Chapter Two
Kylen
Transferring to a new school is easier than I thought it would be. Maybe because I have my buddies by my side and we’re going through this together.
I’m sitting in chemistry class with my best friend Beckham across from me. He’s doodling in the corner of his notebook instead of jotting down notes or tapping on his laptop like the rest of the students. I frown. He’ll for sure ask me to help him with his homework tonight.
Not only is the guy my best bud, but he’s also my roommate.
Which means I won’t be able to say no. We’ve been friends since first grade, so I’m used to him being lazy.
But this is Harrington Bay Academy, one of the top schools in the country.
He can’t skim by like he’s been doing for the past sixteen years.
The lesson goes by quickly, then the bell rings. Everyone shoots up from their desks and jets out of here like the place is infested with bugs.
Beck’s on his feet, passing his books from one hand to the other like he’s bored. “Why do you always have to be the last to leave, man?”
I shove my school stuff into my backpack. “Soon you’ll start calling me a nerd.” I swing my backpack over my shoulder and head for the exit of the classroom.
He follows me into the hallway. “Wouldn’t be the first time,” he teases.
“If I wasn’t good at school and didn’t help you, you’d still be in the third grade,” I say with a crooked smile.
He scowls, then rolls his brown eyes. “Whatever.”
He says something else, but I’m not listening to him because something—or someone—catches my eye. It’s a girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes. A girl who used to mean the world to me. A girl who I thought was my dream girl, my happily ever after, dorky as that might sound.
I knew there was a high chance I’d see her here because she told me at camp a year and a half ago that she went to Harrington. And I was ready for it. Kind of. Seeing her only a few feet away from me makes me realize that I was wrong and am not ready for it.
After my school burned down last week, we basically got split into different schools around the country. I, along with my friends, were chosen to attend Harrington, and we don’t have to pay a cent in tuition.
“Kylen, are you even listening to me?” Beck demands.
When I don’t answer because my eyes and mind are on her and her alone, he bends forward to check what I’m looking at.
“Who is she?” he asks.
I finally snap back in. “It’s Raven.”
“Hmm?”
“You know…Raven.”
His eyebrows furrow for a second or two before they shoot so high they nearly disappear into his dark hairline. “Oh. Right. Her. From camp. The girl who broke your heart.”
“She didn’t break my heart.”
“You were miserable for like six months, dude. Wouldn’t touch video games, which is a total crime, by the way.”
Fine, maybe I was a mess the months after camp, but it wasn’t my fault. I shouldn’t have put all my heart and soul into our summer…whatever you want to call it. I mean, what was I even thinking? We lived miles away from each other. And anyway, I now know that Raven wasn’t into us as much as I was.
Beck slaps my chest. “You gonna say hi to her or what?”
A year and a half ago, I would have given anything to stand before her. To ask so many questions. But that was a long time ago and I’ve moved on. Bringing up the past would be silly.
“I mean, I should,” I say. “It’d be rude not to.”
“Yup. Totally rude.”
I don’t walk over to her, though. I stay planted in my spot and watch her. She’s talking to three other girls. Must be the friends she told me about. The girls who are always there for her and help her get through whatever problems she has. Kind of like my friends and me.
I always thought Raven was the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes upon.
No other girl has come close to making me feel the way I did when we hung out at camp.
I thought I was just on a “Raven high” the weeks after I got back home.
I figured I’d get over her. And while I have, I still don’t think anyone could or would ever compare to her.
I guess what they say about your first love is true—you never forget them.
“Gotta get to it before the…” Beck doesn’t have a chance to finish his sentence because the bell rings. “That.”
I’m relieved in a way. As much as I would like to talk to her, I’m hesitant. So many emotions are brought to the surface when I think about Raven. Mostly good, since spending time at camp with her was like paradise to me. But all the crap that happened after was not cool.
Beck’s looking at his schedule like he’s seen a ghost. “Why the heck did they dump me in two economics classes back-to-back?”
Chuckling, I sling my arm over his shoulder. “Sucks to be you, man. I’ll see you at lunch.”
He frowns. “Don’t be surprised to find me passed out or dead at my desk from information overload.”
“Such a drama king.”
He slouches to his economics class while I make my way to psychology. Raven isn’t around anymore. She must have already left to her class.
I can’t help but wonder what it’d be like to talk to her again. Does she still have that sweet, kind smile that used to make my heartbeat accelerate? Is she still a great listener? Does she still have that magic way of making a person feel better about themselves just by talking to her?
After I enter my classroom and take out my things, I focus on the lesson and not on Raven. Once that’s done, I go to my next class, and then it’s time for lunch. I chuckle, wondering if Beck survived his double economics class.
I spot him and our other two friends, Leo and Jasper, standing at Jasper’s locker. Beck’s got his face pressed to the metal, muttering something under his breath.
“I see you made it out alive, bro,” I say with another chuckle.
Beck’s muffled voice says, “The teacher’s giving us a quiz tomorrow, man. You’ve got to help me.”
“Say pretty please and I’ll consider it,” I joke. He knows I’ll for sure help him. I’d never abandon my friends.
Jasper and Leo laugh as well. It’s so much fun to tease Beck.
Beck lifts his face off the locker. “Careful. You don’t want your girlfriend to see what a jerk you’ve become.”
“Dude, she’s not my girlfriend.”
“Who are you talking about?” Jasper asks, sweeping his dark brown hair out of his eyes.
“The girl who broke Ky’s heart at camp.”
Leo and Jasper nod in understanding. They and Beck were there for me when I was trying to get over what happened between Raven and me.
“Wait, she’s here?” Leo asks. “She goes to this school?”
Beck laughs. “Looks like Romeo gets a second chance.”
I scowl at him. “Dude, what the heck?”
Jasper glances around like he’s looking for her. “Is she hot?”
“Super hot,” Beck says.
I whack him in the chest.
He holds up his hands. “Don’t worry, she’s all yours.”
Shutting my eyes, I release a deep sigh and bang my back into the locker. “Why am I stuck with you guys?”
“Ouch, dude,” Beck says.
“Let’s get food. I’m starving,” Leo says, nodding his dark blond head toward the dining hall. “I heard they have good food here.”
We head for the dining hall along with a huge crowd of other students. Everyone has lunch at the same time, so it’s pretty chaotic.
I search through the crowd for Raven, but don’t see her anywhere. Maybe she’s already inside.
The second we walk through the doors to the dining hall, I spot her sitting at a table with her friends and three other guys. Hmm. Is one her boyfriend? I don’t know why I didn’t consider she’d have a boyfriend…
What does it matter? What happened between us is ancient history.
“So which one is your girl?” Jasper asks, his blue eyes scanning the tables.
“She’s not my—”
“The blonde,” Beck says.
She’s the only one not sitting next to a guy, or looking at him with hearts in her eyes. So maybe none of them is her boyfriend?
Man. Why do I care so much? I’m sure she’s had many boyfriends. I’ve had some girlfriends. Sure, none of them made me feel the way Raven did, but…
“Dude, she’s hot,” Jasper says. “How did you let her go?”
“She broke his heart,” Beck says, which makes me glare at him.
Leo and Jasper give me understanding looks. They know some details about Raven and me, but I’ve mostly kept it to myself. Beck knows because he was at camp with me.
“Happens to the best of us, man,” Leo says with sympathetic gray eyes. “The pretty ones are always looking for someone better.”
“Raven is not like that,” I stress.
“Yet, she broke your heart,” Beck says with a raised brow.
“Will you stop saying that? I’m over it.”
Beck holds up his hands while the others nod like they’re agreeing to drop the subject. “Okay, okay. But you should still say hi to her.”
“And rekindle a lost flame,” Leo teases as he presses his hand over his heart.
I whack him in the chest. He just chuckles.
They go to get food while I stride toward Raven’s table. It seems to be taking forever, like the path magically stretches for miles. My heart is doing this weird thumping thing in my chest, my palms are a little clammy, and my lungs feel like they’re inhaling lead instead of oxygen.
She’s laughing and talking with her friends, and that’s when I notice her smile hasn’t changed at all. All these different emotions hit me at once. Joy at the memories we made together, sadness that it was gone like the blink of an eye, hopelessness because I doubt I’ll ever have that again.
Just as I’m only a few feet away, Raven turns her head and her beautiful hazel eyes connect with mine.