I Missed You.

Paddling like mad, Nuiz felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Without taking her eyes off the way, she took out her phone with her right hand and stopped paddling for a second to read the text she received from Zaid.

Where are you? I tried looking for you in the house but I couldn’t find you. It’s still early, btw. Like the sun just got up.

Gone out for a while. And with that, she sped off once again. She got to the park when the sun was up and the heat was just starting to build up. She laid her bike on the sidewalk and ran to the heart of the park where the lake was.

There she saw the bench Git Gud was talking about. A fat guy with messy brown hair was sitting there, head tilted on the bench. Nuiz slowed her pace. Abruptly, the guys turned around and showed his face. He was a plump guy, definitely a few years older than Nuiz. He looked horrible though.

“Git Gud?” Nuiz said so quietly she thought only she could hear it.

“Yeah… Surprise? I guess? Look, I know that I may not be who you’d date for a million years to co-”

“Why do you think so?” Nuiz asked, stepping closer. “Well,” The guy gestured at himself. “I’m imperfect.”

“Nobody is,” Nuiz told him with a smile. “I don’t care how you look. I care about who you are.” A smile crossed their faces and suddenly, the guy said, “Bro! She’s the one!”

Nuiz was stunned. She looked at the guy quizzically as if asking him, ‘What do you mean?’ The guy saw Nuiz’s expression and winked. Suddenly, somebody came out of the bushes. He had messy brown hair and Harry Potter glasses. Nuiz knew exactly who he was.

“Ezra?” The guy with messy hair and glasses smiled to the ground and stepped closer to Nuiz. “Yes?” He replied, his voice deep.

“Who’s the actual Git Gud here?” Nuiz asked in a rather stunned voice, looking at the two people in front of her. The two friends looked at each other and smiled. “I’m Git Gud,” Ezra told her, eyes once downcast and now looking at her.

“Then who’s he?” Nuiz asked, pointing at the other guy. Ezra smiled and said, “Duncan, my cousin. I asked him to be ‘Git Gud’ for a sec to see if you’d date a person so as himself. Fat, unattractive-”

“Hey!” Duncan yelled, elbowing him. “Wait, I have a point,” Ezra told him with a grin. “Unattractive and imperfect. I wanted to see if you care for looks. I wanted to see what matters to you.” He walked over to Nuiz and held her hands.

Nuiz looked at her hands in his and looked at Ezra who was smiling, looking at their hands. “Why did you leave the letter outside my window? Why didn’t you just stick it in my book like always?”

“I didn’t want to that. I wanted to see how much I actually mattered to you. I know where you think when you miss someone; at your bedroom window. I wanted to see if you’d miss me if I didn’t send you any letters.” Ezra explained to her. The two of them locked eyes and Nuiz said, “I missed you.”

“I waited every day since the day I sent you that letter. I wasn’t going to give up.” Ezra told her.

“I was going to, though.” Duncan interfered. Ezra glared at him.

The two held hands, locking eyes, never wanting to let go.

…

2018, autumn.

“You’re going to the autumn dance, right?” Syazee asked excitedly one day as the two friends were walking home. Nuiz glanced at her with a smile and her gaze went downcast.

“Yeah, probably.” Nuiz replied in a soft tone, blushing a bit. “With Ezra.”

Syazee abruptly squealed with excitement and Nuiz pushed her away playfully. “Don’t get over excited, I haven’t asked him yet,” She told her. As if on cue, her phone vibrated in her pocket and Syazee squealed louder with excitement.

“Who is it? Ezra?” Syazee begin jumping like a mad woman. Nuiz tried ignoring her as she took outher phone. Ezra’s name flashed on her screen and she smirked. “It is.”

Syazee was going to burst of excitement by now and squealed louder. Nuiz read his text and a smiled curled upon her face.

Hey, it said. You going to the fall dance with anyone yet?

“I guess I don’t have to ask him,” Nuiz told Syazee, speaking over her squeals. Syazee gasped and read the text. She screamed with excitement and Nuiz laughed. “Get a hold of yourself!” She told her. Syazee was literally struggling to breathe by now.

“What’re you going to say?” She asked, shaking with excitement. A smile curled once again on Nuiz’s face and begin texting. Syazee peered over her shoulder.

Wanna go together? She texted. Syazee screamed once more.

At the drop of a hat, Ezra replied.

Love it. See you this weekend. I’ll pick you up?

Love it, Nuiz texted back.

“So,” Nuiz shoved her phone back into her pocket and smiled slyly at Syazee. “Who are you going to the dance with?”

Syazee’s smile dropped and Nuiz giggled. “Seriously? You don’t have a date yet? The fall dance is in 2 days!” Syazee frowned. “No one yet I guess,” She replied, folding her arms and looking at the trees that their leaves had fallen.

“Autumn,” Syazee whispered abruptly, making Nuiz look at her. “The year’s last loveliest smile,” She looked at Nuiz and she looked back at her. The two friends smiled at each other.

They walked back to Nuiz’s home first. Nuiz rang the doorbell and was surprised to see who answered the door; Zaid!

“Zaid!” She flung into his arms. “I thought you were away at university!”

“I was but I came back for some stuff. I heard your fall dance was around the corner,” Zaid looked over his sister’s shoulder and waved at Syazee who was blushing. “Do any of you not have a date?” He asked, looking at the two friends who were practically sisters.

“I’m taken, I mean, I have a date,” Nuiz told him, blushing. Zaid knew about her and Ezra and said, “I guessed. Syazee?”

Syazee almost had a heart attack when he asked. “M-Me?” She stammered, pointing to herself. Nuiz could clearly see that she was dumbstruck and tongue tied so she turned to Zaid and told him, “No, she hasn’t got anyone to go with.”

Zaid stepped out of the house, kneeled dramatically in front of Syazee and asked, “Go with me?”

Syazee felt like fainting on the spot. Zaid, he crush for years, finally asking her to go out! On a dance! “I-I’d love to!” She literally screamed. The two siblings laughed at this reaction. Nuiz and Zaid went back into the house.

“See this Saturday,” Zaid said at Syazee before going into the house. He winked at the end of his sentence and closed the door.

“YES!” Syazee shrieked when the door closed. Zaid was leaning on the door and he heard her shriek. “She sounds pumped up,” Nuiz mentioned as she also heard the shriek.

“Yeah,” Zaid said, leaping off the door. “You don’t say.”

…

Music boomed through the speakers, light flashed everywhere and the hall was noisy as heck. Nuiz showed up with Ezra and the two of them were smiling at each other.

“I see your brother,” Ezra told her, pointing to a messy haired guy in a suit, dancing like a mad man with a girl in front of him. The two of them were dancing like it was going to be their last dance. Ezra and Nuiz laughed.

“He likes her too,” Nuiz told Ezra Zaid’s secret. “I can see that,” Was his reply.

Suddenly, a slow song came on the hall was finally tranquil. Zaid and Syazee could be seen being awkward with each other at first before holding onto each other and dancing along with the rhythm.

Nuiz and Ezra looked at each other, eyes gleaming. Ezra held out a hand and asked, “Shall we have this dance?” He smiled and fixed his cute glasses that seemed to be falling off his nose. Nuiz giggled, put her hand in his and said, “I’d love to.”

The two danced to the music, talking as they did.

“Why didn’t you think I’d fall for you?” Nuiz asked, bringing up the ‘Git Gud’ case that was between them last year. Ezra’s eyebrows furrowed as a sign that he was thinking.

“I don’t know, honestly.” He told her with a laugh. “You seemed like a girl that wouldn’t date a geek like me. All awkward and stuff. I honestly thought James Miller was going to get to you,” He shrugged.

“Nah, James’s too old for me. If I was dancing with him now, it’ll be a 15 year old with an 18 year old. I’d feel like a kid dancing with her grandpa.” Ezra laughed at Nuiz’s statement. “Over dramatic, as usual.” He told her, his eyes gleaming.

“I’m 16 though,” Ezra reminded her, his eyebrows furrowing again. “Doesn’t that make me old too?”

Nuiz wrapped her arms around his neck. “No matter how old you are, you’ll always seem young to me, love.” Ezra smiled.

They danced to the rhythm of the music, loving each other forever more. 

-The End-

James Miller?

Run practice was after breakfast and, to make matters worse, James Miller was in the practice, too, making the whole session awkward for the both of them.

“I’ve never walked to school with a guy other than my brother,” Nuiz said in a matter-of-fact tone to James as they sat on the bench, taking a five minute break. James’s hair had gone all messy from the exercise and running. 

“Yeah, I figured,” He said as some runners stared at the both of them. Some with cheeky grins and some shook their heads that gestured how idiotic James, getting over Layla so quickly and dating your junior instead.

“What y’all looking at?” James said angrily as he got up. The runners fastened their pace and ran away in a line. James sat back down next to Nuiz.

“This is so going to go viral,” Nuiz heard one of the passer by runners say to their friend. Nuiz gave them a glare with an eyebrow raised. “Repeat that in front of my face, gossiper.”

The two runners stopped in their tracks and scoffed. “It’s not gossip if it’s true.” One of them said slyly.

James could see that Nuiz was tongue tied so he spoke up. “I love people who talk about others behind their backs. Because that’s exactly where they belong. Behind their backs.” The two runners looked disgustingly at James who gave them a wink.

“You know, if you’re jealous that I walked with the hottest senior in school, I get it. You guys don’t have a chance with anyone so,” Nuiz scoffed sassily. “Too bad.” She smiled wickedly and the two runners rolled their eyes at the two friends and set off running. Nuiz and James high-fived. A short silence remained between them.

“I didn’t mean what I said, by the way.” Nuiz broke the silence. “Didn’t mean what?” James asked.

“That you were the hottest senior in school.” Nuiz said as she laughed her head off. James was flabbergasted. “How dare you!” He yelled in a laugh, pushing Nuiz almost off the bench.

“Hey Miller! Paltrow! Stop fooling about and get to running!” Their coach yelled from a distance. James and Nuiz looked at each other and laughed.

“He got me mistaken for Layla Paltrow.” Nuiz laughed again. They both got up and started running.

…

Nuiz was in the locker room when she got a text from Syazee. And she knew what her friend was going to say immediately when she got the notification.

You’re dating James Miller? When? How? Isn’t he with Layla?

Nuiz groaned in annoyance and rolled her eyes. Lou, a fellow runner in her class, say her groaning and asked, “What’s up?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the James Miller thing,” Nuiz grumbled.

“Oh, the rumour of you and-”

“Yes, that.”

Lou just whistled and walked away, obviously couldn’t be bothered to give Nuiz a pity party in which she did not want or need.

It’s just a stupid rumour. I’m not dating Miller.

PS, he broke up with Layla Paltrow a little while back. Nuiz texted. She shoved her phone in her pocket and walked back to class. She was surprised to see her book, ‘Holding Up the Universe’, on her desk with something sticking out of it. She took out whatever was sticking out of it and realized that it was a letter.

Git Gud.

Nuiz,

I’m sorry if I’m not making myself realizable to you but I believe that there is no need to tell me to stay out of your life by dating James Miller. You could’ve at least told me that you had no certain feelings for me.

Git Gud. 

“Ugh, how cheesy.” Nuiz groaned to herself.

Git Gud,

You have to admit, it’s your fault that I can’t like you the way you like me. I’m not dating James Miller but I might be if you don’t tell me who you are.

Nuiz.

…

Zaid, James and Nuiz walked back home together after school. “So, I heard the rumours,” Zaid mentioned, a smile curling on his face. James and Nuiz took one look at each other, rolled their eyes and groaned exasperatedly.

“We’re. Not. Dating!” James yelled.

“Not that rumour. That was bound to happen though,” Zaid said with such enthusiasm that even Nuiz felt like slapping him. “The rumour about you and Layla Paltrow. You guys are over? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I did tell you. Through a text.” James told him, taking out his phone. Zaid did as well and lifted an eyebrow. “No latest texts from you. Just Nuiz, Syazee-”

“Wait, she texts you?” Nuiz asked, her eyes widening. Zaid shrugged and told her, “She has a crush on me. I’ve known it for a long time even without you or her telling me.”

“Looks like you and Paltrow are a match for each other,” James muttered, still looking at his phone screen. “She’s always so full of herself. It was sickening.”

“Yeah well that’s Lewis’s problem now.” Nuiz said.

“Yeaaaah…” James sighed scrolling down to see what he’d last text Zaid. It was whether he was going to meet him at the mall with a reply from Zaid, Yeah okay. Just gotta help Nuiz here with her broken doorknob. She’s stuck inside, screaming, saying that she has to go to the toilet. Probably should bring her a bucket or bottle, aye?

James laughed at this text and Zaid and Nuiz were wondering why he was laughing. Nuiz stood on her toes and looked over James’s shoulder and gasped after she read it.

“Zaid! What the heck?!” Nuiz grabbed the phone from James’s hands and showed the text to Zaid. Zaid burst out laughing, his face going red.

“Hey but you got out in the end right? Besides, I had to give Miller here a reason why I was going to be late.” Zaid told her, still laughing like mad. James had the sudden urge to laugh along but Nuiz stared at him like a hawk, making that urge even more tempting.

“Don’t you dare,” Nuiz warned him, trying not to laugh herself. James say this and couldn’t help it. He just had to. He burst along laughing with Zaid, their hands on each other’s shoulders, trying to stop. Nuiz managed to straighten herself despite wanting to breakdown into a fit of laughter.

They got to the two siblings’ home soon and James and Zaid looked worn out. Zaid unlocked the front door and stepped in. He took one look at James and started laughing again. Nuiz rolled her eyes and him and was about to step into the house when James took her hand.

She looked back and asked, “What is it?”

“I’m sorry,” He said, letting go of her wrist.

“Sorry for laughing that I had to control myself for half an hour inside my bedroom while Zaid broke down the door? Don’t sweat it.” Nuiz said, walking into the house. She was about to close the door when James held it back with his hand. She craned her neck to look at him.

“No, not that. Though I am sorry about that, too.” He said, grinning. “But I’m sorry for making today, well, awkward and rather horrendous.”

Nuiz waved her hand in the air in a gesture that meant, doesn’t matter. “The kids at school will get over that soon.”

James smiled before leaving. Nuiz closed the door and leaned onto the door, smiling.

“You are dating him.” She heard Zaid say from behind her. She turned back and raised an eyebrow disgustedly.

“I thought you said you didn’t know about that rumour,” Nuiz reminded him, crossing her arms. Zaid walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge, Nuiz trailing behind him.

“I said ‘not that rumour’ not ‘I don’t know that rumour’, remember?” He grabbed a soda from the fridge and drank it down. He raised an eyebrow at Nuiz and she raised hers back.

“The school may have enough students to form a Trojan army but when gossip’s around, it spreads like wildfire, sis.” He said, taking out some chips from the top cabinet and walking out of the kitchen and onto the couch.

 Nuiz just walked up to her room and laid on her bed with a sigh.

“Damn it, those gossipers.” She muttered.

…

1 month later

It’d been a month since Git Gud had given Nuiz letters, notes or anything. It got to the point where Nuiz had just forgotten about him so she moved on.

James and Nuiz had gotten pretty close. Rumours kept on coming every week until the point where Syazee was even unsure whether her friend really didn’t feel any sort of affection for James.

“I have no feelings for him, really.” Nuiz would assure her, waving a hand in front of her face. Nuiz was being honest every time she told Syazee the same assurance. She knew deep down she was still looking for Git Gud.

It one day occurred to her that she hadn’t received any letters from him (finally). She felt empty, lost. She felt guilty about her last letter to him.

You have to admit, it’s your fault that I can’t like you the way you like me. I’m not dating James Miller but I might be if you don’t tell me who you are.

She looked outside her bedroom window and sighed. “Where have you gone?” She whispered to herself.

Suddenly, she realised something that never was there before. There was an envelope on the window sill outside. She lifted her window open and grabbed the envelope. She tore it open and took out the letter inside it.

Nuiz,

She recognized the cursive handwriting. It was Git Gud’s. She closed the window and read it on her bed. She took a deep breath and continued reading.

I know there’s a very low possibility of you realizing this letter as I deliberately left outside your window, in hopes that a miracle will happen one day and you’ll realize this letter.

Look, I know that you’ve probably forgotten me already but I never will. I meant what I said in the first few letters I sent you. I like you, a lot; and I mean it.

If you somehow read this, just know that I’ll be waiting in the park, on the bench that’s located near the park’s lake. If you want to know me, and if you really love me, you’ll come down to the park.

Git Gud.

21^st Nov 2017.

A tear ran down her cheek and she gasped. She hugged the letter to her chest and wiped away her tear. She checked her phone to see what the date was.

15^th December 2017.

It’s been a month, she thought. Will he still be waiting?

There’s only one way to find out. She grabbed her coat and scarf and set out of the house, riding her newly bought bike to the park, paddling as fast as she could.

…

To be continued in: I Missed You. 

Found On the Sidewalk.

Nuiz woke up in her room the next day, the sunlight prying in through her curtains. She squinted her eyes and sat up on her bed, her head still aching a little. She groaned and asked herself, “What had happened last night?”

She looked down at herself and saw that she was still in attire from last night. She remembered what happened. She’d passed out on the sidewalk and a cute guy with brown messy hair and harry potter glasses had come to her rescue.

But wait, how did he know my name? Nuiz thought. She widened her eyes and thought, was that Git Gud? She got excited. She tried to figure out who he might really be but she couldn’t remember what he looked exactly like. Nuiz got out of her room in frustration and went into the living room where Zaid was reading a book on the couch.

Zaid heard her descending the stairs and glanced at her and back to the book. “You’re awake,” He said.

“Z, who brought me home last night?” Nuiz asked seriously, her eyes looking into her brother’s. Zaid got creeped out and scooched over a bit to make room for Nuiz to sit next to him.

“Some guy. You were lucky it was me who answered the doorbell,” Zaid told her instead.

“Did he tell you who he was? How did he look like exactly?” Nuiz bombed her brother with questions. Zaid put down the book he was reading and looked at her sister with an eyebrow raised.

“And what happened to me?” She asked another question.

“Stop, stop, stop and stop.” Zaid exclaimed in frustration. Nuiz shut up for a minute and was aching to hear everything. Zaid took a deep breath and started talking.

“Apparently you were drugged last night and the guy who brought you back said it was because some girl names Hailey gave you the drink that she was supposed to give to some other kid. That sounds incredibly evil, I know.

“Anyway, last night on your way home you passed out on the sidewalk and this guy found you on the sidewalk seconds before you blanked. He brought you home and thank god Mum and Dad were out seeing friends. I couldn’t really see his face though as he was facing down a lot. I asked his name and all he gave me was Git Gud.”

Nuiz was literally stumped. Her mouth hanged open and Zaid looked at her in an odd expression. He picked up his book, still looking at her.

“Damn it, if I didn’t pass out I could’ve seen who he was.” Nuiz yelled in frustration, making Zaid jump. He shook his head and continued reading. A long silence remained between them. Nuiz dug her hands in her pocket and found something in it. She took it out and saw that it was a note.

Nuiz,

Be careful of what you take, please. Take care of yourself. You’re lucky that I was nearby to see you pass out and bring you home.

Git Gud.

…

 Somebody was knocked on the door while Nuiz and Zaid were eating their breakfast in the dining room. It was a Monday morning and they were getting ready to go to school by foot.

“Must be James,” Zaid told Nuiz as he munched on his Captain Crunch cereal. It was Nuiz’s signal to go open the door and let James in.

“What’s he doing here though?” Nuiz asked as she walked over to the door.

“Probably to walk together with me to school,” Zaid replied. Nuiz nodded and opened the door. There stood James, in his green plaid shirt, black jeans and neatly combed black hair. He smiled at Nuiz and she smiled back.

“Do you always wear plaid?” She asked, tilting her head a little. James looked down at his shirt and smiled.

“I like plaid.” Was his answer. He looked over Nuiz’s shoulder.

“Where’s Zaid?” He finally asked. “Still eating,” Nuiz answered.

“James! Sorry bud but you might have to walk to school alone!” Zaid who had heard James question, yelled from the dining room.

“Seriously?”

“Hey, why don’t you go with Nuiz? Syazee’s home sick today so walk with her!”

Nuiz looked at her brother who was in the dining room and widened her eyes. ‘What?!’ She mouthed.

“Hey that’s not a bad idea. Wanna go now?” James asked. Nuiz turned back to him and grinned. “Yeah, why not?” She stammered. She went into the dining room and grabbed her back, Zaid grinning at her.

“What’re you smiling for?” Nuiz asked, glaring at her brother. Her brother just giggled and said, “Hey, you should be thanking me. I just got yourself a date. Well, a half an hour date so yeah.”

As Nuiz was getting out of the dining room, Zaid said, “Have fuuuuuun!”

Nuiz glanced back at her brother and managed to glare at him. Zaid just winked his left eye and grinned, his eyes flicking below his Harry Potter glasses.

James and Nuiz set out of the house, walking to school together. That must’ve been the earliest she’d ever set out for school.

“How was Lenni’s party last Saturday?” James asked like a mom. Nuiz rolled her eyes and smiled to the ground. “Drugged,” She said flatly, James widening his eyes at her. Nuiz looked at him and smiled even broader. “I was drugged. Hailey was supposed to drug some other kid but I got drugged instead. I was found on the sidewalk and found by some brown haired kid with Harry Potter glasses who I don’t even know.”

Nuiz sighed and James looked at her with an eyebrow raised. “You were drugged?” She nodded.

“That, was supposed to be for me then,” James said, his gaze downcast. Nuiz stopped in her tracks and James stopped with her. Her eyes widened as she raised an eyebrow. James shrugged tentatively and ruffled his hair with his fingers.

“You? Were the kid?” James nodded a yes and Nuiz’s mouth gaped open. “Stop you look like a whale,” James tittered. Nuiz asked why he was supposed to be drugged and he sighed.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard this over the weekend but I was the one who broke it off with Layla, not her. I couldn’t stand her. She was always not around and made empty promises, yah know? So, I found out that Layla had Hailey ask Lenni to invite me to her party so that Hailey could drug me there and Layla could do some, I don’t know, messed up stuff?” James ended his story with a shrug as Nuiz took this all in. He paused for a minute to take a breath.

“Then, I also found out that different kid had gotten drugged and I felt really guilty for whoever got drugged instead of me,” James looked at Nuiz. “Didn’t know the kid was actually the person I sat next to on a swing and looked at the stars with that night.”

Nuiz ran a finger through her hair and smirked. “It’s nothing really,” What are you saying, it is something.

“Sorry, though.” James said anyway, swinging his bag on his back. Nuiz smiled and said it was okay.

There was silence between them before James spoke. “Layla has found somebody new by the way.” He said it in an awkward tone as he rubbed his neck. Nuiz, who actually couldn’t careless, thought it would’ve been mean to just say ‘whatever’, asked in surprise, “Really? When?”

“At the party. Some guy named Lewis. He isn’t in my class, though. He’s a year or two younger.”

Nuiz whistled and glanced at James. “That was quick.”

“Guess I didn’t mean anything to her,” He shrugged. “Your first love isn’t the person that you love first, Nuiz. It’s the first person that breaks your heart.” Nuiz nodded at his words and took note. “Did she ever break your heart?”

James was quiet for a second before shrugging and saying, “You know what, I don’t know. We were bound to break it off sooner or later. She’d been hooking up with other people before me.”

Nuiz didn’t know what to say so she kept her mouth shut. “Nobody wants to be with somebody who’s been with everybody,” She said.

James looked at her and smiled, “I guess I have a junior who knows a lot more things than I do.”

…

The two of them reached school half an hour before the bell rang which was pretty good timing for Nuiz. The two of them walked into school as if it was Nuiz and her brother. The whole hall looked at them with eyebrows raised.

James and Nuiz stopped talking and walking. They looked at each other and blushed red. “I-I’m going now. Walk with you after school?”  He stammered as he blushed harder. Nuiz covered her face with her hair and stammered back, “Y-yeah. I’ll text you.”

And with that, James walked over to his locker and Nuiz walked over to hers. Luna, another friend of hers, was at her locker with a mischievous grin. “What?” Nuiz asked, not looking at her friend. The hall went back to normal but Luna was still keeping that annoying grin. She leaned on the locker next to Nuiz’s and Nuiz shut hers and raised an eyebrow.

“So,” Luna finally spoke. “You dating Miller now?”  Nuiz rolled her eyes and said, “I’m so not dating James Miller. He’s my senior, he’s my brother’s friend. In fact, the only reason I walked with him today was because Zaid asked me to!”

Luna did an irritating slow nod and Nuiz groaned in annoyance. “That’s what they all say.” Luna jumped off the locker she was leaning on and walked away, her voice trailing. “See you in the cafeteria for breakfast! Syazee's home sick today so I'll be your breakfast person." 

Sooo skipping breakfast today. 

Nuiz rolled her eyes and suddenly felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She took out her phone and saw a text from James.

Sorry. It said.

Don’t sweat it. She texted back. She held her chemistry book to her chest and walked to class.

As she walked, she bumped into somebody. It was one of her seniors. His glasses fell and so did the books they both were carrying. Nuiz gasped and got on the floor to help him.

“I’m so sorry,” She said, picking up his books for him. He got on the floor as well and started picking up his things. Nuiz saw his glasses and her heart skipped a beat.

Harry Potter glasses.

She looked at the guy she bumped into and saw that he had messy brown hair. He deliberately combed his hair to his face so that Nuiz couldn’t see it. Without thinking twice, Nuiz pushed his hair away.

She saw a freckled face under that lock of messy hair and hazel eyes. The two locked eyes for a second before he picked up his glasses and ran away.

“Hey!” Nuiz yelled, trying to catch up with him. She swiftly picked up her books and ran to find him. But it was too late. He’d gone out of sight and the bells rung. Nuiz walked to her classroom in the empty halls.

“A minute early and I could’ve found Git Gud.” She mumbled to herself, looking down at her thick chemistry books. She saw something sticking out of it. It was a note.

That was close.

Git Gud.

…

To be continued in: James Miller?

Take Care of Yourself, Please.

Zaid wasn’t invited Nuiz texted to Syazee. So we’re walking I guess.

At the drop of a hat, Syazee replied.

Dang. Seriously? Fine then. See you at your house at 6? Lenni’s party isn’t until 7 and the walk to her house is pretty far.

Fine by me.

…

It was five past six when Syazee arrived. “You’re late,” Nuiz told her as she opened the door.

“Great, thanks for the warm welcome.” Syazee replied with a cheeky grin. Nuiz smiled and shook her head. “Now c’mon. 35 minutes ‘till the party starts and we don’t want to be late now do we?”

Nuiz got out of her house. She was wearing a casual black shirt with black jeans and a cap that said ‘Australia’. She had her hair tied and was wearing black boots.

Syazee, on the other hand, was dressed real proper. She was wearing a white dress and had her hair curled. She was wearing white heels as well.

“This isn’t school prom, yah know.” Nuiz told her as she put her hands in her pockets. Syazee looked at Nuiz attire and laughed.

“Oh so you think you’re dressed better than me? I mean, look at you. You’re dressed up as if you’re a mechanic.” Syazee told her. Nuiz laughed and said, “An Australian mechanic.” As she tilted her hat a little.

“Besides, boots don’t work for mechanics, mate.” Nuiz said again but this time with an Australian accent. Syazee pushed Nuiz with a laugh.

“But why wasn’t Zaid invited, though?” Syazee asked, her voice dropping. Nuiz looked at her and saw that she was blushing. Nuiz pushed her a little and told her, “Because, in freshmen year, Zaid told Lenni that her chair looked like a boat once in carpenter class. Lenni was literally called ‘boair’ for a month.” Nuiz laughed at the end of her sentence, remembering how Zaid told her the story of how he pissed off a freshmen on her first year.

Syazee laughed along and said, “So that’s why I heard some guys calling her Miss Boair.”

“That’s also probably why she got out of the carpenter class after a few months last year and changed to some other class.” Nuiz said again with a grin.

“Better not say anything about the ‘boair’ later at Lenni’s party.” Syazee advised with a laugh.

“Yeah no kidding.”

…

It was 5 minutes before the party when Nuiz and Syazee arrived at Lenni’s house. The crowd was building up though so Nuiz and Syazee quickly got into the house.

They saw Lenni in the living room surrounded by people. She looked pretty hung-over and she was telling some probably fictional story of her life as the people surrounding her were laughing. She saw Nuiz and Syazee.

“Frieeeeends!” She literally shrieked drunkenly. The two friends looked at each other and decided to walk away.

“Hey, I’ll see you out of the house at 9, aye? We can leave by then I think.” Syazee told Nuiz as she walked away. “Okay,” Nuiz said, but she knew Syazee had already gone too far for her to hear her.

Nuiz went into the kitchen to get away from the blinding lights. The kitchen was lit dimly and a guy was in there. It was Lenni’s older brother Andrew who was obviously one of those jerky jocks.

“Ayy…” He said when he saw Nuiz in the kitchen. She took one look at him and saw that he was fairly drunk. He begin walking over to her and Nuiz ran out of the kitchen.

“Freak.” Nuiz mumbled to herself. She was offered a drink by Hailey. She took the glass and drank it down straight away.

Suddenly, somebody put their hand around Nuiz. This startled her and she turned around to see Damian holding bottle of wine in his hand.

“Hey Mikayla.” He mumbled drunkenly, his voice giggling as he spoke. Nuiz rolled her eyes and said, “I’m not Mikayla, I’m Nuiz.” Though she half expected Damian to understand a word she was saying. I bet I might have to even speak a different language with these people, Nuiz thought.

“Yeah right Mikayla, you ain’t running away from me again, not anymore… Hehe…” Damian said as he tried his best to keep up with Nuiz who was fairly annoyed by all the drunk zombies in the house. She walked faster until Damian could no longer see her.

Nuiz glanced at her wrist-watch and saw that it was only a quarter past seven. She rolled her eyes. I need to get out of this house, she thought.

She got outside to the backyard and saw someone sitting on a swing that was tied to a big tree. He was wearing a red plaid shirt with black jeans and sneakers. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, showing off half of his arms.

It was definitely James, a friend of Zaid’s. His hair shined a blue-black shine in the night sky. Nuiz walked over to him.

“Nuiz, hey.” James said, smiling at Nuiz. He scooched over to make space for Nuiz to sit next to him. She sat down and the two were quiet.

“What’re you doing out here? The party’s inside,” James asked her. Nuiz looked at him and back to the night sky. “I should be asking you that,” She said. “I found you out here alone. Where’s your girl Layla, by the way? Wasn’t she invited?”

James looked at Nuiz and to the dark night sky. Nuiz just kept on looking at him, waiting for an answer.

“We fall in love with the people we can’t have,” James said after a while, looking at Nuiz as if he said that just to reassure himself.

“You guys over?”

“Can you not ask?”

Nuiz nodded and the both of them looked up at the night sky. “Where’s Zaid by the way?” James asked Nuiz after a long moment of silence.

“Wasn’t invited. The ‘boair’ case, remember?” And with that, they both laughed. Then, they were quiet again, just looking at the night sky. Suddenly, Nuiz thought of something.

“Git Gud?” She mentioned, looking at James. James looked back at her and the both of them just stared at each other for a whole minute.

“What?” James suddenly blurted out as he laughed. Nuiz was embarrassed and didn’t know what to say.

“I’ve been getting these notes from some person who calls himself Git Gud.” Nuiz told him, still embarrassed. James stopped laughing and took her seriously.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, honestly.” James said with a chuckle at the end of his sentence. All Nuiz did was smile weakly at him and looked up to the night sky.

“But since we’re talking about it, how does he give you these notes or letters?” James asked her.

“By leaving them in books.”

James suddenly smiled and sighed. “Love lives between the lines, aye?”

Nuiz grinned and asked, “C’mon, I’m sure you’ve done something just as dumb.”

James laughed for a bit before telling her, “I have actually, with Layla. Paper airplanes, though.”

Nuiz laughed and repeated, “Paper airplanes?”

“Yep, good old paper airplanes.”

Nuiz looked at him, obviously wanting to hear more so James went on and on about his paper airplane love story.

At the end of his story, they were both quiet, just staring up at the night sky again. It was just such a beautiful night that they couldn’t look away.

“I somehow find this relaxing,” Nuiz mumbled suddenly. James glanced at her and back to the night sky.

“You must have nyctophilia.” James mumbled an answer. Nuiz heard him and looked at him. “What’s that?” She asked.

“A person who loves the night or darkness.” James told her. Nuiz said oh and just stared at the night sky, letting herself relax for a minute.

…

Soon it was just Nuiz on the swing. James had went back into the house. Nuiz saw Syazee from a window and saw that she was dancing like mad.

It was half past nine by now. The two friends were supposed to leave half an hour ago but Syazee insisted that they stayed for a little while longer. Nuiz decided to text Syazee.

I’m going home. See you on Monday.

She got up and started walking back home, her hands in her pockets and her boots making a satisfying sound as she walked.

Suddenly, Nuiz felt her head aching. Her steps got slower and slower until she just collapsed onto the sidewalk. She didn’t know what to do, she just sat there on the sidewalk. Soon, she was lying down on the sidewalk, her head aching.

Before everything went black, the last thing she saw was a guy in a blue t-shirt in glasses hovering over her asking in a British accent, “Are you alright? Hello? Nuiz? Nuiz!”

And after that, everything went black.

…

To be continued in: Found on the Sidewalk.