As the days were going by, soon came the time for picnics to be organized in the Hatzi family. This year, Mel and Theo were deemed old enough to invite their friends. Of course, Mel chose Renesmee. It would be a surprise for her family since Mel had many other friends who they knew better than Renesmee. But at the end of the day, it was her choice.

Renesmee raised her eyebrows, "Are you sure it's okay with your family?", she asked. Spending quality time together was sacred in her own family and to share this with anybody else was not allowed. Even Jacob was not always included in family activities and that said a lot.

Mel laughed loudly, "Of course, it's perfectly fine!"

The hybrid agreed, not only because she had never been on such an event before, but because it was another chance for her to be around Theo. Ever since she had seen him for the very first time in the photograph and then in real life, there was something inside of her that craved to see more of him. She had focused so much on him that she had almost forgotten about the boy who shared the same name from 7Cups.

Speaking of Theo from 7Cups... she needed to message him and to catch up with him. She was sure he had plenty of stories to tell her from the school he attended.


*


Renesmee.

The name never stopped circulating Theo's mind, ever since Mel had brought her to the house for the first time.

He was laying in his bed, listening to "Hybrid Theory" for the millionth time, his eyes closed and all he could see in his mind was Renesmee. Renesmee and her long hair, her checkered shirts and band tees, holes in her jeans. He had heard her sing only once, on the day he had met her for the first time, but he thought she sounded like an angel from heaven.

He would never forget how he had been sitting around his room, annoyed with Mel as usual when he had heard loud voices coming from his twin sister's room - she and her guest had been fooling around while singing karaoke. For the first time in a while, he had willingly opened his door, letting his curiosity take over him. And he had listened closely, focusing only on Renesmee's voice.

For some strange, almost unknown reason, Theo had barely any motivations to sit on his computer and to speak to Ness from 7Cups. In fact, he had almost forgotten about her existence.

Was his desire to actually live and not to be in his own little world slowly coming back? If that was the case, then why was he even stuck at stupid online therapy? It wasn't like he wanted to do the online therapy thing - his parents had forced him to do it, paying an arm and a leg for it, so that he could get back on his feet.

The alarm on his phone interrupted his music, making him grunt. Looking at his phone, he realized it was almost time for yet another session with an oh-so-familiar therapist for everyone.



*


On the morning of the picnic, Renesmee was waiting for Mel's family to come and pick her up when her family began to frantically discuss who was going to be introduced in case Mel's family wanted to meet Renesmee's. Bella and Edward wanted Carlisle and Esme to present themselves as Renesmee's parents, however, she had other plans:

"Guys, there's no need to worry," the hybrid attempted to reassure everybody. She had an idea and was hoping that her family would see her point and agree with her, "I'll tell them that you're asleep!"

Her mother looked at her askew. "How could you even think of such a stupid idea?"

Her auntie Rose chimed in, "Do you seriously think they will believe that?!"

Renesmee chuckled to herself and before she could justify herself, a honk was heard. The Hatzi family had arrived with their minivan. The hybrid jumped from her seat with her backpack on her shoulders and exclaimed a "goodbye" before the Cullens could even stop her.

On the way to the lake where the picnic was going to be, Renesmee was forced to answer questions that clearly made her feel uncomfortable until Mel put her foot down and for the rest of the ride, nobody dared to make the guest feel disrespected in any possible way.

Thankfully, the Hatzi's youngest children distracted everybody with babbling about cartoons and toys. Renesmee focused on her conversation with Mel, pretending not to notice that Theo wouldn't look at her, at all.

When the minivan arrived at its final destination, the first one to get out was Theo, who could barely stand sitting too close to Mel and Renesmee and to listen to their boisterous laughing about silly things that happened. He couldn't look at Renesmee without remembering the first time he had seen her. Until the very day he died, he would never forget how he had heard her sing while fooling around with his sister, and how beautiful her voice was.

Renesmee couldn't take her eyes off Theo, as he was helping his mother set the barbeque. There was something in him that reminded her of her Theo, the one she had met in 7Cups. Could it be? No, no way. The world was bigger. Her Theo probably lived seven thousand miles away from her.

Renesmee hadn't realized she had been staring at Theo until Mel had caught her attention by asking her to help with grilling the vegetables.

Theo was pretending to be bored and annoyed, but no one could see the worry building up in him. He was around a girl he wanted to speak to but had no courage. He could only do it behind the screen. Speaking of behind the screen, he needed to sit down and catch up with Ness from 7Cups. Despite the fact that he was beginning to lose interest in chatting with her, he knew ghosting people was never okay.

Mel and Theo's younger sibling, however, wasn't as stupid as everybody believed. He purposely sat closer to their parents, so that Renesmee and Theo could be sitting next to each other on the large blanket. And when their hands accidentally brushed against each other as they were reaching to grab a sauce, a blush crept on the boy's cheeks and a soft small smile on the girl's lips. Theo's parents, having obviously seen all of that, shared a smile between themselves. Youth and love - how beautiful they were!

"Kids, why don't you go play in the river? Your father and I will clean up," suggested Theo and Mel's mom as she began cleaning around with her husband.

Theo preferred not to go in the water. Instead, he decided to look after his youngest sibling, who was only a toddler.

Renesmee and Mel, who had changed into their swimwear, were slowly making their way to the deepest part of the river, the water already going to their calves, when Mel suddenly stopped and turned around to face her friend with her arms crossed over her chest and a playful look on her face:

"Renesmee, be honest. Do you like my brother?"

The hybrid had been caught red-handed. She didn't want to admit it, but she liked Theo - she felt for him what she knew she would never feel for Jacob, who had imprinted on her.

"I'm sure he feels the same way," Added Mel with a smirk on her face

A "He does?!" escaped from the hybrid's mouth. It sounded too good to be true. Theo's behaviour towards her was starting to make her believe that she only belonged with Jacob and that no one else would ever look at her.

With that, Renesmee whipped her head in the opposite direction and whistled as loud as she could to attract Theo's attention.

"Come in!", she exclaimed, motioning to him to join.

At first, he hesitated. He was even shyer around her. But if he didn't go, then he wouldn't have the chance to learn something new about her.

"I love Linkin Park," was the first thing Renesmee told Theo when he came to them.

The boy flashed a sincere smile at her. Maybe socializing with peers outside of the internet wasn't as bad as he thought.


#writingchallenge #twilightsaga