his face in his hands. I quietly closed the door behind me. "Jake, what's wrong?"

His breathing was loud and unsteady; he was clearly angry about something. I walked over to his bed and sat down next to him, keeping notable distance. I put my hand on his arm, but he quickly pulled away and stood up, pacing back and forth in front of me. "Renesmee, what are you thinking?" He asked, his voice low.

"What do you mean?" I whispered. I'd never seen him act this way before.

"This is crazy, going out by yourself! You could get hurt!" He didn't look at me and just continued pacing.

"Jake, I'll be ok, I can handle it." I said, getting a bit annoyed myself

"No, you can't. You have no idea what's out there, what kind of dangerous things you could face." He was getting angrier.

I stood up, my hands balled into fists. "Jake, I'm not a little girl anymore. I can handle myself. I'll be alright."

He looked at me finally, but when he did, I froze. In his eyes weren't anger, but sadness. He looked on the verge of tears. "I can't believe you want to go by yourself. You don't want anyone with you? You don't want me with you?"

Jake had stopped pacing and was standing right in front of me. He looked so defeated, so helpless. I couldn't look away, his eyes held mine in their place. "Jake – I – " It took me awhile to find the right words. "I just want to experience things on my own. You've all lived your own lives and have done so many amazing things. I know I'll always have you guys, but I just – "

Before I could finish my sentence, he walked over to me and grabbed my hand, pulling up to his chest. Our faces were so close, I could feel his breath. "Please Ness, let me come with you."

"What?" I asked

"I know you've already made up your mind about this, but please, let me come with you." He was searching in my eyes

"I – I –" Before I could find any words, he pulled into a tight hug. We had hugged before, but nothing so intense. Whenever we hugged it was always are friends, family. But this, this was different. He felt so strong in this moment, and I felt so safe, like there was nothing else around us, like there was nothing that could penetrate our embrace.

"Please, Renesmee." He breathed into my ear, his voice low and beaten "Let me come with you."

I couldn't move. It was like we were one in this moment. It made me realize something; Jacob and I had never spent a single day apart. Not once. We were always together, since I was born. He would hold me in his arms when I was a baby, and I would fall asleep so soundly. When I was older, I would crawl into his bed at night whenever I had a nightmare, and he would hold me close to him, reassuring me that nothing would happen as long as he was there. He was always just right across the hall from me. Always there whenever I needed him. This embrace made me realize that I'd still need him. That I would need him when I didn't have my family by my side. That I would need him next to me every day, cheering me up whenever I was upset.

He pulled back, looking into my eyes again. I stared into the dark brown orbs for a moment, staring into the protective wolf eyes that always watched over me.

"Ok" I whispered.

He dropped onto the floor on his knees. I looked down at him, my mind blank. He finally spoke, "Thank you."


Thank you all for taking the time to read this. I just want to know if anyone still reads Twilight fanfiction, considering it's almost 2017. If so, please let me know if you would continue to read this story. I don't want to keep writing for it and not have anyone read it, it would just be a waste of time. If enough of you guys want it, I'll publish the second chapter. Again, thanks for reading.