Chapter Two - "You're Going To Need Ice For That."
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[ thank you noctuaries for the beautiful cover, this chapter is dedicated to you ]
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Avery's P.O.V

"Oh my god, is that the long lost Avery Leighton?" I hear someone say behind me and I turn around, looking at the blonde standing in front of me. I smile and attack Emma into a hug.

"Oh I've missed you so much!" I say and Emma smiles, pulling away from me.

I take a quick look at Emma and notice that her blonde hair is still as bright as ever and her green eyes are still so beautiful. Emma is wearing a tight pink floral dress and pink flats.

I guess she still loves the colour pink.

"Same here." Emma says and I grin at her, nudging her rib with my elbow.

"So, my brother, eh?" I tease and Emma blushes, looking down at the floor. I find myself chuckling at this.

"Yeah. He is one boy though." Emma says, smiling up at me and I shrug, my eyes closing for a second before opening.

"Thats when he wants to be though. He is a pain in the ass for me but what do you expect? Brothers will be brothers." I say and Emma nods.

"That is true." Emma says and I feel someone tap my shoulder. I turn around to see Sarah smiling at me. I feel a lump rise in my throat when I see Sarah. I don't know why but something about her just triggered something for me.

That's because she reminds you of Logan, dumbass, my brain scolds and I mentally roll my eyes. I smile at Sarah and bring her into a hug.

"Hey Sarah, how have you been?" I ask and Sarah shrugs.

"I've been good." Sarah mumbles and I frown, pulling away from her.

"You say that like everything has been bad." I say and Sarah sighs. I notice large bags under her eyes and I can't help but feel pity towards Sarah.

"Well, it's not everyday you get handed a baby who just wants his mother. Honestly, I never thought I would be babysitting my son's child everyday." Sarah says and my eyebrows raise in question but my heart clenched at Sarah's words.

"Honestly, I never thought I would be babysitting my son's child everyday."

Is she talking about Logan? Oh what am I saying, of course she is talking about him. Why isn't he looking after his son? Where the hell is Katie?

"Sarah, you need to talk to the two of them. Its not your child and I can tell you haven't slept in days because you have been looking after the kid..." I trail off and Sarah frowns, rubbing her forehead.

"Is it really that noticeable?" Sarah asks and I nod, frowning at her.

"Why aren't the boys helping?" I ask, referring to Asher, Jake and Jack. Sarah shakes her head.

"They are too busy being... well, boys I guess. I don't know why Katie can't look after her own child though and I don't see why she can't get help from her own parents. It's very exhausting, Avery." Sarah sighs and I nod.

"Its stupid if you ask me. So where is the kid now?" I say and Sarah sighs.

"At my house with Elena. I dont know why but Elena has a thing for three year old boys. Lucky Drew is sleeping though otherwise I wouldn't want to know what she is doing with him." Sarah chuckles and I smile.

Drew. What a nice name.

"Elena is such a weird one." I say and Sarah nods in agreement.

Suddenly, I hear a certain voice which makes me turn around, my eyes wondering for her.

"Claire!" I shout out and almost immediately, I see Claire running towards me, attacking me into a hug. I laugh and hug my best friend back. I see Henry smiling at me and I return the smile.

"You don't know how much I've missed you." Claire says, pulling away from me and I chuckle. Henry stands next to Claire and nods.

"She talks about you all the time." Henry says and I smile at Claire to see her grinning at me like she isn't ashamed.

That's Claire for you.

"Where's the child?" Claire asks and I sigh.

"She is with a babysitter. I would've brought her with me but she doesn't like being around strangers." I say and Claire nods in understanding.

Suddenly, we hear someone speak and we all turn our attention to the principle that is standing on the stage. "Hello parents and ex-students. I know you have all been waiting an hour or so for your children or relatives to come up on the stage and finally, we have everything sorted. Please take a seat and I will be back shortly." The principle says and I roll my eyes.

Claire, Henry and my parents follow me to the chairs. We luckily made it to the front row so I'm guessing I'll hear my father yell out a few words to Joshua even though we are the closest to the stage.

When the principle comes back, he starts calling out a few names and their plans for the years ahead and the boys and girls with long gowns and hats on walk on stage. When the principle calls Joshua's name though, my parents, Claire and I cheer and whistle, earning a chuckle from Joshua.

When the principle finished, some of the kids say a speech and we all listen to them which open ears. I sigh when I remember that I couldn't graduate because I left this place to go to Australia. I missed out on these beautiful and inspiring speeches and I also missed out on graduating with my best friend.

When the graduates finish, the kids all cheer and throw their hats away to the audience.

And let me just say, I've never seen my mom jump up so fast for a hat.

I see Joshua making his way towards us and I run up to him, knocking him down as I hug him. "Your finally a big boy!" I squeal and Joshua rolls his eyes.

"I've always been a big boy."

"Not everything about you is classified as big though." I hear Claire say behind me and I burst out laughing. Henry looks at Claire with a confused look and so does my parents.

"Wait... am I missing something?" Henry asks and Claire rolls her eyes.

"Come on guys, I was only joking." Claire says and my parents and Henry nod, the confusion washing off their faces but Joshua on the other hand is frowning.

"That was a terrible joke." Joshua says and Claire shrugs. I wipe away the tears from the corner of my eyes and pat Joshua on the shoulder.

"By the way Joshua, unless it's grown from the last time I walked in the bathroom and saw... that, then Claire's joke is in fact true." I wink and Joshua groans, rubbing his hands down his face.

"Please don't remind me." Joshua says and I chuckle. My mom hugs Joshua and so does my father. When they finish hugging him for about ten thousand years, a person behind Joshua hugs him from the back.

Joshua turns around and smiles when he sees the blonde smiling up at him. I don't know how Emma is shorter than my brother since she is like the height of a basketball player (not literally) but I guess it works.

"Congratulations, Josh." Emma says and I immediately turn, feeling that if I was watching I would see my brother sucking face with Emma. Claire groans and obviously my thoughts are correct.

"Excuse me but I would like to borrow my sister." My eyes widen at the voice and I slowly turn around to see none other than the boy who stole my heart than crushed it into a million pieces.

My first love.

My first heartbreak.

My first everything...

Suddenly, a conversation Logan and I had from three years ago when I tripped him over in the race popped into my mind.

"Have you ever been in love?" Logan asks and a small smile appears on my lips.

"Nope." I say, smiling happily. I'm glad I haven't fell in love with a boy. I mean, whats the point? At the end, your going to get hurt... always. It's not a theory, it's a statement. No matter what happens, you always get hurt. That's why I'm glad I haven't fell in love with a boy.

Well, wasn't I right about that? As much as you want to believe someone when they say that they won't hurt you, in the end, you will always get hurt even if they never meant it in the first place.

I try not to look at Logan but I can't help but raise my head. He has grown into a handsome man, I think to myself as I feel myself getting lost in his looks. His distinct cheekbones and sharp jaw somehow make my stomach clench; he is fucking gorgeous! His chocolate brown hair is chaotic but I felt like it added to his sexy look. He is wearing loose dark blue jeans and a black long-sleeved button down shirt which stuck to him like glue.

I shake my head and look down at the floor.

He broke you, Avery. You have to hate him. He hasn't even looked at you and he is already driving you insane. You have to stay away from him, my brain reminds me and I sigh.

Is it bad to say that I miss him?

"Avery, your going pale." I hear Claire say and I look at my best friend.

"I'm just sick." I say and Claire frowns at me. In the corner of my eyes, I can see Logan looking at me, his eyes piercing into my skin.

"I'll see you later Emma." Joshua says and I watch as Logan drags Emma off with him. I bite my lip and turn around.

"I'm going to go. I... I will call you later." I say to Claire and she nods, patting my shoulder.

"I don't blame you, Ave. Go home to River and just rest your mind." Claire says and I nod. I give her one last hug and start walking out of the gymnasium that brings so many memories back into my head.

"She's lying, Avery. She's lying." Claire says, her face turning to concern and Claire looks up at Logan.

"She's lying, right?" Claire asks Logan and with the little strength I have, I look up at Logan.

"Is she?" I ask and Logan looks at Katie before looking at me. He grabs my face and crouches down to my height.

"She spiked my drink and took advantage of me, Avery but this doesn't change anything! I love you and only you!" Logan says, tears in his eyes but I push him away.

"You fucking piece of shit!" Claire screams, hitting his chest and I step back from everyone, leaning against the wall to hold myself up.

"Stupid Logan. Stupid Katie. Stupid... ugh!" I groan, punching the door.

"You're going to need ice for that."

"No fucking shit-" I stop my sentence and hold my breath. All the pain in my fist goes away but only for a second.

Logan?

I turn around and see Logan smiling at me.

"Hello sunshine."

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Hello people! What do you think of the second chapter? I'm sorry that I left it at this but I am honestly so sorry... I just have a lot of things that I have to sort out.

Please vote and comment.

Lofd - "You make me glow but I cover up, won't let it show. So I'm putting my defenses up cause I don't want to fall in love. If I ever did that I think I'd have a heart attack."

-XmysterysmileX