A/N: Woot! Hey guys, be proud of me. I finally committed myself to writing a story! To be honest, I had no internet for about six weeks and was bored out of my mind, but I did have a laptop, a pencil and a notebook with instructions on how to complete a story written inside of it, and this is the result. Before you jump into my story please know that English is not my first language so my grammar may be weird but hopefully it's not too bad. I pride myself on amazing spelling anyway. xD Please leave a review if you like my story, even if it's just a small comment! Reviews inspire me to write more and to update, because I will procrastinate or forget if I get too busy or if I think no one's reading. Italics are either lyrics, thoughts or flashbacks. Insert disclaimers here: I do not own the possibly real businesses mentioned in this story, please don't sue me, this is for entertainment purposes only, ect ect ect. Enjoy.

September 1 - Monday

Summer has come and passed

The innocent can never last

Wake me up when September ends

Like my father's come to pass

Seven years has gone so fast

Wake me up when September ends

Rain breathes in the cool autumn air creeping through her window. Leaning against the headboard with her arms behind her head, she looks out into the silent street, streetlights barely illuminating the road below. Tomorrow's going to be the first day of her last year of high school, and she's still not sure how to feel about that. It felt like it was just yesterday that she hung out with her friends at the end of year party during junior year. The group of six went out for lunch at Subway and then proceeded to a nearby park to teach one of their members how to ride a bicycle, which, by the way, Rain takes all the credit for that success.

"Come on Jen, you can do it! Just one more time." Rain is supporting the added weight of the bike and of her friend who is pedalling unsurely. "Sit with your back straight and pedal faster! The faster you go the easier it is to balance."

The bike tilts and wobbles as her friend attempts to sit straighter. Rain struggles to hold up the weight. "Come on, help me out here, you're kinda heavy."

Finally, her friend pedals slightly faster. Rain jogs to her left, still holding on to the bike. "Alright, so on the count of three, I'm going to let go, and you're going to keep pedalling until you reach the fence over there. Okay?"

Her friend's eyes grow comically bigger. "Wait, what? No! No, I'm not ready! I'm not ready for this!" The bike wobbles as her friend panics.

"Whoa there. Calm down. I wouldn't let go if I didn't think that you were ready. You can do it!" She says determinedly. "Come on now, straight back, and don't forget to pedal. Keep your arms straight so you can steer." Rain jogs a bit to keep up with the bike. "Alright, I'm letting go now, okay? You can do it!"

Her friend squeaks. "Okay, I got this. I'm doing this. I'm going."

Rain lets go and smiles approvingly as her friend succeeds in biking in a semi straight line towards the fence. As her friend reaches the fence, she is able to make a U-turn and she heads back towards her. Within a few moments, Jen stops next to her and steps off the bike.

She looks at Rain with wide eyes. "I DID IT!" She then proceeds to tackle Rain in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You and Gabby were the only ones who actually taught me how to bike, those other numbnuts were too busy racing each other around the park to help." She ponders for a moment and then shrugs. "At least Damien lent me his bike." She grins at Rain. "Biking is fun! I'm going to do another lap." Jen dances around a bit before she hops on the bike and heads for the fence again.

Rain laughs at her friend's antics. "Keep your back and arms straight!" She calls after her.

Scratching the back of her head, she wonders how summer passed by so fast. It was like one moment she was biking in the forest, the next she was lazing the day away at home or fixing her cousin's skateboard, and the next it was the Saturdays. Oh, how she loved the Saturdays.

Waking up past noon is not something Rain enjoys. Mostly because it makes her grandparents think that she's a lazy blob of a person, but also because it means she has nothing planned for the day. That means an uneventful day with nothing to do. Grumbling, she manages to drag herself out of the bed as she stares at the lump of covers on the other side of the room that is her brother.

"Wake up sleepyhead! We were supposed to be awake hours ago!" Receiving no response, she walks over and pokes at the lump.

A head peeks out from underneath the covers. "Grandma and Grandpa left an hour ago with Tammy. They went grocery shopping. I'm going back to sleep." The head retreats into the blanket fort.

"What? No you're not!" Rain pokes at the retreating head. "We need to do something. Stop being so lazy and come have breakfast."

The mass under the covers is unwilling to comply. "No we don't, and no thanks. I'm not hungry, and I was having a good dream." The room is silent again.

Exasperated, Rain heads to the washroom to freshen up for the day. "After breakfast, we're going skateboarding!" She yells back towards the bedroom.

Hearing the word "skateboard", her brother throws himself of out bed, and races past her to steal the washroom before she even walks another step.

"Wow. Jerk." She knocks on the door. "When you come out I'm going to beat you!"

Recalling that specific memory, Rain chuckles to herself. Her younger brother by a year is such a dingus. She swears that he lives in the bathroom considering the amount of time he spends in it. Sometimes, his bathroom hogging habits get to her, but she's gotten used to it over the years, mostly.

"Are you done yet? It's been like.. an hour.." Rain glares at the doorknob, mentally trying to unlock it from the other side.

Receiving no reply, she glares at the doorknob harder. After a few moments it finally turns, and the door creaks open. Suspicious, Rain peers into the open doorway into what seems to be an empty bathroom.

"I know you're in there.." She tests. She waits a few seconds more. "That's it, I'm coming in!"

Barging through the entry, she whips her head to look behind it and sees her brother hiding, or rather attempting to, behind the towels hanging on the door.

"You'll never get me alivee!" He shrieks as he makes a mad dash for the exit.

Rolling her eyes, Rain sets about getting ready for the day. Grabbing her toothbrush, she applies a large glob of mint toothpaste and brushes her teeth slowly. After a while, she spits in the sink and rinses her mouth with cold water. Looking up at the mirror she frowns.

'I'm cute enough I guess, but why do I always feel as if my teeth aren't white enough? I swear, I brush properly, and I floss. What am I still doing wrong? No one else has this problem..' Her mouth turns down at the corners. 'Stop it! You're adorable. People always tell you that. They're always telling you how they wish they were outgoing and fun like you were, and some even told you that they wished they had short hair like you.

You've had short hair all your life so you're used to it, but that one time you tried to grow your hair out it took months and by the end you were going mad because you hated how it looked and how it felt, so you got your mom to cut it. Every time someone tells you they wish they had short hair like you, you look at them like they're crazy because hey, they have long hair and god knows how long it'll take for them to grow it out again if they cut it.

You always used to ask them why the heck they thought short hair was a good idea because you get judged a lot for your looks, but finally accepted the comments when Erin said that short hair is easy to manage and that you make short hair look good. When you heard that, you were certainly surprised and happy people honestly thought you looked good with your ears showing through your "boy cut".'

Smiling at that memory, Rain looks in the mirror once again. 'There's that dimple!' Both she and her brother were born with a dimple on the left side of their cheek that appeared only when they smiled that many adults found adorable. Suddenly, Rain is snapped out of her thoughts by a loud crash coming from the bedroom.

Her brother, being the clumsy oaf he is, had knocked over her skateboard while reaching for his suitcase. The skateboard had, in turn, knocked over a chair where she had set her laptop bag a few days before.

Walking back to the bedroom she slaps a palm against her face. "Bro, you were supposed to be in the kitchen. Eating."

Observing the mess before her, she sighs. "You're lucky my laptop wasn't in that bag. Hurry up and get dressed, I'll toast the bread and take out the butter and turkey slices. Go get the juice from the fridge downstairs and get the plates and the butter knife."

Her brother obediently trudges out of the room with his head hung low. Rain shakes her head and starts putting everything back to where it's supposed to be.

Thinking back to that now, her brother would always cause a mess and she'd always be there to solve the problem. What would that kid do without me? Destroy the world, probably. And he wouldn't even know it. She remembers when they were little and they were racing up the stairs. At the top, he slipped on water and fell on his face. She had to run upstairs to wake up their parents because he was bleeding everywhere, and they ended up at the hospital at an ungodly hour. He ended up getting six stitches on the corner of his right eye. And that time they were biking outside and he knocked over a jar of pickled somethings.. Their dad was really mad at him because he warned them in advance to be careful, yet his brother went ahead and crashed right into something it took a week to make. She could probably go on and on about the stupid things he had done or they had done together.

Rain shrugs. What was that about Saturday again? Oh yeah. Every Saturday, her Grandma and Grandpa would go grocery shopping with their third aunt, Tammy. Rain and her brother would usually go with them and they'd come back home by three o'clock in the afternoon. Grandpa would settle down in the living room watching TV while Grandma went in the kitchen to prepare a big meal for the night, and Tammy would go home to do the same. Rain and her brother would just hang around and do whatever they wanted until their aunts and uncles started arriving for supper, each family bringing a dish to share.

"I'm bored." Complains Chris, plopping himself on Grandpa's couch.

"Bro, we just got home from the park. How are you already bored?" Rain goes into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

"I dunno, I just am. Rain, let's do something!" He lifts his head up and looks at her. "I know! Let's climb that tree in the front yard and wait for Grandma and Grandpa to come home! Let's scare them like we did last time."

Rain laughs, walking over to ruffle her brother's hair before putting the now clean cup back into the cupboard. "Bro, that's evil. I completely agree. Let's go! Last one out's a rotten egg!"

Both siblings race out to the front of the house and pretty much run up the medium sized maple tree. Sitting on the lowest branch, Rain puts her legs up and crosses them so she's sitting parallel to the ground. She puts her arms behind her head and leans against the rough trunk. Here, near the heart of the tree she feels completely at peace. A few feet above her, Chris is still scrambling to get higher.

Crack! A branch the size of a large ruler drops from above, narrowly missing Rain's right ear. "CHRIS!" She yells.

They had just gotten scolded for dropping down from the tree and nearly giving Tammy a heart attack as she was opening the car door for Grandma and Grandpa.

Chris laughs nervously under Tammy's hard stare and points at Rain. "It was her fault! I had nothing to do with this!"

Tammy looks at Rain and then back at Chris. Grandpa and Grandma are sitting on the couch in the living room watching the news. "Rain?" Tammy questions, looking back at her.

Rain shrugs. She was always one to own up to her actions and never one to lie, but she wasn't the one who dropped down from the tree. In fact, she hadn't even been paying attention to the Honda Hybrid pulling into their driveway, as she was too busy examining the pretty maple leaves hanging in front of her.

She smirks. Tammy's reaction was funny though. "Hey, no blaming bro, you're the one who dropped down like Spiderman, I was just enjoying the weather."

Tammy turns her glare to Chris. Rain sidles away with her hands in her pockets as her brother gets his ear talked off. Strolling into the kitchen where Grandma is cooking supper, Rain hugs her and offers to help. Grandma, knowing full well that she can't cook, smiles and asks her if she could get the barbecue grill set up instead.

Rain smiles gently to herself in her dark bedroom. Just thinking about her Grandma and Grandpa makes her heart grow fond. Out here in the next province, she misses them so much. Rain and Chris were both born in Montreal, Quebec less than 20 years ago. Their family was not rich but their parents worked hard and they made things work. Thinking back now, she's not sure how her parents even had time for her. She remembers that they worked a lot, but she also recalls some good memories like going to the park together and visiting their neighbour.

At the age of seven or eight they moved away from loved ones and ended up in Ontario. Ontario.. Rain sighs. She misses it in Quebec and wishes that she could've stayed, but then again she can't imagine life without her friends now. When she was a child, she lived for weeks at her grandparent's place. They took care of her and made lunch and took her to school and picked her up after. Her best friend used to live across the street from there, but now after a decade the Trent family lives near Rain's favourite aunt instead.

Out here in Ontario, there's no family near, it's just the four of them: Rain, Chris, and their mother and father. Ever since they moved there, their parents have become a sort of workaholic and she had to grow up much faster than she wanted, taking care of herself and her brother. Family doesn't feel like family used to, which is why Rain loves summer, loves going back to her grandparents place in Quebec while her parents stay at home working all year long. Rain loves summer because of Saturdays.

Clapping her charcoal covered hands together, Rain stands and steps back to admire her work. The grill is all set up and ready to cook anything. Fish, shrimp, potatoes, corn, chicken, beef, pork, you name it. The aunts and uncle have already started trickling in with their dishes, and Rain's stomach grumbles as she thinks about food. 'I hope everyone gets here soon, I'm famished.'

Looking around, Rain sees that pretty much everyone is here, at the exception of her parents and her favourite aunt. 'Where could she be? It's not like her to be late, unless..'

Rain looks up to the sound of tires screeching. 'Speak of the devil.' She walks over to the Hyundai van parked in the driveway as the door opens. Out pops her aunt looking like she just drove through a tornado.

"Hey there," She greets her aunt. "You look.. fantastic." She tries to suppress a smirk as she takes in her aunt's dishevelled appearance.

Her aunt just looks at her. "We're late," She pants, "because SOMEONE forgot to pack the diapers and an extra change of clothes for the baby."

The door opens and Rain's favourite uncle escapes the car. "It is not fun sitting in a car with crying babies and a yelling wife." He walks over to the back, opens the trunk and pulls a few bags out.

Rain laughs. "Go take a seat at the kitchen table madame et monsieur Lafleur, I'll get your children. We all know they love me." She winks at the couple and urges them to go inside.

Once they leave, she pockets the car keys. Opening the left door she looks adoringly at her baby cousin and his little sister.

"Hey there." She coos. "How are you doing Luke? You look a little tired."

The four year old yawns and rubs his eyes. Finally seeing who it is that's waking him from his nap, he grins. "Pluie!"

Rain laughs and ruffles his hair. "Silly, don't translate my name to French, it's Rain. R-ain."

"Rin!" He shouts gleefully.

Grinning in amusement, she takes his tiny hands in hers and leads him out of the car. "That's right, Rain. Good job little guy! First time you said my name right." She sticks her tongue at him as he giggles. "Come on, let's go get your sister."

She holds his small hand in her left as they walk around the car to the other side. Rain opens the other door and looks inside the cradle at the sleeping baby.

"Hi there baby." She looks at the child with tender eyes. "Your favourite cousin and big brother Luke is here to rescue you!"

Picking her up with her right hand Rain gently kicks the door shut. She lets go of Luke's hand for a moment and reaches into her pocket pulling out the car keys. "Luke, do you want to help me lock the door?" She smiles because she already knows he'll say yes.

Giggling at his excited head-nodding, she gives him the keys. "Okay. Press on that button there, the one with the picture of a lock."

The car makes a beeping sound as the lights flash once. "There we go! Thank you very much mister Luke." She smiles at him and pockets the keys again. With one hand holding the baby and the other holding Luke's tiny one, she walks inside the house with both children.

Judging by the full plates on the table and by the delicious smell of barbecue, her uncles have already started cooking on the grill she set up earlier. As the sound of laughter reaches her ears, Rain smiles and she releases Luke so he can play with the younger kids. Smiling, she greets every single one of her aunts and uncles with baby Adrienne in tow, and joins her cousins soon enough while keeping a watchful eye on the younger ones. But not before grabbing a plate of food. 'Saturdays. Gotta love 'em.'

Glancing at her bedside clock, Rain isn't surprised to see that it now read 2:23am. Should probably go to sleep now, else I won't be able to wake up tomorrow. Breathing in the cold night air to help calm her nerves, Rain snuggles into her covers and closes her eyes, drifting off to sleep with Green Day playing quietly in the background.

Here comes the rain again

Falling from the stars

Drenched in my pain again

Becoming who we are

As my memory rests

But never forgets what I lost

Wake me up when September ends

A/N: Another author's note! Woo. That was so much fun writing, I hope I did chapter one justice. Again, this is my first story so I'm not sure about formatting yet, and please review! A little comment saying "this is my favourite part!", or "I really liked how you..", or "I think this is going to happen next", or "a little tip:" would be awesome sauce. See you guys in the next chapter, I'll try to update as often as possible, probably once every week or two.. or three aha. Thank you for reading! Songs in this chapter: Wake Me Up When September Ends – Green Day.