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

[1.18] date night

"SO," LYDIA SAID, looking out of the car window as Jasper drove down the road. "Do I get any hints on where you're taking me?" 

"Nope," Jasper said. "It's a surprise for a reason, Lydia." 

Lydia looked at him, faking a pout when he looked over at her. "But I wanna know," she whined. 

Jasper smiled, his gaze going back to the road. He reached across the console, taking her hand and threading his fingers through hers. "You'll find out in fifteen minutes," he promised. 

Lydia sighed, though she wasn't at all annoyed. She leaned back against the seat, resigning herself to waiting the fifteen minutes to find out where Jasper was taking her for their surprise first official date. They were nearly in Port Angeles, which didn't really give Lydia much of a hint, seeing as there was nothing to do in Forks anyway. 

After fifteen minutes, Jasper pulled into the parking lot of a large building. As they got out of the car, Lydia spotted the sign outside of the building, a smile forming. "We're going ice-skating?" 

"Yeah," Jasper said, reaching for her hand once again. She happily entwined their fingers, walking with him toward the ice-skating rink. "Alice suggested it. Have you ever been?" 

"Not since I was little," Lydia told him. "So don't laugh if I fall on the ice." 

Jasper reached over and kissed her temple, setting off a swarm of butterflies in her stomach. "I would never let you fall." 

Too late, she thought to herself. 

They walked into the building, heading straight for the skate-rental booth. It was Thursday night, so there weren't many other people seeing as most people had school the next day. Luckily for Jasper and Lydia though, Forks High had a teacher's work day the next day, so they didn't have to worry about staying out late on a school night. Plus, they'd gotten the okay from Lydia's moms to stay out until eleven-thirty, so they had all their bases covered. 

Once they had their skates, they went to an empty bench and put them on before heading onto the ice-rink. Jasper went in first, Lydia following and immediately nearly slipping on the ice. Jasper's hands quickly caught her, steadying her as he visibly held in a laugh. 

"I'm going to end up clinging to you the entire night," Lydia told him seriously, gripping his arm in a death-grip that didn't affect him at all. 

Jasper chuckled, moving them both forward on the ice. "I'm starting to see why Alice suggested this for our date." 

"Sneaky little pixie," Lydia mumbled warmly. "She probably saw me fall on my butt a dozen times and still decided this would be a good idea." 

Jasper moved to face her, skating backward—because of course he could skate backward. Perks of being a graceful creature of the night, she supposed. "Just hold on to me," he told her with a smile. 

"Oh, I plan to," Lydia teased, taking his outstretched hands and holding onto them for dear life.

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They skated for about two and a half hours altogether, with a few breaks scattered throughout for Lydia's sake. By the end of their skate session, Lydia's ankles were a little sore but her cheeks were even more so. She hadn't known she could smile so much in such a short period of time. 

"Maybe one day I'll be able to skate a full lap around the rink without almost falling," Lydia said as they returned their rental skates and headed out of the building. 

"Maybe," Jasper echoed with a smile. "But until then, I guess I'll just have to keep catching you."

Lydia rolled his eyes, the smile on her face growing. "Such a gentleman."