*Prologue*
Thirteen year old Marcus Knight was staring back at his reflection on the black phone screen. He completely ignored the rushed knocks on his bedroom door and calls of his mother. He crouched next to his bed and hid away.
He knew that his mother was not the only one outside the door. She was with her. He was avoiding her at all cost!
He turned thirteen two days ago, he was not a kid anymore. He didn't want to surround himself with the clingy girl anymore. It's better if she left forever!
Frowning, Marcus plugged in his headphones and played his favourite music. Loud music drowned away the knocks.
On the other side of the door his mother signed and shook her head in resignation. Next to her was a girl of the same age as her youngest son.
Her button nose was as red as her swollen eyes. "He isn't answering the door sweetie. Maybe he is busy. We should leave."
Alice held her hand and started walking away from the door. The girl kept looking back at the door with longing deep in her amber eyes. She tugged and tried to break away from Alice's hold.
"I want to see Marcus!" That thirteen year old exclaimed with determination. Alice looked down and blinked. She bend down and softly caressed the young girl's head.
"Marcus must be busy, Gia. If we don't leave now, you will be late for your flight." Alice tried to coax her. But Gia was not having it.
She wanted to see Marcus for one laste time before she left New York. Marcus was her best friend, her childhood crush. How could see leave without seeing him?
Gia's naive mind though that maybe Marcus didn't know she was moving away with her elder brother for a long time. She wanted to tell him to wait for her, and that she will wait for him as well. When they meet next time, they will live happily together.
What she didn't know was that Marcus was purposely avoiding her. He knew she was moving and didn't come to see her off. He had locked himself in his bedroom for that exact reason.
Gia McKenzie and Marcus Knight were friends since kindergarten. Their mothers were friends, naturally they spend a lot of time together. At first Marcus was happy to have a friend to play with, but soon that friendship became suffocating to Marcus.
He wanted to be friends with other boys in his class, but Gia always clung on to him and followed him like a shadow. Because of that, other boys made fun of him. Gia refused to leave his side, it annoyed him.
His first grade crush rejected him because Gia refused to leave him alone. After that Marcus tried to distance himself from her. The girl's stubbornness surpassed jis expectations. Last year, she confessed that she liked him.
Marcus ignored her for months before rejecting her to her face. Saying he didn't like her. Gia cried a lot but didn't give up. She had planned on living happily with him and all those plans were going to be forgotten because of one rejection.
A few months ago, Gia's parents met with an accident and passed away. Gia and her older brother were devastated. Marcus felt sorry for her and stopped ignoring her. However, Gia got even more clingy. Besides her older brother and Marcus, she didn't talk to anyone else.
Marcus felt himself falling into an endless pit of doom. He should have left her alone. He regretted going to her then. However, when he heard that Gia and her brother were moving far away, he was endlessly ecstatic. Finally, he was out of her clutches.
Thirteen years of having a tail following around, now he didn't have to worry about anything. They were only teenagers, with time and distance, she would forget about him eventually.
Gia's relatives in California were given custody of the two children. Gia was not ready to leave New York at first, but her brother convinced her. They were still suffering from the loss of both their parents, they needed a family for support.
Gia reluctantly agreed but wanted to see Marcus one last time. She didn't want to leave him. But he didn't want to see her.
Gia couldn't do anything but leave with an aching heart. She was old enough to know that her feelings for Marcus were deep.
At noon, finally she boarded the flight for California. In her phone was a picture of her and Marcus in third grade.
In school, Gia didn't have any friends. It was difficult for her to socialize. Making friends did not come naturally to her. Unlike other kids her age, she wasn't comfortable with crowds. So she could only be with Marcus. He was the only one she was familiar with. He gave her a sense of security.
When she confessed that she liked him, he rejected her bluntly. Gia was sad and cried a lot. But that did not waver her determination. Her mother always said that Gia took after her father. Her personality was stubborn. If she set her heart on something, she strived hard to get it.
Marcus always occupied a large part of her heart. How could she give up?
When her parents died in the accident, her bother was the only person left by her side. Gia was on the verge of loosing her sanity when Marcus found her again. Gia saw a new light that day.
No, she had her bother and Marcus. She wasn't alone. Because of the two most important people in her life, Gia was able to recover within a few months. Her feelings for Marcus concentrated.
She remembered all the time they spend together and her heart became determined again. She wasn't going to give up so easily.
What was a mass of land separating them? Gia promised to grow up into a woman whom everyone liked. Eventually, Marcus will like her too.
When Marcus sighed in relief in his home, thinking everything was over. Thinking that it was the end of his misery. Gia was smiling down at the endless city of New York, thinking of the time when she would come back anew and make a future for herself. A future that will have Marcus in it.
What was an end for Marcus, for Gia, it was a new start. A start of something beautiful.
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From today onwards, this story will be updated 2 times a week on Thursdays and Saturdays.
I hope you look forward to Gia and Marcus' journey. :)
Lot's of Love,
Skylar
XOXO