AN: For those who are wondering, I’m going to say it now: This is my full-length version of One Hundred Moments, since it was really just horrible the way it was originally written. There was so much missing that I wanted to add, so I deleted it and came back with this. Hopefully you still like it, and there’ll (eventually) be another One Hundred Moments one-shot back up. Same concept, different story. ; )

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In The Beginning, There Were Dinner Parties.

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Lacey

When I was five, Mom always brought me to these little restaurants. She’d let me sit next to her in the booth, and I’d look down on all the kids who still had to use booster seats. I was a big girl and had outgrown them; a strange sense of pride always filled me when I saw kids my age (or around my age) sitting in their booster seats. I’d always stick my tongue out at them when Mom wasn’t watching.

When I was ten, these outings became less fun. I had more important things to do—magazines to read, gossip to tell, boys to discuss. I was that typical girl who hated all the gossip and who thought boys were icky, but I pretended to be into it because I didn’t want everyone to think I was a freak. I started liking those outings less and less as the time went on, because, really—who wanted to waste time with their parents when they could instead be gossiping about boys in magazines?

When I was twelve, Mom invited one of her friends to an outing—the friend and her son. What a kid he was. I think he was angry for being, what, a month younger than me? Yeah, what a boy, right? And can you believe that an eleven-year-old-who-was-twelve-in-two-days would actually be the type to play footsie and then deny it? Like, how dumb can you get?

At sixteen, I still had to “do” these dinners. By then, I had much better things to do—not reading magazines or gossiping, but going out with my friends, having some kind of a social life. I’d had my first boyfriend by then—and break-up, since I brought him to one of our dinners. He saw the monstrous side of me when That Dumb Kid started playing footsie. (At sixteen? Really?)

Needless to say, I was dumped within the week.

Gregory Anderson was obviously put on Earth to make my life miserable.

“Nice shirt,” he sneered when I walked into the restaurant with Mom. She and his mother were bonding over tablecloths.

“Nice—face.”

Okay, not the greatest comeback in the world, but I deserved points for trying, right?

Greg grinned, and I hated the way that his (in all honesty) handsome face twisted into that retarded smile that only he could pull off. “I know, right?” He rubbed his hand along his jaw. “Don’t you wish you had one like it?”

“Not really, no,” I replied nastily. “I’d rather not have to wear two asses, one’s plenty.”

I didn’t really know what I meant by that, or how it’d come out so weird-sounding, but Greg could never resist a chance to mock me some more. He opened his mouth, but thankfully (I think?), his mother told him to sit down and close his mouth. He wasn’t a dog after all, so he shouldn’t have his mouth hanging open in public.

I stuck my tongue out at him, like the very mature woman that I was, and he promptly kicked the leg of my chair very hard. I glared. He guffawed (like a loser).

And so began our weekly routine.

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My life was always pretty dull, I guess. I think. I mean, nothing interesting ever happened to me or to anyone around me. It was almost like my life was at some kind of standstill. I didn’t have anything to complain about, I guess. My life, my world, was on a completely neutral, calm level.

“I think I like Greg.”

I choked on the water from the water fountain and looked up. Marie, Diane and Corey fell silent and stared at Kate.

“What?”

“Greg Anderson,” Kate repeated. She sighed dreamily. “I think I like him.”

“May I ask why? Or is this a joke?” Even I was surprised by how calm I sounded. Greg was so infuriating. I don’t know how Kate could ever like him. Sure, he was good-looking, but how should that even matter?

“Well, he’s really cute, and pretty smart… I mean, he’s not the next Einstein or anything, but his grades aren’t usually very low, you know? And oh my God, he’s, like, the nicest guy I know?” She sighed again, one hand resting against her heart and the other on her forehead. “I think it’s love or something. I’ve never felt this way in my life.”

I held back a snort. Kate was incredibly smart, for someone who spoke so stupidly or who acted like such a blonde girl. She was also incredibly superficial and “never felt this way before” about any guy who she deemed attractive.

“You said that about Trevor,” Diane pointed out.

“Yeah, but this time—it’s just different.” Kate looked up at the peeling ceiling dreamily. She probably didn’t really notice what she was staring at like it was her everything, because those ceilings were nasty.

“You said that about Sam,” Corey added dully.

“Look, I’m serious this time, okay?” Kate snapped. Her eyes were narrowed and she no longer looked like the essence of a young woman in love, which really was a pity. She always looked so much more beautiful when she wasn’t going all Medusa on us. (Which makes sense, I guess.)

“She said that about Kevin, too,” Marie whispered to Diane, who nodded. Kate didn’t hear such a thing being said, which was fortunate for the entire student population, because Kate was obviously never taught to use her “inside” voice.

“Kate.” I used my best parenting voice. The one that I’d perfected after years (weeks) of babysitting. I put my hands on her shoulders and looked at her as much in the eyes as I could. I was no midget, but Kate had the really nice long legs that every girl wished they had. “Please tell me that this is a joke and that you’re not trying to infect our pentagon with that. I don’t mind if you bring boys in, but he so doesn’t count.”

“Look, Lace,” she said slowly, “I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Maybe you’re just jealous or something, I don’t know. But the point is, I like Greg, and I don’t know why you can’t just be happy for me. I mean, I’ve found my one true love! Once we’re together, and he gets to know me, he’ll realize it, too.” She clapped her hands dramatically, and eyed the ceiling again. “Someday, we’re going to get married, and have a nice family of four—one son, and one daughter. We’ll move to Scotland and be the happiest couple around, and—”

“But first,” Diane interrupted dryly, “he has to figure out that you exist.”

“Well—yeah. But after that—”

“We get it. You’ll be the happiest couple around, and we’ll all be jealous when we’re living alone, especially Lacey because she refuses to encourage you,” Corey finished.

And so began our monthly “crush” routine.

--

Greg

Lacey Gordon was, without a doubt, the most infuriating woman I’d ever met. When I was almost twelve, I accidentally hit her foot with mine, and she got all mad at me and started hitting mine back. So she really started this whole war; I was just an innocent little kid who liked to swing his legs.

That being said, Monday evenings had become the worst nights of my life. I had to endure an entire hour of sitting and staring into that face. That little gap between her teeth was small enough to not notice until you knew it was there, but big enough to piss me off.

“You really should see an orthodontist,” I told her. “Maybe he could fix up your mouth a little bit.”

Right away, she puffed up. “There is nothing wrong with my mouth,” she huffed. “I mean, okay, maybe I don’t brush well enough, but that’s a dentist, not an orthodontist.” She crossed her arms over her (flat) chest and glared at her food, as if it was what had just insulted her.

“Okay, well, that’s gross on its own, but I was actually talking more about the gap between your two front teeth, babe,” I said, pointing lazily at her mouth. “It’s really annoying to have to stare at all the time.”

She rolled her eyes, since that was her trademark comeback (because she was an idiot and couldn’t think of anything better). “Well, I’m sorry that I didn’t have the world’s most awkward teeth and got braces when I was like five, Greg,” she answered. “I’m also sorry for not being so insanely superficial all the time. But you’re right, maybe I should stop worrying about cruelty to animals and I should just get braces to make myself pretty.”

She then went back to hacking at her pork with a knife.

“I never said that it’d make you look pretty, doll,” I replied smoothly. “So maybe you should fix it and I wouldn’t have to cringe whenever I see you.” I shrugged and moved my potatoes around in my plate.

Lacey opened her mouth to answer (oh God, her gap was just staring me down), but Molly wouldn’t let her. “Lacey! What are you doing? We’re in a restaurant, stop beating your food with a knife and eat it!” She sighed and turned to Mother. “Sometimes I really don’t know what to do with her.”

Mother said something, but I was too busy turning to Lacey to really listen to them. “Yeah sweetie,” I mocked. “We’re in public. Learn to be civilized. We’re not living in the Stone ages anymore.” I made sure that my smirk looked extra infuriating.

Lacey didn’t answer, only sulked. And that would be Greg: 1, Lacey: 0.

--

My group of friends consisted of two guys and three girls. Bryan was probably my best friend for the simple reason that he didn’t want to date me (Vanessa, Michelle and Kady did), and he wasn’t completely obsessed with the enemy (which Joe was).

I never really got how she could attract anyone. She’d only ever had one boyfriend in the past, true, but that was because none of the others had ever had the balls to just ask her out. I never understood how she did it, though.

She wasn’t hot, and her sex appeal was in the negatives. She wasn’t the smartest person I knew, that much was obvious. She sure as hell wasn’t a very nice person, and she had to have the shortest fuse possible. Just chew too loudly, and she was on your case.

“Come on, Greg! She’s not that bad,” he insisted, over and over. These arguments were usually four against one: Vanessa, Kady and Michelle always sided with me, and Bryan never took a side. Joe constantly tried to tell me that Lacey was, in fact, a decent human being, but what kind of person would I be if I really believed something like that?

“I’m not stupid. I’ve known Lacey for years and she likes to make my life miserable just because she can,” I replied dully, to which the three girls agreed.

“Yeah, and she sucks at soccer,” Kady added. “She tried out for the team and ducked every time the ball came at her. It was pretty pathetic.” She laughed, before swelling with pride. “I made the team, and it’s no time before they name me as team captain.” She glanced at me, as if she were trying to win me over with that little bit of information.

I’d known for a while that Kady loved sports, but I don’t think she understood that I didn’t really care about athletic prowess, and I definitely couldn’t date a girl who could kick my ass at soccer.

“Okay, so what is this, bash-Lacey-hour?” Joe snapped. “So she’s not amazing at sports, who cares about that? She’s really nice and really easy to get along with.” He grinned, eyes shooting up to those disgusting ceilings, and he stared into the heavens above.

“Well, loverboy,” Michelle said snidely, “here’s your chance to make your move. Four-eyes is on her way over here.” She pointed behind my shoulder and I turned around and saw—Lacey Gordon.

Joe immediately stiffened and turned red when he set his eyes on the awkward girl. He gulped and forced some kind of smile to his face, but she wasn’t looking at him. She was actually staring right at me, and I really didn’t like that look. She looked like she was about to pull a knife from somewhere and start hacking at my body like it was a pork chop or something.

Was she still angry about my comment on her choice of outfit? Or maybe the orthodontist. She had to know that I wasn’t serious, though, didn’t she? I mean, that outfit was actually really nice (or it would’ve looked nice on a pretty girl), and her teeth—well, that was just me trying to be a good person and trying to help her get herself a boyfriend.

She wasn’t still mad, though. She couldn’t be, it didn’t make sense. Short fuse, yeah, but she was also pretty quick to forgive, even in my case, and she hated me.

Then again—this was Lacey that I was talking about. She was unpredictable, and since when did I give a shit?

“I don’t know what you did, Anderson,” she growled, “but I will never forgive you for it.” With that, she pushed past me (shoving Vanessa aside at the same time) and stalked down the hallway angrily.

“She’s so cute when she’s mad.” Joe sighed again like some lovesick puppy.

Okay, so the new score was Greg: 1, Lacey: 1.

It was so on.

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AN: So, like I mentioned at the beginning, this is my full-length version of One Hundred Moments. Naturally, some changes will be made to the story, since there were some parts of the one-shot that I grew to hate. (Such as the ending.) There’s also going to be more history on the characters to explain why they are the way they are. (In the cases of Bryan and Kate.)

New characters are making appearances, of course, and I’m trying to include all of them (or at least most) in the story, since I kind of dislike how a lot of authors just kind of introduce a character, then let them die. I especially want to include Corey, because I love that name so much on a girl. ; )

This will still have the same basic plot as my one-shot, so, if you’ve read that, you know where this story is going, and you know how certain things are going to happen, and you’ll have a rough idea of when. I like to think of that one-shot as a kind of guideline for this story; a basic outline. I can move things around or replace them, but how that was written is basically what will happen. I know of some things that will definitely be taken out, and some things will certainly be added in.

Since my one-shot was all about Greg and Lacey and how they got together, there was no chance for Bryan to shine, which I didn’t like. Kate just disappeared into the background, much like Bryan, and I want to fix that with a story that’s not only about Lacey and Greg, but about them as well. I hate when secondary characters become two-dimensional, just because they’re not the “main attraction”, so to speak. I’d like to try and give my secondary characters some depth, and some kind of a personality, since, in a sense, they are people, too.

That being said, I hope you all enjoyed my first chapter of the One Hundred Moments rewrite! I’ve never done this style of writing before—switching points-of-view halfway through a story, etc. It’s pretty cool, though, and needs to be done if I want to include every moment (or most moments) from the original, right? : )

Anyway, leave me your opinion, tell me how I can improve, or make my male point-of-view more accurate, since it’s something that I have never tried before: writing in the point-of-view of a male.

Well, I think now might be a good time to cut this AN short, before it becomes the story, ay? ; ) So leave me a review, if you’d like, and if not—hope you enjoyed it anyway, and will come back to read more!

(Happy Canada Day!)