Chapter 19
Nessie continued to live her life normally. She became best friends with Stella and Whitney. She became good friends with all the Cullens, especially Alice because Nessie liked to shop too. Nessie was over at friend's houses all the time. She'd be gone for the whole weekend sometimes. She'd spend one night at Whitney, Stella or the Cullen's and then she'd spend the night at one of the other one's house the next day. She would also have them over to her house sometimes.
It was now 3 months after Jake and Renesmee had first moved to Rock Dale. Nessie had gone out with Austin a couple times but she had decided she wanted to be just friends. Stella and Sam had broken up but they were back together now. Whitney and Mark were still dating. Nessie had gone out a couple times with Phillip, Stella's older brother, and he had recently asked her to be his girlfriend. And she had said yes. It seemed like Jake didn't really like that she was dating Phillip though. She didn't know if it was Phillip or just the fact that Nessie had a boyfriend. It also sort of seemed like the Cullens didn't like that Nessie was dating Phillip either. Nessie thought it was weird that they had issues with her dating Phillip. Stella was excited that Nessie was dating her brother though. She thought they made a really cute couple. Whitney was excited that Nessie had a boyfriend too. Sometimes Nessie and Phillip and Whitney and Mark would go on double dates but Nessie and Phillip never double dated with Stella and Sam since Stella was Phillip's little sister. Nessie and Phillip had also gone on a double date with his best friend Alex and Alex's girlfriend Megan. Alex and Megan were both sophomores like Phillip. Megan and Nessie had started hanging out after the first double date and they had become good friends and Nessie was becoming good friends with other sophomores as well.
Nessie was in her room getting ready for rehearsal for the freshmen and sophomore versus upperclassmen play. She had gotten the lead. She was playing opposite Phillip who she had convinced to audition. She had curled her hair and she had put on her new pink mascara, light gold eye shadow, her natural color blush, and a bronzy-brown eyeliner. She got dressed in a pair of hot pink tights, a light denim mini skirt, a pair of black ballet flats, and a fitted 3/4 sleeve white shirt. She slipped a thin hot pink headband onto her head and slicked on a little lip gloss. She threw her lip gloss and script into her purse. She was excited for rehearsal but she was also excited for the after rehearsal because she was spending the night at Stella's so she would be hanging with Stella and Phillip. Nessie checked how she looked on more time in the mirror before heading downstairs. Rosalie and Alice had both auditioned and of course had gotten parts in the play so they had come by to pick her up. Since they were only freshmen they couldn't drive though so Jasper, who was a sophomore and could drive, was driving them. He hadn't auditioned but he always took them so he stayed and watched every rehearsal. "I'm ready guys," Nessie said as she got to the bottom of the stairs.
"About time," Jasper teased giving Nessie a hug. Nessie laughed and hugged Jasper back.
"See ya Jake. Don't forget that I'm going to Stella's after rehearsal."
"And Phillip's," Alice teased.
"Well Phillip is her brother," Nessie said with a laugh.
"Okay but behave Nessie," Jake warned.
"I will, I will," Nessie said rolling her eyes and laughing.
"Don't roll your eyes at me missy," Jake teased.
Nessie rolled her eyes again just because and continued to laugh. Jake walked over to Nessie and start to tickle her.
"You going to roll your eyes again?" he asked laughing.
"No I won't! Please stop Jake," Nessie said as she laughed and tried to get away. Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie stood watching and laughing. Jake stopped tickling Nessie and Nessie tried to get her breathe back.
"We better get going or we're going to be late," Rosalie said. She was actually liking Jake now. Especially because he had protected and taken such good care of Nessie.
"Rose is right. Have fun at rehearsal and at Stella's," Jake said giving Nessie a kiss on her forehead.
"I will. Love you Jake," Nessie said giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you too Nessie."
"Bye Jake," Jasper said.
"See ya later," Alice said.
"Goodbye Jacob," Rosalie said. Jasper, Rosalie, Alice, and Nessie walked out the door and piled into Jasper's car.
They arrived at the school and piled out of the car.
"I'm not going to stay tonight. I've got some stuff I need to do and Esme asked me to run to the store for her," Jasper said. "I'll be back in time to pick you two up," he said to Alice and Rosalie. "Have fun at Stella's," he said to Nessie.
"Thanks I will," Nessie said with a smile. "See ya tomorrow Jazz." Nessie had started to call the Cullens by the nicknames they used for each other. Jazz, Rose, Bells, and sometimes she called Edward Eddie but normally she called him Edward. They had even started calling her by the nickname Jake used for her. She felt like her and Jake were part of their family and she loved the feeling. It had always been really just her and Jake. She had felt like she had a bigger family whenever they would go visit Jake's dad in La Push where Jake grew up. She felt sort of like a part of a family when they visited because there was Billy and there were Jake's friends. They didn't visit very often though, once a year twice maybe and Nessie liked that the Cullens were in the same town as her and Jake so she hoped that her and Jake wouldn't move again soon.
"Bye Jazz," Rosalie said as she started walking towards the school with Nessie.
"Have a good time hunting," Alice whispered quietly to Jasper, looking into his black eyes, before giving him a quick kiss. Nessie knew about the fact that the Cullens were paired off. She had thought it was kind of weird at first but now she thought nothing of it.
"I will. Emmett, Edward, and me are going up to Canada for grizzly bear."
"Oh fun," Alice said with a laugh.
"Extremely," Jasper said with a laugh of his own. "You better get going."
"Yeah I better," Alice said getting out of the car.
"Wait," Jasper said grabbing her wrist and pulling her to him. "I love you," he said giving her a kiss.
"I love you too," Alice said kissing him back then getting out of the car. She ran to Rosalie and Nessie and the three of them walked into the school. They walked towards the auditorium. Phillip was leaning against the wall by the door of the auditorium. He gave Alice and Rosalie a polite smile then gave Nessie a smile. Nessie smiled back as Rosalie and Alice walked into the auditorium.
"Hey Vanessa," Phillip said, taking a hold of Nessie's wrists and pulling her towards him.
"Hey Phillip," Nessie said with a giggle and a smile. Phillip leaned towards Nessie and gave her a kiss and Nessie kissed him back.
"Ready to do the kissing scene today?" Phillip asked.
"Yeah. Are you?" Nessie asked with a little smile.
"Yep. It gives me an excuse to kiss you even more," he said before giving her another kiss. "I'm glad you're kissing my and not some other guy though."
"It's not like it'd mean anything. It's just acting," Nessie said with a shrug.
"I know but I'd still get jealous. I don't want to share you," Phillip said giving Nessie yet another kiss.
"You're so protective of me," Nessie said with a laugh.
"That's because I have to be. I know plenty of guys that would steal you away from me if they got the chance."
Nessie giggled and gave Phillip a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, let's head in. We don't want to be late," Nessie said before walking to the door, opening it, and going in. Phillip put his hand in Nessie's as they walked in.
"About time you guys decided to come in," Stella teased as Nessie and Phillip sat with her, Whitney, and some of their other friends. Freshmen and sophomores. Nessie just laughed and play punched Stella in the arm. The director, a sophomore named Mike, called for rehearsal to start so everyone walked up onto the stage, holding their scripts.
Nessie was playing a girl named Nicolette who was a new girl at a school. She had been a rebel at her old school and didn't even think of changing. She did what she wanted to. But then she did something that she didn't want to do. She fell for Levi, who was played by Phillip. Levi was the total opposite of any guy Nicolette had ever liked or been with. She was an athlete, class president, and a top grade student. Then another surprising thing happened. Levi fell for Nicolette even though she was the opposite of any girl he had ever liked or been with. But Elizabeth, who was played by Megan, wasn't going to let them be together. Elizabeth was Miss Popularity. She was the normal type of girl that Levi went for. She ruled the school and got everything she wanted. She had her sights on Levi and she wasn't about to let some nobody get him instead of her. Against all odds, Levi and Nicolette became the school's happiest couple and he helped her come out from behind the shield her rebel front made and to show her real self. Nicolette became the prom queen instead of Elizabeth and Levi became prom king. Everyone stopped fearing Elizabeth and started ignoring her. The classic good beats evil and happily ever after. The last scene of the play was a school picnic where everyone loved Nicolette and she was living the perfect life. Stella was playing a girl named Haley. She was the first person to befriend Nicolette. Haley wasn't a rebel though. She was a hyper, perky, energetic girl who was always dressed cute and fashionable. Alice was playing Nicolette's sister Marie. Marie is the total opposite of how Nicolette is in the beginning. She's a top grade student and is basically the definition of a perfect daughter. She's also a year older than Nicolette and Nicolette always felt like she could never live up to Marie which is part of the reason she had started the rebel front. Rosalie was playing Ashley who was Elizabeth's, Megan's character, 'best friend.' They were more like frenemies and Ashley ends up deserting Elizabeth at the end.
"Okay. Let's do this kissing scene!" Mike yelled. Everyone but Nessie and Phillip walked offstage.
"You look even prettier without all the makeup," Phillip said as Levi.
Nessie as Nicolette made herself blush and looked down. "Thanks Levi. I had a really good time tonight."
"I did too," Levi said, lifting Nicolette's face up. He leaned forward and gave her a small kiss on the lips. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Nicolette said in an airy voice that would seem quiet.
Levi gave Nicolette another kiss. This time he wrapped his arms around her waist and Nicolette wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed and then Nicolette pulled away.
"I really should be getting inside before my dad comes out," Nicolette said with a laugh.
"Okay. I'll call you tomorrow. Goodnight Nicolette," Levi said as Nicolette opened the door.
"Goodnight Levi." Nessie gave Levi another little smile before closing the door.
Levi had a smile on his lips as he walked off the stage in a daze.
"Wonderful! Wonderful!" Mike yelled clapping. Nessie and Phillip walked back onto the stage. "You two did wonderful! The chemistry was electric!" Nessie gave Mike a modest smile and Phillip smiled, putting his arm around Nessie's shoulders.
"Yes you guys did amazing," Whitney said, giving Nessie a wink. Nessie covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. "Now we need to talk about costumes so I want everyone out on stage!" Everyone came out and sat down on the stage. Stella came over and sat on Nessie's other side. Alice and Rosalie came over and sat close to them as did some of the people Nessie and Phillip had been sitting with before rehearsal started. Whitney walked up onto the stage and went to the middle. Stephanie, who was in charge of the costumes, followed. "Vanessa come here," Whitney said. Nessie stood up and walked over to Whitney and Stephanie. "Okay. So when you're a rebel we were thinking black combat boots, hot pink or black fishnets, we haven't decided, a distressed denim miniskirt, and a black fitted short sleeve shirt with a silver skull and crossbones. We want your hair straight and we want you to wear dark eye makeup and either bright pink or red lipstick. How does that sound to you?"
"It sounds good. Very freaky," Nessie said with a laugh. "And I've got combat boots."
"I'm not surprised," Whitney teased, laughing. "And you probably have a distressed mini?"
"Yes I do."
"Good. That will be when you first come in. Then for the date scene I want your hair in loose curls, a little makeup, a white bubble miniskirt, silver ballet flats, and a pale pink short sleeve oxford shirt. The for the prom scene I want your hair up with a couple of ringlets hanging down. Your makeup will be simple and elegant and I want you in either a white, pale pink, or pale blue dress. No matter what color I want to see how gloves look. I don't know what I want the gloves to look like yet. I don't know if I want elbow length of wrist length and if I want white silk or white lace. And for the very last scene, the school picnic, I want you in a pale pink sundress, simple silver gladiators, simple makeup, and I want you hair in loose curls. Can your hair do loose curls?"
"Yeah. My hair's actually naturally curly," Nessie said.
"Perfect," Whitney said. "Okay now Phillip some here." Phillip walked over to Whitney and Nessie went back to where she had been sitting.
"Your outfits sound cute," Stella said as Nessie sat down.
"Yeah. Whitney and Stephanie had good ideas."
"Okay. So when we first see you we want you in dark-washed jeans with a couple little holes, a name brand short sleeve shirt. We want you to look We want you to look like a very preppy boy. We want you in a tux like the rest of the guys for the prom scene. For the date scene we want you in a polo and jeans and for the school picnic scene we want you in a short sleeve shirt and cargo shorts," Whitney said. They went through Whitney and Stephanie's ideas for everyone's costumes for the rest of the rehearsal. Rehearsal ended and everyone went and to their stuff.
"Bye Alice. Bye Rose," Nessie said with a smile.
"Bye Nessie," Rosalie said, using Vanessa's nickname.
"See ya. Hey you and Jake are still coming over after dinner tomorrow right?" Alice asked.
"Of course. I really want to see the horror movie that just came out on dvd. You guys rented it right?"
"Of course we did," Rosalie said.
"Sweet. And I know Jake is looking forward to having an adult night with Carlisle and Esme," Nessie said with a laugh. Rosalie and Alice laughed too before they said a last goodbye and headed towards the door. Nessie walked back over to Stella, Whitney, Phillip, and everyone else.
"Nessie?" Stella asked.
"It's the nickname my Uncle Jake has for me. We've been hanging with the Cullens a lot lately so they've picked it up. Just like I've picked up the nicknames they call each other. You've heard me use them," Nessie said as she slipped her jacket on.
"How come you never told me about that nickname?" Phillip teased. "I like it."
"Don't call me Nessie though," Nessie said. "I'd rather everyone else call me Vanessa or some other nickname."
"Wait, Nessie like the Lock Ness Monster?" Stella asked.
"Yes like the Lock Ness Monster," Nessie said with a smile. "Apparently I was a little monster when I was growing up," Nessie said with a laugh.
"I could see that," Phillip said with a laugh as he wrapped his arms around Nessie from behind and gave her a kiss on the neck.
"Phillip stop," Nessie said with a blush. All their friends laughed as they all got their stuff together. They all headed for the doors, talking and joking and laughing as they went. Once they got to the main doors they all split up. Stella, Nessie, and Phillip headed for Stella and Phillip's mom's car. Stella and Nessie climbed into the backseat and Phillip rode shot gun.
"How was practice?" their mom asked.
"It was fun. We talked about costumes," Stella said. "Plus Phillip and Vanessa practiced the big kiss scene," she said with a laugh.
Nessie glared at Stella. Mrs. Quinn laughed and looked at Nessie in the rearview mirror.
"So I hear you're showing everyone that you're quite the actress," Mrs. Quinn said. "The word around is that you're stirring up the entire drama department and that the rest of the girls should look out when you audition for the upcoming school play."
"Thank you Mrs. Quinn but I'm really not that good," Nessie said.
"Stop being so modest Vanessa. You rock," Stella said.
"I've told you that you can call me Christina," Mrs. Quinn said.
"Okay. Thank you for letting me spend the night Christina."
"You're welcome. You're welcome at our house whenever." They all drove to Stella and Phillip's house. Stella and Nessie went up to Stella's room. They hung out up there for about half an hour then decided they wanted to go swimming so they changed into their bathing suits and walked down to the heated pool. When they got there Phillip and some of his friends were already in the pool. His friends that were there were Alex, Ryan, and Joe.
"Hey guys," Nessie said as she unwrapped her towel from around her waist and set it on a pool chair. She walked over to the diving board, got on, and dove in. Stella jumped into the pool and swam over to where Phillip, Ryan, Alex, and Joe were. Nessie swam over to all of them. They all hung out till Ryan, Alex, and Joe went home at like 10:00. Nessie and Stella went down to Stella's basement after they left. They laid out pillows and blankets on the couches and put a movie in. They told Phillip he wasn't allowed downstairs so he stayed up in his room. Nessie was texting him at the beginning of the movie but then Stella took her phone so she couldn't so Nessie took Stella's phone so Stella couldn't text Sam.