High school || j.v.

7

Brooke's POV

What was going to happen at the end of graduation?

Graduation is ending in less than 6 hours.

Was Jake going to forget about me?

How long would he have to train for?

"Hey," Jake looked over at me.

"Hey," I smiled a little.

"It's going to be okay." Jake brought his lips to my hair line and planted a kiss.

I tightened my grip around his hand, my knuckles turning white.

"Alphabetical order!" A teacher told the student body through a microphone.

Jake let go of my hand and made his way to the back row of chairs.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach.

A couple more hours.

~

My eyes searched the crowd for the blonde haired blue eyed hottie. Instead they fell on my 12 year old little brother who was running over to me.

His hoodie was flapping in the wind behind him and the retainer in his mouth totally noticeable with his goofy smile.

"Brooke!" Chris put both hands on his knees, clearly out of breath.

"Yeah?" I asked him, anxiously looking around for Jake.

"Mom wants us to take a picture."

"Where is she?"

"By the tree, c'mon."

Chris's clammy hand grabbed mine and tugged me through the crowd of people. Chris and I were more than likely in more than half of everyone's pictures.

"Brooke!" My mother saw me and instantly waved her hands at me.

"Hi," I smiled and held onto Chris's hand who was now having a conversation with my father.

"Why did you take off your cap? Paul, look she took her cap off." Mom started fussing.

"Annie, she looks fine." My father smiled at me and clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Her hair is a mess. Erin, fix your sisters hair." My mom rolled her eyes at me while she smacked her gum rather loudly.

Erin, my little sister, came over and straightened out some fly-aways. "You don't look that bad." She shrugged at me. Erin is 15 and in the summer of sophomore year. She has a boyfriend named Kyle, but mom doesn't approve. To say the least she has to live in the shade of my shadow which my parents swaddled her in.

"Thanks," I popped my knuckles out of a nervous habit.

"Mom says that's disgusting," Chris wrinkled his nose at me.

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes and Chris stuck his tongue out at me.

"The two of you stop." Dad told the both of us.

"Okay picture!"

We all grumbled and got together. At first my mom took one of me, Erin, Chris and dad. Then a boy walked by, I honest to God swear I have never seen him before. He had red hair and bright blue eyes with a killer smile. My stomach dropped on site.

"Excuse me?!" My mother was waving a camera in front of the poor boy who looked like he was just going to find his family.

"Yes ma'am?" He asked so politely my heart ached.

"Can you please take a picture of my family with our grad baby?"

I physically cringed at the "grad baby" part.

The boy nodded his head and my mom shuffled into the picture with all of us and he snapped a few before offering to give the camera back.

"Can you do one with just me and my husband with her?"

The simply nodded his head while counting to three and snapping another picture.

"Have a good day ma'am." The red head smiled and looked my way. "A couple friends and I are going out for dinner, want to join?" He looked directly at me and awaited my answer.

My whole family looked at me too.

"Sure," I shrugged.

What could it hurt?

It could hurt a lot.

I would have fun.

I would regret most of it.

"My name is Carson Barnes."