Back Again

By: Sophie Anna

(9.6.13) A/N: I attempted to edit this, but I just couldn't. It's so choppy and not even remotely up to my personal writing standards. I wrote it a while ago. Sorry about any mistakes/plot holes/annoying characters/unrealistic dialogue, or anything else that arises and doesn't particularly make a whole lot of sense. I tried. If you still want to read this, I'm not stopping you, but I will say that it's not the best story in the world. Just warning you, but thanks for reading if you still choose to do so! Enjoy: 

Chapter One

I stood there, frozen, in the threshold of the somewhat-familiar, red brick building. I had been here multiple times for Adam’s football games. I couldn’t bring myself to go in. It had been two years, I was different person, and yet, my past was the only thing people were going to think of me. I wasn’t usually this timid. I put my hand on my heart to feel it, and it almost leapt out of my chest. I couldn’t do this. I’d turn around; I just couldn’t face seeing the people again.

      “Hey, are you new?” a boy asked, coming behind me. I turned around, and my eyes widened. It was Chase Ryan. It had to be. He didn’t even recognize me. Unbelievable. I quickly glimpsed at him again, hoping he wouldn’t notice. His looks hadn’t changed much—he was still the same tall, dark-haired boy, with perfect skin and an air of confidence about him that I once knew. 

      “No,” I said quietly, not wanting to bring my identity up.

      “Oh, I haven’t seen you around,” he said, staying by my side.

      “Maybe you haven’t been looking hard enough,” I rolled my eyes.

      “No, I think I’d notice someone as hot as you,” he smiled. God. Chase Ryan’s smile. Wow. It was amazing, really, how that same, notorious smile had broken the hearts of countless girls, myself included. I seriously couldn’t believe I was back.

      “Right…” I trailed off, my eyes rotating involuntarily as if a reflex. Idiot.

      “So, what’s your name, sweetheart?” he asked.

      “Doesn’t matter,” I said with a think coat of indifference in my voice.

      “No, seriously. I’m Chase, what’s your name?” he looked at me expectantly, as if by uttering his own name, it was cause for me to do the same.

      “Jules,” I said, giving in, and not wanting to deal with an arguement at eight o’clock in the morning.

      “Is that short for Julia?” he asked. Wow. Real genius kid, right here.

      “Yes, yes it is,” my voice was nuetral.

      “Cool! It’s pretty name, and fits a pretty girl,” he winked cheesily.

      “Yup,” I said, amazed that Chase had no clue who he was talking to. I hadn’t changed that much. Sure, I wasn’t dressed in the same provocative way I used to, but I wasn’t that different. My face hadn’t changed the substantially, and the only difference with my hair was that it wasn’t stick straight, burnt from countless hours of using a straighter. I hadn’t lost or gained a dramatic amount of weight, and I was still pretty short. I guess the whole clothes thing really threw him off or something.

      “We should go in,” he suggested. 

      “Nope,” I said, taking what seemed to be my hundredth deep breath of the day. 

      “Are you planning on standing in the doorway all day?” he laughed lightly.

      “Possibly,” I mused.

      “Aw, how come you don’t want to go in?”

      “Because I don’t,” I said firmly. I didn’t want to enter the physical building, but, more importantly, I didn’t want to see the people within.

      “So, what did you say your last name was again?” he questioned.

      “I didn’t.”

      “Okay—what is your last name?” he prodded, starting to irritate me.

      “Doesn’t matter,” I said through clenched teeth, trying to restrain myself. An invisibility cloak would be a useful thing to have at a time like this. 

      “You’re right, considering, when we’re married, you’ll be taking mine,” he gave me another cocky smirk. One of the things I had always hated about Chase: his self confidence level was way too high for his own good.

      “That wasn’t as funny or charming as you had wanted it to be,” I pointed out.

      “Actually, I thought it was both very funny and charming on my part,” he flashed me another smug grin.

      “Okay, how about you go in, and I stay here?” I proposed.

      “Not a chance! Come on!” he grasped my hand and pulled me inside the building. As I took my first unwanted steps into the place I would be recieving an education, I could feel my nerves running. Those butterflies in my stomach were now erupting. In and out, in and out. I could do this.

      “Please don’t touch me,” I said, detaching his hand from mine.

      “I’ve never had anyone say those words to me in my life!” he gasped, laughing.

      “Well, are you planning on touching me again?” I asked.

      “Yes, I do believe I am.”

      “Then those words will soon become very familiar to you,” my eyes scanned the sight before me, nothing out of the ordinary. Students were buzzing about, lockers lined the halls, and slightly grimy tiles lined the floors.

      “So, Jules, do you know where to go for classes?” he pestered, not leaving me alone.

      “Like I said, I’m not new,” I stated, walking away from the boy I once knew and heading for the front office.

      “How may I help you?” a lady with wrinkled skin resembling an unironed shirt asked once I had finally reached my destination.

      “I’m new here, and was told to report to the office,” I gulped, a hum of activity going through my mind, leaving me in a nervous state.

      “What’s your name, dear?” she inquired, flipping through a few sheets of jumbled papers.

      “Julia Tylers,” I nearly whispered, praying that no one could hear.

      “Thank you. Just take a seat for now,” she instructed, pointing to the seats behind me. I cautiously sat down next to an empty seat, setting my backpack down in the void space. My finger was tapping on my knee uncontrollably, and my stomach was a knot.

      After five minutes of untolerable nerves, I finally heard a familiar voice speaking to the old lady in the office. “Yeah, my name’s Adam Tylers; you may remember me.”

      “Adam!” I said, relief washing over me as I set eyes upon my older, less wise brother. I patted on the empty seat next to me, indicating for him to sit.

      “Hey, sis, run into anyone you know?” he questioned smugly, plopping down beside me. 

      “Yeah, but they didn’t know me,” I said, thinking back to Chase and our short interaction.

      “All my friends still remember me,” he boasted, not even questioning who it was that I had run into.

      “Of course they do,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

      When we moved out to Santa Monica, it was harder on Adam than it was on me; he was attached to his friends and his perfect life at the time. I, on the other hand, didn’t care, and rather embraced the change. I wanted to start over. For me, it was a good thing leaving when we did.

      “Julia and Adam?” a high voice called.

      “Yo!” Adam responded, jolting up as he raising his hand.

      “Go into the principal’s office, and he’ll set you both up,” a tall woman who looked like a secretary said. She wore a charcoal-colored pencil skirt, white collared shirt, and black pumps; all very professional looking.

      We wandered into the office as told and sat down in the two chairs opposite a man seated behind a grand wooden desk—the principal, I presumed.

      “Adam, wonderful to see you again! Julia, my name is Mr. Daley, and I’ll be your principal over the next few years on your journey throughout this marvelous high school!” the man said too cheerfully for my liking. It was the morning—no one should have had the ability to be that energetic before noon.

      “You too, Mr. D.!” Adam said, talking to the man as if they were old friends; which, knowing Adam, was quite possible.

      “I’ve just quickly managed to pair you, Julia, up with someone who’s going to be your buddy for the day,” Mr. Daley informed me. He took a sip from a black mug, simmering with steam, that led me to the conclusion that the man, much like the majority of Americans, may have had an addiction to coffee—the source of his energy. 

      “Who?” I barely managed to ask, fearing that it would be someone I knew from my past.

      “Aiden Heath,” he said lightly, as if it was nothing. Aiden. Heath. Having Aiden Heath be my “buddy” for the day was yet another example of why the universe truly hated me. First Chase, then Aiden, who was next, Satan?

      “What about me?” Adam asked, turning the focus in the room back to his favorite person.

      “I figured, considering you were here for freshman year, you would know the building well enough to navigate for yourself,” the man explained, as Adam nodded, understanding. “Adam, you can go, Julia, Aiden should be here any minute.”

      “See ya later, sis,” Adam winked at me, leaving the room and the people in it. Well, abandoning his sister in her time of need was definitely one thing he could now cross off of his bucket list.

      A few minutes of awkward silence later, I heard the door swing open behind me, and in walked Mr. Aiden Heath himself. When my eyes landed on him, I analyzed that he looked about the same as he did two years ago; messy, brown hair, penetrating, deep, brown eyes, and a very toned physique. The kid was pretty darn attractive, I wasn’t one to deny it.

      “Yo! Mr. D., I’m here,” he said, sloppily flopping down on the seat that had been deserted by Adam moments before.

      “Aiden, this is Julia—” Mr. Daley began.

      “Jules, that’s all,” I interjected, hoping to escape the unwanted baggage that came with my last name. 

      “Hey,” Aiden smirked, giving me one of those douchey head nods as his eyes traveled over my figure.

      “So, are you two good?” the principal asked.

      “Yeah, I think so,” he answered, continuing to look me over as if I were a piece of meat.

      I slung my bag over a shoulder and bolted for the door, entering back into the busy scene of a hallway. Aiden followed closely behind, eventually catching up to me.

      “So, Jules, where exactly are you from?” he questioned, as I merely sighed, wondering if I was truly as forgetable as these people were making me out to be. Julia Tylers was a name everybody knew, and yet, here I was, two years later, completely unrecognized.

      “Here,” I returned simply.

      “I haven’t seen you around,” he commented, oblivious to whom he was really talking to.

      “I moved away for a year or two,” I shrugged, not having any interest in going into details.

      “Where?”

      “California.”

      “Sweet! A West Coast girl!” he said, pumping his fist in the air at his incredible discovery.

      “I’m an East Coast girl,” I rolled my eyes, shutting him down.

      “But you just said you lived in California, which makes you a West Coast girl,” he countered.

      “I also believe I just said that I’m from here, which makes me an East Coast girl.”

      “Are you into hot guys?” he changed the subject quickly, not dwelling on anything too long, for his attention span was quite short as I remembered it.

      “Depends; why, do you know any?”

      “I get it, you’re one of those defensive girls who thinks she’s better than everyone!” he proclaimed, as if he had figured me out. The thought amused me; someone actually figuring me out—ridiculous.

      “Wow, Aid-en,” I caught myself mid-sentence, “you so don’t know me!”

      “No, you’re right, I don’t, but I sure would love to!” he laughed at nothing in particular. 

      I was about to respond with a rather witty and clever comeback, when I heard, “Julia Tylers?” and froze at the realization of who had said my name. The girl who had called out to me was clearly as stunned as I, and walked towards us, a shocked look on her face. Of all people, it just so happened to be Emily; Emily Roberts, the one and only.

      “It’s Jules,” I corrected stiffly.

      “No, it’s Julia. What are you doing here?” she squeezed me into a tight hug. Aiden was too confused to question our actions, as I assumed he was trying to process everything that had occurred.

      “I moved back,” I said through pursed lips.

      “Wait a second... you’re Julia Tylers?! You look so… different!” Aiden said, finally realizing what was happening and who I was.

      “Yeah, two years tends to do that to people,” I replied sarcastically.

      “I remember you as the sl—quiet girl who was just another wannabe back in middle school!” Aiden laughed, though I didn’t find it all that funny.

      “Again, two years really changes people,” I reiterated.

      “You got that right; now, you’re… hot!” he shook his head in disbelief.

      “So, Julia, have you seen everyone yet?” Emily inquired in a gossipy tone.

      “No,” I lied, not even bothering to correct her.

      “Too bad... I’m sure Mason would love to see you again!” she said, suggestively winking. Talking to Emily only made me recall how much I truly hated her guts. She was so oblivious to think I was the same girl I once was in seventh grade. I had changed, and had absolutely no interest in ever returning to the way my life once was.

      “Weren’t you and Mason going out or something before you left?” Aiden asked, scrunching his eyebrows.

      “Yup,” I mumbled, not wanting to take part in the conversation at hand.

      “We should go out!” Aiden suggested suddenly.

      “I always knew you were funny!” I laughed rigidly.

      “Why not?” he demanded.

      “Because I’m not one of those girls anymore.”

      “What girls?” he asked.

      “The type of girl that wants a fairytale romance, and who wants her prince charming to sweep her off her feet. I don’t want to date the high school quarterback. Sorry, babe, I’m a realist. Also, I’m totally happy being single,” I said, sighing as a thought of Josh jabbed my heart.

      “So, you’re single!” he picked up, reminding me much of Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

      “What’s my first class?” I asked, ignoring his remark.

      “Uh, homeroom. We’re together, by the way,” he replied.

      “Of course we are,” I muttered under my breath.

      “So, J., we should really catch up! I’d love to find out how L.A. was for you!” Emily said, smiling in a sweet manner that could trick most outside parties into doing as she requested.

      “I wasn’t in L.A.,” I stated, the knots in my stomach tightening as I spent more time talking with her. 

      “I have to go, but I can’t wait to tell everyone that I ran into you!” she sang, reenforcing my thoughts on not being animated before noon.

      “Please don’t,” I pleaded, glancing at Aiden from the corner of my eye, “I want to keep it a surprise until I run into them.”

      “Whatever, sweetie! Bye!” she said, strolling away with the flow of people passing in the hallway.

      “So, Julia, you’ve really changed!” Aiden said, needing to point it out yet again.

      “Again, it’s Jules, and my looks are just the tip of an unwanted iceberg of changes,” I grumbled.

      “You should really come to this party I’m throwing on Friday!”

      “No thanks,” I turned down immediately.

      “Cool, so I’ll see you there?” he said, proving to me that he hadn’t forgotten my entire personality. We both knew darn well that I’d never miss out on a party.

      “Is this the room?” I asked, scanning the large red door with a small window on the top part. Aiden nodded in response, and I tentatively entered with heaps of hesitation. As soon as I entered, I took the first empty seat I spotted and sat down, not wanting to attract attention to me.

      “Ms. Hennings is our homeroom teacher; she’s pretty chill,” Aiden informed me, taking the seat one over from mine.

      I didn’t utter a word, but rather took out my phone and headphones. Quickly, I scrolled through my countless songs, and picked Breakeven, by The Script. The song had the ability to calm me down, something I needed desperately at the moment.

      “Hey,” someone said, tapping me on the shoulder. I slowly turned my head up to stare straight into Chase’s captivating eyes. He was in my homeroom, serving as the perfect example of an FML moment. F. My. Life.

      “Hi,” I said, taking out an earphone.

      “So, did you switch homerooms or something, because I’m one hundred percent sure that you weren’t here yesterday,” he said, as Aiden laughed, coming over to where the two of us were positioned.

      “Chase, do you remember Julia Tylers?” Aiden questioned, smirking evilly at me.

      “She was one of Emily Roberts’ friends or something, right?” Chase said, as I tried to laugh at his description of me. Chase always was smarter than he let on.

      “You’re looking at her,” Aiden dropped a bomb on Chase’s serene little world.

      “Julia?” Chase said as his eyes widened in recognition.

      “It’s Jules,” I gulped.

      “Wow! You’re back! You’re hot! Wow!” was all he managed to say.

      “I saw her first, so, dibs,” Aiden proclaimed territorially.

      “No, actually, I walked in with her; so, technically speaking, I saw, and hit on her, first,” Chase explained logically.

      “I’m a person, therefore, dibs doesn’t qualify for me,” I said, putting my earphone back in, music much more interesting than the two in front of me.

      “You’re really hot,” I could unfortunately hear Aiden say even with the tender notes of Breakeven blasting in my ears.

      “Look, I’ve been gone for two years, so I’m not entirely sure on the whole social hierarchy at the moment, but I’m guessing you two are your average jocks, am I right?” I snapped, pulling the small white buds out of my ears in annoyance.

      “Uh, I guess,” Chase said slowly, considering it.

      “Before I may have been one of those easy girls who was obsessed with Justin Bieber, the store Pink, boys, and saying OMG, but, now, I’m a little different,” I said, being sure to leave plenty of room for interpretation in my words.

      “Good; I need someone different,” Chase smirked.

      “Let me lay it out for the two of you: I am never going to go out with either of you. Besides, once you realize who I am now, you won’t want anything to do with me,” I trailed off distantly, my thoughts turning back to Josh yet again. 

      “Julia Tylers, I have a feeling we are going to be very good friends,” Chase smiled confidently.

      All of the sudden, I was wishing for that magic cloack once again as I heard, “Um, hey, are you, like, new?” from Taylor Kennings. Not remembering her ex best friend, classic Tay move!

      “No,” I smiled at the upcoming enjoyment that this entire day would bring.

      “Did you, like, um, switch, like, homerooms?” she fragmentally asked.

      “She’s new,” Aiden clarified somewhat faslely.

      “Have you two, like, already attacked her like vultures?” she accused, giving me a sympathetic smile.

      “Yes,” Chase said honestly.

      “Sorry about them,” she apologized.

      “No, they’ve been the perfect gentlemen they never were,” I said, wondering how long it would take to realize who she was talking to.

      “Oh, so, you, like, know them?” Taylor questioned, confused.

      “Taylor, I’d like you to meet your best friend,” Chase paused dramatically, “Julia Tylers.”