Disclaimer: - I do not own Twilight, or anything Twilight related.
Chapter 9 - The Hunger
As she unzipped her backpack, and put her books into it, she sighed. Monday morning had come around far too quickly for Renesmee's liking. She had had such a full weekend, and had so much to ponder over; that she hadn't really thought about what she was gong to say to Hannah. "Maybe Hannah with speak to me first?" she thought to herself. "Or maybe she won't speak to me at all? She may just sit there in silence. Or what if she doesn't come in today, so she doesn't have to see me?"
"Don't worry, it will be fine, I wish you would stop worrying"
"Jake? Since when can you read minds?". She narrowed her eyes, as her brain tried to wake itself from the previous nights slumber.
"Your Dad asked me to see if you were ok, he could hear you mentally torturing yourself. I think because we are soon to be married, he trusts me with you a little more". He smiled widely, and Renesmee knew was his 'i'm-feeling-kinda-smug' smile.
"Good, it's about time. He knows I'll always be safe with you, but what am I going to do today at school? You're not going to be there to hold my hand are you?"
"No, but I don't know what you're worrying about, it will all be fine. Look on the bright side; if she decides she doesn't want to be friends with you anymore, at least you don't have to keep pretending we're all normal". Jacob shrugged. He always saw the world as black and white. If there wasn't a problem rearing its ugly head right in front of his face, then he thought everything would be fine. Renesmee sometimes envied her fiancée for that. She wishes she could sometimes just forget her problems, and chill out like Jacob did.
"Yeah, suppose so" she said sarcastically cheerful. "Well, I guess I better get going, would you mind driving me today please? I would run, but need a bit of moral support right now. If I could drag you to class with me too, believe me, I would".
"Sure sure. I don't have to be at work for another hour yet. C'mon sweetness, your carriage awaits" he said, his hand held out, ready to take her bag for her.
The ride to school was quiet. Jacob kept trying to make idle chatter every now and then, but Renesmee could tell it was all just an act; to make her feel more relaxed.
The truth was, now that her Dad was not within hearing distance of her thoughts, her mind took over again, and washed her with a huge wave of dread. "What if she has figured out they were vampires in her dreams? What if she has put two and two together and realised exactly what is it about her best friend's family that is so different? But vampires are seen as fiction to humans so maybe she won't think that far? But she's a smart person, so she's bound to have noticed!". She fought with herself internally, swaying one way then another.
Jacob pulled into the school grounds, and drove up to the end of the car park, as close to the main doors as he could get. Renesmee sat in silence for a few seconds longer than she normally would, staring ahead at the big, dull building.
"Nervous?". Jacob's voice was soothing, but searching also.
"Mm-hmm" she hummed at him, nodding her head slightly. She never thought that a human finding out about them would affect her so much. But then again, she had never had a best friend before – Hannah was the perfect best friend for her, and now there was a chance she had lost her.
"Well, I guess I had better go then, eh?". She pulled herself out of her trance, and leaned over to kiss Jacob. She then proceeded to pull him into a strong hug, much stronger than she usually did. There was desperation in her hug. "Love you Jakey" she whispered in his ear, her voice breaking a little.
"Love you too Ness...and don't worry, everything will be fine".
She smiled, and got out of the car, her stomach full of butterflies, but not the good kind.
As Jacob pulled away, she could see across the car park, her parents, and her Aunts and Uncles were pulling up.
"Dad, if you get any kind of sign that she thinks we are vampires, even the smallest thought, will you please come and get me out of class? I really don't think I could handle her grilling me on the subject right now and especially not at school" she thought, knowing Edward would be listening.
She felt her bag vibrate, and opened up her phone. 'Ok honey. If you need us, your Mum and I are just on the other side of school. Don't worry, stay calm, I'm sure you are worrying over nothing. Love Dad x x x'. She looked up from her phone, and saw her Mum and Dad hand in hand, stood against their car, smiling back at her.
Entering the classroom was bad enough, but actually getting to her seat seemed to take forever. It felt like the classroom had suddenly gotten bigger, and the more she walked, the further it stretched. As she sat, she saw Hannah enter the room, spot her, and immediately put her head down, as she walked over. She sat next to Renesmee, in her usual seat, and took out her books, not once saying a word.
"Right, slightly different assignment this week guys" said Mr Green, the history teacher. "We are going to look into your histories instead this time. You are going to do a presentation to the class about your ancestors. You can go back as far as you like, but it needs to be informative, visual, and most of all, only 5 minutes long please? Ok, well, lets get started, no time like the present" and he giggled to himself at his own little joke. Renesmee smiled, she liked Mr Green.
He was in his mid 30's, tall, with short dark hair, and always wore his shirts with the top button undone, and no tie. It was always the same style every day. No-one made fun of him though, not like they did the other teachers, everyone loved him. He was like a really cool, older brother. He reminded her of a thinner version of Emmett.
Her mind started again, this time about something different - what was she going to do about the assignment? She couldn't very well explain to the class that her parents were actually her grandparents, her brother and sister were her parents, and her other brothers and sisters were her aunt and uncles. That her father is over 100 years old, and her grandfather is over 300 years old. Or that they are vampires. Oh yeah, and her fiancée is a werewolf!
Just as Renesmee put her head down to start her assignment, completely bewildered as to what to write, she noticed Hannah looking at her, out of the corner of her eye, and then quickly looked away. If she wasn't half vampire, she may have missed it, but no, she definitely saw it.
Renesmee looked up, and gave Hannah a small smile, then looked back to her paper. She didn't want to seem too eager to speak to Hannah, in case Hannah was really just looking in her direction, not actually at her. Renesmee chanced one more look at Hannah, and saw that she was smiling back at her.
"Hi" she whispered, so that Mr Green didn't hear.
"Hi back" Hannah was now moving her chair closer to Renesmee's, wanting to continue their conversation. "So how was your weekend?"
"It was ok, yours?"
"Really long to be honest. I was expecting a call from Jack" she saw Renesmee's confused look "You know Jack? From Physics? The guy I have had a huge crush on for like, forever? Well, we have been kinda hanging out, and just getting to know each other, and we were going to go do something on Sunday. I wanted to ask you and Jacob to come along, but I left my phone charger at your house on Friday night, so my phone has been off all weekend" she looked sad, but slightly annoyed at herself too. Renesmee on the other hand was ecstatic on the inside. It felt like it had always done with Hannah - easy. She was so easy to talk to.
So Hannah hadn't been ignoring her messages, it was just that her phone was off. Now it all made sense. "What are you smiling at?" asked Hannah, with a slight smirk on her face too, in response to whatever it was that Renesmee was grinning at.
"I had been messaging you all weekend, trying to get in touch with you, and since you hadn't gotten back to me, I thought that it was because of what happened on Friday night". She saw Hannah playing with her hands, head bent down, clearly uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken. Renesmee was wishing she could tell her the real reason she had been worrying - that maybe Hannah had finally seen the Cullens were freaks just like everyone else, or worse, that she knew more than she should do.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that"
"What? What are you sorry for?"
"For upsetting your family. You know, waking them up in the middle of the night, crying like a child...". She was speaking in hushed whispers now, looking at the faces of the other students, to see if anyone had heard them.
"It's not like that; they were really worried about you. Why did you leave so early on Saturday?"
"You mean besides the fact that I had embarrassed myself the night before?" Renesmee was now the one with her face towards her feet. "Well, Dad had to leave for a business trip. He is going to be gone for two weeks, so we both went for some breakfast before he left, and to say a proper goodbye. I would have asked you to come too, but I didn't want to wake you. Alice and Bella saw me before I went though; Alice even asked if I wanted to go shopping with you all next weekend".
"Ooh, you're coming too? Aww, brilliant, it's going to be great. No boys, just the girls"
"Yeah, but I'm not sure if Bella wants me there though. I mean I know she is your sister and all…"
"What makes you say that?" asked Renesmee, not bothering to cover up the shock in her voice. She wondered what her Mum could have done to give Hannah that impression.
"She was shaking her head behind my back when Alice asked, like she didn't want me to go". Renesmee knew exactly why this was...her mum wasn't expecting to be able to go shopping, she thought they were all going to die at the hands of the Volturi. Despite talking with her best friend again, she could not help thinking about the red eyes that were soon to arrive.
"To be honest, she hates shopping, she was probably shaking her head at Alice because she didn't want to go herself" said Renesmee, with a nervous laugh, hoping Hannah would buy it. It wasn't necessarily untrue - her mother despised having to go shopping.
"Oh really? She hates shopping? That must have been it then. She did hug me before I went, and said goodbye and stuff..."
Renesmee relaxed more now.
"So, you and Jack?" asked Renesmee, trying to change the subject, so they didn't have to talk about her family...and so she didn't have to think about the Volturi with her family.
"Yeah, we have been talking for a while now, and getting closer, but I'm so nervous every time I'm with him. He's so cute, and he seems to like me too" squealed Hannah, and they both laughed.
"Glad to see you're both enjoying the assignment" said Mr Green sarcastically, with a smile, as he walked down the aisle of students. He said no more on the subject, and walked on. He knew that Hannah and Renesmee were good students, and had no worries about them completing their assignments.
As he went past, Renesmee turned her attention back to Hannah. "Oh, and I have something big to tell you...". Hannah didn't say a word, but waited with raised eyebrows, intrigue all over her face. "Promise not to scream? Because that would have Mr Green over here again in a shot". Hannah nodded, looking slightly scared now, but still curious. "Well, at the weekend...Jake asked me to marry him...and I said yes!". Hannah, knowing she wasn't able to scream, grabbed Renesmee's hand, and squeezed. She looked at the ring on Renesmee's finger. Her mouth was open, as if she was screaming, but she was careful not to let any sound come out.
Renesmee smiled, she had her friend back, even though she had never lost her in the first place.
After a while, Hannah let go and briefly closed her mouth. "I think Gareth is going to be a bit disappointed though, think he was expecting you to be Renesmee Wood before long"
"Don't be silly, Gareth and I are just friends…in fact, we're not even that, we just know each other from school" scoffed Renesmee. "No, it's going to be Renesmee Carlie Black" she said proudly, holding her head high, just as she did in the clearing. Her new name somehow made her feel important, strong.
"So there is a reason for shopping at the weekend then?" she asked.
"Oh yeah" replied Renesmee, "Well, it was just going to be a normal shopping trip, but now…I think Alice wants to start looking for wedding stuff…and anyway, I need my bridesmaids with me" and she gave Hannah a big smile.
"Serious? Really? You want me to be a bridesmaid? Oh my gosh, wow!"
"So, you will do it?"
"Oh yes, no question Ness. I can't wait"
The day for Renesmee flew by after that, thoughts of friends and shopping trips and weddings in her head.
Jacob was waiting in the car park after school, with his arms crossed over his huge chest, and leaning against the bonnet of his car. He looked perfect to Renesmee, as she walked closer to him, unable to hide her smile.
She could see a group of girls in the year above her staring at him, and trying to get his attention, but it made Renesmee smile more knowing that he wasn't taking his eyes away from her. She still couldn't believe that this gorgeous man had asked her to marry him. As she got closer, she ran at him, and threw herself into his open arms. She felt so good, it felt right.
"It's ok Jake, she just left her charger at the house, that's why she never got back to me, she is still my friend, she's coming shopping with us too..." she said, rambling, and cuddling up to his chest. "…and I've also asked her to be a bridesmaid…if that's ok with you?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't mind.
"I take it we're talking about Hannah" he replied, with raised eyebrows and a melting smile. "I told you so" he added, smugly, still with the same beautiful smile. "And of course I don't mind about her being bridesmaid. You could have Seth as your head bridesmaid for all I care, as long as you say 'I do' on the day. That's all I want"
"Oh, Jake of course I will. It will be the happiest day of my life. Hannah is so happy for us, she can't wait for the wedding"
"Neither can I Princess, it's going to be fantastic...the event of the year". Renesmee looked up and kissed him, not caring who could see.
They got into the car, and began exiting out of the car park, slowing to let other students pull out of their parking spaces ahead of them. Turning to the right, they could see Hannah and Jack saying goodbye to each other, smiling sweetly and staring longingly into each others eyes.
"Who's the guy?" asked Jacob, directing his attention back to the road.
"That's Jack, he's from our Physics class. He and Hannah really like each other"
"I can see they do, they haven't looked away from each other yet" teased Jacob, smirking.
"I'm sure it's only what you and I look like Jakey" she replied, putting her hand on top of his, and looking out of the window.
Renesmee was content sitting like that for a few more minutes, before she could feel a slight burning sensation in the back of her throat. It made her feel uncomfortable, and she recognised it instantly. She needed blood.
She was able to eat human food, as was Jacob, but every so often, her vampire side would cry out. Every few months, she would need to go hunting for her food, just like the rest of her family. To let her primal instincts take over.
She hated the thought of hurting animals, and even tried sucking the blood from raw steaks once, but to no avail. She realised it's not just about the blood; it's about the hunt too. She was, after all, a deadly predator...or at least half of one.
"You mind if we hunt when we get home?" she asked.
"Of course not. I thought you would have needed it long before this though, to be honest. You haven't gone this long in a while"
"I think it may have been the whole 'Hannah' thing that was distracting me. Y'know, taking my attention away for a bit". She knew she would have to hunt soon. The burning was getting worse, not painful, just very wearisome.
As they arrived home, Jacob turned off the engine, and took Renesmee's face into his hands, looking deep into her eyes.
"Yeah, they're almost as black as your pupils" he assessed. He knew Renesmee's hunting habits by now, and always went from the darkness of her eyes. Even though she had brown eyes, they would be slightly lighter after she had hunted. It was not a dramatic change, and the only ones to notice, however, were her family.
"Is it that bad?" she asked, cringing. It was as if she had asked about a spot on her face, or a bad hairstyle. She hated the thought that Jacob would see her at her worst, but the other side of her argued that he had also seen her take down a full grown stag before, and drink it dry, so black eyes were nothing to worry about.
He nodded, got out of the car, and walked around to the other side. He opened her door, and took her bag, whilst she inspected her eyes in the passenger side mirror. "OK, let's do this" she said determinedly, getting out and closing the door.
The hunt was better than she had anticipated. She needed it a little more than usual, so her senses were more alert, more awake. She caught the scent of some Elk a few minutes in, and led the way, with Jacob bringing up the rear, in wolf form. She took down the first one with ease, and drained it much more quickly than she had expected. Jacob was a few yards away, merely observing.
When Renesmee needed to hunt this badly, he liked to keep focused and alert, until she was more in control of her thirst. Once she had had two more, he relaxed a bit, and began feeding himself.
He took down a large stag first, eating greedily and quickly. After the next four animals were found and finished, and he could see that Renesmee was done, he changed back to his human form. Walking back to the house, they were both quiet, full from their kill. Despite the calming silence, Renesmee just simply had to ask, "Why do you wait?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you always wait for me to, y'know, eat first". She said the last bit carefully, trying not to ponder on it. Once Renesmee had hunted, she was more human again, and therefore didn't like to think about the needs of her vampire side. "Is it a gentlemanly thing, like pulling out a chair for a lady at the dinner table, or something?"
Jacob laughed. "No, it's nothing like that". He knew he could trust Renesmee with any thought, secret or desire he had ever had, or would ever have. He knew she would never laugh at him. "It's just when you really need to hunt, you always seem more vampire to me - which is a good thing!", he reassured her. He could see slight panic on her face, like she thought he found her less attractive. "...but I do however, understand that you are less in control of yourself until you have fed a little bit first".
"I still don't understand"
"Well, imagine if a Nomad vampire came along, just as you were feeding, and attacked you because you are half human...or even worse, a human came along and you attacked...I would be alert and on my guard, to sort it out. It's just so you don't get hurt and so you don't do anything you would regret" he finished.
"Oh". She took Jacob's hand, and continued walking. "I didn't know that's how I was. I'm sorry I make you wait each time". She watched the ground as she walked, with her head bent.
"Ness, you don't make me do anything, I do it because I want to. I would never be able to even function if I let my guard down, and something were to happen to you. That's why I do it, silly. It's because you mean so much to me, that I can wait a little before I eat". He stopped and turned her to face him. "Plus you look kinda sexy when you hunt" he said, with a wicked smile playing across his lips.
"Sexy?" she scoffed, "How can I look sexy, taking the life of a defenceless animal? Running round like a crazy woman on a mission?" She smiled slightly, her eyebrows raised.
"I dunno, you just do". He kissed her passionately, but lightly at the same time. "Fiancés are allowed to think what they want about their future wives you know!" he said, in a very 'matter-of-factly' tone.
"Hey, if you think I'm sexy, I'm not going to talk you out of it", as she held up her hands in mock defence, as they continued back to the house. They chatted and laughed and joked all the way back, in good spirits from the days events.
"You feel better now darling?" asked Esme, hugging Renesmee, as they walked through the back door.
"Yes, thanks Grandma"
"How many?" interrupted Emmett. She knew exactly what he was asking; he asked it every time she went hunting.
"3 Uncle Emmett, so no, before you ask, I've still not beaten your record"
"I don't think your Uncle gets that it's not a competition Ness" said Rosalie, as she walked though the room. "You're bigger than everyone else Emmett, so of course you are going to eat more!"
Emmett smiled regardless, and Edward sighed. Emmett was reminiscing about the hunt again. He had once managed to take down 7 animals in one trip. No-one had beaten him so far, and he was so proud of himself for that.
"Jake had 5 though" she added, smiling wickedly as she said it.
"Yeah, Emmett, I'm getting close" Jacob was smiling too, but in his smug way he sometimes does. Emmett's happy expression dropped.
"Well, you're werewolf, so it doesn't count"
"How do you figure that?"
"Well, you're always eating. Seriously man, how are you not the size of a house?"
"Haven't you noticed Em - he is the size of a house" said Bella, sweeping through the room to put her books on the table, giving Jacob a wink as she went. "He will be bigger than you one day" she said, turning back to face them all.
"And until that time, I'm still the winner". He was holding his arms up in the air, like a champion would.
As he walked out of the room, giving himself a mental pat on the back, Bella drew in the images of her beloved family. Jacob and Renesmee watching TV, Edward sat at his piano, Alice and Jasper playing chess, the others in various other parts of the house...She looked at the people she loved and cherished more than anything in the whole world. She thought about the memories they had together, all the times they had shared, and laughed, and cared for each other. She wondered if this was going to be the last few days they had to be a family.
She felt a tender hand on her shoulder, as the calm feeling engulfed her. She put her hand on her brothers; she closed her eyes, and took a deep, yet unnecessary, breath.
"Thanks Jazz" she said, looking at Jasper's face. "I don't know what I would do without you sometimes".
"No matter what happens Bella, we will be together, and at least Nessie and Jake will be far away" said Alice, getting up, and joining her and Jasper. "She is our main priority, and as long as she is not with the Volturi, and is with Jacob, she will be perfectly safe".
"I hope so" replied Bella gravely.
Well, there you have it...the next part of my version of how things would go for the Cullens and Jacob after Breaking Dawn. I hope you are all liking what you read so far, please keep the reviews coming, it keeps me happy and keeps me writing. When i read your lovely words of support, i want to write more for you, ha ha.
The next chapter will be posted shortly, i promise.
Until then...much love readers. x
