I had talked to Ms. Steel and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, she was going to let me take time off as head rider, enough time to get my grades up, get some sleep, because i spent nights studying and crying my eyes out due to stress, and most important get my friend back. I walked back to my dorm kicking stones along the way as i let my mind wonder. In a matter of minutes, i was back in the comfort of my room, i walked over to my desk and got s head start on homework. I scribbled on my notebook for a long period of time and i finished my essay, that was enough homework for the moment. I opened my computer and hit the button to call my sister, Jess, i needed some advice, and she was the only one i could talk to right now. My computer ringed a few times before her face popped up on the screen, a smile making its way to my face.

"Hey! How is my favorite sister?" she greeted me, her voice filled with excitement.

"Hi Jess! I can't be you favorite sister if i am the only one," i pointed out "and i am better. I think." I had talked to Jess and explained what I was going through, she was the one who told me to talk to Ms. Steel in the first place. " I talked to Ms. Steel today."

"Really? How did it go?"

"Good, she le pt me rest from head rider with the condition that I came back, but i think that I have enough time to get things back together. That's actually the reason I was calling you. I don't know what to do with Heather, I don't know how to make things right with her. I really pissed her off, she won't even talk to me." I said, the whole fight flowing back to me.

" well, give her time, she will come around, just don't push things, you will make them worse." My sister said in a reassuring voice.
"Ok. Thankyou, I will try to talk to her." I said and I hung up.
I will talk to her tonight, I said to myself.

I was going to sit down and watch Station 19, when my phone started dinging by me. I unlicked to find a few messages from Lucy.

Lucy
Heyyyy

Are you going to Bris party

??

Amber
Hiii

Um, no one told me about it...

Lucy
Heather didn't tell you?!

Amber
No. We aren't exactly on speaking terms rn

Lucy
Oh no! What happened?

Amber
We kind of had a fall out. Not important rn
About the party?

Lucy
I am so sorry Amber! The party is tomorrow in Pine Hollow at 7 if you want to go

Amber
Ok thanks, I'll be there!

One not thing to do today, find Bri a present.

I decided to do look for one in the Plaza and once and for all grab a snack in the Sweet Shop    
I changed into some comfortable clothes and headed out. I walked down the cobblestone path and arrived at the plaza. As usual, there were many students sitting in the tables I. The middle of it, most of them laughing with the other. I made my way to the sweet shop and got in line, when I was up by the counter, I ordered a Hot chocolate to warm me up this cold September afternoon and a brownie to have by it. I swiped my student ID and went to grab a table. I found a table and sipped my warm drink. A few minutes later Eric came up to me.
"Hi Amber!"
"Hi Eric!"
"What are you up to?" He questioned

" I came to find a present for Bri, her birthday is tomorrow and I want to get her something nice, and I stopped for a treat once and for all. You?"

"Same here, Lucy invited me over and I was going to grab a present for Bri in the tack shop. Do you want to join me?"

"Sure!" We finished eating and made our way to the tack shop. When I pushed the glass doors open, the leather scent filled me, bringing a smile to my face, that was a scent I would never get tired of.

Eric and I walked around the shop picking up things we thought Bri would like. I ended up getting her a nameplate for her leather halter and a saddle pad, meanwhile Eric got her some nice gloves to ride with. We talked about very random things, and I got to know a lot about him, we also found out we both loved Marvel and set up a day we would have a movie night and do a Marvel marathon. Before we knew it, we were back at my dorm complex, I turned to say goodbye to him and he enveloped me in a hug. I wrapped my arms around his torso and took in his cologne scent, it felt so good, I felt a warn feeling spread through my body. We let go of each other and I turned around and started walking to my room. Before I managed to get in to my dorm hall, he called out to me in his British accent that I adored.
"Amber? Will you go out on a ride with me tomorrow?"

" I would love to" I said, a smile plastered on my face. I waved at him as I walked into the hallway with the so familiar gray walls.  I opened the door to my room and flopped on my bed, completely lost in thought. I was off in my own world that i didn't even acknowledge heather that was standing by my desk trying to call my attention.

I snapped out of my thoughts and saw heather staring at me with a knowing look.
" you like him don't you?" She asked blankly.
" is it they obvious?" I asked worriedly.
" yep." She said. There was an awkward silence before I spoke up.
"Heather? I am so sorry fo the way I acted towards you. I had no right to speak to you that way, you have always been so supportive and an amazing friend, I was wrong to treat you in such a rude way. I was stressed out, but that is no excuse for the way talked to you. During the past days I noticed what a good friend you are, and I don't know what I would do without you. I am so sorry Heather, will you forgive me?" I asked, unsure of her response.
"It's okay Amber. Don't blame it all on yourself, I wasn't very supportive either, I knew that you were stressed out and you didn't have a very stable mental health, I heard you crying almost every night, I saw you struggle with schoolwork, and i saw how much pressure you had on your shoulders with riding,it was all adding up, and you weren't fine. I knew that, and yet I didn't do anything. You had the full right to lash out on me, I would have done so too. I am so sorry Amber. And I forgive you, I always will, and I am here for you, I am willing to help you with anything you want, even if it is with Eric"she said the last part in a teasing tone, but I knew that what she had said prior was genuine. I threw my arms around her neck and embraced her in a hug, both in a comfortable silence.

After we had sorted everything out, we made popcorn and sat on our beds our eyes fixed on the movie playing in front of us. It felt so good to be back as friends with Heather, I had missed her so much.

My eyes fluttered open the next day, there was light shining through the curtains of my dorm room, I crawled out of bed to the bathroom where I showered and then slipped some riding clothes on. I brushed my light brown hair and brushed my teeth, by the time I was easy, Heather had woken up.
"What are you doing up so early?" She asked groggily.
"Is 8o'clock early for you?" I asked my barley awake friend.
"Yes" she said dragging the s. "Why do you have to wake up so early on a Sunday?"
"Actually, I am going on a ride with Eric" I said matter of a factly, the mention of me being Heath Eric got her fully awake.
"Ao you would rather spend time with your boyfriend than with your best friend." She said with a smirk
"First of all, he is not my boyfriend-"
"He will be soon" Heather chirped cutting me off.
"Whatever. And second of all, I am going to spend all afternoon with you." I said as I grabbed all things.
"Okay. Have fun! But not to much fun!" Heather said as I closed the door, I rolled my eyes at her comment as i exited the dorm complex.

I approached the stables and inhaled the familiar horsey scent. I walked down the stable block until i reached Mandalas and Eclipses stable. I greeted them both with some apples which they took greedily. I slipped Eclipses halter on and led him out to the cross ties where I met up with Eric where we tacked  up mostly in silence. Once mounted, Eric took the lead and led us through the trees to a trail. I took in the changing leaves as we walked side by side talking about random things.
"I have a joke." Eric said, we had been talking about Marvel and joking around.
"Shoot"
" if Thor is an alien, and Chris Hemsworth is Australian, does that make him an Austr-alien?" Eric told the joke, barley containing the laughter.
I started laughing hysterically at the bad joke, the brunette boy by me laughed along.
" that joke sucks" I managed to get out in between laughter. We calmed down a bit and I felt Eric staring at me, I was going to say something, but he beat me to it.
" has anyone told you that you are beautiful?" Eric said. I felt the blood rush up to my cheeks at Eric's comment.
" no, no one has actually" I said softly. I felt a million butterflies in my stomach as I spoke. I locked eyes with him, and got lost in the brown of them.
" well you really are" Eric said. My cheeks turned even redder, if that was possible. Then, he asked the question that I most awaited.
" Amber, will you be my girlfriend?" As he spoke those words, I realized how much I wanted to hear them.
" yes!" I said in complete joy. I just realized how much I liked this boy. We both smiled at each other, both completely lost in the others features. We both attracted to lean in, our lips connected as we shared a soft kiss, but it was filled with so much passion. They say your first kiss is incredible,  but it's not only incredible, it's magical, I felt his lips against minelike my whole body was on fire we pulled apart, none of us able to wipe the smiles of our faces. We walked back in comfortable silence.
"So Amber, see you in the part tonight?" Eric said after we had dismounted and were on our way back to our dorms.
"Yeah"
"Bye" He said with a soft smile which made my knees go week, he leaned over to me and gave me a small kiss on my cheek, which made me go wild inside. I walked through the hallway and reached my room, ready to find the perfect outfit for tonight.

I walked in to find a grinning heather.
"So.... are you a thing now?" She said, a smirk plastered on her face.
"How did you know?" I groaned
" ouch. Is it that bad that I found out?" She can asked placing a hand on her heart acting offended.
"Not really" I said returning the smirk " and to answer your question, yes we are a thing now." Just with that thought of Eric I smiled. I heard Heather gushing about how happy she was, but I was not focused on her, I was focused on my thoughts, all of them revolving around the guy with brown slightly curly hair, and a nice English accent. That was when I really noticed how much I really liked him. 

I spent the afternoon getting ready, with a movie playing on n the background. Throughout the time we were getting g ready, Heather in every way possible said how happy she was that we were a couple. And I was glad she supported me. I ended up leaving the room dressed in some black jeans and a burgundy top that made my pale skin look even paler. I matched my outfit with some diamond earrings and a matching necklace, as well as a silver bracelet. Heather insisted I put on more makeup that my usual mascara and gloss, so I added a shimmery eyeshadow and a touch of blush. Heather and I made our way to the common room and helped Lucy finish setting up the food. Little by little, the commonroom started filling in and eventually the guest of honor got there. We all ran over to hug her and congratulations her, after all, she was turning 15.

I was so into talking to heather and Bri that I didn't realize that Eric came up behind me and intertwined his hand in mine. I felt my hart flutter as I turned to face him, the loud music that was blaring in the background was now only a buzz as I focused on my boyfriend. 
"Hey" I said softly
"Hey Love" He said. I blushed at the pet name.
" when did you get here?" I said as I for the a millionth time took in his features, I just couldn't get over how perfect they were. He was dressed in a white button up shirt and dark  jeans, he looked so good in them.
"Not long ago, I was looking for you" he said with a smile. I returned the smile at him. He joined in the conversation and we gossiped for a good while and danced the rest. It was like one a clock where I was starting to get tired, the music started to get annoying and i was getting tired of the loud conversation you could hear across the room. I decided to step out a bit, so I pushed my way through the crowd and let myself out I the night.

It was dark but the slight glistening if the stars was enough to see. I gazed up to the sky, a habit I had when the night sky was clear. The stars usually calmed me down, just like they did in that moment. A few seconds later, I felt Eric come up to me.
" you alright darling?" He said coming up from behind me and wrapping his arms around my torso.
"Yeah, just got a bit overwhelmed with the loudness" I answered.
"Okay" He said softly. He laid his chin on my shoulder softly. We stayed in confortable scilenxe before he spoke up.
" you smell nice" He said randomly. I burst out laughing at his comment and turned to face him.
" thank you, I guess.." I said with a smile. Our faces were inches apart, I leaned in and closed the gap between us, our lips moving in perfect sync. God, this felt so good I thought as we pulled apart, our forehead pressed against each others. A smile on both our faces.
"Okay lovebirds, party is over" Bri said ruining the moment. I took a minute before speaking up. " I guess we should go back in."
" I guess so" Eric said as we went inside. Eric walked me to my room and gave me a peck on the lips and said goodbye. I entered the room and got ready for bed, a smile not leaving my face. I have a boyfriend I repeated in my head before I fell into a nice slumber.

Long time no see! Sorry for being so inactive. I lost motivation and I don't have a stable mental health rn, so getting a chapter up has been hard. I hope this super long chapter (2.7k+words) makes up for it. I am actually very proud of how it turned out, I hope you like it to!!