"Let's skip school today." Luke says and I frown, picking up my bag off my bed. I put the phone on speaker and place it on the drawer as I clip a strand of my hair back.

"I don't want to. Do you know how many days I have skipped ever since I first talked to you?" I ask, patting my hair down. I hear Luke chuckle.

"Its only one day, Gracie."

"No, Luke." I say and Luke sighs.

"Fine but I hope your ready because I am outside." Luke says and my eyes widen as I take my legs over to my window and look out. Luke's car is parked in front of my house and I shake my head in disapproval.

"You need to stop showing up like this. It's really creepy." I say, grabbing my phone and placing it on my ear.

"And you need to stop checking if I'm lying or not. It's really disappointing." Luke mocks and I roll my eyes before hanging up. I walk out of my room and down the stairs. Eve is sitting on the couch with a piece of toast in her mouth and I send her a wave when she notices me.

"Bye, Eve." I say with a smile and she returns it.

"Try not to move your shoulder too much." Eve says and I nod, opening the front door.

"I'll try." I say before walking out of the house and towards Luke's car. I get in and place my bag in between my feet.

"Good morning, Gracie." Luke smiles, reaching over and pecking my lips. I kiss him back for only a few seconds before pushing Luke away.

"Just because I didn't want to skip school today does not mean that I want to be late so drive." I say with a grin and Luke rolls his eyes playfully before starting the car and driving towards the school.

●●●

"Okay students," The teacher starts as we all take our seat. The teacher stands in front of the class, a small smile on his face. "As you all know, the principle wanted to cancel the school dance-"

"Boo!" The class shouts and the teacher raises his finger, shutting everyone up. I let out a sigh, knowing that the 'boo's' will turn into 'yeah's' after the teacher has finished speaking.

The only reason I know this is because Nicole had told me this morning that her father had threatened to get the school shut down if he didn't allow the 'school dance' - which is next week - to proceed. With this information that Nicole had told me, I knew she wanted to have the school dance this year and she would do exactly what her family did best to get just that.

"Students, please listen though. After a few... meetings that the teachers and the principle have had, we have finally come to the decision to let the school dance go on but, of course, there are rules." The teacher says and after the students, especially Nicole, have stopped cheering, the teacher grabs a marker and turns around, beginning to write on the board.

Rules for the School Dance!

- no alcohol

- no drugs

- no fights

- no inviting other people from different schools

- no short shorts, crop tops or anything that might be considered inappropriate

As the students groan at the rules, I smile to myself. I'm so glad that the school dance won't be a terrible as last year. Oh, what happened last year? Well, since the principle said that there are no rules at all, just have fun and be responsible, everyone thought of that as an opportunity to change the school dance into some teenage party.

It was absolutely horrifying.

I guess now the principle has learnt his lesson and made rules for the school dance. I mean, no one wants a repeat of last year, right? Well, except for the stupid teenagers in this school.

"Now, these are the rules. If you don't want to follow them, don't even bother coming. The school dance is next week on Friday so make sure to listen to any updates about it." The teacher says and the students begin to gossip between everyone, obviously talking about the school dance.

Oh, I hope that this year will be different from last year.

I am crossing my fingers.

●●●

After sitting in a classroom with a sleeping teacher and noisy students for an hour, I finally hear the bell ring and I jump up from my seat, making my way out of the classroom as fast as I can. You might be wondering why I am so eager about getting out of this place and there is only one word that explains it.

Luke.

At lunch, he had messaged me saying to hurry up when the bell goes and meet him at his car where he will take me somewhere. I have no idea why he is doing this now but something tells me that I am going to like this either way.

I look around the parking lot and my eyes land on Luke's car. I immediately jog over to where his car is and when he sees me, he jumps off the roof of the car and holds his arms out, allowing me to wrap my own arms around him.

"I see you got my message then." Luke says and I look up at him and smile.

"Of course I did. Now, why don't you stop talking and take me to this secret place, aye?" I ask, a small grin forming on my face and Luke raises an eyebrow at me.

"Eager?" He asks and I nod.

"Always." I say and Luke nods, letting go off me. He walks around the car to the drivers seat and I get into the passenger seat, clipping my seat belt on. Luke starts the car and I lean into the seat, enjoying the breeze from outside that is blowing onto my face.

I wonder where Luke is taking me...

●●●

"This place is beautiful! Oh and look, there are horses here!" I squeal and run over to the fence where the brown horse is. I smile and stroke it's ear, trying to keep myself calm. Luke appears beside me and leans against the wooden fence.

"Ever rode a horse, Gracie?" Luke asks and I can't help but laugh at how dirty that sounded coming out of his mouth.

Oh dear lord, what has Luke done to my mind?

"What's so funny?" Luke asks and I shake my head, waving him off.

"Don't worry." I say and Luke nods, shaking his head a little. All of a sudden, I hear a whistle followed by some clapping.

"Long time no see, Lukie boy." I hear someone say and we both turn around to see and redhead who is holding two helmets in her hand. I look over at Luke and frown.

"If this is another one of your ex's-"

"I'm actually his cousin, missy." The girl says, appearing beside me, making me squeal. I jump away from the girl, backing up in Luke's chest. The girl smiles and holds the helmet out for me to take. Luke grabs my hand and steps beside me, taking the helmets from her hands.

"Thanks, Michelle and yeah, it's been a long time." Luke says and Michelle crosses her arms over her chest.

"So, who is the girl?" Michelle asks, looking over at me and Luke rubs his thumb over my hand as if he knows that I am nervous.

God, he knows me too well.

"This is my girlfriend... Grace." Luke says, sending me a small smile and I look at Michelle who is looking me up and down. She walks over to Luke and pats him on the shoulder.

"You should stick with this one before I take her." Michelle says and my eyes widen in shock. Michelle bursts out laughing and crouches down to the floor, her hands on her knees. Luke waves me off and rolls his eyes.

"Michelle is just trying to scare you. She does this to everyone." Luke says and I look down at the laughing redhead who is still laughing.

"Is she on drugs?" I whisper, my eyes still staying on Michelle and Luke's eyes look down at his cousin.

"I have no idea."

●●●

I lean against the rock, looking down at the river in front of me. I lean forward and swirl my finger in the water, enjoying the sound of the peace out here in the country side.

"I'm back." Luke says and I turn around to see him holding a guitar in his hand as he controls the horse. He gets off the horse, ties the rope to a tree branch and sits next to me, leaning against the rock.

"You went all the way back to get a guitar?" I ask and Luke shrugs.

"I always play the guitar when I'm here." Luke says and I look up at him, a small smile on my face.

"Play a song." I say and Luke frowns.

"Now?"

"No, tomorrow." I roll my eyes. "Yes, now." I say with a chuckle and Luke let's out a sigh, nodding. I lean my head against his shoulder and close my eyes when he begins to play the guitar. The familiar tune fills my eyes and I can't help but smile when Luke begins to sing.

"You with the sad eyes, don't be discouraged. Oh, I realise it's hard to take courage. In a world full of people, you can lose sight of it all. The darkness inside you can make you feel so small..." Luke sings quietly as he plays he cords perfectly. As he continues to sing, I can't help but join in when he sings the chorus.

"And I see your true colours shinning through. I see you true colours, that's why I love you. So don't be afraid to let them show. Your true colours, true colours, are beautiful..." As we both sing to the words, I can't help but let my mind wonder back to the time my parents used to sing me this song when I was young. If I was sad or feeling down, they would always sing this song to help me calm down and relax.

As we sing the last bit, a small tear makes its way down my face as an image of my parents appear in my mind.

I love you, mom.

I love you, dad.

Forever and always...

●●●