They finished their little tour. After that, She took him to see Looz and Sam at the cafeteria lunch tables where they had been waiting.

  "Hey guys, guess who I found!" Audrey said, announcing Jacob's return. 

  "SAMANTHA! LOOZ! YOU GUYS LOOK AMAZING!" he said, going in for a hug. 

  "JACKIE!" Sam said happily, hugging him tightly. Jacob then reached for Looz.

  "Woah woah woah, settle down there son, seeing you is enough for me," Looz said jokingly. 

  "Well you haven't changed much, you're still short, in fact it looks like you shrunk!" Jacob retaliated. 

  "What are you smoking? You're higher than the clouds, you ass!" She retorted.

  "Always so quick! God, you guys are still the same amazing people you were back then!" Jacob laughed. 

  "Yeah yeah, it's good to see you too J." Looz said in a friendly manner. 

  Jacob received a text from his mom.

  "Oop, sorry guys, I gotta go, I'll see you guys tomorrow!" He said. Jacob dashed out of there like he was racing for a gold medal. He was always a sporty type, moving fast was just normal for him.

  As soon as he was a safe enough distance away, Sam immediately moved in closer to Audrey. 

  "Well!? What did you guys talk about?" Sam asked. She always knew Audrey had a crush on him since 6th grade. Sam was always inquisitive about Audrey's love life. She didn't even have to ask to know what Audrey was feeling, Sam was just good at reading people.

  "Nothing important, just caught up and he asked about going to the beach sometime as a group," Audrey said. Sam squinted her eyes at her.

  "What else Dri, I know there's more to that story!" 

  Audrey's face grew a bright shade of red, she took a seat and put her head down.

  "Well he said I was pretty, and it gave me butterflies. It was nice"——"but then we ran into Natalie and he saw how beautiful she was." 

  "Natalie is hot, not gonna lie babe," Sam said while rubbing Audrey's back. 

  "I know! She’s gorgeous! Why can't I be like her," Audrey said in a comical crying voice.

  "Bruh, you are beautiful, Jacob just thinks with his dick sometimes," Looz said, reassuring her. Audrey grew flustered. Sam chuckled to herself, amused, continuing to pat Audrey's back.

  “It's not just that, I mean I'm always like this. He went off about how different I looked but inside I'm the same loser I was in middle school,” she said defeated. “Seeing Natalie, well, it just made me feel like a nobody. I want to be like her, someone people like to be with and outgoing and just amazing in general.”

  “You're all of those things and more Dri,” Looz said to her.

  “Yeah, you don't have to change for anyone,” Sam said, holding her close.

  “It's not for anyone, I'm just tired of being like this, maybe I want to be better for myself,” she said.

  “Well then do it Dri,” Looz said to her.

  “I just don't know if I can ever be more than this, it's just hard.”

  “You can do anything, and I mean absolutely fuckin’ anything, you set your mind too fam! Don't let anything or anyone stop you, not even yourself.” 

  “Thanks Looz,” Audrey said, smiling at her.

  “I believe in you too sweetie,” Sam said, giving her a peck on her head.

 Looz' phone went off, she had gotten a message from her mom. 

  "Sorry to cut it short Dri, My mom is here," Looz said.

  "What happened to your car?" Audrey asked.

  "It needed it’s brakes fixed so it's still at the shop. It should be ready today," she said. “I was explaining it to you yesterday but you looked like a zombie and probz weren’t even paying attention.” 

  “Sorry Looz,” Audrey said, feeling embarrassed.

  “No worries Dri, I know you were dead tired,” she said.

 She then turned to Sam. "You still need that ride home, right Sam?" 

  "Yes please!" Sam said, gathering her items.

  "Later Fam," Looz said as she started walking away towards the entrance of the school.

  "Later Dri," Sam said following Looz.

  "Bye guys, text you later." She looked at her phone. She herself was running behind schedule. Her mom left her a message.

Messages

Mama: 5 minutes away, love you <3

now

Audrey: Okay mama 

now

  Audrey started to head towards the side entrance to the school. She passed the track & field and P.E area. An overwhelming feeling that she was forgetting something consumed her, Although she couldn't put her finger on it. She began retracing her steps until she realized what she forgot.  She paused in realization, "Crap! I forgot my book!" 

  She quickly looked at the time, she still had about 3 minutes.

  “I can make it!” she thought to herself. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, like her life depended on it. She skipped up 2 flights of stairs with great speed. She hurried to her locker, entered the combination, and grabbed her book. She checked her time and she still had 2 minutes to spare. 

  She was breathing heavily, she stopped for a breather. With what was left of her energy she was going to make a run for it back to her mom. She took a deep breath and began her jog, but before she could even take two steps, she collided into a student coming out of a classroom. They both fell to the ground, the boy's books and papers scattered across the ground that had fallen out of his backpack. Audrey had dropped her book and her cellphone.

  “Woah! You okay?” The boy asked. 

  Audrey started scrambling to collect the scattered belongings on the ground and her thoughts. 

  “I am so, so, SO, sorry about that!” Audrey said nervously. Her face; sweaty and red. 

  The boy picked up her book which lay open on the ground, loose pages falling out. He handed it to her.

  “It’s okay, no need to worry,'' he said with a voice so calm and so sweet. He smiled gently, he sported square glasses and had medium wavy black hair, almost curly. He wore a plain shirt with a dark blue cardigan over it. His face was thin and his skin fair. He was a bit lanky and only about a few inches taller than Audrey. Audrey thought him to be cute and started blushing, but her sprint to her locker had masked any sort of trace that she was charmed. 

  “I’m sorry, are you okay? It wasn’t a bad fall was it?” Audrey asked him, still collecting the fallen papers. 

  “I’m fine, really. Are you okay? You seem to be in a major rush,” he asked. He was picking up papers when he saw a peculiar looking page that did not belong to him. 

  He read the title aloud, “‘Abandoned Flowers’ by Audrey Perrin,” he said, intrigued. 

  “Audrey huh? Do you like to write Audrey? He asked, handing the paper back. She quickly snatched it out of his hand. 

  “No! That was a friend’s, sorry,” she said nervously. Her heart was pounding in her ear drum. 

  “It’s okay, I actually like to write too! I want to be a published author one day,” he said.

  She was getting embarrassed, she never liked anyone to look at her writing, not even her closest friends. She wanted to just run out of there and be done with this interaction when Looz’ words popped into her head. “Don't let anyone stop you, not even yourself.” 

  “Oh you do?” She said, lowering her guard and controlling her breathing. “Well, yeah I like to write, i-it’s just I’ve umm never shown anyone my work before.” 

  “Well, you have to eventually. Feedback is an important part of our growth as aspiring authors.” He said with a smile.

  "Uh, yeah. That's true,” she paused, “umm, what kind of stories do you like to write?" She asked, forcing herself to make conversation. She could barely hear him past her own beating of her heart.

  "I love the horror genre, mysteries and thrillers, I read a lot of my grandmas books so that's what I want to write," He said 

  "Oh cool, I want to write romance novels and dramas, I just really like..true love stories and stuff," she replied. 

  They finished picking up their respective items, and Audrey's phone got a text. 

  "That's probably my mom," she said, grabbing her phone. 

Messages 

Audrey: Okay mama

3 minutes ago

————

Mama: here, where are you???

now

  "I have to go now, sorry I bumped into you again!" She said getting ready to leave. 

  "Wait! Can I get your number? I kinda want to know more about your story, if that’s okay." He said, slightly nervous. 

 Audrey grew more nervous, but his friendly demeanor calmed her. "oh.., yeah sure!" Audrey pulled out her phone and he gave her his number. A small vibration came from his phone, letting her know he had got the message she had just sent him. He texted back so she could have his number.

Messages

Audrey: hey! :)

now

Unknown: hello! :)

now

  "Oh! I forgot to ask for your name! I'm so sorry," Audrey said.

  "My bad, where are my manners! My name is Adrian Parker, it's a pleasure to meet you!” He said.

  "I-It's nice to meet you Adrian!" She says typing his name into her contacts. She hurried away, she didn't want to keep her mother waiting. 

  "I'll see you around Adrian!" She yelled as she ran farther away. 

  He just politely waved bye.

  At the side of the school, Audrey's mother sat waiting with Gabriel in the back seat. Their car parked along the curb sitting in the sun, but it was still too cold for her. She sat with her arms crossed and scarf covering her mouth. 

  "Where is she? She's never late," she said aloud, annoyed.

  Audrey tapped on the window from the outside.

  "Mom, I'm right here, the door’s locked," she said. 

  "Oh hi darling! I didn't see you there, get in! It's cold out," her mood instantly switched. 

  Audrey got in the car, seated in the front seat. She buckled in and apologized for being late. 

  "It's okay sweetie, we weren't  waiting for too long," she said with her pleasant smile, Gabriel in the back rolled his eyes.

  "You took forever Dri! I'm hungry! I'm tired!" Gabriel complained. 

  "Quiet you!" Audrey demanded him. "I'm still mad at you from yesterday!" She said. 

  Gabriel blew a raspberry. Audrey ignored him and turned around.

  "What kept you honey? You're not in trouble are you?" Her mother inquired.

  "No, nothing like that mama, I just forgot my book, and I accidentally bumped into this boy, it was really embarrassing," Audrey informed.  

  "Aah, a boy. I see." Her mom chuckled, "it all makes sense now."

  "Not like that mom, I literally just met him." 

  "I'm just kidding sweetie," she said in a cutesy voice. Then in her regular voice she asked,"How was your overall day? Was it as bad as yesterday? You look tired." 

  Audrey sighed, "yeah I am tired, I just want to go home and sleep.”

  “That bad huh?” Her mother said. 

  She recounted the day's events. Nothing really bad stood out to her, it was just another day. Being with friends, seeing Jacob and that last encounter with Adrian brought a smile to her face. 

  “No,” she said, resting her eyes. A smile grew on her face, “it was actually a good day today.”