Okay, well, here's the first chapter of my first story. It'll get more developed and interesting in later chapters, I promise! And this prologue is the only one in first person POV; the rest are pretty much third omniscient.

If you have any suggestions, I'll try to be a good person and comply; if you have helpful criticism, I'll try to be a good person and comply; but if you have evil criticism and tell me you hate what I'm writing about, then I'll try to be a good- wait, what am I saying? If you're evil to me, I'm gonna be evil to you! Muahahaha!!

Okay, I'm better now. Enjoy my story. It's my baby!

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PROLOGUE

Let's start with the basics: my name's Tero Markkinen, I'm 16 years old, and I've got a huge issue. I really should explain how this issue came about, so here goes:

I was at one of my sister's plays a year ago. Now, I love Terttu and all, but seeing a first grade play just doesn't do it for me. So, I decided to focus my attention on something more interesting.

Raakel Kaikki. Pretty, intelligent, beautiful, funny, gorgeous. did I say she was good-looking? Anyway, it was her popularity that was my downfall.

It was a doomed relationship before it began, which it never actually did. She was a prep; me, a punk. And if you're ever been to high school, you know those groups just DON'T mix. Her friends hated my friends (pretty much only my twin cousins), who in turn hated her friends (pretty much the whole school) right back. I always kinda had this thing for her, though.

So, that night I saw her in the lobby during intermission. She's got a brother in Terttu's class, so I guess she got dragged along like I did. I figured that, since I didn't see any of her friends around, it was safe to talk to her.

"Hei, Raakel," I said smoothly to her as she walked by. I had set up the opportunity by telling my cousins, Niko and Ville, that I was going to the restroom. They're my age, so they were as bored as I was and took no notice of my departure.

"Oh. um, hei, Antero," she said. I was elated; she knew my name!

"You get dragged along to this play, too?"

"Yeah. My little brother, Pasi, is in it. It's pretty boring, huh?"

"Yeah, even Niko and Ville can't snap me out of it." I was actually talking to the girl of my dreams!

"Must be pretty bad. At least you've got friends along." And she was talking to me!

"It's still pretty boring though."

"Yeah. I wish they at least had something to do during these stupid intermissions."

"Well, we could always find a nice corner and wildly make out." I had meant it as a joke, dammit! A joke! Why couldn't she just have laughed? If only she had been joking when she replied.

"Sounds like a plan to me; just don't tell anyone."

And with those fatal words, she took my hand, we found a corner, and we, well, started wildly making out!

All too soon, people were going back into the auditorium, signaling the end of intermission. But, seeing as we were both a little preoccupied, neither Raakel or I noticed this, until my mom came looking for me. and that's when it happened.

Now, my mom's not the subtle type and she's very old fashioned, as in "don't so much as hold hands before you're married!" She couldn't find me when intermission ended, and Ville and Niko didn't know where I was, so she came looking for me. And, unfortunately, she found me.

For a woman only 5 feet tall, she's got a pretty strong voice that carried really well, which she proceeded to use to announce my presence and actions to the entire crowd, including Raakel's parents.

"Antero Kimmo Markkinen! Get your tongue out of that slut's mouth and get over here! This is supposed to be a night with your family, not your raging testosterone!"

And thus, I was condemned. After that night, Raakel refused to even look at me again. She told the whole story to her friends, who in turn told all their acquaintances, and soon every girl in the school began to hate me. Some of them ignore me; some of them tease me. But all the girls, preps and punks alike, hate me. I know this sounds like I'm exaggerating, but it honestly ruined my life.

No girl in the entire village of Niemi will talk to me seriously. They seem to think I'm just looking for an easy girl, that all I want in a relationship is sex, which isn't the case at all. I'm just not that way; neither are Ville and Niko.

Speaking of my cousins, they don't joke with me about it, because they can sympathize. Although my mom is only their aunt, she can (and does) cause hell for them.

As I said, she's very old-fashioned, and just doesn't understand the logic of teenagers these days (then again, who does?). A couple of weeks ago, she yelled at Ville to pull up his pants, which he always wore with the waist resting on his hips - just like every high school kid in Niemi. She threatened to pull his pants down if he didn't pull them up. He didn't; she made true her threat.

Another thing Mom doesn't get is the idea of males having piercings. She makes a huge fuss about the tiny silver loop in Niko's left ear; she even tried to pull it out once. Good thing she doesn't know about his tongue.

Anyway, that's how I got to be sitting all along, a year later, in a huge meadow of wildflowers, pondering existence. I've thought about the past year, in which no female between the ages of 14 and 19 would talk to me. I don't know what to do. What can I do?

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Okay, that was the prologue! (Thank you Captain Obvious. lol) I hope you liked it! If you did, then review and let me know. Heck, even if you hated it, review and let me know, just be nice about it! I'll also try to be good about updating =) Love you all!