» 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 «

C H A P T E R 1

"Childhood Friends"

I have a friend, and he is quite a handful.

I grew up with him, so I do know him a lot, but if I were to tell that to other people, they would mock me. "Tell us, Clyde. How do you usually start the day? Rumors are going around that you're a heavy sleeper." I heard a woman's voice asking someone through a TV. Clyde, after hearing that name, I glanced at the television I had left on while preparing my lunch box. I stopped momentarily and watched. I saw the guy scratching the back of his head and answered.

"Yeah, as it happens, I would need five alarms to wake me up." with a nervous smile. It only made me roll my eyes at the guy's answer. 'Waken up by five alarms.' I turned off the TV and scoffed. I packed my lunchbox inside my bag and walked towards the doorstep to wear my shoes. As soon as I was done, I opened the door and locked it since no one would be home, but I had to put the keys under the flower pot just like usual so that my younger brother could get inside the house just in case he got home early. Before I head to school, I still have to go to my friend's house, who certainly... 'wakes up by five alarms.' I rolled my eyes and mimicked what he said at the interview. I headed inside his house without knocking since his mother had given me the spare key.

The guy who was on the TV earlier and the guy who is still sleeping on his bed with his fifth alarm ringing are the same person.

"Clayden, it's getting late, and you're still in bed!?" I said as I pulled his blanket away, making him groan while he scratched the back of his head, revealing his Hale Navy hair. He still didn't get up, and that was when I decided to go to the window to open the curtain, but before I could even do that, he grabbed my shirt to prevent me from opening the curtains.

"Morning, Rae." He greeted me with a smile while his hand started holding mine. I knew better than anyone that he was only distracting me from opening the curtain since he knew his eyes would get hurt because of the light if I opened the curtain. I narrowed my eyes at him and shoved his hands away. 'He's lucky for having his mother's face!' I thought. Clayden Warner is the friend I'm talking about. He looks exactly like his mother: Hale-navy hair, golden eyes... In short, he's a beauty, but for me... that's all he has.

"Raven?" I heard Clayden call my name, and it hit me that he greeted me earlier.

"Good morning. Now hurry up! We're going to be late." I greeted him back. Thereafter, I demanded him and scolded him a little. I walked out of his room to let him get ready. He let out a groan as he got up from bed, and I sighed. "I said hurry up!" I shouted at him before closing the door and heading straight to the living room to wait for him.

My name is Raven Blythe. I live next to the famous young actor of Zephyr Entertainment, Clayden Warner. He's my childhood friend, and I basically take care of him when his parents aren't around. He is hopeless on his own. It might seem like he is being forced to become an actor, but that isn't it at all. I know better than anyone his passion for acting. I sighed as I tapped my foot many times, getting impatient while brushing my ash-brown hair, waiting for Clayden. "Where's Mom?" Clayden asked as I heard the bathroom door open.

"She left earlier this morning. She told me that she has an urgent business trip." I answered his question as I stood up from the couch and headed outside to wait for him there instead.

A little later, he opened the door and noticed me standing outside. "So that's where you went. I called for you several times earlier, yet you weren't answering." He started pouting while I scowled at him. "Wait, why are you glaring at me anyway?" He asked, which only made me sigh and thought. 'I thought girls like take a long time to get ready, but I bet Clayden takes longer than any girls I know...'