Ness' Comet

Ch 2: The Gift

    The rest of the week, I tried my hardest not to think about my plan to go to school. I didn't want my parents to know just yet, and I couldn't risk Edward reading my mind. Something I would often do, if I wanted to keep a secret, was to write it down. I had a diary that I kept where I would write down my secrets or things I wanted to do but didn't want to share, and then try to forget about it the rest of the day. Then, when I wanted to revisit the idea, I would simply open up my book and read what I was thinking at the time.

Regardless, I was trying to act as normal as possible, so as not to arouse suspicion. Lately my parents could tell I was acting differently, though I didn't understand why this would be surprising. It was kind of a weird time in my life.

Anyway, the day of my ridiculous birthday party arrived, and so did the rest of my family. Admittedly, I was incredibly happy to see all of them. I needed other people in the house for a while.

"Now go upstairs and don't come down until I tell you!" ordered Alice, excitedly. I sighed, though still amused by her constant enthusiasm when it came to parties. On my way up the stairs, Jacob followed to keep me company (and also to make sure I didn't try to come down sooner than I was supposed to) I glanced quickly to Edward who winked at me, and I smiled.

"Why do they have to do this every year?" I half-joked to Jacob.

He shrugged. "Because they all love you and there's nobody else they can really celebrate a birthday for."

"Well what about you?" I countered.

Jacob raised an eyebrow at me, giving me the "are you serious?" look. I couldn't help but chuckle.

We stood in silence for a few minutes, staring out one of the large windows of the house into the seemingly endless forest. I could sense Jacob had something he wanted to say, and eventually he decided to let it out.

"So are you still on that whole 'high school' idea?" He asked the question as though he was hoping for the answer to be "no."

I sighed. "Yes, I am. C'mon Jake, you of all people should be able to understand how difficult it is to be human, at least partially anyway, and to be living this way."

Jacob reluctantly acknowledged my point. I knew he understood, but was mostly likely worried about me, like everyone else would inevitably be when I broached the subject to them after today.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Jake asked, his eyes still full of concern.

I hesitated. Truthfully, there was a part of me that actually liked the idea of Jacob coming with me. He'd practically never left my side since I was born, and I never really wanted him too. But, there were two problems with that idea. The first being, I would continue to use him as a crutch and the whole point of trying this out was to dip my toe into the real world. Going to school with a werewolf faithfully at my side would certainly put a dent in that plan. The second problem was that even when Jacob was a teenager, he looked like he was in his twenties. He, like everyone else in this house, of course hadn't aged because as long as werewolves keep phasing, they stayed the same. However, I had trouble believing any school would accept that Jacob was young enough to be going to school with me.

I didn't want to hurt Jake's feelings, so I tried to answer as tactfully as possible. "I'm sorry Jacob, you know I love having you around, but I think this is something I need to do on my own."

He looked slightly disappointed for a minute, but quickly shook it off. "Alright Ness," he replied. "But if you end up having a problem, you know you can talk to me about it, right?"

I laughed. "Of course Jake!"

He returned my laughter, but before either of us could continue this conversation, I was met with the always enthusiastic face of Alice at the top of the stairs.

"It's time!" she announced, her voice as melodic as ever. I watched as she practically floated down the stairway, her graceful movements mesmerizing. It was something that always bothered me about being only a half vampire. The others around me were so beautiful and flawless, the need to perform human tasks like eating, sleeping or even using the bathroom were not there to inconvenience them like it did for me. Sometimes I felt a bit insecure, wondering how much less graceful and full of flaws I must be.

I came down to see the living room, full of gifts, a giant cake that only Jacob and I would be eating, and various decorations you definitely wouldn't find at Party City. Bella smiled at me, her expression slightly apologetic. If anyone knew how I was feeling it would be her. Neither of us particularly enjoyed being the center of attention, and it was nearly impossible for that not to be the case my entire life. I was practically the child of every vampire in this house, not only my actual parents' kid.

Speaking of which, I was actually very happy to see my aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmet. Rosalie, though I knew she never liked my mother very much, loved me more than I could ever return it. She'd wanted a child her entire existence, which being a vampire prevented. My birth was oddly that one thing that allowed her to mend fences with Bella, and gave her what she always wanted. I didn't mind so much. I liked having so many people to give me love and affection, but it felt as though I had a magnifying glass on me constantly.

I exchanged hugs with everyone, my grandparents Carlise and Esme, Alice and Jasper, Rosalie and Emmet, and of course my parents. Grandpa Charlie, my mother's human father, was unsurprisingly not invited to this little vampire get together. He still didn't know, and wasn't ever allowed to know, the true extent of the oddness in the Cullen family. I was assured I would spend time with him soon with Bella. I loved him, but it was hard seeing him sometimes since I grew so fast in such a short time, and with no explanation. He didn't always handle our visits very well.

Alice immediately wanted to get to the mountain of presents on the side table, since eating wasn't a part of this party. I typically went with the flow of whatever Alice had planned. Jacob went first. He handed me a small, poorly wrapped box which made me smile to myself. I knew what would be on the inside, and sure enough I wasn't disappointed. He'd crafted me, like he'd done every year, another beautiful bracelet with the carving of a wolf on it, like the one my mother had. I wore his handmade bracelets constantly, so it didn't take very long for them to become worn enough to warrant a replacement. I smiled, tied it on and gave Jacob a hug.

Next, Alice, unable to contain herself, handed me a gift. It was a medium sized box, and I was at a loss as to what would be in it. I opened the present and to my surprise I found a brand new laptop sitting inside. "Alice," I said, incredibly grateful. "Thank you so much!"

She smiled, satisfied with herself. "I knew you'd like it!"

I playfully rolled my eyes. Of course she knew I would like it! Her and her visions of the future were fun at times, but occasionally it could be exhausting.

"I thought you could use one for when you go to school!" she added excitedly.

My parents' golden eyes darted to me, confused. Oh no. I hadn't calculated into my secret keeping that Alice might blow it for me. She must have seen a vision of me in school, unaware that I hadn't brought the idea up to Edward and Bella yet.

"School?" Bella said, confused.

Edward looked at me, clearly reading my mind, and frowned.

Alice's face fell. I could see Jacob out of the corner of my eye, a worried look on his face.

"Um, yeah," I murmured, smiling nervously. "Didn't I mention, I think I want to go to school. Ya know, in the real world."

"Forks High School?" clarified Edward incredulously.

I nearly flitched as he said the words. "The very same," I admitted.