Immortals

1 | The Day She Came Back

When I thought of senior year, I'd thought of a sense of urgency mixed with satisfaction. Being wild but driven, and it was my plan to achieve that. So Monday the 6th of September, I woke up early and put on a blue button-down, dark jeans and Vans. I styled my short brown hair up in a quiff. I got into my Jeep and drove myself to school without a single look back. I needed to stay focused. I needed to leave behind my past self with the loner tendencies and skewed philosophy. This year I wasn't going to put up posters and search the town for the millionth. Everyone else had moved on, even her friends from back when she was even here. I wouldn't speak her name at all, I wouldn't even think it.

That was my resolve, as I got out of my car, putting it in park and walking into school with my backpack. I walked down the main hallway, avoiding the stares of the freshman girls checking out the upperclassmen, and the double takes from the girls in my own grade that hadn't recognized me the first time around. I didn't look exactly the same but I wasn't that different. I'd lost the glasses, the T-shirts, and Shorts, and braces, that I, for some reason, still had in Eleventh grade. Now I was Ethan Willows, unknown to the public. Ethan Willows, newly christened boyfriend-material. I ducked out of the way of some gaping juniors. Ethan Willows, the boy who still didn't like attention.

I turned to the left, down a long narrow hallway that led to the unused media section of the school. The school board had longed since deemed most of the arts as useless, leaving the classrooms empty and dusty. One quick pickpocket of the janitor and my friends and I have our own personal Lounge. Brandy and Dylan like to call it "The Check". They'd told me the logic behind the nickname but every time they did, it went through one ear and out the other. Something about reputation and something like that but whatever they had meant stayed, so now that's what it was, The Check.

When I slipped in the door, I looked up to see Brandy sprawled out on one of the couches. Her brown and blonde hair was plastered against the arm of the couch and her phone was in her face. Her head snapped towards me when she heard my arrival. She grinned and sat up.

"Ethan, sweetheart, you'll be swimming in a sea of ladies this year, my man." She said giving me a once-over.

I blushed a little and she got up and gave me a short hug. I wasn't exactly majorly tall but I was lanky and skinny, which Anne says makes me "Hot in an athletic sort of way", or whatever.

The door opened again and Anne herself and Madden walked in. Anne had her recently blue dyed hair up in a messy bun, dressed in sweatpants and a loose sweater. Madden had his shoulder-length blonde hair pinned back by a black beanie, and he too was wearing joggers and a hoodie. Anne clapped her hands at the sight of me and ran over to give me another hug.

"You're excited this morning, Gables." Brandy remarked, grabbing her water bottle out of her backpack. Last year Madden had to read Anne of Green Gables for English so naturally, we started calling Anne, 'Anne of Green Gables' and eventually it got shortened to Gables.

Anne shrugged and slumped into a chair. Madden let out an angry puff and we all looked at him questioningly. He looked up, surprised to see us all looking at him.

"Sorry, it's just that my brothers coming back into town and he's bringing his girlfriend and everything is just a mess right now."

Brandy sent him a sad smile and he looked away, slipping his phone back in his pocket.

"So, seniors.." Anne drawled. Brandy raised an eyebrow at her.

"What? It's new and stuff." Anne murmured.

I'm fairly certain that although we've all hung out together for three years, Brandy still hadn't warmed up to Anne. I don't know I met Brandy in the sixth grade and we've been friends since so she was a lot nicer back then.