The Rise of Lydia Rowe ↠ Jasper Hale (ON HOLD)

[2.14] an unpleasant reunion

"HOW IS IT ALREADY MARCH?" Lydia whined, shutting her locker as she turned to face Gwen. "We graduate in June, how is this all happening so fast?" 

"Just wait for finals week, time is going to drag on," Gwen told her as the two began walking out to the parking lot. "Mr. Brooks is already trying to scare us about his final—apparently only a fourth of the class typically makes a B or above." 

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Doesn't sound like something to brag about," she muttered. "Sounds like he's bad at teaching." 

"Oh, he is," Gwen said. "I've had to rely on Google to explain most of the concepts, and I'm still just barely at an A-." 

"Glad I didn't have to take him," Lydia said. "One of the only perks of taking calculus last semester with Mrs. Scott. The subject sucked, but at least she tried not to bore us out of our minds."

Gwen nodded. "We're still on for First Beach next weekend, right?" 

"Yeah," Lydia said. "Don't forget a coat, it'll be cold." 

Gwen shook her head with a smile. "Okay Mom." 

"Hush or I'll ground you," Lydia said, earning a laugh from her best friend. "See you tomorrow, Gwen." 

"Bye!" Gwen called as she walked to her car a few spots away. 

Lydia got into her car and drove back to her house, enjoying the breeze that came through her open window. Before her transformation, she would have been shivering like crazy, but now, the cold wind was a pleasant sensation.

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Saturday morning, she decided to go for a jog through the woods behind her house. She'd only ever been back there a few times, and that was with Jasper since he hadn't wanted her to be alone in the woods, just in case something happened to her. Other than the walk she went on with Adam right after her transformation, she hadn't ventured into the woods since Jasper left. Now she wanted to explore the forest by herself, and maybe clear her mind a little while she was at it. 

She changed into appropriate running clothes, forgoing a jacket. There shouldn't be anyone else in the woods so she didn't need to keep up appearances and pretend she could still feel the cold. She called out to Adam that she was going for a run, with him yelling back, "Be careful!" from the guest bedroom. She figured he was engrossed in Juliette's journals, like he usually was, or reading one of the books he'd stolen off of Lydia's bookshelf and pretended he hadn't when she asked. 

Lydia set off at a decent pace as she ran into the woods, immediately immersing herself in nature. Her stamina and speed had increased considerably after her transformation, though she still got tired if she pushed herself for too long, and she'd never be able to keep up with a vampire's speed. Still, she could easily outrun a human and barely break a sweat doing it. It was a good thing the soccer season had already ended, otherwise Lydia would have to figure out a way to keep her new, supernatural speed, stamina, and even strength under wraps. 

She ran for a while, listening to her music through her headphones and allowing herself to forget about everything going on in her life. She focused on her breaths, her heartbeat, and her footfalls, feeling content as she jogged. 

After about an hour and a half, she stopped, letting herself rest for a moment, even though she didn't really need it. She took in her surroundings, admiring the foliage around and above her. The sunlight hid behind both the clouds in the sky and the canopy of leaves and branches high above her. 

Even over the music, she heard the sound of a twig snapping underneath someone's foot. 

Taking out her headphones, Lydia looked around quickly, feeling her body heat up in anticipation of a threat. It was an unfamiliar sensation, as if her body and subconscious knew there was danger, that something wasn't right.