Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all Twilight Saga and characters.

It turned out that Leah didn't need to ask for time off. Grandma Sue and grandpa Charlie stayed with Seth and daddy until grandpa Carlisle and grandma Esme got there. Uncle Seth didn't have any other episode that week. Dad felt confident that Seth was relaxed so he left him under my grandfather's care. They even convinced dad and uncle Jasper to go to the balloon festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the day after homecoming. I was invited to go with them but I decided my parents, as well as my aunts and uncles, needed some adult time so I told them I would stay with grandpa Charlie that weekend. It was homecoming weekend so there would be bonfires every night.

Everything was perfectly fine. The only thing out of the ordinary was that, Carol became confused about my dreams. Eventually, she asked me if she ran through the forest with me and played baseball with my family. She told me she remembered that I had showed her this but that they felt like her own memories. I was so worried that I called daddy to come look at her immediately. Daddy came to school to check her out after Leah called him to let give him the 'ok' to come to the school.

"It seems that she can't differentiate Nessie's visions from her own memories." He told us.

"She was fine a few days ago. What could have happened over night to make her confused?" I asked him.

"Your visions are stronger than usual so it could be that it encoded as a real experience in her long term memory. When humans sleep, they sort out the information that was imputed during the day. Your vision was probably so strong that she encoded as her own memory but in order to do that her mind added information to make it fit this paradigm. The only reason she knows something is wrong is because she also remembers you showing her the visions." He turned back to Carol. "That's why you think you were running with Nessie instead of just seeing the memory of her running through the forest. I'm willing to bet that if you were unconscious when Nessie projected these visions you would actually believe that the memories were yours." I gasped and turned to Carol.

"I'm sorry Carol. I didn't realize that my projections would be so strong."

"Don't worry about it. I still think they were awesome and I sure don't mind having the memories there. They were fun. It was like experiencing a rollercoaster without actually having to ride it." She hopped off the Leah's desk and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Besides, its homecoming week and we have plenty of things to occupy our minds like getting ready for our first date!" She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at dad realizing that she just told my father I was going on a date. He smiled at her.

"Already knew." He told her as he pointed to his head. Carol started to blush.

"Annoying, isn't it?" Leah said but before she could answer Leah shooed us off to our next period which we were completely late for.

I had decided to say yes to Danny. He was a good young man, like Jake had said. We would go to the dance together as friends. Aunt Alice was more excited about it than I was. It was my first dance and my first date. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation but Jacob was genuinely happy for me. Even after the conversation with momma, it still stung and I hated that it hurt me.

Lisa and Carol had gotten their dresses already so aunt Alice was livid. She had already planned on our outfits but she had been too busy planning balloon festival trip to see that they had bought their dresses. She said that the only way to make it up to her was to let her do their hair. I tried to explain to her that Lisa still didn't know about the supernatural but she insisted that we all get dressed at the main house. Her only consolation was that Anna let her buy the dress she would wear so the three of us went dress shopping on Wednesday. While Carol quickly became my best friend, Anna felt more like my sister. Anna had become almost a permanent fixture in my life. She came to the house almost every day to study. She would often have dinner at the house with Brady and we would spend most weekends together with our wolves and Jake's pack. Before I started school, our relationship seemed forced but once we both relaxed, we realized that we fit easily into each other's lives. No one was happier about that than Alice. Now she had two living Barbies.

"Try these three. I already know the one you are going to pick but try the other two just in case." She told Anna.

"I thought you couldn't see us because of the wolves."

"There are no wolves here, missy. Besides, even if I can't wolves, I can see dresses!" Aunt Alice grinned at her. "I'm going to setting it up the night before in my room along with these shoes so start getting dressed young lady. We don't have all day." Anna rolled her eyes and headed in the dressing room.

"Here Nessie. Try this other one while I get accessories. "

"I thought I was getting the white one. Why do I need to try this one?"

"To humor me. If you're a good girl I'll buy you both dresses." She patted my head and headed for the accessories. I shook my head and went into the dressing room next to Anna.

"She's always so bossy!" Anna grumbled from her stall.

"You have no idea." I told her.

"She has to act human here so I'm pretty sure we can outrun her. She already knows I'm picking the purple one. We can just ditch her and go watch a movie!" I laughed.

"Do you really want to mess with the woman who is doing your hair in two days? She could make you look like a porcupine." I warned her.

"OMG you're right! Let's just get this over with. Agh! This one is itchy. She better come over quickly or I'm taking it off. Yea, I'm definitely going with the purple."

"I believe it is called lavender." Aunt Alice corrected her from outside the stall. "And I got you both accessories!" She shrieked. We both grunted simultaneously. It was going to be a long afternoon.

As soon as the girls arrived on Friday, Alice got to work. With my grandmother off caring for Seth, she was forced to recruit my mother to help. Daddy had arrived in early in the afternoon so that he could pick me up from school himself and spend extra time with me.

"Alice don't overdo it. She's only fourteen." He warned her as he reluctantly handed all four of us over to her.

"As if my niece would be anything less than perfect." She nearly growled at him but it was too low for Lisa to hear. Momma rolled her eyes at them.

"Alright pixie. Let's get started. How about I do Renesmee's hair?"

"No! I already got my idea for her. You get Lisa and here is a picture of what I planned for her. Make it good Cullen. I demand perfection." Momma rolled her eyes and our transformations started.

Aunt Alice started with Anna first while I helped momma and aunt Rose with the other girls.

"Do you think you can make me look nice?" She asked shyly as aunt Alice started on her short hair. She had cut it short in January because she donated her hair to a cancer group. She was sure that it would grow back by summer but it had only grown to her shoulders. She looked insecure and very much like the fifteen year old girl she was.

"Oh sweetie, you should know me by know. You will look great. Especially after I clip on these!" She pulled out some extensions from a drawer. Anna smiled.

"Thanks Alice!" She smiled at her through the mirror.

It took several hours because we had to work at human speed but afterwards we were perfect. The boys were meeting us at the party since the only wolf old enough to drive didn't have a car. Besides, I doubted Andrew would let me in his car. We headed downstairs for pictures and snacks, which dad had made. I already knew he was downstairs. I felt the moment he walked in. He was nervous or perhaps those were my feelings, I wasn't sure.

The girls were already downstairs, I could hear Brady compliment Anna's new hair. I followed them downstairs but I had to stop midway. The emotion that crashed into me took me by surprise. It was normal for me to feel Jacob's emotions but I hadn't realized they were becoming more intense until that moment. He was nervous and... frustrated? If I had to put it into one word I would have chosen the word angst. I found his eyes in a dark corner across from me. My heart nearly stopped when I saw those narrow distrustful eyes staring at me.

"Nessie, what's wrong?" Carol asked me from the bottom of the stairs when she realized I wasn't moving. Anna took her hand and winked at me. I had a feeling Anna already knew about my changing feelings for Jake, even though I hadn't told her yet.

"She's fine, Carol. Come on we have pictures to take." Then she pulled her into the living room. Jacob approached me slowly as if I would suddenly run away if he moved too fast. By the time he got to me his expression had changed. I couldn't feel him anymore, through my own confusion.

"You look beautiful." He smiled nervously as he stretched out his hand for mine. I placed my hand on his and he led me to the bottom of the stairs and twirled me. I laughed softly.

"Does that mean you approve?"

"Sure, but only because I know there will be four wolves there."

"I think she can handle herself." My dad said from the corner where Jacob was standing before.

"You look beautiful, love." He told me.

"Nessie, get in here its picture time." Momma yelled from the living room.

After we took pictures, aunt Alice and my mom drove us to the school. Mom gave me one last hug before I went in.

"Have fun baby. Call us if you need anything."

"What time does your flight leave?"

"In about two hours but we can always stay if you want us to." She wasn't too happy about taking a vacation without me.

"Go enjoy yourselves. You deserve a night out without the kids."

"If that's the case then we should leave Emmett behind instead." I laughed as I closed the door.

Our dates waited for us in the hallway. Anna and I were the only ones who decided to go with friends as our dates, since our wolves were too old to go to a high school party. Anna went with Mica and I went with Danny. Carol went with Stephen and Lisa actually went with David, who she really liked. Andrew asked a girl from his class that he liked so at least him and Lisa had real dates. I danced with Mica and Danny for a few songs before we all started dancing as a group. Even Andrew was relaxed enough to come dance with the group.

Towards the end of the night, I started feeling an almost desperate longing for Jacob. When it became unbearable I told the girls I was going to the bathroom and I went outside instead. I knew they would be having too much fun to follow me and Leah was happily distracted by Mr. Cooper, the new gym teacher.

The night was dark and cold. It would have been too cold to venture off for a human but I couldn't feel it, not even in my strapless dress. It only took me a second to hear the soft music somewhere in the forest. I closed my eyes to concentrate on the sound long enough to pinpoint its location, and I headed straight towards it at vampire speed. I saw the twinkling lights before I realized what they were.

I was in a small but wide opening surrounded by Christmas lights that were beautifully hung on the surrounding trees. The music came from a familiar pick-up truck which was also powering the Christmas lights. Inside the truck I could see Jacob fumbling with the stereo trying to get the right base. The wind blew lightly towards him and he turned his head suddenly towards me. He was smiling.

"I was gonna surprise you but I guess you caught me."

"You should know better than to try to surprise a vampire."

"Well... you're only a half leech."

"Watch it dog or I may have to teach you what a half leech can do." He laughed as he got out of the car and stood in front of his truck challenging me.

"You think you're so tough. Show me what you got, Cullen." I smiled and pounced on him from my position. He caught me mid-air and started spinning me as soon as we hit the ground. I laughed as he placed me on the ground, smiling cockily. I shook my head.

"Turns out, I'm the big bad wolf after all."

I pinched his arm hard.

"Ouch! If that's how its gonna be then I won't ask for the next dance."

"You won't?" I gave him my best pouty face. He laughed and bowed slightly.

"May I have the next dance, Miss Cullen?" He said formally as he reached out his hand for mine.

"Yes you may Mr. Black." I told him and I placed my hand on his to let him lead me to the center of the opening.

We danced the song that was playing at that moment until the next song came. It was a slow dance. Jacob smiled, completely comfortable with the situation. He showed no signs of the nervous excitement of a man who was about to slow dance with the woman he was in love with. Without any hesitation and with a steady heartbeat, he took my hand and brought me closer to him. I, however, wasn't so cool in my reaction towards him. I heart was starting to speed up and my stomach suddenly filled with butterflies. Unfortunately, I also felt the sting of his ease with the situation. To him, it was just Jake and Ness, dancing around in the forest, nothing more. I tried to keep this in mind as he closed the distance between us and the butterflies in my stomach went into overdrive. In his mind, there was nothing romantic about the way he held me close to him. He didn't feel the fire I felt on my skin wherever he touched me. I laid my head against his chest and tried to think of something else before he could feel the distress I was feeling through our imprint link. I used my gift to show him how much I appreciated this moment and all the trouble he went through. 'Thank you.' I whispered to him with my gift.

"You're welcome. You know I'd do anything for you." He whispered back. I felt his head getting closer to mine as it always did when he was about to kiss my head. I closed my eyes and waited. I felt his lips against my forehead as he kissed me. It was just as always yet completely different. This time, his lips lingered against my skin and created enough pressure to make both of our hearts beat faster. It was as if he was trying to imprint his lips onto my forehead. It wasn't hard or rough but strong and sensual. I was reveling in the wonderful warming surge of energy that seemed to flow between us igniting every molecule of my body. I sighed contently and came closer to him, leaving no space between us. At that same moment, his body stiffened and he abruptly straitened away from me, loosely holding me at arm's length. His heart sped up faster than a humming bird's wings.

"Jake, what's wrong?"

He looked at me with a horrified look for about a second before his careful mask took its place.

"Nothing." He tried to smile but he couldn't get his muscles to complete the task.

"Jake, your heart is racing. What's wrong?" I came closer to him and took his hand. He took a deep breath and immediately relaxed. His heart started to return to its usual abnormal rate. He tried smiling at me again. This time it looked less plastic than the last but it was still a fake smile.

"Come on, its homecoming. Let me walk you back to the school before Leah starts to panic."

"Jacob Black!" I scolded. He wasn't getting away with changing the topic.

"I'm sorry Ness. I just spazed out for a moment. Please, can we just forget about it? Come on. I want one more dance before you have to go." He took me in his arms again but held me at a slight distance. He was being careful and stiff. It was making me frustrated.

I had a feeling that I knew what had happened between us. I knew that I wasn't alone in my feelings. Something had passed between us. I realized that he was starting to feel as I did. It was the only explanation I could come up with. It was an explanation that gave me hope and for a brief moment, I felt brave. I reached as far as possible to put my hand on his cheek. He looked down to meet my eyes and lowered his head a bit so that I could touch him. I used this new found bravery to show him what I have been hiding since the night of my birthday. I showed him how my feelings have been changing and I told him that it was ok if his were changing too. That I finally knew what I wanted and I us. By the time I was done, we had stopped dancing. He took a step back to looked at me sadly, then he nodded in comprehension.

"I suspected it but I was still hoping…" He stopped mid-sentence and took a breath as if trying to calm himself but his heart was back to normal so I wasn't sure why he hesitated.

"But it's not want I want. It's not the right time for this." He shook his head as if trying to remove something from his mind, then he continued.

"This is so wrong and the worst part is that I'm not in control of it. I thought I was but obviously I'm not. I'm at your mercy here, Ness, so please." He took my hand in his, pleading. "Please don't feel this way anymore." This time I let go of him abruptly, his words burning me like hot rods. He didn't want to have feelings for me. I felt humiliated. I could feel my anger and hurt boiling inside of me.

"You mean don't make you feel this way. Because obviously you could never have those feelings for me on your own. Isn't that how it is? You become whatever I need whether you want it or not? Of course it's ok for you to love me as your best friend's kid but anything else is out of the question. After all, how could a wolf ever love a vampire as his mate?" I mumbled that last part to myself then I looked at him strait in his eyes.

"Would you have even been my friend if you hadn't imprinted or would you have just killed me like any other leech?" My tone was harsh. If I wasn't so hurt I might have been able to soften my tone and filter my words but there was nothing I could do now. The words were said and I could not take them back. I saw the flash of hurt cross his face followed by anger.

"How can you even say that to me, Renesmee?" He nearly roared at me. It shocked me for a moment by the power of his anger but I held my ground.

"Because I look at you and all I see is a wolf that doesn't want to even consider falling in love with his mate. What else am I supposed to think other than you don't want to be in love with me because I'm a vampire!" The last part came out in a hiss. I could see it my words were making him even angrier.

"How about I don't want to love you that way because you are 4 years old?! Damn it Ness! Don't you see what feelings like that would make me? I am a man and you're still a little girl. I am not some sick pervert!" There was almost a desperate tone in his voice. It was as if he was truly afraid of becoming one. His fear may be uncalled for but it wasn't any less real so I had to acknowledge it. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself. I had to stop acting like a hormonal teenager and start acting like an adult.

"And I am not a child, Jacob." I said as softly and evenly as I could. I tried to bring my voice back to normal in order to gain control of the situation.

"You may talk like grown up and even act like one sometimes, but you're not an adult either, Ness." I tried to keep calm but his words kept making me angrier and angrier. He was so frustrating! Neither of us were looking at one another so I didn't notice when he took a step closer to me. He took my hand into his and I allowed it. His eyes were remorseful and ashamed.

"I held you in my arms when you were a little baby. What I felt at that moment changed my life forever. The love that washed over me the moment I looked at you for the first time was the purest, most unselfish, and unconditional love anyone could ever feel. Can't you see how wrong it would feel for me if that changed? Losing the way I feel about you would be like losing a part of me. You are my whole world, Renesmee. I love you too much to even consider loving you in any other way." His eyes were pleading with me. Tears spilled down my eyes. I knew exactly what he meant but it didn't change the way I felt. Even at that moment, the way he looked at me, the way his thumb caressed the skin of my hand made me warm inside. I believed with all of my might that there was nothing wrong with him loving me differently so I had to try to fight for him.

"I can't change the way I feel. I can't change how I want you to love me." I confessed in a whisper. He let go of my hand but I continued, "I'm growing, my feelings are changing. I can't just not love you. What we have is precious to me too Jake but I know that what we will have is even more precious. There is nothing wrong with loving me differently, this is what is supposed to happen." I explained. He shook his head. He was exasperated, maybe even desperate but I was resolved in my decision.

"No one really knows how imprinting works. Maybe you're supposed to grow up and chose who you want to be with. Maybe I'm supped to just help you and support you in that process. You can choose whoever you want. It doesn't have to be me." He pleaded again. My insides were raw. I was tired of fighting for him. It shouldn't be this difficult to love your imprint. He had to make a choice, just as I had.

"The thing is, that I have chosen. I chose you and, frankly, if you can't accept it... then, perhaps, you need to stay out of my life." I kept my voice even but the pain I felt nearly made me chock on my words. "You wanted a choice, now you have one." I said decisively as I gave him an ultimatum.

"What?" He was stunned. For a moment, he looked at me as if I was a stranger to him.

"I'm sorry, but I am not going to pretend that I don't feel what I do and I'm certainly not going to spend eternity hung up on someone who won't love me back and possibly never will." I explained calmly, almost mechanically. He stared at me for a moment, possibly still stunned but then something in his eyes changed.

"I see. You're right. You are growing up, your feelings are changing, and it wouldn't be fair to ask you to pretend otherwise." The look that crossed his face began to scare me. He looked both pained and desolate. I pretended not to see it, concentrating on his words because somehow they gave me hope even though his eyes did not.

"Precisely. This doesn't have to be something wrong Jake. Well take things slow and…"

"You're misunderstanding me Ness. You shouldn't have to wait around to see if I change my mind. I think its time for me to go for a little while." His face was emotionless as he said his word, as if he were wearing a mask. I looked into his eyes to see if he was serious. He was. The tears were back again. They flowed freely now.

"I'm sorry, Ness. I just think it's the best way. You only have a few more years before you stop aging. I think it will be better if things are a more stable and normal for you. It's not normal for you to be hanging around a man that is more than twice you're age. Of course, you feel this is the way things are meant to be. You can't even see your other options."

"What other options? I'm not human, there's nothing normal about my life. I was born for you!" I paused for a moment realizing gravity of what he was about to do to me. "Are you seriously gonna pull an Edward on me? How can you even consider putting me through that, Jake?" I tried to keep my voice steady but a small sob broke out regardless. The memory of my mother's pain had broken his mask. His face was hard and pained as he considered what his departure might do to me. He couldn't look at me. He looked at the trees and then he looked at the ground before he continued.

"It won't be like that. I just want you to have a normal childhood as best you can. There's still so much that you haven't experienced and I can see how it can get confusing with me around all the time. I'll definitely visit when I can and we can email, talk on the phone. It won't be like them. It'll be fine." I could hear the insecurity in his voice but his eyes were resolved. He was leaving me.

"I can't believe you are doing this. If you really want to go, then go." I was angry and pained but my voice was just a whisper. I felt as if I were in some sort of nightmare.

"I'm sorry I ruined your night. This was such a stupid idea." He muttered the last part to himself, "Come on, let me take you back to the gym." He reached for my hand but I swat it away.

"Just go!" I shouted. He was startled by my reaction. He looked at me for a moment then he went to his car to unhook the lights. The darkness came suddenly but my eyes adjusted immediately. He hesitated for a moment, then I saw him look at someone behind me. He silently got into his truck but before he closed the door he said, "It'll be ok Ness. I promise. Just go back and try to enjoy your party. I'll call you tomorrow." He closed the door and then he left.

The adrenaline that I was feeling from our emotional roller coaster had depleted and I was suddenly exhausted. Now that he was gone, I could feel my heart collapse and my body collapsed along with it. The loud sobs surprised me. I didn't feel them coming until they were already there, echoing back from the trees. My entire body shook. It was only a moment later that I felt warm arms pick me up from the ground. I was surprised at the sent that accompanied them but I was too far into despair to care.

"I can take you home, if you want." Andrew told me quietly. I lifted my finger to let him know I needed a moment. He waited for me to compose myself, without saying a word.

"I'm supposed to stay with grandpa this weekend. My family is on vacation." I whispered after a moment. He secured me in his arms and began making his way to the school. A few moments later, I was finally able to calm down. The tears still flowed freely but I was starting to regain control.

"How much did you hear?"

"I heard most of it. I really didn't mean to follow you. I just got a little anxious after you didn't come back. Old habits die hard... I'm sorry." He smiled sheepishly. I would have laughed is I wasn't so heartbroken.

"It's ok. I'm glad you found me. I think I had a panic attack. I didn't realize I could."

"I guess you're half human after all." He smiled at me as he weaved out of the trees and into the parking lot to get his car. "If it makes you feel better, I think you were right. You're obviously not a four year old. So, what are you supposed to do, pretend you don't love your imprint? Besides, it's not like you guys couldn't take it slow. I don't know. It doesn't really matter. I don't think he's actually capable of leaving anyway so he's gonna have to find a way to deal with it."

"Thanks Andrew." We both got into the car and he drove me to my grandfather's house. Only there would I let the real tears come out.