Someone once told me that second chances were like comets. It was spectacular, destined to be there at a certain time and place. It was difficult to see and difficult to come by. I always kept that thought close to my heart.

The wind brushed past my face, caressing the strands of my hair as I expertly weaved my motorcycle between the heavy volume of Los Angelos traffic.

I was exposed, outside of the confining box of a car. Cigarette smoke and car exhaust from the vehicles next to me drifted up my nose. The heat from the sun soaked my skin, comforting me like a warm blanket. In the moment, it was just myself and my thoughts.

I turned into the university parking lot, sliding my motorcycle smoothly into the first lot I laid my eyes on. Conveniently, it was directly in front of the school.

I shut off the ignition and slipped my leather gloves off, shoving it into the compartment under my seat.  My nose crinkled in slight disgust as I rubbed my clammy palms over my jeans and headed into the school. Thankfully, the law building was just next to the parking lot. Other students were not so fortunate.

I was greeted by the familiar sight of the dark marble tiles, polished white walls and the couches and tables that lined sides of the hall. I was glad the school never rearranged anything since orientation a couple months back.

The hall was bustling, full of students who were half asleep, dragging themselves and their twenty pound backpacks to their lectures.

It was a different scene than what I was used to in high school. I had spent the whole summer imagining what university would be like, but the only explanation I got was along the lines of 'I had to experience it myself to understand.' There were no familiar faces in the hall, and I liked it.

"You forgot the helmet, Thalia," a voice from behind caught my attention. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"That's unfortunate," my hands found their way to my head, and sure enough they brushed past the hard plastic of my motorcycle helmet. I slid it off my head, tucking it under my arm.

I turned around to face my best friend, Avery. Immediately, I recognized her long black hair and soft smile. Her cheeks were flushed, complementing her pink lips. We met way back when we started first grade. Our parents both enrolled us into a boarding school, one of the most prestigious apparently.

My parents were adamant that I stayed home for university and Avery decided to stay with me. I was surprised we'd both managed to make it into the same competitive faculty.

"Do I have helmet hair?" I asked her as I ran my hand over my dark hair. She shook her head in response, suppressing a smile. Avery was usually painfully honest, but even if she lied this once to make me feel better, I couldn't do anything about my hair now.

"You look amazing as always," she said as she glanced at her watch. "We still have time, wanna get coffee?"

I gasped as a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist. When Avery rolled her eyes, I knew who it was.

"Hey babe," it was my boyfriend, Hunter. "You never called to tell me you came."

I turned around to face him and was greeted with the familiar sight of his neatly combed blond hair. He had dressed up today, sporting a white collared shirt and a pair of khaki shorts.

"I didn't think there was a point. Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be in the Business building?" I asked. Hunter's eyes drifted to my helmet that I had tucked under my arms. I shifted uncomfortably when his gaze hardened. I only took my bike to school since I thought I wouldn't be seeing Hunter.

"You were on the motorcycle again weren't you?" his expression turned sour. "Don't lie."

I stayed silent, but there was no way I could come up with an excuse. From the two months we'd been dating, I knew Hunter hated it when I rode on my motorcycle, much like how he hated it when I put my hair up rather than leaving it down.

My mom had played matchmaker between Hunter and I, and I didn't blame her for taking a liking onto him. He was attractive, smart, a couple years older and of course, wealthy enough for her to accept him. Hunter's parents were old money. My mom always wanted to make sure whoever I dated was on the same level she was — no matter how stuck up it was.

It was irritating how she didn't treat my brother the same. He was only eleven months younger than me, and yet he had complete freedom. My mom wasn't inviting girls over for him to meet in every event my parents hosted.

Avery grabbed ahold of my arm, "Lay off, it's not even a big deal." She glared at Hunter.

"This doesn't involve you," Hunter returned her piercing glare. He turned his attention back to me and I felt myself shrink. "My wife won't be riding on any motorcycle, I thought I'd told you that many times."

Over a dozen times to be exact. I thought. I was willing to leave my hair down as one of Hunter's many demands, but I couldn't bring myself to give up riding.

"I know, and I'm sorry," my voice sounded small. I  trained my eyes on the marble tiles, not able to bring myself to meet his. My stomach plummeted, I didn't like disappointing Hunter, but it seemed like it was all I did.

"You don't act like it," he shot back.

"Thalia's already apologized, what more do you want?" I heard Avery say next to me.

"Fine, I have to get to class anyway," Hunter grumbled. I glanced up at him to see an annoyed, tight-lipped expression trained on me before he turned and walked off. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"Why are you with this guy again?" Avery sighed when I met her eyes.

I shrugged, gnawing at my lip, "He's usually not like this. And besides, my mom wants us to get married one day."

"To that idiot?" Avery sounded incredulous. "She could have picked anyone. Literally anyone else."

"What? No, I like him," I came to Hunter's defence. "You just haven't properly met him, he's got many amazing qualities."

"Yes, and respect isn't one of them," she grimaced.

"Come on, let's go get our coffee," I tugged on Avery's arm as we began making our way to the school's coffee shop. I dropped the subject, knowing that Hunter was one the only things Avery and I could not agree on. She seemed to take a hard dislike to him right when they met and I didn't see a reason to it.

Hunter was a great guy, like my mom also believed. He could be amazing when he wanted to be, surprising me with flowers and taking me out on picnic dates. He did like to spend most of his time with me, but that was just how he was. My dad had no opinion on him, as with any guy I've ever been with. Avery just needed to get to know him better.

"You are coming to my birthday celebration my parents are hosting, right?" I asked Avery as we settled into the line. As expected, it was a long line for coffee.

"Yeah, and my parents are too," she responded, her eyes scanning the menu. "Let me guess, anyone who is anyone is also coming."

"My mom wouldn't have it any other way," I sighed.

"Maybe... just a wild thought... we should go to the beach for your 19th birthday. Malibu or something," Avery's eyes glistened in excitement. I on the other hand was less than excited.

"Nope," I said shortly.

"Oh come on, I can teach you how to surf, I've been dying to take you!" She begged, her lower lip formed a small pour. "I've been begging for years."

I felt a small sliver of guilt. Avery had been begging me ever since we turned 16 and got our license. She'd always wanted to surf with me, and I always turned it down. I didn't know why, but the ocean freaked me out. Maybe it was the mystery of it all, how barely any of it had even been explored. Maybe it was the sharks, who knew.

I pondered for a moment, "Okay, fine, but that's a hard maybe. We'll go after my birthday, or something."

Avery shrugged, "I'll take it."

We both got our fill of caffeine before we split up to get to our respective classes. I fished out the school pamphlet I had stashed in the back pocket of my jeans. In it was a map of the school, which I desperately needed to find my lecture.

The halls were quiet as I made my way down them, with a couple students here and there rushing to their own class, or taking a nap on the couches and tables. I couldn't blame them, even with coffee I felt like I needed a nap too. I frowned, it was just the first day and I was already exhausted. And to think I had another three years of school.

I made it to my lecture earlier than I thought I would. It was supposed to be a small class, able to sit about fifty students.

I glanced around at the vacant classroom, the rows of tables were lined neatly in the class, and a smart board at the front. The professor was nowhere to be seen just yet. Two guys who stood by the door — one who's back was turned towards me. I rolled my eyes. Of all places, they had to stand right by the door.

I shimmied around them to get to a desk near the center of the lecture hall, but stopped short in my tracks when I heard a boisterous laugh from behind.

A man's laugh that I would recognize anywhere.

Much to my dismay, my heart skipped a beat from the sound of it. But not a second later, my blood began to boil. It was that same infuriating, rambunctious laugh that once had me weak in the knees.

I spun around, "You!"

He turned around, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. In a split second, his eyes lit up in recognition. But by then, my fist had already connected with his jaw.

★★★

𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟!! 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎!

𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠? 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛... 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚??

𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒!

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡