Hardwicke, New Hampshire.

September 2nd, 2015

9 A.M

Coming back to Hardwicke after a ten year absence was like going back in time, things still looked the same outwardly. The Phillips home just down the road from my parents still had the wilted sunflowers, their downward droop a stark contrast to the usually bright, happy and upturned face that I was so used to seeing in the cities. Ms. Pinkertons' scraggly dog still came out to the edge of her driveway to bark at anything and anyone that went by and my parents home still had the neatly manicured rose plants dotted about the property.

Parking in my parents driveway I climbed out of the car, the family across the street were welcoming their son home at the same time as I had pulled in. I couldn't bare the thought of seeing or interacting with that family so soon after arriving home so rushed to my parents front door, found the hidden key and let myself in.

As soon as the door swung open I breathed in a deep breath and let it out slowly and loudly, a small smile began to form on my face as I stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind me. It was so good to be home, pity that my parents couldn't be here to welcome me but I had been used to the fact my parents were only in name only. Their life didn't revolve around the two children that they did have, rather around the company that they had built from the ground up and worked hard to maintain.

I could understand that,though I suspect I was more accepting of the fact that my parents would rather have worked than be here to see me in because they had done it most of my teen and adult life. My parents weren't strangers to me in San Francisco either, they had visited just last week and had implored me to stay at the house.

Agreeing to their invite wasn't too hard, I had missed the house I had grown up in after all but it felt weird to walk into the house without a single noise and knowing that my younger brother wasn't going to pop out of one of the bedrooms any time soon. Really, I was currently in a teenagers dream of being home alone for a long weekend with parents who cared more about work than their own property.

Going into the lounge I flicked the television on to see if I had missed anything important on the news, I hadn't. It was all still the same old stuff that had been reported earlier in the morning, though some things had changed and others had remained the same.

Flicking the television off, I sighed. It wasn't that fun being home alone if I didn't have anyone to talk to or at the very least be around.

Just as the thought entered my mind though my phone began ringing, pulling it out of the back pocket of my jeans I smiled when I saw the name flashing across the screen and swiped to answer.

"Please tell me you're in town Teegs, I need a friend to hang with me." Teegan and I had been the best of friends since kindergarten, our moms had gone to high school together too and had been over the moon when they had found out they were expecting girls a month apart. Too bad that I was a month older than Teegan, she never really let me forget that fact either.

"Yes! My god, I'm coming over. My parents home is full of bratty kids and my brothers, please tell me you have a spare bed?" I laughed when I heard people yelling in the background, Teegan had a large family and I had been added to the mix pretty early on. Mrs. Baker was always happy to have another girl in the house to even out the numbers a little more, four boys and two girls was probably not an easy thing for her to juggle.

After telling Teegan to get her butt over to my parents as soon as possible I ended the call and went outside to retrieve my bags, the Walkers were still standing in their driveway chatting. When Mrs. Walker spotted me she waved but I ignored her, grabbed my bags and went inside...a wave meant so much in Hardwicke, not returning it would send a clear message though.

I went back inside and closed the door firmly behind me, Teegan knew how to let herself into the house so I went down to my room to begin unpacking my bags.

My room felt like a perfectly preserved time capsule, the ribbons, certificates and medals that I had won in high school were still hanging on the walls. So were photos of my high school days, photos of Teegan and I back when we weren't the best of friends. One photo caught my attention completely though, it was probably the oldest photograph hanging on the 'photo wall' and showed a boy and girl around the same age with large eyes peering up at the camera.

"If only he knew how stupid he had been at the end of high school, I think he'd be begging at your front door right about now. Hey sugar tits, long time no see!" I screamed when I felt Teegan's breath against the side of my neck, I hadn't heard her come in at all but almost had a heart attack as I flung my arms in the air and turned to see her smiling face mere inches away from my own.

After hugging and laughing out loud I pulled away, "why do you still insist on calling me sugar tits? You know that was one time thing!" I laughed, remembering the time I had spilled sugar down my shirt at Teegan's home after a sleepover when we were teens.

"Because you hate the nickname, when you stop hating it I'll call you something different." I eyed Teegan at that, she always had a habit of calling me things that I hated but still insisted on it ten years later. How weird would it be if a kid walked by us and she called me sugar tits?

"Whatever, you can sleep in Fraser's room. He's away at college and my parents are adamant he won't be home," I showed Teegan down to Fraser's room even though she didn't need showing. Teegan was one of those people that became a part of the furniture in my parents home and I in hers. We weren't always so close but became closer in our junior and senior years of high school, she knew things about me that not even my parents knew.

"So apparently Fraser isn't coming back," I stated as soon as the door to his room swung open, his room was the complete opposite to mine. There was nothing of his personals in the room, I wondered what had happened to him or what had happened between he and our parents for him to clean his room out like that.

Going to the linen closet I retrieved bedding for Teegan and together we made up the bedroom for her, she unpacked while I went to see what supplies we would need for the weekend.

"Did I mention that Kyle, Laurence and Randal say hi? Seriously, they were hoping that you would call in to the house...even though they're all married and they all have kids. It's a nightmare at my parents home, I don't know how my mom copes with seven grandchildren in one house over long weekends but she does it every year. They're all like us when we were kid, loud and unruly." Poor Teegan, I didn't know what it was like to come from a large family but I knew her struggles well.

I was made an honorary Baker long ago, which meant that I experienced everything that went with having teenage brothers. That included them farting in your air space, stealing things that you needed right before you actually needed them, getting in the way, teasing, picking on you and eating your food. Some weekends I remembered going home and thinking that I was glad Fraser didn't act like any of them, he was at least a little more considerate than that.

"If I have my way I'll be staying clear of your brothers...besides, I'm sure the last time I actually spoke to any of them I was ready to hit Kyle." I don't remember exactly why I had wanted to hit Kyle. All I knew was that he'd made me furious for some reason or another and I was moments away from breaking something.

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Tee died off then as she thought back to that moment. I went back to rummaging in the kitchen to see what was where and what we could eat. The search turned up nothing delicious to eat, I sighed as I looked at Teegan before opening my mouth.

"I should have known the pantry and cupboards wouldn't be stocked. We have to go out...past the Walkers again." Groaning I went and grabbed my car keys, wallet and phone before Tee and I went out the front door. I was thankful to see that the Walkers were no longer standing in the driveway, but rushed towards the car when I spotted Samuel Walker exit the front door.

"Oh my god Teegan, hurry up. Awkward conversations are never good." I climbed into the drivers side of the car, Teegan thankfully didn't question me and climbed into the passenger side equally as fast.

"Have you seriously not spoken to Samuel Walker in ten years? And why are you so freaked out that the first thing out of his mouth is going to be cussing and yelling?" Teegan had to question me right then, didn't she? It didn't matter that my nerves were instantly frayed whenever a thought of Samuel popped into my head.

"Because the very last words he said to me were, and I'm paraphrasing here. I never want to see your tomboy, hillbilly, buck toothed face again for so long as I live. Or something along those lines, it was ten years ago now so my mind is throwing things in there that he probably never said." I backed out of the driveway, Teegan waved out her window and I smacked her...did she just wave at Samuel?

"What? Seriously, he looks sad he could do with a friendly wave, smile or you know...a friggin hug from his BFF!" There was no way I was ever willingly going near Samuel Walker again in my life, nope..no way at all.

See, in high school Samuel had earned the nickname Icarus. He flew too close to the sun, which was Bethany Ward and got burned. But what most people don't know is that I was also Icarus, only I flew too close to the ocean and almost drowned.

"You do the hugging Teegan, I'm not going near him." I stated as we made our way down the street towards the supermarket.

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Please, please, PLEASE let me know what you think.

This is so different to anything that I've written before..well sort of. The characters for starters are in their late 20's but the story will go between the MC's at the age of 27/ 28 and the MC's at the age of 17/ 18.

Hope you all enjoy :D