GUESS WHO'S BACK IN BUISNESS!

Quick life update and thank you...:

GOD, WHAT A WEEK, SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED THIS WEEK THAT I JUST WANT TO LAY ON THE FLOOR AND STARE AT THE CEILING WHILST LISTENING TO SNOW PATROL.

EXAM WEEK IS OVER.

AND I'M ACTUALLY GOING SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN THE ISLE OF WIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THREE YEARS, not that I don't love it there but Kefalonia in Greece is slightly more exciting aha! I HAVEN'T BEEN ABROAD FOR AGES.

But, here I am, when I should be sleeping at 46 past midnight, because I promised you guys an update!

Oh and also! If you are confused by the title, this is a three part series and you should check out chapter 26, it will explain it :)

Good to back and writing for all of you people again!

Thank you for all you kind and supportive words :) They mean more than you could ever know, one girl told me the other day, even though she was on chapter 3 of TSIWF that she wasn't really the kind of person who could into a book, but she couldn't stop reading mine, she said she thought I could really make it as a writer and that I had great potential and that meant the absolute world to me, thank you o much if you are reading this. Thank you all of you for, again, your support but also for being so patient!

-Lx

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Daniel POV

"Now have you got your ticket?"

"Yes"

"Your sweatshirt?"

"Yes"

"Your coat, just in case it gets cold, windy or rains?"

"Yes"

"Have you got your-"

"Mum" I cut her across, placing my hand on her shoulder, shaking my head as I smile at her slight anxiety towards me being away from home. "I've got it all packed, I checked three times"

"Who are you sitting with on the coach?" She asks, leaning against the kitchen surface and folding her arms.

"Josh"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Mum, Kirsty is sitting with a girl she knows from another class and Ollie will sit with Emma"

"I assume Hazel will be sitting with this Matt that I've heard about from Clarissa?"

"Probably" I shrug "no big deal"

She looks at the floor then back up at me with her blue eyes.

"Don't let Matt cause you any trouble okay? I've heard a few things about his past..."

"I won't, he knows better to anyway because of Hazel...I hope"

"I mean it Daniel, don't let him interrogate or harm you"

"I won't"

"Promise"

"I promise I won't let Matt hurt me physically or verbally, and if he does I have Ollie and Josh to help out and if we're alone then I can just talk about Hazel and he should be easy on me"

She nods, running her fingers through her hair anxiously and playing with the blonde highlights.

"Stay safe on the roads, London's very busy"

"Yes Mum" I smile, pulling her close for a hug, she clutches at me for a moment before releasing me slowly.

"Bye" I wave, she smiles and nods and I walk into the hallway to great Dad who grins at me enthusiastically.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, bye Ellie!" I yell to her, she pokes her head out from the top of the stairs, bright blue headphones on and phone in her hand. She waves in reply and Dad opens the door which I head out off.

"Does Hazel need a lift?" I watch as Dad's eyes drift over the hedge to her house, staring at it as he waits patiently for to reply. He lifts up the boot of Mum's red Toyota and I lift my suitcase in, pulling my rucksack to one side so I can keep it with me.

"No I don't think so, she'll go with Matt, a friend of hers"

He nods, then swiftly gets into the driver side and I get in next to him, he revs up the engine and adjusts the passenger seat mirror and then begins to reverse from the driveway.

"So you and Hazel are okay now?" Dad asks, somewhat cautiously. I look up from the road to his concentrated frown, which breaks when he glances at me quickly.

"Yeah, seems that way"

"Son" he sighs as we pull up behind a car in a line of traffic. "You need to be so careful, think of the state she put you in? When I found you sitting on the beach?"

I close my eyes and huff in an irritated manner at the memory. I turn away from him and look out of the window at some passing fields.

"Seriously Dan" My Dad continues "if she did it before, she could do it again"

"It was partially my fault we broke up Dad, in fact I could've fixed the other reason as well if I had worked at it and then she would've been reassured"

"So why did Kirsty say it to her then?"

"Jealousy" I shrug "Hazel and I never argued really, but with Kirsty and Josh it was ever single day"

"It's all very confusing" he says, shaking his head as we near Cowes. I smile at him in response.

"Oh tell me about it, it was the only thing I thought about for weeks and I still can't really get my head around all of it"

He chuckles loudly and turns the steering wheel to go left into another road.

"Your Mother worries too much, I heard what she was saying to you" Dad says, smiling in amusement. I nod.

"She just gets worried you know? Because of how I got"

He nods sternly, thinking back to our conversation only a few minutes ago.

"You'll be fine" he reassures, but it oddly sounds like he is reassuring himself.

I roll my eyes and turn away from him to look out the window again, looking at a collection of ancient cottages.

***

"Right everyone, so as you know, the coach will meet us at the other side, meet here in about half an hour, you're free to go!" Mr Gore announces, looking very touristy, with his Hawaiian shirt, beige shorts, sunglasses and a straw hat.

Josh grabs my arm and yanks me up the stairs, I stumble and trip but make it to the top deck in one piece. I shift my sweatshirt that he managed to make look weird from pulling at one sleeve and I follow him over to the rail, shivering slightly at the gentle breeze.

"Weird isn't it, to be going away from home?" he nods at the island in front of us, drifting slowly away.

"Yeah" I agree simply, folding my arms to stand beside him as he drapes his arms over the rails. His sandy hair moves in the wind, but he lets it for once, enjoying the peace and calmness of this moment.

I clear my throat and he looks up at me. I smile sheepishly.

"I'm absolutely starving" I state, he rolls his eyes and laughs; leaning back and stretching in his half tired state, he slings and arm round my shoulders sluggishly and laughs at me, then guides me inside and down the stairs to the small café area. A lot of people in here are room my class, Mr Gore sits chatting with Emma and Ollie in one of the sofa areas, I grab a tray and grab a sausage roll from the pastry section and I pour myself a coffee into a cup and screw the plastic lid on tight.

"Hey, look who it is" Josh tugs at my shirt and I look over my shoulder warily. Hazel sits in a light grey jumper that is speckled with tiny black dots and a black pair of skinny jeans, tugging at her anchor necklace as she listens to Matt, who rests his right elbow on the table, talking about something with the occasion shrug of his shoulders. She laughs and her eyes screw up as she does, she tilts her head back and her hair tumbles down her back in their gentle waves, he smiles at her as she laughs and I feel a twang of jealousy in the pit of my stomach.

"Sir?"

I look round again to see a petite tan girl waiting patiently behind the counter. She gestures to the building line and I nod, swiftly moving along so I am opposite her.

"Want anything mate?" I question him as he glances back at the pair in the corner of the room, who continue to talk over coffee. He shakes his head and smiles.

"That'll be £5 then please" she says, I dig into my wallet and retrieve a note to hand to her, she examines it carefully and holds up towards a light then she tilts hr head to one side to keep me moving.

***

"Hey Hazel" I say, going up to her as she stands by herself, waiting to get onto the coach. Her hair blows softly in the gentle breeze and she looks at me and her lips form into a smile.

"Hi Dan" she says, turning to face me, she brushes her hair away from her face carefully.

"So, you're back on the mainland, how does it feel?" I try to start small talk.

"Really strange actually" she laughs, looking around us in the car park, she shakes her head and runs her hand through the roots of her hair. "I didn't think I'd be coming back for a while"

I nod in response, she frowns at something and tips her head to one side as she reflects to herself with no words and her mouth a thin line, lips tightly pressed together.

"Are you okay?"

"Just thinking about everything that happened since I was last here" she smiles faintly and looks up at me fearfully "seems like forever ago"

She looks timidly at the ground and shuffles her feet, a guilty aura seems to be apparent from her posture. I feel the same urge to hug her again, to let her feel my warmth, that everything will be okay and just let everything fade around us, just for a bit. Like we used to.

So I do.

I step forward and she scoots closer also; I unfold my arms and stretch them out slightly and she shuffles in-between them. I put my arms around her back and pull her into my sweatshirt. My front immediately feels warm, I can feel my heart beat where her head rests, and I rest my chin against her brunette hair and close my eyes as she grips onto the black material of my sweatshirt. I listen to her steady breathing and my brain seems to go blank, her angelic perfume relaxes every single fibre of my body, I forget about where we are and what I am doing here, all I can think about is how tranquil this is and how alluring it is to just never let her go, and just stay in this moment for a little endless eternity. Just between the two of us, with nothing disturbing it.

Eventually however, I feel Hazel shift and I unenthusiastically remove my arms from around her small form, she smiles at me, I don't know what I look like but she examines my expression very carefully, her pupils searching my face. I then smile at her and she stops it, she blinks and takes a step away from me.

"Thank you for that Dan" she smiles, I nod in response, pulling my hood over my head as the breeze picks up again, we now join the smaller line of people that clamber up the steps into the coach, I step aside and gesture for her to climb the stairs before me and she thanks me for it. I follow her to the main aisle of the coach.

We walk down the passageway, I find Josh waving at me frantically, I look back at Hazel to say something more, she opens her mouth but we are both cut off.

"Haze, I saved you a seat!"

I look around at Matt who sits nearer the aisle, he beams at her and she smiles, he looks at me, his beam vanishing in seconds, and we hold awkward eye contact, his deep blue eyes seem to pierce right through me and I feel a horrible feeling in my gut as he almost glowers at me. Hazel frowns at him and shakes her head, I blink and look back at her, she makes an apologetic expression, I nod and step aside for her to get through, avoiding her gaze as much as I can as she passes to sit next to Matt.

I settle onto the fuzziness of the blue seat and I place my backpack at my feet. Josh nudges me in the arm and I look at him curiously. He bends down and shuffles through his bag before retreating a green folder with or college logo on it, he opens it and searches through it for something.

He hands me a piece of paper; it's slightly torn at the top, a typed document with a small amount of text on it, my eyes scan it. I stop at two words, my eyes widen and the paper nearly slips out of my hands. I look up at Josh who nods firmly, looking concerned. I gulp and read over the words again to make sure I am not hallucinating.

~ COWES COLLEGE TRIP-LONDON 2015~
GROUP 4 ROOM 257, ROOM FOR 4:

JOSHUA EVANS
OLIVER HART
DANIEL FOSTER
MATTHEW LLOYD

Signed E.F GORE, REPRESENTATIVE AND CARER OF CLASS 2, 1ST YEAR, ENGLISH LITERATURE, I.O.W COWES COLLEGE LONDON TRIP FOCUSED ON THE STUDY OF SHAKESPEARE.