Begin Again

THE GANG

Sundays are fun. At least they seemed fun until the end of the day, where Delano had to get ready for school the next day. But for the hours where the sun was high up in the sky, he had quite an amazing day. 

Delano was awaken by the sound of knocks on the door. When he rubbed his eyes open, he realized that it was his door. After some quick debating between the angel and demon in his head, he finally gave in and unlocked the door. The figure standing in front of him was no other than Fletcher, leaning partially against the frame of his door, half of his weight still supported by his left leg, and on his face hung a sunny smile. 

'Wha-' Delano squinted to see if it was his imagination or was his friend really standing in his doorway, waking him up on a fine Sunday morning. 

'Del, get ready in ten, we're going to Maison de Café for breakfast,' Fletcher said, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm, entirely opposite from the sleepy guy in front of him who was struggling so hard to keep his eyes open for a few more seconds. 

'I-' Delano wanted to protest that it was a perfect morning and he was planning to sleep through midday since it was his first Sunday without the need to head to his father's company for work. But Fletcher cut him short.

'No buts,' he said, looking through Delano's thoughts faster than one would have expected. 'I'll wait for you in the living room.' With that, he jogged down the flight of stairs like a happy puppy, the wood making a little sound every time his feet touched them, which sounded like someone playing with wooden drums. 

'Why do I feel like he is always so carefree?' Delano mumbled in his breath, rolling his eyes as he changed into a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, before heading down to join his friend, who was sitting on the couch in a comfortable position, while munching on some chocolate chip cookies that Corinne had baked the day before.

'How did you know where I lived?' Delano raised his right brow, his expression was full of curiosity, as they left the house. 'Were you stalking me?'

Fletcher laughed as if he had just heard the joke of the year, fighting back the happy tears that were rolling in his eyes. 

'I followed you home yesterday,' he said, and when Delano put on a fake disgusted face, he explained, 'In case you were lost, you know, since you're not exactly familiar with the area.' And Delano replied with a quick tease. 

After the five minute walk down a few streets, they were standing in front of a vintage-looking coffee house, its signboard decorated with neon lights that weren't switched on since the day was bright, a menu was attached to the inner side of the glass wall beside the wooden door. As they entered the shop, Delano found himself looking around at the interior of the place. 

The wooden floor looked a bit old but was recently painted with a layer of shellac to give it a glossy look, there were armchairs at each table which took the place where ordinary chairs were supposed to be, the pale yellow fluorescent lights gave the coffee house a coziness that was rarely trembled upon in urban areas, the counter was a small space just enough for two people to be in, and behind it stood a woman in her fifties. She had a kind smile, her grey hair was styled into a short pixie haircut, the apron which she was wearing and the checklist she held in her hand somehow made Delano assume that she was the owner of the place. 

Fletcher led Delano to a small table where there were a guy and two girls sitting there, who looked up simultaneously and waved when Fletcher approached them. The guy had glowing ice blue eyes, his hair dyed to the colour of Delft blue, giving his eyes some unusual sharpness yet there was a little softness in the way he looked at his friends. The girl on his left had auburn hair, her big eyes the colour of brown and black, and from the way she sits half-leaning on the armchair there was an aura of not-someone-to-be-messed-with. The smaller-size girl, sitting the closest to where Fletcher and Delano were standing, had a slightly chubby face, which made her silver eyes look like diamonds, adding on to her cuteness when she widen her eyes to look at them, her dirty blonde curly hair tied into a messy bun. 

'Hey guys, this is Delano, the new guy in school,' Fletcher introduced. Delano gave them a polite smile, slightly wider than he had expected. 

'I'm Zeke,' the blue-haired guy tossed a grin and brushed a hand over his hair.

'Sydney,' the girl with auburn hair and rose red lipstick said, half-smiling.

'Hi, I'm Piper,' the last girl gave him a toothy smile, her silver eyes glittering as if she had just seen something fascinating.

'Let's order, shall we?' Fletcher said as he pulled an armchair and sat down between Delano and Piper, flipping the menu.

The meal was a delight, and they spent some time talking about school, getting to know each other and filling Delano in on the events that would take place in the area during Christmas, which was a month and a day from then.

The five of them decided to head to the mall with a three to two simple majority vote. Piper, Sydney and Fletcher wanted to do some shopping while Delano and Zeke had preferred to go to the movies, but they figured things out the old fashioned way.

The sun was beginning to set as they were strolling on the beach after a tired day hanging out at the mall, the sky turned into a huge art masterpiece with splashes of orange, purple and pink around the bright yellow sun, the waters reflecting the beautiful work of nature like a never-ending mirror.

'I better head home, my parents didn't expect me to go back so late,' Piper said, as she took tiny steps away from them.

'I'm going with you,' Sydney flashed them a smile and jogged to keep up with her friend.

'Anyone up for a party? There's one at the club,' Zeke offered, and Fletcher's eyes lit up.

'Aren't we underage?'Delano asked.

'My dad owns the place,' Zeke winked cheekily.

'You guys have fun, I think I've had enough fun for the day, see you tomorrow,' Delano waved them goodbye, and minutes later he was walking down the path to his home.

After a long refreshing shower and much effort to get all the sand out from his clothes and hair, Delano changed into an old hoodie and a pair of comfortable pants. As he was getting ready for bed, he suddenly remembered the girl he had encountered the day before.

With a little hope in his heart, he ventured onto the roof again, this time he kept his eyes on the branch where she had sat.

I might sound like a fool but I wish she would be here. He thought to himself.

Moments of silence later, the leaves rustled to reveal the girl. She was wearing the same black cloak, but this time she jumped from the branch onto his roof, catching him in surprise.

'Who are you?' Delano repeated the question that had been running in his mind since last night.

She said nothing, but as she moved to sit beside him, he could catch a glimpse of her green eyes, and a strand of coal-black hair falling in front of her face. She was looking in the same direction as he was.

'What are you doing on my roof?' Delano asked, determined to find an answer. She looked away as she caught him staring at her, as if she was afraid that he might see what she looked like.

'At least, tell me, what should I call you?' Delano frowned a little, expecting no answer to this question just like the ones before.

'Belle,' she said for the first time, her voice was soothing like a lullaby, and Delano could feel nothing but attraction and desire to know more about her. It took him while to realize that she was answering his first question. 

'You-' he began.

In the split of a second, she stood up and left the way she had come, swift and experienced, disappearing into the cold darkness, leaving him alone again as if the past few minutes were a dream.

This time, as Delano crept into his room and pulled the sheets after switching off the lights, he smiled and dozed off quicker than he had expected. His mind racing across one simple sentence.

I guess I'll wait for you tomorrow. Belle.