Forever and Always

Chapter 1

  Vote and Comment. I really wanna know what you think, I know the first chapter might not be a strong chapter, but just keep reading... find out what happens and such. :)

Scarlett zipped up her large green hoodie and put the hood over her, now short, chestnut red hair. She stared at herself in the full length mirror for a minute. She could see the reflection of her dark room, clothes littered the floor, books piled high. She glanced into her amber eyes. The hood covered them ever so slightly which made her happy, she didn't want to be noticed. Scarlett grabbed her school bag and headed out of her room, down the hall past her younger brother's room, past her parent's room, and into the spacious living room. Her mother looked up from the magazine she was reading and cocked her head at Scarlett.

  "Where are you going sweetie?" She asked quietly. Emma Jonas had been yelled at enough lately that her voice was meek.

  "I'm going to school," Scarlett announced as if it was obvious.

  "Hun, they said you could wait until next week."

  "It's Monday, and Mom, I just wanna go to school. I've been out of school enough, I need to catch up." Scarlett's voice was on the edge of shouting.

  "Annie can bring over some homework,” Emma pleaded  as she tried to get her daughter to listen, she even stood up. She wore her long blond hair in a braid today and her amber eyes stared at her only daughter. Emma Jonas was a rather tall woman, she had curves and although her face was rather plain, she radiated a sort of unique beauty.

  "I'm going to school," Scarlett said quietly and walked out the door before her mother could say anything more.

   The walk to school was short, it only took Scarlett ten minutes. She looked down at her feet, today she wore black ballet flats with her jeans, they were her favorite pair of shoes ... Levi had given them to her. She blinked hard, stuffing all her tears inside.

  "Scarlett, oh my god!" Her best friend Annie hugged her tightly. They stood on the stairs leading up to the front entrance. Scarlett pulled away and saw tears in Annie's eyes. "I didn't know you were coming back so soon."

  "It's been a week Annie, how long do you want me to stay away," Scarlett replied coldly.

She saw understanding flash through her friend's light blue eyes. "I'm glad you're back," she stated, warmly, as she patted Scarlett's shoulder, "Do you want me to go in with you?"

  "No, I'll be fine, you should just go. I'll call you," Scarlett declared not even looking at Annie, she just pushed past and opened the door.

    "Okay! Fine! We'll go see your stupid chick flick!" Levi said holding the door open for her.

  "You're such a good boyfriend, always giving me what I want," she laughed and stepped into the hallway. It was already buzzing as students and teachers scurried around.

  Levi grabbed her from behind, she smelled his familiar scent, fresh linen and laundry detergent pouring off his famed green hoodie. It was his favorite and he practically wore it everyday... it gave him character.

  "Action packed shooting movie it is," he whispered into her ear.

  Scarlett groaned, "Fine ... but I get an extra kiss at the end of the night."

  "Always working your magic," he said, making a clucking noise with his tongue.

  "It's a deal," he agreed and spun around her so that she was facing him. "See ya after class," he said and kissed her for a short minute.

  Scarlett watched him go, smiling from ear to ear. She truly loved him. She was pretty sure they were soul mates.

  "Excuse me!" A kid pushed past Scarlett jolting her from her thoughts. She felt a tear run down her cheek and quickly wiped it away. She saw a few kids glance her way, others looked at her and then whispered to their friends. She hated it, being the center of attention and not for a good reason. She made her way to class as quickly as possible, wanting to get out of those hallways. Once safely inside, she realized it didn't really change, not only did her classmates stare, but the teacher gave her a sad look.

  Scarlett broke out of her last class, wanting to leave before more eyes could look her way, before one of Levi's friends could come up to her, before Annie had a chance to find her. She ran the six or seven blocks home. She ran harder and faster as the tears streamed down her face. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right. She cried harder, busting into the front door of her family's medium-sized house. She ran past her mother in the kitchen and into her bedroom. She slammed the door and flopped onto the bed. Her face was red and her eyes puffy. She hadn't truly cried, not the day it happened, not the day of the funeral, not since then. Now she made up for lost time. She buried her nose in the hoodie, it hadn't been washed and still smelled like Levi, it still gave her a memory to hang onto.