Along The Lines

1| Pain

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

𝕻𝖆𝖎𝖓  

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Chapter 1: Pain ( Leilani's POV)

"Life is filled with hard, painful moments. But remember, in the darkest moments, you see the greatest light. Lani, promise me you'll never give up. No matter what. Keep going, even if the whole world puts you down. I love you." 

I jolted awake. I woke up frantic, my body drenched in a pool of sweat. I gripped the sides of bed, and took three deep breaths. One. Two. Three. I'm okay, I'm okay. I flipped over the side of the bed and grabbed my anxiety pills. I hadn't taken one in months. I didn't need to. The dreams had lay dormant for a while now. It didn't make sense. Whatever.

I sighed, and dragged myself into the bathroom. As I walked in, I was met with my tired, sleepy reflection. God, where did these black circles come from. I mean, I took over another three leadership positions combined with the 9 I already had, but my sleep was still solid, ranging from 5-6 hours. I combed through my frizz ball of hair, getting stuck occasionally with the knots. This shit is getting annoying.  

I put on my school uniform, a plaid brown skirt and burgundy blazer, and braided my hair into a loose braid. Tendrils of wispy hair were falling out in the front, but I didn't have time to redo it. I slipped on my Doc Martens, grabbed a banana, and headed out. 

As my car pulled up to the parking lot of the school, I peered at myself through the mirror. I looked a little tired, but I would be fine.

"Lani! Girl, turn around, it's me," a stranger screamed from a distance. I pulled out my Airpods, and turned around. My best friend, Sky, looked back at me. I smiled. You know when people talk about that one person, who makes you smile, no matter what. Sky was my person. She was one of the few people I tolerated or loved. Her wide smile and loud personality spoke volumes, even in the loudest rooms. 

"Hey girl. How are you?" I asked, while embracing her. She looked at me with an annoyed expression plastered on her face.

"I should be asking you that, dummy. You've been so busy lately, with those 100's of APs you take, millions of clubs, president of half the clubs in the school, and hell, in direct line for valedictorian, second to none. You have got to start taking care of yourself girl." she scolded, pacing back and forth.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. And, like you said, I'm president of half  the clubs in the school, not all. I'm also not in direct line for valedictorian, because as we all know, I'm tied with a certain someone. Which means, I got to work that much harder to become first." I exclaimed, my face turning light red.

"God, I hate stupid Levine. Why does he even go here? Like, isn't his dad crazy rich or something, tell him to go to some fancy ass private school," she said, "I swear to god, I'm gonna to hit him with a bat." 

"Trust me, no one can hate him more than I do," I replied. It was true, just like how I would always have brown eyes, I would always hate Aaron. It was the one constant in my life. 

As we were speaking, a tall figure came from behind us. 

"Speaking about me, huh ladies? I know I'm attractive, but keep the flattery low this year, alright?" Aaron remarked, with that stupid, goofy grin on his face.

I sighed. Speak of the devil. 

"In your dreams, Levine. If your definition of attractive is an illiterate, dumb moron, then yes, you're quite attractive." I proclaimed, ready to exit the conversation.

Aaron interjected, "Ouch, Abril. I'm many things, but we both know dumb isn't one of them." He grinned, and then walked out, signaling a bye, as he left. 

"I want to slap that cocky grin of his face. I swear to god, he always has to have the last word every time," I complained. 

"Shut up. Stop letting him get to you." Sky responded, with a small smile on her face, "is it just me, or is he like a foot taller this year?" 

"It's just you. I'm too busy to be looking anywhere near him." I replied.

I made my way into the AP Microeconomics classroom. I took a deep breath. I was in my safe space. History, English, etc, have always been my best subjects. Silly philosophical arguments turned into Debate, Model UN, Mock trials, etc. But, hey, we all grow up some point in life. 

"Good Morning, Ms. Abril," Mr. Edwards greeted. 

"Good morning Mr. Edwards, I look forward to your class this year," I smiled. I made my way to an empty seat near the front. I prepared the desk, taking out my books, supplies, and computer. I put in my earphones, and pulled out a book to read while waiting for class to start. 

The bell rang. But as I looked up, I gasped. A tall figure made his way into the class. I shut my eyes, and prayed my eyes were deceiving me, that it was just a mere hallucination. But as I slowly opened them, I found Aaron Levine staring back at me, with that cocky grin on his face. 

Lord, save me. 

Authors Note

That's your first chapter y'all! 

How do you feel about the main characters??

Thanks for reading and comment/vote/ fan!