I don't own Twilight.


Part I Renesmee Cullen


So my life sucked. No, really, it wasn't too much fun right now. Usually, it was pretty good; I had a wonderful mom and dad who love me more than anything in the world. I have two sets of uncles and aunts who call me the prettiest thing that ever lived. I have a grandma and a grandpa who spoil me beyond belief. I have some wonderful friends; not only humans, but vampires and werewolves too.

And, best of all, I have a best friend who I love more than anything.

Well, I think I love him more than anything. How would your feelings be if you had a guy who knew exactly when you were happy, sad, mad, upset, depressed, and giddy? One who couldn't read your mind? What would you call a guy that would do anything for you, even if you were too chicken to return the same promise?

What if you had a best friend who was so strong, he could do anything and you were the weakling of the group, yet he never thought of you as that way.

Well, that's why my life sucked right now. I have that problem. No, not really a problem … more of a situation than anything else.

I guess it was when I was walking home when these questions had come up. Before our talk on my cliff side, I had never doubted that Jacob was anything more to me than just a best friend. Now … I wasn't too sure. I mean, we weren't like normal best friends; he had stayed the same age since I was born. He was also a werewolf — I was part vampire. I was a girl and he was a boy.

Most of the kids I knew weren't mythological creatures that didn't age. Most of them were the same gander. Like they were sisters or they were brothers. I was the only girl, in which I knew of anyway, with my greatest friend — the person I could tell anything — being a boy.

I sighed, looking down the long table of our dining room. There were eight vampires looking down back at me, sensing something on my mind.

I shot a glance to my parents. My father was stiff, his hand clenching to the edge of the table while my mother looked worried. My dad knew exactly what was on my mind of course. He knew that I was thinking about my best friend in more detail; he was probably planning different ways to kill him.

My mom was looking curiously in my direction as if trying to read my indifferent face. Unlike Dad, she couldn't read my mind; it was much easier to tell her everything was fine when it wasn't. Though I was a bad liar, she knew I'd come talk to her when I needed her the most.

And right now, I didn't feel like talking.

What was I supposed to say? Oh, Michael broke up with me — Dad flinched — and my best friend was there like he always was … and, yeah, he told me he imprinted on a girl. I could see Dad nearly break the table in half from my last thought.

Calm down, Dad, I thought. He didn't tell me who.

His grip didn't loosen. "Reneseme," he said harshly. I cringed; if his face could extract heat, it'd definitely be red along with smoke coming out of his ears. His eyes were so dark; I could swear he was hungry even though I knew he wasn't.

"Um … well, I got an A on my math test?" I giggled nervously, hoping to brush off the subject that was really on my mind.

"That's grea —!" Aunt Alice started to say but one look from my father shut her up quickly. She could see the pleading look in my eyes; she knew what was coming. Oh god, it could only be bad.

I looked over my whole family; their beautiful porcelain faces, silky soft hair, innocent — well, in Dad's case livid — eyes and their perfectly carved bodies. They all waited intently. Then, I whispered, "Michael broke up with me … because he liked some other girl better."

I could see the hurt on Mom's face right away. In a second, she was by my side, stroking my hair like she used to do when I was little. "Oh, Reneseme … I'm so sorry …"

"I'm okay now," I replied quietly. "Jacob found me and we talked. It's all good. I just wanted to ask you guys something …" The table was nearly in two again when dad heard what I was going to say next. "Um … he told, well, hinted — I figured it out — that he had imprinted on a girl. I just … um, I wanted to know who."

It was the look in everyone's eyes that I would either love or hate the answer they were going to give me. And it was then, I knew my world was going to change; whether it crumpled to pieces or not, I wouldn't know until after they told me.

"Well, honey," Mom whispered ever-so-quietly. She glanced at my father and the rest of my family; they all gave her a single nod, at the exact same moment. "It's you, Reneseme."


I smothered my face into pillow as I fell down to my bed. So, my world hadn't crumbled to pieces like I thought it might if Mom would have told me it was Lizzie or Leah or some random chick at my school. Because it wasn't Lizzie or Leah or some random chick at my school …

It was me.

I was the girl Jacob imprinted on.

And, for some reason, I was okay with that. I mean, I hadn't freaked out like my mom had when she found out — after a few awkward moments at dinner, Emmett had laughed and told me all the stories about how mom hated my nickname and how she nearly killed Jacob with her newborn power.

Jacob had never gone anywhere past being my friend. If he really did have … feelings for me, he had never once let me know about it. Michael had walked me to all my classes and put his arm around my shoulders when I stumbled. He had talked all the time and flashed a smile at me every time I passed him in the lunch room to go sit by my friends.

But … Jacob had never done that. He had always let me venture off on my own because he said that I needed all the freedom I could get ( one didn't come by that much when you lived in a house full of vampires ). When I tripped or fell down, he'd help me up but not before laughing at my klutziness. He frowned a lot despite that he was relatively happy — well, at least that's what he had told me — and his smiles were rare; I treasured them more than anything.

But was that love? Surely someone would think so … but I wasn't too sure. It was just — it had always been that way with Jacob. I had always loved when he smiled or laughed at me because that made him happy. Sometimes, he didn't look like he really wanted to be here.

My purpose in life was always to one: please Mom and Dad so I could stay out of trouble, and two: make Jacob show his goofy, warm smile. I wanted him to be as happy as I with him.

Did that mean I loved him? That I was in love with him?

"Uuuugh," I groaned, flipping over to my back and throwing the pillow to my ceiling. "I'm just thinking too much. And obviously crazy, since I keep talking to myself." I scoffed and slapped my forearms on my much-abused pillow. I stared at the glow-in-the-dark star stickers on my ceiling that I had begged for even though they didn't match my room.

The bright pink walls were now covered with all kinds of memories. Boy bands I loved, family pictures, friends I had left from the numerous towns I had lived in, stuff like that. Though Aunt Alice was solely against it at first, with much convincing, I got to get my own furniture that I had picked out and my own stuff filling it up to make it home.

I loved this room; it was my haven through all the nights I had cried because we had moved yet again and then again when I had started to break hearts because of my rapidly changing address. This was the place where I had screamed in delight when I found out that Michael had asked me out.

It was also the place where Jacob used to sneak in and we would talk for hours on end. And, even though everyone knew he was there — because of his mind, feet, and smell — they left us alone. They knew Jacob would never do anything to me.

Because he had imprinted on me.

Would he feel the same way if he hadn't? Would I even know who he was? Would he still be that bitter Jacob he had told me about? Would he still be in love with my mom?

"Hey, Nessie!" I heard outside my window. Oh the irony, I thought as I sat up and opened it. It was right above my bed, so, when Jacob landed in next to me, I didn't need to adjust myself too much.

"Hi, Jacob," I mumbled, suddenly uncomfortable.

He had imprinted on me and now I knew about it. Would he still be the same Jacob? If he was attracted to me … would he use this trust and take act upon his feelings? No … that wasn't Jacob. Even if he did have such feelings, he wouldn't do that to me.

When a werewolf imprints on a girl, they would do anything to protect them. They could be the father, uncle, brother, cousin, best friend, boyfriend, fiancé, or husband to the girl that they imprinted. They only lived for that girl. Jake wouldn't do anything to me unless I asked.

But did I want that?

"What are you doing here, Jake?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn from my thoughts. No matter how fast I grew, I still was a teenager on the inside. My mind had taken a perverted route; after all, I was letting my best-friend-who-happened-to-be-a-guy-I-might-like-more-than-just-a-friend into my room at night, right onto my bed where I was just in my PJs and he, his typical cut-off shorts and bare chest …

Stop it, Reneseme, this is Jake! Jacob Black! I scolded myself.

"Edward called … he thought you might want to talk to me," his voice was suddenly very low, as if he didn't want anyone to hear even though we both knew that was ridiculous.

"Um … I guess I should," I replied just as quiet. I could feel what he felt now; waiting ears of my family members as the listened intently to what was going on. Suddenly, I felt naked in this house without privacy. Of course, it wasn't their fault; everyone here was a vampire.

They couldn't help it.

That still didn't help me though. Ease-dropping intentionally or not, I needed to talk to him in private … real privacy; not the non-existent door that I had separated me from the rest of the house. "Hey, can you take me to the cliff side … where we talked earlier?"

He hesitated then he replied, "Uh, sure." Then, he looked really concentrated for a couple of seconds. There were two taps on my door and before I had a chance to see who it was Jake threw me over his back and out the window, already running to the cliff side.

"J-Jake!" I sputtered. "W-what are you doing?! What if that was Dad? He'll kill me if I don't ask!"

He scoffed. "No worries, I've got it all taken care of. I already asked him. I told him if he said 'no' to tap once on the door and 'yes' would be twice. I have full-fledged permission to take you to the cliff side … and only there. I guess Eddie still doesn't trust me with his precious daughter."

He laughed; I grimaced. Even after all that time, even when Dad and Jacob had saved each other and Mom over and over again, even after Jacob had let Mom marry Dad, even after he imprinted on me — the surest way to keep your daughter safe — after they'd become … brothers in a way, he still didn't trust my best friend.

And, for some reason, it kinda hurt my feelings. Why didn't Dad trust Jacob? I mused. He was my best friend; didn't that have any credit at all? Didn't my judgment count? After all, it was my happiness and I chose who I wanted to be closest to … didn't he trust me?

Did anyone trust me?

"Nessie?" Jake asked when I didn't respond to his joke. I laughed nervously, tightening my clutch around his neck. The trees were rushing by us with excessive speed; though he wasn't a vampire, he was still faster than any normal human being.

"I'm fine," I lied. He could tell I was lying but he didn't push it. That was nice, I figured. Just give me more time to think about my feelings and my life that all seemed to be chaotic all of a sudden. "I just didn't want to talk where everyone'd be listening."

"I know what you mean," he replied immediately, trying to calm me down. It was quiet until he had slowed down and finally stopped by my cliff side. I couldn't see much of anything; the clouds were covering up the moon tonight … or maybe it was a new moon.

I wasn't too sure.

The ocean was also down there; I could hear the waves rocking to and fro along the beachside. I smiled; yep, this was the place. Suddenly, I felt much more seclusion here. I never really realized how isolated I was until I had something important to say.

We sat down in nearly the same places we had last time. I grabbed a fistful of grass absentmindedly and tore each piece with delicacy. I was avoiding all the questions I had and I was wasting his time, I knew I was. I just couldn't manage to get my throat unclogged. It was like someone stuffed a rag down my esophagus and now it was stuck there.

"So, they told you, huh?" Well, at least he started the conversation.

"Yeah …" I mumbled quietly.

He chuckled; I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. A slight smile was tugging at the corners of his lips as he looked out to the dark sky. I watched him carefully: the rise and fall of his chest, the shaking of his left hand, and the smile that didn't reach his eyes.

He was upset. Oh no, he was probably mad at me! After all, I should know, right? Everything that my family had told me … shouldn't that have been enough for me to decide my feelings? Was he expecting me to know how I felt? Did he honestly think I would know?

"So, I guess this is the part where you say you're disgusted with me and that you never ever want to see me again. Am I right? Because, if that's the case, I'll do what you say," he caught my eye and winked; I blushed madly and looked away.

"I don't want you to leave Jacob," I mumbled. He honestly looked pretty shocked. "What?" I added. "Jake, you're my best friend. Werewolf or not, imprinted or not, it doesn't matter to me. You're still my personal sun … it's still easy as my heart beating when I'm around you."

He looked relieved.

"I guess I'm just … confused." Ah, now there was a good word to use! Anyone in my situation would be confused; of course they would. "I mean … why didn't anyone tell me? Why now?"

"We didn't tell you because we wanted you to decide who you loved. If it was me, then that'd be great, and if it was with some other guy, that'd still be" — he cringed slightly — "great. I mean, I'd protect you either way. I'd still be your friend."

"Best friend," I corrected him.

He chuckled. "Best friend, then."

We sat in silence. The waves rolled in nearly twelve times — yes, I counted — before I had gotten the courage to say anything else. "Does this change things, Jakey? The imprinting, me knowing, thing? Does this mean we can't be best friends anymore?"

I truly didn't want that. I wanted to be friends forever and ever. Beyond forever. I never wanted to go a day without seeing his smiling face or protective arms. I wanted him to teach me how to ride a motorcycle and I wanted him to take me cliff diving — some of the stuff he'd done with my mom.

But I also wanted to do different stuff; I wanted him to take me on a journey through these woods. I wanted him to be in his wolf-form and me on his back, holding onto his warm fur while we ran and ran and ran … and, maybe, we'd never stop.

"We can always be friends," he replied softly; his voice was hardly audible over the raging winds that had started blowing. "And I imprinted on you when you were a baby. I've always known. Just because you know now doesn't mean things have to change all that much."

I froze.

"I was a baby?!" I shrieked. "Wait. What do you mean? I thought you said you didn't like me when I was born? I thought werewolves were supposed to protect the ones they imprinted on … not hate them!"

He sighed. "Look, I won't sugarcoat it, Nessie. Your parents never told you because they're afraid you'll feel guilty." I looked up in earnest. He took it as a sign to go on. "Look, when you're mom got pregnant, you grew so fast and you were so strong … well, your mom had only been human at the time …"

I hurt … Mom? I asked internally. Externally though, my face broke a little more. Mom and Dad were right, I felt horrible. I mean, it's not like I had any memories of being in my mom's womb, I was just a baby. I didn't know what was right and wrong.

"You nearly killed her," Jacob said seriously. "You couldn't breathe and you tried so desperately to get out of her stomach so you wouldn't die. Bella had never thought she'd get through the pregnancy human … she knew that Edward would have to change her as soon as you were born. We just didn't expect …" He paused. "I thought she died.

"I was in so much pain, I thought my heart would explode. I wanted — I wanted to … to kill you, Nessie. I'm such an awful person and you trust me so much …"

I gasped. It was like everything that I had been told all my life was a lie. Not really a lie, but like a half-truth. No one had ever told me that I had nearly killed Mom when I was born. Mom never even mentioned it; she said the day I was born was the happiest of her life. Jacob had never told me he wanted to kill me.

Kill me.

I could kinda understand. After all, he loved my mother more than anything at the time. Finding out she was dead … that must have been like an emotional car crashing into a semi and then flipping off of the Golden Gate Bridge or something.

If I was him, I'd want to kill the person who'd killed her too.

"But … when I saw you," he went not sensing the battle raging inside my head. "I just … couldn't. I couldn't make myself move closer to you. It was …"

"Why?" I whispered harshly. "If, at the time, you thought I'd killed Mom, the girl you loved more than anything … why didn't you kill me? What happened?"

"I saw you," he answered immediately. "It was like … all the strings holding my life together — your mom being one, Edward, my dad, Charlie, the pack, the world, everything — had been cut away just by your gaze. The string that was you was the only one holding me on the earth.

"But … it wasn't a string. It was like a steel cable. And there was a million of them … linking me to you. It was like gravity didn't exist. You were the one holding me on the earth." He paused; my face was crimson. "I'd heard about what it felt like … imprinting on someone; I just thought Sam, Quil, Paul, and all the others had been exaggerating. But they hadn't been. In fact, I'd say their explanation was missing a lot of detail."

He laughed then, despite the tension that coated the air. He reached out and put an arm around my shoulder. "Nessie, what I almost did to you was wrong and horrid and terrifying. It's a guilt and a regret I'd have to live with the rest of my life …"

He pulled my chin up so I was looking at him straight in the eye. He wiped the tears that had started falling down my cheeks. "You did nothing wrong, Ness," he said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and then stroking my dark locks. "You were just a baby. Your mother went through hell to have you and she and your father and Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, and Esme along with all the wolves, Charlie and many others love you with all of their hearts.

"Just like me."

He fell silent then, his warm hand caressing my cheek.

I couldn't tell if my cheeks were red because of his warmth or my blushing. Maybe both; I wasn't too sure. All I knew at that moment was how much Jacob suddenly meant to me. How pained he must have been when he thought my mother had died and then saw me … still breathing.

And then, he ended up imprinting on me. Me … the horrid girl who almost killed my mom, the girl he loved. It didn't seem fair to be him. He had lost my mom to my dad and then he had imprinted on me, the person he hated the most.

"I'm sorry," I cried and then ducked down into his chest, tears streaming down my cheeks. "I – I didn't mean to … I just … I just …"

He wrapped his arms fully around me and pulled me in closer, resting his chin on top of my head. He kissed my hair and I snuggled in his chest, forgetting that he had just given me my first 'kiss.' Of course, it hadn't been on my lips but … still. He was the first person, outside of my family, who'd ever shown such affection.

I blushed and buried my face deeper to his bare chest, all the while trying to stop the stupid tears rolling down my cheeks.

"You didn't do anything, Nessie," he said quietly. "Your mother had always been told, by me, Rosalie, even your own father … that becoming a vampire was a bad idea. When you were born, the only way to save her was to turn her. In the end, you helped her."

I looked up and saw that he was smiling lightly down at me. "Stop crying, Ness."

I immediately sniffled at his demand. He laughed again, and stroked my hair with the back of his hand softly. We stayed like that until my tears were gone and my eyes were relatively dry. The hair he had been running his fingers through was softer than I'd ever imagine it being.

"Thank you, Jake," I mumbled quietly, breaking eye contact. "You really are truly the bestest friend anyone could ask for." I closed my eyes and touched his forehead showing him all the times he'd been there for me; the late night phone calls, the homework help, the escape I needed.

When I let the image fade and my eyes fluttered open again, I stared at his face. When we were this close, I could see all the lines that etched his features; along his forehead and cheekbones. He looked so stressed; his face seemed to be in a permanent scowl.

Then, I did something irrational.

I kissed him.


A/N Weeeeeell. Hah, seems like Nessie's pretty brave, eh? Haha, I really hope you liked this chapter! School's starting so I'm not sure about updates, but, I'll try to do my best! :) Thanks so much for reading! Please reviewww!

-Liz