Of Love and Lanterns || 5SOS

- P r o l o g u e -

- P r o l o g u e -

"Bye Mum! I'm going to meet up with Nora at the park!" A seven-year-old Ashton Irwin yelled as he left the house. He was gone before his mother could reply.

As he ran down the street and around the corner, the only thought that crossed his mind was how much Nora would like the present he'd gotten for her. Today was Saturday, the 15th of March: Nora's birthday, and he couldn't wait to see her.

He arrived at the park a few minutes later, and headed to the swings. Both he and Nora agreed that they were the best parts of the park, or any playground for that matter. He sat and swung while he waited, thinking about how excited Nora would be when she opened her present.

He'd only been swinging for a few minutes how ever, when his mother came into sight. She hurried up to him and sat down on the empty swing next to him. They sat in silence for a few seconds before Mrs. Irwin started speaking.

"Ashton, honey, Nora isn't coming. She's not home. And how many times have I told you not to run off by yourself? You're not old enough to do that yet. Now come on. When they get home you can have Nora over, if it's too late to go to the park. Okay?"

"Oh. Okay." Ashton said. He'd be able to talk to her later tonight anyway. They lived next door to each other, and each had a lantern outside their window. They controlled them from a switch on the cord, and used it to communicate after their parents had tucked them into bed. They always said goodnight to each other after their parents left their rooms.

Mrs. Irwin stood up and held out her hand for little Ashton to take. The boy stood up and took her hand and they walked back home together.

That night, when Ashton went to turn on his lantern and wait for Nora, he noticed that her lantern was unplugged, and the cord was hanging out the window. That had never happened before. Maybe she had accidentally unplugged it and the cord and slipped out the window without her noticing? Yeah that was it.

A few days past, it was now Wednesday, the 17th, and Nora still hadn't come home. The cord was still hanging out her window, unmoved from the previous nights. Ashton was starting to get worried, and he missed her desperately. After he got home from school that day, they got a phone call. Mrs Irwin, who had been helping her son with his math homework, answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Kathy? Is that you?"

Ashton looked up. Kathy? That was Nora's mums name. Ashton listened closely to the rest of the call, though he could only hear his mum side of the conversation.

"What's wrong? You sound stressed."

"What? When?"

"Oh. Well . . . thank you for the call . . . "

"Do you guys still own it, or did you sell it?"

"Oh, well that's not to bad I suppose . . . "

"Well I hope you can come back soon. Ash is going to be devastated when he hears this. Thank you for informing me. I was starting to get worried."

"Well, I'll let you go now. You need to get caught up on sleep. Get used to the new time zone."

"Bye Kathy. Keep in touch."

"Bye"

When his mom sat down next to him at the kitchen table again, the first thing he said was, "What's happened?"

His mother sighed. "Well, Ash. I'm sorry to tell you this, but . . . Nora isn't coming back. Not for a long, long time, at least. Her mother got a new job, and they've moved to accommodate her. Her Father is working internationally for his job now, so they were able to move. They had to leave as soon as they found out Mrs. McLeod got the job. They've moved to Norway. I'm so sorry honey."

Ashton didn't say anything. He just sat there with a look of despair on his face. Then after a few minutes of sitting in silence, Ashton jumped up, crying, and locked himself in his room and refused to come out.

The next day, little Ashton had accepted the fact that he was never going to see his best friend again. He'd have to deal with the bullies at school on his own. Nora had always been there for him, but now, she wouldn't be. He was sitting on his bed Sunday night holding Nora's present in his hand. A present he would never get to give her. Slowly, he unwrapped the present, to reveal the beautiful bloodstone necklace he had saved and saved his money for. He looked at it for a few minuted before he made a vow to himself. A vow to never forget Nora. To make sure of it, he took the poster hanging on his wall down and put one of the tacks that was keeping It on the wall and put it next to his bed. He hung the necklace on it, and climbed under the covers. Tomorrow was Monday. Meaning school, and bullies. What was he going to do without her?

The necklace was never moved . . . Until he was 17.

A/N: So, there's the prologue to my second story ever! Hope you enjoyed it!

So, the way the word count will be written will be in a with/without the Author's Note format. So if it says 15/20, it means the chapter alone has 15 words and the chapter with the Authors Note has 20 words. That's all I have to say!

- Kat -

Words: 900/967

***Unedited***