Ever since coming here, my sleep schedule has sucked. I haven’t been able to sleep properly for the past 3 days due to these thoughts in my head. I just want to push it all away and forget about them, even if it’s only for a few days, I just want to enjoy myself while I’m here as a kid. Sometimes, I forget I’m a kid. I forget that I’m supposed to enjoy my life to the fullest before the heavy burden of being an adult weighs down on us. Although, I’ve had to grow up in an instant with little to no time to think normal thoughts.

  I know this story is sad but I promise you, it’s not going to be like this the whole time.

  KNOCK KNOCK

  I looked at my door and then at my alarm clock. It read 6:46 am, who’s knocking on my door at this hour?

  I groggily got out of bed and walked over to the door.

  “Who’s there?” I asked, standing at the door.

  “Ivy,” she spoke softly, trying to avoid detection.

  I unlocked the chain latch and the door knob and opened the door, “What’s up?” I asked, yawning after the statement.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something. Breakfast opens up at 7 so do you wanna join me?” She asked.

  “Sure, just let me get ready,” I rubbed my eyes.

  “Okay, I’ll be back here at 7 on the dot so be ready.”

  I nodded, my eyes barely open, and closed the door as she walked away. I shuffled to my closet and rifled through the clothes I brought for the trip. It's breakfast with Ivy but I also want to, weirdly, impress her but I don’t think dressing up for a conversation at breakfast is going to send the right message I want to convey so I just grabbed a pair of black jeans, a black top, and a red and black flannel. My trusty black hoodie isn’t going to cut it for me today but I don’t want to dress too fancy, you know?

  After my process that I had to expedite due to the time crunch, I heard a knock on the door at 7 sharp.

  “You ready?” She asked, her voice sounding angelic first thing in the morning. She wore navy blue jeans that popped with her black leather jacket. The white top meshed well with her outfit and the gold heart necklace she wore was a nice addition. I’d never seen her wear that before though. Her hair was a little frizzled but to me, that added to her charm.

  “I’m ready,” I walked out of the room, shutting it behind me.

  “You look different,” she commented.

  “So do you,” I replied.

  She shrugged as we made our way down the hallway and to the breakfast buffet.

  “Oh, yeah, I never asked you about your mom. You said she was chaperoning this trip, right?”

  She flinched, as if I brought up a question that she didn’t want to answer, “I did say that but she doesn’t like to be seen with me,” Ivy meandered over to the plates and grabbed one, “I’m kind of the black sheep of my family. I’ve told you about them. My step mom hates me and my dad won’t fight for me because he’s scared of losing her.”

  “Geez, I’m sorry,” I said, not really too sure what to say.

  “It’s okay but this isn’t what I wanted to talk about. Hurry up and get your food,” Ivy wandered off to a different part of the breakfast buffet.

  Ivy and I had gotten our food and sat down at a table at the far end of the room.

  She grabbed a few napkins and set them down next to her plate. She got up and took some plastic utensils.

  “So,” she ripped open her utensils.

  “So, what?” I asked, my leg nervously bouncing.

  She locked eyes with me, her gaze intense and analytical, “Do you like Piper?”

  I sighed a sigh of relief. I don’t know what I thought she was going to ask but it wasn’t that.

  “She’s cool. We seemed to click, I think we’ll be good friends,” I said.

  “You know that’s not what I meant,” her eyes never left mine.

  I gulped. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. In one instance, I like Ivy. She’s been there for me since the beginning. She’s the reason I haven’t snapped and the reason I’m able to behave like a normal person. Mostly.

  I also like Piper, she’s more like me than I initially thought, she’s beautiful and kind, she’s competitive too. Just like me. My heart beats faster when I’m in the presence of either one of these girls, it beats an unfamiliar melody to me. It’s like I’m being dragged in two different directions.

  “I do,” I decided to say. The words escaped my mouth before I could fully convince myself that’s how I feel and that’s what I should say.

  She paused. Her fork was hovering in the air on the way to her mouth. She smiled as she took a bite.

  “Finally, dude. There’s so many girls who’ve asked me about you, you know that?”

  “No? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I have no clue. None of them really had that something. They all seemed shallow and bland. I just guessed that isn’t what you wanted.”

  I could’ve had friends. I could’ve been one of the popular kids. I could’ve been hanging out with people everyday instead of wallowing in my own grief but since Ivy assumed that I wouldn’t like them, she turned them away without even asking me.

  “Why would you do that?” I asked her.

  “Why?” Her voice went a little bit higher, “Why would I do that? Because if you hung out with them, you’d leave me behind. And as much as I hate to admit it, you’re one of my best friends.”

  Her words surprised me. I didn’t know that she’d consider me a friend up to this point and honestly, I don’t think I would’ve hung out with those ‘cool kids’ either. They aren’t my type of people but that wasn’t for Ivy to decide.

  “Anyways,” she cut through the thoughts in my head, “you like Piper, huh?” She said, teasingly.

  “I should’ve never told you,” I started eating too.

  “But you did. Now, what if I told you she liked you back?”

  I started coughing as I took a sip of orange juice, “What?”

  “You heard what I said,” she smirked at me, “She likes you too. However, I will have to warn you,” she set her fork down and picked up her coffee, “Do not move this too fast. You guys just met 2 days ago. I cannot stress this enough,” she leaned forward and glared daggers at me, “Get. To. Know. Her. Also if you hurt her, I can’t be your friend anymore,” she took a sip out of her cup.

  “I’m not even too sure what I want,” I set my hands on the table.

  “Life is weird like that. All I wanted when I first got to this school was to be left alone and to enjoy time to myself. I was gonna do so many things like work on my art, design clothes, but you had to go and ruin it,” she sighed.

  “Sorry,” I took another sip of the orange juice.

  “Don’t be sorry. This is more entertaining,” she stared off wistfully, “besides I think I found something better.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” She chuckled.

  Ivy seemed to be more full of life recently. Her usual demeanour was still there but she felt nicer.

  Felt more human.

  I think what Piper meant when she said Ivy wears a mask was that Ivy usually acts tough, she acts like this person who wants nothing to do with the world but that wasn’t who she was. She just has problems asking for what she wants and decides it’s better to watch it fade away than inconvenience someone. I get it, I used to be the same way but now that I’m friends with these amazing people, life is so much better now.

  Mom, Dad, you guys would be proud of me.

  “Yo, Earth to Wyatt,” Ivy poked me in the head with the end of her fork.

  “What?” I rubbed where she poked me.

  “You thinkin’ about your parents?” She prodded.

  “Something like that.”

  “They’d be proud of who you’ve become,” Ivy’s eyes captured mine.

  It’s everything I’ve been thinking. I can get lost in her eyes and I wouldn’t want a way to get out. I don’t know when I started feeling like this but I can’t deny it. I can’t tell myself I don’t like this girl when I can’t even stop staring at her.

  But why is she still staring at me?

  Maybe I’m just imagining things—

  “Hey, guys,” Piper’s velvety voice cut through my thoughts as she walked over to Ivy and wrapped her arms around her. Ivy placed her hand on Piper’s wrist, “Hey, Piper,” she smiled to herself.

  “What are you two doing out here by yourselves?” Piper asked us.

  “We were discussing our plans for the last few days we have here,” I told her.

  “I’m sure you were,” she turned to Ivy, “Can I talk with you for a second?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I don’t know but I felt like I did something wrong.

  Ivy and Piper walked over to the door and stood off to the side, avoiding blocking the entrance.

  “Did you tell him?” Piper asked.

  “I did,” she sipped the coffee she brought with her.

  “And?”

  “And he likes you too. God, you guys are babies. This is highschool, not middleschool,” Ivy sighed dramatically, “Though, you need to tell him yourself if you want him to believe you.”

  Piper glanced at her, “Why? Didn’t you just tell him?”

  Ivy looked over at Wyatt eating his breakfast at the table, “He’s been through a lot. He’s like me, in a sense. Trust issues and all.”

  “Oh. I’ll see to it that I do that,” Piper walked away but stopped mid step and turned back around.

  “What if I’m taking things too fast? I’ve never really had a crush on anyone before but Wyatt… He…” she trailed off, “gets me.”

  Ivy understood her. Ivy felt the same way about Wyatt but she hadn’t fully realized it herself yet.

  “Honestly, all I can tell you is to go with the flow. I’ve been through the same thing you’re going through before and it never ended well.”

  “Maybe but you have a crush on him too, huh?”

  Ivy nearly spilled her coffee before she expertly caught it, “Excuse me?”

  “I’ve known you for a long time. You’ve never spent time with a guy as much as you’ve spent time with him. Including Daren,” Piper then realized what she said, “I apologize for bringing up Daren.”

  “It’s fine. We haven’t even spoken since then,” Ivy shrugged.

  “I can’t believe that jerk. Being your friend so he could get with you.”

  “It happens all the time.”

  “You think Wyatt’s your friend for that reason?”

  Ivy looked up to the ceiling, gauging her response and determining what her thoughts about Wyatt were.

  “Nah.”

  I ate my toast and grabbed my tray. I put it on the cart for the dirty ones and walked out of the door. I guess the two of them didn’t notice me walking past because they kept gossiping next to the door.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll ever see him that way,” Ivy said to Piper.

  I put my head down and kept walking. I don’t want to hear that right now. I made my way to my room and sat down on the side of my bed. I wasn’t sad or anything to hear that or at least I didn’t think I was. The heaviness of my heart told me otherwise. However, Ivy did tell me Piper had a crush on me and I have something for her too. I want to be a part of the couple that everyone’s always watching, the one that goes out for games and dates, the one that winds up getting married after highschool, the one that they go through everything together—the ups and the downs. I’ve never dated because I feel like if you aren’t dating to marry then it’s a waste of time. Obviously, you know about Alexis but I wasn’t ready for anything then and I have no idea if I’m ready now.

  A few hours later.

  I fell asleep when I went to my room earlier and the hours flew by, the weight of love and relationships heavy on my mind as I learned that someone I had just met two days ago has a crush on me. I’m just curious when she developed those feelings because to me, I feel as if two days is too little to know your true feelings for someone.

  KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

  “Stop knocking! I’ll be there in a second,” I rubbed my eyes and opened the door.

  It was Piper, her usual bubbly presence and her stunning eyes. I swear I could get lost in them—

  “Wyatt, are you okay?” She asked, her head tilted in curiosity.

  “I think so,” I shook my head.

  “So, I’ve been meaning to talk to you. And it just so happens that there’s a beautiful garden that we could go check out,” she put her hands behind her back and smiled.

  “Okay, I just need to get my phone and I’ll be right out.”

  “I’ll be here,” she responded.

  I ran to my bedside table and took it off of the charger.

  “Let’s go,” I shut my door behind me.

  We walked side by side down the hallway to the gardens that were outside, on the other side of the hotel from my room.

  The sunlight beamed down on the flora and plants that were planted. As if witnessing life itself, the sprouts had begun to emerge from the ground. The vegetation was lush, the garden had obviously been well taken care of. As if on cue, a few of the gardeners passed us and began watering the plants and doing other various tasks around the garden. A humongous tree loomed over everything though, providing shade in an isolated area where it seemed like families, couples, even some of our classmates were hanging out.

  A lone swing hung on the other side. Piper pointed at it and ran over to it. I followed behind her, passing by the couples kissing underneath the trees’ large branches.

  She sighed wistfully, “I haven’t been on a swing since I was little,” she touched the rope that kept it up.

  “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve been on one for a long time either,” I responded.

  She stopped touching the rope and looked over to the plants.

  “What do you think of Ivy? Be honest.”

  I looked over at her.

  I really had to search through my mind, to find the right answer.

  “I think she’s…” I paused, “Awesome.”

  She chuckled, “Yeah, she is pretty amazing.”

  “But about what Ivy told you—”

  I held my hands up, “Don’t. I’m sorry if that sounded rude but I’d rather not talk about it. You don’t really know me. Hell, I barely know me. Give it time.”

  Piper looked down and smiled to herself, “That sounds wonderful. What’s your favorite movie? Be warned, based on your answer, I may or may not ever talk to you again.”

  We laughed together as the time passed by in the blink of an eye. I got lost, lost in everything about her. Her laugh, her eyes, her voice, every little thing about her captured me and wouldn’t let me go. Although, there’s something else. There’s something lingering here that’s bugging me.

  The stars lit up the garden as we looked around, noticing everyone had left already.

  “Huh? What time is it?” I asked, looking at my phone.

  “9 O’CLOCK?!” I shouted.

  Piper chuckled, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Wyatt.”

  Without giving me a chance to answer, she walked back into the hotel.

  “Ivy, you can come out now,” I looked over at the door where Piper had walked out of.

  “How did you know I was here? Do you have satellite ears or something?” She walked over to me.

  “Nah, you’re just too obvious. I know you wouldn’t pass up this chance. Deep down, you’re a romantic.”

  She shrugged, “Just don’t tell anyone else, got it?”

  I gave her a thumbs up.

  I looked up to the stars that covered the sky like a blanket. They twinkled like snow in the sky at midnight.

  “She’s strange. In a good way. We relate to each other more than I thought I could with an heiress to a massive company.”

  Ivy sat down on the ground next to me, “Mhm. Despite everyone thinking she has everything handed to her, she doesn’t. Everything she has is hers and hers alone. I just wanted my two best friends to find happiness.”

  I reached over and gave her an awkward side hug.

  Ivy was reluctant at first, her body jolting in surprise then she patted me on the back.

  “Can we agree to never do that again?” She asked.

  “Sure, I just needed to get that off my bucket list before I died.”

  She laughed heartily, I joined her as we decided to call it a night and head back into the hotel.

  “Today’s the last day of the trip, be sure to enjoy it. You guys earned it,” Mrs Swiler walked off to the chaperones.

  “Hey, Ivy, I’ve never even seen you talking to your step mom,” I nudged her.

  “Why would I want to talk to that evil bi—”

  “Speak of the devil,” Piper said as her stepmom walked in front of us.

  She looked like your usual business woman, her black blazer over a casual white top with the black dress pants. Her haircut made her look like she was going to ask for your manager at a supermarket. She wore black heels that squeezed her feet but it didn’t seem to bother her as much as it did me.

  “Allison,” Ivy coldly said.

  “Astrid,” Allison, her stepmom, responded in kind.

  “She goes by Ivy,” Piper butted in.

  “Ah, you’re still here. A pleasure, Piper,” she said, sarcastically.

  She turned her sights on me. I stood there like a deer in headlights, caught in a battlefield of a war that’s been raging for years and I have no idea what’s even going on. I slowly took a sip of my orange juice and looked around—hoping she’d leave.

  “And who are you, young man?” She was in my face now. I could feel her breath as I answered.

  “I’m Wyatt, I’m friends with your daughter,” I held out my hand.

  She looked at it. Looked back up at me. And continued talking.

  “Step daughter. I’d never hope my daughter turned out like her,” she cackled.

  “Wow. And you’d think someone would want a mother like you?” I responded.

  Ivy and Piper’s eyes grew wide as they started choking on their drinks, barely containing their laughter.

  “Excuse me?” She replied.

  “I mean, it’s 9 in the morning and you’re already stirring up drama with a highschooler, don’t you have anything better to do?”

  She sputtered, obviously at a loss for words.

  “You need to watch your tone, child. I will see to it that you never speak to Astrid again.”

  “You’re not even my real mom, why would I listen to what you say?” Ivy snapped back at her.

  “I’ve got your dad wrapped around my finger, about as tight as this ring,” she pointed to her ring finger.

  She waltzed away, before anything else could be said.

  “What a bi—” Piper put her finger over my mouth.

  “You two and your cussing. Stop it,” she tapped an empty water bottle over our heads.

  Ivy and I looked at each other and chuckled.

  “Thank you, Wyatt. No one’s ever really stood up for me like that, well, besides Piper,” she said, her tone genuine.

  “Honestly, I did it for me but you’re welcome.”