AN: Goddamn Stomach Flu. What a miserable weekend.

Not sure when I'll be posting the next chapter… definitely within the next seven days, just maybe later in that timeline than sooner. But hopefully this one will be long enough to tide you guys over until then!

Things are starting to get a liiiitle weird. But not as weird as they're going to =D

Thanks, as always, for reading! And a huge thank you to everybody who reviewed the last chapter… I'm behind on my responses, but I will get around to it in the next couple days. Figured you'd prefer an update, for now.

Enjoy!

~Crit.

Chapter 29: Attack of the Clones

When Jacob, Embry and Seth got back to the apartment, the first thing Jacob noticed was the smell of coffee. He smiled to himself, thinking fondly that Renesmee was a little too addicted to the stuff. Not that she usually slept much anyway, so it didn't make that much of a difference. Seth threw himself down on one of the couches and started to channel surf, Embry went to get a glass of water, and Jacob looked around and wondered why Nessie hadn't come out to greet them. Maybe she was studying.

Embry spoke up as he came out of the kitchen, echoing Jacob's question. "It's quiet in here… wonder what they're up to?" Jacob shrugged, and then started for the stairs.

"One way to find out," he said, bounding lightly up the staircase. He peered into Renesmee's bedroom: empty. Leah's door was closed, which probably meant she was inside. Maybe Renesmee had gone out?

A sudden noise from Leah's room made him turn around with super-human speed. It sounded just like two girls laughing, but Jacob knew that wasn't possible… unless…

"Nessie?" He called out hesitantly. The laughter stopped abruptly, and then started again a moment later.

"Yeah," came the response. Jacob was so shocked that, for a moment, he simply assumed he was hearing things. "Jake? Did you need something?" Now there was no question: Renesmee was definitely in Leah's room, and from the sounds of things, they were having fun.

"Uh… no. I just wanted to tell you we're back."

"Yeah, we kind of figured." Leah's voice this time, clear and strong. Jacob shook his head in wonder. Embry had come up the stairs by this point, and when Jacob turned to him he had both eyebrows raised in an expression of pure surprise. Jacob shoved him backwards into his own bedroom and closed the door.

"Okay," Embry said, "That's weird."

"I know, right?" Jacob sat down and took a deep breath. "Has the entire world turned upside down or something? I mean, what the hell?"

Embry shrugged. "I don't know, Jake… in a weird way, it sort of makes sense. I mean, Nessie's so intuitive about people's feelings. She always knows the right thing to do, even when she's second guessing herself. And you of all people know how persistent she can be. Maybe she just didn't let Leah get away with being… Leah."

Jacob made a face. "That does sound like something she'd do. Especially after I told her about Sam."

"Leah's probably not going to be thrilled at you for spreading that little history lesson around." Embry looked almost worried. "The probability of you surviving the week just dropped by a few points. I hope you know that."

"It's just Nessie. She's practically pack."

Embry rolled his eyes. "Not sure Leah sees it that way. Although from the sounds of things, they seem to be getting along. So maybe I'm wrong."

Jacob sighed. "We'll see."

After a few more minutes of speculation as to what was going on in the spare room, they simply decided to join Seth downstairs for some television and distract themselves while they waited for the girls to emerge. About an hour of passive entertainment had elapsed before Leah appeared suddenly at the top of the stairs, carrying two mugs. Three sets of eyes fixed immediately on her. She stared, hard, at each of them in turn as she descended the staircase, and then breezed by them into the kitchen, presumably to place the mugs in the dishwasher.

"Hey, Lee," Seth called at her back as she passed. "What's happening?"

She shrugged as she emerged. "Nothing. Going to bed. It's late." Jacob and Embry exchanged a look.

"Everything good?" Embry asked cautiously. Leah gave him a look like he was nuts.

"Fine," she said. "Can I go sleep now? Is that okay with the three of you, or would you like to interrogate me further?"

"Are you actually giving us a choice?"

Leah smirked. "Nope." And she headed for the stairs again, mounting them without another word to her three flabbergasted pack-mates.

Jacob looked at Seth and Embry and shook his head in consternation. "I'll go find out from Nessie what the heck is going on," he said. They nodded in agreement.

When Jacob got upstairs, Renesmee was back in her room, changing into pajamas. "Hey!" She cried as he opened the door, "Ever hear of knocking?"

Jacob just rolled his eyes. "It's nothing I haven't seen, Ness," He said, and then he gave her a huge wink. Renesmee looked like she was trying hard not to laugh at him as she pulled on her top. Jacob crossed his arms as he watched her. "On the subject of things I haven't seen… were you and Leah just getting along?"

"If you must know, we were." Renesmee sat down on the bed and stared straight back at him. "It was her idea, actually. She called me in to thank me for offering to help with… the whole thing. And for not letting you guys go on and on about it behind her back." She gave him a pointed look. Jacob put his hands up.

"I'm not any more interested in gossiping than you are, Nessie… I just want to make sure she's okay."

Renesmee nodded, her expression softening. "I know you do. And that's the only reason I'm telling you anything about our conversation: I know you're only interested in helping Leah. But even so, I'm still not comfortable turning around and betraying her trust… she's so adamant about having her privacy respected."

Jacob felt a surge of affection for his Imprint. Very few people stopped to think about Leah's feelings, mostly because the majority of them were convinced she didn't have any to speak of. He reached over and closed his hands around her upper arms, smiling. "You're a good friend, sweetheart." Renesmee snorted doubtfully.

"I wouldn't call us friends, exactly. But I have a whole new respect for her, and I think maybe we have a bit of an understanding now. She's willing to let me help her. And she's going to be okay, and that's really all I can tell you now, without her here." Jacob nodded, and then pulled Renesmee to him, holding her tightly against his chest.

"Thanks for reaching out to her," he said quietly. "I'll drop it now."

"Good." Renesmee turned her face up to look at him. "I've had about as much of it as I can take. I think it's time to focus on us for the rest of the night."

"I think that's a good idea." He kissed her, and then pulled away, putting a bit of distance between them. "Speaking of us, Nessie, I want to talk to you about something."

"O-kay…" She looked suddenly wary, so Jacob put a hand on each of her knees and smiled a little, just to let her know it wasn't anything too serious.

"It's a good thing," he said, "But I'm afraid you might take it the wrong way."

Renesmee raised one eyebrow. "Jacob. Spit it out already."

He chuckled. "All right. You know I've been having a great time with you since we've been in the city. Our time together has been really, really good, and I love living here with you."

"You're working your way up to a 'but', aren't you?"

"But," Jacob said, rolling his eyes. "You're not actually with me most of the time. And, well… it gets kind of boring."

"You're bored?" Renesmee looked like she was trying not to seem too upset. Jacob was quick to correct her.

"Not with you. Just when you're not around. Which is a lot, actually, when you factor in school, and all the time you spend out with Clara." He gave her an apologetic smile. "I've tried to keep busy, but there's only so much I can do without draining my bank account. And to be honest, I feel like a bit of a slacker. You're out there bettering yourself, and I'm sitting at home watching infomercials."

Renesmee's eyes were wide. "Oh shit! Jake, I'm sorry… I never even thought about it like that!" She shook her head. "Why didn't you tell me before?" He shrugged.

"Well, for one thing, because I didn't want to bug you. And for another thing, I sort of had a plan. But I didn't want to say anything until I knew if it was gonna fly." He smiled at her. "So, you wanna hear it?"

Renesmee was watching him warily. "A plan, huh? Okay… let's have it."

Jacob took a breath. "Okay, so you know I had a meeting with Carlisle, just like you did. And I'm sure you know pretty much what we talked about. But, well, we also talked about some other things… not physical things. Mental things."

"You're acting like a mental thing," Renesmee quipped, earning herself a light smack on the knee. "Get on with it!"

"Well, I basically told him that I wanted to do something with my time while I'm here. We talked about how one of the conditions of your being able to move out was to go to school. And we both agreed that it might be a good idea if I did something similar." He folded his hands in his lap and waited for a reaction.

"You want to go to school?" She asked, looking like she didn't really believe it. Jacob nodded, and a huge grin broke out across her face. "Jacob, that's fantastic!" She sprang forward and threw her arms around him. "We can study together! It'll be so much fun… what are you taking?"

Jacob actually felt a bit nervous about telling her. He'd never actually talked to Renesmee about what he'd like to do for a living… it hadn't come up, since the Cullens had been supporting him for most of his life. But he did have goals and ideas. And he wanted her to know. He just worried she might think it was a bit silly. "Don't laugh, okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to make fun of your dreams, Jacob. Tell me."

"Environmental Studies. I figured I'd have more success helping to preserve and protect the wildlife that both of our families need to survive if I got some formal credentials behind me." He looked at her sideways. She was just smiling at him. "Okay, thanks for keeping it in. You can laugh now if you want to."

Renesmee just shook her head and kept beaming. "I don't think it's funny, Jake. I think it's perfect. And I know it's something you really care about." She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss. "It's a really good idea."

Jacob felt a rush of pride at her approval. It was something he'd been playing with in his head for a long time, and it pleased him that Renesmee liked the idea. "Your Grandfather thought so too. He's helping me pull some strings so that I can start courses in Winter term. Good thing your family's so big on education… if your dad hadn't forced me to take the SATs years ago, it would have been a lot harder to get things going so quickly." Her grin was infectious; Jacob found himself beaming with equal ferocity, and he continued, "Carlisle offered to pay, of course… but I want to do this on my own. There's enough in the trust Billy set up with the money from my mom's life insurance policy to get me through the first year at least, and when next year rolls around there are a bunch of bursaries I can apply for. I'm a shoe-in for the one from the Res, and I can probably get some sort of government grant, particularly being from such a small tribe…" Renesmee cut him off by launching forward and pressing her lips to his. After a moment of surprise, Jacob wound his arms around her and let her tackle him down onto the mattress. He fought very hard to stop himself from laughing against her mouth… leave it to Renesmee to get all hot and bothered over education.

"I'm so proud of you, Jake," she said when she finally pulled away. "And I want you to know that I'm behind you."

"Actually, you're on top of me." She gave him a withering look.

"If you're going to be entering a serious course of study, the least you could do is make an attempt at maturity."

Jacob smirked. "Yeah, Ness, because college students always conduct themselves with dignity and class." That got her; she began to giggle, and then kissed him again before collapsing against his chest and sighing.

"This is so exciting! First thing tomorrow, we're going to the bookstore and finding all of your required texts. Then we'll go get you everything you need for school: pens, pencils, a bag, a laptop…" Jacob placed a hand on her back to quiet her.

"Whoa. Nerd alert. Settle down, Nessie."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, "I just really like school."

"Yeah," Jacob said, laughing. "I know that about you." He raked a hand through her hair. "So, you don't think I'm some crazy granola hippie now, do you, what with majoring in Tree-Hugging and all that?"

"Of course not." She peered up at him through her lashes. "But if you start wearing socks and sandals, I will insist you change your major."

"Duly noted."

oooOOOooo

Later, in the dark of their room, Jacob was awoken by movement from Renesmee's side of the bed. As he stirred into wakefulness, he realized that she was tossing and turning in her sleep, thrashing about in the twisted sheet as though trying to escape from beneath it. Her face was a terrified mask, her jaw clenched, and beads of sweat stood out along her hairline. Jacob sat up, immediately alert, and cast a quick look around the room. Nothing was out of place… she was clearly just having a nightmare. And then, as he watched, she spoke.

"No," she muttered, "Please… Jacob, no."

He started. What did that mean? Was he the subject of her bad dream? Jacob looked down the length of her body to where her hands lay, balled tightly in the blankets, and made a split second decision. He took her hand and twisted the sheet out of its grasp. Renesmee didn't wake up as he spread her fingers and bent his head, pressing her over-heated palm to his cheek.

It was like being pulled out of the world and into another, completely different one. Jacob had been expecting to see pictures in his mind, like he usually did with Renesmee's gift, but this was something altogether new to him. He was not only seeing what Renesmee was dreaming; he was living it.

His arms and legs were held down by strong, warm fingers, and at first all he could see was a blinding white light. Then, as the world came into focus, he registered his captors' faces. The familiar pale, smooth skin, tiny frame and cascade of copper curls sent a jolt of shocked recognition through him. Renesmee was holding him down. More specifically, four Renesmees. Logically, Jacob knew it wasn't possible… there was only one Renesmee, nobody anywhere in the entire world was like her. But emotionally, he felt a horrible, icy terror gripping him by the spine. These four girls looked nothing like his imprint, in spite of the fact that their features were nearly identical to hers: The very things that made Renesmee herself— her wonder, her curiosity, her kind-heartedness—were absent in these four strange clones. Their faces were hard, cruel, mocking.

And his body didn't feel right. Beyond the obvious restraint, there was another strange feeling of constriction, as though he'd been shoved into a suit of full-body armor five sizes too small. Nothing felt right. And as he pushed against his captors' hands, he realized that his motions didn't correspond with the ways he was attempting to move. He looked down at his body.

At least, at what should have been his body. Jacob couldn't recall his skin ever being so pale, his bones so delicate, his chest so… and then he realized that he was looking not at himself, but at another Renesmee. Finally, something that made sense to him: he was in her dream, after all… why wouldn't he be seeing it from her perspective? It was so strange, like being trapped inside someone else's mind. He had no control, no will power of his own, he could only watch and observe according to Renesmee's actions.

"Let him go!" He felt his lips—Renesmee's lips—moving, the air leaving their shared lungs as she shouted. "Jacob… Jacob!" Renesmee moved her head, and Jacob's vision realigned to show the rest of the room. Directly opposite them, hanging from wrists chained high up on the stone wall, was a beaten and bloody man. Someone in a long, dark robe was standing in front of him, dragging a sharp metal blade back and forth over his bruised skin. Amid the cuts and bruises were a huge number of mirrored crescent shapes, and he instantly recognized them as bite marks. Jacob felt a bizarre twist of nausea as he recognized himself in the image of the tortured man. "No," The captive Renesmee said again, this time more a whimper than a scream. "Stop it. Please, I'll do anything."

The robed figure stopped suddenly and began a slow, deliberate turn to face them. This time, Jacob was not surprised to see the face of his imprint staring back at them from beneath the hood. "Anything?" She said in a voice that both was and was not Renesmee's. Then she smiled, a slow, horrible grin. "Oh Renesmee… you already know what you have to do…"

Jacob flew straight upright in bed with a gasp. Beside him, Renesmee had also risen, and she was clutching her chest and not breathing at all. He could hear her heart, pounding mercilessly in her chest in time with his own. Slowly, she turned her terrified eyes to him.

"Jake," She said, her voice weak and shaky. Jacob didn't want her to see how shaken he was, and so he leaned towards her and closed his arms around her tightly.

"It's okay," he said, burying his face in her hair. He could almost smell the terror rolling off of her. "You were having a nightmare, sweetheart. It isn't real."

She was still shaking. "I just… it was so vivid… They had us, Jacob, they… I…"

"I know," He kissed the top of her head. "But it wasn't real. We're at home, we're safe."

Renesmee relaxed into his arms, her heart rate beginning to slow. Then, after a moment, she twisted in his grasp and looked up at him through the dark. "Wait, what do you mean 'you know'?" Jacob tried to keep the guilty look off of his face.

"I… uh…" She narrowed her eyes.

"Were you spying on my dreams, Jacob?"

He sighed. There was no point in denying it. "I took your hand because you were clearly having a nightmare. You were saying my name. I… couldn't help it."

Renesmee buried her face in her hands. "Isn't it bad enough I sometimes pass on my dreams by accident? You can't just do that, Jacob… dreams are private!"

He tried to back away from her as he said, "I know, and I'm sorry. It sounded like you were… afraid of me… and I got worried, and I just needed to know." She pulled him back towards her.

"Don't you dare let me go right now," she said warningly, twisting his arms back around her. Jacob gladly closed them the rest of the way, until she was once again settled against his chest. She looked up at him. "I'm not angry at you," She continued, "But you still shouldn't have done it."

"You're right." He kissed her quickly. "Are you okay?" He said, looking carefully into her eyes. She still looked really shaken. Slowly, she shook her head.

"Not yet. It usually takes me a while to calm down afterwards."

"Usually?" Jacob's eyes went wide. "Nessie… how often do you have dreams like that?"

She shrugged, an uncomfortable expression on her face. "I don't know… not all the time. I used to have them maybe once every few months. Different every time, but really… real."

"You used to? What about now?" She bit her lip and looked at him.

"Um… more often than before. Maybe once a week?"

Jacob felt his chest constrict with the memory of the terror he'd felt witnessing the nightmare. Renesmee had been going through that once a week, with him right there, and she hadn't said anything? Worse, he hadn't even woken up? He frowned. "Honey… for how long?"

"Since around when we started living together." Her eyes flickered away from his as she gave her answer. "But I'm sure the two things aren't connected at all," she was quick to add when Jacob raised his eyebrows.

"I'm sure they are," he replied, stunned. "This has been going on since we left home? Why didn't you tell me?"

She shifted uncomfortably, and he realized that he was gripping her a bit too tightly. He loosened his grip and stroked her arm to show her that he wasn't angry, and she relaxed visibly. "I was afraid you'd worry," she replied, looking down. "I didn't want you to get upset."

Jacob's heart seized again at the thought of his imprint suffering in silence for his benefit. That was unacceptable; he couldn't let her do that to herself. "Honey, look at me." She did as he told her, and he gave her a small, sympathetic smile. "That's what I'm here for. If you're upset, it's my job to listen to you and make you feel better."

"Because I'm your Imprint," she said dully. Jacob shook his head.

"No, because you're my girlfriend and I love you." To Jacob's surprise, Renesmee gave a quick burst of laughter. "What?" She laughed again, more softly this time.

"I'm sorry, it's just… girlfriend?" she shook her head. "After all of this epic imprint stuff, it just seems like such a… normal way of describing us. Like we're a couple of human college kids, instead of… what we are."

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to be normal. Isn't that what all this— " he gestured around the room "—is all about?"

Renesmee made a face. "I know, I know… but it's confusing. I mean, we're not normal. For example, normal people don't have dreams like that."

"I'm pretty sure human beings have nightmares too, Nessie." She rolled her eyes.

"Jacob, you know what I mean. That was me in that dream, beating you up. Stabbing you… biting you. That isn't normal."

He gave her a hard look. "It wasn't you," he said firmly. "Those… things… in your dream, they might have looked like you, but they weren't you." He reached up and touched her face gently. "I know you, and I know you'd never do anything to hurt me. It's just your brain doing crazy things. Everybody has weird dreams sometimes."

"I saw your face when we woke up," she said quietly. "You know it was more than just a dream."

Jacob couldn't deny that it had felt really real, moreso than a normal nightmare. But he'd chalked that up to the fact that Renesmee's gift had been so much stronger. Now, looking at Renesmee's face, he knew there was something more to it. "What do you think it was, then?"

Renesmee bit her lip once again. "Jake… I think I'm having premonitions."

He was sure his jaw must have dropped. "You mean like Alice?"

"No." She shook her head empathically. "It's not like Aunt Alice's visions at all. It only ever happens when I'm sleeping, in the form of dreams. And they're not always bad, just really realistic. It's never happened when I'm awake, and I don't think it will. I only had those kind of dreams very rarely before we moved here, but since we've been on our own I have them pretty regularly, like I said before."

Jacob took a deep breath, taking a moment to process that information. "Have any of them come true?" he asked slowly. Renesmee shook her head.

"Not yet."

"Then how do you know they're premonitions?" She shrugged.

"I don't… I just have this really strange feeling. It's… fatalistic, I guess. I have the dreams, and I just know they're something more. Not all of them are realistic enough for them to literally come true… but I think my brain is using symbolism and imagery to send me a message. Sometimes it feels almost like a warning." She shivered in his arms, and Jacob knew for a fact it wasn't because she was cold.

"Well, one thing's for sure: that dream is never going to come true." She gave him a look that clearly said she wasn't convinced. "Nessie, come on. How could it? You'd never hurt me, we both know that."

Renesmee gave him a haunted look. "What if I do?" Jacob searched her face.

"Honey… this isn't the first time this has happened, is it? A dream like that?" She paused, and then shook her head.

"No. It's not the first time. But I've been able to brush it off before. This time… Well, you saw it. It was horrible. What are we supposed to do with that?"

Jacob didn't know. He knew Renesmee wanted him to believe her theory about premonitions, but she was upset, and besides, there was no proof. None of her dreams had come true. And just because Renesmee was usually right didn't mean she was right about this. Jacob ran a hand through her hair and smiled reassuringly. "We leave it alone, for now," he said softly. "Try not to let it get to us. We know we're both safe for now. We're in a loft full of sleeping wolves. Nobody's going to get us any time soon. And maybe we're extra careful from now on whenever we're separated, and we don't do anything crazy or reckless. Maybe it's just a warning, a sign that something bad could happen if we're not cautious. Not a sure thing that's definitely going to play out like we saw it."

Renesmee looked doubtful, but she nodded. "Maybe. Okay." She turned her face into his chest and breathed in deeply. Jacob chuckled deeply. She was smelling him. They really were just a pair of animals. He followed suit, leaning down and breathing in the scent of the skin where her jaw met her neck. This time it was Renesmee who laughed, a gentle little giggle that made Jacob's insides twist inside of his gut. Without realizing it, he began to growl low in his throat, which only made her giggle more. He gripped her to him with a sudden ferocity.

"I love you, Renesmee," he said, his lips moving against her neck. Each syllable was charged with the depth of his feelings for her, and she went very still at the sound of his voice. He wasn't sure exactly what had come over him, only that he was suddenly desperate for her to know the intensity of his love for her, an intensity he wasn't sure could be expressed within the pitiful boundaries of the English language. He felt one of her arms snaking up between their bodies (a small miracle, given how tightly he was gripping her) and her fingers crawled up towards his face until, suddenly, he felt a surge of powerful, all-encompassing emotion overtake his head and his heart. It was a gripping, immobilizing feeling, as though his heart was both exploding outwards and collapsing in upon itself at the same time. Jacob could do nothing but sit there and let the feeling wash over him in waves. It was so strong, so overwhelming, and yet so familiar that he was not frightened by its intensity. When his brain adjusted to the point where he could have a clear thought again, he realized that he knew what it was: his love for Renesmee and her love for him, mirrored and multiplied and shot back at him through the magic of her gift.

When her hand dropped, he did nothing but sit there holding her for a long moment. When he found his voice, he said, "Exactly."

Renesmee turned her face up to his and offered her lips, which Jacob took enthusiastically. "I get it," she said when her mouth was free again, "I thought I'd try to show you."

"I'd call it a success, then," he said, and then he shook his head as if to clear it. "You know… we really need to talk about that."

"About what?" She said, and it was plain she had no idea what he was referring to. Jacob furrowed his brow.

"Your gift… how strong it's gotten. Have you told your father and Carlisle about the changes?"

"Changes?" She looked at him like he was crazy. "I'm not sure what you mean… I feel it the same way I always do: I think about something, or feel something, touch, transmit." She was starting to look worried. "You mean it's different than usual for you? How long? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you knew!" He frowned. "How could you not know?"

She pulled out of his grasp. "I'm not on the receiving end, Jacob… I can't tell what it's like for you, or anybody else. Tell me what you've noticed."

He reached out with a comforting touch. Things were spiraling beyond his control again, and Jacob didn't know if he could take another melt-down. Girls were tough to handle. "Hang on," he said, "It's not that big a deal! It's just stronger. A lot stronger, mind you, but I'm sure it isn't anything to worry about. I mean, a lot about our relationship has changed in a really short period of time… living together, and then falling in love, and then there's the physical aspect, and the acknowledgement of my having imprinted on you. That's probably the reason your gift is so much stronger these days, when you use it on me."

Renesmee appeared to be considering it, and then she nodded slowly. "That makes a lot of sense," she admitted. "I still think you're right about mentioning it to Carlisle and my dad. But I guess it's probably not urgent. No need to get up and call them right now."

"Don't you dare." For what felt like the thousandth time in the past hour, he pulled her to him, and she went willingly. "If we're not going back to sleep, it sure as hell isn't going to be because you're talking to you dad."

"Oh yeah?" there was a hint of humour creeping into her voice, Jacob noted triumphantly. "And what do you suggest I do instead?"

Jacob looked down at her and smiled. "Well, since I don't have magic-telepathy-hands like you do, I guess I'm just going to have to show you for real."

Renesmee raised one doubtful eyebrow. "That so?"

She didn't have to ask again; Jacob wasted no time in proving to her that he had gifts of his own to share. Afterwards, Renesmee drifted off to sleep almost immediately, a peaceful smile on her face, and slept until morning with no sign of returning nightmares.

Jacob only wished, as he lay awake watching her, that he could say the same for himself.

In the Next Chapter:

"Did I just get pulled into a romantic set-up plot? Tell me the truth, Ness," she whispered conspiratorially. Renesmee made a face.

"Okay, yes. But quiet about it…. Reed doesn't have a clue."

Clara put her hands on her hips. "Ness, Ness, Ness. Don't you know that playing matchmaker with your friends never turns out the way you hope it will?"