Our Promise

My eyes pop open as I feel the airplane bounce as it lands. I cover my mouth, trying to stifle a yarn and then lean over Lewis to glance out the window. Lewis has my iPod and is surfing my songs with my earphones in his ears. Looking out the window, I see the other airplanes, sitting idle by LAX Airport. This airport is huge, bigger than the one in London.

There are palm trees all around the airport and the sky is very blue with tons of clouds moving slowly. I lean back into my seat and press the button to release the seatbelt that keeps me held in the seat. My dad is yapping on his phone as soon as the Pilot comes on the intercom and announces we have landed. I pull my arm behind my neck and stretch it to try and loosen my stiff bones. My dad pops Lewis on his head and motions for him to help him with our carry-on bags.

Lewis frowns, but turns off my iPod and stuffs it in his jacket pocket instead of giving it back to me. I grab my bag from Lewis' grip and hold my hand out for my iPod. "Let me listen to it more, Lena." He mumbles, not wanting to beg me for it. Rolling my eyes, I turn around on my heels and mistakenly bump into a teen boy around my age. His jet black hair is messy on his head and his skin is a perfect tan. He has slight bags under his beautiful, sparkly green eyes.

"Oh...sorry." I mumble under my breath, looking down at my feet. Without a response, he grabs his carry-on bag from above him and storms off towards the airplane exit. As he storms off, I look up to examine him. He is wearing basketball shorts and a fitting white tee and flip-flops. Nice.

My dad grabs my arm and leads me towards the exit, and I try and not bump into anyone as I move along the crowded aisle. When we walk out of the airplane, I immediately see tons of people surrounding the exit. Not fazed by the hundred of people, my dad continues to lead me towards the exit.

I snatch my arm away from him, getting annoyed that he was leading me as if I was two years old. We both step through the exit at the same time and the Flight Attendant to the left of us nods her head, "Welcome to Los Angeles." She says in her American accent. Her smile is very warm, but I just stare at her as if she was the foreigner. I then remember that I am.

Her hair is brunette, and long down her back pulled into a ponytail. Her lips are drawn into a tight smile, and her eyes are a light blue. Her cheekbones are very high, with a little red blush on them. Star studs are in her ears and the matching necklace is draped on her neck. She begins looking confused when I don't turn my gaze from her. I am forced to though when Lewis pushes me slightly ahead and I turn back to glare at him.

"What? You was standing there like an idiot." He says, brushing past me and hurrying to catch up with my dad. I lag behind to examine the people, and the entire airport. The conversations sound a lot like the ones we have in England, only with an accent. When we get into the Common Hallway, I look around and I smell coffee and other food items. I quicken my pace now, and when I catch up to my dad, I tap his arm. "Father, can we get coffee?"

He pauses for a second to think, "Sure, honey. How about we go there?" He points towards a room which has Starbucks ontop of it. I grin when I see that, because that was my favorite place to go when I lived in London. "Oh, you like Starbucks, don't you?" He eyes me for my response, and I nod my head. Lewis groans in irritation, as he swipes at his head.

"It is very hot. Can you hurry up?"

I roll my eyes. "Maybe you should have worn some shorts and a white tee instead of a sweater." I snap, walking towards Starbucks. The coffee joint isn't very crowded as it is in London, but that means I can get my coffee quicker. Walking up to the counter, I scan the menu. Each time I come to Starbucks, I always order something different. Within a minute, I decide on what I want to get. "Can I please get an Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha?"

The cashier nods her head. "Sure, what size?"

"Tall."

My dad comes up behind me with the money in his hand. He sets it on the counter and the lady grabs it and rings it up into the register. After a minute passes, she sets my Mocha on the counter. I instantly grab it and then head back out into the Common Hallway, where Lewis is sitting on a white bench with the words Welcome to Los Angeles on it. He reaches out and takes the Mocha from me. Sipping on it, I snatch it back from him.

"You should've got your own!" I say, squinting my eyes at him.

"You drank my Sunkist." He mumbles, raising an eyebrow at me. I roll my eyes at him, stirring the Mocha and sipping on it some more. The coffee runs down my throat and I moan in delight. My dad comes behind me and motions for Lewis to get up and for both of us to follow him. We both follow him to an elevator and then to pick up our luggage.

It takes us about 20 minutes to pick out our luggage and then head out to the parking lot to grab our awaiting rental car. Lewis picks up the last of our bags and stuffs it into the trunk. Before he got a chance to get around to the front passenger door, I run over and hop in. He glares at me and I smile sarcastically at him. "Get in the back, little boy."

"Shut the hell up, Selena."

Reluctantly, he opens the back door and climbs in. My dad rolls his eyes at both of us. "I do not want to go through this Lewis and Selena. You two will get along and enjoy this move. You will both go and see your new school this evening and then tomorrow I signed you guys up for a tour. I have to go to my new office to check things out."

I smack my lips at my dad and cross my arms. Damn it. I really want my iPod back, but Lewis already has the earphones stuck in his ears and I don't feel like starting an argument. "I don't want to go on no damn tour. And I really am not going to that school which you are forcing me to go to." Winding down the window next to me, I let my hair blow in my face and try my best to block out my dads new lecture.

**

My dad pulls down a street which has tall, huge houses lining each side. A nice car or truck is parked in the driveway of each, and the grass is trimmed down with a nice garden found somewhere on the property. I stick my head out the window and gaze up at the sky, which provides only the sun to shine back down at me. The weather here in L.A. is something compared to London, which is alway chilly. The weather here is hot, and has little to no breeze.

After a minute, my dad pulls up to a tall stone house with a little brick on the side. A garage is attached with a gray driveway and a white van sitting in the middle of it, idle. My dad stops the car and pulls out the keys. "Get out." He looks back at Lewis, who has his eyes closed and Lewis' ears and his eyes pop open. "Out. We're here."

My dad's mood has changed drastically since we left the airport. His eyes are less cheerful and hopeful and he looks worried. Instead of worrying over him, I swing open the door and step out onto the freshly manicured lawn. A mailbox is placed in the ground in the middle of our lawn with our name engraved on it. Jones. I slam the car door and walk onto the pavement towards the front door.

The van's front door swings open and I see a foot hit the pavement. Lewis walks up behind me and points to the man stepping out of the van.

The man is dark-skinned with casual jeans on and a light yellow dress shirt on. He has on dress shoes and a nice diamond watch on his right wrist. His shirt is rolled up and a tie is casually around his neck. "Hello!" He says, raising his hand and waving at Lewis and I.

I frown at him, and turn to face my dad who is rummaging through the trunk. The man continues to walk towards where Lewis and I am, so I move behind Lewis. "Who are you?" Lewis growls out, staring at the man.

"No home training, eh?" The man laughs out, and extends his hand towards Lewis. When Lewis just stares at it, he places his hand back at his side. "I'm Mr. Martin. I, uh, hired your father to work for me at my business." He peers behind Lewis at me, as I lean back on the car. "No need to hide, I'm friendly." He chuckles at his joke.

My dad suddenly rushes towards Mr. Martin. "Hey, Eric." He nods his head, slapping the guy on his back. "Why're you here?"

"I need to speak with you."

"Okay." My dad turns towards Lewis and I and points towards the truck. "Selena and Lewis, please get the stuff and put them in the house. Start unpacking your stuff." He says, tossing Lewis the keys before following Mr. Martin towards his van. I roll my eyes before stumbling towards the truck and grabbing some of our luggage.

Lewis grunts as he grabs a heavy box. "Selena, open the door." He tosses the keys in my direction.

I grab hold of the luggage and pull it behind me up the walkway towards the front door. Sticking the key in the keyhole, I twist and the door creaks open. I kick it open with my foot, and pull the luggage behind me as I step into the house. The floor is a shiny hardwood brown and a peach shaded wall. There is a chandelier dangling from the ceiling and a mirror on the wall.

"Oh my gosh." I say, leaving my mouth agape.

I hear Lewis dropping the box down on the floor and leaning on the doorway. "This is okay. I would prefer our home back in London." He grumbles before turning around to go and retrieve the other boxes.

While he goes to do that, I pull out my iPhone and pull up Ty's cellphone number. Pressing CALL, I wait for Ty to answer. He finally picks up on the third ring, and I hear loud music in the background. "Ty?"

"Selena! Hey, babe. How're you?" He asks, speaking loudly into the speaker trying to talk over the music.

"Fine. I landed safely and am in my new house already. It's...nice." I mumble the last part, not wanting to admit that this place is okay. "What are you doing? You okay?"

Ty is silent for a moment before I hear the music lower. "Nothing. Relaxing at my place, listening to music. I miss you very bad, Lena." He says.

I smile at the sound of his voice. Missing Ty is terrible, I can't imagine not being without him. "I miss you too, Ty. I'm sorry I didn't call you as soon as I landed. America is different. Everybody speaks differently, but I knew that." I sigh, leaning back against the wall. "My dad is making me and Lewis go and check out our new school today, then tomorrow he is making us go on a tour."

"Damn. I wish you were eighteen already, then you could've stayed here with me." He says, I can hear him fiddling with the radio in the background. I then hear somebody yelling in the background. His focus moves from me to the person near him. "No! Hold up. Wait!" He yells, pulling the phone away from his ear.

"Selena!" A chirpy voice yells into the phone. I notice the voice as Lia.

I scrunch up my eyebrows, surprised that they are hanging out. They usually never talked except for when I was around. And when I say, 'don't talk,' I mean to each other, "Lia? What're you doing at Ty's?" I ask, curious.

"We are friends, you know?"

Twisting my lips, I sigh. "Oh...right. I miss both of you guys really bad! It's so hot here, and I know nobody!"

"Hot is good, eh? Swimming...boys-" I hear Ty yelling in the background when Lia say's that. I giggle lightly that he still believes in our promise. In the next second, Ty is back on the phone. "No, Lena. Remember our promise."

"I will, and you better, too!"

"Of course. Love you."

I bite my lip, "Love you, too."