Too Close [RENESMEE AND JACOB]

3

At the end of it all, you're still my best friend.

The next morning, when Renesmee woke up, she felt strange. The events from last night played in her mind yet again, as if they were trying to haunt her and disrupt her mood. She had actually wanted to raise her vibrations that day to suppress the feelings from the previous night.

And then she remembered - she was expected to go downstairs as soon as she finished her morning routine and spend time with her family. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and tried to plaster a smile on her face. Fake it till you make it, she remembered a quote she had found online.

Downstairs, as usual, everyone had cuddled with their mate.

Mate. Renesmee loathed that word so much. "Significant other" sounded so much better for her ears. Or simply "a boyfriend" or a "girlfriend". Of course, having been raised by vampires who had been on Earth for much longer than her, she was used to their rich vocabulary. Over the years, she had gone through a phase where she had tried her hardest to be more like them. The truth was that she had done that to fit in. She never fit in anywhere. Among humans, she was too beautiful, too perfect to exist. Too pure. Yet another word she hated. Among vampires, she was imperfect.

How stupid she had been! How could she have thought she could be either like the vampires either like humans? She was none of that. She was a mix of both. And she would always be.

She kept her sugary smile on her face, slowly descending down the stairs, counting each of them in her mind, hoping that would satisfy her father, who seemed to be too hungry for everybody's thoughts. Ugh.

"How was your date last night?", Bella asked with a smile on her face. Like every mother, whenever she saw her daughter, her eyes would light up. It was something one would understand only if one was a parent.

Renesmee gulped, "The movie was a bit weird. And the dinner was good, the food was good," She declared, hoping no one would ask any other questions. She felt too exhausted to answer them.

Rosalie was having none of that as she left the room, shaking her head. Emmett obediently followed her, like a puppy.

That was why Renesmee hated mating among vampires. It was like a vampire couldn't exist without their mate. Too much obedience, too much obsession and too little independence.

"How did Jacob treat you?", Edward asked, receiving a snort from his daughter, who sharply replied with:

"Like you don't know! You read thoughts, for God's sake!"

Carlisle interrupted her: "Don't say God's name in vain!"

Renesmee shook her head, chuckling, "You already did," and went to have breakfast, leaving everybody to wonder what was wrong with her. It wasn't like they didn't know. They were just wondering when was the show going to end, not enjoying being spectators of the strange "love story" between Jacob and Renesmee. More like, fake love.

Poor Jacob! He had no idea that his imprint harboured nothing but friendly feelings towards him! If he learned, he would be crushed and the Cullens were fully aware of that. It didn't seem like Renesmee was, however. If she was, then why was she playing with the shapeshifter's feelings the way children played with their toys?

While having her breakfast, the hybrid's phone rang. As usual, it was Jacob. Renesmee wanted not to pick up the phone. But she knew that if she wanted to convince everybody, including herself, that she held any type of romantic feelings for Jacob, she would have to take the call.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come to a beach party with me? Embry is bringing his guitar."

She could catch the excitement in his voice. And he was more than right to be elated. Embry was a wonderful guitar player and everybody loved it when he played the instrument he cherished the most, while the rest would sing along (rather badly).

Renesmee looked forward to that party for another reason. Not only to catch up with the rest of the pack but to enjoy good music, dance and perhaps drink some alcohol without being old enough to do so. And, of course, to spend time with her best friend - Jacob.

"Yeah!", she exclaimed a little too loudly.

"Great! I'll pick you up at 7. Love you!", he exclaimed, leaving Renesmee bite her lip from awkwardness and mumbling an "I love you too," before hanging up the phone. Did he mean that in a friendly way? Especially after the awkward kiss last night?

No matter what happened, Jacob was always going to be her best friend forever. And she didn\t want to change that. Ever.