Begin Again

Chapter One

It was a beautiful, bright sunny day in Manhattan. I left my house early like I did every day that summer trying to enjoy my last moments in New York. I passed by Starbucks on my way to Central Park.

Even after living in New York all my life I never quite got used to its beauty. Flowers blooming throughout the year. Couples walking by too distracted by each other to notice anything happening around them. Children running around, chasing each other, running away from their mothers, sneaking in the bushes, eating ice cream, playing with their kites. People who came here to clear their head. Groups of friends laughing without a care in the world. It was beautiful to watch the harmony between Nature and us, humans.

 Central Park had always been my favorite place in New York. It’s where I went when I needed time to think, or just when I wanted to be alone. I sat at my usual spot; a bench right in front of the big pond filled with Swans. In the winter, they would migrate and I always found myself wondering where they’d go, what they’d see, and why they’d always come to the pond in the spring. But now, that I had to leave my own pond that I realized the answer. It’s always good to come back home.

 As I sat there with my morning coffee, I waited for Serena to show up. Serena and I had been friends for as long as I can remember. Our parents knew each since High School so when our mothers got pregnant around the same time it was bond for us to become good friends. She, unlike any other girl I knew, understood what it was like to live in the Upper East Side and not loving the glamorous and fabulous life they show on Gossip Girl. It’s not like that. Well maybe it is. But not for us, our parents always made sure that we kept our feet on the ground and that everything they accomplished was product of hard work and dedication and not just pure luck. Which was what everyone on the Upper East Side seemed to think, “My parents have money so why should I bother?”.

 As I thought about all of this, I saw her approaching. Fabulous as always, Serena was the one who stood out between the both us. She had long blonde hair that always seemed to be perfectly combed in all the right places. Tall and skinny she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen and everyone seemed to think so as well.

       “Sav, I’m so sorry you will not believe who I ran into!”

       “Well good morning to you too S, who did you run into?”

She sat next to me, breathing fast like she ran all the way from home, which I doubt given the humongous heels she was wearing. I didn’t particularly enjoy wearing heels. Even though my parents had enough money to buy whatever pair of ridiculously expensive heels I wanted, I always felt more comfortable with my converse. Jeans, converse and a T-shirt. That was my go-to look.

       “Liam!”

Now, not once in my life, had I ever heard that name but I felt scared to ask because it was quite possible that she mentioned him earlier but I just didn’t pay attention to it at the time. Now that I think about it, maybe I should’ve.

“Am I supposed to know who that is?”

“Oh come on, we’ve been over this so many times!”

As I said, I should’ve paid attention.

“Sorry, you know I’m bad with names!”

I’m not really, I just didn’t pay attention. I really need to work on that.

“Okay so Liam is one of the guys from your new school! He’s so funny and quite good looking as well but overall a really nice guy”

“Sounds like it. Can’t wait to make this guy’s acquaintance”

I know I sound really bored, but I wasn’t. I just wasn’t ready to leave New York. It has been my home for as long as I can remember and now that I was leaving...I don’t know, it just didn’t seem right.

“Got everything packed for tomorrow?” - Serena said.

“Yes…of course...”

“I can’t believe you still haven’t packed! And here you are, sitting in Central Park, sipping your coffee, talking to me!”

“Well to be fair, you did agree to meet with me”

“Touché” she said “Well I’ll leave you to it now. Need to get some of my stuff ready as well, but I’ll call you tonight and we’ll go out for dinner. Just the two of us.”

“Okay I’ll let you know when I’m done packing”

“Good love, and don’t worry about London! Trust me you’ll love it way more than you think you will!”

And then she left. I wasn’t usually that cold with her, but I just wasn’t in the best of moods. My dad got yet another job offer to work in London, doing I’m not really sure what. Serena had moved there a couple of years ago, and we drifted apart over time but now that I was also moving there we came together as one again. I wasn’t particularly excited about leaving New York. Not only was I moving countries, I would also be in a completely different continent with an entirely different culture that I had only seen on TV. On BBC Lifestyle to be more exact. But still. Change didn’t necessarily mean bad things would come out of it. Change can often have a positive connotation but I’m a teenager and change doesn’t sound as welcoming as it’s meant to be. But maybe S, was right, maybe London would be good for me. Maybe I’ll even love it more than I love New York!

 I got up and walked all the way home. It wasn’t a long walk but it left me quite out of breath reminding me of how unfit I was and how next soccer season I would suffer as much as a fish out of water. I got home packed everything I needed, or should I say, watched Maria as she packed everything I needed since she wouldn’t let me help her with anything. I ended up falling asleep due to my lack of activity and Serena called a couple of times but I never heard any of them so we ended up not having dinner together as planned.

 Part of me was excited about this change. New country, new continent, new culture (only previously known through BBC Lifestyle), while yet another part of me was anxious and nervous and scared because just like the swans, what if I would never get used to it and would always want to go back to my pond in Central Park?

A.N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading. I'm having a lot of fun so far writing this fanfic. Next update will be soon indeed, and once again just wanted to point out that the love story is real even tho all names were changed, along with settings and minor details to make real life sound more interesting than it really is! If you could vote and/or comment that'd be very much appreciated, constructive criticism is always welcome! You can follow me on twitter @Beatriz_Lopes97 xoxo