Ness POV
I usually divide time in my life by hot and cold. Time can get tricky when you live with endless amounts of it waiting for you. My family, they are the cold. They are like diamonds. Flawless and graceful. You can't scratch a diamond, especially when they are so tightly bound. The Cullen vampires are a clan of "good" vampires. Vegetarians. Carlisle, my grandfather, decided when he had been bitten that he would do the very best with what he had. I always admired that strongly. So he decided to not become a monster, to only hunt on animals. He has had many years of experience, so terribly patient that he has become a surgeon. Then there was my grandmother, Esme. She was beautiful of course. My parents, Edward and Bella, were unfairly gorgeous. My dad had his little power of reading peoples thoughts. I hated that fact. I wasn't even alone inside my head and dreams, nothing was secure. This was the type of cold that hurt your bones. But the cold that I loved, why I always put my family into this category was very simple. They were like the snow that fell to the ground. The kind that clung to the grass and covered everything in beautiful white. The kind that relieved you from the most terrible of sweats. Like AC on the hottest summer day. Then there was hot. My best friend Jacob Black. He was a shape shifter, meaning that him and his pack could turn into beastly wolves at any given point in time. His skin was always sweltering hot and I loved it. But his smile and his laugh, they were also very warm. His very vocabulary was extremely comforting. That was the thing about my 'hot', it was the kind that warmed you to your very core. Each and every one of your bones and even your heart. That was my Jacob, and even being in the company of his pack tingled me in the very best way. So it was here in my room where I had to choose. Hot or cold today? Jacob and his pack decided to go to South California on this very sunny day. That would take about a two-hour drive and of course I was invited. Then there was my family, well the girls at least. They wanted to drive to Seattle and take me shopping. I didn't understand why we couldn't wait for a normal rainy day. Here, in Northern California, it rained nonstop. It wasn't much different from our old home in Forks, Washington. So Alice and Rose and my mother wanted to take me shopping for my stupid sweet sixteen. Normally I would have loved the idea but I haven't been to a sunny beach in all of my life. I don't see why they had to plan the two together.
I looked around my room, weighing my options. I turned to my very favorite wall. The Memory Wall. I had gone to countless thrift shops and antique stores. To all of the modern and futuristic furniture and home decorating stores. I had every kind of frame you could imagine. The contrast was pretty cool. I had even made some frames myself when I couldn't find just the right one. This wall kind of reminded me of Carlisle's study back at our old house. But mine had so many photos; I had forgotten what color this wall was. Black and white, colorful, slightly dulled. I looked at one of the more recent ones with Jake and me as the subjects. We were sitting at First Beach back in Forks. He sat on a rock about a foot below my natural seat, so we were almost head to head. It was taken from a side profile, almost behind us. I was looking at the ocean and the cloudy sky in front of me, but he was looking at me. I loved this photo the second little Claire had taken it, and immediately developed it. I had the most expensive cameras money could buy and even my own dark room. There was this very old one where I looked like a six year old in a big poofy white dress. It was taken from behind. My dad and me were sitting at his grand piano. He was patiently strumming while I banged away. I loved this one because the contrast between subtle and chaos was extreme. There was my hot and cold for you. I made my final decision to go to the beach today. My family and me would have many opportunities to shop any other day. I heard a groan downstairs, most likely from Alice. I walked down the great spiral staircase that always makes me dizzy. Alice waited for me at the bottom with her arms crossed and a very disappointed look.
"How could you do this to me?" She was the master of guilt trips, but I wouldn't fall for it.
"Alice, we can shop tomorrow. How many times have I been to a beach where I can actually wear a bathing suit?" None, I answered in my head. Obviously hearing the argument my mother, Rose and my dad strolled into the room. I hoped loudly in my head that my father would get me out of this mess.
"Bathing suit?" He asked wearingly. That was so typical from my over protective father. He gave me a look once he heard that. "Alice, you girls can go shopping tomorrow, then you can run back and get everything ready while they are coming home. Then it can be a big surprise." My father assured. I smiled and hugged him.
"Thank you Daddy!" I let go and gave Alice an apologetic hug.
"Well now you can have that bathing suit I bought forever ago." Alice said, trying to look at the bright side. Alice was always a little touchy around me, I fogged up her vision. I knew I gave her a headache sometimes but we loved each other and spent time together anyway. I was a little worried about that swimsuit though…