✓ | TWO YOUNG HEARTS ◦ 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓

4 - ALMOST A START

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THE SWEET SMELL OF MAPLE BACON DRIFTED INTO ALISSA'S ROOM. Her door was wide open, the familiar smell waking her from a slumber that had dreams of nagging thoughts that she constantly pushed to the back of her mind only to be reminded of while she slept. They often came to her later in the days, trying to tell her what she was feeling exactly, but she ignored it each and every time, opting to forget it happened at all. Some days they even stuck with her when her entire dream was about Peter; not that she would admit that out loud, though—she didn't need her friends to tease her more than they already did.

Her brown eyes fluttered open at the smell that swirled into her nose, blinking a few times to adjust to the streams of the sunny light that came into her room from the window as wind gently swept in, blowing the white curtains back lightly. Melodic music played from her flat screen TV that was strung up on the wall across from her bed, a music video playing across the screen of a recent hit single that was soon to be playing on every radio station in New York.

Slowly, Alissa sat up, glancing around her
bedroom, yawning tiredly while rubbing her eyes. She puffed out her cheeks, feeling tired despite the fact that she'd went to bed around 9:15 P.M. She rolled her shoulders, shaking her head and blinking several times to try and wake herself before trudging her legs out of bed to begin getting ready. It never mattered how much sleep she got each night. She was always feeling tired or drowsy the next morning, even if she had slept for more than ten hours with little to no disturbances throughout the night.

With one final yawn, Alissa leaned her legs over the edge of the bed and planted her feet on the wooden floor that sent chills up her spine, standing and shuffling her way over to her closet across the room to begin getting dressed for school. But, before she could change out of her pajamas, she heard a voice echo up the staircase, bouncing off of the walls loudly.

"Eggs or french toast?" A voice called out, waiting for a reply from both Alissa and Brian, or just one of the two.

"French toast!"

"Both!"

Alissa raised a questionable brow, her and Brian turning to peer at each other when they poked their heads out of their doors at the sound of the other's answer. Brian made a sour face at Alissa's choice, her face rising in slight amusement at his wacky facial expression the tiny eighth grader had. "Why would you only have french toast when you could have that and eggs?"

"We only have enough eggs for one of those options," Carter replied, having descended up the stairs to find Brian and Alissa with their heads sticking out of their doors, glowering at one another. Carter's hands were stuffed in the pocket of his jeans, his hair already styled back like he had spent hours working on his look when in reality it was nearly four minutes. A nice, green button up rested on his shoulders, some designers name printed around the hem for everyone to see. Carter playfully pouted, more at Brian rather than Alissa. "You gotta pick one or the other. Sorry, B."