Author's Note: Heh, well...I'm sorry. I haven't been the most reliable person on updating and I feel really bad about that. My life has been really busy, but that's no excuse for not even checking this site every once in a while. Well, while I was in Disney with all of my friends, some girl was talking about this site and I had a total "oh sh*t" moment. I found it strange that someone 800 miles away from where I live can remind me of something I do at home. Well I found it strange until my friend starting throwing up all over the place and then I had to hang out with Mr. Blowchunks McSunshine all day. Yeah, a ton of fun.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the story and forgive me for not updating. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story, however I do own vomit covered shoes (screw you Mr. Blowchunks McSunshine!)


Changes In Time
Chapter 12
Yeah, I Kinda Did

Jake's stare bore down on me, his face expressionless.

"Well," I started to explain, trying not to make eye contact with him, "you told me that it was my decision to make, and I decided to let her go."

I started chewing my bottom lip, feeling sort of guilty that I didn't really let him know what I was going to do. He didn't show that he was angry, but he didn't look happy either. I'm just kind of confused as to what he's feeling right now. The next ten seconds was just an awkward silence and I decided to break it.

"You're not mad, are you?" My voice came out as a whisper, and his eyebrows furrowed together. He never broke eye contact with me as he walked towards the lawn chair and sat down. I stayed planted in my spot until he motioned with his hand to come towards him. I did as he suggested and sat down in the chair beside his. He leaned towards me and I could feel the heat radiating off his skin. My cheeks warmed and I looked away from him at the grill, and this fluttering in my stomach made no sense to me.

"Nessie," he said softly, "look at me."

I brought myself to tear my gaze away from the grill and looked up into Jake's eyes. They didn't look cold and angry, more like a warm and welcoming feeling and I felt myself relax instantly.

"I could never, ever be mad at you," he said so softly that I almost had to strain to hear him. His hand reached up to my face and he pulled a curl that had been hanging in my face behind my ear. The warmth of his skin made mine tingle and I pulled back, wanting these strange flutterings to just go away. This was my Jake and I have never felt like this before around him. It scared me in a way that made me feel not like myself. This needed to end.

"W-Well," I started, "then can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, Ness, ask away." I needed to get out of here. I needed to be in a public place without the chance of being alone like we are right now.

"Will you take me to the mall in Port Angeles?"

He stared at me for a few moments and I was prepared for him to start yelling that I was insane to want to go to a mall at a time like this. Instead, after about five seconds he burst out laughing. I sat back, shocked and confused at his reaction and grabbed the arms of the chair.

He wiped at his eyes as he stopped laughing and I said carefully, "Um, are you alright, Jake?"

He quit rubbing his eye and gave me a lopsided grin.

"Yeah, Ness, I just thought it was funny is all," he said, still chuckling. "I figured you were going to ask me something that was a little more serious than going to the mall."

I was confused again. "I'm not joking about going to the mall. I seriously do want to go."

This made him laugh even more and I just sat there, not understanding what he found funny about all of this. But, I just let him have his moment of insanity and when he calmed down I got up from my chair. He stared at me with a slightly amused look on his face and I almost rolled my eyes.

"So," I said hesitantly, "will you take me?"

"Of course, but only it's alright with your family. We really don't want them to think that we've gone insane and run off." Well he might be right with the insane part, I don't think he's in his right mind at the moment.

"Okay, thank you Jake!" I gave him a hug and he enveloped me in his huge arms, which made me literally feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I quickly pulled away from him and ran into the house. The door slammed behind me and I saw that everyone had jumped up from where they had been sitting in the living room to find out what all the commotion was. This is when I noticed that the two men that were with Anna earlier had dissapeared.

"Nessie, are you alright?" Dad asked as he walked into the kitchen, worry etched into his face. I nodded and then ran up to him, giving him a big hug. I'm not really sure why I was hugging him, but I just kind of had the feeling that it would be the right thing to do at the moment.

"I let her go," I told him and pulled my arms away from his midsection. He didn't seemed surprised or angry like Jake, he just had this sort of forlorn look in his expression. He squeezed my forearms tightly and pulled himself away from me. There was a long pause as my family gathered in the kitchen around me, making me feel very uncomfortable. To break the awkward silence, I just said:

"I'm going to the mall with Jake."

Three...two...one.

"RENESMEE ARE YOU INSANE?! NOT TOO LONG AGO YOU WERE ALMOST KILLED! AND NOW YOU WANT TO GO TO THE MALL?!" Mom was way past the point of mad. I don't ever think I've seen her this angry, er, well this scared.

"Jake will be there, and I just need some time to myself. Away from all this talk of pain and suffering and blah blah blah." I paused, taking a deep breath. "Please?"

She looked as though she was about to start yelling again, but she gave out with a small huff of breath. I smiled and gave her a huge hug.

"Thank you. I love you."

"I love you, too, Renesmee."

--

"So, what store do you want to go to first Ness?" We both passed through the automatic doors, which I was not fully accustomed to. I sort of almost smacked my face into the door the first time before it opened. Once we made it through, it was like I had shrunk ten sizes. This mall...it was enormous. I don't think I've ever been in something this big before. There were people everywhere rushing to and from different rooms and boutiques. People were sitting in chairs eating food that looked almost unedible. A woman was holding a screaming child as it tried to rip out her hair. It was almost too overwhelming.

"Nessie? Earth to Nessie," Jake waved his hand in front of my face and my attention snapped back onto him. I gave him an apologetic smile and he started to laugh.

"Sorry, just caught up in the moment, what did you ask?"

"I asked what store you wanted to go to first," he chuckled, and I looked around at the mall. There was so much to choose from and I wasn't sure what happened to be in any of the stores that I could see. Randomly, I saw a store with a swirly sort of name and I pointed at that.

"You want to go in Bath and Body Works?"

"It looks pretty," I replied as we headed in that direction and passed through the entrance. There were people standing in front of racks of lotions and body sprays, sniffing at random things. I've never been to a mall like this one, only boutiques that Aunt Alice had dragged me to.

As I took a deep breath in, I nearly choked to death. Scents pounded my nose like no other and my eyes felt like they were starting to water. I looked over at Jake to see him cringing at the smell. I bet if I were normal like anyone else, these smells would've smelt nice and fruity. However, they were just too overpowering.

"Do you want to get out of here?" I asked him, and he nodded tensely. We turned right around and left the store without even looking at anything. I let out a breath that I had been holding and saw that Jake was doing the same. I could see the relief that washed through his face and I knew the same was happening with mine.

"How about we go somewhere a little less...smelly," Jake suggested as I glanced around at the stores again. From this position, I could see that there was a second floor, but nothing looked too appealing up there. Then, something caught my eye. I grabbed onto Jake's arm and started dragging him towards the place that I wanted to go.

"Nessie, no...you're mom will kill me." He resisted and suddenly it was if I was jerking on a statue. I attempted yanking on his arm even harder with no avail. I gave up and turned around, placing my hands on my hips.

"But Jake, it's something that I really want," I said, trying to make myself look all sad and pitiful. I had never done this before, so I hoped I at least looked a little bit sad. I must've, because his body instantly relaxed. He huffed once and then his head dropped in defeat.

"Fine, but it was your idea." I smiled really wide and wrapped my arms around his torso, squeezing him as tight as I could. I felt him sigh and we headed off to my destination.

Three hours and two shopping bags later, I was back at the cottage and in the living room with Jake trailing behind me. He had wanted to carry my bags, but I didn't want to make him my packmule. He was my best friend and it would just be wrong.

"How was shopping?" I heard my mom call from the kitchen. She must've been waiting up for me since there was no reason for her to be in the kitchen.

"It was great," I replied as I set down the bags. I looked back at Jake who was standing back nervously, not sure what to do with himself. "Just sit on the couch."

He slowly slid towards the couch, looking for any sign of my mom. I gave him a look that said 'everything-will-be-fine' and he didn't seem to sure of it. I turned from Jake to the kitchen to see Mom staring at me, her mouth agape. I suddenly felt as nervous as Jake did and slinked back towards where he was sitting.

Laughing nervously, I tried to inconspicuously sit down next to Jake, which was not working out too well.

"Renesmee," she said, disbelief in her voice, "you didn't."

"Hehe, well," I scratched the back of my head, "I kind of did."


Aww snap what did she do? Maybe if you review...I might just reveal the answer (hint: she didn't buy a camel...or did she?)