Another detention. I expected it. Our sports teacher never believes any of my excuses. This time I pretended to sprain my ankle, she just rolled her eyes and sighed in disappointment before writing me a slip. I sat on one of the benches in the sports hall and cheered on Liliana as she missed every single goal in netball. It would lift her moods slightly, because all the other girls would complain at her for making them lose. They always take it so seriously, like their lives depend on it.

"My legs are killing," Liliana complains as we walk to our next class. We stop off at the vending machine to grab a chocolate cookie each before we head off again, making our steps slow paced so we have time to finish our food.

"I told you, you should have wrote a note. She would've definitely believed you."

She shakes her head and pulls the hairband out of her hair, allowing her dark brown locks to drop down on her shoulders. "You know I'm a crap liar. I'd end up feeling guilty and telling her the truth."

"Lils," I sigh. "I have so much to teach you."

"I'm telling you, I seriously can't lie."

"I know." I laugh as a memory forms in my head, reminding me of Liliana's terrible ability to lie. "Remember when we snuck out of your house to meet up with Hayden and Ricky? No one said anything the next morning, but you were so sure that they knew, so you just blurted it out and apologised to your parents about a billion times."

A sheepish smile spreads across her cheeks as she runs the tips of her fingers through her hair, trying to unknot it. "I felt bad. My parents trust me, I couldn't sleep that night knowing that I was going against their wishes."

We walk into our art class and take a seat at our usual table of four. Hayden and Ricky are sat opposite us with their art books and equipment already out on display.

After setting my blazer on the back of my chair, I take a seat and peer over at Hayden's work that is laid out exactly opposite me. It's some sort of face that has been separated into random parts and drawn in purple and pink pencil.

"Woah, that's so good," I gasp, pulling it towards me with my index finger. Hayden fiddles with his hands and watches as I scan over his artwork that completely captivates me. "Look at the shading."

"Thanks," he says, unable to control the smile that lifts to his ears. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it. I wish I could draw like this."

"You're good at drawing. I really liked the one you drew of the woods."

I lift my head to beam a smile at him, knowing that the paining was actually crap. He had to teach me how to shade and draw shadows just so it was able to reach a pass.

"Thanks, Hayden. Sorry, I've just stolen your book," I apologise, sliding it back to him in the process of laughing.

"That's okay." He laughs with me. "What are you drawing for your final piece?"

I grab my art book from my bag and spread it out over the table, flipping to the last page where I've drawn only half of my project.

It's a drawing of an older woman in black and white, her eyes and face cold, her heart dark, staring down at a young girl who is drawn in many different colours, smiling widely at the older lady with so much happiness and innocence in her expression. They're staring at themselves. It's my way of showing the processes of growing older. The light dwindles, the days grow darker as each one passes, the world is no longer as it once seemed.

Hayden draws in a deep breath and raises his eyebrows. "Woah. This is deep."

I hum and lift a smile. "Thank you."

His eyes flicker up from the page and land on my face. "Told you you're good at drawing."

"It's alright, I suppose."

"It's amazing," he disagrees.

When he looks back down at the page and can no longer view my expression, my eyes soften in his direction and I gaze at the way he examines the drawing. My heart flutters beneath my chest, oozing out a warm feeling that spreads across my entire body.

He's such a great guy. Whoever ends up with him is going to be one lucky lady. I just hope she appreciates and loves him in the right way. Hayden and I, we can never be. It's obvious that there's something between us, some sort of feeling that has grown over the last year or so. Neither of us has acted on those feelings, and it's because we're friends. We don't want to ruin that friendship that we've kept going for five whole years.

I never want to lose Hayden Sampson, so even if I have to hide from the feelings that sometimes rise to the surface, I'll do it happily in order to keep our friendship.

Ricky grins in my direction as he leans closer to Hayden and begins to whisper something in his ear, continuing eye contact with me the entire time. There's a blush that spreads across Hayden's face in only a matter of seconds.

Insecurities begin to grow as I glare at Ricky and question him with my confused eyes. "What?" I snap.

"Nothing," he says innocently, sitting back properly in his chair where he plays with his pencil.

"Were you talking about me?"

"Nope."

It's so obviously a lie, so I snap my gaze to Hayden and raise my eyebrows. "What did he say?"

"Nothing," he quickly stammers, unable to make eye contact.

"Tell me."

His face drowns in a dark shade of red, highlighting his blonde eyebrows. I watch as his throat moves due to the gulp he takes because of the pressure he's under.

I glare between the both of them as I reach my hand forward and snatch back my work, feeling somewhat betrayed. Ricky has always been like a brother to me, and Hayden and I have always been really close in a special sort of way. A way that makes my stomach do flips, that causes my heart to flutter and my hands to tremble. We never hide things from each other, yet they're whispering about me right in front of my face. On purpose.

"We're only joking, Sierra," Ricky assures me once he realises that I'm the least bit impressed by their antics.

"Hmm." My eyes narrow in his direction, clear disbelief flashing over them.

"I'm being serious, I was just trying to annoy you."

"Congratulations. You've succeeded," I sigh.

"What did you say then?" Liliana asks.

"I didn't say anything," he lies.

Deciding to completely ignore them, I pick up my pencil from the table and begin to shade over the older woman. In this moment, I feel like the younger girl. I'm still full of life and happiness, even though I've already lived sixteen years of this life. I've dealt with some hard situations, like my parents divorcing, watching my mum walk out to live with her new boyfriend, seeing how she would favour her stepchildren over her biological ones. Even after all of that, I still feel somewhat happy and fulfilled. I wonder if I'll eventually merge into the older lady who no longer finds happiness in her life. That would be my worst nightmare. I hope to feel like this forever.

* * *

All four of us take a seat on the wall that has became our regular spot to hangout on at lunch and break. We've been sitting in this exact spot since the first term of school, staring out at the courts that have remained the same over the years, only more wooden benches have been added to liven up the place and give more places for students to sit.

I take a bite of the chicken and lettuce wrap that I bought from the cafeteria using the money my father gave to me. It's the same meal I've been eating for four and a half years. I remember the rare times that I didn't make it to the cafeteria on time and all of the wraps had already been bought by other students. I had to choose pasta instead, and my entire day was ruined.

It's safe to say that I despise change. The very thought of it makes my stomach churn, yet I want to travel the world and experience new things. I'm terrified that I'll grow too homesick and will have to return to this town that I've been dying to escape from for so many years. It's home, after all. It holds a special place in my heart, and it always will, no matter how many miles I travel across the world.

"Sierra," Hayden says from beside me.

I twist my head and stare into his soft eyes that linger on mine for a few long seconds. Gulping, he forces himself to look away from me and down to the familiar drink in his hands.

"Hayden."

He places the drink in my hand while a blush creeps up his neck and coats his cheeks. "I got this for you."

My cheeks grow wide as I examine the glass bottle of apple juice; my favourite drink. He knows it's my favourite, and it's not the first time he's done this for me.

"Thanks, Hay. That's so sweet of you."

"That's okay, but please stop using that nickname. I hate it."

I grin in his direction before lifting my hand and pinching his cheek slightly. "But it's so cute."

"It's not," he objects, slumping his shoulders and pulling a frown.

My smile lines deepen as I stare down at the bottle of apple juice, feeling my heart flutter at the thought of him thinking of me while buying it. "Seriously, thanks for this."

His smile props back on his face for a moment.

"Okay, lovebirds, enough flirting," Ricky calls out from the other side of Liliana. I tilt my body forward and look over her to glare at Ricky. "Help us decide where we're going for a ride tonight."

"You're coming?" Hayden asks, sounding both pleased and surprised.

"Yeah, course. Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. I'm just happy you're going."

He instantly notices my grin and already knows what I'm going to do.

"Hayden, you're so sweet," I sing, scuffling his hair while Liliana and Ricky laugh.

Hayden rearranges his hair and tries to hide his red face by looking down at his shoes, still smiling widely.

"Can we go down the usual track?" Liliana asks. "They're always empty and they're safe roads."

I lift my shoulders. "Don't see why not. Let's do it."

The time we all spend together outside of school is always something I cherish. We all feel so free and euphoric, like we're on top of the world and nothing will ever get in between us.

These are the people I want to spend the rest of my life with.