Tyra's POV

Why did I think it was a good idea to ride the bus?

Because someone was too lazy to drive, my inner consciousness taunted.

Ah that's true, I shrug to myself as I continue my trek towards Austen's home after getting down from the bus. Being the posh area, the nearest bus stand was almost a block away. And being the first week of August, the sun was shining way too brightly and making it way hotter than usual, especially for someone walking almost a block away.

Well if you are wondering why I am going there and not to Maggie's as decided, well -

Flashback Start -

The last bell for the day rang and for once I was happy, since I didn't have to go back to the empty home yet.

After putting my books away in the locker, I searched for Violet and it wasn't difficult to spot her. She was sweet but the royal aura she dissipated was enough for people to keep away from especially since she was dating the football captain.

"So what's the plan" I ask her when I reach her.

"Well we are meeting at Austen's by like 5-ish, so you can come directly there" Violet answered while my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I thought we were going immediately after" I ask as that's what Hayden told me during the computer class.

"We usually do but this time we got some lessons to teach Cara" Tristan adds on and I see the rest of the gang has arrived as well.

"To everyone that helped Veronica at that party" Ryan clarifies for my benefit.

"It needs to be reinstated you cannot mess with any one of us, be it jock or cheerleader" Violet replies firmly with a determined glint in her eyes.

"Okaay just don't do something that will get you in trouble" I put out my inner turmoil that was growing ever since they said about teaching a lesson, after all they were on school grounds.

A burst of laughter erupts from everyone while Austen has a small smile making its way.

"We are not a bunch of violent hooligans, contrary to what you think princess" Austen remarks with a smirk.

"Yeah we might have the muscle , but we play smart" Hunter adds, which kind of relaxes me.

Flashback end -

And that was the last I spoke to them before Violet messaged to let me know they had left school and will be reaching soon, that was my cue to reach as well.

By the time I reach the gates of Austen's property, I am a sweltering mess. But it's only when I reach the gates, that I release - Damn! Who will let me in!

I immediately dial Angel's number, but it keeps ringing and she doesn't pick up. I try twice again but my attempts go in vain. Next I try Violet's number, but she doesn't pick up as well.

On the other hand, as the minutes trick by, I could feel the heat of the sun taking its toll on me, and before I could do something else, darkness envelops my vision and a wave of dizziness hits.

I try to grab onto something to stabilize myself, but misjudge the distance and end up going full throttle towards the ground,

But alas! The ground wouldn't be so lucky to meet my behind today, as a pair of arms break my fall.

A pair of strong arms, my brain registers a few seconds later.

"Still falling for me Princess" a deep voice teases me, and I look at my saviour to find the blue eyed brunette that's been invading my thoughts a lot nowadays. Unlike at school, his face is much more relaxed, but still difficult to read.

He helps me stand straight, but my feet wobble a little as the effect of heat stroke is still there.

"Damn! How long were you standing here" he almost scolds me, as all teasing goes out the window,

"I.."

"Let's go inside" he interrupts me and doesn't let me continue, before pulling me along with me towards his house.

"Thanks..." I go to say to Austen as soon as I plomp down on the sofa, but my thanks is stopped midway as I see Austen disappear somewhere.

I don't pay much heed to that, as I focus on cooling myself down and only hope for a cool drink to quench my thirst.

It is soon fulfilled when a servant appears with a jug full of lemonade. I immediately grab like a person in desert and before I can drown myself in it,

"Careful, take small sips or you will choke yourself" Austen's voice rings throughout the living room and I see him appear again with a tablet in his hands.

I nod and start taking small sips and as the cool liquid enters my mouth, I immediately start feeling refreshed. All invested with the drink in my hand, I too belatedly realised that Austen had made his way towards me and was standing in front of me.

"You right hand" he just commands

"What?" I sputter out in confusion

"R-i-g-h-t h-a-n-d '' he says slowly as if talking to a young child which he knows would infuriate me. He succeeded as I gave him my hand without any questions.

He takes my hand and places it on the screen, the tingling sparks back in action.

"Left hand" he asks next and I give in with no questions asked.

"Cool. The rest of them will be arriving soon, you can freshen up in Angel's room" that's all he says once he is done, before he leaves the room with his iPad.

I was so distracted by the warmth of his hands that I didn't realise what he was doing.

Austen - Ever Protective - Marks had just given me unrestricted access to his home.

...

The rest of the evening was definitely way less interesting than how it started. I was still reeling from the fact that Austen had given me unlimited access, something only his closest friends had.

So did that mean he considered me a close friend too? I wondered.

Do you even want to be in the friend zone, my inner conscious taunts me, cue my mental eye roll.

"So what did the principal want today?" Violet asks, breaking me from my inner reverie. We were currently seated at Maggie's café, with food overflowing on our table while we waited for the boy's to start their performance.

Ever since Austen's birthday, the guys had started jamming together, although this would be their first performance together, just like old times - Violet's words not mine. I could see every member of the group had a little extra light in their eyes, as if there had been a dark cloud hovering over them before. And honestly speaking, after listening so much about them, I too was looking forward to seeing them perform.

Them or a particular blue eyed brunette boy? My inner conscience taunted me yet again.

"The principal wanted to inform me about the decathlon qualifiers coming at the end of the month" I answered with a grimace. Don't get me wrong, I loved them but such short notices left a sour taste in my mouth, especially when my team wasn't that strong.

"Oh! That's too soon" Hayden commented while plopping a few fries in his mouth, he was too tone deaf to help anywhere in the performance, so here he was, helping his stomach.

"You know, I still don't understand why you guys don't participate. You both are naturals" I say praising them in hopes they join the team.

"Is the team really so bad that you have to come down to flattery?" Hayden remarks while raising his eyebrow in inquisition.

"Ahhh!" I growl out in frustration and bang my head on the table for having been caught. I could hear Hayden, Angel and Violet laughing at my predicament.

"Seriously guys! It's not like they are bad...."

"It's just you are too good and not don't want to drag the weight of the whole team." Hayden completes for me.

"Yes! It's like my years of hard work could go down the drain because of someone else's mistake" I grumble out.

"We understand Tyra. After all, the majority of us do play team sports" Violet sympathizes with me and she did have a point. Be it cheerleading, football or basketball, they had to rely on others to their job well too.

Our conversation halted with a bad screeching of the microphone.

"Sorry for that!" Tristan apologies sheepishly and we all laugh. The cafe had been busy in the evening and with expectation of performance, lots of people had extended their visit.

"Hey Guys! We are the Fantastic Four and we are going to entertain you for the rest of the evening" Austen says on the mike, introducing them with a lazy grin that screamed confidence. And with s slow strumming of the guitar they start their first song-

"I've been reading books of old

The legends and the myths..."

I could instantly recognize the song, it was Something Like this by Coldplay and Chainsmokers. One could easily see how everyone on stage was enjoying themselves and that made their performance even more relaxing and calming. As my eyes made a sweep of the room, I could see the customers enjoying themselves. Before my eyes landed on the blue eyed brunette, to see that his gaze was already on me.

I wanted to go ahead with my sweep, move on to another person, but his intense gaze just held me. I couldn't bring myself to look away and he kept me piercing with his gaze as he sang the chorus.

I wanted to delude myself and think that maybe, just maybe Austen too had some sort of feeling for me but I knew I would just be kidding myself. Although despite the rocky start, he did consider me a friend now and was much more friendly, but I knew it would be foolish to hope anything could happen more than. My crush for him didn't end with the end of the summer like I had hoped. It was growing into something more everyday without knowing how he felt or where he stood.

Hence for now, I would just have to be content with looking from afar...

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Author's Note - Double Update! Yay!

Anyways I have made a rough plot outline and based on that I have 18 more chapters to go before The End.! I think I might go way over that, depending how each chapter spreads out. It will be fun to see how after 5 chapters, I might say I still have 15 more to go. XD

Until the next time! Do Comment, Vote & Share!