Chapter 2

Nessie POV

Jacob grasped for my hand as we walked out of Charlene's house in the dark night. I willingly let him have it; my heart, my mind, my body, my soul, everything of mine automatically belonged to him, without him I was nothing. I finally understood my parents' uncontrollable need for each other; just like my mother had described that day when she'd sat with me on my bed for the whole day and told me "The Story". Like my father's thirst for my mother's blood, but this was different. Jake was just like wine next to water for me, the alcoholic. I was thirsty, not for his blood but for him. Similarly, my hobby for him. Nobody else held any appeal to me anymore. Sometimes, it felt like I was a werewolf as well, and that I had imprinted on him as well.

"Those were some mean girls," Jake commented casually. "But I'll say, Nessie, you did a pretty good job of warning them off, especially the flirty blonde one, Charlene, you say? She should know I'll never see anyone but you."

My heart was hammering in my chest. I knew Jake loved me, and I loved him as well, but my family wasn't ready to let me go (okay, so I'm only 5, but you see my point, right?) and still treated me like a child; "Daddy's Little Girl". It's very annoying, and I have to keep reminding them that I'm thirteen years old, actually. And that I can take care of myself fairly well. But my heart started pounding every single time Jake told me romantic things. Like, hello, I used to watch Romeo and Juliet and other romance movies and fantasize that I was the female lead and Jake was the male lead. I still remember that day as clearly as though it has just happened (courtesy of super-vampire memory, Thanks Dad!). That day, me and Jake, everyone else was out hunting, us two just messing around in the Cullens' garden, beneath the yew tree he'd first told me that he loved me. The day before my thirteenth birthday, yes. Dad had been furious…well, really, what did you expect?

"Charlene Scherable is known for her, uh, fashion sense, supposedly so, but I guess she really does have fashion sense. I don't see how I, on the other hand, have any "fashion sense" at all. I mean, it's just 'cos my two aunts dress me up like their life-size Barbie doll, right?" I was kidding, I didn't think Jake would like a girl who hung out in the mall all day (Refer to Breaking Dawn, while Jake was looking for his imprint)

Jake laughed and squeezed my hand. I looked at the colour; contrasting but they were in harmony, all the same. Strong, muscular russet stretched protectively over thin, glowing porcelain. "Yeah, really Ness, I'm not some girly-go-all who's all thumbs-up for the malls. Thankfully you're not a mall-girl, but otherwise I would have complied, imprint's request, you know? And, besides, I wouldn't be able to stand being away from you, even just for a second. I can't wait till you're grown up, Nessie. Then we would g-" He cut off abruptly. I looked at him in surprise.

"What were you going to say, Jacob Black?" I questioned him, running my eyes over his body quickly like a detective. "Somethin' that's gonna help with de crime…"

"Uh, um, nothing," Jake protested, leaning back. He'd cropped his hair short just recently, and it didn't fall over his shoulders when he moved like the way I'd been used to. "Okay, here's the thing, Nessie. You know how werewolves and vampires are supposed to be enemies, right? And basically, you're half."

I narrowed my eyes and stepped away from him. "Where is this conversation heading, my most noble gentleman? Perhaps you would like to inform the nice lady of anything and everything, just empty your mind out, you know?"

"So, I was thinking, if we're gonna have a little baby of our own, then what would he or she be like? Quarter-vampire, quarter-werewolf and half-human? That's really an odd combination. Technically a quarter an enemy of himself or herself. Paul's gonna crack up. Hey, Ness, would you fancy a little boy or a little girl?"

"Both are fine," I smiled and patted my stomach. "As long as he or she's ours." In my mind, I pictured a young girl, maybe about seventeen, standing around casually. She had smooth russet skin, luscious bronze curls that hung to her waist and very dark brown eyes, so dark they were almost black, a shade between my brown eyes and Jake's black eyes. Her lips were full and reddish-pink, she smiled to reveal two rows of perfectly white and gleaming teeth. Then she stood out into the sun, and her russet skin glowed softly, just like mine. Her eyebrows were fine and a sharp, piercing black. Her eyelashes were long and they fluttered slightly and naturally, not at all like Charlene had. She had a ski-jump nose and it was slightly pointed, like Jake's. She had lovely curves and in all the right places, but deep down in my mind I just knew that our child wouldn't have the ability to transform into a wolf like Jake could, but perhaps he or she would have a "vampire special ability". Who knew? Anyway, the girl was…beautiful…

"Hey," I teased Jake. "If Dad knew you were talking about having kids with a thirteen-year-old, he might just kick you through a wall. And especially since this "thirteen-year-old" just happens to be his daughter and really only a five-year-old."

Jake gave me a sweet, innocent look, and my heart practically melted (if you don't mind cliché, because I mean it). "Then both of us, we don't think about it. Or ask Bel-I mean, your mother, to mentally shield us. But obviously Plan A would work more effectively, since being Bella, she'd probably know something was going on."

"You make it sound so simple," I retorted, smacking his arm playfully. "It's hard to control your thoughts, you know. And Dad's got a knack for distractions."

Just then, a teen, judging by her looks to be maybe fifteen or so, slightly older than me, shimmied up to Jake. She wore a devil costume. Her unnaturally red hair with black streaks in it was piled on top of her head with a long dark hairpin poking through it and helping it to stay. A few strands that had broken loose hung wispily around her heart-shaped face. Her skin was a shade of pale, lily-white, and she was very pale for a human, like Mom had been. Her dress was cap-sleeved, with layers of bright red and black forming the sleeves. The top of her dress, until her waist, was bright ketchup red, and the rest of her dress was black with scarlet ruffles and frills. Upon her head was a band, strapped together with two pointy red figures, just like the classic costume. Her shoes were glossy black flats, and she also wore a pair of red diamond earrings. She had lipstick so red and bright that if one were to rub ketchup and chili sauce onto her lips, nobody would notice a difference. Her false eyelashes were long, very long, and unnecessarily curled up at the ends. Her cheeks were flaming pink, in deep contrast to her pale skin, like mine but mine was completely natural. Her flat ice-blue eyes had been darkened significantly by kohl, and lots of it. Her eyelids had been drawn and they were a dark green, lightening around the edges until it disappeared. Excessive makeup lady, and I hated these.

"Hey, hottie," she said in a creamy voice, which is what I call the "flattering sugar-voice". "Fancy having a little night stroll with me? It's a cold night, I know, but since you're a hottie I know you'll keep me hot, as in, warm." She laughed at her own joke, but neither Jake nor I moved a muscle.

"Oh!" she cried out suddenly, making us all jump. "How could I have forgotten? Please forgive me for my utter stupidity! I haven't even introduced myself yet! I'm Leanne. Leanne Teadfrow."

Jake rolled his eyes at me. In response, I whispered to him, "Why did you have to be so…attractive?"

"Oops, I can't tell you, it's a secret," Jake told me. "If I told you, you'd go blabbering around to the other guys and they'd start following my top-secret methods. Anyway, in short, it's called charisma, natural or not. By the way, Nessie, got anything to scare this Leanne fellow off? I'm really not interested."

I thought for a moment. "Leanne Teadfrow, isn't it?" I asked loudly.

Leanne seemed surprised. "Oh, yes. Hi, I didn't notice you there." She forced a smile, but I saw through her pretense. I didn't need Dad's mind-reading powers to know what Leanne was thinking. "Who are you, anyway? I'm sorry not to have introduced myself earlier," Leanne continued. Unlike Charlene, Regina and Kayla, she didn't make her dislike for me openly shown, even if Charlene and I had known each other even before our clash.

"I'm Renesmee Carlie Cullen, and this is my boyfriend, Jacob Black. He's, um, very tall for his age." I noticed Leanne's eyes widening at the sound of my name. "Is there a problem, Leanne?"

Leanne shook her head, still gaping. "Oh, as in the Cullens? Your father's Dr. Carlisle Cullen, right? My mom works as a nurse in the same hospital as your dad."

The humans would freak out if they knew that Carlisle was really my grandfather, so he and Esme acted like my parents. I was Bella, my mother's younger sister, and we were reunited after having spent years apart while I was studying in England, or so we told the humans if they ever asked. "So, your mother is Eva Teadfrow, is she? My…father mentioned her before." Eva Teadfrow was a single mother who flirted with him. Esme hadn't gotten the least bit pissed, and of that fact I was pretty surprised. I guess Leanne had inherited her mother's "flirting" trait. Ha, ha.

Leanne brightened. "What did he say about Mom?"

I shrugged. "Nothing much, just mentioned she was a kinda good nurse and, above all, that she seemed busy most of the time. It's not anything special, what did you expect?" At my words, Leanne's expression darkened and she took a step backwards.

"Well, anyway," Leanne told me quickly, seemingly not allowing herself to look at Jake. "I was hoping to meet one of the Cullens in person, and here you are? Is it my lucky day, or what?" She shivered. "Not that Halloween is supposed to be lucky. I'm passing on a message from Mom, tell your father Dr. Carlisle Cullen that he needs to fill in for Dr. Benjamin Kastor next Wednesday; because he's going to look after his wife, she's pregnant."

I frowned, but quickly cleared my face when I noticed Leanne eyeing me strangely. Grandpa Carlisle had planned to go hunting with Grandma Esme, Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper on Wednesday. He'd have to go later, then; from today until Wednesday, his schedule was all filled up and he had some duties at night, only I didn't know what. Luckily it was Grandpa Carlisle and not anybody else, because if they hadn't gone hunting and were near the humans in the hospital…too thirsty already. "Oh, er, thanks Leanne, I'll…um, be sure to tell my gran-my father." Leanne shot a funny glance at me before jogging off, surprisingly so in her "devil" costume.

"So, Nessie, any trick-or-treating for you, then?" Jake asked me as soon as Leanne had gone.

Out of Charlene's house, I felt scared all over again. I didn't want to go anywhere except for home, but how could I find a way of telling that to Jake and not let him think that I was a coward?

"Thanks, but…no thanks," I said unevenly, my heart thumping. "I want to go home…please?"

Jake didn't get the message. "That Charlene Scherable girl, she won't come back again, I'm sure. It's Halloween night, everyone's out partying, why don't you want to join in? I mean, not like I'm forcing you into something you don't want to do, but it's really not like you, Ness. You're usually very into parties and stuff like that. Are you feeling well or is there something else wrong?" His face was creased with concern and one of his big smooth russet hands automatically traced my forehead, searching for signs of fever.

"Jake, pleeeeeease don't tell anyone…" I must not hide anything from him now, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't. Everything seemed so difficult at this moment.

"Yes?" He leaned in closer to me, so that his arm was gently touching mine.

I took a deep breath and inhaled slowly. "Okay, here's the thing. What with the cold night air, the utter darkness of the night even with the lit pumpkins lining the streets, the spooky and bloody decorations…I'm scared. Take me home. There's nothing else to do. You're right. Everyone's out partying. There's no other place on earth right now that has none of its inhabitants outside in Halloween costumes. I only know that my family isn't; they're vampires themselves! So, take me home, and everything will be fine. If my family asks, just tell them that I felt a bit sick, okay? Grandpa Carlisle will run all sorts of tests on me, since he's a doctor, but that's fine with me. And, most importantly, don't, don't, don't, think about anything like this, because Dad will be very likely to find out, and I don't want anybody to think that I'm a coward. Is this fine with you?" I shut myself up. It was clear that I had already started blabbering.

Jake smoothed my unruly bronze curls and spoke in soft tones to me. "Nessie, sweetie, nobody's gonna think that you're a coward. Everybody's been through this stage, at one time or another. You're still young. You'll grow out of this soon enough, and then you'll be able to join in all the celebrations and parties. Won't that be nice? You can't expect to live a lie with your family forever. And, at any rate, it's impossible not to think about it, sooner or later. It could be either one of us who slipped. Nessie, I'm not trying to…foil your plan or something like that but you have to understand, I don't think it's going to work…"