Thank you for reading! This is an incredibly cheesy, and cutesy romance novel. Don't take it too serious, and if you hate those type of stories, recommend Dangerous Game, which is more serious. Don't mind me and my shameless advertising ;))
There are certain things that you don't do in public- like running around topless, singing the lyrics to Frozen at the top of your lungs, and randomly poking strangers in the stomach before running away.
But, my friends, there are times when these boundaries can be crossed. Like now.
I'm standing in one of the busiest parts of the mall with my friend, Jas, who is bending down on one knee and proposing to me.
Some adults send us nasty looks- catching on that this is all a joke and cursing us for ruining their perfect evening. I can see it now through their eyes now: two seventeen year olds together with one of them professing their love at the top of their lungs so that everyone can hear.
Maybe this wouldn't affect me as much if I wasn't in love with him.
Jas smiles up at me with a mischievous gleam in his bright blue eyes. His hair is styled in a way that makes anyone want to run their hands through it repeatedly. It's a light brown, and his skin holds a sun-kissed tan. Jas is pleasing to the eyes, there's no doubt about it. His summer in Florida has paid off greatly. And he must have gotten a work out, because his skinny arms have thickened out somewhat.
"I have loved you all my life, Liv! Marry me?" He shouts so loud that his face begins to turn red. My heart breaks a little, but I paste a half-heartedly frown on my face.
"I'm sorry, but no."
Jas grasp his chest as if his heart has been wounded. Tell me about it, I think.
"But I love you." He pokes out his bottom lip in an adorable pout. Just for a moment, I forget that this is just a silly dare- that Jasper Ballard really does love me. But then the mall fades back into view, and the crowd that has gathered around us is waiting eagerly for more of this act.
That's what we crave from our dares, an audience. To know that there were people waiting on us, their eyes and thoughts calculating our next moves. It's sort of exhilarating.
I'm about to shout of my next line when Jas jumps off from the ground and crushes his lips to mine. It's a quick kiss- a brush or peck of the, maybe.
I stand there in a stunned silence as I watch Jas with wide eyes. He smirks at me and whispers "I bet you won't say no now."
The crowd hoots and hollers, and soon I find Jas taking my hand in his warm ones, and practically dragging me with him as he runs through the crowd.
The air around me feels thick as we run out into the hot summer air. Summer's just ending, yet the days have still been hot and long. The sun is startling bright and causes me flinch.
I rip my hand out of his once I realize he's still holding it. "What was that, Jas?"
I hope that my face has cooled somewhat. We walk silently to his car before I jump in to stare at him expectantly.
He shrugs his shoulders with a wide grin on his face." I wanted to jazz it up a bit."
"That wasn't in the dare," I say.
He glances at me wondering why it's such a big deal. "It was just a joke, Liv."
"Yeah, a joke," I laugh it off. After that it's as if that kiss never happened. We're back to our joking selves and I swallow any rising feeling on the subject. The only evidence that it ever occurred is the lingering blush that burns my face.
"So, I have to tell you something," Jas begins. We're parked outside of my house now and an awkward silence fills the air, which make me a bit uncomfortable. Jas and I never have awkward moments. But the feeling may be unshared because Jas has a bright shine in his eyes. My heart kick starts at the look he's projecting.
"So...I like someone." A blush stains his cheeks, and I'm shocked. Jas never blushes. He's too confident and cares none the less about what others think of him.
But his words play through my mind. Again, and again. This is it. Maybe he felt something in that almost kiss, too?
I feel embarrassed for a second for acting like a young school girl before her continues. "I just wanted your opinion on this."
"Jas I like you-" the words tumble out of my mouth.
"Someone named Ever."
Wait. My name isn't Ever. I think I may have gasped. It turns into a choking laugh and soon Jas is staring at me as if he wasn't sure to do CPR on me or run away.
"Ha-ha, I like...Ever!" I slap my knees for kicks and then I'm bolting out of the car. I'm aware I probably left his door wide open, but I run like I'm on fire to my door and unlocking it with shaking hands I block out Jas' shouts.
My sister watches me with narrow eyes when I shoot past her.
"Livvie!" she calls out. I groan because I'm no less than a feet from my room door. Slowly, I drag myself to her.
Gwen is pregnant. Very pregnant. Past the gray pullover that she's wearing there is an obvious bulge in her stomach that causes her to hold her back with every step that she takes.
"What's going on? Why are you running?" she barely moves from her position on the couch. A bunch of Hershey kisses have been mauled- the wrappers piled up high on the wooden floors.
I should warn her that once mom gets home, she'll freak out. But there's no point in bossing Gwen around. That's her job.
"Monsters. There were lots of...monsters outside." One with a name starting with a J. I couldn't even think his name right now!
Gwen rolls her eyes. "Right, weirdo."
I am about to walk away and sulk in my room when she shrieks my name once more.
"What, Gwen?"
She huffs before smiling this odd smile I believe is meant to be sweet. "Can you make me some food?"
"Where's Josh?' I ask. Josh is Gwen's soon to be husband. The two of them are polar opposites, in my opinion. Josh has this seriousness to him while Gwen can never be serious. It's freaky.
"He went to get Mexican food." She pouts before turning her attention to the television where the channel is on the food network. A jolly man rolls dough around and is creating some bread or something.
"It's almost not even three!" I shout.
She crosses her arms as best as possible over the rock also known as her stomach. "But I'm pregnant!" she wails.
I shake my head before going into the kitchen and throwing together a quick batch of cookies from some dough our mom made days ago.
Thirty minutes later I found myself munching on the chewing treats with Gwen sitting across from me. "You going to tell me what's really wrong?" she asks with a mouth full of cookies.
I consider it. Gwen and I had a relationship that was appropriate for sisters. She'd just gotten back from college with a fiancé and an unborn baby. It was odd that my sister- known as the good one that made mom proud and have faith that she would go far- ended up staying home.
"I'm good," I say with a shake of my head.
There's silence as Gwen observes me uncomfortably. The dark-colored hair that we share is piled high on her head. She taps her chin thoughtfully before I finally give up.
"What is it, Gwen?"
Her eyes widen. "What?"
"You're looking at me with your... pregnant lady eyes."
"These pregnant lady eyes think nothing."
At that moment the front door burst open and Josh jumps into the room with white bags filling his hands. "Food!" Gwen squeals, and that's the end of that
* * * * * *
I fell in love with Jasper by accident. It wasn't fate or anything ridiculous like that.
He grew up down the street from us. At one point, we hated each other- a child's hate that was sudden and didn't last too long.
But he was new to Sera Town, and I was eager to make new friends, especially the young boy with the friendly blue eyes and wild hair.
He was different, confident. A complete opposite of the girl I used to be- shy, couldn't utter but a few sentences around boys, and had a few friends.
But he opened me up to all of these things I'd closed myself off to. My first dare, my first love. Events and miniscule existences that would have never crossed my mind before. This love was slow and steady- painfully slow and as the years went by, it grew. One big raindrop is what this was, ready to fall between our fingers at any moment.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I hear mom come in later that night. Being an Occupational Therapist means that her schedule is unstable at times, and there's not a specific time she comes home.
But she likes doing what she does. During anytime of the night she'll run to console a patient of hers whether she feels like it or not, and I admire that about her.
"What are you doing up?" she inquires.
"Just wanted a drink of water," I tell her, when I actually have a plate full of cookies that I plan on taking back to my room. Guiltily, I hide the plate behind my back. I notice the pile of papers on the table. Bills.
"Mom, go rest. You can do all of this later." I stand in the doorway to watch her. The smell of baked cookies still lingers. Faintly, I can hear the voices of Gwen and Josh drifting throughout the dining room.
"It's okay, Liv. Go rest. School's tomorrow, don't forget." Of course I can't forget. Even though it'll be junior year nerves keep me on end. Maybe that's why I can't even stay still long enough to close my eyes and fall asleep. The anxiety pulls at my thoughts and that one second that I am calm, I'm back to this feeling of a bundle of nerves and suffocating.
Stubbornly, she shakes her head. Unlike my sister and I, she has blonde hair that has streaks of gray in it. Smiling faintly at me, she continues to fill out the papers on the table.
My mom wasn't always this way-stressed out with money and bills. But that was before my dad walked away.
My memories of him are like trying to look through murky waters- impossible. I can only remember a scratchy laugh, and that's it. The laugh of a person that walked out of our lives when I was nothing more than a baby.
Gwen says she remembers him. When he'd left and I was still a child she'd tell me stories that were meant for me to hold onto. The good ones that kept me up at night wondering what it would have been like to know him. I knew that sometimes it was better to hold onto the good memories instead of the bad ones.
I trudge back up to my room. As I'm settling back into bed, streetlamps outside cast shadows along my bed. The windows are wide open, because I'm on the second floor and I'm sure that no one can see anything. My mom was hesitant about the openness, but after a while I insisted. There's something about seeing outside with no barriers. Only a thin piece of glass separating me from the rest of the world.
My phone vibrates on the dresser.
Jazzy Jaz ♥ : picking u up tmrw??
I cringe at the hearts beside his name. I'm so happy that Jas isn't one of those people that snoop on your phone and totally invade your personal space.
I glance at the bright screen for a moment, debating on if I should reply or not. I know that Jas will probably want me to explain my reaction to his confession, but I'm not ready. But it's a tradition for Jas to drive me to school.
I'm about to respond when finally sleep takes me and I slowly drift off into a troubled state of unconsciousness.
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