Chapter 1: Chapter One
"You know you will be late for your brother's graduation, you know? He won't be happy and that means he won't be happy with me... and I like how finally he is ok with me," knocked Amelia.
Amelia Mackenzie stood at the door once again knocking for her roommate and best friend to come out. Amelia and Elena had first met when they had started college together and since then had become close friends. Amelia and Elena wouldn't have looked like friends as they both were so opposite to each other which in a way made their friendship work so well.
Amelia went back to finishing her makeup as she fixed up her short brown hair and adding her signature headband. She was inspired to wear this in her hair as she was obsessed with Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl. She even at times tried to recreate her entire look.
"I know but I can't get my hair right or my makeup…" came the muffled voice from the bathroom.
"Let me guess why all this is so important. You are hoping that finally something will happen with Riley's friend… what's his name again…? Teased Ameila.
There was silence for a second and then slowly the door opened a little and a head popped out.
"I will kill you if you ever bring it up again. I told you that in confidence. He doesn't like me in that way," said Elena, finally stepping out.
Elena Stone stood in front of their full length mirror and looked at her reflection. She wasn't the usual tall and skinny beautiful girl which she liked about herself. She liked that she was medium height with a healthy body. Her favourite thing about herself was her eyes… They were bright blue like the ocean and her wavy brown hair made her stand out in her family.
"Why do you always do that? You know he may like you. I'm just sayin, the way he looks at you sometimes. It's like how Ross looked at Rachel when he was so in love with her," smiled Amelia as she drifted off.
"You seriously need to stop watching these shows on Netflix. You are turning too much into these filmy people," joked Elena.
She actually didn't mind that about Amelia. She liked how she always managed to find something positive about anything.
"So are you ready or not?"
"Yeah yeah… let's go and finally see my brother graduate college. Which none of us really thought would happen with all his partying."
****
"How do I look? I'm freaking out here and Elena isn't here? Is it weird that I really want her here?" asked Riley again looking at the door.
"If you keep looking at the door won't make her come here any sooner," advised his friend, Hudson.
"Mate, i'm just freaking out that she isn't here and I don't want to ruin today, especially since dad flew in to see me graduate."
"You sound like your sister."
But before he could respond to that, the doors open and from the corner of his eye, he saw his younger sister making her way towards them. She was holding his lucky wrist leather bracelet, which he had given to her.
"You made it… why are you late? Are mum and dad here?" a million questions ran in his head as he tried to rush and process everything.
"Riles… relax for a second and look at me. You know me and when have i ever let you down? I have just seen mum and dad outside, they are playing nice with each other like always and I was just running late a little but I have got everything done and it is all ready for the after party when we finish here," explained Elena as she tried to calm him down.
She stopped when she saw Hudson. She gave him a weak smile and tried to keep her breathing slow and normal. Why did he have this effect on her? Every time she saw him, it was like the floor beneath her moved and she was holding onto dear life.
Calm down and just breath. She kept repeating in her head.
"Thanks for coming. He was starting to stress like you," joked Hudson as he put his hands around Elena's shoulders.
At that moment she could feel her heart missing beats as she tried to slow it down. Why was she so into Hudson? He saw her as his friend's little sister and plus she wasn't his type. She was a neat freak who liked to get things organized and couldn't when things weren't planned out where as he was the opposite who lived impulsively.
"Take your positions as we are about to start. Make sure there aren't any so called stupid behaviour," announced the organsier.
"Oh and here I was planning on releasing a dragon or a mouse to make things fun," laughed another guy pushing Elena out of the way.
"You ok?" asked Hudson when he saw.
"Yeah, i should also take my seat. Good luck and please dear God… Don't fall."
****
"Wasn't that a wonderful ceremony?" asked Ashton Stone as he opened the door for his ex wife Yasmine.
"Yes and I'm glad that you made it. I was worried that you wouldn't make it in time, especially since you had that big project."
"I couldn't miss my son's graduation, besides I also have some work here which worked out for the best."
The music was playing loudly as Riley saw his friends all gathered around and enjoying the after party.
"Thanks sis for organising this. I know it wasn't easy since we kept changing our minds."
"Yeah well the caterer and the DJ weren't too happy when we changed things again but since they are my friends…"
"So now can you also enjoy yourself and take the night off. I love that you are so organised and stuff but can you please be impulsive and go crazy… Look even mum and dad have left."
Elena nodded and took the drink Amelia had brought her. She winked at her and rolled her eyes towards Hudson. Elena knew what she was trying to tell her and she wished she had that much confidence like Amelia.
"If you don't do anything now, God knows when you will get the chance again. You don't know where he will go after tomorrow."
"It's just a school girl crush, Am. Can we drop it, we aren't in high school."
The night went on and people drank and enjoyed themselves. Elena couldn't shake that butterfly feeling inside her every time she saw or even thought about Hudson. Why did she have that feeling? Was what Amelia said true and that's why she was suddenly so anxious?
"Finally some peace…" trailed off Hudson as he stopped outside when he saw Elena standing on the balcony. She was on the phone and she gave a weak smile.
"Thanks mum. Yeah I'll make sure to tell him to give you a call," she whispered.
Hudson, unsure if he should leave or wait, stopped where he was and tried not looking at Elena.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were here," Hudson apologised.
"That's OK. How come the life of the party is hiding out here… and without a girl in his arms," joked Elena.
She must have had a little too much to drink cause the butterflies were starting to leave. Being here alone with him wasn't as scary as she kept thinking it was in her head. He gave her his usual smirk and came closer to her.
The air was cool with a nice breeze. Elena and Hudson soof there in silence. This was more awkward than having to talk to him and have that feeling inside her stomach, thought Elena as she shifted from one foot to the other.
"I think I will join the party," she finally managed to say. The silence was starting to get to her. She liked the quiet moment with Hudson but she also couldn't control that awkwardness.
"Can I tell you something?" he blurted out. He slowly turned to face her as she was frozen where she was.
"Yeah of course. Wait this isn't like your other prank, right?"
"HAHHA… yeah that was a good one. But no. It's a little more private."
Elena looked at the expression on his face trying to make out what he was thinking about. By the look on his face, it seemed like this was a serious topic.
"What's on your mind?"
"I've been thinking about it for a long time and I want to go look for my dad."
Once again that awkward silence fell. All they could hear was, which felt like the distant music playing from inside. Elena didn't know what to say to this and she didn't know if she was even the right person to talk to him about this.
"Uummm…. Have you told anyone else about this? Why… why do you want to look for your father? I mean don't get me wrong and stuff but you haven't spoken about him since we met."
"Yeah I know, but I was just going through my old stuff and found some of his belongings and thought maybe now is the best time to go looking. I wanted to talk to my mum about this but I know that she doesn't actually like talking about him much, especially with me."
"I think you should do what you think is the best thing. I can't tell you what you should and shouldn't do when it comes to your parents or your personal life. I mean it's great that you want to do this and all but it's still your choice of what and how you want to go about it all."
"You may not believe this but I always liked you and what you had to say. You were honest."
This took Elena by surprise. She tried to put her thoughts together and try and steady her voice before she spoke again.
"I always assumed that you thought I was that neat freak who liked things to be organised because otherwise it was the end of the world crazy person," she laughed.
"That too," he laughed as well.
"Hudson, you need to do what you have to but I will tell you this much… talk to your mum about this before you make your final decision. If something did happen with your dad, don't burn any of your bridges with your mum. She is the one who stayed with you by your side."
That moment time stopped. Hudson and Elena starred into each other's eyes. She wished she could keep looking at his beautiful grey brown eyes all night long but a shiver down her back brought her back.
"I should go inside… Riley and Amelia would be looking for me."
But as she was turning to leave, warm hands grabbed her elbow and she felt a pull. Hudson's hands wrapped around her waist and he put her in a bear hug. Elena's heart kept skipping a beat every second they stood there. He slowly turned her around and at that moment she knew what was coming… she closed her eyes and just waited, giving herself to the moment. She was the happiest person right now.
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