It’s official! April of Freshman is now my most liked post out of all 45 posts, beating Heartbreak Princess by two likes. Wow!
In order to protect Freshman from anyone trying to publish it as their own book, I have decided to skip May of Freshman (sorry if I disappointed anyone), continue June and July, but not post an August chapter. This is merely for protecting my lovely little book, in case anyone tries to copy, paste into a document to publish it as their own.
Later, I will be posting a chapter of Heartbreak Princess, hopefully, (notice how I didn’t post anything about it yesterday), but I will be doing the same with Heartbreak Princess to protect my novel from any people who wants to use it as their own.
Enjoy.
Chapter 9
“Bring your bathing suit!” Hazel told me.
Summer had begun, and I was already celebrating that I had survived one year of high school. Only three more to go.
“Already wearing it,” I said. I was wearing the navy blue and white two piece under the tank top that said Free Spirit with a colorful feather, sandals, sunglasses, and a pair of capris. In my hand was my bag, with my towel, sunscreen, and an extra change of clothes just in case my clothes got wet.
“I’ll see you in a few minutes,” Hazel said before the line disconnected.
I heard a horn honk outside before glancing out my window. A familiar white Mercedes was outside, with Austin in the driver’s seat. He waved when he saw me, and smiled. I flew down the stairs, kissed Mom on the cheek, before running outside, getting into the passenger seat.
“Hey,” Austin said, leaning over and kissing me on the cheek, his lips warm and soft against my skin. “It’s summer already.”
“I know,” I breathed, as Austin started the car.
“You look beautiful,” Austin said.
“There’s a difference between pretty and beautiful. When someone is pretty, they have a good appearance. But when someone is beautiful, they shine on the inside and out.”
“Hi, Autumn!” Hazel said, hugging me with one arm before hugging Austin. “Welcome to the party! I love your shirt!”
“Thanks,” I said, as Hazel kissed Sam, Sam’s hand holding Hazel’s back, bringing Hazel close to him.
I entered Hazel’s familiar house, the blinds closed and colored lights on. There were cupcakes in the corner that spelled out the year, and it was crowded. On another table close to the cupcakes was a ton of food, chips, dip, cookies, Goldfish, chicken nuggets, pigs in a blanket, and a lot more. The doors leading to Hazel’s pool were open, and a lot of people were splashing around in it or sitting in the chairs set up, tanning. Set around the perimeter were Hazel’s aunts and uncles, supervising the party.
“Wow,” Austin said. “Hazel has a huge house.”
“Wanna go to the basement?” I asked, looking straight into his deep blue eyes. “I wanna show you something.”
“Okay,” Austin said as I slipped my hand in his. “Wow.”
I had been over so many times that I already knew what Austin was staring at. The huge movie theater, the bar, and the enormous TV. There was even an old-fashioned popcorn machine outside the movie theater.
“It used to have a lot of toys scattered around and a secret passage for Hazel to crawl through,” I said.
“How long have you known Hazel?” Austin asked.
“Like, I think, for eleven years,” I said. “We met at a park, where I was playing in the sandbox with my toys.”
“Hi, Autumn, hon!” Mrs. Pine said. “Want a soda?”
“Sure,” I said.
Mrs. Pine poured me a Mountain Dew into a tall glass with three cubes of ice and handed it to me. “Have fun!”
“Hi Mrs. Pine,” Austin said smoothly, recovering from the shock of seeing Hazel’s basement. “Could I have a Coke?”
“You must be Austin!” Mrs. Pine said. “And of course, you can have a Coke! Ice?”
“Yes, please,” Austin said.
Mrs. Pine poured the Coke into another tall glass and pushed it toward him. “Are you two dating? Because Hazel said you were.”
“Yes,” Austin said at the same time I said, “In a weird sort of way.”
Mrs. Pine smiled before opening the cooler by her feet. Austin and I talked with Hazel’s friends for a few minutes while drinking soda, before I noticed something strange.
“Where’s Lydia? I haven’t seen her at all since we’ve been here,” I asked Austin.
Austin smiled crookedly. “Look on the couch.”
I glanced at the recliner, where Lydia was chatting with a not unhandsome guy with blonde hair and was tall and stocky. A few times, Lydia blushed scarlet while the guy laughed.
“What about Rosemary?” I asked.
“Have you checked the pool?” Austin asked mischievously.
Glancing outside, I noticed Rosemary’s hair. It was back to a glowing gold and she had cut it to her chin. She was chatting with a guy with sandy hair and gray eyes. He had spiky hair, and he was tall and slender.
“Don’t tell me,” I said. “Sam’s also talking to a boy.”
“Then I should remain silent.”
I found Sam in the basement, slow dancing with a guy with brown hair, a little wavy, but also very handsome. Sam had started wearing a little makeup, just mascara, and eyeliner, but still noticeable, making her eyes pop.
“Wanna go swimming?” Austin asked after I came back from the basement. He raised one eyebrow, which made him look ridiculously cute.
“Obviously,” I said.
I removed my shoes, then my capris, and then my shirt, stuffing them into my bag with the extra clothes, placing it on a chair with Austin’s clothes, watching as Austin jumped in, making a large splash as he did. Austin was still slender, but muscles rippled from his arms and chest.
Then I jumped in, sinking in the clear blue water for a few seconds, letting the water surround me, cool against my warm skin, just letting go for the briefest seconds, before shooting up toward the surface like a rocket. I had always felt more comfortable in the water, how still and perfect it was, surrounding me, as I pushed my way through the clear, calm blue water.
Somehow, my lips found Austin’s, without me even knowing it.
Autumn’s lips were wet, yet soft against mine. Her slender hands twisted in my wet hair, but I didn’t care. They taste of chlorine and watermelon, and I breathe in the sweet vanilla, melted chocolate, cocoa butter, and cinnamon that blends together and surrounds Autumn. It’s her sweet scent, not too intoxicating, but just the right amount. Like Autumn.
When she arose from the water and kissed me, her golden brown hair had made a curtain around her cream and rose skin. I closed my eyes, and kissed her, holding my hand against her back so our kiss would last longer. I wanted this kiss, our very first one to be the best possible.
Even though Austin had kissed me so many times before on the forehead and cheek, his lips seemed new and unfamiliar, yet they molded to fit mine perfectly like we had kissed so many times instead of this being our first time.
We stayed like that for a few minutes, the world suddenly vanishing as I held Austin’s face, the perfect one that I had fallen for so many months ago and he held me at by my back, so that we would stay like that, our perfect corner of the universe for a little longer.
The kiss was sweet. Innocent. Romantic.
In the books, the heroine always sees fireworks when they’re having their first kiss. I didn’t see any, but it was already good enough.
Once I let go, I looked at Austin. Our eyes met. And then we smiled before Austin’s lips met mine again.
After a long time of kissing and swimming around in the pool, I got out, dried myself off, then dressed in my capris and t-shirt, because I was hungry. I ate chips, cupcakes, cookies, pizza, and a lot more. Hazel came up to me, holding a glass of Sprite with ice as I was eating a chocolate chip cookie, slightly melted.
“So, any news on Austin and you?” Hazel asked, taking a sip from her glass, gazing out the back doors.
I took a bite of the cookie. Swallowed. “I kissed Austin in the pool.”
“WHAT?” Hazel said.
“We kissed for a while after that,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat up, so I took another bite of the cookie.
“That’s fabulous!” Hazel said, hugging me. “I knew he was going to kiss you! Wait til Lydia hears about this!”
“I think Lydia has a new boyfriend,” I said.
“Oh, you mean Zachary?” Hazel asked, taking another sip from her glass. “Tall, stocky guy? Blonde?”
“Yep.”
“Yeah, Zachary seems to really like Lydia,” Hazel agreed. “Where’s Rosemary? I haven’t seen her since she got here.”
“I saw her in the pool. Her hair’s back to the normal gold, but she cut it to her chin. It looks really good. Rosemary’s also talking to another boy. He has sandy hair and gray eyes. Kinda tall with spiky hair.”
“Oh, that’s Ross. Don’t tell me, Sam’s dancing with a boy which could possibly be her future boyfriend.”
“Last time I saw her, she actually was,” I admit. “In the basement. Slow dancing. She’s also wearing makeup.”
“Sam doesn’t seem like the person to slow dance with a boy.”
“But he looked like he could have been a model.”
“That’s Andy,” Hazel said.
“Where’s Sam?” I asked.
“Sam, my boyfriend, or Sam, our friend?” Hazel asked.
“Boyfriend.”
“He’s talking to my mom.”
“How’s the relationship going?”
“Really good. Sam is so thoughtful and sweet,” Hazel said, dipping a chicken nugget in barbecue before biting into it. “What about Austin?”
I paused for a few seconds, thinking about my answer. “It’s not really puppy love, but we make all these mistakes, yet always manage to forgive each other in the end.”
Hazel nodded. “I know what you mean. It’s the same with Samuel. The way that we feel about each other is the only thing that we don’t make a mistake on. Everything else we make constant mistakes on.”
Austin came over after talking to another one of Hazel’s friends for a few minutes as I finished the chocolate chip cookie.
“Hi,” Austin said politely. “Nice party, Hazel. The cupcakes are really good. Has a certain kind of flavor.”
“Thanks,” Hazel said. “I really like cooking and it was a lot of fun to frost the cupcakes with all the colors.”
Not even once while Hazel was talking did Austin get bored. He offered some tips and helpful suggestions about frosting and cooking.
“Wanna go swimming again, Autumn?” Austin asked.
“Not right now,” I said. “You can go on and swim without me, Austin. I need to talk to Lydia for a second.”
Austin shrugged, before heading to the backdoors. I spotted Lydia by the snack table, eating a pig in a blanket.
“Hey Lydia,” I said.
“Oh, hi Autumn! I was just looking for you, but I didn’t eat anything since lunch, and even that was small, so I wanted to grab something to eat, but you found me,” Lydia said, finishing her pig in a blanket.
“Remember Austin?” I asked.
“The super handsome one with the tousled hair and the one you claimed was not your boyfriend? Yes,” Lydia said, grabbing another pig in a blanket.
“Well, we started officially dating two months ago, we had a real date last month, and a few minutes ago,” I paused, “I kissed Austin.”
Lydia dropped the pig in a blanket in the barbecue container, but she ignored it. “Really? I expected it, because of the way Austin looked at you, but it’s still surprising! And exciting!”
“I hear you were flirting with Zachary,” I said, smirking at her, changing the subject.
“I was not,” Lydia argued. “We were just talking for a while.”
“While he stared at you with lovey-dovey eyes and you blushing,” I said teasingly.
“Maybe he was staring at me,” Lydia finally admitted. “But I was talking.”
I rolled my eyes. “Rosemary’s hair is back to golden, but she cut it to her chin. And it’s straight instead of wavy, but it looks good. It always looks good.”
“That’s good,” Lydia said. “I just couldn’t get used to seeing her hair blue or red or pink. It seemed strange.”
“Sam was slow dancing with a boy in the basement,” I said. “And was wearing a little mascara and eyeliner.”
“Sam?” Lydia asked in disbelief. “Like Samantha Parkington?”
“The one and only,” I confirmed.
“She’s the last person on the earth that I expect to be wearing makeup and slow dancing with a boy.”
“I know,” I said. “But we can’t always think of her that way. We all change.”
“But still,” Lydia said, grabbing her pig in a blanket from the barbecue bin. “I knew it was coming, but I think I didn’t expect it so soon.”
“We’re all changing right now,” I said. “We’re all having our first boyfriend. And yes, Zachary will probably become your boyfriend so don’t argue.”
I take off my t-shirt, shoes, and capris, put it in my swim bag, dove into the pool, the water drenching my still drying chlorine hair, sinking for a few seconds before shooting up like a rocket, wiping the water off my face. I swim for a few minutes, trying to get used to the cold water, before someone being lifted out of the water.
“Hi,” Austin said. “You finally decided to join me?”
Austin was supporting my upper leg and my back, so I wrapped my arms around his neck gently, because it felt natural. I laughed, before leaning over and kissing him on the lips. They were wet, molding into the shape of mine. I reached over, twisting my hands in his wet hair, smooth under my fingers. This time, Austin lifted me closer to him, as I kept kissing him. It was even better than the first kiss because it seemed more natural.
“You are so beautiful,” Austin murmured before I put my mouth to his.
After our third kiss, Austin put me down, and we started swimming and splashing around. Afterward, I ate for a while, finding Chrissy and talking with her. (Chrissy came late because her brother couldn’t find the keys to the car.)
“Ready to go?” Austin asked. Most people had already left, but I was waiting for everyone to leave so I could help Hazel clean up.
“Not yet,” I said, grabbing another cupcake and biting into it. Vanilla.
Rosemary, Lydia, and Sam were the only ones left besides Chrissy, Austin, Hazel, and me. So I took trash duty upstairs, Hazel took putting away the leftovers, Chrissy cleaned the pool, Austin went downstairs with Rosemary to do downstairs trash, and Lydia and Sam cleaned up the spills of soda and water and juice.
“See ya, Hazel,” I said, hugging Rosemary, then Hazel, then Lydia, then Sam, then Chrissy. “It was a great party!”
Rosemary, Lydia, Sam, and Chrissy walked along Austin and me before we said the final goodbyes and Austin drove me back home.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said, kissing him for a few seconds.
“Thanks for inviting me,” Austin said, kissing me back. “It was a really great party. Do you wanna go out Monday?”
“Where to?” I asked.
“Brunch.”
“Sure,” I said, kissing him again before grabbing my bag and getting out the car. “Bye!”
Austin waved, before driving off.
Mom was waiting for me after I opened the front door with my key. “So, how was Hazel’s graduation party?”
“Very fun,” I said. “There was a lot of people that were really nice, and I talked to them. Hazel’s an amazing chef.”
“So you’ve told me,” Mom said.
I went upstairs, took a shower to get rid of the chlorine smell, then started organizing my room. It was boring, but I needed something normal to calm me down.
Finally, I took out my diary and started writing.
Today was probably one of the biggest events of my life.
I finally kissed Austin. At first, it felt awkward. But now, it feels natural. Like meeting him and becoming friends with him were fate and not my decision. I could have yelled at him that first day for eating my popcorn and I wouldn’t be dating him.
I really wish Skye was still around so I could talk to her about this. She’s kissed so many people in her life that she would understand all these emotions running through me.
I have a date with him Monday, and I’m already a little nervous. I’m going to ask Hazel advice on what I should wear because I have absolutely no fashion sense.
But, Skye wouldn’t want me to be in so much pain that she’s gone. She would want the best of me every day. I think since she died, Skye wants me not to scumble to the same mistakes that she did. That’s what a big sister’s for I think, guiding her younger sibling around the mistakes that she did.
I used to follow her footsteps, not being able to step out of her shadow. But now, I’m creating my own shadow, for me, Autumn Evangeline Hope Willow Paige Allen.
Yours truly,
Autumn
“Oh, that top looks good,” Hazel said. “And just pair it up with a messy bun, shorts, sandals, sunglasses, and of course, a tiny bit of makeup.”
I was once again standing in my closet and still in my PJ bottoms with extremely frizzy hair and a nice top.
“Thanks, Hazel,” I said. “You’re the best.”
“Oh, don’t thank me,” Hazel said.
“I’m going to go change,” I said.
“I’ll be waiting,” Hazel promised.
I ran a brush through my frizzy and tangled hair so it would be easier to do after I showered. It caught so many knots and I winced at least five times in the first brush and had to keep brushing for a long time. I showered, letting the cold water drench me, before stepping out, patting myself dry because rubbing it dry would damage skin, applied lotion while it was still a little damp, then dressed myself. After stepping out of the shower, I started doing my makeup. Only moisturizer, mascara, concealer, and lip balm. Once my hair was dry, I twisted it up into a messy bun, then strapped on my sandals, grabbing my sunglasses and putting them on, before glancing at the computer screen.
“How do I look?” I asked Hazel.
“Amazing,” Hazel said, nodding her approval. “Very I woke up this way and am flawless in a really good way.”
My cheeks flushed, and Hazel smiled. “Tell me about how it goes ASAP. And if I don’t pick up for some reason, call my cell and leave at least ten messages. Promise?”
“I promise,” I said.
“Good,” Hazel said.
The doorbell rang, and I sprung up. “I’ll call you later.”
“Bye,” Hazel said before the line disconnected.
I closed my laptop, stood up, and walked out of the room, before descending the stairs, seeing Austin waiting.
“Be back by one o’clock,” Mom reminded me. “In the afternoon. Not morning. I don’t want my daughter staying out more than twelve hours for a simple date.”
“I know, Mom,” I said. Rules were in the family unless there was a movie in the date, the date had to last three hours or less. Then the date had to less than four hours if there was a movie. It even applied to Mom and Dad.
Once Austin had opened the passenger seat for me, I kissed him. He kissed me back. It was hard to describe. It was electric, almost, intense. I stood on my tiptoes, and Austin bent his head so his lips would touch mine. Finally, I let myself fall, stepping into the car.
“Good morning, love,” Austin said, stepping into his car, and sticking his key in the ignition, the car roaring to life.
“Hi,” I said, trying to slow down my heartbeat.
“How are you today?” Austin said smoothly.
“Okay, I guess,” I said, my heartbeat slowly down a tiny bit but still racing so fast. “And what about you?”
“Very well, thank you,” Austin said, gripping the steering wheel and turning it right. He drove smoothly and extremely calm, even smoother than Skye, who probably was one of the best drivers I knew.
“Where are we headed?” I asked, trying to make small talk.
“Oh, just to a diner,” Austin said. “I know you liked classic things, so this one is very old fashioned, but modern at the same time.”
“Oh?” I said.
“Hm-hm,” Austin said, reaching over and turning the radio onto soft classical music with violin, cello, and piano. It plays in the background as Austin talked. “Robert’s back from college.”
“Isn’t he your older brother?” I asked.
“He’s home from College, and went to reconnect with old friends before staying home and helping Mom.”
“What about Hope?” I said.
“Oh, she’s basically driving around the city, shopping, and all that stuff,” Austin said, making the final left to enter a parking lot. “She was spending her entire year across the country, and forgot almost everything around here.”
I wait, as Austin parked into a space, got out of the car, opened the door for me, and stepped out.
“You’re entering your junior year of high school this year,” I said, as Austin intertwined our fingers together.
“You’re going to be a sophomore. You have the Spring Dance in April that you can attend.”
“Why didn’t you attend it with Ashley? She would have asked you,” I said. “You could have gone with your friends.”
Austin shrugged. “I wasn’t interested in going and in fact, Ashley did ask me several times, but I turned her down.”
“Why?” I was confused about why Austin would miss one of the biggest dances of the year for sophomores.
“Well, my date did not ask me,” Austin said. “I would not feel comfortable going with Ashley.”
I bit my lip, before entering the diner room. It was old fashioned, with several booths, tables, and even a counter to sit at. The waitresses were dressed in a simple plain black top with a white collar and skirt with a ruffled white apron which had a large pocket, holding a notebook, pen, straws, and napkins. Austin led me to a booth, the sunniest one, and a waitress immediately came over. She had long, dark brown wavy hair that reached halfway down her back. The waitress was maybe in her late twenties or early thirties, no older than thirty-three.
“My name is Angela, and I’ll be your waitress today,” she said, smiling brightly and handing Austin one menu while giving me the other cocoa colored one. “But first, can I get you some drinks?”
Austin glanced at me, so I picked the first drink off my mind. “I’ll have hot chocolate.”
“And you?” Angela asked, smiling at Austin.
“I’ll have a strawberry banana smoothie,” Austin said, opening his menu and beginning to scan the list.
“Alrighty,” Angela said. “I’ll be right back with your order.”
She walked away, the black heels of her shoes clicking on the shiny floor.
“What are you going to order?” Austin asked.
I flipped through the clean menu slowly a few times, reading each selection carefully before finally deciding.
“I’m going to order croissant rolls, cinnamon rolls, and hash browns,” I said, closing the menu and setting it on the table in front of me.
Angela walked back, holding the cup of hot chocolate and the tall glass filled with strawberry banana smoothie.
“Are you ready to order?” Angela asked, setting the drinks on the table gracefully, before sticking in a straw in Austin’s smoothie.
“Yes, we are,” Austin said. Angela took out a pad of paper and pen from her apron, and glanced up at Austin.
“I’ll have pancakes, toast, cinnamon rolls, and a creme donut,” Austin said. “And Autumn will have croissant rolls, cinnamon rolls, and hash browns.”
“Okay,” Angela said. “Will that be all?”
“Yes,” Austin said.
“May I have your menus?” Angela said.
“Of course,” Austin said smoothly, handing Angela both of our menus, before Angela walked off into the kitchen with the swinging doors, like in all the old cowboy movie, the ones that Dad loved to watch.
“Why didn’t you get bacon or something like that?” I asked. “I think everyone else who isn’t vegetarian would.”
Austin smiled crookedly at me, running one hand through his messy hair. “Then you couldn’t kiss me if I ate meat.”
I rolled my eyes, before leaning over, our lips barely touching for a few seconds, before sitting back into my seat.
“Thanks for taking me out,” I said, our foreheads leaning against each other with our elbows on the table. If even one of us moved even a millimeter, our lips would be touching and we would be kissing again.
“Thanks for letting me fall in love with you,” Austin said.
“Meeting you was fate. Becoming friends was my choice. Falling in love with each other was beyond my control.”
Angela arrived with the food just as Austin was tilting his head to the side so that our lips would touch briefly.
“Here are your orders,” Angela said, removing the food from the giant platter she held. “Do you need anything else?”
“No, thank you,” Austin said, recovering from the kiss interruption easily.
Angela smiled at us, and for the first time, I noticed a princess cut ring on her ring finger. It was the same one that I always saw in the movies when a guy wanted to marry the main character or something like that. Angela was engaged.
I bit into the croissant roll first, because I couldn’t resist the smell. It was soft and buttery. Fresh. Perfect.
“Autumn,” Austin said slowly.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Are you in love with me, or do you love me?” Austin asked, reaching a hand out to touch my cheek.
I paused for a moment. I did love Austin, but it was more than that. Like we were connected somehow, more than I probably would figure out. And nothing could break the chains that held us together.
“In love,” I whispered.
“But, one day, Autumn, love,” Austin said, “maybe ten years from now, we’re going to forget all about each other and will never be able to remember who you were. I may feel important to you now, but I’m nothing to the boyfriends you will one day have and maybe one of them you marry one day. But for the time being, I’m still in love with you.”
“How’d the date go?” Hazel asked, using a nail file on her finger. “Tell me all the details. I’ve been dying to know.”
“It was different than you might have expected,” I said slowly, trying to choose my words carefully and find a way to phrase things.
“Like how different?” Hazel asked, examining one nail before continuing to file her pointer finger nail.
“It wasn’t like the fairytale one, but it was just unique. How Austin was predicting our futures and about love.”
Hazel looked straight into the camera. “Autumn Evangeline Hope Willow Paige Allen. Never spend your one year of being twelve focusing on thirteen. Don’t spend the only year you’re ever fifteen on sixteen. And don’t think about eighteen when you’re still seventeen. When you look back, you will have spent a lot of your precious time dwelling on the future and past instead of the present. That is the greatest gift of all.”
ritwit 