New Dawn

F i r s t K i s s

It's been seven years since the Volturi came to Forks to kill me. Dad and Mom always told me the Volturi's desire to eliminate me was because they didn't understand what I was and were afraid I could be harmful to their kind – which I understood. They weren't the first to want to see me dead, so I couldn't hate them for their actions. Most of my family had wanted to take my life before I was born. Even my werewolf, best friend, Jacob, had wanted me dead but his reasoning had always been unclear to me.

Being older, not knowing didn't bother me too much. I was something they had never seen or heard of before – an abomination in the supernatural world. But I'm not alone in this world. There are four others like me – that I know of – and they have all lived long lives.

Nahuel, the only known male of my 'species,' informed my family that I would stop growing in seven years and would physically look eighteen but mentally be far more mature. Luckily for me, my family continued to look for new ways to slow my development down. My grandfather, Carlisle, had conversed with my father, Edward, and decided to put me on an all human food diet – something I distasted very much.

It took me almost a full year to become used to it. The family, mostly Jacob, had to put up with a lot that year and I never understood why Jake stuck around so much – I was a spoiled brat the whole time. The smell of his blood caused me to go a little wild, but I learned and adapted – I had amazing teachers. As long as I kept myself well fed, I was practically human an not so bloodthirsty.

In the end, it was a good thing for me. My growing slowed and put me almost two years behind the schedule Nahuel had described to us. It also made me more human than I had ever been before. I was still faster and stronger than the average sixteen year old but I couldn't keep up with my vampire family or the wolves anymore. I also lost control of my gift. No longer could I push my memories to others or project my desires intentionally. The only time my gift worked was when I was asleep and then my connection was open all the time.

Knowing that at any moment my family could be seeing my deepest thoughts, made me feel vulnerable. It didn't help that I had also inherited my mother's sleep talking. For the most part, my family respected my privacy. The only one who had trouble with it was Father and only because he could read minds, which wasn't something he could turn on and off at will. But as I grew up, Mom became better at controlling her shield. She learned to keep him out of the family member's heads – something everyone was eternally grateful for; especially Jacob.

He had a harder time being surrounded by my family and their vampire gifts. I assumed it was a wolf thing – most problems he had were related to his werewolf tendencies. Our relationship had been a confusing one because it was always changing. When I was little, he was my babysitter and favorite playmate. He would happily do anything I wanted and always seemed to enjoy it. As I grew up, he became more and more special to me and then he became my best friend, the person who I went to whenever I needed to talk or wanted to get away from my parents. But more recently, my feelings had started to grow. I noticed things about Jacob that I never had before – it was unsettling at times but heart pumping at others.

Jacob's wild, October smell startled me out of my thoughts, causing my heart to stutter with the scent. My mood instantly brightened when I heard his booming laughter in the living room. He always came over at night before I went to sleep.

Hopping out of bed, I pulled on one of Jacob's old sweatshirts. It was grey with Quileute writing on the front – my favorite. Then, I pulled on my pajama shorts Alice had bought me the week before. They were a little shorter than I was comfortable with but they made my legs look long and bottom look bubbly. Maybe Jacob would notice me in them – I could only hope. Dancing out into the living room, I ran into Jacob's open arms.