LYDIA WOKE TO THE FEELING of someone playing with her hair. She opened her eyes slowly, her gaze locking with Jasper's as he smiled softly down at her. "Good morning," he murmured.
Lydia hummed, enjoying the feeling of her head against Jasper's chest. "What time is it?" she mumbled.
Jasper's fingers continued to thread through her hair, the sensation like heaven. "Nine forty-seven," he answered. "Do you still want to go to Port Angeles?"
Lydia nodded against his chest. "I have to get Bella's present," she murmured. She sat up slowly, stifling a yawn with her hand. Jasper smiled as he watched her slowly wake herself up. He leaned forward to kiss her, but Lydia intercepted him with her hand, pushing his face away. "Kiss me after I brush my teeth."
"I plan to," Jasper said, settling for a kiss on her forehead. "I'll let you get ready and run back to my house for my bike. I'll be back in forty, is that okay?"
"That's perfect," she murmured. "Love you."
"I love you, too," he whispered, kissing her temple before disappearing in a blur out of her open window.
Lydia stretched as she got out of bed, walking to her closet and getting out some clothes suitable for a morning of shopping in Port Angeles. After a quick shower and her usual morning routine, she came down the stairs, greeting her mothers in the kitchen. "Morning."
"Morning, sweetie," Tracy said, sipping from her coffee mug. "Plans today?"
"Jasper and I are going to Port Angeles so I can get Bella's gift," Lydia told her, grabbing a loaf of bread out of the pantry and putting two slices in the toaster.
"Cutting it close, aren't you?" Johanna teased from the island. "Her birthday's tomorrow, isn't it?"
"I already know what I'm getting her," Lydia said, waiting a little impatiently for her toast to pop back up.
"Speaking of birthdays," Tracy said, "any ideas what you want to do for yours? It's coming up, and it's the big one eight, y'know. We have to do something special."
Lydia's toast popped up and she grabbed it, wincing at the heat as she grabbed the butter out of the fridge. "It's not until January, Mama," Lydia said. "Cutting it a little far, aren't we?"
Tracy rolled her eyes. "Still, it's a milestone, we should do something special. Any ideas?"
"I don't know yet," Lydia said, taking a bite of her toast and chewing it as she thought. "But I do know I want to get a lottery ticket that day."
"Because you can?" Johanna asked, a knowing smile on her face.
"Yeah," Lydia said. "Oh, maybe I'll buy a lighter and some candles."
"You have to be eighteen to buy a lighter?" Tracy asked.
"Yeah, I tried to buy one a few weeks ago and they said they couldn't sell it to me," Lydia replied. "I was buying a candle, but maybe they thought I was trying to commit arson that afternoon. Jasper had to get it for me."
Lydia poured herself a glass of orange juice before joining Tracy at the table, Johanna joining them as well. "How is Jasper?" Johanna asked.
An involuntary smile came across Lydia's face, which both of her mothers smirked at. "He's good," she said softly.
Johanna nodded. "And how are the two of you? He isn't pressuring you into doing anything you don't want to do?"
"Of course not, Mom," Lydia said as her cheeks heated up slightly. "Jasper's a gentleman, he would never."
"He is a sweetheart," Tracy said, giving her wife a look. "He's a good kid, Jo, I don't think we have anything to worry about. He could be a lot worse."
Johanna cracked a smile. "I know. I'm just making sure you're okay."
"And I love you for that," Lydia said, smiling at her mother.
After a little more chatting with her mothers, she checked the time on her phone, seeing that Jasper would be there any minute. She cleaned up her breakfast and ran upstairs to grab her purse just as the doorbell rang. "That's Jasper!" she called to her mothers.
She came back downstairs to see Johanna and Jasper talking at the front door, Jasper's politeness seeming to win her mother over, as per usual. "I'll text you when we're on our way back to Forks," she said, kissing her mother's cheek. "Bye, Mama!" she called into the house, earning a goodbye from Tracy somewhere in the house.
"Hi," Jasper said as they walked to his bike. He kissed her for a lingering moment once they stopped at his bike. "I missed you."
Lydia smirked up at him. "You were gone for forty minutes," she pointed out.
"I still missed you," he murmured, kissing her one more time before putting her helmet on her head. "Now, let's go."
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The next day, Lydia sat with Gwen at the table Bella, her friends, Edward, and Alice frequented. Since the start of senior year a few weeks ago, she and Gwen had somehow managed to integrate into Bella's friend group, and with Alice and Edward being the only remaining Cullens at Forks High, it made sense for them to sit with Bella as well.
"How'd you do on Mr. Porter's test?" Angela asked Lydia from across the table.
"Got a ninety-eight," Lydia said with a proud smile. "You?"
"Ninety-eight, too," Angela said, bumping the fist Lydia offered her lightly.
"Assholes," Mike said, cutting into their conversation. "I got a seventy-three."
"Did you study?" Lydia asked pointedly.
Mike fixed her with a glare, though there was no heat behind it. "No," he mumbled, making Angela and Lydia chuckle.
"Heads up, Mrs. Newman's in a bad mood today, so she'll probably give us a pop quiz," Gwen said, making Lydia and Jessica, who shared the class with Gwen, groan in annoyance.
"Hey, we still on for Friday?" Lydia asked Gwen, referring to their planned sleepover.
"Hell yeah," Gwen said, grinning at her best friend. "I've got face masks and everything. It's gonna be great."
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At the end of the day, Lydia walked with Gwen out of the school. "Are you sure you're not upset about me missing your game?" Gwen asked Lydia. "It's a big one, right? Aren't they our rivals or something?"
Lydia shrugged. "I don't know, I just know Coach Oakes hates the other team's coach," she said. "And no, I'm not upset. Go have fun with your family. I'll probably end up calling you to rant about the game depending on how it goes, so I'll fill you in."
"Okay," Gwen said. She stopped, nodding toward Edward's Volvo. "Your boyfriend's here."
Lydia followed Gwen's gaze, seeing Jasper's bike parked next to his brother's Volvo. He smiled when Lydia saw him, waving at her and Gwen. "I'll talk to you later, yeah?" Lydia said.
"Yeah," Gwen said, smiling as she waved back at Jasper. "Go see your lover-boy. Just make sure to remind him that you're mine this weekend."
"I'll make sure he gets the memo," Lydia said, hugging Gwen before the girls went their separate ways. Lydia went to join Jasper with his two siblings and Bella. "Hey," she said, smiling as he kissed her in greeting.
"Hi, darlin'," he said softly, his faint Texan accent slipping through just a little at the nickname.
"Lydia, I picked out a dress for you for tonight, so you can just come straight from your game to our house," Alice told her.
"You got it," Lydia said, shooting the tiny vampire a thumbs-up.
"And you," Alice said, smiling at Bella. "Be at our place tonight, and wear my gift." Bella made a face like she wanted to protest. "Come on, please?"
Lydia looked up to see Jasper focusing on Bella and she made to fight to keep herself from laughing. Poor Bella, she thought.
After a moment, Bella gave into Alice. "Okay, alright."
Alice beamed. "Great! Okay, I'll see you at seven."
As Alice got into Edward's car, Bella looked at Jasper, realizing what had just happened. "Jasper, no fair with the mood control thing."
Lydia bit back a laugh as Jasper smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Bella. Happy..." His eyes narrowed a little, clearly sensing Bella's less-than-positive emotions. "Never mind."
Lydia shook her head in amusement as Edward and Bella got into the Volvo, leaving Lydia and Jasper alone at his bike. "Can I give you a ride home before your game?"
"You better," Lydia said. "Otherwise I'm walking."
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[author's note: it's a little short, i know, but don't worry, shit's about to go down, and i won't skimp on the painful details. also, i tweaked the scene at the beginning of new moon with bella and jasper since, y'know, he's supposed to be rosalie's twin so WHY would he still be in high school after she graduated???? (you could argue that he's just dumb, but hey, give him some credit.)]