Chapter 2: Homecoming (revised)

Twilight of an Endless Night

Note: I own nothing. These are the cannon characters of Stephanie Meyers! She's brilliant, and we all love her!

**Homecoming**

Nessie pulled up to the driveway of the house and cut the engine.

"Jake what's wrong?" She asked, knowing his first answer would be 'nothing.'

"Nothing."

So predictable, she smirked to herself satisfied. "Jacob, I know something's eating at you. Spit it out."

He opened the door and was about to get out of the car when she leaned over him and pulled the door shut. Jacob wasn't prepared to have her so close in his space. Turning her face up, she looked into his eyes.

"Jacob, I know you. You can't hide from me. Please tell me what's wrong," she pleaded placing her hand on his face.

It wasn't fair when she pleaded with him like this. Renesmee suppressed the smile that was about to break over her divine lips.

Jake just closed his eyes and inhaled. That was his first big mistake. She smelled amazing and he wanted to take her right here in the car. He fought for a moment to clear his head.

"Ness," he finally said "it's nothing. I just missed you… that's all… Obviously more than you missed me, but that's my own problem." He tried to stop the truth from coming out, but it spilled like milk all over the floor. Second mistake.

"I missed you too. More than you know." She gently pressed her hand to his face again and let her mind fill with her thoughts of him and her memories of thinking of him when they were apart.

Her lips touched for an instant where her hand had just been and in a flash she was back on her side of the car.

Hope filled Jacob's eyes and even more, his heart.

"Oh my goodness, you are going to love college." She said quickly changing the subject. "The classes are bound to be better at UW and we get to live on campus. It's going to be amazing. Mixers, parties, games. You have to go out for sports Jake. I will love having you on my arm as a football star. Come on Jake say you'll do it."

Jacob just laughed. "And when they test me for drugs, and something else shows up in those tests, what then?"

"Oh don't worry about that." She said waiving her hand.

"Oh will you get me out of that, like you just got out of that humongo ticket?"

In a blur of light, Edward was at the car door. "What ticket?"

"Nice going," she murmured under her breath. "Nothing daddy, just a jealous cop. Don't worry, I stopped, and he gave me a warning. We were wearing our seatbelts… as if that would matter." She teased and laughed her peeling bell laugh, looking to Jacob for support.

"Renesmee, you need to be more responsible. Just because you can get away with something doesn't mean you should." Edward said and then paused for a moment seeing the memory in Renesmee's head. "Thanks Jake for making her stop."

"Geez, okay Dad, we're back safe and sound and you can have your old man friend back." She said throwing a thumb at Jake.

"Auntie, I'm starved." She called out knowing that one of her aunts would respond.

"You're clothes are laid out for you honey, just come in and change and we can go." Alice said from somewhere inside the house.

"Change, psh," Jacob hissed in his head, "she's changed enough."

Nessie bounded off in a few springs and was up in a tree and through the second window without even getting a mark on her perfect white clothes.

"You noticed her changes already did you?" Edward asked.

The spectacle she made of herself to the officer and his resulting 'situation' played out in Jacob's head. If the color could drain from Edward's face, it would have. His hand balled into a fist and released a moment later.

A few more seconds later, Nessie emerged from the same window she disappeared into wearing a cute pair of faded ripped jeans and a tight white T. Edward rubbed his hand across his forehead as if to erase the images running through Jacob's mind. Jake turned his face away from her instantly, "Sorry," he mumbled.

She jumped with her bare feet down to the ground and bounded back over to her father and her friend at the car.

"You guys are still standing here. Let's go!" She scanned Jacob again taking him in from head to toe. He really was amazing. He was wearing her favorite black shirt that clung in just the right places. Her favorite blue jeans hung from his perfectly sculpted pelvis and a belt buckle sat nice and big on top of his pants for the hem of his shirt to hide behind. "Nice belt buckle," she said lightly tugging at it, threw him a wink and was off in a dead sprint for the woods.

"Good god." Edward said exasperated.

"Sorry, sorry, Edward." Jake stumbled.

"Actually Jake it's amazingly not your fault. It's hers." He said and glared at the place where she disappeared to in the wood.

"Bella!" Edward called out in a voice that, for him, was close to panic, and sprinted off toward where she would appear at the window. "Honey, we need to talk."

Jacob went toward the place that Renesmee had gone; where Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett had followed. Ducking behind a tree, he removed his shirt and his pants, efficiently rolled them and attached them to his leg and let the energy surge through him transforming himself into his mythical creature. Only Embry was present in his head.

Hey bro, what's up? Embry asked.

Nothin', just hunting.

Oh, okay, tell Nessie I said welcome home. I'll come by to say hello to her a little later on.

Alright, bro. I'll tell her.

Cool, well, I'm done with my patrol, I'll leave you. See ya later.

Within a matter of moments Jake was alone in his head. It was just in the nick of time, because right before him Renesmee was gliding in a spiral through the air toward an enormous mountain lion whose life was over. She was so beautiful. Her long and limber body he could imagine twisting and turning in different ways, for different reasons, all having to do with him.

"There's my wolf" she called out over her kill as Jacob came trotting up.

It had crossed his mind to phase back in front of her, but that would be grossly inappropriate. Somehow he didn't think she would mind too much though. Edward on the other hand would be seriously pissed, and he chased the thought away as quickly as it came, hoping that he didn't hear that.

The cat had got a little feisty with her and had torn her shirt a little bit. If it was possible she looked even sexier than before. He watched her as she sucked her prey dry.

She stood up from her kill and leaned against a tree. "So, why don't you change so we can talk?"

She had a sort of smug smile on her lips, almost like she had the same thought Jacob had a few minutes earlier.

Jake knew better, so decided to disappear behind a few bushes and in moments he reappeared, dressed in his black shirt and jeans. He tried to tell himself that she didn't look a little disappointed at that. She couldn't have really expected that he would…

"Hey, what'cha thinkin? You look very puzzled."

"Nothin… Just can't get over how …different …you are that's all."

"I'm all grown up." She said and moving like the cat she just murdered, she prowled over to where he was standing. "I told you I like this belt buckle right?" She said, while tugging on it again.

"You need to stop doing that." Jake said very uncomfortably, backing up into the tree that was right behind him.

The breeze picked up her delicious scent from her skin to Jake's heightened senses. Her natural perfume was more potent since she had hunted.

"What?" She asked with a pout on her lips, moving closer to him.

"Renesmee,"

"Uh, oh. Whenever you call me by my full name, I know a lecture is coming." She said rolling her eyes, stepping a few steps back and dropping her body to an Indian-leg sitting position – all in almost one movement.

"Nessie, I know you are going through a lot of changes, but the way you… um… express yourself… is—"

"Is what?" she asked getting up reaching to tug on his shirt with her little coy smile and red blushing lips so…so close to his mouth.

"Is making it difficult for me to concentrate." He said, side stepping away from her.

She giggled a little, "Well what do you need concentration for? I'm pretty sure you can go with your animalistic instinct on this one." She said, sliding closer to him with an evil grin cocking her head to the side, exposing her neck.

Jacob clinched his jaw and stepped away from her. Again.

"I respect you and your family too much for that. …Especially your parents. I would never do that to them." He said, determined. "I'll see you back at the house…. Later."

He was only partially stunned to see Edward and Bella on the way back as he walked toward the direction of the house.

"Thank you Jacob." Edward said, truly grateful.

Jacob looked at Edward and realized he heard, in whatever way, the little scene that happened.

"I respect you too." Edward said holding out his hand to Jacob. Jake frowned but took his hand. Bella hugged him. "You know I love you Jake. We'll figure this whole thing out. Together."

"Thanks Bells." Jacob said dejectedly and walked away. It was only a few moments after that that you could hear the running away of a huge animal on all fours.

Edward looked toward the direction he headed; toward La Push. "He's a really decent guy."

"Renesmee," Edward called out, "we need to talk."

Nessie stopped dead in her tracks. She knew that tone of voice. This time she knew the lecture was coming.