January 12, 2009~

I let Edward's arms keep a firm protection of me and Jacob's to Kerry for the rest of the time. For the whole while we waited for Bella and the others to return, Edward had kept a strict eye on my every move, and often held me closer to him instead of letting me run off with Kerry, Michelle, Chris, or Quil's imprinted-on friend, Claire. "You'll stay in my sight from now on, Nessie," he'd tell me, smiling dangerously.

I only have a brief flashback of when Bella, Emmett, Rosalie, Esme, Embry, Sam, and a few other werewolves returned back home. Everyone was hugging and crying tearlessly with unmistakable joy and a lot of bodies were filling up the white room. Edward had me on his hip, plastering me to him to make sure that I wasn't squished in the crowd. Kerry was on Jacob's shoulders, peering above everybody's heads, her own pressing against the ceiling due to Jacob's immense height. Bella and Edward kissed for a very long time, so I was sandwiched in between them reaching my hand to Jacob's sleeve and clawing at it fiercely, trying to unsuccessfully break free of my father's stone grip on my shoulder. In between their gooey "I love you"s and what not, I heard Bella murmur, "The vampires are completely vanquished. We're safe." Suddenly, I relaxed my straining arm and sank back into Edward's marble chest, relieved.

A few days later, after everything was settled, I felt my little rectangular phone vibrate in my dress pocket (ugh, Alice forced me very strongly and with great difficulty into this hideous lavender dress and put braids in my hair with little daisies woven through my bronze curls). I looked at the message. It was from one of my best friends Gabby: Hey, Char. Just wondering, since you've been MIA for the past two months, are you coming to the play?! You know, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat? Well, believe it or not, it's already performance time. But, you know what to do. So, uh, wherever you are, Mrs. Robella and the rest of the cast and crew are waiting for you! Ttyl. Xoxo

I groan and put my phone away. Alice, Kerry, and Michelle glance up from what they're doing. Alice is braiding Kerry's hair and Michelle is reading a magazine.

"What is it?" Michelle asks anxiously.

"The play," I say glumly. "Gabby texted me and said that everyone expects me to know it and be there! How are we gonna get there in time? And I can't perform! I've missed like, every practice and the dress rehearsal. How in God's name could I still be casted in that darn play?!"

Kerry and Michelle shrug simultaneously. Alice stares blankly into space. The future. "You're going to make it," she announces after a minute, a broad smile stretching across her pixie face. "We're all going. Even the wolves. And you'll be great. You're the part of the narrator, correct?"

"No!" I practically shout. "I'm a wife!"

Alice frowns and Michelle and Kerry exchange nervous looks. "What're you gonna do, Char?" Kerry asks quietly.

I shake my head stressfully. "I have no clue."

Alice is out of her seat in a flash. She is already at the kitchen counter, scrawling down a note on a Post-it. "We're going to that play, Nessie. I'm taking you, Kerry, and Michelle. I'm telling the others to catch a later flight now."

"What?! Alice, are you crazy?"

She dances into the living room and grabs three sweatshirts off the couch, slung over the back. She tosses them to the three of us, still standing shell-shocked on the white carpet. "Hurry up! We'll take my Porsche." Then, Alice beams again. "The yellow one."

I groan. Great. Just great. Another air trip. By the time we are ready to get back to Washington, I'd be flying on my own. "Uh, Alice, I really don't think this is such a brilliant idea."

"Oh, c'mon, Charlotte. It'll be fun!" Kerry says playfully, as we jog to the garage door.

Part II:

The plane skids as it runs smoothly across the runway at the airport in New Jersey. My home away from home: Texton Airport. But that's not all, Edward called Alice on the plane and was furious: for kidnapping his daughter, for bringing us back to New Jersey for a stupid play, for not telling them and making them think that they all somehow died, and so many other unmentionable reasons. But mostly for just being herself. It was predictable, though; I was surprised an intelligent person like Edward didn't see that coming. Stupid vampire. Ha.

Alice dragged us through security and then insisted on feeding us at the McDonalds in the airport. She made all of us eat, but of course didn't order anything for herself. Unreliable!

Then, she stuffed us into a taxi, and that's where we are now.

"Why do we have to do this?" I ask sarcastically.

"It's your special night, Nessie. You deserve to go act in your play!"

"It's a stupid play, though," Kerry adds, leaning forward to see Alice's face without my head nor Michelle's blocking her view.

Alice shrugs. "So. You made a commitment. Be loyal to it. That's what we Cullens do."

"I'm hardly a Cullen, Alice."

"No, no. You're a Cullen all right. You're very strong and stubborn, but that's where the Swan chromosome comes in."

"No. No exception. This is completely stupid and unnecessary. Feel my Swan stubbornness." I grin smugly.

"You are impossible, Renesmee Carlie Swan-Cullen."

Michelle and Kerry begin to gape at my three-mile-long name. The taxi driver adjusts his rearview mirror so he can see us. "That's a mouthful…," he mutters.

I roll my eyes and turn back to Alice. "Don't ever use my full name in public. I hate it so much. Just call me Nessie."

Alice smirks. "Of course…Nessie."

Part III:

We reach my old at about six o'clock that night. It. Is. A. Zoo.

The parking lot is so full with cars, Kerry nearly faints. Alice had paid an extra fare to the taxi driver to take us to the school and it was a good thing that we didn't need to park. He drops us off at the entrance and we race in. Alice buys tickets for her, Kerry, and Michelle, then just as they turn into the gym doors, she hugs me tightly. "Good luck, dear. The others will be here, I promise."

I sigh. "Ok, Alice. I'll try to focus."

And, I head backstage to the cafeteria to prepare while the others stroll casually into the gymnasium.

I pause in the narrow hallway before the Holy Family room. Resting my head against the wall, I breathe in deeply. I better get ready for the crowding; lots and lots of crowdings, hugs, and "Oh my God, Charlotte!"s. Slowly but surely, I open the white door and it all starts: "CHARLOTTE! OH MY GOD! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" and a whole lot of other things. Some people were even crying…over me!

"Charlotte!" Gabby, Korinna, Christina, Jessie, Haley, Sharon, Ashley, Nikki, Tina and Lauren race over to me and hug me so tight I can hardly breathe. Well, apparently my physical appearance wasn't that different. They still knew who I was; but not for long.

"Wait, you guys, hold on," Nikki says sheepishly, stepping back to examine me. Then she turns to me: "You are Charlotte, right?"

I gulp. "Yup. Here I am." Wait, they couldn't remember the lodge, way back in the beginning?

All of them begin to gasp. Then the boys are there. Robert's wide eyes didn't leave my angelic face. "Charlotte…what happened to you?"

I sigh. "I was sick for the past two months, and well, it kinda changed me."

"But…but…your hair…and your eyes…and your face and skin…you're like a…" Suddenly Gabby's face turns pale all over when she figures it all out. Before anyone else can ask questions, I yank Gabby to a far corner. Tears are streaming down her face unstoppably now.

"Gabby? Gabby? Why are you crying? No, stop…you'll ruin your makeup."

"I don't care," Gabby sobs, "you…you…you're…" Her shaky hands grab my ivory wrists.

"Gabby, yes, I am."

"No…no…no," she moans. "Why? Who? How? You…you…" Then, she bursts into tears again. "You're a vampire, now."

I nod solemnly. "Yes. But I'm more than that."

"What are you? A werewolf, too?" We both laugh, but it has a nervous edge to it.

"No," I say, "Kerry, Grimbo, and Michelle's disappearance also has something to do with this."

"You killed them?!" Gabby exclaims.

"No! I didn't harm them at all. Kerry and Michelle are in the gym right now, with my aunt."

"Peggy?"

"No…Alice."

"You have an Aunt Alice?"

"Sort of. Well…biologically, yes. Or not technically."

"What are you saying, biologically?"

"Listen, Gabby. This is a long story that I don't have time to explain. I was adopted by the Brenner family after I refused to stay with my real parents. Well, in a weird unexplainable way, my memory was transferred to someone else's head, that someone wrote a book about it, a movie was made out of it with all my family and friends casted in it, faking as actors and actresses. My father came after me, found me, took me home, a lot of confusing things happened in between, and now here I am."

"Wait…huh?"

"I am Renesmee Carlie Cullen!" I whisper loudly, shaking her shoulders frantically. "I am actually four years old, but I have the appearance and mind of a fourteen-year-old."

"No way…your memory was transferred to Stephenie Meyer's head! And…and…Edward Cullen is YOUR FATHER!!"

About five heads turn in our direction. Thank God they didn't hear anything important.

Gabby is still hyperventilating. "Oh my God…your dad is so hot!"

"Gabby, quit it! That sounds so wrong!"

"But he is!" she objects.

I snatch her wrist and yank her back to the dispersing group. "Ow, ow, ow, ow," she mutters at my ultra-strength.

"Sorry." Oops! Forgot about that.

Sharon plays with and twists my bronze curls. "Your face kinda looks like Edward Cullen's," she says, still keeping her eyes focused on my hair. Gabby and I laugh as if on cue. "No way, Sharona!" Gabby laughs.

"Hey!" I snap, pretending to take it as an insult.

"I'm sorry, Char, but you wish!"

"Gabby, that was mean," Sharon scolds.

"Sorry," Gabby responds, still chuckling. She was a pretty good liar.

"He's a guy, anyway," I say quietly. Yup, I was still a sucky liar.

All of a sudden, Patty runs up to me and pats my shoulder in frenzied taps. "Charlotte, thank God you're back! You need to take the part of Stephanie tonight, because she came down with a nasty cold, so you need to be the narrator for her. Do you think you could?"

I sigh. Why did Alice's predictions have to be so accurate all the time? "Sure, but I don't know any of her parts…"

"Yeah you do! Sing her part in Pharaoh's song."

I groan, but open my full lips and release a string of beautiful notes transformed into the exact words. After I am done, I shut my mouth and clamp my hands over it. "How did I do that?"

"You're amazing!" Patty assures me. "You'll be great."

"Um, ok, but I—" Patty flutters away before I can finish my sentence.

"You're really good," Sharon says, looking down at her feet. "Why are you so worried? You don't wanna mess up in front of your family?" she teases.

I choke back tears at the thought of Edward and Bella, on an airplane now, within two hours of Showtime. Correction: they were probably in the airport now. Oh crap. Crapity crap-crap. A rock abruptly falls into the pit of my stomach and I almost faint. Gabby grasps my arm stiffly.

I sit down at the cafeteria table with almost every actor in the play at my side. "Is she okay?" "Is she sick again?" "She can't be sick! She's the lead narrator!" "Should we call 911?" "More like the fire department; she's burning up!" "I'm burnin' up, burnin' up, for you baby!" "Nick Jonas!" "I'll carry her to Mrs. Robella." "Shut up, Steve! You aren't strong enough!" "You're right for once, Mike. I am." Whoa. Boys were fighting over ! I feel my forehead. I seem fine! Then I remember that my heartbeat is faster and my body temperature is warmer than normal humans. Weird.

"Guys, I'm fine," I croak, but my usual vampire-bell-chime voice squeaks dryly.

Gabby's hazel eyes meet mine anxiously. "Charlotte, if you aren't okay, Nikki and Jessie will just split up the lead narrator parts."

"I'm…I'm fine, Gabby. This is my usual temperature."

"Uh, 100.2 degrees?! I don't think so!" Haley chirps.

Gabby and I turn to glare at her.

"What?" she asks innocently. "It's just not normal!"

"It is for me!"

"No, it's not," she insists, her light blue eyes widening with persistence. "What sickness did you have, exactly? And be honest, Charlotte."

"Okay, I had the measles," I lie, and a few people that were rather close back away from me. But not loyal Gabby. Then again, she was the only one who knew I was lying.

"The measles…," Haley murmurs, thinking silently to herself. Out of the blue, Mrs. Servino pops her head through the stage door. "Ten minutes till Showtime! Everyone, backstage now!"

All the kids gather around the tables, holding hands, and we say a quick prayer. Gabby supports me with her left arm, my white hand gripping her elbow shakily as my legs wobble unstably. Korinna holds my other hand, watching over me protectively. There are about fifteen boys on the other side of Korinna, all the ones who tried unsuccessfully to hold my hand during the prayer. Young Viviano stands next to her, his black eyes flashing at me ever so often.

Soon, we are standing backstage, under the red, white, and blue stage lights. Gabby already said her goodbye to me, then headed off with the other wives, where I should be.

I am huddled up into a football circle with Nikki and Jessie. "We can do this, girls," Jessie encourages. "We all have beautiful voices, and we can do this. And Charlotte, don't worry; you're really amazing and we know you can do this."

Nikki smiles that heart-warming smile and Jessie laughs softly. I grin, actually believing in myself this time.

And then, it happens: Mrs. Ramella makes her announcements and the overture blares throughout the gymnasium. Oh God.

I stand in the center of the stage, microphone attached to my ear, and then, the swaying red curtains roll open. The flowing music begins, and I glance out into the crowd. Sure enough, I see Alice beaming proudly to herself, Kerry and Michelle's lit up faces, Jacob and the rest of the oversized teenagers sitting in the row, their bodies too big for the metal chairs. I see Carlisle and Esme, Esme gripping his hand, her lip quivering with joy. Rosalie and Emmett; Jasper, his face tightened with pain from the warm gym heat and all the blood-filled bodies crammed into it, yet a smile tugging at his icy lips; Leah, smiling at me revealing her brilliant white teeth (the only female werewolf); and then…then…I see my parents, staring up at me in awe. The multicolored lights shine down on me, throwing different shades of color like paint at my white-canvas skin. Bella sobs tearless sobs, hiccupping like a maniac, Edward's golden eyes gazing up at me center stage. He has his arm around her shoulder, keeping her contained, but he looks at me with such admiration that I myself feel that I will burst into tears of happiness. After this, I knew what I had to do—introduce my parents to my friends and teachers to them. For, they are my parents, I love them, and hey—they deserve to know what I've been doing for the past few years.

As I open my mouth and let the perfect notes roll out, watching Bella and Edward the whole time.

And I know, that I will do well.

Part IV:

"Nessie!" Jacob bellows after the show, his arms open and welcoming for a hug. I run to him, bouquets and get-well cards overflowing from my arms from my friends. He crushes me into his heater-chest and kisses the top of my hair. "You were so good. You blew the rest away."

I chuckle. "Thanks, Jake," I say, pulling away, and stretch myself up onto my tippy toes to kiss his blushing russet cheek.

Next are Kerry, Michelle, Chris, Alice, and Jasper. "OMG, it's the famous Charlotte!" Michelle shouts gleefully, throwing her arms around me, Chris's tan arm still wrapped round her waist. He is so tall now, towering over us immensely, about Jacob's height. "Oh, you guys," I say sheepishly as Kerry hands me a bouquet of tulips. Around the edge they are a satin, crimson red, and fade into a pure white—just like the cover of New Moon.

"You deserve it," Kerry agrees, smiling broadly. I hug her tightly pull back to see her silver-turquoise eyes glassy and glistening.

"Oh, Kerr, are you crying?"

"We've been through so much…"

"The barren road running over a 'frozen' ocean," I remember.

"The lodge and the bear cubs. And the suckish diner." We both begin to crack up.

While Kerry, Michelle, and Chris congratulate their other school friends, Alice and Jasper approach me, hand in hand. Alice bites her lip and pulls me close to her, squeezing me enthusiastically. "You were incredible! I'm so glad that we stowed away to New Jersey! It was so worth it! I didn't know you had such talent!" Alice gushes on excitedly, but Jasper stands next to her, the veins in his neck pulsing, his arm muscles strained. "Great job, Nessie," he whispers, his deep voice barely audible among the roaring crowd.

After Alice and Jasper were done with me, the rest of the wolf pack followed, rustling my hair and laughing at my so-called "mistakes", but I knew that the boys were only joking. When Rosalie and Emmett approached me, Emmett nearly squashed me in a huge bear hug, and Rosalie handed me a little black box. Inside it was a wrist bracelet that was ebony leather and had the black and white Cullen crest on it, beautifully carved and perfected. "Thank you, Rose!" I exclaim gratefully, hugging her forcibly. She smiles that movie-star grin and joined the others with her burly mate.

Carlisle and Esme came next. Esme didn't give a second thought and immediately embraced me in her bone-white arms. "Oh, Renesmee, you were such a pleasure to watch. You could hear everybody in the audience gasping when you sang. We're so proud of you."

"Thank you, Grandma. I really appreciate it." Carlisle handed me a bouquet of assorted roses, all a unique shade of red. His attractiveness and handsome smile are drawing some of the mothers' eyes toward him, but he simply ignores them and hugs me too. "Well done, Nessie. Very exquisite." I laugh. "You were the best spectator of them all, Grandpa, the only one who didn't stare." He laughs, and they walk away to the other people cramming into the Holy Family room.

And then, in the midst of all the surrounding commotion, my milk chocolate eyes caught a glance of the familiar chalky white skin of a Cullen. Or two.

"Mom! Dad!" I call, pushing through the jammed throng of people. I keep my eyes on the cream skin, following it everywhere. And then, I run headfirst into Edward's marble hold. "Oh Nessie, oh Nessie," he coos, Bella's hand stroking my auburn curls. "You were so great," he sings, his ice lips pressing against my forehead.

"The best," Bella agrees, taking me into her arms. I curl my head underneath her neck, like I used to when I was much younger.

"I love you so much," I whisper to them both, as Edward stretches his arms over Bella and me.

"My princesses," he says in his soft velvet voice. We stay like that for a long time, even while the crowd gently disappears.

"A family again," Edward breathes, and we go off into the Holy Family room to join all the other people and werewolves and vampires in there waiting for us.

Then, I woke up.