Only We Know

Chapter One - Scruff

I smiled at the ground as I walked down the busy street. For some unknown reason, I was happy to be going back to school. I looked around at my surroundings, smiling at the skyscrapers, and took a deep breath of the cool fall air. Cars raced past me and people huffed as they walked quickly around me, annoyed by my leisurely pace, but I was in no hurry, I just needed to take everything in again and remind myself that I was finally home. And to me, home was Toronto, where buildings stood tall, and people were always on the move.

This summer, my Mother and Father had forced my sister, Katie, and I to go to Europe for our "last" family vacation. The way my mother saw it was it was her last year to have both of us in the house at the same time. Next year, I would be off to university and Katie would be going into high school. We had spent the entire trip looking at old buildings and "absorbing the European ways" as my Mother liked to say. I can't blame her though, Europe was so different from home, in so many different ways. For one, It was a lot more colourful, in every aspect. It was an amazing opportunity and we made a lot of memories, but the whole time we were there, I couldn't help but think of all the fun my friends were having back at home. 

There were probably parties and late night conversations that I missed out on. Thankfully, shortly after a long battle with my mother, she finally agreed to let me bring my cellphone on the trip, but I was only allowed an hour a day, and she timed it. The only person I really kept in contact with was my best friend Delaney, who disappointingly gave me the minimal amount of details possible throughout the entire summer. 

I was shaken out of my thoughts when I felt my stomach twist in to a tight knot, one that pulled tighter and tighter the closer I got to my high school. When I reached the black pavement of the parking lot, I stopped and took another deep breath before walking across it slowly, making my way to the large, glass doors of the front entrance. When I reached the door, I gripped the handle and pulled with a little too much force, causing the door to come flying open and almost hit me on its way. 

The butterflies in my stomach began to go on overdrive and I considered turning around and going back to my house, where the blankets would surely protect me from the year that was about to come my way. Instead, I quickly shuffled down to my locker, getting many waves and "Hey's!" from random people. My stomach finally calms itself a little when I reach my locker and see my favourite dark brown mess of curls standing next to it. 

Delaney is talking to someone, facing the other way. I open my locker quietly and then, just loud enough for her to hear me over the noise of the hallway and whoever she is talking to, I say;

"Wow! Sure is great to be back!"

Delaney's head whips around and she stares at me, her brown eyes filling with excitement.

"Kaelea!" She shrieks and pulls me into the tightest hug she can manage

I hug her back and laugh. She was the number one thing I missed over the summer. It was hard to not have face-to-face conversations with your best friend. She pulls back a moment later and I look her up and down, as she does the same to me. Her curls now reach her shoulders and her already dark skin has a summer glow to it. She looks absolutely fabulous. When I look up at her face again, she has a huge smile spread across her lips.

"So!" She says "Don't skimp out on me! How was Europe? I missed you so much, Lea!"

"I missed you too" I blush "Europe was good. I mean, It was really beautiful and basically everything that every travel guide made it seem to be, but I would've rather been here, hanging out with my best friend and celebrating my last summer of high school"

"Oh please" She scoffs and I grin "I am nothing compared to Europe, but I am flattered"

"So, since you left everything a secret for the entire summer and gave me no details what-so-ever, you need to spill all of the beans"

Delaney smiles and starts talking about everything that happened this summer while I put my things away in my locker. She starts with the huge parties at the Zimmerman's house, the beach bonfires and ends with telling me the stories of all my friends huge road trip to New York City this summer. I give her a hard smile as I grab my binder and shut the door of my locker. When I turn around again, I see Emma and Xavier approaching us.

When Emma sees me, she jumps a little with excitement and runs over to Delaney and I, before pulling me in to another tight hug, lifting me off the ground a little and twirling me around. When she sets me down, the two of us are giggling like idiots. When I control myself, I take a good look at her. She has some how gotten taller over the summer, making her at least five inches taller than me. Her blonde hair reaches her waist and has natural highlights from the sun. The freckles that cover her face have become darker and her aquamarine eyes sparkle as she looks down at me. 

"Oh my god!" She squeals "You look fantastic! How was Europe? The summer was not the same without you here"

I open my mouth to respond, but Xavier gets impatient at waiting his turn to hug me as everyone else has and pulls me into his arms, squeezing every last bit of air out of my body. I blush and pat his back lightly, trying to make him release me from the embrace. When he finally lets go, he looks down at me and smiles, showing all of his teeth.

"I missed you, Lea"

"Oh, get a room" Delaney says, rolling her eyes and I see a small scowl set on Emma's face. 

I blush even deeper and smile at Xavier. His normally long chestnut coloured hair is now short and styled up at the front. His eyes seem to be a darker brown, almost black and his body is way more muscular than the last time I saw him. When I look up again, he gives me a crooked smile and my heart flutters in response. I quickly turn back to Delaney and we all start to walk down the hall.

Emma immediately starts talking about the end of the summer party and Delaney is quick to join in. Xavier just walks next to me, completely silent. I can't tell if it is just because he doesn't have any interest in the end of the summer party or if it is because it is still super awkward between the two of us. Before I left, We had a huge fight and we hadn't said a word to each other over the entire summer. I  choose to take the big hug and warm welcoming as an "I'm sorry" and just let the whole thing go, but now, it seems maybe all isn't forgiven. 

"This year is going to be awesome" Emma states, in a matter-of-fact way, brining me back to reality. 

"I made a list of things we have to do before this year is over, and I am making sure we do them all" Delaney adds, winking at me

"And what did you have in mind, Miss Mason?" I asked, and all four of us laugh

Delaney opens her mouth to speak after a moment, but before she gets a word out she is cut off by a loud voice calling her name. We all turn around to see a tall figure jogging towards us. I glance over at Delaney and she smiles, along with Emma and Xavier. Do we know him? I can't remember ever seeing him before. The stranger has medium, curly brown hair and is tall, bigger than Xavier even. When he gets closer I can see that he is quite muscular and has a sharp jawline, along with bright green eyes. The lower half of his face has a little bit of scruff and he has a dimple on the side of his mouth that is turned up in to a smile. 

As he continues to walk towards us, I keep looking him over, trying to remember who he is. I raise one of my eyebrows a little, puzzled. I open my mouth to ask his name when he stops in front of us, but Delaney turns to him quickly.

"Where were you? I waited outside for like, ten minutes this morning" She grins

"I got up late and had to get a ride from my dad, sorry" He grins, his voice deeper than I first thought with a bit of an accent running through it.

He gives both Delaney and Emma a quick hug before walking over to Xavier and smacking his shoulder with his rather large hand. Delaney rolls her eyes and both the guys let out a chuckle. 

"Xavier!" He exclaims "How are you? Long time, no see"

"Yeah" Xavier smirks "Yesterday seems like it was ages ago"

Delaney clears her throat and everyone looks over at her, including myself. She smiles and then pushes me forward a bit. The stranger smiles at me and I blush a little, making Delaney smile even more. 

"Harry" She says as he looks over me "This is Kaelea"