Author’s Note: It’s been awhile! But I’m back! Miss me much? Eh…probably not. I don’t know how good this is in comparison with my other stories. I haven’t been getting much output as far as writing goes. Things got busy with school and I feel like I’ve hit a giant block. I can’t tell you when the next chapter will be out, but I’m hoping it’s soon. So let me know what you think by responding or e-mailing me at . Thanks. Julie

Defy You

Julie E. Miller 2002

Chapter 1

I looked over at Cliff and felt my smile begin to spread across my lips. There was something about him, other than the fact that he was my best friend that just made me love the boy. I went to jump on his back and tackle him to the ground.

"Give me the friggen ball!" I shouted, as he bent forth to encase the football tightly into his arms.

"Chill Ri, chill," Cliff laughed, running, with me still on top of his back.

"Toss it here Cliff!" Trent shouted, running past us.

Cliff attempted to toss him the ball. I, however, didn’t help the cause and pushed the ball away as he started to throw it, making it go askew. It bounced in the wrong direction and Tommy got it and ran with it. "Go Tommy! Go!" I yelled, as he headed towards our end zone.

I tried to get off of Cliff’s back, but he held me there. "Cliff!" I shouted. "Let me down!"

"Nope. Not for messing up my play," he said, standing his full six feet four inches. I wrapped my arms around him instinctively as he ran around with me on his back. "Well what do I do with Dayton, Trent?"

"Eh…I don’t know. Maybe you could drop her," Trent teased, as Tommy came to join us.

"Aren’t you guys supposed to be anti-sports?" I asked them.

"Anti-organized sports," Tommy corrected.

"Whatever. Just…let me down, Cliff."

"No," he said simply, beginning to run again, with me squealing on his back.

"Colbert, you ass!" I yelled, then started to laugh.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and we headed back to the school, Cliff just carrying me there. I hugged him to me.

Cliff had been my best friend as long as I could remember. We were next door neighbors and our parents had always been friends. So it was only natural for us to become the best of buds. He was the greatest guy. Cliff had brown hair that often reminded me of Jimmy Fallon. His eyes were this deep chocolate brown color and he had one dimple when he smiled that appeared in his left cheek. Like I said, he’s a good six four on my five eight. I guess you’d consider him punk, but he’s not extreme or anything. Like now, he was just wearing a pair of baggy cargo shorts and a black Rancid hoodie. He was wearing a pair of Tom DeLonge’s line of shoes. God only knows what they were called. I think Cliff is the only one who would know.

Cliff bent forward so I could slide off his back. I unwrapped my arms from around him and we continued down the hall, side by side. We were only juniors. Not too old. Not too young. We didn’t have to worry about being the lowly freshman. We didn’t have to worry about the college applications that the seniors did. The perfect age.

"Twisted Youth is playing downtown tonight. You in?" Cliff asked me, as we reached our lockers, which were also side by side. Don’t ask me how that happened.

"I guess," I sighed. I loved music, I really did, but after awhile, it was all the same to me. We went to concerts every weekend. It was getting a little lame.

"You like Twisted Youth," Cliff started. "Why the disdain?"

I grabbed my English book. "We do that every weekend Cliff. It’s getting a little old."

"Well what else would you want to do?" he asked, a smile crossing his lips. "Go to the big junior prom?" I just looked at him. That was exactly where I wanted to go. The smile melted off his face. "No way Ri. You’ve got to be kidding me."

I shrugged. "May be fun. How do we know?"

"It’s a DANCE," he said, enunciating the final word.

"I know that. Why not Cliff? Why not go?"

"Do you really see Trent, Tommy, you, and I at a school dance, Rianna?" Cliff asked, grabbing a notebook.

"Why not?"

Cliff groaned. "Who asked you?"

I bit my lip, shyly. "Only Daryn and Rick."

"So unless I go with you, you’re going with one of them?"

"You’ll lose me to them," I said, the grin breaking out on his face.

Cliff slammed his locker shut and then I closed mine. He leaned against the door. "Rianna Dayton, will you accompany me to the junior prom?"

I smiled and looked at him. "I would love to."

With that, I gave him one last glance and we parted ways as we headed to class.

.--.

Cliff and I walked through the mall before we went to our show. I don’t know why we went there. There wasn’t really anything in our mall. We were holding hands. Don’t even think about it. He’s only a buddy. I just always seem to hold hands with him.

"When is this prom I’m taking you to?" Cliff sighed.

"Two weeks. I’m getting a dress tomorrow. My mom wasn’t surprised," I told him, swinging our hands.

"People already think we’re a couple," he said.

"But we aren’t."

"Eh well. If they don’t get our relationship, they never will," Cliff sighed.

"People are just stupid Cliff."

"I know. I can’t stand ninety-eight percent of the population."

"And one of the two percent left are teetering on the edge, right?"

"Exactly."

"Time for the show?" I asked him, as we started toward an exit.

"Yes."

"Am I dressed correctly for this one?" I asked, looking down at my jeans and Juliana Theory shirt.

"Fine."

Cliff was in what he’d worn that day. We walked out the exit and headed towards his car. It was a 1989 Ford of some kind that was beat up. It did, however, have a nice CD player in it. He’d installed it himself. We let go of one another’s hands and got in our respective side of the car.

We picked up Tommy and Trent and we headed towards the coffee shop. Tonight’s concert was just an acoustic showcase of the lead guy from Twisted Youth. We walked into the underground coffee shop.

"Ri!" Amanda shouted, from behind the counter. People were sprinkled around, not a huge crowd, just how I liked it. I waved. "The usual?"

"Yeah!" The gang and I took our seats. Amanda, one of my friends from school, brought out the usual coffee and we gave her our money.

The show started and I slowly drank the iced mochacchino. A few comments went around, but it was mostly us singing along with the music. I love music, I really do. And intimate shows like this are just even better. I looked over to see Cliff grinning at me, and I smiled back.

The lights in the coffee shop were dim and I grew self-conscious with his eyes on me. I pushed a strand of my blonde hair away from my face and looked at my feet. Things were getting odd between us.

Lately, the handholding, the hugging, the time spent together, had been occurring more and more. Sure, we’d always had a physical friendship, but we were going faster than we ever used to. It didn’t scare me that it was going faster.

It scared me because I liked it.

Was I supposed to like it? I mean, he was only a friend. Was I supposed to be feeling more? Was he feeling more? Or less? Or what? I knew I hoped more, because that was how I felt, but I didn’t want to chance it.

The show came to and end. We left the show, I was dropped off, and then I was left wondering what exactly was going on and what was going through his head.