Hustle & Bustle of the Early Morning

Lorilynn nodded, following Becky closely. She wondered why Carson had taken off like that. Was he really that shy? Or did she intimidated him a little? Hopefully she didn't come off as a bully. She hadn't meant to scare him away, but she was reassured when Becky apologized for his behavior. Maybe it happened often then, and he was just shy. She did give a dark look once Becky gave her last part of her sentence. "Probably, huh..? I didn't think I was scary..." she mumbled.

Sera started. This guy didn't react at all to the insult she had hurled mercilessly at him. In fact, he seemed to be truly concerned for her. Well...if he really wanted to know, and he wasn't going to let her get out of telling him, she may as well. "My name is Seraphine. And I got told that I have an inoperable brain tumor the size of your fist and I have six months to two years to live....Happy??" She started crying harder. "I don't know what to do...I don't want to die. There's so much I haven't done yet!!" She looked away from Kevin. "Do you realize I may never see my Graduation day??" She looked up at him, her light blue eyes soft with tears. Sniffing, she asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

Lizzie went to the courtyard and admired all the beauty that she saw. There were guys and girls all around and she was smiling. She was really excited when she saw the school at the other side of the courtyard. "This is going to be amazing!" she breathed. "Lilly! Come see, this is going to be great!!"

Waking up to a deserted dorm room wasn’t exactly how Lena had expected for her morning to start. Following a sleepover that’s main purpose was to play catch up with her “best friend” who had been MIA all night, had left the groggy redhead with mixed emotions. Disappointed that Emma never showed, impressed that the “Model Student” actually broke curfew, and extremely curious about whom she had stayed with all night long. On top of all that Lorilynn was nowhere in sight.

Propping herself up on the couch -her curls a tangled mess- Lena debated on whether gym class was really worth the energy it would take to get up and get ready for the day, not that she didn’t enjoy physical education . On the contrary she always enjoyed a little friendly competition and the occasional exercising that went hand in hand. What was tempting her to stay in bed was the lack of sleep she had gotten the night before due to her late chat with Lorilynn. The girl had taken Lena by surprise, which was an amazing achievement all on its own. At first her paranoid spastic behavior had Lena wondering if the girl was off her rocker, but she happened to be quite interesting. The two of them could make a bit trouble together, and since Lorilynn was new to the area Lena might have to take it upon herself to show her just how much “fun” the island can be.

Class obviously winning the internal debate prompted Lena to drag herself off the couch and through deserted dorm into the bathroom as if she lived there. A quick shower took care of the smell of salt water that lingered in her curls from the previous days dip in the harbor. Pulling her hair up into a single pony she dressed and gathered her belongings before setting out to find Emma or even Lorilynn before class.

The courtyard was busy, the chatter of student’s conversing and getting to know one another filling the warm Island air. Just as Lena made it to the fountain in the middle of the courtyard the familiar jingle of her phone reached her ears. Fishing her cell out Lena took a seat on the edge of the fountain absently splashing her hands in its crystal clear water. The screen on her cheap phone was broken so the caller id was useless. Not knowing who was on the other end Lena answered her voice chipper as normal, “If this is Emma then you are in a lot of trouble Missy! If not…then good moooorning!”

Lilly giggled and leaped around the beautiful courtyard. "Yay!" she squealed, running to her sister happily. She was so excited when she saw the big place and lots of people. Lilly went after her sister so they could walk in together and not by herself.

"Lilly!" Lizzie said, "Isn't this going to be nice?" She smiled, the wind blowing her feathery white shirt and brown pigtails in the breeze. She decided she wouldn't curl her hair the next day. Linking her arm through her sister's she prepared for her grand entrance. It appeared the teacher was waiting outside for students but she HAD to change. She couldn't wear this for PE.


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Kevin was shocked at this girl, Seraphine's tearful admittance of what had to have been hard for her to say. "I am so sorry." He said, his blue eyes growing even more concerned. He leaned forward and awkwardly attempted a hug. He hadn't hugged anyone since he was a very young child and it felt foreign to him to show this much emotion. Hugs were something he avoided...but he felt this kind of news deserved a hug.

As Kevin hugged her, Sera was shocked that he was giving her a hug. She didn't fight it. She had forgotten how good a hug felt when you were feeling bad. Sera leaned in to his hug and let him hold her. Sera was crying too hard to care that people were probably staring at her. Eventually the tears slowed and she was able to pull away from him. "Thanks." she said. "A good cry helps most things, I've found." She tried to smile, and sat on the bench.

Wiping her hand off on her jeans Lena glanced over towards the path that lead to the boy’s dormitories. She had chosen to come to this spot for the simple fact that she would most likely run into Chepe on his way over to Emma’s dorm to meet her. Plus from here you could see the entirety of the courtyard making it easier to spot her friends. She didn’t see the point of keeping herself cooped up in the dorm all alone. Plus anyone who really knew the wild redhead was well aware of the fact that she couldn’t sit still for very long. Laughing into the phone she switched it to the opposite ear. “Oh hey Chepe! Sorry about that. My phones incapable of warning me who is calling so I tend to take a wild guess at it.” Lena explained, a smile spreading across her lips. “Actually small change of plans I am outside the dorms by the fountain. Hope you don't mind, but I couldn't resist the warm sunshine. It was just so tempting." Joking she leaned back a little her free hand on the edge of the fountain.

Chepe left the dorm and walked to the courtyard, with Angel jumping around him, barking and attacking the ants on the ground. Angel saw Lena first, for the simple fact had been that Chepe had been watching his puppy. He looked up at the sound of her barking, his black hair falling into his eyes, as the breeze blew his very long hair around his face. He raised one hand in a wave, smiling at her. "Hi!" he said. "It's a nice morning...and you look great!"

He kept the other hand behind his back so she wouldn't see what he had been holding behind him too soon, as he walked over to her, his steps relaxed. "How was your friend, Emma last night? Surprised to see you?" Angel ran to Lena literally bouncing off her legs in excitement. Speaking to Angel, he said, "See, little one? I told you that you knew her." Chepe looked at his puppy with a somewhat soft expression on his face, and then he looked back at Lena. The expression he had on his face was now, even more soft and expressive than it had been as he gazed at his puppy. He thought again of the previous day...a day he would be thinking of often, and one he would always remember.

As always, at the worst time, his parents intruded on his thoughts. The looks on their faces as the other car had hit them, pushing their car into the river. He himself attempting to unbuckle his and Tes's seatbelts. His parents frantically trying to stop the car and his mom screaming, and trying to get to her children, forgetting about the seatbelt keeping her pinned against the seat. Chepe would always hear his parents screams, cries, and frantic words in his nightmares...and he blinked, his thoughts suddenly feeling as if they were visible in his eyes, as they began to water up. Chepe lowered his head a little as he tried to regain his emotions and force the tears from his eyes before Lena had a chance to notice.

Kevin sat beside Seraphine on the bench. "I bet it was really hard to hear that." he said, slowly. "But..you have friends don't you? Someone you can talk to?" Kevin leaned back against the bench. He really hoped she had someone to help her through this. He didn't think of himself as a comforting type. But watching this girl, he could see himself sticking beside her to offer a shoulder to lean on. The feeling scared him. Nearly every girl he'd ever met preferred his brother.

Speaking of which, who did he see arriving right that second, with his stupid puppy?? It was Chepe...and he seemed to be talking to the pretty redhead who was leaning against the fountain nearby. Kevin hoped the girl would walk away from him and totally embarrass him in front of all the students. But unfortunately, he could see the opposite happen in his mind. A strong possibility she might kiss him. She definitely didn't look like the kind of girl who would be shy about showing feelings in public. Kevin looked back at Sera, trying to ignore his brother's presence. He knew he was at school at least, and his revenge plan was now in action.

Seraphine looked at her hands, saying in a very soft voice, so soft it was difficult to hear, "no...I don't have anyone." She kept her eyes averted from Kevin's face. She thought he seemed like a caring person, but she didn't want to get close to anyone. How would he feel about getting close to someone, only to have that person die before their lives really got anywhere?

She knew there was a high chance that she would die before the school year was over. But she realized, Why should she live her live preparing for her death? Why not live her life for the time she was enjoying NOW? She knew, after all that NO ONE knows for sure when they are going to die...and in reality her situation wasn't much different from anyone else's.All she knew for sure was she didn't know how much time exactly she had left. The only thing she could be sure of was that it wasn't as much as the black haired boy beside her had. She smiled at him, feeling slightly better about what was going to happen. She would stop living in fear of what was to come.

Kevin didn't smile, but he rested his hand on her shoulder. "If you want I'm wiling to be there for you....if you want me to be." He knew he was in a dangerous situation right now, but he decided that he wanted to be there for her to be able to help her through it. He knew it was going to be hard for her and if she didn't have any family to help her he would.

Lena turned her head to the sound of a familiar bark to find Chepe and the chunky little Angel bouncing her way. Getting to her feet she smiled waving back to them. “Well thank you. It’s the ponytail isn’t it?” Lena asked playfully when Chepe told her she looked nice. The compliment was definitely appreciated. He himself was looking handsome as always, but Lena didn’t need to point that out to him. Kneeling down she scratched Angel between the ears showering her in the attention she was begging for. Scooping up the puppy Lena stood back up beginning to answer his question about Emma when she noticed his head down his face once again hiding behind his hair. “Chepe? Don't tempt me. We had this discussion many times now. I will chop that gorgeous hair of yours clean off” She teased setting Angel back down. Taking a small step closer to him she reached out cupping his face into between her soft hands. Slowly lifting his face she brushed his hair aside suprised to see the expression on his face. “Chepe?" The volume of her voice dropped a little, "Are you okay?” She asked a worried tone in her voice as her hands dropped from his face.

Chepe smiled slightly when she mentioned chopping his hair, trying not to laugh at it. "I already know you won't do that." Unable to avoid it, he laughed a little at the thought.

At the feel of her hands on his face somehow he felt a little better. He didn't know why but she seemed to give him a little more strength, which he would need if he was to stay honest with her about what had happened, but he wished she hadn't seen his face right at that moment. He had been trying to get rid of the wetness in his eyes before she had seen, but her forcing him to look at her had ended that.

"Yeah....I'm okay." He said. "I had a slight flashback. I'm sure you already know what about." he said, smiling a little shakily. "I'll be okay. It'll take some time, I know."

Chepe was still feeling bad, and he couldn't bring himself to tell Lena how bad the flashback really had been. He didn't want her to worry. He wasn't on the verge of letting go with a flood anymore, her touch had done that much for him and he was feeling better. These moments came and went quickly so he felt really bad when someone saw him like that. He smiled a little as he said, his voice very soft, "I have something for you that I put together last night after I got home from my aunt's house."

Angel was standing by Lena looking up at them and slowly wagging her long tail, one floppy black ear falling over an eye and the other folded back with the pink inside showing. She cocked her head giving her master and the girl an almost human look, that seemed to say, Are you all right? Is there anything I can do? Angel sat, delicately lifting her right paw, with it's small white spot, offering it first to the girl and then to her master as her intelligent deep brown eyes took in the scene.

Sera looked at Kevin, amazed at his comment. "You're...willing to spend time with me? Even though I was being a jerk to you?" she asked him. Seraphine was honestly shocked. Here was a rather cute boy that didn't take offense to her put on snobbishness. He seemed caring and even nice, even though at first glance he had appeared to be rather mean looking. She sighed a little. "I'd like to spend time with you." She said. "I haven't had many friends...I tried to push everyone away." She narrowed her eyes at hum. "Why didn't you back off when I was rude to you?" She folded her hands in her lap.

Kevin looked at a spot over Sera's shoulder. "I'm used to that. I can be pretty abrasive myself." he said. It felt so odd for him to be here, sitting with a girl who was actually talking to him, even with his brother in the immediate area. Normally girls forgot all about Kevin when they saw Chepe, and of course realized they must be brothers as soon as they noted the similarities between the two boys. Once that happened they immediately started begging for an introduction, which generally made him respond with If you want to meet him so badly just go introduce yourself. Usually with an ugly scowl on his face. Kevin just didn't much trust anyone except himself. Not even the few friends he had had on the island. It was a far cry from Chepe, who trusted all his friends immensely.

Sera was a little shocked at him admitting this to her, but it really went far that he had been honest with her about it. She stood up. "I need to go back to my house." she said. "I am having a LOT of trouble with the crowd today...and it's best if I don't go to class either." Sera stood to go. "If you want to come, Kevin feel free to. I WOULD rather have you over after the high school dismisses for the day so that I have some time to myself. I have a lot of serious thinking to do." She smiled at him. "It was nice meeting you, and now I'll be off." She gave him directions to her house, and her phone number. "You can call if you want!" She said as she left the courtyard heading in the direction of her house.

A flashback? Of course Lena was well aware of what the flashback consisted of, and she wouldn’t have Chepe torture himself by reliving the traumatic experience by telling her about it. Instead she was content with being there for him to help him through it if he needed her. Taking his hand into her own,giving it a soft comforting squeeze she returned his weak smile with one of her own. “I understand. Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.” She assured him.

A slight breeze blew through the courtyard catching Lena’s curls as it passed by. The rays of the sun carried a welcomed warmth, spilling over her nearly bare shoulder that was exposed by the newly designed shirt Lena had been sporting that morning. Chepe’s later comment prompted a wide smile to appear. “Something for me?” She asked absent- mindedly tucking back a loose piece of hair that escaped her ponytail, “Really…What is it?” She tried to control the excitement in her voice. Lena didn’t receive gifts very often, so the thought that Chepe had put something together for her was rather exciting.

Chepe smiled, thankful that Lena wasn't pressing him for details. He would tell her all about the accident someday if she wanted to hear it, but he wasn't sure if she was ready to hear about it right now. It was a difficult thing to keep hidden away from the world, were his feelings and memories. He didn't want to relive them...but his mom had always told him the best way to get over a bad memory was to talk about it and although the pain never really left, it supposedly would get easier to bear.

Chepe blushed slightly, a little embarrassed, his hair back in his eyes again. "It's not much, but, well my cousin Gadiel is a gardener and he gave me some bushes to set outside the dorm I'm in." Chepe slowly brought his hand out from behind his back revealing the three roses, snuggled in the soft, white baby's breath, the red rose slightly behind and above the peach and white ones. Their stems had been wrapped in the paper towel that had been tucked inside purple and blue cellophane. He hoped that she would like them. His mother had loved roses and the peach colored ones had been her favorites. He was surprised Lena hadn't noticed he had been keeping one hand behind him. But, if he remembered correctly Lena too had always liked roses. He hoped he wasn't remembering wrong. He gave Lena a smile, not taking his gaze away from her.

Kevin stayed where he was sitting, trying to look inconspicuous as he watched the students. The courtyard was very rapidly filling up. Kevin thought momentarily of Sera and her troubles. Maybe there was a chance her test results had come back on a false positive. He would have to mention it to the girl and maybe she could have the tests redone. Kevin knew that positive test results weren't always correct.

The sight of the roses brought a colorful blush to Lena’s cheeks. Either Chepe was extremely lucky with his choice of flowers, or he had actually remembered –over the last ten years- such a small simple fact as her being partial to roses. Not just any rose though… Lena had loved white roses since she was a little girl. They were beautifully perfect and had an elegantly innocent look to them. Everything Lena wasn’t.

Taking the beautiful arranged flowers, Lena ran her finger delicately over the smooth petals belonging to the white rose. Holding them close to her face she took a deep breath enjoying their sweet floral fragrant. Her radiant blue gaze capturing Chepe’s as she carefully set the roses aside on the fountain’s edge. “Thank you! I love them.” She said taking a small step closer to him. “I have a gift for you as well.” Reaching out she sharply pulled Chepe towards her. Wrapping her arms around his neck she planted her “gift” on his lips. Oblivious to the other student’s passing by them. Although short the kiss was soft and meaningful, leaving the shiny remnants of her light pink lip gloss on his lips.

The morning’s warning bell rang out over the courtyard, notifying the student’s that classes would begin soon. Picking up her flowers and slinging her bag over her shoulder Lena turned towards Chepe a smile on her face. “Should we head to class now?”

"I'm glad you like them." Chepe said, a little half smile on his face. "I thought I remembered you liked roses...I remembered you out in mom's rose garden smelling every single rose that was in bloom. You were always going home with one in your hand, and it was nearly always a white one."

When Lena yanked Chepe toward her, he almost stumbled, quickly catching himself so he didn't topple into her. He hadn't been expecting that so he was off balance. When she put her arms around his neck and kissed him, he kissed her back, putting as much feeling into the returned kiss as she had, and when they separated, he smiled at Lena, saying softly, "That's a better gift that anything I could give you."

He was a little surprised that she had kissed him right out in front of everybody. It didn't bother him but vaguely he wondered how many people had actually seen it. He was totally oblivious to the fact that he was now wearing Lena's lip gloss. Angel sat in the same spot as she had been during the entire exchange.

At the sound of the bell, when Lena asked him about heading to class, Chepe smiled and held his hand out for her to take. "Yes, we probably should get there. It wouldn't do to be late." Chepe shook the hair back out of his eyes as he started to walk with her. "While we're waiting for the teacher you want to sit with me?" he grinned. "I bet the teacher's not ready for us." he laughed, his green eyes smiling.

Angel jumped up and followed them, her chubby puppy body rocking from side to side, her fat legs moving clumsily, all the way to the school since the class was outside.

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Kevin stared at Chepe as that red haired girl kissed him. He knew she didn't look like the kind of girl who would care if people saw her kiss someone. WHY did it have to be his stupid brother she had to kiss?? He groaned. Yet another girl joining his brother's fan club. WHY did he have to be Chepe's brother??

He saw Chepe hold his hand out to the girl and saw her take it. They started walking to the school and Kevin sat back to wait for class to end, tapping his bat on the bench beside him glaring after his brother, unnoticed by anyone.