The Guardian

Chapter 1

~Chapter 1: The Guardian~

There he was again. The boy ran past speeding cars easily as if he were walking. I stared at him as he passed our car, and I could have sworn that he'd flashed a smile at me. My brother glanced over just when I had shot my hand up to wave at him, mesmerized.

"Close your mouth, Meg," said my brother Marc.

"Huh," I answered, dazed. I quickly closed my lips.

"We're here, get your stuff," he said, assertive as ever.

"Okay," I shouldered my bag and placed my hand on the armrest of the passenger seat and looked through the corner of my eye at Marc, where he was smoothly maneuvering the car into a snow filled parking space with the steering wheel. The second he pressed the brake and unlocked the car, I opened the door and was about to run out when Marc's hand was on my shoulder.

"Megan," he started," Don't get into trouble on your first day of high school, got it?"

"Marc," I mimicked," Stop treating me like a child." I placed my hand on his and promised him with a sincere smile and a look into his deep brown eyes. I always wondered why he thought he had to treat me like a kid. That was supposed to be a dad's job. Well, that's what I thought, even though my dad never came home from work one day from his job seven years ago. Well, we actually never knew what his job was in the first place.

I sighed and jumped out of the car just as my blue-eyed dark brunette friend, Rachel, wrapped her thin arms around me and whispered, "Seems like your brother is as hot as ever, Meg."

I took her at arm's length. I didn't get why people liked Marc so much. He was just a senior. I glanced his way and found him holding my gym bag. He had his quarterback gear on his back, along with his bag, and his guitar case in hand. Okay, so maybe he was sort of perfect.

Claire, my other best friend, was quietly giving the evil eye to Tina, the freshman diva and drama queen. Claire's blonde hair was pulled back into a low and loose ponytail with her newly cut bangs hanging over her sparkling emerald green eyes.

"Be nice, Meg, Be nice," Marc whispered as he gave my shoulder a final squeeze and walked to the front door in easy strides, Rachel's eyes following every step. Then, Tina shows up, already ruining my day with her bright red smirk. "Who's the hottie? And why in the world would he talk to you!?" she asked, eyeing my up and down, smacking her gum loudly.

"Well, the 'Hottie' just happens to be my brother, and trust me you are sooooooo out of his league," I replied in the nastiest voice I could manage.

"Uhuh, Yeah. What's his name?" she asked, completely ignoring my response.

"David," I lied while twirling my brown curls and watching her hazel eyes scan my dark brown ones for any clue.

"David huh..." she trailed off. I could already imagine her brain trying to find a way of getting her hands on him. Finally she strolled off towards her own posse.

I turned to my friends and found Claire's, supposedly, 24/7 poker face and Rachel's eyes say Why'd you let her go after him?

"You know I would love to see Tina rejected by Marc," Claire said, her voice as daring and challenging as ever.

"Um, Meg is he really single?" Rachel asked, hopefully.

I looked at her coolly, "You know, you would be the first to know if he was single, Rachel. And right now, he just happened to start dating the valedictorian."

Rachel kicked at the freshly cut grass with her boots in frustration. I hugged myself, bringing my coat tighter around myself. While Claire stood as if the fall weather was nothing but a small breeze.