Chapter 3 – Super Sweet Harley Davidson

"Are you sure about this, Renesmee?" My mother asked me, skeptically, as she braided my hair in the morning.

"Yes, mom! What is the big deal anyway? You don't have to be there, if the idea of a party bothers you so much! Geez!" I said, while rolling my eyes.

My mother can be such a party pooper. Sometimes I wonder if it makes her happy to see people miserable. It wouldn't kill her to look a little bit excited every once in a while.

"I'm just trying to protect you, Nessie, that's all." She said, while taking a big chunk of my hair and brushing it to the side. "We are different, and you can never be too careful. We must maintain our identities a secret for our own sake, and you can never forget that." She reminded me of the same crap I've been listening to my whole life.

"Mother, I know. Besides, if you really knew what was good for you, sixteen years ago, you wouldn't be with dad right now. It's not like he didn't warn you."

"Touché , Renesmee." My father interrupted us, coming to my rescue.

My mother glared at Edward, my father, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"So you're giving out the invitations today?" My mother asked, already knowing what was going on in my head. I simply nodded. My aunt Alice had brought the beautiful butterfly shaped, custom-made invitations back from the printer last night. They looked gorgeous. The stationery was dark purple, with a gold trim. A week ago, I also picked a theme for my party: masquerade. I was so excited this morning, I could burst in fruit flavor. Thanks to my mother's contagious apathy, my mood now had toned down at least a couple of notches. Uncle Jasper should definitely prescribe her some of his magical Prozac.

"I heard that!" She pinched me, guessing my last thought.

"I meant you to!" I snapped.

I couldn't wait to get to school, but I had to brush all those images and feelings from my mind, at least until my father dropped me off. For some reason, thoughts of boys and other embarrassing stuff still made me uncomfortable around my dad. Kids at school complain that their parents are "psychic", that they can tell when we they're being lied to. My friends really have no idea. Try being me for a day!

Soccer practice couldn't come soon enough. That's when I would see Derek and give him the invitation to my party. So far, my friend Roxanna was the only one who knew about my little crush. Being the new girl in town had its advantages. All the boys in school seemed to look at me and all the girls wanted to be my friend. To be quite frank, I don't mind the attention. I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin, more than the average teenage girl, I've been told. Perhaps because I have looked like a teenager for a while now. I'm still growing, but my appearance has remained almost unchanged for well over a year. Something I wasn't accustomed to before. My mother thinks my social skills are developed because of our constant effort to fit in whatever new culture we have been forced to adapt. My father has being doing this for a long time, but momma and I are sort of new to this. Well, she is. Moving from place to place is the only reality I know. Either way, getting to know people doesn't bother me. But like momma reminded me this morning: I can never be too careful. I can never let them too close to me. Kissing a boy for the first time is gonna be a real challenge, if you ask me.

"Derek!" I called him, once we were done with practice.

"Hey Nessie! What's up? Did you give the rest of the girls on your team a chance to score today?" He joked.

"Never." I teased.

I took the invitation from my backpack, the very last one. I handed him the purple envelope, careful not to let my skin touch his hand.

"This is the invitation to my birthday party. It's in three weeks." I said, quietly.

"Oh, I heard all about it. How old are you turning? Seventeen? Eighteen?" He asked.

"No, sixteen." I smiled, shyly.

"Wow, you look older!"

"I'll take that as compliment." I joked. Little did he know I've been hearing this my whole life. And now, more than ever, I just wanted it to mean a good thing. I didn't want Derek to think I was a freak.

"So, are you gonna come?" I asked.

"Of course!" He exclaimed. I could see he was about to pat me on the shoulder, and I only had about half a second to realize the danger of that situation and back up two steps away from him. I hated doing that to people. It was like I had the Ebola virus or something.

Just when I was about to act like a total idiot in front of him, I was saved by a comforting, familiar image. My dear friend, my Jake, waited for me across the field, in front of his brand new Harley bike. It totally caught me by surprise, since my parents never told me he would picking me up from school that afternoon.

I couldn't help stretching a smile from ear to ear. Not only was I so ecstatic to see my friend, but that would sure make Derek a little jealous. My best friend was drop-dead gorgeous. He was tall, and strong, and his dark russet skin was a perfect match to his short dark hair. And when he smiled, the most impossibly white teeth glistened in the sunlight. Jake was wearing a white t-shirt that hugged every muscle in his arms and chest. I wish I had a bigger crowd to witness that. No jock in school was up to par with my buddy. And Jake was also well-aware of that. He showed me my favorite smile in the whole world. A cross between smug and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on, but I loved it!

"I... I gotta go, Derek. See you later!" I stuttered, already walking towards Jake.

"Jake!" I cried, running to wrap my arms around him.

Jake embraced me with the same level of excitement. I could tell he was happy to see me. Ever since I moved back, I had only seen my friend a couple of times.

Although I had my back to the field, I could tell the remaining people there – including Derek – all stared at us. It was impossible not to notice someone like Jacob.

"Your friends are probably thinking I'm here to kidnap you." He said, sarcastically.

I shrugged. "They probably think you're my bad-influence boyfriend, here to corrupt my innocence." I joked.

I could see him looking toward where Derek stood just a few moments before.

"Who's that clown you were talking to, Nessie?" He asked.

"Just a friend." I said, nonchalantly. But Jacob still had me in his tight embrace, so he knew I was up to no good with that 'friend'. At least in my thoughts.

"Come on, let's go. I don't want your father calling me a hundred times asking where his innocent daughter is." He said the last part with a touch of irony.

***

"I heard you're having a big party for your big day, Nessie." Jacob said in a calm voice, while we both sat by the kitchen table, munching on leftover pizza. My parents were out, running errands, and uncle Jasper and Aunt Alice were the only ones at home, playing Guitar Hero downstairs.

"That's right." I nodded.

"You know this is sort of an important date, right?" He pointed.

"Everyone keeps saying that, but I don't get it. Why is it such a big deal?" I asked, between bites. It's not like I was getting my first period, or anything. That happened a long time ago. It's not like sixteen is the legal age for drinking in any part of the world. I was missing the point and hopefully my best friend would clarify that for me.

"Well, your family doesn't know many of your kind, but you're supposed to be reaching the age of your, ahem, maturity soon."

"What does that mean?" I whispered.

"It means you won't be growing much after that. Nobody knows how long you will live, Nessie, but you will remain the way you are for a very long time. Like Nahuel, remember?"

I nodded. The memory of Nahuel, the other half-vampire from Brazil, went all the way back to the first months of my life. They were mostly scattered images, and stories grandpa Carlisle told me from that time when our whole family almost got annihilated by the Volturi, in an effort to prove to them that I wasn't a child vampire. Nahuel was just like me and he was well over one hundred and fifty years old. Yet he still looked like he was in his late teens.

"Okay, then. So I won't get old. Big deal." I shrugged. But I could see worry in Jacob's eyes. The same look of concern my parents and my aunt Alice had when the subject of my "maturity" came up. I feel mature. I've been feeling like a responsible young woman for years. Maybe they don't think I can handle growing up. Maybe they think I'm gonna let my thoughts give away our identity. This is bullcrap. They don't know how hard I've been training my mind to push the "dangerous" thoughts to the side, not letting people see what really goes on in here. Sometimes I feel like my parents think I'm mentally challenged instead of gifted.

"No matter what happens, Nessie, you know I'll always be here, by your side, right?" He whispered. I didn't like how serious my Jake sounded. Couldn't we just go back to joking around?

"Geez, Jake! Cut it off! It's not like I'm gonna die! Or go to prison! It's just a stupid birthday! You don't get old either yet you don't see me giving you a hard time about it!". I snapped.

"I'm still older than you. It's not the same!" My favorite smile returned to his face.

"Sure, sure. Whatever! Eat your pizza or I will!" I played. I can't believe all these "grownups" are set to give me such a hard time for my stupid birthday. I'm almost regretting this whole party decision. Ugh, you would think evolved species would choose to have a simpler mind about everything!

Thank you all for the reviews! The story is a lot of fun to write so far, so I'll keep updating as often as possible. I don't plan on it being very long. Let's just say I'm saving most of my brain cells for my other story! Haha

You can find my other fic on my profile. The story is completely different. If you have time, I hope you will want to read that one as well!

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