Hey everyone. Thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favorited/added Heat to your story alerts. You guys are great! Here is the next chapter. There is a lot of dialogue in this chapter, so not a lot of time passes in the story. Thanks! Please review!

I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth, trying to stay calm. My head was spinning. Ten minutes ago I was just a girl, well figuratively, dating her first boyfriend. Now, I was someone's soul mate. Jake and I were going to be together. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. We were going to be together forever. I felt lightheaded as I got closer and closer to hyperventilating. I put my head in my hands to try to stop the room from spinning. "Shit."

Jake grabbed one of my hands and scooted closer to me. "I know, Ness. I know. I'm sorry. We shouldn't have told you. Don't worry. This doesn't change anything." He kept trying to reassure me that everything would be okay; that my life wasn't spinning out of control.

I shook my head. "No. I'm glad you told me," I said. And he was wrong. This changed everything. I just wasn't sure yet if it was for better or for worse. "I think," I said weakly, "that I should go to bed. I'm exhausted." My parents and Jake both got up to follow me, but I raised a hand to stop them. "I think…I think I just need some time by myself. To think," I added. Jake's face fell and my parents looked worried. "But," I said, holding my hand out for Jake, "you can walk me over to the front door."

He jumped up and grabbed my hand, escorting me around the corner to the front door. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah. It's just…a lot, you know?" He nodded, and we both looked around awkwardly. "Well," I asked, "aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?" I smiled shakily.

Jake lifting me off the ground in an ecstatic, bone-crushing hug. "It feels so good to have you know," he whispered. He set me back on the ground and kissed me softly. "Good night."

"Good night," I replied as I walked out the front door.

As the door closed behind me, I thought I heard him whisper "I love you."

…

I walked slowly back to the cottage, trying to sort through the craziness that was my life. On the one hand, everything finally made sense. All of the knowing looks, the whispers…I understood them all now. I finally could make sense of this need I had to have Jake near me. On the other hand, I could feel my world closing in on me. This was what I was trying to hide from my dad before I left. My chest felt tight, and it was hard to breathe. I felt panicked as I thought about what it would mean to be imprinted to Jake. Marriage, living together, sex, kids… I wasn't ready for any of it. And not only was I not ready to make those decisions, realistically, they were already made for me. All I had to do was give the okay, and my life would continue on as planned. Everyone says you have to write your own story, but mine had already been written for me. The realization that I had no control over my own life was terrifying.

I walked into the cottage and sank to the floor. I leaned against the couch as I stared into the flames of the fire in the hearth, contemplating my own destiny. I wanted to be angry at someone or something, but there was no one to be angry with. I couldn't blame Jake. He was just as trapped as I was, and it was obvious that he loved me. He would do anything for me. My parents were the same way. I didn't blame them for keeping this from me; not anymore. I understand why they kept this from me. They only had my best interests in mind. I don't know though, if it would have been better to know from the beginning or to go all these years having dreams and plans and then have them ripped out from under you.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that this was what all my dreams and plans were about. Even when I was little, Jake was the one I got married to when I played make-believe. More recently when I thought about my future, Jake was always part of it. It's always been Jake. No one else could love me and be a part of my world. We really were supposed to be together. The thought made me smile, just a teeny bit.

Just as I reached that realization, my parents walked in the door. My mom rushed over to where I was sitting on the floor and pulled me to my feet and into her arms.

"Mom, I'm fine. Really."

She looked into my eyes and asked "are you sure?" When I nodded, she glanced to my dad for confirmation. He nodded, and she pulled me into her arms again. When she released me from her grasp, my dad pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head.

He whispered "I love you" into my hair, and I smiled into his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it some more? Do you have any other questions?" my mom asked.

I laughed lightly. "Only about a million, but I think I'm in a good place. I think I am really just going to go to bed."

My dad stood behind my mom and wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned into him. "Alright," she said. "We love you."

"Love you too," I told both of them as I went to my room. I showered and got ready for bed. I crawled under the blankets and turned off the light on my nightstand. Before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep.

…

When my alarm went off the next morning, I was confused and disoriented. I had slept like a rock. When I woke up, it took me a couple of minutes to realize that it was Monday. I groaned when I realized that Jake had class, and I had my own lessons today.

I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled to my closet. I put on an Alice-approved outfit before I went into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. After I put my hair up into a sock bun, I heard my parents talking in the living room.

Assuming it was safe, I left my room and saw my parents sitting on the couch. "Good morning," I said to them. "What were you discussing?"

"Carlisle called early this morning." My dad held up a hand as he heard the question in my head. "We'll talk about it with everybody at the big house."

I shrugged. "Okay; sounds good." I followed my parents out the door and to the big house.

When we got to the big house, Rose and Emmett were lounging in the living room. Emmett was sitting in front of Rose on the couch, playing a video game.

"Call of Duty?" I asked.

He shook his head, concentrating. "Assassin's Creed."

I nodded. I would have to play later. I hadn't played the newest version yet.

"Emmett," my dad said, exasperated. My dad had no patience for video games. "Can you pause that or something so we can talk? Carlisle called this morning…"

Emmett sighed and put the game down. "What did he say?" he asked.

"Well," my dad began, "he mostly called to say that they would be out of touch for a couple of days, if not longer. They found Zafrina, Senna, and Kachiri and are going with them into the jungle to search for Nahuel and Hulien."

"Do they have any leads?" Rose asked.

"No," my dad said, frustrated. "Nahuel and Hulien seem to have vanished without a trace. Right now Carlisle and everyone else are going to look for other jungle nomads to see if anyone has seen or come into contact with Nahuel. Right now, Alice sees a couple promising encounters. She can see them speaking with some nomads they haven't met before, but their responses are unclear. She's hoping that means they will have something to say about Nahuel."

Emmett looked unconcerned, unlike Rose who came to stand beside me. "What does this mean for Nessie?" she asked, grasping my hand. I looked at my dad because, deep down, I was wondering the same thing.

"We won't know until we find out why Nahuel is missing. My fear is that he's not just missing. My fear is that he's been taken- or worse."

Everyone turned to look at me, and I could see the apprehension and fear in their eyes. "And if they- whoever they are- went after Nahuel, we can assume, sooner or later, that they will be coming after me," I said, trying to be matter-of-fact.

"It's not going to come to that," my mom said protectively. "We won't let them." She looked out the window with her fierce, gold eyes.

"Well it doesn't do us any good to worry until we get some definitive answers." I looked at my mom meaningfully, and she relaxed.

"You're right. Do you want some breakfast?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but I'll just have a bagel." Bread products weren't usually my favorite, but I had a weakness for cinnamon-raisin bagels.

I meandered back into the dining room where my parents were siting. "So who do I have lessons with today?" I asked. Mondays were usually my day with Carlisle.

"Well," my mom said, "we've decided to suspend lessons for today. We want to basically revamp your curriculum."

"You've excelled at all of your core subjects," my dad interrupted, "and we feel, as you do, that school has become pointless and tedious for you."

"So, we want to talk to you about subjects that particularly interest you, but we want to start by discussing your plans."

"Plans?" I asked. I was excited for this change of pace, but I had no idea what my plans were for today, let alone for my life.

"Renesmee, biologically you are almost an adult. You are in a serious relationship, and in the real world you would be ready to graduate high school. Have you thought about what you want to do, what you want to accomplish as an adult?" my dad asked.

I pursed my lips and thought about what he was asking. "Honestly, no. I never really realized that I had options."

"You always have options. As much as we would love to have you be our little girl forever, that's not realistic. Someday, if not today, you are going to want something more," my mom said.

I thought about what she was saying. My parents were right, as usual. I had begun to get bored with my existence.

"Let's start with an easy question first," my mom said, preparing herself to take notes on a pad of paper she had on the table in front of her. "What would you like to learn more about? What are you interested in?"

"Umm… well, I really like history. Jasper's lessons are always really interesting because he's been through so much. Even beyond his history, though, I find it fascinating. I would love to go on trips to visit museums and stuff more."

My mom nodded while she was writing, so I continued. "I am so over these math lessons. I have mastered everything that could possibly be useful, and now we're doing stuff that I will never ever use again."

"You just wait!" Emmett yelled from the living room. "One of these days you are going to thank me for teaching you about derivatives."

Dad and I both rolled our eyes at the same time, and we both grinned. "You two are so alike," my mom said, smiling.

"So anyway," I said, continuing, "I also think, while I enjoy music, art, and literature, those are things I can pursue on my own without really having set lessons for." My parents both nodded, so I continued. "I think Grandpa's lessons are always really interesting, but I'm not really interested in medicine in general. I think it's only interesting to me because Grandpa is the one that teaches it."

"Aside from history," my dad said, his brow furrowed, "what else are you interested it? In terms of life in general?"

"Well, I really love the outdoors. I love to read, I love movies, and I love music. I think the tribe is fascinating… I don't know, I guess. Is it bad that I don't really have a true hobby or anything? I mean, Dad has music, Carlisle has medicine, Jasper has history, Esme has architecture, Alice has fashion…" I trailed off. "What about you, Emmett, and Rose?" I asked my mom.

"My hobbies are your father and you," my mom said sheepishly. "And as for Emmett and Rose, they both love to travel, but I think it is safe to say that they are each other's hobbies." My dad chuckled as I wrinkled my nose in mild disgust.

"Well I don't know, I guess. I interested in a lot of stuff, but nothing truly captivates me."

"I think that's our fault. We been teaching you what we thought you needed to know, but part of every individual's education is taking electives. We have deprived you of that chance. What are your thoughts on studying things like economics, psychology, physics…?"

I pondered his question for a minute or two before I answered. "Those all sound good. What about a foreign language?" I asked.

My dad's eyes brightened with excitement. "What language would you like to learn?" he asked. "I know Spanish, French, German, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Swahili, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese…"

I interrupted him before he could get too carried away. "Whoa Dad. Chill out. Let's just start with one. How about Spanish? That seems fairly mainstream."

He fairly buzzed with excitement. "Well most of us would be able to teach you Spanish, but I've studied it the most. It makes sense for me to be the one to teach you. I could probably find workbooks and listening activities on the internet…Carmen and Eleazar would help I'm sure…"

"Edward," my mom interrupted him and shot him a meaningful look.

He looked properly chagrined and apologized to Mom, for what, I had no idea. "Renesmee," he began, "we wanted to ask you a question. Do you want us to teach you?"

I stared at him, confused. "Who else would teach me?" I questioned.

"What he means is," my mom clarified, "have you given any thought to attending a normal school? High school or possibly taking college courses?"

I sat dumbfounded. "What?" I asked. My mom started to ask again, but I shook my head. "No, I heard you. I just…I just never thought…"

"It would be complicated, but possible," my dad replied. "We have to fake transcripts and other documents, but those are the least of our worries. Renesmee, you have never been around that many humans before. That amount of human blood undiluted by vampires or werewolves…well it would be extremely challenging for you, to say the least. Plus, you would not be able to attend school in Forks. You look too much like your mother and me."

I swallowed back my thirst. "I mean, I want to, but I don't know if I'm ready for that."

My parents both looked relieved. "Honestly," my mom said, "I'm glad you feel that way. I don't know if we're ready you to be that idependent. For right now, why don't we teach you some electives here? I don't think we need to follow your old schedule. I think an hour or two per day would suffice."

"I think, I mean, someday, I would like to go to college. I have no idea what I would major in or anything, and I'm not ready yet, but, you know, someday."

My mom smiled softly and grasped my hand across the table. "I feel the same way. Maybe we can go together, someday."

I looked at the door, wondering when I could go play the Xbox with Emmett. "Go on," my dad said.

I yelled a quick "thanks!" over my shoulder as I went to join Emmett in the living room.