Disclaimer:
Characters based on Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga.
(Ren POV)
Grandpa was so excited when my dad and I reached an agreement so we started right away. Everyone in the family was happy to volunteer in this little experiment. We switched around our seats in the living room. I sat on the ottoman; my dad stood behind me. Grandpa and Grandma sat with my mom on the love seat. Since my dad could read my mind, he could tell right away if my telepathic skills reached out to my intended 'listener.'
"How should we proceed?" I asked.
"Well, let's see, why don't you try to tell someone something? Don't tell us who, we'll try to figure it out," Grandpa said. I nodded and closed my eyes.
Mom, can I have meatloaf for lunch?
I opened my eyes but no one reacted. "Try it again," dad said.
Mom, how about some meatloaf for lunch?
"Sorry, Bella, love, you're out. Renesmee's ability is in the mind. Your shield's blocking it," dad said to mom.
"That's too bad," I sadly said.
"It's okay, angel. You could still talk to me by touch," mom said as she walked towards me and kissed the top of my head.
"How about making a meatloaf for our angel here? That's what she's trying to tell you," dad said and mom laughed.
"You have some training to do today so I'll whip up that meatloaf for you." I smiled at her while she walked towards the kitchen. Too bad I couldn't connect through my mom.
"Okay, let's try this again," dad said.
What's a good side dish for lunch? How about good ol' mashed potato? Granma, what do you think?
"What do I think, Ren?" Granma asked.
"You didn't hear the first part of her question?" dad asked.
"All I heard was 'what do you think?'"
"Try it again, angel."
What's a good side dish for lunch? How about good ol' mashed potato? Granma, what do you think?
"Still the same, I'm afraid," Granma said.
"One more time, Ren. This time call out the name first."
Granma, what's a good side dish for lunch? How about good ol' mashed potato?
"Are you hungry already, Ren? You asked your mom for meatloaf then now mashed potato. If I don't know better, I would think you're part wolf," Granma said and everyone laughed.
"Well done, angel," dad said as he patted my shoulder.
"You keep practicing while I lend a hand to you mother," Granma winked at me and proceeded to the kitchen.
"I hope you're done asking for food, Ren. I don't mix well with the kitchen," Rosalie said and everyone laughed once again.
"Don't worry, Rose. I only trust mom and Granma to prepare my food." I closed my eyes again and concentrated.
Uncle Jasper, your gift is amazing and thank you for calming me down when my nerves were out of control.
"You talk as if you're not family. You don't need to thank me. Your gift is just as amazing as any of ours," Uncle Jasper said with a smile. I smiled back at him.
"What did she say?" Alice asked Uncle Jasper.
"She just thanked me for calming her down earlier when she was nervy and that my ability was amazing." Alice nodded and I closed my eyes again.
Alice, how about a hand? Help me with my homework and I'll gladly go with you in your little shopping sprees.
"I could easily drag you shopping, Ren."
"It was worth a try."
I inhaled before I focused my mind.
Uncle Emmett, thanks so much for your help earlier. When do you want to start practicing?
"Later today when the sun goes down a bit. Better not risk other people seeing sparkling figures playing volleyball," he laughed. "We need to buy the net first."
"Yay!" I celebrated. Dad patted my shoulder.
"That's not until later. We're not done yet." I shrugged and moved on.
Rose, will you help Uncle Emmett buy the net?
"Sure, no problem," she answered.
"What did she say?" Alice asked Rosalie.
"She wanted me to go with Emmett when he buys the net."
"Oh, okay. Can I go?" Alice asked. Rosalie nodded. Alice smiled; she enjoyed any chance she could get to go to the mall.
Uncle Jasper, could you please calm her down?
Uncle Jasper and my dad chuckled but did not say anything. I focused again.
Grandpa, what else do you want to test?
"Truly amazing! Let's see, how about you try to focus on two at a time?" Grandpa said. I nodded. It would take more concentration to do this.
Uncle Emmett, Rose, what time are you leaving to buy the net?
There was no reaction. I tried again.
Uncle Emmett, Rose, what time are you leaving to buy the net? Uncle Emmett, Rose, hello?
There was still no reaction, not from Uncle Emmett nor from Rosalie.
"I think it only works for one person at a time, Carlisle," dad said. "Much like her touch, it's just directed in one direction. The only difference is that with her touch, she has two outlets, both her hands." Grandpa nodded.
"I wonder if it only works for vampires," Alice asked.
"Good point, Alice. But, how to test it?" Grandpa said and went to deep thought.
"Excellent!" Alice shrieked that made me jump.
"What?" I asked her.
"I can't see," she said with a smile. It was weird to see her smiling when she couldn't see her vision; I thought it was the most irritating thing for her. She hated it every time our werewolf friends visited us.
Then it hit me. Please, not them! Not long after, I heard the door opened. Seth entered the room.
"Good morning and happy weekend," he greeted everyone. I groaned. I wanted to see Jacob but after what I figured out last Monday, I thought it would be better if I didn't see him, especially with…
"Hey, everyone," Leah greeted followed by Jacob. I sighed but smiled. I had to block my mind from my dad so I kept my focus on enjoying the presence of our friends.
"It's been a while," Leah said as she hugged me.
I smiled and hugged her back, "You've been busy." I was sincere. It was not her fault that Jacob liked her and not me. She was still a friend.
"I know, but I should have congratulated you last Monday. I got off work so late; I didn't want to bother you on a school night."
"I'm a half-breed, Leah, I don't need much rest," I said and she smiled. "Mom and Granma are in the kitchen preparing my lunch." She patted my shoulder and headed to the kitchen to join the two best cooks.
Jacob went to my side when Leah left. "How are you, Ness?"
I composed myself, "I'm fine. You?"
"Never been better," he said with his breath-taking smile that I now wanted to tear off his face. That stupid smile was making me feel head over heels for him again and I couldn't. I would never get between him and Leah; both of them were friends of ours.
"What have you been up to?" he asked. Why was he focusing his attention to me? He should either focus his attention to Leah or to everyone as a whole, not just me. His mixed signals and the obvious connection he had with Leah were driving me crazy. I couldn't understand why Alice and my mom said that Jacob had a crush on me when he was obviously with Leah. I wondered if they were just trying not to crush my first experience with love. That was definitely it.
I didn't want to tell him what we were up to. I didn't want him to be a part of my training; I wanted to see less of him so that I could move one. I was about to tell him that I was just doing some regular daily routine when Grandpa answered his inquiry, "We discovered Ren's a telepathic." I groaned.
"Really? Amazing!" Jacob and Seth exclaimed.
"We actually need your help. We need to test it on humans. You're the closest to a normal human that we could test this on. Maybe when on December when we meet up with Charlie," Grandpa trailed off. He cleared his throat and continued, "So, are you up for it?" Both Seth and Jacob nodded. I wanted to say that I was not up for it, but I couldn't bring myself to do so.
"We'll go to the mall and grab some stuff," Rosalie said as she got up with Uncle Emmett and Alice.
"Jazz, are you coming?" Alice asked.
Uncle Jasper followed the three, "We'll see you later."
"Are we playing video games?" Seth asked before the reached the door.
"Not today. If you want, you can play volleyball with us," Uncle Emmett said. Seth had a questioning look on his face. "Just wait for us later," Uncle Emmett said and he closed the door behind him.
"What was that about?" Jacob asked as he and Seth sat on the sofa. Dad sat beside Grandpa.
"Ren's practicing volleyball later, but enough of that for now. We need to train her telepathy," Grandpa said and both our new test-subjects nodded.
"Ready when you are, angel," dad said and I tried to focus. It was not an easy task with Jacob seated in front of me.
Seth, how's school?
Seth jumped up, "How did you do that?"
"Do what?" Jacob asked.
"You'll get your turn Jacob," dad said. "Seth, what's the answer to the question?"
"School's fine. It was a lot different from adult school, but I liked it better. Now, how did you do that?"
"I'm telepathic. I can project my thoughts to you directly without saying a word," I explained.
"That's so cool! How come werewolves don't have cool powers like that?" Seth exclaimed and we laughed. Seth was always expressive.
"Okay, now quiet down so that we could continue," Grandpa said.
Seth, did you meet any girls yet?
"Very funny, Ness. If I did, I won't be here." My dad laughed at his answer. Jacob had a confused look on his face but did not say anything. I decided to direct my next thought to him.
Jacob, how are you and Leah?
I didn't know why I asked what I did. I knew I wasn't ready for the answer, whatever it would be. My dad looked at me confused, but did not comment.
"We're all fine, Ness. You just saw her," Jacob said. He didn't notice the other meaning behind my question and I didn't want to push it any further.
"Grandpa, Dad, my head is starting to hurt," I said while I rubbed my temples. It was not my head that was hurting, but they didn't need to know that.
"Sorry for pushing you, Ren. You can rest," Grandpa said.
"Good job, angel," dad said and kissed the top of my head. I saw my dad looked at Grandpa. He must have told dad something through his thoughts. "If you'll excuse us, Seth, Jacob." With that, my dad nodded me to go to the kitchen. We were followed by Grandpa.
--
My mom looked up as soon as we entered the kitchen. "How did it go?"
"Good. Now I'm starving." I went to the counter and grabbed an oatmeal raisin cookie.
"Leah, a little family time, please," dad said to Leah and she obliged.
"Ren, we need you to be careful from now on," Grandpa warned. I didn't understand what he meant.
My dad continued what Grandpa was saying, "Your gift must have developed because you have been in deep thought lately and concentrated on a lot of things than you did before. Just make sure you don't accidentally project your thoughts to other people. It was different with your touch because how often do you touch other people's face. We both noticed that you needed to call out to the person you are trying to connect with before you can project your thoughts to; it's better that you not say names in your head."
"I understand, dad, grandpa. Thanks for your help and the warning."
"Too bad I can't hear you in my head," my mom said as she put her arm on my waist. I was so much taller than her now that it was hard to put her arm on my shoulder like she used to. I touched her face.
Don't worry mom, I can still tell you things through my touch. Besides, there's nothing I don't share with you. And thanks for blocking my thoughts from dad.
"You're welcome, angel. And I do it all the time now, even though he doesn't like it," she nodded to the direction of my dad. We smiled at each other. My mom was the best out there, a shield. It would have been hard to deal with a mind-reader dad especially with everything that ran in my head day in, day out. "Now you better get out of here before you start smelling like food." I kissed both my parents and grandparents before I left the kitchen.
When I reached the living room, Leah was standing behind the sofa where Seth and Jacob were seated while watching TV. "Coast is clear, Leah," I said and went up to my room.
--
A/N: So what do you think of Ren's new power? Please R&R.