There's Witches In Those Mountains

t h r e e

*****************AUTHOR'S NOTE*****************

Here's a link to a playlist that accompanies this entire story, updated DAILY.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/40fNHonHOnIPYwby75jhmH

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The sun shined through the crack in her black curtains, waking Lydia from a deep sleep. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up, letting out a quiet yawn. She let her hair out of her braids and started quickly getting ready for school. If she was going to make it to school in an hour on her bike, she needed to hurry up.

She quickly brushed her teeth, put on a skirt, a top, and her boots, and practically ran down the stairs. She grabbed an apple off the dining table, kissed her grandmother on the cheek, grabbed her backpack and helmet from the front door and ran out to her bike. She secured everything, got on, and started making her way down the highway.

The morning was cooler than usual. She shivered as she pedaled, regretting that she had forgot her jacket sitting on her bed. She made a mental note to not forget her jacket the next morning in her head. The air smelled of fresh pine and cedar, a perfect compliment to the mantra she was chanting in her head: "I will have a good day at school, I will be in a good mood, I will continue to practice my faith. I will overcome any challenge. I will be relaxed."

As she pulled in to Betsy Lane, she found herself feeling anxious, but a good kind of anxious. The kind of anxious that accompanied the fact that the night before, a boy who went to that school had seen her naked, something that absolutely no one else had ever seen. Not only did it frighten her that Jacob could expose that at any time, but it also excited her, because an attractive boy had seen her and seemingly thought she was attractive (though she would never know, because she planned on keeping her promise).

No, stop it. Get that incredibly attractive, pale and strong vampire out of your head! she thought to herself. You're an independent witch, you don't need a fantasy.

She pulled up to the school and parked her bike, readjusting her backpack on her shoulders. Students were already grouping together, all in shorts and t-shirts, some in jackets, others not. She locked her bike up and walked into the building. Lydia got her books from her locker then walked to her first class.

The biology classroom roared with students who knew each other, and of course she knew them, too, but none of them knew her. She settled into her seat at the front of the class (as she had no problem being that kind of student) and pulled her notebook out. She typically had no partner, which was fitting for her and it was fine for her to be alone in her own space.

Lydia was looking through her phone when she heard the class audibly gasp. She looked up and...there he was.

Jacob, the boy she was not supposed to see, not supposed to be anywhere near, was in her class. And he was staring deep into her, like he knew a deep, dark secret of hers.

"You can sit here in the front beside Lydia. She's a nice girl, generally keeps to herself."

He looked over at her and smiled. She gave him a weak smile back and blush.

Oh my fucking gods, this can not be happening right now, she thought to herself, looking back at her book quickly. She heard the chair slide out then back in and she looked up at him.

Jacob leaned over to her and whispered, "I guess we aren't going to stick to our promise?"

Lydia sighed. "I suppose not. If we're going to be partners in this class, I guess we'l have to look at each other and be around each other and exist and whatnot."

He chuckled and looked up at the front as the teacher started to teach. Lydia couldn't focus, though. The only thing she could think about was the guy sitting beside her. He smelled like pine and cedar, which would normally smell weird on any other person, but on him was absolutely heavenly. It was as though he ran through the trees in her woods the entire night, knowing how much she had loved the smell of nature. It was distracting, like an ache in the back of the mind that made her want more of him but made her also want to keep her distance at the same time. It was aggravating to her.

The lecture came and went, and Lydia found out that she had been so distracted by the beautiful human being (er, vampire, rather) sitting right beside her smelling how he did that she hadn't taken a single bit of notes. She grumbled to herself a little bit and looked over at Jacob, who was standing up.

"Hey, I hate to bother you, but could I copy the notes you took for today? I guess I had a little too much on my mind and didn't take any," She laughed nervously.

Jacob smiled. "Yeah, I'll come over a little later today after school, I'll even bring pizza. Around six?"

She gulped. "Is that a date?"

"Not if you don't want it to be." He winked and Lydia rolled her eyes. She desperately wanted it to be a date.

"Then I guess it's fine. I like cheese pizza."

He nodded and walked out of the room. She quickly gathered her things and nearly ran to her next class.

To recap, not only was she not going to keep that boy out of her existence, but they were going to have a date at her house over biology notes and pizza. She considered calling her grandmother to tell her not to worry about dinner, but the idea of her poor grandmother being shocked by a vampire in her home would be rather entertaining to her. She pondered this up until lunch, when she sat down to eat her turkey sandwich she had packed the night before.

As she went to take a bite, she heard that deep voice say to her, "I'm going out for lunch today. Do you want to come with?"

Lydia looked up at him. "Are you gonna go hunting?"

He laughed and shook his head. "I was thinking of going to the Dairy Bar. I'm craving a bloody burger." He sat down beside her. "Your turkey sandwich looks boring. I'll buy, I'll drive, just come keep me company."

She smiled and rose to her feet, putting her sandwich back in her bag. "Fine, I'll come along, I just need to be back in time to get my bike."

He nodded and started walking toward the exit with confidence. Lydia, however, was a little more cautious, as she had never skipped school before. Jacob slipped through the crowd with such ease, like he had done this a million times before. She pushed forward on the door and stepped outside, for the first time feeling completely free.

Jacob grabbed her hand, which sent a little shock through her. It was the first time she had a guy show any sort of affection toward her, and if she was honest with herself, it freaked her out a little. Maybe he was just being friendly, but by the way it made her blush to hold his hand, it might've been something more. But, she thought to herself, I'm naive, there's no way such an attractive person would like me.

He lead her out to his Volvo. Of course he drives a Volvo, she thought to herself, rolling her eyes. He let go of her hand and walked over to the car and opened the passenger side for her. She slid into his front seat and buckled up as soon as the door shut. He circled the car to his side at a lightning speed. Lydia smiled at him, in awe of the things she was learning about him without him even having to tell her. He buckled up and turned the car on, quickly backing out and driving off. They arrive at the Dairy Bar in record time.

"So you like your burgers bloody?" Lydia asked him, reaching for the passenger side door.

"Yeah," he replies as he beats her to the door, holding it open for her. For some reason, the intense speed it took to get from his side of the car to hers didn't phase her a single bit. She climbed out of the car and shut it behind her. He reached for her hand again and this time it didn't frighten her. It excited her. It made her heart flutter.