Kids in Love

Alice traveled with her grandmother on an early morning flight the following day. She packed light, just her her camera, some clothes and some other essentials. Her grandmother was well liked in the area and had gotten Alice a job as a life guard at a private pool in a local country club for the summer. It wasn't a high paying gig but it was something for her to do that meant she wasn't wasting her time, and she was an avid swimmer so it was no trouble. She had to put together a portfolio of photography projects for her first year in college so that would take up a lot of her time as well.

"Here's your room just as you left it. I have cleaned it and i had to get a new bedspread but it's all the same." Alice opened the door and a wave of nostalgia washed over her. There were still photo frames lined up as she left them on the pinewood cabinet by the window and a teddy bear that her grandmother had helped her make when she was eight sat on top of the purple sheets. She opened the first drawer of the cabinet where her CD's and tapes remained, mainly one's that her father had left there from when he was a child, and some mix-tapes that the guys had given her. Alice walked over to the window and looked out into the garden, the tree-house looked a little worse for wear and smaller than she remembered but it could still fit a person of two and it was still standing. She turned her back to the window and leaned against the sill, "This is amazing. Thanks for letting me stay here again, I can't uh," she took in the full view of the room once more, "I can't believe that nothing's really changed" she smiled to herself and left her bag down on the bed.
"Well I'm glad you like it. I'm gonna go downstairs and get some lunch together while you get yourself settled in" her grandmother turned to shut the door but before she left Alice called behind her, "Um, do you think you could make some of those scones you used to make, I haven't had those in so long?" Her Grandmother smiled knowingly, "I always have the ingredients ready, you think I don't know your favorite?"

- - -

The two women sat at the little mosaic tiled table in the back garden. When she'd finished her lunch she turned to her grandmother who was relaxing, eyes closed, in the warm sun, "Hey Grandma, when's that lifeguard job start anyway?" she brushed the crumbs from her legs.
"Not till next week dear. Summer's only just started and the pools not open yet, but that gives you plenty of time to get used to the area again. We could go shopping for summer clothes one of the days soon, you always loved that"
"Cool, that sounds perfect. And, um Grandma," she spoke, she hadn't spoken to her about her old friends since she'd made the plans to come, "I don't know if you even remember them but do you have any idea how Frank and the other guys are doing?" She opened her eyes and sat up to look at her granddaughter.
"Gosh honey, I haven't spoken to any of them in a good long time now" she thought back to last time she remembered seeing any of them, "I know that Frank and his mother still live next door but his parents split up, oh, about 2 or three years back, I haven't talked to them in a little while though. I'm pretty sure his dad lives closer to the city. That Iero boy certainly grew up, he's taller than you now y'know, and it was a while ago that I saw him last. I had his mother over for dinner a few months back but he didn't come with her." Alice nodded along,
"Do you think I could visit them some time?" she asked, pulling her hand up over her eyes to block out the sun,
"Well of course you can, you could pay a little visit next door now if you want, bring over those spare scones?"
"Um, yeah, sure. Let me just clean up a bit first"

Alice raced upstairs, her heart was beating a little louder than usual. She pulled open her suitcase and quickly found her hairbrush and make-up case taking them over to the mirror beside the dresser. She gave her hair a quick brush and tried to fluff it up with her fingers, hoping she didn't look as though she'd been on a plane for six hours, that was never a good look. She hadn't put on any make-up that morning, she was only catching a flight so what was the point, she never liked to wear too much anyway. She leaned into the mirror and began to analyse her face, her dark circles, her groggy eyes and dull tired skin, she was no prize. She began to whisper to herself, "What if he opens the door and you look like that? He's just going to think you got lost on the way to a god damn needle exchange!" she cursed herself. As she began to pull out all if the necessary make-up products she came to her senses, taking a deep breath she whispered to herself again, "If he doesn't want to talk to you because you look like this then he's not the guy you left here knowing." She smiled at her reflection in the mirror, the well traveled clothes and 'natural' look would suffice.

She grabbed the plate her grandmother had left on the kitchen counter and made her way next door, she was more anxious than she ever thought she'd be. She pondered how much could actually happen in the space of eight years, what if he'd changed and wasn't the same person? Or worse yet, what if she'd changed too much, what if the LA lifestyle had sucked her in and they didn't have anything in common anymore? She tried to quash these worries as she walked slowly up the driveway and knocked on the royal blue door and exhaled deeply.

Notes

Thanks for all of the amazing feedback you guys, the fic's only been up for like two days, I'm overwhelmed! Thank you so much!

Don't forget to comment and vote or whatever, it's super motivating, I'm already halfway through the next chapter and I'm hoping to update as frequently as I possibly can.

Thanks again