"Lily, will you take that table for me, I have my hands full." Charlotte said, as she cleaned the bright pink counter tops. Lily Clover is a bright sixteen year-old in her sophomore year at Newport High School. She is short for her age, has straight brown hair, and blue eyes. Her best friend Charlotte Mason is just about the complete opposite of her. She is a tall, junior with blonde hair, and brown eyes. They have been close for 10 years now.
"How many times am I going to cover for you?" Lily questioned, in a unexpected tone.
"As long as we work here." Charlotte said with a short laugh.
Lily began to walk to table twelve and noticed the weird teenager sitting there. He was tall, and wore a gray sweatshirt that covered most of his hair. Once Lily, got close enough, he sat up straight and removed his elbows from the glassy table.
"Uh-uh may I help you?" Lily stuttered at the stranger.
"Yes, actually you can start by giving me your name."
"My name is. well, its Lily."
"Interesting. My name is buck, and I'm new to Newport.
"…Well what would you like to order?" Lily spoke in a uninterested voice
He stares blankly at her as if questioning what she just spoke.
"Want to go on a date?" Buck asks, persistently.
Lily hesitates awkwardly, and walks away from table twelve.
She returns to the counter, that Charlotte is smearing Windex on.
"Charlotte, I think I'm going to go home, I'm a little tired." Lily speaks gently.
"Alright, see you tomorrow."
Lily begins to walk to her uncle's house, on the other side of town. She has lived with her uncle Terry ever since her parents died in a car accident 6 years ago. The streetlights slowly begin to turn on, and her feet begin to move a tad faster. She feels someone following her. At every block corner she turns to look. No one is there. She thinks to herself: Next Corner, I'm going to call Uncle Terry. This is getting too weird. As the next corner gets closer and closer, she pulls out her cell phone. She is so scared, that she doesn't notice the car pulling out on the street. She jumps, and drops her phone. When she goes to pick up her phone, she hears. "Lily?" She looks up at the car, and realizes its her uncle Terry. She sighs, and gets in the car.
"What are you doing walking home this late?" Uncle Terry asks meanly.
"Well, I knew you might be working late, so I left early to get a head start on walking home."
"Well, next time call me Lily."
The next day, Lily gets to school early.
"Lily, did you hear that there's a new student?" Charlotte says excitedly.
"No…" Lily says with a nervous tone.
"Well, it's a guy. And he asked me where he could find you. Do you know someone named… buck?"
"Uh-no I don't think I do." Lily lies.
After talking to Charlotte for a short while, she walks to her first hour, biology.
Her once empty partner seat is now filled with a bright eyed, Buck Marrel.
"Are you aloud to sit here?" Lily questions. He looks at her funny, then says,
"…So, what do you say about that date?"
"Uhm, if it will get you to stop bugging me, I guess so."
That night, Buck picks Lily up from work at six thirty. They go to a simple Italian restaurant, towards the high school. She is still slightly nervous, and awkward around Buck, but oddly feels safe. They are escorted to a small booth, in the non-smoking section.
"What would you like to order to drink?" The Waiter asks.
Lily begins to speak, but buck interrupts her.
"We would like iced tea, please." Buck pronounces.
Lily gives Buck a stern look and continues looking at the menu.
"So, I'm thinking, maybe we should go steady." Buck states.
"W-we just met..." Lily says.
"Well we can give it a try."
"I guess, we could…I guess." Lily says convinced.
That following Saturday, Lily gets a phone call, bright and early.
"Hey, Lily. I am coming to pick you up in ten minutes." Buck says.
"What? I'm not going anywhere with you in ten minutes, I'm still sleeping."
"Well, I believe you are." Buck Replies.
Lily begins to yell at Buck, but stops herself, and gets dressed.
Buck pulls up in her dirt driveway and honks his horn for a good thirteen seconds.
Lily walks to Bucks car in the pouring rain.
"Where are we going?!" Lily asks persistently.
"Somewhere." Buck says quietly.
They drive for a short while, and pull onto a dirt road leading into a deep forest.
"Where are we going?" Lily questions again.
Buck keeps silent, and begins to drive faster along the dirt path.
He finally slows down, as they pull up to a small cottage hidden with large pine trees.
"This is my home; I thought you might like to see it." Buck pronounces.
Lily is silent, and slowly gets out of the car as Buck does, her nervous face remains in the same place as before.
"Why do you live in the woods?" Lily quietly asks.
"It's quiet and private here." Buck states.
He shows her to the house, through the back door. Once inside the house, Buck shows Lily every room but the front room. As Lily walks toward the front living room, Buck yells, "Don't you dare go in there."
Lily stares at him angrily and walks out of the house.
"Why don't you just take me home now?" Lily yells.
"Fine." Buck responds.
Buck drives Lily out of the wooded area, without saying a word. Half way to Lily's house, she breaks the silence.
"You can drop me of here. I can walk the rest of the way."
"It's pouring rain." He responds.
"I don't care! Just drop me off here."
Buck unlocks the doors, and drives away. Lily walks home, upset.
Monday at school, Buck apologizes to Lily.
"Hey, I'm uh-hum I'm sorry about yesterday." He says.
"You're not very convincing, I don't want to talk about it." Lily remarks.
They go the rest of the day not saying a word to each other. Lily still wonders what was in the front room of Buck's House. She decides that after school, when Buck goes to see her at work like he does daily, she will go to his house instead. The end of the school day ends, and she is almost sprinting out of the school. She calculates that she will have exactly one half hour to get to the house, and see the living room. She rides her bike to the path of the woods. She takes a deep breath, and thinks: I can do this. I can do this. I'm going to figure this out, no matter what. She winds the dirt path, and comes up to the cottage. She tries each window and door, and finally finds a window that's open. She climbs in, and smells the rustiness of the old house. She slowly, walks to the front room. She is very nervous of what she will find, but is eager to find out what Buck is hiding. As she opens the door, shock comes over her. He has pictures of her all over his walls. A small chest sits by the door, with chains and locks covering it. The door is covered with various locks and chains also. The pictures of her seem to have been token the day Buck arrived in town, earlier in the day when Lily was at the park. She is somewhat relieved to know what she's dealing with, but is scared of what Buck is planning. She leaves the cottage in a hurry, and as she's riding her bike on the winding path, she hears a car coming up. She swerves into the woods, knowing that the car is Bucks. She goes unnoticed by Buck, as she's deeper in the woods now. Once the car fully passes, she runs her bike back on the path, and gets on the main road. She decides that the next day, she is going to tell Buck that she's done with him. He is just too attached. As six am rolls around, she is dreading, 1st Biology. She arrives at school, and goes straight to her class. Buck shows up shortly after, and sits next to her. She inhales deeply and says
"Buck, I think we shouldn't see each other anymore."
"You're joking. Ha-ha, your really funny Lily." Buck says awkwardly.
"No, I'm not joking, I'm done with you."
"But, we were meant to be, your mine." Buck states.
"No, I'm not. I barley know you, Buck."
"Well, I know you." Buck says slightly louder.
Lily try's not to give it away, but yells:
"I know what you do Buck, You spy on me, and you take pictures of me. You're just creepy."
He stares at her mean fully, as if he would turn bright red, and turns and walks out of class. For the next week of school, Buck doesn't show up to school.
Another week passes and no sign of Buck. Lily feels relieved that she has gotten rid of someone that could've been threatening to her. When she arrives home from school, her uncle Terry asks her to get the mail. She opens the metal mailbox and pulls out a small envelope. It has her name on it, written in chicken scratch. She slowly opens the letter. Inside is a piece of folded paper. She unfolds the paper, and sees a snapshot of her taped to it, and the words "I miss you" at the top, spelled with letters cut out from a magazine. She is startled and drops the paper on the muddy ground. She picks it up, crumbles it in her hand, and tosses it in the dumpster.