light shines through // l.h

One.

I stood in the shower and let the warm water relax my aching muscles. My first day of school went well, my teachers were friendly and I wasn't that left behind work-wise considering I'd moved from America to this whole new syllabus in a whole new school.

"Carmeeeeeen" I heard from downstairs, and my face lit up. It sounded like my brother.

I quickly got out of the shower and dried myself, then got changed as quick as I could. Running down the stairs I made sure I looked where I was putting my feet so I didn't fall over. At the bottom of the stairs was my brother, and I hadn't seem him in months because he's been at this new university that he'd been accepted into. I jumped into his arms and buried my head into the crook of his neck, smelling his familiar cologne that I'd missed so much. We were quite close, always have been. It may seem unusual for siblings to get along so well but we definitely do, he's like my best friend and I tell him everything.

"Carmen, I've missed you so much, how your new school?" Dan asked.

"It's alright I suppose, the lessons are okay and I've met a few nice people."
Emma, Callum and Luke immediately came to mind.

"That's good, you tell me if anyone pisses you off. I'll sort them out" he said with a wink.

I loved my brother's humour. He always joked about things like this but I knew if I needed help he would definitely help me.

"So how long are you staying for?" I asked, hoping he'd at least stay for a few days.

"Only a week. I don't want to risk missing out on any more of my course, moving has already made me fall behind a bit"

I smiled and nodded. I'm so glad he'll be here for my first week of school, and it made me feel a lot more confident about the whole thing.

***

Later on while I was walking my dog, Percy, a big black Labrador, I saw a tree covered in pretty lights in the distance. It seemed if I followed an alleyway I'd become closer to that tree. I thought about it for a second, it was getting dark and I didn't want to be down there if that was the case. However, my curiosity got the best of me and I looked down at Percy.

"How do you fancy that Percy?" I said to him. He tilted his head to the left, his floppy ears drooping to the side. I'll take that as a yes.

He trotted along beside me as I walked down the alleyway. It was quite long with fencing and a few trees lining it, but they were nothing compared to what I was looking for.

After about three minutes I came to a gateway, and I realised the tree was behind it. One of the planks was missing it the old fence, and I couldn't help but have a sneaky peek at what was behind.

There was a path leading up to a house, with small flowers lining it. The house was painted white with a conservatory and a sleepy looking dog lying in the doorway. The beautiful tree was near the bottom end of the garden, away from the house. Before I knew it, Percy was pulling at me closer to the fence, barking lowly. He must have spotted that dog too. I pulled back at him, desperate for him not to disturb anyone.

"Who's there?" I heard a girl's voice say. I froze.

A girl ran up towards the fence, she looked about 15, maybe 16, with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

I turned around and continued walking down the alleyway, not wanting to cause a scene.

"Hey, come back!" She called. I panicked and continued to walk.

"Lottie? Is there a problem?"

I froze, once again. That voice was too familiar for my liking.

I turned around, with my confused dog at my heel. Luke was standing with the girl just outside the gate.

"Carmen?" my name fell from his mouth as he looked up, with a confused look on his face. 

"Uh, y-yeah. Hi.. Luke" I stuttered, regretting it. Why can't I be more confident? "Sorry I was just passing and, uh, my dog obviously saw yours through the gap in your fence and started barking.. you may want to fix that" I said pointing a shaky finger at the fence with a chuckle.

"No worries, I'll keep that in mind" he said, then smiled. "See you at school Carmen, come on Lots, let's go back inside" he smirked before putting his arm over Lottie, who I'm assuming is his younger sister, they look very familiar.

I let out a breath I didn't realise I'd been holding, then turned around and started walking back the way I came. Thoughts rushed through my mind, ones of embarrassment of almost being dragged into his backyard, ones of hope I'd get to know him better, and even a few - that I wouldn't want to admit to anyone - that I really want to speak to him again soon...

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i'm literally not up to date with this at all omg, remember when i said i'd start updating? that never happened lol. I'd love to know if anyone actually is reading so feel free to leave a comment & any constructive criticism will be taken on board :)