SPRING BREAK CONTINUED WITHOUT FANFARE. Lydia spent time with her mothers, trying to ignore the ache Adam's departure had left her with. She continued practicing creating and manipulating fire, just in case Victoria came calling and the pack wasn't around to kill her themselves.
She went over to Emily's a few times over spring break, wanting to get to know the only other semi-immortal creatures in the area in the wake of her uncle leaving. Hanging out with the pack, especially Embry, made it easier to ignore the pain she felt due to how Adam left things with her and her family. There was a quality about the shape-shifter that reminded Lydia a little of Gwen, in that he managed to lift her spirits just by talking about random things and making her laugh. She learned from him about Bella finding out about the shape-shifters after slapping Paul in the face, a sight which according to Embry was equal parts horrifying and hilarious.
She and Gwen hung out a lot as well, with Gwen doing a good job of taking Lydia's mind off of Adam leaving and the prospect of living forever and watching the people she loved age and die before her eyes. It was a heavy job, Lydia knew, but if anyone was up to the cause, it was Gwen. Lydia didn't know just what she'd done to deserve her best friend, but she thanked the universe everyday for putting them into each other's lives.
When spring break ended, Lydia was honestly a little grateful. Her teachers jumped straight back into their lessons, beginning the rapid descent into finals week and graduation in June, so she didn't have much free time to dwell on Adam and her own scarily-infinite future.
As soon as Lydia got into her car after the first day back, her phone vibrated in her backpack. She got it out quickly, checking the caller I.D. before answering it. "Embry, what's up?"
"Hey, you haven't happened to talk to Bella recently, have you?" Embry asked immediately.
Lydia frowned. She'd noticed Bella's absence at school, but she hadn't thought much of it. Now she was a little worried. "No, why?"
"Jake said she flew to Italy with one of the Cullens, the short one," Embry said. "Apparently Bella's ex is in trouble or something and they went to stop him from doing something stupid."
The short one. Alice?
"She went to Italy?" Lydia asked in shock.
"Yeah," Embry said. "Jake's freaking out, and things are crazy over here. It might actually be a good idea to steer clear of here, at least until things cool down. Two more people phased and joined the pack. One of them's a girl, which we didn't even know was possible."
"Wow," Lydia said. "It does sound crazy."
Embry agreed with a quiet, "Oh, yeah." After a moment, he said, "I'll let you know when things chill out a little—you can meet the new members once they get more a handle on their shifting. Seth's like a puppy right now, he's so excited about being a shifter. I think you'd like him."
Lydia smiled at the thought. "Ok. I'll let you know if I hear anything about Bella."
"Thanks, River Phoenix," Embry said, causing Lydia to roll her eyes. He'd started calling her thought after the second time she visited the pack. Apparently his favorite movie was Dogfight, so of course, he used it as the source of her new nickname.
"Talk to you later, Em," she said before hanging up.
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Four days into the first week back, Lydia pulled into her usual parking space. As soon as she put her car in park, she looked up, seeing a familiar silver Volvo parked in the spot that had been empty for months, in the row directly in front of Lydia's. The two occupants were still inside, and they were looking directly at her car.
They're back.
Lydia was startled by the sound of knocking on her window. She blinked, looking to see Gwen outside of Lydia's passenger-side door. Lydia quickly unlocked the door, silent as Gwen got into the car and closed it gently.
Gwen looked at Lydia for a moment, then at the Volvo parked in front of them. "They're back," she said quietly.
"Yeah," Lydia breathed.
"Are you okay?" Gwen asked.
Lydia bit her lip, stealing a brief glance at the Volvo. Edward and Alice had gotten out, and Bella had joined them at the hood of the car, the three of them talking. "Do you think this means he's back, too?" she murmured.
She wasn't sure what she wanted the answer to be.
"I don't know," Gwen said. "I mean... maybe." She tilted her head, meeting Lydia's eyes. "Are we happy about that or... not happy?"
Lydia swallowed hard. "I don't know," she murmured. She shook her head slightly. "Let's go to First Beach after school."
Gwen frowned, a little confused. "Why?"
"To relax," she explained. "To forget about the idea of the guy who dumped me possibly being back in town."
Gwen seemed to realize Lydia needed a break from Forks. "Okay," Gwen agreed. "First Beach it is."
Embry had texted her the night before about Bella's return from Italy, but he said the new members of the pack were still too new for Lydia to safely meet—a sweet gesture, she supposed, even though they couldn't kill her. Even so, she figured visiting First Beach in general wouldn't be an issue, since the pack usually hung out at Emily's, so she and Gwen would be fine.
And, of course, no Cullens could talk to her when she was on the Quileute pack's territory, which was the ultimate perk.
She didn't plan on avoiding them forever. She'd probably talk to Alice tomorrow, but for now, she needed distance to digest the fact that they were back in town, and she really didn't want to be around any of them just yet.
Tomorrow, she promised herself.
But today, she was going to avoid the Cullens and Bella at all costs.
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She spent the school day successfully managing to avoid Alice, Edward, and Bella, even in the classes she shared with them. She thanked whatever deity controlled her teachers' motivations to teach for keeping them on-task and eliminating the chance at having any free time to chit-chat. She and Gwen sat outside during lunch, successfully avoiding the crowded cafeteria.
The irony of her situation dawned on her halfway through the day. Over a year ago, the roles had been reversed, with the Cullens avoiding her and Bella for weeks. Now, it was Lydia's turn to avoid them.
Oh, how the tables have turned.
When Lydia got into her car after school without any interaction with the Cullens, she celebrated in silence, pulling out of the parking lot as soon as she got the chance.
She followed Gwen to her house so Gwen could drop her car off then drove them to La Push, having to hold in a breath of relief when she was inside of the reservation. After parking and getting out, she shot Embry a quick text letting her know she and her friend—her human friend, she specified—were at First Beach and to come say hi if he got the chance.
"So, are you going to talk to Alice and Edward at some point?" Gwen asked as they started walking along the shoreline.
"Tomorrow," she murmured. "I'll talk to them tomorrow, I just... I needed time to digest, is all."
Gwen nodded in understanding. "They've been gone for months, they can wait another day." There was that hint of anger in Gwen's voice, which Lydia had grown accustomed to hearing when Gwen talked about the Cullen family. She disliked them for what they'd put Lydia through, and though Lydia didn't hate them in the slightest—not even Jasper—she appreciated her best friend's show of loyalty.
As they walked, Lydia spotted a familiar group of shirtless boys, this time joined by another visibly younger boy and a girl. Jacob and Paul were missing it appeared, though Lydia figured Jacob was still upset about Bella running off to Italy to save her ex-boyfriend.
What Edward had needed saving from, Lydia still didn't know, but she supposed she'd find out soon enough.
Or maybe not. Was it even really her business if she wasn't dating his brother anymore?
Her phone buzzed in her pocket seconds after she spotted the group.
Embry: Come say hi! We'll behave, promise :)
Lydia bit back a laugh. As she put her phone back in her pocket, Embry waved at her and Gwen.
"Isn't that the group of guys who looked at you all weird last time we came to First Beach?" Gwen asked as Lydia waved back with a small smile.
"Yeah," Lydia said with a laugh. "We ran into each other again and started hanging out a little. They're cool, I promise."
"Look at you," Gwen said, her tone teasing. "Making new friends. I feel like a proud mother."
Lydia rolled her eyes, looping her arm through Gwen's. "Come on, I'll introduce you."
When Lydia and Gwen were within earshot, Embry called out, "Lydia! Long time no see!"
"I saw you last week," Lydia said with a smile. "This is my friend Gwen."
Gwen waved shyly—as extroverted as she could be around Lydia, she was still fairly shy around people she didn't know. "Hi," she said quietly.
Embry gave her a friendly smile. "I'm Embry, and this is Jared, Sam, Leah, and Seth."
The last two must have been the two newest members of Sam's pack. The girl looked a little older than Lydia and Gwen, though not by much. She didn't look particularly happy to be there, though Seth—her little brother, Lydia presumed given the physical similarities between the two—seemed delighted to be there, and even more delighted to be meeting new people.
I like him, Lydia decided immediately, proving Embry's prediction right. He's adorable.
"It's nice to meet you all," Gwen said softly. She gave them all a small smile.
Leah finally looked up from where she'd been glaring at the sand beneath her feet. She looked at Lydia first, a slight look of disdain on her face as she regarded her, which Lydia tried not to take personally—according to Embry, she and her brother were going through a lot at the moment. Her gaze moved then to Gwen, and as soon as their eyes met, Leah's seemed to widen in shock.
Lydia felt Gwen stiffen next to her, a look of awe on her face as she and Leah stared at each other. Lydia frowned slightly, looking at Embry to see if he knew what was happening, but the boy was looking at Leah with wide eyes, like the rest of the group.
"H—Hi," Leah finally said, her voice surprisingly quiet as she looked at Gwen.
"Hi," Gwen whispered, even though she'd already said that a few moments earlier.
After what felt like an eternity passed, Leah sharply looked away from Gwen. "I, uh, I have to go," she said, shooting up from her seat on the log and walking quickly off of the beach, disappearing behind one of the houses overlooking the beach.
Seth immediately stood up. "It was nice to meet you both," he said to Lydia and Gwen, before hurrying to follow his sister, a look of worry on his face.
"Go follow them, make sure they're okay," Sam told Jared, who hopped up immediately and went to do as he was told.
Gwen watched Jared go, looking at Lydia with wide eyes. "Did I do something wrong?"
"Not at all," Sam said quickly. "Leah's just... going through some stuff, but it's nothing you did." He met Lydia's eyes for a brief moment, earning a questioning look from the confused girl. The look he gave her in return told her he'd explain later, when Gwen wasn't around. It must be a shifter thing, she figured.
"So, what are you girls up to?" Embry asked, trying to dispel the tension that had fallen over them.
"Avoiding old friends by hanging out with new ones," Lydia said, knowing Embry would understand that she was talking about Bella and the Cullens.
Embry smiled, nodding in understanding. "Well, whenever you need a break from Forks, you're always welcome to drop by," he said. He smiled at Gwen. "You too, blondie."
Gwen frowned. "We just met today."
Embry shrugged as he threw an around around her shoulders. "I have a feeling we're all going to get along nicely."
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[author's note: figured y'all deserved a double update. as you can see, i've decided who to pair our baby gwen with. and don't worry—i have plans for alice, too (; (tho you'll have to wait for that in the next book)]