According to Plan

Chapter 1: Trombones Can Be Dangerous

Rose liked it when things were planned. She liked knowing what time they were leaving the house, and she liked knowing what time she needed to get up for an event the next day. She liked knowing what the weekend schedule was so she could plan around it. She hated when things didn't go according to plan or someone can and completely screwed up the schedule by dragging her somewhere that was 100% not on the agenda for the weekend.

She was even meticulous with her hair routine. Her dark heavy curls had a schedule in which they needed to be washed, or else they would become an oily mess that refused to be good, no matter how she styled it.

This was especially important when it came to school. It wasn't pressured from anyone but herself. Her grades came first, everything else second. She hated not being able to understand something so much that it would impact her grades. So she worked hard, no matter what. She liked to keep her life unbothered and planned out.

The human embodiment of "un-planned" was Leo Whitehorn, and she had the unfortunate position of being his friend. She got him, his spontaneity, his disruptiveness, and she had 100% of his attention at the most inopportune times.

They had first met when she was in middle school. A new family had moved in next door right before the school year started. They had gotten settled while she and her family were on vacation, so she hadn't seen them move in. But the driveway that a shiny rental Lexus usually occupied was now housing a dodge caravan, and the for-sale sign was gone.

Leo was not the first Whitehorn she met. It was actually his dad that had popped over, asking to borrow a drill, as theirs had gotten lost in the move. They were trying to put together a desk for one of his kids' rooms.

Naturally, her father agreed and lent it to him and got it back that night with a quick thank you. However, what they didn't expect was when they were cutting down a tree in their front yard, Mr. Whitehorn came over to help right away as repayment for lending them the drill.

Then, of course, being the welcoming people her parents were, they invited them over for dinner.

That was the first time she met the Whitehorn siblings. His older brother was polite and shook hands with everyone as his mom "encouraged" him to. His little sister greeted everyone with a smile from behind her hand, because as they later found out was because she had gotten braces and was embarrassed by them. She was friendly and the same age as Rose, but she was more into dance and shopping, while Rose was more into what her older sister was into, which happened to be Pop Punk and playing music. Needless to say, they were nice to each other but never really became close.

When Rose first saw Leo, he was wearing a backwards baseball cap that hid his short brown hair and wore clothing that was way too small for his long, lanky figure.

He waved hello and sat at the table her Mom had set for everyone. They sat across from each other, not really saying much. They were all awkward teenagers; there wasn't much to say.

Their parents went on about their kids in sports and their grades and which school they went to. Leo and his little sister, Jasmine, would be starting at the same school Rose went to, while Jesse, his older brother, would be starting at the school her older sister went to.

She kept glancing up at him, trying to figure out why she wanted to keep looking at him. He was cute but in a... how did her sister put it? Douchey kind of way. Or maybe it was the intense colour of his eyes. She had never seen someone's eyes so blue. His siblings looked nothing like him, while he had deep brown hair and bright blue eyes. They had pale brown hair and eyes to match. Therefore, that is the reason she kept staring, she concluded. He was unique from the rest of his siblings.