Snow On The Beach

Chapter twenty-One

The rest of summer had passed uneventfully in Forks. Roslyn had surfed more than ever before, desperate to feel closer to Koda. She'd gotten pretty good at it, choosing to limit herself and do it the human way. She fell in often enough that Raya, who had deigned to join her from time to time, was shocked she was still alive, the little vampirism detail escaping her memory from time to time. It was easier that way. Easier to pretend that things were normal and that her brother hadn't been killed by a vampire because her best friend iss also one. 

Jasper was with her the rest of the time, sparring and learning to hunt every manner of thing that goes bump in the night. He'd made his dislike of her spending so much time on the Quileute reservation clear, but had never made a move to stop or join her, either. 

Down on First Beach, some of the Native boys had taken to invading her solitude. She was shocked to find she didn't mind their company most times. Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote spent the first few weeks after meeting her trying to convince Roslyn to go cliff diving with them. It wasn't until Emmett bet her twenty bucks she wouldn't that she finally agreed. There was something off about the boys, though; something that didn't smell right about them, but the last thing Roslyn wanted was to investigate it.

For once in her life, Roslyn Winchester spent the summer like a normal teenager.

August turned out to be just as gloomy and overcast as ever, but Jared and Paul didn't comment about her missing a jacket as they walked along the beach in wake of a storm. Just like she didn't ask about their near-constant lack of shirts and shoes.

"So, how are things on the outside?" Jared asked, absentmindedly kicking a rock into the water.

Roslyn sighed, "Forks is just as calm and unchanging as ever."

Paul huffed out a laugh. "You still hanging around that Cullen?"

She wasn't sure what their deal was with Jasper and his family, and frankly she didn't want to know. The Quileutes had their own tribal histories and it wasn't Roslyn's place to dig through them. Odds are it was some supernatural bullshit that she wanted to avoid. The less Roslyn knew, the better.

"Yeah, Paul, I am," Roslyn answered calmly. 

Jasper had turned into a constant in her life. Constantly hunting with her. Constantly joking with her. If Roslyn wasn't on the reservation, Jasper was glued to her side. She was pretty sure he spent more time at her apartment than his own house. 

Paul threw an arm around Roslyn's shoulders, his obscene warmth seeping through her light tshirt. "I'm just saying... I'm a hell of a lot more fun than he is."

"Keep telling yourself that, Lahote," Roslyn laughed, elbowing him lightly in the ribs. "Maybe one day your muscles will catch up with your ego."

He knocked her head to the side, jogging ahead to leap over a fallen log. "Hey, these muscles could take him any day. God, I'd love to sink some teeth into him."

Roslyn wouldn't have thought anything of the comment, but Jared froze beside her, watching Paul with a look of mixed shock and frustration. She couldn't help asking; if there were already two subspecies, a third wouldn't be so crazy.

"What are you?" Roslyn scoffed, rolling her eyes but watching the boys carefully. "A vampire?"

Paul seemed to have realized his blunder, his eyes widening as he glanced between Roslyn and Jared. The latter seemed ready to throttle his friend, but kept his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Finally, Jared looked at her like she was a little too close to right and tipped his head like a dog.

"Please, Ros, if anyone here isn't human, it's you."

Now who's too close to the truth. 

Roslyn hummed, giving the boys a conspiratorial grin. "Maybe you're right."

They fell into silence after that. Not an awkward, uncomfortable one, but not and empty one, either. It was a silence filled with a thousand things left unsaid with no clue who was going to break first. Roslyn had always found something odd about her friends, but now she was sure. And clearly, they were smart or supernatural enough to smell something off about her, too.

They could play that game all they liked. Roslyn had a history of keeping secrets and these boys weren't going to drag it out of her, now. 

Finally, "You coming to the bonfire, Ros?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "Would this be a sacred history bonfire or an end of summer, living it up, no elders bonfire?"

Jared nudged her with his shoulder. "It's a Sam and Emily chaperone bonfire."

"Keeping the kiddos out of too much trouble while still letting us let loose," Paul finished, his grin promising something wicked.

Sam Uley and Emily Young were people Roslyn did her best to steer clear of. They weren't quite Tribe elders, but there was something ancient and other about them. Something that promised supernatural and Roslyn didn't want to get involved so she didn't ask questions.

"I think I'm gonna sit this one out, boys," Roslyn sighed, fluffing her hair as a gust of wind made it stick to her lipgloss.

Paul shot her a dramatic pout, furrowing his brows as if it would make him seem more innocent. Jared didn't even bother begging, just sighed and muttered something under his breath about those damn Cullens.

"Just because I'm not going to be here, doesn't mean I'll be with them," Roslyn pointed out. She'd only be with Jasper. There was a difference.

The boys knew it, too.

"So you'll be making out with Mr. Perfect Cowboy while we're sneaking booze to minors," Paul decided, tossing his arm around her again.

Roslyn didn't deny it. She just ducked out from under him, taking off down the beach. She let herself put on a bit of inhuman speed, if only to pick at the bandaid covering up their poorly hidden secrets. Paul and Jared sprinted after her, covering land quicker than any eighteen year olds should. The three of them dove into the surf, laughing and shoving each other into the waves until they forgot about the hidden things lying beneath the surface.

a/n i know that technically jared and paul are the same age as jacob (ie younger than bells by a couple years) but i'm more drawn to stories where they phased as seniors or some shit and are a bit older. makes it way less offputting that sam is hanging around a bunch of teenagers when two of them are nineteen ish.