AN: Yup, the last chapter until the 30th. Yes, no chapter on Monday (because again, I was disappointed... really? two reviews? I expect more from you guys. I was beginning to reconsider, but nooooo, I guess you don't want more chapters... especially to make up for the MONTH!). Enjoy!

25. TRUTH

Jacob couldn't stay the night since it was Embry's shift, so I woke up alone again, half surprised.

The drive dragged on the way to school, even with familiar song on the radio didn't really make time go faster today like it usually would.

I prayed exam would be easier than I thought, considering how I crammed so much what I forgot to study last night from the little time Jacob gave me from the whole day.

When Nahuel arrived, he smiled and took a seat next to me.

"Good morning," He said, taking his binder out to study.

"I don't know if I'd say it's good, but yes, it's morning." His face showed sympathy and I told him about Jacob and my plan for the weekend, even the dread I was already feeling from not seeing him when it hasn't been twenty-four hours yet.

"Trust me, Renesmee. Time will go by quickly." I shrugged.

"People can say that all they want, it doesn't mean it's true for everyone."

"I guess so..." I looked back to my notes for today's exam, but Nahuel kept talking. "So, this weekend will be no good for us to 'hang'?" It was weird hearing him say such modern words.

"No, sorry,"

"Well then, how about tonight? We can study together for this test." I rolled my eyes.

"You don't need to study."

"No, but you do. I can tell you still don't know how to make a D sharp very quickly."

"Yeah because Mr Harris didn't even bother to teach it." He chuckled.

"Very true..." I laughed and turned back to my notes. He kept going. "Come on, Renesmee. I'm just helping you study, you want that arts credit, right?"

"Actually, I've had three arts credits already from Canada. It really doesn't matter if I fail this one."

"Even so, you want to make a good impression for this school, right?" I shrugged.

"I guess."

I honestly wanted to pass this one, my last music test I practically failed, my teacher had to look over my test records and improvements, as well as my participation in the arts in order to really let me pass.

"Then why won't you come over? We're study buddies, remember?"

"I know... it's just that I don't want to cause Jacob any trouble, or any reason to worry about me. He's already doing so much for me for the weekend, the least I can do is give him a carefree week." Nahuel shrugged.

"You won't be in anymore danger in my home than you are with him."

"So, you drinking my blood is no more dangerous than him possibly getting angry and tearing me to shreds?" His eyes widened. He took my wrist and took me outside of the room, ignoring Mr Harris' bickering.

He took me around a corner so we weren't heard. He held me against a wall, I was scared for a split second.

"Did he tell you?" I shook my head.

"No, the name calling gives hints. Leech, parasite, they have one thing in common." He crossed his arms in thought. I continued. "Drinking blood, but you're in human form. The only enemy to the werewolf. You're a vampire."

I guess he was surprised about how well I was taking this. I was too, but I guess with everything that has happened, I was willing to believe anything.

"You're not afraid?" I shook my head.

"Nope. Actually, I'm relieved. At least you're not an axe murderer or something. Now it's easier to understand what everyone's saying and we can finally have a decent conversation." Nahuel's face hardened, his eyes turned a little darker, and took a step back. "What's wrong?"

"I haven't fed in a while." My face fell.

"Oh." The bell rang for the next class and we started walking back to the classroom.

"Just take your exam and meet me outside of the cafeteria. We don't have to go to my house, but I want to talk." He went ahead of me and was out of the room by the time I got there.

I saw Josh actually had my bag, holding it out and smiling away.

"Here, I got it for you." I took the bag and politely smiled back.

"Thanks, Josh." I turned as I put the bag on my back.

"Wait, stop... um..." I rolled my eyes and turned around.

"Renesmee." I told him. His face froze and blushed after.

"Oh..." He bit his lip and looked at his feet before looking at me. "Well... um, we're friends, right?" I shrugged.

"Sure..." Actually, I only talked to Josh a few times. We had very little in common and he was pretty friendly, that was all I knew about him.

"Well, I was wondering..." I sighed, knowing what was coming.

Here we go again...

"Josh, look, you're a nice guy, but I'm dating someone else." He frowned.

"Oh... who? Does he go to this school?" I was surprised, I was sure Jacob and I were a topic of gossip, especially from Kyle's party. If not Jacob and I, people would've guessed me and Nahuel.

"No, you wouldn't know him." I just said. "And I really got to go." I turned again and Josh stopped me again.

"Wait! I heard he's out for the week... you know, if you want to come over..." I should've expected him to eves drop on mine and Nahuel's conversation.

"No, sorry, I'm going to Nahuel's house after school to study." I made it sound as convincing as possible. "Sorry, Josh. See you tomorrow."

I tried not to make walking quickly look like running down the halls as headed toward science, running through the formulas I attempted-and probably failed studying last night.

I stayed in the classroom, asking the teacher questions every so often when I needed help, mostly because one, I could care less about science, it was something I hated and didn't want to go into, and two, I was thinking about something else entirely.

Nahuel, a vampire. Really. I wasn't scared of him, I never have been, but his family, especially Iris, was what haunted me the most. I was actually thinking of staying at his house, maybe we can somehow avoid Iris and the others, or would that be a bad idea in case something did happen. How would Jacob be able to forgive me?

Were there others out there like Nahuel or just him and his family? Were there other mythical creatures like centaurs or wizards? (A part of me even humorously asked if Aslan the Lion was real).

I was the last one to finish my test, leaving one question blank since I couldn't even guess the answer. By then, I figured out I really wasn't only not scared about this, I was fascinated. About the werewolf legends, or the treaty line that Jacob's great grandfather put out against Nahuel's family. Was I really fantasized or that I just wanted to get some facts straight? Or was this just the imprint talking?

Nahuel was just outside of the classroom as I was coming out.

"Let's take a walk." He said, smiling at me. I squinted my eyes in suspicion.

"You said you haven't fed... am I the meal?" I bit my lip, suddenly scared about what I just said. To my surprise, he smiled and laughed and walked with me.

"I can assure you, Renesmee, although your blood is rather tempting, your life is worth too much of value to take. Your death would simply lead to mine, seeing that your boyfriend would take it out on me. Besides, I had a little snack before coming to see you." I breathed easier, but I was still a little scared.

"Who did you drink out of?" He put a finger to my lips to quiet me.

"We should head out first, don't you think?" I really wanted to know, but kept walking. "And for the record, I don't drink human blood. No one in my family does." I relaxed a lot more now.

"Thank you." I said while breathing. He chuckled. "Why not?" Nahuel rolled his eyes as we opened the doors toward the back.

"Well, actually, it's to control our thirst, the main reason is because..." he sighed. "We want to live as humanly as possible. We know it's irrational-you know, vampires living among the living." I smiled in humor. He continued. "But we're not monsters... at least we try not to be." I bit my lip. He sighed.

We were in the forest now, the rain just a little drizzle I barely noticed. Nahuel stopped walking, probably knowing we've got far out enough.

"How old are you, Nahuel?" He looked at me and sighed.

"Seventeen." I crossed my arms.

"How long have you been seventeen?" A long silence as I waited for the answer (I half expected him to answer me a hundred four the first time, since I read that line in a book).

"A while... Since 1870." He finally answered.

I covered my mouth in shock, doing the math in my head.

Silence again as I digested this. I sat down on a log covered in green moss and tried to think of someway to break it. But I couldn't because I didn't know what I wanted.

On one hand, I wanted to tell Nahuel it was okay and I would accept him, like a real friend. On the other, I wanted to tell him to get lost and never talk to him again, like Jacob always told me to do...

But I knew, Nahuel was no monster. He believed he was one, he roamed the earth as one, but he wasn't.

He saved my life from a moving van, perverts in Port Angeles, and from himself.

"Why me?" I asked. "Why am I so special?"

"I don't know, Renesmee... but your blood, your scent, it's like a drug to me. Like my own personal brand of heroin." I bit my lip.

"I'm sorry..." He chuckled.

"Don't." The word came out harshly. "You shouldn't even trust me. I don't know how much longer I can control myself." He sighed. "You have a superior boyfriend, Renesmee. He keeps you from my kind, from me. He has every right to, he knows what's best. At least he's good for something." He mumbled that last part, I stood up.

"Nahuel, as far as I'm concerned, you are no different as a vampire-" I struggled with the word. "Than you are my friend. If my friend Austin back at home ever told me the same thing, I would've accepted him."

"It doesn't work that way." He said in a hard voice.

Next thing I knew, Nahuel was gone. I looked around and found him next to a tree.

"I could kill you, as easy as a twig." He then gave the thick tree a shove and it fell down in his direction, but was gone before it could hit him or the ground. I stared in amazement but he kept moving. Next, I saw him in a tree, I looked up at him.

"I'm designed to kill... I wanted to kill you. To drink from you and quench the burn in my throat." I shook my head.

"I don't believe that." He rolled his eyes, annoyed by my indifference of thinking.

"I'm the world's most dangerous predator, Renesmee. You should be running by now."

"And would you be chasing after me?" He crossed his arms and then fell gracefully to the ground.

"Imagine, Renesmee," He walked toward me, black eyes shining and he circled me like his prey. I stiffened a little from the discomfort I felt, but tried to stay strong. "Imagine me taking you, defenseless, as my teeth slowly sink into your neck."

I shivered a little from the thought. He caught it and smiled, knowing I was imagining it. He continued. "You'd scream a little maybe, but it would be drowned out as I suck your body dry. Imagine you feeling the pain, how week you feel, all this and you have no other choice, but to let go."

I stuck up my chin, despite the the fact I knew I'd be getting nightmares now.

"We're friends, Nahuel." I said. "I'm not scared. I accept you fully for who you are. Just like I did with Jacob."

"You just don't get it, do you?" He grunted in frustration and walked farther into the woods. I followed. "The most frustrating thing is not being able to read your mind." He turned to me. "You have to tell me what you're thinking! It's frustrating!" I rolled my eyes.

"Now you know how the rest of us feel." He snorted at my remark, then went back to seriousness. "I trust you, Nahuel. We've been through a lot. I'm going through a lot. Jacob may keep me safe, but you keep me sane by telling me what he's thinking. I know my boundaries with him because of you, I found him because you told me where he is. Nahuel, I'll treat you as humanly as possible like I have since I met you."

He was silent as this went through his head, not looking at me, then finally, he sighed.

"You're a saint, you know that?" I rolled my eyes.

"I've been called a lot of things." He chuckled and looked at me.

"Alright, if you want to risk your life for friendship, I'll respect that. I don't see much a point in it, but it's better than my head hurting from your silent mind." I laughed and looked at my phone for the time.

"I better get to work." Nahuel nodded and leaded the way back. When we reached the parking lot, he walked me to my car.

"I'll pick you up after dinner." I raised an eyebrow.

"Who said I'm going?" He frowned.

"Well, I heard Josh's thoughts of you telling him you were coming over." I shrugged.

"Honestly, that was to get rid of him," He laughed. "I'm honestly still thinking about it." He nodded.

"Alright, just call me when you make up your mind and we'll get to it." I nodded, and he turned to leave.

"Hey, Ren," Said one of my managers, Trudy, when I reached work.

"Hey," She smiled, showing her crooked teeth. She waved a piece of paper in her hand.

"You had a visitor," I had a feeling I knew who it was, but pretended I didn't know.

"Who?" She smiled and handed me the paper.

"It's that boy from La Push, Gerard?"

"Jacob." She rolled her eyes.

"Tomato, tomatah." I laughed. "My memory isn't what it used to be."

"You can recite the streets of this town from A to Z."

"That's work, I've known it my whole life, Renesmee." She grabbed her purse. "Well, I'm out. Michael will be in at five. Sorry to keep you working with exams in."

"I don't mind. I don't have to study for the rest of my exams, they're going to be a breeze." She smiled again and grabbed her coat.

"Good to hear." Then she left. I opened the piece of paper and blushed reading every word at least twenty times:

Have a good day, I miss you every second. Kwopkalawo'li, always.

Jacob

AN: Yup, see you guys later! (and don't forget about Nessie Paw Day!)

Q: Come ON! We're sorry... will you at least be online?

A: Yup, to go on facebook, maybe twitter, check my email, reply to anything I have to, the works.

Q: Then why can't you update THERE?

A: A few reasons:

1. I promised myself I'd take a month off after Twilight's Sun was done. I haven't taken it off yet because of you guys, this is my chance.

2. My rents probs won't let me go online for very long :/

3. We're getting near to where I stopped writing (for now) because my editor is really s...l...o...w... when it comes to replying my emails now a days (who knows, she may resign... meaning we might have an opening xD I'll keep you guys up to date with that ;). SO, for now, remember to participate in Nessie Paw Day (MARCH 19)! Mark your calenders and mark your hands ;)