Quileute Nation
*A quick note to all readers. The school that Claire will be going to in this story is in fact an actual school. It's a K-12 school that does the regular school curriculum required by the state while also doing the traditional curriculum such as tribal language classes and tribal history. Here's their homepage. .?page=school_
"Remind me again why I'm doing this." I was at Jacob's apartment in my room getting ready. Jacob had waked me up at six thirty to get dressed.
"Because Claire is really nervous about her first day of school and she wanted you to go with her. I or the others would have been happy to take her, but the fact of the matter is that we all work." I rolled my eyes.
"And what are the teachers going to say about this?" Jacob chuckled.
"Nothing. Claire got Mrs. Sunbird. I had her for kindergarten and have liked her from that moment on. Quil, Embry and I used to call her cake." I looked at Jacob.
"Why?"
"It was a little class inside joke that I started." I laughed.
"May I ask how it started?" Jacob blushed and looked at the ground.
"It's embarrassing." I giggled at Jacob and he was smiling a little too.
"It can't be any worse than handing my grandma a dead rabbit as a welcoming present." Jacob playfully glared at me and I did the same right back. After a moment, he laughed lightly and sighed.
"Promise you won't laugh?" I giggled again. "Promise?" I nodded my head.
"I promise I won't laugh." Jacob sighed.
"Okay. Well, everybody liked Mrs. Sunbird and she was always a fun teacher. Whenever I was close enough to her, I could swear that she smelled like sugar cookies and cinnamon. So whenever she would walk back into the room or arrive to class…..I used to stand on one of the tables and scream 'welcome cake'." I couldn't help it. I giggled. Jacob was smiling. "Hey, you promised you wouldn't laugh."
"I know. I'm sorry. It was cute is all. What did she have to say to that little nickname?" Jacob chuckled.
"She called me pie." I laughed a little harder. Jacob was laughing with me now. "In fact, I plan on saying hi to her before going to work." I smirked at him.
"I assume you've warned your boss about that." He gave me a silly smile.
"He'll know when I get there. Remember that we're talking about the man that doesn't care about your personal life. As long as I do my job, he's happy."
"But isn't being late for work not doing your job?" Jacob laughed lightly.
"Not really. Craig is never there to complain and even if he was, there's enough people working there that one late person won't cause any problems. Besides, Andy is late to work all the time."
"Andy's also a pothead Jacob." Jacob laughed harder. He bent his head over his knees and was laughing at the ground. While he was laughing, he handed me my little rose headband that he'd made me. He finally stopped laughing after I had the headband in position on my head.
"I suppose that's true. Even so, I won't be nearly as late as he tends to be." I shrugged.
"If you say so." He chuckled and I joined his laugh. When I was done, Jacob and I went out to the front and were out the door after Jacob had himself a few granola bars. He hated those things, but they were convenient, so he tolerated them.
He said hi to one of his neighbors on our way down the stairs but didn't start a long conversation with him. He needed to go to work and Jacob gave him the same excuse. It wouldn't take long to drive to the school. Not even five minutes. He was only driving because he was going straight to work after dropping me off there. Claire's mom had said she would be there before us.
"What's the name of the school?"
"Quileute Tribal School." I looked at him.
"Is that really what it's called?" Jacob looked at me in what almost looked like playful offense.
"Yeah. What did you expect it to be called?" I shrugged.
"I don't know. Taha Aki public school, Ephraim elementary?" Jacob laughed.
"Well, it's not. I think the generalization is the better way to go. Not everyone knows the history of Taha Aki and believes it. Hell, when I was little, I thought it was an old wives tale. And Quileutes aren't the only tribe that goes to this school. The Hoh and Makka tribes go there too." I shrugged. By the end of that little conversation, we were already at the school. Claire was holding her mom's hand waiting for me to get there.
"Nessie!" Claire ran over to me and hugged me when I got out of the car.
"Hi, Claire. It's your first day of school, are you excited?" She shrugged a little and looked at the ground.
"I'm nervous. What if they don't like me?" I smiled at her. Jacob was the one to answer her.
"Don't worry Claire. There's no one here that you don't already know." I nodded my head.
"Yeah. You know everyone in your grade and all the older kids too. They'll make sure you have a fun first day of school." Claire's mom smiled at me and looked at Claire. She kneeled in front of her.
"I better get to work, Claire. I'll see you after school, okay honey." Claire nodded her head at her mom and they said their goodbyes before Claire's mom left for work. I touched Jacob's hand.
Did Quil wish Claire luck? Jacob chuckled.
"Of course he did. He couldn't drop her off but he did make her breakfast and helped her pick out her outfit." I giggled and smiled at Claire.
"At least Quil started out your day right." Claire's smile widened and she nodded her head.
"Yeah. He make me pancakes and onge juice." I giggled. Claire's grammar and word pronunciation had improved immensely, but she still left out some vowels. It was cute.
"That's cool. Let's go inside and start your first day Claire." She sighed and nodded her head. She took my hand and Jacob and I walked her in. Claire's class was one of the first rooms. It was a k-12 school so the younger classes were at the front of the building. The older the student, the farther into the building they went.
Jacob knew where her class was, so he took us straight there. A few of the teachers waved at Jacob when they saw him and Jacob waved back at them. A few of the older kids that did know Claire waved at her and she waved back at them. She started looking a lot more comfortable. I opened the door to Claire's classroom and her eyes lit up. She saw at least seven people that she was friends with already. She ran over to them leaving me and Jacob at the front of the room.
The room was very bright and open. There were windows surrounding the room and there were several colored pictures from previous years. Jacob even pointed out a picture that he had made from fourteen years ago. It was a picture of a horse or something. I thought it looked more like a hippo, but he insisted it was a horse. How he remembered what it was, I couldn't get.
The ceiling was covered with cut out flowers and little tropical fruits and clouds and a sun. It was colorful and inviting with reds, oranges and yellows surrounding the room. The room had a play area that took up most of the room. And in the front, there were three round tables with tiny chairs. Even I couldn't fit in those chairs, they were so small. I had a hard time believing that Jacob ever fit in those chairs.
I saw the woman that was standing behind the desk. She was a full figured woman with a pretty face that made her look no older than in her early thirties, even though she was most likely older than that. She had a thin face and inviting eyes that also held humor. She was wearing a red dress with a little belt. Her smile was also warm and inviting.
"Cake." Jacob called to the woman that was behind the little desk at the front of the colorful room. She looked up and smiled.
"Hey, Pie." They had a quick laugh. "Is that Renesmee?" Jacob nodded his head.
"Yeah this is her." I waved at her and she waved at me. I kept my hand in Jacob's and looked at him.
Does she know about your fazing and such? Jacob nodded his head.
"Yeah, she knows. Her grandfather was in my great grandpa's pack. He used to tell her a lot of stories, but she never told anyone that she wasn't supposed to." Jacob looked back at Mrs. Sunbird and she smiled a little wider.
"So is she your imprinti?" Jacob nodded his head. I didn't bother asking what they meant. I already knew that Jacob would tell me I'm too young to understand.
"Yeah, she is. Claire was imprinted on by Quil." Mrs. Sunbird laughed lightly.
"Is that so? Poor boy's in for a few years of waiting isn't he?" Jacob chuckled and nodded his head. Mrs. Sunbird took a quick look at me before commenting again. "How long are you in for?" Jacob smirked.
"It's a really long story. Let's just say that the Cullens are involved and leave it at that for the time being." Mrs. Sunbird smiled and nodded her head.
"You owe me cookies and a long story." Jacob chuckled.
"Definitely." I didn't listen to their little talk. I was watching Claire. She looked like she would be fine on her own. I let go of Jacob's hand and walked over to her.
"Do you still want me to stay?" She was grinning widely.
"Yeah, stay! We play all day." I giggled with her.
"Okay. I'll just go say goodbye to Jacob." Claire nodded her head and got back to playing with her friends. I turned back to Jacob and walked over to him. He smiled at me and I smiled back.
"Don't worry, Nessie. It's only half a day." I shrugged.
"It's okay. I'll be fine. Daddy said that he would take to the shop after this. Would that be okay?" Jacob's face lit up even more.
"Sounds like fun. The guys have been wanting to see you again." I giggled.
"Let them know I'm coming over later." Jacob smirked and kneeled down a little.
"Until then, have fun with five year olds." We had a quick laugh. Before leaving, Jacob kissed the top of my head and I blushed lightly.
"I will." He grinned, nudged my chin gently with his fist, said goodbye to Mrs. Sunbird and walked out of the room. I heard someone walking up behind me. The steps were much too graceful to be that of one of the other kids.
"Hello Renesmee." I turned to face her and smiled.
"Hi." Her smile was pleasant.
"A Cullen?" I nodded. "You don't look like a vampire." I shrugged.
"My momma was human when she got pregnant. I'm only half vampire, half human. Momma's a vampire now." Her face became aware.
"I never thought vampires could reproduce." Her slight laugh was breathy.
"Not with each other."
"Makes sense. I assume you're home schooled." I nodded.
"Yeah. Daddy wants to send me to school when I'm ready, but he wants to wait until I stop growing." She looked confused. "I grow faster than the normal rate. I'm technically only a year and a half old." Her eyes became wide with shock.
"But you look no younger than twelve or thirteen." I smiled.
"Like I said, I grow at an accelerated rate." Then she started laughing lightly.
"You really do learn something new every day." I took in a deep breath. I smiled.
"Jacob was right." She cocked her head to the side.
"About what?" I giggled lightly.
"You really do smell like sugar cookies." Mrs. Sunbird burst into a fit of laughter and the whole class started looking at her. "You smell a lot like cinnamon and vanilla too." She continued to laugh at my comment and started walking back to her desk. When I was alone at the front of the room, Claire ran over to me with a big smile on her face.
"Nessie, come play with me and Kelly. We play with Barbies." I smiled and nodded my head. In truth, I wasn't a fan of Barbies. It was probably because I spent most of my childhood with Jacob. Meaning no girly activities. The only girly activity I ever really took part in was shopping, and all because of Alice.
"Sure." Claire took my hand in hers and pulled me with her to where Kelly was. I got to be the redheaded Barbie while Claire and the others played with the blonde ones. The class had a dollhouse that was apparently made by one of the dads on the reservation a few years ago and so was the car and furniture.
Claire and I played with Kelly for another five minutes before I heard a bell sound from outside the classroom. Jacob had told me that the bell only sounded twice in the day because only grades 7-12 actually went from class to class. The school didn't want to disturb the younger classes with a bell sounding every forty five minutes.
"Okay everyone, take a seat at one of the tables and we'll start our lesson." I helped Claire and Kelly put the Barbie dolls away before following them to a table in the middle of the room. When everyone was sitting at one of the tables, Mrs. Sunbird started her lesson. "Hi everyone. I'm your teacher, Mrs. Sunbird."
"Hi Mrs. Sunbird." The class cheered. She smiled widely.
"Does anyone know what day it is?" I heard varied responses. Some said Tuesday and others said Monday. "That's right. It's Monday."
Mrs. Sunbird started the day off with the English alphabet and some word identification. I stayed silent through most of the class. I didn't think me answering any of these questions was really appropriate seeing as I don't actually go to the school and am not actually in the class.
Claire was really eager to answer questions and was sure to point out that she was being really good when she stayed quiet after a few kids started acting up a little. I'm sure she would tell Quil all about it when she saw him later today.
Jacob told me that the kindergarten class was only half a day, so I was constantly looking at the clock for when class would be over. Mrs. Sunbird was really nice and I liked her a lot. But all the activities that we were doing today, obviously, were targeted to younger, developing kids. I had never really thought much of nursery rhymes. They all sounded exactly the same to me and I never liked the little kids that were singing on the CD she occasionally played. I wasn't meant for Kindergarten.
The last thing that Mrs. Sunbird did was teach the Quileute alphabet. This part of the class intrigued me. It was a short and simple alphabet that was loaded with accented letters that had surely been added to the language when their territory was being invaded. Mrs. Sunbird spent the rest of the class speaking Quileute, and the children all understood her perfectly. This was more of an alphabet and spelling course.
I rarely ever heard Jacob Speak Quileute. I did know that the Quileute tribe took a lot of pride in their language and were determined to keep it around, but Jacob never spoke it with me, so I didn't know it. He would sometimes speak it to Quil and Embry and sometimes to his dad. He spoke it often with the other pack members if they were planning something while I was there. I always loved hearing him speak it. The language had a beautiful flow to it and somehow reminded me of a native Americanized French language. None of the words were French of course, but a lot of them had the same feel.
I paid close attention to her, even though I couldn't understand what she was saying. I did understand her when she pointed to the letters and said what they were. I now knew the Quileute alphabet, so that was a start to learning it. That's how daddy always taught me a language. We started with the alphabet and worked our way up from there and it always worked for me.
I didn't even realize that the class had ended until Mrs. Sunbird said something and everyone repeated her and started waving goodbye. When everyone stood up, I did too. Mrs. Sunbird started doing a little dance and singing a song in Quileute and all the kids followed along with her. I, for the most part, just swayed my hips awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. I had never felt so lost in my life. Now I knew how it felt to be a foreigner.
When Mrs. Sunbird was done with her little song and dance, she jumped up and clapped her hands and the kids followed suit. After that, she said something to them that I assumed was an announcement of some sort because she said it moderately seriously. Then she said one last phrase and the kids were running to the door to get their rain jackets. The smell of sugar cookies was suddenly very strong.
"How'd you like kindergarten?" I turned around to face Mrs. Sunbird, who was standing in front of me with a big kind smile. I smiled back.
"It was interesting. I did enjoy the little language lesson at the end." She laughed lightly.
"Did you? Has Jacob taught you how to speak Quileute?" I shook my head.
"I hear him speak it sometimes, but it's rare." She laughed lightly again.
"I see. That's strange. Jacob was always so good at it. He and I used to talk to each other in Quileute all the time. And I know that the pack tends to stick to Quileute, but then again, that could just be my grandpa's little pack." I shook my head.
"No. That's when I hear it. It's usually only when they're planning something, so like I said, not often." She laughed.
"Do you speak any other languages?" I nodded my head. "What language?" I blushed. I didn't want to sound arrogant when I answered this.
"Promise not to give me a weird look?" She laughed.
"I promise." I sighed.
"Daddy has taught me every language he knows." Her smile widened in humor.
"Which is?" I sighed again. Here we go.
"Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Romanian, Polish, and Russian." Her eyes widened.
"How did you learn that many languages in just a year and a half?" I giggled.
"Long hours of practice and a fun way of doing it. Daddy always made it a game, so I remembered it better. But it also has to do with being half vampire. Thanks to that little gene, my brain retains more information and has an easier time remembering it. At least that's what Carlisle tells me." She smiled.
"Well if that's the case, school will be a breeze for you when you finally start going." I smiled.
"If not, there's always daddy. He's a good tutor." We smiled again at each other. After that, Claire ran over to me, now in her little rain coat, and took my hand.
"We go home now." I smiled at her and nodded my head.
"Yeah. We go home now." She cheered and we went for the front door. I waved goodbye to Mrs. Sunbird and she waved back. I took Claire outside with me where daddy was waiting patiently for me in his silver Volvo. I waved at daddy and he waved back. He waved at Claire too, who enthusiastically returned the gesture.
Claire's house was a stone's throw away from the school, as were many houses. It took mere seconds to get to her house thanks to daddy's erratic driving. Claire's baby sitter was already at the house waiting for her. I waved at her and she waved back at me. Claire hugged me goodbye.
"Did you have fun at school, Claire?" She grinned from ear to ear.
"Yeah. It was real fun. We played with Barbies and we learn the alphabet and we learn all sorts of stuff." Daddy and I retained laughter at her innocent and adorable enthusiasm.
"That's good. I think you made lots of friends today didn't you?" She nodded her head.
"Yeah. I make friends. Kelly my bestest best friend." Daddy and I retained laughter again and I only smiled at her.
"That's awesome, Claire." The door to the Volvo then opened and the baby sitter took Claire out of her seat and took her to the house. We waved goodbye to one another one last time before she went into the house and daddy closed the door, ran back to the driver's seat, and started the car all in the same second.
Daddy drove out of the residential area and got onto the road and main highway to Seattle all in five minutes. Daddy waited until we were on the highway until he started a conversation.
"So how did you like it?" I thought about the day and all its little wonders. I was sure to mention that Kindergarten wasn't a place for me to start and that I found the little lesson on Quileute to be very interesting and fun. Daddy chuckled. "Don't worry honey. I would never start you out in kindergarten. You're too far ahead for that."
"Thanks for saying." He chuckled again. I waited for him to stop laughing. He already knew my question, but he sometimes liked to wait to answer me until after I verbally asked the question.
"Do you know Quileute?" Daddy shook his head.
"I'm afraid not. That made negotiating the original treaty hard too. I couldn't tell Carlisle what they were thinking because I didn't understand the language. It was extremely frustrating for us all."
"Do you think Jacob would teach it to me if I asked?" Daddy chuckled lightly again.
"Probably. I can't guarantee you that he's the best teacher out there, but it's better than nothing. And you already know the alphabet now, so that's a start." I smiled at the thought. Jacob was always really good at describing things, so I couldn't imagine that Jacob would have a hard time with this. "Don't get too hopeful, Nessie."
The rest of the drive to Seattle, daddy and I talked a little more about my day and a little about his day. He and momma had gone hunting earlier and had found an extremely large cougar. It was supposedly a lot larger than anything that either of them had ever caught in the years of hunting in those forest. At least all the years for daddy.
When daddy and I arrived at the shop, I saw several people in the waiting part of the shop. Jacob was probably in the main shop working or eating his lunch. I hoped he liked his lunch. I made it this morning.
"Don't worry, Nessie. He loved the lunch you made for him. He finished it a few minutes ago." I smiled at daddy.
"Thanks for letting me know." Daddy and I had a quick laugh before we got to the front of the shop. Everyone looked up to see us enter. Andy waved at me from behind the counter where he was grabbing something that he needed and walking back into the main part of the shop. The girl working the cash register was what bothered me.
Everyone else that had seen us enter the place immediately looked back down or away to what they had been originally doing. She on the other hand looked up, looked at my daddy, and didn't stop looking at him. Daddy only smiled at her politely.
"Would you please let Jacob know that Renesmee is here to see him?" She blushed and looked down and lifted her eyes to him in what I imagined was her way of trying to look pretty.
"Sure." She said that in a way I didn't really appreciate. Daddy laughed lightly at my thought.
"I feel the same way honey. Just be glad you can't read her mind." I sighed heavily.
"Is it that bad?" I could swear I felt daddy shudder.
"You can't even imagine, honey."
"Sex?" Daddy sighed.
"And lots of it." I giggled lightly and daddy only smiled with humor. The girl went to the door that led to the back of the shop and relayed the message to Jacob. I heard a chair move on the floor and then get pushed back in. The girl walked out of the way of the door and back to the desk where she started staring at daddy with fantasizing eyes again. I felt daddy shudder again.
"Hey, Nessie. How was school?" I giggled. I wondered how long it would be before Jacob asked me that question again. I smiled at him while still glaring at the girl at the desk who was staring at my daddy.
"It was good. Claire had a really good time too." Jacob smiled. I could tell he thought I was mad at him from the little look on his face. Probably from the face I was giving the girl. But he ignored it for the moment.
"I'm glad to hear that." Then Jacob looked at daddy. Daddy read his question.
"We'll send her when she's old enough that her growth won't be too shocking to anyone." Jacob shrugged.
"So what are we talking? Three or four?" Daddy nodded his head.
"Closer to four most likely." Jacob nodded his head again and then looked back at me. Daddy said goodbye to me and Jacob when we had our little conversation and told Jacob to have me back home tonight. After daddy left, I saw the girl at the desk look sad. But then Jacob looked like he was about to talk to her and her face lit up a little more than I would have liked it to.
"Amanda?" She smiled. I hated the smile she was giving him. I felt myself getting angrier and angrier at this girl.
"Yeah, Jacob?" His face didn't change.
"Could you do me a favor and call Mr. Collins and tell him that his car is ready to be picked up?" She nodded her head.
"Sure thing, Jacob." Jacob smiled politely at her, then looked back to me.
"Let's go to the back. I have a cool one to show you today." I smiled at him, but then immediately started glaring at the girl again. She wasn't paying any attention to me though. She was looking from the desk back to Jacob repeatedly throughout her little phone call.
Jacob took me to the back of the main part of the shop where the car he had told me about was. It was a red sports car that, at first glance, looked perfectly fine. But then I saw the whole car. The entire back part of the car was almost completely torn apart. The trunk was smashed in and the glass was completely broken and the leather interior was torn apart.
"What happened to this car?" Jacob laughed lightly at my tone.
"This is a new one. We got this car last night. This guy had gone out drinking with a few of his friends or something and he ended up crashing into a brick wall across the street from the bar. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but he kept driving the car around. He didn't even know it was broken until a cop pulled him over." He laughed lightly.
"How could he not know that he damaged his car this bad?" Jacob laughed again.
"Alcohol does funny things to people Nessie. In fact, when I was nine or ten, there was a guy that tried to rob our little store with his shirt covering his mouth and he was hiding himself behind a house plant yelling at the guy in a fake Asian accent demanding that the guy give him fifty dollars."
"Wait, what?" Jacob laughed at my response.
"He didn't even have a weapon. He was just hiding behind his shirt and a house plant screaming for the guy to give him fifty dollars. The cahier ended up getting rid of the guy simply by pushing him out with his stool."
"Alcohol did that?" Jacob nodded.
"He had an alcohol content of eight point five."
"I'm assuming that was what was wrong with the driver of this car?" Jacob laughed again.
"Alcohol level of nine point seven." We laughed a little before Jacob went back to work on the car. He had already gotten all the glass out.
"Isn't this car technically totaled?" He nodded.
"It is totaled. But the owner is demanding that we at least try to fix it."
"Will that cost a lot." Jacob laughed without humor.
"It would be cheaper for him to just get a new car in all truthfulness. We told him that too." I raised an eyebrow at Jacob.
"I'm assuming he didn't want to get a new car." Jacob chuckled.
"You assumed right. He said he's only had this car for a few weeks and he doesn't want to get rid of it and get a new one." I laughed without humor.
"He's only had it a few weeks and he's already demolished it?" Jacob laughed with me.
"Yep. Poor guy was already in debt from buying the car. And his insurance won't cover this. So we're looking at a good decade of paying this off." I laughed at the comment. It was so true. While we were laughing, I heard a set of heals heading towards us. I looked to the side and saw the girl from the front desk walking over to us. She was staring at Jacob and I was getting angry again. "You call the guy?"
Jacob's tone was casual. The same way he would talk to anyone else that worked here. This didn't appear to discourage her though. Her enthusiasm, which was extremely unneeded, only infuriated me more. She nodded her head.
"Yep. He said he's on his way here as soon as he can get a taxi." She batted her eyelashes. "You better watch it, Jakey. He doesn't sound any more pleasant than he did when he dropped off the car." My eyes widened. What the hell did she just call him?
"I'm sure. Just hand him the keys when he gets here. They're under the desk with his name on the bag." She batted her eyelashes one last time.
"Sure thing, Jakey." Then she finally looked at me. I can't imagine what face she saw me give her, but it was a face that made her take a sudden step back. Then she took her eyes away from mine and went for the front. I was taking deep breaths, trying not to get too mad.
"Nessie?" I was taken out of my trance and I looked at Jacob. His face was concerned. "What's the matter? Did I do something?" I shook my head.
"No. No you didn't do anything." Jacob kneeled so he was facing me.
"You look mad." I took another deep breath.
"I just don't like that girl is all." Jacob's face became shocked.
"Amanda? Why?" I looked at him for a moment, then looked back to the floor.
"Nothing." Jacob sighed.
"Nessie, you can tell me." I shook my head.
"It's nothing." Jacob was about to say something else, but stopped himself. I think he wanted to avoid a fight, so he dropped the matter. He stood back up from his kneel and got back to working on the car.
I felt bad for snapping at him, but I wasn't quite ready to apologize yet. I was still too mad at the moment. For the moment, Jacob and one other guy, I think he said his name was Robert, started working on trying to straighten out the many dents that were on the car. The paint would defiantly have to be redone when they straightened everything out. That's assuming they would be able to.
As usual, I stayed close to Jacob. I hoped he would notice this and realize that it wasn't him that I was mad at. I still couldn't wrap my fingers around that nickname. It wasn't right. It was weird enough when people called him Jake. It just wasn't him. Calling him Jakey only made him sound like a fashionable purse dog, which he was a far cry from.
"Hey, Nessie?" I looked up from the ground to Jacob.
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind going up front and getting the buffer from the back. Andy took it back there earlier today and didn't bring it back." I nodded my head and started walking for the front to go to the little employee room where the buffer was.
There were a few people in the little waiting portion of the front room waiting for whatever it was they were waiting for. I walked past the desk not looking at the girl since she was talking to a customer. With far less enthusiasm than she gave Jacob I noticed unpleasantly. When I went into the back, there was an older man there that I didn't know. He didn't know me either.
"I'm sorry young lady, but I'm afraid you're not allowed back here." He wasn't hostile at all. He seemed simply indifferent and just going by a rule that he didn't care much about. I shook my head.
"I'm just back here to get the buffer. Jacob asked me to get it for him." The man's face became slightly aware, but remained indifferent. He reminded me of Marcus, whose indifference was potent.
"Oh. I'm assuming you're Nessie. I'm Craig, Jacob's boss."
"Oh. It's nice to finally meet you." He smiled slightly and nodded his head. Then he reached behind him and got the buffer that I had come into the back for and handed it to me.
"Here you go. Don't come back here without one of the others again, okay." I nodded my head politely, thanked him for the buffer, and walked out of the back room and into the front. I walked through the front room and noticed that the girl wasn't at the desk anymore. I didn't care at first until I saw her in the back standing next to Jacob.
Jacob looked like he was working, not really paying attention to her, which made me feel a little better. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but I could hear the sound of her voice. It was far too pleasant and social in my opinion. Jacob was simply answering her with grunts of acknowledgement every now and then. At one point in the little conversation, Jacob lifted his face out of his work and gave the girl the eye contact she'd been wanting.
I didn't see Jacob's face throughout the rest of the conversation. He wasn't talking much either. But when he did talk, it was simply a polite tone of voice. I walked a little closer to the door and let myself into the shop. When I got in there, her face was a mixture of slight disappointment and thrill. She gave me a weird look when she passed me, but I ignored her. I heard Jacob sigh heavily and rub his face with his oil covered hand.
His face, aside from his cheeks being covered in oil, looked very bothered. I walked over a little louder, I admit, than was necessary. He heard me coming and looked at me. He looked a little nervous, but I ignored it. Without a word, I handed the buffer to Jacob and walked to where the damage of the car was its worst and waited for him to get there too. Jacob sighed again, but didn't say anything. He knew now would be a bad time.
I think Andy sensed a little tension, but thought better than to say anything. For someone who reeked of pot smoke, he was good at reading what was going on. He might have had a power if anyone were to turn him into a vampire. Hopefully, no one would.
Jacob worked on the car for the rest of the day and had somehow managed to straighten out the trunk section. According to Andy, it took them three days to do it, but they did it. Now all they needed to do was attempt to fix the interior. I couldn't imagine how hard that was going to be for them. The girl from the front desk didn't come to the work area again. She stayed in the front, but she still looked at Jacob from her desk more often than I would like.
Jacob didn't ask me to get anything else for the rest of the day. I don't know if he realized why I was mad. Even if he did, work wasn't the place to talk about it. When Jacob's shift did finally end, he left the work area without a word, signed himself out, and came back with a look of uncomfortable anticipation on his face.
"Let's get going, Nessie." Jacob's voice sounded nervous too. I nodded my head and walked with him out to his car. The girl at the desk said goodbye to Jacob, and Jacob just waved his hand in her general direction. I looked back and glared at her one more time. She saw me, gave me a very disrespectful look, and went back to whatever she was doing.
Jacob unlocked his car and got in. I followed behind him and let myself into the front passenger's seat. Jacob didn't say anything as he started his car and drove out of the small parking lot. We stayed quiet until we got to the highway that would take us back to the house. His voice was nervous and slightly annoyed even.
"What did I do?" I looked at him now from looking out the window. I sighed heavily.
"I told you it was nothing." Jacob took a deep breath before saying anything else.
"Obviously it is, otherwise you wouldn't still be angry." I didn't answer. "You said something about Amanda. Did she do something to you?" His voice was getting angry now.
"No. She didn't do anything to me."
"Then what's wrong. You said you're not mad at me, but you're acting like you are. Tell me what's wrong Nessie. I don't want to have to wait until we get to the house and ask Edward what's bothering you." I sighed and shook my head.
"You really want to know?" Jacob rolled his eyes.
"Yes, I really want to know."
"I didn't like the way she was talking to you or looking at you. There, happy?" Jacob gave me a weird look.
"The way she was talking to me and looking at me? What are you talking about?"
"Oh come on, Jacob. How could you not have noticed? She was drooling over you the whole time." Jacob kept his eyes on the road, but sighed heavily.
"That's what you're so mad about?" I nodded my head.
"Yes, that's why I'm so mad." Jacob sighed again, and said nothing else. I thought that he was dropping the subject, but then he turned into a rest stop. I looked at Jacob questioningly. When he found a parking space, he turned off his car, took the keys out of the ignition, and looked at me.
"There's nothing between me and Amanda. She's just a little too friendly is all."
"Too friendly is an understatement. Why was she even with you in the shop earlier?" Jacob rubbed his face with his hand and sighed.
"She asked me to go out with her and her friends tonight." I gave Jacob a quizzing look.
"And?" Jacob looked at me with an insulted face.
"I told her I was busy. I have patrol tonight, you know that. And even if I didn't, I would have said no." Now I felt silly. The obviousness of the situation was like a punch in the face. I had yelled at him when he didn't deserve it. I sighed heavily and Jacob continued to look at me.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be yelling at you." Jacob stayed quiet for a moment before saying anything.
"Why are you so mad at her? Why does it matter how she talks to me or looks at me?" I sighed again. I honestly wasn't sure. I thought about it for a moment and Jacob stayed quiet. Then I realized something. It wasn't just Amanda who made me angry, it was everyone who ever noticed Jacob.
Jacob was an attractive man. He was muscular and tan with raven hair and eyelashes that went out for miles. He had a very handsome face that was masculine and comforting at the same time and could keep you out of trouble with other men from a single stare. And if you got close enough to him, his natural scent was enough to always make me feel safe and comforted. Any woman would be attracted to Jacob. And yet every time any girl expressed any interest in him, I got angry.
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. I had feelings for him. I didn't know exactly what that was, but it was strong whatever it was. I felt a strange ownership over Jacob, like a girl with her favorite doll. I wanted him all to myself and no one else was allowed to play with him. It was so selfish of me to feel that way, but that was how it was. I didn't want to say that to Jacob though. I wasn't sure what he would say exactly.
"I just didn't appreciate it." Jacob sighed again.
"Nessie, talk to me. I really want to understand why this is bothering you." I was blushing now. I knew why this was bothering me and the reason was silly. I didn't know what it was I was feeling. He was my best friend and he always had been. That was the only thing I really knew for sure.
"I don't know why this is bothering me. It just is." It was the same feeling I got when I knew how well momma knew Jacob. It was the same feeling I got whenever other girls looked or flirted with him. I was jealous. But what I didn't understand was why I would feel that way.
"Nessie. There's nothing going on between me and Amanda. I hardly know her."
"I know." Jacob sighed a little.
"Nessie. Please. I want to understand. Just let me know what's bothering you." I was too embarrassed to say it out loud. So I just went with my age old method. I touched Jacob's hand and showed him what I was thinking.
I showed him the little analysis and all the connections I'd made, even though I didn't really know what my explanation was. Jacob's eyes became wider as I showed him my thoughts. Then his face became happy, hopeful. This confused me and he heard it in my thoughts. He surprised me by hugging me close to him and kissing the top of my head. I hugged him back.
"You have nothing to be jealous about, Nessie. You come first. You always have, and you always will." I hugged tighter. As silly as it was, that was all I needed to hear. I don't know how long we hugged each other. But it was long enough, that his heartbeat was beginning to make me tired. His arms were warm, heartbeat loud, scent soothing. Eventually, I fell fast asleep in Jacob's arms.
JPOV
I hadn't realized at first that Nessie had fallen asleep. But when I noticed, I rested her against the seat and let her sleep. I felt overjoyed. Things were moving forward. She was far too young right now. I didn't think of her that way, not yet. I loved her more than anything, but the love wasn't romantic. She was only a child. But the fact that she was beginning to have these feelings, whether she realized it or not, gave me hope for the future.
It had always been my greatest fear that she would never love me as any more than her best friend, the same way that Bella had. But this was much different than me and Bella, and that's what made me hopeful. But I still had my moments of doubt, and they always felt painful. But listening to her thoughts just now made me surer than ever that we would one day have a future when the time was right.
After I placed her comfortably on the seat, I caressed her cheek with my thumb, then started the car again. I took my time driving her back home. I knew Edward would want to have a long talk with me when I got there. I was in a really good mood, but he certainly wouldn't be. I started driving even slower when I was getting close to the house. And when I got into the trail that led to the house, I only went ten miles an hour. A quarter of the speed I usually went. Edward was waiting for me on the porch when I finally reached the house.
I sighed. I turned off the car and got out. I went around and unbuckled Nessie and took her out of the car, cradling her in my arms. Edward looked a combination of emotions. Annoyance and a hint of anger being the primary emotions I saw. The others I saw were strange. He actually looked sad.
"Give her to Bella. She'll take her back to the cottage and tuck her into bed. I'd like to talk to you alone for a moment." I sighed and nodded my head. Edward walked off of the porch and past me, going into the wooded area in front of the house, going far enough that only he and I would be able to hear what was going on.
Bella came out of the house and took Nessie in her arms. It was funny watching Bella hold Nessie now that she was about the size of an average thirteen year old. She was five feet and pushing another inch. She smiled at her when she saw how deep in sleep she was. Nessie really was beautiful when she slept. Bella looked at me after looking at her. Her eyes were worrisome.
"What happened, Jacob?" Her voice wasn't angry, it was only concerned. I smiled at her and she smiled back.
"I think she made a break through." Bella gave me a confused look, but then she smiled. Then she laughed lightly.
"Is that what's eating Edward?" I nodded my head and she smiled a little. "Good luck." I chuckled lightly.
"Thanks Bells." With that, I waved bye to her and started walking into the woods where Edward had gone. Bella waved back and then went around the house and to the cottage to tuck Nessie in.
Edward had ended up traveling a mile and a half into the woods. I saw him staring in the opposite direction pinching the bridge of his nose. I sighed, and walked the few feet that separated us until I was only five feet away from him. He stayed in the same position for a few minutes, but I let him. I waited for him to start talking to me.
"Jacob." His voice was suppressing annoyance. He was composed. So was I.
"Yeah, Edward?" He sighed and then turned around to face me. I couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling at the moment. His face was masking everything perfectly. When he finally talked, his voice was just as composed.
"You know how I feel about this." I nodded my head, knowing exactly what he meant.
"Yes I do, Edward. But you also know that I don't think of her in a romantic way. And neither does she." Edward sighed again.
"She doesn't know what she's feeling right now, Jacob. So far all she's figured out is that she gets jealous when other women notice you or flirt with you. She doesn't know why."
"I know." Edward didn't say anything at first. When he did, his voice was stern.
"I don't want you encouraging this."
"You know I would never force this on her." Edward silenced me with his own statement.
"Let me finish, Jacob." I silenced myself and waited for him to talk again. He sighed. "I know how much she means to you. And I know how much you mean to her. If, in the future, she ends up loving you, I won't stop her. All I want if for Renesmee to be happy. That's all any father wants for their daughter." I nodded.
"I know, Edward."
"If you're what makes her happy, then that's all I can ask for. But I don't want you encouraging her. If she wants you, let her come to that conclusion on her own. I don't want you intentionally adding fuel to the fire. Do you understand me?" I nodded my head again.
"I am what she wants me to be, Edward. You know that. If she wants me to be a brother, I'm her brother. If she wants a best friend, then I'm her best friend. And if she wants me to love her that way, then I won't deny her that. You know how imprinting works." Edward's face didn't change.
"Renesmee, however, doesn't understand imprinting. And in truth, I would prefer it stay that way for now."
"I agree. I would never put any pressure on her. You know that better than anyone. I want her to be happy too, Edward. I would like for her to be happy with me when the time is right, but I won't force it to be with me."
"I know you won't. I just wanted to have this little talk and make sure that we're both clear on what I would like to see happen. If she loves you, so be it. But she has to decide that for herself, with no influence from knowing what imprinting means. It's bad enough that she knows you've imprinted on her. Let's let her remain ignorant as to what it is for now, okay?" I nodded my head.
"Sounds like a plan, Edward." Edward smiled humorlessly. I smiled with a little more enthusiasm.
"I assume she hasn't asked you." I didn't know what he was talking about. I thought about the day and he got his answer from that. "I guess she hasn't. She wanted to ask you to teach her Quileute." This took me by surprise. I actually felt honored that she would want me to teach her such a thing.
"She wants me to teach her Quileute?" Edward nodded.
"Yeah. The teacher at Claire's school went over the alphabet and she became interested. You can tell her you agree to teach her when she wakes up tomorrow. But for now, you need to get off and go on patrol." I looked at him, then looked at my watch. It was nine at night. The pack was due to meet in an hour.
"Okay. Thanks for letting me know. I'll be back in the morning." Edward nodded his head.
"You always are." Edward started laughing lightly and I joined him. I really was. Edward started walking back to the house. I looked back at him. He stopped when he heard what I was about to say. "Sure. You can keep the Rabbit here." I smiled as Edward continued to walk away to the house.
When Edward was out of sight, I started running in the direction of the cottage, going around the house. I got there in two minutes from running. Edward and Bella were already there. I could smell them there. I walked over to the door, without knocking.
"Make it quick, Jacob." I laughed lightly at Edward's tone and let myself in. Bella was laughing lightly too. I think she was laughing more at the fact that I was soaked from the rain. Edward was too, but, of course, to Bella, he wore it better. Edward laughed at my thoughts, but I ignored him and walked to Nessie's room.
She was already in bed, sound asleep. She changed positions and groaned as I entered her room. She was clutching her little toy wolf that I had made for her and I felt a blast of pride. Even more so when I saw the little bracelet I had gotten her for her first Christmas on her left wrist. I walked over to her bedside and kneeled down so that I was facing her.
She was snoring lightly. It was a cute snoring. Nothing obnoxious. Her scent was a beautiful one. Sweetened peaches and sunflowers. But there was also the smell of leather and sun. Probably from my car and from Bella. I rested my head next to her pillow and just watched her sleep. I heard Edward clear his throat in the other room. I sighed and laughed lightly. I lifted myself up, still looking at her. I caressed her cheek with my thumb.
"Sleep tight, Nessie. I'll see you in the morning." Suddenly, words appeared in my head.
Goodnight, Jacob. I smiled one last time at her and she smiled back. I kissed the top of her head, walked away, still looking at her, and walked out of her room and out of the house. Bella waved goodbye to me and wished me a good patrol as I walked out and I wished her a good night.
I ran about a mile into the woods away from the cottage going in the direction of the reservation. When I was far enough away, I fazed. I didn't hear anyone yet. I was a little early. I kept running until I reached the reservation, all the while, thinking about Renesmee. Today, I had felt more hope for future than I've felt in a long time. More, even, than when Renesmee was born. I was hopeful that, one day, she might actually love me as much as I've always loved her.