A/N: Hello, my pretties! I wanna give a shout-out to all of my loyal readers, I love you all. You are why I write, as cheesy as that may sound. Hearts and smiley faces to all my reviewers. You guys are awesome. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter.

DISCLAIMER:

Must I say it? EVERYTHING BELONGS TO STEPHANIE MEYER.

Tree branches broke and crackled and splintered as Jake went down. When he hit the ground, he stared up at me, dazed. It took him a few seconds to register what'd happened. I'd shoved him out of a tree. He stared up at me in shock before bursting out.

"Why in the hell did you do that," He yelled. I glared at him and dropped down from the tree, landing gracefully on the ground.

"I'm your imprint?! After all of this time, you don't tell me that I'm your imprint until now? When we're in the middle of a fight? What the fuck," I screeched. He knew I was pissed. He clambered away from me, motioning for me to calm down.

"They said not to tell you. Ness, they wanted you to make your own decisions! They didn't want you to feel obligated to me," He fanatically explained.

"So it was better that I spent two years pining after you? Thinking that you'd never love me back?"

He stopped in his tracks, halting his movements.

"Two years? You've loved me for two years," He asked, forgetting how livid I was at the moment.

"YES. I endured two years of what I presumed to be unrequited love, idiot. You can't be telling me you didn't know. You of all people should have been able to tell."

He flinched, obviously thinking back to a time when he was in love with my mother. He shook his head.

"I thought… Well, your dad said-"

"My dad? What did my dad say," I hissed, anger growing. It hit me that my parents knew about this imprinting business and hadn't told me. They were just as guilty as Jake, even more so if you took into account the fact that they knew my feelings for him.

"He said he'd tell me when you were ready. That I couldn't… try to approach you until you felt that way about me. If you ever felt that way about me at all."

"Bastard," I hissed beneath my breath. Dad and I were having a talk when I got home.

"These past couple months, there've been times when I thought that maybe you were starting to love me that way. But Edward always said it was in my head," He muttered.

"I'm the one who gets to decide if I'm ready, not my dad. You should've tried talking to yourself, Jake. Instead of avoiding me and belittling me," I argued.

"Well, it's not like you tried the whole 'sharing' thing with me, runner."

I crossed my arms and glared petulantly at him. There was silence between us, and I mulled over this new information. It was then that the reality of the situation really hit me. I was Jake's imprint. He had been waiting for me to love him. Had been wanting me to love him. We were bound together. For eternity. My worst fear would never come true. I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders. And the tears came back. Not pretty tears, either. I tried to cover my face and quiet my sobs so I wouldn't look so pathetic. I was now one of those girls.

"Nessie? What's wrong," Jacob asked in alarm.

"I just," I gasped, voice shaking from my tears. "I was always so scared that you'd find your imprint and leave me behind. Every time we went out, I'd start shaking if you looked at a girl for a nanosecond longer than usual. I was so afraid that you'd find someone and stop phasing! And then you'd age with them, and-" I couldn't finish, but Jake got the gist. He crushed me to his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Nessie. I would've told you sooner, I- I didn't know."

"I'm still mad at you," I mumbled, wrapping my arms around him. He nuzzled his nose into my hair, breathing in. We stayed like that for a while, not talking. The breeze ruffled my clothes, but I didn't feel cold. Jake threw off heat like a furnace. I nestled into his chest, content. Minutes passed, but it could've been mere seconds.

"So," I said, breaking the pleasant silence. "How much did you see?" He groaned.

"We just kinda made up. Can't we talk about it tomorrow?"

"Well, I thought we were getting everything off of our chests. Going back to the open relationship we used to have. So tell me, how much of my dream did you see?"

"Ugh, really? Can't we drop it?"

"You're the one who didn't drop it earlier, Jake. Tell me. Now."

"I didn't see that much," He muttered, pulling away. I could tell that he was lying from the way he refused to look me in the eye.

"Specifically, how much did you see?"

"Just, you know, where you were gonna bite me and stuff." Fidget, fidget.

"Liar. You saw more than that," I accused. He looked like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He started getting all defensive, crossing his arms and squaring his shoulders.

"You smelled different, and I went to check on you! And you were making these weird noises in your sleep, so I wanted to see what you were dreaming about. And all the sudden, I saw us breaking the fucking wall and-"

"You saw that much of it? I thought you crashed into the dresser because you were surprised!"

"I was surprised," He yelled, guarded.

"But that was way after! What, did it take you that long to register that we were-"

"I knew what was happening! I just…"

"You liked watching," I smirked. He gaped at me, neither confirming nor refuting my claim.

"So, you saw the whole thing," I pressed. He gulped.

"Pretty much," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away.

"Well, that's awkward," I muttered. He nodded fervently. One problem down. On to the next one.

"Was I right about you? In my room," I asked hesitantly. He immediately turned to walk away.

"Jake! Jake, wait!"

"So, you wanna watch a movie when we get back," He called over his shoulder. I groaned, chasing after him.

"Is that an avoidance technique of yours? Jake, talk to me!" I grabbed his arm.

"I don't wanna talk about this."

"Well it was my room, and you went in there without my permission and-"

"It's not like I intended to jack off in your room! Okay? I was just sad and horny and your parents weren't home-"

"Horny? What made you horny?" He sighed.

"Your smell." Say what?

"My smell made you horny," I asked hesitantly, raising an eyebrow. He groaned and kept walking.

"It's my wolf instincts telling me to mate. For the last few months, your smell has been almost unbearable," He murmured, face reddening. I was SO storing that information away for later.

"You're such a hypocrite! You judge me for my dream when you're hiding that?"

"Can we not talk about this," He groaned. "We both get it. Sexual attraction and stuff. It's awkward. Let's move on."

"Stop trying to sweep this under the rug. The Jake I know doesn't run! The Jake I know would just grab me and kiss me. At least, that's what he did to my mother," I said bitterly. He cried out in exasperation, stopping to facepalm.

"You know about that," He asked, groaning. I snorted.

"Yeah, Alice told me," I dead-panned. I picked up my pace so I was walking in front of Jake.

"Thanks, Alice," Jake muttered.

"So, you kissed my mom twice," I called back to him. "But you can't even tell me that you like me?"

"I was sixteen! That was over six years ago. I've developed some self-restraint since then."

"I'm just saying, it doesn't exactly make me feel wanted. With my mom, you were relentless. But you actively try to distance yourself from me. It makes me feel like I'm repulsive or something," I mumbled, hurt. He spun me around and crushed me to him.

"Nessie, I did have a crush on your mom. A huge crush; I thought I was in love with her. But you're so much more than that. You're the air I breathe, Ness."

"So, I'm air? Great, I'm invisible," I grumbled. He gave me a teasing squeeze.

"I meant that I need you to survive."

"That's nice and all, but everyone takes air for granted. It's just there. You never even appreciate it until you're suffocating." He sighed.

"Fine. It was a bad analogy. I'm not as good at them as your mom."

"My mom?"

"Yeah, she said I was," He squinted, trying to remember. "The sun, I think. It was really nice." I rolled my eyes and snorted.

"Yeah, tell a narcissist that he's like the center of our solar system. That the the entire world literally revolves around him. That won't inflate his ego."

"I kinda am like the sun. 'Cause I'm hot, and all," Jake smirked.

"Nah. The sun's so far away. And it's too bright to look at without burning your eyes. And it isn't consistent. Sometimes, on long summer days, it's front and center. Other times, on cold winter nights, it feels like you'll never see it again. And no matter what, the sun always sets."

"You're really tearing all of my analogies apart. If I'm not the sun, then what am I?"

"You're like," I paused, pursing my lips. "The core of the earth."

"How so," Jake asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"You're solid. You're always there, rain or shine. Hot and molten. Literally the center of my entire world. And if you were gone, everything I know erode. Buildings would collapse, mountains would fall, life would end. You're kinda important," I said, looking away in embarrassment. Yeah, that wouldn't totally give him a huge head.

He pulled back and held my chin to look me in the eye. Then he crushed me to his chest once more, holding me tighter than ever.

"You're a lot better at analogies," He murmured in my hair.

"Nah, you just suck at 'em."

"I deserve a second chance," He snorted.

"Fine. Dazzle me with your intellectual prowess," I smirked.

"You are…" He paused. Then he grabbed my hand, and we continued walking back to his house. He walked with me for a long time, thinking. Occasionally, he'd squeeze my hand and laugh when he vicariously feel the jolts of electricity he sparked in me. He turned to me when we reached his door, and a grin spread across his face. He finally found the words he wanted to say.

"You are everything that's beautiful about life."

"Really? Everything," I asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yep. Everything," He said with total confidence.

"Like what?"

"Like… sunshine, for example. You light up my world. You're like a rainbow after a rainstorm. Snow when it first falls. You are all the stars in the sky."

My face grew hot.

"I'm all of the stars?"

"Every single one," He promised. Tears prickled my eyes.

"Wow. That sounds pretty important," I murmured, trying not to cry.

"Yeah. You're kind of my entire universe, Ness."

… … …

Jake made sure to get me home by curfew, which was midnight. We barely made it, arriving at 11:59, but that was no different from usual. He's never gotten me home earlier than a quarter till midnight; we enjoyed our time together too much to cut it any shorter than necessary. He walked me inside, and I knew that a confrontation would occur. My thoughts were too loud and furious for a peaceful discussion with my father. I heard him murmur, "She knows." to my mother before I passed the threshold of the house. I would get some answers.

"We need to talk," I yelled into the seemingly empty house, even though I knew they could hear me if I whispered. In the blink of an eye, they were standing in front of me. My mother looked somewhat squeamish, not wanting to argue. My father looked ready refute my accusations with equal fervor. Good. I needed a fight.

"We did the right thing," My dad said firmly.

"Really? You knew how miserable I've been for the last two years-"

"When you first started having romantic feelings for Jake, you were four. Physically fifteen. You weren't ready for a relationship then."

"What about now? I'm less than a year away from maturity, and I'm physically nineteen! Mom and I look the exact same age. I'm completely ready, and I have a feeling you weren't going to tell me about this imprinting business anytime soon."

"You're still not ready," He seethed. The venom in his voice made me draw back. He threw a glare at Jake, and I took a protective stance between them.

"You don't trust Jake after all this time? I'm his imprint, Dad. He'd never hurt me. You should know that," I half-snarled.

Something about Dad's posture or the way his eyes tightened or the clenching of his fist made a wave of realization wash over me. It wasn't Jake my dad distrusted. I gave an awe-struck laugh. It was short and abrupt. Jake and Mom looked at me in confusion.

"It's me, isn't it? I'm the one you don't trust! You knew that if you had told me about the imprinting, I wouldn't have been afraid to tell Jake my feelings. Hell, I probably would've attacked him."

My mom sputtered, and Jake looked awkwardly down at the floor. Dad's expression hardened, and I knew that I hit the nail on the head.

"You aren't mature enough for the kind of relationship that I know you want. I'm constantly bombarded with your thoughts, and you're not responsible enough for-"

"For sex, right? This is all about sex. Dad, if Jake and I's relationship headed in that direction, it would be our business. Not yours. You shouldn't have meddled."

"I didn't meddle. Quite the opposite. I stayed completely uninvolved," he said loftily.

"So lying to Jake when he asked about my feelings is 'uninvolved'," I asked testily.

"I thought that you preferred I didn't share your thoughts, Renesmee," He replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. I grimaced, huffing in indignation. I gave Jake a quick hug before I stomped upstairs.

"I'm going to sleep," I announced, trying not to sound like a petulant child. I slammed my bedroom door hard enough to shake the house. I heard my mother sigh downstairs.

"Why did you tell her, Jake?"

"It's complicated. She was crying, and if I didn't tell her I- I was afraid I'd lose her."

My heart warmed, and I was trembling with joy. Jacob Black imprinted on me. We were meant to be together. I still couldn't believe it. Slowly, I crept back to the hallway outside my room. The three of them looked up at me, curious as to what more I had to say.

"You couldn't lose me if you tried. You're kind of stuck with me forever, Jake," I murmured. I gave him a fleeting smile and a "Goodnight," before rushing back into my room. My parents chuckled, but the only sound I could focus on was Jacob's hum of content. I slept well that night.

The following day, I read and fiddled with the piano. Then I went out for a run; Unlike the other vampires, I had to exercise. Maybe it was my human genes, or my human diet. Maybe it was because I didn't get exercise from hunting like the others did. But I had to start an exercise routine, as prescribed by Carlisle. It wasn't because I was gaining weight, but because I'd become slow. I was still faster than most humans, but I had trouble keeping up with the wolves and the vampires. Carlisle thinks it's because I force myself to go human speed at all times; my muscles almost forgot what the were intended for. Physical prowess. Now, I went running everyday. I've gained most of my speed back, but there was still more work to do. It was exhilarating, using my real power. It was also a great to blow off steam.

I ran for a couple hours, not wanting to give up the feel of the wind against my face. Only during times like these would I feel good in my own skin; would I prefer my true nature to the fantasy I'd had of being human. On my way back, something was wrong. I felt dizzy. Faint. Three miles away from the house, I collapsed. It felt like I couldn't move. After a few minutes, I heard the sound of footsteps. Dad must've heard my thoughts. They carried me inside and laid me on my bed. After an hour had passed, I felt good enough to walk around. And apparently good enough to be berated.

"What were you thinking, Renesmee? You haven't been feeding, have you," My mother said angrily. It was pretty unusual for her to get so pissy.

"I'm fine. I've been hunting. I just went running for too long. I guess the human in me just tired out," I lied. I kept my head clear, praying Dad wouldn't call my bluff. He didn't.

"I'll get you a treadmill," Mom said. "I don't want you to be outside if you collapse again."

"I don't think a treadmill would go fast enough," I muttered.

"Well, maybe you're going too fast if you're collapsing from exhaustion," Mom said.

"Sure, sure."

… … …

I had my regular check-up with Carlisle the next morning. We had these every two months, even though we were no longer worried about my accelerated growth rate. Now a days, we just took my temperature (always unusually high), checked my vitals, and ran a few blood tests. After I turned four, we discussed a bunch of puberty stuff. All in all, it was pretty normal for a checkup; I just had them more frequently than normal people.

Everything was as usual during today's checkup. I told him about my collapse from yesterday. He said that it was strange, but not to worry unless it happens again. My blood sugar had probably been low; nothing a bit of blood wouldn't fix. He offered some, and I politely declined, trying no to grimace. As my blood test ran, Carlisle asked the usual questions. The first few received the usual answers, but our Q&A quickly became embarrassing.

"So, are there any recent developments that I should be aware of? Atypical sensations or bodily anomalies?"

"That rhymed," I chuckled. Carlisle grinned, but still waited for an answer. He probably expected my run-of-the-mill answer. No. Not really. Does morning breath count as an anomaly? But an awkward silence took place instead; he noticed my hesitation and took it as a yes.

"What have you been experiencing?"

"Um, slight," I paused, trying to find the right word. "Discomfort."

"Discomfort? What kind of discomfort? Where? How long has this been happening?"

"It's been a few weeks. Um, it's, well… Genital discomfort."

"Has it been painful," He asked, concerned.

"No, definitely not. It's just been aggravating, for lack of a better word. Like an itch you can't scratch?" He gave me a knowing look.

"Ah, I see. I assure you, Renesmee, arousal is perfectly normal at your physical age. Healthy even-"

"No," I interrupted. "I've experienced it before. But lately it's been more… intense. The sensation is harder to ignore, and it's been much more frequent. It'll happen with little to no stimulation. It's extremely inconvenient."

"Have you tried to alleviate the discomfort yourself?" I blushed.

"I- I really can't," I stammered.

"Auto-erotic stimulation is nothing to be ashamed of, Ness."

"I know that. It's just, usually there's someone around when the arousal happens. Even when I'm alone, Dad is close enough to read my thoughts. I'm not ashamed of masturbation, but my father reading my mind while I do it is a line I refuse to cross. I've had about two opportunities to do it in complete solitude. Both times I, uh, couldn't quite… finish. No matter what I did it just wouldn't happen."

"Has there been any pattern as to when you become aroused?"

Jake. When I see him, smell him, think of him, or even hear his name. Sometimes when I see black or russet or even hear a word that starts with the letter, "J." Anything and everything to do with Jacob Black arouses the hell out of me.

"Um, not in particular," I squeaked. Carlisle raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Are you sure? I won't judge you. You could have a sock fetish, and I wouldn't treat you any differently." I chuckled.

"No, it's not socks. It's, um, sometimes it's because of a certain person. You know, not very often. But sometimes."

He nodded, obviously knowing who I was talking about. After a few more questions, he went to see the results of the blood test. He came back with a slightly surprised look on his face.

"It seems that your increase in arousal might indeed be attributed to a few medical factors."

"Really? Is there something I need to be worried about?"

"Not worried, per se. Just aware of. It appears that you have elevated levels of Estrogen, Testosterone, Norepinephrine, and Oxytocin."

I ran the functions of each hormone through my head before realizing what this meant.

"So the spike in these hormones are causing increased libido?"

"Correct. You're reaching physical maturity, and your hormones are also spiking at an accelerated rate. Years worth of hormonal incline are taking place in your body within the span of such a short period of time. No wonder your hormonal impulses have been so intense."

"How long will this last?" I asked, anxious.

"I may have to run some more tests to get a more precise estimate, but I'm guessing about 4 to 6 months."

"Are you serious? How am I supposed to deal with this for 4 to 6 months," I yelled.

"Please be rational," Carlisle pleaded.

"How can I? Teen hormones is the very definition of being irrational," I muttered sarcastically.

"So," He said, changing the subject. "How have your eating habits been?" I stiffened.

"Fine. I've been eating more human food."

"What about hunting? Have you been hunting regularly?"

"Of course," I lied. "I just went a few days ago."

"Make sure to feed at least twice a month," He reminded me.

"Okay."

Carlisle gave me a smile and a pat on the back before telling me that I was free to go. I have a feeling that he knew I wasn't being honest. It's not like he could check the color of my irises to make sure I was eating. I jumped down to the floor and made my way out of the room. Our checkups were at the hospital now. I'd insisted on clearing out the special medical room we'd had at the house. It made me feel like a lab rat. Now I just visit the hospital like everybody else.

The fluorescent lights and stark white walls of the hospital still make me anxious. I couldn't wait until I was fully grown, for the last doctor's visit. The last trip to the hospital. I never could stomach all of the sick and dying. I live in a world of immortality and eternal youth. The elderly and the terminally ill belong to a realm so different than mine that I don't know how to handle it. The hospital's scent didn't help either. My enhanced senses made the smell of disease and antiseptic absolutely unbearable. The first time I came to the hospital, I threw up as soon as I stepped out of the waiting room. I hated the hospital. Carlisle suspects that I'll be full grown before the age of seven, as women reach maturity at an earlier age than men. Then I'll never go back to the hospital again.

I made my way out, knowing that Jake was waiting in the parking I saw him standing next to my car, my whole world started glowing. He smiled, and it was infectious. I bounded up too him, giving him a bear hug as soon as we were close enough. He stumbled back, probably shocked at the display of affection. Two years ago, I'd stopped initiating physical contact so frequently, and a year ago, I stopped altogether. That was only because I was afraid he'd know how I felt. In all actuality, I'm a total cuddler/bear-hugger/any way I can get close to Jake-er.

"Hey, Nessie."

"Hi," I smiled into his chest.

"Ready to go," He asked. I nodded and hopped into his car. We headed over to his house and made mild chit-chat about my doctor's visit.

"So, was everything normal," He asked, expecting a yes.

"Kind of. Not really. It's nothing to worry about."

"What? What's wrong," He asked frantically, jumping into protective mode.

"Nothing's wrong, I just have a huge hormone spike. That's all."

"So are you gonna grow a beard or start crying all of the time," He joked.

"No, but I might start humping your leg," I joked back. He stiffened. Well, damn. How can I make a conversation so awkward with a single comment.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well," I started. "The hormones that are spiking are correlated to my sex drive. They're out of whack because I grow so fast. It's why I've been kind of… anxious lately."

"So, how long…?"

"For 4 to 6 months," I grumbled.

"That long," He half-yelled, surprised.

"Yup. It sucks. You better watch out, Jacob Black. I might attack you."

"I'm shaking," He said dryly. There was a slight tremor in his voice. I gave him a predatory grin, and he gulped.

We definitely weren't in a place to make my dream from yesterday come true. Life sucks. Dreams suck. Especially if you only get to wake up to a reality in which they seem like impossible fantasies.

However, as I look at Jacob, I feel a lightening in my chest. Maybe, one day soon, he'd want me back. Knowing I was his imprint gave me a peace of mind that calmed the hurt and anxiety I'd been feeling at his rejection. We still needed to talk. About imprinting, and its implications. About us. But for now, I didn't mind things going back to how they used to be. Kind of. There was a flirtatious edge that our relationship didn't have before. I let him touch me, and he grinned when he felt the electricity and yearning that I felt, happy that I'd finally let my walls down for the first time into over a year.

It was exciting. I guess dreams aren't too bad. They give you hope. A hope that makes it seem like anything is possible. Things were most definitely changing.