A/N Hey guys. So here's the next installment of New To The Clan. Hope you all like it.
Thanks to the great peeps who have reviewed last chapter(Lauz, love ya). Keep it up, I really love to know what is good/bad/interesting about it all.
Disclaimer: Oops, I forgot to write it up for the last few chapters! My bad. Anyways, I don't own Twilight. I kinda wished I did but I suppose if I did, it wouldn't have turned out nearly as good as it did. Lol.
Chapter 3
At first when I woke up, I thought I'd dreamt it all. That was before someone lobbed a pillow at my head.
"Get up lazybones!" Nessie crowed, "We're going to have some fun today!"
I heard Bella laugh in the background as I groaned and flung my arm over my head, "Ten more minutes," I croaked.
Nessie giggled and suddenly, I was yanked off the bed and towed across the wooden floor, out the door and into what I assumed to be a bathroom but I was still too groggy to see straight.
"Have a shower and get dressed. Then we're going to Seattle!"
I stumbled to my feet and began stripping down as soon as Nessie was out the door. The shower was lovely and the steam cocooned me in a pod of warmth. After I'd toweled myself down, I dragged on my clean clothes which someone had conveniently placed inside the door while I'd been in the shower and walked out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around my dripping hair.
Nessie was seated on a small loveseat couch down the hall with Edward. I cocked my head to the side in question.
"He's my dad," Nessie explained when she had read my face.
"Oh," I said and turned abruptly to go straighten out the bed I'd slept in. Turned out I'd slept in Nessie's bed and she'd slept on the floor on a mattress. I felt bad and told them they should have put me on the mattress. They laughed instead. Bella wouldn't let me clean the mess I'd made either. She just smiled and shook her head when I offered.
I ended up on the couch with Nessie while Edward went to the big house. I was originally going to stay the night in the big house but Nessie had put up a fight and convinced her parents to let me sleep in their little cottage in the forest.
"Why are we going to Seattle?" I asked Nessie.
"Oh," her eyes light up, "We're going shopping!"
A laugh tinkled from behind us by the front door. We turned to see Alice shaking drops of rain from her spiky hair.
"Said like a true Cullen," she said with mock seriousness, "I've taught you well, Renesmee." We all laughed.
I'd never been much of a shopper but their enthusiasm was contagious.
Turned out Alice was coming with Nessie, Bella and I instead of Edward as I'd assumed at first. Jasper had decided to tag along too. He stepped in the door just as Alice was explaining why, "Carlisle needs Edward for something. He was planning something," she laughed again, "But I can't tell you what it is." Nessie pouted and I laughed.
"Come on Aunty Alice," she pleaded, "Won't you tell us? Won't you even give us a clue?" Alice shook her head and all of us laughed at Nessie's distraught expression.
Bella came down the narrow hall clasping her hands together, "Come on everybody."
"Wait," I nearly shouted when I remembered, "I should ring David. He'd want to know."
Alice shrugged, "If you want. So far, he isn't going to check up on you or anything but if it makes you happy," she chucked me a cellphone. I typed in the number and told dad about our day trip. He was fine with it though I thought that may have been because he was asleep when I rang.
"See," Alice said smugly as she put the phone away in her bag, "Didn't I tell you?"
"Yes, you did," I said, "Makes me think, how did you know that?"
"Oh, that's right, you don't know much about us yet do you? Well, I can see the future and Jasper here," she patted Jasper's arm lovingly, "can feel and control moods." So that's what he was trying to do to me yesterday.
"Let's go everybody," Nessie hollered. We laughed and ran through the rain to the garage then on to Seattle. The sky was still pitch black and it was very early. They explained apologetically when I complained about my lake of sleep that even with vampire driving, it would take a few hours and they wanted to be back by tonight. I ended up dozing half the drive anyway.
After only a few hours of walking around, my feet were aching. Alice and Nessie had forced me into outfit after outfit, ignoring me when I told them I didn't have enough money to pay for it. By the time we'd entered and exited four stores, I was loaded with bags.
"You guys don't even really know me, you don't have to buy all this stuff, really!" I tried again, "I mean, you must have spent a fortune already and I honestly don't need any of it."
Bella bent to whisper theatrically in my ear, "There's no way to rain in Alice and she's ignited a passion for fashion in my daughter that there is no way of extinguishing." The other three laughed and we went on with our day.
On the way back, I talked more about myself and questioned them more. I learnt everyone's stories if only the skeleton. Some of them brought tears to my eyes.
The most amazing part was when I heard that Bella was a shield too. Alice and Nessie told me all about the time when the Volturi had come to destroy them and Bella had thwarted their efforts. I stared at her while they concluded their tale. She merely sat quietly with a slightly embarrassed air to her.
Along the way, Jasper and I experimented with my shield.
"Jasmine," Jasper asked, suddenly excited, "Can we see how long you can keep your shield around all of us? And see if you can forget about it; see if you can make it a temporary reflex. Bella has found it quite easy and I was wondering if it would be for you." I was wary at first but eventually I did and after half an hour, the effort it took to force the shield away from me faded into the back of my mind.
We were just passing the house on the way to the garage and on to the cottage when the pure need to go inside flared so strong it took my breath away. The vampires picked it up. Jasper, who was driving, stepped on the brake and I was thrown forward against the seat belt. Before any of them could ask, I was struggling out of seat and trying to open the door but the simple handle got the better of me and all I could do was claw at it pitifully.
"What's the matter?" Jasper asked, his voice shooting higher with the intensity of my craving. I still hadn't let go of my shield so he could taste the flavor of my emotions. I didn't understand it myself so I didn't answer him.
The frustration broke through and my fingers finally caught the handle and I flung it back; exploding from the car in my haste. I heard all of them following me. They were catching up just as I reached the door. I felt someone's arms go around my waist. I paused with shock and Jasper threw me away off the porch. I landed on my back. I snarled in reaction then realized what I was doing and clamped my hands over my mouth, not bothering to get up, "Sorry, sorry!"
Jasper kept his defensive stance in front of Alice who had come to stand behind his shoulder.
"Jazz, she whispered at him, "I think it's Seth."
I had no idea what she was on about but my longing increased with the name.
"I think," she paused delicately, "Seth," she called infinitesimally louder, "Come out here please."
The door opened behind her and someone stood in the door. It felt like that someone had thrown a lasso and caught me around the chest. I scrambled to my feet, my eyes never leaving the shadowed person.
Someone laughed from inside and Edward was suddenly in the window.
The person moved forward with grace and caught me in a tight hug, burying his face in my hair. I hugged him back.
Edward was suddenly standing beside Bella, holding her and whispering in her ear, "Seth has imprinted on her. Looks like she's one of us now," he chuckled.
I breathed in his woodsy scent. It seemed the most important scent in the world now. Every other scent seemed to blur away.
He chuckled and I relished in the sound.
"Hey," he whispered roughly against my skin. His voice seemed to be the most perfect voice in the universe.
I sighed as his arm slipped around me and he stepped to my side. I stared at his face. It printed itself onto my eyes and whenever I closed them, I could see him on my eyelids.
"My name is Jasmine," I said, entirely sincerely and they all laughed loudly.
It wasn't until later that I was informed just how special I was. How I would be the only girl who would ever own him. It sounded so strange that I owned Seth; Seth owned me. I felt like Seth's name was written in indelible ink on my forehead.
I spent that night curled up into his side.
I was joyous for the first time in my life.
I have the next chapter written so hopefully, I'll have it posted soon. I really want to put everything I have written up but I'm taking HeartofFeathers547's advice. I'm going to try pacing myself. But don't worry, I won't keep you in too much suspense! ;P
DANCElikeNOBODYisWATCHING