HIM

This chapter is unedited. There will be mistakes and errors, feel free to let me know in the comments if there are any and I'll go back and fix them. Thanks for clicking on my story, I hope you enjoy!

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It was hot; it was so hot, that some people would say you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. The lake water that left me floating lulled under me in small waves. It was refreshing, almost a perfect day. I smiled and watched the few clouds that were hanging in the sky disappear into white wisps.

"I can't believe we start college in seven days," Carly, my best friend, sighed. She was sat in a tube behind me, floating with a lemonade in her hand. Her dark hair was twisted into a bun and her big, brown eyes covered by her sunglasses.

The lake became our safe haven over summer break, spending days here when we just needed to clear our heads. We promised not to come here alone, it was our place after all, but I had come here occasionally to be by myself. The impending start of college loomed over my head constantly, the nerves of not knowing anyone in my classes or getting lost haunted me. I cherished the moments alone at the lake, reading a book on the beach or swimming for hours calmed me.

"I know," I agreed, breaking my float and wading in the water. I swam up to her floating tube and leaned my chin on it. "The butterflies feel like they haven't stopped since graduation. Sometimes they're nervous, sometimes excited." Carly took a drink of her lemonade and nodded in agreement.

"At least we'll be together, Mags. I couldn't do it without you."

"And I couldn't do it without you," I agreed, smiling up at her. I was happy we both chose the same school. Pushing off her floating tube I swam back to the beach. In just seven days we would be in our first college class. I never understood when grown ups would say that something went "in the blink of an eye" but this summer, I finally understood it.

The sand squished between my toes as I walked up the beach toward our bags. I wrapped my blonde hair in to a towel and unzipped my backpack. I skimmed the items until my fingers landed on the spine of one of my favorite books: "Pride and Prejudice". Laying on my stomach and propping my self up, I undid my bookmark and began getting lost in the story.

Carly eventually came to shore and started packing up her stuff. I hadn't even noticed the sun starting to set behind the trees. I book marked my spot and mimicked Carly by packing up my belongings.

"Want to grab a bite to eat?" I asked as we made our way to Carly's car.

"I would but I promised Conner we could watch a movie at my place," she said as she unlocked her Volkswagen Beetle and threw her bag into the backseat. I did the same.

"That'll be nice, I can't imagine what you're going through." Carly's boyfriend, Conner, was traveling across the country to California for school. I didn't have a boyfriend or even a crush to worry about losing while I was away.

"I wish things were different. I knew college would be hard but leaving Conner is going to be the hardest thing about it." She backed out of the parking spot and rolled down the window. The air seemed cooler in the shade of the trees and I welcomed it, gladly, from the heat. I leaned my seat back and kicked my flip flops off, dangling my feet out the window as Carly drove down the winding dirt road back to civilization.

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The following days were chaos in the Harper household. Packing busied most of my time and goodbyes to friends and family filled the rest. Friday night, the last night at home, was spent with Carly and our other friend, Becca. It was a classic girl's night with pizza and chick flicks.

Saturday came, quickly, and the chaos continued. My mom spent most of the morning panicking and following me like a shadow to insure I didn't leave anything behind. I promised her a million and one times that I hadn't. The boxes slowly started filling the trunk of the car.

"Are you sure you grabbed your toothbrush, Maggie?" my mom asked from my bathroom, looking up and down and inside every crevasse she could find. I groaned.

"I promise you mom I have everything. We're going to be late for check in." I tried to calm her down but trying just seemed to make her more frantic. She pushed past me back into my bedroom, looking under my bed and in my dresser drawers.

"Okay you're right, we should get going. If there's anything you forgot I could just send it to you." She smoothed her auburn hair down, the loose strands from her ponytail flying away with the running around she had been doing all morning. She was pretty, even while looking riled up. Her face was slim with freckles decorating her cheeks. Her large, round eyes were filled with a deep shade of green, the one thing I inherited from her. I took more after my dad and his family; the blonde hair that fell to my shoulders, my short stature, my pale completion and the dimple that rested on my right cheek.

My mom led the way downstairs to the kitchen where Marshall, my twelve-year old brother was waiting for us. He wasn't pleased that he was volunteered to help move me into my dorm.

"Are you done moving your stuff out of my new room?" he asked, looking up from his hand-held video game console.

"Marshall, you know you aren't getting Maggie's room. She will be coming home," my mom said, finding her keys and purse from the counter. Marshall rolled his eyes and continued with his video game. "We have to go, Marsh, put the games away."

I wondered the hallway to the living room, the last box to be packed away was still in my arms. I glanced over all the family pictures that had a home above the fireplace, the yellow wallpaper that I had never convinced my mom to change and the dark wood floors. My favorite blanket was stashed behind the couch for movie nights and I wanted to make sure I grabbed it before we left. I managed to scoop it up and put it on top of the box as my mom and Marshall neared the front door.

"Ready to go then?" my mom asked, opening the door. I nodded and led the way to the car. I jammed the box into the trunk with the others and brought the blanket up to the passenger side with me. The butterflies I had been feeling the past few weeks had returned to their home in my stomach as I slid into my seat.

"When did Carly leave?" my mom asked, backing out of the driveway. I shrugged my shoulders, unsure.

"We talked about it but I think she wanted to make sure she could say goodbye to Conner," I answered. Marshall had begun to play with his hand-held video game console again and the tiny beeps filled the car.

"It must be hard for her," my mom replied.

"I couldn't imagine having a boyfriend and leaving him behind," I said.

"I couldn't imagine you having a boyfriend, ever" Marshall piped up, kicking my seat from behind. My mom busied herself with scolding Marshall for being rude as we merged on to the highway. I rolled my eyes and focused my attention out the window. The greenery passed by quickly, the trees blurring together, like all the thoughts in my head. I put my headphones into my ears and turned on my favorite playlist to drown out the noise from my mom and Marshall. It was going to be a long two-hours in a car with them.