Always

three

 
LUNA

No amount of preparation could have prepared me for this moment.

I inhaled shakily, studying the groups of students walking around the school grounds. I felt nauseous, the feeling only intensified by a tenfold due to the sleepless night. I wasn't prepared to face so many new people, wasn't prepared to greet new faces. It was all too much, too fast and I couldn't handle it.

"Hey." Tanner mumbled once he was done parking in the school lot. "You okay?"

I shifted, uncomfortable that he was able to notice my anxiousness. It was supposed to be normal to feel nervous on your first day. Then why did I feel incredibly uncomfortable trying to voice my thoughts.

So instead of telling him the truth, I forced a small smile on my face and nodded. "Yeah."

The attempt wasn't as futile as I had expected because he quickly bought it, flashing me a quick grin as he climbed out of the car.

I resisted the urge to shrink back into my seat and with one deep breath, I forced my legs to move and stepped into the school lot.

I tugged my sleeves over my hands, fiddling as I walked beside Tanner towards the school entrance. I took a moment to study the large letters emblazoned at the top of the building--New York High School.

The crowd and chatter grew much louder as we slipped inside the building and after what felt like ages of bumping into random people constantly and dodging past large groups, we managed to make it to the office. A middle aged girl sat behind a desk. She looked completely exhausted as she clicked away on her computer.

"I need to get to my homeroom. Do you think you can get your schedule and find your way around?" Tanner murmured, looking down at me almost worriedly.

I swallowed and flashed him a smile, nodding.

He took it as his queue to leave and I watched, fiddling with my hands as he walked away.

"Good morning. How may I help you?" The girl asked as I walked over to her desk.

"I'm Luna Hudson. I'm here for my schedule and locker number." She nodded, and began typing on the computer in front of her.

"This is going to take a minute. I hope you don't mind the wait." She said, looking up apologetically. I gave her a reassuring smile before leaning back against the wall. I fished in my pocket and pulled out the phone Jane had given me when I first got there and began scrolling aimlessly as a way to distract myself from all the anxious thoughts flooding my brain.

I cringed as the office door creaked open, my gaze flicking up from my screen.

My lips parted in surprise.

His hands were stuffed into his pockets and although I couldn't see his entire face from where I stood, I could easily recognise those messy dark hair anywhere. He looked down at his feet as he murmured something to the girl behind the desk who sighed loudly in response.

"This is the second time, Kyler." She said.

Kyler. His name was Kyler.

"It's not my fault that Mr. Kaminsky sucks at remembering to bring his shit." He replied. His voice was low and husky and shiver slipped down my spine.

The girl sighed once more before grabbing a board marker and tossing it over to Kyler.

"Thanks." He flashed her a smile and just as he turned around, his eyes locked with mine and the same look of surprise appeared on his face as it did every time he saw me before. He blinked, opening his mouth to say something but before a sound left him, the girl behind the desk spoke up.

"Get your ass to class, Anderson."

He turned around, shooting her a small smirk and a playful salute. "Yes ma'am."

And with that he walked straight out of the office.

***

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as I walked down the empty school hallways almost twenty minutes after school ended. I decided to stay back for a few minutes after school in the library, catching up on some English reading assignment which the rest of the class had already done.

It was a futile attempt. My exhausted brain refused to digest any information and the words on the page were nothing more than jumbled up thoughts. So after an unnecessary amount of struggling, I gave up.

My footsteps slowed to a stop and I frowned, straining to hear clearly.

Music. Someone was playing music.

I blinked, trying to figure out where it was coming from. There was a voice inside me warning me to stay away but the other half of me wanted to go see who it was. I had nothing to lose. I was supposed to make friends, right? This was the perfect chance.

I moved forward and the sound grew closer. Curiosity got the best of me and all consciousness was thrown out the window as I moved towards the closer to the door.

My eyes flitted to the sign above the door. The music room.

I bit my lip, contemplating whether or not I should go inside. Whoever was inside could possibly get annoyed by the interruption and the last thing I wanted was for someone to end up hating me on my first day here.

But what if they didn't?

I slowly pushed open the door and my eyes widened as I stared at a familiar head of dark hair. He was sitting on one of the stools with his guitar balanced on his legs. His hair fell over his face as he bent slightly, his fingers moving swiftly and they seemed to strum the guitar almost effortlessly.

Kyler. Kyler Anderson.

A small smile flitted on my lips as I watched him, leaning against the door-jamb. 

Just then, the music stopped abruptly. I looked up and my eyes met Kyler's. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

I stared at him, swallowing.

Blue. His eyes were blue.

"You know, I was really trying to believe that you weren't a stalker or something but you're making it harder and harder each day." He said.

I doubled back, opening my mouth to clarify but then I saw the small smile flitting on his lips.

My eyebrows shot upwards in amusement. "Hey, I'm not the one who keeps creepily staring all the time."

He chuckled slightly, shaking his head. He got up and placed the guitar on the stand. I couldn't help the soft smile on my face as he walked over, extending a hand. "I'm Kyler. Kyler Anderson."