The Romantic

He was a romantic, but less like Cupid and more like Sid Vicious. He didn't follow the rules, sneered at popular culture and couldn't stop staring at her. She just rolled her eyes, pretending not to care.


Author's Note: YIKES. I hope you enjoyed. Sorry for such a delayed update. ): Critiques and other such reviews are happily and humbly welcomed. PLEASE let me know what you think. Thanks! (:

REVIEWERS: Thank you all so much for reviewing! I'd list all of you, but my mother's going to kill me if I'm not in my room in the next ten minutes. YIKES.


"So, Carol is kind of cute," Keoni said one day during Forensics. Stacey stopped working on her packet and gave Keoni a disturbed look. He looked back innocently, eyes large and lips pouting lightly. "What?"

"I don't want to know if you think Carol is cute," Stacey stated in a deadly tone. "I don't want to know if you think her ass is big. I don't want to know if you think anything about her."

"Jealous?" Keoni smirked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"No way," Stacey said, thanking whatever higher being watching over her that her voice didn't shake. So, Stacey was a little jealous. What girl wouldn't be jealous?

"I don't believe you," Keoni continued to smirk. They stared at each other for a while.

This was different from Keoni's usual stares. Stacey could feel him leaning towards her, and something electric in the air. It made her heart beat uncontrollably and her brain jumbled with erratic thoughts.

"Believe me," she pushed herself to say. Keoni blinked once but continued to look at her, his brows furrowing.

"I don't understand you," Keoni said, moving back.

"Well, I don't understand you either," Stacey said, rolling her eyes. She packed her things together, feeling tired suddenly. There was still twelve minutes left of class, but Stacey couldn't bring herself to work on anything.

Laziness had settled in her. The "creeping lazies" as her mother had called them. Being a senior was more work than Stacey had expected, and more drama than she had would have liked. The drama she blamed on Keoni.

Keoni look at the packet that sat in front of him. He'd done most of it the night before, but didn't feel like doing the rest. Pushing his chair back and stretching his legs, Keoni got up and left the class. The teacher called after him, but didn't do much afterwards. Stacey stayed in her seat, feeling apathetic to the entire situation.

Carol found Stacey in the hallway when third period let out. Stacey smiled to her friend, but wasn't feeling up to chatting with the ever chattering Carol.

"Keoni invited to go a party with him!" Carol giggled, her glossed lips stretching with her smile. Stacey smiled and nodded. Why hadn't she been invited? "You're going with me, just so I can get a ride home. Is that okay?"

"Sure," Stacey said dryly, feeling her stomach sink. Designated driver: that's all Stacey ever was when she went to a party. Never was she allowed to drink, because "Stacey's Buddhist, she needs to be balanced!" Well, maybe I can tip off the scale here and there too!

"Are you sure? You don't sound too excited about all this," Carol asked, her little hand landing on Stacey's forearm.

"Maybe you should ask someone else, I just want to have fun," Stacey said, winking at her friend. Carol's face froze for a second before brightening with a dazzling smile that would steal the hearts of millions of boys.

"We're gonna party!!" Carol cried into the hallways, throwing her hands into the air. Stacey smiled broadly, excited for her first night filled with stereotypical partying.

Later that night, after dinner (filled with plenty of heavy foods to keep the liquor down), Stacey welcomed Carol into her humble abode. Stacey lived in a small twin house. She stayed with only her mother, so the three bedroom house was a little larger than needed. It was the house Stacey's parents used to live in together. The idea made Stacey flinch, but she didn't think much of it.

"I brought you clothes," Carol said, holding up a brightly colored bag. "Because I want you to look like a whore tonight."

"No," Stacey deadpanned, pushing her friend's shoulder lightly. "Rosa is coming, by the way. She'll drive."

"Good, because we're going to get wasted," Carol grinned. "And hopefully lucky."

"Yeah, sure," Stacey laughed. Carol giggled and raced up to Stacey's room where she dumped a bag full of clothes and accessories.

Rosa arrived sometime between Carol forcing Stacey into a short black skirt and Stacey throwing lip gloss at Carol. Rosa was quiet compared to the two other girls, and sat to herself. She watched on with a playful smile, only adding side comments to the conversation.

"I really hope I can hook up with Keoni tonight," Carol said, looking at herself in the mirror from over her shoulder. Stacey simply rolled her eyes, taking a sip of vodka Carol had provided for the "pre-game" portion of the night.

"It'll just be a one night stand," Rosa said, curling her lip at the idea. Stacey agreed with Rosa and wanted to sneer at Carol, but didn't. Instead, she hid behind the large bottle of vodka she was holding. Carol clicked her tongue and continued to look in the mirror, inspecting her rear end.

"As long as I get some," she finally said, smiling devilishly and stealing the bottle of mango flavored alcohol from Stacey's hand. Stacey smiled at her friend, to which Carol returned.

When it came time to leave the house, Rosa and Stacey were the only ones sober (or at least sober enough). Carol was already tipsy, her hands and feet going every which way. It took both Rosa and Stacey to put Carol into the back of the car.

"I thought that was supposed to be pre-game, not the actual game," Stacey mumbled to Rosa as they drove to the party. Rosa smiled and turned up the music, trying to cover Carol's obnoxious singing. "Why so quiet tonight?"

"I just…" Rosa hesitated. "You don't say what's on your mind ever."

"What do you mean?" Stacey asked, confused about the seriousness of the conversation.

"I can tell you don't approve of Carol and her…" Rosa nodded her head in the other girl's direction. "She listens to you, you know?"

"I do what I want!" Carol shouted into the conversation, giggling. Stacey simply rolled her eyes as Rosa gave a heavy sigh.