Savannah Hartley thought her life was perfect. She had an excellent job; got consistent A's; a boyfriend who would go to the ends of the world for her and a best friend who she regarded more like her flesh and blood. Savannah Hartley thought her lif...
This Chapter is dedicated to @saudxde, who so lovingly made five covers and three banners for me, all of which are fantastic.
A/N: This chapter was super short as well, and although I tried to fix it, it just felt natural to end it here. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up by next week (falling this, at least the week after) to top this one off. I can't wait to continue writing more and really start to delve into the story, I hope you'll like it as much as I do!
B x
CHAPTER 2
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As we arrived at the high school, I felt my mood lifting. The sunshine abruptly broke free from the clouds and danced down across the Earth in tiny shards that made the hazel in my eyes glimmer in a way they usually didn't - I knew that today would be a good day.
Unlike most people, I enjoyed - even looked forward to - school, and so as I walked down the courtyard with my hand still in Josiah's, I couldn't help but inject a bit of pep in my step, waving to the familiar faces that now flooded the high-school, all sporting sombre expressions at the first return to school after the spring break.
"Why are you so happy?" Josiah grumbled, although as I looked back, a small smile slowly began to dance across his face and I knew he wasn't as angry as he had tried to be.
I stopped skipping as we rounded the corner of the hallway to reach the door of our homeroom. Placing my hands on his chest, I grinned up at him and whispered gently, as I leaned in to kiss him, "because I'm here with you."
Before our lips had even touched, a hand darted between our faces, blocking the kiss, but resulting in a lip-sandwich between the two pairs of lips and the hand.
"Ew, you guys, what the hell," a high voice squeaked, quickly yanking the hand back and wiping it back and forth in the air, "now I've got your cooties all over me, I have to throw my whole hand away!"
Rolling her eyes at her ever dramatic friend who had now progressed from furiously rubbing her hand on her jeans after a vicious application of hand sanitizer to groaning in anguish at the heavens, Savannah pulled away from Josiah to face her intruder.
Neveah Clarke.
Neveah and Savannah had practically been joined from the hip since birth, the childhood friend linked by the friendship of their parents had become more than a friend to Savannah, she had become her sister. For years, Neveah had been her shoulder to lean on, her personal cheerleader, her partner-in-crime, and inspiration - her presence had more than added to her life, it had transformed it; creating a bond more profound than any love she had ever felt. Savannah could live without a significant other, but never without her best friend.
"Neveah!" I cheered, wrapping my arms around her small frame, swinging in a circle while our giggles filled the corridor, "I've missed you so much, Nev! How have you been? How was Italy? Did you meet any cute boys? Tell me all about it!" I demanded, hugging her tightly.
"Okay, okay, I will" she laughed, "but first - you have to... let me go", she finally squeaked, attempting to withdraw herself from my grasp, "so I can breathe!"
"Fine," I sighed with mock sorrow, loosening my grip on her, "I'm just so glad you're back, spring break sucked without you." Neveah had gone to visit her family and attend her aunts' wedding in Italy over the spring break, and although I had my mom and Josiah, it hadn't felt the same without her.
"Me too," she smiled, drawing me into another hug, "but now I'm back, we can do all the things we planned to do, starting with that trip to Lake Arrowhead! How about it?", she asked, now pulling back so we could see each other, her face brightening more and more as she could see that I was considering it.
After a pause, I glanced back at her hope-filled eyes and sighed, saying, "well, I guess if I have to-," hearing cheers before even finishing my sentence.
"Okay, so it's on, then!", just as we had begun to discuss the trip further, a cough sounded out behind us, drawing me back to the hallway we stood in, seeing many eyes focused in our direction.
"Sorry guys," I sheepishly smiled, before turning towards the origin of the sound.
"Hey Neveah," Josiah grinned, "nice to see you Italy hasn't changed you at all," drawing her likewise into a hug while ruffling her hair.
"Hey!" she huffed while patting down the hair strands he had disrupted from her braid "hands off the merchandise." Before they could continue to bicker as they usually did, the sound of the bell drilled through the halls, causing temporary deafness to all who were unfortunate to be in direct proximity to it.
"Oh what a shame you guys can't continue this delightful conversation, oh well off to class now, - bye!" I sputtered, grabbing Neveah's hand to drag her to our shared homeroom before an argument could ensue.
"Bye," they called out to each other, focusing on getting to class in the quickest and safest way possible, having to now dodge the sea of people that had begun to flood the halls in search of their classrooms. Barely reaching the doorknob to their class before the tardy bell sounded, the two girls slumped in the two remaining seats in the front row, emptying their bag of all their supplies. Savannah quickly checked her diary to see that this homeroom transitioned into her first lesson of the day, US History. Grumbling, she showed the timetable to Neveah who mimed a series of movements back to Savannah, containing a 'being sick' motion, followed by what can only be described as the worst imitation of their teacher, Mr. Sanders, in history. Savannah, who finding this performance hilarious, descended into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, only managing to straighten up as the teacher in question appeared to start the lesson.
While US History in itself was not particularly disinteresting to Savannah, the monotonous voice of her teacher, coupled with an intense desire to be outside on such a beautiful day, resulted in an excruciatingly dull hour. By the time the clock struck 10:00, Savannah had almost collapsed entirely from boredom and was ready to go back home, which unfortunately for her, wouldn't be for another 5 and a half hours.
With a deep exhale, Savannah grabbed her backpack and hauled herself to her next lesson, without either Neveah or Josiah to accompany and entertain her. Settling into her chair, she drew doodles over her textbook, recalling the events of last nights dreams, while, having threaded one of her earphones through her sleeve and using her cheek on hand to conceal it, listened to the smooth voice of Jedidah Hunter serenade her as he spoke of love; again moaning when she discovered that only ten minutes had passed since she last checked the clock.
