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Fighting Fate Chapter 1

"On a scale of 1 to 20, how mad are you?" Jacob asks as we pull the car into the driveway of Sam and Emily's house. My arms are crossed sternly across my chest and my face is set in a straight and serious line. I stare straight ahead as I proceed to ignore him.

A piano recital. Simple. Not a big deal. Merely something that your parents force you to partake in when you're seven and you do a great and chipper rendition of "Row Your Boat" and then "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and everything is fine and dandy and adorable and then you turn eight and quit and never speak of it again. But when being eight means that you're technically sixteen, it really isn't all that cute.

My dad had taught me everything he knew, why did I need to go to lessons anyways? But he insisted that simply knowing how to play by ear and knowing how to read music is two completely different things. So I attended the stupid lessons where suddenly even though I could play Beethoven by ear I was level one and had to learn the names for the keys and acronyms to remember them.

I practically cried to my parents, begging them not to make me go through with the end of the year recital. The worst part is that when I asked to play Clair De Lune, I was instructed that I had to instead learn Jingle Bells and perform that instead because it is one of the few songs that I actually know the keys to.

I tell Jacob everything, yet I had been so embarrassed about it that I kept it a secret. So, when walking into that theater with all the other little ten year olds that actually look like ten year olds and their parents, I was ready to get the stupid song over with and then make good on my father's promise to allow me to quit, all the while taking my humiliation in the peaceful presence of just my two, forgiving parents that are forced to love me no matter what. It is safe to say I was a little surprised when I walked out onto the stage and saw Jacob, Quil, Embry, Claire, Seth, my parents, my grandparents (Carlisle and Esme and Charlie and Sue), my uncles, and even my aunts equipped with camera's and frantic waves right in the front row. Actually, my mouth practically dropped to the floor.

There was a solid moment when I just stood there staring at them all and decided that I was actually going to walk off the stage, exit the building, and just end my life right then and there. But then I realized that if I did that my dad would probably make me go through with yet another year of piano lessons and I would find myself in this exact same position a year from now; I might as well get the embarrassment over as quickly as I can. So I walked to the piano, sat down, and literally finished a two-minute song in thirty seconds flat with my eyes raging fire and my lips in a straight, tight line.

Although I ended up playing the tune by ear and not even reading the notes, which was the entire point of me taking piano lessons, it got the job done. When the song ended I got a standing ovation from my entourage as I practically sprinted back off stage. Jacob found me after the show with my back to them as I faced the door of his truck, my arms crossed tightly over my chest. I haven't spoken since.

"Listen," Jacob begins gently, "I swear to you this all started with the best intentions. Claire's only 11, and her parents have been pressuring her to pick up some type of extra curricular activity, so Quil asked if maybe she could come and see you and then she would feel like it was cool or whatever because she saw you doing it. And then when Quil asked me, Embry was there and I felt bad because he doesn't have an imprint so when he said he wanted to come I couldn't just say no. And then the only reason why Seth was there was because Charlie and Sue were there and that was not my invite so I cannot be held accountable for that whole group." Jacob's rant trails off as he puts the car into park and pulls the key from the ignition. It's even more noticeably silent without the air running.

Jacob gently grasps my knee and shakes it. "Ness, come on."

I break my crossed arms only to shove his hand away, re-crossing them and then staring out the window right after I'm done.

"I'm really sorry," He tries again. I don't budge. "You looked really cute if that helps at all."

That's it. I drop my hands and finally can't hold it in anymore. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was!" I scream.

Jacob appears taken aback before he plasters a concerned expression on his face, only, I know him too well. I can tell immediately by the way that he's pressing his lips together a little too tightly that he knows exactly how embarrassing it was, and that he probably enjoyed watching that train wreck almost as much as I hated it.

"Stop laughing!" I practically scream.

"I'm not!" Jacob defends, only this time he isn't able to hold back his laugh. His chest rises and falls as he does so, and I hit his chest as hard as I can, although I don't worry about his werewolf self.

"Ouch!" Jacob exclaims, holding his hand to his chest. "Abuse!"

"Abuse!" I exclaim. "You just watched me perform Jingle Bells on a stage with five year olds! You should be getting a lot worse!" Jacob laughs again, merely at the thought this time, and I open the door to leave.

"No," He speaks between laughs. "Ness don't." Jacob manages to grasp my hand before I am able to escape and then pull me into his lap. Jacob encloses his arms around me, trapping me in his muscles.

"Let go of me," I mumble, not even bothering to fight him because I know it would be useless. Even as a half-vampire I have nothing on Jacob.

"Nessie," Jacob giggles. "Why are you embarrassed? You know that you never have to be embarrassed around me."

I ignore him. "I am never trusting you again," I speak, trying to weasel my way out of his hot grasp.

"Never again?" Jacob laughs as he mocks me and I narrow my eyes. "But Ness I did bring you flowers." He motions towards the backseat and I let myself shift my gaze for only about two seconds to notice yellow, my favorite color, out of the corner of my eye. I can't let his nice deed distract me.

"I don't want your flowers," I mumble underneath my breath. "And that's Renesmee to you."

Jacob laughs, his white smile shining in an annoyingly brilliant way under Fork's mid-summer sun, "But I created that nickname for you."

"Well un-create it then!" I argue.

"You're stripping my nicknaming rights?"

I roll my eyes, "I was a baby; I technically never gave you any in the first place." I shake my head and try to get back to the problem at hand. "Jacob! I didn't tell you about it for a reason. Why would you ever think in a million years you could come to that? Let alone bring people with you!"

"I really didn't think it was that big of a deal, hon."

"Don't!" I sit up suddenly and point my finger at him, "Don't call me hon. I'm not your honey. Right now I'm not sweet. I'm not sweet at all."

Jacob widens his eyes before he quickly snatches my finger and tries to take a bite out of it.

"Stop," I instruct him, trying to pull away, although he doesn't give up. Suddenly my finger is in his mouth and he bites down, not hard enough to actually hurt me, but enough to cause me to gasp. "Jacob!" I gasp. "Let go!"

"No," He speaks through his teeth, fighting back a smile to keep from letting go.

I can tell it's coming even before it happens; this right now is that point in every argument or disagreement or annoyance or bad mood when I totally give in and give up and just forget the reason as to why I was even mad in the first place.

"Jacob," I speak, trying to conceal my smile though I'm not nearly as good as Jacob is at it. When he notices my more relaxed attitude he smiles widely, and now I can see his teeth latched loosely around my index finger.

"Let go," I complain again, only this time I'm smiling, giggling even, not able to control it.

He lets go and I slowly pull my finger out, inspecting it for any marks. Jacob places his hand underneath of mine so that he can see my finger better and then examines it himself. "Did I hurt you?" Jacob asks, his voice growing soft. I melt just a little bit.

"Yes," I laugh. "A lot. You have no idea how much it hurt me for you to have to watch that."

Jacob laughs, although I have a feeling that he's trying to contain it so that it's only faint and doesn't showcase his actual feelings towards my recital. If he was honest about what he witnessed tonight, I would probably explode out of pure embarrassment and mortification. End of story.

"I have witnessed much more embarrassing moments from you, trust me."

I cringe, though I choose to ignore that very true statement. "I will never understand why my dad forced me to do that. I can play fine as it is."

"Yeah but now you can play better," He reassures me. He wraps his arms around my back and then begins rocking back and forth. I rest my head against the car door and sigh.

"Oh yeah," I roll my eyes, "I've got all of your basic Christmas carols locked and ready to go."

He can't contain his laughter anymore, and somehow, I find that neither can I. Beneath the complete and total humiliation, is the realization that what I just went through has to be one of the funniest moments of my young life.

"That was terrible," I cry whilst laughing. I grab Jacob's hand and then use it to cover my face. I cover his own hand with both of my own and then tuck my knees closer to my chest.

"At least it's over," He reassures me, running his free hand through my hair. "And you look awesome, too. Is this a new dress I see?"

If my eyes weren't closed I would have rolled them. There is probably no one in the world who cares less about clothing than Jacob. Although, when I am upset, sad, angry, mad, or basically just feeling any one emotion just a little bit too much, he would pull out the complements about my clothing like he was some sort of fashion designer.

"I've worn this dress before Jacob," I speak into his hand, my voice very muffled.

"What!" He pretends to be offended, "When? I've never seen it."

"Yes you have," I sigh. "Remember I wore it to that guy from your school's funeral?"

"Renesmee," Jacob speaks slowly.

"Yes?"

"Why did you wear your funeral dress to your piano recital?"

I take more than a few seconds to respond. "Because I was mourning the last ounce of my self respect."

"Have I mentioned you are very weird?" He pulls his hand out from over-top of my face and then peels my hands away. I sigh dramatically.

"Don't cover your face," Jacob scolds me. "I do like the dress though," He complements it for a second time.

I squint just a little bit as I peer up at him. He seems unable to let go of this dress; is there something about it that's sticking out to him? I look down at the thick fabric and only notice the simple lace dress that falls down to my knees. I follow the fabric up and connect my eyes with the familiar sweetheart neckline and spaghetti straps. "Ugh, thanks Jake?"

He seems to notice my confusion and then smiles casually, letting his arms fall from around me as he sits up a little straighter. "Well at least it's over."

"It's not though," I shake my head sadly. "As soon as I walk through those doors you know the humiliation and the jokes and the laughing and the complete terribleness will begin with vengeance." Before he has a chance to speak I continue. "And don't lie and say it won't because you're already in hot water."

He presses his lips together but still smiles. "You ready?" I secretly appreciate the fact that he doesn't even try to argue with me.

"No." I moan and roll my eyes, but sit up nonetheless; I have to face the pack someday, and sooner is better than later. I run my palms down the length of my dress to straighten it out, sigh, and then finally step out of the car. I spot Jacob as he rounds the corner and can't help but frown at what is undoubtedly yet to come. He chuckles and wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his chest as we walk.

"Don't worry," He rubs my back.

"How could I not worry?" I moan. "That's impossible."

"Listen," Jacob squeezes my shoulder, "If they're mean to you I'll punch them."

"Right in the face?" I perk up.

He shakes his head with a casual smile. "You are very messed up."

Jacob holds the door open for me and it is as if my nightmares have come to life. The first person I see is Embry, who literally drops to his knees and takes my terrified hands in his own. "Renesmee," He begins, pressing one of his hands to his mouth as if he is trying to hold in a sob. "Wow. I don't know how to say this. I- I have never in my life been so moved by a playing of Jingle Bells in my entire life. Never. I am forever changed. I- I don't know how I will ever be the same ag-,"

I snatch my hand away and cross my arms over-top of my chest, looking towards Jacob for help.

"Okay, okay," Jacob laughs at his friend. He puts separation between us and then pulls me back to him, as if he's shielding me; I accept greedily. "That's enough."

"Jacob, how does it feel to be dating the reincarnation of Mozart, sent to this earth for the sole reason of spreading Christmas cheer?" Quil calls out from across the room.

"Man, if you want to live you should shut up," Jacob laughs, roughly rubbing my arm over and over again.

Just then Seth walks through the back door. "Renesmee," He begins, his mouth turning up almost as soon as he notices me.

"No!" I shout. I pull out of Jacob's grasp and rush towards the kitchen and into the open arms of Emily Uley. She quickly wraps her arms around me and squeezes. Over the years Em has become a sort of older sister to me; someone who is not necessarily family but close enough.

"Boys," I hear her say, "Leave her alone!"

"I need to eat my sorrows away," I whimper, and she laughs.

Thankfully, Emily pulls through with some very delicious chocolates, which is much more thanks to Sam for supplying his woman with Malley's than anything else. So, right now Sam is definitely my favorite wolf. After about five (okay maybe more like seven) chocolates, I feel much, much better about myself and just life in general.

Jacob holds true to his word, and although he didn't wind up actually beating anyone up, I am quite sure that while I was in the kitchen with Emily I heard him mention something to them using my name.

As per usual, the rest of this lazy Sunday is entrusted to ESPN and lounging, which I am definitely, completely, and entirely okay with. I am busy texting when Jacob changes his position from the big recliner across the room to come and sit next to me. He removes the pillow from underneath of my head and sets my head into his lap. I have grown so used to being with Jacob that I hardly even notice when he begins running his fingers through the ends of my hair.

"Who are you talking to?" He questions casually.

"Maddie." I place my phone in my lap and peer up at him.

Jacob nods. "So am I allowed to meet this girl soon?"

I smile to myself, "Why?"

"Am I not allowed to meet her?" Jacob's voice is sharp at the end, which surprises me.

"Of course you are," I reply quietly.

Jacob smiles down at me and his shoulders relax. He entwines his fingers in my hair again and begins playing with it. "Until I meet her I'm just really not sure if she's real or an imaginary friend, that's all."

"Jacob!" I gasp. "That's so mean!"

"I'm sorry Ness," Jacob laughs. "It's just, do you remember Clark?"

I gasp. "We are not talking about that!"

"See, that is much more embarrasing than a dumb piano recital!" He teases.

I roll my eyes. "Hey, you know what! I only knew you, my parents, and the pack. I was a lonely child!"

"A very lonely child," He agrees with a nod. "Kind of creeped me out."

"How lonely I was?"

"No," Jacob laughs loudly. "Clark."

I roll my eyes again. "Oh please. How? He wasn't even a real person."

"He was like twenty years old," Jacob winces. "It was just weird."

"Well you were twenty years old and my best friend," I point out. "That's all I really had to go off of; in my mind I thought that every two year old had an adult, male best friend."

Jacob giggles as he runs his palm over the top of my head. "One time, the two of us, and Clark too were having a tea party drinking Chamomile tea and then you got this really terrified expression on your face and sat down with your hands in your lap not speaking. After a whie when I asked what was wrong you told me that Clark was angry and yelling at you and threatening to throw his tea at you because he didn't like Chamomile."

I burst out laughing. "That never happened!"

Jacob gasps, "Yes it did! Why would I make something like that up?"

"It definitely didn't!" I giggle.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Jacob asks, feigning shock.

Before I can answer, I hear my name called from the highest and most adorable little high pitched voice, and the undeniable sound of the tiniest little feet coming barreling towards me.

I squeal excitedly, "Is that Benjamin I hear?" Before even waiting for a response I swoop down and pull him onto my lap. His little, chubby legs hang down on either side of me as I twist him around a few times by his hips.

"Essie!" He squeaks excitedly.

"Hi my favorite little man in the entire world!" Although he is barely old enough to be able to walk, one of my favorite things is talking to him like he's a little professor, which is because his head is so adorably cone shaped in a way that I have never seen before. Actually, for Halloween this upcoming year, I convinced Emily to let me dress him up like a professor in a lab coat and goggles and everything. I have already planned out the costume to every last detail.

"I love your outfit today Bennie baby," I speak excitedly.

He giggles shyly as his cheeks redden almost immediately. This child is two and has the biggest crush on me in the world- did he skip the cooties stage altogether?

"Hey buddy," Jacob pokes Ben's chest, "Cool it with my woman over there." I giggle even though I know that Jacob is only joking.

"Hey Benj," I squeeze his sides, making him squeal. "Tell him 'that's my girl'! Tell him!" He giggles and repeats what I told him to say, causing Jacob to gasp and put his hand to his heart dramatically. "Bennie you're breaking my heart!" Jacob tells him.

"Oh yeah!" I laugh, holding up my hand. "High five!" He slaps my hand and I twist him again. "I'm your girlfriend right Bennie?"

"You my gofriend," He agrees with a nod.

"Good answer," I tell him. "Just remember when you become a scientist and all these girls are throwing themselves at you that I'm your number one girl. And also remember to use protection because gold-diggers can be very dirty."

"Renesmee," Sam clears his throat. "How about you leave that whole conversation to me. I'd preferably like to save that for a few years down the line."

I roll my eyes. "Wouldn't you rather teach him early?"
Sam shakes his head at me. "Just because you had the brain of a thirteen year old when you were three doesn't mean that my son does."

I giggle and turn my attention back to little Ben. "See, if you would just not be so cute we wouldn't have a problem now would we?" He giggles but I don't let it stop there, "I'm serious stop it. Stop it! Stop it right now!" I begin to tickle him as he giggles that ridiculously adorable giggle the only toddlers have. I let him go only when Emily comes over and pulls him into her arms.

"Okay, okay," She begins with a laugh, "Let's not have you pee your pants now. Did you tell everyone the exciting news Ben?" She jiggles him on her hip.

"I'm a big boy!" He practically shouts, shoving his thumb into his chest.

Jacob and I both laugh and Embry offers him a high-five.

"Potty-training?" Leah asks knowingly.

"Yes ma'am," She speaks excitedly as she pokes Ben in the stomach. "And how many accidents have we had so far daddy?"

Sam shakes his head. "What has my life come to?"

Emily giggles and places Ben on his lap. I have to admit that one of my favorite things is just watching Sam be a father. He is such a serious guy, even with Emily, he is strictly business with some PDA, but with Ben, it's just different. He can't hide the smiles, the laughs, the complete adoration of his son. I asked Jacob about it once and he told me that Sam had been really worried about not knowing how to be a good dad because he never really had one. Watching them now, I can't help but feel like that just wouldn't be possible.

"You should feel lucky," I tell him, "At least he is not a she. Then you would really have things to worry about."

He narrows his eyes at me. "If I ever have a daughter you are not allowed around her until she is at least thirty, which is the age she is allowed to start dating, maybe."

"Me?" I gasp. "What did I do?"

He shakes his head at me and then does the same towards Jacob. I roll my eyes; Sam is such a dad.

I pull Jacob's arm around me and he must notice that I'm cold, which is why he grabs the blanket from the edge of the couch and lays it out over-top of me.

"Thanks," I whisper.

He doesn't answer, but the way the back of his fingers stroke my cheek is an answer in itself.

"Anyone hungry?" Emily calls from the kitchen. I pop up quickly, but possibly a little too quickly. I wobble a little, the corners of my vision going black and blurry for a moment. Thankfully, Jacob is there to catch my arm.

"Are you okay?" He asks nervously, his voice a serious ringing in my ear.

I wait a few seconds until my vision returns to normal and then smile reassuringly at him. "Yeah of course," I lie. In fact, I know exactly what is going on, and I think he does too. In the beginning it was never really that bad, but lately it seems like there is something different that's wrong with me every single day. The problem that I am currently encountering is due to my extremely quick aging; basically my body has a hard time keeping up with my mind; that, along with the fact that half of my body is currently trying to freeze while the other is still growing, causes some pretty tricky imbalances. Aside from taking an old person's amount of pills every morning, I have been having issues with iron, insulin, my blood pressure, and many, many other things. The spotting in my vision is a clear sign that my iron is running dangerously low, but I know exactly what will happen if I admit to it: My night would be cut short and instead of eating Emily's amazing food, Jacob would be dragging me home and to Carlisle's office where he would pump me up with shots and IV fluids and uncomfortable medical equipment. Thankfully, he thinks I only have another year or so left of actual aging, so all my problems should be over soon enough.

I don't pay any more attention to Jacob to be able to tell if he believes me or not, although I am sure he is skeptical. I stride towards the kitchen and realize that due to my slight wobble, we are now at the back of the line for food, which is very bad when the line consists of very hungry werewolves that take five minutes piling scoops of everything in sight onto at least two plates.

I sigh and turn towards Jacob. Without thinking, I hold onto the sides of his shirt and pull my feet on top of his. He wraps both of his arms around my neck and then starts shuffling us back and forth. I can barely breathe from the way he is hugging me, but I really don't mind.

Right when I feel like I actually can't breathe anymore, he removes his arms and instead runs both hands up and down my back a few times.

I step down off of his feet when I notice the line finally die down. Only, when I step off, the same tunnel vision encloses around me, and Jacob really has to grab me to keep me standing up.

"Ness," He speaks, his voice hesitant.

"I'm fine," I assure him, smiling as I do so.

He shakes his head. "No you're not."

I narrow my eyes at him. "I'm fine."

"We eat and then we leave," Jacob speaks quietly.

"No."

"I'm not asking," He says, stricter and more definitive this time.

"Ugh," I moan. "Fine."

"I don't want a shot," I whimper with a sigh, although I know that it will do no good.

"How long have you been feeling like this?" Carlisle asks me as I sit on cross-legged on his exam table.

"Not long," I try to be discreet.

"Renesmee," He scolds.

"A week maybe."

"A week Nessie?" Jacob repeats nervously from across the room.

"Jacob." I narrow my eyes at him, "Not my father."

"I'll give you this and then you can get in bed," Carlisle instructs me.

"But I'm not tired," I speak defiantly.

"Well that's what's great about being a physician," Carlisle smiles at me reassuringly as he plunges the needle into the muscle of my arm, "Doctor's orders." Although a shot usually wouldn't be that bad, due to the thickness of my skin, the needle is extremely dense, which makes it hurt so much worse than just a regular shot in a regular human.

"Sorry." Carlisle places a Band-Aid over-top of the puncture wound and pats my knee comfortingly. "All done."

I sigh and try to direct my attention to anywhere expect for Jacob. Carlisle must sense the newfound tension in the room, for he exits rather hastily, leaving Jacob and I alone with a click of the handle.

It is less than a second after Carlisle leaves when Jacob starts at me. "A week?"

"Jacob," I begin, but he doesn't let me finish.

"You promised me that you would tell me."

"I don't understand why you're so worried," I roll my eyes and let out a long breath,

"I'm alive."

"No thanks to yourself," He shakes his head.

"If it had been that big of a deal my dad would have read my thoughts and alerted everyone."

"That's not the point Renesmee," Jacob crosses his arms over-top of his chest.

"God Jacob, you know, you're not my parent, okay?"

He raises his eyebrows at this. "Yeah, I know."

"Do you?" I challenge, crossing my arms myself.

Jacob sighs, closing the distance with a few large strides and with him. He raises his hands to my face and cups my cheeks between his palms. "I just need to know that you're always safe. I need you."

I sigh, "I am safe Jacob. Honestly, there's probably no other place in the world that is safer than with you by my side while living under my parent's and aunt's and grandparent's vampire roof."

"I know that," He sighs, "But I would just feel a lot better if I knew that you were taking care of yourself."

I giggle as I loosely wrap my arms around my best friend's neck. "And," I begin, holding out the word. "Why would I do that if I have you to do it for me?"

"Because," Jacob laughs, leaning into me. "What if I'm not around one day?"

I am taken aback by this, and I'm quite sure that it's all over my face. "What? Jacob, why would you even say that?"

Jacob stares at me for a few seconds, a confused expression on his face, "I was just kidding Nessie."

"No," I shake my head. "I can't even think about my life without you." I shake my head and bite my lip to keep from tearing up right then and there. Just imagining life without Jacob is so preposterous that I can't even wrap my brain around it. A complete and total aura of sadness washes over me in a wave.

"Nessie," Jacob whispers, his voice enticing and soft.

I look up at him and notice that he's closer than he was only seconds ago. "What?" I try to ask, but my voice is for some reason caught in my throat.

He entwines both of his fingers with mine, something that we've done many times before, but for some reason it just feels different. I look down at our hands that he is moving around in the air and stare at then quizzically. The picture of his dark skin against my pale skin is something that I have grown so used to; it feels weird to imagine life any different than it is right now.

He raises one of our entwined hands up to sweep a piece of hair out of my eyes and I look up at him, for some reason still biting my lip.

"Nessie," Jacob sighs. "What would you miss if I wasn't here anymore?"

"What?" I giggle, my mouth automatically pulling up at the corners.

He smiles at me and barely laughs as he asks again. "What is it that you would miss?"

I shake my head, obviously confused, but he's just staring at me in such a confusing way that makes me feel like I have to answer, like a lot is riding on this answer, and I can't even tell why exactly I feel that way, but I just do.

"I," I begin, my voice faltering. I shrug as I try to think, my mouth opening but no words coming out. "I would miss," I look down at our hands again, suddenly finding it so hard to talk to my best friend, which is so entirely and completely foreign that I doubt my own feelings. I have never really thought about what it is I love about Jacob, I just do.

"You can tell me anything," Jacob pushes.

"I mean," My mouth remains parted as I try to put words to the feelings that I have always felt and then sudden new ones that I don't even really understand. "Well, everything I guess."

Jacob stares at me for a while longer before he lets out a long breath, nodding and smiling a small smile at me, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"Was that the wrong answer?" I whisper, suddenly feeling terrible about something that I'm not even sure I did was wrong.

"No," He reassures me quickly. Jacob untangles one of his hands from mine and runs it along the top of my head, pushing it towards him and kissing the top of it. I rest my face into his chest and close my eyes; I swear this is my happy place. He leaves his palm pressed to the back of my head and then eventually breaks from my other hand to wrap it around my back.

I pull away from him and he smiles down at me again. "Are you tired?" He runs his hand along the side of my cheek.

"You won't care if I say no, so yes," I sigh.

Jacob laughs and takes that as his cue to pull me into his arms. He moans and I laugh as he begins walking, my body swaying in the air as he does so.

"You know," I begin as I watch his muscles strain as he does this. It makes me bite my lip again, and it's so weird because Jacob has carried me for as long as I can remember, and before now I have never, ever seemed to notice the size of his arms. "I'm going to get a complex if every time you carry me you act like I get substantially heaver."

Jacob bursts out laughing. "Well you do get like a half a year older every five seconds."

I giggle and hit my head against his shoulder. "Every five seconds huh?"

"I meant every four seconds."

I roll my eyes, "You just think you're so smart."

"Not as smart as you."

We reach the room in the main house that has basically become my second bedroom, although I prefer the one in the cottage much more than this one. The reason, though, is probably mostly due to the fact that the cottage it is on the first floor versus this one, which is on the second- aka: Jacob can climb into the other bedroom in the middle of the night after his night shifts.

He doesn't bother turning on the lights, and that is probably because he just sets me right into bed. With a sigh I pull up the covers and turn to my side.

"I'm really not tired," I grumble.

"Night Ness," He smiles as he turns towards the door.

"Jake. Come back."

He pauses mid-walk and then turns back around to sit down on the side of my bed. "What?" He asks. Oh. I hadn't expected him to actually listen to me, and now that he has, I am not sure what I had even wanted to say, or why I even called him back in the first place. I don't know why, but suddenly I am reaching for his hand and tracing the curves of the lines on his palm.

"Don't go anywhere," I whisper, although I'm not even sure why I feel the need to say it.

He smiles, that same crooked smile that he has smiled my entire life, but for some reason it makes something happen inside my stomach. I swallow it down.

"Never."

He leaves then, holding my hand until he's so far away that my hand drops into the air and I pull it back underneath the covers. Jacob pats the door-frame as he leaves, pulling the door closed behind him.

I turn onto my back quickly, my eyes widening as I stare up at the ceiling, the window creating a small, faint hint of a shadow above me. I blink a few times, sure that I am somehow dreaming this weird moment that just transpired between my best friend and me.

I shake my head and let out a few solid deep breaths. "Okay," I tell myself, turning over onto my stomach and closing my eyes. "Okay."

I blame it on my imbalance of practically every one of my bodily functions and decide to try to get some sleep.

Jacob is Jacob.

That's all he is.

But is that all he will ever be?

And that's a wrap on chapter 1! I hope you liked the start of this story! Make sure you hit the follow button below to get notifications when I update and definitely let me know what you think in the comment section! Love you all!