Disclaimer: The characters in the following story are property of Stephanie Meyer, not me.

Should I keep this to myself?

I could risk a broke heart by

Telling you the truth or I could keep

My secret safe when I see you

Kacie Brown, "Butterflies Don't Lie"

A breathy sigh escaped through her mouth, her cheeks exhausted from the constant stretching starting from her lips; she felt like Wendy Darling, losing her path in a land of happy thought—all centering around her Jacob. Renesmee, try as she might, couldn't easily ignore the wonderful, confusing feeling building up inside her stomach, unable to shake him out of her mind.

'Wut do u think uv my hair?'

Nessie laughed to herself, her fingers already at work on her cellphone's numbers.

'Spell like an adult and not like a kindergartner, then I just might tell you, dork.'

'Fine.'

'I like it. Why?'

This sucked.

Nessie couldn't possibly be fantasizing about her and Jacob crossing that friendship borderline; Nessie couldn't be on the verge of ruining years worth of uncomplicated, platonic love! She realized that she could never share these new-found emotions with the man in question—the first secret Renesmee kept from him. . . Although, she knew better than anybody that Jacob would never turn her away or act harshly for harboring an innocent crush, but she couldn't expect him to requite it either. That blow might hurt worse than anything else.

'Rachel wants to do something new with my hair, because she's bored from watching a Golden Girls marathon.'

'Lol. Are you going to let her?'

'I don't know. She's giving me those puppy dog eyes. I'm not sure I can resist for long.'

'You're a big softy!'

Oh, why did she have to go and develop a dumb, silly crush on her best friend? Jacob had been her babysitter for crying out loud!

'Am not.'

'Are too.'

'Am not.'

'Are too.'

'Am not!'

'R2D2!'

"What's all that smiling for?" Rosalie inquired rhetorically, brushing back long strands of Nessie's reddish-brown hair, while the two sat on the young girl's bed at the cottage.

'Haha, smart-ass. Very funny.'

'I knew you'd see it my way. ;)'

'See ya tomorrow. Goodnight.'

'Goodnight, Jacob. I love you.'

'I know.'

Rosalie peeked over Renesmee's shoulder, glancing at Jacob's final text for the evening. "Did he really just say, 'I love you,' Han Solo style?"

Nessie turned around to face her beautiful godmother, second after Jacob on her list of confidantes. She openly enjoyed spending time with Rosalie, whether they leisurely sat around on Friday nights or shopped for cute shoes at the mall. It really didn't matter one or the other to Renesmee, just as long as they were laughing at stupid things like high school best friends. Rosalie had always been like a second mother to the youngest Cullen since day one, making up stories about faraway places when Bella occasionally failed to find new material read Nessie to sleep.

"Rose, do you think it might be possible for someone to love me?"

Subsequently, the fair-haired vampire cocked an inquisitive eyebrow, the shadow of a smirk plastered on her lips. "Are you speaking about a particular breed of male or in general?" Despite that mangy mongrel's belief, Rosalie was keen to matters of the heart, even though hers no longer pumped.

In utter horror, Nessie's rich chocolate orbs widened. "Is it that obvious?"

"Let me think. . . You're smiling like a lovesick poet over a few text messages, and that somehow leads you to ask for my input on such a topic. Gee, I wonder what that could possibly mean," she joked, stroking her chin in mock-consideration. "But back your question. I really can't speak for that-" Nessie shook her head, "Jacob, but I do know that any man would be a foolish gizzard to not fall head over heels. . . Wait a minute. Do you love him?"

Nessie enveloped Rosalie's cold hands between hers, showing her the day she spent with Jacob.

The delicious proximity of their bodies to where she could feel his warm breath—smelling of mint gum—her lips yearning for his. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a hummingbird's wings, and Renesmee longed to surrender to the heat of the moment. She wanted to bury her restless fingers deep into Jacob's messy, jet-black hair, desperately needing him to be her first kiss. And that was weird.

Because it was Jacob.

Still, Renesmee couldn't be sure this—whatever this was supposed to be—could be anything more than a fleeting sensation. Without a shadow of a doubt, Nessie loved Jacob, she would take a steel dagger in the gut to save him, but how could she know if she was in love with him? Gosh, she was only fifteen.

Well, sort of.

She stopped her train of thought, disconnecting her hands from Rosalie's.

"Oh," the blonde woman exhaled, remaining perfectly composed. "Nessie. . . If you're uncertain, my personal opinion is that you wait a little while. Most young ladies your age usually fall in love with the idea of falling in love, and this crush may be imaginary. You've known Jacob your entire life and you could have confused simple affection with something else, something deeper than I feel you're ready for yet. However, with that said, Renesmee, I could be wrong. Should your feelings continue to grow, I think it's best for you to be honest with Jacob."

"That sounds practical enough," Renesmee replied, nodding along. She would have an infinite amount of time to figure out her situation and Jacob would be none the wiser. "Thank you so much, Aunt Rosie, but what if. . ." she trailed off.

"He ends up breaking your heart?" Rosalie smiled fondly, ruffling Renesmee's bronze bangs. "Sweet girl, you can't go through life being fearful of a possible outcome, okay? The worst chance you can take is never taking any chances at all," she advised.

"Wow," Nessie gasped sarcastically. "You know, I think I read that on a fortune cookie once," and she giggled. Rosalie joined in, drawing her niece close in her cool arms. Hugging a vampire was the equivalent of being in the midst of an autumn breeze to Nessie, yet she could always feel the loving warmth. "I love you, Aunt Rosie. I'd be lost without you."

"I know it, you runt," Rosalie retorted with a sly wink, and placed a brief kiss on her forehead. "I love you, too, baby girl. I'll see you soon. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Nessie whispered before Rose exited out the window, while her mind's ear replayed the words offered.

You can't go through life being fearful of a possible outcome.