Mimic | Jacob Black

34. Graduation

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River put his shoes on and ran a hand through his hair, making sure it was the way he wanted. This was it, what the last 12 years of his life had been building towards: Graduation. It almost didn't feel real–not because he was scared of the idea, but rather it seemed so pointless after everything he had been through. Despite how pointless it felt, he was glad to be able to pretend to have some normalcy for even just a day.

He could hear Charlie and Julie talking from downstairs, but he knew Bella was still in her room. He wasn't even surprised to find Alice there when he opened the door. She was probably making sure Bella at least made some effort to look nice for today.

"You nearly ready?" River asked Bella.

She nodded, putting down her hair brush. "Big day."

He nodded. "Yeah. It just feels wrong."

"I know what you mean," she said. "Although, I guess it's weirder for you..."

River didn't respond.

"It is all pretty out there, even for us," Alice mused, obviously talking about vampires. "I still don't entirely know why I can't read your future anymore... Perhaps it's because your mind isn't always your own? Given that it can be infiltrated by other mimics? Makes you unpredictable." Alice then seemed to realise she wasn't helping. She tried to back pedal. "I mean, I don't know if you noticed, but Edward's been a lot more peaceful since your last conversation."

River recalled that night in the woods. Explaining it in the car later. They went back to the Cullen house so Carlisle could treat Bella's hand–which wasn't too difficult, since apparently the break was very minor–and River explained what had happened to Carlisle–and subsequently every other Cullen member with their supernatural hearing. Carlisle was just as fascinated. River did notice specifically him and Edward looking thoughtful when talking about them having souls. Carlisle always did entertain the idea that vampires still had souls, while Edward seemed so opposed to it. But now, they knew they still had souls. River had noticed how much more calm Edward seemed the few times he had seen him over the last few days. River didn't realise just how much of an impact it apparently had on him, though.

"Thanks for that, by the way," Bella said. "I don't think I ever said that before. I'm glad you made Edward happier. He was always scared I'd lose my soul if I became a vampire, but now we know I won't. Oh–I'm still going to wait, don't worry."

Carlisle had asked if River could return to that place in his soul, but he didn't even know how to. Later on though, after River and Bella returned home, Bella asked how River saw souls. He didn't really know how he did that either, but he closed his eyes and tried the relaxation technique. When he opened his eyes, he could see their souls again. The visuals never lasted more than a couple seconds though. River supposed it was a start, but he didn't know what the end goal was. Why could he see souls? It was just something else he added to the ever-growing pile of questions and concerns he had about this whole mimic thing.

Alice assumed River's silence was due to what she said. "I'm sorry, River. I didn't mean to dampen your mood. Especially not today of all days. I'm just trying to figure out why I keep missing things. It's irritating, I feel so useless."

"It's fine," River said. "Though, now that you mention it, it is weird how much you've been missing. I don't remember it being this bad before. You couldn't see the thief at all, and despite how bad things are getting in Seattle, you still haven't seen anything, right?"

Alice shook her head. They turned to look at Bella when she gasped.

"They're the same..."

"What?"