Timeless, Alaska.

A small town near the Canadian border, due east of Fairbanks. The population barely reaches 1,000. There are sunless winters and moonless summers in Timeless. The temperature rarely rises above 70 degrees in July, and always falls below zero in January. The sun is a rare entity.

Timeless.

As my family pulled into our new driveway, I gave the town a different name. Hell. There was nothing for miles, except for the forest. And, of course, the high school, which my grandfather, Carlisle, made sure to stop by on our way. I wasn't aware that a town this size could have a school.

I pulled my biggest suitcase out of the trunk of my father's Volvo. The sheer weight of it—and I'm pretty strong—nearly caused me to lose my footing. Emmett, my uncle, saw my struggle and grabbed the suitcase from me to carry it in his arms, along with what seemed to be every single possession he owned. Emmett was the strongest of us. I suppose I was the weakest.

I didn't thank Emmett for relieving me of my burden; I was too wrapped up in my own self-pity. My mother took note of this. "You've been huffing and puffing the entire ride from New Hampshire," she said. "What's going on?"

She was carrying about a dozen of her own heavy boxes into the house as she spoke to me. I followed her inside, grabbing a couple cases of my own. We came to my room first, and I set my stuff down on the floor to speak to her. "This whole moving thing seems kind of pointless," I said.

"You know we can't stay in one place for more than a few years," she said.

"That's not what I meant." She and Dad had just gotten degrees in Biology from Dartmouth University—no easy feat. And now they were going to do high school again? And I was supposed to pose as their sister? This whole human farce we put up was far too elaborate to make any sense. There was a chance that I was projecting my anger at not having any human friends—if a human saw me go from newborn to teenager in four years, they'd know something was up.

"I know you were happy in our last home," Mom said. "And in Forks."

Forks. We'd only lived there for a short time when I was little, before Dartmouth came calling. That's where Jacob's family lived.

Jacob.

"Ah, I see now." A new voice came into the room.

"Stay out of my head, Dad," I demanded.

He was correct in his assumption, though. Jacob's absence was the true reason for my newfound petulance. I'd never been away from him for so long before—a whole week. I wasn't sure if I could survive, and I was immortal. I needed Jacob with me, and it was a need I felt in the deepest pit of my soul. Not as a lover—he didn't think of me in that way—but as a best friend who was so much more than a friend, so much more than even a brother.

My dad groaned so lightly that I pretended not to hear. He often did that when Jacob entered my mind, perhaps repulsed by the intensity of my thoughts. I didn't ask what his problem was. He and Jacob were friends, though theirs was more of a "friendly enemy" kind of relationship.

"She's missing him," Dad said out loud to Mom.

"Shut up!" I commanded. The last thing I wanted was for either of them sit down and talk with me about this. I'd rather wallow for a week until he came. Wallow…and worry. What if being away from us caused Jacob to stop phasing? That would mean that he'd become mortal, and if Jacob were mortal, he would die one day. If I couldn't stand a week away from him, how would I deal with an eternity?

Dad sighed, and I wondered why I hadn't learned to shield myself from him yet. They hadn't taught me. "You know that's not how it works," he said to me, speaking of werewolf, or shapeshifter, magic. "He'd have to be away for years in order to stop phasing."

Mom wrapped me in a hug, clearly understanding my dilemma. I hugged back, patting her on the shoulder as I did. The gesture made me feel a little better, but the sting of Jacob's absence didn't go away. That was beyond my control.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm being a brat, I know."

Mom—Bella, which I would have to start calling her now—tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Sweetie, you don't have to apologize for being in love." She smiled and her eyes travelled toward my father.

"No, no, no, no," I said quickly. Maybe she didn't understand quite as well as I thought. "I'm not…in love with him, I just…I love him. A lot. As a friend."

Dad, or Edward, laughed and stepped behind me to give me a neck rub. "You don't have to apologize for that, either," he said. "Though he might."

I abruptly turned around to face him, appalled by his animosity. I'd heard it before, but it was tiring. "He loves me. He wants what's best for me."

"Of that I have no doubt," Edward said, tapping his temple. He looked into Jacob's thoughts more often than mine, I guess to make sure my friend's intentions were honest. I didn't understand, though, if Edward trusted Jacob, why Edward would have a problem with the way our relationship was developing.

A new body appeared in the room—my aunt Alice had raced up here to join us. "All done," she said, referring to the move-in process.

I was a little surprised. "Took you all of five minutes," I said. I'd seen her do a lot more in two.

"Emmett and Rosalie delayed us," she said, and suddenly I understood. Those two weren't exactly discreet about their relationship. You would think that since they had forever to do all that they could hold it off for a few seconds, but Emmett and Rose weren't like that. They gave in to their passions—well, except for the desire for human blood—whenever those passions called.

Not that the rest of them were shy of affection. My mom and dad were sickening to watch at times.

"I came up to offer Ness her starting high school gift," Alice said.

I looked at my parents. My dad smirked; obviously, he had known that this was coming. My mom must have, as well, because she didn't react with any surprise; she only held onto Edward's arm and waited for a reaction from me.

"Everyone else is starting high school, too," I said. And we would all pretend to be foster brothers and sisters. At the same time, all of them, but not me, would be passionately in love with one of their "siblings." Our lives would go on like this until the end of time. Of course, their would be respite between schools—it wasn't a complete nightmare. But if we were going to live among humans, we'd have to live as humans.

"Ah…but it's your first time," Alice said. "That calls for a special occasion."

Emmett came bursting into the room, something huge, as big as he was, in his arms. It was a long fixture, onyx-colored wood, coated in a silky finish. It took me a minute to realize what it was: a new baby grand piano. Jasper came up behind him, carrying the bench that went with the instrument.

I was absolutely floored as they set my gift down. I stared at the piano for a moment, taking in its marvel and beauty. The overall black was mixed with gold in the pedals and hammers. The keys were an angelic white; they had never been touched, as far as I could tell. Not a fingerprint was visible—and I had good vision for those kinds of flaws.

"You like it," Alice said, asking for my confirmation.

"It's…uh…I…" I couldn't find the words I was searching for, perhaps because they didn't exist.

"She loves it," Edward spoke for me. That word was completely inadequate. Love was a trivial term. I believed in something greater—and that something was exactly how I'd describe this moment.

I didn't notice that the rest of the family had entered. I didn't wait to be asked; I just sat down on the bench and began to play. I played the first song my father had taught me, just a year ago, a lullaby he had written for my mother. I couldn't see how closely everyone was watching or listening; I only knew how…right…it felt for my fingers to once again be gliding across a keyboard, except this time it was the keyboard of my own piano…all mine.

I'd have to compose sometime, I decided. Not a lullaby. A hymn, or a psalm. Something that would characterize absolute devotion. Something to describe the way I felt the way words could not. The way I felt about my family, my parents, my friends…my Jacob.

When the song had finished, I was greeted by a silence that I hadn't realized was ever there. My parents stood behind me in awe, their arms around each other's shoulders. Alice and Jasper were ending some sort of playful dance. Carlisle and Esme were embracing tightly. The only ones who were absent were Rosalie and Emmett—and I could guess what they were up to.

As I stood up, it occurred to me that I would not be the baby of the family for much longer. Even though I was not six-years-old yet chronologically, I had the body (and mind) of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old. In less than a year, I would stop growing forever, like them. Unlike them, though: there was blood flowing through my veins, and there always would be. I had a beating heart, and a body that would always be able to change when it needed.

They thought I was lucky this way. I didn't think of it like that. All my human-ness meant was that I had a layer of vulnerability that they didn't have.

Arms encroached around me…Edward's, I realized. He had heard the last part of my self-dialogue. Blood rushed to my cheeks in embarrassment. He tried to give me privacy, but sometimes I didn't make it easy for him. Alice was trying to teach me the best ways to shield thoughts from him, but that was difficult to do.

I gestured toward the piano. "Thanks guys," I said. "It's beautiful. The best gift you could have gotten me." Well…the second best.

That I'd trade a baby grand piano for a week with Jacob when we already had forever said a lot about me. And yet I insisted we were just friends. We were. Jacob had known me since I was a baby; he thought of me as a little sister.

Edward didn't mention that wee bit of ungratefulness. One of the best things about him was that he never got on to me for thinking bad things.

I went to feel the keys when Alice hugged me, causing me to grunt instinctively. "I'm so glad you love it," she said. "I was worried."

Alice could see the future, so she always found the right gifts for everyone. But she couldn't see me. She couldn't see werewolves, either. I was not naïve enough to believe those facts had nothing to do with each other.

She looked around at my room, still full of boxes. "You should get moved in," she said. She faced my father. "You're not as fast as you used to be." That was a joke. My father was still the fastest vampire out of all of us. He proved it every time we had a baseball game.

My parents raced to see who could get the most done in the shortest amount of time. I followed, but I was in no hurry. They had their room done in just over a minute; I was done in 15. Not that I wasn't fast like they were—that was one of the abilities Edward had passed on to me—but it was easier to concentrate on daydreams when I wasn't concentrating on speed.

When I was finished, I lied back in my bed and gave myself fully over to those daydreams. It was late, and I was tired… I thought about the time the Volturi came after us…or, me, to be exact…how safe it felt on Jacob's back…the wolf's unspoken promise to protect me…the horror we both felt for my parents…the way I clung tightly to his fur coat, never wanting to let go…

I hung on as the sun fell and it grew dark outside my window—as sleep greeted me, I was still clutching the russet-colored wolf as if my entire life depended on it.

----

I had two days to get used to Timeless before school started. To say the least, that was an impossible task—especially since I needed a fair amount of sleep, unlike the rest of my family, who could keep exploring into the night if they wanted to.

I spent those two days getting supplies for classes; Carlisle took all of us. I didn't get much, just some notebooks, pencils, and folders. I figured it would be easier to get the rest of the supplies as I needed them. It wouldn't be a problem in a town this size. There weren't any chain stores in Timeless, only a few privately-owned shops down Main Street—one of the three roads in town.

When I woke up on the first day of school, I found some clothes that I'd never seen before hanging on my closet doorn knob, along with a note. Wear these today, it said in Alice's handwriting.

I sighed, examining the outfit. She had left a silky green blouse, v-neck, that ruffled and folded in the sides, and a pair of new light jeans—thank goodness for that, because I didn't wear skirts—that I could tell right away would fit snugly, even with my skinny rear. On the floor underneath them was a pair of black pumps, certain to add five inches to my height.

I put them on and looked at myself in the full-length mirror in my room. I hated to admit it—but I did look kind of good. Hot, even. I had my thick, out-of-control, golden-auburn colored curls tied back so that they wouldn't hide my pale face. Normally one of the shortest people in the room, the shoes gave me average height. The blouse accentuated the curves of my torso—I was lean, but not too skinny. The jeans made it look as if I wasn't all skin and bones in my legs.

I wondered how Alice had an uncanny ability to pick the perfect outfit for everyone she ran across, even if she couldn't see their future. She had probably laid out my mom's outfit, as well.

Regret passed through me briefly. I would have wanted Jacob to see me in this. Then I wondered why I wanted such a thing, when it was clear that we were just friends. It seemed as if my whole family rebelled against the idea, like they believed there was more to us. I never let my mind go to the point of imagining what it would be like to have Jacob as more than a friend; I didn't know whether or not I'd want more if I allowed myself those thoughts.

I smelled bacon and eggs downstairs. I grabbed my bookbag and was in the kitchen in two seconds, grabbing a plate. Carlisle was cooking for me. Breakfast was the only human meal I ate everyday. My taste buds didn't adjust to the new day until late morning, so the thought of eating at seven didn't make me cringe like it did at night.

Carlisle shuffled two strips of bacon and an egg sunny-side-up onto my plate. As soon as I sat down, Rosalie was in the seat next to me.

"I see Alice has taken care of you, too," she said.

I nodded. Rose was wearing a red shirt, cut low and stretching down her thights, dark blue jeans, and red heels. She was the epitome of beauty. "You, too?" I asked.

"I can't stop her when she wants to play dress-up," she said.

The juices in the bacon I was eating were pleasing to my tongue. I couldn't really taste the flavoring, not all that well, but I liked feeling the hot liquid as it made its way down my throat. Rosalie watched me eat, most likely envious of my ability to do just that.

"I'm riding with you and Emmett today," I said. It was a statement, not a question. I didn't want to ride with my mom and dad, and that left either Alice or Rose. I loved them both, but Rose, who had grown up as sort of a nanny for me, was my best friend other than Jacob.

"Of course," she agreed.

Emmett came in, rushing behind Rose and giving her a shoulder rub. They kissed quickly but passionately right in front of me. I pretended to make a gagging noise to get their attention. They broke the kiss, and Emmett slid his way over to me. I had just finished my meal.

"You don't like that much, do ya?" he teased me. He grabbed Rosalie's arm and she stood up. Right there, they started making out. I could even see the profile of her tongue rolling around in his cheek. Gross.

I stood up and walked to the sink, not even looking at them.

"Eww…get a room." Alice was here. Rosalie and Emmett, their plan for making me lose my breakfast having failed, broke apart. Alice bypassed them, speeding straight to me. "You look absolutely stunning. I'm a genius, aren't I? Just say it."

I rolled my eyes. Best to humor her. "Yes, you are a genius."

"Everyone at school's going to wonder how you're so beautiful," she said.

"I'll make sure to mention your name," I joked.

"You're going to thank me for this." She winked at me, which almost always meant there was a surprise in store.

I braced myself. "What did you do?" I asked, making sure there was a tone of disapproval in my voice. Alice liked surprises a little bit too much. She liked…occasions.

She tried to give me her best I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about look—in fact, it might have been her best—and she automatically gave herself away. I knew that something was going on. I also knew that she wasn't going to tell me what that something was.

Before I could prod her any further, Emmett joined us, holding up his car keys in his hands. "We're almost late," he said. Not that almost late meant anything to a vampire.

I looked at the model of car the keys he was holding was for. "You're driving the BMW?" I asked.

Rosalie grabbed the keys from his hands. "Absolutely not," she said. "My car, I drive."

Emmett acquiesced to Rosalie's demand, not that he had a choice. Taking his Jeep Wrangler to school would have been a bit less subtle, although not much. Rosalie drove more slowly than Emmett, but she was still a Cullen.

That was one thing about my family: we liked to be fast.

So it was no surprise that we made to school on time, just on time. I had to run (at a human speed) to my first class, Biology, which I shared with my parents. They had gotten to school in plenty of time to whisper sweet nothings to each other before the teacher even entered the room. Of course, they'd be lab partners. I sat down as far away from them as possible, but that didn't stop them from looking back and smiling and nodding at me all throughout class.

A nightmare, indeed. At least if I fell behind, they could help me. They were experts in this subject. I didn't plan to fall behind, though. I was going to do this high school thing the right way.

I couldn't get out of that class fast enough when the bell rang. I loved my parents, very much in fact, but talking to them like I was their sister would take some getting used to. I wasn't going to do that in public until I felt completely at ease with it.

I had trigonometry next; though I hadn't taken any math classes yet, Carlisle had some documents forged—Algebra was a bit under my level—and I was placed in this class. I didn't share the class with anyone in my family, so when I took my seat—at a table, for there were no desks in the classroom—I got a notebook out and wrote the date in the header of the first page. I barely noticed when someone sat down next to me and stared at me as I wrote. I didn't feel his gaze.

But I did feel his fingers tap me on the elbow, startling me. I looked up to see the offender of my personal space, and my eyes caught the familiar, beautiful face: the short-cropped black hair, the brown eyes, the olive-toned skin…

"Jacob!" I yelped, unable to contain my excitement. So this was what Alice's secret was this morning.

He was standing, about to sit down in the seat next to me. Before he could, though, I hopped up and attacked him with a ferocious hug. His gruntled "ugh" satisfied me, but not as much as how he squeezed me more tightly than anyone else ever did. His body was warm around mine—everyone else felt cold to me.

We sat down when we separated. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "I haven't actually finished high school yet."

"I thought you went to high school in La Push," I said, remembering the time I had lived in Forks. It seemed like so long ago.

"I did," he said. His voice turned into a whisper. "When you were born I took some time off, and I guess I never got back into the swing of things—and then you went to New Hampshire, so of course I had to go, but you weren't in school then, so I waited…"

"And now you're back here because you wanted to finish school with me?" I spoke in a hushed tone, as well. If anyone overheard us…well, they probably wouldn't figure out our story, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Pretty much, yeah."

The bell rang and the entire class was silent as the door clicked shut. The teacher was a man, probably in his sixties, with unkempt white hair accompanied by a shaggy mustache. I knew by my printed-out schedule that his name was Dr. Cooke (the Dr. part had not been lost on me), and he looked every bit the college mathematics professor-slash-Einstein clone. He smelled better than I imagined Einstein, though…or maybe that was just his blood.

Don't. Think. About. Blood, I scolded myself. I'd have plenty of time to hunt this weekend—until then, I just had to survive on a human diet.

Dr. Cooke outlined the class objectives. Trig seemed remarkably easy and boring to me; I skimmed through the text book and saw that I already knew most of what we were going to learn. After introducing the course, Dr. Cooke had all the students introduce themselves, though I hardly got the point of such formalities in a school this size. Didn't everyone already know everyone?

It didn't help that he pointed at me first. "You're a new face," he said. "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

Now public speaking was not my strong suit; in fact, it was my greatest fear. I didn't really need to use speech much around my family—long monologues were best thought, rather than spoken. But the method I used at home wouldn't fly here, leaving me with no choice.

"Um…my name is Renesmee," I started, and then paused as several students snickered.

"Nez-what?" asked a girl sitting in back. She was unnaturally pretty for a human, with her skinny frame, blonde (dyed, I noticed) hair, blue eyes, and packed-on make-up. Several other girls around her laughed at her interruption.

"Reh-nez-may," I clarified, keeping my voice soft. "Renesmee Cullen. I'm uh…" I searched my memory, "I'm sixteen. A junior. I'm from Washington. I was just put with a foster family here." I stopped, not knowing if I should continue, or what to say if I did. Thankfully, Dr. Cooke's eyes turned away from me, toward Jacob.

He was a lot more comfortable with words than I was. "I'm Jacob Black. I'm eighteen—" he winked at me as he said that lie—"I'm also a junior, took some time off for a couple years. I'm from Washington, as well. I moved here recently." I heard someone make a clicking sound with her mouth. I looked around, and saw that the blonde was staring intently at Jacob, smiling and licking her lips.

The rest of the class followed suit in their introductions. Almost all of them had lived in Timeless their whole lives, or somewhere close to it, which made me feel like even more of an outsider. I really did want to make human friends here, but I had a gut feeling that was going to be impossible.

The blonde was the last to speak. "I'm Veronica Grey," she said, training her eyes on Jacob. Jacob met them, as if they were having a conversation. "I'm sixteen and a junior. I've lived here all my life; my dad's the mayor of Timeless." Her lips curved up in a seductive smile. I was not blind to her intentions, and I felt a sharp pain rise up in my throat that was gone as soon as it had come. My eyes stung, but I had that under control in a few seconds as well.

I had known her less than an hour, and I already hated Veronica. I spent the rest of the class assuring myself that this hatred was not borne from jealousy.