Hey, I'm back! Thanks to everyone that reviewed for the other chapter! Now, I am so very sad to say that the ending of Jacob and Serenity's journey is very, very near. However, if I get enough reviews saying they want a SEQUEL then I will gladly see what I can do! (PLEASE REVIEW FOR A SEQUEL, IF YOU WANT ONE) Ah, yes, I have very many great ideas for a sequel, but you have to want it! So, read on and REVIEW!
PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU WANT A SEQUEL. (Just spreading the word and making sure everyone sees it, XD)
Read on! But read the A/N first.
(Three Months Later…)
"You, my dear, are an Ever Child of the Second Generation. That means that you are the most powerful of all your ancestors and their generations. The name in itself is just to sound fancy; there is no official tittle for what we are. Really, it is only the first part that you need to hear, I just like adding the 'Second Generation' for fun, as it sounds even more powerful.
"All second born children—well, adults now, I suppose—have a power that is unique in itself. It makes us a force to be reckoned with. Many have tried to steal our power, and when they realize that they can't, they try to kill us. You must be careful, Serenity. I don't want to lose my favorite granddaughter." My grandfather winked and smiled at me, but his eyes were serious.
I nodded, feeling like a child again, the way he used to hold me on his lap and tell me stories that made me want to be like the heroes or heroines. It's been so long since I'd seen my grandfather; I hadn't seen him since the Christmas of the last two years.
"I'm running out of time. I won't be able to tell you anything more, but I want you to be very careful, Serenity. I think word of your powers is spreading in the supernatural world of our kind. I love you, my granddaughter. Please take care of yourself and send your brother and father my love and hello." He blew me a kiss and started to fade away…
I shifted in my bed. My eyes popped open as I felt the space beside me empty where Jacob usually slept. The sheets were cold, as if he'd been gone for hours.
"SURPRISE!" My head whipped around to the doorway of my room, my eyes widening as I saw my dad, brother, and boyfriend holding a cake with lit candles on top. I smiled and sat up in bed.
"Happy birthday, Serenity!" I laughed with joy, and made room for them to sit on my full sized bed. Dad set the cake on my lap carefully and stepped back to take a picture with mom's old camera. The sight of the camera was surprising enough, but the sight of my dad holding the camera was a little shocking. But I didn't want to ruin the happy mood, so I just smiled for a picture and didn't say a word.
"Thank you guys! Oh my gosh, I think I actually forgot today was my birthday!" I laughed and they laughed with me.
"Well, it's a good thing we all remembered this time, then," Jacob said, coming around the other side of the bed to kiss me.
"Okay, enough of the PDA, just blow out your candles before the completely melt all over the cake," Austin said, closing his eyes and wrinkling his nose at the sight of Jacob and me kissing.
We chuckled, though I suspected Dad had taken a picture of our kiss. It was something I was sure mom would do, especially if it was my birthday and he was my boyfriend in my house in the morning when I was still in bed in my pajamas, which only consisted of a tank top and some pajama shorts.
I closed my eyes, made a quick wish of nothing in particular, and blew out the candles in one sharp blow. They clapped, and I was suddenly reminded of when I was five at my sixth birthday party and blowing out the candles. My mom always clapped the hardest and the longest.
"Okay, birthday girl, get dressed in something pretty, because we're going to Emily and Sam's house to celebrate your eighteenth birthday!" Austin said, walking towards the door to leave.
I jumped out of bed and walked directly to my closet, opening the door and looking inside. I pulled out a knee length white dress with a string to tie around my neck to keep it up. Then, I grabbed a pair of tan strappy sandals from the closet floor and turned to lay them on the mattress.
I was about to lift my shirt up and off all the way, but stopped mid-way when I saw that Jacob hadn't left yet. I yanked my shirt back down and walked over to him, my face getting hotter and redder by the second.
"Jacob! Why didn't you say anything? I was about to change here!" I said, crossing my arms and glaring up at him.
"I think that's why," he replied with a small grin. I tried not to smile, but it was hard. I turned his around and pushed him towards the door.
"Out, right now. I need to change! By the way, what time is it?" Jacob was already out of my room on the other side of the door.
"It's almost two, why?"
"Two in the afternoon? I slept for that long? Dang, I must've been tired. Well, wait for me downstairs, I won't take long," I said, closing the door in his face.
The dress slipped over my head, and I tied the knot at the nape of my neck tightly so that it wouldn't fall off. The shoes were comfortable and matched with the dress, which had some patterns on the bodice and ends of it of the same color of the straps of the sandals. I walked into the bathroom to brush my hair, which was curly today.
I walked down the stairs to meet the boys. "I'm done," I said when I saw them in the kitchen. They all turned and their jaws dropped at the same time. My eyebrows furrowed in concern as they tried to compose themselves.
"You look gorgeous, Serenity," Jacob said in an awed voice. I smiled and looked down to hide the blush that I could feel creeping across my cheeks.
"Ahem, well let's go," Austin was already walking to the door. Jacob came up beside me and held his arm out to me. I took it with a smile and let his lead me out to the car. We didn't do anything, not with my dad and Austin in the car with us and watching our every move in the rear view mirrors. I just looked out the windows of Austin's Volvo, enjoying the cloudless sky with the shining sun. An unusual afternoon for a day in March. Not that I minded at all.
When we parked in front of Emily and Sam's house, I could already hear Emily bustling around in the kitchen, the boys horse-playing around in the living room, and even though she wasn't doing anything, Leah. I climbed out of the car with Jacob and my family in tow. The front door was wide open, sending the message; you are welcome to come in.
I knocked on the doorjamb nonetheless before walking in. the boys immediately stopped wrestling or whatever they were doing, and rushed to hug me. Many bear hugs later, I walked into the kitchen and hugged Emily, also snagging some sort of sauce from a pan on the counter beside the stove. It was good, and totally worth the smack she gave my hand with her wooden spoon.
Leah was actually happy to see me. She was wearing a dress, which shocked me, and her short hair had a few barrettes in it. She didn't have make-up on, but she didn't need it anyway. We hugged a little, and I got down to the introductions.
I introduced them to the guys first, but when I introduced them to Leah, something happened.
"Austin, this is Leah, Seth's older sister," I said, pointing her out. They shook hands, but when Austin looked into Leah's eyes and she looked into his, they couldn't look away. The hard scowl she usually sported melted off her face and she looked like she a blind woman seeing the sun for the first time.
"LEAH!" I shouted. She broke away from their trance and looked at me. Her face showed a little fear.
"Outside, now." My tone suggested there was no room for argument. I stalked out the back door and she shuffled behind me. I ignored the bewildered looks from everyone inside. When we were in the back yard, out of my brother's earshot, I turned to face Leah.
"I can't believe you imprinted on my brother!" I squealed happily. Leah's face was pure confusion.
"You're not mad? It doesn't bother you? You're okay with it?" Leah asked, uncertainly.
I nodded. "I'm so happy for both of you! Austin hasn't dated anyone in a really long time. And I don't know about you, but I'm happy you imprinted. No more mystery, you know?"
We hugged and jumped up and down like little kids. We finally went back inside, and just smiled at the questioning looks that were thrown our way. We all sat down and relaxed in the living room, talking about nothing in particular and joking around. I sat in Jacob's lap, and I noticed that Leah sat close to Austin, their arms touching ever so slightly. I nuzzled Jacob's neck affectionately, and sighed happily.
My entire family was here, whether it was of blood relation or not. Well, almost my entire family. Some others were missing, but that was okay. I still had a lot of people that I loved and loved me. That was what mattered most, right?
When we had come through the door, Sam had closed it. But now, there was a knock that made everybody freeze and stop talking. The only sounds in the room were the TV and the timer ticking in the kitchen. I sent a quizzical look to Sam and my dad, but they shrugged at me. So I got up off of Jacob's lap and walked over to the door. Opening it, I was unprepared for who was on the other side.
"Uncle Ian! Grandfather! I can't believe you guys are here!" I tackled my uncle in a hug and he laughed his infectious laugh. Then I hugged my Grandfather, considerably less hard than I did for my uncle. He hugged me tight, laughing and rubbing my back softly.
"It's been too long, my dear; I just had to see you! Especially since you are turning eighteen this year!" my grandfather said. I ushered them inside the house and introduced them to the guys and the girls.
My grandfather looked just like he did in my dream, except different clothes. His once black hair had specks of gray in it, but not too much, and his face was a web of wrinkles, but he looked young nonetheless. It was unexplainable how he looked young; he just did.
"Grandpa!" Austin got up from the couch and went to hug our grandfather.
Grandfather smacked Austin on the back of his head. "It's Grandfather, young man, Grandfather. I'm no 'grandpa'."
I laughed at Austin, and went to sit down on Jacob's lap again. Austin stuck his tongue out at me childishly. Grandfather rolled his eyes, but he smiled at me nonetheless. "Happy birthday, Serenity. I brought you something very special; something that I have no doubt will be of special meaning to you."
I raised an eyebrow questioningly at him, but he shook his head, a twinkle of amusement in his eye. I pursed my lips, pondering what it could be.
"Food's ready, everyone! Wait, stop, HOLD IT!" Emily shouted. The boys—except Jacob—froze in their tracks on the way to the kitchen. "Let the birthday girl go first! And of course, it's ladies first as well. Be courteous, or no food at all for you."
They backed away at her threat, and I got up to get my food. I stacked mashed potatoes, fried chicken, bread rolls, and some vegetables on my plate and grabbed a cup of cherry Coke. I stepped to the side with Emily and Leah, who had already gotten their food, to watch the boys attack the trays of food.
I smiled affectionately at my family and ate my food. We all teased the boys about how much they ate, and how it was a wonder that none of them were chubby or chunky.
"Well, except for Quil," Leah muttered, a small smile on her lips. We all laughed as Quil jutted out his lip in a sorry attempt to make a sad face. My smile never really left my lips, even when there was nothing funny or really anything in particular going on. I was just really happy.
My father had brought my cake from this morning and lit new and non-melted candles on it. Everyone sang happy birthday to me, and I blew out the candles. I cut the cake and handed pieces out on plates. It was chocolate, my favorite. When we were finished with our cake, we all went into the living room for presents.
Grandfather went first. "Well, since I am the oldest person in the room, and haven't seen my favorite granddaughter in a little over two years, I will give her the special present."
And so saying, he grabbed a small box out of his back pocket. "Dear, this belonged to your great grandmother; my mother. I gave this to your mother on her eighteenth birthday as well. When she passed, it was written in her will that I was to get this back, and give it to you on your eighteenth birthday, just like her. Happy birthday, Serenity."
He opened the box, revealing what was inside. Nestled between a soft-looking fabric, was a locket. It was heart-shaped and had an inscription in its front. I recognized the writing as Latin. My mom had taught me Latin when I could talk. I learned Spanish, Latin, French, and Japanese before I learned English.
Grandfather lifted the locket out of the box and unclasped it. He motioned towards me, and I swept my hair aside so he could clasp it around my neck. I was holding back tears, but they weren't bad, or even sad. They were… I can't even explain it. I was just emotional.
"Thank you, Grandfather. You have no idea how much this means to me," I sniffed, turning to hug him. He hugged me back, rubbing my back soothingly and knowingly.
"Me next," Dad said. He had a box in his hand too, bigger, but not too big. It was wrapped in colorful paper with a small bow on top. "My gift is also from your mother. She left a music box, and while she didn't say to do anything with it, I decided she would have wanted you to have it. Happy birthday, baby; I'm proud of you."
He gave me the box and I carefully tore through the paper. Opening the cardboard box, I smiled at what I found inside. Inside the box was a small, round music box. I had seen it multiple times when I was littler and the music had always calmed me down when I was upset. I hugged my dad tightly. "Thanks daddy."
Austin was next. His gift was something he made for me, something that I was sure took a lot of time to make. It was a CD that was labeled, our memories in videos and pictures. I put it in the CD player to watch in the living room, and sat down on Jacob's lap to watch it.
The screen went from blue to showing a large room. My bedroom from a really long time ago. About eighteen years ago to be exact. My dad appeared to be holding the camera because I could hear him, but I couldn't see him. My mother came into view, standing in front of a brown and pink crib, holding a newborn infant in her arms. Me.
She was shushing me and gently rocking me back and forth, a small smile playing on her lips as I yawned. She started humming the tune from the music box, and I saw my eyes close and a soft snore started emitting from my mouth. My hair looked absolutely burgundy there as a baby. My mother's hair did too, but hers was way darker, almost completely dark brown.
"There, she's asleep. Now, let's go before she wakes up," my mom whispered. She started coming up to my dad, but then a large crash in the corner of the room caught both mom's attention and the camera's attention.
A small version of Austin was kneeling on the floor with a jack-in-the-box toy on the floor beside him. His expression was guilty, but it turned even guiltier when crying was heard from the direction of the crib. My mom smiled and shook her head, turning to the crib to tend to me.
That was one of the greatest things about my mom. No matter what you did, she never got mad at you. Sure she got annoyed, but never mad. It made growing up way easier for me, Austin, and even dad.
The scene changed, and it looked like a few years had passed by, because I was no longer as tiny, and I had more hair. It was still the same color, but just a little darker. In this video, I was on my stomach on the floor, and it looked like I was straining to keep my head up. I reached out one tiny hand, and pulled myself up, scooting on the floor. I reached out with my other tiny hand, and pushed up with both of them.
I was in a crawling position, and my mom was on all fours beside me, hovering to make sure I wouldn't fall and hurt myself. But she didn't need to. With a certainty I didn't know I had at that age, I just…crawled. I crawled like I'd been doing it my whole life long, which probably wasn't very long, back then.
"And you said she just started yesterday, Serena?" I heard my dad ask from behind the camera. My mom looked up with an excited and happy smile on her face and nodded. The video stopped, but some pictures popped up. A few pictures of my mom holding me and smiling. Some with me and my dad, in the same position. Even some with Austin carrying me, and one where he was holding me as if I were flying, like superman.
Then the next video started. This one was one that I vaguely remembered happening. In the video, I was holding the phone to my ear, and I was about three or four years old. I was nodding and "uh-huh"ing as if I were really talking to someone. I was sitting on my parents' bed in their room, and the person with the camera was sitting in the corner. I noticed the camera shaking slightly, indicating that whoever was holding it was laughing.
My dad walked in the room, but stopped abruptly when he saw that I was holding his cell phone to my ear and speaking into it. He flitted a questioning look at my mother, who was the person holding the camera, and came over to take the phone away from me. But I already knew that he was going to do that. I said, "Bye-bye," into the phone, and snapped it shut.
My dad took the phone, checked to see who I was calling, and blanched. That was too much for my mom. The camera shook so bad that you couldn't see, and you could hear her cracking up in the background. Finally, the camera steadied, and I could see myself beaming innocently at my dad's disbelieving face.
"How did she get my mother's number?"
And mom cracked up once again. "I…don't…know…!" she choked out between fits of laughter.
Then more photos lit up the screen. Me in a pink dress holding a basket filled with eggs. Me in a red Christmas style dress with my brother behind me in a blue dress shirt and tie. Then the entire family in a picture outside in what looked like the summer.
Several videos and pictures later, I was laughing and crying at the same time. I was so witty and clever back then, just like right now. And it was nice to see my mom again, even if she wasn't really here with me. The next present was from Leah. She had gotten me a pretty dress that was black with some lace in the bodice and had dark red patterns beneath the lace.
"Thanks, Leah," I said, hugging her.
"You're welcome, Serenity," Leah hugged me back.
Then the next present came from my Uncle Ian. It was a leather-bound journal. He said it was for keeping track of important things in my life. "Completely different from a diary," Uncle Ian said, wrinkling his nose at the word diary. I laughed and hugged him as a thank you.
The next one came from Sam and Emily. It was a bag full of clothes; very cute clothes. Shirts and jeans, and even a pair of high heels were in the bag.
"Oh, now these are cute!" I said, holding up the heels. I smiled and laughed, getting up to hug them both. "Let me guess; Sam picked these?" I said as I hugged Sam. He blushed and scratched the back of his neck.
"Well…" he trailed off sheepishly. My eyes widened, and I laughed long and hard, along with everyone else in the room. We finally stopped laughing, but Quil laughed so hard he snorted, which only threw us into even more hysterics.
Eventually, we did stop, though we were all wiping tears from our eyes. Even Grandfather was, though he seldom laughed that hard. Quil, Jared, and Paul gave me their present, which they had all paid for. It was another knife, one that had an inscription on it in a fancy font.
Serenity D. White
Jacob Black
I smiled at them, and came over to give them each a hug.
"Thanks you guys, this was really nice. I love it!"
"You're welcome, Renity. Just like last year, I have completed my mission," Quil said, a cocky grin taking over his face.
"Hey!" Paul and Jared glared at Quil, effectively wiping the grin off his face. I laughed.
Claire gave me her present next. She had drawn me a picture of Jacob and me in a meadow. The sun was shining and we were smiling, holding hands. For a three year old, the drawing was pretty good.
"Thanks, Claire bear!" I said, lifting her into my arms and kissing her forehead. She giggled, and I handed her back to Quil.
"You wecom!" she beamed at me.
Seth, Collin, and Brady all got me a CD from a band I'd heard on the radio and said I'd liked. I was surprised and touched that they'd remembered me saying that. I hugged all of them and kissed their cheeks, making them go red in the face. I chuckled and returned to Jacob's lap.
"Well, that's everyone. Except you, Jacob." I raised my eyebrows expectantly, and warningly. If he forgot, so help me…
He looked nervous, but he didn't say he forgot to get me something. Dad came up behind him and out his hand on Jacob's shoulder. Jacob looked up and dad nodded at him reassuringly. This made me suddenly suspicious. Jacob let out a deep breath. Then he patted my knee, indicating that he wanted me to get up.
I slowly got off his lap, and he stood up with me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. I stopped and he looked back at me, smiling reassuringly. I went with him, but slower than I normally would have. He took me outside to the car and opened the passenger side for me. I smiled at him and climbed in.
He started the car, and we drove up into the deeper parts of the forest. He stopped at the edge of the woods, and shut off the engine. He opened my door and took my hand. We started walking into the forest and my curiosity got the best of me.
"Where are we going?" I couldn't help but ask. I saw him smile beside me.
"It's a surprise," was all he said. I huffed out a breath, but kept walking. Soon, after about twenty minutes of walking, Jacob covered my eyes. I stiffened, but then I relaxed as he said, "We're almost there, babe. Just a few more minutes of walking."
He walked behind me, guiding me through the woods, clearly knowing where he was going. Five minutes later, we stopped and he uncovered my eyes. I gasped as I took in the scenery before me.
We were standing near a waterfall that fell into a river after flowing into a pond-like pool. I looked around in a 360 degree turn. Everything was green and beautiful, with wild animals rustling in bushes or on trees. Jacob took my hand and nodded towards the waterfall. I nodded eagerly, and we ran towards the end. At the edge, we jumped off and landed in the warm water.
We swam around and splashed each other, relishing in the feeling of just being together, no conditions, problems, or worries in the way. We finally had what we had always wanted; time alone together. I kissed him, and he kissed me back. We broke apart, and dove under water. I powerfully flicked my tail, and pulled him with me. We explored the bottom of the pond, and it wasn't long before Jacob tapped my shoulder telling me he needed air.
We were several feet underwater, a long ways from the surface, so I panicked. I brought my lips to his and breathed into him. He smiled gratefully at me, and we continued our exploration. Soon, we had to go up to the surface; the light was dwindling. Breaking through the surface, I breathed in deep, hearing Jacob do the same beside me. We swam to the edge of the pond, and while he climbed out, I stayed in.
I laid my arms on the grass out of the pond and gazed up at Jacob. My heart swelled with love and adoration. I loved him so much it hurt.
"God, I love you Jake. More that you will ever know," I said to him. He leaned in, and I met him half way, kissing him sweetly.
"So, was this my present?" I asked when we broke apart. If it was, I definitely loved it. I was surprised though, when he shook his head.
"No, this was just part of it. Wait here," he said, getting up and shaking water off his hair like a dog. He jogged over to a large bush and retrieved something small from it, but I couldn't see what. Hiding it in his hand, Jacob walked back over to me, looking nervous.
I hoisted myself up on one of the boulders, the bottom of my tail still in the water. I swung it back and forth as Jacob came over to me.
"Okay, well, hmm, how do I begin?" he sounded like he was talking to himself. Then, he turned to me. "Serenity Diane White, I love you. I love you more than you could possibly know. In the clearing three months ago, you told me you loved me, too. You told me one day you hoped we'd get married, and live in a big house with a fancy garden, and everything. The whole nine yards. I talked to your dad, and he said that he'd give me his blessing to do this."
My heart kicked into over drive as Jacob knelt down in front of me. "I love you more than anyone in the entire world. I've known you since we were in diapers, and I know that you matter more to me than my own life. Serenity, will you marry me?"
In his hand was a ring box, which he promptly opened and held out to me. The ring inside was beautiful, but I couldn't concentrate. I was ecstatic, so happy and full of joy. There weren't any words to express what I was feeling at that moment.
Happy tears slid down my cheeks. "Yes," I whispered. A grin lit up his face, and I could feel how happy he was to put the ring on my finger. I kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Yes, yes, yes," I said between kisses, "a million times yes!"
His arms wrapped around me, pulling me out of the water. Heat rushed through me, and I suddenly had legs again. My dress was dry and I had my sandals on. Jacob lifted my by the waist and swung me around in a circle. We laughed and I couldn't stop smiling. The ring on my finger held so much significance to me, to this moment, to my very life.
Jacob took my hand, and we walked back to the car. As we drove, neither one of us could stop smiling. Everyone was waiting for us when we got home. I figured they already knew he was going to propose to me, but my thoughts were confirmed when Austin said, "Well?"
"I said…yes!" everyone was screaming and laughing and congratulating Jacob and me. We were all happy, and I couldn't help but cry a few tears of joy. I looked out the window at the sky and, as if my mother could hear me, thought, I love you, mom. Thanks for everything.
The party died down after that, and everyone started leaving. I thanked everyone for coming and the gifts as they left. I thanked Emily and Sam for letting us have the party at their house and helped clean up. I couldn't help but smile every time the ring on my finger came into view.
Jacob and I drove in his Rabbit, and dad and Austin drove in Austin's Volvo. On our way to my house, however, I remembered something and made Jacob turn around.
"We forgot to do something," I told him. We parked at the edge of the forest again, but we were much closer to our destination this time. As the tree came into view, I heard Jacob chuckle. There was still some sunlight, but not much. Jacob got out his pocket knife and together, we carved a large heart around our initials. The little sunlight that was left was shining directly on us.
I smiled at Jacob and he returned the smile. We leaned in and closed the distance with a kiss.
Well, I know one thing. I guess maybe I am going to get my happily ever after. Oh, how cheesy.
"I love you Jacob."
"I love you Serenity."
Maybe running away wasn't the worst thing to do after all.
The end.
Okay, I think this might've been a sucky ending, but if you ask for a SEQUEL I could fix that! Please review, ANDDON'T FORGET TO ASK FO A SEQUEL IF YOU WANT ONE!
Love you all!
~Alee B.
Ps, this won't be the last thing I'm posting for this story, so don't forget about it!