When I woke up the next morning, it was not to the sunlight and gently tweeting of the birds. It was not to my alarm clock blaring my favorite song. It was not my mother shaking me awake because I was going to be late. Instead, it was to the unstoppable force named Lydia Martin throwing my bed curtains open and marching to my closet.
"Sadie Bennet! What are you doing in bed! Come on, up, up, up!" I snapped up in bed, blearily yet frantically looking over to my alarm clock in fear. I groaned, collapsing back onto the bed.
"Lydia, what the hell? I don't have to get up for another half an hour."
"Exactly," she chirped, pulling out a shirt she hadn't even considered the yesterday, before shoving it right back. "It's just half an hour, no big deal. Up!" I practically growled, shoving my face back into my pillow and pulling the covers over my head. "No! No, no, no!" she yelped, scampering over and prying the blankets out of my hands. "It is your first day at a new school, my school, and you are going to need every second we can get to look perfect. Now get up, make you bed, and hop to it." I sat up, tipping my head back in defeat as Lydia sped back to the closet, muttering to herself about clashing colors. There was nothing to be done. I was already awake, and I'd rather put the extra half an hour towards looking nice than fighting with my best friend as if she was my mother. So, doing as I was told, I got up, made my bed, and walked down the hall to the bathroom.
I was proud to note, as I vigorously brushed my teeth, that my eyes did not hold any sign that I was on the verge of tears last night. In fact, despite all the tossing and turning I'd done, and my recently lost half and hour, I managed to look fairly well rested. I brushed my hair and worked in some sort of smoothing serum Lydia had shoved into the shopping basket a couple weeks ago before returning to my room.
Lydia, I was relieved to find, was nowhere in sight. Instead, a finalized first-day-of-school outfit had been laid on my bed. I turned on my stereo and slowly and cautiously got changed into the specified clothes.
"Oh my God!" Lydia squealed when she peeked into my room a few minutes later. She ran inside, completely dressed in a long sleeved blue shirt and flirty plaid skirt, and pulled me up from my seat on the bed, where I'd been putting on my shoes. She hugged me tightly before stepping back and motioning for me to turn. "You look fantastic! Ah! Go me!" Before I could look turn to the mirror to see the full outfit for myself, she grabbed my shoulders. "Nuh-uh! Vanity, now. You can see when you're done."
Much to my annoyance, Lydia wouldn't even let me look in the mirror to put on my makeup. Instead, she insisted that she do it one last time, and I could start on my own tomorrow. Knowing Lydia all too well, I sat patiently for a lifetime that was probably more like twenty-five minutes. When she stepped back, she looked so happy she could have cried. She slapped the concealing brush back onto my vanity with finality before clasping her hands under her chin tightly, and staring at me as though I was some art project she was bound to get an A on.
"Can I see now?" I asked teasingly, raising my eyebrow. Lydia beamed, nodding her head frantically and dragging me over to the full-length mirror next to my closet door.
Whoever that girl was, she was definitely not me. At least, not the me I was used to seeing. The girl in the mirror was tall and slender, practically seeping confidence even though her face was contorted in a timid, amazed expression. Her hair fell in just the right place. Her eyebrows gently arched in surprise over two large, brown doe eyes with dark liner and lashes. Pink lips slightly parted and the blush dusted on her cheeks darkening ever so slightly. She had on a form fitting turquoise blouse with V-neckline and sleeves ending just above her elbows, the bottom tucked into a black, pleated skirt. Black stocking disappeared into clean and stylish knee-high boots, which had a heel low enough to keep her height from being intimidating. I turned my shoulders back and forth, captivated as the reflection moved in time. That was me. I glanced at Lydia, who was looking on with pride.
"Um…who am I?" She laughed, picking up a slightly worn leather jacket I'd owned for a couple years.
"You," she started, coming up behind me and slipping my arms into the sleeves, "are Sadie Bennet, my best friend, who is going to be the center of attention at Beacon Hills High School." She squealed again, hugging me from behind and resting her head on the side of my arm. Her chin couldn't reach the top of my shoulder, as I was more than half a foot taller than her. "God, I'm so glad we got you that bra. See? Aren't you glad we got you that bra?" I nodded and laughed along with her in complete honesty. It was probably the most comfortable thing I'd ever worn, and its magical lifting properties were just a plus. I smoothed down the top, letting my fingers slid to the every swaying end of the black skirt.
"I don't know, Lyd. This is kinda short…" I'd worn skirts and shorts before, but it seemed a tad unnerving to wear something so eye-catching on a day where all eyes would probably be on me anyway. "Maybe I should wear something more casual and just ease into the skirts."
"No," Lydia replied immediately, pulling away from me. "That's not how you start a school year! You start a school year looking drop dead gorgeous so that's all anyone remembers if you start to slip in the middle of the year. Which you won't." I turned to give her a playful glare, but instead got a face full of perfume. I coughed and spluttered, looking over at Lydia's mischievous smile with a real glare this time. She just grinned her Cheshire cat smile, sprayed me three more times and grabbed both my purse and my hand. "Come on! Time to go!"
Lydia and I reached the stairs to find our mothers waiting patiently at the bottom. Both Mom and Miss Eleanor crooned over how beautiful and grown up we looked, and Lydia was congratulated and thanked for the time and effort she spent hanging out with me and for welcoming me with a makeover.
Two pieces of toast, a glass of juice, a teeth check and 20 pictures later, Lydia and I were finally allowed to leave the house. I climbed into the passenger seat of Lydia's Beetle and spent the next few minutes rummaging around the large bag Lydia insisted was my new purse. I knew everything was in there, and I had put the rest of my supplies in my locker yesterday, but I couldn't help compulsively checking, even just so I had something to do. Lydia spent the ride reminding me of all the rules. Walk to her locker so everyone gets a good look, wait outside for someone to escort you to class, try not to go to your locker too often, but don't hold too many books at once. Check in with these people, don't talk to these people, meet up with Lydia at the end of the day for lacrosse practice. Simple.
By the time we pulled into the school parking lot, my hands hand begun shaking with nerves again. Lydia parked the car and turned to look at me.
"You okay?" she asked with genuine concern. I nodded, not trusting my voice. I knew I was going to be fine and that I was over-reacting, but there were so many people walking around outside. Instead of answering her question, I changed the topic.
"Thanks for approving my jacket," I said in a voice a tad higher than usual. "Glad it meets up to standards."
"Of course," she answered. "I still can't believe you got that vintage, it's in such good condition." I smiled, calming as I noticed her familiar habit of saying "vintage" instead of "second-hand." She lightly smacked my bicep and I turned to look at her as she went on. "And besides, I may have given you a makeover, but I still want you to be you. Just, the best version of you." She tilted her head and smiled reassuringly. I grinned back, my breathing returning to normal. "Which is why," she started, a twinkle in her eye as she opened her purse. "You have this."
Any breath I had regained left my body the moment Lydia pulled her hand out of the bag. She was holding up a necklace. Not anything pretty, sparkly, or gorgeous, except to me. It was a set of dog tags. My dad's set of dog tags. The set of dog tags my mom had made for their anniversary as a joke from when they were younger and he tried to pick her up by pretending he was military. And Lydia had them in her hand for me.
"Normally, I'd completely disapprove," she said, waving a hand as if she hadn't put any thought or care into this. "But I asked your mom and we got them cleaned, so…considering the situation I can let it pass." I finally tore my eyes away from the necklace to meet Lydia's eyes and sweet smile. My shocked expression must have been thanks enough because she flicked her wrist a little bit, motioning for me to turn around, which I hurriedly did. She reached over to the passenger seat, fastening the necklace and pulling down my makeup mirror.
I stared into the small square, my hand resting on the tags. The newly adapted chain left the tags dangling right under my clavicle, clearly visible and framed by my V-neck shirt. My face was far prettier than I'd ever felt, which had left me feeling awkward and unsure about myself and who I was trying to be. But with the dog tags on, I suddenly felt much more like myself.
"Hey, no crying," Lydia nudged from the driver's seat. "You'll ruin all my hard work." I closed the makeup mirror and threw myself at her, hugging her close and awkwardly over the divide in the seats.
"Thank you so, so much, Lydia," I whispered hoarsely, attempting to battle off the tears in my eyes for her sake.
"You're welcome," she replied, her voice quieter than usual. We stayed still a moment longer before she pulled back, grabbing both of my hands in hers. "Now you listen to me," she began, her eyes set in a determined glare while she continued to smile. "You are fantastic. You are smart, you are funny, you are talented and you are an actress. So you are going to go out there and wow everyone and not let a single one realize you're nervous. Okay?" I took a deep breath, steadying myself under Lydia's gaze.
"Okay."
"There's Christine," Lydia noticed, spotted a girl with long dirty blonde hair texting in front of the car. "You ready?" I nodded.
"Absolutely." And on that final note, we both pulled back and stepped out of the car. Nervous new girl, off. Oscar winning actress mode, on.
"Hi!" Lydia greeted in a singsong voice, lightly and quickly hugging Christine. I immediately noticed the different between this hug and the one I'd just shared with Lydia in the car, and grinned. I knew from living with her that Lydia didn't have that many girl friends. I think it was largely because she was so intimidating. It'd to have respect for someone who's too eager to please, especially in Lydia's case. So many girls were willing to put up with her bitchiness and attitude, not because they wanted to know about the smart, determined and caring girl underneath, but because she was attractive, popular, and extremely intimidating. They could never stand up to her, which luckily, was something I could do. So while Lydia had several female acquaintances, there were next to none she called close friends. I counted myself lucky to be one of them.
Christine Ashwood knew that, which is why when she finally turned to me and said, "Hey, Sadie!" it was with just as much perk and enthusiasm as she had given Lydia. Deciding to make Lydia proud for once, and maybe to self-servingly quell any last minute nerves, I allowed my eyes to scan over her dark jacket, stocking and boots like looked eerily similar to Lydia's.
"Uh, hey Christine," I replied, still looking at her boots before smiling brightly. Lydia lightly smacked my arm again. I raised my eyebrows at her while she gave me a smile that simultaneously said, "That was mean," "Play nice!" and "I am so proud of you."
"Come on," Lydia announced. "Time to show Beacon Hills what they've been missing." She led the way to the front doors of the school, Christine and I falling into step behind her. I may have been Lydia's best friend, but we were still the new girl and the queen bee, so I let her lead the formation. Honestly, I was taking the time to actually appreciate the walking drills Lydia had only half-jokingly put me through over the summer. While I found Lydia's confidence contagious, allowing me to strut easily behind her at a speed that stopped me from catching up, poor Christine was having a hard time gliding and watching Lydia at the same time. I felt bad, but another part of me, the nervous-new-girl part, was practically jumping up and down in celebration of my accomplishment.
Given the amount of attention Lydia seemed to be drawing, I was glad that while I managed to walk correctly, I was still her background for now. The world seemed to stop to notice Lydia Martin as we made our way up the sidewalk and up the path to the school. Several people waved, shouted hellos, or simply stopped to stare. I raised a willing hand to everyone I knew, each wave quelling my nerves a little more as I reassured myself that I wasn't really that new. Lydia, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content ignoring everyone who tried to talk to her as if the peasants and laymen of the high school social ladder hardly existed.
"Hey Lydia!" a familiar looking brunette boy said a tad too loudly as we approached him and his friend. "You and your friend look-," he started, but she blew past the pair without a second glance. I tried diligently to avoid catching his eye as I walked close to him not a second later. "Like you're gonna ignore me," he finished, slightly quieter. The presence of his familiar face nagged me, as did the unusually desperate tone of his voice. Giving up on figuring out who he was, I turned around before I lost my nerve, throwing him a dazzling smile and a little wave just in case.
The boy's face instantly changed from a wince of disappointment and desperation to a blank slate of surprise and confusion. He raised his hand mechanically to wave back, but I was already hurriedly turning around.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Confusion meant that I didn't actually know him, that he was not someone I had been introduced to and just forgotten the name of. Confusion meant the poor kid probably didn't even know who I was, fuck! The school day hadn't even started and I'd already made the mistake of making someone uncomfortable. "Damnit, Sadie," I had to remind myself. "You're still the new girl! Act like it! Just because you know some lacrosse boys doesn't mean you can do anything you want!" I shook my head, clearing it once more as I concentrated solely on regaining my perfect stride. Not on the hundreds of eyes glued to the new girl, and certainly not the cute stranger I'd confused.
When Christine stopped to go to her locker, Lydia simply kept on walking easily calling, "Okay! Buh-bye!" over her shoulder. I waved goodbye as well, though my smile was a bit less bright now, dimmed by all the butterflies in my stomach.
Lydia walked my to my locker, eying me as I silently retrieved a notebook and a few books from my locker. Only when I slammed it shut and turned to her with a tiny grin did she speak.
"Okay," she spoke, narrowing her eyes. "It's been like two minutes since we got out of the car. What's got you all shook up?" She turned and stalked to her own locker before I could speak, trusting that I'd trail after her, which I did. I sighed and leaned against the wall as she opened her own locker.
"Yeah, two minutes in and I've already made an ass of myself." Lydia raised her eyebrows at her math textbook, not bothering to make eye contact. "I waved to someone I didn't know. He looked confused." Lydia beamed and abruptly slammed her locker shut.
"Oh my God, Sadie, is that it?" She rested a hand on my shoulder. "That just makes you look super sociable. Listen, everyone here knows you're my friend, and those who don't will be finding out within the next period. That means you've already got their attention! All you have to do is prove to them that you're worthy of it. The poor boy probably went into shock because you were paying him any attention at all." I giggled, but before I could reply, Jackson swooped in for what looked like a routine good-morning make out.
"Hey, ladies," he said with a charming smile, wrapping his arm around Lydia's waist.
"Good morning, Jackson," Lydia replied in unison, her gently chirping while my monotone voice sounded more like a class's greeting to a teacher. I smiled to reassure them I was joking, and that I was fine.
"Okay," Lydia said, turning in Jackson's grip so that she could grab my wrist with one hand while the other lay on her boyfriend's chest. "Someone from the guidance office will pick you up outside and escort you to your first class. And you know where to find me for lunch, right?" I nodded. "Okay. Good luck! You're gonna be fine, don't worry. I'll see you later!" I rolled my eyes.
"Thanks, Mom." She released my wrist with a playful glare. "I'll see you guys," I added, before turning around, taking a deep breath, and walking back they way I came.
Lydia was right. I'd been there for the summer, and word had probably got around that Lydia Martin was friends with the new girl. People probably already knew me, so if I smiled, I was just being friendly. Not creepy, just friendly. That thought allowed my to keep a smile cemented to my face as I casually walked back out of the school to the bench out front. I got a few looks, nothing I couldn't handle, but it was a relief to be outside in the fresh air once more. I collapsed onto a bench with a relieved sigh, pulling my phone out of my purse to check the time.
"Um, hi." I jumped looking to my left to see that I was not alone. Another girl sat beside me, with a pretty, angular face, pale skin and dark eyes. She had on a grey V-neck shirt and tan jacket, dressed up with a scarf the same turquoise as my shirt. She peered up at me through curtains of dark hair, her hands clasped and fidgeting over the large purse that sat on her lap.
"Hi!" I said, a bit too loud. I winced at my own mistake, repeating myself softly. "Hi, sorry. Are you new?" She chuckled shooting her eyes away from me and biting her lip.
"That obvious?" I chuckled easily.
"Twitchy hands," I pointed out. "Me too." I held my hands up and hardly had to tense them at all before they began to tremble. The girl glanced over and visibly relaxed.
"You're a new student too?" she asked, as though she would hardly allow herself to believe it. I put on a lopsided grin.
"That obvious?" I quoted, and she ducked her head as she let out a graceful laugh. I extended one of my shaking hands to her. "Sadie Bennet." The girl looked back up, smiling warmly before accepting my hand.
"Allison Argent," she replied.
"Hi, Allison," I repeated. "Sorry about my kinda abrupt entrance. I was sort of trapped in my thoughts when I sat down." She shook her head.
"No, no it's fine. Trust me, I get that, especially on the first day. I'm pretty sure I got a letter and two phone calls reminding me that I was gonna be escorted in from out here, and I still wandered into the guidance office like a lost puppy." We laughed.
"Eh, don't worry. The only reason I remembered is because my friend Lydia's been reminding me every forty seconds."
"O-Oh, so you have friends here?" Her voice went up a little bit, as though I'd abandoned her in the status of "new girl." I nodded.
"A few. My mom and I moved in with one of her friends at the beginning of the summer, which is why I know Lydia. She's introduced me to a couple people. What about you?"
"Oh, we just moved in a week or two ago from San Francisco," she explained, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear in the breeze. "My dad moves a lot for his job, though, so I'm kind of used to being the new girl."
"Just cause you're used to it doesn't mean you have to like it," I said, and she nodded with an air of gratefulness for my understanding. "This is my first move, so even though I know a few people, I still kind of feel like I'm stepping into a new world."
"It's hard," she agreed. "I'd like to say that I felt the same way, but I was like two during our first move, so…" Allison trailed off and we laughed again for a few seconds. "So, why'd you and your mom decide to move?" she asked. I abruptly stopped laughing, ghost of a smile still on my face. Allison noticed my change in demeanor, her own smile quickly sliding off. "Oh, god, sorry. You don't have to answer that. God, the first person I talk to and I embarrass myself." I waved her off.
"No, don't worry about it. You're not gonna be the only person that asks today, just the first. My, uh… My dad died a couple months ago. He was a police officer, died in the line of duty." Allison sucked in her breath before tentatively resting her hand on my forearm.
"I'm so sorry." I nodded my head, not looking up. My right hand instinctively flew up to the cold dog tags around my neck, and breathing became a lot easier.
"Thanks." I attempted to tuck a strand of short hair behind my ear, but the breeze just blew it back up again. "And don't worry about the embarrassment thing. I already accidentally waved at someone I didn't know. At least I know it's not just me." Allison laughed loudly, obviously relieved of her embarrassment, as well as the fact our conversation wasn't dwelling on my father's death. Before she could reply, a trilling ring cut through the air. She closed her mouth, fumbling with her bag.
"Sorry, that's probably my mom. Again." I laughed.
"That's fine. I should probably text mine." I turned to my own phone, quickly opening a message to my mother that read, "Made a new friend :) going to class now."
"Mom, three calls on my first day is a little overdoing it," Allison chuckled into her phone. I grinned, sending my own message and zipping the phone back into my bag. "Everything except a pen," she continued, rummaging through her purse with a pained expression. "Oh my God, I didn't actually forget a pen!" I silently held up my purse, asking if she wanted me to look for an extra one for her. "No, no it's fine," she said, going back to looking in her bag. "Uh, my friend Sadie. She's new too." My heart swelled a little at the word "friend," and I grinned as Allison rolled her eyes and looked over to me. "My mom says hi."
"Hi, Mrs. Argent!" I called. Allison smiled, but stopped searching in her bag as she caught sight of something over my shoulder.
"Okay, okay. I gotta go. Love ya," she said hurriedly. I glanced around to see a man in a well pressed suit strolling out of the school, and stood up, brushing off my skirt. Allison stuffed her phone back into her purse, brushing her hair back and standing next to me as he approached.
"Hi there," he said in an amiable voice. "Sorry to keep you waiting. You must be Sadie Bennet."
"Yes, sir," I replied, shaking his offered hand and smiling brightly.
"Welcome to Beacon Hills. I'm Mr. Marcus. I see you've already met Allison." I nodded looking over at my newly proclaimed friend.
"Yeah, we were just talking about the terrors of being the new girl." Mr. Marcus laughed as Allison and I shared a look.
"Well, you two have your first class together, so hopefully we can ease some of that terror."
"Sounds good," Allison piped, and we all began to walk towards to school.
"So, Allison," Mr. Marcus began, allowing us to walk through the doors before shutting them behind us. "You were saying San Francisco isn't where you grew up." I grinned, realizing they were continuing some conversation that had started when Allison accidentally went to the office. She rolled her eyes at me before replying.
"No, but we lived there for more than a year, which is unusual in my family."
"Well, hopefully Beacon Hills will be your last stop for a while," he replied reassuringly, turning down the hallway to our right. "Here we are," he said, stopping in front of the first classroom. My stomach lurched and I shared a nervous look with Allison before we followed him into the room.
Twenty faces instantly looked up at the sound of the door opening, and all eyes were on us. Lydia's voice rang through my head, reminding me that I was an actress. I had their attention, now I all I had to do was show them I was worthy. I pictured Lydia in my mind and plastered a smile on my face. Pleasant, expectant, and completely not nervous.
"Class, these are our new students, Allison Argent and Sadie Bennet." I raised my hand in a slight wave at my name, while Allison shifted uncomfortably next to me. "Please do your best to make them feel welcome." Mr. Marcus nodded to us before walking out of the classroom. I glanced over to the teacher, a squat man in glasses and a sweater vest, as he gestured to the back right corner of the room. I grinned, nudging Allison towards the empty seats, before my eyes locked with a wide pair of familiar brown ones. My breathing hitched and I fought to keep the smile on my face. Acting. "The poor boy probably went into shock because you paid him any attention at all," Lydia's voice rang through my head. I could feel his eyes on me as Allison and I walked up the row between him and his friend.
"I thought you said you were nervous," Allison grumbled settling into the seat next to the pair of insistent brown eyes.
"I am. This confidence is one hundred percent acting," I replied, plopping down into the seat behind her and pulling out the class syllabus from underneath my books.
"Thanks," I heard Allison say, and I glanced up to see the other boy from this morning sitting in front of her. She took the pen he was offering, and he very slowly turned back around, his puppy dog eyes lingering on hers. I grinned devilishly, biting my lip as I watched the altercation. Though Mr. Neske, as the syllabus read, called the class to attention, I took a second to jab Allison in the back with my pen. She jumped, turning around glare at me. I pouted my lips, raising my eyebrows and glancing back and forth between her and the back of the boy in front of her. She rolled her eyes, but I could see the flush starting on her cheeks. I grinned openly in victory, and leaned back into my chair to enjoy the first lesson of my favorite subject – English.
Forty minutes later, I practically had to drag Allison out of the classroom so she wouldn't get stuck awkwardly staring at puppy boy. As soon as the bell rung he'd been immediately pulled into conversation, and I was both horrified and delighted to find that he was friends with my familiar pair of brown eyes. Thus, to avoid confrontation, I snatched up my books and Allison's arm, and steered her out of class.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I had math with Danny and Jackson, and a few more classes with Lydia and Allison as well. Lydia was in my biology class, and we immediately sat down together as partners, only for the frustratingly familiar cute boy with brown eyes to sit in one of the chairs behind us. I found that I had several classes with him and his puppy dog friend, though I suppose that was to be expected with Beacon Hills being as small as it was. That didn't mean I was any less annoyed to find that we all had chemistry together, or to find we all had lunch the same period, even though I sat with Lydia and Jackson at a table far, far away.
When the final bell rang, I practically shoved Allison into the hallway, offering to walk her to her locker even though I was supposed to meet Lydia and Jackson at her locker and I was acutely aware of two pairs or brown eyes following us out of the room.
"What's with the rushed exit?" Allison laughed as she led the way to her locker.
"First day!" I chirped. "You don't want to be late, do you?" She shot me a look as she put in her combo, somehow able to spot the lie despite not having known me over an hour.
"It's the end of the day." I sighed.
"Sorry. The boy I accidentally waved to this morning was in there. I'm being evasive." My resigned tone made her laugh.
"That's more like it." She pulled out a few books and opened her mouth to say more, but trailed off as she looked over my shoulder. I glanced behind me to see the puppy boy from English frozen at his own locker across the hall. I grinned deviously again, spinning back to Allison and planting my shoulder on the wall.
"Oh? And what about you? What's up with puppy boy over there?" She shook from her daze, glancing back at me.
"Puppy boy?" she laughed, glancing back at him before looking at me. I shrugged.
"He's cute. Tall and tan, a nice mop of dark hair, and a huge pair of puppy eyes that seem," I paused, turning around and ignoring the presence of my own problematic stranger to see that he was still intently watching us, "to be only for you." Allison laughed breathily, but I could see the color in her cheeks. "Ah ah ah!" I laughed, pointing at her face. "That's a blush! I got ya!" She smiled over my shoulder at him again, but before she could say any more a familiar voice cut in.
"Sadie! There you are!" I looked around and spotted Lydia striding up to us. "This isn't my locker." I shook my head, victorious grin still on my face.
"Sorry, making friends." Lydia suddenly seemed to notice Allison's presence. She sat back on her heels, eyes scanning Allison's body in appraisal, the same look of scrutiny I received when I stepped on Lydia's doorstep. I cleared my throat, breaking Allison's eye contact with her hallway lover and his friend. "Lydia, this is Allison Argent, my fellow new student. Allison, this is Lydia Martin." Allison nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, Sadie was talking about you earlier. Nice to meet you." Lydia remained silent, eyes travelling over Allison once as she thought over what she wanted to say.
"That jacket is absolutely killer," she decided, arms across her body as she played with one strawberry curl. "Where'd you get it?" Allison stared at her with an open mouth for a second, clearly caught off guard by a response that wasn't "nice to meet you too."
"My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco," she answered, tossing her head and gripping onto her bag for security. I smiled reassuringly at her, sure Lydia would like that answer.
"And you are my new best friend," Lydia replied, pointing slowly at her. Allison smiled weakly but I was beaming. Allison didn't know it, but it was not a phrase that Lydia used lightly. She'd decided in those few moments that Allison was worth talking to, which meant she was well on her way to becoming the second true friend of the infamous yet loveable Lydia Martin.
"Hey!" I shot with fake indignation. Lydia rolled her eyes, waving me off.
"Sadie, shut up. You don't count, you're like my sister."
I laughed, holding up my hand in a gesture that said, "What can I say?" which made Allison chuckle as well. But before any of us could say anything else, Jackson appeared out of thin air, as he seemed to be making a habit of doing. He wrapped an arm around Lydia's waist and they shared a quiet greeting and a deep kiss. Allison glanced over at me in slight discomfort, causing me to shrug and scrunch up my face in slight distaste. I cleared my throat.
"Jackson!" I cheered, causing the couple to break apart. "Hey, Allison this is Jackson Whittlemore, Lydia's boyfriend." Allison smiled awkwardly as Lydia took over the introduction.
"Jackson, this is our new friend Allison Argent. Sadie's newbie buddy." I watched on as she fidgeted under Jackson's steady gaze and charming smile. "She's from San Francisco," Lydia added when he made no move to do anything else. He glanced down at her before offering a hand to Allison.
"Hey, welcome to Beacon Hills."
"Thanks," she said quietly, shaking his hand and jumping a bit when Lydia snatched her wrist.
"Oh my God, your bracelet is too cute!"
"Uh, thanks," Allison replied, holding her arm out so Lydia could twisty the dangling circle. "It was a gift from my aunt."
"If your family is this fashionable you are totally becoming the third member of our pack," Lydia complimented, but I could tell that Allison was still a tad uncomfortable.
"Sorry," I jumped in putting a hand on Allison's arm so that she could lower it and grip her bag strap for security once more. "Lydia's attracted to shiny things." My best friend huffed, but Allison let out a slightly more natural laugh.
"I'm not shiny," Jackson challenged.
"Your Porsche is," I replied, narrowing my eyes and smirking. He narrowed his as well and we were just preparing for battle when Lydia jumped in.
"So!" she exclaimed, settling into Jackson's side. "This weekend, there's a party."
"A party?" Allison repeated in a voice a tad higher than usual.
"My party," I injected with a smile. Jackson rolled his eyes.
"You're just the excuse," he bit before turning back to other new student. "It's Friday night. You should come."
"Uh, I can't," Allison said, shaking her head widely and rocking back on her heels. "It's family night this Friday. Thanks for asking." I shared a look with her, letting her know I knew she was lying but wasn't about to call her out on it. The happy couple didn't seem ready to let it go, though.
"You sure?" Jackson insisted. "I mean, it's Sadie's welcome party and all." I raised my eyebrows at his changed response and he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Everyone's going after the scrimmage."
"You mean like football?" Allison asked, perking up a bit. I grinned.
"Ha! Thank you, Allison!" She glanced over at me confused before turning back to Jackson's scowling face.
"Football's a joke in Beacon," he explained, giving me a pointed look. "The sport here's lacrosse. We've won the championship for the last three years."
"Because of a certain team captain," Lydia said with adoration, brushing back his short hair. I glanced over to Allison and mimed gagging, making her smile.
"Well, we have practice in a few minutes," Jackson insisted. "That is, if you don't have anywhere else…"
"Well, I was going to-," Allison started, before Lydia's hand snatched up her arm once more.
"Perfect!" She tilted her head to the side with that sweet but final smile. "You're coming." I grinned as Allison pitifully stared behind her at the boy as we walked away. I scooped in, snagging her arm from Lydia's hand and hooking it into mine.
"Come on, eyes front soldier," I said quietly. "You don't want to look desperate."
"Is it that bad?" she groaned. I glanced her a few times with what was probably a patronizing smile.
"You look like a five year old who dropped her ice cream cone." She glared at me playfully and I shook her a little bit. "Come on, we'll get you out on the bleachers and you can look at all the hot, sweaty lacrosse guys. Just what the doctor ordered."
"I should really get home and do some homework," she mused.
"Consider this your payment for not coming to my party." Allison glanced over at me, apparently afraid I was upset.
"I'm really sorry, Sadie," she started. "I'm just not…"
"Not a party person," I finished with a smile. "It's fine, I get it. But that doesn't mean you get out of lacrosse practice."
Eventually, Allison relented and agreed to come watch practice with us. The three of us walked Jackson to the locker room door, where Lydia left him with a deeply passionate good luck kiss, and then we walked out to the field. Since the boys were still playing, we took the long way at my insistence, and showed Allison around all the different sporting fields. By the time we walked up onto the lacrosse bleachers, the boys were already padded up and on the field. I glanced out over the field as I followed Lydia up along the third bench, spotting a familiar head of luscious brown locks.
"Well, well, well," I mused to Allison over my shoulder. "Look who it is." She glanced over and then followed my line of sight to the field, making eye contact with puppy boy once more. I had to tug on her arm to remind her to sit down as she gaped at him. "See?" I asked, drawing her attention as the coach marched up to him, forcing him to look away.
"What?" she asked.
"Aren't you glad you came to lacrosse practice now?" Allison laughed, biting her lip and pretended she wasn't watching his back as he strode away towards the goal. I glanced around the field again, easily picking out Jackson and Danny, as well as the other boys on the team I knew. I rolled my eyes as Dylan waved at me, turning to scan the unfamiliar faces on the bench…until they stopped being unfamiliar. My eyes trailed across a warm pair of brown ones for what felt like the hundredth time that day. The familiar boy, forever reminding me of my embarrassment, was staring up in our direction from the end of the bench. Thankfully, he seemed just as embarrassed that I'd caught him, and promptly turned around to face the field, ducking his head and bouncing his leg the same way I did when I was nervous.
"Who is that?" I turned my head to look at Allison, who had leaned forward to talk to Lydia, her eyes still on the puppy playing goalie.
"Him?" Lydia asked, nodding over to the goal before pausing. "I'm not sure who he is." The boy's helmet turned our way and I shook my head with a smile as he shamelessly watched Allison from where he stood. "Why?" Lydia asked, clearly annoyed the Allison thought anyone Lydia didn't know was worth knowing. Allison shrugged.
"He's in my English class," she replied smoothly. I had to put in physical effort to avoid snorting.
"Because he's totally into her." Lydia giggled, and Allison's jaw dropped.
"Shut up!" she laughed, and I held up my hands in surrender. Before she could reprimand me any further, the whistle blew and the players began to fall into line. I could feel Lydia tense up next to me, bristling with excited anticipation. We turned to the field as the boys got into line, all ready to shoot at the goal.
The first player tossed the ball. Unfortunately, the poor goalie, who hadn't even been holding his stick, got nailed in the face and went down hard. The crowd collectively groaned and laughed, jeering at the boy.
"Yowzah," I winced, sharing a concerned look with Allison as Lydia giggled once more. Apparently, he was unscathed, as a few seconds later he climbed up and brushed himself off, gripping the goalie stick tightly. I held my breath for Allison's sake as the next ball went flying…straight into the waiting pocket. I breathed out with a smile. Blocked. He seemed surprised himself, as he glanced down at the ball at the end of his stick.
After that, the balls seemed to be flying continuously. A cheer started up from the stands as the unnamed player caught ball after ball after ball.
"He seems like he's pretty good," Allison said with a smile.
"Yeah, very good," Lydia agreed, now watching him just as intently as Allison and I. My smile faltered as I glanced across the field to the thinning queue of boys. Jackson was pushing his way to the front, slapping another boy with his lacrosse stick to have a go at the goalie himself.
"Uh oh," I breathed. I felt both of my friends tense up, Allison with worry and Lydia with brutal excitement. Jackson sprinted forward as fast as he could, leaped high into the air and then with all his strength, hurled the ball towards the goal. My hand flew up over my eyes, terrified of the intense speed the ball had been travelling.
Suddenly, a ridiculous cheer went up, and Lydia jumped to her feet on my left screaming. I opened my eyes to see the goalie staring down at his stick, where Jackson's vicious ball now lay completely harmless. I joined in with Allison's laughter, hugging her to my side and cheering. My laughter doubled as the familiar boy began jumping around in celebration, and I caught Jackson glaring at Lydia from the field. I yanked her down next to me as the unnamed puppy dog suavely tossed the ball to someone else behind his back.
"Settle down, Lyd. You don't want Jackson to blow his top and kill the new-found talent." Allison laughed, but Lydia just kept on smiling that dangerous, determined smile of hers.
"I'm gonna find out who that is," she said adamantly. "I am definitely going to find out who that boy is." I grinned, raising my eyebrows at Allison as Lydia essentially gave her approval of the boy.
The rest of practice featured the new boy being just as impressive as he had at the start. Jackson also seemed to be upping his game, but all anyone seemed to be talking about was that talented boy that no one knew. Even Lydia was distracted from her captain-of-the-championship-winning-lacrosse-team boyfriend. When practice was over, we hardly hung around to talk to Jackson. As soon as he came out of the locker room, Lydia gave him a quick peck goodbye and told him that she'd see him tomorrow. With that, and a seriously pissed of look fro Jackson, like literally borderline murderous, Lydia took an arm from Allison and myself and dragged us to her car, promising to drop Allison off at home. I swapped numbers with her in the car, and waved enthusiastically at her parents when the stepped onto the porch when we pulled up. The moment Allison was inside, Lydia was speeding off again, definitely breaking a few speed limits and barely pausing for stop sign. We careened into the driveway, and the blink of an eye, Lydia was speeding into the house, up the stairs, and into her room.
I actually managed to clear my head for a few hours after that. I chatted to my mom about school over a yogurt, repeated the story to a couple old friends on Facebook, and settled down with some music to do my homework. When I was finished, I gratefully opened my laptop again, deciding to try and hunt down Allison. Just as I sent the friend request, the door to my room flew open.
"Scott McCall," Lydia announced with pride, a red book tucked under her arm.
"What?" I asked, chuckling at her excitement as she scurried over to my desk.
"Scott McCall," she repeated simply and fervently. She slammed the book down on my desk, flicking it open and brandishing a finger down at the page. "Scott. McCall."
It was a yearbook. Lydia's evidently, from the previous year. She must have looked through every single picture in the book, just in case he wasn't in our grade or on the team previously. But there, staring up at me from underneath Lydia's glossy fingernail, was puppy boy. His hair was a little shorter and his face a little chubbier, but there was no mistaking those twinkling brown eyes.
"Well I'll be damned," I muttered with a grin, as Lydia sat down on top of my desk, looking exhausted. I reached for my phone.
"What are you doing?" she asked. I beamed down at my phone, wearing the same expression Lydia had when Scott had caught Jackson's first ball.
"Texting Allison." I opened up the new message.
"Your little stray puppy's name is Scott McCall ;) You're welcome."
"I can't believe I didn't know his name," Lydia was muttering to herself. "I mean, he's in our grade, he's in our classes, and he was on the team last year too! I checked!" I laughed.
"Okay, so he practiced over the summer to prove he was worthy of attention, so what?" I tugged the book out of her grasp. "Come on, I wanna see everyone else."
We spend the next hour or so pouring over Lydia's yearbook. She pointed out all the embarrassing pictures of the people I knew, and we laughed and criticized some of the few comments people had left. Every second, I was fighting the urge to pull the book towards me and look through every picture for a certain pair of brown eyes. If I could just put a name to his face, I thought it might help. But I didn't want Lydia questioning me about it, and I figured it probably wasn't worth my time anyway. The year would go on and I would probably never even speak to him. Or, if Allison and Scott ever became a thing, I might get a name that way.
Fact of the matter was, there wasn't any possible situation that would cause the familiar brown-eyed boy to be friends with me.
