𝕷IKE 𝕿HE 𝕾TARS

❛𝐀 𝐇𝐎𝐏, 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐏 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐉𝐔𝐌𝐏 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘.❜

THE PROLOGUE.
3,875 words, sound recommended.

ROSEWOOD IS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE. Likened by its inhabitants to this little haven on earth, it boasts a sense of tranquility that is hard to find elsewhere. Surrounded by rolling hills, outstretches of rosy fields and thick, lush woodlands: natural beauty manifests and brings fiction to life. Cassius Banks had always thought as much since moving here—that it was almost its own bubble, like if you were to combine the nature of Heidi or Anne of Green Gables with the township of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls.

        Rosewood moves at a slow pace. Especially in the Summer, where a pleasant heat settles over the town and you can hear the sound of teenagers laughing as they move in and out of stores, or hear the Sheriff groaning as he loses to the Principal of Glenmore High at a game of Chess. "You can't just have your knight fly across the board, Break," the Sheriff insists, to which the older man chuckles and tells the Sheriff to "Dream a little!" as he resets the board. Summers in Virginia have always had that layer of humidity that sticks to your skin, but like everything about the place, it was mild, bearable.

        The small town never had been a place for excessive drama; the most dramatic thing to happen as of late was that the milkman allegedly delivered semi-skimmed milk to Old Joe's doorstep, and lord knows Old Joe needs his whole milk for his morning coffee, else he's cranky the rest of the day. He had put it to the milkman last town meeting, people having to pull Old Joe off of the poor man as he referred to him as a "dirty milk-scamming bastard", making sure to sock him right in the face.

        Cassius shakes his head as he remembers the ordeal now, sitting along the beach, palms sinking into the gritty sand as he tipped his head back, closing his eyes and smiling as the sun cast a golden glow across his face. What else could someone expect from the Golden Boy of Rosewood? From deep gold locks that framed his face, not a pale gold but a warm one, to tanned skin from hours spent surfing on the beach, and cerulean blue eyes that reflect the world with a view that was tinted rose, fittingly.

        Of all his features, the most beautiful is his smile. Sincere, heartfelt, and if your name is Maximilian Fournier, blinding. There are few in town who haven't been touched by Cassius' kindness in their lives, for how can someone bring themself to not grow fond of a Golden Retriever personified? This particular one carries a cat, ironically, a rather grumpy-looking cat with yellow eyes called Mabel that sits curled up on his lap, looking skeptically at the sea which laps at the beach's shore.

        Cassius almost always had Summer plans, someone who was invited to every event, and who went out of his way to be sociable in turn. This morning, he had organised a playdate with Mabel and an Australian Shepherd, Lassie—he had been to Colton Huxley's home on a number of occasions, but had never brought either of his cats along, not Mabel nor Turnip. Cassius wasn't known for being the most sensible person in the world, but Colton had explained the benefit in starting off with just one cat to test the waters, so here Mabel was—the ginger cat would have the company of his family back at his house.