*Two Days Later*

Veronica's P.O.V.

I sat in my room, listening to my vinyl player while painting to relax. My parents would be home any minute. My brother was in his room, playing while I was doing what I loved.

I had been painting for almost three hours now.

Painting had always been my passion besides cheer. It always relaxed me whenever I was stressed and I even won a few art shows throughout the years.

Just as I was close to finishing my project, I looked at my phone and laid eyes on Wyatt's contact. I still hadn't messaged him. Well, here I go.

I put the paintbrush down before typing my message for him.

Veronica: Hey 😊

I put my phone down before resuming my almost finished painting. Not even 10 seconds later, my phone dinged and I saw a message from him.

Wyatt: Hey, Roni. Is it okay if I call you that?' What are you up to?
Veronica: More than okay. I'm painting.

I put the phone down and did the finishing touches on my painting before I snapped a photo and sent it to him.

Wyatt: Wow, that's beautiful
Veroncia: Thanks
Wyatt: I was wondering if you're not busy tomorrow, maybe we can get some Fro-Yo or coffee?
Veronica: Like a date? Or just a friendly meeting?
Wyatt: Whichever you're going for
Veronica: Sure! What time?
Wyatt: 7:30?
Veronica: Perfect 👍
Wyatt: Nice. Okay, I'll let you go. Night, Roni
Veronica: Night, Wyatt ☺️

I put my phone down before cleaning up my space and washing the brushes.

After that, I changed into some pajamas and went downstairs. I looked and saw my parents and brother with some popcorn and snacks.

"Hi, sweetie. We're going to watch a movie. Want to join?" Mom asked me.

I smiled and nodded before joining them in the living room.

My parents' schedules can sometimes be rough, which is why I don't see them a lot and have to care for my brother at times.

My father is currently waiting to find out if he got accepted forSeabrook Power and my mother works as a vet.

We spent the rest of the night just watching movies and enjoying each others' company.

**************************

*The Next Day*

I hung out in the living room for some alone time, since I had the house to myself. I had just made myself some coffee.

I wanted to just chill out and have some of the goodness that kept me from going war-goddess mode on people.

I was on my laptop until I saw a Facetime call from Addison.

I smiled before answering immediately and she popped up on the screen with Bree next to her.

"Hey, Roni!" they greeted with smiles on their faces.

"Hi, girls! How's cheer camp?" I asked.

"It's great! Wish you were here! I could become cheer captain!" Addison replied.

I gasped with a smile on my face. "Adi, that's great! I'm so proud!"

"She's gonna do great! She would make a great leader." Bree added.

"She already is, Bree." I said.

"Aww, stop." Addison said as we all laughed.

I was so happy to have these girls besides Eliza and Sadie as my best friends.

We were a sisterhood basically. I loved them with every fiber in my body as my family.

"So, where's Sadie?" Bree asked.

"She's with her mom out of town for the weekend. Eliza is helping with Seabrook Power." I replied.

"How's little Ethan doing? I miss him so much!" Addison asked.

"He's good. He misses you too." I replied.

"Are you by yourself? I don't see anybody else." Bree asked.

"Yeah. My dad just got a job with Seabrook Power, my mom's working right now and it was 'Bring Your Kid To Work' day, so, she took him." I explained.

"Must be nice." Addison replied.

It was then my phone dinged and I saw a message from Wyatt.

Wyatt: 'Be there in 35 minutes.'

It was then I saw my calendar and I saw 'Date With Wyatt @ 7:30' on it.

I looked at the time. Oh, no! It was almost going to be 7:00!

"Um, girls, I have to go. Something just came up. I have to get ready." I told them.

"Oooohh, is somebody meeting up with a guy?" Bree asked.

Addison nudged her shoulder. "Ow!"

"No, something important. Bye, girls! Call you tomorrow!" I said.

"Bye, Roni! Love you!" Addison replied.

I smiled and told them the same thing before hanging up and closing my laptop.

I quickly went up to my room and showered before freshening up. I blow dried my hair before straightening it and applying minimum makeup.

I quickly went through my closet and drawers before picking out a casual, yet cute outfit.

Once I was done, I headed downstairs and right on cue, there was a knock at the door.

I got my phone and opened the door, smiling as I saw Wyatt there.

He looked great.

"Hey." I greeted.

"Hey. Wow, you're beautiful." he complimented.

I smiled as I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "And you look handsome yourself."

He smiled before I got outside and closed the door behind me.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

I just hope this date, I guess you could say, was going to go well. This guy seems really interesting and I gotta admit, he's cute.

+++++++++++++++

*An Hour Later*

"How is this so good?" Wyatt asked as we walked through the park, eating some Fro-Yo. Apparently, he never tried it until now.

"I'm not sure. At least it's better than eating the same flavor over and over again. Before zombies came, it was always vanilla that we would eat. No other flavors." I explained.

"Man, that must've been rough." he said as we passed by a pond where kids were with their parents, feeding the ducks.

"It was. I remember when me and Sadie, the one who is always with me, were in middle school, every time I smelt vanilla ice cream or yogurt, I couldn't stand it. Sadie basically had to shove it down my throat when I had my tonsils taken out." I explained with a laugh.

Wyatt chuckled before we finished our Fro-Yo and tossed them in a trashcan.

We made it to a bridge above the water and stood at the pier, looking at the people interacting, walking their dogs, and feeding the ducks.

"By the way, I like you hair." I complimented his white streak.

He looked a bit taken aback. "Oh, this? Yeah. It was something I was born with for some reason."

I saw him turn around and do a seemingly mental battle with himself.

"My best friend was born with white hair too. She has already spent two years with it." I explained, referring to Addison.

"All white hair?" he asked.

"Yeah. From roots to tips." I replied.

It was then I saw him look down and it made me confused.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Your bracelet. It looks nice." he replied.

"Thanks. I've had it since I was born. For some reason, I can't take it off. My parents won't let me." I explained.

He nodded before he cleared his throat. "So, want to go get something to eat?"

Just as he said that, my stomach started growling.

He chuckled before putting a hand on my back. "Come on."

We walked until we ended up at a diner. Getting inside, we sat in a booth and took our orders a couple minutes later.

"So, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" I asked.

Wyatt smiled at me. "Alright. I'm 15, almost 16 next month. I have an older sister. I live in the remote part of Seabrook. Also, I haven't really been on one of these before."

I looked at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "I was never really interested in socializing much because people would judge me before getting to know me. At least at my old home. Here, everybody seems nicer. A couple people have greeted me and what not."

"Well, let's must say you got a friend in me. Whenever you want to talk or need someone, I'll be there." I explained.

Wyatt smiled at me. "Thank you, Veronica."

Our food got to us and we began eating.

"Now that I've told you about myself, tell me about you." he told me with a smile.

"Well, I'm 15, I have a little brother, I like to paint, and I've only ever lived in one place." I replied.

Wyatt nodded before we went back to eating.

Once we were done, we left the diner and just walked around the town.

"You know what we should do?" I asked.

"What?" he asked.

"There's a cruise going on tonight where one of the boats is going to take people around Seabrook on the water." I explained.

"Sorry, I can't. My parents don't want me on the water at night." he explained.

I was a bit disappointed, but smiled a bit and nodded.

"I understand. In fact, I almost drowned when I was smaller. I tried surfing, which was a stupid idea for me. Sadie and my parents always worry about me when I try to surf. So, I know where you're coming from." I explained.

Wyatt seemed surprised before he smiled.

"You're not all I thought you would be." he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're different than the other girls. You're not afraid to speak your mind and you're proud of who you are and that's something I find amazing." Wyatt told me.

I smiled and blushed as he chuckled.

We sat in the diner, talking back and forth before we were told it was closing. I didn't expect for us to be talking that long, but I didn't mind.

We left the diner and walked through the town.

++++++++++++++++

"It's almost midnight. Let me take you home." he said.

"Oh, man! My parents are gonna kill me!" I said, making him chuckle and shake his head.

We walked for a while before we ended up in front of my house.

"I had a good time, Wyatt." I told him.

"Me too, Veronica. Maybe we could do it agin another time?" he asked.

I smiled and nodded.

It was then there was a howl in the night and it made us both stop.

"Was that a wolf? I don't remember Seabrook having them." I asked.

"Oh, I, uh, I have to go. I'll see you soon. Goodnight, Roni." he said before leaving my house.

"Night, Wyatt!" I called out before I decided to use my gymnastics training to climb to where my open window was.

Once I got there, I sighed in relief before stepping inside.

I closed the window before changing out of my clothes and into pajamas.

I washed my face and freshened up before climbing under the covers and turning off my lamp.

I was dozing off, but not until I heard another howl, I couldn't help but fall asleep to it.