I Promise

Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

The raindrops spattered on the windshield like the sky was mourning the death of a friend. And perhaps it was; summer had said its reluctant goodbyes and the first day of school loomed like the dark clouds above.

Kat Reynolds sighed as she pulled into the parking lot of Coolidge Academy, dreading the fact that she had to venture into the rain as she walked into the school. She leaned her head back onto the headrest, closing her eyes and wishing she was still asleep. Even though she had had a summer job at a boutique near her house, she never had to wake up very early for work. For her day to begin at 6:30 in the morning was a routine that she had not been used to since the end of the previous school year.

Checking the clock that read 7:48, she turned off the car and ran a hand through her dark brown hair before grabbing her backpack and running into the school. As soon as she walked through the doors, a skinny pair of arms hugged her. "Kat! It's so good to see you! I missed you," exclaimed a sweet freshman girl named Anne whom Kat had run track with.

"Awe, you too, Anne! How was your summer?" Kat replied as Anne walked with her to her locker. Anne's reply was lost on Kat's ears as she glimpsed a face that she had not seen for two and a half months. Deep brown eyes and short messy brown hair captured the girl's attention until another girl ran up, crying out how much she had missed her friend and wondering how summer was. Kat's attention was diverted to her friend Heather and when she looked up again, the boy was gone.

Kat moved to her locker and placed her bookbag inside, then turned to her best friend Avery. "Looking lovely in the uniform, Kitty," Avery joked.

"Oh, shut up, this is practically torture after wearing shorts and tank tops all summer," Kat replied, fidgeting around with her pleated plaid skirt. "How's the boyfriend?" she changed the subject. Avery's boyfriend Scott was likely to be the valedictorian of the senior class, while also being a starter on the Varsity basketball team at Coolidge.

"He's good," Avery chuckled, "he already started looking at colleges. Kinda scares me, you know?"

"What, that you'll still have another year left in high school while he's off getting college girls?" Kat answered. Avery rolled her eyes and Kat squeezed her hand, "Don't worry, I'm sure he will love you forever and you will get married and live happily ever after. Just send me a postcard from Paradise while I sit at home alone with my dogs and alcohol to keep me company."

"We'll be sure to!" Avery laughed. "Have you talked to Blake lately?" Kat shook her head,

"We haven’t talked all summer, much less seen each other since graduation. I practically forgot about him."

"Mhm, right," Avery replied, her eyebrows raised.

"What?" Kat said innocently.

"Kat, you can't lie to me. You were in love with him in May; there's no way that you've forgotten about him. Let's be real." Scott walked up and hugged Avery from behind, cutting off the girls' conversation. The three walked to the school's daily Assembly in the gym and found seats with several other basketball players who were friends with Scott. Kat sat by Miller, a junior who was one of her best friends.

A distinctive laugh drew Kat's gaze to a boy several rows below her. "Shit," she muttered under her breath as she felt the familiar pang in her chest. Even just the sight of his messed up hair was enough to bring back memories…

Thirteen year old Kat twisted around under her covers, unable to sleep. She looked at her glowing bedside clock which proclaimed the time 1:36 in the morning. The girl lay on her back and stared at the ceiling for a total of fifteen seconds before she pulled off the blankets and slipped out of bed. Her long t-shirt covered the boy boxers that she wore and her bare feet silently padded down the carpeted stairs to the basement where her brother and three of his friends slept. Her heart pounded as she creeped around to where Blake slept, the only one who liked to talk to Kat when he was at the Reynolds' house. The girl took a deep breath, knowing that her brother would be mad if he found out that she woke up his friend in the middle of the night, and then whispered, "Blake… Blake… wake up…"

Kat was jolted back into the present as the principal of the school began to speak, giving his normal welcome and announcing new rules. Kat was only halfway engaged in what Mr. Andrews said, her mind still whirling at seeing Blake again. She hadn’t seen him all summer and, true to what she had told Avery, had nearly forgotten about him. Her summer had been filled with travelling and several flings with guys she met at the beach or who vacationed in her town; the thought of a guy whom she had been potentially in love with had not been present in her mind. He even had a girlfriend, Megan, the last time she had seen him, and Kat had no idea if he was still dating the girl. "Hey Miller," she whispered, "are Blake and Megan still together?"

"Far as I know," he answered, "I don't keep up with his love life." Kat rolled her eyes; she should have known better than to ask Miller. He liked to stay out of the gossip and drama.

She tried to keep her focus back onto the principal, who now spoke on the importance of not leaving doors propped open in case of terrorists entering the school. "Why is he even talking about this? No terrorists are going to want to attack this place," Miller muttered to Kat. She agreed and did her best to listen, but once again her mind wandered back years before…

Blake's eyes fluttered open, "Hey, Kat," he grunted, still half-asleep, "you alright?"

"I can't sleep," she answered, "come hang out with me?" The boy's eyes fully opened and he looked at Kat, crouching in front of him in her brother's big shirt, her blue eyes still bright in darkness, her long hair falling over her shoulders.

"Sure, Kat," he whispered back. She smiled as they stood and quietly made their way out of the basement and upstairs onto the small balcony outside Kat's window.

"Tell me again, why'd you decide to come wake me up at 1:45 in the morning?" Blake asked as they sat against the side of the house. The canopy of stars above them twinkled like diamonds strewn across a velvet black blanket, coating the world in a beautiful security.

Kat shrugged, "I couldn't sleep," she answered simply. He nudged her playfully,

"Come on, Kat, you could've woken up your brother. Everything okay? I'm always here for you if you need to talk or anything. I promise."

"Yeah, I just… I wanted to be with you. Because I really like talking to you," Kat confessed. Blake reached over and took Kat's hand as he said,

"Well good, because I like talking to you too." Kat looked up at him and smiled.

The students around Kat stood and she was shaken out of her daze. The day went by terribly slowly, shuffling from one white-walled room to the next, listening to teachers go over their lesson plans for the next year. The chairs seemed even more uncomfortable than the year before, but it may have been because Kat was still restless and fidgeting from seeing Blake again.

Her last period of the day, Kat walked into her Anatomy and Physiology class. A young new teacher stood at the front of the room, looking from the students to a clipboard in her hands as Kat took a seat. The teacher glanced at the clock and said, "Alright, well, we are nearly all here, only missing one, so I suppose I can begin. I am Miss Knight and I just moved here from California, so I'm not quite used to your Portland weather yet," she chuckled and continued, "This is a small class, only nine of you, so I'm expecting it to be fun! As you know, this is Anatomy and-" She paused as the door to the room opened.

"Sorry I'm late, I had a bit of confusion with my schedule," said a boy from the back of the room. Kat closed her eyes and cursed inwardly as she heard footsteps coming progressively closer to her. The chair beside her squeaked as it was pulled back from the table and she opened her eyes to see Blake Carson sitting next to her.

"Hey Kat," he said quietly. A smile found its way onto Kat's lips as she replied,

"How's it going, Carson?" He grinned at her, displaying the smile that Kat had gotten to know so well, a smile that held secrets and joy and mystery and trust all at the same time.

"Great, Reynolds," he answered, then lowered his voice and angled his head closer to hers, "but it's even better now that I've seen you."

Kat giggled and shook her head, turning back to look at Miss Knight. Inside, she was screaming and dancing in elation at Blake's words. Her heart felt like it was doing somersaults in her chest and she was sure that everyone in the room could hear how loud it was beating. There was no way in hell that she was over Blake Carson.