Jesse's footsteps made light tapping noises on the dirt road she was walking along, dried leaves and twigs crunching beneath the thick soles of her well-worn boots. Despite the sun already hanging low over the horizon, Jesse moved with an energetic spring in her step, her usual, cheerful smile plastered across her face. She was grinning from ear to ear, her bright copper eyes sparkling brightly. Not even the heavy backpack slung over her shoulder seemed to slow her step.

Jesse almost never went a day without her friends by her side, so after being away for a week, she couldn't wait to see them all again. It felt like ages had passed and she had desperately started to miss Axel's bear hugs, Petra's feisty remarks, Olivia's excited rambling, and Lukas's usually-slightly-lame jokes. Who knew seven days could go by so slowly?

Jesse tilted her head back as she walked, casting a glance at the pink sky beyond the canopy of dark green leaves. It'd be dark in less than an hour, but she wasn't that far from the tree-house.

Sure enough, it wasn't ten minutes later down the road that Jesse spotted the base of the familiar, sturdy oak tree that held their home in its branches. The finely crafted staircase that curled around the trunk, the branches firmly holding the large wooden structure in place. Soft glows of light were visible behind the drawn curtains.

Despite the heavy weight on her back or the tiredness in her limbs, Jesse broke into a jog, running the last stretch of the dirt road towards home. She skidded to a halt at the base of the tree, looking up at the building above her. Taking a deep breath and grinning, Jesse grasped the wooden railing with one hand and slowly began to climb the stairs. Voices were audible, yet muffled, inside the tree-house. Jesse reached for the doorknob, pulling it open and stepping into the light on the inside.

Before her eyes had a chance to adjust, Jesse heard her name called. It was almost immediately followed by the thudding of feet on the wooden floor, before multiple pairs of arms were thrown around her in crushing hugs. The group erupted into unclear, excited rambling, laughing over each other.

"It's so good to have you back, bud!" Axel completely lifted Jesse off her feet, practically squeezing the air out of her.

"We didn't expect you back 'till tomorrow morning!" Olivia exclaimed, beaming.

"I couldn't wait another night, I missed you guys too much!" Jesse said when she had finally caught her breath, looking between her friends.

"We missed you too." Lukas said. "The place didn't feel the same without you, seven days felt more like seven months!"

"We should celebrate!" Petra grabbed Jesse's one arm, shaking her excitedly.

"Guys, I'd love that, but I'm exhausted." Jesse said, laughing as she looked between her friends. "I want to take a long bath and go straight to bed."

"Aw no, come on!" Axel pouted, putting his hands together in a pleading motion. "Just a little bit of catching up? Pleeease?"

"There'll be lots of time for catching up tomorrow." Olivia said, trying to look stern. "Jesse needs her rest."

"It's not like we expected her back 'till tomorrow morning anyway." Lukas added.

"Come on, Jess, what do you say?" Petra asked, shaking Jesse again. "Can we hang out a little before calling it a day, or are you going to bail on us immediately?"

Jesse rolled her eyes, chuckling as she looked between her friends' pleading faces. Should she....

Hang out with them for a short while

or

Call it a day early?

Voting Closed

___

There we have it, the prologue to our newest adventure! It feels odd publishing something right after writing it, but that's going to be the nature of this book. I'm dying to write chapter one, which is why I couldn't wait any longer to post this!

I haven't been this excited to write in ages, so I'm hoping this project will help me get my motivation back!

Anyway, enough rambling, let's focus on the story! So the prologue was pretty short, but well, it's a prologue. I promise the actual chapters will be much longer! Obviously the prologue doesn't end on a plot-changing choice, but I wanted the readers to already have a say in what happens next!

So jump in, comment your vote, and feel free to try and theorize over where the hell this story is going, because I'm being vague on purpose!

See you all in chapter 1!