One

If there's nobody to hold your hands while you walk, tuck em in your pockets and keep walking...

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"Hurry up, Eleanor! Parker's waiting," Mrs Parks yelled from the kitchen.

Ellie hurried out of her room, grabbing books and shoving them in her book bag on her way out. She paused in the kitchen to grab a sandwich and an apple which she also shoved in her bag. She hugged her mom who didn't hug her back. Instead, she stiffened then pulled away.

Ellie ignored it, choosing to focus on less hurtful things; like Parker who was waiting for her. She shouted a hurried greeting to her dad who muttered something in return before she shut the door.

She was out of the house in three minutes.

Parker Diego, her all time best friend was blaring his horn frantically in front of her house and she groaned, imagining what the neighbors would be thinking. Ellie ran towards the car, knowing how much he hated being late on a Monday and with the hopes of getting him to stop honking loudly.

"I'm so sorry. I overslept, again." She tugged on the car door and slipped in.

Parker glared at her. "Coach's gonna have my head. I'm so skipping first period today," he grumbled, starting the car.

"I have news," she grinned. Ellie had been trying to keep it to herself all morning, but she couldn't wait any longer. She wanted to see how he's react to hearing what she had to say.

He spared her a glance, his eyebrow lifting, asking her to go on.

"I've got a boyfriend, Parker. And I'm very sure I love him," she stated as he drove away from her house.

Parker gripped the steering wheel tighter and pressed down hard on the accelerator. "Who is it?" He gritted his teeth.

"Woaw, slow down dude!" she giggled at the way he growled.

Trying to get under Parker's skin was a favorite game of hers recently. Since the past month when the rumor had started about him dating Brien—the cheerleader not the shy Brien—she'd been filled with this need to have all of Parker's attention. It didn't matter if it was just his anger she got. At least it was still something.

Parker was finally noticing girls and she knew it was just a matter of time before he'd forget about his best friend and move on. When she'd confronted him about Brien, he had said they weren't dating, but had gotten to second base at the gym. That day, Ellie's heart had broken.

From the first moment she knew it was possible to like someone, Parker had been the first and only boy on her mind. She'd been thirteen and he was fourteen. That period, Parker had grown much taller than her, his body had also started to fill out and he was getting more comfortable with himself. It had been a shocking revelation. One moment, he'd been her best friend Parker, then he came back from summer camp and he'd become more to her, so much more.

He had also started getting pissed each time she talked about guys. When she'd called him on it, he'd said he was just trying to protect her as a friend. It had hurt knowing he didn't have ulterior motives. But it was not enough to stop her from trying to get under his skin.

She couldn't wait to see how he'd react to the news she had yet to drop. "It's Dylan, your co-captain."

Parker swerved so fast and hard to the right, Ellie thought she was going to be sick. "Are you crazy?" she yelled as she forced her breathing to return to normal.

He parked along the side of the road and turned to Ellie."Marry me."

He didn't understand his sudden anger and why he had blurted that out. It couldn't be just friendly possessiveness. Ellie had never been interested in guys, so hearing her talk about O'Neil was quite strange for him. It made his heart ache and his hand tremble.

He wasn't entirely sure what it all meant. Sure, he loved Ellie, she was his first friend, and she understood him way more than anyone else. He had started noticing that she was not quite the little girl he had known, and he hadn't known what to do with those strange feelings. So he had pushed it to the back of his mind, chalking it up to his now raging hormones.

Right now, he was noticing a lot of girls. Trying not to think about it didn't stop him from thinking about her, or blushing like an idiot when her name came up in conversations. He usually dismissed it whenever it came to his mind that he might actually like Ellie.

"What? Are you kidding? Oh you definitely are. We are still teenagers anyway," Ellie laughed, looking away from him.

Parker frowned. "I promise you, Ellie. We'll get married someday."

He really couldn't imagine her kissing Dylan or doing much more with him. His stomach clenched and he stopped himself from panicking and thinking way too much about it.

Ellie snorted, "Yeah, dream on."

"Just kidding, babe. Let's head to school." Parker forced a grin at her, then started the car. He was done with this conversation.

"How's your mum? Heard she was ill."

Parker shrugged, happy for the change of topic. "She's just got a cold. And you know how my dad likes to fuss."

They spent the rest of the five minutes drive to school in silence. Ellie was looking forward to seeing Dylan. She had texted him to wait for her in the parking lot, so they'd walk into school together. She wouldn't dwell on why she wanted to see him at the parking lot where Parker could see.

When Parker pulled into the parking lot, she could already see Dylan waiting for her. He was leaning against the wall, his hands tucked in the front pockets of his jeans. Ellie got down and ran towards him. The boy looked up at the sound of her hurried footsteps and smiled in welcome.

"I missed you, Dylan," she hugged him tightly.

"I missed you too, babe. Hi Diego," He nodded at Parker.

Parker scowled at him. "O'Neil," He didn't bother smiling and began to walk towards the front doors of the school. If he lingered, he was sure he'd tear Dylan off of Ellie. Students were already milling about, ready to start a new week.

"Hey, Parks. Don't bother waiting for me after school. Dylan and I are going to the cinema later," Ellie called to him.

"Right," Parker replied, his hands curling into fists. "See you later."