Chapter 1-Gifts

"RENESMEE!" a pealing voice rang from the stairs.

I jolted awake, my heart pounding. What had that dream meant?

"Renesmee!" my mother called again. "Hurry up! You're going to be late!" I stole a glance at my alarm clock - 7:30. "Moms," I chuckled to myself. I rolled over and hit the onbutton on my radio. It was playing Disneyland by Five for Fighting. I don't know and I don't care, that it's a small world! It's a nice day, when you wake up in Disneyland!

I got up and stretched, letting out something between a sigh and a yawn as I made my way to the bathroom.

While I was in the shower, I couldn't stop clamoring over my dream. I hadn't had a dream about the Volturi in years; why now?

I was in a clearing. There was a mild chill about the weather. It wasn't 'our clearing,' but a new one that I had never seen before. My family stood around me, anxious but determined.

Then the Volturi guard advanced around the corner, followed by Aro, Caius, and Marcus. I was soon filled with a fear that I knew well, that I had had before. I cocked my head to the right, expecting to see my aunt and father standing next to me like they had been, but they had vanished. All of my family. In shock, my hand flew to my mouth, and my fingers felt wet. I lowered my hand back down and did a double take. They were covered in blood.

When I got out of the shower, I wrapped myself in a towel and continued to wonder. It was all a little fuzzy; but I wasn't afraid of forgetting

"Renesmee," someone sighed in my ear, interrupting my instant replay and making me jump.

"Jeez, Mom," I whispered, out of breath. "Would you at least warn me when you're about to freak me out like that?"

"Sorry," she shrugged. "But you have thirty minutes left until your first day as a senior! Your first day at public school! And you still have to eat breakfast!"

"Mom, Mom, Mom," I shook my head dismally. "Watch." I wheeled her back to my room, sitting her down on my purple live, laugh, love comforter I made a year or so ago. Targeting towards my dresser, I dashed off, speeding around my room in a blur.

In less than a minute, I had a decent outfit slipped on, new shoes tugged in place, and my hair clipped up elegantly, not a strand out of line.

"See? No worries." I started packing up textbooks and pencils in the new bag Alice had bought me from… where did she say? Paris? Italy?

"Okay," Mom said in defeat. "Hurry downstairs."

"Sure, sure," I replied, patronizing and nonchalant. Mom's lips twitched, fighting a laugh.

It took me a second to figure out what the hell she was thinking of. When I did, my lips melted into a full-fledged grin. We burst into laughter. After all, you didn't have to be a mind reader to figure her out.

"Speak of the devil," I muttered as I heard a faint whoosh of wind outside my door, revealing my father. I had long since gotten used to his beauty, but Mom, on the other hand, always gasped a little. I smiled.

"What are you laughing about? Oh."

Why do you even bother?

"I can't be polite?" he asked innocently. "It's bad enough I can rummage in peoples' thoughts-"

"With one exception," I added.

"Yes, with one exception." He smiled, and my mom skipped lightly to his side.

"Oh, I almost forgot," I said before my parents could start one of those silent conversations again. It was really quite interesting to watch; they could stare into each others' eyes for hours without getting bored.

They looked at me expectantly.

"I had this dream, and… well, I should just show you."

So, knowing that my dad had probably already depicted the dream from my head, I stepped up to my mother, placing my hands on her face. I had grown so accustomed to my special form of communication that it was second nature. Being a vampire hybrid was exceptionally weird.

See, I could show people my thoughts in perfect detail, when I made direct contact with their face. It was like my 'special gift', as we Cullens called it. Dad could read minds, Mom could shield, Alice could see the future, Jasper could soothe, and I could… was there a name for it?

Being a vampire hybrid also meant that I reached a 17-year-old's maturity by the age of 6. This was the first year I was able to go to public school full time, for my growth had slowed just enough. This was the year I would turn immortal, too.

My mother was a good audience, gasping in all the right places.

"Edward," she asked when I was finished, biting her lip. "What does this mean?"

"I'm not exactly sure," he replied. "Nessie, any theories?"

"Actually, I was hoping one of you would have an idea. I'm burnt out."

Suddenly, Emmett's voice boomed, "Breakfast for the human!"

"I'm SO not a human!" I shouted as I ran down the long, spiraling staircase. I heard my parents laugh, low velvet against ringing bells, as they followed fast behind me.

"Half human. Still counts," Emmett retorted when we reached the kitchen. Esme flipped a pancake onto a plate and handed it to me.

"Thank you," I told her. "You don't have to do this for me,"

"Oh, it's no trouble," she said, smiling and showing off her rows of perfectly white teeth. "It's habit-forming. It's like my new hobby."

"Mmm, blueberries." I took another whiff of the sweet aroma, then I speared a bite on the tip of my fork.

"Ugh. How do you eat that stuff?" Emmett asked, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Oh, come on. You have to get sick of grizzlies sometimes."

"Actually, no, I don't."

Just then Alice strode into the room, purse swinging from her shoulder.

"Nothing like a little morning shopping as a pick-me-up, huh, Nessie?" she sang. "Cute earrings. Hmm, I wonder…" I hadn't even counted to 5 when she was back, putting an intricately designed metal bracelet, set with tiny diamond flowers & leaves, in my palm. I turned it over in my fingers, then slipped it on my wrist next to the woven one Jacob had given me.

"A first-day-of-your-last-year-of-school present," she stated when I gave her my gratitude. "And it matches the rest of your accessories."

"You spoil her, Alice," Jasper said as he entered the room and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Nieces are designed for spoiling," she said matter-of-factly, as if it was just a fact of life.

When I finished my breakfast, I got up, gave everyone a hug, and yelled, "Bye! Love you!" But when I reached the door, Dad stopped me.

"Where are you going?"

"Um, school," I answered, puzzled.

"How are you going to get there?" he questioned further.

"Isn't Jake picking me up?"

"No," Mom told me. "Just called him. Change of plans."

"Then how…?" I asked. For a split second there was a glint of silver in the air as Dad tossed me a pair of car keys. I didn't recognize them.

"Oh my God, you didn't!" I gasped. I glanced up at everyone (Carlisle and Rosalie had just entered the room), and they just smiled.

"You did!" I squealed. I ran to the garage, hinges squealing in protest when I swung open the door.

Sitting in the middle of the garage, in all its shining glory, was my very own Hybrid, sleek and painted a rich purple. I was so excited that I practically hit the wall. It was kind of ironic, being a hybrid and all, but I loved it. I knew it wasn't super fancy or super fast compared to our other cars, but it was cozy, and it helped the environment. And as an added bonus, it was my favorite color. It was a metal version of… me.

"You guys are the best!" I said as I jumped in. I sank low into the leather seat. Yum, it smelled like too-potent cherry air freshener.

"You'd better get a move on, Jasper noted. "20 minutes until school starts."

"Alright." I got up and put the key in the ignition. The engine purred obediently.

"Love you guys!" I called as I backed out.

"Don't speed!" Mom yelled. I shot her an exasperated look, and she just waved.

As I drove away, I noticed a gleam of emotion in my mother's eyes. Was there sadness behind her joy? Worry? I suddenly felt the need to go back and tell her everything was going to be okay.

Whatever the unseen emotion was, I told myself to be happy, and I was. Utterly. I opened the skylight and let the light drizzle caress my face. I was soon speeding down the familiar highway to La Push.

I pulled into Jacob's driveway to choruses of "Hey! It's vampire girl!"

"Shut up you guys," Jake muttered. I heard a thwop, and Paul laughed.

"Ow," Embry whined. "That hurt, idiot."

When the three were a yard away from my car, I couldn't take it any longer. "Jake!" I called as I flung myself into his arms.

"Hi," he smiled.

"Exhibit A, vicious vampire hybrid in love. Watch out, she's lethal," Paul taunted.

"Wanna bet?" I grinned, showing off my razor sharp teeth. Unwillingly, I tore myself away from Jake and stalked toward him.

"Whoa, Nessie, take it easy," Paul said, half taken aback and half amused.

I pounced, launching myself into the air. I grabbed a fistful of Paul's shirt and set my jaw at his throat.

"Ooh, scary." I giggled.

"Hey, Paul, some advice? Stop flirting with my girlfriend," Jake threatened. Well, I wasn't sure if 'girlfriend' fit the description correctly. 'Using human terms,' Jake had called it. Yeah, because trying to explain to a human that a werewolf is eternally devoted to you would be pretty tough.

"Me? Flirt? With Nessie? No," Paul said in mock horror. Jake rolled his eyes.

"You guys should go," Embry said. "Anyway, we have to get inside and spray down Paul. He stinks!"

"Don't push it," I warned.

"Whatever. Bye, Jake! Bye, vampire girl!" I stuck my tongue out at them before they went back in the house. I motioned for Jake to get in the car.

"So, what do you think?" I asked once we were on the highway again.

"She's beautiful."

"Reall-" I started to say, but I looked up to see that he was staring straight at me. I felt my face go red.

"Not me, the car," I said, still blushing.

"Oh, it's… nice. A little unoriginal."

"Unoriginal?" I questioned. "What's more original than a bright purple car?"

"Hmm. You've got a point there."

Just then, Forks High came into view, and my heart accelerated. Was I nervous? No, I couldn't be.

I pulled in next to a white sedan, took a deep breath, and got out of the car. Suddenly, Jake was beside me, wrapping an arm around me and giving me a squeeze.

"It's okay, don't worry. You'll like it," he whispered in my ear. "Better than being locked up in the house for school."

The story in town was that I was Dr. Cullen's new 'foster child,' as my 'siblings' had all graduated college a couple years back. It was kind of funny, picturing my parents as my brother and sister.

Already, people were staring as we walked towards the buildings. I had known this was coming, but the actual experience was just plain awkward.

I sighed. "Okay. I trust you. I think." He chuckled roughly. A couple freshmen turned to find the source of the noise and froze in their spots, drinking in all 6-fooot-7 of the… boy standing next to me. I must have been emphasizing his height, too. I was only 5' 6".