I remember back when I was about ten years old when I had to move down to Australia. My family was suffering for a bit, so my aunt and uncle were willing to take one of us. Instead of taking one of my siblings, they took me. Kathy Tomlinson. Not Louis. Not Lottie. Not Fizzy. Not Daisy or Phoebe. But me.

"I don't wanna go without you, Lou!" I cried, as I was packing my stuff. At ten years old, I had a slight clue of what was going on, but it was fuzzy. Fuzzier than a carpet.

"It's alright, Kat," he sighed. He jumped onto my bed, making all of my clothes fall out my suitcase. At age fourteen, Louis had a better understanding of what was going on back then. Of course, I still don't know what was going on back then, but I don't think I want to know.

"Look at what you made me do, Louis!" I shrieked, starting to chase after him. Since he was much taller and faster than me, he managed to run to the other side of the room in a few seconds. I was too tired to chase after him, so I went straight back into packing.

"You know, I can always visit during your summer break," Lou suddenly said.

"When's summer break?" I asked. I was thinking that it was during June, where it's summer over here.

"Over where you're going, it would be right now, I think," he replied. "It's already time for Christmas here. We're celebrating my birthday and Christmas, and then, you're flying out on the 26th."

"But then, I wouldn't be able to spend the New Year with you!" I blurted out. The idea of not being with my large family scared me, and I didn't want to imagine or experience it.

"You'll be alright," he patted me in the back and walked out of my room.

Looking around my room, I noticed how small and empty it always was. Being the second oldest in a family of six children, I have a lot of responsibilities. Now, they're all going away. I'll be with my aunt and uncle somewhere in Australia. What will happen?

****

"Oh, Kathy!" my aunt cried out, wrapping her arms around me."We've missed you so much!"

"More like you've missed her," my twelve year-old cousin, Thomas, grumbled. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and a big scowl on his face.

"Kathy-kat!" a tiny voice piped up, while running over to me. It was my four year-old cousin, Amy.

"Make that the two of you, Barbie dolls," he muttered. My aunt instantly ran over to him and smacked him in the head.

"Behave, Thomas!" she snapped. "She's staying with us for a while, so you might as well get used to her."

"Why couldn't you have just taken Louis? He's cooler than her!" he complained. "At least, he's a boy, not a girl!" He kept coming up with reasons for her not to take me in throughout the entire car ride. Finally, we pulled up at a fairly big-sized house in Sydney.

"Okay, we're here!" my uncle boomed, as he ran to the trunk to grab my belongings. "Kat, you can stay out here for a bit. We're going to fix up your room a bit."

"Okay, then," I quietly replied. I sat in the grass and started looking up at the sky. I just got here, and already, I feel like I'm not welcomed here. Thinking about this, I decided to lean back into the grass and rest for a bit.

****

"Hey, what are you doing there?" a voice called out to me. Instantly, I opened my eyes, thinking it was Thomas, calling me inside. The first thing I see is a face, a few inches from mine. In shock, I sit up, hitting my forehead on his temple. "Well, someone around here's got a hard head."

"Who're you?" I mumbled, rubbing my forehead and looking at him. The guy had black hair and brown eyes. I would've thought that he was an Asian guy, but thought against it. He was looking me over and suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Wait, where are we going?"

"You're new here, aren't you?" he asked, dragging me to a tree down the block. I nodded. He started climbing up the tree. "You're Thomas' cousin or sister?"

"His cousin," I answered, starting to climb up with him. "Two years younger than him, and apparently, the worst thing that's happened to him in the last twelve years of his life."

"You're funny," he started laughing. He jumped to the top, where a tree house was. He ran in, with me trailing behind him. "Say something else that's funny."

"That's not funny!" I protested, slamming my right foot on his left foot. He screamed in pain.

"Ouch!" he yelled. He started hopping up and down on his right foot. I smiled in satisfaction. "You hurt! Don't do that again!"

"Fine, but I'll do it on one condition," I tried giving him an evil grin. I could see his face saying, Your face sucks. You fail at glares.

"What is it? Sell my soul to you? A kiss? Jump off this tree?" he asked, sitting down on a windowsill.

"Be my friend," I simply said. He looked at me, like I was crazy.

"Did you get brain damage after smacking your head on mine?" the boy asked. I sat next to him on the windowsill.

"No, your stupidity rubbed off on me," I replied. He frowned in response. He was at a loss for words and was plotting something. I just knew it.

Suddenly, I thought I saw him leaning towards me. "Hey, what are you-" I started to say before being interrupted.

I felt his lips on mine. I'm serious. I didn't even know this guy twenty minutes ago and never got his name, yet he was kissing me right now.

"Now my loss of words rubbed off on you!" he yelled gleefully.

"Y-You," I tried to come up with an insult for him, but I started to falter. In all of my ten years of existence, this was the first time that I've ever been speechless. I'm usually confident and have a comeback ready to blast out. "You player boy!"

"Calum. Calum Hood. Calum Thomas Hood. That's my name," he grinned. "And that's a deal!" He dashed out of the tree house and jumped down the ladder.

"Calum Thomas Hood! You better explain that right now!" I shrieked, running down the tree. I saw him running to a house down the street.

"Kathy!" Thomas called out from the front door. "Mom says it's time for you to see your new room."

"Coming!" I yelled, running to the door. "Hey, Auntie. I have something to ask you."

"Yes, Kat?" she stuck her head out of the pantry, hair sticking out in many directions that I never knew were actually possible.

"Is there a kid around my age around the neighborhood?" I asked politely.

"Oh, you probably met him already while you were outside. His name is Calum, and he loves playing with Thomas. He's over here quite often. He's a nice kid, so you'll be friends with him in no time." she told me. She stuck her head back into the pantry. I turned around and scoffed to myself. If he's a nice kid, then why would he kiss me within twenty minutes of meeting a girl? Seriously, who does that?

That's what I thought back then. Of course, that's just the beginning of a friendship that would last for many years.