Well this one took awhile. Sorry for the wait. I hope you like it as much as I do :)
Nessie
It's finally New Years Eve. I can't even process how excited I am for today because it is the first day Alice has not insisted we go shopping. With basically a whole new wardrobe, I am ready for the New Year.
I'm expecting tonight to be a lot of fun. For the first time ever, I am not bringing in the New Year with my family. There's a huge party that this guy who graduated a couple years back is throwing. Evidently he comes from a pretty wealthy family and is infamous for his New Years parties. Lizzie told me that if I don't go to this party, I will regret it forever. Seeing as I don't want to have any regrets, I am going.
Mom and Dad only agreed when I promised that Jake, Leah, and Seth will also go. Obviously Jake had no problem with my promise. Seth said he was down too. Leah was the only one who gave me some trouble. She claims that she has better things to do than hang out with a bunch of high school students. She changed her mind pretty quickly when I mentioned that her choice was vampires or humans. It didn't hurt either that I told her some college guys will be there too.
Evidently this party always has a theme. This year it is a Greek inspired party. At first I was a little hesitant, but now I'm feeling pretty confident. Alice helped me turn a white sheet into a very stylish toga. It crosses over one shoulder and wraps around my body tightly. Mom happened to have a gold scarf in her closet that they wrapped around my stomach. Rosalie even created a small head garment that matches perfectly.
My long curly hair fits the time period perfect. All I have to do with it is tie some of it up in a loose pony-tail. When I am done getting ready, I am surprised at how good it all came together.
I know Jake, Seth, and Leah went out yesterday to buy costumes with their Christmas money. If I know Jake like I think I do, he is ecstatic to wear a toga because it is an excuse to wear barely any clothes. He always gets so overheated when he is forced to wear shirts and pants.
Once I am fully dressed and ready to go, I go upstairs to say goodbye to my family and wish them all a Happy New Year. Dad takes one look at my costume and scowls. I guess he doesn't like that I have a bare shoulder showing. Emmett makes a snide comment about wanting to go dressed as Cupid. We all laugh, including Dad.
I can hear the distant heartbeats of my Jake and his pack nearing the house. When they reach the front door, they walk in without knocking. I guess they really are family now. Jake and Seth are both dressed as Spartans. All they wear is a tiny pair of red underwear, a red cape, and some boot-like shoes. I can't help but admire Jake's extremely chiseled body. They both carry shields, helmets, and spears to make the costumes perfect. Leah is wearing a toga much like mine, but store bought. The way the white fabric reflects off her dark skin makes her looks stunning.
"Hey everyone," Jake says to the group. "Nessie." He smiles at me with such vivacity that I forget to reply.
"I could make a better Spartan than you mongrels," Emmett jokes.
"I seriously doubt that," Seth replies. "Spartan men are sexy."
"I am so sexy."
"Would you guys shut up?" Jake remarks, not taking his eyes off me. "Neither of you are sexy."
"We better go," Leah interjects to try and end the awkwardness as soon as possible. "Happy New Year everyone." With that she takes Seth by the arm and tugs him out the door. Jake offers me his arm. I lace mine through his and smile at my family. Bye, I think even though I'm pretty sure Mom has me shielded. A bad feeling has invaded my stomach and made a nest right up against my gut.
The house where this guy, I think his name is Jeff, throws the party every year is about 15 miles outside of town and nestled deep in the forests. It reminds me of what my house must seem like to everyone else—like it suggests that we are loners or too good to live near the rest of the town.
The house itself is big, almost as big as mine. Unlike where I live, it is showy. As we get out of the car I hear the sounds of diving boards and splashing water. There are people everywhere. Just in the front yard alone I spot eight different people in my graduating class and numerous other familiar faces from school. Jake, seeing how over the top the party is, angles his body a tiny bit in front of me.
As I reach out to open the front door, it swings open to reveal a young man with a full beard and long hair. He smiles a lazy grin and scans my body with blood-shot eyes. Jake notices the subtle look and puts his arm around my shoulder to indicate that I am his. Usually I would mind, but tonight I want every girl in the place to know that he belongs to me…and only me.
"Welcome ladies and gents," the guy says. I realize that this must be Jeff. He reeks of some type of smoke. It's definitely not cigarette smoke, but I have no name for the smell. It's new to me. "This is my humble abode." His voice comes out slowly and he grins like a fool. "There are three kegs in the kitchen. In the basement we have a dance floor and a bar. At the bar you will find all the harder stuff. In the backyard we have more than enough grass for everyone to share." At this he begins to giggle like a little girl. I'm already wondering if coming here was a good idea.
"Thanks man," Seth says as he enters. We follow behind closely. Everywhere I turn I see people barely wearing clothes. A few guys I recognize as seniors are dressed as Spartans too. They take one look at Jacob and subtly begin to flex. If I were a normal human these tiny movements would be totally missed by me. Sometimes being half vampire makes things more fun.
I place my hand on Jacob's arm and show him that I want something to drink. "What will it be?" he asks. Surprise me. "Hey. I'm gonna go get drinks. You guys want something?" he asks Leah and Seth who are just looking around awestruck.
"I'll take three shots of Vodka." Leah replies.
"I'll come with," is Seth's answer. Jake leans down and kisses my cheek before leaving with Seth in tow.
Leah and I stand awkwardly watching people stumble around. I notice a few guys I have never seen falling into some girls and spilling there drinks on them. It's just a ploy though. The guys pull napkins out of their pockets and begin to "dry" the girls' breasts.
"Nessie! You came!" I hear from behind me. Sure enough I turn around to see Lizzie nearing. She wears a light blue toga and authentic looking shoes.
"I said I would," I reply as she hugs me quickly. I can tell she is a little tipsy just by the way she falls into the hug. Her red cup is almost empty of whatever juice-substance she has consumed. "Where's Mark?"
"We broke up," she says very nonchalant.
"Oh my gosh! Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," she says just a little too loudly. "He wasn't all that." When she says "that" she points at the air and gives me a silly grin. It makes me feel good to know that at least for now she is alright. "Who's your friend?" she asks suddenly.
I totally forgot Leah was standing right here. "Oh how rude of me. Lizzie, this is Leah. Leah this is Lizzie."
They shake hands. "Your hands are so hot!" Lizzie exclaims. Leah just shakes her head and rolls her eyes before turning and leaving. I see her make her way off toward where there must be a bathroom. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No. Leah is just a little grumpy tonight. Don't worry about it," I add as I notice Jake and Seth reappear from the basement. They make their way into the kitchen and get in the keg line.
"Who is that?" Lizzie asks with obvious fascination.
"That," I say, pointing to Seth, "Is Seth Clearwater. Leah's brother and a friend of mine."
"He's hot." The way she says it makes me laugh. I have never really looked at Seth like that. To me, he has always been and always will be just Jake's counterpart. They are like brothers. Seth's littler, though still huge compared to most, and much more free-spirited than Jacob.
"He's single," I reply to make her happy. As I say it, Jake turns away from the keg. Seth follows suit. Jake's eyes meet mine and he smiles.
"OH MY GOD!" Lizzie squeals as she squeezes my arms tightly. "He's looking at me." Sure enough, Seth is staring right at Lizzie. The expression on his faces catches me off guard. Seth looks just like Jake does when he looks at me.
Jake finally catches on and stares back and forth between Lizzie and Seth. He grabs Seth arm with his free hand and drags him over to us. Lizzie is blushing a crimson red. Seth has this happy grin practically reaching his eyes contorting his face.
Jake hands me a red cup filled with what appears to be orange juice. I take a drink and feel the burn of some type of alcohol. It tastes like orange and coconut combined.
"I'm Seth Clearwater," Seth finally gets up the nerve to say. "What's your name?"
"Lizzie," she says shyly. Leah returns and grabs her cup from Seth. She takes one look at Seth and Lizzie and rolls her eyes.
"I knew I shouldn't have come," she seethes to Jake. "I'll be relaxing somewhere where I can actually hear myself think." With that she turns and leaves.
"Short for Elizabeth?" Seth asks.
"Yes. My full name is Elizabeth Carmen Stuart."
"That is a beautiful name," Seth says with an obvious flirtatious demeanor.
"Let's go somewhere else," Jake whispers in my ear. I take hold of his wrist and allow him to lead the way through the crowd. We end up outside. A hot tub is running and numerous what appear to be naked people are relaxing in it. There is one moron in the pool. He definitely will get sick.
"What was that all about?" I ask once Jake sits on the last remaining chair and pulls me into his lap.
"I think he just imprinted," Jake nonchalantly replies.
"Really?"
"I won't know for sure until he tells me or phases. But I am about 98% sure. The look on his face alone gave him away. That's why Leah got so upset."
"She doesn't want him to imprint?"
"It's not that. It's just that she wants to imprint."
"She does?" Today I am learning more than I have learned in school this whole semester.
"Well I really shouldn't say. I mean it's not like she told me."
"I won't tell anyone," I say with a small flutter of my eyelashes. Jake rolls his eyes and kisses the tip of my nose.
"Leah wants to imprint so that she can stop caring about Sam. But it's not just about Sam either. She wants to quit being a wolf. She thinks it will be easier once she has someone to help her get through it."
Leah doesn't want to be a wolf anymore? I never really thought that any wolf would want to stop. It doesn't make sense to me. "How do you stop being a wolf?" I ask because it is the first question of many running through my mind.
"You just stop phasing. No one has actually succeeded recently because of all the vampires around. Leah was going to start the process, but then we had to go to Italy. It postponed all those plans."
"So is she going to do it once all this has blown over?"
"She is going to try," Jake replies sounding somewhat disgusted.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't really know how to explain it."
"Try," I command because I don't like my Jacob looking so down.
"It's just, when you have someone in your head for so long, you kind of get used to it. I mean Leah and Seth are my pack. If Leah quits, it's just me and Seth. I guess I'm just a little sad to see one of my best friends fade from my life."
"I'm sorry Jake," I say. Placing my hands behind his neck, I pull him into a hug. He grips me a little tighter than usual. I've never seen Jake sad about anything. He's always either really happy or angry. This is new, but it just makes me love him more.
"It's not your fault," he replies. "Anyway, on a lighter note. If Seth just imprinted, Lizzie will soon know all your secrets. You won't have to lie to her anymore."
I think this through. Do I want Lizzie to know about me? It doesn't take long for me to realize that I want nothing more than that. It will be nice to actually be able to open up to her about everything. I just hope she accepts my family with ease.
"Of course," Jake continues. "You will have to wait until Seth decides to tell her before you can say anything."
"How long could that take?"
"Look how long it took me to tell you about imprinting." I sigh as it hits me that Lizzie might not know for years. "But then again, Seth is going to have to explain why he is going to Italy and might not come back. It could happen pretty soon."
Up until now, I hadn't realized just how eminent that danger really is. Everyone is planning on going to fight. I won't let them go without me. I'm stronger now. I want to fight.
A shout from inside draws me out of my thoughts. "One more minute! Everyone inside!"
"Ready to go begin a new year?" Jake solicits.
"Only if you are," I reply. I stand and pull Jake with me. We walk into the house, which now is more packed with people than before and wait. The countdown begins. "Eight, seven," I shout along with the rest of the party.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
"Happy New Year!" Everyone screams. Bottles of champagne pop from all over the room. It's raining champagne all over us. Jake turns and looks into my eyes. He's smiling my favorite full tooth kind. He leans down and places warm kiss on my parted lips. There is no other way I want to start my new year other than kissing Jacob.
Edward
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
The happy shouts ring out around me. All except one voice. The vision corrupts the joy of the situation. He says it's time. They're coming. They're coming for Renesmee.
"Alice. What did you see?" Jasper cries out as Alice grips his arm to hold her upright.
The room goes silent except for all the chaotic thoughts I can hear running circles in the heads of my family.
"It's time," I say since Alice is still speechless. "We're going to Italy."
Alice finally is ready to talk. "And someone isn't coming back."