It was a snowy evening in early January, and fifteen year old Rose was walking home from her art class. Her mum was unable to pick her up, so she had decided to walk even though her art teacher had insisted on driving her home as she was sure there was going to be a storm.
Rose was not even half way home when the storm started and she was struggling along when she fell. She stood up quickly, but feel again in the snow a few steps later. She was cold, and wet and whished she had excepted her teacher's offer to take her home.
Suddenly, Rose felt someone's hand on her shoulder.
"Get off me" Rose yelled, slapping the hand.
A hand grabbed hers and she looked up to discover it was Lucas, a boy who had a crush on her in her class.
"Come with me. It's freezing out here and you have ages to walk to get home. If you stay out much longer you'll probably die of cold." Lucas said.
"I don't want to go anywhere with you." Rose shouted.
"I am not letting you freeze to death. You are comming with me. You need to get dry, at least." Lucas said, grabbing Rose by the hand and pulling her with him.
Rose rolled her eyes, but she had no choice but to follow.
She didn't like Lucas as he often embarresed her in class and always seemed to spend time with her. He had even sighned up to drama and cooking classes just to be with her.
Lucas led Rose to a large shed like building.
Inside was a cupboard, and fireplace and a huge pile of straw.
"This used to belong to Mr. Connerson and his family, but they left and I had saved up a lot of money, and I brought it off him and since then it's been a sort of club house of mine. Now, you need to take off that dress. You are soaked through. Here.... put this on." Lucas said, handing Rose a long soft sweater he had on a stool next to him.
"I don't need it." Rose said.
"You can't stay in that wet thing. Anyway, I don't need it. It's an extra one." Lucas smiled.
Rose sighed and took the sweater from him.
"You will need to take that dress off first. The sweater should come down to about your knees, it's rarther long on me and you are shorter so...." Lucas said.
Rose just stood there looking at Lucas.
"Go on and change. I won't look." Lucas said.
Rose blushed.
Lucas seeing her in her underwear was not something she wanted to think about.
She stepped behind the cupboard and slipped off her dress. Then she pulled the sweater on.
It came down to just above her knees. She blushed, feeling that she was a little under dressed.
"I'm done." she said, stepping out from behind the cupboard.
"You took your time. Now, let me take your dress. I'll hang it by the fire and it will soon dry. Are you alright in that. If your coat wasn't wet too, I would say to put that back on. If you sit by the fire you will soon feel warm." Lucas said.
Rose sat down on a pile of staw, as far away from Lucas as possible.
"Are you hungary?" Lucas asked, heading over to the cupboard, "I have a bottle of lemonade and some cookies and crackers."
"I don't want any of your food. You would probably try and poisen me." Rose said.
"I don't want you to starve when under my roof. Anyway, why would i try and poisen a friend." Lucas said.
"We aren't friends. You and I are enemies, remember. Anyway, you are always teasing me and embarresing me in class. Friends don't do that." Rose said, "But i'll take a cookie anyway, just so you'll shut up."
Lucas looked hurt and this made Rose even angrier.
"And you can wipe that silly look off your face. I don't want anything to do with you and you knew that." Rose said, taking a small bite out of the cookie.
"I just want to be friends. Come on, your friend Brianna, teases you a lot. She said that you had a crush on Mark and she made fun of you when you decided to die your hair with streaks of blue and red." Lucas said.
"We are friends so it doesn't count. Did you make these cookies?" Rose said.
"Yeah, I made them in cooking class, remeber. Didn't you make chocolate brownies in your group?" Lucas said.
"What I made has nothing to do with you. Anyway, these cookies are discusting." Rose said.
"Well, that's strange. Your friend, Jane, was in my group and you said you liked them. It was from the same mixture so they should taste exactly the same." Lucas grinned.
Rose sighed, and continued to eat the cookie.
"It's getting late. Want to phone your mum on my mobile? You can tell her where you are and that you are safe with your knight in shinning armour." Lucas smiled.
Rose rolled her eyes but she took the phone from Lucas and dialed in her home number. Her mum picked up the phone, after the first ring, and sounded really anxious.
Mum: Rose, is that you? Where are you?
Rose: It's stormy outside and Lucas found me. He brought me to his warm little shed house thingy and he thinks i should stay here until the storm dies down.
Mum: Good idea. But do you know this boy?
Rose: Sadly, I do know him.... yeah.... he's in my class.
Mum: Ok, love. Come back when the storm dies down.
Rose: Bye Mum
Mum: Bye
Rose put the phone down and sighed.
"Here's your phone back Lucas." Rose said.
Lucas took it and smiled. Rose found herself smiling back, but she quickly turned it into a frown.
"Well, it's getting late. Maybe we should get some sleep." Lucas said.
Lucas took a thick warm blue blanket from the cupboard and brought it over to the pile of staw.
"This should keep us warm." Lucas said.
"I'm not sleeping anywhere close to you." Rose said, looking shocked.
"You will have to if you want to keep warm. Don't worry, we don't have to be touching." Lucas said.
They lay down and pullled the thick warm blanket over them.
"Goodnight." Lucas said.
"This doesn't change anything." Rose said, sternly.
"I didn't think it would." Lucas said, with a sad sigh.
Rose couldn't beleive it. Her best friend Louissa had to go away for a month to visit some family members for some sort of celebration. It wasn't fair. While Louissa had a nice group of friends Rose never really bothered much with anyone else exept for Louissa as she loved the company of her best friend the most, What was she going to do for a whole month, at school, without her best friend?
It was Wednesday morning and Louissa had left on the Sunday before. Monday and Tuesday had been terriably hard at school for poor Rose as she had nobody special to talk to and nothing intresting to do so she had spent all her breaks in the libary or sittting under the tree in the playground drawing in her sketch book.
But by Wednesday Rose couldn't take it anymore. She wanted someone to talk to. She just wanted someone she could have as a friend... at least until Louissa got back.
That afternoon, on that sunny Wednesday, was science class. Mrs. Gold, the science teacher, made the whole class go outisde and walk to the nearby woods and find as many plants as they could and write down in their notebooks what they observed about each plant.
Rose looked around at boys and girls laughing and talking together as they walked down the path towards the woods. Rose walked alone, wishing she had someone to talk to.
When they arrived at the woods the students started their plant observing work alone or in mini groups. Of course Rose did her work alone as she had nobody to work with.
While working Rose felt as if someone was staring at her. She stopped writing and looked about her but she couldn't see anyone staring at her or watching her. She must have been imagining it. Rose turned back to the plant she was looking at and contined to write in her notebook. But she soon had that feeling that someone was staring at her again.
Rose looked behind her.
There a little behind Rose was Lucas.
Lucas gave Rose a small smile and Rose gave a slight nod of her head before quickly turning around again. She smiled to herself, then shook her head and started back on her work.
But into Rose's mind came a couple of thoughts.
Maybe Lucas could be her new friend, at least until Louissa got back.
Lucas had been nicer to her, and hadn't teased her as much since the inccident in the snow storm.
She had been so mean to him.... and ignored him so much.
Maybe she should give Lucas a chance.
Rose shook her head again, as if trying to get rid of the idea of befriending Lucas. He would think that she had a crush on him or something....
Rose tried to forget the plan but the feeling of being alone all the time won over and that Friday afternoon Rose decided she would try and make friends with Lucas.
After school let out that Friday, Rose followed Lucas as he left the school and headed down the road, with his friend Mark, towards home.
When they arrived at the zebra crossing Mark said goodbye to Lucas and crossed the road and Lucas continued down the road. Rose took this as her chance to walk a little faster and catch up with Lucas.
"Hiya Lucas." Rose called out.
Lucas stopped and looked behind him.
He looked shocked to see that it was Rose who had just called him.
"Oh, Hi Rose." Lucas said, looking confused.
Was Rose going to say something about the joke he had made in art class about her painting or was she going to say something about the spelling quiz that he had scored a higher mark for then her?
"I... errr... just wanting to congratulate you on the spelling quiz. Those were some pretty tough words." Rose said.
Lucas just looked at Rose with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Err... Thanks, I guess. You didn't do too bad yourself" Lucas said, uneasily, "Was there anything else you wanted to say?"
"Umm.. yes... My mum wants me to pick some apples from the orchard we share with my Aunt and Uncle... err... would you like to help me to pick some apples. It will be rarther hard for me to do it alone." Rose said, awkwardly.
Lucas hesitated and just looked at Rose for a couple of minutes before answering. Was this some trype of joke or revenge for what he had said in class or about teasing her in the past?
"Sure, but I won't be able to stay long. I know it's friday but I have a lot of work and chores to do." Lucas said.
Rose smiled.
"Great. Come on." Rose said, her heart beating away in her chest.
The two walked along in silence not knowing what to say to the other.
Rose couldn't bare this awkward silence so she quickly tried to think of something to say.
"You are doing quite well in school." Rose suddenly blurted out, then she blushed and looked down at the floor.
"So, are you." Lucas said.
Then the awkard silence started up again.
They soon arrived at Rose's house.
They went inside to put down their bags and get a quick snack then they headed out to the orchard which was behind the house.
Rose's aunt and uncle, who shared the orchard with them, lived next door and had started the orchard and on Rose's older brother's birthday they had given him a tree, and then it became a tradition that on a birhtday a tree was given to a child, either in Rose's family or to one of her cousins. The orchard was in a large field, which came with the houses and they had turned it into an orchard as they didn't know what else to do witht the land.
As the two picked, Rose tried to start up a conversation.
"Do you like school then? You are ever so good at your lessions." Rose said.
"You are not so bad yourself." Lucas said.
"You do far better than me. I'm terriable at maths, but you are great at it." Rose said, blusing again.
"I just like a challenge." Lucas said, as he reached out to pick a large red apple.
"That's why I like you so much, as a friend of course." Rose said.
Lucas looked at her with a confushed look on his face.
"Are you trying to befriend me as Louissa isn't here? You must be awful lonley without her." Lucas said, after a couple minutes of silence.
"I missed having a special someone to talk to." Rose said.
"And you think I'm special?" Lucas joked.
Rose blushed and looked down at the basket of appleas she was holding.
"Nobody really bothers about me much exept for Louissa... and you. You were the only person in the class i could think of that I'd even want as a friend and someone i could enjoy spending time with." Rose blushed, she couldn't beleive what she was actually saying to the boy she had been trying to ignore these past few months, " I'm really sorry for how i treated you and i am trually thankful for what you did in that snow storm last winter."
Lucas smiled, and then began to laugh heartily.
He put an arm around Rose and looked into her shinning eyes.
"Rose. From the day I met you i always wanted to be your friend, I won't be able to replace Louissa, but i'll be your friend... for as long as you want me." Lucas said.
Rose couldn't beleive how nice and friendly Lucas was being to her, and she found that she as blusng again.
Rose couldn't help what she did next.
She gave Lucas a big hug, and kissed him on the cheek.
Rose quickly stepped back and looked down at her hands.
"I'm sorry... i don't know what came over me." Rose said, embarressed.
Lucas just smiled and gave Rose a hug back.
"Oh Lucas, I don't deserve how nice and friendly you are to me." Rose said, after another moment or two of silence.
Lucas hugged her a little tighter and smiled.
"Rose, you deserve the best." Lucas said, his cheeks turning pink.
The two friends picked a couple more apples in silence then made their way back to Rose's house, witht he baskets.
When Lucas was leaving, Rose walked him to the front garden gate.
Lucas turned to Rose, before he left, and smiled at her.
"Would you like to go out with me, next Saturday?" Lucas asked.
Rose's cheeks turned pink and she smiled.
"I'd love to." Rose smiled, kissing her new friend on the cheek.
The Saturday soon arrived and Rose was feeling nervous.
She had talked to Lucas often that week at school and had even worked with him for a history assignment but she was not sure if this was just a friendly outing or a date. Rose had felt unconfortable that she had actually kissed Lucas, too. Her mum had seen from the kitchen window, and had become suspicous. She had asked Rose a couple of times if Lucas was her boyfriend and each time Rose had blushed and had said nothing. Maybe making friends with Lucas hadn't been the best idea now he thought she liked him, as in fancied him. Boys were so confusing.
Rose met Lucas in town, on the Satuday of their outing, and they first went to see a movie together at the cinema. After the movie Lucas took Rose to a nice restaurant and he refused to let her pay.
"I asked you to come out with me today, so I'll pay. Next time we meet up, you can pay if you want." Lucas smiled.
Rose blushed and smiled.
Maybe Lucas wasn't so bad after all.
"Where did you get so much money? I hardly get any pocket money, and you are pratically loaded." Rose said, surpised at how much the meal had cost.
"I have a weeked job and sometimes I do chores for my neighbors." Lucas explained, "I got out of my job today as I was comming out with you."
Rose smiled.
After they had finnished their meal Lucas ascorted Rose home. When they got to her gate he kissed Rose on the cheek and said he'd see her on Monday.
Beofre he left he turned around and gave Rose a hug, then he gave her his mobile number and told her to call him.
The two became better and better friends over the weeks and they met up often after school or on the weekend.
Lucas hadn't asked Rose to be his girlfriend so she had relaxed, but she hadn't noticed that Lucas was falling in love with her. She hadn't noticed his looks when he looked at her, or the way he sighed dreamily when she was around.
But Rose soon forgot about Lucas....
Louissa would be comming back soon.
"Hiya Rose." Lucas greeted one Friday morning.
"Oh, Hi Lucas." Rose replied, looking up from her notebook.
"Writing another story?" Lucas asked, sitting next to his friend.
"Umm... not really. Louissa is comming home today and I was trying to plan a little welcome home party or something. Would you like to come back to my house after school, with a couple of Louissa's friends, and stay for dinner? My mum has been cooking since Saturday." Rose asked, her new friend.
"I'd love to, Rose. But will our friendship end when Louissa comes back?" Lucas asked, looking a little worried.
Rose looked up into her friend's eyes and shook her head.
"You are one of the best friends I could ever have. Not as good as Louissa, but you mean a lot to me. Louissa will not get between you and me, I promise." Rose smiled.
Lucas smiled back.
Just then the school bell rang and Rose and Lucas jumped up and dashed to their first class of the day.
The day soon came to an end and Lucas walked home with Rose. The invites had been sent out to everyone else who was invited a couple of days before and many of them were able to come.
Rose had told Louissa to come round to her house when she was unpacked and Louissa was greatly surpised to see Rose, all her friends, and all the food. But she was a bit surpised ot see Lucas.
"Why is Lucas here? I thought you and him didn't get on?" Louissa asked. her friend.
"Oh, He's actually rarther nice. He's come round a couple of times and he's even taken me to the cinema twice. He's a lot of fun." Rose said.
"Remember that promise we made last summer? No boy will get between us. You won't break that promise will you." Louissa said.
Rose looked over to where Lucas stood talking to a couple of other boys.
"I promise." Rose said, but she felt uneasy. She couldn't really ignore Lucas again now like she had done before they had become friends, could she?!
Lucas didn't know what he had done to upset Rose.
Rose had been ignoring Lucas for the past two weeks. He would go over and talk to her but she would always turn her back and continue to talk to Louissa.
At one occasion, when Rose and Louissa were talking to a couple of new girls Lucas came over to them to ask Rose a question.
Rose had ignored Lucas and had turned back to her conversatation.
Lucas had started to walk off, feeling puzzled and confused, when he overheard what Rose said,
"That's Lucas" Rose explained to the new girls Louissa and her were talking too, "He's got a major crush on me. It's really very annoying."
The girls burst into laughter and hurried off to their next class.
As they ran off Rose looked back at Lucas and sighed sadly. She felt bad for saying what she had just said, but she didn't want to break her promise with Louissa.
Lucas watched the girls run off and sighed.
The weeks flew by and Rose had hardly spoken to Lucas. She felt really bad, and she relized that she liked him a lot, and not just as a friend but more than that. She had to do something.
The holidays were quickly arriving and Rose thought maybe it would be a good time to try and sort things out.
"Louissa, I need to talk to you about something." Rose said, one Friday afternoon, after school had ended for the holidays, while the two friends were in town doing some girly shopping.
"What is it Rose?" Louissa asked, picking up a pink shirt and then putting it back and picking up another shirt.
"You know I feel really bad about leaving Lucas out in the cold. He was really nice when you were away and we had a lot of fun together. I don't like ignoring him like this." Rose said.
"Don't be silly, Rose. He's just a boy. Anyway, you promised." Louissa said, "Look at this skirt, should I buy it?"
"Nice skirt Louissa" Rose said, but she wasn't really listening, she was still thinking about Lucas.
"You don't like it do you?" Louissa asked, putting the skirt back, "Nevermind, it's too expensive anyway."
Rose said nothing.
"Oh Rose, don't look so sad. It's not like you have a crush on him." Louissa said.
Rose blushed and didn't look at Louissa.
"You actually like him?" Louissa asked, shocked.
Rose nodded but said nothing.
"You made a promise." Louissa reminded her friend.
"Louissa, look. We can't go through life saying no boy will ever get between us. One day we'll fall in love and get married. You know that. I like Lucas, and I feel bad being mean to him and ignoring him like this." Rose said.
"It's ages until we'll be getting married, Rose. Anyway, you went through a long period of time ignoring Lucas." Louissa said, studying a sweater.
"I like him now and he's not as bad as I thought. Anyway, Louissa, i've seen you eying up John and you even flirted with him in sports class and you were super excited when you were partnered up with him in Science class. You even said you liked his drawing in art, and it looked a complete mess." Rose said.
"Oh, ok. You're right, as usual. You can contine being friends with Lucas. But you won't start ignoring me will you?" Louissa said.
"I wouldn't ignore you for anything. You are my best friend." Rose smiled.
The next moring Rose woke up earlier than usual and quickly ate her breakfast. Then she got dressed and hurried out the front door.
She made her way to Lucas's house and knocked on the front door.
Lucas opened the door, but when he saw Lucas he started to close the door again but Rose put her foot out and stopped the door from closing.
"Lucas, I need to talk to you." Rose said.
Lucas sighed and opened the door.
"Come in then, if you must." Lucas said, but he didn't look as if he wanted anything to do with Rose.
Rose entered the house and they went upstairs to Lucas's bedroom.
"What is it?" Lucas asked, after they were both sitting down on his bed.
"I'm really sorry for how I have been treating you these past few weeks." Rose said.
"You are?" Lucas asked, not looking convinced.
"Really. I'm really am sorry. I came to apolgise and I want to become friends with you again." Rose said.
"Have you fallen out with Louissa?" Lucas asked.
"Of course not. I really like you, and I'm sorry about being so mean to you." Rose said.
"You like me?" Lucas asked, looking confused.
"Yes, of course I do. Why else would I have gone out with you on those dates.... i mean...." Rose said, blushing.
"I have liked you since the first day I met you. I love you, Rose." Lucas said.
"You love me?" Rose asked, astonished.
"Of course I do. I want you to be my girlfriend." Lucas said.
"Oh, Lucas. Really? I'd love too." Rose exclaimed.
"What about your promise with Louissa?" Lucas asked.
"Oh, we ended the promise. She fancies John, herself. She just didn't want to loose me. Oh, Lucas. I love you." Rose said, kissing Lucas on the cheek.
Lucas looked into Rose's eyes and smiled, then his eyes flirted to her lips then back to her eyes, then again to her lips.
"May I?" Lucas asked, nervously.
Rose smiled and nodded.
Lucas leaned in slowly and kissed Rose lovingly on the lips.
"You know... this doesn't change anything." Rose joked, remebering back to that wintery day.
"I didn't think it would." Lucas smiled.
Rose and Lucas looked at each other and burst into laughter.
Then Lucas and Rose shared another kiss, before getting up and going downstairs.
"I have to go back home, Lucas. I have to help my mum with something. But do you want to do something this afternoon?" Rose asked.
"Would I ever turn down an outing with you?" Lucas asked, smiling.
Rose blushed, and kissed Lucas on the cheek.
"I'll see you late. I love you." Rose said, and then she turned and left.
Lucas watched her walk down the road and watched until he couldn't see her anymore.
He smiled to himself and went back into his house.
He was afraid that if he closed his eyes and opened them again he would discover it had all been a dream.
Lucas couldn't beleive it.... finally he had got the girl he had loved for ages.
THE BEGINNING :)
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