Falling

CHAPTER ONE

“Earth to Lia!”

I hear Chloe snap right before the jeep screeches to a stop in front of the school parking lot. I look up to find her staring at me disapprovingly.

I shake my head, ignoring the things she is silently trying to tell me as I grab my bag from the back seat and open the door of the passenger side to jump out of the vehicle before dusting off the leather and dust from my trousers.

“I keep telling you, Wilson, you should change your ride,” I say glaring at the old monster that had its grey paint chipping off in places.

Chloe laughs sarcastically as she kills the engine and gets out before joining my side. “There is no chance in hell am I abandoning this beauty until after college.”

I shake my head with an eye roll at her. She loved her jeep too much for her own good; irrespective of all of the hours it took every month in repair.

“Come on, let’s do this,” Chloe says looping her arm with my own as I look at her to find her eyes fixed on our high school building.

This was the year. Our last time here; we were finally seniors.

She turns to me and her bronze skin glimmers like amber in the sun while her bouncy obsidian curls cup her face, accentuating her sculpted jaw.

Chloe was stunning with her high cheekbones and sharp oakwood eyes that created an aura of mysteriousness around her. One could never guess what was on her mind at a particular moment.

She was a mellow ray of sunshine, filtering through an enchanted forest; kind to those who deserved it and mostly silent in front of strangers.

That was the reason why it took a long time for her current boyfriend to pursue her for a first date. She wasn’t the kind of person who trusted easily, irrespective of her obsessive habit of trying to find the positive in every situation.

“Alright, here’s to hoping that this year will go by without causing much trouble,” I mumble under my breath and she throws her head back in a giggle.

“Can I expect you to be a little bit excited? We’re seniors, for heaven’s sake.” She gushes at me making me shake my head.

“I am not going to be excited unless I have a valid reason to do so. Otherwise, I am only going to gain the attention of the Sharks.” I say shaking my head and she rolls her eyes.

“Oh, how I hate those metal barbies.” She mutters as we walk inside.

The entire corridor is filled with students rejoicing in joy after meeting each other after a supposedly long summer. I roll my eyes at their pretentiousness knowing well that none of these people actually care about each other.

The students at Trinity High School were like that. Coming from rich families and meeting each other under the guise that they enjoyed each other’s company.

They have to, especially since ours is the only elite private school in the entire town of Northbury. Aside from Trinity, Norfolk Public School is located on the east end of the town, which is deeply scowled upon in our circles.

As Chloe and I walk over to our lockers, Jared is standing leaning against hers, scrolling through his phone.

He looks up when we approach him as I wave at him and he smiles politely before taking his girlfriend in his arms. I smirk when the two kiss each other before putting my bag inside my locker and taking out the material necessary for my first class.

“I missed you, honeycup,” Jared says sweetly making Chloe grin at him with a tint of red rising in her cheeks. His grin widens seeing that as he kisses her head softly.

Jared and Chloe were a cute couple. Ever since they started dating, I have seen my best friend evolving into someone who loved herself just as much as she loved those around her. He is good for her.

I am scrolling through my phone casually, waiting for the first bell to go off, when there is a loud noise of a locker slamming shut to my side.

I look up startled and find the angry eyes of none other than Audrey Stark staring back at me with malice. I raise an eyebrow at her weirdly comical expression before looking at her and realizing what she was angry about.

Audrey Stark was one of the cheerleaders on our team and unlike me, she was not the best one at that.

As of right now, her blonde hair is pulled up in a high ponytail and she is wearing a white satin camisole with lace neckline and dark blue high waisted jeans with her signature black leather jacket thrown on. But when my eyes trail down her appearance, that is when I figure out the reason behind her sudden behavior.

Her boots.

And my boots.

Which were the same.

Yes, Audrey is like that. Fighting over petty things and looking for reasons to look down on people.

“How dare you? My mom got me these shoes when I was sick last week, to make me feel better.”

I roll my eyes at her nasal voice as I stare at her blankly, practically ignoring every syllable coming out of her mouth. I am so not in the mood to get into a fight on the very first day of school.

That is when Chloe decides to butt in, “uhm, you don’t have to be a brat about this, Audrey. I am quite certain that my mother did not design those shoes just for you.”

Oh, yes. Her mom is a world-renowned designer and currently on a fashion tour.

Audrey glares at us heatedly and I am assuming that she will say something even more stupid when we hear her voice.

“Audrey!”

At that, I almost laugh seeing the blonde’s color draining from her face when she turns around and finds the person who called out her name.

Luna Moore, the champion of the basketball team and a star student of the school. Trinity’s pride and glory and the richest girl in town. She is tall and lean with a model’s figure, her long hair is burgundy and her eyes are deep forest green in color with tiny, unnoticeable freckles on her nose. Her skin is almost flawless as if it were made out of porcelain. Everyone worships the ground she walks on.

Beside her is Skylar Allen, her lacky aside from Audrey and they both say that they are Luna’s best friends, but everyone knows that they are only with her for the popularity.

Like a pet on a leash, Audrey glares at me one last time before she walks away after Luna.

For the next few seconds, the corridor is almost silent, everyone has seen the episode that almost happened between me and Audrey but stopped because of Luna’s interference.

“Why did the queen bee save you?” Chloe asks, gazing at the three women walking in the direction of our class.

My eyes are fixed on Luna’s hair flowing down to her lower back as the two blondes follow her around like lost puppies. I shrug casually, “perhaps Satan decided to have mercy on me.”

Jared scoffs, “as if that is possible.” He states before looking at me with all seriousness, “are you okay?” He asks with genuine concern and that makes me smile at him and nod.

Before I can say anything, the bell rings and Chloe lightly kisses my cheek before she and Jared walk off to their French class while I sigh and make my way to my History lesson.

Entering the class, I notice that I have never seen the teacher around the school before and come to the conclusion that he must be new. I greet him with a curt nod and a formal smile that he returns with a warm one before I turn my gaze towards the seats, most of which were still empty.

Now, irrespective of the fact that I score well in most exams, I am not a student who likes to sit at the front desk. The seats all the way in the back are also not good, considering that most of the students whom I would like to avoid, sit there.

Clutching my books in my hand, I make my way to the seat in the middle of the third row as I straighten my maroon dress and sit down facing the board.

The class does not start for another five minutes but when it does, we are yet again interrupted by a knock at the door and I hear a voice that I expected not to, in this subject.

“I’m Luna Moore, nice to meet you.” She says greeting the teacher whose eyes widen in slight surprise, obviously having heard her name and achievements before. He is so stunned to have her in his class that he does not even bother to warn her about coming late to class.

She comes strutting inside as if she owns the room and I almost scoff at the way the jaws of a few new students are hanging open. I am in awe at how this woman manages to enthrall everyone around her with minimal effort.

I am scribbling aimlessly on my notebook until I realize that the only empty seat in the class is beside my own and Luna notices the same before, she sits down not giving me heed.

I am suddenly conscious of her presence as I sit up straight and take my fingers to my forehead to lightly scratch the skin beneath my brown bangs before I allow my voluminous hair to cover both sides of my face.

Luna has a distinct scent of sandalwood and blossoms and I am surrounded by it as I feel elated by her. Throughout the lecture, I sit in silence until the boy sitting behind me nudges my shoulder and I have to turn around.

When I do so, I sense Luna snapping her gaze as if she had just been staring at me but I don’t believe that’s possible so I ignore the feeling.

The boy sitting behind me, Timothy, wanted some help with his notes so after discreetly clearing his queries so that the teacher doesn’t catch me talking, I turn back and look down at my book for a moment before finally gathering the courage to look to my side.

I look at her, her hooded green eyes are roaming over the passage that is being read in class about Cleopatra while she has her burgundy waves settled on her right shoulder, giving me the view of her angelic face from where I am sitting.

As if realizing my gaze, she looks up and our eyes meet all of a sudden and I am conscious once again.

“Problem?” She asks and I had half expected her to be snappy but she was quite blank with her tone.

I shake my head, “no, I just wanted to thank you for what you did in the morning.” I utter out in a low voice, all of my body making it difficult for me to keep my tone smooth.

She raises an eyebrow in confusion, “what did I do?” Her tone feels like she genuinely doesn’t remember.

I purse my lips together and shake my head, “nothing, never mind.” I mumble before turning back to my book.

I can feel her gaze burning into my side but this time my hair is curtaining my face so she cannot see the utter embarrassment red on my skin which I am thankful for.

♛♛♛

Half of the day passes by pretty quickly. I don’t see Luna after history, even once, as I spend the photography and literature class with Chloe and Jared by my side.

Audrey did not refrain from giving me the side-eye whenever she could but I ignored her for the most part.

It is lunchtime now and I am walking over to the cafeteria knowing that my best friends are waiting for me at our usual table.

I slump down on the seat beside Chloe and groan, “ugh, I already want to go back home.”

Chloe chuckles and shakes her head at me before tossing an apple at me which slips through my hands making both of them laugh.

“I swear to God, Aurelia, you have butter on your skin.” Jared jests making me glare at him.

“Okay, one, call me Lia. Always.” I snap at him, “and two, don’t throw things at me when you know I cannot catch!” The two laugh more at my clumsiness to which I pout and grumble lowly before picking up the apple from the table and taking a bite.

That is when Chloe’s eyes drift to where Luna is sitting with Skylar and Audrey and their boyfriends. The only person missing from the table is Nathaniel Parker who has been Luna’s boyfriend since freshman year.

“Did you guys hear?” Chloe says lowly as she turns to us, “people are talking that Luna and Nathaniel broke up.”

I continue to nibble at my fruit, without caring what the gossip is until I notice something from the corner of my eye.

“I’ll meet you both in the next class,” I say hurriedly getting up, grabbing my phone.

“Woah, slow down, where are you going?” Chloe asks and Jared too is looking at me questioningly.

“I have to call my brother’s babysitter to check on him. He is a little under the weather.” I explain in a rushed tone and sprint out of the cafeteria.

I stuff my phone in the pocket of my black cardigan that I am wearing over my dress. My boots clank against the marble floors of the school as I make it through two flights of stairs and in front of me is a large brown door that is slightly ajar.

I pass through the door to the terrace of my school and to my right is the generator room as I look around to make sure that no one followed me right before I run inside the room and close the door after me.

Instantly, I am being pushed against the closed door with arms on my waist as I gasp in surprise, “you scared me!” I hiss lowly but all my protests melt in my brain when I feel plump lips moving against my own.

I kiss back with equal fervour as my skin lights up with electricity whilst I bask in the intoxicating fragrance of sandalwood and blossoms.

“f**k Luna…” a moan escapes my mouth when I feel her lips kissing along my jaw before she trails down my neck and I start to feel weaker in my knees so I take my hand and grab the back of her neck, shifting our positions so that this time it is her against the door.

“I thought we were going to stop meeting like this once the summer was over.” I coo softly, smirking all the while as I hover my lips over hers and she tries to kiss me but I pull back before she can. My action causes her to glare at me pointedly as she pulls my body closer to her own.

“You know I cannot have enough of you.” She whispers in a soft voice, much softer than the one she had used in class with me. I blink and lean forward to join my lips with hers, one more time.

This time we kiss in the slowest of motions possible as I gently cup her cheeks and she takes her hands around my neck as our lips move in synchronization, teasing and biting at each other.

Her skin is soft and warm under my touch as she melts in my embrace and breaks the kiss by snuggling her face in my shoulder and I hug her back, running my fingers through her hair.

“I am sorry about what Audrey tried to do.” She mumbles softly and I chuckle.

“Love, if you think that your metal barbies affect me then you have another thing coming,” I tell her softly before kissing her cheek.

She chuckles and nods and just when I am about to speak again, the bell rings, indicating the fact that we have to go back.

She is the first one who leaves after a quick peck on my lips as I am left standing in the remnants of her refreshing fragrance whilst she walks away.

It all started in the first week of the summer when I first came out to my friends and family about my interest in women. Thankfully, my dad and all of my classmates were very supportive and proud of me for owning up to myself.

I was glad about that.

However, what I had never imagined was Luna Moore showing interest in me, especially when she was supposed to be with Nathaniel. But she convinced me that it was not the case and we have been sneaking around ever since.

I am positively taken by her. Her fierce nature, her sense of control, and more importantly, how good she is at heart.

It was her choice to keep our relationship hidden for a while and I have no problem with it, as long as I get to spend time with her. She is my secret that even Chloe does not know about.

With a giddy smile on my face, I walk down the stairs, adjusting my hair so as to hide the small mark on my neck that I have just received from Luna.

I step into the corridor and Chloe and Jared find me as they ask me about my brother but before I can reply, I see something that dries all of the blood in my veins.

A few feet away from me is Luna with her hands wrapped around Nathaniel’s neck as she kisses him in the middle of the corridor. She catches my gaze from the corner of her eye and steps back from him immediately but we both know that there isn’t much to speak about as I look away, nibbling on my lower lip that was just being kissed by the same woman a few seconds ago.

“I thought she broke up with him…” Chloe mumbles with furrowed brows and I scoff, “apparently not.”