Game Over, Round One

Summer

"Because it's summer and the memories are just waiting to happen" - Anonymous

The last day of school was here. Luke and Ashton were more than happy since they graduated from High School. The last days of school are always awesome. We get our final grades; the teachers give us a "you're all great students" speech, we get rid of our books and notebooks, we sign lots and lots of Year Books, and we talk about our plans for the summer.

Summer. What a nice word, don't you think? Two months of freedom. Two months of pure joy. Most of my classmates go on vacations with their family, but me... I stay here with my friends. Sometimes I even stay alone at home, since my mom has to travel during the summer because of her job. She goes for a month maximum. So I invite Ally and Hailee over very often.

This summer was going to be different. We planned so many fun activities to do, starting with Prom. It wasn't my Prom, but Luke and Ashton invited us to theirs. What a fun night it was. Magical. Just like all Proms should be.

Nothing happened between Ashton and me though... But we danced all night long, like best friends. I couldn't help but to fall harder for him. It's just... the way he looks at me... Every time his beautiful green eyes stare at mine, I feel butterflies inside. I feel special. I feel special whenever I'm near him. I can be my weird, crazy self; I can express myself without being judged.

But anyway, Prom was perfect. Now I can't wait to have mine. Unfortunately, the next day we found out that Austin's grandfather had passed away. Austin had told us before that his granddad was sick, but the doctors said he was going to get better, they were 90% sure of that. That's why they were all surprised when the old man's days were over. His family wasn't ready for such loss. They were devastated.

We left to our houses after leaving Austin at the Hospital, where his parents, cousins, and uncles were waiting. The mood got us all that evening, so I got right into bed as soon as I entered my empty little cabin. I put some music on, and all of a sudden, I broke into tears. It was the strangest feeling ever. I didn't even know the man. It was probably the fact of not having grandparents that got me crying. I mean... I do have grandparents, but we have never spent time together, they don't even write to me anymore.

I cried myself to sleep that night. The next morning I woke up to a text from Luke, saying to meet up at Austin's park. I took a quick shower and headed over there with a bag of cereal in my hands.

It was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and kids were all over the streets playing and laughing. It would have been a perfect day if it weren't for yesterday's tragic event. When I finally got to the park, I saw Luke, Ashton, Austin, and Hailee sitting on the wooden bridge in the middle of the park. As I just waved at them, I saw Ally approaching in a fast pace behind me. I could see the sadness in Austin's eyes and it broke my heart. I didn't know what to say or what to do. I'm not good at this kind of stuff; luckily, Ashton was the first one to talk about it.

- We're really sorry for you loss Austin, is there anything we can do? - His words sounded so sincere. We all looked at Austin for a moment, waiting for an answer.

- We are having the funeral service tomorrow at 9am, it would mean a lot if you could go - we all nodded and said "sure, of course", followed by an awkward silence.

- Who wants to go for a snack or something? I'm starving! - Ashton said all of a sudden with his funny high pitch tone. We all let a little laugh out of our mouths.

- Of course you are. You barely got out of bed this morning five minutes before we came, sleepy head - Luke rolled his eyes at him and stood up, cleaning the back of his jeans with his hands.

- I'm not a morning person...

- Yeah, we can tell - I said looking at him with a smile on my face - What does little Ashton want for breakfast? - I asked standing up and imitating Luke's actions. Everyone else did the same and we headed to the mall talking and laughing. Austin was a little better, enjoying the moment. Hailee and Ally were talking about guys (as usual), saying they couldn't wait to meet cute boys this summer.

When we arrived at the mall, we followed Ashton to the food court. We picked a table near Subway and sat down. The boys bought a subway each.

- Don't you want anything? - Luke asked Hailee, Ally, and me.

- No thank you, I ate breakfast before going to the park - Ally said, rubbing her tummy.

 - Yeah me too - Hailee and I said in unison.

- Well, your loss - Ashton said, giving his sandwich a huge bite - Mmmmm... Delicious - he said with his mouth full of subway.

- Ashton! That's gross! - I said with a giggle.

            - Do you want some? - His mouth was still full of food. It was disgusting but funny at the same time. Then he did this thing that always got me confused. He looked straight into my eyes, stared at them for three seconds, gave me a cheeky smile, and winked with his left eye, ending with a shy little smile facing the ground.