hello friends! because i love you all, have chapter two early!

a few housekeeping things:

one: golden hour now has a tumblr page! you can find it at twilightgoldenhour, and if you follow you'll get extra fun goodies - like outfit sketches! which i've done! and also posts about the actual research i do for this (because i like historical accuracy), silly posts about guin and the cullens and her family and other nonsense!

speaking of historical accuracy: i try my best to be as accurate as possible because i care about the history, but there is one scene in this chapter where historical accuracy pretty much goes out the window. for Romance(tm) and Plot(tm) reasons. you'll know when you get there.

this chapter is about 7.5k, and a good portion of it is fluff and character building because i want guin to be as real as possible (and as human as possible!)

in this chapter, guin is obsessed with pizza rolls, i spend about 500 words talking about sewing, we get an insight into how bella feels about the whole situation, jasper is soft, and we get some fun cullen shenanigans.

all my love, and please enjoy this chapter! (reviews would be nice, too)

(p.s.: this was uploaded twice because i'm bad at proofreading. sorry!)

updated as of 11/9/2023 :)

When Bella told her what had happened that day at school, Guin went on a rampage.

She was furious.

How dare Edward Cullen treat her sister like that? He may be the brother of the really hot guy who (looking back now) was probably flirting with her all day yesterday, but that didn't mean shit to her.

He was gonna get his ass kicked.

Bella had tried to get her to let it be, but Guin wouldn't have it. She didn't often get angry － she rather tried to avoid it, honestly － but this was most definitely a situation that warranted it.

Bella wouldn't stand up for herself, not over this, but Guin could do it for her.

Of course, Guin's anger was wasted － the Cullen boy wasn't at school the next day.

Jasper had met her outside her Trigonometry class (she suspected Alice had told him that bit of information, too) with a friendly smile. It was wasted on her, though － she leveled him with a glare. His eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What's wrong, darlin'?"

"Your brother is an asshole," she hissed, but still took his arm when he offered it to her.

"Ah. I see your sister informed you of what happened yesterday."

"She informed me that your brother is a dick and deserves to get smacked."

"I can't argue with that, although maybe I can soothe you some?"

Guin sniffed a little. "You can sure try."

"My brother felt.. unwell, yesterday. He woke up this morning with a fever. My father thinks it's the flu," he said, glancing over at her.

"So, you're saying he's not here today?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Fortunately for him. Should the rest of you be in school if he's sick like that?" Guin asked, an eyebrow raised. Jasper smiled a little.

"Most of my family members have excellent immune systems. Edward is just unlucky," he replied, and Guin thought she heard just a hint of humor in his tone.

"Yes, well," Guin grumbled a bit, letting Jasper open the door to the art room. "It doesn't give him the right to be so rude to my sister."

Jasper nodded, smiling. "You're right, of course. I'll make sure he knows that before he comes back."

Guin pressed her lips together, even as she sat beside Jasper at their desks. "I'm still mad at him, you know."

"Good," Jasper said, smirking. "He deserves it."

Later, Jasper escorted Guin to lunch again, her arm wrapped through his. They discussed their classes － curiosity and a keenness to know more about each other forced down with small talk that was painful for Guin.

She wanted to know more about him, to know everything, but she didn't want to go too quickly or too suddenly. How do you ask someone you've known for a day what their favorite childhood candy was without it being weird?

It was also somewhat disorienting, to feel so strongly about someone so soon after they'd met. She didn't know him － knew hardly anything about him － but still, she felt as though she were being pulled in his direction. It was like there was a lasso around her － pulling her closer and closer to him, as though the red string that bound them was tightening, trying to prove it's point.

As they walked into the cafeteria, Guin looked towards the usual table the Cullen's sat at.

Jasper had been telling the truth — the youngest Cullen wasn't sitting at the table today.

Alice waved excitedly when she caught Guin's eye, and Guin returned it in kind. The blonde one didn't level Guin with a glare cold enough to give her pneumonia, which was surprising, but most definitely pleasing.

"Would you like to meet my siblings?" Jasper asked her, and she looked at him, her lips pressed together to smother a smile.

"You know, I think meeting the family is a second-date kind of thing."

Jasper grinned. "Don't worry — you can say Rosalie is intimidating. We all know it. Is this your way of saying you'd like to go on a date with me?"

"'Date' is such a romantic term. More like a.. friendly outing."

"'Friendly outing', huh?"

Guin just smiled and strode away from him. "Have a good lunch, Jasper."

Lunch was a rather dull affair. Guin, who was finally properly introduced to the rest of the people sitting at the table, spent most of it picking at her lackluster lunch and reading.

She had a craving for pizza rolls. Perhaps she could convince Bella to let her buy a bag while they were shopping?

Her other classes went well enough, although she was unlucky enough to get hit in the head with a wayward volleyball in Gym. Courtesy of Bella, of course.

When Jasper didn't meet her after gym, she felt disappointment bloom in her chest. Of course, she couldn't expect him to always be there — but she had hoped.

Instead, she and Bella made their way together to the truck, Bella speed walking so as to avoid an overly friendly Mike. Guin walked more leisurely. Mike hadn't decided to latch onto her, which spelled good news for her.

As Bella gunned the engine of the truck, causing it to roar to life, Guin's eyes searched the parking lot for Jasper. She saw him standing beside the shiny silver Volvo, which surprised her exactly not at all.

She had noticed that he and his siblings were incredibly well dressed. Casual enough to fit in, but still with clothes that hinted at designer labels, and well tailored too. Guin wondered how much money they had, to be dressed like that.

They looked over as the truck rumbled by. Jasper caught her eye, sending her an apologetic smile.

Sorry I couldn't meet you after Gym.

She sent him a smile in return.

Apology accepted.

The Thriftway wasn't too far from the school, and her and Bella commenced their familiar shopping ritual. Bella stuck religiously to the list, and Guin tried her best to smuggle not-list items into the cart. Sometimes she got them, and other times Bella made her put them back.

Bella almost pulled the plug on her 120 count bag of pepperoni pizza rolls, but after a pointed reminder of the volleyball incident, relented.

When the two girls got home, they put the groceries away. They took to stuffing things wherever they could find a free space, and when that was settled, Bella started dinner.

Guin, who fought valiantly to resist the urge to make some of her coveted pizza rolls now, went upstairs to her room instead. Dropping her bag on the floor, she slid into her desk chair, booting up her laptop.

She checked her e-mail first. Predictably, her mom had e-mailed her three times already.

Guin,

Be sure to write me when you get in. How is Forks? How was your first day at school? Have you met anyone interesting? I'm almost packed for Florida, but I can't find my sandals. The ones with the rhinestones? I swear I've looked everywhere. Do you know where I put them? Phil says hi.

Mom

Eight hours later, she sent another.

Guin,

Neither you or Bella have responded yet. What are you waiting for? Has something happened?

Mom

The last was from this morning.

Guinevere,

If I haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.

Guin let out a little hum. Wow, not even a sign off? She must be really freaked.

Guin sighed a little, and penned her reply.

Mom,

Calm down. We got here safely — our flight's were fine. Everything's going great. Forks is wonderful, but it's cold and wet. You wouldn't like it. School was good, if a little boring. I met a boy in my art class — his name is Jasper. He's very interesting. No, I won't tell you anything else yet.

Your sandals are in a box in the garage, I think. One of the ones with summer clothes in them we packed away.

I'll write you again soon, but I won't check my e-mail every five minutes. Breathe. Everything will be fine.

Love,

Guin

With that disaster averted, Guin decided to do something exponentially more fun: browsing one of the costumery forums she was part of.

She spent a while scrolling through blog posts about all kinds of things: garment reconstructions, posts detailing extant originals the author had gotten to look at, threads asking about research or advice for whatever project the writer was working on.

Guin lost herself in a different world, planning out a (rather simple) pattern for the chemise and drawers she would be working on next. She'd have to pull everything from her stash, of course — the one downside of being in Forks is that the only fabric store in town was small and didn't stock much. Fortunately, she knew the owner, and knew that she'd be perfectly happy to special order anything Guin asked for.

By the time Guin was done with the rough patterning in her notebook and was onto searching her stash for an appropriate linen to make the garments out of, Bella called her down for dinner.

Guin glanced at the clock, frowning a bit. Had it already been that long since she got home?

Trotting down the stairs, she came to a stop in the dining room and slid into her seat at the table.

"Ooh, steak and potatoes. You know the way to a girl's heart, Bells."

Bella snorted at her some as Guin helped herself to dinner. They ate in silence for a few minutes, before Charlie spoke up.

"What were you working on up there, kiddo?"

"Pattern planning," Guin replied. A little smile touched her lips, and she made a clucking noise with her tongue - twice - amused at the alliteration. Charlie smiled at her a bit.

"That's good," he said, before looking at both her and Bella. "So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?"

"Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica," Bella replied. "I sit with her friends at lunch. And there's this boy, Mike, who's very friendly."

Guin snorted softly. "Friendly is an understatement." Bella sent her a look.

"Everybody seems pretty nice," Bella said.

"That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid — nice family." Charlie replied. "His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all of the backpackers who come through here."

Guin's lip twitched. A single man of large fortune, I'm sure.

After a moment of deliberation, Bella finally decided to ask the real question on her mind. "Do you know the Cullen family?"

Guin looked up from her plate. She was rather curious about them too.

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."

Bella hesitated. "They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in well at school."

"Join the club," Guin muttered dryly. Charlie looked angry.

"People in this town," he grumbled. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder. "We're lucky to have him — lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature — I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should—camping trips every other weekend. . . . Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."

Guin smiled a little bit. Hearing her dad rant about something was always good fun.

"They all seemed nice enough to me," Bella said, somewhat hastily. "I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive."

"You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."

Guin smiled to herself. After a few moments of quiet, she spoke. "I met Jasper. The older one, the blonde boy? He was very nice to me. He's in my art class. He helped me find my way when I got lost on my first day."

"Exactly," Charlie said, nodding once forcefully. "They're all perfectly polite. People just love to talk."

The rest of dinner finished quietly. Charlie cleared the table, and Guin and Bella worked together to wash and dry the dishes (Guin was on drying duty — she couldn't stand touching the dirty dishes).

Once the dishes were done, both girls returned to their respective rooms. Guin forced herself through her math homework, trying to soothe the suffering by listening to music through her iPhone while she did it.

When she was so done, her brain felt so fried that all she could bother to do was change into pajamas and fall into bed.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

The rest of the week passed similarly. It was mundane, going through the motions of school and classes. The brightest spots were the golden, glittering moments spent talking to Jasper.

It was on Wednesday that something truly exciting happened.

Jasper had, once again, met her after her Trig class to escort her to art. It was just before the bell rang for class to begin, as they settled into their seats, that he dropped the bomb on her.

"Sit with me at lunch today."

"Pardon?!"

She couldn't get clarification until after class had ended — Ms. Carr spent the entire hour explaining their newest project, although Guin found she couldn't focus on it very much.

How rude of Jasper to drop something like that on her so suddenly! And right before class began, when she couldn't even properly respond?

When class finally ended, she turned to him, pouting. "You can't just drop something like that on me right before class!"

Jasper chuckled softly, stacking their sketchbooks together to put them away in the cubby. When he got back, he smiled down at her. "Apologies. I did mean it though — sit with me and my siblings at lunch."

Guin stood up, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "I don't know, it sure seemed like your sister wanted to bite my head off last time I saw her."

"She's protective," Jasper explained. "She worries about how we're treated by strangers. I've explained it to her. She won't bite your head off."

"But I doubt she'll be particularly nice."

"You'll have to give her time to get to know you," he says, smiling down at her.

Guin huffed a little, but couldn't quite cover her smile. "Fine, I'll sit with you."

"Consider this our chaperoned first date."

"Mister Hale!" she gasped, playfully. "How bold of you to assume I wanted to go on a date with you in the first place?"

"Forgive me — consider it our chaperoned first 'friendly outing'," he teased, and Guin laughed.

When she and Jasper got to the cafeteria, Guin saw Bella standing near the doorway waiting for her. She had taken to doing this after realizing Guin took longer to get to lunch than she did, and Guin appreciated it.

"Bella," Guin called, and she looked up from the book she had been reading. "I'm going to sit with Jasper and his siblings today, if that's okay?"

"Of course," Bella replied. Just because one Cullen was an asshole to her didn't mean she had to hate all of them. "Have fun," she said, tucking some of her hair behind her ear, before heading into the lunchroom to find Jessica.

Jasper took her through the lunch line, although he didn't get anything — she didn't ask. The school food was… mediocre at best, and she understood any distaste for it.

Together, they walked over to the Cullen's table — Alice jumped up to greet them as soon as she saw them coming.

"Guin! You came! I told Jasper you would."

Guin laughs softly. "Thank you for letting me sit here."

The big burly boy waved at her with a grin. He looked intimidating at first, but when he smiled, his entire face lit up with glee. He reminded Guin of the sun — bright and shining.

"I'm Emmett."

"Guinevere," she smiled, "but you can call me Guin."

"Pleasure to meet you. This is Rosalie, my girlfriend." He gestured to the statuesque blonde beside him.

Rosalie didn't smile at her, but she did nod once, and Guin counted that as a win.

Meeting the rest of the Cullens (barring one notable exception) was far less anxiety inducing than Guin had anticipated. Rosalie still scared the ever-living bananas out of her (which was impressive, because Guin is allergic to bananas and thus, doesn't eat them), but it seemed as though even she had tamped down on her deadly glare, because it didn't seem quite as deadly as the first time Guin experienced it. More like a bad case of resting bitch face.

Jasper and Guin settled into their seats across from the others. Guin noticed that Jasper sat angled in such a way that he could see the door and most of the other students, but didn't think too much of it.

Alice looked at her expectantly, hands clasped together. "Please, tell us about yourself, Guin! Jasper hasn't said a word － it's been so awful! I want to know everything!"

Guin felt herself blush. It was odd － Alice was so excited to know about her, to be her friend. How strange! She'd never experienced this before.

"What do you want to know? I'm not very good at, er," here, she gestured vaguely into the air, "talking to people, I'm afraid. I don't have much practice with it."

"Do you have any hobbies?"

"Well.. I really like historical costuming," at this, Rosalie sent Jasper a look Guin couldn't identify. "And period dramas, of course. I also like history － although, I'm afraid I'm not big on military history. I'm sorry, I know you like it," she said apologetically, looking over at Jasper.

"Don't worry," he said with a grin, "I like it enough for the both of us."

"Oh, that makes sense!" Alice gasps, and at Guin's confused look, continues, "Your clothes! They're so strange － no offense meant, of course,"

"None taken."

"I was wondering where you could've possibly got them, but it all makes sense now. You make them yourself! So you like sewing, too, then?"

"Yes, and I'm a fan of couture fashion. But like, in a more casual way. I like to look at it, but I wouldn't recreate it."

At this, Rosalie sits forward some. "Did you keep up with last fall's Paris Fashion Week?"

"Yes!" Guin gasps. "I didn't get to see all of them, of course, but I do remember Givenchy having a very… interesting feathered ensemble."

"Oh, I remember that one. I must admit that I loved Ralph & Russo's red number."

"Oh, I loved that one! It was so striking!"

At this point, Alice jumps in again, "I loved Dior's line this year - it was so dark and moody. The black and the lace were absolutely amazing."

"Oh, yes!" Guin gasped. "It was Dior, so of course it was amazing. Super edgy though, to the point where it was a little funny, if I'm being honest," she giggled.

The three girls talked for a bit more about various fashion trends and runways, before Emmett directed the conversation elsewhere. He could only handle so much fashion talk before it got painful － he didn't enjoy it nearly as much as his girlfriend did.

He asked about other hobbies; music, video games, movies and books. Guin responded as best she could, telling him that she liked most everything, owned every Queen record on vinyl, had a soft spot for folk and country, and always appreciated some good punk rock, with MCR being, obviously, the best punk band out there.

She told him that she didn't play many video games, but that she enjoyed them and had a soft spot for Pokemon ("The collection aspect appeals to me, y'know?"), that her favorite thing to do while watching movies was criticize the costumes, and that she read classics and modern literature in equal measure.

By the time lunch was done, she felt as though she had been through the Spanish Inquisition. It was fun, though － to talk about the things she loved. And, she had a feeling that Rosalie liked her just a little bit more now, something that she took great pleasure in.

When they got up to leave, Rosalie and Emmett left first. Jasper lingered a few steps away, but Alice approached Guin. When she took Guin's hand carefully in her own, Guin started.

Her hands were like ice.

She stared at Alice, wide eyed. Alice looked back at her, expression full of genuine honesty and appreciation.

"Thank you."

Guin wasn't sure what Alice meant, or why she was thanking her, but didn't have a chance to ask before Alice pulled away and turned to lope off to class, her movements lithe and graceful like a dancer.

The weekend passed wonderfully for Guin. She got started on properly drafting the chemise pattern on some butcher's paper she had stashed away. Once that had been done, she deliberated on whether or not to make a mock-up — her good sense told her absolutely, but her impatience said "to hell with it".

While she deliberated, she responded to her mother's frequent e-mails (although, she noted absently, less frequent than what Bella received), and even got some homework done.

By Sunday, she had decided that yes, she should do a mock-up, just in case, and got around to cutting that out of some old cat patterned cotton she had in her stash — similar enough in weight and drape to her planned linen that it worked fine.

Guin had a distaste for sewing machines — motorized ones, anyway. They were too loud and overwhelmed her, although she could use one in a pinch when needed, but she didn't have space for one, anyway. Generally, she resorted to hand sewing garments. It took longer, of course, but it was just as strong, if not stronger, and when it was a project just for her, the time spent mattered less.

Maybe one day she'd be lucky enough to get her hands on a vintage treadle machine, but for now, her hands sufficed just fine.

She didn't have time to actually start sewing that day, although she did get all her pieces ironed and pinned together for when she did have a chance to start sewing.

Monday arrived, and with it, the allure of Jasper.

School had become routine. Much to Guin's pleasure, most of the students were perfectly civil to her — if they said anything awful about her, it was never to her face, which was fine by her.

It was especially cold that Monday, and so Guin found herself donning her black silk stockings, two petticoats, a dark grey wool walking skirt, and a navy blue button-up blouse. Instead of her usual black jacket, Guin threw on one of her winter cloaks — the outer fabric was a heavy red wool, and the lining was made of matching silk. It fell down to her hips, the edges of the cloak and hood trimmed in gold binding, and had a tie closure in the front, which she tied into a floppy bow. After she stepped outside and felt how cold it was, she ran back inside for gloves, a scarf, and her earmuffs.

She was entertained through her first period by watching Mike Newton following her sister around like a puppy, begging after scraps. The pop quiz on Wuthering Heights was less entertaining, though.

It was straightforward enough — Guin just disliked the book. She wasn't sure how her sister could love it so much — although, Guin supposes, she did enjoy Pride and Prejudice perhaps a little bit too much, so who was she to comment?

However, Guin also felt that Pride and Prejudice was superior to most classical literature in general. Perhaps she was biased?

When Guin, Bella, and Mike left their English class together, it had started to snow outside. Guin let out a happy noise, loping out into snow to inspect the fluffy bits as they settled and melted on her gloves, doing a happy little wiggle. She was thankful now that she had Jasper's scarf wrapped around her neck － it was warm against the chilly wind.

She had worn it every day since he gave it to her. Everyday, she offered it back to him, and everyday, he refused to take it.

"Ew," Bella grumbled from behind her, and Guin turned back to laugh at her twin, who looked disgruntled. Mike looked surprised.

"Don't you like snow?"

"Bella," Guin said playfully as she stepped forwards to hug her sister around the waist, "has a severe allergy to fun."

"I do not," Bella huffs. "I just don't like the rain, and snow means that it's too cold for rain, which is even worse. Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes － you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" Mike asked her, incredulous.

"Sure I have," Bella said. "On TV."

Mike laughed. Just then, a ball of squishy, wet snow smacked into the back of his head. The three of them turned to see where it came from, and Guin let out a giggle. Guin had a feeling Eric had been the one to throw it － he was walking away, his back to them, but in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike seemed to have come to the same conclusion. He bent down and began scraping together a pile of snow.

"I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Bella said as she continued on. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."

Guin laughed at her sister, striding forwards to lock arms with her as they tramped towards their next classes.

It was still snowing after art, much to Guin's immense pleasure. She and Jasper began the trek to the cafeteria together, her arm hooked through his as they laughed together.

Guin had taken to sitting with the Cullen's at lunch after that first day, and often met up with them while walking to the cafeteria.

About halfway there, Guin spotted the massive form of Emmett standing beside Rosalie and Alice. She came to a stop, and put one finger on her lips as a warning for Jasper to stay quiet. He raised an eyebrow at her as she bent down to scoop a pile of snow into her hand, patting it into shape.

Pulling back, she took a few moments to aim, praying that her shotty hand-eye coordination would come through just this once, before chucking the ball in the direction of Emmett.

She couldn't have planned it better － Alice pointed behind him, and Emmett turned expectantly, a grin on his face as he looked for Guin, only to get smacked in the face with a snowball.

Guin burst into loud, delighted laughter. Beside her, Jasper joined her, helping to steady her as she stumbled from the force of her laughs. Emmett looked playfully offended, but it didn't last long － a smile broke out over his face as he shook the snow out of his hair. Rosalie wrinkled her nose some, side stepping the flying snow, although Guin thought, just maybe, there was a little smile on her face, too.

Emmett spun on Alice, pointing at her accusingly. "You set me up!"

"Me? Do something like that? Ridiculous," Alice said, although there was a sly smile on her lips. Guin laughed again, throwing herself forwards and wrapping her arms around Alice's waist. Alice paused only for a moment, before returning the embrace, looking positively giddy.

When Guin pulled back, she glanced over at Jasper. He was staring at her with all the fondness possible in the world － amber eyes soft, with a little smile on his face.

Her good humor was dulled, though, when she spotted the fifth Cullen.

Edward was back at school again, it seemed.

Guin pressed her lips together, a somewhat disgusted look on her face. Cullen sent her an apologetic smile.

"You're Guinevere Swan, right?"

"Guin."

Amusement flashed over his face for a moment, before he inclined his head to her. "I wanted to.. apologize, Guin. The way I treated your sister was rude. I was feeling ill that day, and I should've been able to.. control myself better. I apologize."

Guin sniffed a little, "It's not me you should be apologizing to, it's my sister. I think you're an asshole for how you treated her, illness or no. If you don't apologize to her, Edward Cullen, I'll kick your ass. I mean it!" she snaps when he has the gall to look amused, and Emmett let out a barking laugh.

"I'm sure you do. I plan on apologizing to Bella in our next class," Edward promised.

Guin crossed her arms and sniffs again. "Fine. But if she doesn't think it's good enough, you're in for hell, got it?"

"Got it."

Guin stared at him for a few more moments, before nodding once sharply, and turning to Jasper again, wrapping her arm through his, her anger easily brushed off.

"Quickly, quickly, if we stand out here any longer I'm gonna turn into a Guin-sicle."

Jasper let out a laugh, letting her pull him forwards to the lunch room, the others following behind them.

Bella was late to lunch.

She wished she hadn't been, but her and Jessica were more cautious than usual, trying to avoid the snowballs flying all over. Mike met them as they walked through the doors, laughing and wet from melting ice. He and Jessica were talking about the snow fight as they all got into line to buy food.

She glanced towards that table in the corner, out of habit. Guin had taken to sitting there with the Cullen's during lunch.

Bella was… unsure, as to how she felt about it.

Of course, she was happy that her younger sister had been able to make friends － she was delighted, in fact. But… she wondered what about Guin was so alluring to the Cullen's.

Was it because she was strange, like them?

Bella often felt like she had a glitch in her brain － sometimes, she felt like Guin had twenty. Bella loved her, of course － loved her unconditionally and with everything she had, because Guin was her twin and Guin was one of the most important people in her life. But she could love Guin and still acknowledge she wasn't like most people.

The Cullen's must have seen something in her, though － especially Jasper, the blonde boy. He always seemed to be around Guin, laughing and talking with her. Jessica mentioned she had never seen him smile so much, and how strange it was. Bella could tell she was jealous.

Bella was jealous, she realized － jealous of her sister, that she can make such easy friends with the elusive Cullen's, as if they had known each other for years already. She tried not to linger on it, but still…

Why Guin?

Her musings were interrupted when she saw that the Cullen table had six people.

She froze, before looking down quickly. Jessica pulled on her arm.

"Hello? Bella? What do you want?"

Bella's ears were burning. She had no real reason to feel self-conscious. She hadn't done anything wrong. And yet…

"What's wrong with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.

"Nothing," Bella replied. "I'll just get a soda today." She caught up to the end of the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," she murmured. Bella waited for the two of them to get their food, before following them to a table, head down.

She sipped her soda, slowly. Mike asked twice if she was okay.

Finally, she allowed herself to glance at the Cullen table. She decided that, if Edward Cullen was glaring at her, she was allowed to skip biology.

To her surprise, they were laughing, all of them.

Jasper, Emmett and Edward all had their hair saturated with melting snow. Alice, Rosalie and Guin were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair towards them. Guin let out a squeal as Jasper, who's chest she had leaned into, shook his hair over her, sprinkling her with icy water.

They were enjoying the snow day, just like everyone else — only they looked more like a scene from a movie than everybody else.

There was.. a difference, though. She couldn't quite pinpoint it. She examined Edward more closely — his skin seemed less pale, more flushed. The circles under his eyes were less noticeable, too. In fact, it seemed as if they were all less pale, more flushed.

There was something more, though. Bella stared, trying to isolate that change.

"Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded. At that moment, Edward turned his eyes to her — Bella dropped her head and let her hair conceal her face. He hadn't looked unfriendly when he looked at her. In fact, she would even consider that his expression was… curious.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?"

"No. Should he be?"

"I don't think he likes me much."

"The Cullen's don't like anybody… well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. Except Guin. He's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him!" Bella hissed at her.

Bella dropped her head, staring at the table for the rest of the lunch hour.

She would have to go to Biology, it seemed.

Gym that day was better for Guin. She hadn't gotten hit in the head with a volleyball, which was considered a win in her book. She met with Jasper after her Gym class, and he walked her to the truck as he had been the last few days. He sent Bella a polite smile when they met her.

"Bella."

"Jasper."

He turned back to Guin, and touched her arm briefly. "Be safe, okay? I'll see you tomorrow," he murmured to her. She smiled at him.

"I will."

He smiled at her, before nodding to Bella and turning to walk back to his siblings and their car. Alice waved at her from across the parking lot, and Guin returned it, although more subdued than the other girl's too-cheery one.

She and Bella slid into the truck. Bella turned on the truck and heater, and then unzipped her jacket, dropped the hood, and fluffed her hair out. Guin tugged off her scarf and earmuffs, putting them on the seat beside her, and untied her cloak from her throat, letting it drop onto the seat behind her.

Bella glances over at her, eyebrows raised. "So…"

Guin flushed. "Bella…"

"You and Jasper seem pretty close."

"Bella!"

"I'm just asking! You haven't known him very long."

Guin blushes pink. "He… gave me his phone number last week. We've been texting a lot since."

Bella looks at her in surprise. "He gave you his number?"

Guin just nods, blushing. She looks away, out the window. Bella watches her for a moment, before letting out a little laugh and putting the truck into reverse. Bella, who maybe shouldn't be allowed to drive a two ton metal monstrosity, almost runs into a rusty Toyota Corolla in the process. Thankfully, she managed to slam on the break before then, although Guin let out a stressed breath.

When she looked up, Jasper was staring at her, panicked. She let out a slow breath, and sent him a little apologetic smile.

I'm alright, don't worry.

Edward turned his head towards Jasper, and it looked like he said something, although Guin had no idea what. Beside her, Bella took a deep breath and tried again, with greater success this time.

As they drove past, Guin could see Edward laughing. Asshole.

That afternoon, Guin got started on sewing her chemise mockup. She used some of her leftover polyester thread — in the past year or so, Guin had tried her best to move away from synthetic materials in her clothing, although not entirely. Some fabrics were just too expensive to go completely natural, but she figured that mostly-natural was better than completely-synthetic.

She and Bella made spaghetti for dinner that night with Guin's favorite meat sauce recipe. While they were cooking together, Guin made sure to ask Bella if Edward Cullen had apologized, and if she considered it a good apology. Bella confirmed he apologized just fine, and she was pleased. At dinner, she, Bella, and Charlie spoke about their day.

Charlie retold a rather entertaining story of a drunk and disorderly that he was called to that morning which had Guin laughing so hard she snorted her drink up her nose, which made them all laugh harder.

After dinner, once her homework had been finished (forcibly) and she had started her sewing, Guin found herself texting back and forth with Jasper — silly, mundane conversations about nothing in particular. Every moment she spent talking to him she treasured — they made her feel warm and bubbly inside, filled with golden, fizzy champagne, or golden-yellow butterflies, maybe.

That night, Guin fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow.

The windows in the house were lit up with a warm, golden glow.

It was cold outside, and Jasper was wrapped in all the layers he could find, but especially the fur coat he'd been gifted last Christmas. The inviting warmth of the house beckoned, calling to him like a siren's song.

He knocked on the door, listening to the sounds of laughter inside the home.

It was the evening of December 24th, 1872.

The door swung open suddenly, letting golden light shine out into the dark and illuminate his face. Standing before him was the girl he'd hoped to see most, her dark eyes bright with joy and face flushed.

"Guinevere…"

She stared at him, wide eyed.

"Jasper?" she breathed, barely audible. And then, as if realizing just who was standing before her, she let out a giddy laugh, that seemed to be a half sob, and threw herself into his arms.

"Jasper!"

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, dropping his bag on the ground. Pressing his mouth into her hair, he breathed in the sweet, soft scent of her. "It's me, darlin'."

"You're home! Oh, I wasn't expecting you at all!" she cried, pulling back to look at his face properly. His eyes tracked her face, memorizing every little detail, noting everything that had changed about her in the years spent apart.

Jasper had gone off from home to learn horse-training and work cattle drives on a ranch in central Texas. It had been a long time since he'd had the chance to come back home.

"I've just got back into town. I came home to see you."

She cupped his face, staring at him like he was the most amazing thing she'd ever seen in her life. Finally, she seemed to realize they were standing out in the cold, and she stepped back and out of his arms, taking his hand.

He missed the warmth of her.

"Come inside, you must be freezing! Quickly, quickly— Oh, Beth will be so happy to see you!"

Jasper felt his chest fill with warmth — he had missed his little sister terribly.

He let Guinevere pull him inside, scooping up his bag on the way. He appreciated the warmth of the home — flooding his bones as he stepped into it. Everything smelled of warm gingerbread and rolls. He could feel his stomach ache.

"Beth! Oh, Beth, you'll never guess what Santa's left on our porch!"

"Santa?" he heard a girl call out, and then the sound of feet running across the floor. A young girl slid around the doorway — although, he supposed, she wasn't as young as she had been when he left — stumbling to an excited stop to see what Santa had brought her.

When she saw who was waiting for her, arms open in invitation, she let out a shrill shriek and threw herself into his arms. "Jasper!"

Jasper sank to his knees, holding his little sister tightly. As much as he missed Guinevere, he ached over the loss of his sister. She had grown so much while he was gone — although he was pleased to know that she still held all the excitement and exuberance as she had as a child.

When he looked up, he saw his mother standing in the doorway — her brown eyes filled with tears, and a hand pressed to her lips.

"J-Jasper…" she whispered, voice trembling.

"Merry Christmas, mama."

She let out a choked sob at this, and Jasper stood up, striding over to hug her. Had she always been this small against him, this frail? He worried he would break her if he held too tightly, but she seemed to cling to him as though she never wanted to let him go.

Finally, she pulled away, cupping his face in her hands to get a good look at him. Stepping away, she cleared her throat, and pulled him into the living room. "Come in, come in! Oh, you must be starving! Your father will be so happy to see you!"

He was greeted by cries of surprise and delight, and pulled into too many hugs to count. His family — four older brothers, two sisters-in-law, three nephews and a niece, his father, his mother, and Beth — were there, along with his Guinevere's — just her, her mother, and her father.

Beth came back for several hugs.

It was warm inside, everything bathed in a golden glow from the fire. The house was decorated with garland and ribbons and candles, everything smelling of cloves and cinnamon. The tree was decorated with strings of popcorn and candles, bright red ribbon bows and gingerbread, wooden horses and toy soldiers.

He felt at home for the first time since he left.

After being fed by his mother, and several carols, and being informed in detail of Beth's life up to that point, he caught Guinevere's eye from across the room.

She smiled at him, and jerked her head towards the kitchen.

He managed to excuse himself, under the guise of getting more food, before slipping into the kitchen after her. She was standing beside the table, smiling at him.

Her hair was messy — it always was, but it was no doubt exacerbated by the excitement of the night and the warmth of the house. Her eyes, however, were lit up with glee. He was reminded, once again, of the pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman could bestow.

She looked down, her smile becoming somewhat bittersweet, fingers working quickly at peeling the orange she held in her hands. The treat brought warm, fond memories flooding him. As long as he could remember, his parents and hers gave their children oranges for Christmas.

"Are you faring well on the drives? It's hard, dangerous work, I've heard."

"My lead has high hopes for me."

"That's good, at least," she murmured.

"I am sorry," he said, quietly, "that I could not bring you a gift this Christmas. You deserve one now, more than ever."

She looked up at him, sharply, bewildered. "A gift, Jasper?! Don't be ridiculous— you are the best gift I could ask for."

He took a step forwards, closer to her, as she finished peeling her orange, twisting and turning it about her hands. He watched her, enraptured.

"Would you like a bite?" she asked, suddenly, and he blinked sharply.

"I'm sorry?"

She held the orange up in clarification, a blush dusting her cheeks. He swallowed, embarrassment filling him.

"No, thank you," he whispered, and so she broke it into pieces and took a bite for herself. He watched the juice dribble down her lips and chin, some of it spilling onto her wrist.

He swallowed again, and stepped closer. She blinked up at him, wiping at her chin, her eyes bright and soft and brown.

"Jasper…"

He didn't answer, instead bringing up one hand to brush her cheek. Her eyes dropped down suddenly, fixed on his lips. He let out a slow breath.

He knew, somehow, that this would be his last chance in a very, very long time to act on the feelings he had harbored for her since childhood.

Leaning down, he let his lips brush hers, barely there.

"Merry Christmas, Guinevere."

And then he kissed her. Her lips were soft against his, warm. She tasted like oranges, slightly sticky. He could taste the sweet butterscotch candies and gingerbread she had eaten, too.

She kissed him back.

He pulled back slowly, staring into her dark eyes, and she licked her lips.

"Jasper…"

"I have always loved you," he confessed, voice low and meant just for her. "I have always loved you, and when I've made myself into something worthy of you and I've come back, I'll marry you and make you mine for good."

She pressed her forehead against his, closing her eyes against the tears pooling in them. "Please," she whispered, voice breaking, "please, just come home to me."

"I will."