Don't own much, giving the majority of credit to Stephenie Meyer. As usual, reviews and whatnot are appreciated and encouraged! And just for the record, I'm assuming that Charlie knows Nessie grows really fast and has started college. And if not, for our purposes today he does. This chapter is longer than they will be from here on out, but please try to stick with it- it'll be worth it in the end! Enjoy! (:
It was raining.
Not the usual drizzle that plagues Forks, though. This was a torrential downpour, and we were caught miles away from both the main house and the reservation. We were stuck in the cave tucked away on the beach, for Jake's fear of me catching a cold by running (or riding) home without the rabbit. Not that I minded, of course. I'd have rather been alone with Jake than just about anywhere- of course I couldn't tell him that. It was nearly a month after my sixth birthday, and an overwhelming shyness had overtaken me when it came to the two of us. Yeah, I was still playful and buoyant as usual, but I was wrestling with some pretty confusing feelings.
"Ness, why are you looking at me like that?" Jake turned and asked me, tossing a stray rock out of the cave and into the sand. It was surprising, the amount of protection from the weather we were receiving in our little alcove. I hadn't realized that I was staring, but then again, I have a predisposition to unconsciously transmitting things to other people. "And please don't start complaining that we didn't get to climb for long enough either, because I already told you that we'll go out again later."
I smiled and hugged my knees to my chest. "I don't even care about that, okay? You couldn't keep up with me anyway." I tossed a pebble in his direction and he dodged it swiftly, laughing lightly at my attempt.
"Well then, what's the problem, little lady?" I wanted to lean over and kiss him right then. I wished that he would stop smiling at me like that. That smile- that smile could melt my heart in a matter of seconds and he had no idea the effect it was having. Instead, I decided to change the subject.
"I'm not that little, you know." I rolled my eyes and turned away quickly. I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks and wanted to avoid any further embarrassment. Jake didn't need to know that I yearned for him to see me in a different light every time he made a remark like that.
He scooted closer to me and wrapped his toned arm around my shoulder. His body heat immediately radiated off of him, warming me entirely and sending a shiver down to my toes. "I know that, Ness. But you did technically just turn six." I looked up at him and immediately got lost in his warm eyes. They understood everything. Those eyes held all of the things that I wanted to say but couldn't. So we both just let them hang in the air of the cave. All of the memories that we had shared, the secrets, the laughs… Jake knew it all. He just got me, in a way that no one else ever had.
"Which means that technically, I'm almost a grown woman. Not exactly a kid anymore, Jacob." I wriggled out of his hold and walked to the other side of the cave. I was frustrated, but couldn't place the blame on any one person. It wasn't his fault that he still saw me as a child- he'd been there since the day I was born. He'd been my protector, big brother, best friend for as long as I could remember, so him seeing me any other way was going to take some time.
Jake stood to follow me, wrapping an arm around my waist gently and pulling my body back towards him. It took all of my resolve not to faint right then. "Trust me, I get it." His voice was low and tinged with something I had never heard before. The hairs on my arms stood up as he continued. "It's just, sometimes, I don't know quite where we stand anymore… I'm confused too."
Too? I looked down and realized that my hand was covering his across my stomach. I had been projecting my array of disjointed emotions on him since he'd touched me. "I really like this, Jake." I admitted, quietly. Shyness overtook me and prevented me from turning around to face him. Luckily, the alpha male in him could stay dormant no longer. He swiftly swung me around so that my face was mere inches from his.
"I do too."
"Nessie, focus! We have to lay down the place settings. This is a very delicate task and requires full attention." Aunt Alice snapped her fingers and brought me back to the moment. I looked down at my hands at the silverware that would normally be for Jake's place at the table for Christmas dinner. And for the first time ever, I didn't know if it was appropriate to place next to mine.
"Sorry, Alice." I shook my head quickly, attempting to shake off the cobwebs of memory that were pervading my mind. I had done so well about not dwelling on the past lately, but somehow, being home had begun to drudge up all of those memories. "I just didn't know where to put this one."
She crinkled her delicate nose and grabbed the setting from me. "Yes, that does pose a bit of an issue. Nevermind that now, I'll figure it out soon enough. How about you head into the kitchen and see if Esme needs any help with the food. Since the boys are coming over, you know she's putting in double time." Christmas dinner had become a Cullen family tradition after I was born. Every year some of the boys from the pack came over and brought their families. This year even Seth was bringing Aubrey, so it was going to be a big family celebration. Grandpa Charlie was even coming over instead of going on his yearly fishing excursion with Sue.
Grandma Esme put me to work straight away, putting the finishing touches on the meal. For someone who didn't intake any human food, she sure was great at preparing it. Within the hour, the meal was complete and the table was filling up. I could hear Alice ushering everyone into the dining room, Jasper hanging up coats, Aunt Rose complaining about the smell and Daddy… well, Daddy being Daddy.
"Wow, you two have really outdone yourselves this year!" Mama beamed and pulled me into a hug.
"I can't really take any credit- this was all Grandma." I smiled and dusted the excess cooking ingredients onto the floor, preparing myself to go to the table. "How do I look?" For the evening I had chosen to wear a pair of True Religion dark wash straight leg jeans, sparkly TOMS and a striped sweater that my roommate had bought me from H&M. Keeping it simple yet classy as Alice so deftly put it.
"You look beautiful, babygirl." She kissed my forehead and started grabbing the dishes. "Let's get this party started."
The table was full by the time we brought the food out. Everyone was gathered around, laughing, making conversation- from the looks of it, a far cry from how things would have been a number of years ago. It was great to have my Quileute family and my Cullen family under one roof without the threat of bloodshed (no pun intended). I took my normal place near the end of the table across from Grandma, with my father on one side and Seth where Jacob used to be. Jake wasn't there yet. Not that I had been waiting for him all afternoon or anything. Or perhaps dreading the moment when we would lock eyes from across the table, for the first time in my life, not knowing what to say to one another…
Grandpa Carlisle stood to get everyone's attention, clinking his fork against his empty glass. "Well, since we're almost all here, I think we should get started with a toast. This year, I would like to dedicate it to my beautiful granddaughter on successfully completing her first semester of college." I round of polite applause from the Cullen family ensued, along with a round of hoots and hollers from the wolves. Grandpa Charlie offered me a gentle toe nudge underneath the table and a wink of support. "She has truly surpassed every expectat-"
The front door burst open, allowing a blast of cold air into the dining room. Standing in the doorway, looking tall, dark and slightly (albeit beautifully) disheveled was Jacob Black.
And a girl.
"Sorry I'm late, everyone." I shook the snow off of my boots and removed my scarf and coat. They were obviously for show, though. I maintained a body temperature that could melt ice- literally. In order to go about my life outside of the reservation and the Cullen household, some things needed to change. "The rabbit was having some trouble getting started." I reached over and offered to take Alicia's coat as well. She smiled politely and shrugged it off of her shoulders.
Everyone seated at the table turned to see what the commotion was, Alice immediately standing to create another place setting. "Jacob. I didn't know you were bringing a guest. Allow me to make you more comfortable. I mentally winced at the term 'comfortable'. I knew full well that she meant for it to sting, but I just hoped that Alicia didn't pick it up.
All of the faces at the table seemed vaguely, if not explicitly, happy to see me again. Except for one. Renesmee's eyes met mine briefly, before flitting to Alicia in horror. I stopped in my tracks. I could only imagine what she was thinking of me in that moment. I'm sure it looked bad, bringing not only another woman to her family's Christmas dinner, but a pretty beautiful one at that. While no one was more gorgeous in my eyes than Ness, most people found Ali to be a catch. She was pushing 6 feet, slender, had milk chocolate skin and long black hair- and I only knew her because of work.
She came in one day last week to get her Audi A4 oil valve repaired and while I was offering her a quote on the fix, she mentioned that she had just moved to Forks recently and didn't even have family in the continental US currently (her parents were both overseas for work). I felt like it was only right to bring her along to dinner, considering over half the table wouldn't even be eating, so It was probably safe to say there would be enough food for her.
Ness snapped her head back around quickly, directing her attention back to Carlisle, who seemed to be making a speech. "Well, join us Jacob and friend. There's room for one more at this table." The seats were shuffled around, allowing Alicia and I seats nearest the door- and luckily, far away from the searing gazes of Edward and Bella. I could already tell that they were extremely displeased with me. Explaining this one wasn't going to be easy. "We were just toasting the successes of our lovely Renesmee." I allowed myself a quick look in her direction to see a myriad of emotions cross her face: embarrassment, pride, uncertainty.
We all raised our glasses in salute. "To Nessie!" resounded through the room, before the meal went on as planned. The food was delicious as usual, but I couldn't focus on anything other than the way Ness was fighting not to look at my end of the table. Or the way her laugh lilted around the room when Seth made a corny joke. Not to mention the way her brow crinkled when she was trying hard not to shoot her water out of her nose. I was usually the source of those laughs and now I was fighting to focus on a word coming out of Alicia's mouth.
"I said that this is a beautiful home. And everyone is so kind. Thank you for inviting me." She smiled warmly and I tried my hardest to reciprocate.
"No problem, Al. I'm sorry, will you excuse me? I have to use the restroom." I pushed myself away from the table and hastened to the upstairs bathroom. I pushed through the door and splashed some water on my face. "Get a hold of yourself, Black. It's just a dinner." I tried repeating a mantra of encouragement, but it was futile. I should have known seeing her would be too hard after all of this time- after everything we'd been through. I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Sitting at the same table as her was too much for me to handle.
I rushed out of the bathroom, heading for the stairs, ready to tell Alicia that I'd gotten sick and we needed to leave early. Before I even reached the stairs, though, I ran smack into a much smaller body, barely reacting quick enough to keep them from hitting the ground.
Renesmee's large brown eyes gazed up at me in shock, not knowing exactly how to react.
"Wow, you must really be ready to go."