AGED 10

Stella and her father had just moved into their new home. It was said that the living standards and the community were far better there, providing Radius with an excellent excuse to move for his new job-role.

Stella ran through the house, exploring every hidden place with a smile on her face. She joyfully skipped over to her new bedroom, bursts of golds and yellows, exactly how she demanded. Her father had done a great job and created a bedroom personalised to each and every one of his sole daughter's requests. Laying down on the bed with a grin on her face, she stretched out her arms and took in a deep breath.

This was definitely a good change.

"Stella, come downstairs and eat."

Her father called out from the ground floor.

Radius was the most important person in her life; he was her everything. As well as being a caring father, he was the absolute best-friend a daughter could ask for.

With a smile on her face, she darted out of her bedroom and ran down the stairs.

"Careful there, Stella."

He warned with a small chuckle, pushing out a hand as he stopped her from stumbling down and falling to the ground. Stella giggled and nodded, grasping onto her father's arms as the two of them walked into the kitchen.

They had only just moved in so there wasn't much prepared. Bags and boxes filled every part of their new home but Stella didn't mind. This would become their forever home, and she'd love that for them. Together, they sat on the floor as Radius passed and opened a box of pizza between them to share. She shot him a smile and reached over for a slice.

"Thanks, Dad!"

He'd simply smiled at her and reached for his own piece. The pair ate in silence, far too hungry to speak. When they'd finished with their food, Stella helped her father clear up. He'd thanked her and kissed her between her parted hair.

"Can I go outside now? I want to finish cleaning the front."

Radius couldn't help but wince at that.

His daughter had seen how difficult the move had been but she was trying her best to help out. His heart warmed at her thoughtfulness, and although the front was practically the cleanest area of the home, he felt proud knowing that she'd at least offered to help out.

"Okay, Stella. But be careful, okay? And if you feel like something's wrong, come straight back inside."

She playfully rolled her eyes but gave him a quick hug and a smile. Then, she turned and ran out to the front door. She swung it open and took a step outside, beginning to clean the front-yard.

"Do you need some help?"

Stella let out a scream at the unknown voice and dropped the rubbish bag to the floor. Pieces tumbled out but she didn't pay it any attention. Turning around, her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

There stood two people, two kids really, one around the same age as her and another a little older. Her heart stopped pounding as hard when she realised that it was just two kids, and she'd suddenly felt shy knowing that they'd seen her cleaning up and wanted to help out.

She hesitated before speaking.

"No, thank you. I'm almost done."

The boy ignored her as he squatted to the floor and picked up the few pieces of rubbish which had fallen out of the bag. Stella watched the girl follow the boy, and together, the pair of them had managed to help finish off cleaning the front-yard of her new home. She stood there, stunned at their kindness.

"Here you go, now you're all done."

The boy told her once all the pieces of rubbish had been stuffed into the bag. Stella played with her fingers which were far too clammy with sweat. She couldn't remember the last time someone had been this nice to her.

"Thank you."

She whispered out, still in awe at the kindness of the pair.

"It's okay. We're your neighbours so we don't mind."

The girl said, taking a step forward. Stella noticed how similar the two of them looked and came to the conclusion that they were siblings. They had to be.

They both had tanned skin and light brown hair. The only visible differences she could see were the differences in their eye colours and their ages.

Oh, and the fact that one of them was a girl, and the other a boy.

"Hi."

Stella said shyly when the boy took a step forward, putting a hand on the shoulder of the girl. It was then that she noticed how taller he was next to her, and how older he seemed. He was probably three or four years older than her if she had to guess.

"I'm Brandon, and this is my baby sister Flora."

Brandon.

Stella said his name in her head and liked the way that it sounded, liked the way that it felt in her mouth. She'd never spoken to a boy before, not one since moving homes. The girl standing in front of her rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

"I'm not really his baby sister, he likes to say that because he's older than me. I'm just his sister, but because Brandon's 13 and I'm 10, he likes to annoy me because I'm the youngest."

"I'm 10, too!"

Stella exclaimed, forgetting all about the fear that was there at the beginning of their interaction. Flora's eyes widened and she beamed a smile at Stella.

"Really?"

Stella couldn't believe that she'd already found a friend.

"Really!"

She confirmed with a squeal of her own.

Brandon chuckled and her eyes lifted to meet his. She maintained eye contact with him for maybe less than ten seconds; she felt too shy with him watching her.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, why don't the two of you stay and play here? I've got something to do but I'll be back soon. In the meantime, you both can play and become friends. How about that?"

Stella looked over at Flora whose face was scrunched up. She could feel the tension in the air and didn't know what she was saying before it stumbled out of her mouth.

"I'd like that. If you'd like to play with me?"

She ended up asking with a little bit of hope in her voice. Flora nodded and reached her hand out, taking Stella's hand in hers.

"Okay, Stella."

Brandon whooped and they both turned to look at the teenager.

"Thanks, sunshine."

He'd told Stella with a wink. Running a hand over Flora's hair, he messed it up as she shouted at him and he'd laughed. She liked the way his laugh sounded.

Stella didn't understand why her heart began racing once more.

Brandon waved goodbye to them both and walked out of the front-yard and down the street. She watched him walk all the way before he'd turned, waving at the pair once more as he left. Flora tugged her arm and together, they played.

Radius carried Stella into her bedroom as he tucked her into her bed. He understood that she may have been a little too old for all of this, but she was still his baby. And if Stella didn't mind, Radius didn't see why he'd have to. He wanted his little girl and him to maintain a good relationship.

"Did you have fun with your new friend today?"

Stella moved to sit up but Radius kept his hand firm on her arm, reminding her that she'd be starting her first day at school tomorrow and needed a full night's worth of sleep. She locked eyes with her father and began rambling once more about Flora.

"She's so cool, Dad! So cool! And can you believe Brandon got me a chocolate bar to say thanks for hanging out with Flora?! They're both so cool."

Stella told him, stars practically shining in her eyes. Radius chuckled as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead.

"Well it's a good thing that you met them, huh? And it's nice of him to have bought you something, just be careful that you don't take anything from a stranger next time."

She stared blankly at her father until he let out a chuckle and ruffled her hair. Radius had taught his daughter better than to take things from a stranger, new friend or not, and she'd proved that when she'd first asked him if the chocolate was safe to eat. He was proud knowing how smart his Stella was, even at her young age of only ten.

"Thank you for helping out today, Stella. I really appreciate it. Now, goodnight."

He whispered out when he noticed her becoming more sleepy as she yawned. Radius placed another soft kiss on her forehead as he pulled the comforter over her body. He stood up, ready to leave.

"It's okay. Goodnight, Daddy."

Stella heard her father's footsteps leave her bedroom and she turned over, facing the endless amounts of boxes in her room. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Thoughts of Brandon filled her head as she snuggled into her pillow, wrapping her comforter tighter around her body. She was able to imagine his brown hair, messy in the way that boys thought looked nice, and his chocolate eyes, looking down at her as he smiled.

Her heart began racing again in her chest and her throat ran dry. A feeling overwhelmed her but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. All she knew was that she had butterflies in her tummy and she felt as though her heart skipped a beat. She felt like that whenever she thought of Brandon, the boy next door.

And when she yawned again, she fell asleep with one thing on her mind.

Sunshine.