I went to sit with Kendall in her garden, which although beautiful was admittedly slightly overgrown. Kendall watched as a butterfly fluttered past us for a moment, before turning her attention back to me. She didn't say anything, but her eyes examined me for a moment, and I trailed my fingers through my blonde hair in nervousness. My hair had some method of bringing me comfort. I had it cut earlier in the year, in Spring, to be exact. I had usually gotten haircuts done for me. Kendall kind of was impulsive when it came to life-altering situations like that, making sure to not only cut her hair herself, but dye it, too, usually some insanely vibrant colour. In recent years, though, she had appeared to have settled on gold.

It was this impulsive nature of hers that although made us very different, also allowed us to complement one another. Kendall smiled towards me, and I smiled back. I knew that we hadn't been speaking for a while, but I knew that I was always going to be a reliable force in Kendall's life. I would always be there for her. I didn't really understand it. I supposed we just connect well with people at times.

Before Kendall could say anything to me, a situation which I would be thankful for because the quiet, although pleasant, was starting to make me feel a little uneasy, her younger sister Kat spoke up instead.

"Hey!" she said in her harmonious voice.

Kendall's lips lifted at the corner as she turned her focus to Kat stood beside her, with a daisy not only in her hands, but in her hair, too. I think that if I could have place 'human embodiment of spring' over anyone, then it would have been Kat. She had a peaceful demeanor to her- one that always made me feel welcome on my visits to Kendall's home. Kat and Kendall got along a lot better than Jake and I did. I would have been envious of it, but I was too busy admiring the connection that the two of them shared.

"It's nice to see you, Ally," Kat said.

I could only beam at that.

"You too, Kat," I replied.

Although the sisters got along, they were clearly different. Kendall revelled attention while her sister Kat was much more reserved.

I think that was why I sometimes felt as though my relationship with Kendall was complicated. Although we were close, once she started to date Jake she drifted towards more popular crowds.

I never got to know Kat all that well when the two of us were in high school together, because Kat is five years younger, but she is wise beyond her years. An old soul like me, I supposed.

"How are you doing, Kat?" I asked her kindly. I had to ask. It felt like an important question, and a friendly thing to do, and it was a lot better than 'how have you been doing considering your dad has been missing the past few years?'

She smiled pleasantly at me.

"You know, same old, same old. Still painting, still meditating," she stated.

"Still getting on with your school work?" I asked her with a cheeky grin.

She returned the expression, crinkling her nose a little as she did so.

"How could I forget to? You always encouraged me to try my best back when we were in high school together. Now I'm all alone, there's no one here beside me," Kat sung.

Kendall rolled her eyes.

"One more year, Kit Kat, and then you'll be all done," Kendall reminded her.

"Granted, that's true, but school is still stressful. At least I have a lot of friends," she said.

Yeah, I suppose it made sense that Kat would be as popular if not more than her sister. She was a kindhearted soul, always looking out for the best in others. I think our altruism was one of our main similarities.

Kat was more balanced than I was, though. A calm being- not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually, too. She wasn't a whirlwind like her sister Kendall, but more of a tranquil breeze.

"You'll be just fine," Kendall said to her as she squeezed her sister's shoulder reassuringly. She then met my gaze and smirked.

"Want to take a walk?" she questioned.

I gave a nod of my head in response.

"We'll see you later, Kat," Kendall told her.

"In a while, crocodile. It was nice to see you too, Ally," she directed to me.

The day was fairly temperate, which was uncharacteristic for California and its warmer weather patterns, but refreshing all the same. Kendall and I had wandered a short distance from her house, and into a path rich with trees.

Kendall used to bunk off school to go for walks. Occasionally, I would join her. Okay, rarely. I was the kind of student who played by the rules, Kendall wanted to change the game entirely. She may not have made her teachers very happy, but she was respected for being herself, and when you came to know of the positives of Kendall, you came to respect her that much more. Although sometimes I would feel that there was something she was reluctant to share with me. I wasn't sure why- it may have just been shifts in her demeanor, but it was still evident all the same.

Kendall respected me, too, or so she had told me one time way back when. She stated that I was a patient soul, prepared to stick around people and work them out in my own time.

"I love this place," she said, and sat upon a tree stump- just large enough for her to pat the space beside her so I could go and sit down next to her.

"It's nice," I said.

She turned to me and raised an eyebrow then.

"Five years of English, followed by many, many years of writing and you give me 'nice'. You're going to have to try a little harder there, Harper," she said to me with a wink.

I felt a little tempted to roll my eyes, but instead I gave a dry laugh.

"It's beautiful, extraordinary, scenic. You blend right in, like oil paint on a canvas," I said, attempting to put romantic emphasis on every syllable.

"You see now that- that was something. You're a real poet, Ally cat," she told me with a grin.

I returned the expression. Being admired was something, but being admired by Kendall Amor was a separate feeling entirely. I had always liked that about her- the way that she had the ability to make you feel stronger in her presence. She highlighted your positives and made you feel simply more than you could ever believe yourself to be alone.

"It's getting a little colder- want to head back?" Kendall asked me.

"Le'ts go," I replied.

The two of us returned to her house and soon found Jake and Kat sat in the kitchen discussing a book.

"No, okay? This is a work of art. This is more than just a book, Jake." Kat declared with passion.

"How can a book be anything more than a book? It's just words," Jake said, and then hesitated a look in my direction, "Sorry," he said with a slightly apologetic tone. I gave a gentle shake of my head as if to say 'none taken'.

"What book you got there?" Kendall asked.

"Jane Eyre," Kat said.

She had good taste, that much could be said about her.

"I'm with Kat on this one, Jake. It's more than just a book," I said.

Jake just shrugged, as though he wanted to argue that point further, but he held back from doing such a thing. He instead found something new to tease Kat on.

"Well, you may defeat me in literary knowledge but I will forever be a giant over your small 4'9 frame," Jake said with a smirk.

Kat rolled her eyes.

"I'm 5'1, you clown," Kat said.

Jake's eyes widened in surprise.

Kendall just met her sister with a look of admiration.

I think the mischievous side of my brother could shine through at times, but he wasn't the only one who would playfully tease people. As Kat moved to the fridge, Jake picked up the book off the kitchen counter and began to flick through the pages.

"Consensus is: this isn't actually all that bad," he stated.

"Told you!" Kat said, beginning to make her way past us, with a cola can in hand.

"Where are you off to?" Kendall inquired.

"I'm going to go paint some pictures- books can be inspiring when it comes to art," Kat explained. She had always been an imaginative girl, that much shone through in her artistic creations. "See you all later," she said with a pleasant smile, as she headed off. I could see that one of her works of art was displayed on one of the walls of the kitchen- a cherry tree with a swing attached to it. A girl sat in the swing- she looked a little like me. I smiled at the thought of it. Probably just coincidence.

Jake met Kendall with a warm smile, which she returned, and for a brief moment it felt as though I wasn't in the room with them. Third wheeling. I kind of hated it, but still, it was also just nice to be around people I cared about.

Kalie soon entered the room, causing all three of us to turn to her.

"You should probably get going soon, Ally," she told me.

I couldn't deny that I felt a little frustrated at her words. After all, it felt as though I was being rushed out of the house.

"Thank you for visiting, though," she told me.

I wasn't sure how genuine her statement was, though, and Kendall didn't seem all-too amused in the slightest, either. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

I sometimes couldn't help but imagine why Kalie kept Kendall and I from seeing each other. The thing was, this wasn't the first time that such a thing had happened- I remembered that Kalie used to have hang-ups on me coming over and spending time with Kendall. I didn't really question why. It just felt a little sketchy, that's all.

"You can't just throw Ally out, mom," Kendall started, speaking up for me in the way that I knew she would. "It's alright for me to spend time with Jake but as soon as my best friend comes over you want to throw her out?" Kendall asked.

Jake adjusted his posture slightly then, visibly uncomfortable- even if he only subtly showed it.

I listened to snippets of their argument, but allowed my eyes to move from them for a moment, giving them the slightest bit of privacy I could manage. I looked at the picture hung centrally in the kitchen and had to wonder why it was there, for a minute.

The picture displayed Kendall's family- but their father was still with them. Kat looked especially young.

I had always had the sense that there was this possibility that Kalie was still waiting for him- waiting for him to come back. I didn't know whether this was something that would ever happen, but it was good to be optimistic at times. Of course, I wanted the best for Kendall. She was my best friend, after all, no matter the time that had passed between the two of us.

When Kalie wasn't lecturing Kendall, it was apparent that she was a keen reader, too. She had some novels placed on the main dining table. It had always seemed a little large to me, considering they were a family of three. However, it ended up being beneficial when Jake and I stayed over for dinner at Kendall's. That was one of my favourite evenings of the week.

It seemed that Kendall and her mother had reached the end f their conversation.

Kendall threw her hands up, visibly flustered and frustrated.

"Ally stays. That's that," she said, her cheeks pinkened as she met my gaze for a moment. Woah. I only ever saw Kendall be this passionate when she was going on one of her rants about feminism. The fact that she was talking about me made my cheeks warm instinctively. She met my gaze for a moment with a meaningful look.

Kendall was friendly for the most part, but she wasn't afraid to stand up to her mother.

Fortunately, Anne understood me so well that we very rarely if ever had our own bickering moments.

The ones between Kendall and her mother appeared to be far more common.

Kalie sighed, appearing noticeably tired. She was still fairly young, but there were silver rings forming under her eyes like shadows. I supposed the combination of her online tutoring service and taking care of two daughters could be a challenging thing in itself, let alone when she fought with Kendall.

"I'm going to go change my contacts," Kendall said, changing the subject entirely.

I supposed she, too, was tired of it.

Kalie didn't fight her on it, allowing her to leave the room, and I followed behind.

While Jake tried to settle things between Kendall and her mother on her behalf, Kendall and I retreated to her upstairs bathroom.

"I just don't get her," Kendall said, as she changed her contacts.

Kendall used to wear glasses, but she said they were positively dorky, and so stopped after the first few years of high school.

"I don't get her, and I don't like it here sometimes. I much prefer your house, Ally. Perhaps one day I'll be able to lead a life of luxury myself, once my modelling career takes off, of course," she stated.

I was confident that such a thing was possible- Kendall had a way of making things happen.