freedom

TW: family abuse, violence, mental health concerns

Chapter 1

Just a line?

Milly and Sabastian two teens trying their hardest to make it through every day but with their newfound family they also have newfound courage.

It's lunchtime and Milly sits with her friends near the popular table. Elijah isn't there yet but after a while She sees him walk to the table. Elijah looks at Milly for a split second before Milly's friends start to giggle and make a big thing out of it.

"Hey guys come on, cut it out!" Milly says to her friends embarrassed. But then She glances over at Elijah's table. He's now laughing and joking with his friends, seemingly unaware of the attention. She thinks to herself I must admit, he is pretty good looking. But does he even look at me in class? Or is that just my friends teasing me? I'm not even sure if I want him to notice me or not. It might be nice to get the attention of the hottest guy in school. But what if he's just playing games like he does with some of the other girls? I don't want to end up getting my feelings hurt. For now, I'll just try to ignore my friends giggling and focus on my lunch instead.

As Milly eat some of my lunch, still feeling a bit embarrassed, Milly notices out the corner of her eye that Elijah seems to be looking over in her direction again. She glances up shyly and catches his eye for a moment before looking back down at her food. Her friends have definitely noticed this time and start giggling even more. Milly shoots them a look, trying to get them to knock it off, but She can feel her cheeks growing warm. Part of Her is flattered by the attention from Elijah, but another part makes her worried that he's just finding amusement in teasing her or as one of his jokes. She steals another glance in his direction, wondering if he will look over at her once more, or if She's just imagining this whole thing.

"I will be back I have to grab something from my locker" Milly says making it clear of where she is going. "Ok, see you in a bit" Her friends call after her as she stands up from the table, eager to get away from their giggling and teasing for a moment.

Milly hurry's out of the lunchroom, pretending to head to Her locker but in reality, she wanted a break from all the awkwardness. As She walks down the mostly empty hallway, lost in her thoughts, she suddenly feels a light tap on her shoulder from behind. She spins around with a gasp, only to come face to face with none other than Elijah himself.

"Whoa, sorry didn't mean to scare you," he says with an easy smile. Up close, his good looks are even more apparent. She suddenly feels nervous under his gaze.

"Oh uhm, h-hi Elijah," Milly stammers out politely. "Did you need something?" Inside she wonders frantically why the most popular guy in school has bothered to follow her out here.

Milly feels her cheeks burning as she looks up at Elijah, waiting for him to reply. Being this close to him is totally different than seeing him from across the lunchroom. His brown eyes seem even more intense but also brighter up close.

After what feels like an eternity, he finally speaks. "I just wanted to come say hi," Elijah says with a casual smile. "I see you watching me in class sometimes. You're pretty cute when you blush like that."

Milly's blush deepens as she has to look away, flustered. Was he really watching her too? She thinks to herself or is he just messing with her for fun? She's not sure how to respond.

Elijah must have seen the uncertainty on her face. "Don't look so worried," Elijah continues in a softer voice. "I think you're cool. What do you say we hang out sometime?"

Milly glances back up at him in surprise. Is the hottest guy in school actually asking to hang out?! Part of her is over the moon, but another part of her is still skeptical. What does she say?