The Bad Boy's Girl

Prologue

It was almost midnight and twelve year old Adrianne couldn't sleep. She had been lying on the bed, trying to get a nap, for the last three hours but she just couldn't. She remembered the conversation she had had with her parents at dinner the previous night.

"Adrianne, we need to talk to you, dear.", her mom had said as she bit down on her lasagna. She had looked up at her mom. Her mom never called her by her full name unless she was really angry with her or really serious about something. For her Adrianne was just 'Addie'.

Then she had looked at her dad who, suddenly, seemed to have developed an interest in the fork he was eating with. That was when the alarm bells started ringing. Something really bad had happened.

Were her Nana and Dada alright? Had Arthur met with an accident? Had...?

"We are moving out." her mom, always the straightforward one among her parents, stated, "Tomorrow, to be specific. We are leaving for New York tomorrow."

Adrianne had stopped midway of taking another bite of her dinner as soon as the ominous words left her mom's mouth. She had got to be kidding her, right? They couldn't possibly leave Cunningham. All her friends were at Cunningham. She had lived at Cunningham since the moment she was born and now her mom was telling her that they were leaving. How can someone leave their home?

"It's going to be great." her dad, the optimistic one of the two, exclaimed cheerfully, "We will enroll you into one of the best schools there and you can be the captain of the Junior basketball team, too. And you can make friends. New friends. New relations. New beginning..."

Her dad trailed off as she stood up, abruptly. She had never been one of those rebellious girls who'd fight their parents to make things go their way but, the situation at dinner would have had brought out that side of her had she not stood up and walked away to her room.

And the room was where she had lain for the past three hours. The room she'd be leaving for forever in just another few hours.

Knock! Knock!

For any other girl the idea of someone knocking her window at the middle of the night would have been terrifying but, for Adrianne, it was a part of her daily routine. Getting up quickly she opened her window and in swung a pair of legs followed by the whole body.

The boy, who was about her age , stood up groaning,

"Damn it, Rin , that fall hurt." he complained, as he brushed his clothes. As usual, the sight of Devon in his tattered clothes and disheveled mouse brown hair filled her up with happiness. Definitely, Adrianne would miss everyone from Cunningham in New York but it was Devon that she would miss the most.

Devon, the son of the drug dealer of the town, was her best friend. Of course, her parents just refused to let her play with him or talk to him but there had been something about Devon which attracted her to him. Something sad. And then they formed The Routine, three years ago, and that was the way they had met each other for the past three years. Every single day.

And today was the last.

"Is there something wrong?", Devon asked, concerned, his forehead creased in a way Adrianne had always found amusing. That was something she would miss too.

Adrianne just stood there, taking him in hungrily, trying to remember every detail of Devon. Yeah, she had a crush on Devon. And yes, it was pathetic. You weren't supposed to love your best friend. Not in that way.

"Rin?", Devon enquired again, "Is everything alright?"

"We are leaving." she told him, hugging him as she broke down on his shoulder. "I am leaving, Devon. I am leaving Cunningham forever.'

Devon stood still, surprised with the sudden hug. Of course, they had touched each other while playing tag or just playful, fake wrestling matches but this was.....different. It wasn't playful. It was, well, he didn't have a word for it.

But he liked it. He really, really liked it.

So, he hugged her back. And they stood that way for a while, not saying anything, until Adrianne pulled away. Devon, feeling a bit sad, let her go.

"Aren't you going to say something?", Adrianne said, punching him playfully on the shoulder as she faked a laugh.

That was the thing he liked about her the most. She had a way of being optimistic about the darkest of situations. A way of finding the silver lining in the cloud. Just like the way she thought that there was something good in him even though there was nothing

"Stay away from the drug addicts." Devon answered, "They are not as cool as I am, there."

Adrianne looked at him for a while, confused, and then Devon realized what he had said.

"No, I mean, I don't do drugs, Rin." he explained, mentally hitting himself over and over again, "I just meant that the guys who do drugs there are not as cool as me, a guy who doesn't do drugs."

Adrianne grimaced, thinking deeply about something, as Devon looked at her pleadingly. Hadn't she believed him? Did she think he was lying? Did she think that he had become just like his father?

"When I am gone, Devon," she started. Devon felt a pang of something in his chest when she said those words. "Do you promise me that you'll never do drugs?" she continued, "Never become the kind of person your father is?"

She let her hand out wanting him to make the promise and he took it without any hesitation. Of all the things he could promise her, this was the easiest one.

Adrianne smiled and his heart fluttered. He couldn't help noticing the way their hands seemed to...belong. Maybe he should tell her....

"Rin, I.. " he began but was cut off by a knock at the door.

Adrianne looked at him, her eyes reflecting the same emotion as him- panic. "You need to leave, Devon." she whisper-yelled, as she pushed him towards the window.

"But Rin, I..." he began again but Adrianne hushed him.

"Just go."

"Addie, you asleep?", they heard her dad ask from the other side of the door. Adrianne looked at Devon, waiting for him to leap onto that tree branch, and he looked back at her wondering if he should tell her.

"Rin, I...." he started for the third time but the knock on the door cut him off again.

"I'll miss you." he said, giving up on his original words of choice, as he leaped on to the branch.

"I'll miss you, too." Adrianne said, moving away from the window. She stood there, watching Devon, till he climbed down the tree and started making his way towards his house. The house where he was not wanted nor cared for.

"Addie, I know you are up." her dad said, "Please, open the door."

Resigned, Adrianne made her way to the door as she wondered about what Devon had been so desperate about telling her.

And Devon, on his way back home, wondered if he would ever again get to say the three words he had actually wanted to tell Adrianne today.

The answer, they thought, was something they would never know.

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So, hello there everyone, it's my first go at writing and I know it may contain some errors but ,please, can you just help me improve by giving me the feedback that I need?
I'd really love that.
And if you liked the Prologue don't forget to fan, vote and comment.
Love ya'.

P.S. I'll try to update almost every other day