Renesmee Cullen

It's late in the evening

Glass on the side now

I've been sat with you

For most of the night

Ignoring everybody here

We wished they would disappear

So maybe we could get down now

I don't wanna know

If you're getting ahead of the program

I want you to be mine, lady

To hold your body close

"So, where are you taking me?" I laughed, turning up the volume.

"Well I was thinking to the morgue, maybe the junkyard, maybe the cemetery I guess we'll see won't we?" She said, rolling her eyes as she gripped onto the steering wheel. "Why don't you ask me another 89 times and hear my response?"

"Okay, fine. I'll lay off the questions. I'm just saying, your text was quite vague and my parents expect me to be home before my curfew hits."

"Gross! You have a curfew!" Felicity croaked, flashing a disgusted expression.

I nodded my head, ashamed.

"Why though?" She demanded.

"Well, after I ran off for four months without notice. I think that kind of pissed my parents off and so…yeah!" I said with a smile, shrugging my shoulders.

"Ugh! Yeah! I'd do the same. I mean you just up and left me on my dire need for comfort. I should definitely look up the definition of friendship again in the dictionary." She pointed out.

I felt my smile fall. "Felicity, I know I just disappeared when you needed me most and I'm terribly sorry about that. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself." I said, regretful.

Her parents got into a plane crash and her boyfriend died and she found all of this while being hospital bound after her own brush of death and I just left when she needed me most. That's unforgivable!

"It's okay. I guess it gave me some time to heal on my own and not depend on anybody. I'd probably be a party pooper either way." She told me with a small smile as she fixed her gaze on the road.

But I knew how she truly felt. She wanted to break.

"How's your dad doing?" I asked.

After finding out the news about the plane crash, her parents were presumed dead until her dad woke up. Well…I guess I would say his heart –after the doctors resuscitated him back to life – but he was now in coma for five months and no one knew when he'd wake up.

It's been a rough couple of months for her and sometimes I just wish I could do something to help but, I've got nothing.

These were the times I wished the girls were here with me.

"His breathing is stable but his vitals are low. His brain is without oxygen and there is no evidence of higher level brain activity. So I guess that's why he's in a coma, on life support. I haven't seen him yet but my grandmother has." She told me. "All we have to do is wait! Again and again and again,"

I sighed. "It's gonna be okay."

I couldn't lie even convincingly to myself because I was sure things weren't going to be okay. She lost her stepmom and her dad's in a coma, not to mention, she's still recovering from her 'accident'.

I could visibly see the marks on her neck, even over the makeup. It was clear she was trying to hide the scars but they'll always be there. A constant reminder for the rest of her life.

"So, what did you do for the summer?" She asked me. "I mean you were in Washington! MIA! For four months!"

"I was visiting family and friends." I told her.

"Mmm-hmm…with Jacob? I'm sure you two got some alone time!" She teased nudging me.

I chuckled, blushing slightly as I fixed my eyes on the road.

"Omigosh! The silence means my thoughts are true! You two totally did the yiki-yiki-yo-yo this summer didn't you! He stole your V-card! Was he any good? 'Coz I can tell he's incredible the sack I mean, with a body like that? God! And that charisma! Ten out of ten in the bed for me!" She shouted out.

As I was about to narrow my eyes at her in complete shock at her raunchy bluntness, I watched a raccoon run across the road over the headlights.

"Felicity, watch out!" I shrieked.

Felicity swerved the wheel at the last minute and managed to dodge it quickly.

I exhaled a heavy breath as I gripped onto my seatbelt. Felicity giggled uncontrollably.

"Whoa! That was close." Felicity laughed before glancing back at me. "So, is it true?"

I glared. "You almost got us killed. You almost made roadkill! You need to concentrate on the road more."

"Geez! Sorry, Rens! God!" She said. I sighed. "So, yes or no?"

"No! No! No!" I repeated.

She raised her left hand. "Okay,"

I gnawed my bottom lip as I thought about it.

"I mean, I want to but…I don't know if he feels the same way, you know?" I said. She glanced back at me over the rearview mirror still keeping her focus on the road.

I shook my head. "I don't know. Maybe it's just me."

"Oh…well. I'm sure it's nothing you did wrong. I'm sure he's just waiting for the perfect time I mean, it is a beautiful thing you know. It's worth the wait for someone you love." She mentioned sadly.

I felt my heart sink. "Felicity, I know it's hard getting over Hun –"

"Do not say his name, please!" She warned with a sigh as she swallowed a lump. "It's bad enough his parents' think I'm the one who had to do with his death. His funeral's still buried in my mind and I'm trying not to think about walking down the halls of our school tomorrow knowing that my boyfriend died there." She whispered.

I fixed my gaze on my fiddling fingers on my lap, not knowing what to say.

I need you darling come on set the tone

If you feel me falling won't you let me know?

Oh, oh, oh, ooh!

Oh, oh, oh, ooh...

"Oh, god!" She sniffed. "No. You know what? I'm fine! I've never ever felt fine in my life. Tonight's not about moping around. It's our last night as juniors, our final day of summer break! We're going to be seniors tomorrow." She said jubilantly.

"I know. It's crazy, isn't it?" I murmured.

"I have so many things to do at so little time! I need to get myself yearbook ready every single day because who knows when the camera will be pulled out. I have to find new age-appropriate outfits! Gah! I need to prepare my valedictorian speech because of course I'll be valedictorian. This is going to be a huge year." She squealed.

I chuckled, shaking my head at the giddy girl.

"So uh, I talked to Alex today. She just got back from New York." She pointed out. "So…what are you going to do when you see Alex tomorrow?" She asked me.

I felt my breathing hitch at the mention of her name.

As far as I know, Felicity still didn't know what really happened that night. She just knows that Alex and I had a falling out, but had no clue on the meaning behind it. My grandfather said the amnesia hit her hard and that she'll more than likely never remember what really happened that prom night and he and the family agreed that the less she knows the better. We didn't want anybody else knowing our secret.

But that was in expense of my friendship with her. What if she does remember? I would be responsible for lying to my best friend and ruining our friendship for good.

So I was surprised to know Alex decided to keep the secret too.

Was she protecting me? Did she value my friendship with Felicity that much not to sabotage it? Or was she just protecting herself and more than likely didn't give a damn about me?

The latter was more believable.

"Honestly, I have no idea."

"That's not what I wanted to hear. I mean you two are best friends! You can't be fighting." Felicity mentioned.

I felt my leg move at her words. The leg that got injured from the arrow Alex almost killed me with.

I've tried to get past that but…I can't.

"I don't want to talk about it." I told her.

She nodded her head, respectfully. "Okay. Well all I'm saying is, you guys need to figure out whatever's going on between you two because I won't be prone to girl fights on group dates."

"I thought you said you're not dating this year?" I pointed out.

"Oh I know what I said. And who said anything about dating? I'm just…living life, enjoying my surroundings, testing the waters…five waters over the summer to be exact." She pointed out, sighing and giggling in memory.

I frowned, not quite getting what she was talking about.

"Oh, darling, you're so innocent." She teased. "It's a new year! New life!"

I smiled.

"Happy to hear that," I said with a smile before I watched her pull into a pizza hut. "You never eat pizza." I pointed out.

"New year, new life!" She repeated.

I chuckled.

SING!

… …

My eyes fluttered to an open the next morning as I felt the huge, bright sunshine land on my face through the drapes in my room. I stretched my arms out wide, feeling my body caress the comfy bed and feathery pillows. I found myself emerging from the seams and releasing a heavy, groggy yawn.

It's a new dawn.

It's a new day.

And I'm not feeling good about it.

I snatched my phone from my nightstand and began checking my social feeds.

Twitter updates.

School notice on my email.

Application updates.

And four text messages from Jacob…

Can't sleep- Thinking about you- Too hard! -11:09pm.

I hope we didn't get caught. Your pops hasn't tried to kill me yet so I'm guessing you're 'kay? God! I'm missing you, babe. I'm sure you're missing me too – 11:15pm.

I'm sure you think I'm crazy for texting you three times tonight but I dnt care! Missing ya like crazy and I want the world to know. You're probably sleeping but I'm not ;). I hpe my socks are comfortable enough for ya! I know you're wearing them :p -11:32pm.

I felt my cheeks burn as I stared at my foot sticking out of the covers. I was indeed wearing his black socks.

I laughed.

'Kay! This is the last text I promise you. I just wanted to tell you to have a good day tomorrow. I probably won't see you until after work or on my dinner break since your grams invited me over but I hope you know I'll be thinking about you all day. I love you, kid. Never forget that. – 11: 35pm.

I bit my bottom lip, trying hard to bite off the squeal and the happy tears from overflowing.

I loved this man.

As I was about to reply, I got another text.

I furrowed my eyebrows when I realized it was Nahuel's text.

Mi carina, I heard you're officially going to be a senior today. I would give you some words of wisdom but I'd rant along and you won't be going to school anyway so I'm just gonna wish you a wonderful day. Esme invited Jennifer and me over for dinner tonight so I can't wait to hear about your day today.

-Nahuel

My mouth fell open as I dropped my phone onto the bed and stared into the distant walls.

"Oh my god!"

Jennifer and I in the same room. Jake and Nahuel in the same room. Nahuel and I in the same room. All of those are not a good combination.

This is not going to be good.

After getting ready, I locked up the house and drove over to the Cullen mansion where I assumed my parents and everybody else were.

I walked into the house to see the five year old Carter jumping off the balcony of the sixteen foot staircase with a nerf gun in his grasp. He landed gracefully onto the ground and charged my way.

"Nessie! Run!" He shrieked, standing in a protective stance in front of me and squirting the nerf gun towards Emmett who was standing on top of the staircase.

"You get back here, kid!" Emmett stated sternly with his own nerf gun in his grasp.

I laughed. "What's going on here?" I sniggered.

Carter glanced up at me. "Emmett's not pleased at my winning him in Need for Speed and Forza so now he wants to kill me. Nerf Battle 2014 is in succession!" Carter mentioned, charging his gun and glared at Emmett.

"Catch me if you can old man!" Carter laughed, running away with supernatural celerity into the other room.

"Get back here, CJ! I'm going to kill you, kid! You can't run away from me forever!" Emmett said, sprinting at normal speed. "I told Rosalie not to let him wear that stupid overall!" He groaned.

I laughed. They were too cute.

Rosalie entered the room, smiling widely as she held a bunch of Carter's many toys. I swear, that woman spoils that kid rotten.

"This is getting out of hand. I need to call child services on you." I said, gesturing to the toys.

"I don't care as long as he's happy." She said with a wide grin.

It was so infectious that I had to return it.

"So, big day today!" Rosalie said to me, nudging my arm.

I nodded. "Yep! It's my first senior year!" I laughed, knowing that I will have many more other senior years in the future.

"No biggie," She chuckled. "Carlisle's currently running some tests on Carter so Emmett's just trying to get him jazzed up before he passes out so he can draw some blood."

I nodded my head.

Carter has an irrational fear of needles even if almost all of them hardly work on him. It's understandable, I mean, he feels like he's a child experiment when all he wants is to have a normal life so I do feel for him. I try my very best to make him feel like he has someone to count on, you know? I mean someone who understands what he's going through in a sense since we're both essentially the only two hybrids of the house. I guess you could call me his big sister, I don't know but I'm just glad I can be there for him.

It's pretty evident that Rosalie and Emmett unofficially claimed Carter as theirs and the thing is Carter's a smart kid. He knows Emmett and Rosalie aren't his real parents even though they never had 'the talk' with him yet. He doesn't want to ask questions, he just wants to be a normal kid and who are we to fight with that?

Each day is a new surprise with him. He looks more and more like Lizzie and Charles every time I see him. Some days it's more Lizzie and sometimes it's more Charles and other days it's a combination of both. He's too cute for words and I wonder how he was brought into a world of madness.

I'm glad we're doing everything we can to protect him because that kid's worth it. He's family.

And we protect family.

"He'll be all right," I said reassuringly, rubbing my Aunt Rosalie's arms soothingly.

"Yeah," She smiled back.

"Senior year! Senior year! Senior year!" I heard my dad start singing as he entered the room with my mom behind him.

Oh god!

Here comes the embarrassing parents' moments!

"If you start belting out to High School Musical, I will kill you dad!" I warned.

"I second that." Mom agreed.

Edward smiled as draped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to his chest. I giggled as I wrapped my arms around my dad and breathed in his alluring, contenting scent.

"Have an amazing day, sweetheart." He kissed my cheek. "Call us if anything happens and we'll be there in a flash."

I knew he was referring to my inevitable encounter with Alex and he knew I'd be uncomfortable if it ever occurred.

"I know." I said with a smile as snuck a glimpse at my mother over his shoulder.

She took my hand and gave it a kiss before smiling that I couldn't help but return.

I felt my dad tighten his grasp.

"Um…dad! I'm losing circulation here. You can let go now." I whispered.

He reluctantly let go to smile weakly. I sighed.

"Dad, don't do that." I said sadly.

"Go to school, peanut. You don't want to be late." He said.

"We love you!" Mom told me.

I smiled back. "Love you too." I said before running out of the house.

Alex Mazzola

I should be going, right? I mean it's almost 8 o'clock in the morning, school starts in fifteen minutes.

Why can't I leave?

Why can't I drift my gaze away from the stain glass window where kids were waving goodbye to their parents for the start of their school year? Why can't I move from my bed?

"Are you ready?" I heard my brother's voice call out to me.

"Yeah," I replied, not moving an inch.

"You know? There's always tomorrow! We don't have to leave. I mean…I have a Hurling meeting today and I don't want to let my team down by not showing up but…" He paused.

I snickered weakly. "We'll leave in just a few just give me a minute."

I heard him fall silent.

"I can't have a minute with your breath on my neck, brother." I pointed out.

"Oh, right, sorry!" He said, walking out and shutting the door behind him.

I exhaled a heavy, much-needed sigh.

Dammit!

Why am I so freaking nervous?

It's just senior year!

Hmm…

Felicity Stone

I woke up the next day with a massive, panging headache.

What the hell did I do last night?

I heard a low snore beside me and I jerked up with a flinch. I glanced at the naked sleeping body beside me. I stared down at my body. I, too, was naked just as the sturdy body currently under my covers.

The boy shifted to face me and fluttered his eyes open, revealing his striking blue eyes.

"Morning, beautiful. You really did rock my world last night. We should do it again, maybe after a date?" He pointed out.

"Um…let me think about it." I said with a smile as I bent down to kiss his thin lips before hopping out of bed and into my bathroom.

After taking my shower, I walked out of the room to see the frat boy I had sex with still in my bed!

"What are you still doing here?" I half-shouted as I slipped some underpants on. I glanced at my clock to see that I had exactly five minutes to get ready for school.

Dammit!

"Dammit!" I uttered aloud as I hurriedly dropped my towel and ran into my closet and reappearing in a pale blue floral, wavy, knee-length dress and three-inch heels.

"You look sexy." The pretty boy blonde said as he leaned his back against the headboard.

I snarled.

"Get up!" I mentioned as I tossed his clothes at him.

"Ow!" He groaned.

I grabbed him by the hand and forcibly pulled him out of my bed.

"This has been fun but you need to leave. Now!" I stated.

"Fine!" He retorted, hopping out and shoving his boxers on. "But I need to see you again, baby. I don't want this to be a one-time thing; I'm in it for the long haul. I want to marry you!"

"No you don't." I said, shoving his clothes in his chest and pushing him out of the room.

"Please, I don't want to go to frat parties anymore. I want you. I want you!"

I snatched my handbag before I jostled him out of the door, closing it shut behind me.

"Keep quiet! My grandmother's sleeping so you'll sneak out like the good boy you are okay, Nathan?" I pointed out.

"It's Kaden but I can be whatever or whoever you want me to be baby!" He whispered.

I gagged. "Gross. God! Just go!" I said, shoving him towards the stairs.

"Can I at least have your number?" He pointed out.

I narrowed my eyes at him in disgust.

He really did want a kick to the nuts didn't he?

"You're an ass! Grow up!" I tried to be harsh but the crazy spasm in my head was bringing me to a halt.

I croaked as I rubbed my temple soothingly as flashing images flooded my brain.

Blood.

Bodies.

Hunter's body…

Smoke.

Screams.

Sorcery…

Nothing.

I wavered backwards slightly before opening my eyes and blinking thing.

That was weird.

"Go before my grandmother catches -" I tried to say but bit my tongue when my frail grandmother appeared, looking up at me and the half-naked college boy standing in front of her.

"I better go." He finally gave in as the awkward silence crept in and did the quick walk of shame out the house.

"Felicity Stone…"

"Grams I'm really not in the mood for a lecture. I have to get to school, I'll be home before dinner." I said, descending the stairs whilst pining my hair up in a bun and slipping my earrings in.

"Bye!" I waved.

I sighed with bated breath as I stepped foot onto the doormat.

"Felicity Stone, it's senior year. New year, new life!" I repeated my words of encouragement into my head.

Nahuel

I set my phone on the antique counter after talking to Nessie before grabbing the expensive glass bottle of bourbon and poured it into a glass.

"Morning, brother." Jennifer muttered out, frustration in her tone as I heard the click of her heels. I tilted my head to see my beautiful, younger sister slipping an earring into her ear whilst searching for something in the vintage, mahogany, wooden edged sofas.

"Morning, baby sister," I replied as I lifted my drink in the air and twirled it slightly before taking a sip. "What has got you running down your downward spiral?"

"I'm looking for my other earring. Have you seen it?" She asked me as she walked past me.

"No. No." I muttered. "You could always wear something different."

"Mhmm, and ruin this outfit, no thank you!" She said as she shook off her skirt.

"You look beautiful by the way." I told her.

"Why thank you brother? I need to look good to make a good impression." She told me. "Yes!" She squealed as she found her missing earring and slipped it on. She spun around to look at me pouring a bag of AB blood into my bourbon drink.

"I hear Jacob doesn't drink much, especially when it comes to gin and blood." She said, gagging.

"It's bourbon. And I don't care what Jacob drinks, I'm more interested in what Renesmee drinks." I told

"Yeah, okay!" She chuckled, sarcasm clear in her tone.

I sighed as I stared at my drink before setting it on it onto the creamy placemat.

"I can honestly say you can do better than that girl." Jennifer told me as she locked her huge waist belt and threw a white cardigan on.

I gave her a quick survey. "I don't like that tight top. Too much cleavage." I pointed out.

"And you aren't my dad!" Jennifer mentioned as she kissed my cheek and walked past me, pulling up the sleeves of her cardigan.

I smiled. "Breakfast's currently being made," I told her.

"You still have that housekeeper/chef? I thought we got rid of her last week after Nessie declined your date. Pathetic by the way!" She told me.

I rolled my eyes. "She's been very helpful!" I said.

"Mhmm. Maybe you should date her instead." Jennifer said.

"What do you have against Renesmee? She's done nothing to you." I questioned.

I found it weird my own sister disliked the woman I intend to hopefully court soon, and spend my life with.

"It's not what she did to me that I'm concerned about. Are you sure you want to continue going after a girl who's in love with someone else? I don't want you to waste your time loving someone who doesn't love you back. I don't want you to get hurt again." Jennifer said to me as she leaned against the dark table.

"Sister, do not worry. Everything will be okay." I assured her with a smile.

The decision to move to Oakland Woods was not only because I wanted to draw closer to Renesmee, that was the primary reason, but it was also to build a life her with her. Hopefully my sister will support it someday.

"I don't know, brother but okay."

"Just continue flirting with Jacob and get him out of my hair then things will fall into place." I laughed, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

She gasped but her blushing cheeks said it all.

"I know what you're doing. I see you're trying to flirt with him. Do you like him?" I teased.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I mean he's cute but, I don't think he's my type…or particularly into me but I never give up. You of all people should know that."

"Oh, I know that." I laughed.

She smiled as she grabbed her handbag from the table and slung it over her shoulder.

"Don't forget, we have dinner with the Cullens tonight." I reminded her.

She nodded her head before turning around.

"Where are you going?"

She spun around to cock an eyebrow at me and smirk cheekily.

"Don't you know already? I'm going to school!" She mentioned, winking back at me before walking to the door.

I sighed, shaking my head as I dug into my pocket to get my keys.

"Need a rid –" I stopped myself mid-sentence, frowning when I realized I didn't have my keys.

"Don't worry! I've got your keys." She called back before leaving the house.

I shook my head.

Oh, Jennifer!

Renesmee Cullen

The second I stopped the car in my parking space, I just sat there for what felt like forever. I was watching every student smile outside the building but mask it with somber expressions the minute they entered the school hallways.

It's a funny thing actually, that in just a matter of seconds and emotion can change into something else.

Should I fall into the crowd of changers? Or should I leave my emotions right where they were.

I finally stopped my engine and slipped out of my Camry, slugging my backpack over my shoulder. I locked my car with a click of the button before moving aside to just stare at the building, contemplating whether or not to take the walk.

"I didn't think you'd make it." My best friend Felicity's voice ringed in my ear. I turned to see her in a beautiful dress. I smiled.

"I couldn't stay away." I said, slipping my car keys in my pocket.

"You look picture ready in that outfit." She muttered nervously.

I didn't even know how to dress for an occasion like this. I mean all I wore was a river island dark purple, lace, cami peplum top and black jeans with a pair of sneakers with a side braid to finish off the look.

"I can't breathe. Is that normal?" Felicity pointed out.

I gripped onto my necklace, more like my lucky charm that Jake gave to me for my birthday. I never take it off. Ever!

"Senior year vibes. Makes me sick," Rea commented as she appeared out of nowhere, standing beside us.

Felicity and I both glanced back at her.

"You're really early for school, which is odd." I pointed out.

"Well my mom said I should go to hell so here I am." Rea replied smartly. She turned to us, our eyes blank.

"Look, I don't care anymore. After what happened, I think just being together keeps us sane." Rea pointed out.

I sighed as I turned back to the building.

"It's now or never guys!" I said as I was the first to take the step forward.

"I can't do this!" Felicity cried. I spun around to see tears welling up in her eyes. "I can't walk in there and face everyone, I can't remember Hunter! But I can't forget about him." She sobbed.

"It's okay! You can do this Felicity. We've got your back. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. I know you can do this." I assured her.

She stared at me, blankly before nodding her head. I smiled as I took her hand in mine and all three of us began sauntering our way up to the building to face the music.

To start our senior year!

The second we walked through the doors of Oakland Woods High, the mood was just as expected.

Heartbreaking.

The whole hallway was basically a pathway of art tiles. There were messages, pictures, posters, banners, memories all of Hunter Hamilton.

"People actually liked him." Rea pointed out. I glared at her, scowling her bluntness. "What?"

Something was off today.

Everybody was staring at us, particularly Felicity and I. I had no idea why but then I realized that Felicity was the last person Hunter was with the night he died and I'm sure everybody was wondering how she was holding up.

As for me though, I don't know if they were death glares or just being associated with the situation but I was uncomfortable and I wanted out.

"Okay, let's talk about something else. Maybe that'll take our minds and focus on the lingering gazes people are currently throwing at us." I whispered.

"Ugh! Dink Gregory's back. What a packrat! I mean who names their child Dink anyway?" Rea stated, immediately changing the topic.

"He's still alive!" I laughed, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Yeah and he apparently didn't get held back this time. Four times guys!" Rea added.

"Why's everyone staring at you like that?" Felicity questioned, glancing up at me.

"Everyone thinks she had something to do with Hunter's death." Rea pointed out.

"What?" Felicity and I retorted out in unison. Rea nodded her head.

"Yeah, story broke that someone saw you running out with a bloody hand." Rea said.

"My leg was stabbed!" I half-shouted and whispered to her. She raised her hands up in defense.

"Don't shoot the messenger." She told me.

I rolled my eyes.

Great! Now I'm a target of untrue rumors and now people don't trust me. What a way to kick off my senior year!

"What else could possibly go wrong today?" I questioned as we made our way to our assembly point in the gym.

… …

"After a grueling year of losses and painful experiences, our school is now starting afresh. There'll be new developments and new opportunities to build our school again. This is a new year of new, uncertain experiences of your teenage hood for some of you." Our principal, Mr. Phillips mentioned as he glanced at the freshmen side.

"And this is the final year for most of you who are leading off into adulthood, into the real world. It's going to be hard but don't worry about that now. Make most of the last year you've got here in Oakland Woods, and in general, make it a duty to make this year the best you've ever had." He said to all of us, directing his attention to the seniors.

We all cheered.

"Now, enjoy your day and lead to your first period." He added before the bell automatically went off.

Felicity and I hopped off our seats on the bleachers and made our way out.

"You okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "What's your first period?"

"English," I told her.

"Me too, I guess we'll have to meet our new English teacher, right?" She laughed as she glanced at the period schedule. "Omg! It's Mr. Worthington,"

"The teacher without an arm right?"

She nodded her head. "He's totally creepy."

Mr. Worthington was this middle-aged, probably in his late forties, man with goldish-brown locks, grey on the edges and a stumpy arm. He usually hid it with a long coat. He taught AP English to the sophomores and seniors. Apparently he's pretty scary because he was weird, like you don't know what to expect from him. It's not that he's strict or anything, but I hear he just makes a person uncomfortable. He hardly hung out with anybody in the teachers' lounge and was never ever present at assemblies. People wouldn't know he existed if it weren't for Parent-Teacher conferences.

"Oh well, I guess we'll have to deal won't we." I laughed.

I found myself bumping into someone suddenly that caused the third party to flinch.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said but felt my lips shut when I realized I bumped into none other than Alex Mazzola.

"Alex!" Felicity squealed.

"Um…hey, Felicity." She whispered, not moving her eyes away from me.

I blinked.

Alex repositioned her gaze from me after a long while over to Felicity, flashing an unconvincing smile.

"You okay?" She asked her.

Felicity nodded her head. "Yep,"

Alex smiled. "Good,"

Memories of Alex shooting at me with her crossbow flooded my brain. The huntress' eyes filled with hatred, anger and contempt. Bloodshed. She wanted to kill me and I don't think I'll ever get past that.

Alex moved her eyes onto mine again, only this time was different. It was like she wanted to have a conversation with me but didn't know where to start. It wasn't the eyes I saw that night trying to kill me.

"Nessie," She nodded before walking away.

Felicity exhaled a shaky, nervous breath. "Well that wasn't awkward!"

I chuckled nervously as I glanced back at Alex, walking away and past Seth was conversing with a teacher before he moved his eyes over to his imprint. It must've been the first time since almost five months ago.

"Now let's go squander our time with Mr. Creepy-Stumpy-Man." Felicity said to me as she took my hand in hers.

I laughed.

"Renesmee!" I heard someone call out to me, causing me to halt in my tracks.

That voice sounds familiar.

My eyes bulged.

"God, no!" I whispered.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Maybe it's all in your head.

"Hey, May. Someone's calling you," Felicity nudged my arm.

God! So it's not just me.

I reluctantly spun around to see the absolutely drop dead gorgeous blonde making her way over to me with one of the friendliest grins I have ever seen.

I hate it.

"Um…hello?" I said, making it come off more as a question.

"Wow! How awesome it is to see you here. Small world." She pointed out with a giggle.

I puckered up a fake, but convincing smile.

"Who's this?" Felicity mentioned lowly as she gave the girl a long lofty survey, clearly not liking her presence one bit.

I ignored her.

"Um…Jennifer, what are you doing here?" I questioned.

"I school here!" Jennifer replied happily. "Isn't that exciting?"

"What?!" I demanded, a little too indignantly than I wanted it to be.

"Yeah! I enrolled here a couple of days ago and surprisingly they accepted. I guess being nice does pay off." She chuckled.

I scoffed.

"Oh! This is going fantastic! It's nice to have at least one friend at this school." She giggled in a way that made me want to gag and pull my hair and ears out.

Friends? Nuh uh! I'm not your friend, girl! In fact, I'm one you need to keep away from!

I was livid!

But then again, I thought maybe I was being unreasonable to hate on her when she hasn't directly tried to be malicious. I mean for all I know, she loves hanging out with my boyfriend and doesn't seek to get her lips on his.

I wasn't the jealous type and I shouldn't be.

Yes! Be mature Nessie! Be mature!

"Oh, um, yeah! Sure it will be fun." I forced a genuine smile.

"Ahem," Felicity cleared her throat as she took a step, moving slightly in front of me to look up at Jennifer who was probably a three inches taller than her. "You seem interesting and a breath of fresh air. Where are you from?"

"Ohio," Jennifer replied truthfully with a bright smile.

Felicity scanned her yet again. "Have you ever seen Ohio on a map? It's like a giant turf that Michigan can't kick off." Felicity laughed.

Jennifer just smiled.

"You're really pretty." Felicity mentioned.

"Thank you so much! Gosh! That means so much to me coming from the Felicity Stone. I've heard so much about you. You're apparently a legend in this school." Jennifer sweet-talked.

That seemed to soften Felicity up because she flipped her hair to the side and smiled proudly.

"Why thank you." She said. Jennifer grinned.

"Hey, girls!" Luke's voice boomed as he and Justin appeared. "I see you've met the lovely Jennie-benoosie!"

Jennie-benoosie?

The school already has a nickname for her!

"Wait. You know her?" I asked.

"Of course! The whole school knows her now. She's the talk of the school." Luke mentioned.

Jennifer, oh I'm sorry, 'Jennie-benoosie', sniggered. "Oh, I wouldn't say that."

"Don't be so modest!" Justin said with smile as he fixed his gaze onto her as if she was a museum sculpture or something.

Did everybody know Jennifer was here except me? Why didn't I get the memo? I mean it's only been an hour and she's already the most popular girl in school!

"It's hard being the new girl you know so it's a bonus having nice people like you all to welcome me with open arms." Jennifer said to all of us.

I noticed her giving me the side eye at the corner of her eye.

"Aww! Aren't you the cutest thing?" Luke said with a nudge of the arm.

Felicity cleared her throat, glaring up at him and slapping his right arm.

"What?"

She sighed and shook her head before turning her focus back on the new girl.

"Well, welcome come to Oakland Woods." She said.

"Hey, Renesmee. Remember when you were the new girl just under a year ago? Now nobody cares about you anymore." Luke laughed.

Justin punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" Luke cried out. "Okay! Stop with all the hitting and chillax or I'll have to carry a trank-gun!"

"So are you a junior or senior?" Felicity questioned.

"Senior," Jennifer replied.

"Oh." Felicity hummed.

What?!

"Yeah, it must be tough transferring as a senior." Justin stated.

Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I mean after losing my parents a couple of months ago I had nowhere else to go so my older brother took me in and I guess that's why I'm here!"

Ha! Damn! What a liar!

I guess?

"Shame," Luke muttered sympathetically, tears welling up in his eyes.

Jennifer smiled. "Thanks," She said before turning her attention onto Felicity who fell quiet as the topic of death came up. "Are you okay?"

Felicity sniffed. "Yeah…I-I it's just, my parents were in a plane crash not so long ago."

"Oh, I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm sorry." Jennifer stated apologetically. "What's your first period?"

"AP English," Luke replied for Felicity. We turned to him, eyebrows cocked. "I sorta took the liberty to memorize her schedule."

"Me too, I'll walk you to class." Jennifer mentioned as she pulled Felicity in her embrace and walked away, whispering comforting words.

She walked away with my best friend.

I felt my breathing hitch and my fist clench involuntarily.

"She's so sweet." Justin commented.

I bit my lip.

"You okay?"

I nodded.

"Never better!" I muttered gruffly.

… …

As I was walking down the still gloomy hallways of the school –trying to avoid the stares, trying to move my eyes away from Hunter's face on every wall and locker – I finally reached Mr. Worthington's AP English classroom to see all the seniors roll in.

The minute I entered, I was immediately suffocated by Jennifer's orchid scent clouding the air. Her giggle was so earsplitting; I had to refrain from screaming or cringing every time she did it.

Nope!

Be mature about it Nessie. You're not intimidated by the absolutely gorgeous blonde with the refreshing energy and sweetest eyes that will make you want to rethink your own life!

No. I refuse to be intimidated.

I watched as half of the class rally around her, telling jokes and listening to whatever she had to say and the other half were doing their own thing but I was sure were trying to listen in too. The boys were most interested though, as frickin' expected!

"Welcome to AP English, future Class of 2015!" Mr. Worthington uttered out the minute he entered the classroom.

Everyone cheered as some scurried away from Jennifer while others stood close by.

"You may take your seats." He told us.

The rest of the students and I all obliged. I took my seat beside a girl with blue hair. I looked up to see Felicity sitting up from her seat.

I waved my hand up in the air, gesturing for her to come over.

Jennifer suddenly grabbed Felicity by the arm as she was about to come over to my side, smiling at her and asking her to sit next to her to talk about things.

I sighed as I placed my books on the table.

Only a second after, a strong scent reached my nose. I looked up to see Alex walking into the classroom, her side bag firmly wrapped around her tall, slender frame.

"You are late Ms. Mazzola and it's on your first senior lesson." Mr. Worthington stated.

I was expecting her to say something smart or challenging but I surprised by her answer.

"I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again." She apologized. She actually apologized.

Mr. Worthington nodded his head. "You may take a seat."

Alex spun around to face the crowd of seniors. Her eyes scanned the room in search of an open seat. Her eyes landed on two of the only seats open in the room. One in the third row and one in front of me.

That's when our eyes locked again.

I didn't know how to feel when I saw her hazel eyes. Should I feel angry or should I feel remorseful? Nothing.

Was she going to take a seat in front of me in attempt to squash the heavy tension we had or was she going to pick the other one in attempt to keep a safe distance from me?

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised she picked the latter.

I sighed, moving eyes away from Alex to the teacher. Mr. Worthington had his eyes transfixed on me, eying me for a very long time. The look wasn't the normal, assessing a situation type of look that a teacher would give to students but more on the enthrallment side of things. He seemed fascinated and slightly perplexed, as if he was looking for something and now he found it.

It definitely made me uncomfortable.

"Okay! Let's begin." Mr. Worthington exhaled, turning around and writing his name on the whiteboard. "For the people who don't know me, I'm Mr. Worthington, your English teacher for the year."

He drew a line under his name before writing something else. We waited for a short while, trying not to notice he's doing all of this with only one arm before he whirled around and setting the marker on the desk.

"A Midsummer's Night's Dream and Pride and Prejudice," He introduced the first lesson. "What do these classic, romance plays have in common? Well besides the fact that they're classic, romance plays."

Some laughed.

Felicity raised her hand up.

"Yes, Ms. Stone." Mr. Worthington gestured to her.

"I'd say besides the fact that they were written by the incomparable, popular and powerful novelists William Shakespeare and Jane Austen, respectively but they both have different stories to tell that interlink in some way. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice deals with the struggles of finding the love of your life as a woman, I can quote one of the lines she wrote being 'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife'. We see in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream that a wealthy royal, the Duke Theseus of Athens marries the queen of Amazon, Hippolyta.

"The contrast between Austen's and Shakespeare's respective novels is that Jane is all for making choices of your own over who you want to be with whereas Shakespeare's is the opposite, it's enforced. It's a law to marry someone the society and family thinks you should end up with, as we see with Hermia and Demetrius." Felicity expressed with clear diction.

"Thank you for your lovely answer, Ms. Stone. I can tell you've been exposed to such beautiful literature." Mr. Worthington stated.

Felicity smiled weakly before dropping her head.

"But you left out the crucial part. It's not just about falling in love and choosing who you wanted to be with; it's about what's your destiny. You see Egeus wanted his daughter to marry Demetrius, a charming young man who initially fell in love with Hermia but the feelings weren't mutual. They were betrothed but it was one-sided, which is sad for him but let's not forget about Hermia too. She was in love with Lysander, someone her father didn't particularly like. He enforced the law that a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by their father or else death would be imminent on both ends. That may be cruel but surprisingly, that was okay back in those days."

"But why couldn't Hermia just run away with Lysander? I mean, if they really did love each other then they wouldn't care about what everybody says." Luke said.

"It was law so there was no running from it." Mr. Worthington said. "But that didn't stop them as time went on which I'll explain later. The weird/cliché part was, Hermia had a close friend who was in love with the man whom she'd be betrothed to, Helena."

"Oh, how convenient," Alex whispered, laughing.

"Isn't that breaking the girl code?"

"Hermia didn't love Demetrius though. There was conflict here and there but nothing too serious. Amidst all of this, Helena was pining for Demetrius who loved her back. It's all about loving someone at the wrong place and the wrong time, it's not just a love triangle –or love square if you may. It's about finding who you are and who you're meant to be with, just as Jane Austen's P&P."

I nodded my head, listening attentively to what was being said.

Dammit! I never thought of it that way when I read the books.

"I could spare you the information but you're going to do that all on your own. As your first senior project, I would like you to research on all two novels and write a 12-page essay on which one you think is best and why/how you feel connected to it. Whichever is the most popular will be the story we'll be studying this semester." Mr. Worthington stated as he began passing out the books.

There were some groans here and there.

"I can read it on Kindle!"

Mr. Worthington reached my table and extended his only arm out with the books firmly in his grasp.

"Here you go, Ms. Cullen." He told me.

I forced a smile as I took the two pieces of literature from his hand.

He smiled, snickering a little as he fixated his gaze on me for a while before drifting them away to face the rest of the class.

"Now! Idioms!"

A/N(This has been a terrible year filled with losses (and political disasters) so here's my tribute to all the celebs we lost this year. RIP: Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, George Michael, Gary Marshall, Muhammad Ali, Alan Thicke.) May 2017 be the light we all need, please!

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