Chapter 3: New Friends
It's been a week since Annie died. Rachel has barely gotten through the week. She barely left her bedroom. All she could think about was her, and how she was gone. The funeral was on a Monday, a cloudy, rainy Monday morning. Rachel was in tears the entire time, saying goodbye to her sister was just as worse as saying goodbye to her brother was. She had Manny and Emma by her side though, the 2 people that have been there for her ever since the days they met. Manny even went to the funeral with her, just to love and support her in any way possible. Rachel appreciated it, even though it was hard for her to show it. Before it could even hit her, she had to go back to school. Rachel was dreading this day, she didn't want to have to deal with the questions and rumors.
"Rachel...you have to go to school today" Andrea knocked lightly on the door. Rachel sighed. She moved around her bed, eyes wide open.
"I know you're awake...please Rachel" Rachel got up from her bed and looked in the mirror. She wasn't satisfied with what she was looking at. It's been days since she has seen her own face. She struggled to do her basic morning routine, it was all so hard for her. As she sat down on the floor, trying to contain herself she heard her phone begin to ding. With a sigh, Rachel stands up and walks towards her phone.
"Hello," Rachel said with a tired, worn-out voice.
"I'm gonna meet you outside okay?" Manny asked. Rachel felt a smile creep onto her face. She hasn't seen him since the funeral.
"Okay thank you," She said. She could hear him chuckle as he hung up the phone. Now she had something to look forward to..
She grabbed her bag and her phone and went down the stairs. Every time she passed her sister's bedroom, a tear came to her eye. It was all taken for granted.
Rachel left the house without a goodbye. She could see Manny standing there with a bouquet of roses. Rachel was surprised, she wasn't expecting him to show up with roses.
Rachel smiled, the first smile he has seen in a week. She hugged him tightly and thanked him for the roses.
"I missed you" He said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Rachel felt the same except she probably missed him more.
"I missed you too," She said as she put her arm around him. They both walked to school, hand in hand. She felt calm, the calmest she had felt since way before the death of her sister. As they approached the school everyone looked at them with a smile, the two of them seemed to bring everyone else joy. Looking at the crowd of people began to worry Rachel. She felt like the whole world's weight was on her shoulders.
"Are you okay Ray?" Manny asked. Rachel took a deep breath.
"Yeah," She said as she entered the big doors to her school, the school that she hasn't seen in a week and a half. Manny walked her to her locker and gave her a hug goodbye. She didn't want to leave his side but she knew she had to get this over with. As soon as she walked into the classroom the whole class greeted her with smiles and sweet comments. Everyone knew. Emma smiled so brightly at the sight of Rachel.
"I missed you so much Rachel," Emma said as she gave her a big hug. The feeling of warmth and love overpowered Rachel. She's never felt like this before.
"I missed you too," Rachel said as she sat down in her seat. She looked around the classroom, looking to see if anything changed. Surprisingly, something did change. Someone new was sitting behind her.
"Hey..what's your name?" Rachel asked.
"Tommy...and yours?" Tommy smiled. He had ginger hair filled with luxurious curls.
"Rachel," She said.
"So Tommy, do you want to sit with my friends and I at lunch?" Rachel didn't want anyone to feel alone, she knew that pain.
"Yeah sure" He whispered. She smiled at his response and began to try and pay attention to her math teacher. On a normal day, her concentration skills lack but today it was even worse. Picking up the pencil and trying to do math was not helping her. She got a bit angry. Minutes that felt like hours passed by and the class was finally over.
"Can I see your schedule?" Rachel asked Tommy as she stuffed her things into her bag. He read out his schedule and they had almost an identical schedule.
Rachel smiled, "Okay good, come with us," She said. All three of them walked out of class and down to the lunchroom. The lunchroom still gave her the same euphoric feeling. As Rachel was walking, she noticed that Sara and Kendra were back at the table. Sara and Kendra were 2 close friends of Rachel's, they were never really consistent though. Rachel greeted Manny with a tight hug, he patted her back as they sat down next to each other. Tommy sat beside Rachel. Manny looked at him with confusion.
"This is my new friend Tommy"
Rachel said as she put her arm around him. Tommy said nothing, he just smiled. Manny held her hand under the table as if it was a middle school romance. Rachel couldn't help but smile as he rubbed his thumb on her hand. The feeling was out of this world. As he was rubbing her hand, she made a decision.
"Do you guys wanna come over today?" Everyone just stared at her, in confusion as to why she was even asking.
"yes" Manny said with a huge smile. That made her happy. Emma ignored the question, her phone took up all of her divided attention.
By the time they finished their lunches, the bell rang and everyone began to exit the room. Rachel, Emma, Manny and Tommy walked up to class. As they were walking, they all made plans to meet in front of the school at the end of the school day. Rachel was finally excited. She could smell the roses as she opened her locker to get her English books. The smell was beautiful. They attended class and fooled around like usual. Manny showed Tommy the way around English class, telling him the dos and don'ts. The end of the day came by very quickly, after separation and struggles, the bell finally rang.
Tommy, Rachel, Emma and Manny met up after school and began walking to her house. The walk was peaceful, listening to the conversations between Emma and Tommy and watching the clouds gently move around in the sky. Manny put his arm around Rachel as he gave her his earbud. She smiled and put it into her ear, the music he was listening to was so nice. He didn't look the person to be listening to Current Joys. When they finally arrived at Rachel's house, she opened the door and realized nobody was home. Andrea often worked until late. They all sat down on her couch, talking about the most random things as Rachel got a few snacks. They all went upstairs and set up a little spot in her room for them to talk and just relax. Emma wasn't eyes into her phone, Manny wasn't ears into his music and Tommy wasn't silent.
"Wanna play Truth or Dare?" Emma asked with a smile. Rachel and Manny sighed.
"Sure," Tommy said with a grin. Emma looked at Rachel and Manny with a face of pity.
"Please," Emma said with a cheesy grin. Rachel rolled her eyes and looked at Manny for approval.
"Fine," They said at the same time. Emma started by simply asking Manny truth or dare, he responded with truth and she asked if he had ever had a girlfriend. Rachel looked at Emma and rolled her eyes. Manny smiled and responded with a yes. Rachel said nothing. Many questions filled into her head. "Why did he smile?" "Why did he sound excited to answer?"
Manny put his hand on her leg. She looked at his hand, wanting to take it away but she still managed to smile as butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
"Rachel, Truth, or Dare?" Tommy asked. Rachel smiled and responded with Dare.
"I dare you to kiss Manny" Rachel gasped. She wanted to do this ever since they met, but time was never right. She didn't want her first kiss with him to be a dare. He looked at her and placed both of his hands on her thighs as she sat with her legs crossed. They made eye contact, which made her stomach sink. She leaned in, and so did he. She kissed his cheek.
"That was so lame Rachel" Emma said as she laughed. Manny looked disappointed, but his cheeks were still rosy red.
The game soon ended because they couldn't think of any more good dares. Emma and Tommy had to leave so now it was just Rachel and Manny. The 2 of them sat in her bed, knees touching.
"I'm sorry I kissed your cheek" Rachel said as she put her hand on his knee. He put his phone down and looked her in the eye.
"I know why you did that," He said. She smiled, happy that he wasn't upset with her. Manny placed his soft hands onto her cheeks and pulled her into him. Their lips collided, they both could feel the spark ignite. They parted and stared into each other's eyes with smiles brighter than the sun.
"You know how I feel about you right?" Manny asked. He put his head onto her shoulder.
"Don't worry. I feel the same way" Rachel said as she ran her fingers through his hair. It was romantic, she felt so at safe and at peace with this boy...but she knows that all good things never last in her life.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone