The weekend passed by quickly. I had a pastry-making class with Esme Saturday morning, and training with Jasper and Emmett in the afternoon. They're teaching me how to fight, and though everyone in my family thinks it is just a silly little wrestling game, I am taking it seriously. I absorb every piece of knowledge I get from watching them fight each other, memorize every maneuver and punching-technique, and then counter their own moves on them. I never win, but I put up a pretty good fight, if I do say so myself.
Sunday morning it rained, so I holed up in my room and read War and Peace, Sense and Sensibility, and The Merchant of Venice. I inherited my mother's love of reading, and considering I have a vampire's quick mind and eyes, I can get through books very fast, though I have nothing on Mom. She practically reads a whole library every week, and is constantly shipping new books in. That's about the only thing she spends money on.
In the afternoon, Alice drug me out to check out a mall she deemed acceptable in the state, which is called Alderwood and is in Lynnwood, and is about 90 miles north-east of Hoquiam. With Alice's insane driving, it took practically no time, and soon enough I was being shoved into all sorts of clothes as Alice flashed around her assortment of credit cards and cash.
We left with so many bags I could hardly carry all of mine and I made Alice give me a piggy-back ride to her car.
And the whole time, Alec was text messaging me. I never replied, not once. But he just kept on going. Hey. Hellooo?. I know you're there. Don't avoid me. Heeere Carlie, Carlie, Carlie. I was too busy to reply. Well, okay, I could have probably gotten a few texts in here and there, but I am very embarrassed to say that I Googled if playing 'hard to get' works on guys, and many places said it did, but guys also like pleasant, easy-to-get girls. So I'm playing hard to get for a while, and then we'll move on from there. I'm just exploring, I won't have many other chances to do such. Human nature is a fascination to me.
I walk into lunch with Brooke and Rachel by my sides. The warmth of the cafeteria feels probably amazing to them considering it is freezing and still raining outside but I hardly notice a difference. The three of us are chatting away, when suddenly someone roughly grabs me by my waist from behind and jerks me back. I gasp, and my instincts and body take over.
My arm swings back, elbowing the person in the gut. A grunt of pain is released, and my fist immediately flashes up, nailing them right in the face. I whip around, not even in control of myself, and find Alec doubled over with blood running down from his nostrils.
"Oh my God." I cry, hand flying up over my mouth in shock.
"Well that certainly wasn't expected." He chuckles slightly, still clutching his stomach but trying to shake off the pain. He brushes his hand across the area just above his lips, wiping away the blood there but more keeps coming.
Blood. Sweet, rich blood. I haven't had human blood since Mom weaned me off the bagged stuff. I can still remember it though. Exploding on my taste-buds, so delicious and enticing. My mouth goes dry as I stand there watching him wide-eyed.
"It's okay, Carlie." He smiles. "Sorry for surprising you like that. I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Do you take martial arts or something?"
"I-i d-don't.. I.." I stammer, wishing I didn't need to breathe like my family. And then, low and behold, Kayla walks over.
"Alec, what happened?" She says in fake-shock. Everyone saw what just happened. I glance over at my family. They're all watching with wide eyes, just like me. None of them are breathing, a safety precaution, and Alice's hand is firmly locked around Jasper's, who looks nearly as hungry as me. We both want the blood.
"Carlie and I had a bit of a run-in." Alec laughs again, playing things off cool, something I think he must be an expert at. I continue to stare, panic-stricken.
"Come on, I'll take you to the nurse." Kayla wraps her arms around his chest as if he needs to be held up.
"No, it's okay. I don't need the nurse." Alec attempts to shrug her off, but she holds tight.
"Yes you do. She needs to look at your nose and see if you have any broken ribs." Kayla says, sounding like an idiot. When did I start hating her so much?
"There are no broken bones, trust me." Alec rolls his green eyes at her. I want to jump in and start up about how I would never break anything of Alec's bones, but I can't. I've lost control over my voice, my entire body actually. And the fact of the matter is, I can't be sure I would never break anything. Because when I feel threatened, I'm not in control. Instincts dominate. My mom and I are on the same boat there, but she has better self control. Dad and Carlisle say it's just a matter of disciplining my mind to be in control at all times.
"Stop being so stubborn. You know Arianna would want you to go get medical help." Kayla insists.
"You always have to bring my mom into things, don't you?" Alec smiles crookedly, face softening. Of course she knows his mother on a first-name basis. Arianna, another gorgeous Italian name. The only Italian feature on Alec is his midnight-black hair, though. "Alright, let's go." he relents, standing up straight for the first time.
"I'm so sorry, Alec." I whisper meekly, needing to tell him before he walks off with her.
"Don't worry about it. I'm going to be fine." he assures me with a devious smile that I can't help but smile back to. "But if you feel the need to make this up to me, you could stop avoiding my texts. That would be nice." He winks and I laugh. They head out with Kayla keeping her arms wrapped around him. My only comfort is that he doesn't respond to it. Before they disappear out the door, she throws me a malicious smile from over her shoulder. The message that smile conveys is very clear – It's on; may the better woman win. I never in a million years thought my first time in high school I would be stuck in some twisted love triangle, fighting over a mortal boy with a mortal girl.
Wait, what am I talking about? I am not going to fight for Alec. Kayla can have him. Doesn't matter to me. He is a human; amusing to watch but not a prime candidate for any type of friendship much less an actual relationship. I am going to breeze right in and out of his life. But you never know, Kayla could end up marrying him. High school sweethearts growing up to be spouses is always cute.
Completely humiliated, I decide to sit with my family. I trudge over to their table, very ashamed of myself. I keep messing things up. I am proving to my mom more and more every day that I can't fit in in the human world.
I sit down between Rose and Jasper, and for a minute no one says anything. The cafeteria has returned to normal, though I'm sure my display will not be forgotten by anyone anytime soon.
"Very impressive." Emmett muses after a moment of silence.
"Shut up." I mutter, a blush creeping on to my cheeks as I glare down at the gritty wood table.
"No, I'm serious. The moves were perfect. Your fist hit him just as he was buckling over from the elbowing. I'm proud, squirt." he ruffles my hair.
"Thanks, I guess. I can't believe I lost control like that though. I am just so glad I didn't grab his face and lick his nose." I roll my eyes, wondering what the students of Hoquiam High would think then. Probably admit me to the nearest mental institution.
"That would have been even funnier." Alice giggles.
"It was funny?" I lift my eyes up to her in confusion. I figured they would all be very disappointed, other than Emmett, who can't take anything seriously.
"Funny, but scary." Rose steps in. "It was on the precipice of spiraling downward. That would have caused a lot of problems, and I really don't want to move when we just got here." She sighs. Rose hates having to always move, and always tries to milk the most time out of every new town.
"I agree with Rose, surprisingly." Dad grins teasingly at his pig-headed sister, who in turn rolls her gorgeous golden eyes. "I know you do a lot of wrestling and playing around with Em and Jasper, and I'm going to have to stop it if you take what you guys do out in the backyard and use it to maim innocent kids, no matter how much I dislike the kid in question."
"No! I love playing with Jazzy and Em. And I haven't maimed anyone. I-"
"Yet," Emmett butts in, and I give him a glare that could kill.
"Like I was saying, I haven't maimed anyone. A little bruise and a nose bleed is minor compared to what some of these kids do to each other. And do you really hate Alec just because I went to see a movie with him?" I ask incredulously. I hate how overprotective my parents can be.
"But you are capable of doing much more than that. You're lucky that it was just a bruise and a nose bleed because the bruise could have easily been a collapsed lung and his little nose bleed could have easily been a crushed skull. And no, I don't detest him because of that one movie. I detest him because, well, let's face it. You've known him less than a week and you're already staring at him with misty eyes. We can all see where this is heading." Dad frowns, obviously not liking the idea of me having a relationship with a mortal. My blush from earlier that I managed to fight off returns with a vengeance.
"Stop it, Edward. Leave Renesmee alone. It is her life." Mom stands up for me. The bell suddenly rings, and I realize the cafeteria is nearly vacant.
"I guess I'll see you guys later." I stand and leave, waving at them when I reach the door. Then I push out, receiving a blast of frigid air. It doesn't effect me as much as the mortals, who are all wearing large jackets that are one step away from parkas. I pull my yellow, gray, and white plaid flannel down a little. It goes over my clingy sunshine-yellow tank top, and there is a thin brown sash tied around my waist. My Miss Me jeans are tucked neatly into my chestnut, furry Ugg boots and large, silver hoop earrings are in my ears.
It is desolate out here, I can only hear a few sets of footsteps around, because everyone is already probably in their classes. The bell chimes, and I groan. My fourth day of school and I'm already going to be getting a tardy. My class is all the way on the other side of campus.
I pick up the pace a little bit, hoping if I get there quickly I might be able to sweet talk my way out of it. Adults have always loved me, I have a sort of natural charisma. I have the beauty and charm of a vampire but my presence doesn't trigger such intense warning bells.
"Practicing for a marathon, Cullen?" The bemused though slightly out of breath voice of Alec calls from behind me. I turn, a smile already itching at my lips, and find him a good twenty feet back though hurrying to catch up.
"I'm already tardy, de Luca. And we don't all have the excuse of getting beat up by a little girl." I smirk, crossing my arms over my chest and waiting for him.
"I did not get beat up! You took me by surprise, that's all." He defends his ego with feverence.
"Sure, sure." I laugh, a phrase I've picked up from Jake.
"How about we just not talk about it again? Ever?" He frowns.
"Deal. But I really am sorry about it. My brothers teach me karate and tai-kwan-do. I guess I got a little caught up." It's mostly the truth, and he fortunately doesn't catch up on the small lie. I'm pretty sure Jazz and Em don't even know tai-kwan-do or karate. They just teach me moves that allow for optimal defense from other vampires. And any defense moves that work on vampires are lethal offense moves for humans.
"It's fine, trust me. But I meant what I said. I want you to text me back. There was no point in giving me your number if you aren't even going to respond." He says logically.
"I really didn't have time this weekend. I'll try to today." I bluff easily.
"Lies are as easy as breathing to you, aren't they?" He arches one brow, looking over at me.
"How do you always know?" I answer his question with a question, which is usually a sure sign of a yes, as it is in this case.
"I can't figure you out, Carlie, but sensing your lies is as easy as reading an open book." He grins. "I only wish I could be able to tell why you lie about the things you do. Then I could probably solve the puzzle."
"I've already told you, you don't want to figure it out. Please don't try. You'll waste your time searching for an impossible answer. And if you somehow uncover it, you're going to regret the mess you find yourself in." I press my lips in a hard line, growing sad. I've always wondered if Mom has ever wished she never figured Dad out. Things could have gone so differently for her. She probably would have married Jake, stayed human, had as many children as she pleased, and lived out her life with her friends and family. Now look at her. Forever nineteen (though she swears up and down she's eighteen, but to me the older the better because who wants to be as old as their mother?), never going to see Charlie and Renee again, had to leave her whole world behind, and I'm the only offspring she'll ever conceive. Rose, Alice, and Esme aren't even that lucky. They'll never have children.
"Don't be sad." Alec whispers, both of us stopping because we're outside my building and I begin to wonder where he is going.
"I'm not." I put on my most convincing smile, one that could definitely win an Oscar for best actress. He gives me a look, a your-lies-never-fool-me-so-stop-trying look, put doesn't argue it.
"I guess I'll see you around then." He rakes one hand through his already messy, wind-blown hair. This is the first time it has seemed like Alec has no idea what to say anymore.
"Why did things suddenly get really awkward?" I laugh nervously, running a hand through my curls also.
"Because I'm trying to work up the nerve to ask you to hang out again." He says bluntly, his lips quirking up into a smile.
"Is it weird that we haven't even known each other for a week and it's already so natural around you?" I ask, half-joking and half-genuine. I want to know his theories.
"I guess we're soul mates." He flashes me his haughty grin.
"I'm sure that's it." I roll my eyes.
"Of course it is. But I'm serious. Do you think we could hang out again on Friday?" His swirling green eyes meet mine, burning with hope and sincerity.
"Well.." I frown, wanting to so badly for reasons unbeknownst to me, yet remembering I have plans to go hunting with my family on Friday after school in California.
"Before you say yes or no, let me just tell you it won't be like last time. My sister Alissia is turning six on Saturday, and she's having her party at our house Friday. I have to help out, but my mom said I could have a friend over to help out." He seems a little embarrassed about it all. He speaks fondly of his mother and sister though, something you don't see too often in teenage boys.
"That is so sweet, but are you sure that I'm the right person for that? We really haven't known each other that long and I've never even met your family, much less your little sister." I bite my lip, wanting so badly to go but not wanting to be an intrusion.
"You worry too much. My family will love you, I promise. Alissia will absolutely adore you. And I know, it's kind of weird of me to ask since I haven't even known you a week yet, but like you said, things are just easy between us. Besides, I need someone to shove all the work on to." He grins brightly and mischievously.
"I don't know.." I sigh.
"Okay, okay, fine, I'll pick up ten percent of the slack." He offers.
"Alec-"
"Twenty five?"
"No, you see-"
"Okay, fifty percent, final offer." He raises his hands, palms facing towards me, as if he is going to phyiscially stop the debate that I wasn't even taking part in.
"I would love to go, Alec, really I would, but I promised my family I would spend some time with them." I finally get out what I was trying to say.
His hands drop to his sides, eyes turning sad. His shoulders slump ever so slightly, and he frowns as he says, "You're not lying."
"Shocking, isn't it?" I smile humorlessly.
"A bit." He admits, his smile fighting its way back up. But there is still definite disappointment all over his features and I feel terrible about it though I can't explain why.
"Maybe I can push it off until Saturday.." I murmur more to myself than him, but he hears and his expression lights up again.
"I'm taking that as a definite possibly. See you later, Carlie." He begins to run off. I open my mouth to protest, about to say that it is more of a weak maybe, but decide against it. I'm already at least five minutes late to class.
I hurry into the building and down to English. I interrupt the teacher's lecture, but, with a lot of widening of the eyes and apologizing, I manage to talk my way out of it.
I don't run into Alec again for the rest of the day, but at 2:30, exactly when school gets out, I have a message from him saying, "Hey." I shove my phone in my pocket, planning to respond once I get home, but not even a full minute later I feel it vibrating. I whip it out again to find, big surprise, another message from Alec, this one reading, "Stop ignoring our love!" I roll my eyes and click REPLY.
"You're getting a little clingy. Maybe it's time for us to spend some time apart.." I send it, then hurry through the masses of people towards the parking lot. I begin singing the Dora theme song as I near the car so Dad can't read my thoughts. The downside is that immediately tells him that something is up.
"What are you trying to hide?" He asks as I climb over everyone into the back next to Alice and Jasper.
"If I wanted you to know, I wouldn't be annoying you out of my head." I tell him as I take a seat and he smiles slightly.
"Come on, Nes. Spill it." Alice urges eagerly.
"You guys are going to make fun of me.." I gnaw on my lip, a nervous habit I picked up from Mom.
"What? Did you break one of your teacher's arms? Or cause an old lady internal bleeding?" Emmett is growing as excited as Alice.
"Cut it out." Rose whacks him on the back of the head, not the best move considering he is driving the car, but I guess it doesn't really matter considering he has super reflexes and it wouldn't severely damage anyone in here, though I could get some bruises and scratches and maybe even fracture something.
He turns his puppy dog eyes on her, jutting his bottom lip out and quivering it for good measure, saying in a pathetically high voice, "That hurt, Rosie." She just rolls her eyes, not buying into that load of crap.
"Can you all shut up and let Renesmee speak? Her anxiety is killing me!" Jasper bursts out, a rare thing for him. I hadn't realized how worked up I had gotten. I immediately try to soothe myself, and he throws in a sprinkle of artificial calm for good measure.
"Sorry Jazz." I smile impishly at him. "Anyways, Mom, Dad, and everyone else I guess, I know we were all going to go hunting this Friday, but, well, Alec's little sister's birthday party is this Friday, and he wants me to come and help out. It's practically community service." I put on my most authentic, sweetest, innocent smile, desperately trying to mask how much I adore Alec and am dying to spend all the time I can with him. He's rapidly becoming my best friend, which isn't hard considering I don't have too many real friends. Sure, I hang out with Brooke's group, but they made their ties long ago. I talk to them, but not in a way true friends would. I'm closest to Brooke of them all.
"Community service? Honey, come on. I don't have to be a mind-reader or empath to know there's a little more to it than the goodness in your heart." Mom smiles back at me.
"I thought you were excited about going hunting in California.." Dad's forehead creases, a frown working its way onto his face.
"I was! But there is an eternity full of hunting trips awaiting us all, and, well, only one Alissia's sixth birthday party.." I avoid his gaze, feeling awful. I can't believe I'm bailing on my family for a six year old stranger's party. Please tell me that is something normal we-just-met friends do for each other, and NOT something a we-just-met-and-this-all-feels-so-right, soon-to-be couple does for each other.
"I think that sounds very nice. And there really isn't a better way for her to start spending more time with this boy than with his family around." Rose says in a calm, logical voice and I am so very glad she has taken my side on this one. Rose is an excellent debater. If she is against what you're doing, she will argue and fire at you millions of arguments about how it is a stupid idea and soon enough you're so overwhelmed you realize it really isn't that important to you to do it and give up. But if she takes your side, she is just a strong pillar of support, and the epitome of reason. I can imagine her being a lawyer in another life.
"I suppose.." Dad grimaces, looking like he is warring with himself internally.
"I agree with Rose." Mom says, and I exhale in relief. She is another very important person to have on my side.
"Edward, stop being so overbearing. Renesmee is a good, smart girl. She is very capable of making positive decisions. What could possibly go wrong at a little girl's birthday party? She just wants to spend time with a boy she is starting to like. A mortal boy. That means nothing is going to come from this, and all it is is fun and games. " Rose is getting a bit fired up, not shocking considering she is going against Dad.
"Who can say no to those big brown eyes?" Alice giggles, being the first to realize I'm testing out Emmett's puppy dog face. Emmett, glances back at me in the rear view mirror.
"Pfft, amateur." he scoffs.
"Please, Daddy. Please." I beg, jutting my bottom lip out. I give it a little quiver like Em did, and his face softens.
"Alright." he gives a small smile.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I clap giddily, but quickly stop myself, realizing I'm turning into a little Alice.
I reach forward, pressing my palm to Dad's cheek and showing him the words, "I love you." It isn't really necessary for me to put my hand on his face, considering he can read my mind no matter what, but I haven't been using my power much and I'm afraid of getting rusty.
"I love you too, Angel."