Two years earlier:

AVERY knew what her goals had to be this year, she'd had them written up on her the small whiteboard her Mother had fixed onto her door for most of the summer, but a week into her first term she hadn't come close to even beginning to complete any of them. 

It was a different matter on a summer evening to think up a list of dreams with hope in your heart and to then have to start accomplishing them, that was harder. She'd decided that this year was going to be the year where she did things she'd never done before, last year had been filled with missed opportunity where an invisible force had held her back from doing what she wanted to do. That invisible force had turned out to be the small nagging voice at the back of her head telling her it was better to not stand out and risk being humiliated.

Walking through the gates of Ridgeview High, Avery squared her shoulders and straightened her spine, her Mother Riley had always told her that if you projected an air of confidence then others around you would believe you were someone they wanted to know. And it seemed to have worked, Avery could tell that people looked at her with heightened interest like she had become someone different over this summer, and why shouldn't they? 

She wasn't part of the 'it' group but these days it was becoming less and less fashionable to follow along with other cliché's, she was liked because she was different, she had an edgy best friend in Brooklyn and wasn't afraid to tell people what she thought of them, that was also one of the reasons why a lot of people disliked her. Avery saw it simply as expressing her own opinion and if people didn't like that trait in her she'd rather not have to go through small talk with those who were excruciatingly self-righteous.

Brooklyn was waiting for her in the place he always was, under the bike sheds, she had to resist rolling her eyes when she saw who was animatedly talking to him, Darcy Fellows was the definition of a hanger-on, she had been shooting Brooklyn puppy dog eyes since last year a fact which he seemed oblivious to no matter how many times she assured him that Darcy had a massive crush on him. She was wasting her time, Brooklyn wouldn't have been interested in her when he'd been his normal self, happy and he certainly wouldn't want her now.

Darcy's brown eyes widened when she saw Avery and she noticeably took three steps backwards from Brooklyn, Avery had to resist smiling if Darcy wanted to believe that she and Brooklyn were more than best friends she could.

Avery couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why she disliked Darcy, it was a combination of many she was a person who was almost too nice if such a person existed, she'd always been over attentive showering others with compliments, but Avery had heard rumours that the notorious burn book that had been found containing the school gossip had been written by Darcy. Take today, she was dressed in a cutesy yellow dress with a bow around the collar and had the look of a rabbit caught in headlights.

"Hi Avery," she said, barely a squeak.

Avery nodded at her, a dismissal, it was probably rude, and she knew Brooklyn was going to have something to say about it but right now she didn't care, she needed to talk to him.

Darcy scuttled away, and Brooklyn raised an eyebrow at Avery.

"She's nice you know; her sister was in India's year at school and they were really great friends" he took his bike lock out of his satchel. If people could be moral compasses, then Brooklyn would have been Avery's.

She sighed.

"There's just something about that girl that gets under my skin, but you carry on being a saintly soul by all means."

He shook his head at her and she laughed, the bike had been locked away safely, something he'd only started doing last year after his bike had been stolen, she'd bought him a new one for his birthday,  she slipped his arm in hers in their usual comfortable way.

"The funniest thing is she clearly views me as some kind of competition, have you not noticed that she runs away any time I come near her talking to you?"

Brooklyn gave a non-committal murmur and then took out his phone.

"So, I've read that list you sent me profusely, care to explain what was so important to tell me that you couldn't tell me over text or call?"

Avery couldn't help herself, Darcy had already left her mind and she needed him to know before she burst.

"Kristen, you remember her from Alex's party?"

"Yeah"

"Well she messaged me last night and gave me Cameron, as in Cameron Hunter's number and told me she thinks he might be into me!" she couldn't stop her squeal of excitement though she knew that Brooklyn was going to hate her for it, she detached her arm from his and turned to him, he had an expression on his face that looked like he'd smelt something particularly bad.

"Of all the guys in the world Aves you chose to chase Cameron Hunter, the guy is a total player he might be into you this week, but he'll have moved on next week, guy's like him don't stick with one girl, star of the football team and the high school throne that goes with it..." he trailed off.

"I didn't mean you" he quickly corrected. "I meant girls in general, he'd be lucky to have you, but he doesn't deserve you that wasn't some kind of insult."

Avery knew what he meant, but she disagreed, she'd longingly glanced at the back of Cameron's head in Biology for far too long to give up on her dream, she knew it wasn't a realistic dream she was a hopeless romantic after all. But then again, Kristen was trustworthy where gossip was concerned, she might have had a slight reputation around school for being a little too easy and downing one too many drinks at parties, but her information was always impeccable. But Avery didn't expect Brooklyn to understand, in the entire time they'd been friends he'd never shown a slight interest in anyone who had expressed an interest in him.

And it wasn't even like he was unattractive which frustrated her, there were plenty of girls who would jump at the chance to go on a date with him with his artistic looks and masses of curly hair, not for the first time Avery wondered if she should set him up on a blind date. He'd become so serious, and that was of course completely understandable, in his situation, she would have been distraught, maybe he needed something to bring joy back into his life.

"What are you thinking? You've got that look in your eye, the one I don't like at all." She hadn't noticed he'd still been looking at her waiting for a response to his negative view of Cameron.

"I'm thinking you're probably right but you're only young once right? It's probably nothing but if he does try and talk to me you won't begrudge me that will you?" she turned to him with a false pleading expression on her face, hands clasped as if in prayer.

He laughed for the second time that morning and it was nice to see the deep lines on his forehead even out, since his Mother's death Brooklyn hadn't laughed much, Avery made a mental note to ask him how things were at home, how India was coping with her new job, but not here in front of everyone else.

"Fine" he relented. "But if he breaks your heart I'll break his pretty boy face."

She blew him a kiss as she reached the door that led into Mr Ortega's Biology class he looked at her with an expression meaning he wasn't amused, then the two sides of his face cracked into a smile and he reached out as if to catch her imaginary kiss and feigned tucking it away in his pocket.

Grinning, she entered the class and immediately caught Cameron's eye, he winked, her heart felt like it was going to explode as she took her seat behind him.

Maybe this year was going to be interesting after all.