…And a Happy New Year
A/N: What the hell is wrong with me? I have been going one shot crazy this past week. I swear to God every second I come up with a new idea. I feel like I could just churn them all out a day at a time at this point. Which isn't exactly a bad thing, but seriously! My full length stories need me! Anyway, a few things to say about this one. The characters are based off real people, and some of the circumstances and events are true, but most of it isn't. I was just having fun incorporating real life experiences into my stories, as I always do. Second, I seriously have that Hamlet shirt. It is AWESOME. Third, some swearing and lots of drug references in this. You've been warned. Lastly, this is really long, and I apologize for that. Why is it that every time I write a one shot it ends up longer than the last?!
Alright...enjoy! And let me know what you thought!
Summary: I was a good kid. You know the type – straight As, Honor Society, rule follower extraordinaire. So how did I end up at the town's hottest New Year's party, hoping to be kissed at midnight by a boy who played two Varsity sports? ONESHOT.
I was a good kid.
You know the type – straight As, Honor Society, rule follower extraordinaire. I'd always been like that, well behaved and off radar, and I enjoyed it that way. My friends, however, weren't like me. They weren't applying to any Ivy League schools; they didn't have any problems with sneaking out of the house or drinking under age, and they never had to worry about getting text message replies that said, "I'm sorry, but who is this?" I never stopped wondering why they didn't just ditch me for their football playing boyfriends and their weekend parties. But they never did, and I was grateful for that.
My friends were the only thing keeping me from falling into the realm of the losers. Instead, because of who I hung out with, I was deemed one of those "cool nerds." I'd always thought that was a bit of an oxymoron, but who was I to complain? If it weren't for these girls, who stuck to me like glue and threatened to hurt anyone who called me a dork, I'd be nobody. They always had my back.
Unfortunately, my senior year, I was stuck with that one measly PE credit that I needed to graduate. In stereotypical nerd fashion, I was terrible at any and all sports – even the easy ones like capture the flag and dodge ball. This sucked for me, since I was forced to take Team Sports for the third year in a row, and this time I had no one to share the pain with.
There was literally nobody in that class. On the first day of school, I walked into the gym, and immediately wanted to walk back out. No friends in sight. I wanted to cry; I was going to be that lame kid that jogged laps alone, always finished last in warm-ups, and was forced to be badminton partners with that chubby freshman that nobody knew. I had never been in a PE class alone before. I'd always had at least one person I could run with, but this time, I didn't.
"There's no one to hang out with! I'm serious. What am I going to do?" I took to whining about my unfortunate situation to my friends. It wasn't much of a reprieve.
"Oh, come on, Anna. It can't be that bad. Just make some new friends," they told me.
I wouldn't have been so upset if I wasn't so bad at just that. Everyone that I was close to I'd been close to since I was ten or younger. When you're little, it's easy to make friends. Labels and cliques don't exist yet. But in high school, it's hard. People are more judgmental.
The only person in the room I'd ever even talked to was a boy named Preston. He was, I guess, an acquaintance of mine. He had dated one of my best friends for a while, and we had many mutual friends. He signed my yearbook; I signed his; we said hi to each other in the halls and even outside of school. He sat at the same lunch table as me. But he wasn't really my friend.
I decided to attach myself to him anyway. It was better than being alone in the stupid class. But Preston was a likeable guy so naturally he had other friends in the class. This meant that I'd have to try to weed myself into their group. Either that or I'd remain the class loner for the rest of the semester. I decided I'd give the whole "new friendship" thing a try.
"Can I be on your team?" I asked Preston meekly on the first day of flag football.
"Sure thing, Annie," he had said with a smile. I thanked the lord for his friendliness, but then I remembered that he wasn't the only person I'd be playing with. I'd have to convince his pals to take me in, too.
Preston's friends were the kind of kids that I would never have envisioned myself hanging out with. These guys were hardcore.
Sadie was the only other senior girl in the whole class. She was that chick that swore every other word, had guys for best friends, and couldn't decide what color she wanted her hair to be. The guys called her "Fish" because she had a popped blood vessel in her eye that reminded them of fish eggs. She wasn't too fond of the nickname. I found her a little bit intimidating, since she was the complete and total opposite of me.
Jackson was on the football team, but he wasn't your stereotypical jock. He had a trashy girlfriend that drank way too much and he was loud and obnoxious. He took his sports seriously, which meant that he probably wouldn't take to me being a part of his team too well. He was the one that I was most worried about gaining acceptance from.
Possibly the most unlikely of people for me to try and be friends with was Miles. He was, to put it frankly, a major pot head. He was a country boy, who wore camouflage and Carharrts and came to school high (if he even came at all). He had a cheerleader girlfriend, his sister's best friend, and I was honestly surprised that he'd even managed to get a girl like that. But then again, I didn't know him well, so I shouldn't have judged.
Lastly was Eli. He was the only junior deemed worthy enough to hang out with the seniors. He was Jackson's lackey, a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes and a good build that came from being on the wrestling team as well as track and field. I hadn't expected him to be much of a nice guy, since he was buddies with Jackson and one of my friends who threw javelin with him told me he was a big douche. But again, I didn't know him personally. He could be the nicest guy in the world and I wouldn't have known it.
These were the people whose friendship it was my mission to obtain. You can only imagine how horrifying the prospect of getting this group of rebels to accept me was. I was only Anna Kingsley, after all.
About a week and a half had passed and I was actually starting to rely on Sadie's presence. To my surprise, she'd become sort of a safe haven for me. Having another girl around always made things less awkward, for some reason, not to mention she was equally slow at running ("Fuck you, lungs! I'm never smoking before class again!"), and she'd taken to running laps with me.
She was a lot nicer than what I had expected. She was the first after Preston to accept me in the group, welcoming another of the female variety with open arms.
"I'm so glad I have another girl to run with," she told me one day. "No one else understands how damn much boobs really weigh you down."
She was funny, too, and I found myself thoroughly entertained by her sense of humor as the days went by. But one day, she was absent. And it was weird.
"Hey, Anna, Fish is gone today, so it looks like you'll have to be our quarterback," Preston announced as we got our teams together for football.
"What?!" I paled. I couldn't throw a football! "But – "
"Hell no," Jackson interjected. "I'm not letting this one be QB. She's terrible!"
"Wow, thanks," I said with a frown.
"Eli, you do it." Jackson ignored me and gestured to his pride and joy. "I'll go long, then you can toss it to me, and Preston and I will short pass it a few times to meet the requirements. Miles, you stand in the end zone and get ready to catch the ball when I throw it to you. Got it?"
Miles nodded lazily. Preston gave me an apologetic look. I shrugged; I was actually thankful that I didn't have to do anything. I was too afraid that I'd screw everything up. It didn't matter that Jackson was being a total dick, because everything he was saying was true. I was terrible.
The game started and I (unwillingly) hiked the ball to Eli, who threw it to Jackson, who tossed it to Preston, who tossed it back to Jackson, who threw it to Miles, who caught it and got us a touchdown. There was much shouting and chest bumping between Eli and Jackson. Even Preston and Miles high fived, and as the other team walked, Preston made a point to high five me as well.
"Good job, Anna," he said.
I knew he was only being nice, but I was glad. I hoped the day where both Sadie and Preston were absent would never come.
Unfortunately, it did. It was about a month into class, after we'd moved on from football to lacrosse, and I was mortified. No Sadie? No Preston? What the hell was I going to do?
I started out the class the way I started out on the first day: I stood alone at my attendance spot and spoke to no one. I honestly had no desire to try and interact with Jackson; he was a total ass to me ever since I fumbled and cost us a game the week before. Actually, he had always been a total ass to me. But at least now he had a legit reason to be.
Naturally, since Eli was Jackson's little bitch, he hated me too. The two of them laughed and jeered and insisted it was all in good fun, but I knew it really wasn't. I tried not to let it get to me, but it was hard. Nobody likes being hated on.
Anyway, the teacher took roll and told us to get into teams of six for lacrosse. I paled. Time for the tricky part.
I really didn't care who I was on a team with; I just didn't want to be that loser that walked around aimlessly because nobody would take her. I was worried that that was exactly what I would be, but to my complete and utter surprise, Jackson grabbed my arm and thrust me into the group without warning.
"Okay. Eli, Anna, Miles, me…that's four. We need two more," he said. And then he sped off to go recruit some random kids to play with us.
I was shocked, and I knew the boys next to me could tell.
"He doesn't hate you," Miles said. "He just gets competitive."
I let myself smile a little. If Jackson was willing to take me in even when Preston and Sadie were gone, Miles must've been telling the truth. All I could think at that point was: Hooray!
And then: Shit! Apparently, Jackson only wanted me on his team because he was "already down two men" and he needed me to "be his wide receiver."
Before I could even process what was going on, the game had started and I was expected to "go deep!" Panicking (and wondering why in the world Jackson didn't have his precious Eli do this instead of me), I ran. Then Miles tossed the ball, and – PRAISE THE LORD – I caught it.
Next thing I knew, I was being yelled at to GO, GO, GO – no, don't stop! – watch out for that kid…ON YOUR LEFT!
Jackson was getting seriously worked up about this game. It wasn't even football for God's sake! Miles was right. He was really competitive.
"Anna! For fuck's sake, just shoot!"
Oh. Right. I forgot that in lacrosse, you had to actually shoot to score rather than just run. In a desperate attempt to not piss Jackson off any more than I already had, I catapulted the ball out of my stick-thing and into the net. The goalie of the other team was a sophomore girl who looked like she really didn't want to be in the class (hey, sounds familiar!) so the ball easily landed in the point zone.
…did I really just do that?
"Holy shit! Anna, that was amazing!"
I stood, stunned, as Jackson and Eli and Miles surrounded me with praises and high fives.
"Atta girl," Eli said to me with a slight smile. I smiled back. They were being nice! Hallelujah! Did that mean I was forgiven for screwing up all of those other times?
"I still haven't forgiven you for fucking up my master play last week," Jackson said matter-of-factly. Ah. Well, a girl could hope. "But good job anyway. Keep improving like that and you'll be better than Eli in no time!"
I didn't tell him that I seriously doubted that.
The rest of the day went by slowly. Jackson forced me to be wide receiver for the remainder of the period, which I could tell Eli kind of resented me for. Ha, whose Jackson's right-hand now? Not that I wanted to be his right hand. I just…yeah. I liked not being the loser for once.
The next day, Sadie and Preston were back, and I wasted no time telling them about my epic conquest the day before. Sure, I probably sounded really lame getting all excited about one measly point, but I was proud! And they knew I wasn't the type to boast a lot, anyway. So it was okay.
"Can I be your new best friend?" Sadie asked me. "Your shirt makes my life."
I stopped for a second. What was she talking about? Then I remembered…I was wearing my AP English shirt. It was red, and it had a picture of Hamlet in a brooding pose with tattoos going up his arms (including one that said 'to be or not to be' and another that said 'daddy's boy'), the words HAMLET IS MY HOMIE framing the picture. Oh yeah. Well, that was kind of embarrassing.
"Uh," I laughed. "This is my AP English shirt. Isn't it funny?"
"You bet your ass it is, Anna Kingsley," Sadie said. "You know I've actually read Hamlet? It's one of the few books for school I really enjoyed."
I raised a brow. Sadie enjoyed Hamlet? As in…Shakespeare? That was surprising. "Wow," I said. "That's awesome. Hamlet is one of my favorites, too."
"So. New best friend? I think yes."
I grinned. "Okay," I said.
"Hey, ladies, get your asses over here!" Jackson called to us from his little cluster on the field. Because he was weird, the boy sometimes liked to make us all huddle together and whisper nonsense. He even made us put our hands in the center and yell "BREAK!" as we got in position. It was ridiculous.
Sadie and I joined the huddle. Preston gave me a smile; Miles gave me a wave. I felt a surge of victory sweep through me. I was actually making friends!
"So, here's the game plan," Jackson began saying in a hushed tone. Sadie rolled her eyes dramatically. She'd been friends with Jackson for a long time, so she was used to his seriousness when it came to stupid things like PE class. She told me that she didn't understand it, either. "Preston, you start off. Pass to Eli. He's fast, so he can maneuver through the strong defensive line and pass to whoever is open on the other side. Which will hopefully be everyone," he gave Sadie, Miles, and I stern looks. "Got it?"
Wow. We were actually going over a legitimate plan this time. Usually the huddles were Jackson going "Pssst pssst let's make the other team think we're talking about them pssssttt" and Preston giving a very unconvincing pep talk. I was impressed.
"Alright….GO TEAM JEFPAM!" Jackson shouted. The rest of us looked at him curiously.
"What the fuck does jefpam mean, Jackson?" Miles asked. The rest of us voiced our agreements. Even Eli didn't seem to understand.
"Are you guys retarded? It stands for: Jackson-Eli-Fish-Preston-Anna-Miles. DUH," he said with a scoff.
"Um," I said, stifling my laughter. How old was he, like five? The whole acronym thing was for grade schoolers and people who didn't have enough creativity to think of something original.
"See, Anna thinks it's funny," Jackson said as his friends just looked at him, dumbstruck.
"Actually, I was laughing because JEFPAM is probably the most ridiculous team name I've ever heard," I said. Immediately after the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I wasn't even friends with Jackson; I had no right to sass him like that!
Everyone stared at me. "Ridiculously cool, right?" Jackson asked me. He accompanied his words with a calculating glare.
Sadie let out a loud laugh. "Get over it, Jack, Anna isn't one of those girls that's going to bow down to you. She's fierce, this one," she said with a smile directed at me.
Fierce? Ha. Yeah, right.
"Whatever," Jackson said. Our team was so busy talking that the other team was getting really pissed. Apparently we'd been ignoring their shouts to just get the game started already. Oops.
In the days that followed, Jackson started including me more and more. He was trying to get me to become one of his little minions, I could tell, but ever since Sadie called me "fierce" I was having fun pretending that I actually was. I stopped being afraid of Jackson and started disobeying him, just because it was extremely entertaining to watch him get so worked up.
"Nobody has ever crossed him before," Preston said to me with a laugh one day at lunch. "At least, nobody who wasn't already one of his best buds."
I grinned at the brown haired boy. "It's pretty fun messing with him," I admitted. "I used to not like him because he was so mean to me, but now that I've stopped letting him walk all over me, I actually enjoy his company. Sort of."
"Who are we talking about?" My best friend Jasmine, the one who didn't date Preston, asked.
"Jackson Richards," Preston explained. "Anna is his new bestest friend."
Jasmine gave me a look. "Oh please," I said. "I am not friends with Jackson Richards."
"But you are friends with Fish, right? And Miles. And Eli."
"Fish, definitely," I said. "She's awesome. And even Miles is my sort-of friend now. I don't know about Eli though." It was true. Preston and Sadie were now two of my closest school friends. Miles and I often had conversations when Jackson forced us to play defense since we both sucked so bad, plus we were usually partners in any two-person sports we played. But Eli…I didn't even know what Eli thought of me.
The only time he ever even spoke to me was the day that I scored the point in lacrosse. Other than those two words, he had never addressed me directly. He only went along with whatever Jackson had to say about me. It was like he didn't know or didn't care that I existed. He was so…indifferent. I don't think he even knew my name.
"Well, Eli is Jackson's best friend, so it may take a while to get him to accept you. Especially now that Jackson is starting to replace his star player with you."
"Don't be ridiculous, he's not replacing Eli with me," I said. At least, I hoped he wasn't. I didn't really need Eli hating me. I also didn't need Jackson expecting me to be awesome.
Speak of the devil, the football player appeared out of nowhere and took a seat next to Preston. In typical guy fashion, Preston gave his friend a man-hug. "Jacksonnnnn!" he greeted in that oh-look-who-it-is-what-a-lovely-surprise tone.
"Ey, Preston, ma'boy!" Jackson said. He turned to me. "Miss Anna."
"Hey, asshole," I replied with a grin.
Jasmine's jaw nearly dropped. I had to suppress a laugh; I rarely called people swear words to their faces and I certainly didn't ever associate with high-and-mighty quarter backs. I could tell that she was impressed with my attitude.
Jackson winced. "The nerve on this one," he mumbled. Preston chuckled. Suddenly, my other best friend, a peppy blonde named Hallie, appeared next to me.
"The lunch line was so fucking long I thought I was going to die just standing in it," she said. Then she noticed the new addition to our table. "Oh, hi, Jackson."
"Hey Hallie," he said to her politely. Hallie was friends with Jackson's girlfriend, so they were on good terms.
The blonde turned to the rest of us awkwardly. She was obviously wondering what Jackson was doing at our table. Sure, she and Preston were friends with him, but I wasn't and Jasmine wasn't.
"Did you need to talk to Rob or something?" Hallie asked cheerfully. She hadn't meant to sound unwelcoming, and I don't think anyone took it that way. Hallie was nice to everyone and she loved everything. Nobody hated her because she was adorable. Preston dated her because she was adorable, but they didn't work out. They were fine then, though. Hallie had a new boyfriend that went to a different school and Preston was playing the field. They were still friends.
"No," Jackson said. Jasmine's boyfriend, Rob, was on the football team with Jackson and they were good pals. He usually sat with us, but I had no idea where he was at that moment. "I just came to see my favorite team players, Preston and Anna."
Hallie raised one of her little eyebrows. "Oh?"
"Yeah, except Anna's being a bitch so I think I'll just leave."
"Wait, did you say Anna's being a bitch?"
"I'm not being a bitch, he's just upset because I bruised his ego a little bit," I attempted to explain.
"No, I'm pretty sure she's being a bitch," Jackson argued.
"I am not!"
"Yes, you are!"
"Whoa, chill, you guys," Preston said.
Jackson shrugged off our stupid argument with a small laugh. "Alright, see you guys later," he said as he motioned to each of us with his hands. "Catch ya in third, Annie! P-diddy!"
And then he left.
"What the hell?" Jasmine and Hallie said simultaneously.
All Preston and I could do was laugh. My life sure was getting interesting.
The gang was planning an after-school-team-sports-extravaganza, and I was invited. I was told that we were going to a local burger joint downtown, we were taking two cars, and it was just going to be the six of us.
It was the first time I'd made plans with a group of people that didn't include Jasmine, Hallie, or any of my other close friends. It was weird, but kind of exciting. I'll admit it – I was nervous.
I basically had nothing to do after school besides homework, so I agreed to go. Sadie drove her little sedan, and Miles drove his two-seater pick-up. I sat in the back of Sadie's car with Eli, while Jackson (who had whined and begged to ride with us because he couldn't bear being separated from Eli) sat shotgun. Preston rode with Miles in the truck.
The ride into the city was a little awkward. Jackson and Sadie, long-time friends, talked the whole time. Since Eli and I were stuck in the back seat where it was hard to hear, we didn't really contribute to the conversation. Unfortunately, we weren't exactly friends, so we just sat there silently, shifting nervously every few minutes.
Finally, the forty-five minute drive was complete. We all piled out of our respective cars and got a table at what was quite possibly the best burger place ever. I sat between my favorites, Preston and Sadie, with Jackson across from me and Eli and Miles on his either side.
We ate a deliciously fatty lunch-dinner-thing, and then we walked around the city for a while just talking and being hyper. It wasn't until Miles pulled out his stash that things started getting weird.
I knew that all of my new friends were frequent weed-users, but I had just chosen to ignore the fact. I didn't really have a problem with them doing it; I just didn't want to do it. I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with peer pressure during my high school years, but I guess it was inevitable.
"You want a hit?" Sadie asked me.
"Um," I said. "No thanks. I'll just watch."
"Okay," she shrugged.
While Miles, Preston, Sadie, and Jackson got blazed, Eli and I sat on the curb near the alley we were hanging out in. Yeah, I know, an alley? It was pretty sketchy, but Jackson insisted we don't do it in the public because we'd get caught. Honestly, I wasn't too thrilled about hanging out in a dark alley in the city, but it was much more appealing than getting arrested. Even if Eli and I weren't participating, we'd still get in trouble.
What surprised me was that Eli didn't want to smoke with them. I figured that since he and Jackson hung out all the time, he'd be a stoner, too, but he wasn't. Then again – Jasmine smoked marijuana pretty often and I was best friends with her. So really, I shouldn't have been so surprised.
At first the two of us found it pretty entertaining to watch our friends get high, but after a while, we got bored. They were hilarious, no doubt, but it still made me uncomfortable. What only made it worse was that I was stuck sitting on a sidewalk with Mr. Stoic.
"Hey, you guys wanna come over and shred it up on GTA 4 for a while?" Preston suddenly appeared behind Eli and me. "Fish, Jackson, and Teddy Bear are gonna come."
I stared at Preston. "Teddy Bear?"
"Oh!" he started laughing loudly. "We decided that Miles is just like a big teddy bear. Because…he's all soft and teddy bear-ish. You know?"
"Uh…sure?"
He laughed again. "You guys coming or what?"
"Preston's mom lets us drink in the house! Do you guys drink? He has the best beer!" Sadie shouted from down the alley. I let out a forced smile.
"Um, that's okay," I said. "I have some homework to do anyway."
"Me too," Eli said. I was a little shocked, I forgot he could…uh…talk. What? He'd been silent the whole time we were sitting on the curb. And we'd been sitting there for quite some time.
Preston shrugged. "Your loss," he said. "Fish can drive you guys back to the school so you can get your cars. Fishyyyyy!"
"What, what?" Sadie appeared from around the corner.
"Can you drive Eli and Anna back to the school?"
"Sure thing, chicken bean. Chicken bean?" Sadie laughed at herself. "I meant chicken wing."
"Oh," I said, suddenly feeling bad. I didn't want Sadie to have to drive us all the way back when she clearly wasn't done having fun yet. And if I was being completely honest – I didn't really feel comfortable having someone 'under the influence' driving me home. "You don't have to drive us – um, me – back if you don't want to. I could always drive."
Sadie frowned. "You don't have a car," she said.
Oh. Duh. "…Right."
"You guys need a ride home?" Miles asked. He and Jackson had come to join the party.
"Yes," Eli said. "But no rush. I know you guys are having a good time."
"No problem," Jackson said. "Miles will drive you. Right Miles?"
"What?" he asked. "But if I leave, then you guys won't have any more pot."
Suddenly, Preston's eyes lit up. "I have the best idea ever!" he said. "Why don't you guys just take Miles' truck back to the school? Fish can drive the rest of us home in her car when we're done."
"Okay," I said. I could drive Miles' truck. "Is that okay, Miles?"
"Sure, whatever," he said. He handed me the keys. "Here you go."
"Thanks!" I said brightly. "See you guys tomorrow. Um, you coming, Eli?" I had forgotten that I was driving him home too. It would probably be kind of weird, but that I could deal with.
The blonde boy gave me an unreadable look. "Sure," he grinned at me. I didn't notice it until then (probably because he never showed emotion around me) but he had a really nice smile. I mean…a really, really nice smile. It was actually kind of intoxicating.
Okay, really intoxicating. I kind of forgot we were supposed to be leaving because I was too busy staring at his cute smile.
"Bye, Anna," Sadie gave me a hug and jerked me out of my reverie. "See you tomorrow, Bestie!"
I laughed. "Bye, Sadie."
Eli and I finally started making our way to the parked truck. We found our spot without any problems, but when I got in and started the car, I realized something. It was a stick shift.
I didn't say anything. I just sat there and stared at the controls, embarrassed.
"Uh, is something wrong?" Eli asked.
I looked up at him. "Oh, um, yes. I…forgot. I can't drive stick shift," I admitted.
He smiled at me again. Jeez, what was with that? He never did it before, so why even start? It was kind of making me dizzy. "That's okay," he said. "I can drive."
I stared. "You…you have your license, right?"
"I'm seventeen, Anna. I'm probably only a couple of months younger than you. Of course I have my license."
"Right," I said. "Sorry. I just…yeah."
Deciding to shut up before I made myself sound even more unintelligent than I already had, I climbed out of the front seat and switched spots with Eli. Well, at least he was sober and clean. Hopefully he wasn't a terrible driver.
The first five minutes of the ride home was spent in awkward silence. I wasn't planning on starting any small talk, but after sitting in the quiet for the past couple of hours, I was dying for some conversation. Not to mention I knew next to nothing about Eli. I knew Sadie secretly liked Shakespeare and once had pink hair; I knew Preston had a thing for blondes; I knew Miles actually was like a teddy bear despite his hick exterior. I even knew that Jackson's guilty pleasure was singing in his surprisingly decent a cappella voice, but Eli? I had no idea what he liked, disliked, or even did for fun.
"So," I started. Eli glanced at me with an eyebrow raised. I suddenly felt a little self-conscious. I didn't talk to cute jocks very often. Or even ugly jocks, for that matter. Clearing my throat, I continued, "You don't smoke?"
"Nope," he replied. There was no hesitation in his voice.
"Oh," I said. "Um…why not?" I didn't want to pry, but I really was curious. Maybe he thought it interfered too much with his sports?
Eli shrugged. "Not my thing," he said. He didn't elaborate. "What about you?"
I felt my face flush. "Uh," I said. Wow. Why couldn't I ever find my words around him? "Same. Really not my thing."
He looked at me. "You ever try it?"
"N-no…" I mumbled. "Have you?"
"Once," he nodded. "It was terrible."
"It was? The others seem to enjoy it. Along with half the kids at our school," I said.
Eli laughed. "Actually," he said. "This is kind of embarrassing, but I threw up afterwards. It was gross."
"Um, ew," I responded with a small chuckle.
"Yeah," he said. "The same thing happened when I got drunk for the first time. But I guess that happens to everyone."
I nodded. He noticed my silence.
"You've never even had alcohol." It wasn't a question.
"Um, yes, I have," I said. My cheeks tinged pink. "I mean, like…at New Years, or when my parents let me have a sip of their drinks." I blushed. Did Eli think I was a loser?
"That doesn't count," he laughed. "You've never been drunk."
"…No."
"Ever snuck out of the house?" he asked.
I shook my head slowly.
"Wow," Eli said with a smile. If that darn smile wasn't there, I probably would've felt really lame for never rebelling. But because he was grinning at me and looking all cute and shit, I couldn't help but be sort of glad. Anyway, there was no reason to think being a good kid was a bad thing.
"I don't have to break the rules to have fun," I said with a shrug. I felt stupid saying that, but it was true.
"Well, good for you," Eli said. "A lot of people would envy you for that."
"I guess so."
"Have you ever kissed a guy?"
My eyes widened. Where did that come from? I didn't want to tell Eli that no, I hadn't ever kissed a guy. It was the one thing I was more than a little embarrassed about. I was seventeen for God's sake; people younger than me were having sex on a daily basis.
"Sorry," Eli said after a second of hesitation. "That was a little personal. You don't have to answer."
"It's okay," I said. I took a deep breath. "And no, I have never kissed a guy."
I had a feeling that he knew I was embarrassed. "Neither have I," he said.
I rolled my eyes and laughed a little.
He pressed on. "So…what have you done?"
I wracked my brain. What had I done? "Um," I said. "I have a 4.0."
God, I was such a loser.
Eli smiled again. Why did he have to keep doing that? Was he trying to give me a heart attack?
"I mean besides being good in school, Anna," he said. "Don't you have any hobbies?"
I thought for a second. "I play piano," I said. After a moment I added, "Oh. That just made me sound even dorkier, didn't it?"
"Nothing wrong with being dorky," Eli replied.
I scoffed. If he wanted to think that, then more power to him. "What about you?" I asked. "Is being a beast at sports the only thing you're good at?"
"No," he said. "I'm also good at being ridiculously handsome." There was that grin again. How many was that, like…five?
I laughed a little, and before I could process what I was saying, I said, "Yeah, you are."
After the words left my mouth, I was absolutely mortified. Holy crap. Did I really just say that out loud? Fortunately for me, Eli just smiled some more, only I could tell it more strained this time.
Blushing furiously, I kept my head down for the rest of the ride. Luckily we were only a few minutes away from the school where we would leave Miles' truck and get into our respective vehicles.
When we pulled into the school parking lot, Eli dropped me off right at my car. "See you tomorrow, Anna," he said warmly.
"Yeah," I replied. "See you tomorrow."
After our "adventure" I had taken to examining Eli when he wasn't looking. Yeah, it sounded creepy, but I was really just…admiring. He was right. He was ridiculously handsome.
Of course I was already hooked on his smile. But after that comment in the truck, I started really noticing how true it was. That blonde hair, those blue eyes, that athletic figure – man, he sure was nice to look at.
I was staring at him in PE one day when Sadie came up behind me, this mischievous glint in her ice blue eyes.
"So, how long have you been in love with Eli?" she asked me.
"What?" I spun around to face her. Her hair was dyed platinum blonde this week. "I'm not in love with Eli," I said.
"Okay," she laughed. It wasn't an 'Okay, I believe you' okay, but a 'Don't lie to me' okay.
"What gave you that idea?" I asked, feeling my cheeks begin to burn.
"Well," she said playfully. "For one thing, you're acting awfully defensive right now. And for another, you've been wistfully gazing in his direction for the past week. Don't think I haven't noticed, Bestie."
I shrugged, embarrassed. "So I think he's cute," I said. "That doesn't mean I'm in love with him."
"Okay," Sadie said again. In the same tone of voice, by the way. She was clearly unconvinced. "But if you don't like Eli, then who do you like?"
"Huh?"
"Is it Preston? Because I swear to God, if it is, I will fucking kick your a – "
"No, no, I don't like Preston!" I interrupted. "Or Eli. Or anyone. Promise."
"Okay," she smiled. The third time it was even scarier than the first two.
We split up into partners for badminton. For the past few days, I had been partners with Miles. We lost every single game, but we had fun doing so. Badminton was one of those sports I actually semi-enjoyed. But that day, Jackson was gone, leaving Eli without a partner. I had assumed that he would group up with Miles, so I prepared to ask one of the other girls in the class to be my partner, but I was stopped by a tap on my shoulder.
"Anna," Eli said with that smile. "Be my partner?"
"Um," my breath caught. "Miles…" I trailed off. I felt bad taking someone else's partner away, even though technically it was Eli doing the taking.
Miles, who was walking by, gave me a small grin. "Don't worry, Anne, I'll be with Matthew."
"There you have it," Eli said with a shrug. "We're partners."
I let myself smile a little and followed Eli to grab a racket. From behind me, Sadie gave me two enthusiastic thumbs up, to which I just shook my head and blushed. I had a feeling that she told Miles to let me be partners with him. Damn it, Sadie.
We won all of our games, of course, because Eli was just amazing like that. I felt bad for holding him back, especially since I seriously sucked, but he claimed it was no big deal. He told me that he needed a break from the competitive spirit of Jackson every once in a while.
Back in the locker room, Sadie just smiled and smiled.
"I don't like him, Sadie," I said once again. She didn't reply. I could tell she was going to be difficult to persuade.
But was it really her I was trying to convince, or myself?
There was only a month left of the semester, which meant only four more weeks of team sports.
Part of me wanted to cry out in joy – no more PE for the rest of my life! – but another part of me was a little sad. I'd made a lot of cool friends in that class and I was afraid they would ignore me once it was over.
"Don't be stupid," Jasmine told me one day during winter break. We were hanging out at my house, as we often did, just talking and eating junk food and watching TV. "Why would they ditch you like that?"
"I don't know," I said. "They are all so much cooler than I am. Well, except Jackson. He's not cool at all."
My best friend laughed. "You know, I'm starting to think this whole love-hate relationship between you and Jackson Richards means something more," she said. "He has a girlfriend; you know that, right?"
I stared at her, appalled. "I don't like Jackson!" I shouted. "Sure, he's fun to mess with, but ew! Besides, I like – " I froze mid sentence. Was I really just about to say that I liked Eli? I hadn't even admitted that to myself yet!
Jasmine's eyes widened. "You like who?"
"Nobody," I said sheepishly.
"Anna Margaret Kingsley, tell me right now or I will eat your children."
"…I don't have children."
"Well when you do, I will eat them before you even have the chance to get to know them! You will have gone through all the pain of child labor for nothing! So tell me. This. Instant."
"Um," I said. Oh, God. Here goes nothing. "Eli Granger."
"Eli fucking Granger?!" she exclaimed. "You like that asshole? Anna! He is so not your type!"
"I don't know if I really have a type, per se…"
"Shut up!" Jasmine shouted. "I can't believe this. That guy will just break your heart, A. Don't get involved with him. I swear to God."
"Jasmine," I protested. "It's okay. He's really nice. He's my friend…sort of."
"Sort of? What the hell does that mean?"
"I don't know. We have a lot in common," I said.
"Like what?!" Jasmine screeched.
"Um," I began. "We both…don't do drugs?"
"Huh?"
I sighed. "When we went to get burgers with the gang, Miles broke out his stash. Everyone got high except Eli and I. We got bored, so we…left."
"You were hanging out with a bunch of pot-heads?! What the fuck, Anna!"
"But you smoke weed," I pointed out.
"Not in front of you! You are so sweet and innocent! What are they trying to do, corrupt you?"
"No," I said. I found her comment ironic, given the sailor's mouth she always used. "Look, Jazz, Eli's a good guy. And besides, it's not like I'm in love with him or anything. It's just a little crush. It'll go away."
"You better hope it does," she snarled. "If he hurts you I will kick his ass."
I smiled. "Thanks," I said. I felt my phone suddenly vibrate in my pocket. I checked the caller ID. "Oh, that's him now."
As I answered the phone, Jasmine whispered angrily, "You gave him your number?"
"Hello?"
"Hey, Anna," Eli said loudly. I could hear lots of background noise, including some music and Jackson's obnoxious laugh. "Sadie told me to call you and ask if you wanted to come to this New Year's party thing at Celeste's house," he said. Celeste Rivers was the school's party queen. I had heard that her New Year's party was the biggest and best gathering of the year.
"A party?" I asked. Parties, as you could probably guess, were not my forte. I hadn't ever really been to one before, and I had no desire to. I mean, it was just a bunch of drunken teenagers making out and breaking things, right? What was fun about that?
Jasmine's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah," Eli said. "Preston, Miles, Jackson and I are going, too. And Fish of course."
I was going to say no. I really was. But something came over me, and I did otherwise. "Sure," I said. "I'll come. What's the address?"
Jasmine was seething by the time I hung up the phone.
It was ten minutes to midnight on New Year's Eve, and something exciting had yet to happen.
I had been offered beer more than once, but I declined politely time and time again. I didn't want to drink. I had always been raised to follow the rules, and I wasn't about to stop then. Sadie and Preston had been dancing all night long, drinking and laughing and talking to every person they saw. Jackson was off with his girlfriend somewhere, doing something I'd rather not think about, and Miles was talking with his girl on the couch.
I sat in an armchair near the corner of the room, sipping a Diet Coke and watching everyone interact with each other. I hadn't seen Eli since I first arrived at the party two hours previously. I assumed he was in the kitchen playing beer pong or something, because I had seen him walk in there after we finished our casual and short conversation upon my arrival. Jasmine had come with me just to make sure I wasn't "corrupted" but she had disappeared, too. She sure was doing a good job watching over me.
A few minutes later Eli finally emerged from the kitchen. He didn't look drunk, but there was no way for me to tell for sure. He searched the living room with his eyes until they landed on me, and with a smile he made his way over to where I was sitting.
"Hey," he said. "Having fun yet?"
I shrugged.
"Figures. A good girl like you probably isn't too into parties."
"I'm not," I admitted. "I actually hate them."
"Then why did you come?" he asked. I hesitated. That was a good question.
I averted my eyes to the ground. "You asked me to," I said. He smiled at the comment and grabbed my wrist. He pulled me to the center of the room, where Preston and Sadie were flailing around to the music.
"If you dance, you'll have fun," he said in my ear. I shivered. He was really a little too close for comfort.
"Oh, I don't dance," I said.
Sadie engulfed me in a big, drunken hug. "Oh, Annie-kins! You must dance with me, darling!" she slurred.
"Uh," I said. "You know what, I'm good. Sorry, guys." I gave them an apologetic smile. Eli just shrugged, Preston said, "No problem," and Sadie frowned, but let me go. I made my way back to my trusty arm chair, but a couple had taken over my spot and they were now heavily making out on top of it. Um, ew.
Sighing, I wondered if I should just leave. Looking around at all the people inhabiting Celeste's house made me realize that I shouldn't have come. I decided that I'd wait for midnight to arrive and then go home. I could call Hallie and have her come over to watch chick flicks with me instead.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven…!" The entire party started counting down to the New Year. I joined my classmates.
I suddenly remembered the tradition of kissing someone at midnight. When I had first entered the party, the whole gang was together, and they were talking about it. Sadie made Preston promise to be her first kiss of the year, which I found kind of adorable, but that was almost all I heard because the conversation topic switched as soon as I joined in.
What was the point of that tradition, anyway? Was it just to make single people feel left out? Because it sure was doing an awesome job right then.
"Four, three, two…!"
I found myself wishing that Eli would kiss me. But almost immediately I shook that thought from my mind; that was just ridiculous. Why would he ever do that? He was way out of my league.
"One, zero! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Sadie grabbed a fistful of Preston's shirt and pulled him down to her level, forcefully pressing his lips to hers. Jackson, who had come downstairs a few minutes previously, proceeded to kiss the hell out of his girlfriend, and Miles did the same.
Some random junior girl grabbed Eli and kissed him.
I felt a pang of...well, something…in my chest. Was it jealously? I didn't really know. It didn't matter, anyway. I was leaving.
As everyone broke apart and downed shots of alcohol, I quietly slipped out of the house. Nobody seemed to notice, but I didn't really care. I'd see them all on Monday.
I began walking through the crisp winter air to get to my car, but then I realized that Jasmine and I had carpooled. She had the keys, and I really had no desire to go back inside the house. Sighing, I made a rash decision and began to walk home.
It wasn't that far. It would take me twenty minutes at the most. I wasn't really thinking about how late it was, or how dark, or how completely unsafe it was to be wandering the streets alone in the middle of the night. I just wanted to get out of there.
Meanwhile, back in the house, all of my new friends were having a conversation. What I didn't know was that they were talking about me.
"Where's Anna?" Preston asked.
"I don't know," Sadie frowned. "Last time I saw her she was standing right over there."
"I saw her leave right after the countdown," Eli chimed in. "I think she went home."
Preston, Sadie, and Miles shared a look. "Well were you her New Year's kiss?" Preston asked.
"Huh?" Eli asked. "Um, no."
"You didn't kiss her?! Why the fuck not?" Sadie motioned dramatically with her hands.
"I…didn't know I was...supposed to?" His statement came out as more of a question.
"It's not that you were supposed, dumbass, but that you wanted to," the girl tried to explain.
Jackson furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his best friend curiously. "Wait a minute, you wanted to kiss Anna? As in…Anna Kingsley?"
"No. Yes? I don't know. I'm confused. All I know is that Anna walked out that door about…a minute and a half ago," Eli said as he checked his watch.
"Well what the hell are you still doing here, then?" Sadie practically shouted at the boy. "Go chase after her! She can't have gone far."
Eli tried to stop and think about it all for a minute, but Miles pushed him towards the front door with such vigor that he was forced to just do what his friends told him to do.
Sadie was right. I hadn't gotten very far. It was cold outside, and my feet were freezing, so I was walking at a very slow pace. I'd only made it about a block down the road when I heard the footsteps approaching.
I turned around, afraid, and was met with a certain blonde haired boy.
"Eli?" I asked, genuinely surprised. Why he had followed me out, I had no idea.
"Hi," he said, slightly out of breath. "I was just…well, I was wondering…would it be alright if…do you want…I know it's not midnight anymore, but…"
"What?" I had no idea what the hell he was trying to say.
Apparently he didn't, either, because he didn't say anything else. Instead, he leaned down and gently pressed his lips against mine, his arms snaking their way around my waist.
I froze in surprise. I had no idea what was happening; it was my first kiss and I was so shocked I didn't know what to do. Eli moved his lips against mine and I eventually mimicked his movements. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. My heart was beating out of my chest and my head was pounding, but not in a bad way. Oh, definitely not in a bad way.
"Anna?" Eli said after we broke apart. He was leaning his forehead against mine. My face was redder than it had ever been before.
"Yeah?" I asked meekly.
"Happy New Year."