Keep Me Close

First Day

Lily POV
I thought Father may have a stroke during the carriage ride to my school. He seemed more anxious than me. He was fiddling with the buttons of his jacket. His breaths were slightly shakey. I placed my hand in his and he seemed to calm down
  We had spent my last few weeks of summer around the park and going to see shows. We spent our nights singing and playing piano, he had taught me so much in such a little time.  The carriage then came to a halt, we had arrived at the school. I heard my father sharply exhale.

Erik POV
I firmly believed that I was more nervous than her. She sat watching the world go on from the window. Meanwhile I sat fidgeting with the buttons of my jacket. The returning feeling of clammy hands returned yet again. When the carriage came to a stop, my heart fluttered. I found Lily's eyes on me, with the excited and determined smirk that her mother used to have.

"Don't worry Father, I'll be home before you know it," she said. I nodded slowly. She had her mothers ambition. I climbed out of the carriage and went around to open the door for her.
"I'll see you-"
I was cut off and just like that she flew out of the door and ran towards the school dragging her bag behind her. She didn't even hug me goodbye, I thought to myself. My heart hurt, she was already growing up. In the almost month I had spent with her, I already noticed her growing, maturing into a fine young lady, and a beautiful one at that. I already missed her. I turned to step back into the carriage when I heard small footsteps behind me and felt a small pair of arms wrapped around my torso. My heart warmed. I turned back around and picked her up, she gave me a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth and gave me a sweet grin.
"I'll see you at 3 my love. Please behave" I begged. I knew she would, but she was also my child, and no child of mine would be without a temper, or my stubbornness.
"Yes father, I love you" she said releasing me from her grasp as I placed her on the ground. I then looked up to realize there were many parents and children staring at the sight. A masked monster hugging a small child. They must have thought i had kidnapped her or something of the sort, because no monster in a mask could create something this beautiful. They, however, were wrong. My jaw clenched when i saw a mother protectively pull her daughter behind her when she saw me. Lily noticed my mood change instantly and noticed the reasoning. She pulled me down to her level and said in my ear,
"Don't pay attention to them, they are all jealous that I have a father as amazing as you" and with that she was off. The bell rang outside of the building as all the rest of the children sprinted inside the door being careful not to be late on their first day. I missed my little flower already.
"sir?" Said the driver snapping me out of my trance.
"Yes, yes I'm coming" i said climbing back into the carriage and leaving the school yard behind me.

Lily POV

I walked into my homeroom with all of the other children spilling in as well. Everyone was dressed to impress on their first day. All the boys wore slacks and a colored dress shirt, and some wore ties and others, bow ties. All the girls, including myself, wore dresses with bows and flowers in their hair. The bell rang and everyone took their seat. I sat next to a girl with pretty, straight blonde hair and radiant blue eyes. She wore a white dress with blue patterns of butterflies on it. She noticed me looking at her and gave me a friendly smile. I returned it. Father had always enforced manners upon me, as did Madame Giry as she taught father to act when he was small.
As I felt a slight tap on my shoulder, I turned around to see a tall skinny boy sitting behind me. He wore black jeans that had a patch over the knee and his shirt wasn't pressed like everyone else's. He had black hair and bushy eye brows and chocolate brown eyes.
"Excuse me, Miss, but do you have a pencil I could borrow?" ,he asked. He had an accent, it wasn't French, or British but something different. It made him sound so innocent.

"Em, yes." I said, reaching into my bag handing him one. Who doesn't bring a pencil on the first day?

"Thank you," He said. I smiled politely a I was taught to do. There was then another tap on my shoulder, the boy looking at me innocently.