Nessie

Filling in Tara proved to be less of a challenge than I expected. From a distance I could see her jumping up and down next to her car, looking really excited. I was seeing a completely new side of her that somewhat resembled Danielle and it was becoming easier to understand why they were best friends. She was beaming when I approached the car and began asking me questions before she even started the engine. Every time I tried to answer, she would break out into squeals of delight, making it nearly impossible to explain everything thoroughly.

However, as annoying as it was, I found myself shaking in overexcitement just as much as her. I've never been the type of girl that giggles when she thinks of a boy or likes to share her personal business with others, but here I was going into immense detail on how I felt about Corey and the sensation I got when he touched my arm or whispered in my ear. This was all so new to me and frankly it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. By the time we reached my house I had told Tara as much as she would let me get out, leaving me dizzy from all the euphoria exerted between the both of us.

"Wow you have a really nice place." She stared wide-eyed at the house as I hopped out of the car.

"Thanks! I'll see you tomorrow."

"Huh? Oh yeah I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!"

I watched her drive away, hoping she paid attention to how she got here so she wouldn't get lost. I turned toward the house and began walking up the steps, in an even better mood than before now that I shared how I felt with someone else. At that moment I wanted to tell the world how happy I was; I didn't even care how my parents would react, they'd get over it once they saw how great Corey was.

Practically skipping through the door, I came face to face with my whole family plus Jake, standing in a semi circle in the foyer. They looked upset about something but I couldn't really find it in myself to be worried. Then I remembered the reason behind my jubilance, and it all came together. I acted as though I noticed nothing and greeted them casually.

"Hello everyone. How was your day?" I wasn't about to let them ruin my mood with their sour attitude. Then I saw Jacob standing off to the side, looking very concerned and I realized how badly I wanted to let him in on what happened. His support was especially important because I had no doubt that he could talk some sense into my parents and the rest of the family. I ran over and gave him and huge hug; he wrapped his arms around me too and I could already imagine the things he would say to defend me when he saw how much I liked Corey.

But before I could tell him, my mother was next to me, pulling my arms off Jake and placing her hands firmly on my shoulders.

"Nessie sweetheart did something happen after school? You seem a lot happier than you were the last time I saw you." She was right, I definitely was because the last time she saw me I wasn't going out with Corey Parker. I continued to jump up and down, unable to control myself. Of course, she would be angry when she found out as would everyone else besides Jake, but it was worth the argument. It was now or never.

"Everything's fine! No better than fine, perfect! You will never believe what happened after school. I know you won't approve right away but mom ugh I swear this is the best day of my life. Ahhh!!" I hoped she would see how happy I was about this and be understanding. My heart was beating even quicker than usual, and I'm sure everyone had noticed.

"Nessie what…what happened?"

"Okay you ready?" I took a deep breath, looking at my mother as I said it.

"Corey Parker asked me out and I said yes and we are going to prom together! Ahhh!!!"

I stood there smiling for about ten seconds and then took a look around the room. I saw my father's face; eyes squeezed shut; his pointer finger and thumb pressed on the bridge of his nose, and then my mother, wide-eyed, her brow creased, appearing to be in shock. Alice looked weary, Rosalie frustrated, and Emmett had both his eye brows raised with one side of his mouth twitching slightly. Jasper appeared to be a mess with all these different emotions around him; I didn't know what he was actually feeling. Both Esme and Carlisle were looking over at Jacob which is where my gaze eventually landed.

He was the most surprising out of all of them. His fists were clenched tightly as he stared down at the floor, his entire body shaking like it does when he's about to go into wolf form.

I walked slowly towards him as I watched him struggle for words. Then he managed to say something that immediately had me rethinking his opinion on me dating.

"Who is God's name is Corey Parker?" Definitely wasn't expecting that.

"Um…well he's this boy I met in Biology. We stayed after school to work on a project and that's when…he…" I stopped there because Jake's face was too much to take in. His eyebrows were pushed together and his dark eyes looked the angriest I've ever seen them. Cautiously, I backed up towards Alice and Japer, my eyes never leaving his.

"Jake calm down." My mother stepped in front of me, as if it was dangerous being close to Jacob. Confusion swept over me, he would never hurt me, why was she acting like this and what was wrong with him? As I felt myself bump into Alice, I felt her cold hands grasp my arms and gently nudge me behind her too. I peeked over her shoulder and saw my father rush over to Jacob, trying to calm him down by whispering something to him. He put his hand on his shoulder, but Jake immediately shook it off, now staring at my mother with insane hatred. Something was very wrong and I needed to find out.

I pushed through Alice and stood next to my mother with Rosalie jumping in, trying to pull me away.

"He's not going to hurt me Rosalie, relax." My mother hissed in my direction, apparently believing that he was capable of doing exactly that. I continued to move forward, ignoring Rosalie's plea's for me to back away. But before I could get anywhere near him, my mother put her arm in front of me, preventing me from getting any closer.

"Jake? Jake what's wrong?" I asked quietly. His eyes went from my fathers to mine and his expression softened, though he still didn't answer.

I continued to stare into his eyes and felt tears begin to fall; his expression was almost unbearable to look at. So much pain and sadness filled his face and I had no idea why. Then it was over and he was out the door before I could even blink. I had no idea what had just happened but tears continued to stain my cheeks as I looked over at my mother for an explanation. She was staring at my father, who seemed to be communicating to her without words. I hated when they did that.

"Is someone going to explain to me what just happened?" I asked in quiet voice, knowing very well that they all heard me. Still, not one person answered me. I turned toward Alice and Rosalie, whose heads were facing down, averting my gaze.

"Anyone?" Then I remembered something.

"Where did you all go after lunch today?"

"We had to leave early to discuss some things…sweetheart how about you come sit down. We need to talk." My mother guided me over to the couch and sat on my right. Rosalie sat on my left with the rest of the family spreading themselves around the room.

"Why did Jake react like that?" I asked. My mother was clearly having trouble deciding what to say so I turned to Rosalie. She wasn't much help either.

"You said we need to talk…"

"We do. You can't go out with that boy."

"What! Why not?"

"Because I said so…"

"No! You can't do this to me, I really like him! Just because he's human…"

"That's not the reason Nessie."

"Then what? You can trust me I promise I won't say anything more about our family…"

"I trust you! That has nothing to do with it."

"Then tell me why!"

"Because…because I said so."

"You already said that! You aren't telling me why!"

"Just listen to me Nessie, you are never to speak with him again do you understand?"

"No! I'm still completely clueless as to why I'm being told not to date a boy when I'm practically an adult! This is so unfair! Dad please talk some sense into her!"

"You heard your mother. The answer is no." I should have known he would never disagree with her, no matter how unreasonable she was being. I looked at the rest of my family for support but no one said a word. Desperately I turned to Alice, hoping that she could look into the future and see that nothing dangerous would happen if I went out with Corey.

"Alice, please tell them nothing will happen if I go out with Corey. Please." Tears were pouring down my face; I had never felt so hopeless. She just shook her head and looked at me in pity, as was everyone else. This was humiliating.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. My mother's hands were rubbing my back soothingly but that was the last thing I wanted. I bounded out of the room, covering my tear soaked face, and racing to the cottage, hearing the sound of my name being called several times but ignoring them.

I decided to slow down to a walk when I was a few yards away, wiping the tears from my face. My mind was still on overdrive as I tried to figure out why Jake had gotten so angry, and then I heard a strange noise. Looking over my shoulder, I listened closer, struggling to locate where the noise had come from. It was definitely somewhere near the line of trees that encircled the left side of the cottage, so I made my way over there. Then I heard it again but it was coming from the other side now. As I made my way to the other side, it came back to where it was originally. This was getting ridiculous. Were there two of whatever it was? It probably was just some animal walking around, but for some reason I found myself needing to know for sure.

As I pushed aside some branches and walked further into the forest, I heard the noise once more and I don't think it was an animal. The sound was familiar, close to the noise my mom had made at me earlier when she was warning me to stay back. A hissing kind of noise, and I'm sure it wasn't a snake, it was moving way too quickly. I stood frozen where I was, wondering if the vampire Jake thought he'd been smelling actually existed and was close by. My eyes scanned the trees and I smelled the air looking for any signs that a vampire was close. My sense of smell wasn't nearly as good as Jake's but I would probably be able to notice something different…

Then out of the corner of my eye I noticed it. Right between two shrubs, I saw something glistening in the sun and beside it a long, dark curtain of what appeared to be hair. Then the outline of dark clothing become clear and it was unmistakably a person, whether human or vampire I wasn't sure. They weren't doing a very good job hiding. Cautiously I walked forward, not feeling any fear but driven by curiosity.

"Hello?" I whispered, slowly getting closer to the figure. There was no answer.

"Excuse me…ahh!" Suddenly a pair of thick arms were grabbing me around the waist. I screamed louder, not being able to see who it was but only knowing that they were very strong. I strained my head backwards and there he was. Jacob.

I instantly relaxed as his chuckle rang in my ear. I spun around and shoved him; he didn't move an inch.

"Did I scare you?"

"Yes!"

Then I remembered what I was looking at before he came and glanced toward the bushes. Whoever it was they were gone now but I pushed it aside to worry about at a later date because Jacob was here, just the person I wanted to see. I turned back around towards him about to ask him why he freaked out earlier but his face was suddenly very serious and his entire body tense. I recognized this look all too well. He sniffed the air and I knew immediately that he had caught the scent the vampire I had just seen.

"I saw it Jake, the vampire. Or I think it was a vampire. It was over by that bush." I pointed towards the place where it had been and he followed. He sniffed the area and then stood up again.

"Same one. Did you see what it looked like?"

"He or she had long dark hair and something shiny on them. They were dressed in black, that's all I got close enough to see."

He looked worried but I didn't want to discuss the vampire I wanted to know why he was so angry before.

"Jake…"

"Let's go somewhere. Private. I'll explain everything, that is if your mother hasn't already."

"She hasn't told me a thing. Just that I can't date Corey." His eyes softened and he had that look back on his face. Then he sighed.

"Alright, come on I know a place we can talk."

Author's Note:

Hey everyone I know this was a short chapter but I'm going to try and get one more up before I go away. Hope you enjoyed!