New Moon

Most of Nessie's time the night after her very first date had been to calm down Daddy, then to tell all the gossip to Aunt Alice who already knew how it had gone. Then she had to tell everyone else. Luckily, Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme had loved Drew, so that was a plus, and they had given their blessing for Nessie to keep on dating Drew.

Edward had reluctantly agreed after the rest of the Cullens had ganged up on him.

So, the next day at school, Nessie had found Drew and immediately grabbed his hand, sending him all sorts of thoughts all day long whenever she could touch him. Hot. Wet. Kiss. Touch. Lips. Tongue. She'd stayed quiet the rest of the day, happy to just send messages to him secretly in class.

And so they started dating, sort of. He still didn't know about her family, and he hadn't pried too much about her powers. She'd asked to read his book and told him she liked the characterization and themes (which was the truth), and things were going fine.

Then Aunt Alice beamed one day and Nessie just looked at her as she was getting ready for another date with Drew. "What? You have that look, Aunt Alice."

"I'll tell you when you get home," she grinned, kissing Nessie on the cheek before gliding out of the living room. The doorbell rang, and Edward answered it, actually cracking a smile as he let Drew inside. The whole family waved goodbye to them, and then Nessie kissed Drew right away.

"So... where are we going tonight?" She was tired of movies and coffee places. She really just wanted to be alone with him again.

The address Nessie had given him ended up being for a location on the outskirts of Albany, which was saying something in a city as small as it was. Drew kept a firm grip on the wheel of his Saturn VUE as he navigated the winding path to the Cullens' house. He'd made sure to get it washed before he picked Nessie up for their date. His car wasn't fancy, but it was new-- one of the few things his parents had okayed him using his book money for, most of the rest going into trust and college funds.

Putting the car into park, Drew let out a breath as he saw the house. It was a huge affair, as houses in this area went, probably at least three times the size of his own. There were a lot of windows, he noticed, something unusual in a place with their weather. Drew also noted that the place looked really expensive. Apparently, Dr. Cullen's practice was booming. Or had been, back in Washington.

Which kept begging the question as to why they'd moved to New Hampshire.

Drew opened the passenger side door and pulled out the bunch of flowers he'd picked up on the way. It was a last minute idea, but his mother had pointed out it was good manners to bring a gift for the lady of the house. He just hoped Nessie's mother liked lilies.

He still couldn't quite believe he was here. He'd met Nessie Cullen just that morning, had talked to her during lunch and before they'd known each other a few hours, he basically asked her out. He'd gotten a few odd texts and e-mails since school had let out, but Drew had been too busy writing to return any of them to figure out what was going on. In any case, he knew people had noticed, and so tongues were going to wag.

Damn. He really didn't want to have to start apologizing to Nessie for anything.

Climbing the stairs, Drew took a deep breath and pushed the doorbell.

Emmett and Edward had argued over who would drive Nessie to her first day of school, since the high school was in Conway and not Albany. Well, that and they were both arguing because it was Edward, who drove like a maniac and wanted to take his daughter to school, and because Emmett was just being Emmett. Alice had finally told them both to stop it because neither of them took Nessie to school in the long run and to everyone's surprise, Rosalie had handed Donovan off to Emmett and was waving the keys at Nessie to her BMW M3 convertible. Nessie gave kisses and hugs to everyone, leaving her Grandma Esme for last because she was getting all emotional, then she hopped in the car with Rosalie.

"Thanks, Aunt Rosalie, for taking me," she whispered, playing with the backpack that her Aunt Alice had bought for her. It was brand-new and didn't match anything Nessie owned, but it was pretty.

Rosalie drove almost as fast as Edward. Almost. She turned and looked at her niece and shook her head. "Look Nessie. It's your first day, so none of this feeling sorry for yourself business. You're beautiful, your grandfather is a prominent doctor in the community now, and you've got a wealthy family. Everyone is going to be jealous of you once they see you arriving in my car too, so that's going to help. You being quiet won't."

They were almost at the school already, which was pretty fast, Nessie figured, but she never really paid attention to how everyone else drove. "You're just saying this because you didn't like Jacob."

"No," Rosalie corrected her firmly as they pulled into the school parking lot. "I'm saying this because if you want to get far in this world, you have to do it yourself. This place is different from Forks. No one knows you yet -- don't be a wallflower. Don't stand out too much," she continued as she saw Nessie's look, "but don't be shy. This is why I'm the one who got to drive you today. Because no one else has the guts to tell you this themselves."

Nessie smiled and laughed a little bit before leaning in to kiss Rosalie's cheek. "Okay. I'll do my best. Thanks, Aunt Rose." She got out of the car and, sure enough, there were plenty of looks from the kids at school already. Nessie tried to smooth out her the curls in her hair a little as she walked to the principal's office and got her class schedule. Everything seemed fine. A few kids gave her looks, and she tried to smile back, but nerves started to get the best of her. She wished she could just be like Aunt Rosalie, so fearless! She managed to make it through three periods of classes, though, and then got to English. Her favorite subject, actually, but when Mr. Whitmer asked if she'd read The Catcher in the Rye, she had to face up to the fact that she hadn't, not yet. She didn't have a copy with her, and she looked around the class desperately for some help. This wasn't like science, where you had a lab partner, after all.

"Um... hi. Can I borrow, sorry... um, share your book?" She whispered to the boy next to her, glad to be in the back. "I'm Nessie Cullen, new here, so...?"

((open to Drew!))

Nessie looked out the window of the car that her Dad was driving. His favorite car, of course -- the fastest one, the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish -- as she thought about her past and her future.

She figured her Dad was probably reading her mind right now, then remembered he tried to giver her privacy when he could. She missed her Mom... Bella had decided to go out to Jacksonville to visit with Grandma Renée for the first time since becoming a vampire. Nessie figured it was because she felt bad about spending so much time with her Grandpa Charlie or something like that, but she knew the real reason.

Her Mom missed Jacob.

Nessie missed Jacob.

"Nessie?" She turned and looked at her Dad, sighing. He must have known, right? How hard this was? "Do you want to talk?"

She shook her head. Nessie wasn't ever one who was good at talking; words just didn't seem to come to her easily, not like images. Not like memories and feelings she could show people when she touched them. "Grandpa Carlisle is already in Albany and everything's okay, right, Daddy?" That was a safe topic, she figured. Nothing to do with losing her best friend in the whole world.

Edward Cullen nodded his head as he drove faster than he had before. "Carlisle has the house ready, and all of our paperwork, as well. You'll be attending the high school in Conway, because the town doesn't appear to have a good one of its own. I'll be at the university along with Alice and Jasper. I'm still not certain if Em and Rosalie wish to go back to college, or to just enjoy married life with Donovan."

She'd known all of this already. It was just one of those things she wanted to hear again to pass the time so she wouldn't have to talk about Jacob.

Edward, though, kept looking at his daughter carefully. He was concerned for her -- Jacob had imprinted on Renesmee, but had never told her of it because she hadn't been old enough yet. He had died without her ever knowing, although the rest of the family knew. It was a tight line for the Cullens to walk, but Edward was bound to protect his daughter's feelings along with Bella's. It was the reason he had suggested the visit with Renée in the first place.

Nessie looked back out the window at the world passing her by quickly, and fell into silence again.

I don't want to talk about him, Daddy.

"I know," Edward replied aloud, the familiar telepathic communication slipping into place.

I loved him. I didn't have any other friends.

He nodded his head in understanding. Although he and Jacob Black had not always been the best of friends, he could not begrudge the boy his affection for Renesmee. Around him, Edward saw his daughter grow and blossom. He was worried now, but hopeful that Nessie's idea of a change in scenery would assist in her grieving process.

Do you think I'll ever find someone like Jake again, Daddy?

Edward smiled to himself, amused that although Nessie had said she didn't want to talk about him, that was exactly what she was doing. "I think so, Nessie. I hope so." He turned to look at his daughter. "No one can resist you, after all."

Nessie smiled a little at that and hoped it was true. It was a new school, a new town, new everything, and it had hurt her to leave Forks and Grandpa Charlie and the whole Quileute tribe at La Push, but she needed to get away. She needed to stop crying over Jake and Nessie figured her Mom did, too.

So, New Hampshire, it was.

Thank you for doing this, Daddy.

"Anything for you, Nessie," Edward answered as they neared their new home and new life.