[5]

"Are you ready yet?" Chloe yells from downstairs.

"Yeah, yeah, coming," I reply, slipping on the white t-shirt that I had picked out for today. I grab my phone and make my way down the stairs, where Chloe and my aunt are already waiting for me. My aunt gives me a reassuring nod and my cousin is too engrossed in her phone to even notice me.

"Let's go," I announce, whereupon Chloe's head shoots into my direction, sending me a glare.

"Finally," she mutters and stomps out the front door, making my aunt and me chuckle at her. I send one brief glance to the picture of my mother hugging my aunt, a smile gracing her lips, before I slip through the front door and get in the backseat of the car, since Chloe had already called shotgun. Shortly after my aunt got in, she starts the engine, making the car roar to life; which it does everytime when she starts the car.

The ride to Granbury High, in other words the school Chloe and I are attending, is accompanied by a comfortable silence. I'm on my phone, texting Kai and Gwen about their whereabouts and whether they are there already or not, whereas Chloe is doing the same thing; or at least is she on her phone as well. Though I doubt that she's texting with my friends.

When we arrive, my cousin practically jumps out of the car while it's still rolling, which makes my aunt yell at her when she speed-walks into the school. Some heads from students, who are hanging out on the parking lot for whatever reason, snap toward us. My cheeks redden slightly at the attention we are receiving, so I quickly pat my aunt on the shoulder and speed-walk into the school just as fast as Chloe, if not faster.

As I walk through the crowded hallways of the school, loud music booming through them, my phone suddenly buzzes in my back pocket. I pull it out and open the message I got from Kai.

Yo, man. We're at your locker.

- 2:23PM

On my way.

- 2:24PM

I swiftly weave my way through the crowds, my palms getting sweaty the more people come into view. Practically the whole school is here. And although they aren't drunk yet, since the principal would never allow them to drink alcohol on a school event, I know that they will be drunk later this day. If I stay until then, that is.

When I catch a glimpse of amber colored hair, curled up in locks, I push my way through the teenagers and breath out once I'm standing in front of Gwen. She instantly pulls me into a short hug. When she lets go, Kai does the same thing and I just greet them with a smile.

"This is the boring part, Chase. Don't worry it will get better later!" Kai yells over the music. I nod, not quite believing the having fun part for myself. Fun is a word that I haven't said, or felt, since years. It's something that you can't have with that mindset or that past of mine. Also, I just don't deserve it. Neither happiness nor joy nor fun.

"Let's dance!" Gwen suggests and drags me into the school's gym, where the music is the loudest. Other students are already dancing and chatting.

We make our way into the middle of the room and when I turn around, I see Kai already flirting with some brunette girl, so I avert my gaze and look back at Gwen. She's dressed in a black tigh-long dress and a jeans jacket, with ankle boots. Her hair is curled up into soft locks that are cascading down her back and her face is slightly covered in makeup, but a decent amount.

Last Hurrah by Bebe Rexha is blasting through the room, creating a pleasant atmosphere. Gwen starts swaying her hips to the beat and gives me a reassuring smile. I return it and slowly start to bob my head to the rythm as well, giving in to the urging feeling inside of me, that wants me to dance.

Soon I feel myself loosen up a bit. The tension inside of me subsides and the slight headache, that I have from all the worrying about how many people would be here, does so too. I move my hips and head to the beat, trying to forget about the emptiness in my stomach for once.

For once, I just want to be a normal teenager. Dancing on a school event, chatting with friends and drinking one - or maybe two - cups of lemonade. For this one moment, I just want to leave my past behind me and feel free.

But reality quickly sets in, bringing me back into the room full of obnoxious teenagers. Gwen is talking with some girl from my biology class and Kai is still flirting with the brunette, so I sneak out of the room.

I practically run through the hallways, as my breathing becomes ragged. This is too much. Too many people, too much proximity, too much happiness. I need some fresh air. My chest tightens and I feel an anxiety attack coming up, much to my dismay.

I push open the back doors of the school and run a couple of meters, before I stop and inhale a big amount of air. A cold breeze brushes past me, making goosebumps crawl their way onto my skin. I wrap my arms around myself and sigh.

Suddenly a twig crunches somewhere behind me, whereupon I feel my breath hitch in my throat. I bite down on my lower lip, as I slowly turn around. My eyes are focused on the ground, so the first things that come into view are two black sneakers. I frown. Do I really wanna know who that is?

My eyes trail up to the person's legs, to see a black jeans with holes in it, exposing some skin. It's most probably a guy, since there are hairs on his shin.

When my gaze wanders up further to his stomach and chest, I find out that he's wearing a black shirt and a gray sweat jacket.

I glance at his right hand, which is right in front of his stomach. A cigarette is between his fingers and a tattoo is covering his knuckles. It reads 'LIFE', on each knuckle is one letter. I also catch a glimpse of another tattoo but it disappears underneath the sleeve of his jacket.

My heart rate picks up when the guy brings his hand up to his mouth, my eyes following his movements. His lips look dry and there is a split etched onto the corner of it, making me wonder how he got it. When I finally muster the courage to look up into his eyes, I find myself staring into familiar hazel brown ones.

"Done with checking me out yet?" he questions. His deep, husky voice sends shivers down my spine and as he eyes me up and down, I squirm slighlty under his intense stare.

"You're the new kid, right?" He takes another drag of his cigarette and puffs out the smoke. A cloud forms in front of his mouth, which quickly vanishes into thin air.

I nod. "Yeah. . . I am."

"We meet for the third time already, huh? What bad luck you have," he says coldly.

I feel my lower lip starting to bleed, as a metallic taste spreads in my mouth. I unconsciously lick the bleeding part of my lip, whereupon I scrunch up my face in disgust when the metallic taste intensifies. I roll my eyes at my stupidity, before my gaze wanders back to Riku.

"Why are you out here?" I ask quietly. "Everyone's in there."

"None of your business," he snarls. "But why are you here? Not that I care, but you're interrupting my peacefulness."

"I- I just had to go out of there. Too many people, I guess," I reply.

An awkward silence takes over and I kick a loose stone with my foot, groaning internally when it only flies a few inches. The tips of my fingers slowly started to feel numb due to the coldness.

Tomorrow finally starts the new season. I have never liked summer. It's too hot and everyone always relates it to happiness and fun, which are two things that I dislike.

The sun already set and the sky has taken on the color of a darker shade of blue. A few stars are glimmering in between faint clouds and a half moon lights up the streets of Denver. I have always admired the night sky. It was so dark yet beautiful. It was so far away yet it seemed so near.

"-de. Dude." A voice snaps me out of my thoughts, whereupon I turn around. Kai is standing in front of me, a frown etched onto his forehead and his hand on my shoulder.

"You good? You just disappeared and when I found you here, you were just staring at the moon." Concern is lacing his voice as he cautiously eyes me up and down.

Concern that you don't deserve.

I ignore the voice inside of my head and send him a reassuring smile, "I'm fine, sorry. I just needed some air. It was a bit too crowded in there."

He lets out a small chuckle before he pats me on the shoulder and says, "You're still the same, man. But you should really stay until 8PM. That's when the real fun begins."

I just nod absentmindedly as my gaze wanders to the wall, that Riku was leaning against just a few moments ago. He's gone. Where did he go? Why do I care?

I shake my head and follow Kai, who's already walking toward the double doors.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hey there, here's a new chappie. I hope you enjoyed ☺

Fun fact: I didn't know the english gramma when it comes to quotations and commas yet, since I wasn't taught them in school. I just recently discovered how they work in a 'How to write a good book'-book, lmao.

By the way, what's your favorite season?

Mine: Winter

Stay safe everyone!

❤

- L I S A