"Mia, could you pass the orange juice?" Mom asked, extending her hand.

I nodded, passing her the carton before going back to finishing my oatmeal, stealing a glance at her once every five minutes.

Once Mom had caught my glance, she raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright?" she asked in concern, taking another sip of her orange juice before passing it back.

"Just nervous for the first day of school, that's all..." I said softly, taking another bite of my oatmeal so I wouldn't have to talk to her any longer.

"Well, you'll work through it," she started, standing up. "Like you always do." Mom grinned - she was in a very peculiar mood today. Rather than indulging herself in work earlier in the morning, she was up making breakfast, and taking care of Toby. The things she left for Dad to do before she'd go off to work. And of course, Dad would sit on the couch and watch the big game until lunch, the only time in which he'd finally remember to feed the baby.

Squeezing my shoulders, Mom finished her philosophical statement of the day by telling me to clear off the rest of the table before I left to school.

Great. School.

After a summer with no friends in Italy, I doubted that anybody would recognize me. I mean, sure, there would be the occasional 'hi' but besides that, nothing.

I sighed, pulling my backpack over my shoulder before heading out. "Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" I shouted, closing the door behind me.

As I turned around, I felt a slight pain in my shoulder. I looked up at the slightly taller figure in front of me before grinning. "Chase!" I shouted, wrapping my arms around him.

"Mia!" he yelled back before pulling me into a ginormous hug. Embracing him as tight as I could, I couldn't help but notice Zeke, my other best friend, who stood on the other end of the driveway.

Giving him a quick smile, I began to let go until Chase pulled me back, hugging me harder than before. "I missed you," he whispered in my ear.

Immediately, I went red.

Just his touch was enough to send shivers down my spine. It was almost if he could set my whole body on fire, and I wouldn't have a care in the world.

Chase was my childhood friend, and crush. We'd known each other since kindergarten, and it was then he introduced me to his other friend, Zeke.

"I missed you too," I whispered back before releasing again, waving for Zeke to come over.

"Zeke!" I shrieked happily, pulling him in for a hug. "I haven't seen you in a year!" I shouted, ruffling his hair slightly.