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Lavender's pov

Memories from my past flashed in my mind, a 14-year-old girl dressed in her dance leotard, beside her was a trophy she recently won for her solo dance and behind her was her baby sister, who was sleeping in the baby's car seat.

"I've told you, Lavi. Your solo dance would win the first place," my father said proudly.

He continued with a wide grin. "Amy, our little girl was a star on that stage." I giggled at my father's excitement.

"Dad, without our last-minute training, I wouldn't have won tonight," I told my father. He looked at me through the rearview mirror. His blue eyes glinted with happiness.

He held my mother's hand in his and kissed her hand. A smile filled with love and adoration crept on his face. "Thanks for bringing my two stars in the world." He mumbled.

A bright light flashed in my eyes, and the last thing I heard was screams filled with pain.

My eyes shot open, my body was sweaty like I ran in a marathon. It was the same nightmare. I covered my face with my palms and sighed.

I haven't had this dream for a year; I bit my lower lip. I might go back to therapy again if I continued having the same dream.

My room was still dark, which meant it was past midnight. I extended my arm. Reaching the nightstand, I grabbed my phone.

I opened the phone and the dim screen lit my room slightly; I checked the time, and it read 3 am. I groaned and turned on my side. 

I only slept 3 hours till that nightmare took my peaceful sleep away. I got out of my bed and sat on the swing chair. Soft knocks on my room's door brought me back to reality as I zoned it.

My mother peeped her head inside the room, she turned the light on and saw me sitting in the chair. She entered the room with a worried face.

 "I heard you screaming, was it the same nightmare?" my mother asked me with a worried tone.

I nodded in agreement. She pulled the desk chair over and sat in front of me. She took my hands in hers and rubbed them, bringing comfort to me. "It wasn't your fault, Lavi. You could've never predicted the future." Her hazel eyes looked over at me, she cupped my face with her hand and I nodded.

I knitted my eyebrows together. Fresh air was what I needed to think freely. "Um…"

"…Can I go for a walk to clear my mind," I asked her, hoping for her agreement.

She looked at the window and pressed her lips together, not sure about me leaving. "It's too early to leave you to walk alone." She glanced over at me.

"Please," I begged, giving her my puppy eyes. Her face softened, and she sighed.

"Fine, you can go for a walk but take the pepper spray with you." She said with a strict tone. 

I rolled my eyes, which made her glare at me. "Mom, I can defend myself without the pepper spray, but fine, I will take it." I let out a nervous laugh.

She patted my head after getting up. "Don't be late." She said as she walked towards the door.

I got up and made my way to the closet. After five minutes of searching for my father's hoodie. I found the sweater at the end of the closet, then I got a pair of black sweatpants. I dressed up quickly and raised my hair in a messy bun; I wore my running shoes and walked out of the house.

The cold air hit my face as I stood in our front yard. I slid my hands in my pockets and I walked to the nearest park. 

A few minutes later, I reached the park and sat on a bench. I looked at my surroundings, enjoying the silence. 

I floated in my mind space; I was the reason for my father's death. We could have stayed at the hotel and drove in the morning, but I wanted to go home and see the surprise he prepared for me.

The dream always starts with us having a chat, then we crash with another car. I wake up in the hospital, surrounded by people I never saw before. The only thing I remember about them was their disappointment after not recognizing them.

"Why can't I remember anything?" I asked myself.

A dog's bark pulled me back to reality. I turned my head, looking for the dog. I saw a golden retriever running after a stray cat, followed by the dog's owner.

"Winnie, come back!" The boy said. He stopped and bent down, trying to catch his breath.

 "My mother will kill me if I lose you again." he groaned. 

"You should get a dog whistle," I said with a loud voice, grabbing his attention.

"Thanks for the advice, but she will come back by herself, I think." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

 Moments later, Winnie returned with a stick in her mouth.

"See, I told you she will come back." he petted Winnie. He walked to the bench and sat beside me. 

"I'm Dustin, and you are?" He extended his arm, I looked at him hesitantly.

I shook his hand, and he smiled. "I'm Lavender," I answered, smiling back at him.

"So, what makes a young lady go for a walk by herself in this hour?"

"I needed fresh air," I answered, then looked at the dog.

"And let me guess your mother forced you to take Winnie for a walk," I said as I petted her.

"That's correct, you should be the next Sherlock Holmes," He said sarcastically, and I chuckled.

He pressed his lips and continued. "I'm your new neighbor also, your mother already greeted us yesterday."

"so, you are the new student," I asked him suspiciously. He nodded in agreement. I focused on his features.

He had a pair of hazel eyes, medium-length brown hair, and a sharp squared jaw-line. Luna didn't lie about the good-looking student.

"I know that I'm handsome but staring isn't nice Lav." He chuckled. 

I forgot to mention his British accent.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Are you the owner of the café near the school?" He asked.

"Uh…Yeah, it's called Sweetbrew," I answered, confused by his sudden question.

"I passed by yesterday and asked a guy named Timothy about the job offer, but he said that the owner didn't want young boys." He said, quoting with his fingers on young boys.

 I chuckled, and he knitted his eyebrows together, probably confused.

The thing was Timothy didn't like teenage boys as they would be distracted by flirting with the customers or their co-workers. But I could really benefit from extra workers as I lacked from them.

"Come by after school and I'll see what I can do," I said.

He nodded his head, then turned around his head, studying the surrounding place. The sound of an owl made him snap his head towards the forest path. Winnie barked and walked towards the sound.

He got up and whistled. "Come on, Winnie. We are leaving."

"How about we go back?" He offered, then continued. "School starts in three hours and you might need a nap till then." I didn't realize an hour passed by till now.

"Alright, let's go." I stood up and shook my legs as they were numb from sitting for a long time. 

Dustin whistled for Winnie, and she ran back to him, wiggling her tail happily. We left the park, and I was settled with ten minutes of Dustin's jokes and funny stories.

He was that funny person, everyone wanted to hang out with him.

"So, Lav, are we friends now? I need a company in this new town and we are neighbors." He said with a hopeful smile.

He looked like a friendly person, and he really wanted people to hang out with. So why not be his friend?

"Sure, we are friends now. And this means you are stuck with me." I giggled. 

"See you in school then." He winked and left with Winnie towards his house.

I entered the house, welcomed by the peaceful silence. I threw myself on the couch and fell asleep.

...........................

I stood in the hallway with Ruby, waiting for Luna. Ruby had been talking about a stupid show from the moment I picked her up, and it was giving me a headache.

I'm going to kill myself or her, whatever makes her silent works for me. My thoughts got cut by a voice.

"Good morning, Lav." I recognized the voice as Dustin's as he was the only one with a British accent in school.

I turned to face him with a smile. "Good morning, Dustin."

"You are friends with that guy." Ruby pointed at him. I felt the tension building up between them. 

I wonder what happened?

They were glaring at each other, making me uncomfortable. I cleared my throat and spoke. "So, you met one of the new students yesterday." 

Lavender, are you stupid? She clearly met him yesterday, idiot, or how she will know him. 

She glared at him. "Yeah, that idiot is my partner in cooking class and he ruined our cake." She crossed her arms together.

"You are the one who ruined it with extra frosting and sprinkles." Dustin defended himself.

I cut both of them before Ruby started some action. "Isn't it weird for a boy to attend a cooking class?" I asked him.

He fixed his glasses as blood spread around his cheeks, making him blush. "It was cooking or acting, and I have terrible memories on stage," He mumbled.

Aww, I felt bad for asking, he must be embarrassed.

"I know how to cook and bake, unlike this amateur." He pointed at Ruby, who gasped at him.

"Amateur?!" She exclaimed. 

I slid my arm around her shoulder and tried to brush what he said off by changing the subject. "Well, Ruby, he will hang with us, so you two have to make up at some point." 

Damn, I feel like a mother disciplining her children's behavior and making them accept each other.

I saw Luna approaching us. She waved at me with a smile. Finally, I was saved.

"Hi, Dustin," Luna said, welcoming our fourth wheel.

"Hello Luna, see Ruby, your friends are nice and welcoming. Hope you learn from them." He faked a smile while Ruby continued glaring at him. 

The bell rang, making us go to our classes and I walked to my first period of the day, child development.

I entered the class and sat at the last desk underneath the window. Later, Mrs. Simmons entered the class.

"Welcome to child development class, we will start with partnering up with your classmates for this year's project." Mrs. Simmons said, then she started calling names, and I heard mine. I was partnered with Charles McCarty. 

This is great, actually. Finally, a nice partner.

Charles took a seat beside me. "Hello, partner." He smiled.

"Hi, Charles." I replied, "Is this your first year in child development?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah, I enrolled in this class to help my older sister with her baby." He clarified.

Mrs. Simmons declared the project and guess what? It was the baby project. 

You get assigned with your partner to take care of the baby so you feed it, change their nappies, and you get a full grade. It wasn't this hard. 

"So, you know how to take care of a baby?" Charles asked, I chuckled, knowing that he knew nothing about taking care of a baby.

"Don't worry, I will help you with the project." I comforted him and he sighed with relief. 

We took our robot baby and Charles decided that she is a girl, so I let him name her. The robot baby goes by sienna now.

"Can she stay with me after school?" He asked. I nodded at him and he smiled happily.

He will regret it later. I mentally laughed.

"See you after school in the parking lot," I said, and he nodded.

He threw the bag on his chair and headed to his next class with Jaxon.

The weird thing was Jaxon, looking at me then turning his head away as soon as I noticed.

Time passed fast, and it was lunchtime, Dustin sat with us and made fun of the robot baby with Ruby, I glared at them. They agreed on making fun of me and fought over cake frosting. They were a different breed of humans.

"So, who is the baby daddy?" Dustin asked with an amused look. 

"Charles McCarty." 

Luna stopped eating her pizza and giggled. "I didn't believe him when he told me about the child development class."

"He is a terrible father already; he is leaving our friend to raise the baby alone." Dustin said dramatically, "Dude, you are exaggerating." Ruby told him while eating her fries. 

"Lulu, these two are too much to handle." I pointed at both Dustin and Ruby. 

"Why do those girls keep looking at us every second?" Dustin asked, annoyed by them; I looked at where he was looking and saw a bunch of cheerleaders and their minions, pointing at him and giggling.

"Because you are sitting with us," Luna answered, then continued eating her pizza.

"They can take him." Ruby patted Dustin's shoulder.

He put his hand on his heart. "I'm hurt, I thought we are on good terms now." Ruby gave him a dirty look and continued eating her lunch.

Luna leaned on me and whispered. "They'll be a couple in the future." 

"I agree," I whispered back and both of us giggled, earning questionable looks from both of them.

"I really do enjoy your company, but you need more guy friends." Ruby declared. 

"Yeah, whatever." He rolled his eyes at her. We finished our food and headed to the lockers to get books for the next period.

Few hours left and we leave this hell.

......................................

Fast forward through the day. Charles forgot to meet me at the parking lot, so I went to the café and told him to meet me there as my shift was about to start.

I interviewed Dustin and turned out that he had a good experience as he worked in a café before, so I hired him after convincing Tim. Luna and Ruby were helping me today for a few hours.

"Look who is here, the baby daddy," Dustin said with an amused tone.

I'm going to rip his throat. I had enough teasing for the day.

When Dustin and Ruby noticed that Charles forgot Sienna with me, they kept teasing me whenever she cried.

"I'm so sorry, I had a football practice and totally forgot about sienna," Charles said with a tone full of guilt.

"It's okay, I took care of her. I also forgot about your practice." I got sienna from my bag and handed her to Charle.

Don't judge me, I didn't know where to put her.

I gave him a list of instructions I had done earlier to help him take care of her. "I wrote those instructions to help you, so good luck." 

"Thank you for helping me," he smiled

His eyes drifted to the coffee machines and set back on me. "Ugh… I want to order if you don't mind." 

I shoved Dustin behind the cashier as he was covering the menu and pointed at the menu. "Sure, here is the menu. Dustin will come and take your order." 

............................

After a long day, it was finally closing time. Luna and Ruby left an hour ago, leaving me with Dustin and Riley. I was waiting for Dustin to finish baking his muffins. It was his way of saying thank you and I was starving.

"Dustin, if they taste bad you will buy me a pizza." I challenged him.

"I'm getting nothing for anyone." He shouted, then he came out a few minutes later with freshly baked muffins. I won't lie, they look amazing.

"Don't they look amazing? A masterpiece." He said with a smug as he put them on the counter to cool.

"Riley, do you want one?" Dustin asked, and Riley shouted a yes from the locker room. Dustin handed me a chocolate muffin and put another one on a plate for Riley as it was still hot.

 I couldn't wait for it to cool and took a bite, my taste buds were in heaven from the taste.

 These muffins are the best thing I have ever tasted.

"They are incredibly delicious. Tell me your secret." I said after another bite. 

He turned out to be a better baker than I expected. Riley after finishing her first one decided that the rest of the muffins were hers, so she took them home, leaving me a couple for mom and Saph back home. I wanted all of them.

"You owe me a pizza." He smirked.

"I owe you nothing, Dustin," I said, and he wiped his fake tears. I chuckled at his facial expression.

Should I get us a pizza? I'm really craving for one right now. 

I pursed my lips. "Alright, let's wrap the place up and go to the pizza place," I said, and Dustin did a little victory dance.

He is really a goofy person.

I really liked him. He is super friendly and a very nice person. I found out we have many things in common. He is going to be one of my closest friends.

Ten minutes later, we closed the café and headed to one of the popular pizza places in town. I learned that Dustin is a foodie person and pizza was his number one at all times. We took our food and drove home. 

Dustin and I were sitting in my backyard, eating pizza, and watching a horror movie on my laptop.

"Thanks for giving me the job, I really needed it." He smiled, well I needed more employees, and he was there. Riley, Kevin, and Timothy are the only people who stuck with me after the accident. The rest left as they didn't get paid much.

I teased him. "Anytime, Dusty." He moved his face from the screen and squinted his eyes at me.

"Okay, never call me Dusty." He laughed.

"Alright Dusty, "I said with an innocent smile.

 "Fine, call me Dusty, but never call me that in public." He warned me, then he stood up after checking his phone.

"I must leave now, see you tomorrow, Lav," he said, and I waved at him. He left me with the empty pizza box and the laptop.

I closed the movie and a picture of me in my dance leotard with my dad smiling behind me popped up on the screen. A smile crept on my face.

I miss him every day. I trailed the screen with my fingers as a single tear fell from my eye. Why did he have to leave me too soon?

I quit dancing after the accident. I couldn't have done it without him, he was a huge part of my life and he left.

He left me alone, without even saying goodbye.

The last thing I remember from the accident was someone calling my name and a hand gripping mine. Why didn't that person save my dad first?