adelaide street [s.m]

~three~

"jordana, meet miles my bestest friend since like forever. miles, meet jordana my friend i met in english class this morning." i gesture each of them to the other as i introduce them to each other.
 
"hey, nice to meet you!" jordana says with a huge smile on her face. 

"you too," miles replies, returning her smile.

"we only met this morning but we have so much in common. we are so gonna become besties!" jordana squeals.

"she likes divergent too! unlike you because you're too much of a pansycake to read action or science fiction books. dude, you're going to be replaced soon," i laugh and jordana joins in with me.

miles lets out a quiet chuckle, looking down. what's up with him?

"uh actually, i have some homework to do. i'll catch up with you guys later," he says and starts to walk away.

"i should uh- yeah thanks." jordana gestures for me to follow him. "see ya later, dana."

she waves in reply as i run to join miles.

"hey miley, what's wrong?"

"nothing, just go back to your new friend."

"actually, i decided to join you. so what do you say we go get some ice cream and you can tell me what's wrong?"

"nothing's wrong, avi, trust me." he gives me a smile but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"well we can have ice cream anyway. come on!"

***
jordana and i walk into our music classroom together.

oh look at that, mr rudie is in my class again.

i lead jordana to the opposite corner of the room and we take our seats there.

i'm staying as far away from him as possible.

i love music. music is my passion and i'm not going to let someone like him take that from me. i grew up playing the piano, violin, flute, and guitar. i also really love singing but i'm not that confident with my voice so i only sing privately- in the shower or when i'm home alone. however, i tend to sing without knowing it.

a deep voice interrupts my thoughts.

"okay class, since it's our first lesson back, we'll start with something simple. you guys can all come up with something individual. something that expresses you as a person. it can be a composition, a song, or both, using any instruments you want. it can be as short as a minute. sound good?" mr thorne explains as soon as he walks in the room, sending me a smile in the process.

yeah, we share the same last name but we aren't related.

the class disperses to find their own thing and i go to grab my guitar before returning to my corner.

i randomly strum a few chords and a melody starts to form. it looks like i'm headed towards a song.

songs mean singing.

is this the time when i'll overcome my fear and sing in public? i can do this. you can do this, aviana.

"hey, do you have an idea already?" jordana asks me as she approaches empty-handed.

"kind of. what about you?"

"nope, mind's completely blank. maybe it's because i skipped breakfast this morning."

"aw that's too bad. i'm sure you'll get something soon. i could help if you want," i encourage.

"nah, it's okay. this has to be individual anyway. something i feel, not something the both of us feel." she gives me a small smile and walks away.

i couldn't help but notice that mr rudie was staring at me again.

honestly, it's starting to really annoy me.

can he not just mind his own business?

i shrug it off and continue to work on my song, the feeling of the breakup wash over me again.

no, push them away, aviana.

i decide to write this song based on the breakup, transferring all the emotions into the song. no, not about the breakup, more like getting over the breakup. stay positive. lyrics start to pop into my head.

(a/n: this song is not mine. all rights go to miley cyrus and hollywood records)

"there's always gonna be another mountain...hm...i'm always gonna wanna make it move." this is a good start. i smile to myself.

in half an hour, i have all the lyrics.

i can almost see it
that dream I'm dreaming but
there's a voice inside my head saying
you'll never reach it
every step I'm taking
every move I make feels
lost with no direction
my faith is shaking but I
gotta keep trying
gotta keep my head held high
there's always gonna be another mountain
i'm always gonna wanna make it move
always gonna be an uphill battle
sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
ain't about how fast I get there
ain't about what's waiting on the other side
it's the climb

***
with my guitar slung over my shoulder, i walk to a nearby park and sit down on the bench.

it's a beautiful day outside so i decided to practice my song here.

it's also pretty isolated here. no one really ever goes to this park so i felt comfortable practicing here.

as i'm singing my song, i can't help but get the sense that someone was watching me, listening to me.

i look back to find no one behind me. only a tree.

my eyebrows crease in confusion before i turn back to my guitar.

suddenly, i hear a rustling sound followed by a thump and a groan coming from the tree.

"who's there?" i call but there was no answer.

i put down my guitar before getting up and walking to the tree.

i let out a gasp as i find out who was hiding behind the tree.

mr rudie.

"what are you doing here?" i ask, crossing my arms across my chest.

"uh... nothing. i was just studying this tree for biology. that was our assignment. to study trees," he lies as his cheeks turn red.

"why were you stalking me?"

"psh, you thought i was stalking you? sweetheart, get over yourself. you're not that special." and mr rudie is back.

i sigh as i pick up my guitar and walk back home.

on my way home, i pass an ice cream parlour and notice a familiar figure through the window.

it's nathan, with another girl.

i hold back the tears that threaten to spill.

in case you wanted to know, nathan doesn't go to the same school as i do.

he's one year older than me and we met at that exact ice cream parlour.

it hurt to see him there with another girl.

neither of us brought enough money for an ice cream so we ended up sharing one.

that was the flame that started the fire between us.

i guess the fire grew too strong and burned down everything with it.