"Love just is whatever it may be. Love just is you and me. Nothing less and nothing more. I don't know what I love you for. Love just is."--from Hilary Duff 'Love Just Is'

Erin's POV

The whole week of school following the dance was just plain awful. Girls I didn't even know were giving me death glares. Guys were hitting on me. I almost cried. (Something has to be really bad to make me cry.) However, I wasn't going to let anyone know they were getting to me. I didn't even let Seth and Scout know that something was wrong. Scout could probably guess though. I'm sure she went through the same thing when she got together with Collin.

Somehow I made it to the weekend in one piece. I was so very excited for Nessie's party. I spent every second of my free time working on her present. I knew she was going to love it.

I got ready for the party a couple of hours early. Brian wasn't home, but I knew he wasn't working. He could be home at anytime and I wanted to be gone before then.

I pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans, my purple converses, and purple and black 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' t-shirt. I grabbed Nessie's present, which was in a light blue gift bag, and headed down the stairs and out the front door.

I began running to the Cullen's. I figured if I took my bike Brian would notice and then I'd be in trouble. If he thought I was upstairs, he wouldn't bother me. That was the only good thing about living with him.

On the way, I ran by a couple of kids that I used to go to school with when I was at Forks High. They pretended they didn't even see me. I wasn't hurt though. I had the greatest friends in the world. What did I need the approval of a few snotty kids for anyway? I kept running, ignoring them right back.

I made it to the Cullen's house in record time. The porch was decorated with a bunch of light blue balloons and some streamers. Nessie was sitting on the porch swing with her head down, looking at her shoes. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. I guess Alice hadn't gotten to her yet.

"Hey, Ness!" I shouted as I walked up the porch steps. "Where is everyone?"

She looked up at me and gave a weak, forced smile. "Out." she told me and then went back to looking at her shoes. I knew then that something was up. This was not the Renesmee Cullen that I knew. I had to get to the bottom of her bad mood.

I plopped down on the swing next to her. "So, you're four years old today." I said, trying to get her to talk. "That's major, right? I remember when I was four years old." I chuckled, reminiscing. "My dad got me a bike with training wheels."

Nessie, slowly lifted her head to look at me. "Yeah? Must've been nice to be a normal four year old." Ooh. I suppose I shouldn't have said that.

I sighed. "Look, I know it's hard." I told her, trying to help.

"Oh, sure. You had a normal childhood. You got to go to school. You got to have friends." At least I knew what was wrong with her.

"Hey, you have friends. Great friends." I reminded her. "Besides, in case you haven't noticed, I'm more of a freak than you are." It was the truth. I was a bigger oddity than a half vampire.

"No you aren't." she said, bitterly. "Leah's exactly like you. And, as I said before, you grew up like a normal person."

"There are others like you." I told her even though I knew that she knew that. "Leah and I aren't that much alike. I'll never shift. She can. She had a huge growth spurt before she stopped aging. I'm five foot three forever. She can start aging anytime she wants."

"So can you." Nessie told me. "As soon as I get to the physical age of seventeen, I'm like this forever."

I shook my head. "I'm not sure I ever will start aging. I don't think I know how. All the wolves have to do is stop phasing. If I can't phase, how do I start aging?"

"Guess I never thought about that." She went back to looking at the ground. There had to be a way to make her feel better.

"Hey. What's so great about being normal anyway?" I asked her. She lifted up her head and looked at me questioningly, so I continued. "It's like my mom used to say: 'Being normal is overrated'. Being different is fun. You're special. There will never be anyone else like you."

She shrugged. "I guess. But…" She looked at the ground again. It looked like there was more to this.

"What?" I asked her. "You can tell me. I swear I won't tell anyone. I'm great at keeping secrets."

She looked up at me and sighed. "When did you know that you loved Seth?" she asked me, sounding dejected.

I let out a breath. "Well, I suppose it was the day I met him really." I still stood by the theory that we both imprinted on each other at the same time.

"But then why didn't you two get together right away?" she asked me, a little confused. I didn't blame her. It was a rather confusing story.

"Well, there were a few reasons." I explained. "I hadn't lost my parents too long ago. I was stuck in a town where no one liked me with an uncle who pretty much ignored me. Then all of a sudden this guy almost knocked me over and was asking me all kinds of weird questions." It had been a very strange day indeed.

"Anyway, I knew I felt something, but I wasn't sure what exactly. And the next day he tells me he's a mythical creature and I'm his soul mate. I was freaked out. I'd known him for not even a whole day."

She nodded, understandingly. "I guess that would be a little freaky. So, why did you finally decide to be with Seth?"

I sighed, thinking of how to put it. "I could see I was hurting him by only being his friend. I thought about some things and I realized that I loved him. I wanted to be with him. I always had."

"I wish it were that easy for me." she muttered. I didn't know if I was supposed to hear that or not.

"No one ever said relationships were easy." I told her, thinking about the awful week I'd had. "There's always some kind of obstacle to overcome."

"Yeah, but your obstacle isn't your dad or your age." She looked back at the ground for a second and then looked up at me. "I'm just so confused. I'm only supposed to be four but I look fourteen. And… my feelings are all out of whack."

So, that was what this was all about. "So, I look thirteen but I'm supposed to be sixteen. And Seth hasn't aged since he was fourteen but he's supposed to be seventeen and he looks like he's in his early twenties."

She sighed. "I'm not even sure if I love Jacob. I mean, I think about him a lot. But… the part of me that's four thinks of him as my big brother or my best friend."

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "You just have to separate your feelings, Ness. He's supposed to be all of those things. Seth's the best friend I've ever had. He's like the big brother I always wanted. But he's my boyfriend too. I love him."

She stared into space looking thoughtful. A small smile crept onto her lips. "I… think I am in love with him. I mean, it's weird for a fourteen year old to say that and actually mean it, but I do."

I smiled. "He'll be very happy to hear that. And, unlike most boys, he won't put any pressure on you. You won't have to do anything until you're ready. It'll sorta be like it is now."

She nodded. "He'll never hurt me." Then she looked sad again. "But Dad is going to be so mad."

"Dad's never like the person their daughter is dating at first." I informed her. "My dad would hate Seth. They just feel like their baby girls are being stolen from them. Eventually, they get over it and come to like him."

She shook her head in despair. "They're enemies. Vampires and werewolves are supposed to hate each other."

I chuckled. "Technically, Jake's not a real werewolf." I reminded her.

"Yeah, but then there's all that stuff that happened with my mom." Okay, I could see where that would make this a problem.

"Edward's just going to have to get over that." I said. "Jake's imprinted on you. There's nothing that can be done about it. He of all people should know that true love can't be stopped."

She sighed heavily. "But, how and when am I supposed to tell him. Jacob, I mean. Not Dad. I'll wait to tell him for a while."

"You're going to have to tell Edward eventually." I told her. "He won't be too mad. He knew it would happen sooner or later." I then sighed, thinking of how she should go about telling Jacob. "As for Jake, I don't know what you should do. You'll know when you need to tell him. As for how, that'll come naturally. That's how it was for me."

Nessie nodded. "I think I know just what to do." She gave me a big hug. "Thank you so much for the excellent advice." She let go of me. "I couldn't have said any of that stuff to anyone else."

"Why?" I asked. "Because your dad has less chances to read my mind than anyone else?" I teased her.

She giggled. "No. Because no one else would've understood like you do. None of them have been imprinted on. None of them really know what it's like."

That was true. "Yeah, we're pretty lucky. We don't have to keep searching for the perfect guy."

"Hey, you two!" I turned my head even though I already knew who was calling for us.

"Hey, Seth." I said as my perfect boyfriend walked up the porch steps. "You by yourself?"

He sat down next to me on the swing. I was surprised that there was enough room for all three of us. "Not anymore." he said, placing his arm around me and kissing my cheek.

I looked at Ness out of the corner of my eye and smiled at her. She returned the smile and looked much happier than she had when I first sat down.

"So, what have the two of you been up to today?" he asked us curiously.

"Nothing." we said in unison. We looked at each other and then burst into laughter. Seth looked at us, confused and then shrugged his shoulders. Well, he would understand soon enough. I had a feeling Nessie wasn't going to wait that long to tell Jacob her secret.

Okay, I hope you all liked that. I worked hard on it. The next chapter is Nessie's party. It will be very interesting, I assure you. Well, see you all later. Updating soon. I hope.