Neverland

All Just a Bet

Hey readers, school is starting so I probably won't update much since I need to focus on keeping my grades high since grades are starting to matter. However, I do have an update for this book.

Neverland has made it to an astounding forty chapters which would be a general stopping point. The bad part about it being this long is that I'm only halfway done writing this book which means that once I'm done, I have to do an incredible amount of editing to make the chapters longer and the book slightly shorter which is my long term goal. A main goal is that hopefully Neverland will make it to the Wattys or on the Featured with a million reads which is a dream for me.

If you're reading this, make sure to tell me of any errors or concerns that I should fix. Neverland is now estimated to be at least sixty to eighty chapters before editing. After editing, my goal is forty to fifty, but remember to reread it after since I genuinely want to patch up the story line, and maybe even change the title to something original and not slightly copyrighted.

Also if anyone would like to edit or leave suggestions in a google doc format, depending on my level of trust, that would be amazing. Trust me, when all this is over, I'll have many copies :)

Now get to reading!

~AmazingGroot

Foster

It had been two days since Lily had been admitted to the hospital due to her passing out along with her peculiar, but frequent nosebleeds. The family had been constantly at the hospital, Ms. Ryder working with my mom to sneak into Lily's room to check on her when they were on the clock. Meanwhile, Alex always woke up early at around six so he could get dressed and head to the hospital to wait for his sister.

Having him sleep in the same bed as me surprisingly didn't feel awkward or weird, especially since he wasn't the type of guy to pull moves. Right when I would get into bed after talking to Charlie or Matthew, the soft sounds of his snores was always peaceful and caused me to fall asleep faster. Even in the morning right before Alex would get up to go see his sister, I would wake up to an arm the lazily lay across my stomach along with him smiling in his sleep.

I had never been one of those types of girls in books that fawned over that one golden boy in school that seemed to have everything that they wanted. They would fall head over heels in a love as fake as a Barbie product, dreaming about the dream boy or doodling their names with his surname. In this moment in time however, I had begun to realize that some boys are worth the trouble of the lingering warmth when they touched you.

That morning, I had felt a burst of happiness in my cold little heart that would've sent me to the grave if I hadn't turned away from that dazzling smile. His arm had left warmth that could only be described as steaming hot chocolate in the dead of winter. I never believed in silly school girl crushes that involved firework kisses, burning skin to skin, and a single glance that melted girls at the knees.

About ten minutes after Alex had left with a mournful smile to head his way to the hospital, a feeling of panic overcame me in a way that left me wondering if I was losing the small amount of insanity I had left. I still sat up against the wall with the comforter of my bed, scrunched in between nervous fingers along with a phone that showed someone's name.

I sucked in a breath and tapped the call button, familiar ringing giving me comfort. After four rings, the person finally picked up, sleepily saying a slow hello.

"Scarlet? I need to talk to you, ASAP."

****************

"So, what brings you the humble abode where I work. This better be important because my boss will be pretty mad if I don't get in uniform soon."

I raised an eyebrow at my ginger best friend, who watched me with curious eyes that showed signs of tiredness though deep bags. We had decided to meet up at the very place where I met Ryan for our first date, except this time there was a different atmosphere surrounding my best friend and I.

I shakily began to bounce my leg up and down, nervous to even say aloud what I had thought about ever since I woke up to that sleepy smile. That smile that might have doomed me into a section of my life I was not prepared to explore. Inhaling a very deep breath, I closed my eyes and paused my leg bouncing.

"It's Alex."

Scarlet frowned and leaned forward. "Alex? He didn't get hurt, did he? Or hurt you? If he layed a single finger on your precious body out of spite, I'm going to knock him in to next Tuesday." A smile formed on my face at her violent side that parked up ever since Ryan abandoned me at the dance. "Honey, I'm going to need a better answer than 'It's Alex'."

I leaned back and smiled a little more to myself. "Alright.....so as you know Alex has been spending the night at my place so he isn't alone in his house. Well, I woke up this morning before him and his arm was laying across my stomach and it felt warmer than normal heat could ever feel. Then, I noticed his smile and I swear Scarlet, something happened in me, and I'm not sure what happened. Scarlet, I think I-"

A sweet smile showed on her face as I continued and she leaned forward, her chin resting on her fists. "Like Alex. To say I am surprised, would be a lie because the boys and I have been betting on you two for a while. Anyways, I should probably be the good friend and tell you that you clearly like him. I cannot give any warnings or advice since I myself have never been in a serious relationship."

I bit my lip slowly, trying to find something about that aggravated me, just so I could stop liking him this much. It had never been my forte to be romantic and all gushy which was why I was so utterly confused. Alex might have been the very first person to ever make me question why I had ever done any of this.

A long beeping interrupted my thoughts and turned my attention to my phone that vibrated on the table. Alex's contact was shown in bright red so I glanced up at Scarlet and shrugged before answering.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Get to the hospital now. The results came back for Lily."