On the 2nd of September 2013, Bonnie had worked enough shifts at the diner, and with a little extra pleading from her mom, she made enough money to pay for the first term of Blackwell Academy. She had worked her ass off and was proud of it. Bonnie stood in her room, in awe that this was all hers for the next term, a small bed was shoved in the corner, a printed pattern of cherry blossoms, pastel pink, her favourite colour. Her desk was facing the window, outlooking the courtyard, a few plants scattered around, an empty potted plant ready to be filled with a new flourishing flower. On her desk was a second adjustable section for her to lift, splayed out with all of her recent artwork that she had left unfinished. Books littered her room, her closet an unorganised mess of clothes and bags, books, and paintbrushes. A few textbooks lying here and there, and her small beat-up radio station laying on the bedside table. Her fairy lights clumsily tacked to the wall, already beginning to fall off and get tangled. Her sketchbooks were everywhere, some neatly piled up on shelves, others on her bed, some under the desk, it was an organised mess that she knew. Bonnie knew there was a pencil under the desk to the left side by the bin, she knew there was an eraser and sharpener in the third drawer down on her bedside table pushed right to the back. And then lastly, her favourite part of her messy bedroom, was a picture, a picture of her and Nathan by the lighthouse, by the moonlight, after all the pictures he had taken of her, she had insisted he take one of them together, he relented of course, and it was her new favourite photo.

Her memories of the lighthouse were many, and she did have this saddened feeling in her chest that maybe, things wouldn't be the same as they were in the summer. That Nathan would ignore her, sure, she had Kate and Brooke, her two best friends. But she hoped they would still be friends, after all the things that happened in the summer…

There they were again, by the lighthouse, only the sun was setting, and it was slightly warmer, Bonnie's hair was untied, leaving it to blow softly after every delicate breeze. Her legs crossed, slowly munching on a cookie that Robert let her have as she left her shift, still in her uniform. Nathan had picked her up, of course, it became a sort of routine, after the end of every shift, Nathan would pick her up and they'd go to the lighthouse, sometimes they would talk for hours, sometimes they'd sit in silence, she would draw, he would watch, or he'd take pictures of her drawing. He had many photos of her now. But she didn't mind. Sometimes she would talk for hours about her mom, her brother, her drawings, and what she wanted to do in life. Sometimes he would talk for hours. He would talk about his sister, Kristine, a lot. He wouldn't mention his father a lot, but he didn't have to say much for Bonnie to understand their type of relationship. He talked about his mental health, feeling as if she would be the only one to listen, saying that his father didn't believe in it, that it was Nathan's weakness that he had mental health problems. That a therapist was pointless, made people weak. Nathan had admitted to missing a few sessions on purpose.

After that, Bonnie made sure Nathan had attended every single session.

They were in the Two Whales Diner now; it was lunchtime, and it was the Diner's busiest hour. Both Joyce and Bonnie were serving that day. Nathan was sitting by the counter again, watching her whiz around to every customer, quickly going back to the kitchen to help John, the pot washer, clean up in the kitchen. Her braided her was frizzing up everywhere, her mascara had slightly smeared her she was getting sweaty from the heat outside. She looked up at Nathan and smiled, and Nathan couldn't help but smile back at her frazzled appearance. A stirring moved in his chest, a light feeling, his heart moving a bit faster now as he looked at her. Nathan had had that feeling for a while now, his heart always racing as he entered the Two Whales Diner for some coffee. He could feel his cheeks heat up sometimes when the girl in front of him laughed at one of his jokes. But he decided to ignore it for now. To him, it was normal.

Nathan's first breakdown in front of Bonnie was scary.

She needed to see it, she needed to see it to help him. Because that's all she wanted to do. Help people. Help Nathan.

Bonnie was aware that she couldn't change people, couldn't change their opinions and beliefs. But she knew she could help people, she knew she could open new pathways for people to see, a different direction, guidance, and being supportive towards someone. She wasn't wearing rose-tinted glasses. She knew Nathan needed serious help. After his angry breakdown in front of her, perhaps she had pried too much, asked too much. She knew he needed help. Help that he wasn't going to get himself. Not after his dad's influence and view on mental health that he forced Nathan into believing. Bonnie knew she had to keep herself happy, see the bright things in life, everywhere, and show a way to react to certain situations in a positive light. A way to indirectly show Nathan that new pathway. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't.

Nathan was back in the Two Whales Diner again. A smile brought its way up onto Bonnie's lips as she saw his familiar slicked-back brown hair, his stark-cold blue eyes, his restless leg shaking, and the brown jacket that he wore nearly every day. He didn't even have to ask at this point, smoothing down her skirt and apron, she walked her way over to him, with the coffee pot. Adding a little more sway into her hips than she usually would, a hopeless attempt to get him to look at her the way she does him. She leaned over the table at him, almost pushing her chest forwards. She didn't know what had gotten into her. She just wanted him to look at her differently, only Nathan, just him. She poured his coffee and smiled at him, giving him a quick hello, before being called by Robert to serve Officer Berry's breakfast. She smiled again, jokingly rolling her eyes before walking away, still adding that sway into her hips as she walked away, hoping he looked.

He did.

Bonnie was once again at the Two Whales Diner, Nathan wasn't there yet, her shift was 20 minutes away from being over. Nathan usually arrived an hour before her shift to pick her up. But he was late. Bonnie didn't mind, she tried to tell herself that she didn't mind.

She walked home.

"Excuse me miss? Yes, you, I'd like a double espresso"

Bonnie turned around at the voice to find someone new, someone, who wasn't a regular. He was tall, she could tell that already, even from standing on the other side of the counter. His squared thick glasses were black and prominent, almost hipster and his beard were well kept, his dark brown hair looked so fluffy she almost wanted to touch it, almost. He was in a white shirt, sleeves rolled up and a suit jacket hung over one arm. Bonnie felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she looked at him, he was a very attractive man, Bonnie couldn't deny that. A man that looked at her as if she was the only one in the diner. She could see his eyes going above her eyes looking at her light blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, his expression changed slightly, no longer looking at her as if she was another respected human, looking at her in a way that she did not like.

Quickly scooting herself over to the coffee machine, she hurriedly made a double espresso, wanting to have as little contact with him as possible. She didn't know what that look was, but she was sure as hell that she didn't like it. Turning back around she smiled at him, and the look was gone, almost as if she had imagined it.

"There you go sir, one double espresso", she smiled politely at him, hoping that he'd leave soon enough.

"Mark Jefferson", he replied back, resting his arms on the counter, "my name is Mark Jefferson, no need for all the sir crap".

"Oh, well, uh, Mark, that'll be $1.30", she said, handing over the espresso to him, his fingers made sure to touch hers, giving her another uncomfortable shiver going down her spine, a feeling that said, get away now. But she couldn't, she was stuck. The door to the diner rang and she let out a sigh of relief, looking up she saw Nathan walking in, before pausing and seeing who was in front of her. She gave Nathan her most dazzling smile.

"Nathan! The usual, is it?", she smiled, teeth showing, a strained smile on her lips. He nodded silently, not looking anywhere near Mark Jefferson, actively avoiding him almost. Bonnie turned back around for the coffee pot, actively trying to avoid the obvious tension the Diner had suddenly encountered.

"Well, it was nice to see you, Bonnie, I'll see you around Nathan", and with that, he turned around and left.

Bonnie didn't bother to think about why he knew her name.

"Another drawing of me, huh, Bon", asked Nathan, sitting down opposite her on the bench. It was bright and early, in Blackwell Academy, it was just before the term started and Bonnie had the strong urge to draw Nathan. Again. Looking up at him, she felt the familiar heat return to her cheeks as she looked at his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, something she couldn't get enough of. And she knew he knew it too. She knew that he knew she constantly drawing him. But he didn't seem to mind. In fact, she had noticed a few of her sketches had gone missing, and she knew all too well who it was, but she didn't mention it.

"You have a really pleasing face to draw, that's all", she lied, turning over a new page to start something else, stopping her shaking hands by distracting them. The first few lines and curves started on her page before–

Click!

Looking up she smiled at Nathan.

"Another photo of me, huh, Nath".

Bonnie smiled, all the memories flashing before her, the fluttering feeling in her chest again, her heart racing a mile a minute. A tinge of pink made its way up to her cheeks and down her neck. Falling onto her bed with a soft thud, she let her mind run full of memories of one person, one person who she couldn't get her mind off. Nathan Prescott.

Yes, this year at Blackwell Academy is going to be just fine.