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

[2.02] the storm

SWEAT DRIPPED DOWN HER BACK, causing her jersey to stick to her skin. Even on a typical cloudy day in Forks, the combination of the warmer weather and physical exertion left her sweaty and panting. Her focus was on the players around her, getting the ball at her feet as close to the goal as possible her only objective.

When she saw that two of the opposing players were about to zero in on her, Lydia shouted, "Cassie!" and passed the ball to the blonde running in line with her on the other side of the field. 

Cassie received the ball perfectly, dribbling it up the field. Lydia sprinted toward the goal, Sam trailing down the middle in case one of the opposing fullbacks managed to steal the ball from Cassie. However, Cassie was great at evading her opponents and keeping the ball close.

"Cassie, cross!" Lydia yelled, positioning herself on the opposite side of the goal to Cassie. The blonde looked up briefly, locating Lydia, before she crossed the ball across the face of the goal, aiming it so that it was too close to the goal for the fullbacks—who were standing a bit farther from the goal than they should have been—to fall back and catch it. The goalie attempted to kick the ball out of the way, but she only managed to change its path slightly. Lydia ran to receive it, aiming a kick to the corner of the goal farther away from the goalie.

The home section of the bleachers burst into cheers as the ball hit the net, allowing the Forks High Spartans to pull ahead of the tied score.

As Lydia, Cassie, and Sam jogged back to their side of the field, the referee blew his whistle, signaling the end of the game.

"Good job, girls!" Coach Oakes congratulated them. "Line up and we'll talk afterward."

After the post-game handshakes with the opposing team and a short talk with the coach, the girls were free to leave and celebrate however they pleased. "Lydia, nice goal!" Cassie said, throwing her arm over Lydia. Lydia held back a grimace, thinking about how sweaty both girls were.

"Nice assist," Lydia shot back, giving her teammate a sincere grin.

"Thanks," Cassie said. "Hey, a bunch of us are going to the Lodge to celebrate. You coming?"

"I have plans, actually," Lydia told her. "But thanks for the invite."

"Of course," Cassie replied. "See you tomorrow?"

Lydia nodded, waving goodbye to her teammate and friend. She walked to the bleachers, smiling when she saw all of the people that had come to support her and her team at their big game.

"Good job, Lydia!" Tracy exclaimed, visibly excited. She'd been the one to get Lydia into playing soccer when she was a little kid, seeing as she herself had played when she was younger. "You killed it!"

"It killed me," Lydia corrected her. "I'm so tired, and I'm pretty sure number nine was trying to destroy me."

"She's just jealous of your skills, Rowe," Emmett told her, grinning at his brother's girlfriend. "I seriously thought you broke that one girl's arm!"

Lydia shrugged, reigning in a smile. "She flopped. I barely touched her."

"If running straight into her and knocking her down is 'barely touching' then I don't want to see you actually trying to hurt someone," Rosalie commented, her smile warm and proud.

She felt an arm wrap around her waist, and she smiled, looking up at her Jasper. "You were amazing out there, darling," he told her softly.

"Why thank you," Lydia said.

"Are you going to come back home and shower before Bella's party or are you going straight to the Cullens' house, Lydia?" Johanna asked her, slipping on her rain jacket as a light drizzle began to fall from the cloudy sky.