Hi everyone! I firstly want to thank you all for following and reviewing my story! Your response has been great and I so appreciate it, and just know that every time I read your words it just makes me want to write that much more- so thanks!

The next few chapters will skip ahead in age quite a lot. I'm not sure when we'll first hear from Lena, but it should be pretty soon now that she's getting older:) I hope you like it!

Lena: 8 years old

Embry's POV

I stand against my car waiting for Lena to get out of school.

Scarlett texted me earlier and asked if I could pick her up and watch her for a little while because she had a last minute "interior design emergency," and of course I obliged. In all honesty, I have been so busy with work and school; I haven't had a lot of time to hangout with her. After getting my degree in business and pre-law, I took a few years off and then just got into Law School this year; to say that it's taken awhile to get back into the swing of school would be an understatement.

The doors open and a hoard of little kids come rushing out towards their parents cars. I take a step back, not wanting to be in the crossfire of that; I like Lena, not kids.

Lena is one of the last ones to exit the school. Her head is bent and she is obviously frustrated as she holds a paper close to her face and reads it. By the time she gets to me she is practically seething, shaking her head and muttering to herself.

"Everything okay?" I ask her, trying to hide my amusement.

Lena thrusts the paper at me and crosses her arms overtop of her chest. I absentmindedly reach for her book bag off of her shoulders and help her get into the passengers side of my truck.

To the parents of Lena Lahote,

I would like to inform you of an incident that occurred today in class. Lena was approached by a classmate and asked if she liked her dress. Lena responded with "No," which resulted in the classmate crying with her feelings hurt. Although this is a minor issue, this type of behavior has become quite frequent throughout the course of this year.

I spoke with Lena's 2nd grade teacher who informed me that while there were a few instances of this type of behavior, it was not anything like this year. I would love for you both and Lena to come in so that we can discuss the matter further and set up a goal of positivity and cooperation with other classmates for the duration of the school year.

Thank you for your time,

Mrs. Lawler

I am trying my very best not to laugh as I fold the paper back up and hand it to her.

"Can you believe that?" Lena exclaims. She opens it up and then scans it for a particular line. "I would love for you both and Lena to come in so that we can discuss the matter further and set up a goal of positivity and cooperation with other classmates for the duration of the school year," She repeats. "What the heck does that even mean?"

I laugh. "Not sure, kid."

"This doesn't even make sense Embry! Her rationale is so stupid! She asked if I liked her dress and I said no. Okay. What's the problem?"

"Nice vocabulary," I nod my head at her, genuinely impressed.

"This is serious, Embry," She snaps.

"Okay, okay," I sigh. "I don't know, Len. Just try to be nicer to people, I guess."

Lena sighs exasperatedly. "I do try. But these kids are pretentious."

"Do you even know what that means?" I laugh.

"I'm just so sick of this," Lena grumbles, ignoring me. "I didn't do anything wrong."

I don't say anything, but then again, it's not really my place. Lately, Lena has been getting into some trouble for… well… for her personality, to be entirely honest. She's hysterical, and way smarter and way, way more mature than most other eight year olds that I've ever met. But what comes along with that is a hell of a lot of sarcasm and a blunt honesty that just so happens to make kids cry every once in a while.

Scarlett and Paul have had a few of these letters in the last month, and though they have had a conversation with her about it, it's hard to really put blame on her when she wasn't trying to be mean.

"Hey Embry?" Lena asks.

"Hm?"

"Can I dye my hair black?"

I blink at her. "Why on earth would you do that?"

Lena shrugs. "I feel like it would match my personality more."

I roll my eyes. "Don't touch your hair. Does this have something to do with these letters?"

"It's not like I need your permission," She narrows her eyes at me. "And kinda. I feel like when people see the way I look they expect me to be a certain way and then get mad when I'm not."

"You're perfect just the way you are, Lena," I tell her honestly.

"I'm dying it," She sits back in her seat."

"No you're not. It wouldn't look good."

"You're mean." Lena crosses her arms tightly overtop of her chest and frowns.

I laugh. "I'm kidding. But you have great hair, don't be ridiculous. That would be like me trying to get a face transplant. I can't give up my best asset!"

Lena rolls her eyes, though I notice her lips fight a smile. "You're an idiot."

"Hungry?"

She smiles and nods quickly, her annoyed and anxious mood fading rather quickly. I can't help but smile now that she feels better.

I stop to get her a milkshake before going back to my apartment.

"So are you coming to my dance recital tomorrow?" She asks casually as she swirls her straw around in milkshake.

"Of course," I tell her. "I've got a whole fan club coming."

"I'll kill you," Lena freezes.

I laugh. "Kidding. Are you nervous?"

She shrugs again. "No."

"Really?"

She looks up and cocks her head at me. "Why would I be nervous? I'm the best."

"Wow," I laugh and rub my jaw, "And modest too. See, that's probably what you want to avoid saying if you don't want another letter."

"What?" Lena actually looks confused. "I'm just being honest."

I stifle a laugh. "Right. Continue."

"No, not nervous. It's just frustrating because she won't move me up because apparently I'm not a 'mature enough dancer yet'," Lena rolls her eyes.

"Lena," I speak slowly. "They already did move you up."

"Yeah with twelve year olds!" She exclaims. "They're so annoying."

I laugh. "You're like a sixteen year old in a eight year old's body. Not sure where you came from."

Lena giggles. "I have a solo, you know."

"I do know that," I smile and nudge her shoulder. Now Lena actually smiles bashfully and looks away. The thing about Lena is that she isn't actually cocky at all, she's just blunt. She's open about being terrible about something and she's just as open about being the best. I have to admit though, ever since her dance teacher moved her up from dancing with other eight year olds to twelve year olds because she has "never seen anything like Lena before in her life," I think we all have been dying to see what the deal is.

It's hard to really be able to tell how good she is when she was doing tap dances to Disney songs.

I am suddenly laughing at the memory. "I am never going to let you like down that Pinocchio piece."

"Ugh!" Lena smacks my arm. "That was the worst day of my life! So happy. Ugh!" She shivers.

"Ugh, right? How disgusting for something to be cute."

"If people call me 'cute' after this show like they did at the last one, I am going to scream."

"Why?" I laugh. "You're eight. All you are is cute."

She narrows her eyes at me. "I do not dance five days a week for cute."

I burst out laughing. "You do that to yourself," I tell her, recalling the time when she had begged and begged her parents to let her take an extra ballet class even though she was already taking three other classes at the same time.

"My teacher said that I could be a professional dancer one day," She states bashfully.

"You think that's what you'd like to do?" I smile at her.

"Maybe," Lena blushes just a little bit; a trait that I am so happy she inherited from her mother, though it is much less prevalent or common than Scarlett's constant red cheeks over just about anything. "If I'm good enough."

"You're more than good enough," I reassure her. "You're the best. Right?"

She sighs. "We'll see after tomorrow."

The next day, Lena texts me a total of 15 times from her mom's phone with reminders about the show. "Don't show up late because once the doors close you won't be able to get in!" and "Don't forget to bring snacks because it's really long and some dances are terrible," and "Make sure you meet my parents before so that you can find your seat," along with many more.

By the time seven o'clock rolls around, Scarlett, Paul, Paul's mom and I are all sitting in our reserved seating in the fifth row. The rest of the attendees which include Renesmee, Jacob and two of their five most well behaved sons, and all the rest of the Cullen's, are sitting in the back with the "rest of the peasants," as Lena had stated after only being allowed to secure four assigned seats.

I'm not really sure how it all happened, but the Cullen's have kind of become Scarlett's side of the family, and Lena views them just as much as her family as she does Paul's mom.

When the announcement comes out through the overhead that the show will be starting in five minutes, ushering everyone to take their seats, I make sure to scroll through the program so that I am sure which dances Lena will be in.

My eyes bulge when I notice that she is in over half of the total dances listed, which makes sense considering she takes so many classes, but is still quite shocking to me. I think I am not the only one who was taken by surprise at how dedicated Lena became with dancing, after just putting her in a cute ballerina class at the age of 3 for something to do and some pictures to take.

The lights dim, and I am officially excited to watch a dance show; what the hell has happened to me?

The show begins with the opening number, which is a dramatic piece with the senior ensemble (or so it says in the program), and it isn't bad at all, though I find it extremely difficult not to fall asleep or to care in the slightest when it doesn't involve Lena. The next is Lena's first performance, and it just so happens to be with her new age division. It is a ballet piece, which is her favorite, and is entitled "The Land of the Lost."

The curtain pulls away and Lena is center stage with a spotlight on her.

I think all four of our mouths drop as we lean forward in our seats. When she said that she got moved up to dance with 12 year olds, I don't think that anyone expected her to lead the 12 year olds.

Lena is wearing a black leotard with a dark crimson skirt at the waist. Her hair is in a tight top bun and the little eight year old that I am used to tickling and goofing around with looks so much older. She looks… mature… and serious. It's quite shocking.

The music begins, and immediately her leg rises in the air. It is bent straight up, and she is holding it, and then she bends her back to the ground while keeping it raised. Her face is masked in emotion that I didn't even realize an eight year old could possess.

Wow.

She finishes the rest of her "solo" before multiple other spotlights illuminate the stage and the rest of the dancers begin performing as well. Throughout the piece, there is one thing that is prevalent: Lena is leading that dance. And… Lena is the best. Seriously, truly, obviously better than every single one of those girls who are much taller and much older. Now, I don't know much about dance, but I think everyone notices how her leg goes higher and her turns are quicker and her movements are more graceful.

I am sincerely shocked, and from the blanket of silence and awe that sets over the entire audience, I can tell that everyone else is, too.

The rest of the show has quite the same feel as that first dance. All of the dances that Lena is in, she seems to be in the front, except for hip-hop, which she gave her all but was definitely not the same as her ballet (I shall be making fun of her for that later). By intermission, Scarlett, Paul, Paul's mother and I are in shock, each asking each other if the other had any idea that she was this good. I mean hell, it's like the entire show was centered around her.

When the finale comes, each group goes to the front of the stage, holds their hands up, and takes a bow. We all jump to our feet to give her a standing ovation, and I make sure to yell out for her, hopefully embarrassing her just a little bit.

Once she finally emerges from backstage with the rest of the dancers to meet with all of her friends and family, her hair is still up in a tight bun, and there is still way too much makeup (in my opinion), on her face, though she now has a cute black dress on that I remember her being excited about when Scarlett bought it for her for Christmas.

"Wow!" I say just before everyone else offers their praises.

"You're incredible!" Scarlett gasps and then hugs her tightly. "You're amazing, Lena!"

"Mom," Lena giggles uncomfortably.

"She's right," Paul pulls her to his side and rubs her shoulder as he hands her the flowers that they got for her. "That really was incredible, sweetheart. Everyone was in awe!"

"Really?" Lena giggles.

"Oh it was beautiful!" Paul's mom coos and grabs her face between her hands to kiss. Lena makes a funny face and tries to pull away. I laugh. "You were spectacular. Oh, just marvelous!" Mrs. Lahote keeps hugging her; I wonder if she is able to breathe.

"Yeah! You looked just like the dancers I've seen on Broadway!" Nessie adds. "Swear!"

"I concur!" Mr. Cullen adds in with a smile.

"Geeze, thanks guys," Lena blushes.

She turns her attention to me, last but from her obvious nervous habit of twiddling with her fingers when she gets nervous, obviously the most important to her. "Did you like it?"

I laugh. "Did I like it? Are you kidding me?" I hug her and lift her up in the air.

"Embry!" She gasps. "My dress!"

I laugh and set her down. "That was great, Len. Who knew you're actually amazing?"

She rolls her eyes. "I told you!"

"I thought you were just being cocky," I wink at her. "Oh!" I suddenly remember the flowers that I got her and hand them over. "Slightly squished."

"They say it's the thought that counts," She shrugs with a wide smile on her face.

"Do you believe that?"

"Not at all," Lena whispers back with a giggle.

"Excuse me."

We all turn collectively to see a tall man in a suite being trailed by one other man and a woman, each with a clipboard and their phones in their hands.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. But my name is Johnathan from the Lawrence School of Ballet. I sometimes scout for our summer programs and possible college scholarships and was wondering if you would have a minute to talk about-,"

"Hello! Sorry to cut in! I'm Melissa from The Dance Company of Seattle. If you have a minute I would love to discuss Lena's possible future with us."

Three other people approach us before Paul literally is forced to create a barrier between him and Lena once they actually start speaking directly with her. "Wait!" Lena jumps up and down behind Paul. "What are they saying?"

I laugh. "They're offering you college scholarships I think."

"Really?" Lena gasps.

I chuckle. "Something like that."

"Dad!" Lena pulls on Paul's coat jacket. He turns his head towards her. "What are they saying?"

"Ugh, not quite sure," He looks uncertainly between them and Lena.

"Well can you figure it out?" Lena asks, clearly stressed.

Paul looks taken aback, though eventually he just winds up giving everyone his cell number and telling them not to call until the following week, which he realizes is a terrible idea once we are heading out, but it is too late now to take it back.

We all go out for burgers after and spend the time reminiscing on Lena's show and how incredible she was, which is still quite a shock for me. I hate to admit it, because I really feel like a jerk, but when an 8 year old is constantly telling you that they're incredible at something, you kind of laugh and nod your head and play along with it; I should have known that Lena would never exaggerate something like that.

Afterwards, Lena begs her parents to let me drive her home. Though they argue that I need to get home because I have work in the morning, I say that I don't mind and then reach for her hand to walk her to my truck.

"Hey Embry," Lena asks, still a ball of excitement as I begin the drive back to her house. "What was your favorite dance?"

I think for a moment. "Probably the first one."

"Why?" She pushes.

"Pure shock factor alone," I laugh. "I didn't know you were that good."

Lena sighs. "Do you not listen to me? I already told you that!"

I can't help but laugh. "Yeah but seeing it is a totally different thing, pipsqueak."

She nods and rests her head against the seat. I turn the radio on when I notice her get quiet and begin to get sleepy.

"Hey Embry?" She asks after a while.

I smile. Always before she has something to say or a question to ask, she starts just like that.

"Yeah, Lennie?"

"Do you think I could go to any of those schools? Like for real?"

I don't even have to think about it. "Of course, Lena."

"It's probably expensive," She ponders quietly.

"If it's something that you really want than we'll figure it out."

Lena sighs and nods her head. She yawns and then slides over the long seat to rest her head against my arm.

"Thanks for coming," She says sleepily.

"You don't have to thank me," I sigh. "Besides, I recording you trying to street dance and I'm going to be replaying that hip-hop dance on repeat for the next year."

She is already asleep, or she certainly would have smacked me for that one.

That's a wrap for chapter 3! I hope you all are liking the beginnings of Lena's personality coming out. I'm really excited for you all to see how she evolves as she gets older; I have a few chapters written of her older, and she is by far my favorite character I have ever written.

Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading:)