Almost Home

Ch. 9 - First Love

Cody Turner // Ed Westwick

I shut my eyes, the bumpiness of the road causing the truck to jerk up and down. Will's hand is still in mine, and I hold on for dear life. I hear him laughing next to me.

Personally, I think it's very valid to be frightened. The only thing that is keeping me from flying out of the truck is Will's hand. What happens if Will flies out of the truck? Well, so does Valerie.

Valerie doesn't want to fly out of the truck!

"Open your eyes, Val," Will says, squeezing my hand gently.

I peek one eye open and look at the boy to my left. "Are we almost there?"

"Look up," he says and points his finger towards the sky.

My head tilts back, my eyes on the sky. There are no trees in the way, just an open sky. The color is a mix between purple and black, sprinkled with white lights in between. There seems to be an endless number of stars, shining in a captivating way. It looks like something straight out of a movie.

"Don't see that every night in New York, huh?"

I shake my head, feeling more relaxed as I stare at the sky. This is the same feeling I had on the Ferris wheel that night with Will, peaceful and free. Through my peripheral vision, I see Will looking at me. I move my gaze to him, but he looks away immediately.

In only minutes, Josh parks the car in a dirt road next to a cornfield near the house. Will lets go of my hand, and I blush in realization that we held hands the whole drive. Hopping out of the back of the truck, Will jumps to the ground and offers me assistance.

"Oh my gosh," I laugh as Will helps me out of the truck, his hands on my waist as he places me on the ground. "I can't believe I just did that."

Will massages his hand. "You have quite the grip, sweetheart. I don't even want to imagine what it'd be like to be your husband when you're giving birth."

I push his shoulder lightly. "Oh, man up."

Josh drapes his arms over both my shoulders and Will's, walking in the middle. "Stop flirting, please."

Will sticks his foot out in front of Josh, causing the poor boy to go tumbling to the dirt. He huffs and pulls on Will's pants leg, the fabric falling down his body and to the ground.

"What the hell, dude?" Will cries out, blush on his cheeks as Julie and I stare at his briefs.

"Cute outfit, Will!" some girls giggle as they pass.

He smiles and waves to the pretty girls, bending down to pick up his pants with blush on his cheeks. "In front of Emily McKay? Of all girls, you pull my pants down in front of Emily McKay?"

"Who's Emily McKay?" I ask as Will kicks Josh in the gut and Josh grabs Will's foot to send his friend to the ground.

"Will's first crush," Josh informs and stands up from the dirt. "He'll always be helplessly in love with her, ever since she let him borrow her pencil in the first grade."

Will stands up, shoving his friend childishly before turning to look at me with a serious face. "She's so hot."

"Oh, yeah, I get it." We start walking towards the house after the boys were done attacking one another. "Mine is Teddy Wilson. He pushed me off the swing set in kindergarten."

"And you fell in love with him?" Will asks suspiciously.

"He's so hot," I mimic, biting my lip to hide my smirk.

Will laughs lightly. "Hey, Jules, who's yours?"

"My what?" she asks after refocusing to our conversation.