Finding Freya

Fred Is Dead

[A/N] Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter. I'm also thinking of doing the #HAIRTIESFORHALEY writing project cause it sounds pretty much perfect for another story I've been planning. Tell me what you think!

- Chloe <3

"Luke, did you want to come in?" I asked him. Luke and I were standing on the front porch of my house and we'd just gotten back from the park.

Luke slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Alr-"

"Freya!" I heard my Mum call my name cutting Luke off. Mum opened the front door.

"Where were you?" She asked me leaning on the door.

"I was out with my friends. Why?" I asked her.

"Just curious." She answered before noticing Luke. "Oh, hello." She said to him.

"Hello." He said giving her a friendly smile.

"Mum," I said just about to introduce them to each other. "This is Luke. Luke, this is my mum."

"It's nice to meet you." Mum said as she extended her hand out towards him. Luke took her hand and shook it.

"It's nice meeting you too Mrs Lockhart."

"Oh Luke, you can just call me Kara. So, um, Freya are you two y'know..." Mum made some really awkward hand gestures as she said that. "...uh, together?"

Luke's eyes widened and so did mine. We sort of just stood there speechless and stuttering awkwardly.

"It's alright love, I understand..." She looked at us weirdly, but that was probably because of our reaction.

"Mum, Luke and I are just friends!" I said after regaining the ability to speak.

"Yeah," said Luke soon after that.

"Oh right," Mum seemed just as flustered as we were. "Sorry about that. I just thought..."

"It's okay Mum." I said.

"Luke are you coming in?" Mum asked him.

"No, I should probably be going. Mum'll be wondering where I am. She wants me and Alex to look after Will and Charlie. See ya later Freya, oh and it was nice meeting you Mrs Lo-I mean Kara."

"You too." Said Mum.

"Yeah, see you Luke." I waved goodbye to him and he waved back before walking down the footpath. "I'll text you later."

I went inside with Mum and she closed the door behind us.

"He seems like a nice boy." Mum said to me as we walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, he is." I answer before deciding to ask a question. "Does life get any easier when you get older?"

"That's a tough question to answer but I'll try. I don't really think it gets much easier. But life does change. I often think of it like this. Like chocolate. When you are younger life is like Top Deck. It's easier to determine the good things in life from the bad. As you get older life turns out to be a bit more like marbled chocolate. Things might seem a bit unclear and the good will come will with the bad. Marbled chocolate is a lot harder to take in one bite. But in the end it is more satisfying."

***

A little while earlier, I found Nate in his room sulking. It was weird. Yeah, really, really weird. Why? Because he never acts like this.

Hesitantly, I poked around the doorway. "Hey, mind if I come in."

"Freya, can I just have a moment?" He turned to face me, his eyes looking bloodshot and hair all messed up.

"Nate, just tell me what's wrong." Seriously, the last time he was like this was when our dog Elvis almost died. Yes Elvis, not Lucy.

"Danny..." He turned away from me sobbing while I stared at him confused. Nate continued punching his pillow. "He killed Fred!"

"Danny wouldn't kill anyone, and um... Who's Fred?" Danny was Nate's best friend but Fred, I had no clue about.

"He did kill someone!" Nate exclaimed furiously. "He killed Fred!" Ok, so, now what?

"You still didn't answer my question..."

"Oh my god, Freya! You know who Fred is!" Nate shouted.

"Um no, I don't know who Fred is. And Nate, you don't need to shout everything."

"Fred! Lachie gave him to me for my thirteenth birthday!" It was then I burst out laughing. A football. He was acting like this over a football.

"Freya, it's not funny." He pouted. While I wiped a tear from my eye.

"Yeah, yeah. Ok I do know who Fred is. But seriously?"

"Hey! Fred was a good footy."

"Alright, Fred was a good footy. But I'm gonna go now, that I know your ok. I actually thought it was something serious!"

Nate scoffed, "Not serious? Fred died!" I just laughed.

"Yeah whatever you say."