A groan fell from my lips as the ringing of my alarm reminded me that it was Monday, and sadly I have to go to school.
"Only a couple more months Jess," I grumbled to myself before tumbling off my bed due to my legs being entangled in my sheets.
My body hitting the floor with a loud thump.
"ARE YOU OKAY," I heard my sister yell from downstairs.
"JUST PEACHY!" I yelled back though I knew if my mother was home she would lecture us about yelling in the morning and how we are disturbing the neighbors.
Rising from the floor I stretched out my limbs and placed my fallen sheets back onto the bed before heading over to the bathroom to get ready.
Half an hour later I exited the bathroom dressed in my uniform, the delicious smell of food hitting my nose.
The benefit of having a sister who is a professional chef is incredible food all the time.
I quickly slicked my hair into a low bun, slipped on a pair of black converses, and grabbed my bag, the desire to fill my stomach outweighing the need to make sure my appearance more than decent.
"Good morning," I sang as I entered the kitchen.
I expected to just see Nevah in the kitchen as my mother wasn't home.
But, much to my surprise and delight, there was another presence in the kitchen that made my face light up like a kid in the candy store.
"Noah," I said in both shock and awe.
"In the flesh," He said before spreading his arms wide open.
Immediately I threw myself at him laughing as he spun me in the air.
Noah has always been the older brother I never had, always looking out for me and always there to protect me.
"Put me down," I squealed as he laughed, shaking his head in refusal.
I spotted Nevah by the stove who looked at the two of us with amusement.
I sent her a look of help making her roll her eyes.
"Alright! Alright! Stop it you two, or no one is getting a piece of my delicious nutella pancakes," Nevah said.
Immedetialy Noah dropped me, making me fall directly on my butt.
"Ow," I groaned in pain as Noah sent me a sheepish look before giving me his hand.
Once I was off the floor, I dusted off my clothes before taking a seat on one of the stools.
"Thank you," I said giving Nevah a grateful smile as she placed a plate of food in front of me.
My smile widened as I watched Noah plant a kiss on Nevah's cheek his arms wrapping around her waist as they made their own plates together.
We sat around the table catching up as we ate breakfast together.
It was nice to have a breakfast that wasn't by myself as most of the time my mother was either working or sleeping.
Once everyone was done eating, I rose from my seat taking our plates to the sink.
"We're taking you to school today," Noah said after I was done cleaning our dishes.
"You guys do know I'm not a child anymore, right. I can take myself," I replied slightly amused by the situation.
"Doesn't matter, you will forever be five in my eyes," Noah stated as Nevah and I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever," I said shrugging my shoulders as Noah smirked in triumph.
Grabbing my things I headed to the front door Nevah and Noah following in toll.
The drive to school consisted of Noah and I belting out to Olivia Rodgrio's new album Sour, as Nevah recorded us, dying of laughter at our terrible singing.
Pulling to the front of the school I spotted my friends by the front.
"Thank you, for the ride," I said before jumping out of the car.
"No problem, and don't forget to stay away from boys, they have cooties," Noah said making Nevah slap him lightly at his stupidity.
"Aren't you a boy," I deadpanned
"No. I am a man," Noah said with a smirk earning him another slap.
"Don't listen to him," Nevah said with a shake of the head.
"I'll see you guys later," I said sending them a final wave before going to meet my friends.
I greeted everyone with a smile and a wave which they returned, before going to stand next to Myles.
I tried to ignore the butterflies that swarmed my stomach as Myles wrapped an arm around my shoulders tugging me closer to his side.
"Was that Noah I saw?" Talia questioned directing my attention away from Myles's arm and to her.
"Yeah, he and Nevah dropped me off today," I said before telling them the events that went on this morning.
From there I went onto explain how Nevah is my sister and how Noah is her fiancee, explaining their history to West and Lance who have yet to meet them.
"They are so cute," Talia gushed after I finished recounting the love story of the two.
"How long until the wedding?" Talia questioned
"Um, I think about 3 more weeks," I answered.
"Ugh, I wish I could come," She grumbled a frown on her face, her head leaning onto West's shoulder.
"You better send a million photos and videos, I want every moment documented so it feels like I was there." She said pointedly as I nodded my head in amusement.
"Where's Malia?" I asked noticing that she wasn't present.
"Oh, she said had to go to class early to talk to a teacher about some assignment," Talia answered as I nodded my head in understanding.
However, from the corner of my eye, I noticed Lance's shoulders sag in disappointment.
Now taking a closer look I noticed Lance wasn't his usual self, he seemed to be deep in thought and not as present in the conversation.
And I had a hunch that his dampened mood has something to do with the lack of Malia's presence.
Ring
"Time for hell, I mean class," Talia said sarcastically as the rest of us chuckled at her exasperated look.
"Come on," I said linking my arm with hers, dragging her into the school.
___
The day went by quickly and before I knew it, it was the end of the day.
"Hey, does Malia seem a bit off to you," I said leaning against my locker watching Talia put her things away.
"Yeah, ever since this morning she's been a bit distant, she didn't even come to lunch today," Talia said as she closed her locker.
"Do you think it has something to do with a certain lacrosse player," I said before directing my attention to Lance who was coming down the hall.
Alongside him were Myles and West who were talking with one another, though Lance made no effort to join.
He's been quiet all day, which is not normal.
"Definitely," Talia said looking where I was now.
"CUNNIGHAM," Talia shouted before taking confident strides over to Lance who looked over at us in confusion.
"Yes?" He said unsure as to why Talia was glaring at him.
"Is everything okay?" Myles asked me in confusion as I came to stand beside him.
"I'm not sure, but it will be," I replied as he nodded his head.
"I don't know what's going between you and my cousin. But, I swear if I find out you hurt her in any way I will make sure you can never play lacrosse again in my life," Talia threatened.
West placed a comforting arm around Talia's waist making her lean into him.
"Look, I don't know what Malia has told you, but the last thing I would ever do is hurt her and you know that," Lance replied making Talia's glare lessen.
"I know. I'm just worried, about the both of you." She said with a sigh.
"I appreciate that," Lance said with a small smile.
"But, I think it's best to talk to Malia," Lance said before departing from the group, mumbling how he didn't want to be late to practice.
"I've never seen him like this," Myles muttered as we watched Lance walk away as West nodded in agreement his brows furrowed in confusion.
"Whatever happened between him and Malia must have been pretty serious," I said.
"And that's why we need to fix it," Talia started with determination in her eyes.
Grasping onto my arm she pulled me away from the others, her steps going in the direction of the library.
Entering the library doors the first thing we noticed was how deserted it was, with the only person in sight being the librarian.
With a small smile towards Ms.Fields, we headed to the back of the library.
Huddled in the corner, hidden from the rest of the world was Malia who had her head in a book.
Though from the downcast look in her eyes I knew she wasn't reading it.
"Malia," Talia whispered gently as we stood in front of her.
At the sound of her voice, Malia's head shot up to us her eyes holding unshed tears.
The book, long forgotten as it now laid beside her and no longer in her lap.
"Malia," Talia said again in worry before we went to take a seat on either side of her.
"What happened?" I asked softly as Talia wrapped her arms around her, while I placed my hand over hers as a source of comfort.
"Nothing," Malia muttered.
"That's a load of bull and you know it," Talia said sharply as I sent her a warning look.
"Sorry," Talia said with a small sigh as Malia shook her head in response.
"No, you're right it's crap," She said letting out a humorless laugh.
"I'm assuming you know something happened between Lance and I," She said stating the obvious as we nodded in agreement.
"Yes, but not the details. Lance wanted to respect your privacy and asked us to talk to you instead," I explained.
"Of course he did," She said as she ran a hand through her hair.
Silence stretched among us as we waited patiently for her to speak.
"As you know Lance has been spending a lot of time together over the last three months," She began as we nodded our heads in understanding.
"So over the weekend, the day after the fight, we went on a date together," Malia said with a shy smile as Talia and I grinned at her.
She then went onto explain how he picked her up for breakfast at her favorite cafe. Then took her to the bookstore to buy some new books and from there they went to the botanical gardens and read together. It was there they also, had a picnic together for lunch.
"Everything was going amazing guys, and the amount of thought he put into the date warmed my heart. It was absolutely perfect." She said with a sigh.
"That's great news, right?" Talia questioned neither of us understanding the problem.
"Yeah, until he confessed his feelings for me and asked me to be his girlfriend," Malia stated making my eyes widen in shock.
"Again, that's great news! You both really like each other and if I'm being honest it's about time you guys got together." Talia said as I nodded in agreement.
"If it was only that simple," Malia said exasperated.
"I didn't know what to say, and ending up running away," She said ducking her head in embarrassment.
"Why did you run? Do you not want to date him?" I asked gently.
"Quite the opposite," Malia whispered.
"Then why did you run?" Talia asked reiterating my previous question.
"I'm scared," Malia admitted breaking the silence.
"About what?" Talia asked the confusion in her eyes mirroring my own.
"These last few months I've found myself becoming more and more like my old self when I'm with him. I love the way he listens to me talk about books for hours genuinely invested in what I have to say, the way he's so passionate about his dreams and protective of his friends, the way it's so easy to talk to him."
"Lance makes me feel seen and loved and that terrifies me," Malia cried as she buried her head into her arms.
"Oh, Malia, "Talia said as she rubbed her hand up and down Malia's back
"Lance is an incredible guy and any girl would be lucky to have him. I don't know how and why he could ever be interested in me," She whispered.
It broke my heart to see Malia like this, it was clear her insecurities and fear were eating away at her.
"Listen here Malia," I said directing her attention to me.
"Lance is the lucky one. You have a heart of gold that everyone admires, your brilliance is inspiring, your art is eye-catching, and your beauty both inside and out cherished by everyone around you. Lance sees how beautiful of a person you are Malia, he looks at you like you're the only person in the world. Don't let your fears stop you from experiencing something great." I finished off, meaning every word I said.
Malia deserved every good thing that comes her way and I hope that someday she'll see that, and I believe that Lance is the person who's going to help her do just that.
"She's right Malia, you deserve to be happy. So, stop standing in the way of your happiness," Talia said.
I watched as the wheels in Malia's head started to turn, a small smile making its way onto my face as I saw that Malia was taking our words to heart.
"You guys are right, it's time I stop letting my fears rule over my life," Malia said before she abruptly got up from the floor.
"What are you doing?" Talia asked startled by her change in emotions.
"Something I should've done earlier," Malia said with a look of determination before she dashed out of the library.
Talia and I quickly followed after Malia, curious as to what she meant.
We followed her out to the field where lacrosse practice was currently being held.
Coming to stop at the top of the bleachers we found Malia standing closer to the bottom.
"Lance," Malia called out breathlessly, indicating that she ran her.
Lance who was currently on break, shot up from his spot on the ground when he caught the sight of Malia.
Seeing the look on her face, Lance quickly ran to meet Malia where she stood, stopping just a few inches away from her.
Talia and I went further down the bleachers to get a better listen, not standing too close as we wanted them to still have their privacy.
"Is everything okay," Lance asked worriedly as he took in Malia's frantic expression.
With a deep breath, almost as if she was building all the courage she can.
"Yes," She said as Lance tilted his head in bewilderment.
"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend," She clarified noting his confusion as Talia and I watched in anticipation.
"What?" Lance said in shock.
"Um, I said I would be your girlfriend, I mean if that's what you still wa-" Malia's rambling was soon cut off my Lance, whose lips were now on hers.
Lance's arms wrapped around Malia's waist pulling her closer into him as her own arms wrapped around his neck.
Soon cheers and whistles began to erupt around them as the two pulled apart.
Malia nestled her head into Lance's chest in embarrassment as Lance sported a ginormous grin on his face.
"GET IT COUSIN!" Talia screamed loudly as I laughed at the look of horror that crossed Malia's face at her cousin's words.
I slapped Talia lightly on the shoulder to tell her to stop, though I couldn't help but laugh a bit more.
Malia shot a glare in our direction before mouthing a thank you towards us.
You're welcome