Chapter 5: Different

Henry flipped through his book as he sat at the dinner table.

"What are you looking for kid," Emma asked.

"Renesmee," Henry replied.

"Who?"

"Ness," Henry corrected reverting to the name his grandmother had used, "That new girl in my class."

"Didn't you just do that the other day?" Henry only shrugged. "Maybe she's not apart the Enchanted Forest."

Henry looked up. "Like Dr. Whale?"

"I don't know. Maybe she's from here. I don't think there's a mystery to be solved here Henry."

"There could be."

Emma sighed and took a seat. It was just like her son to turn to answers in his book.

"Now why would you think that?"

"Because she talked to me."

"And you think that makes her different?"

Henry shook his head, "I don't expect you to get it."

Emma could tell there was something bothering her son.

"How can I if I don't know what's going on?"

"You don't know what it was like before you got here."

"No I suppose I don't. We haven't really talked about it. Do you want to now?"

Henry nodded. "I started noticing I was different when I was five. I never had any of the same friends and I was always moving grade levels but no one else did. I thought it was weird. I tried to talk to my mom about it but she would just tell me I was smarter than everyone else or she would get mad sometimes and say there was nothing going on. That's when she made me start seeing Archie."

Emma looked at her son. She had no idea that Henry had gone through that. He hadn't been over dramatizing when he had told her that his life sucked on the second day of knowing him. Henry had been brought to Storybrooke when he was three weeks old and had been the only one to grow normally in a town that never aged.

Babies remained babies while he grew up. Kids stayed in the same grade levels while he moved on. Time didn't start moving until she arrived which meant that Henry had lived most days on repeat. It was like a child wishing it to be Christmas every day. Emma had seen those types of movies so she understood slightly at how annoying that must have been after a while.

To realize her son had grown up with that kind of lifestyle and not the kind of life she had wanted for him pained her to no end.

Emma placed a hand on Henry's arm.

"I am so sorry Henry," she said to him.

"It's not your fault. You were just trying to do what was best for me. Things may have been bad but I was meant to be here otherwise who else would have brought you to Storybrooke?"

Emma shook her head in amazement. Sometimes Henry was wiser than she gave him credit for and that often surprised her.

"Still." Emma glanced at the book, "So what does this have to do with Renesmee?"

"I've never had anyone my age talk to me before. And before the curse was broken some of the kids that did talk to me always talked about the same thing every day so I stopped listening and started sitting by myself."

Emma nodded. "So that's why you were kind of a loner." Henry looked at his mother. "When you went missing I asked Regina to check with your friends. She said you didn't really have any. Now it makes sense. So this girl, she talked to you as if nothing?"

"Well she was kind of shy. It's just weird that's all."

"I know. It's not something you're used to but Henry that doesn't mean she's different."

"Maybe," he said not really believing. "She just seems different somehow, like she doesn't belong here. Like me."

"Hey you belong here now."

"Were you able to find anything about them?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary."

"There wouldn't be. People from other worlds are good at covering their tracks."

Emma looked at her son and he just smiled.

Edward placed a cup of blood on the kitchen table in front of Renesmee along with regular human food that consisted of a chicken drumstick and rice.

"Do I have to eat it," Renesmee asked.

"Not if you don't want to," Jacob said all ready on his second serving.

Bella gave Jacob a disapproving look and turned to her daughter, "You're never going to get used to human food unless you don't try it."

"I don't like human food."

Bella took a seat near her daughter. "Renesmee, please," she said.

Edward took a seat at the table too.

"I don't think it's all that bad," he said. "I used to make this for your mom when she was pregnant with you."

Renesmee looked at her father. "You did?"

"Mhm, that and omelets. How many egg cartons did you go through on the island?"

Bella laughed, "Don't remind me."

Jacob looked from Edward to Bella not really getting the joke.

Bella turned to her daughter, "Sweetie just try to see your human side as a muscle or like Jake's phasing. If he doesn't phase for a long while he'll start to age again. In your case if you don't use your human side it will never get strong and it won't be used to human things. You're special Renesmee, half vampire but also half human. You can't ever forget that." Bella sighed because the next part of her talk bothered her, "And Jacob's half human too not just half wolf. You don't have to choose between one or the other. You are both."

Renesmee toyed with her spoon.

"And hey," said Jake, "Henry eats human food too."

Renesmee sighed, "Fine," she said taking a small bite of her chicken but not really liking it.

"Who's Henry," Bella asked.

"That kid we saw at the diner the other day," said Jake.

"He's in my class," said Renesmee.

"You made a friend," Edward said sounding impressed and happy for his daughter.

Renesmee nodded, "And Jacob's jealous."

Edward quickly turned on Jacob and Jacob placed his hands up. "Woah not like that. Over protective is more the correct term."

Jacob remained silent but he spoke to Edward through his mind. 'I swear I didn't mean it like that. If Renesmee wants a personal life then I'm fine with that.'

"She's ten," Edward said out loud.

'Oh come on,' Jake continued silently, 'You can't say you didn't have a crush at that age or is that ancient history for you?' Jake saw the way Edward looked at him. 'Look all I'm saying is I want Ness to be happy. I'm not threatened by another ten year old. In fact it's nice she has a friend outside of the family. I know she loves us all but like you said she is ten so I'm sure it's nice to have someone her age to talk to. I mean it's not like she could talk to Claire since she's only three.'

Bella placed a hand on Edwards. "You okay?"

"Yeah," said Edward. "Jacob just had a point that's all." He turned to Renesmee. "It's nice that you have a friend Renesmee. Just be careful with what you tell him okay? No one can find out what we are."

"But what if he's special too?"

"Why would you think that," asked Jacob.

"He just seems different that's all. And his grandma is the same age as his mom."

Bella and Edward only looked at each other. It was Jacob who asked Bella's silent question.

'If she's right what kind of town did we stumble into?'

Edward only shrugged.