new one-shot. cliché? very.

fluff filled? for sure.

enjoy, my friends.

Arrogance.

There was only one word to describe him: arrogant. And she hated that about him. Always had, always would.

&&&

What do they see in him? Honestly! I mean, sure; he’s gorgeous. And sure; he’s a great athlete. And yeah, okay, practically every girl in the school is in love with him. But I will NOT fall for his act. I know that underneath his perfectly tanned, acne-free skin, he’s really just an arrogant jerkface who preys on innocent girls.

And who could ever love a guy like that? Not me, that’s for sure.

&&&

“Jeremiah, did you see that? I made a goal!”

“I saw! That was great!”

“That was great!” Liv mocked under her breath. “Yeah, right. My three year old cousin could’ve done better.” She rolled her eyes.

“Is that any way to talk to your teammates, Liv?”

Her breath caught. How long has he been standing right behind me? she thought.

“You should apologize,” he continued.

“I should apologize?! What about you, Jeremiah?!” Liv shouted as she spun around; locking her hazel eyes with his own green ones.

“Me?” His eyebrows shot up. “What did I do?”

“You’re distracting the whole team! We need to practice!”

He laughed, causing 99.9% of the girl’s soccer team to melt. Liv only narrowed her eyes into a glare.

“So I’m distracting, huh?” he smirked, stepping closer to Liv. He pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and snaked his other arm around her waist. Liv thought for a minute that he was going to kiss her, and the thought made her sick to her stomach.

She immediately pushed him off, refusing to let him get away with touching her.

“Go away, Jeremiah, and let us practice,” she said aggressively. He laughed again.

“Whatever you say, Captain.”

And then he was gone.

&&&

“Could you believe soccer yesterday?! Jeremiah was all over Liv again!”

“Oh, I know! I can’t believe she doesn’t like him! I mean, I would kill to be in her position!”

“Exactly! Who wouldn’t?”

Liv rolled her eyes as she listened to more girls talk about her as if she weren’t sitting three feet away. She would gladly trade places with any one of them; all she wanted was for Jeremiah to leave her alone.

But noooo, she was “different”. She was “the only one for him”. Right, she scoffed. He probably says that to all the girls, so he can get into their pants. She was about to keep eavesdropping when she saw (or rather, heard) her best friend approaching.

“LIVVYYYYY!” the bubbly redhead screamed as she ran towards Liv. The short and spunky girl collided with her best friend suddenly.

“Ellie! What’s with all the excitement? Why are you so hyper?” Liv asked. Ellie sat down in the desk next to her wit ha beaming smile on her face.

“Becauuuuse,” Ellie said in a sing-song voice. Liv waited for her to continue, but she didn’t.

“Because what?”

“I know something you don’t know!” she sang loudly.

Liv smacked her head against her desk. When Ellie was this mischievous, it took AGES to get her to tell you whatever it was she knew.

“Any particular reason why you’re slamming your head on the desk?”

Liv tensed at the familiar voice. Ellie’s broad grin only grew broader. Raising her head to meet Jeremiah’s eyes, Live shot him her best glare.

“Go away, Jeremiah,” she spat. He just smirked.

“Why? Am I distracting you again?” He grinned. Liv, who couldn’t think of how to answer that, just pouted and said nothing as she turned away from him. Ellie watched them; clearly very amused by the exchange.

The bell rang, and class started. Liv let out a sigh of relief. She was safe, for now.

Or at least, she thought she was, until near the end of class when she was pelted in the back of the head with a crumpled up piece of paper. She turned around and ferociously chucked her pen at Jeremiah in a counter-attack. But unfortunately, he caught it in his hands before it could hit him in the forehead. She sighed angrily in defeat.

Chuckling silently, Jeremiah motioned for Liv to read the note he’d thrown at her. She hesitantly turned back around and unwrinkled the paper. On it was Jeremiah’s messy handwriting, which read:

Meet me in the gym during break.

-J

She glanced back at him curiously, and saw that he was checking out some skanky freshman across the room.

Of course, she thought. And then, I wonder what he wants to talk about?

Her musings were interrupted by the shrill (yet relieving) sound of the final bell. After standing up and gathering all her stuff, Liv absentmindedly began walking to the gym, completely forgetting about Ellie.

“Uh, Liv? Where are you going?” she asked.

“Oh!” Liv stopped in her tracks and looked at her best friend. “The gym.”

“Okay…how come?”

Liv didn’t feel like explaining, so she just thrust Jeremiah’s note into her friend’s freckled hands and continued to the gym. Ellie skimmed the note, grinning as she made the conclusion Liv had failed to make.

“Kay!” Ellie shouted after her. “See you later!”

&&&

The gym was quiet. Jeremiah was waiting for Liv to show up, but he was all by himself. What’s taking her so long? he thought to himself.

And then, as if on cue, there she was. She looked adorable as she stared at Jeremiah with a confused expression, obviously having no why he’d called her there.

“Hey, Liv!” he called out to her. She gave him one of her death glares in response. Unfazed, he walked towards her.

“What is it? If this is about the new soccer drills, then forget it. I’m not changing back to the old ones.”

“That’s not what it’s about,” he said.

“It’s not? Then what is it about?”

“You. And how I’m taking you to prom this weekend.”

Liv’s mouth dropped open. WHAT? He’s asking me to prom?!

“…you’re asking me to prom?” she voiced her thoughts.

“I guess I am.”

Liv stared at him again, taking in his sandy blonde hair and gorgeous green eyes. But then she remembered how much she hated him, and snapped out of her trance.

“Well, I’m not going with you,” she said.

“What? Why not?” Jeremiah looked shot down. Liv inwardly grinned.

Bet he’s never been rejected before, she thought. And then she replied, “Because I don’t like you. And you don’t like me.”

“Huh? I do like you, Liv. A lot, actually,” he admitted sheepishly.

“You’re just saying that,” Liv stated.

“I am not!” Jeremiah sighed with frustration. “You don’t get it, Liv. You’re different than all the other girls. You don’t worship me like them.”

Liv snorted. “You got that right,” she muttered.

“So come to prom with me. I’ll pay for your ticket and everything.”

“No.”

Jeremiah frowned. He should’ve known she wouldn’t say yes. She hated his guts! He tried again.

“Well what if –“

“No!”

“You didn’t even let me finish my sentence!” he complained. Liv couldn’t help but giggle at his childish impatience.

“That’s because I’m not going with you.”

Jeremiah’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah really.”

“Well what if I do this?”

“Do what?” Liv asked.

And before she could process what was happening, Jeremiah’s lips were pressed against her own. She grunted in surprise, and then tried to push him away. But he just kept on kissing her, poking his tongue into her mouth, and soon she was kissing him back.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over. And Liv, her cheeks flushed red, ran out of the gym without pausing to look back.

&&&

“What happened?” Ellie asked incredulously. The two girls were in the bathroom, where Liv had dragged her best friend as soon as she’d gotten out of the gym. Liv was currently leaning over a sink; her face still tinged pink with embarrassment.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” she croaked. Ellie rolled her eyes at Liv’s overdramatics.

“Oh come on, just tell me what happened!”

Liv cleared her mind so that she could think, and then spoke, “Jeremiah asked me to prom.”

“Eeeee!” Ellie squealed. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! This is sooo great!”

“Are you crazy?” Liv shouted. “It’s not great at all! I told him no, anyway.”

“WHAT? B-b-but…he really likes you, Liv!” Ellie exclaimed.

“No he doesn’t!”

“Yes, he does! He told me himself! Jeez, you heartbreaker! When are you going to realize that?” Ellie exclaimed. Liv reddened even more. “Anyway, I’m judging by your reaction to all of this that you haven’t told me the whole story.”

Liv just mimicked puking some more in an attempt to avoid telling the rest of the story.

“Olivia! Tell me now!”

“Fine, calm down! Well, you’re right. That’s not the whole story.”

“I knew it! So, spill!” Ellie leaned in closer in anticipation.

“Uhh…” Liv glanced around the bathroom, making sure that no one else was in there. When the coast was clear, she continued. “Well, after I told him I wouldn’t go with him, he sort of…starting making out with me. And I kind of…kissed him back.”

Ellie squealed in a pitch so high, Liv was sure only dogs could hear it without getting brain damaged.

“Shut up!” she pleaded. Ellie just squealed again. Liv covered her ears.

“There is no way I can go to soccer practice today,” she sighed.

“Oh, you’re going to soccer,” Ellie demanded. “You’re Captain, we need you! You have to show up!” She grinned mischievously. Liv groaned. Ellie was right, they needed her. And so she would have to be there.

&&&

Practice was dreadful. Luckily, the boy’s team was on the far field, but Liv could still feel Jeremiah’s eyes staring at her while she ran drills.

The whole two hours, Liv was not on her game. She was pretty sure the whole team noticed how much she was sucking, because they kept asking her if she was okay. Her reply was always, “yes, I’m fine”, but in reality, she definitely wasn’t. How could she be?! It was like Jeremiah was trying to burn a hole through her back by staring at her.

But that wasn’t even the worst part. Each time she glanced back at him, he didn’t try look away. He just kept on gazing at her, and Liv could see the genuine sadness in his beautiful eyes. And that made her want to cry.

Ellie was the only other girl on the team who knew the situation. She practically demanded Liv to sit out for a while, telling the others that her sulkiness was due to bad health.

From the other field, Jeremiah saw Liv sitting on the edge of the turf by herself. He felt extremely tempted to run over to her, take her in his arms, and kiss her like he had earlier, but he knew she’d just push him away. And he didn’t think he could handle that again. So he decided to let her sit.

And so she sat.

&&&

It was the day of prom, and Liv had been avoiding Jeremiah ever since the “incident”. The past four days had been tough; hiding behind corners and getting to class late on purpose to avoid confrontation. But she’d managed to do it, much to Jeremiah’s dismay.

He had been hoping she might come around, therefore he hadn’t asked anyone else to be his date. But now that the night was only hours away, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to go at all. What was the point? I wouldn’t be fun without Liv.

She, on the other hand, was planning on making it an early night; going to bed before prom even started so that she could just forget about it completely. However, he attempts were short-lived, because at about 9:00, the doorbell rang. Her mother called her down, saying someone was there to see her.

It was Jeremiah.

Liv froze at the top of the steps. She didn’t want to be near him, he’d probably drag her to the dance. But he wasn’t wearing a tux…not even a suit. So maybe it was safe?

She cautiously made her way down the stairs, watching Jeremiah as he eyed her Hello Kitty pajama shorts and tank top curiously.

“Hey,” he said when she was standing in front of him.

“…hi,” she replied. “I’m not going to prom with you, if that’s what you’re here for.”

“No, I know. It’s a little too late for that.”

There was an awkward silence as the two tried to figure out what to say.

“Look, Liv…” Jeremiah finally began. “I know you don’t like me very much. Well, at all. But I just need to let you know how I feel about you. It’s been driving me crazy.”

Liv listened. Her face revealed no emotion.

Jeremiah took a deep breath. “I think I’m in love with you,” he said.

Huh?!

Liv couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Her heart was beating like crazy.

“Wh-what?” she asked.

“You heard me,” he said. “I’m in love with you. You may not like it, but hat’s just the way it is, Liv. So…I guess that’s it. I should go now.” He began to walk away, but Liv grabbed his arm.

“Wait, Jeremiah…”

He turned and looked her in the eye, waiting to see what she’d say. But she said nothing. Instead, she kissed him. And he kissed her back. Passionately, sweetly.

“I think…I think I might be in love with you, too,” Liv said quietly when they broke apart.

Jeremiah smirked and said, “I knew it.”

Fin.

&&&

There you have it! I am quickly uploading this before leaving the house...so I had no time to review for mistakes, sorry! I'll go back and edit later.

I wrote this for my friend’s art contest, but I don’t know if it’s short enough for it. Hope you liked it! Please review! (: