My own self is reflected back at me, all hair and limbs and raw nervousness. My heartbeat flitters so fast that I've lost count, a surprising feat all things considered. Mom stands across the room looking all sorts of proud and hurt. Part of me wants to hug her, but I tap my fingers across my dresser to a song by Coldplay instead, just to avoid the contact in case I accidentally project, not that it doesn't change the fact that she can read it across my face. In all honesty, I don't want to admit it aloud, don't want her to know how fearful I am.
"It's okay, Nessie." Mom crosses the room in less than the time it took me to blink, swift as wind with more grace than any breeze could possess. Her fingers slip through my hair. "High school is… an experience."
This would be a true statement, yes. Most likely if Dad were here he would disagree, stating that after graduating for the twentieth time, the whole things gets rather repetitive. Everyone's tried talking me out of this. Him, my uncles and aunts, even Jacob. They could count off reasons like days of the week: too much of a chance to accidentally touch, too many people, I'll be bored. I get why they'd think it best for me to not go, but it's such a teenage thing to do, and for once, I think I'd like to be normal.
"First day jitters. Trust me, it gets easier." She smiles at me from the mirror.
'Thanks.' My arms wrap around her easily.
Her chin rests at the top of my head. "It's like it was just five years ago that you were in my womb."
She laughs awkwardly, and I join for her benefit, breaking away and grabbing the floral bag laying on my perfectly made bed. I haven't slept in two weeks, been caught up in everything new I can do. It took me less than a month to become fluent in Spanish, learned so I may make good on my promise to visit Zafrina. My parents never sleep, nor the rest of our family, and I know what can be accomplished when making use of all twenty four hours of the day, not that dreaming isn't enjoyable, or an escape of sorts. Still, as with most 'human' things I find it somewhat disorienting, mildly unpleasant at times.
I reach for my mother's wrist, brush against it long enough to relay my message, 'Love you. See you later.'
I hug Dad, and then leave. Seconds later, I hear their voices drift in the air, clear despite the fact that they are trying to be quiet.
"How will Jacob be?"
"You know he'll be over here later waiting for her." Dad's voice seems playful, but his disdain is evident, always glaringly obvious, despite his occasional attempts to mask it.
A/N: Honestly, I'm not a big fan of Twilight, won't get in to the reasons, but there are aspects of it that I love, one of which is Nessie and Jacob. So yeah, I hope you've enjoyed this, and if you did then stick around. There should be more that deal with Nessie's interactions with her family, and Jacob, her at different ages, and just anything. If you have requests for anything specific, let me know, and please, go ahead and write a review.