"Avery, Zoey is here," I heard my mom knock on the door, but just like her pleas to call me down to dinner, I ignored her.

No, I didn't want to talk to anybody. Before Pat or Zoey could see me, Leon managed to drag me back to his car where I made a complete spectacle of myself. Instead of saying anything, he was simply quiet and handed me tissues until I calmed down.

We drove around the neighborhood multiple times because we were sure that Pat would recognize his car so we had to get away from my house. When I've done my final sniffle, he drove me back home. I once again mumbled a quiet thank you before exiting his car.

Mom bombarded me with questions, but I gave out a simple plea, "I just want to be alone right now."

And her, knowing fully well how I was, didn't pry and allowed me to lock myself in my room. Though she did ask me to come to dinner multiple times, but by the fifth one, she finally gave up.

I was under my little pile of blankets, I didn't even both with changing my clothes.

With another knock, I expected my mother's voice once again but instead, it was Zoey, "Avery, can we talk?"

Zoey was everything you'd picture a doting big sister could be. She always had this gentle and caring smile, that excited gleam whenever you're about to tell her something, she was filled with assurance, and you could never be afraid of being judged when you were with her.

She was beautiful, anyone could see that. If she didn't go to an all-girls school and kept her circle of friends so close, she might have had multiple boyfriends by now. She was talented in playing the flute, was cultured, knew how to cook, and the quintessential perfect girl.

When I introduced her to Pat, I thought nothing of it. She knew I had a boyfriend and she had been urging me to introduce him.

The sun was up, blaring down at me as I stood there in the middle of the parking lot with my puny umbrella trying to block its rays. I told Pat to go ahead because his team still had to do warm ups and I even said that he could bring his keys with him.

Should have asked for them and stayed in the AC of the car.

I finally released a sigh of relief when I saw Zoey walking towards me, her small purse hanging on her shoulder, "Avy, I'm so sorry I'm late."

I wanted to act upset but she immediately handed me a thermos filled with cold water. She grabbed my hand and started to pull me towards the direction of the field.

Zoey went to another school and she mentioned that while hers excelled in music and the arts, their sports were quite lacking. She went on a whole tangent of going to those school games and such. Knowing fully well that Pat had a game coming up, I mentioned it to her and there was an immediate twinkle in her eyes.

So I invited her to the game. Besides, it was the perfect opportunity for them to meet.

She gathered more attention than I expected. That blonde hair and bright blue eyes, paired with her flowy dress, I should have known. Also, I should have also warned her to just dress up in a pair of jeans or something.

"So, which one's yours?" she asked, her eyes roaming around the field for any hints.

"Number three," I said, sipping the cold water she gave me.

She squinted her eyes to get a better look of Pat, before that usual smile graced her pink lips, "Oh, nice catch."

"Zoey!" I exclaimed.

She laughed heartily, placing a hand on my cheek, "My gosh you're blushing."

I swatted her hand away, focusing my attention back to the game. Pat kicked the ball, sending it over half of the field, earning an excited squeal and clap from me. She stayed with me throughout all my fangirling during the game.

Once the team was huddle after the game, I dragged her towards them, easily climbing down the bleachers.

"Pat!" I called out, a huge grin on my face.

He looked up from having a conversation with Leon, his lips pulling into a smile, "Hey babe."

I instantly jumped into his arms and pressed a kiss onto his cheek, "Congratulations, you guys were amazing."

He chuckled and released me, but still kept an arm around my shoulder. I looked around, some other girlfriends of their teammates also went down to congratulate them, but my eyes immediately stopped when I saw Leon once again glaring at me.

Pat did his best to make us get along, but some people really just don't click. While I was sure he was annoyed at me ninety-nine percent of the time, we still attempted to remain civil with one another.

So instead of commenting on his dirty look, I cleared my throat and reached out my hand for Zoey, "By the way, I have someone I'd like you to meet."

She stepped towards us, her smile still there. Some of the guys looked her way, others got swatted by their girlfriends before they could even take a glance. But to Zoey, she was completely unaware of all the attention she was getting.

"This is Zoey, she's the person I've been talking about," I introduced, "My neighbor and my sister from another mister."

She laughed but stretched out a hand for him to shake, "Such a pleasure to finally meet you."

He blinked down at her, his mouth slowly gaping open. Alarm bells were ringing in my head but I tried to push them away. It was perfectly normal for someone to be starstruck when they meet Zoey, even my girl friends gush about her when they first saw her.

I cleared my throat loudly so he would snap out of it. Fortunately, it worked and he immediately took her hand and shook it, "Hi, I'm Patrick but everybody calls me Pat."

"Take care of my little Avery, okay?" she giggled, turning to me.

Well, we all knew where that ended up in.

"Avy, please."

I kept my mouth shut, far better than crying hysterically at her. She could keep knocking for all I cared. In fact, the rhythm of her knuckles hitting the door almost became a lullaby. And probably because I was so tired, I went to sleep so easily.

When I did wake up the next morning, I felt disgusting. The clothes I wore yesterday were still on my body and even the soil was still stuck to my leggings. I cringed at the thought that I also had to change my bedsheets because I was too busy wallowing to even change into clean clothes.

I groaned and threw the covers off of my body. I grabbed a fresh outfit and peeked my head out to check if mom was anywhere near. I wasn't ready for a confrontation just yet.

Thankfully, she was nowhere to be seen. She was probably already downstairs.

I walked to the bathroom and took off all my clothes, pausing when something cold hit the bare skin of my chest. I looked downwards and saw the whistle that Leon gave me yesterday. It oddly gave me a sense of comfort and who knew that the guy who I thought hated my guts would actually be the one who would be there for me.

Maybe I can soak this in some water and baking soda to disinfect it because while it was very kind of him to give this to me, I still have no idea where this whistle has been.

I was dreading where this day will take me. Pat, while not exactly the soccer team's hot shot superstar, still hung out with everybody from the team and had relative popularity. I'm sure news of him being single would certainly spread quickly.

That was all I could think about while I showered.

"Avery, you'll be late," I heard mom call out when I was in the middle of drying my hair.

Huh, no other mention of yesterday's dramatics?

"I'll be right down," I yelled back.

I placed down the hairdryer, applied a minimal amount of makeup and went down. Mom was in full office clothes, munching down on a piece of toast, "I'll be home late tonight, one of my co-workers is treating us to dinner because it's her birthday."

I thought there will be more awkwardness when I saw her, but she was acting as if yesterday didn't happen.

"You can order take out but there's still some leftover chicken from last night in the fridge," she explained, before taking her purse that was sitting on the kitchen island, "Good luck today, sweetheart."

"Wait," I spoke, stopping her just when she was about to kiss my cheek goodbye, "What about the chili?"

I distinctly remember her saying that she cooked chili for dinner last night, not chicken. She paused before laughing, "If you want chili, I can make you some tomorrow."

"W-what?" I stammered.

"I really have to go, Avery," she clicked her tongue when she glanced down on her wristwatch. She kissed my cheek and gave my hair a small caress before turning to leave, "Have a wonderful junior year!"

Mom, junior year has been going crap. You know very well why.

Either way, I should follow her example and leave as well. I just took a breakfast bar and opened the cabinet. I felt around for a specific bottle and when I didn't find it, my eyes widened in surprise.

Wait, this is where they've always been. I don't even take it out from this cabinet.

Oh no.

My heart dropped and I started to open every other cabinet door and drawer, trying to locate that one bottle. It was nowhere to be seen.

Oh god no, please no.

My chest started to tighten up and my head felt like it was completely empty. I gripped onto the fridge for my dear life because I felt like I was going to sink to the floor if I didn't.

My phone started blasting from my pocket, which I think was a gift from the heavens because it afforded me a distraction. With a shaking hand, I took it out and read the name on the screen.

Sasha.

She and I first met during middle school, along with Mia. We hit it off pretty quickly and they have been my best friends in school. I've always seen them as my little support system. While we were close, we still had differing personalities. Sasha was the rather happy-go-lucky one, Mia was the more serious of us three, then there was me who was an emotional mess a hundred percent of the time. They knew things even Pat didn't.

"Hello?" I said as I pressed the phone against my ear.

"Where are you?" she questioned, "It's not like you to be this late."

"I can't find my medicine," I told her while simultaneously trying to calm myself down.

There was a pause before she asked, "Medicine? You didn't tell us you were sick and you sounded fine last night."

Was last night all a fever dream? First the chicken and now this? I have no recollection of us talking last night and she was even absent yesterday because she said that she had a head cold. Not only that, she knows clearly well what medicine I was talking about.

Alright universe, whatever dirty trick you're playing on me, it's time to stop.

When I didn't reply, she groaned, "Okay whatever it is, I'm sure the school clinic has it. Come on now, you can't be late on the first day of the school year."

Bitch said what?

I lowered my phone and looked for the date, my jaw dropping when I saw it.

August 24.

"Holy shit," I gasped out loud, foregoing all calming techniques that they taught and just finally sank onto the floor.

It was borderline spring yesterday.

What the fuck was happening?!

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Now you might ask: Trina, what's your update schedule for this story?

My answer is that whenever I please. It's not like in Writing's Second Taste where I update every Wednesday and Saturday. There will be times that I will want to update on a random day. Don't worry though, I guarantee that you guys will have at least one per week. 

This is my first time tackling a plot with time travel so hopefully, I don't mess up too much.

Question: Do you guys like the cover or should I change it?

I also promise that you're all going to fall in love with the characters. They're going to have their moments, but they're going to be likable, I swear.

Well, at least most of them.

Thank you for reading and please vote, comment, and follow. Seriously, please comment so I know if what I'm doing is good or bad. See next chapter!