• Angel Heights was a new home to Zoe Mcarther, a new group of friends and a new world of possibilities. At her old school she was the Hot chick, the most popular with the hottest boyfriend, but here she wanted to be a normal person she was no longer the richest kid so she thought that maybe she could get her wish.
    But this was not the case, her first day she knew that this wasn’t to be, she made a group of friends and the hottest guy had already asked her out to which she stupidly agreed.

    Zoe’s next door neighbor was everything she wanted to be, and be with, Mike wasn’t popular. Zoe never could quite get why she was so popular and it never actually bothered her much but after the high life style all she wanted to do was settle down now that she was in year 12 and going to the richest school on the planet she thought she might have a chance.

    Mike liked his life, he wasn’t bothered much and his small group of friends was a real group of friends, they all liked each other and they never fought, they all like the same things and none of them ever really had a steady partner but they didn’t care much.
    When Mike saw his new next door neighbor he instantly developed a crush on her but he knew that she was out of his league so he didn’t even try, until that was the day her parents and his had dinner at Mikes place and she came with, after dinner the adults sat around drinking over a game of scrabble or something and she went to his room to study.

    That night Zoe knew that Mike was the guy for her but she didn’t know how to ask him out and she knew he wouldn’t ever ask her out so she just left it and went on studying and getting to know this new boy.

    The next morning was the weirdest thing for Mike, he woke up and rolled over like he usually did and he then extended his arm and pulled the person next to him closer and when she did move closer he hugged her and fell back to sleep.

    Zoe didn’t know what to think when she woke up in the arms of the boy next door but after she laid there and watched him sleep she realized that this was exactly where she wanted to be. After about ten minutes Zoe started to think about why she was sleeping in Mike’s bed and why her parents let this happen. When Mike finally opened his eyes Zoe smiled at him and they just laid there for a while looking into each others eyes.

    Mike stood up and rubbed his head as he walked to his door and opened it. He then walked into the kitchen where his parents were preparing breakfast,
    “Is Zoe awake yet?” his mum asked as she stood by the toaster waiting for the bread to pop up,
    “Yeah, I have a question, why was Zoe asleep in my bed?” Mike asked as he sat down
    “Well I don’t know, it was more comfortable than the floor maybe, you should ask her” his dad replied
    “No that’s not what I meant, why did you guys let her sleep with me?”
    “Well you looked so peaceful and we trust you too not to do anything, well not with out protection any way,” his dad said while he stood next to the kettle “tea or coffee?”
    “Tea, so you don’t care that a girl slept in my bed with me?”
    “No not particularly, why do you? What dose Zoe want?”
    “Tea please,” Zoe said as she walked into the kitchen and sat next to Mike
    “Good morning” Mike’s mum said as she put a plate of toast down in the middle of the table,
    Zoe smiled and grabbed a piece of toast and buttered it and then she started to eat,
    “Mike, after breakfast do you want to go with your dad and Mr. Mcarther to the car shop to grab some car parts?” Mike’s mum sat down and grabbed a piece of toast while his dad put the mugs down in front of Mike and Zoe,
    “Yeah, that’s cool,” Mike replied as he put his hand next to Zoe’s.

    Zoe looked at Mike’s hand and then she put hers on top of his as she sipped from the hot cup,
    “And you Zoe are going shopping with your mum and I, I’m going to show you two the best shops in town,” Mike’s mum smiled at her and Zoe just nodded in agreement, No matter what Zoe would always like shopping and Angel Heights had the best shops in the world.

    Mike looked out the car window as he thought about Zoe, Dose this mean we are going out? He asked him self as the three men drove to the car part store but his thought pattern was broken by Zoe’s dad “so do you like my daughter Mike?,” He asked
    “Yeah, she’s nice” Mike replied
    “I can trust you?” Zoe’s dad asked as he looked back at the 17 year old,
    “Yeah, you can trust my boy,” Mike’s dad said before Mike could respond,
    “Well that’s good” Zoe’s dad turned back around as they pulled into the car park.

    “Zoe, now we came up with some ground rules if you want a repeat of last night ok,” Zoe’s mum said to her as they walked around the first apartment store,
    “Uhuh,” Zoe said as she looked at a dress that caught her eye,
    “Do you want a repeat of last night,” Zoe’s mum picked up a shirt as she talked
    “As in do you want to date Mike?” Mike’s mum said as she looked at the same shirt as her own mum,
    “Yeah, I do if he does,” Zoe looked up from the dress towards Mike’s mum
    “I think he does like you,” Mike’s mum said as she turned to face Zoe,
    “Well the rules go like this,”

    “First you can’t have her over every night. No sex and if you do use protection and if you get her pregnant then you will have to drop school and get a job,” Mike’s dad said as they scanned the isles
    “Dad, I’m not going to get her pregnant,” Mike said while he looked at a car CD player
    “I’m just saying, also well no, that’s it on the rules.” Mike’s dad picked up the car CD player and put it into the trolley,
    “Yeah I'm cool with that,” Mike said as he looked at some neon lights which his dad also picked up and put into the trolley.

    As Zoe picked out the clothes she wanted the mothers talked about random stuff, Zoe joined in for a few of the conversations but she mainly stayed out of it so she could think, what just happened?, she thought as she looked at a black skirt, how in gods name did they know from one night that we liked each other?, she picked the skirt up and put it with the other clothes she wanted, wait how do I know that I really like him after one night? Is this moving to fast? She stopped and thought about this point but dropped the thought after she realized that this was everything she had ever wanted.

    Mike woke up and stared next to him, at the place that Zoe had slept the night before and he thought about it, so are we going out?, he never actually found out if Zoe had the same conversation with the mothers how did this all happen, that’s the main question, he thought as he got up and got dressed ready for school.

    Zoe walked into the school gates where the schools big boy stood waiting for her,
    “So are we on for tonight?” he asked her as they walked to the main building,
    “Oh s**t I forgot sorry but I can’t,” Zoe replied
    “Well how about tomorrow night?” he asked with a tinge of anger pushing through his usually cool tone,
    “Look I'm going out with someone else. Sorry,” Zoe said as they walked into the hallway,
    “Who, is it Tallon, Shannon, Luke? Who is it,” He asked now really pissed off,
    “No none of them,” she said as she opened her locker,
    “Then who?”
    “Mike,” as she said this she realized that it was a bad thing to do
    “Mike, as in Jarrett?”
    “No as in Erickson,”
    “Mike Erickson, Mike Erickson, who the ******** is, hay wait Mike Erickson, Church, are you serious?” he now looked pissed
    “Church, why Church?”
    “Ever seen “Red VS Blue”?” he asked
    “No, what’s that?”
    “Don’t worry,” he said as he walked away from her

    Mike felt that something was wrong but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it so he just let the feeling go and he carried on with what he was doing until Zoe walked up to him,
    “Mike, I wanna ask you something,” Zoe started
    This is my chance to do it, Mike thought before he blurted out “Go out with me please,”
    “Are we going out,” Zoe finished her sentence just as Mike started his “Forget that question,” she stopped and thought about it for a minute but before she could answer a familiar voice called out Mike’s name and in a flash Mike was knocked into the wall with a thud as the “Big boy” of the school pushed Mike,
    “What the ******** Grey,” Mike yelled as he stood up and rubbed his head “What the ******** was that for?”
    “Stealing my girl why else,” Grey said with visible adrenalin pumping through his body,
    Mike swung and connected with Grey’s jaw which made the school’s sporting hero fall to the floor in pain,
    “You little s**t,” Grey stood up and swung back but missed due to the lack of clear vision from Mike’s first punch, “stop moving you a*****e,” he said as he swung again and missed,
    “Stop it” Zoe yelled as she stood in front of Grey’s next punch which connected with her stomach and sent her back into Mike,
    “Serves you right b***h,” Grey said as he stumbled off down the hall nearly tripping over the bin on the way through,
    Mike held Zoe “Are you ok?” he asked while he watched Grey hit the wall and slide down,
    “Yeah,” she gasped a breath “I'm fine,” she then passed out.

    Zoe woke up in the nurse’s office with Grey laying on the bed across from hers still out cold, Mike was sitting on the chair next to her bed talking to Zoe and Grey’s mum,
    “She’s awake” Zoe’s mum said which made the other two look at her,
    “I'm awfully sorry about my son, are you ok?” Grey’s mum asked as the nurse walked in to check on her.

    After Mike came home and after the lecture about fighting at school he went to his room and sat in front of his computer, he stared at it blankly and thought about the day, Zoe hadn’t given him the answer to his question so he didn’t know what was going on.
    Just then there was a knock at the door and a soft voice “mike.”
    “Come in Zoe,” Mike said as he turned to face the door,
    “Hey. Yes,” she said as she walked in and sat on the bed,
    “Yes” Mike asked her as he walked over to her
    “I would love to go out with you,” she replied softly
    Mike didn’t say anything he just sat down and Zoe stood up and sat between his legs and grabbed his arms to rap around her lower stomach.

    Nothing much changed at school in the few months that followed, Grey stayed clear of both of them and Mike’s reputation went up a lot and Zoe’s went down. Nothing much happened until the day after they had been together for three months. Mike knew the morning he woke up on that single day which his life was about to spiral down into the lower pits of hell.

    Zoe never thought that her life could be more perfect but it was until the third day of the third month of her relationship with Mike. Zoe thought that nothing could go wrong but that was when everything went from great to bad to worse.

    Zoe woke up and looked at Mike who looked like he had been watching her for a while. She smiled at him as he said good morning to her. They both got up and went to the kitchen and ate breakfast. After breakfast they got ready for school and the piled into the car. Zoe walked up to the main building hand in hand with Mike, they walked past the admin building and towards the lockers, a familiar voice broke her bliss and she stopped and turned to the newest student at Angel Heights Senior High School.

    “Nathan, Hi” Zoe said but it wasn’t what she said but how she said it that worried Mike,
    “Hey Nathan,” she said with a fear that made Mike shiver, Nathan was around twice the size of Grey. “This is Mike, my boyfriend” she said as the brick-s**t-house she referred to as Nathan looked him up and down, sizing him up. “We have to go sorry” Zoe finally said as she half dragged the petrified puddle of boy that was Mike away,
    “Who was that?” Mike finally asked as his backbone hardened back into place,
    “Nathan, my sort of ex-boyfriend” Zoe replied after a few seconds of troubling thought
    “Sort of? What do you mean by sort of?” Mike asked almost afraid of the answer she was about to give him,
    “Well we never actually broke up, I just moved,” She said after a minute of even more troubling thought “but don’t worry I still love you.”
    “You love me?” Mike asked but before she could answer he continued “so you are literally still going out with Goliath back there?”
    “Yes I love you and no I’m not”
    “Well a, I love you too and b, you need to sort that s**t out before he comes after me” Mike regretted the last part due to the look of withdrawnness in Zoe’s beautiful green eyes almost like she had lost something, her image of her David of a boyfriend or even a little trust from Mike.

    The next day Zoe met up with Mike like usual and they both headed off to school. Mike seemed normal, not like he did just the day before. They got to school and walked into the main hall and up to there lockers. Zoe felt the air change as she heard the doors at both sides of the corridor open at the same time, and as they did Mike looked up and started to walk off until he saw the other door from which he turned and looked at Zoe with the eyes of a man the day of his execution on death row. Zoe now looked at both of the two new people in the hall. Both Nathan and Grey walked with an arrogance fitting only a man insured of victory. Zoe knew what was going on and she also knew that there was no way out of this tight hall with metal lockers covering each wall from one end to the other.

    Mike mouthed the words “I love you” to Zoe just as the two men walked up to him and he saw the look of sorrow in those eyes he had stared into on so many nights and countless more mornings. Her eyes, he concentrated only on her eyes even when he felt the first hit slam into the side of his face but that was all he could remember before he blacked out.

    That night was worse, Mike seemed to not want to be around Zoe much for the rest of the day and he withdrew him self at lunch and in classes, he wouldn’t sit next to her and he almost ignored her all the way up to when they parted ways after dinner. That night Zoe had a nightmare which made her think about whether Mike was really the right guy for her or if he was only using him and after a huge internal debate she decided maybe three months was long enough for this little experiment and that she really did rush into it. Now all she had to do was tell Mike.

    The phone call made mike sick, he needed out, out of Angel Heights, off of The Mint Islands. He couldn’t believe what Zoe had told him. Mike moped around the house that Saturday and no matter what his parents said they couldn’t get him to tell them what had happened so they called up next door and found out but by that time Mike had left the house.

    Zoe sat on her bed and cried she did this all night long until she cried her self to sleep.
    When she woke up in the morning she turned in hope of seeing Mike next to her, she hoped that it was all just a bad dream but he wasn’t there and she knew that it wasn’t a dream.
    Mike was no where at school and Zoe felt guilty and almost in total regret of what she had done the previous night, she felt sad all day and when she went out of the school gates Nathan stood there next to his car, “Wanna lift?” he asked her to which she just ignored him and walked off.
    Zoe couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe she really did love Mike, and that if she didn’t do something soon that he would be gone, but after a few thoughts she realized that maybe it would be too soon for her to go after him so she should wait a night or two before she went to talk to him. That night she woke up in a sweat with her phone in her hand, “Huh, why do I have,” she stopped her self and looked at the time “It’s only 9 O’clock maybe Mike is still awake,” so she tried his number but his phone was off so she tried the house line,
    “Hello, Erickson residence,” Mike dad answered the phone
    “Hey Mr. Erickson is Mike awake?” Zoe asked
    “Umm sorry Zoe but Mike just went to the airport with his mum, he is flying out to Australia to live with his uncle and aunty for a year over there,” he said
    “When is his flight?” Zoe asked with an urgency that startled even her,
    “10, Good luck.” Mike’s dad said before he hung up,

    Zoe ran down the stairs and into the lounge where her parents were watching a movie, “mum, dad I need someone to take me to the airport,” she said more urgently than before,
    “Slow down, what?” her mum said
    “I need someone to take me to the airport,” she said slower this time,
    “Why?” her dad asked
    “I want to get Mike back,” she said nearly in tears
    “Ok, but what dose this have to do with an airport?” her mum asked as she stood up and walked over to her daughter,
    “He is leaving in at ten to go live in Australia for a year,” she was now crying,
    “Ok let’s go,” her mum said as she walked out side towards the car.

    Zoe ran into the airport and looked at her watch, something she hadn’t done since she checked the time before she tried to call Mike, her heart sunk in her chest, 10:30, she collapsed and cried, “the flight could have been delayed,” her mum reminded her and she stood up and ran to the flight board,
    “Flight 1094 to Sydney Australia, Taken off,”
    “Flight 2769 to Perth Australia, Taken off,”
    “Flight 7591 to Melbourne Australia, Delayed,”
    “Flight 6733 to Adelaide Australia, Taken off,”
    “Which flight was he on?” Zoe asked her self,
    “Well I think I remember Mike’s mum saying the only relatives there family have live in,” Zoe’s mum thought hard
    “Yeah,” Zoe waited impatiently,
    “Rockingham, so he would be on the Perth flight, sorry Zoe,”
    Zoe once again collapsed to the floor crying,
    “Zoe,” Mike’s voice echoing through the airport over the crowds caught her attention.

    Mike ran through the airport yelling Zoe’s name as loud as he could, when he saw Zoe’s mum standing next to the flight board he new Zoe was close. He ran into Zoe’s arms, they didn’t speak for about ten minutes,
    “I'm never going to do anything like that again,” Zoe was the first to break the silence,
    “I love you Zoe,” Mike said.