House Of The Rising Sun Ch.2
Edward’s perspective.
The sun came up slowly over the marshes. Everything here is a different color. My eyes have become accustomed to green. I can see fifty shades of green in everything, but here things are all purple and yellow. There’s stagnant water out in the marshes near the house, reflecting the color of the morning sky. The clouds trapped the sunlight, making the sky shift in color as a whole, rather than in one spot.
I hear Bella come up behind me, and feel her cool arms wrap around my waste. “I like it here.” She whispers. I nod my head and leaned my weight slightly against her as she presses her face into my neck. “You’re not as picky as you think you are…first the sun, then the rain, and now the south.” I smile as she grips me tighter.
“I don’t care where I am as long as I’m with you.”
I’ve never heard truer words. The depths of hell couldn’t be all that bad if I was with her. “We should wake Renesmee” she says, kissing my neck. I nod my head, she’s right. True to her teenage form, my Nessie would sleep well past noon if left to her own devices. I didn’t often wake her before sunrise, just a handful of times in her life, and somehow I knew (even without hearing her thoughts) that the morning would be shocking to her.
I was reluctant to be away from Bella, even for a moment knowing that we would have to do our best to look like average teenagers later in the day. I just wanted this moment to go on, with the pale sunrise behind the clouds and Bella’s fingers against my ribs.
“I have to get dressed.” She said, sighing. “Why don’t you go and wake Renesmee while I get ready.” I nodded my head as she pulled away from me, walking into her closet. I already knew what I was going to wear. I had a dark green v neck tee-shirt and brown slacks laid out, along with a pair of dark green and black Nikes. It was still incredibly warm out, and the charade of a jacket was, for the first time in a long time, unnecessary. I dressed silently and walked out of our cottage into the morning light. There was a lark flitting against the sky above me as I walked out into the hot, wet air. It must have caught my scent because it darted away quickly.
Inside the house, I found Jasper and Emmett standing in the kitchen with Esme. She was packing our lunches. Of course, none of us were going to eat them, but it was important to keep up a charade. Plus, she thought there was a chance that Renesmee would want the cookies…which I was pretty sure, she wouldn’t. She still preferred to hunt with the rest of us, and we had all gone out the previous day in preparation for school. Jasper was wearing black jeans and a pale cream colored shirt. Emmett donned a form fitting black shirt and cargo pants.
I heard Esme’s worries about our first day as she moved about silently. She was mostly worried about me. I wanted to confront her and tell her that she was being ridiculous, but I knew that she was justified.
I hurried past them and upstairs to wake up Renesmee. I opened her door slowly and took in the sight of her sleeping figure. There was something so beautiful about sleep. The total abandon of self over to dreams. When she slept like this, she reminded me so much of Bella. As peaceful as she was, I didn’t think she would forgive me for allowing her to sleep through her first day.
I gently touched her shoulder. Her skin was feverish, as always but she never seemed to mind the cold touch, even as a baby. I shook her lightly and whispered her name like a song. “Renesmee…” Her eyes opened slowly, her thoughts were still heavy with sleep, but she was excited. School? She thought eagerly. “Yes, school” I answered her with a smile. Leave me so I can dress! She thought excitedly, and so I slipped out the door and back downstairs.
In the living room, Emmett and Jasper were watching Wrestling on our new plasma screen television. Rosalie came in through the east just as I entered from the west. “Oh,” she exclaimed “WWE!” She sat down on Emmett’s lap, “My money’s on Santiago, he’s been doing really well this year.” “No way, babe” Emmett said, “Sinclair’s got this in the bag.”
Alice came in with Bella at that moment, and all thoughts were shoved out of my mind. She was breathtaking; I had to remind myself that we were in a room full of people so that I wouldn’t ravish her on the spot.
I had often turned over an idea in my head. If the immortal children were frozen at their level for eternity, then perhaps I was in fact still a hormone driven teenager. Although I had put my emotions aside for almost a hundred years before I met Bella, every time I see her now, I can’t help it.
“You look beautiful.” I said, my eyes wide, drinking every ounce of her. She was wearing a light, shimmery cream colored dress that exposed her ivory collar bones and fell to about mid-thigh.
“Ahemmm” A little cough that sounded more like a wind-chimes sounded next to me. I looked over at Alice, who spun around to show me the tight fitting dark jeans and black tank top she was wearing. The top was inlaid with the silhouettes of silver birds, taking off at her hip and spreading across her chest. “You look lovely, Alice.”
“Why thank you!” She smiled as Jasper’s hands wrapped around her waist and he began to whisper in her ear.
“How much longer do you think Renesmee needs?” Rosalie asked, without any hint of anger in her voice. She still felt incredibly maternal towards Renesmee and since her birth; her and Bella had been on much better terms.
“She’s still half human; she needs a little longer to get ready.” Bella said. “Slowwwww pokeeee” Emmett grumbled, standing up and turning off the TV.
Bella looked over at the grandfather clock as asked “What cars are we taking?”
“I was thinking we’d take Emmett’s jeep, and Rose’s Convertible…”
“Don’t you think that’s a little ostentatious? I have a perfectly good Jetta. We could take that and the Volvo.” Bella said, crossing her arms against her chest.
“Bella…” Jasper said, coming forward. He looked at me before speaking, and I nodded. “This place, it isn’t like Forks.”
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“I just mean that…in Forks, money was seen as a bad thing, people with nice things were considered show offs, snobs. Well, the south isn’t like that. Pre-civil war, money equaled power and old habits die hard. It’s seen as a sign of respect. It’s nothing bad, honestly. Just as it was better that we down played our wealth in Forks, its better if we assert ourselves, at least a bit, here.”
Bella’s mouth was a thin line, one eyebrow raised. “I don’t know…” she said.
“Honestly Bella” Alice said “It’s not like we’re taking my car.” She grinned as I thought about her shiny yellow “baby” as she called it.
“Alright…if you insist.” Bella said, shrugging. Jasper had obviously used his gift to make her feel resolved and indifferent.
I knew, in the back of my mind, that this was going to be weird for her. At that moment, a patter of footsteps came down the stairs. We all turned to see Renesmee enter the room, looking drop dead gorgeous. I heard Alice gasp before she jumped up in glee to preen over the little beauty.
I closed my eyes quickly. “No…No no no.” I said stepping forward. “Are you out of your mind!?” I yelled. I could feel my temper slipping away, was I the only one who could see what she was wearing! The blue dress was low cut….no, not low cut…barely sewn together at her ribs, allowing a clear view of the side of her chest, clad in a shiny black bra.
I hissed. Alice and Bella were both admiring her; I could hear Alice’s thoughts of glee at the way that she looked.
“Bella…” I said, with a warning in my voice.
“Edward…” she said, coming towards me. “Come on, she looks unbelievable. It’s her first day of high school ever.”
I shook my head “You don’t have to…to hear what…what everyone is going to be thinking.”
I couldn’t stand it, I just couldn’t. Alice was worried now; I could hear her thoughts, egging Bella on. She wanted her to convince me.
Bella looked at me, took my face in her hands and said “Okay…She’ll put on a jacket.”
Renesmee groaned, but Bella turned on her with a fierce look in her eyes. “You can take it off in class, when you’re not with your father. But he’s right, spare him. Go get a jacket, we need to leave.”
Renesmee trudged up the stairs to retrieve a jacket.
I sighed. “This is going to be interesting.”
Renesmee’s Perspective.
We went to the office to get our schedules. Emmett and Rosalie were posing as sophomores. Jasper, Alice, mom, dad and I were all posing as freshmen. It was a bit of a stretch, but no one really thought that we were lying. We had all the right birth certificates. We were all 14, and Rose and Emmett were 15.
My schedule was as follows:
English
Math
Spanish 1
Earth Science
PE
Health
I had all of my classes with all of my “freshman” siblings. I knew that dad, or…Edward, as I had to call him in public (it would be terrible of “dad” slipped out) had everything to do with that. We all had PE together, I guess this wasn’t uncommon, the school was very small and many grades did PE together, but I couldn’t help but think about how it would look to outsiders.
Oh yeah, we’re all foster siblings but yes, we do look a lot alike, and yes, we are unbelievably coordinated…it’s just some weird coincidence I suppose.
I had spent the last year being trained on how to move like a human. Never move too fast, never too smooth. Try not to be graceful. It was harder than one would think. You have to learn to put your reflexes aside completely.
We all made our way into the quad, looking much more like a coven than a click.
“Here we go.” Emmett breathed, as we sauntered off to class.
In the quad, people around us froze. I could hear they’re whispers, they thought were out of hearing range.
“Who are they.” One girl with strawberry blonde curls asked her dark haired friend next to her.
“New students…though, he can’t possibly be in high school? Right?” she said, speaking, I’m sure, about Emmett.
“They’re all so…so beautiful” the dark haired girl whispered. “Look at the blonde, holy crap.”
“And those boys…look at the one with the reddish hair.”
I repressed a smile, looking up at my father. He leaned down to me and whispered “Just tune it out, Nessie.”
I raised my eyebrows in a smirk. Sure, that would be easy.
We paused outside of building 4, Emmett and Rosalie had their first class in this building.
“Be good.” Emmett said to Edward, who high fived him.
Rosalie brought me in for a hug. “I want details at lunch.” She said, the cool marble of her forehead creased in worry.
“You won’t miss anything, I promise.” I assured her.
They wandered into their first class holding hands.
I was surprised to find that the first two classes that I thought we had together were split. There were two English, and two math teachers. I was with my parents in the first period, and Jasper and Alice the second. I suppose it worked out better if we didn’t always travel in a pack.
Alice and Jasper stopped in front of the room they were assigned. Alice looked like she was torn between going to class, and just attaching herself to me. “Alice…” Dad said, “It’s alright. Everything will be fine.”
She nodded and placed a quick kiss on my forehead. Jasper took her hand and they left.
“Are you ready?” Dad…no, Edward asked me.
“Yes. I am very, very ready Edward.” I smiled. “You have everything down?” He asked again, concerned that I was going to let something slip.
Mom and I are sisters, taken in my Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife. Our last name is Farrow, we were born in Kansas in 1999 to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Farrow. Our parents died in a car crash when we were two and we’ve been with the Cullen’s since we were three. You, Alice, and Emmett are his nephews, Rose and Jasper are the Hale siblings, taken in by the Cullen’s when they were three and four after their parents died in a string of mysterious homicides that were never solved in Vermont. I know, trust me.
I thought of all this in my head quickly. He was impressed. “Alright then, Nessie. Let’s go.”
Together we walked into our first period English Class.
The teacher was a young man in his 30’s with graying hair, big blue eyes and a friendly smile.
The three of us sat down next to each other. The teacher moved to the front of the room and introduced himself as Mr. Jackson.
Mr. Jackson took role, calling Bella Farrow right before he called Vanessa Farrow.
We both raised our hands. He froze in his place, his eyes wide as he looked at us.
“Are you new to town?” He asked my mother, but my father was the one who answered.
“We just moved here a few months ago, yes.” Edward spoke with such courtesy and ease that Mr. Jackson dropped the subject.
I saw my father grit his teeth. I placed my feverish hand on top of his icy one and took a deep breath.
He snapped out of it pretty quickly. He turned to me with a smile, but pain in his eyes.
The girl sitting next to me said something, but I missed it. I turned to face her. It was the dark haired girl I’d seen in the quad earlier. I had a distrust of her immediately, but I said “I’m sorry, what?”
“I said I’m Clarissa.” She repeated.
“Oh, hi Clarissa, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Vanessa.”
“You guys are…uhm….new, huh?” She asked. I didn’t have to read her mind to know the thoughts that were barreling through it. She was trying to sort out the resemblance.
“Yes, this is my twin sister Bella, and our foster brother Edward.” I introduced my parents.
Her eyebrows rose. “You mean, you aren’t all physically related? What about the other I saw you with this morning…”
Edward spoke; clearly he still didn’t trust me with the story. He explained the relationship between us all, and how the kind new doctor in town had taken all of us orphans in.
Clarissa was skeptical. I was eager to hear her thoughts, to see how the human world actually viewed us.
“Are you nervous about starting high school?” I asked her, hoping to distract her from whatever train of thought she was on.
“Oh…” she said, coming back down to Earth. “Not really, I mean…how much worse can it be?” She smiled and I realized how much kinder she looked when she did so. Her eyes crinkled and she got little dimples in her cheeks. It was much less menacing than her stare, with those dark eyes taking in too much.
I turned back to the front of the room and I realized that just about everyone in the room was looking at us. Either freely staring, or chancing glances at every opportunity.
I never really realized it when we were at home, but I saw now how odd it was to see my parents not touching. Usually, they were in some sort of embrace, be it a hand, or an arm, or a leg. They kept their distance now and I realized that it made me uncomfortable. Like seeing a person split.
My father looked over at me with a smile, and I blushed.
The class went by relatively quickly. The bell rang, and Clarissa asked what I had next. I told her that I had math and she groaned, “I have French. Oh well, maybe I’ll see you later.”
The fact that she spoke to me and not to my parents was clear to me. I posed the question in my head; she had barely looked at them, almost intentionally avoiding their gaze.
“You’re a lot more…approachable, Ness.” My mother said.
I laughed lightly. “That’s a first.” I shrugged as I said goodbye to my parents and went into the room where I had math.
Alice and Jasper were already seated, with a seat saved for me.
I sat next to them and Alice immediately asked me about my first class.
“Make any friends? Are there any cute boys? Was Edward totally insufferable?” She asked quicker than I could answer.
I laughed, “I did meet a girl, but I’m not sure about her yet. I’ll point her out to you later. I don’t really have the option of noticing boys with Edward hovering and actually, no he did really well, but maybe because of the lack of the opposite sex.” I shrugged.
Jasper was playing with his pencil, turning it around in his hands. “What’s the girl who you met look like?” he asked me, curious. “She has dark brown hair, straight to her shoulders, dark wide eyes, fair skin…”
“I’ll see if I can gage her later.” He said.
“Thanks. How was your English class?” I asked.
“Fantastic!” Alice chimed. “Wasn’t it Jazz, we met the nicest little girl Charlotte, a total sweetheart wearing a black onesie and Toms.”
“Yeah, she was lovely. I told Alice we should invite her for dinner.” He smiled menacingly at her. She hit his arm lightly before laughing. “Oh, honestly Jasper!” she giggled.
Jasper had gained much more self control in recent years, enough to make his joke actually funny rather than worrisome.
“We get to read All Quiet on the Western Front.” Jasper added. “It’s one of my favorites.”
At that moment, the teacher entered. She was an old woman, her white hair was piled on her head in a bun and she spoke in a very pronounced, southern drawl. She was uptight and didn’t like anyone talking during the day, so the rest of the period progressed in silence.
We walked together to Spanish. The tables in the room were meant for two each. I sat next to Jasper, my parents had another table, and Alice sat on my other side next to a overly friendly boy who introduced himself as “The Johnsonater.” He was very taken with Alice.
She looked over at Jasper and mouthed the word “help”.
The Johnsonater was clearly below average I.Q. He seemed to miss the clear danger flashing in Alice’s eyes. The Johnsonater asked Alice if she wanted to come over to his house to study later. “Actually,” She said with what I assumed all the kindness she could muster “I have plans with my boyfriend, Jasper.”
The Johnsonater was clearly out of his element. “Who?” he asked, perturbed.
“Hi...Jasper Hale.” Jasper said to The Johnsonater.
The color quickly drained from his face. “You?” he asked.
“I…I…I thought you guys were all siblings.” He stammered.
“Foster siblings. But no, sorry…that would explain the different last names.” Jasper said cooly, running his smooth fingers through his hair. I stifled a laugh, pressing my hand to my mouth.
I looked over at my mother who was laughing silently, letting her hair form a curtain over her face. My father’s hand protectively on her back, his lips turned up in a crooked smile.
Spanish itself was a breeze. It was nice to just sit and let my thought’s wonder.
Before I knew it, my mind was on Jacob. I missed him, a lot. I didn’t have a lot of time to let my mind travel, but when I did I tried to picture what he was doing at that very moment.
I pictured him in the constant rain of Forks, the cool drops bouncing off his always shirtless body.
He was so fierce, so protective. I adored him, I always had. He was so strong and loving. He ruled his pack down in La Push, one of my favorite places in the world.
I remembered the trees along the beach, the way that driftwood burned green and blue. The lazy days that Jacob had spent babysitting me in my short youth. I thought about the way that he would catch me before I could reach the sea, or when we go hunting, competing for who could catch the largest deer in the woods. The way the snow would melt off of my body just as easily as his. How he had always let me bite him as a child. The memory of his face was always coated with pure love.
Before I knew it, the bell rang. It was lunch.
We all found a table together, Rosalie and Emmett joined us. Emmett told us about the events of his day, which he spent sizing up every boy who looked at Rosalie which was, of course, everyone. Rosalie was the most beautiful girl on the planet.
“Edward” I asked, even though we were out of earshot of anyone, “that girl in our English class, Clarissa…She seemed nice enough, but I couldn’t tell. There’s something about her.”
His brow furrowed. “She’s got good intentions. She was drawn to us by our appearance, but not because she wants’ to be associated with us, like some people. She’s….curious.”
“Curious?” Emmett asked, leaning in.
“What do you mean?” Jasper asked.
“She’s suspicious of us. Obviously, she has no idea what we are, or who we are, but there’s something tugging at her mind. There’s a subtle signal that says more than just danger. She’s drawn to us, and she doesn’t know why. She’s someone to look out for. Honestly, Nessie, as hard as it might be, you should ignore her, get her out of your life before she worms her way in. People like that are people who we must avoid.”
I nodded, thinking about Clarissa and her dark, watching eyes.
“Of course, Edward.” I said…”Safety first.”
I smiled, and though I meant it, Edward didn’t look convinced.
The rest of the day passed in much the same way as the first. Thankfully, I didn’t have any more classes with Clarissa. The Johnsonater was avoiding us completely, and I found that my favorite class was Health. I had already read several of Carlisle’s medical texts, so it was a piece of cake, but interesting to gage other children’s reactions to such simple facts. Also, the fact that my body, as well as my family’s bodies, are so vastly different it gave me the feeling that I was in on some kind of joke.
Having PE with Emmett was fantastic. He picked me to be on his team, during volleyball, and although he restrained himself perfectly, he still kicked everyone’s butt.
By the time we got home, I was exhausted. I sat with my mom in the kitchen and worked on the small amount of homework we had gotten on the first day.
“So…what did you think?” she asked me while filling out the answers to a Spanish questioner at the same time.
“It was different, but it’s nice to be out of the house. What about you?”
“It’s different for me. The last time I was in high school I was a human.”
“Is it better this way?”
“It’s fantastic. I love getting to spend time with my family and still maintain some sense of normality. The best part of it is that you get to experience normal teenage things, and experience them with us.”
“Aren’t teenagers supposed to be totally annoyed with their parents?” I joked
“I suppose everyone has a rebellious phase, I think you still have, like, eight years before you’re a teenager though…I’ll watch out for it.” She winked.
I laughed but it was stifled by a yawn.
“I’m beat…” I said, smiling up at her.
“I don’t blame you. Go get some sleep kiddo, I’ll see you in the morning for school.”
I walked out of the dining room and into the kitchen, preparing to go upstairs when I heard my father calling me.
“Nessie? Can you come here for a minute?”
“What’s up dad?”
“I have some news, I just talked to Jacob, and he’s going come to come down later in the week.”
I was ecstatic; I could feel the blood rush into my face at the thought. “Jacob is coming here?!”
Edward smiled and nodded. “I, well, I heard you thinking about him today, and I realize that this change must be hard for you, so I called him and he was thrilled.”
I threw my arms around his neck. “You’re the best, thank you so much.” I felt the tears in my eyes. I hadn’t even realized how much I’d missed Jacob.
“Seriously dad…this is going to be great.”
I hurried up the stairs, my mind flooded with images of Jacob and I exploring and hunting in the nearby swamps.
That night I dreamed about Jacob, but my thoughts were tinged with a different taste.
I dreamed that we were sitting on the beach at La Push, Jacob was looking at me with his dark eyes glowing, and he took my hand. But it wasn’t the same way he always took my hand, it was different. The dream Jacob spoke in his husky voice. “I’ve missed you, Nessie.” He said, and then he leaned down and pressed his lips onto mine. His massive arms wrapped around me and pulled me up to straddle him.
The heat from his body radiated in waves. In my dream it was raining but I didn’t feel it, all I could feel was Jacob, his arms pulling me closer to him. My fingers tangled in his short black hair, and electricity shot through my body. I pulled back breathlessly, but he didn’t allow for space, he pulled back to him roughly, breathing in short bursts against my mouth. He whispered my name…
I woke up with a jolt. I was panting. I had never thought about anyone that way before, let alone Jacob. I was used to having my father monitoring my thoughts.
With a groan, I wondered how I was going to keep this a secret from him all day tomorrow. The thought was already consuming me, and he was coming here. Jacob was coming here to see me!
I groaned and pressed my face into my pillow.
This was going to be interesting.
***
A/N: Okay so I know that it took me a while to get it up, but it’s long. I thought about splitting it into two, but I thought that the first part was way too boring to be its own chapter. I hope that this doesn’t drag on, I know I get carried away with details!
As per request, I’m keeping the Jacob/Renesmee relationship! I’m actually excited about it, maybe Jacob will be more fun when I get to control what a dick he is. We shall see. I hope that you guys like it, as always I’m way open to every suggestion. ConCrit only though please, no bashing. It’s not Beta’d because I don’t have the patience but I read through it twice. I’m sure there’s probably some little thing I missed, but there usually is. If you let me know I’ll change it. Also, I’m planning to put it up on FF.net when I get the chance, I have an account but I haven’t been on in ages so I have to see if I remember the password! Comments are absolutely needed for me to keep up motivation, and you guys have been great!
Also, I know this is a bit off topic but I reallllly disliked Nikki Reed’s portrayal of Rosalie in the movie. I think she’s a beautiful girl, but she NEEDS to be tan and brunette and Rosalie should be a true blonde. I like to think of her as Elisha Cuthbert. Just so you know what I’m seeing =]
The sun came up slowly over the marshes. Everything here is a different color. My eyes have become accustomed to green. I can see fifty shades of green in everything, but here things are all purple and yellow. There’s stagnant water out in the marshes near the house, reflecting the color of the morning sky. The clouds trapped the sunlight, making the sky shift in color as a whole, rather than in one spot.
I hear Bella come up behind me, and feel her cool arms wrap around my waste. “I like it here.” She whispers. I nod my head and leaned my weight slightly against her as she presses her face into my neck. “You’re not as picky as you think you are…first the sun, then the rain, and now the south.” I smile as she grips me tighter.
“I don’t care where I am as long as I’m with you.”
I’ve never heard truer words. The depths of hell couldn’t be all that bad if I was with her. “We should wake Renesmee” she says, kissing my neck. I nod my head, she’s right. True to her teenage form, my Nessie would sleep well past noon if left to her own devices. I didn’t often wake her before sunrise, just a handful of times in her life, and somehow I knew (even without hearing her thoughts) that the morning would be shocking to her.
I was reluctant to be away from Bella, even for a moment knowing that we would have to do our best to look like average teenagers later in the day. I just wanted this moment to go on, with the pale sunrise behind the clouds and Bella’s fingers against my ribs.
“I have to get dressed.” She said, sighing. “Why don’t you go and wake Renesmee while I get ready.” I nodded my head as she pulled away from me, walking into her closet. I already knew what I was going to wear. I had a dark green v neck tee-shirt and brown slacks laid out, along with a pair of dark green and black Nikes. It was still incredibly warm out, and the charade of a jacket was, for the first time in a long time, unnecessary. I dressed silently and walked out of our cottage into the morning light. There was a lark flitting against the sky above me as I walked out into the hot, wet air. It must have caught my scent because it darted away quickly.
Inside the house, I found Jasper and Emmett standing in the kitchen with Esme. She was packing our lunches. Of course, none of us were going to eat them, but it was important to keep up a charade. Plus, she thought there was a chance that Renesmee would want the cookies…which I was pretty sure, she wouldn’t. She still preferred to hunt with the rest of us, and we had all gone out the previous day in preparation for school. Jasper was wearing black jeans and a pale cream colored shirt. Emmett donned a form fitting black shirt and cargo pants.
I heard Esme’s worries about our first day as she moved about silently. She was mostly worried about me. I wanted to confront her and tell her that she was being ridiculous, but I knew that she was justified.
I hurried past them and upstairs to wake up Renesmee. I opened her door slowly and took in the sight of her sleeping figure. There was something so beautiful about sleep. The total abandon of self over to dreams. When she slept like this, she reminded me so much of Bella. As peaceful as she was, I didn’t think she would forgive me for allowing her to sleep through her first day.
I gently touched her shoulder. Her skin was feverish, as always but she never seemed to mind the cold touch, even as a baby. I shook her lightly and whispered her name like a song. “Renesmee…” Her eyes opened slowly, her thoughts were still heavy with sleep, but she was excited. School? She thought eagerly. “Yes, school” I answered her with a smile. Leave me so I can dress! She thought excitedly, and so I slipped out the door and back downstairs.
In the living room, Emmett and Jasper were watching Wrestling on our new plasma screen television. Rosalie came in through the east just as I entered from the west. “Oh,” she exclaimed “WWE!” She sat down on Emmett’s lap, “My money’s on Santiago, he’s been doing really well this year.” “No way, babe” Emmett said, “Sinclair’s got this in the bag.”
Alice came in with Bella at that moment, and all thoughts were shoved out of my mind. She was breathtaking; I had to remind myself that we were in a room full of people so that I wouldn’t ravish her on the spot.
I had often turned over an idea in my head. If the immortal children were frozen at their level for eternity, then perhaps I was in fact still a hormone driven teenager. Although I had put my emotions aside for almost a hundred years before I met Bella, every time I see her now, I can’t help it.
“You look beautiful.” I said, my eyes wide, drinking every ounce of her. She was wearing a light, shimmery cream colored dress that exposed her ivory collar bones and fell to about mid-thigh.
“Ahemmm” A little cough that sounded more like a wind-chimes sounded next to me. I looked over at Alice, who spun around to show me the tight fitting dark jeans and black tank top she was wearing. The top was inlaid with the silhouettes of silver birds, taking off at her hip and spreading across her chest. “You look lovely, Alice.”
“Why thank you!” She smiled as Jasper’s hands wrapped around her waist and he began to whisper in her ear.
“How much longer do you think Renesmee needs?” Rosalie asked, without any hint of anger in her voice. She still felt incredibly maternal towards Renesmee and since her birth; her and Bella had been on much better terms.
“She’s still half human; she needs a little longer to get ready.” Bella said. “Slowwwww pokeeee” Emmett grumbled, standing up and turning off the TV.
Bella looked over at the grandfather clock as asked “What cars are we taking?”
“I was thinking we’d take Emmett’s jeep, and Rose’s Convertible…”
“Don’t you think that’s a little ostentatious? I have a perfectly good Jetta. We could take that and the Volvo.” Bella said, crossing her arms against her chest.
“Bella…” Jasper said, coming forward. He looked at me before speaking, and I nodded. “This place, it isn’t like Forks.”
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“I just mean that…in Forks, money was seen as a bad thing, people with nice things were considered show offs, snobs. Well, the south isn’t like that. Pre-civil war, money equaled power and old habits die hard. It’s seen as a sign of respect. It’s nothing bad, honestly. Just as it was better that we down played our wealth in Forks, its better if we assert ourselves, at least a bit, here.”
Bella’s mouth was a thin line, one eyebrow raised. “I don’t know…” she said.
“Honestly Bella” Alice said “It’s not like we’re taking my car.” She grinned as I thought about her shiny yellow “baby” as she called it.
“Alright…if you insist.” Bella said, shrugging. Jasper had obviously used his gift to make her feel resolved and indifferent.
I knew, in the back of my mind, that this was going to be weird for her. At that moment, a patter of footsteps came down the stairs. We all turned to see Renesmee enter the room, looking drop dead gorgeous. I heard Alice gasp before she jumped up in glee to preen over the little beauty.
I closed my eyes quickly. “No…No no no.” I said stepping forward. “Are you out of your mind!?” I yelled. I could feel my temper slipping away, was I the only one who could see what she was wearing! The blue dress was low cut….no, not low cut…barely sewn together at her ribs, allowing a clear view of the side of her chest, clad in a shiny black bra.
I hissed. Alice and Bella were both admiring her; I could hear Alice’s thoughts of glee at the way that she looked.
“Bella…” I said, with a warning in my voice.
“Edward…” she said, coming towards me. “Come on, she looks unbelievable. It’s her first day of high school ever.”
I shook my head “You don’t have to…to hear what…what everyone is going to be thinking.”
I couldn’t stand it, I just couldn’t. Alice was worried now; I could hear her thoughts, egging Bella on. She wanted her to convince me.
Bella looked at me, took my face in her hands and said “Okay…She’ll put on a jacket.”
Renesmee groaned, but Bella turned on her with a fierce look in her eyes. “You can take it off in class, when you’re not with your father. But he’s right, spare him. Go get a jacket, we need to leave.”
Renesmee trudged up the stairs to retrieve a jacket.
I sighed. “This is going to be interesting.”
Renesmee’s Perspective.
We went to the office to get our schedules. Emmett and Rosalie were posing as sophomores. Jasper, Alice, mom, dad and I were all posing as freshmen. It was a bit of a stretch, but no one really thought that we were lying. We had all the right birth certificates. We were all 14, and Rose and Emmett were 15.
My schedule was as follows:
English
Math
Spanish 1
Earth Science
PE
Health
I had all of my classes with all of my “freshman” siblings. I knew that dad, or…Edward, as I had to call him in public (it would be terrible of “dad” slipped out) had everything to do with that. We all had PE together, I guess this wasn’t uncommon, the school was very small and many grades did PE together, but I couldn’t help but think about how it would look to outsiders.
Oh yeah, we’re all foster siblings but yes, we do look a lot alike, and yes, we are unbelievably coordinated…it’s just some weird coincidence I suppose.
I had spent the last year being trained on how to move like a human. Never move too fast, never too smooth. Try not to be graceful. It was harder than one would think. You have to learn to put your reflexes aside completely.
We all made our way into the quad, looking much more like a coven than a click.
“Here we go.” Emmett breathed, as we sauntered off to class.
In the quad, people around us froze. I could hear they’re whispers, they thought were out of hearing range.
“Who are they.” One girl with strawberry blonde curls asked her dark haired friend next to her.
“New students…though, he can’t possibly be in high school? Right?” she said, speaking, I’m sure, about Emmett.
“They’re all so…so beautiful” the dark haired girl whispered. “Look at the blonde, holy crap.”
“And those boys…look at the one with the reddish hair.”
I repressed a smile, looking up at my father. He leaned down to me and whispered “Just tune it out, Nessie.”
I raised my eyebrows in a smirk. Sure, that would be easy.
We paused outside of building 4, Emmett and Rosalie had their first class in this building.
“Be good.” Emmett said to Edward, who high fived him.
Rosalie brought me in for a hug. “I want details at lunch.” She said, the cool marble of her forehead creased in worry.
“You won’t miss anything, I promise.” I assured her.
They wandered into their first class holding hands.
I was surprised to find that the first two classes that I thought we had together were split. There were two English, and two math teachers. I was with my parents in the first period, and Jasper and Alice the second. I suppose it worked out better if we didn’t always travel in a pack.
Alice and Jasper stopped in front of the room they were assigned. Alice looked like she was torn between going to class, and just attaching herself to me. “Alice…” Dad said, “It’s alright. Everything will be fine.”
She nodded and placed a quick kiss on my forehead. Jasper took her hand and they left.
“Are you ready?” Dad…no, Edward asked me.
“Yes. I am very, very ready Edward.” I smiled. “You have everything down?” He asked again, concerned that I was going to let something slip.
Mom and I are sisters, taken in my Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife. Our last name is Farrow, we were born in Kansas in 1999 to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Farrow. Our parents died in a car crash when we were two and we’ve been with the Cullen’s since we were three. You, Alice, and Emmett are his nephews, Rose and Jasper are the Hale siblings, taken in by the Cullen’s when they were three and four after their parents died in a string of mysterious homicides that were never solved in Vermont. I know, trust me.
I thought of all this in my head quickly. He was impressed. “Alright then, Nessie. Let’s go.”
Together we walked into our first period English Class.
The teacher was a young man in his 30’s with graying hair, big blue eyes and a friendly smile.
The three of us sat down next to each other. The teacher moved to the front of the room and introduced himself as Mr. Jackson.
Mr. Jackson took role, calling Bella Farrow right before he called Vanessa Farrow.
We both raised our hands. He froze in his place, his eyes wide as he looked at us.
“Are you new to town?” He asked my mother, but my father was the one who answered.
“We just moved here a few months ago, yes.” Edward spoke with such courtesy and ease that Mr. Jackson dropped the subject.
I saw my father grit his teeth. I placed my feverish hand on top of his icy one and took a deep breath.
He snapped out of it pretty quickly. He turned to me with a smile, but pain in his eyes.
The girl sitting next to me said something, but I missed it. I turned to face her. It was the dark haired girl I’d seen in the quad earlier. I had a distrust of her immediately, but I said “I’m sorry, what?”
“I said I’m Clarissa.” She repeated.
“Oh, hi Clarissa, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Vanessa.”
“You guys are…uhm….new, huh?” She asked. I didn’t have to read her mind to know the thoughts that were barreling through it. She was trying to sort out the resemblance.
“Yes, this is my twin sister Bella, and our foster brother Edward.” I introduced my parents.
Her eyebrows rose. “You mean, you aren’t all physically related? What about the other I saw you with this morning…”
Edward spoke; clearly he still didn’t trust me with the story. He explained the relationship between us all, and how the kind new doctor in town had taken all of us orphans in.
Clarissa was skeptical. I was eager to hear her thoughts, to see how the human world actually viewed us.
“Are you nervous about starting high school?” I asked her, hoping to distract her from whatever train of thought she was on.
“Oh…” she said, coming back down to Earth. “Not really, I mean…how much worse can it be?” She smiled and I realized how much kinder she looked when she did so. Her eyes crinkled and she got little dimples in her cheeks. It was much less menacing than her stare, with those dark eyes taking in too much.
I turned back to the front of the room and I realized that just about everyone in the room was looking at us. Either freely staring, or chancing glances at every opportunity.
I never really realized it when we were at home, but I saw now how odd it was to see my parents not touching. Usually, they were in some sort of embrace, be it a hand, or an arm, or a leg. They kept their distance now and I realized that it made me uncomfortable. Like seeing a person split.
My father looked over at me with a smile, and I blushed.
The class went by relatively quickly. The bell rang, and Clarissa asked what I had next. I told her that I had math and she groaned, “I have French. Oh well, maybe I’ll see you later.”
The fact that she spoke to me and not to my parents was clear to me. I posed the question in my head; she had barely looked at them, almost intentionally avoiding their gaze.
“You’re a lot more…approachable, Ness.” My mother said.
I laughed lightly. “That’s a first.” I shrugged as I said goodbye to my parents and went into the room where I had math.
Alice and Jasper were already seated, with a seat saved for me.
I sat next to them and Alice immediately asked me about my first class.
“Make any friends? Are there any cute boys? Was Edward totally insufferable?” She asked quicker than I could answer.
I laughed, “I did meet a girl, but I’m not sure about her yet. I’ll point her out to you later. I don’t really have the option of noticing boys with Edward hovering and actually, no he did really well, but maybe because of the lack of the opposite sex.” I shrugged.
Jasper was playing with his pencil, turning it around in his hands. “What’s the girl who you met look like?” he asked me, curious. “She has dark brown hair, straight to her shoulders, dark wide eyes, fair skin…”
“I’ll see if I can gage her later.” He said.
“Thanks. How was your English class?” I asked.
“Fantastic!” Alice chimed. “Wasn’t it Jazz, we met the nicest little girl Charlotte, a total sweetheart wearing a black onesie and Toms.”
“Yeah, she was lovely. I told Alice we should invite her for dinner.” He smiled menacingly at her. She hit his arm lightly before laughing. “Oh, honestly Jasper!” she giggled.
Jasper had gained much more self control in recent years, enough to make his joke actually funny rather than worrisome.
“We get to read All Quiet on the Western Front.” Jasper added. “It’s one of my favorites.”
At that moment, the teacher entered. She was an old woman, her white hair was piled on her head in a bun and she spoke in a very pronounced, southern drawl. She was uptight and didn’t like anyone talking during the day, so the rest of the period progressed in silence.
We walked together to Spanish. The tables in the room were meant for two each. I sat next to Jasper, my parents had another table, and Alice sat on my other side next to a overly friendly boy who introduced himself as “The Johnsonater.” He was very taken with Alice.
She looked over at Jasper and mouthed the word “help”.
The Johnsonater was clearly below average I.Q. He seemed to miss the clear danger flashing in Alice’s eyes. The Johnsonater asked Alice if she wanted to come over to his house to study later. “Actually,” She said with what I assumed all the kindness she could muster “I have plans with my boyfriend, Jasper.”
The Johnsonater was clearly out of his element. “Who?” he asked, perturbed.
“Hi...Jasper Hale.” Jasper said to The Johnsonater.
The color quickly drained from his face. “You?” he asked.
“I…I…I thought you guys were all siblings.” He stammered.
“Foster siblings. But no, sorry…that would explain the different last names.” Jasper said cooly, running his smooth fingers through his hair. I stifled a laugh, pressing my hand to my mouth.
I looked over at my mother who was laughing silently, letting her hair form a curtain over her face. My father’s hand protectively on her back, his lips turned up in a crooked smile.
Spanish itself was a breeze. It was nice to just sit and let my thought’s wonder.
Before I knew it, my mind was on Jacob. I missed him, a lot. I didn’t have a lot of time to let my mind travel, but when I did I tried to picture what he was doing at that very moment.
I pictured him in the constant rain of Forks, the cool drops bouncing off his always shirtless body.
He was so fierce, so protective. I adored him, I always had. He was so strong and loving. He ruled his pack down in La Push, one of my favorite places in the world.
I remembered the trees along the beach, the way that driftwood burned green and blue. The lazy days that Jacob had spent babysitting me in my short youth. I thought about the way that he would catch me before I could reach the sea, or when we go hunting, competing for who could catch the largest deer in the woods. The way the snow would melt off of my body just as easily as his. How he had always let me bite him as a child. The memory of his face was always coated with pure love.
Before I knew it, the bell rang. It was lunch.
We all found a table together, Rosalie and Emmett joined us. Emmett told us about the events of his day, which he spent sizing up every boy who looked at Rosalie which was, of course, everyone. Rosalie was the most beautiful girl on the planet.
“Edward” I asked, even though we were out of earshot of anyone, “that girl in our English class, Clarissa…She seemed nice enough, but I couldn’t tell. There’s something about her.”
His brow furrowed. “She’s got good intentions. She was drawn to us by our appearance, but not because she wants’ to be associated with us, like some people. She’s….curious.”
“Curious?” Emmett asked, leaning in.
“What do you mean?” Jasper asked.
“She’s suspicious of us. Obviously, she has no idea what we are, or who we are, but there’s something tugging at her mind. There’s a subtle signal that says more than just danger. She’s drawn to us, and she doesn’t know why. She’s someone to look out for. Honestly, Nessie, as hard as it might be, you should ignore her, get her out of your life before she worms her way in. People like that are people who we must avoid.”
I nodded, thinking about Clarissa and her dark, watching eyes.
“Of course, Edward.” I said…”Safety first.”
I smiled, and though I meant it, Edward didn’t look convinced.
The rest of the day passed in much the same way as the first. Thankfully, I didn’t have any more classes with Clarissa. The Johnsonater was avoiding us completely, and I found that my favorite class was Health. I had already read several of Carlisle’s medical texts, so it was a piece of cake, but interesting to gage other children’s reactions to such simple facts. Also, the fact that my body, as well as my family’s bodies, are so vastly different it gave me the feeling that I was in on some kind of joke.
Having PE with Emmett was fantastic. He picked me to be on his team, during volleyball, and although he restrained himself perfectly, he still kicked everyone’s butt.
By the time we got home, I was exhausted. I sat with my mom in the kitchen and worked on the small amount of homework we had gotten on the first day.
“So…what did you think?” she asked me while filling out the answers to a Spanish questioner at the same time.
“It was different, but it’s nice to be out of the house. What about you?”
“It’s different for me. The last time I was in high school I was a human.”
“Is it better this way?”
“It’s fantastic. I love getting to spend time with my family and still maintain some sense of normality. The best part of it is that you get to experience normal teenage things, and experience them with us.”
“Aren’t teenagers supposed to be totally annoyed with their parents?” I joked
“I suppose everyone has a rebellious phase, I think you still have, like, eight years before you’re a teenager though…I’ll watch out for it.” She winked.
I laughed but it was stifled by a yawn.
“I’m beat…” I said, smiling up at her.
“I don’t blame you. Go get some sleep kiddo, I’ll see you in the morning for school.”
I walked out of the dining room and into the kitchen, preparing to go upstairs when I heard my father calling me.
“Nessie? Can you come here for a minute?”
“What’s up dad?”
“I have some news, I just talked to Jacob, and he’s going come to come down later in the week.”
I was ecstatic; I could feel the blood rush into my face at the thought. “Jacob is coming here?!”
Edward smiled and nodded. “I, well, I heard you thinking about him today, and I realize that this change must be hard for you, so I called him and he was thrilled.”
I threw my arms around his neck. “You’re the best, thank you so much.” I felt the tears in my eyes. I hadn’t even realized how much I’d missed Jacob.
“Seriously dad…this is going to be great.”
I hurried up the stairs, my mind flooded with images of Jacob and I exploring and hunting in the nearby swamps.
That night I dreamed about Jacob, but my thoughts were tinged with a different taste.
I dreamed that we were sitting on the beach at La Push, Jacob was looking at me with his dark eyes glowing, and he took my hand. But it wasn’t the same way he always took my hand, it was different. The dream Jacob spoke in his husky voice. “I’ve missed you, Nessie.” He said, and then he leaned down and pressed his lips onto mine. His massive arms wrapped around me and pulled me up to straddle him.
The heat from his body radiated in waves. In my dream it was raining but I didn’t feel it, all I could feel was Jacob, his arms pulling me closer to him. My fingers tangled in his short black hair, and electricity shot through my body. I pulled back breathlessly, but he didn’t allow for space, he pulled back to him roughly, breathing in short bursts against my mouth. He whispered my name…
I woke up with a jolt. I was panting. I had never thought about anyone that way before, let alone Jacob. I was used to having my father monitoring my thoughts.
With a groan, I wondered how I was going to keep this a secret from him all day tomorrow. The thought was already consuming me, and he was coming here. Jacob was coming here to see me!
I groaned and pressed my face into my pillow.
This was going to be interesting.
***
A/N: Okay so I know that it took me a while to get it up, but it’s long. I thought about splitting it into two, but I thought that the first part was way too boring to be its own chapter. I hope that this doesn’t drag on, I know I get carried away with details!
As per request, I’m keeping the Jacob/Renesmee relationship! I’m actually excited about it, maybe Jacob will be more fun when I get to control what a dick he is. We shall see. I hope that you guys like it, as always I’m way open to every suggestion. ConCrit only though please, no bashing. It’s not Beta’d because I don’t have the patience but I read through it twice. I’m sure there’s probably some little thing I missed, but there usually is. If you let me know I’ll change it. Also, I’m planning to put it up on FF.net when I get the chance, I have an account but I haven’t been on in ages so I have to see if I remember the password! Comments are absolutely needed for me to keep up motivation, and you guys have been great!
Also, I know this is a bit off topic but I reallllly disliked Nikki Reed’s portrayal of Rosalie in the movie. I think she’s a beautiful girl, but she NEEDS to be tan and brunette and Rosalie should be a true blonde. I like to think of her as Elisha Cuthbert. Just so you know what I’m seeing =]