Renesmee
If everything has gone according to plan, Alexa and Demetri should be arriving today. There hasn't been this much frantic tension in the house since my first date with Jake. And even then, that was really just my dad freaking out. Today's impending events have everyone wired.
"You're going to wear a hole in that carpet Alice." Jasper laughs, watching Alice pace up and down the living room for the millionth time.
"It would be so much easier if I could see them." Alice complains. She hates not being able to see the future. She's gotten better, but she still texts me constantly when I'm away from the house, just to make sure I haven't fallen off a cliff or something. She's almost as bad as my dad sometimes.
"There we go. Perfect." Rose says, tying a bow around a giant teddy bear.
"She's not a baby Blondie." Jake laughs.
"Everyone appreciates a good teddy bear." Rose defends.
"Ness, would you have wanted a stupid bear a year ago?" Jake argues.
"I might have preferred a laptop. Or a car. Besides, everyone knows I'm a wolf girl." I joke. I can practically hear my dad's eyes roll from across the room.
"Well I think it's sweet." Emmet says as he enters the room, kissing Rose on the cheek.
"You have to if you want to get-" Jake starts.
"Okay." Mom interrupts quickly. You can always rely on Emmet and Jake to provide the inappropriate commentary. "Ness, how are you doing?" Mom asks me.
"Me? I'm fine." I tell her, a little confused as to why I'm the one who's been singled out when I'm clearly the only sane person left in this family.
"You're okay getting a roommate?" Grandma asks. Leave it to the matrons of the family to tag team me on this one.
"I'm excited. I finally get to be the older, wiser hybrid. I love Jennifer and all, but she's constantly going on about being a nineties kid." I complain.
"Hey, don't hate on nineties kids." Jake fake threatens, pretending to be offended.
"Yeah, some of us are cool." Mom adds.
"Pro tip, when your mom says something's cool. It's normally not cool." Emmett laughs.
"Finally someone in this family gets it." I sigh, making everyone laugh. But the break in the tension is short lived. They all hear it a split second before me. Sometimes I wish I was fully vampire like the rest of them. The footsteps are getting closer. Mom and Dad go out to greet them, while the rest of us stand up, except for Emmett and Jake, who I can see out of the corner of my eye, exchanging a look as if to say 'why the heck is everyone standing?' Boys can be idiots sometimes.
Mom and Dad come back in a few seconds later, with Demetri close behind and what must be Alexa next to him, clinging on to him for dear life. She looks terrified. I guess I would be too if I was entering a house full of strangers, all of whom happen to be supernatural monsters of some sort. She's definitely a hybrid. She has that face of an angel thing we're apparently all known for.
"Everyone, this is Alexa. Alexa, this is our family." Mom says, introducing her.
"It's so nice to meet you sweetheart, I'm Esme." Grandma says, about to pull her into a hug, but then thinking better of it and just giving her shoulder a motherly squeeze.
"I'm Emmett. The cool uncle." He says, still not getting up from his place on the armchair.
"I'm Carlisle." Grandpa says, giving her that warm smile that always feels like home.
"I'm Rosalie. We're so glad you're here." Rose says, clearly holding back the urge to pick her up and hold her as if she were a giant infant.
"I'm Jake. I don't drink blood." Jake jokes.
"Guys she's not going to remember all of this." Alice chastises.
"Esme, Emmet, Carlisle, Rosalie, Jake, he doesn't drink blood, and of course, I've already met Bella and Edward." Alexa replies, pointing at everyone as she says their name, shocking all of us.
"Really Alice? Even after seven years you still haven't learned not to underestimate a hybrid?" Jake laughs, throwing his arm around my waist. I guess she didn't surprise everyone.
"Alice." Alexa adds, pointing at Alice.
"I have been corrected." Alice beams.
"I'm Jasper." My uncle says, giving a polite nod, Mr. Manners as always.
"And I'm Renesmee. But you can call me Nessie or Ness, everyone else does. Much to my mother's chagrin." I joke. "I'm-"
"Like me." Alexa finishes, smiling at me, and loosening her grip on Demetri just a little. She's still definitely a bit tense, but I can see her shoulders start to relax.
"You must be starving." Grandma says.
"I could eat." Alexa replies.
"I think we have some bags in here. I know Nessie always preferred the bags." Grandma rambles, going to the fridge to take out the blood bags we've been storing for their arrival. As soon as Alexa sees one her face falls.
"I was actually thinking just some fruit or something." This girl is full of surprises.
"Oh." Grandma says, clearly taken aback like the rest of us.
"It's okay if you don't have any. I'm actually not that hungry." Alexa says, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"I think we've got some steaks in here for Jacob, but I'm sure he won't mind." Grandma says, turning back to the fridge.
"Have at 'em" Jake says.
"Thank you so much, but I'm actually a vegetarian." Alexa sputters, causing everyone to stop. Emmett's the first to laugh, before Dad joins in and soon the whole family is practically falling over with giggles.
"What's funny?" Alexa asks, turning to Demetri confused.
"I have no idea." He answers her.
"It's a family joke." Grandpa explains, able to pull himself out of his giggle fit quicker than the rest of us. "We don't drink human blood here. Just animal blood. So we call ourselves vegetarians."
"But vegetarians don't eat animals." Alexa replies.
"That's why it's a joke mini hybrid." Emmett says, already giving Alexa her first nickname.
"Sorry, I grew up in a tower." Alexa responds, leaving it a second before smiling, letting us all in on her joke. Again the whole family erupts in laughter.
"Well you just let me know what you like sweetheart, and I will make sure this fridge is fully stocked by tonight." Esme says, squeezing Alexa's shoulder again. "And you two help yourselves to the bags in the fridge."
"Yeah, otherwise you'll have wolf boy on you." Emmett says, gesturing his head towards Jake.
"I don't drink blood either." Alexa mutters as quickly as she can, as if she's hoping we might not understand the words. But judging by the shocked looks on everyone's faces, we all understood.
"What?" Rosalie asks first, a bit too bluntly. For someone with as much poise as her, she doesn't always have the most tact.
"Well I figure, since Jake doesn't drink it I'm not the only one, right?" Alexa replies hopefully.
"Jake's not a vampire." Rosalie responds.
"Neither am I." Alexa counters.
"Yes, but you are half vampire. And Jake is, well sort of the opposite of a vampire." Grandpa explains. "Forgive us, we don't mean to come off as rude, you're just the first hybrid we've encountered who doesn't drink blood."
"There are other hybrids? More than just us?" Alexa asks, looking at me.
"A few, I'm sure they'd love to meet you." I smile at her. Trying to break the awkward surprised silence. I can see Demetri looking at my dad as if he's hoping he can read his thoughts. Although I'm sure Mom's pulled him into her shield as well. She said it might be necessary to keep it up for a while once Alexa's here. I guess I can't blame her, the way Demetri described her ability it was as if she was Helen of Troy or something. And we all know how that ended.
"Ness, how about you go show Alexa your room." Dad says, picking up on Demetri's cues without the need to read his mind.
"Great, Jake can come too. It appears they have something in common." I joke, grabbing Jake's hand and watching my father's face contort into a rather unamused expression. "Come on Alexa, I'll show you our room. If you don't like the colour, we can change it." I whisper jokingly, knowing it's loud enough for Dad to hear.
She reluctantly lets go of Demetri, giving him one last look almost as if to ask permission before she follows me. He just smiles at her and that's apparently all the response she needs before she heads towards the stairs behind me and Jake.
"Don't worry we're the fun ones anyway." Jake laughs, trying to make her feel a bit more at ease. I can see it work a little. He's always been good with people.
"So that's your bed and this one's mine." I tell her once we're in our bedroom. "But we can move the furniture around if you want."
"No, this is great. I wouldn't want to intrude." Alexa says.
"Oh, you're not. I just moved in yesterday." I explain.
"Isn't this your family's house?" She asks me.
"My parents live in a cottage down the road. It's cozy, but it's…" I struggle to find the right words.
"Not exactly sound proof." Jake finishes for me.
"I don't understand." She looks confused, apparently not picking up on Jake's none too subtle innuendo.
"Let's just say it was getting a bit cramped." I explain. "So I moved in here, so we could be roommates."
"You wanted to share a room with me?" She asks, surprised.
"Why wouldn't I?"I respond.
"It's just, there were two girls in the tower with me and they didn't seem to enjoy my company very much." She explains, avoiding eye contact.
"What do you mean?" I press.
"It's nothing, three girls stuck in a room together, there's bound to be some tension, right?" She says, trying to minimise the situation, although I'm sure there's more to it than she's letting on.
"Well, it's not going to be like that this time. You're not stuck anywhere. There is a whole world, right outside that window, and we are going to explore it all. It'll be amazing. You'll see." I smile. She returns it with her own, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes.
"So what did Carlisle mean when he said you're the opposite of a vampire?" Alexa asks Jake.
"You caught that." Jake replies. "Well…" He starts, oh no. I know where this is going.
"Jake, don't you dare do it in here." I scold him.
"Why not?" He asks, a devilish grin lighting up his face.
"Because last time you did it inside you broke three picture frames and a lamp." I glare.
"I said I was sorry." He replies a bit sheepishly.
"The lamp was from the Byzantine Empire." I tell Alexa, making her laugh a bit.
"It lived a long and healthy life." Jake defends himself.
"It's not a party trick Jacob." I say, pulling out his full name for emphasis.
"You're starting to sound like Sam." He accuses me.
"Please I'm not that much of a buzz kill. Besides, I'm much prettier." I roll my eyes.
"Your beauty was never in question. Just your sense of adventure." He goads me.
"Nice try. That's not going to work. You know I'm ten times more adventurous than all the other imprints combined." I say confidently.
"Imprints?" Alexa asks, confused by the word.
"It's difficult to explain." Jake says, his guard going up a bit. It's not exactly his favourite concept to explain, especially not when people have a hard time seeing past our history. But something tells me Alexa would get it.
"Does it have to do with this party trick?" She asks, already putting two and two together.
"It's not a party trick. Don't encourage him." I tell her.
"So I'm guessing you two are together?" She laughs.
"What gave it away?" Jake jokes.
"The bickering. There were couples on the boat bickering just like you." Alexa explains, not understanding that he was teasing.
"It was kind of a rhetorical question." Jake smiles.
"Right. I've read about those." She replies, her cheeks going red again.
"You don't have much experience with people." I say. I meant to phrase it like a question, but it came out as a statement.
"Is it that obvious?" She asks.
"Give it a month and it won't be." Jake reassures her. "If you're anything like Ness, you'll have the whole family wrapped around your finger by the end of the week." He says, wrapping an arm around my waist.
"Jake." I roll my eyes, lightly hitting his shoulder.
"How long have you two been together?" She asks us. I can feel Jake stiffen a bit next to me.
"You'd think we'd have figured out how to field that question by now." He mumbles.
"Officially about five months." I say, trying to sound diplomatic.
"And unofficially?" She must notice the awkward looks on both our faces as she realises, "Right, this is part of that imprint party trick thing."
"She needs to see it eventually." Jake says, looking for an excuse to show off.
"Fine, but not in here. Outside. And bring a full spare set of clothes this time. The whole world does not need to see you half naked." I tell him, pretending to be bossy. I know a large population of the world probably would like to see him half naked. But that large population is not his girlfriend and I am.
"I'm sorry, what?" Alexa's eyes widen, no doubt startled by the possibility of partial nudity.
"Don't worry, we're not trying to corrupt you" I laugh. "Unless you consider consorting with shape shifters scandalous, which I guess most of our kind do. In that case we're definitely trying to corrupt you."
"Shape shifters?" She asks. We're really expanding her vocabulary today, I realise.
"This is kind of one of those show don't tell scenarios." Jake says, flashing a grin that can really only be described as wolfish, before jumping out the window.
"Come on." I say, grabbing Alexa's hand and following him to the ground. She doesn't land quite as gracefully as I would have expected.
"You okay?" Jake asks, reaching a hand out to help steady her.
"Yeah, I'm just not used to that. And you are incredibly warm." She says, staring down at his hand.
"That's one way of putting it." He says cheekily.
"Are we doing this or what?" I ask, trying to knock his overinflated alpha ego down a peg.
"You ready?" He grins at Alexa.
"I'd ask for what, but somehow I don't think it would make a difference." She says, he just flashes her a bigger smile before shifting into his wolf. "What is that?" Alexa exclaims, startled.
"That's Jake." I say, as he comes over and starts nuzzling against my hand.
"But that's a wolf. And Jake was… He's a werewolf?" Alexa pieces it together.
"Not exactly. He's better at explaining it than I am." I tell her.
"He can turn back into a human right?" She asks.
"Yeah, but that's where the spare set of clothes comes in." I explain, picking up a piece of his now shredded shirt, as he runs into the woods to shift back.
"Right." She says, turning her back to the woods to give him some privacy, even though he's well out of our line of vision. "Is that normal around here?"
"Let's just say it's not abnormal." I answer.
"So there are others like him?" She responds.
"Quite a few. You'll meet them all later I'm sure." I promise.
"Isn't that kind of intimidating?" She sounds nervous.
"No more intimidating than a family of vampires." I try to reassure her. "Don't worry. Seth likes everyone and Leah doesn't like anyone, so you already know you'll have one friend and one enemy."
"That's supposed to make me not worry?" She replies
"Well, at least you know everyone else will fall somewhere along that spectrum." I joke.
"You have the most absurd rational logic I've ever heard." She tells me, shaking her head.
"Why thank you." I smile, giving a little bow.
"You can't blame her." Jake says, coming up behind us. "Have you met her family?"
"He has a point." I agree.
"But also, don't listen to her, we're definitely more intimidating than a family of vampires." He teases.
"Vampires don't roll over for a belly rub when you scratch behind their ears." I laugh, looping my arm through Alexa's and leading her back into the house.
"That's just Seth." Jake calls out before running to catch up. We're all laughing as we enter the living room and for the first time, it appears as if she might actually be letting her guard down. Until we see everyone's faces. I know this look. It's the we need to talk look. And my whole family is currently wearing it. This can't be good.