Chapter 1: Old Thorns
It was a warm spring day at Elliot High School; the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the air was full with the scent of freshly blooming plant life. It was currently lunch time and Tess was enjoying some funny videos on his phone since his two friends who would usually be here eating with him, decided to skip in order to play the newest release of "Grand Theft Vehicle". Unlike his friends, Tess Valdera was just a simple guy who came to school, hung out with friends, took care of business, and then went back home. He never bothered over drama, or obsessed heavily over video games or making friends, he was a closed book to outsiders.
The strangest thing was that he was a hopeless romantic who never had experienced love and any normal person looking in from the outside wouldn't notice. Tess stood at 6 feet tall with clear, Milky white skin, beautiful brunette hair, and a slim athletic build. Everything about him screamed "Hey I'm dateable, that is until you focused on his face and noticed his soul-piercing glare that could kill you dead on the spot. Tess didn't mean to do it, it's just the way he looked when he wasn't smiling and for many, it created wrong first impressions and unwanted rumors. Compared to his past, however, this was absolute heaven, minus the zero love life part but little did he know, his past had literally caught up with him. His wonderful, average days full of peace, were about to be turned upside down.
Tess continued eating and watching videos as a Raven-haired girl approached his table with a grin that grew bigger with each step she took. When she reached the table she tapped Tess on the shoulder which prompted him to turn around and see a raven-haired girl grinning like a devil at him. He sighed and said, "Is there something I can help you with?" She said, "Yeah is your name Tess Valdera by any chance?" He said, "That depends on who's asking?" She giggled and said, "My name is Louise, y'know you're childhood friend who moved away". Tess looked the girl over before pausing and then falling off the bench with wide eyes. He said, "W-what are you doing here? You're supposed to be three states over, last time I checked".
She giggled and said "Surprise! We moved back and now the good ol' times can continue". Tess said, "What old times, it's literally been half a decade since you left, and tons of things have changed". She giggled and said, "I can see that just by looking at you...and by the way, congrats on dumping the emo kid look, it didn't really fit you too well". Tess quickly covered her mouth and said "Shush, stop talking so loud, people are starting to stare". Louise giggled before licking the back of Tess' hand which made him pull his hand away immediately. She said "Ha! Works every time" Tess huffed before quickly getting up and darting off while she was busy laughing.
As he continued walking, he thought to himself "She hasn't changed one bit" which was really frustrating since he spent all these years shaping himself to be exactly the opposite of that, so his life would be normal again. Her presence threatened the status quo and he knew that he didn't want everything he built to come crashing down. He resolved to leave the past in the past, never see her again, and leave it at that however, things weren't going to be that simple.
After lunch ended, the rest of the day went on as it normally did for him, but the status quo was disrupted when he found out that Louise was going to be placed in 5 of his 7 classes starting tomorrow. "Why me? what did I do to deserve this?" he thought to himself. Before he could formulate an answer, he was interrupted by a feminine scream from behind him. Before he could turn around, he felt someone latch onto him from behind. He sighed and said, "Please let go of me, Louise". She said "Are you gonna run?" Tess said "hell yes" She let go, pushed him, and said in a low tone" Then fine, I'm sorry to have troubled you, sir".
Before she could turn around and run, Tess grabbed her and said "Look, it's not that don't want you around, it's more so that I've grown up, I have a normal life now and all that childish stuff just isn't fun anymore". Louise smiled and said "You're wrong and I won't stop until I prove it to you! "Before he could say anything else, Louise put her arms behind her back and ran away like a ninja shouting "Just you wait. My sword technique will show you the true path". Tess chuckled a bit and said, "Ah what the hell, I'll give her a chance, maybe that'll be fun".
