Chapter One
I Asked Her
By ToRemainUnknown

I looked at her. Her creamy light-chocolate skin looked so smooth. Her silky, raven black hair cascaded over her shoulders and back. A few strands fell into her face, covering her intense green eyes, as she leaned forward to take notes. Her slender frame moving gracefully as she shifted in her seat. Watching her during class only made me want her more. I wanted to caress her body with my (hopefully)strong arms. I wanted to hold her a protect her from everything.

Unwillingly, I tore my eyes off of her and faced the front. I turned my thoughts from beautiful Rena to my teacher. For the rest of the class, I concentrated on what Ms.Holt, our teacher, was telling us about prepositions. Language arts, not my favorite subject, it was harder to get an A in this class than it was in any other. But I managed. As the bell rang, I sat for a few moments, watching Rena slide out of her chair and walk out the door.The way she walked, even that, mesmerized me. I hurried out, not wanting to belate for lunch.

The rest of my classes passed along uneventfully. Walking out of the school, I caught up to Rena. Which was sorta hard, seeing as it was a Friday... andnext week was a week-long break.And that meant that everyone was running about. Hoping she didn't have any plans, I turned to her.
"Hey, Rena, you have anything to do tonight?"
"Well, no. But I'd like to do something,"she replied to my question.
"Great, I was thinking maybe we could go shoot some hoops, get some ice cream, and then go to amovie. If that's okay with you?" I said,voicing my plans out loud.
"One minute, before I agree to anything, I'd like to know if it's just the two of us, or if there are more people coming along," she questioned me. I almost panicked. What if she didn't wanttobe with me?Yeah, well, too bad for me if it was so. I'm not one to lie about such things.
So, I said in reply, "It's just us, if that's okay with you. Unless, you'd like some friends to come along, too."
"Oh, no. I'd really like it withjust the two of us. So then it's set, I'll meet you at thebasketball courts at eight,'kay, Andy?" she said, much to my relief.
"Cool. I'll bring the basketball," I smiled, and we both said bye and walked to our own houses.

Walking away, I suddenly blushed lightly,realizing thatRena'd said that she'd'really like it with just the two of us.' She said she'd 'really like it'. She said 'really', not just 'like it'!Does this meanshe liked me back? Maybe this wasn't one-sided love after all. The wave of happiness thatcovered me was exhilirating. Today, I didn't even feel bad about my long walk home. On the way, I even stopped to get a soda. Drinking it as I walked the last part of the walk home, I thought about Rena some more. If she really liked me back, we could have a wonderful realtionship. Heh, I have a confession, I've never had a girlfriend before. Rena was my first real crush. That's probably because, I didn't just go for a pretty face. I wanted someone that was nice and kind. Someone who was as beautful, if not more, on the inside than they were on the outside. And Rena was just that. With her good looks came a pure heart. She would help anyone she could.

But, I've never really minded not having a girlfriend. Last year, in seventh-grade, I thought most of the guys were being pretty idiotic, getting girlfriends at only thirteen. But, hey, fourteen's much older than thirteen right? And I'm more mature than most my age? So it's okay if Rena is my girlfriend. Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. We're just going to have some fun, and here I'm talking as though she's already mine. I don't even know if she has feelings for me!

As my thoughts slowly faded away, I reached my home. Putting the key in, and pulling the door open, I walked into the house.
"Hey, everyone, I'm home!" I called into the house.
I got a welcome from my mom as I headed up the stairs to put my backpack in my room. I raced back down and walked into the kitchen, which my mom happened to be in.
"Hey, Mom, I'm going out at eight tonight, and I might not be back 'til eleven, okay?"
"Sure, honey. Make sure you're safe. And be sure to be back by eleven-fifteen. You know what happens if you don't get back soon-enough," she replied with a warm smile.
My parents were pretty lenient on when we kids got back on Friday nights, weekends, and breaks. I felt lucky to have parents such as mine. Don't think that them letting us be out so late means they neglect us or anything. Because, both my mom and dad are very caring and loving.
"So, Andy,where are you going and who are you going with?"
"I'm meeting Rena at the basketball courts. And we're going to shoot some hoops, and get ice cream afterwards. Then we're going to catch a movie," I replied.
"Okay, well here, eat this, you must be hungry after a long day at school and after that long walk," my mom said as she placed a warm piece of pie in front of me.

Yay, permission to stay out until eleven-fifteen, AND warmpie! I bit into it's moist deliciousness and was lost in a world of warmth. I couldn't wait 'til later today, when I would be out with Rena.