I look at the closing diner in front of me and sigh, I walk up to the doors and push them open, the bell dings.

"We're closed, come again tomorrow morning at six am." Mr. Carthy says tiredly

"I'm sorry to bother you this late Mr. Carthy." I say

Mr. Carthy turns around and looks at me,

"What're you doing here Remi? Don't tell me you're hungry, you know I'd do anything for you kiddo bu—"

"Mr. Carthy I need something to keep me occupied, I have a lot on my mind and I need a distraction." I sit down in a booth

"You want a job?" He smiles

I nod,

"Of course, I thought the day would never come when you'd ask me.." He chuckles

I stand up and hug Mr. Carthy, "I won't let you down. Thank you."

"I know you won't, you have your brothers fire in you." Mr. Carthy let me go and we both say our goodbyes and I continue my walk,

I find myself at the river, I stare at the murky reflection of myself and frown,

No wonder he let me go, you're a mess. Hell, why do you think like this Remi. He's a worthless nobody, right? You didn't have feelings for him, he's just another stupid guy. A stupid guy like Hayden.

"Hey." A voice from behind me spoke, I turn around and see him standing there. I turn back around and stare at the water, no words exchanged. I feel warmth fall on my shoulders, his minty cologne intoxicates me. I tug on the jacket and it falls to the side of me,

"Mallas." His voice booms in my head and i feel my heart pound against my chest like it's trying to escape. I'm speechless, why is he doing this. I hear the grass beside me rustle and a hand was placed on my thigh, his thumb  caressed me in a comforting way.

"You can't--do this." I feel a ball in my throat form

"I know it seemed out of the blue Mallas, and I'm sorry. You're going to understand later, I promise." He says softly

I look at his icy blue eyes and he stops caressing me with his thumb, he pulls me closer and leaves a kiss on my lips and I felt so many emotions between heartbreak and lust, I breakdown in his arms,

"It doesn't make sense now, but it will. I promise."

He holds up his pinky and I lock it quickly, I don't know what's come over me, but I trust it. Something inside me told me to, what I don't get is how he's always changing his mind. He wants this but does that, he needs to go that way but he goes this way. To hell with my mind.

He pulls me in for another kiss and I pull away after,

"Tell me Redley, what now?" My voice shook

"I don't know Mallas, we just— we need to wait for this." He holds both my hands

"You can't—you can't just keep doing this. I want an answer right now." I say

"I know mon coeur but I can't give you that right now. Give me time to deal with everything, for now we can meet here every night. Are you ok with that?" He asks

I nod silently and just like that he was gone in a flash, his jacket still on the grass and I grab it and put it on and start walking back to Grandma Liz's house.
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I walk my way up the porch and open the door with the spare and see my grandma sitting in her chair,

"Remilee where have you been?" She questions

"I went on a walk." I tug on the jacket

She takes a deep breath and nods, "As long as you make it back home in one piece, I'll survive." She laughs

I smile at her,

"Get to bed kiddo, you have school tomorrow." She says

I nod and make my way upstairs and lay in bed, his cologne lingers around me, it felt good.

No one should know about this.

I take off his jacket and hang it in the closet, I go back to my bed and stare at the ceiling until I drift away.
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The dull sun was resting on my face and I open my eyes and look out the window, it was raining. I get out of bed slowly and it feels like my limbs are frozen, I get dressed into my clothes and look at the jacket that hangs in my closet. I slide the closet door close and walk downstairs and see my Grandma, my mom, and Ollie sitting at the table.

"Remi!" Ollie smiles wildly and runs over

I open my arms and he tackles me to the floor and hugs me, I hug him back and sit back up.

"What's up Ollie?" I question

"You want to play in the rain?" He asks pointing out the window,

"When I get back home from school, I gotta get going now." I let Ollie go and walk to the door, I open the door quickly and get out.

I pull my hood over my head and start jogging, I felt the rain landing on my cheeks, the wind blows my hood off and my hair catches the rain drops. I jog the whole way to school and I enter the building and I feel like I'm getting consumed by an over sized blanket,

"Remi!" I hear, I turn around and see Sky in her fuchsia coat and boots.

"Oh dear lord save me." I mumble and look up at her and smile slightly, Sky runs up to me and her face seems more lit up this morning than usual.

"There's a new kid!" She jumps up and down and the small heels on the boots click on the ground,

"Why does this concern me?" I raise one eyebrow,

"If you see hi—"

"If you say his eyes Sky, I'm going to lose my damn mind." I cross my arms, she stands there unsure if she should even finish her sentence. I stand here staring at her and a smile creeps onto her face and she turns me around. At the end of the hall I see a kid with black hair, he smiles as he walks down the hall and a dimple rests on his cheek.

"Damien?!" I smile widely

He looks around confusingly and his eyes meet mine, I run over and give him a hug.

"Remi?!" He says surprisingly, he hugs me tightly. I let go of him and look at him,

"How are you Damien!" I smile

"I'm great how are you and Koa!" He asks not knowing of the tragedy, my smile fades and I look down at my feet.

"Did I— did I say something?" He questions so innocently,

"He's—he's living a better life upstairs." I look back up at him awkwardly, his blue and green mixed eyes stare at me and he frowns.

"H-how long?" He sounds so unsure of himself, I don't want to discourage him. I let out a brave smile.

"We can talk about this later, what lunch do you have?" I push my wet hair onto my back,

He nods and folds his lips a little and the first bell rings, "I have first lunch." He looks around at the people disappearing into their classrooms, I nod.

"I'll find you ok?" I smile and start walking to my class.
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I walk out of class and head to lunch when I feel an arm pull me into a janitors closet, I couldn't see anything but their eyes and I knew at an instant,

"Andrew Cole!" I whisper loudly and swat him on the arm, I feel him pull me closer by my hands and his warm breath on my neck, "Who was that guy you hugged this morning?" He says huskily,

"Why do you care?" I laugh a little,

"Just tell me please, it's driving me crazy." He groans and lies his head on my shoulder

"It's just a friend." I laugh, I hear him huff,

"You better not be lying to me Mallas, go to lunch." He takes his head off of me, his lips find mine and places them there for a second. He gently pushes me out of the janitors closet. I laugh and walk to the cafeteria and Damien is waiting for me at the door, I smile at him,

"Come follow me." I walk to my table and see Sky sitting there with her head down, I slam my hands on the table and her head shoots up.

"Damien!" She smiles

"Sky!" He laughs

I laugh and sit down and all three of us catch up and we all talk about what he's missed since freshman year. The bell rings and we exit the cafeteria.

"Lets all hang out after school!" Sky says excitedly

"Sky we have practice." I crumble up my trash

"I can wait for you both." He says

"Are you sure?" I question

"Of course!" He smiles

I nod and throw my trash away.
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