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

[1.06] greek gods

THE CULLENS WERE STRANGE. That was something Lydia was sure of, even if she'd only known of them for a little less than a month. Gwen, who had known them a little longer, agreed, though she wasn't quite as invested in figuring out the enigma that was the Cullen family as Lydia was. She had only been in Forks for close to a month, but she was already infatuated with the mysterious family.

That almost-month, sadly, had been full of the Cullens avoiding Lydia at all costs. Even Alice, who was very friendly toward her at first, withdrew from her. She tried not to feel too hurt. She hadn't been looking to make friends in Forks, anyway, and she had Gwen now, so it wasn't like she was completely alone. But their sudden, collective rejection still stung.

Lydia was leaning against her headboard, her lap full of an open biology textbook she'd abandoned in favor of gossiping with Gwen. "I know you didn't see the accident, but it was like Edward stopped the van with his hand. That isn't normal."

"I don't know," Gwen said, briefly pulling her attention away from her Spanish homework to look at her friend. "There are some stimulants that can cause superhuman strength. Maybe he was on drugs."

Lydia shook her head. "No, I knew a few junkies at my old school—Edward Cullen looks too much like a Catholic choirboy to do any drugs harder than caffeine."

Gwen giggled at that. "Maybe it was an adrenaline rush? I read about this teenage girl who lifted up a huge truck to save her dad. Maybe that's what happened."

"Maybe," Lydia conceded. "But the whole family's just... off. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, it's just... I still don't know how Jasper could have reacted so quickly to that van nearly hitting me. It was insane, Gwen. And he was really cold. Like his skin was made of ice. I could feel it through our clothes. Same with Alice—I accidentally brushed her hand when she handed me a sheet of paper in AP History and it was freezing."

"They've always seemed a bit odd," Gwen acknowledged. "But maybe they all just coincidentally have cold hands. Bad circulation or something."

"His chest was hard, too," Lydia told her. "It was like I was up against some sort of stone."

Gwen looked at her. "Maybe he's just really muscular," she suggested with a noncommittal shrug.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "You're not very helpful, Gwen."

"I don't know what to say," Gwen said. "They've always kept to themselves. To be honest, I think you and Bella Swan are the only two people who've had any sort of conversation with any of them that didn't have to do with class."

"Not anymore," Lydia mumbled. "They've been avoiding me like the plague."

"Bella, too," Gwen told her. "Travis is in the same biology as Bella and Edward, and apparently he barely associates with her anymore. It's weird, I'll give you that."

Lydia pursed her lips, thinking for a second. "Maybe they're in a cult and their leader ordered them to stop socializing with outsiders."

Gwen let out a surprised laugh. "If they were in a cult, I doubt they'd be going to a public high school. They'd probably be homeschooled or something."

"Maybe they're just in high school to keep up appearances," Lydia said.

Gwen scoffed. "Who would subject themselves to public high school if they didn't have to?"

With a laugh, Lydia said, "Yeah, you're right." She paused. "Isn't it weird that their eyes change colors, though? Usually they're gold—weird in and of itself—but I swear, sometimes their eyes are black. Not even dark brown, but pure black."