Rising Sun

Chapter Four

Skylar stood outside Tom's classroom door, waiting for the bell to ring. She had a free period before lunch, and she helped out in the library. Her teacher let her go early if there wasn't a class in the computer lab that day, and she had decided to surprise Tom this time.

The bell rang abruptly, and the door burst open. Skylar's eyes met Tom's and he smiled at her, looking relieved she was there.

"Hey," he said, reaching for her hand, and she clasped her hand in his. "Thanks for having lunch with me; I don't know if I'd be able to stand another session of John whining about his ex."

"Oh, so that's what this is. I'm just your buffer." Skylar joked, shaking her head at him.

"Yeah, maybe." Tom laughed, grinning at her. He squeezed her hand and she blushed automatically, suddenly aware of their close proximity.

"Anyway, I was wondering if I could ask you something." Tom broke the silence. He focused his attention back on the hall in front of them as they neared the cafeteria.

"Of course, yeah." Skylar shrugged her shoulders.

"So, you owe me a date. How would you feel about grabbing dinner tomorrow night, instead of lunch this weekend?" He asked, sounding totally flustered and almost nervous. Skylar loved this side of Tom. She was quickly learning there were a lot of layers to Tom Jennings, and she liked a good portion of them.

"Or, if the first one goes well, maybe even both?" He asked again, trying to sound more confident. He couldn't hide the fact that he was a blushing mess.

"Jennings!" A voice boomed across the hall. "Are you and your girlfriend sitting with us or not?" One of his teammates, Brad, made his way up to them.

Skylar flushed and Tom audibly sighed. "Hey, Brad." He mumbled. "We're coming."

"Alright, lovebirds." Brad said, leaving them and heading into the cafeteria.

"Well, he's sweet." Skylar remarked.

"Yeah, he's a real joy." Tom said sarcastically.

*

"God damn it. Lindsay, where are you?"

Skylar stood against the side of the car, waiting on her sister. Today wasn't a practice day, so where the hell was she?

Skylar pulled her Nokia 3310 out of her backpack and dialed her sister.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" She heard Lindsay yell from across the lot. Skylar looked up to see her sprinting toward the car, backpack and sports bag both in hand.

"I don't know why you always take so long getting out to the car. I'm tempted to send a search and rescue mission half the time."

Lindsay laughed uneasily and unlocked the car. "Like I tell you everyday, I meet with some of the girls to talk about practices." She said, seeming slightly bothered.

"Okay, it was just a joke." Skylar apologized.

Lindsay sighed and placed her hands firmly on the wheel. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I've just got a lot going on recently."

"Do you need to talk about it?" Skylar offered. She loved her sister, and always wanted to be there for her because Lindsay was there for her whenever she needed her.

"No, it's not really something I can talk about. But it's okay, I've just got a lot going on." Lindsay said, and after a moment, relaxed and started the car. The two sisters sat in silence for a while, letting the Jimmy Eat World CD speak for them.

Their drive home was always more pleasant than their drive to school. They never seemed to get stopped by a train, and they always took back roads since they had extra time to kill.

The Hembrigs had moved once in Skylar's entire life, only a few streets over from where they used to live. As the girls grew up, their parents needed more space, and the girls needed different rooms. Their drive home usually took them past their old house.

Turning onto their old street, they got stopped by a school bus. Skylar, almost immediately, recognized one of the students getting off the bus.

"That's Hayley. The new girl." She told her sister, pointing to the redhead.

Lindsay looked up, and it didn't take her long to lock her gaze on the only girl out of the group of students. "Oh, that's her? The guys were talking about how hot she was at lunch." She said, her eyes never leaving Hayley. "I knew they said she lived on Pinegrove."

"Yeah, we're basically neighbors." Skylar joked.

"Wait a minute. Roll down your window." Lindsay instructed. Skylar looked at her like she was crazy, but did as she was told anyway.

"Hayley!" Lindsay shouted. Skylar's cheeks flushed red and she smacked her sister's arm.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She turned her attention back to Hayley and her breath caught as she recognized her face and headed over to the car.

"Hey. Skylar, is it?" She asked, looking into the car.

"Hi, I'm Lindsay, her sister. Anyway, Skylar here thought it would be a great idea if you rode to school with us instead of the bus. We're like neighbors." Lindsay blurted out. Skylar gave her a stern look, absolutely humiliated.

"Guys, it's no big deal. You don't have to go out of your way for me." Hayley said, giving Skylar an appreciative smile.

"We only live a few streets over, it really doesn't matter." Lindsay assured her.

"I mean, if you want. I just live on the corner, the white house." She gestured toward the end of the street, a few houses down.

"Great, we'll see you at seven in the morning!" Lindsay beamed.

"See you in the morning." Hayley waved to Lindsay. "Bye, Skylar." She smiled at the younger sister.

"See you," she offered a smile and wave in return.

"She seems super nice." Lindsay noted as they proceeded on their drive home.

"Yeah, she's super sweet."

***************

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