AN: Thank you to Mandy Todd, MatthewReilly4Eva, Gotsta Have My Hardy, moonfairie, cheesetaco, Jesusrocks, Carlalalita, LorilieDorran, HorsecrazyJr. and Sylvia12 for all of the reviews, alerts and favorites. Thank you for bearing with me.

6. Crush:

I heard a knock on my door as soon as I had secured the ivory ribbon in my hair. Apparently someone was impatient today. I smiled despite myself and opened the door. Jacob loomed in the hallway, looking slightly harassed. I searched his mind for whatever it was that had caused that look and cringed. I had been right. He and my mother did have the talk. Gr-reat.

"You ready yet?" Jacob asked me, giving me a once over, "I see that Alice has allowed you to wear jeans now."

"Yes, thankfully," I sighed, stepping out into the hallway beside him, "Did Mom and Dad leave?"

"Like you don't know," he shook his head at me, that silly smile on his face. The smile that caused the butterflies.

We wandered into the empty living room and got to the door before Jacob opened it for me, bowing low.

"Ladies first," he said in a very bad English accent.

I laughed at him as I walked past him into the gray morning. Or was it afternoon? It was hard to tell in the gray light but I decided that it didn't matter and I threw my arms out behind me, stretching. It felt so wonderful to finally be able to move like this. It had been weeks since I'd had a proper run. I was also going to hunt today. Usually I went with my parents but I wanted to go with Jacob instead.

"I'll give you a head start," Jacob said from behind me.

I turned toward his voice and felt the breath leave my body. He stood behind me, shirtless, his entire upper body was a wash of powerfully defined muscles. Heat came to my face in a flash so violent it actually made me dizzy. I spun around quickly, hoping he didn't notice my reaction just then. As if I should be so lucky.

"What's wrong, Ness?" He asked. I heard the grass whisper as he took a step toward me.

I swallowed my pulse and squeezed my eyes shut. Just breathe, Renesmee. It's not like you haven't seen him without a shirt before. What makes it so special now? Oh, that's right. Now you're all hormonal because of your superhuman growth spurts. Good. Great. Perfect.

His hand touched my shoulder and I jumped like he'd hit me. His hand disappeared. His thoughts were as uncertain as his movement had been and I mental smacked myself. I wasn't the only one who was confused by my new reactions to him.

"I'm sorry, Jacob," I sighed, turning back around to face him.

Thankfully, he'd put his shirt back on. I don't think I'd be able to breathe if he hadn't, let alone talk. What was that word that my mother had used to describe how my father had made her feel? Dazzled. That was it. Jacob dazzled me.

"No, it's cool," he tried for a smile and missed.

"Did I...," I began, stunned because I'm sure that I was wrong, "Did I...hurt your feelings, Jacob?"

"No," he blinked down at me, "Of course not."

He was lying.

"You should know that you can't lie to me, Jay," I said gently, tapping my temple, "Mind reader, remember?"

"What did you call me?" he asked, the corner of his mouth lifting in the corner. It was cute.

"Jay," I blushed, realizing what I'd said, "If you don't like it, just tell me and I can call you by your real name. I mean, I figured I should have a nickname for you since you have one for me and I didn't want to call you Jake because that's what my Mom calls you..."

I was babbling. I didn't babble. Ever. The smile was full on his face now. Glad to see that someone was enjoying this.

"Renesmee," he chuckled, shaking his head.

I felt my face turn crimson, "What?"

His chuckle turned into a laugh. He was laughing at me! My face flushed again and it was for an entirely different reason.

"Don't laugh at me," I hissed, "This isn't funny!"

"I disagree," he chortled.

I hissed at him again and turned on my heels. His laughter echoed around me and I flung myself into the trees. As soon as I had started running, his laughter died. He called after me, his voice startled. I ignored him, pushing my legs harder, willing myself to go faster.

The feel of my muscles working was amazing but it did nothing to help clear my head like I hoped it would. It wasn't long before I heard the dull thud of paws beating earth behind me. I didn't want to talk to him. Not yet. I was still angry that he had laughed at me like that. He was catching me up.

I caught sight of a lower hanging branch on a nearby hemlock tree and flung myself at it. I landed on its mossy bough with all the ease that my vampire genetics had granted me. I hoped from one branch to another, climbing higher and higher. I didn't stop until I climbed to the last branch that I was sure would be sturdy enough to hold my weight.

The wind was much stronger here. It blew the fabric of my shirt around and tugged at the ribbon in my hair. The view I had was breathtaking. I could just make out the huge house that belonged to my family past the winding, shimmering body of the river. Another strong gust of wind tugged at the ribbon, making it slide out of my hair and fly into the sky, twisting around in delicate shapes as it started its decent to the ground.

I settled myself in the tree branch, pressing my back against the truck and leaning against it while I reclined on the bough. A single howl rose into the otherwise silent forest and I smirked a little. Let him be worried. I closed my eyes as the sun made a short appearance in the sky. The first warm rays hit me and I smiled, opening my eyes to look at my skin. It didn't sparkle like my family's skin did, but rather glowed as though I had swallowed a flame that lite me up from the inside out. The moment of sunshine ended as the dark clouds claimed it again.

"Renesmee!" A husky voice boomed into the forest around me, "C'mon, honey, I didn't mean it!"

I shivered when I heard him say honey. That was second on his list of terms of endearment for me. His first being...

"C'mon, baby girl!" He yelled again, "I wasn't laughing at you!"

With each new sentence, the heat of my anger began to fade. Maybe I had been a little rash. To be perfectly honest, I don't even know what set me off like that. He hadn't done anything to elicit such a reaction from me, so why had I felt that way? So many new questions and so few answers. What was happening to me?

"Ness, your parents will kill me if I can't find you!" He shouted, "And you know as well as I do that I don't mean that figuratively!"

I sighed. He was right. If he returned home without me, he'd be dismembered. I decided that I had been wrong and began my descent down the tree, glad that I was wearing jeans instead of the usual sundress. I stopped half way down, watching Jacob searching for me. He was sans his shirt yet again and my heart rate speed up. He turned toward the sound of my heartbeat and I could see my ivory ribbon in his hand. I smiled a little as I pressed myself against the trunk, hiding in the shadows.

He continued toward me, his head cocked to the side and I stifled a giggle as the wolf image of the movement passed through my mind. He was getting closer now. I carefully, silently edged my way around the tree as he began to circle it, trying to find exactly where I was. His nostrils flared and I cursed his wolf senses. I couldn't sneak up on him, not really. It made hide and seek a real pain when every party involved had superhuman senses and some extra ones, as well.

We nearly made a complete circuit around the tree. I moved a little faster so that his back was facing me. I crouched low on the branch, my muscles bunching, ready for the spring. I leapt lithely from the bow and sailed in the air toward him. He turned at the very last second, catching me in his arms. My momentum brought us to the forest floor, both of us laughing. Jacob held me close to his body, which was only a few degrees hotter than my own and I lay my head against his chest, listening to one of the sounds that I loved most in the world. His heart. His heart which was strong and kind and everything I loved about him.

I frowned at the last thought, suddenly feeling too close to him, too comfortable with laying in his arms like this. It felt...intimate somehow, intimate in a way that we shouldn't be. Not yet, at least. I pushed away from him, getting to my feet in one fluid movement. He didn't move except to put his arms under his head, gazing up at me from the forest floor. As he moved, his exposed chest flexed and I couldn't help but notice. I felt my cheeks flush and I looked away.

Are you going to tell me what that was about? He asked.

I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest as I looked out into the murky forest.

Just tell me. You know you can tell me anything.

I looked at the moss and fern covered ground and sighed. The truth was, I didn't know what happened back there. I couldn't explain to him because I couldn't explain to myself. Jacob stood up them and stood beside me. He just stood there, close enough that I could feel his body heat beating against mine but not close enough to brush against me by accident.

"I think we have to talk," Jacob said.

Oh. No.

"What about?" I asked softly.

I think you know.

"Please," I said, "Please don't. I don't want to. Not now."

"We need to discuss this sometime," Jacob replied, "Wouldn't you rather get it over and done with?"

"Jacob, please," I pleaded, "It's too embarrassing."

He chuckled softly again, "Oh, I know. I just had to talk to your mom about it."

I buried my face in my hands and slowly pushed them back through my hair, "What exactly do we need to talk about."

"I want to know," Jacob began, hesitating at the end, "I need to know how you...feel about me."

Blood pooled in my cheeks again and I took several calming breaths. How did I feel about him? He was my best friend and my protector. He was always there for me whenever I needed him and stuck around when I didn't. He knew everything about me. He could tell what I was feeling and even what I was thinking sometimes only because he knew me so well and not because of any supernatural gift. He was my hand to hold, the shoulder to cry on and the smile when I was down. He was my everything and I loved him.

I hadn't realized that I had reached for him while I had been thinking all of this. Only when his hand covered mine did I remember what I had done. I was blushing again. I don't think I've ever blushed so much in my entire short life. I began to pull away and just like this morning, he held my hand to his face. He crouched down so that we were nearly the same height, keeping my hand pressed against his cheek the entire time. His black eyes found mine and a brilliant smile lit up his face. A light broke in his eyes, like a sun that found its way through the clouds at last.

"Thank you," he said, "That's all that I needed to hear...er, see."

And then he let my hand go. I pulled it back and held it against my body like it was cold, though it burned with the warmth of his skin. He stood up again, that radiant smile still on his face as he looked down at me.

"Is that all you wanted," I asked.

He nodded.

"Well, now that you know how I feel about you," I began.

"Ness," he chuckled, "You already know that you're the whole world to me."

I smiled, "I guess I did but it's still nice to hear every now and then."

"I'll say it as much as you want me to, baby girl," he vowed.

I smiled again as I looked at the hand that had been cradling his cheek so gently before. I hadn't realized that it had been the hand on which the Quileute bracelet permanently sat. He had given it to me my first Christmas. It was an intricate braided silver design and was adjustable so that I could always wear it as I grew. This bracelet and my mother's locket never left my person.

"You know what that is, right?" Jacob asked me when he saw me playing with it.

"A Christmas present?" I asked, looking at him.

"It's much more than that," he replied, "That bracelet, it's the like a promise ring. It means that, when you're older and if you want to, well, it means that I'll want to marry you."

"Like an engagement ring?" I asked.

"Something like that, yeah," he nodded, "But that's only if you want to...later. What it means now is that I'll always be there for you, whenever you need me. No matter what."

My heart soared and sank simultaneously. It soared because he had said that we could get married one day. It sank because he said that right now it meant that he'd be there for me. That meant that he didn't love me, not in the way that I loved him. My eyes pricked and I looked down, blinking furiously to keep the tears away but I couldn't. They just continued to build before finally spilling out onto my cheeks.

"Renesmee, what's wrong?" Jacob gaped at me, clearly stunned by my tears.

"Nothing," I sobbed.

"Ness," Jacob said, his tone clearly saying that he knew I was lying, "Talk to me, honey."

"You don't love me," I whispered it.

"What?" He asked, "Of course I do! How could you even think..."

"You just said!" I replied, stomping my foot on the ground.

Jacob didn't reply. Instead, he searched his mind, replaying the conversation, looking for any part of it that I might have misunderstood. He couldn't think of it but I could.

"You said that this bracelet meant that we could get married," I repeated, "But for right now, it meant that you'd be there for me."

A light seemed to come on inside his head, "Oh! Ness, I said that because I don't see you that way yet. You're still too young for me to think of you in those terms...Do you honestly think I'd still be alive right now if I did think of you that way?"

His words did nothing to comfort me. The tears continued to leak out of my eyes, betraying me.

His face softened as he reached for me. He placed his arm around my shoulders and hugged me close to his side.

"Renesmee, I do love you but its a very chaste love," he explained, "But, if it makes you feel better, when you're older, that will change. I will love you in a way that will make me want to be your husband above all things but for now...."

"We just can't," I replied, my voice so low that even I could barely hear it.

Jacob heard me though and he nodded, "Right."

"But I love you," I said, "Whenever I see you, my stomach flutters and my pulse speeds up. It's like that when you touch me or when you smile..."

Another smile appeared, causing the reaction that I had just described.

"I love that I can make you feel like that but I still can't change the fact that I don't feel that way," he said and there was real regret there, "But I will. Right now, all you have is a crush on me and I am totally flattered. Who wouldn't be?"

I smiled at that, "But you do love me?"

"More than the world," he nodded, "More than the sun and the moon or the air that I breathe, but in a brotherly sort of way."

"Okay, so you love me but not enough to marry me?" I asked.

"Right," he replied.

"Alright," I said, feeling comforted by the fact that he would love me enough for that in time, "That's all."

"You sure?" he asked, gazing down at me.

I nodded.

"Nothing else bothering you?" he asked.

"No," I said.

"Okay," he smiled, "Still in the mood for a hunting trip?"

Now that he mentioned it, I was starving. My stomach fluttered in a way that had nothing to do with butterflies and everything to do with needing sustenance.

"Yes," I answered him, "I'm so hungry, I could eat a mountain lion."

Jacob laughed then, "Lets go find you one then."

I nodded and watched as Jacob trotted off into the trees to phase. When he came back, he offered to race me and it was a challenge that I was all too happy to accept. As we raced through the green maze of the forest, I was glad that I finally had one question answered and content with the knowledge that someday, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not weeks from now or even months, Jacob would love me enough to marry me. I let that thought carry me over the ground, letting the happiness of that single thought spur my speed which just so happened to surpass Jacob's own.

AN: Sorry for the long wait. Here it is. Oh, and Nessie's mood swings are a big hint into what happens in the next chapter. I wonder who can guess.