𝓦𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭𝓼 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓭𝓮

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 1

AN: THIS IS SET AFTER THE EVENTS OF UNLOCKED. THERE WILL BE MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES, INCLUDING STELLARLUNE. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ UP TO STELLARLUNE, PLEASE WAIT. YOU WILL THANK ME LATER. 

CWs: None

"Hurry up, Lexi!" Tabitha called. "Asher and Luke are almost to the swings."

"I'm coming!" I sprinted as fast as I could (I'd never been good at sports) to catch up with my redhead friend.

Tabitha Martin, Asher Gibson, Luke Ainsworth, and I were part of what we'd affectionately dubbed the Playground Gang. Even though all of us were in our teens, we liked to hang out at a small park close to our neighborhood. The swings were a coveted honor, especially since there were a ton of little kids who liked to play on them. We never hogged them 'cuz we wanted to set a good example. However, when there was no one within a six-foot radius near the swings, they were ours (till someone else had better need of them). Usually, we'd race to see who reached them first. The winner got first dibs on the swings.

Tabitha and I summoned every last bit of excess energy and pulled up in front of the swings just seconds before the boys.

"Ha, beat ya!" I gloated. "You boys are slowpokes."

"By at most a second," Asher countered. "Still, fair's fair."

I grinned and plopped myself in one of the black plastic seats. I was honestly grateful to have three good friends here in London. I'd moved a couple of weeks after my fourteenth birthday, which was in May, and was worried other kids and teens would find me weird because I was from the States. That, thankfully, had not been the case. After a month, I already had my little friend group.

I hope I can make even more friends here, I thought.

I gripped the metal chains and proceeded to launch myself into the air. Tabitha joined me shortly. The wind whipped my long brown hair into my face. I was free.

"Oooh, I'm going higher than you!" Tabitha brushed a few strands of her long red hair out of her eyes and swung further into the air.

"Not anymore!" I pushed myself higher up than her.

"I want a swing competition!" Luke, the oldest member of the Playground Gang at seventeen, demanded. "If Tabby, who's two years older than you, Lexi, is bragging about going higher than you, then we really should go back to our early days of primary school."

"Do you accept, Miss Martin, Miss Anderson?" Asher asked.

"Yessir!" I nodded vigorously.

Tabitha smirked. "Certainly. We all know who's going to win (me, obviously), but it would be fun."

I laughed. "Ready when you are."

"Alright. On the count of three. One, two, three!"

As soon as Tabitha said "three,"  we pushed off at the same time, pumping ourselves higher and higher. I closed my eyes. I felt like I was truly flying.

I wonder what it would be like to be a bird. I could just fly away from all my worries.

"Hey, Lexi, Tabitha's going higher than you!" Asher's voice disrupted my reverie.

I launched my legs back into action. Soon, I was beating Tabitha again.

We were so blissfully unaware of what would occur at this very spot. At our beloved park. Something that would change our lives forever. Something that would cause us to befriend all sorts of other kids. Something that would unite us forever. But at that moment, we were just kids having fun.

"And that's it!" Luke announced. "Lexi Anderson is the winner!"

I quit swinging to let my swing descend to a level reasonable enough for me to jump. Tabitha did the same.

"Wanna jump together?" she asked.

"Uh, yes! Should we do a countdown?"

"Nah, just let me know when you're ready."

"What about...now!"

We leaped off the swings in (relative) unison, both landing in a heap on the rubber.

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen." Asher nodded his head in approval.

"Excuse me?" a new voice said. "Are the swings open now?

The voice belonged to a boy about ten years old. He had curly, dirty blonde hair and light brown eyes. Next to him was a little blonde-haired girl with pigtails. She was most likely six or seven.

"Yeah, they are," I answered. "You two can use them."

"Thanks. You're the American girl who just moved here, right? My cousin Asher told me all about you. I'm Jonas, and this is my little sister Macie."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm Lexi. Anyway, I need to go join the others at the main playground. I don't want to miss above-the-ground freeze tag. Talk to you later!"

I rushed off to go join the others. Above-the-ground freeze tag was honestly the best playground game ever. It was pretty much freeze tag mixed with The Floor Is Lava. We were in the middle of a very heated round when I noticed something that caused my jaw to drop.

"What in the literal world just happened?" I gasped. My whole body went slack, and I slipped off the monkey bars. I was barely able to smooth out my landing.

"What are you talking about, Lexi?" Luke was perplexed.

"Whatever it was, it either stunned her or scared her half to death. She's literally hyperventilating." A concerned expression swept across Asher's face.

Tabitha was by my side in a moment. "Deep breaths, Lexi. Calm yourself down! What did you see that stunned you so much?"

"I...I saw a b-boy appear out of thin air. St-stuff like that only happens in stories! I-it shouldn't happen in the real world!"