5

Chapter 5: Une Erreur la Première Fois, Une Décision la Seconde

It was now the middle of autumn and Avery was more than excited. Today she had planned to go for a walk along her favourite walking trail. It was always beautiful this time of year, covered with brown, yellow, red and orange leaves. She would always return home with crushed foliage in her hair because she was never able to resist the urge to jump into a pile of leaves and start making angels in them.

She was in the process of putting on her cardigan and boots when her phone rang, vibrating in the back pocket of her jeans. A picture she had taken of herself and Carson presented itself on the screen of her phone when she took it out.

The party at Kaden's house had taken place two weeks ago and Carson had been upset at her the following day. At first, Avery had felt guilty when he told her about how worried he was and the lengths he went to just to find out she was okay and sleeping upstairs. But after a while, she didn't feel guilty when she remembered that it was Carson who had left her in the first place and she would've had an anxiety attack if it wasn't for Alex Rivers. So she stated her claim and the tables turned.

Avery's finger swiped the screen to accept the call. "Hey Aves, are you on your way?" Carson's voice sounded through the speaker. The phone was now nestled in the crook between her jaw and her shoulder as she bent down, tying the laces of her boots while folding her lips in concentration. She hummed affirmatively and said, "Yeah, I should be there in two minutes or so."

For once, Carson didn't seem to have football practice on a Saturday and was able to join Avery on her walk to admire the beauty of autumn. When she finished getting ready, Avery called out a goodbye to her parents before leaving the house.

The chilly wind greeted her as soon as she stepped outside and it ruffled her curls. A small smile settled on her face as she took a deep breath in and started down the pavement to the point where she and Carson were meant to meet. Upon seeing her best friend dressed in a sweatshirt, joggers and sneakers, she knew they were both on this walk for different reasons. He was obviously going to jog (most likely run) in compensation for his cancelled football practice.

"You have a problem," she rolled her eyes at him when she reached him. Carson was stretching and bouncing on the balls of his feet, warming himself up for his run. He paused for a while to give Avery a friendly hug. "You just can't give yourself a break, can you?"

Carson chuckled lightly, picking his water bottle up from the ground, "If I want to do this professionally, I can't just be taking breaks whenever I can."

"Well, I won't be jogging with you. I'm here for the scenery, not for exercise," Avery folded her arms, slightly whipping her head back to move the hair from her face. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to wear her hair out on such a windy day.

Carson observed Avery's attire, "Really? I never would've guessed." He smirked playfully, bumping his shoulder with hers. Well, his forearm, based on their height difference.

"You look cute though," he added as they both started walking towards the trail, "I might have to fight down a few thirsty boys."

"Oh yeah?" Avery snorted, her words laced with sarcasm, "Hope you can put up a good fight."

Carson shook his head as he laughed before picking up the pace, leaving Avery some way behind him. "Already?" she called out after him in disbelief.

A big gust of wind hit Avery, getting a few strands of hair in her eye. She groaned and halted her slow pace. She may not have been the best at planning ahead, but she always stored spare hair ties in the pockets of her clothing. This time, it came in handy as she bunched up her hair, fixing it into a messy bun. A few stray curls of baby hair fell out at the back, sides and front of her hair despite her attempts to smooth it down. Giving up, she continued on her walk.

She walked slowly down the pavement, her head in the clouds as she admired the trees and the leaves on the ground.

She remembered the first time her parents took her to this pathway to play in the leaves. It was the first of November, exactly eleven years ago when she was seven years old. She was having a bad day, throwing 'fits' at school (which they would later find out was caused by her anxiety) leaving Mrs Toussaint feeling torn. Due to the way she was raised by her Congolese parents, she would have spanked Avery for her bad behaviour as her parents believed that that was the best way for children to learn. They believed that if a child feels negative consequences after they did something wrong, they would be less likely to repeat what they had done. It was what Mrs Toussaint had known.

Avery had disrupted her class multiple times, leaving her teacher frustrated and her classmates upset and so in return, Mrs Toussaint had to discipline her daughter. After she had sat Avery down after school, Avery burst into uncontrollable tears and Mrs Toussaint couldn't find it within herself to hurt her child. She looked to her husband to do the job but in France, they looked down upon corporal punishments. He had been born and raised in France, like his wife, but unlike her, he had French parents, not Congolese ones. Seeing how upset both his daughter and wife were, he suggested they take a walk.

It was during their walk that they stumbled upon the walking trail. Seeing the pretty colours of all the leaves had lifted Avery's spirits and she tugged on her father's hand, pulling him into the area of trees off the side of the pavement to play in them. Despite the day's previous negativities, Avery always regarded it as one of the best days of her life.

Steering off the trail and into the area filled with trees, Avery took out her phone to take pictures. She stooped down the ground, angling herself and placing her phone in the position to get the best picture. She looked down at the screen and smiled to herself in satisfaction.

When Carson jogged back to meet his best friend twenty minutes later, he noticed she was nowhere to be found. "Shit," he cursed under his breath, feeling the same feeling of worry in his chest that he had felt two weeks ago at the party when he couldn't find Avery. It was when he brought his hand up to run it through his hair, he saw movement through a space in the trees. Walking towards it and moving the branches out of his way he found Avery in a pile of leaves that she must have put together herself. A big smile on her face and a couple of leaves in her hair, she looked up and greeted him breathlessly, "Hi! How was your jog?"

He shook his head at her, a small smile playing at his lips, "You scared me, you know?" Reaching out a hand to her, he pulled her up out of the leaf pile and helped dust her off. When they were finished and most of the foliage seemed to be out of her hair and off of her clothes, Carson put his arm over her shoulder, "Want to go to Starbucks?" he asked. Avery smiled and nodded.

Though Carson was more than willing to walk to the café, Avery insisted that it was too far and so the two found themselves walking back to her house so that she could drive her car. After a few short minutes of walking, they reached Avery's house. Her mother had been watering the plants outside and so spotted her daughter and her best friend. She smiled and sent them a wave.

"Bonjour, madame," Carson waved back to Mrs Toussaint. She embraced him, kissing both his cheeks. "Bonjour, Carson. How are you? It's been a while since I've seen you." {Hello, Ma'am}

"Yes, madame. I've been really busy with football. This is my last year of high school and I'm working really hard to get a scholarship."

Both Avery and Mrs Toussaint found it admirable how polite and gentlemanly Carson could be. Avery had always somewhat envied his ability to win the hearts of any crowd.

"Yes, that's what Avery tells me. She speaks highly of how committed you are. Mr Toussaint and I would love it if you could stop by for dinner one day after school?"

"Well, Wednesday is the only day during the week that I don't have practice, so I'll take you up on that offer next Wednesday, madame." Mrs Toussaint nodded appreciatively before turning to her daughter, "So, what are you kids doing here so soon?"

"Nous allons à Starbucks, maman," Avery responded to her mother. "We only stopped here so I could get the car." {We're going to Starbucks, mom}

"D'accord. Have fun," Mrs Toussaint opened the garage for her daughter using the remote in the pocket of her apron. {Okay}

"À bientôt," Carson said to Avery's mother, bidding her goodbye. Over the years that he and Avery had been friends, he had taken it upon himself to learn a few French phrases and the gesture greatly warmed the family's hearts. Mr and Mrs Toussaint primarily speak English when they are around him in order to make him feel included, so it really was not necessary. {See you later}

Avery grabbed her car keys from a bowl that was perched on a desk in the garage. After they got in Carson commented to her, "You know I really love your mom."

"Yeah well, she really loves you too. It's because she thinks you were raised well and are the perfect gentleman. It also helps that she thinks you're in love with me," Avery giggled slightly with a slight blush.

Carson felt a blush rise to his cheeks as well and moved his head to look out his window as Avery reversed out of the garage. "Well..."

"Oh, don't tell me you're in love with me Carson Armani," Avery teased him, removing one hand from the steering wheel to shove his arm playfully.

Carson paused. "I am," he said, causing Avery to glance over at him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and slight guilt.

"I-what?" she whispered.

Suddenly Carson burst out into laughter, unable to keep it in any longer, "Oh my God, you should've seen your face."

"You morceau de merde!" she exclaimed, slapping his arm with her free hand repeatedly while trying to keep her eyes on the road. He grabbed it and gave her palm a small platonic kiss in apology. {piece of shit}

"You suck," Avery groaned, "Don't put me in that situation ever again. I didn't even know what to say. I was so afraid I would hurt your feelings and then things would be awkward."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Carson apologised, "But, I guess I can see why your mom would think that. We are very close friends."

Avery parked her car and the two got out, walking towards the entrance of the Starbucks. "For the distress that you put me through, you're paying for my drink."

Carson swung his arm over her shoulder and rubbed her arm as she pouted. "I'm guessing you want a matcha green tea frappuccino?"

"Yes, please," she smiled.

Carson nodded, moving to join line. Avery decided that she would save them a table so they'd have somewhere to sit when Carson got their drinks. She scanned the room and when she saw an empty booth she walked towards it. She felt her phone vibrate repeatedly in her back pocket as her phone instantly connected to the Wi-Fi. You know what they say, home is where the Wi-Fi connects.

Reaching for her back pocket, she obtained her phone and opened it to check her messages. Her checking was abruptly interrupted by her phone falling to the floor as she bumped into a body. She felt her eyes widen and relief flooded her when she realised the screen had not cracked.

"Wow, Freckles. Fancy that," she heard a familiar voice and a familiar nickname. Standing up with her phone in hand, she faced the source. It was Alex Rivers. The two hadn't seen each other since the party two weeks ago, not that they'd have any reason to. They both took different classes, only sharing a few free periods which they spent in different places. Given the large population of their school as well, there was a low chance that they would bump into each other by accident like their first encounter.

"You know, one time is a mistake but the second time is a decision," Alex smirked teasingly.