ASPEN ➵ Paul Lahote [1]

six

Bella Swan had a death wish, but Aspen Kennedy wasn't about to grant it.

"Absolutely not, Bells. Do you not see how this could go wrong?" Aspen exclaimed. "I am not saying your friend Jacob isn't trustworthy, but come on. After saving them from the dump, you practically put these bikes together with duct tape and Elmer's glue. Testing them out without, like, a proper mechanic seems dangerous," Aspen tried her best to convince Bella over the phone.

Bella had just called Aspen to invite her to come to test out the motorcycles she and her friend Jacob had rebuilt over the past few months. Aspen knew it meant a lot to Bella, considering she spent most of her hours out of school in the boy's garage. Ever since their first fateful meeting in the hallway, she could see Bella pulling herself out of the rut she was in before. On the one hand, Aspen was happy to see her friend happy, showing excitement towards the bikes, which was a burst of energy she wasn't expecting from her normally quiet and contained counterpart. On the other hand, she didn't want anything to go wrong and end up with Bella in the hospital for not only her lack of coordination, but her lack of mechanical ability. Bella had been trying to convince her that it would be safe and that Jacob had rebuilt the engine to her rusty old pick up truck, so he had to know something.

Cell phone clutched in hand and pressed to her ear, Aspen could hear a sigh break through the silence on the other end, and Aspen's heart clenched just a tad. She thought to herself for a moment more. Would she rather feel responsible if something did happen and she wasn't there?

Aspen took a deep breath, her eyes falling closed in defeat. "When do we leave?" she asked.

Bella chuckled, an odd sound that Aspen didn't get to hear that often.

"I'll come pick you up in 10 minutes."

☼☼☼

The ride inside Bella's truck on the way to pick up the bikes and her friend Jacob was filled with Aspen's awful singing and the sweet brunette pushing her limits on how long she could keep the window rolled down, her hair whipping around wildly. The air was crisp and knowing forks, it could rain at any moment, but she took her chances. She also took that time and pleaded with Bella, again, to consider postponing this test run until someone older than sixteen had assured the motorcycles were safe. That, of course, failed.

Reaching toward the radio dial, Aspen turned the volume down as they entered the Quileute Reservation. Disturbing the peace in such a beautiful place felt wrong, and the quaint houses with water soaked roofs and rockers on each porch didn't need to be subjected to her terrible rendition of Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. Even if she was sure to grace the quiet homes with her energy one day.

It had been approximately three days since her last visit to the reservation and, subsequently, three days since she was at Emily's house and spoke to Paul on the back porch. She had texted with Embry since then, but she hadn't spoken to Paul since their subtle goodnight from that evening. Just being on the reservation alone had her giddy with excitement. The tug deep deep down increased. Her nerves towards the endeavor were put slightly at ease.

"I know you hate this whole idea. So, what has you smiling like a vandal over there?" Bella asked, briefly glancing over at the girl in her passenger seat.

With the window still rolled down, Aspen leaned her head against the edge of the door, the wind biting her cheeks. "Oh, it's nothing," she said, a smile still drawn across her face. She wasn't sure why she didn't explain any further to Bella, but right now she felt like it wasn't necessary. She wanted to bring Bella into the world of her new friends but felt like it just wasn't the time, considering Bella already is a bit worried about them due to Jacob's warnings.