Chapter 1

August 27th

It was a quiet night with a cool breeze caressing my skin. I was sitting on the steps of my front door, thinking about what this new school year would be like.

I’m seventeen, and I’m graduating this year. I want to take it easy and enjoy my last year with my friends before leaving for New York to study for my doctorate.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear my mother calling me for dinner until I felt her hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Are you okay darling?”

“Oh, yes mom, sorry, I didn't hear you”

"are you sure?"

"Yes, mom, i'm fine"

"Alright, I came to tell you that dinner is ready, we're waiting for you"

"Okay, I'll be in a few seconds"

After saying that, my mom went back inside and I stayed outside for a few more seconds looking the moon, which was shining ver brightly. After that, I got up and went inside.

....

I was sitting eating with my family, my younger siblings were playing with the food while my mom asked if I was ready to go into school to which I replied that yes but I was still nervous

"Everything will be alright, you have your friends" My mom said

"I know," I said with a small smile. "I'm just nervous. It's my last year, you know? Everything feels different now"

"That's because you're growing up," my mom said

I sighed and looked down at my plate.

"Yeah, but after I graduate, I'll be moving to New York to get my doctorate. I won't see you as much, and I won't see my friends either. I feel like time is going by so fast, and honestly, that scares me."

My mother reached across the table and gently placed her hand over mine

"You may be growing up, sweetheart, but that doesn't mean you're leaving us behind, No matter where you go, this will always be your home, and we'll always be here for you"

Hearing my mom's response helped me calm down a little and made me feel less stressed, even thought I was still worried. After talking for a while, we continued eating, and once I finished, I stood up and was about to head to my room when my mom spoke.

"Where are you going, sweetheart?"

"I'm goign to my room. I want to get everything ready before I go to school tomorrow"

My mom smiled before speaking

"Okay, just remember not to stay up too late."

"Okay, mom, Goodnight, everyone."

I said goodbye and listened as everyone wished me goodnight in return.

....

I was lying in bed, unable to sleep because of how stressed I was. I just hoped this year would be one I would never forget.

It was already midnight, My family was asleep, but I was still awake, lost in my thoughtd.

i got out of bed and put on the necklace my grandmother hav given me before she passed away. Whenever I felt this way, I would wear it. It was the only thing that could calm me down because somehow, wearing it made me feel like she was still close to me.

After putting it on, I climbed back into bed. This time, I closed my eyes, and eventually, I fell asleep.

...

August 28th

First day of school

I woke up after turning off my alarm. It was six in the morning. I got ready, I grabbed my backpack, and headed downstairs. My mom was preparing breakfast while my little siblings were already eating before going to school.

I sat down and ate quickly. A few minutes later, I finished my breakfast and got up to brush my teeth.

"I'm leaving, mom"

"Take care," I heard my mom say.

I walked out of the house and got on the bus. And hour later, I arrived at school. As soon as I got off the bus, I spotted my friends and walked straight toward them.

"Hey girls! How are you?"

"Hi Adeline! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too. I missed all of you."

My friends were Vanessa, Patricia, and Angelina. We had known each other since elementary school, and ever since then, we had been inseparable. Vanessa was my best friend. I saw her as a sister.

Patricia was a very cheerful, intelligent, and kind girl. Angelina was a cheerful and intelligent too, but she could be a little difficult to become friends with-or at least, she was like that with people who didn't know her. With us, she was different. She could be friendly, although she was sometimes serious.

And Vanessa...she was mature, intelligent, kind and cheerful, but a little more serious tan the rest of us. I loved her anyway.

“Hey, did you hear that there’s a new girl at school?”

Patricia asked with a smile.

“No. Who is she?” Vanessa asked.

“Her name is Natalia, and it’s her senior year here, just like ours. I want to meet her and become friends with her.”

Patricia smiled.

“We could go find her and talk to her,” I said with a smile.

“Yesss! Good idea, but we have to be careful not to scare her.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t scare her,” Angelina said.

“Well, I’m going. The bell is about to ring.”

Just as I said that, the school bell rang.

We headed inside the school and went to our lockers. I grabbed my notebooks and headed to my history class.

When I entered the classroom, I took a seat. The other students gradually came in and sat down as well. A few minutes later, the teacher arrived and closed the door. The second bell rang, signaling that class had officially begun.

The teacher stood at the front of the classroom and began to speak.

“Good morning, everyone. How are you? I hope you had a wonderful summer and got plenty of rest. I’m your history teacher this year, and I hope we’ll get along well. My name is Carl Torres, but you can call me Professor Torres.”

While the teacher was speaking, the classroom door suddenly opened.

A tall boy with brown hair and tan skin walked into the classroom.

The teacher looked at him.

“Well, young man, you’re a few minutes late to class. I’ll let it slide since it’s the first day of school. What’s your name?”

“Liam Hawthorne.”

“All right, Liam. You can take a seat.”

I watched as the new boy walked to the back of the classroom and took a seat in the row next to mine, near the corner. I managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes. They were hazel, and they were incredibly beautiful. After that, I looked back at the front of the classroom and continued paying attention to the lesson.

When my history class ended, I went to my locker and put my things away. Then I went to find my friends. I noticed Patricia was standing with a girl. I assumed she was the new girl, so I walked over to them.

As soon as Patricia saw me, her face lit up.

“Adeline, this is Natalia. Natalia, this is Adeline, my friend since elementary school.”

Natalia reached out her hand, and I shook it.

“Hi, Natalia. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Adeline.”

“Where are the other girls?” Patricia asked.

“They’re probably still at their lockers.”

“Probably. Well, I wanted to invite Natalia to eat lunch with us. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course. That’s fine with me. And I’m sure it’s fine with the girls too.”

“Okay, then. Natalia, you’re eating lunch with us.”

“Okay. I’d love to.”

I smiled when I saw how happy Patricia was to have made a new friend. Then I heard Natalia suddenly call out a name I recognized immediately.

“Liam!”

I turned around and saw the boy from earlier walking toward us. He stopped to talk to Natalia for a moment, and then he left.

“You know him?” I asked.

“Yeah. He’s my brother.”

“Wow, you two look alike,” Patricia said.

“You think so?” Natalia asked.

“Yeah. But you’re pretty too,” Patricia added.

While they continued talking, I found myself thinking about the boy again.

A moment later, Angelina and Vanessa arrived.

“Hi. What’s going on?” Vanessa asked.

“I was just introducing Natalia to Adeline,” Patricia explained.

“Hi, Natalia. I’m Vanessa, and this is Angelina.”

“Hi, girls. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Like I was telling Adeline, I wanted to invite Natalia to have lunch with us. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course. No problem. You can eat lunch with us every day if you want,” Vanessa said with a smile.

“Thanks, girls,” Natalia replied.

Patricia looked incredibly happy.

Just then, the bell rang again, signaling that it was time for our next class.

…

4:30 pm

The final bell rang, and the halls immediately filled with students.

Adeline slipped her notebooks into her backpack and made her way toward the exit with her friends. The first day of senior year was finally over.

“Honestly, I already miss summer,” one of them complained as they walked outside.

“You say that every year,” another laughed.

“And I mean it every year.”

Adeline smiled, listening to them talk about their classes, their teachers, and everything they already disliked about the new school year.

She laughed along, but every now and then, her thoughts drifted somewhere else.

To the new boy

She had only seen him that day, and they hadn’t spoken, but she already knew his name.

Liam.

For some reason, she found herself wondering about him. Where had he come from? Why had he moved here? Had he always lived somewhere else?

And, if she was being honest with herself, there was another thing she couldn’t deny.

He was cute.

“Addie?”

She looked up.

Her friend was staring at her.

“What?”

“You’ve been quiet.”

“I have?”

“Yeah. You’ve been somewhere else for the past five minutes.”

Adeline laughed softly and shook her head.

“I’m fine. I was just thinking about Natalia’s brother.”

Her friends exchanged a quick glance.

“Liam?” one of them repeated.

“The new guy?” another asked.

“Yeah.”

“You think he’s cute.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Adeline rolled her eyes, trying not to smile.

“I just think it’s strange. I’ve never seen him before. Do you guys know where he’s from?”

“I heard his family just moved here,” one of them said. “Apparently, they’re staying in town for a while.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all I know.”

Adeline nodded.

For some reason, that only made her more curious.

They continued walking until they reached the corner where they usually went their separate ways.

“See you tomorrow!”

“Bye, Addie!”

“Bye!”

Adeline waved as her friends headed down another street.

She continued toward home alone, her backpack hanging from one shoulder.

The afternoon was quiet.

She thought about her classes, her plans for the year, and everything waiting for her after graduation.

New York.

University.

Her doctorate.

This was supposed to be the year she focused on her future.

Yet somehow, on the very first day of senior year, she had already found herself thinking about Liam.

She didn’t know anything about him.

Not really.

But she had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time she’d wonder about him.

Adeline continued walking home, completely unaware of how important Liam would eventually become in her life.

…

5:00pm

By the time Adeline reached home, she could already hear the chaos coming from inside.

The moment she opened the front door, two of her younger siblings came running through the hallway, shouting and laughing as they chased each other around the house.

“Stop running!” Adeline called out, closing the door behind her. “And stop screaming!”

They completely ignored her.

“I’m serious!” she shouted after them.

One of them looked back at her, laughed, and disappeared around the corner.

Adeline sighed.

“Unbelievable.”

She took off her shoes and headed toward the kitchen, where she found her mother standing by the stove, preparing dinner.

“Mom, I’m home.”

Her mother turned around and smiled.

“Hey, sweetheart. How was school?”

“It was great.”

Adeline put her backpack down and leaned against the counter.

“I saw my friends again, and there were a few new students.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. One of them is a girl. Her name is Natalia, and we actually became friends today.”

“That’s nice,” her mother said, turning back to what she was cooking. “It’s always good to meet new people.”

Adeline nodded.

“How was work?”

“Pretty good. It was quiet today.” Her mother smiled slightly. “And my new boss isn’t nearly as awful as my old one.”

Adeline laughed.

“Well, that’s definitely an improvement.”

“It is. I think I’m going to like this job.”

They continued talking for a few minutes about school and work, until Adeline remembered something.

“Oh, and there was another new student.”

Her mother glanced at her.

“A boy?”

Adeline hesitated.

“Yeah.”

Her mother smiled knowingly.

“What’s his name?”

“Liam.”

“Liam?”

“Yeah. He’s in my history class. He’s Natalia’s brother, actually. They’re both new.”

Her mother nodded.

“And what’s he like?”

Adeline thought about it for a moment.

“I don’t really know. We didn’t talk.”

“You didn’t?”

“No. But he seems… mysterious.”

“Mysterious?”

“Yeah. He’s really quiet. And serious. He barely talks to anyone.”

Adeline paused, trying to put into words what she remembered about him.

“He’s tall, too. He looks like he’s in pretty good shape. He has blue eyes and brown hair.”

Her mother smiled.

“And?”

“And what?”

“You’re forgetting something.”

Adeline rolled her eyes.

“His skin is kind of in between. Not too pale, but not really tan either.”

Her mother raised an eyebrow.

“You noticed quite a lot for someone you didn’t even talk to.”

Adeline looked away.

“I just happened to notice.”

“Of course.”

Adeline sighed.

“I don’t know, Mom. There’s just something about him that makes me curious. I wonder where he came from and why they moved here.”

Her mother smiled softly.

“Maybe he’s just shy.”

“Maybe.”

Before her mother could say anything else, one of her younger brothers suddenly appeared in the kitchen.

“Oooooh!”

Adeline turned around.

“What?”

“You like Liam!”

“I do not!”

Her brother grinned.

“You do! You have a crush!”

“I don’t have a crush on him!”

Her mother tried to hide a laugh.

Adeline crossed her arms.

“I just said he’s interesting.”

“Then why are you talking about him?”

“Because I’m curious!”

Her brother continued teasing her.

“You think he’s cute!”

Adeline’s face warmed slightly.

She looked away.

“…Okay. Maybe I think he’s cute.”

Her brother immediately laughed.

“I knew it!”

“But that’s it!” Adeline insisted. “I don’t even know him. And I didn’t talk to him because…”

She paused.

“Because I was embarrassed.”

Her mother smiled softly.

“You don’t have to rush anything. If you’re meant to talk, you’ll talk eventually.”

Adeline nodded.

“Yeah. Maybe.”

Her brother made another teasing sound before running out of the kitchen.

“Hey! And stop running in the house!” Adeline shouted after him.

From the hallway, she heard him laughing.

Her mother shook her head.

“They never listen.”

“I know.”

A little later, the family sat down for dinner. They talked about their day, laughed about small things, and complained about the usual chaos of having a house full of children.

For a while, Adeline forgot about school.

She forgot about Liam.

She forgot about everything waiting for her in the future.

After dinner, she helped clean up before heading upstairs to her room.

She changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and got into bed.

The house was finally quiet.

Adeline stared at the ceiling for a moment, thinking about her first day of senior year.

Her friends.

Natalia.

Her classes.

New York.

And, once again, Liam.