-chapter 1-

       It was a warm August morning and the breeze was faint. Anastasia sat on a park bench enjoying the splash of the ducklings in the nearby pond along with her dog, Molly. The ducklings were painted with yellow, white, and brown down feathers, all of them quacking and swimming around like nobody's business. Molly was a large, very heavy chocolate lab with yellow eyes.
      She sat there for a while just taking in the ambiance with her hair down past her shoulders in her green tank top and white shorts. She closed her eyes, leaned back, and took in a deep breath of fresh air - the day really was beautiful.
      The bench shifted suddenly, and Ana could feel that someone had sat next to her. She opened her eyes and looked bashfully to her right, looking wide-eyed at the mesmerizing beauty that sat next to her. His eyes were pale yet accepting, his smile warm and bright, and his hair glistening in the morning sun.
    He greeted her with a smile that was accompanied by a small simple wave. Ana couldn't take her eyes off of him.
    She finally caught herself looking at the fit boy, awkwardly looking away and giggling. The boy turned and looked at her, "What's so funny?" She noticed his Australian accent, which made him even hotter.
     You don't meet too many people without some type of accent, but it's usually one from within the states, not from different countries.
    Ana could feel her face flush brightly, not knowing how to respond. She was too reserved to tell the handsome boy why she let out a small chuckle. "The little ducklings are so cute," she lied.
     Their eyes met and neither looked away. "That they are," he said slowly, still caught in Ana's eyes.
She felt her face flush once more and quickly tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear while turning to face the pond once more. She felt the boy scoot closer to her on the bench, "Not trying to be too forward, but you're beautiful. What's your name, love?"
     Ana blushed another time and told the handsome boy her name. "Anastasia, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He took her hand in his and gave it a small peck - he was such a gentleman. He looked down and tapped Molly on the head. "And what might your name be?"
      "Oh that's Molly, she's my girl." Ana patted her head as well and got an unexpected woof of a attention. Both Ana and the boy laughed and locked eyes for a split second.
      "I actually have a special one myself. His name's Chopper and he's a black lab," he said with a smile, lying to try and impress the beautiful girl.
     No boy has ever been this respectful to Ana before, let alone one with such good looks. Usually guys go up to her, put an arm around her, and start calling her 'babe' or 'hottie', never really taking the time to talk to her. This seemed to her like a really important step, since for all these guys knew she could be a very convincing drag queen, or a boy with long hair who likes to wear tank tops - you could never be too sure these days.
       Ana stood and began walking Molly again without another word. The boy, unsure why she walked off, ran after her and tried to continue their conversation. "So, uh where are you off to, love?" She giggled again and replied, "Just out on a walk on a beautiful day with the most beautiful girl in the world," scruffing Molly's fur and scratching her ears.
     "Well, I could say the same," he said with his hands in his pockets, looking into Ana's eyes. Molly sat down, obviously too tired to walk any further, and yanked on the piece of fabric hanging out of Ana's pocket and laid down with it in the mud.By the time Ana noticed, the cloth was already ruined, doused in mud.
     Seeing how disappointed she was by it the boy took out his handkerchief that his cousin had given him when he was little and handed it to the hurt girl.
       "Oh, I can't take this, it's yours," she argued, but he insisted, so she reluctantly took it and held it up to her nose to smell the boys wonderful scent.
     The song 'Runaway Baby' by Bruno Mars began to play. Ana looked over and caught the boy's eyes again. He blindly searched his pockets for the source of the noise and soon pulled out an iPhone. He waved it in the air, smiling at Ana. "Found it," he chuckles. She couldn't restrain her laughter, holding her hand over her mouth, silently tearing up at the obnoxious ringtone.
     He smiled at Ana attempting to keep her composure while he put the phone up to his ear and greeted whoever was on the other line."Hello?...... Oh, but Cal I'm in the mid-.... Uh, yes I understand tha-" Whoever was on the other line kept cutting the poor lad off.
     He stood up and held the phone away from his ear taking a deep breath before continuing to be yelled at from the other line. He snuck a few glances here and there at Ana while she looked at the boy pace around in front of the pond. "Okay, okay, I'll be there in a few. Sorry for the inconvenience," he replied before hanging up the phone.
      "Is everything alright?" Ana asked seeing the distraught boy hang up the phone while she tucked his handkerchief away.
       He looked at the ground and seemed nervous. "Actually no, I have to leave soon. But before I do...may I have your number?" He glanced down at Molly. "Just in case I need dog advice," he added, hoping to persuade her.
     She nodded. "Do you have a piece of scrap paper and a pen?" she questioned, making him fumble around in his coat before he pulled out a torn-off piece of notebook paper and a pocket pen. She scribbled down her digits and handed the small paper back to the boy before walking off.
      While walking away Ana realized she never asked the boy his name. Instantly regretting it, she still refused to turn around and call after him, figuring he wouldn't even call in the first place.
The boy turned around and mentally fist pumped the air, overjoyed and feeling accomplished. He really wanted to get to know Ana, and he hoped she wanted the same.
     Making his way back to his car with the number in his hand his phone began to ring again. He answered to someone screaming at the top of their lungs about how he was late and if he didn't get there in ten minuets there would be no world tour. With the phone in between his ear and shoulder, he attempted to put the slip of paper in his wallet so he wouldn't lose it while opening his door.
       A breeze gently passed by and kidnapped the stray piece of scrap, pulling it from the boy's fingers.
He immediately dropped his phone and went after the paper, leaving his new iPhone cracked and dismembered on the asphalt. He chased the paper, trying to catch it in midair. It swooped and zagged as if in a cartoon, finally landing in the pond by the bench. The water absorbed the ink and the             numbers washed away, a small duckling pecking at the paper and eventually swimming away with it.
The stunned boy just stood there, not knowing what his next move would be. He looked around to see if anyone had witnessed this moment, but no one was in sight. He slumped back to his broken phone, picked up the pieces, threw them in his car, and calmly left in disappointment.

-.-.-.-

     The phone had a small amount of dust on it, aching to be rung. Ana sat there staring at it, waiting for it to ring, wanting the mysterious boy to call so she could ask his name. He was all she had thought about for the past three days.
   She waited and waited for the phone to make even the slightest movement, but it never did. Not even any of her friends had called her, which was starting to worry her.
   She remembered how sweet he was, how his blonde hair was a little frizzy but stayed in a quiff perfectly, and how the outside of his iris would light up when she looked into them. She didn't know why she felt so strongly for a boy she had only had a minute conversation with.
     It was only five hours later when Ana finally gave up, laying on the couch with a bowl of snacks and eating through her loneliness. She flipped through a few channels, then stopped at her favorite show - 'Awkward'. She laughed as Jenna was typing away on her laptop, blogging and making weird faces pertaining to her inner thoughts.
     Soon the show ended and commercials began, detergent, upcoming shows, that kind of stuff. Then there was this one commercial that caught her attention: it was about some new Australian band that was sweeping the US - 5sos.
     Then it clicked in her mind as she was studying the boys why the commercial was so interesting: the lead singer looked extremely similar to him, the mystery boy. Maybe it was just a coincidence. She studied the television closely as he exclaimed, "Hai, I'm Luke!" Then the others called out their names, but she didn't pay attention to them. Then the camera cut back to him saying, "And we're Five Seconds of Summer."
     Her show came back on, but she just sat starring at the TV, not knowing what to do. She knew it was him, she just didn't know how to react.
Ana shook off the thought and continued to watch her show. It was difficult enough not to stare at the phone, but now she wanted the commercials to come back on, just if by chance that same advertisement came on again.
    Why couldn't she get him out of her head? It's not like she knew him or anything. Nonetheless he was sweet and kind to her, unlike any boy she had ever spoken to.
    Her roommate, Isabelle, walked in carrying some bags. Ana quickly got up to help her before anything dropped. "Thanks Ana," she said as she handed Ana her load of groceries.
  Ana nodded at her appreciation and sat the bags down on the counter, "Do you need help putting the stuff away?" she asked, hoping the answer was no.
    Isabelle thought for a while then shook her head no. She's a very pretty girl, smart, funny, ambitious, but unfortunately no common sense. She would sometimes ask the dumbest question, just outright stupid, but she meant well.
   "So has that guy called yet?" she teased Ana, but her face softened when she saw Ana's expression. She immediately comforted her, cooing, "Awe, Ana don't worry about him, he's stupid not to call you," as she wrapped her into a hug.
    Ana removed herself, "Yeah, it's fine, I shouldn't have expected him to anyway. The only thing I did was get my hopes up," she said, walking back into the living room as the commercials came back on.
Then the drums, the guitar, the beat, his voice, the commercial all played again. Ana thought about telling Isabelle, but decided against it, as she didn't want to tell anyone a famous rock star asked for her 'digits'. Isabelle walked in singing along to the chorus as it played through the speakers.
Ana looked at her in confusion. "You know these guys?" She scrunched her nose.
    Isabelle smiled, "Yeah, Five Seconds of Summer rocks, and their lead singer Luke is F to the I to the       N to the E. Foin!" She said snapping her fingers in a terrible New Jersey accent.
   Ana gave a small smile as she watched the boys state their names once again.
   "Hai, I'm Luke."
        Ana looked over at Isabelle who was sitting on the other couch flipping through a magazine.
"Hey what's that Luke dude's last name?" she asked curiously.
  Isabelle smirked and kindly responded, "Luke Hemmings, the god of hotness." Ana could have done     without the 'god of hotness' but it was true, the boy was smokin'.
"Luke Hemmings," Ana unknowingly repeated.
     "What? Does Annie have a little crush on the famous Lukey Wookey?" Isabelle teased in a baby voice.
     Ana laughed, replied "No!" and then threw a pillow at her friend, earning a slight grunt from her.
Anastasia and Isabelle have been friends since second grade. Both of them are from Philadelphia, and they met during a neighborhood barbecue. Shortly after, they discovered that they lived across the street from each other. They instantly connected with many of the same interests and aspirations. Izzy dreamed of being a fashion designer while Ana wanted to be a model. However, since then Ana's motives had changed, as she was now going to college to become a surgeon.
   They both moved to New York together for college a few years ago. Currently, they were sharing an apartment and taking their last year before their Bachelors degree. It was all fun, but sometimes Ana got tired of Isabelle's loud personality. Anastasia was more of a quiet girl, while Isabelle was obnoxious and an extrovert. They were complete opposites, but the best of friends.