Back to You

one

As her phone rings, Via is awoken from her slumber, squinting her eyes at the light blaring from her screen.

It's 6:30 in the morning – which is way too early for most people, and while the night owl in Via wants to complain, she reminds herself, 'the early bird gets the worm.' She's not sure what the worm is in her perspective, but she does know it's there, which is enough reason for her to jump out of bed to get ready to start the day.

Via's morning routine is simple. There's nothing extraordinary about it, like climbing a mountain or deep-sea diving, as you (probably don't) do. She washes her face, gets dressed, eats  breakfast and goes to school with Kio. There's no need for her makeup routine, seeing as she only puts on lip balm or the occasional lip tint.

Sometimes, Via marvels at how put-together her life is. She even annoys herself with how sickeningly positive and motivated she is. More often than not she finds herself wishing she could be more casual with how she deals with her life, like having lazy days and being slightly more reckless. Skipping class may be an easy task for some, but Via is so well-placed in her upbringing that she can't even comprehend skipping class without thinking of the consequences.

Via jumps when Kio appears before her as she eats her breakfast, looking up to see said boyfriend laughing at her, hands clutching his stomach.

"Your face," Kio snorts. "Wish you could've seen it."

Via smiles at him, watching as he doubles over in laughter. Pinching his arm, she whines, "Stop laughing at me!" which only makes Kio laugh harder. She pouts at him, sipping her coffee as she waits for him to finish.

Kio finally calms down, grinning as he ruffles her hair. "You're cute, you know?"

"I've been told a few times." she says as she brushes out the tangles in her hair. "What's gotten you all happy-go-lucky this morning?"

"Probably the grilled cheese sandwich my mom made for me this morning, now that I think about it. She made one for you, I have it in my car." Kio muses as he plays with Via's hair.

Finishing her coffee, she washes her cup, and turns toward the bathroom. "Tell your mom I said thanks, I'm going to brush my teeth real quick so we can leave." she says before she dashes inside, clearly excited to eat the grilled cheese sandwich Kio's mother prepared for her. Kio chuckles, gathering his stuff and waits at the door for Via to finish.

As they drive to school, Via munches on her sandwich, being careful not to make a mess despite the many times Kio's told her it doesn't matter if she does. He plays with her hand over the console before he holds it, and it's right then and there Via thinks she's falling for him all over again. She wonders how she got so lucky, when all the girls at school are practically falling on their faces just to get a glance from him.

Being the school's playboy, some would think that he'd only have flings rather than settling down with a girl, and if he ever did, he probably wouldn't treat her right. He proved them all wrong when he and Via started dating. She will admit, she was reluctant to trust him at first, but he's done everything he can, going past her expectations.

There's always the jealous students looking down on their relationship, seeing as he's the most attractive boy at school and she's the most attractive girl, on top of that the school's model student. Everyone gets tired of cliches at some point, so Via isn't surprised. She wouldn't call herself arrogant, but don't the other students have better things to do?

Stepping out of the car, Kio slips his hand into Via's as they enter the school. It was a  surprise at the beginning of their relationship, which was almost a year ago - she really expected him to slip his arm around her waist or even lower. It's charming, the way he's always so careful not to lose her,  to let her slip through his fingers. As they reach their lockers, he squeezes her hand before they start their first day of senior high.

With her timetable already memorized, Via hears the familiar clicking of Olivia's shoes approaching as she pulls her books out of her locker. Gracen pokes her side, causing her to start laughing. Olivia shakes her head in amusement, opening her own locker to touch up her makeup.

"Oh, did you hear?  There's going to be a new student in our class," Gracen giggles. "From what I've heard, he's really cute."

Olivia smirks, always the sarcastic one.  "Does it matter? Kio's  got Via wrapped around his little finger, and vice versa. And plus, in Via's eyes, no one's cuter than Kio." Snickering, she turns to Gracen. "Hey, what if he's not as cute as everyone says he is?"

Gracen frowns before smiling again. "Personality matters too!"

Via laughs, nudging Gracen's arm. "Optimistic as ever, G."

The start of a new school year always means new seating, so Kio slides into the seat beside Via a few minutes before homeroom. "Shoot," he complains, standing up and claiming his seat with his bag. "I left my book report in my locker. Make sure no one takes my seat." He kisses her cheek before rushing out of the room. Via chuckles, watching him leave, noticing the jealous and admiring stares directed towards her. It's honestly nothing new.

Ms Temis enters the room, silently taking attendance in her seat, not wanting to waste too much of homeroom. A boy with blonde hair walks into the classroom soon after, scanning the classroom with a smirk before his eyes lock with Via's. Still smirking, he raises an eyebrow at her before approaching the teacher's desk. Smiling, Ms Temis stands up to introduce the newcomer.

"Class 4H, this is Carter Hartridge. He'll be your classmate for the rest of your last school year. Carter, we usually let students pick their own seats each year but seeing as you're new and most of the seats are taken, the options are limited."

"It's fine," His voice is clear, soothing. Via can practically hear Gracen swooning behind her. "There's a seat next to blondie over there." He nods in her direction.

"Speaking of  Via, where's Kio? Doesn't he usually sit next to you?" Ms Temis frowns, looking through her list.

"He is sitting next  to me, Ms Temis. Kio's just grabbing something from his locker." Via says, lightly twirling a pencil between her fingers. She feels almost protective over Kio's seat.

"He's not here, though, is he? New student here, hello? And people say this school is welcoming." Carter snickers, clearly seeming to think he had the upper hand.

"We are. You're just pushing too far. I'll say it again. This seat is taken. I'm sorry you don't have a seat but that doesn't give you the right to take my boyfriend's seat. Ms Temis will work something out for you." Via's voice rises, finishing her monologue just as Kio slides into the classroom. A few of their classmates laugh seeing the look on Carter's face as Ms Temis frowns.

Just as Kio is about to walk over to his seat, Ms Temis stops him. "We need to get Carter a seat. Wait a minute, Kio."

Via smiles at Kio before staring Carter down, feeling almost disappointed. "Ian Taylor! You're in the wrong class. It's the classroom across the hall." Ms Temis calls. Via turns to look behind her to see Ian at the back of the classroom, sitting in a single-seater in an attempt to sit behind Hailey Richards. Via smirks, knowing Carter has no choice but to sit there. Hailey Richards is a dandruff machine. Just one brush of her hair could create a horrifyingly disgusting mountain of flakes. Via shudders at the mere thought of it.

Ms Temis tells Carter to sit there, who shrugs in amusement, unaware of the monster machine that is Hailey. Kio sits next to Via, smiling at her before squeezing her hand. Pushing the thought of Carter to the back of her head, she squeezes Kio's hand back, finally ready to start the school day.

'Hah, serves him right. So arrogant.'