Prologue-
I remember when this all started. It was nothing I thought would ever happen. I, Jenna Riley, was being set up with a boy who I didn’t know and didn’t seem to like. I didn’t like it because I had heard stories about him and in the end, it was a total mess. It wasn’t even—whatever. I’m going to end up going to giving away the story.
It was silly for this to even start happening. After all, I wasn’t ready for a relationship. I was almost positive that I was fine with staying single for the rest of my life but sadly my friend disagreed. She wanted to intervene into my life (with the best intentions of course) and try and set me up with a nice boy.
Now that I look back it all, I feel like this journey was worth it, but even then, I’m not sure if it should have caused as much chaos and pain as it did. So much pain between four completely different people These four stupid people in high school were searching for a person that they could share their life with or…try.
I remember when it started. A Monday. My brother was still there from visiting, and I was not looking forward to going to school. And little did I know, as I was walking down the stairs in my house, I was starting the next few years of my life. I was creating something that was going to be a big bowl of nothing good.
It can’t be possible that this whole thing started back when I was a junior. It started when I wanted nothing to do with girls because my best friend had shown me the worst sides of the female population.
I didn’t want this to happen the way it did. I didn’t even think I’d end up with a girl like this. The initial plan, those horrible interviews, the many parties, the stupid girls, and the worst of all, those fights that almost tore us all apart.
It started on a Monday morning. I was so tired from the weekend before. Rickie and I…we were having some fun that weekend and I decided that it would be okay to give Rickie a break and we could go out to a party for a few drinks and maybe get Rickie’s mind off of his idiotic ex- girlfriend. And let’s just say…we both forgot about a lot about what happened that night.
How did I end up here? I had so much in front of me. So much I threw away. All for this one thing. I look at myself in the mirror and wonder if I hadn't done this, how different would my life be? Would I have been what they wanted? What everyone wanted? Or what I wanted? I can't believe that my life turned around to all of this from just this one person. I mean, sure I made my mistakes along the way, but that's not the point. The point is that this person, made me who I am now. And I will never forget that. And I will always be grateful for that person.
I remember that exact day I met that person. It was Monday. A typical Monday I had thought. It was a day I will cherish. A day I will have engraved in my mind forever. Always etched into my brain. Nothing could ever take that away. Well, unless of course, I lost my memory. Then I'd be screwed.
I never knew that one tiny, imperfect moment could make or break your life. It seemed like everything was set in stone on this. I mean, I knew my life was never perfect, and hell, it would never be perfect. That's just the kind of life I have. People on the outside would disagree. I'm a cheerleader, popular, and well known in the thespian community. But, people like my best friend Jenna, they know that my life is a lot worse once I step through those doors. And to think, my life went into this huge downward spiral once I met him.
I remember. It was a Monday morning. The worst day of the week. I had gotten up extra early that day from all the fighting. I still remember it as if it were yesterday. The dark circles under my eyes, my hair in a huge massive knot, and the evasive way trying to avoid everybody in my house.
Chapter 1-A Hell of a Beginning
Jenna’s Point of view:
I looked at myself from head to toe and sighed. This was going to have to do. Some faded blue jeans and a t-shirt. After all, it was fall and I was going to have a lot less chances to wear t-shirts. It wasn’t like I was fat. I knew I wasn’t fat. I was a measly 5-foot three and a half inches and only 120 pounds. I just feel as if I had nobody to try to impress.
I slowly walked down the steps of my house and noticed that my brother’s old room was still occupied. I rolled my eyes, knowing that he was going to come and give me this big talk about being a smart girl and staying away from stupid boys. As if I didn’t already know…
I got to the kitchen, knowing that my mom was already making us pancakes, Mason’s favorite.
“Hey Mom,” I yawned, “What’s for breakfast?”
“You should already know this Jennifer.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing she knew that I hated it when she called me Jennifer. It didn’t fit me. Jenna did. And besides, at least I was trying to be polite.
“Yo Ma!” Mason’s voice traveled down to the kitchen from the stairs and he hugged me from behind and gave me a big, wet kiss on the cheek, “Hey sis.”
“Mase…” I rolled my eyes, getting out of his tight grip and sat down at the bar.
“Do I smell chocolate chip pancakes?” Mason took a big whiff of the aroma filling the air.
“You do indeed son.”
“Where’s Dad?” I asked, not caring that we were having pancakes like we do every Monday.
“Dad said he had to go to work early. Now hush up and eat your breakfast Jennifer.” She said, putting plates in front of Mason and I.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” I asked, as Mom piled two pancakes on my plate.
“Nah…” Mason said, “Courses don’t start until around noon today, so I think I’m gonna hang out here, give you a ride to school, and then head off. College isn’t that big of a deal.” Mason shrugged.
Mom gave him a glare and he gave her a cheeky smile in reply. “You know I’m kidding Ma. College is always important.”
“Thatta boy.” Mom said as she turned to go and get the syrup and powdered sugar.
Talk about a healthy breakfast…
XOXOXOXOXOXO
“You ready?” Mason said, putting his jacket on and grabbing his keys to his car.
“Yeah, hold on.” I said, grabbing my glasses and my own jacket and scarf, ready to go and face the world for one more day.
I followed Mason as we went out to the driveway and before I knew it, he was already asking me how last week of school went and if I was interested in any boys.
“So, Jen, are you doing well in your classes?”
“Failing each and every one of them.”
“Good. Boys?”
“Yep.”
Mason turned and looked at me and narrowed his eyes then turned his eyes back to the road, “You better not be Jenna Amelia Riley.” He said, his voice growing tense and his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.
“I’m kidding. I can’t even get a guy to look at me.”
“Well, maybe if you took that hair out of your face and decided to wear your contacts maybe boys would.”
“You don’t want boys to notice me.” I said, “What are you trying to do, use reverse psychology on me?”
Mason chuckled, “No. I’m just saying, if you did what Kathryn did, maybe you’d be okay when it comes to boys. And if you ever decide to go and scope out the boys at Chaplin, then you’d know what to do.”
“I don’t want to scope out boys.”
“And that’s okay too…” Mason said, with a smile on his face as we drove into North Chaplin High’s parking lot.
He drove up to the curve and smiled at me, “You know I’m just looking out for you bud. I care about you and the last thing I want-“
“Is some boy to go and get in my pants and then leave me broken-hearted.” I said, repeating his usual line.
“It’s true. I’ve seen it all.”
“All of it?”
“Yep.”
“Then what happened to the boys who were really sweet?”
“They don’t come around often. And if they do, they don’t stick around.” He said.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
I stared at the steps that lead up to the steps of hell. I sighed, knowing that I wasn’t even halfway done with this year yet and then had one more year to go.
If you were thinking high school, you win nothing. You were right, but you win nothing.
“Why are you staring?” a familiar voice rang in my ears as she walked passed me and turned around as she touched the door handles of hell.
“Are you daydreaming about a guy you saw?” she smiled at me as she opened the door and signaled me to follow her.
I rolled my eyes and smiled, “No, Kathryn, you know I don’t daydream about guys. Let alone, a guy that I saw. I don’t see guys. And guys don’t see me. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
“All lies, Jenna. We all know that deep down in that big ole’ heart of yours, you are wanting, YEARNING for that boy-“
“Shut up Katie!” I yelled, before she got far enough for people to start staring at us. She knew I hated being in the spotlight. But that was Kathryn for you. She was loveable, a little naïve at times, bubbly, too friendly for her own good, but one of the strongest gals I knew.
She was my best friend and always has been. Ms. Kathryn Jane Arbel.
Emmett’s Point of View:
I shook my hair wildly, going for the ‘I-just-woke-up-but-I’m-still-sexy’ look. Rickie says he came up with it, but in reality, I totally did.
I looked at myself at in the full body mirror and smirked. I’m sexy and I know it. I winked at myself and then shook my head, ashamed of what I just did.
I rolled my eyes and then looked at myself once more, glad that I didn’t decide to wear anything than an old pair of jeans and a somewhat dirty shirt that didn’t smell bad. Besides, I didn’t have anybody to impress ever. Rickie thinks that I should care a little bit more about my appearance so I can ‘get it on’ with the ladies, but all the girls I ever hang out with only hit on me because I’m friends with the infamous Rickie Thurman.
I went downstairs and smiled as I saw my little eight year old brother, Colton playing around in his room, instead of getting ready. Silly boy…
I chuckled and went into his room and leaned against his tall dresser, shook my head, and crossed my arms.
He stopped dancing around and looked at me, “What?” he said, almost in a whiney tone.
“What?” I mocked.
“Mo-“
“Oh sh. Don’t go complaining to Mom. What’s goin’ on in here?”
“I was just practicing my sexy moves.”
I raised my eyebrows, amused. “What?”
“My sexy moves. You know?” he said, doing a head nod.
I raised one eyebrow this time.
“Oh I’m sorry. You wouldn’t know ‘cuz you don’t have sexy moves.” He shrugged and went to his closet and went to go put on his favorite red t-shirt that had a few stains on it that Mom could never get out.
I laughed and lifted him up over my shoulder, “Right, says the guy who’s wearing a shirt with stains on it.”
“You’re wearing a shirt you wore Saturday!”
“So? How do you know it’s not clean?”
“You never do laundry!”
“How do you know Mom never did it?”
“I would have heard her yelling at you to clean your room so you could actually find clothes that you wanted her to wash. Half the clothes you have should be thrown away because nobody would want them anymore because they’re so worn out.”
I thought for a moment a laughed, “You’re right kiddo.”
“I’m not a kid.”
I scoffed, “Right. And when you’re a teenager you’re going to want to be an adult. And sooner or later, you’ll want to be eight again.”
“Why would I want to be eight again?” he said, laughing, “That would be stupid.”
“You’ll see lil bro. You’ll see…” I said, setting him down on the floor once more so he could get ready.
I walked down the stairs and towards the kitchen and smiled at my mom who was putting down my bowl of Cheerios and Colton’s favorite cereal, Cocoa Pebbles.
“Good Morning Mom.” I smiled, going around the counter to hug her.
I was a Mama’s Boy. I got made fun of it because of Rickie, even though I knew he was joking. He knew my story. I didn’t have my dad anymore. He was gone. And my mom was the one who kept this family together. I lost him when I was 12 and even though I’m sixteen now, I still remember it vividly. And she held Colton together. If I lost my dad at the age of four, I’d be so confused and so lost. And my mom was the glue that held us together.
“Good Morning Emmett.” She hugged me tightly, and I felt her smelling me.
“Are you smelling me…?”
“You smell weird. Go change.”
“But Ma…”
“Change. If you want a beautiful, smart wife, then you need to smell good. A lady likes a man who smells good. It makes you sexier.”
“What is with this family and the word ‘sexy’ this morning?” I said, chuckling at my crazy family.
I went back upstairs and changed my shirt, just because my mom said so. What can I say? I’ll impress a lady…as long it’s my mom.
XOXOXOXOXOXO
“See ya bro.” I said, waving as he hopped out of the old truck.
“See ya Emmett.”
“Move that sexy thang over there homie!” I screamed as I started to roll up the window.
“That wasn’t sexy dude!” Colton said as he walked over to his group of his friends.
Where did he learn the word sexy anyways?
I chuckled as I turned out of the parking lot of his school and headed towards North Chaplin. My…well I would say home away from home but that would be a total lie. My home away from home would be Rickie’s house. School was just busy work to me sometimes. Sure, college was in my future, but I wasn’t going to try my very hardest to get into an amazing college because I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to stay home and support my mom.
I slowly turned into the parking lot and took in the view of all the people that were already filling the front of the school, walking in and talking and suddenly, I saw a group of girls surrounding someone and immediately, I found my best friend, Rickie Thurman.
I parked the car and grabbed my bag from the back of the bed and smirked at my friend. He was already surrounded with girls and because he was single, it was like he was this huge log covered in honey and he was begging for bees to surround him. The bees being the girls and him being the…really good bate.
The thing was, Rickie wasn’t the type to go around and sleep around so easily. He was a lot of things but he wasn’t a ‘man-whore’. He wasn’t going to just do a girl just for the sake of doing her… that was one thing he was good at doing. I respect the man.
Kathryn’s point of view:
I had woken up to the sound of clinking. The noise was already familiar with me. It happened almost every morning, almost as a routine. The clock strikes three and the bottles in the liquor cabinet start clinking. Some fairy tale. I groaned and hopped out of my bed. What a nice start to my week. I carefully thought out my outfit. Ever since joining the cheer squad, I felt obligated to dress decent every day. The only sweats I was ever caught in were our cheer sweats. My outfit today was chosen according to my mood. Dark wash jeans with a navy blue off-the-shoulder shirt and black flats. I had pinned my bangs back.
I didn't want to spend another minute in this godforsaken house. I tried to be as quiet as I could exiting my room, but my father was passed out on the recliner. I looked at him, knowing I would regret it if I didn't give him a blanket. I swiftly picked up the blanket on the couch, placed it on my dad, took his bottle of whiskey from his now limp hand, and kissed his forehead. At the last minute, I decided to check on my mother. She was passed out on the bed. I sighed and looked around my house. If I could even call it that. It's torn apart and I can't mend it. It's broken at the seams and will never be fixed. Not by me, not by my dad, and definitely not by mom.
As I went to leave I heard my dad whisper, “Have a great day today, Kitty.” This sentence made me cry and smile at the same time. It brought back so many good memories. The fact he was sober enough to remember my kiddie nickname made me a little stronger that day. It was the one thing I needed to step out that door and walk to the little place I like to call My Second Hell.
I decided to leave my car at home. It would do me best to walk everything out. The frustration, the pride, the sadness, and all the things in between. My thoughts raced. Only one more year. One more year then I can get out of this living hell. I wonder what these last few months would bring to me. Especially my best friend Jenna. I worried about her sometimes. I feel like she needs someone in her life that wasn't me. Someone that could be there when I had cheer practice or theater opportunities. I feel like she needs a boy. Someone to love her for her and for it to be unconditional.
The school came into view and my hopes got brought down a bit. I didn't want to enter it but knew I had to. If I ever wanted to leave my life behind, I'd have to graduate this stupid distraction, or as the government calls “school.” I mean, I get good grades and stuff, only thanks to Jenna. Speaking of, I saw Jenna staring at the doors. I knew exactly what she was thinking. She didn't want to go back either.
“Why are you staring?” I grabbed the door handles and continued, “Are you daydreaming about a guy you saw?” I joked, opening the door. I signaled her to follow me in. This is going to be an interesting day.
Rickie’s Point of View:
“Mondays. Oh Mondays. How I loathe thee. Okay enough Shakespeare.” I said aloud to myself. I was such a weird kid. Man, how do I even attract girls? Oh that's right, it's my boyish charm and manly good looks. It probably helps that I play football, basketball, and also run track. I'm a part of the in-crowd. I could literally open my window and hear the girls swoon. Okay, that's a bit too egotistical even for me. Well, I'm not really that egotistical. I swear. I just think I look good. Is that a crime? I don't think so. Anyways, onwards with my story. I would fix my hair, but I think that it already looks decent. Sometimes partying does that to a person. You drink your ass off and get shit-faced and you wake up with perfect hair. The world is right. And Emmett says he invented this hair. Psh! Yeah right, bro. I came out of the womb with this kind of hair. Not really. But I believe I invented the “I-just-woke-up-but-I'm-still-sexy look!”
After I got dressed into some nice jeans and a purple polo, I bounded down the stairs. I sat down at the kitchen table, ruffling up Cole and Cale's hair. They were the cutest little five year old's ever. And what made them better, was that they were twins. I saw Keelee sitting at the table, reeking of alcohol.
“Hey Sis!” I screamed, knowing her ears would be ringing.
“Stop screaming.” She moaned, covering her hands over her ears.
“Maybe you should stop drinking.” I smirked.
“I'll stop when you stop.” She grinned evilly, wiping the smirk from my face.
Unfair. My mother came and placed muffins on the table, yapping at her phone the whole time. Dad was usually reading a newspaper. He glanced up from it.
“Son, have you applied to Princeton yet?” He said. I cleared my throat and picked up a muffin, examining it closely.
“Yes. I sent it in last week. They should be reviewing it sometime soon. My acceptance letter should be on its way in weeks.” I took this time to take a huge chunk out of my blueberry muffin.
“Thatta' boy! You're well on your way to being like your sister, Avery! I'm very proud of you, Rickie.” He smiled at me briefly and went back to his newspaper. I couldn't stand being in this room for another second.
“I'm gonna be late.” I stood up abruptly, making the chair sound horrid scratching the fine marble tile. This got glares from Mother, an identical shriek from Cole and Cale, a smile from Keelee, and a smirk from Father.
I quickly fled the room and out the door. I hopped in my car. There's nothing I would rather be right now than school. As terrible as that sounds. I would rather be there than at my house being bombarded by college questions and getting teased about my....extra-curricular activities. I sped the rest of the way to school. As soon as I stepped foot onto school grounds, a huge group of girls flocked around me. They were like birds, diving in for their prey. It's been like this ever since Amber and I split. Oh Amber. I really do hate her. She did me so wrong. It sickens me. I haven't really been with a girl since then. It's been a while. Maybe a few months. Sure, they're all gorgeous but they all lack the same thing. Depth and intelligence. Just once, I'd like to find a girl with all three. Maybe even with some extra specialness hidden inside of her. I spotted Emmett, my best friend, and hoped he would save me. If he can't, no one can.
A/N: Thank you for reading this and it would be a huge favor if you commented!I need some feedback. And just to let you know, I also put this put on fictionpress and it is COWRITTEN. I am wrote half of this!
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