Loving 4

Mona

When I woke up this morning, one thing was on my mind—or perhaps one person—Tadgh Lynch. After our small run-in yesterday, he was all I could think about. Something about this boy was special. Well, it wasn't just the fact that he was unreal-looking—well, maybe a little—but the way he carried himself. For some reason, it felt like he was trapped in his own head.

He didn't smile much, I noticed that. It's not like he's mean—no, not at all. It was as if he was done with everyone. The only time I saw him crack a small smile was when we saw each other in the hallway. Apparently, I shared the same math class as him.

When I entered class, I was seated next to a girl called Bridget. She was one of the girls I saw at James's table. They seemed really close, and she and Tadgh talked, so they must have been friends. She was a really nice person. When she talked to me, she kind of reminded me of Cara, and the fact that she looked a lot like her didn't help. She shared the same red hair and freckles that dotted her face. She was gorgeous.

After school and my photo shoot with Dad yesterday, I was exhausted. When I finished my homework and went to say goodnight to my family, I reached the living room, and my parents informed me that today we are going to Edel Kavanagh's house for dinner. We have been invited over, and it seems that the whole family is required.

So today, after breakfast with my family and getting to school, the music room was my first destination. But as I walked, I heard someone calling my name. Turning around, I saw a tiny redhead running over to me. When I finally realized who she was, I waved at her.

When she finally reached me, Bridget was running out of breath. When she had control of her breathing, she grinned at me. "Okay, enough of alone depressing time and hello to spending time with the most amazing friend in the world."

I blinked t her. I was surprised ,she even thought of me as a friend. We haven't known each other for more than two days. Something about this girl soothed my heartache a bit. She reminded me a lot of Cara. Even though it was a bit painful, it felt as if I had a small part of her back.

Without thinking, I let her lead the way. She was pulling on my arm like a little kid as we pushed past some students. When she finally stopped, we were standing in front of James, Tadgh, and their two other friends. I didn't quite catch their names when James introduced us. I was way too focused on the whole hurling team staring at me and Tadgh's intense gaze to focus on James.

As we stopped, Bridget called everyone. "Okay, guys, so we're redoing this again, okay?"

Now that everyone focused on us, I felt a bit uncomfortable but not as much as when I first met them. "Okay, so as you all know, this is Mona." She gestured with her arm to me, smiling brightly. "And Mona, these are my mates : Nolan, James—but don't focus on him, he's dumb—Ciara, and Tadgh."

As I waved a small wave to all of them, I felt Tadgh's gaze on me. "Hey, Melody."

Hearing him say the nickname caught me off guard,and it stirred something inside of me I couldn't quite name "Hey, Tadgh," I gave him a small smile.

When someone made a fake coughing sound, I looked and saw who must have been Nolan grinning at me. "Well, hello there, beautiful," he said with a cheeky smile on his face.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, but I felt a small smile tug on my lips.

"Ignore him. He's just like the rest of the lads in this group—dumb the minute they sees a pretty girl, there brain don't function." I looked and saw a blond, gorgeous girl. She must have been Ciara.

"Aww, Red, are you jealous?" Nolan shot back at her with a smirk.

Ciara tsked muttering "don't be so full of yourself ", but I saw a bit of blush on her face she tried to hide. "Well, anyway, hello, Mona." Ciara looked at me and gave me a warm smile.