Chapter 1
Part One: Takeru
Senior Year of high school: 2016
The first time you fall in love, it changes you forever and no matter how hard you try, that feeling just never goes away.” - Nicholas Sparks
Senior year of high school. Day One.
For most people, that first day was exciting - friends reuniting in the quad…or courtyard? Takeru had switched schools so many times he’d lost track of what each campus called its outdoor hangout spot.
Either way, he already couldn’t wait for this year to be over.
And the day wasn’t off to a great start, considering he was hopelessly lost.
Takeru looked down at the map that the school had mailed to him the week before, then up at the big gold letters above his head:
SCIENCE WING.
According to the map, he was supposed to be standing in front of the office. Beyond being frustrated, Takeru crumpled the map into a ball and would have thrown it to the ground where he could stomp out his frustrations, when someone called out to him.
“Hey, you! New guy!”
He turned. There was no point pretending they meant anyone else. Two guys about his age were walking towards him. Same auburn hair. Same dark blue blue eyes. Same high cheekbones and straight noses - though the taller one’s nose had clearly been broken once and never quite healed right.
He knew they were brothers right away.
“You look a little lost.” The taller of the two said.
Takeru stuffed the crumpled map into the pocket of his jeans and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yea, I guess I am.”
“Where are you headed?” The slightly shorter one asked.
“The office. According to the map I had, I should be standing right in front of it…but I guess I got turned around.”
Both brothers snorted.
“That map is at least twenty years old and they’ve remodeled the school twice since then.” The shorter of the two said.
“Good to know.” Takeru muttered.
“We’re actually headed in the same direction as the office.” The same brother said. “We can take you there if you want.”
“Free of charge.” The other brother said, smiling.
Takeru breathed a small sigh of relief. “That’d be great. Thanks.”
The taller brother held out a hand. “Dean.” He then jerked his thumb at his brother. “And my brother, Alex.”
“The new guy shook hands with both of them. Takeru.”
“The new guy, right?” Alex asked, taking his new friend’s brown double lidded eyes and jet black hair that nearly reached his shoulders.
“Where are you from?” Dean asked.
Takeru shifted his backpack more securely on his shoulders. “Origanally? Japan, but…”
“For real?” Dean cut in. “Your english is really good for someone who’s new to this country.”
Takeru couldn’t help himself and smiled. “Thanks, but my family moved here about ten years ago.”
Alex punched his brother in the arm. “Nice going, genius First day and already you’ve managed to insult someone.”
“No. It’s okay. I’m not offended.” Takeru assured them.
Dean slapped his brother’s hand away. “Ha! Shows how much you know.” He then slung an arm around his new friend’s shoulder. “So, where are transferring from?”
“California.”
Dean winched. “New York is…very not California.”
“Yea. Tell me about it.”
Dean squeezed his shoulder before letting go. “Well, Takeru, welcome to Ridgeway High - where the homework is endless, the vending machines are broken, and the cafeteria food is questionable to say the least.”
Takeru laughed for the first time that morning. “Good to know.”
By lunchtime, Dean and Alex had given him a full tour of the school. Somehow, he felt like he’d known them his whole life.”
Maybe this transfer wouldn’t be so bad after all, Takeru thought and headed to his next class.
____________________________________________________________
By the time Takeru reached his English Literature class, he was ready to call it a day, which was perfect since this was his last class of the day. All he had to do was get through this last class and he was home free.
Feeling only slightly out of place and uncomfortable, he slid into a seat towards the back of the class.
And that’s when he saw her.
She sat by the window, long light brown hair falling over one shoulder, obscuring half of her face as she bent over her desk. She was scribbling quickly into a black journal, completely absorbed. Every so often she paused - tapping her pen on her lip or the desk - then continued writing.
The rest of the class pretended to listen to the lecture on The Great Gatsby.
But she?
She was in a world entirely her own.
And Takeru was completely, hopelessly absorbed in her.
“Ms. Sullivan.”
Takeru jolted, looking around. The class murmured, but no one responded.
“Ms. Sullivan.” The teacher repeated. “Since you seem so eager to participate, maybe you can tell us what the green light represents.”
Takeru searched for the mystery girl - until she answered, still not looking up from her journal.
“Hope.” She said calmly. Gatsby’s hope. The kind of hope that keeps people dreams they can’t have.”
The teacher approached her desk.“And you’re sure about that? Even though you’re not paying attention?”
At last, she set down her pen and looked up, unbothered.“Just because I seem to be doing something else, doesn’t mean I’m not paying attention.”
The room went silent.
The teacher held out a hand. “Be that as it may, I’d prefer your full attention in class.”
With visible annoyance, she handed over the journal.
“See me after school.” Their teacher said, walking away.
There was just something about her, Takeru realized. Something magnetic in her confidence- her independence - her absolute indifference toward what anyone thought of her.
Untouchable.
Unreachable.
He had to talk to her.
When the bell finally rang, signaling the end of class and the end of the day, he packed away his things as fast as he could. He didn’t know what he’d say - just that he had to say something.
Unfortunately, by the time he pushed his way through the throng of the students and into the hallway, she was already gone.
Like she’d never even existed at all.
Dean found him staring blankly into the hallway. “You good, man? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you just saw a ghost.”
“Something like that.” Takeru muttered.
A slow smile spread over Dean’s face. “You know, you’ve got the same look I had when I was crushing on Courtney Martinez.”
Takeru blinked at him. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”
Dean sighed dramatically. “Only the girl who broke my heart sophomore year. I pined over her for weeks and when I finally plucked up the courage to ask her out, she turned me down flat.”
“She clearly didn’t know a good thing when she saw it.”
“That’s what I say. My point is - you’ve got that same look. Meaning…” Dean wiggled his eyebrows.” You’ve got a crush.”
Takeru hesitated briefly. “Yea, I guess I do.”
Alex walked up. “What’d I miss?”
Dean beamed at him..“I’ll tell you what’s going on, brother of mine. Our new friend here is lovestruck.
Once Takeru explained, Alex rolled his eyes. “Good luck. Short of seeing her class, you might not see her again.”
But Takeru refused to believe that.
He would see her again.
And when he did, he’d be ready
