Please read the author's note!!
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There was a steady tapping on my bedroom window, pulling me from my sleep. Wind shook the house, making the walls creek and I squinted my eyes open to see the dimly lit room. It was 7:32 am, but the blanket of clouds covering the sky kept my room dark.
I pulled my comforter around my shoulders and dragged myself out of bed. My body shivered at the low temperatures of my house and I scolded myself for, again, not turning on the heater before I went to sleep. Jaxon had gone home some time after midnight and I'd been so tired, I went up and crawled right into bed.
I turned on my shower and let the water heat up while I got undressed. The rain outside sounded like it was coming down harder.
I shook myself from my distracted state and stepped under the hot stream of water. I took my time, only getting out when the water started to get cold. I went through my morning routine, today deciding that simple eyeliner and my favorite burgundy lipstick was enough. I slipped on a pair of jeans, suede boots that came to just above mid-calf, and my warmest beige knitted sweater.
To keep myself dry from the rain, I slipped on my leather jacket before grabbing my backpack and heading downstairs.
I ate a small cup of instant oatmeal hoping that it would help keep me warm. It was stupid, but worth a shot.
I put off leaving for as long as I could, but eventually the time came. I walked outside and immediately knew that my oatmeal had done nothing to keep me warm. I scurried over to my car and hopped in.
I drove slower than usual because of the slippery roads and thankfully I made it to Mel's school on time.
The rain had slightly let up so I decided not to get my umbrella from the trunk. I grabbed my backpack and speed walked to the doors of the school.
Inside the warm air blasted and I rubbed my hands together as I walked towards Melanie's locker, trying to get some feeling back into them.
I grabbed my history folder from the locker and started off towards Mr. Reid's classroom.
I saw a familiar blonde ponytail walking just a few feet ahead of me and I jogged forward to catch up with her.
"Hey Maddy." I said brightly when I reached her.
She smiled when she saw me. "Hey, Mel. I didn't really see you at the fair, did you have fun?"
Halloween night flashed through my mind leading to memories of my birthday and a smile spread onto my face.
"Yeah, it was fun." I bit my lip trying to control my facial expressions but Madison saw right through me.
"Did something happen?" She looked at me suspiciously.
I grinned at her. "Well-"
And arm wrapped around my waist and my words were cut off as a pair of lips pressed against mine. My thoughts flew from my mind and my heart rate sped up. My hands rested on Jaxon's chest and the only thing I could focus on was his intoxicating kiss.
Suddenly I remembered that we were in a hallway full of other students and I pulled away from him. I awkwardly looked over at Madison who was staring at us with wide eyes.
I looked back over to Jaxon who was smiling down at me. "Hi."
I laughed breathlessly. "Hi."
"Uh," Maddie spoke up. "So, you guys are," she trailed off.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Wow." She said looking between the two of us. "Well it took long enough."
I tilted my head in confusion. "What does that mean?"
She rolled her eyes and started walking towards the classroom. My mouth popped open in surprise.
"Madison," I started after her.
My hand went to Jaxon's to pull him along behind me.
"Come on, Mel, you guys are so obvious. Ask anyone." She gestured to the hallway even though it was practically empty.
I thought back on my time here, since the swap. At first our hatred for each other was known, but after we'd worked things out, I couldn't deny that I'd taken a liking to him pretty quickly. I didn't realize I'd been obvious about it.
"Whatever." I said finally and Madison and Jaxon laughed at me.
I we made it through first period and Jaxon didn't even get reprimanded by Mr. Reid. I'd say the day was off to a pretty good start.
I walked into the science room and took my normal seat next to Lucas. He looked at me and smiled, pushing up his glasses.
"Hi Melanie." He said.
"Hey Lucas. How was your weekend?" I asked lightly.
He shrugged. "My mom always throws a Halloween party, aunts and uncles, my many cousins. No big deal."
"That sounds fun." I told him honestly.
He gave me a sideways grin. "Well not nearly as fun as your weekend, from what I've heard."
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What have you heard?"
"Just that you and Jaxon had quite the memorable Halloween." He chuckled silently and started writing down the notes for today's assignment.
I stared at him in shock. What could people possibly have heard? We'd only been in school for an hour, how fast could this information spread?
"What did you hear?" I asked.
He actually smirked at me. Yes, Lucas smirked.
"Just that you confessed your love for each other on the Ferris wheel then spent the rest of the night in the fun house. I have to say, I didn't know you had such a wild side." My jaw dropped.
"Oh my god." I placed my head in my hands. "We have such imaginative classmates."
"So that didn't happen?" Lucas asked curiously.
I looked up at him and glared. "No, of course not."
He shrugged and nodded. "I guess it is kind of hard to believe, you and Jaxon."
I pressed my lips together and played with my pen. "Well, that part might be true."
"Really?" Both of his eyebrows raised.
"Yea-"
"Hey there, melon head." I rolled my eyes at Bryce who had so rudely interrupted me.
"What do you want, Bryce?" I asked.
He put on an offended look and placed a hand to his chest. "I can't just say hello to my friend?"
"Of course you can, but you don't have any friends over here." I said bluntly.
Bryce was one of the few people who I still didn't get along with. Even after I'd made amends with Jaxon and the rest of his friends, Bryce never did forgive me for making him look stupid in class all those months ago. It was either make him look stupid or let him set the room on fire, I think I made the right decision.
Bryce was clearly over his nice facade because his eyes narrowed at me.
"I heard you sealed the deal with Jaxon. How weird that word just spread so quickly." Was what he said.
From anyone else I probably would have just calmly shrugged it off. Denied it and moved on, but this was Bryce. There was something about him that never failed to piss me off. And the fact that he just discreetly confessed to spreading lies about me didn't help.
"I heard you tested positive for HIV, but you don't see me spreading it around." I said easily.
Bryce clenched his jaw.
"Alright everyone, let's begin the lesson." The teacher stood at the front of the classroom.
With one last glare, Bryce walked away to his seat.
At the end of class, Rhea hounded me with questions about Jaxon. She'd apparently heard the rumors and I was more than happy to clear up the details for her. I didn't need her running around with false information.
My day went on a lot like second period. People asking if the rumors were true, dirty looks from underclassmen, which I didn't exactly understand, and a lot of whispering directed at me.
Jaxon and I decided that it would be best to just ignore it. People would believe what they wanted, plus their reactions were fun to watch whenever Jaxon and I showed public displays of affection.
After the final bell rang, Jaxon and I exited the school side-by-side. I waved goodbye to Rhea and Madison before going with my boyfriend to the parking lot. I felt a flutter in my stomach when thought word went through my mind.
"Do you want to come over today? Jade has been dying to show you her bottle rocket for school." Jaxon asked as he walked me to my car.
"That sounds fun." I agreed. "What time should I come?"
"Well, Grams will definitely want you to stay for dinner so, how about four?" He suggested.
We stopped next to my car door and I looked up at him. The dark sky reflected off of his eyes, making them a stormy blue. I couldn't help but wonder why he would possibly want to be with me. Actually me. I tried to keep those thoughts from my mind because with those, came guilt of lying to everyone. Even Melanie.
"Sounds good." I placed my hands on his chest.
He leaned down and kissed me gently. A shiver went though me and judging by the butterfly's in my stomach, it wasn't just from the cold.
"I'll see you later." He said quietly.
I smiled. "By Jaxon."
I got into my car and waved before driving away. The rain had stopped but the roads were still wet so I drove slightly below the speed limit, which the cars behind me didn't exactly appreciate.
I pulled into my driveway fully anticipating what would definitely be a fun afternoon with Jaxon and his family. I opened my front door with a loud sigh and laid my keys on the table in the hallway.
I let the door shut behind me and froze. The small spider plant that usually sat in the hallway was now tipped over, some of its soil spilling out onto the rug.
Most people might assume that they'd done it before they left that morning without noticing. It couldn't have been an intruder who had accidentally tipped this plant over. But I was not most people, and living alone for so long made me more paranoid than the average person. It didn't help that I'd seen pretty much every scary movie ever made.
This wasn't the first time that I'd come home to something not being right. My normal actions would be to grab something dangerous and weapon-like and scope out the house, where I always found nothing.
Today was different though. Why is that, you might ask? Because a loud clattering sound came from my kitchen.
I slowly and quietly let my backpack slip to the ground. I grabbed the big metal flashlight from the table and slowly walked forward.
I turned the corner and peeked into the kitchen, holding the flashlight out in front of me.
My jaw dropped at the sight in front of me. I felt my eyes fill with tears.
"Mom?"
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Hey everyone!
I'm so sorry this update took so long to get up, and I'm also very sorry that it's so short.
I promise the next one will be up a lot more quickly.
Anyways onto more important matters.
2016 BOOK PROLOGUES ARE UP!!!
The reason this chapter took so long is because I've been working on two new works. The first chapters of both of them will be up January of 2016!
The first is called "Worth the Fight".
The second is "When the Clock Strikes".
I would extremely appreciate it if you all would go check them out, if your interested in reading please vote for the prologues :)
Thank you so much for your patience and your support.
One last thing, this has not been edited so if you see any mistakes feel free to point them out in that comments section.
Thanks For Reading :)
~Lori~