The Love Gamble

My alarm rang for the third time and that's when I was so sick of it, I just decided to get up. "Emma, you're going to be late!" My mum's voice flowed through my walls. "I'm up!" I called back, causing my dry throat to ache. I grabbed my water bottle from my bedside table and took a few gulps of water before sitting up and staring at the floor. I let out a sigh before stepping out of bed and putting my hair in a messy bun. I flicked the light on, blinding myself before rubbing my eyes and allowing them to get used to the illuminated room. I grabbed the clothes I laid out for today and headed to the bathroom where I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and washed my face. I stepped out while brushing my hair before tying it up in a high ponytail and putting my converse trainers on. I glanced at the time, my eyes bulged out of their sockets. "s**t, s**t, s**t, s**t!" I hissed while grabbing my bag, flinging it over my shoulder, grabbing my phone, car keys and running out. I stopped when I heard what sounded like a car horn. I ran over to my window and looked out. There was a car in the neighbours' driveway. Wonder who that it. "Emma!" my mum yelled. I ran down, grabbed a slice of toast with avocado that my mum was kind enough to prepare for me, before bolting out of the door. "The first day of Junior Year, you're doing great, Emma, just be late, that's right," I mumbled to myself while unlocking my car, throwing my bag in the passenger seat, wincing as I realized my laptop was in there before climbing in and hitting the gas, speeding to school. In case you didn't get it yet. I'm Emma, I'm seventeen and I'm incredibly late for my first day at school. Isn't that fantastic? Hudson High School. Our own little hell. Well, not quite. I think our school is great and very laid back, sometimes a little too laid back. I got there in ten minutes with five to spare. Five minutes is not enough, I need more time than that to get to my locker. "Just give me one spot, God, please," I mumbled under my breath while glancing around, looking for a parking spot. "Yes!" I cheered as I found one. Unfortunately, someone was about to take it. Absolutely not. I saw it first. I hit the gas even harder, causing people to move out of my way and shriek in panic before I swerved and parked. Perfectly. That's right, I am a great driver. I heard the car behind me screech to a stop while I turned my car off, grabbed my things, and got out, locking the car. "What the f**k are you doing?!" The guy stepped out of his car. He looks like... Forget it. "Sorry!" I exclaimed while adjusting my bag and running straight to the office to get my timetable. That guy looked exactly like him. How is it possible, though? No one's heard from him in two years. It's probably just a coincidence. "Emma Hart, can I get my timetable please?" I was panting by the time I reached the office. She shook her head disappointingly at me before giving me my timetable. I checked my locker number and ran to it, avoiding colliding with people in the hallway. I got to my locker, sighing in relief as I opened it, grabbed what I needed before checking what my first class was. "English Literature, room C24. Other side of the school. Fan-f*****g-tastic," I mumbled, speed walking. I got to class as the bell rang, letting out a sigh of relief when I saw that Ava had saved me a seat. Ava is my best friend. Along with three others. The others being Barrett, Noah, and Sebastian. All guys. "Sleep in?" she questioned knowingly. "Yup," I replied while getting out my notebook and pen, ready for class. Mr. Pritchard walked in with a little bounce to his step. Mr. Pritchard happens to be the best teacher there is. He's extremely laid back and amusing. He also happens to be gay which only made him more popular. I respect him a lot. "All right, kids," he sighed, setting his laptop down on his desk, "It's the first day, frankly, I'm not in the mood to do much. Just go through this year's syllabus and ask if you have any doubts. That's all we're doing." The day went by smoothly, we were finally at lunch and we were all starving. I was also too lazy to get up and grab myself some food. "Barrett, bring me food, please?" I stuck my bottom lip out at him while waiting for him to take my money. "I'm getting myself a brownie," he stated before taking my money and walking away. "So, who was the guy you almost killed this morning?" Ava asked. 'Huh?" I blurted loudly. "You stole the spot he was going to park in..." she trailed off. "Oh, I don't know who it was, I was in a rush," I shrugged. "I do," Barrett said as he sat down. I glanced at him and then the lunch line. "I'm nice to the lunch ladies. It pays off, clearly," he shrugged with a smirk. "So, who is the guy?" Ava asked while Noah and Sebastian walked to the table. "Maybe I should keep the secret, wait for you guys to find out on your own," he chuckled. "Find out what?" We all looked up to see him standing there. The last person I expected it to be, was right here standing in front of me. "Miss me?" he smirked while sitting down in front of me, between Barrett and Sebastian. I was frozen, I couldn't move, my jaw was on the ground, I didn't know what to do. I stared while he greeted the others who seemed to be just as shocked as I was. "Emma," he nodded at me. I narrowed my eyes at him, watching him with suspicion. "Zachariah," I replied meekly. "How've you been?" he questioned. How dare he? How dare he walk back in here like he owns the damn place, and act as if nothing happened? "You tell me," I c****d an eyebrow at him. He chuckled before shaking his head and getting into a conversation with the others. I watched him, scrutinising him, analysing every little detail and change that he had. His hair was longer, his shoulders were broader, I'm sure his body was more muscular, and his v-nech shirt didn't do a great favour at hiding the tattoo on his bicep. It was still Zachariah, just ten times worse. In the best way possible. The bell rang and signalled the end of lunch and believe me when I say, I was the first on out of the lunch hall. I was walking to class, completely lost in thought. Zachariah, Ava, Barrett, Noah, Sebastian and me, have all been friends since Elementary and Middle School. Sebastian joined us in Middle School, the rest of us have always been together. Zachariah was also my neighbour. Our families were super close, our mums were best friends, so were our dads, it was tradition meeting every weekend while our dads watched the game, our muma cooked and we played in our backyards together. Two years ago, at the end of our school year, we were all hanging out to celebrate the upcoming Summer break. We were all fifteen, having fun, laughing, messing around. And he acted completely normal, giving us no hints at all. Nothing to tell us that he was leaving the f*****g country. We all found out the next day when we were supposed to hang out and he didn't show up. My parents told us. We were all devastated. I'm not saying I took it harder than the others, but it's possible I did. He was the first person I ever became friends with, not to mention, I liked him. Like, really, really liked him. He had even kissed me a few days before the Summer break, that was my first kiss too, and then? Then he disappeared. He was out of reach to all of us. He wouldn't answer our calls, texts, and completely ignored us. We stopped trying after a while and just started moving on, the rest of us sticking together. It broke my heart when I had to act like he never existed and I never cared for him when everyone knew I did. Even he knew. He had always been a troublemaker. Always. Breaking things, pranking people, breaking rules. His parents were going through a tough time but they didn't want to divorce each other so they thought they should send him to a boarding school, not only to discipline him but also to take some time and sort things out. I had no idea about this at the time but my parents told me after a while. They just shipped him off. When I asked them, they said that they thought he had already told us and said his goodbyes. After two years, without any contact with any of us, he's back. He look different. Something about him has changed, I can tell. Something is different. Something tells me, he's come back ten times worse than the devil he was growing up.