‘A 15 year old boy has been murdered by a criminal who has recently escaped from jail. Family say that the boy’s name was Hayden. Hayden Ryan.’

All of my hearing went fuzzy. Hayden was one of my best friends throughout Primary School... suddenly I hear the news reporter speaking again. 

‘The criminal left a note behind, and here is what was written: Max Taylor, Aria M and Henok Gebru. You’re next.’

No... this had to be a dream. I was Max. My crush was Aria. And my very best friend was Henok.

 I speed up the road on my bike, pedalling as fast as I can. It is 11:30pm on New Years Eve and I promised my crush Aria that I would be at the party. Come to think of it, why did she want me to come so much? My train of thought is interrupted as I swerve out of the way of another bike rider.

“Henok!” I exclaim. Henok is my best friend, small, black skin and short, curly hair. 

“Hey bro,” he calls back. “Looks like we’re both trying to get to the party on time. I need to have a break though.” We say our goodbyes as I continue to speed along on my bike in the direction of the party. After about 10 minutes I arrive at the entrance. Throwing off my helmet, I lock my bike on the bike racks and race into the party, where I am bombarded by loud music and flashing disco lights. 

“Hey Max!” An enthusiastic voice calls out. I look over and see Aria, my crush since grade four. 

“Hi Aria,” I call back as she runs over and grabs my arm.

“The countdown is about to start! You know what that means...” I blush and look at her. I instantly get lost in her beautiful eyes.

“Wh-what??” I stutter, my blush intensifying. Aria doesn’t answer, just moves closer to my face. 

“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed, you know that?” She whispers, her voice barely audible. This is the only time in my life I haven’t been able to think of a smartass response. Suddenly I hear chants of 5! I look into Aria’s eyes. 4! I take in the details of her face. 3! Her face is beautifully framed by her black hair. 2! We move even closer to each other. 1! We kiss. I had always wondered what a kiss was like, and why a first kiss was so important, but now I think I know why. I feel an electrical current run through my spine as she wraps her arms around my neck. I put my hands on her hips. But, seeing as though we are human, we eventually break apart for breath. Straight after I hear Henok call out “GET A ROOM YOU TWO!!” I shake my head and laugh. He’s got so much to learn about crushes.

 I wake up in the spare bedroom’s Queen Sized bed. I feel something to my left so I look over, and there I see Aria. I suddenly remember the events of last night. After the party, Aria came home with me as my new girlfriend. I grin at this thought and decide to let her sleep for a while longer. I start to wonder where Hayden was last night though... oh well. He’ll show up eventually. I hear Aria waking up, so I turn over to greet her.

“Good morning Cutie,” I say as she opens her eyes. 

“Hi Senpai,” she says sleepily. “Did you sleep well?

“Yes, thanks to you!” I reply and she answers “same here.” We both stretch and yawn. Once we are both fully up, I offer to walk her back to her house, and she agrees.

———4 hours later————

I start chatting to Aria over Clash Royale because her phone isn’t the greatest. We chat until 7:00 when I leave the chat and turn on the news to see what’s new.