Chapter One

I hear the whispering. Why can't anyone just forget what happened Friday night? Why can't they stop looking at me and whispering? When I look at them, they act like they weren't looking at me. But I know different. I can feel their eyes piercing the back of my head. Their stares burn through my red hair and to my skull. Why can't they just -
"Does anybody want to give a try and tell me what they think this quote means?" Mr. Davie is looking towards the board at his question. "That doesn't kill us, makes us stronger" Are you freaking serious? Does everybody know? Has she really told everyone that even the teachers are mocking me in their own clever ways through the course material? Why? Why did I believe her? Why did I even trust her? I thought we were friends. We've been friends since Junior Kindergarten. Junior Kindergarten! That quote is exactly what she said to me at the party before she started yelling at me and turned everyone's eyes on me. She had told everyone that I slept with the entire soccer team. But I didn't. I didn't! How could she even smile after what she did? How could there be such a cruel person inside her? I hear the whispering again. The low hum of words that buzz around the air and sting my flesh. Mr. Davie drops a text book on the floor. He looks annoyed.
"Someone want to tell me what is so interesting that you can't even to pretend to listen?" He scans his eyes over the classroom. His eyes meeting every student. It's like a wave. There's a snicker from the back of the classroom. It's her. I can tell that evil snicker from anywhere.
"Ah, Miss Brittany Deraeu. What is taking place in the students' social life that is so distracting" Mr. Davie crosses his arms and leans back on his desk. Brittany flips her hair and stands up beside her desk.
"Well Mr. Davie. There was a party last Friday night, where an event took place. Such a horrible scandalous event. Shocking really. We're all so stunned" I can feel her eyes on the back of my head. I want to shrink in my seat. I want to curl up in a ball. I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to die. There's not one reason why I should be here anymore. All of my friends+ are gone. Washed away by hurricane Brittany. The bell rings. I gather my books and hurry out the door. The hall becomes a highway. Rush hour time. All headlights are brightly pointed at me. I'm a dear in the headlights. Just keep moving I tell myself. I go to my locker. 34 5 16. Pictures of Brittany, and Me. Anger over comes me and rip it off the locker door and tear it into pieces. I turn my palm upside down and let the pieces fall to the ground. The sound of high heels on the floor gets louder and louder. I wish I could disappear.
"Hi Alex. Did you enjoy yourself this Friday? I was surprised the team even wanted to bang you. I mean look at you. Your ugly face, those pale blue eyes, and those freckles. And you curly red rats nest that you call hair... pathetic." I hold a piece of my hair. She smiles and then walks away. One of the girls from her clique walk past me and bump me in my shoulder sending me into my locker. I keep my head down. I grab my bag, fling it over my shoulder and slam my locker door shut.
"Ooooo the soccer slut is angry. Watch out everyone!" Some ass called out. The whole hallway breaks into laughter. I run out the doors and do the sidewalk until I'm two blocks from school. Why does everyone believe her lies? Who crowned her queen? Everyone I knew has now turned their backs on me. I kick a rock down the sidewalk, my sneaker got stuck on a lifted piece of sidewalk and down I went. I sit up and look my hands and knees. They're scrapped and blood is starting to surface. Great. I start to get up, when a car passes by. Mud goes flying towards me. I close my eyes. I look back up and see Brittany and clique flying down the road in blue BMW. Their witch cackle loud and booming in the air.
"Alex, are you alright?" Danny. I look up at him. He's so cute. i can't help but let my guard down. It's that shaggy brown hair, his tall muscular tan build and those deep brown eyes.
"Y-yeah. I'm alright thanks." He gives me a hand and helps me up.
"Here, let me walk you home."
"That's nice of you but you don't have to do that." I force a small laugh and shake my head.
"I know. But I want to." We walk side by side on the sidewalk. The wind is starting to pick up. I look up to the sky. The black clouds dance along in the sky to their booming music of thunder.
"It's going to storm soon." Danny said breaking the silence. Since grade 5 I've had sort of a crush on him. He's always been nice to me. He's a year ahead of me though.
"Yeah, it looks like it's going to be a nasty one too" I say still looking up at the sky. Why is he being nice to me? Hasn't he heard the rumors? He stops walking and grabs my arms and turns me toward him. I'm so confused and caught off guard all I can do is blink.
"Uhh, Alex, I don't know how to ask this..." My heart starts bounding a mile a second. He's going to hear the beating of my heart. I'm such a freak.
"The rumor that's going around the school... it's not true is it?" I want to yell, scream and cry. Why? How the hell did she come up with all these things? I can feel the anger and sadness boiling through my veins.
"I didn't mean to upset you Alex. I don't believe them. I've lived across the street from you since we moved in, and you don't seem like that at all." I can feel a tear slip down my cheek, I try to turn my head so he couldn't see but he had his hand on my cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb and smiled at me. Is this really happening? Did he seriously do that. We start walking again in silence.
"No. No it's not true. Brittany said that ‘cause I wouldn't sleep with one guy off the team, let alone the whole freaking team." Danny nodded his head.
"I thought so. What happened between you two? Weren't you guys good friends?"
"I- I don't know. As soon as we came into high school, she turned into the thing she is today.”

Chapter Two

I sit alone in an empty house in my room. I'm lying on my bed looking up towards the ceiling. What Brittany said is whirling around and around in my head. I get up and walk into the bathroom. I look into the mirror. There it is. A pathetic looking 17 year old girl looking back at me - is me. I want scream and break the mirror. I walk over to the shower and turn the water on. I slip into the shower and start getting my hair wet. Am I reallythat pathetic looking girl that I saw in the mirror? That everyone else sees as pathetic too? I grab the shampoo and squeeze some into my hands. I lather it into my hair. It's ugly. My hair. I have to make it look better. I grab the conditioner and lather. I wonder why Danny walked me home, I mean I know he wanted to know the truth but still. Was there another reason? Could he actually - No. Don't think that I tell myself. He doesn't like you. He was just curious. How could he ever like a pathetic girl like me? I turn the water off and step out of the shower. I reach for a towel but I slip and hit my head against the tub wall. I'm pathetic I tell myself. I wrap myself in the towel. I look into the mirror. Now I look like a drowning rat. How can I make myself look pretty? I see scissors in the drawer. I pick them up and look at them. I reach for a strand of my hair. I'm ugly. I hear someone come in through the door. I throw the scissors into the drawer and run to my room. I rush to get dressed.
"Alie hun, you home?" Mom.
"Yeah mom, I'm just getting out of the shower."
"Okay hunny. Hurry down. Someone's here for ya." Please please please let it be Danny. If it's Danny, I want to look good. I find a pair of denim short shorts and a blue and grey striped tank. I dry my hair quickly with the towel and throw it in a wet messy bun and run down the stairs. I'm so excited I'm nervous. Danny is so cute - Brittany. I stop dead in my tracks when I see her standing there at the island talking with my mom. What the hell? Why is she here? Is she going to apologise? No one sees or hears me untill my dead walks past me and noogies me on the head.
"Hey kiddo. How was your day?"
"Oh Alex, we thought you were still upstairs." She turns around and smiles at me. What is she up to?
"So do you two girls have any of the same classes this semester?" My dad asked, but I know he doesn't really care.
"Yes! We have english together!" Brittany shreiks. Trying to make it look like we're friends. Why bother? Not like she can turn back the clock and change what she did.
"Hey, I wanted to talk to you. Can we go to your room?" Wow. She's killing it with the over sweetness.
"Uhh... sure" I sprint up the stairs. Part of me wants to wait for her to come to the door so I can slam it into her face. Instead I sit on my computer chair with my arms wrapped around my legs holding them into my chest. She takes a seat on my bed.
"So... How you've been?" She looks at me. You're kidding right? I just stare back at her with an empty look.
"I know about the rumour you told everyone about. How could you do that?" I didn't even know I was talking. She smiles.
"Look, if you want to be friends still, you got to do something. I want you to sleep with someone. The fact that you're still a virgin is pathetic. You do that, and I'll tell everyone that missunderstood the situation at the party and that you didn't bang the whole soccer team."
I'm shocked. Head to toe shocked. I get up and walk to the door. I hold the door open for her.
"Get out." She sighs and leaves.
* * *
I wake up an extra hour early today. I'm determined to look pretty today. I dig through my closet. I find my black skinny jeans. Perfect. I find my blue baggy off the shoulder shirt with a black artistic face on the front. After choosing my outfit, I hurry to the bathroom and jump in the shower. I’m in such a hurry I forgot to adjust the temperature of the water. Ice cold. I almost scream. I quickly adjust the water. I wash my hair then jump out of the shower. I walked over to the mirror and begin blow drying my hair. It’s shinny fluffy buff of bright red hair. Do I pull it into a pony tail or try to tame it. My mom’s straightner catches my eye. I section my hair into layers and begin to straighten. When I finished I was surprised at the girl looking back at me in the mirror. I’m missing something. I start rummaging through the drawers. Black eyeliner, it’s the finishing touch. Wow. I actually look pretty. I walk into my room and pack up my binder and laptop into my school bag. I head downstairs to the kitchen. My parents are sitting at the table eating their bagels. When they look up, my mom smiles and my dad looks stunned. They go back to eating their breakfast. I go into the bottom cupboard and grab a frying pan. I get eggs and crack them into the frying pan. I pop two pieces of bread into the toaster. I pour myself a coffee in a travel mug. Cream with two sugars. I turn to the stove and scramble my eggs.
“Alie, have some fruit too okay?” I smile at my mom. That’s way of telling me that there are strawberries. I open the fridge and see three baskets of fresh strawberries. I take a basket out and wash them, cut them and then put them on my plate. My toast pops. I butter my toast and take my eggs off the stove and put both onto my plate. I sit next to my mom. She kisses my cheek and tells me to have a good day and then she’s out the door. My cell phone chimes. It’s my reminder that I need to start heading off to school now. 7:15 am. I step out the door and head doen the walkway. I hope that something new and exciting happened last night that everybody will be talking about instead the rumour about me. I hear footsteps behind me. They're becoming louder and faster.
"Hey Alex!"
"Hey Danny." I share a small smile. He grins and lightly elbows me in the arm.
"Come on, we both know you have a better smile than that." I blush and look at my feet on the sidewalk.
"Danny, not to complain or sound rude, but why are you walking with me to and from school all of a sudden?" I bite my bottom lip. Please don't let it be because he feels sorry for me. He smiles and blushes just a slight bit.
"I've wanted to walk with you for a while actually.. now we leave at the same time so I can" He smiles. I smile back. We walk and make small talk. He made me laugh. Like an actual laugh! That hasn't happened since -. Oh my god. Did that really just happen? Did he really just do that? I'm dreaming. I look down. Nope. Not a dream. He took my hand and intertwined our fingers together. I look at him and smile.
"I gotta tell ya Alex. I like you a lot. You want to go to bowling with me tonight?"
"I like you a lot too Danny, and yeah. I'd like that." We smile at eachother. We continue to walk to school. Hand in hand, smile ear to ear. He's making me feel so happy I feel like I'm going to explode! When we reach the school everybody looks at us while we make our way to the doors. I sigh quietly. Danny squeezes my hand lightly.
"It's okay, I'm here for ya'." I look at him and mouth 'Thanks'." He walks me all the way to my locker. This is where I expect him to tell me to have a good day and leave for his locker. But he doesn't. He stays. I have my back to my locker and Danny has his right arm resting slightly above my left shoulder. I've seen this in movies. This is where the girl giggles and the boy leans in and kisses her. I giggle. He leans in, and whispers into my ear -
"You look amazing today, you do everyday, but today is just.." I smile and giggle. He leans in and kisses my forehead. I can feel all eyes on us and the humm of whispering, but that's all it is. A loud humm. Nothing else matters at this moment. I'm actually happy. The class bell rings. The sounds of locker doors closing fills the air. I say bye to Danny when he takes my cell phone and enters something. I assume it's his number and I can't help but smile. He grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles and slides my phone into my palm. We go our seperate ways and head to class. Class is a blur. I can't stop thining of Danny. Is this realy happening? Someonetaps my shoulder and throws a note into my hand. I look up at Mr.Davie to make sure he's not looking. I open it up. So Danny huh? Are you going to sleep with him? - B

You have tob kidding me. I rip it up and let it fall of my desk. Mr. Davie's class goes by so fast. The 75 minuts only feels like 10 minutes. The bell rings. I gather my things and hurry to the door. Mr. Davie stops me though.
"Alex. I must say I was shocked by your test results from monday." Shit had I failed?
"You got a perfect score. You even answered the bonus questions correctly. You have the highest mark on that test in the class. Congrats" He smiles and hands me my test. I take it and walk to my locker. 34 5 16. I look at my grade. HOLLY SHIT! 120%1!??!
"Damn Alie, that's a pretty good grade." Danny walks up behind me and hugs me from behind me. I put my things in my locker and turn so I can face him. This is weird, we're not even official yet he's acting like we are. I smile at him. He leans in and gives me kiss on my forehead.
"So where you want to go for lunch Alie?"
" I don't know, How about you?"
"You in the mood for pizza?"
"Yeah, that would be great."
" Pizza it is." He takes my hand in his and closes my locker with his other. We walk down the hallway.
"Ohh the slut is at it again." I flinch. Why can't everyone get on with their lives. Next thing I know I'm standing alone in the middle of the hallway. Where did Danny go-
"Were you there at the party? Were you in the room? Did you see her?" The whole hallway is quiet.
" You're on the soccr team John, tell me, did she bang you? Did she bang ANYONE on the team?" I can tell he's getting upset. John shakes his head. Everyone starts whispering
"Before you guys just assume that what Brittany says is the truth, remember this." He walks over to me. I hug him.
"Thanks Danny."

Chapter Three

"Two slices of peperoni please" I sit at the booth waiting for Danny.
" Pizza is here" He sets my piece down infront of me a slides into the seat across from me. He's so smooth. I'm dreaming. I have to be dreaming. Why would a guy like him give me the time of day? I mean look at me. I'm hidious. Danny starts to laugh. I look up at him.
"What ?"
"You have pizza sauce on your cheek." I blush with embaressment and reach up to get when Danny takes my hand and stops me.
" Let me get it." He slides into the seat beside me. My heart starts to beat faster. He wipes it off with his thumb and licks it off. I look at him and laugh. He leans towards me and closes his eyes. My heart starts to go a thousand miles per second. Again. i close my eyes and lean in. Just as our lips are about to meet, somone slides into the seat across from us. We look up at the same time. It's John.
"Why did you do that?" He looks directly into Danny's eyes. I can feel Danny tense up. He slides his arm around my shoulders.
"What do you mean?" I ask John, breaking his gaze to Danny. He looks at me with flaring eyes.
"Why did he ask those questions and say what he did?" John looks at Danny. Challenging him.
"I did what was right. She didn't sleep with anyone at that party. Brittany set her up. You and the whole team were in on it-"
"Brittany is pissed thanks to you." He interupts Danny. Good I think to myself. I must have a smug smile on my face because John turns his gaze to me.
"She's going to make your life hell now. I hope you know that and as long as Danny's in it, it's gonna be worse."
"What did I ever do to her?" I shout at John. Not loud enough to cause a scene but to surprise him.
"You stole her man. Danny."
"What?!? Danny and I didn't even talk much before friday."
"She caught him staring at you and now you're dead meat." He gets up and leaves the pizzaria. I stare at Danny. Both of us are taken back. He picks up our pizzas and grabs my hand and leads me out to his jeep. There's a group of students around it laughing and cheering. Brittany and John are in the middle. When they see us they step away and smile. Oh my god! They've spray painted his jeep! Brittany walks towards me and smiles. Danny passes me his jacket. I grab his arm. Wow, does he have muscles. I whisper to him.
"Danny ...don't." He loos at me.
"I have to." He slides out of my grasp with ease and walks up to John.
"What the hell man?" He shouts in John's face. John puffs himself up to make him look bigger.
"I told you what would happen."
"You're such a dick! She didn't even sleep with you or any other soccer team members! So why are you still harasing her? And why the hell are writing this shit on my jeep?" John shoves Danny, and there they go. Everyone pull their phones out and yells "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!" The owner of the pizzaria comes out and chases everyone away. He looks at me and Danny, then at Danny's jeep. We get in the jeep and drive away.
"Are you alright Alie?" He asks me. Why is he asking me that? He's the one who fought.
"Yeah, are you?"
"I'm alright. I asked you because of what they wrote." I look down at my lap. Danny squeezes my right hand. I stare out the window for the rest of the drive. We pull into an auto paint shop. I look at Danny and frown slightly. He cups my head in his palm.
"I was going to get a new paint job anyway, what they did gave me a good reason to now. Don't feel bad." He pulls me into a hug. Danny jumps out of the jeep, before I can take my seat belt off he's holding my door open. We walk to the front desk and Danny sees the manager.
"Yo Danny my boy, what can I do for you?"
"Hey Liam. New paint job please."
"No problem. What colour?" Danny looks at me and then to Liam.
"Ahhh. Alright, good choice. By the way, this ones on the house."
"No, I couldn't."
"Fine. $30, and that's as high as I'm going." Danny smiles and shakes his head and leads me over to the chairs.
"What was that?"
"What was what?" Danny smirks.
"Why did you look at me and he say Ahh alright?" He smiles. I can't help but feel weak when I see that smile.
"You'll see."
"Okay then..." Ask him. Ask him.
"Danny, what did John mean that I stole you from Brittany and that she caught you staring at me?" Danny sighs.
"A few weeks ago I was walking to school and she came up and started talking to me. She was flirting with me and then she asked me out. I saw you walking ahead, and I told her I wasn't interested. I guess she saw me staring at you and figured out that I was interested in you." We stare at eachother in silence for a long time. His face is soo, so-
"Danny boy, your jeep is finished." We stand up and Danny walks over to Liam and says thanks and leads me to the jeep. When I see the colour, I feel like jumping into the air, no into his arms. Instead, I just stare at the jeep quietly.
"I asked him for the colour of your eyes." I look at him and smile. He opens the passenger door for me. I hope in. My favourite song comes on. Rumur Has it by Adele. Ironic right? danny changes it, and I look over to him.
"I guessed that song would have made you feel sad again." I laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"It's actually my favourite song." Danny laughs, and turns it back. He pulls up into the drive of my house. We get out and walk to the door.
"You want to stay for a bit? Maybe even diner?" I hope I didn't sound needy or desperate. He smiles.
"Sure." We walk into my house. I take my shoes off and head up stairs. I hear Danny behind me. I open the door into my room, next thing I know Danny tackels me onto my bed. I break out into laughter. He stands on his knees and raises an eyebrow and smiles. Oh no.
"Don't you -" I break into uncontrolable laughter. Danny's ontop of my tickling me. I feel like a fish out of water. We both stop moving. His face hovers over mine. Our eyes meet. I love his eyes. I get lost in them. I close my eyes. Our lips meet. This feeling comes over me and I deepen the kiss. I've never felt like this before. I feel like I'm worth something. I feel alive. Danny pulls out of the kiss. Dissapointment washes over me. He props himself up by leaning against his elbow. God he looks so hot like that.
"I have two questions."
"Ask away." My heart is still pounding from our kiss.
"One, how do you feel about me calling you my girlfriend? and two, how long do we have until your parents get home?" I'm in shock.
"I'd like that if you'd call me your girlfriend, and we have two hours until my parents get home." He smiles at me and leans in to kiss me. There's that feeling again. This time he deepens the kiss. I feel this warm and tingly feeling come over me. I can't help myself. He flips me over with one hand. Now I'm ontop of him. He deepens the kiss again and slides his hand up to my waist. I want him. I want him so bad.We pull apart from eachother and stare into eachothers eyes. I slide onto the bed and cuddle up to him under his arm. He turns his head and kisses my forehead.
"Why me?"
"Pardon?"
"Why did you choose me? I mean, com'on, look at me. You could of had Brittany, but you chose me. Why?" He runs his hands through my hair.
"Since the day I moved in across the street, I knew there was something about you. Each day I see, I see more and more the beauty of you. And Brittany is.... Brittany. I don't like her. I like you." I smile and kiss him. We start at it again untill we hear my parents come through the door. We rush out of my room and down stairs.
"Alex, why is there a jeep in the driveway?" My dad asks as he takes his shoes off.
"Because Danny's over. Can he stay for dinner?"
"Oh hi Danny. How are you?" He walks towards Danny, and they shake hands.
"I'm good, how about yourself?"
"I'm good. You got a nice handshake there." Danny smiles. We flow into the kitchen and sit at the island. We all make small talk with eachother. This feels right.
"Mr. Duncan, if I have your permission, I'd like to date your daughter." That caught me off gaurd. My dad looks like he's studying his options closely. He turns his glass in a circular motion while looking into it. the whiskey swrils around and the ice cubes clink the insides of the glass.
"Yeah, why not. Just don't go hurting her. You understand?" Oh, dad, always trying to sound tough when you're really just a big softy.
"I wouldn't think of it."
"He means it dad. Today he-" Stop. Stop while you're ahead.
"Today he did what?" my parents say at the exact same time.
"For a few weeks now, Brittany has been spreading rumurs around school about me, and has turned everyone against me, and today Danny stood up for me when people started saying stuff.."
"Oh. well that was nice of you Danny." My dad nods his head at Dany.
"The spaghetti is ready." We take our seats at the table. I take a sip of my water.
"Umm, please, uh if you have sex, be safe. Use protection." I can't help but spray my water. Did he really just say that?!
"Dad."
"He has a point hun, I'll take you to the doctor's and get you on birth control."
"Mom!" Danny sits silently. After helping my parents wash dishes and clean the kitchen Danny and I head to the bowling alley. He opens the door for me and closes it behind me. I can see my dad peeking through the curtains. Wow. Really? We back out of the drive and head to the bowling alley.
"I am so sorry about my parents." Danny stays silent.
"Danny?" Oh god. Please say something Danny. Please."
"They have a good point Alex. They're just protecting you, and I wan't to protect you to."
"What are you saying?"
"Do you know how much I have to control myself when I kiss or touch you Alie? I don't know what it is about you, but when I touch you, kiss you, it's like an explossion and-"
"So you're saying that you'd sleep with me?" I interupted him. He stops the car at a red light.
"Yes. Yes I want to sleep with you. I want you." I lean over and kiss him. There's horns blarring behind us signaling that the light has changed. We hold hands the rest of the drive. He pulls into a parking lot.I look at him confused
"I'll be right back" He kisses me and walks into a store. I sit in his jeep quietly. I see another car pull in. Brittany and John. I duck and hide.
"Is that Danny's jeep?" John seems to be confused.
"It can't be. We practically destroyed it." Danny walks out.
"It is Danny's jeep."
"What's it to you?" Danny says.
"Just surprised how you got a paint job so quick." Brittany chirps.
"Where's your girlfriend?" I can hear the jealousy in her voice.
"I'm right here." She turns and looks at me. Her eyes balging out of her head.
"Hey slut. How ya' doing?"
"Pretty good since I got Danny." I throw back in her face. I can see that it stung. Danny hops into the jeep and we're off. We pull into the bowling alley parking lot. He digs through the bag and places a box on my lap. I turn the light on. Trogan Condoms. I look at Danny, I have a knot in my stomach.
"It's for when you feel that you're ready. I don't want to preasure you into anything, I just want you to know that I," He looks down at his lap.
"You what?" We've only known eachother for a few years but it feels like we've known eachother for years. We've only been dating for a few hours, but it feels like we've been dating for two years. Why does he make me feel the way I do? I think I'm in love with him.
"I think I'm faling for you Danny."
"I'm falling for ya two. Now lets go get our bowl on." I laughand we walk through the bowling alley doors. We're in lane number one, and it's five pin. Danny is in the lead. He looks so smooth and hot the way his body rolls into place as he slides down on one knee, and his foot slides behind him to the side. I walk up to him and slide my fingers into his and kiss him. I go for my turn, and he cups my butt. I giggle and throw the ball down the lane. STRIKE! I jump up and down. Danny stares at me and laughs. After bowling Danny drives me home. I kiss hin goodnight, and I walk into my house and upstairs to my room. I change into my pajamas, brush my teeth and go fall to my bed.

Chapter Four

"I'm sorry Alie, but I was only pretending to like you. How could you actually beliee that I'd like, when there's Brittany? You're pathetic." Danny walks away and meets up with Brittany. Brittany slides under his arm, and looks back at me. She gies me one of those smug smiles. I drop to the ground. How could I let this happen? How could I let my gaurd down? Tears run down my face as I stare at the sidewalk.
"Babe? It's okay, its okay. Wake up." Danny shakes me slightly. I open my eyes and look at him. He pulls me into his arms and hugs me tight.
"Are you alright babe?"
"Yeah, just a bad dream I guess." He hugs me tighter. I look up at him and he leans down and kisses me. I pull away.
"How did you get in?"
"Your parents let me in. By the way, they went out for brekfast."
"Oh, alright." Danny gets up and off my bed and he pulls me out from my covers.
"No!" I shriek. He pulls back and looks at me confused.
"I'm still in my pajamas.." I blush a little bit. Danny laughs.
"I know. I think you look cute in them."
"I'm in a tank top and girl boxers... how is that cute?" He pulls the covers off me.
"It's cute... and hot on you." He bends down and picks me up off my bed and sets me on my feet.
"You want brekfast?"
"Yeah, have you ate yet?"
"Not yet. I wanted to eat with you."
"What would you like? I'll make you something."
"No. I'm going to make YOU something." I hesitate for a second.
"What do you want babe?" His voice is so smooth abd attractive.
"Hmmm, an omlette?"
"I can do that." He leans down and kisses me, and we head down stairs. There's a knock at the door. I go to get it, as soon as I open it, I remember I'm in my boxers and I run behind Danny. Ugh, it's Brittany and John. Brittany snaps a picture of me and Danny on her cell phone.
"Awww how cute. You look cute in your little boxers Alex. Not." Her voice is like nails on a chalk board to me.
"Well well, howlong have you two been together and you're allready sleeping together? Wow." God John is annoying.
"We weren't sleeping with eachother."
"That's not what this picture suggests. Pictures speak louder than words." She shows me the picture. There's Danny in his white t-shirt and grey trackpants, and there's me standing behind him in my boxers. Oh shit.
"everyone will get a kick out of this. And Alex, if you ever have him stand up for you again, you'll wish you hadn't. Understand?" I hate her. I really hate her. They walk away. Danny closes the door and we head to the kitchen. My cell phone starts buzzing, I ignore it. After a few minutes, Danny looks at my cell phone that's having a seizre on the counter. Ii pick it up and slide it open. 63 new messages and 15 new emails. Holly shit! I go through them one by one. And I quickly wish that I had keept ignoring it. There's a link that I clicked. It leads me to a website.
"What's new with the Slut?" is the headline. The photo of me and Danny is directly under it. There's 63 comments.
'What a slut" , 'Slut wears boxers', 'Sluty slut slut'. I want to scream. The next few comments catch my eye. 'Slut needs to die', 'The sluttiest slut at Willington High... has HIVS. SLUT' and this one cuts me right down to the core; 'Wow, when will she ever stop? We need to end the slut'. Theres 67 likes on the comment. My eyes fill with tears and I run to the bathroom. I lock myself in the bathroom and I slide down against the door. I wrap my arms around my legs and pull the to my chest. I hate myself. I hate my life. I want to die! I see the scissors sticking out of the drawer. I remember reading an article in Mr. Davie's class about self abuse. This girl somewhere in the states, Washington I think. She cut herself. She was being tormented from her peers at school. She finally had enough, she took her own life. Without even thinking, I take the scissors and open them up. I roll up the sleve of my boxers, and I cut my upper left thigh. I watch as the cut fills up with blood. I watch the blood trickle down towards my mid area of my thigh. There's a knock on the door. Danny.
"Babe. You alright? Can I come in?" He sounds worried. I put the scissors back in the cupboard and quickly wipe the blood away off my thigh. I take a deep breath and open the door. Danny come in and kneels in front of me and grabs me in his muscualr arms. I burry my face into his chest. He hold me tight with his left arm and strokes my hair with his right.
"I'm so sorry Alie. Just know I'm here for you." He holds me tighter. I stay quiet and my face in his chest. He pulls me away gentley. He wipes my tears away. He looks at me and smiles.
"Your omlette is ready." I can't help but giggle a little bit through the tears. He pulls me up to my feet and hugs me close. He leans back and locks his eyes with mine.
"I love you Alex" My heart stops beating. I lean up and kiss him. I love him too, I just don't think I can say it yet. He takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen. We sit at the island and eat our omlettes in silence. After we clean up, Danny pulls me into a kiss. I feel like electricity is running through my veins. I deepen the kiss. I want him. I want him so bad, and I remember he bought condoms. My heart beats quickly and then stops. I want him. I pull out of the kiss and look into his eyes. Our eyes lock. I smile and I nod my head. I want him. His palms rest on my arms. He looks into my eyes more closely.
"Are you sure Alie?" I nod my head an reach up on my toes to kiss him. Sparks fly everywhere. We go upstairs to my room and close the door. We climb onto my bed still kissing. His hand is sliding up the side of my shirt. I want him. I feel all tingly and warm. He pulls out of the kiss and looks at me.
"Are you sure babe? I don't want to force you into anything." He means it. I love him, and I want him to be my first. I want him. I smile, and he smiles back. We sit up on my bed kissing. His hands find the bottom of my tank top and pulls it up and off swiftly. My heart reaces. I pull his t-shirt off. He leans over me laying me back on my bed. He pulls my boxers off. and leans down and kisses me on my lips. He slowly kisses me down from my lips to my neck, to my neck to my chest. And from my chest to my belly button. I feel like I'm going to expload. He kisses me from my belly button down to above my underwear. He slides his track pants off. I help him take his boxers off. Oh. My. God. It's huge. He smiles and looks at me.
"Are you sure babe?" I nod my head. He leans over and grabs his wallet. He pulls back the zipper and takes a condom out. He rips the condom open and puts it on. He leans down and kisses my neck. With one hand he guides himself into me. I take a deep breath. He slowly pumps himself into me. It hurts. I do my best to keep me from whimpering, but he hears one and looks up at me. He looks worried.
"I'm okay." He looks into my eyes and kisses my forehead. M pain starts to turn into pleasure. I let out a quiet moan. Danny smiles and picks the pace up a little bit. He thrusts himself into me and I moan. He thrusts harder and harder each time. I can't help but moan and grab his shoulders. He kisses my neck and kisses my ear. I feel zap of heat strike through me. I moan louder. This feels so good. He thrusts himself harder and deeper. A loud moan escapes me. He goes faster. I sink my fingers into his shoulders and he goes slower but he thrusts harder. I feel like my body is locking up. My toes curl up and several moans escape my throat.
"I love you Alie." Danny sounds like he's run a race. He said each word seperatley. I look into his eyes. Say it. Now I tell myself.
"I love you too." He leans down and kisses me. He stops pumping himself into me. We just kiss for a fw minutes then he thursts himself hard into me. He thursts faster and harder. I take a breath and close my eyess. He starts kissing down my neck again to my belly button. Danny lays himself down besides me and pulls me into a hug.
"How's the pain babe?" He runs his hand through my hair. I wish I could fall asleep like this everynight.
"It's not that bad. Just stings a little bit." He kisses my forehead.
"What would you like to do today babe?"
"I don't know. It looks like it's going to rain all day."
"Want to go to the movie store and pick some movies out?" I like his idea. I could cuddle up into his strong arms and forget all about the website. I look up at him and smile. I get up and walk over to my dresser get a bra and underwear. I slip them on and g ove to my cloet and grab a pair of short shorts and a tank top and a sweater. I walk over to the bathroom. I brush my hair. I throw it up into a messy bun and put a thin headband on keep the loose hairs in. When I come out, Danny is no where in sight. I look around for him. He's no where. He comes up behind me and squeezes my waist making me squeel. We run down the stairs and into Danny's jeep. It's pouring. Thank god he has is cover up otherwise the jeep would be a pool. We pull out of the driveway.
"How you feeling babe?" Danny grabs my hand and squeezes it.
"It hurts a little bit, but it should stop in a bit."
"I'm sorry."
"Why? It was amazing."
"Because I hurt you."
"You didn't hurt me. It was because it was my first time." Danny squeezes my hand. We pull into Bandito videos. We run into the store trying to dodge the rain. Danny grabs my hand and we walk to the new releases. We both lean and we grab the same movie. I giggle. 'Friends with Benefits'.
"Let's get two more." Danny slides his arm around my hip and pulls me close.
"Okay. What would you genre would you like?"
"How about a horror movie and an Ice age movie?" Danny runs his hand through his hand. I laugh quietly and nod my head. I head to the jeep while Danny rents the movies. On my way to the jeep, I hear my name and turn.
***
I wake up Danny leaning over me. I'm in my bed in my fleece pajama bottoms and a tank top. What happened? I try to bring myself to a sitting position. Danny supports my back as I get up.
"What happened? All I remember is someone calling my name and then everything goes black."
"You went to the jeep, and Brittany called you, when you turned to look, she punched you out. I'm sorry I wasn't out there babe." Dany gentely pulls me into a hug. He kisses my forehead. I get up and go to the bathroom and look into the mirror. I have a fat lip and a black eye. I see Danny walking up behind me in the mirror. He wraps his arms aound me and rests his head on my shulder.
"You still look beautiful babe". I turn so we're face to face and hug him.

Chapter Five

I hear my laptop I.M chirping away. I look over at my alarm clock. 2:00 am, what the?! I sit up and stumble over to my desk. The screen light is blinding. It's like I'm going down a tunnel and there's a blinding light that everyone talks about when they've had a near death experience. I see the word 'Loading' pop across the screen. Since it's loading, I might as well go to the kitchen and get a snack. I walk down the stairs. It's so dark that I almost fall down searching for the floor. I walk close to the walls feeling my way to the kitchen. I dig through the fridge. Where are they? I know we have some. Ah ha there they are. I grab the strawberries and head over to the counter. I pick out four strawberries and rinse them under the tap. I walk over to the light switch and turn it on. My heart stops. The air around me feels cold all of a sudden. I work up the courage to walk over the back door and flick on the back porch light. Okay, that’s creepy… I could have sworn I saw a figure peering into the kitchen. Almost as if they were studying me. I peer out the windows leading towards the back. The hair on the back of my neck stands up. Don’t panic I tell myself. Don’t panic, don’t panic. I double check the lock to make sure that it’s locked and secured and I flick the porch light off. Just get your snack and go to bed I tell myself. I finish cutting the tops off and I go back to my room. I hear myself breathing hard. I guess I ran to my room instead of walking like I thought I had done. I can see my room by the glow of my laptop. There are clothes all over the floor. I bend down and gather them up and toss them in my laundry bin and head over to my laptop. My hand fingers glide over my keypad. Weird, I thought I had signed off of my I.M account. I have three new messages. I click and open one.
“Hey slut. I have a lil friend you could blow”. The mouse arrow opens another message box;
“U whore! Im surprised u don’t have herpes u slut.” I feel my face start to flush and burn. I open the next one.
“Do us a favor and die slut!” I quickly find the log out button and exit my I.M. I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I make my way over to my bed and I lay there staring at the ceiling. I hate my life. I want to die. I want to die. I want to die. I grab my cell phone from my nightstand. I text Danny and press send. I stare up at the ceiling. I hope I don’t wake him. My phone bursts into a Katy Perry ringtone, wide awake. Ironic, I quickly press a button so the music will stop. I set my phone to vibrate. Danny texted me back.
“What’s the matter babe?”
“I need a hug, something. I need you. I don’t want to be here anymore. I can’t do it. I’m sorry Danny. I really am.” Why did I do that? He is going to think I’m nuts and run the other way. Why do I do such stupid things? Why. There’s a rattling sound coming from outside my window. I freeze. I hear my window slide open. I can smell the cool fresh air. I curl up into a ball and look at my closet door. I almost jump when I felt my blanket be lifted off of me and someone slide into bed next to me. Slide their arms around me and hold me tight. I turn and I see Danny.
“I’m sorry if I woke you.”
“Don’t. I told you that I’m here for you babe. I love you. When I got that text I knew I had to come over.” Danny slides his hand over my leg and up to my upper thigh. His hand stops. I study his face. He looks sad and horrified. What’s wrong? Then it hit me. My cuts… I feel stupid. Danny hand slides up over my chest to my chin and he pulls my head up meeting his. I stare into his eyes. We kiss.
* * *
When I wake up it’s 6:30 am on Monday morning. I get up and head to my closet put jeans on and I throw an old t-shirt on and grab my school bag. I head down the stairs and out the door. Danny is waiting in the drive with his jeep. He smiles when he sees me.
“Morning gorgeous.” I blush.
“Morning babe.” I get in the jeep and lean over and kiss Danny.
“So this morning, I’m thinking of pancakes?” I can’t help but laugh when I hear the excitement in his voice. I nod my head, and just like that we’re flying down the driveway. Danny and I holding hands howling to the music that plays over the radio. We pull into the Danny’s parking-lot and we get out of Danny’s jeep and head inside the restaurant. By the looks of it, it’s just opening. We’re seated right away at the back of the restaurant. Our waiter comes around the corner and welcomes us.
“Hello, my name is Matt. I’ll be your waiter this morning, what can I get you?” Danny clears his throat.
“Hey, we’d like some pancakes and two hot chocolates please.” I smile at him. Matt nods his head and he turns around the corner and into the kitchen.
“Can you let me pay this time please Danny?”
“Nope. I’m the guy, I get to treat you.”
“Well what if I want to treat you?” Danny raises an eyebrow and winks at me. I giggle. He leans closer.
“Oh I think you know how to treat me babe.” His voice sends thrills through my body. I want him. I bite my lower lip and smile at him just then the waiter sets two mugs of hot chocolate with whip cream on top in front of us.
“Your pancakes will be out shortly. Enjoy.”
“Thank you” my voice is quiet and polite. I pick my mug up and lick a bit of the whip cream off and Danny laughs at me.
“What?” What’s he laughing at? I give him a confused look. He laughs harder and reaches for his phone and holds it up. I hear a small click. He laughs and reaches across the table and wipes whip cream off my nose. I blush with embarrassment.
“Relax babe. That was really cute. Look I took a picture.” He shows me the photo and I laugh. I smell the pancakes. They smell delicious, I hear my stomach growl. Matt comes around the corner again and places the stack of pancakes down in front of us. He smiles and gives us a pitcher full of maple syrup. I look at Danny and we both break into a wide grin. We put butter on our pancakes, followed by maple syrup and then, we dig in. They’re so yummy, the edges are nice and crispy but the rest of the pancake is soft and fluffy. The maple syrup is just like a cherry on top. Our meal is quiet. We’re too busy savoring the flavor that dances across our tongues. Danny pays the bill and we walk hand in hand to his jeep.
“Thanks for breakfast babe.”
“No problem babe. Anything for you.” I smile at him and reach up and kiss him. Danny deepens the kiss. He opens the passenger door for me. As I’m getting in I feel him grab my butt. I turn my head and look at him laughing. He winks at me and smiles and walks over to the driver’s side. When we arrive at school everyone is staring at me and shaking their heads. I feel Danny pull me in under his arm. When I look up at him, I can tell he knows something is wrong. He opens the school door for me, and then quickly takes me back under his arm. He’s protecting me. But from what? I can still see and feel their whispers and looks. Danny looks down at me and shows a small frown.
“What’s wrong?” I whisper to him.
“I don’t know, but by how everyone is being, it can’t be good.” I can hear a tint of worry in Danny’s voice. When we reach my locker I stand with my back against the locker door and Danny stands in front of me. I see everyone staring at me. I feel self-conscious. I close my eyes. Suddenly there’s pressure on my stomach. I open my eyes. John is stand to the front side of me, his hand pressed against my stomach. The whole hallway is still. No one moves or talks.
“How far along are you Alex? Is it kicking yet?” John asks with a huge smug smile on his face. Before I could respond John is on the floor and Danny standing over him. I see John smile. Everyone moves aside in the hallway when they see Brittany coming.
“Wow Danny, protective much over your unborn baby?” Unborn baby?! What?! They think I’m pregnant?! That’s impossible. I’m speechless. Danny tenses up.
“Alex is not pregnant.” His voice is tough and harsh, it’s like he’s daring her to keep going. She smirks and stares at me.
“Alex, on behalf of the student body, I congratulate you on your baby.” I just stare at her.
“I’m not pregnant Brittany. You need to stop it now.” She steps closer to me, and into my face. She smiles.
“Make me.” She whispers to me. Danny lightly pushes me behind him, separating me and Brittany. Everyone starts whispering. Then someone yells “PREGO”. The whole hallway starts laughing and calling me names.
“Prego”, “Knocked up slut”,“Pregers”. My eyes start filling with tears. I hate my life. Danny grabs me by the hand and we run for the doors. When we reach the parking lot Danny lifts me into the jeep and sets me in my seat and runs to his side and hops into the driver’s seat. He leans over and buckles me up and he races out of the parking lot. I pull my legs up on to the chair and wrap my arms around them and cry into my legs.
“Babe, it’s alright.” I look up at Danny and he gives me a sympathy smile.
“Can we go back?” Danny shoots me a confused look.
“To school…” My voice trails off. I can’t take the torture, I know what I’m going to do. Danny pulls into a parking lot, and turns around.
“Are you sure Alie? You don’t have to go, just tell your parents you went home sick babe.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m not going to my classes, I just have to do something.”
“Alright then.” I can hear the confusion in his voice as he dragged out on those two words. We turn into the turning lane for school. Danny pulls into the parking lot for the principals and staff. He looks at me confused.
“I’ll wait here for you okay?” I nod and hop out of the jeep. I run to the school doors to get out of the rain, and I walk to the guidance offices. When I step inside the waiting area for the guidance office, I see my guidance counselor. She waves at me and smiles. I walk over to her.
“Do you have a minute that I could talk to you? Sorry if I’m being a bother.” She smiles.
“Of course Alex, that’s what I’m here for. Go take a seat in my office, and I’ll be in shortly alright dear?” I nod my head and smile.
“Thanks.” I walk into her office and take seat. Her office smells like vanilla. I love that smell. It makes me feel calm. She has a bowl of rockets on her desk with a little sign that says ‘Please take just one’ with a little happy face drawn under it. She has drawings displayed on the walls which I guess were drawn by her children, or grandchildren.
“So Alex, what can I do for you today?” I almost jumped out of the chair.
“Oh sorry dear, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s alright. Umm, I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I have.”
“Alright, what’s the problem?” Damn, I’m actually going to have to tell her what the problem is in order to get help from her.
“Well, it’s a long story, but I was wondering if you could help me out with a solution. I don’t want to come to school anymore, I- I just can’t take being, well centre of attention. Could I continue my year online? It’s not too late is it?” I’m desperate. She studies my face, and turns towards her computer. A few moments later, she turns back to me.
“Did you want to empty you locker today? You have the whole year online, come back in August to discuss wither you want to do your final year online as well.” I smiled at her.
“Thank you soo much.”
“No problem Alex, I hope that things will be better for you. Any problems with the courses, call me alright?”
“Sure thing.”
“Have a good day.”
“You too.” I walk out of the office and head to my locker. I open my locker and stuff all my things into my bag and remove my lock. I head out the doors of the school for the last time this year. I hear the bell ring as I hop in Danny’s jeep.

Chapter Six

The ride has been quiet, and long. My cell phone rang, I looked at the screen, and sure enough it was my mom calling. I took a deep breath and pressed talk.
“Hey mom.”
“Hi Hun, could you explain to me as why I got an email from your high school, saying that you’ve decided to do your year online?” I took another deep breath.
“Umm, I don’t want to be in the school atmosphere anymore. It’s too hard. Brittany has pretty much destroyed my high school life. The only person that talks to me without harassing me is Danny. Everyone else…” my voice trailed off. I could hear my mom sigh.
“Okay Hun. I just wish you would have come and talked to me first about other high school alternatives before you went in alone and changed everything.” I can tell that she was a little disappointed.
“I’m sorry mom, it’s just that when I walked in the school today, and Brittany had told everyone that I’m pregnant. That was the last straw for me.”
“I understand Hun. Well I hope this is a better alternative.”
“Thank you. Is it okay if I spend the day with Danny?”
“Doesn’t he have school though Hun?”
“Yes, but he doesn’t want me to be alone after what happened earlier today.”
“Alright, it’s fine with me. I like him.” I smiled to myself.
“Thanks mom.” I hung up my cell phone and looked at Danny. He looked over at me and smiled and took my hand in his free hand.
“Where would you like to go?”
“What do you mean?”
“Alie, where do you want to go?”
“How about a car ride? Like we just drive wherever the road takes us.” I stared at Danny.
“You got it.” I smiled at him and squeezed his hand.
“Yeah, I have to. I can’t take Brittany’s torture anymore. I want to be able to do my schooling and not be harassed to the point where I want to die.” I feel Danny’s grip on my hand tighten as I said the last word. I looked over at him. His face seems empty, vacant of any emotion. A sharp cold shiver runs through me.
***

“So Alex, how was your day with Danny?” I could hear the suspicion in mom’s voice.
“It was good. We spent the day driving. Like a mini road trip? It was actually fun. We drove four three hours. We ended all the way up in Kirkfeild. It’s so pretty there. I love it there. We had a good time. Thanks for letting me go.”
“No problem hun.”
“What’s up?” My mom shoots me a confused look.
“We rarely go out for dinner, and tonight we’re eating out. So what’s up? The last time we ate out, you told me that Bethany died.” I see my mother’s face become show sadness for just a slight second. Oh no. Who died this time? I can hear her take a breath.
“Alex… your father and I are getting a divorce.” I feel my body go numb. I think I’m choking on the meatball in my mouth. I say nothing. I stare at her with an empty look on my face.
“W-why?” I was able to choke out.
“Well, I met someone else, and I love him. Your father and I have been having problems lately, and we feel it’s the best idea to go our separate ways.” My eyes blink back my tears.
“There’s something else too. Rick and I are getting married before the baby’s born.” I feel her stare at me as I get up from our tables and head for the doors. Each step I take becomes faster, and faster. How could she do this? How could she love another man, leave dad and have another baby with another man?! I hear the blasting of horns booming around me. I stop and put my hands on the hood of a car in the street.
“Alex?” I look up. Dad is stretching his head out the window. I run around to the passenger side and jump in his car.
“I take it your mother told you.” I nod my head.
“Are you alright Alie?” I can hear the high volume of worry in his voice. I look at him.
“Are you?” He gives me a forced smile.
“I’m okay kiddo. Things happen for a reason.” He reaches over pats my shoulder. I nod my head at him.
“What’s going to happen dad?”
“Well, I was I actually on my way to look at some apartments, when you come darting across the street. By the way, don’t ever do that again. You could have gotten yourself killed.” I laugh. He smiles at me.
“Can I come?”
“Sure.”
“How many apartments are there to look at?”
“Well, I have three today to look at in town, and then a rental house just outside of town.” I nod my head. A couple of minutes of silence go by.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“I want to live with you, if that’s okay.”
“Of course that’s okay! That’s great. But what about your mother?”
“I can’t live with her. I can visit her, but I can’t live with her.”
“Well this is it.” I look out the window and see a condo building.. There was a petite woman with long brown hair standing at the front doors of the condo building wearing a dress suit. She was holding a binder when she looked up as my dad and I approached. She smiled at us and met us halfway.
“Hello. Are you here to look at the apartment today?”
“Yes, my daughter and I are looking for a place.” She smiles and holds the door for us.
“Alrighty then. So let’s start here in the lobby. Over there is where you’d pick up your mail” She points to a wall that has a panel of boxes. My dad nods and we head for the elevator.
“The apartment that we’re looking at is on the top floor, the eighth floor. You guys will have an incredible view of the harbor. The apartment number is 216.” The elevator dings as we reach our floor. We walk to the end of the hallway. The woman slips a key into a lock and we’re in. We walk into the front entrance. The ceilings were high and the windows were huge. My mouth slips open as I stared in awe. The realtor smile.
“There’s two bedrooms both with a joint bathrooms, a modern kitchen, a spacious living room, and lastly, a dining room. There’s a laundry matt in the building on level B1.”
“Wow.” My dad and I said that at the same time. The realtor laughs.
“The master suite is to your left, and the other bedroom is to your right.” My dad walked to the left, and I parted to the right. I opened the door. Woah. This room is huge. I’d be able to fit my bed, and all my furniture and a futon in it! I feel my cell vibrate. I hope its Danny. ‘Mom calling’. Ugh. I hit answer, but I don’t say anything.
“Alie? Alie hun, are you here? Look, I’m sorry that your dad and I didn’t work out, but you don’t run off on me like that again. Where are you right now.”
“With dad looking at apartments, I want to live with dad.” My voice was firm.
“I understand… but you spend two full weekends with me and Rick and we’ll work out the holidays. Those are my only conditions if you decide to live with your father.”
“Fine.” I hung up the phone and walked out towards my dad and the realtor. I smile at him.
“Do you like this place Alie?
“Yes!”
“Alright then, I think we’re moving in. After this, I don’t want to look at any other places.” The realtor woman smiled at my dad.
“That’s fine with me” she chirped.
“If you’d sign here on the lease, you can have the keys today.”
“Well then, where do I sign.” The realtor giggles. I ignore her obvious flirting and step outside to the balcony. The view is fantastic. I have my very own balcony! How cool is that?! I take my phone out and I call Danny.
***
“Wow…. Are you okay babe? This is rough. I mean the divorce, new marriage, and a new sibling? Not to mention that you’re moving out from across the street.” Danny squeezes my hand.
“It’s upsetting that my mom did that, and I’ll miss living across the street from you. But on the other hand, the apartment is a half a block away from school, and the apartment is amazing!”
“I’m glad you’re being optimistic about this babe.” He leans down towards me and kisses my forehead. I smile and giggle at him. I feel my phone vibrate.
“Hey, could you give me a ride to Leons? My dad wants me to help pick out furniture for the apartment.”
“Yeah, no problem.” We walk over to his jeep and Danny opens my door for me. I smile and shake my head.
“And there’s another plus to this.” I look at Danny as we pull out of his driveway.
“Yeah? And what is that exactly?” He raised his eyebrows. He looks so hot when he does that.
“You can come over during your lunch cause it’s not far, and we could... you know.” I lightly slide my hand to the inner side of his upper thigh. A huge grin spreads across Danny’s face. We pull into the Leons parking lot. I see my dad waiting at the front doors.
“Hey dad!”
“Hey kiddo. Good to see you Danny. How have you been?” He smiles at me.
“I’m good thanks. Alex told me what happened, I just want to say that I’m here for you guys.”
“That’s very nice of you Danny. Thanks.”
“So what color are we thinking for the front entrance?”
“I’m thinking blue.” I’m actually really excited about this. I mean what my mom did hurts, but living with my dad, and just my dad, that will be awesome.
“Sounds good to me.”“Can we afford to get all our furniture now dad?”
“Yeah… why wouldn’t we? Alex, I don’t exactly know what you think I do for a living, but believe me. We can afford this.” He shook his head and smiled.
“Okay. How about we go a cream color for the kitchen?”
“That’s fine with me, but what color do you want your bedroom to be?”
“It’s going to be a surprise.” Danny shakes his head at me and smiles.
“What?”
“Nothing. Sounds like you got it all planned out in your head.”
“I do actually.” I can’t help but smile.
“Alright then Alex, can we at least look at your bedroom furniture? That way I can pay for it?”
“Okay.” I walk through all the set ups that they have on display. One in particular catches my attention. It’s modern, but vintage looking and simple. I like it.
“Is this one okay dad?”
“Sure. Let me get a sales person.” My dad approaches an older man who’s wearing a dark blue top and black dress pants. They start heading toward the back of the store. I pick out a few shelves and a desk in the mean time. By the time we left the store, I think the store owner loves my dad. My dad probably made the biggest purchase of the week. Maybe even the month.
“Alex, could you go home and get dinner ready for us? And then start packing up the things you want to have at the apartment?”
“Yeah sure. Is spaghetti alright?”
“Sounds yummy.” I smile and I wave bye as Danny and I pull out of the parking lot.
“You want to stay for dinner?”
“If it’s okay with your dad.”
“Of course it is. He likes you, you know?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” When we pull up to the house I see a car in the drive way. My mom and a man steps out through the door. Rick I assume. I stay still, when Danny goes to open his door I stop him. He looks at me and I shoot him a desperate look and he nods his head. I wait for the car to be down the street before I hop out. I start up the walk when I feel it. I feel a tear slide down my face. I wipe it away quickly before Danny could see it. I walk into the kitchen and get a pot and fill it with water. ***

Chapter Seven

"So how are you doing in your online courses Alex?" 

"I'm doing fine in them" I swallow my food.

"Alie hun, I'm sorry that your mother and I disapointed you with this." Rick puts his glass down on the coaster.

I feel Danny place his hand on my shoulder.
     "Do you need to do that Danny?" I stare up at my mother to get Rick under control. But she just looks the other       way.
     "Pardon Mr. Hastings?" Danny asks.

"Do you have to touch Alex like that? Right in front of her mother and I? It's uncomfortable to see our daughter being touched like that in front of us." I'm shocked, I just stare up at Rick and my mother and I shake my head. I grab Danny's hand and head for the door.

"Where are you going young lady?" Rick's voice booms around the corner. 
     "To my dad, where my home is."

"Alex..." I can hear the sadness in my mother's voice but I just keep walking until I'm in Danny's jeep.

"You alright babe? He squeezes my hand.

"I'm alright, I just want to go back to my dad. Rick is just.... well he hasn't grown on me any that's for sure."

"I want to take you out. On a weekend outing. Just you and me." I look at him and smile.
     "I love you Alex. More then I can ever express."

"I love you too Danny." I cuddle into him as we drive to my dad's place.

I look up at Danny as he turns on to a side road.

"Danny where are we going?"

"Relax. I talked to your dad. I told you I had a weekend planned." I bite my lip and smile at him. He looks down at me and laughs. 

"You look very attractive when you do that."

"Oh yeah?" I lean in and kiss his neck.

"I love it when you do that."

"Where are we going? You never answered."

"Remember when we just drive and drove and we ended up in Kirkville?" All I can do is smile wide up at Danny.

"well I thought we'd take a little camping weekend in that valley we came across. The one with the river and the wild flower patches growing."

"You are the best thing that ever happened to me Danny. I love you." I nestle in even closer to him and close my eyes.

                                      ***

 

I have my head resting against Danny's stomach looking up at the stars when I feel him sit up and take my head between his hands. I lift my hand up and place it on his hand that's holding my cheek.

"Alex, you have been more than anything I could have asked for in a girlfriend. I've never felt the way about anyone the way you make me feel." I feel tears coming to my eyes, the blood running through me, I can feel it pool into my cheeks.

"I've known you for years as the girl next door, but these past seven months, yes I've been keeping track.-" I giggle.

"-have been the best time of my life. You just bring out the best in me. I can see it, my family can see it. They love you to peices you know. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, that I know you are the one I want to be with the rest of my life-" I'm crying. I can feel the tears run down my cheeks. Danny wipes them away with his thumb.

"- I know we're young, and that it's too early to get engaged, hell I can't afford to get you an engagement ring that will sparkle like your eyes. But I did get you this." I can feel him take me into his arms and sit me up. He digs into his pocket and pulls out a box. I can hear my breath go wavery and uneven. Danny wipes the water from his eyes and open the box.

"I got you this - It's my promise to you that I will get you that sparkley engagement ring, and after that a wedding band. I promise you that I will always be there for you no matter what and that you can always count on me. Alie, will you except this promise ring from me?" I just stare at him with tears running down my face. I can't speak. I just nod my head crying. Danny pulls me onto his lap. I wrap my ams around him. We just sit the in eachothers arms, when he peels me off of him. And he slides the ring onto my finger. I feel myself lunge at him and I start kissing him with all the eneregy and passion that's serging through me. He spins me around so he's on top of me. He kisses all over my neck and back up to my lips. His lips are beside my ear when I feel him gently bite my ear. Pleasure rushes through me. 

"I love you Danny." the words are barley understandable.

"I love you too Alex." Danny starts to unbutton my shirt and I unbuckle his belt and the butoon on his jeans. I kiss his neck before he  leans down and kiss my stomach as he takes my pants off. I rip his jeans off and he laughs. This is picture perfect. Lying here with him under the stars on this blanket. Danny pulls another blanket over us. He meets my eyes before he thrushes himself into me. A loud moan escapes from my mouth. He kisses my neck so hard that it tingles and more pleasure rushes through me. I kiss Danny's neck, and I feel my hands run over his smooth and sweaty back. I cup my hand on his but and I feel him stop and we stare at eachother and smile. Danny looks into my eyes and then he pushes himself harder into me. I feel my eyes widden and a moan comes out. He pushes harder and faster into me. I can hear quiet moans from Danny. I reach my hands to face and I kiss him and he deepens it as well as deepens the thrushes into me.

                            ***

Chapter Eight

It's just reaching Dawn in the little valley when I'm trying to be quiet while sneaking out of our tent without disturbing Danny. I head down to the river. Everything is so peacefull. There's a light hum of birds chirping in their nests. I can't help but hold my hand out and look down at my new promise ring.  It's so beautiful. Danny said iy was white gold, and that the design that surrounds the diamond is a love knot. I can feel tears coming to my eyes again. I have never ever felt like this before, I love the way Danny makes me feel. I have no idea how I even deserve him or how I even got him. I am so thankful for him. I sit down on some rocks that peak out of the river. I look back over at our tent when I hear something behind me. I can't determine what it is. It sounded like a grunting noise. I look over my shoulder and there's an animal standing looking at the other side of the river. I turn so I can get a better look. 

"Alex" I hear Danny call my name quietly.

"You need to come down slowly and make your way back to me." I don't understand. I get a good look at the animal. Oh my god. How the hell did I not notice it was a grizzly cub. I slowly get off the rock and start walking toward Danny backwards so I can see the cub. I feel Danny slides his arms around my waist as he's pulling me back toward our tent. We hear something to the right of the river, that's when we see the mother walk over over to her cub. I take out my phone, and I take a picture of them. Danny leads me to the jeep and throughs the cover up. 

"What are we going to do?" I turn my attention to Danny.

"We'll wait until they leave and we'll pack up. I don't want to be here this weekend around her cub, she'll be a lot more unpredictable. We'll just have to finish our weekend off in a hotel room."

"Alright that sounds good." I lean into Danny and he puts his arm around me and we just sit there and watch the bears.          

                                 ***

When I wake up, we are pulling into a hotel parking lot. Danny turns and looks at me and smiles.

"Hey, you're awake." I yawn and stretch. I feel Danny pull me onto his lap. I look into his eyes.

"So are we going to continue last night once we get into our room?" his voice is smooth and seductive. It sends chills up my spine. I bite my lip and lean in and whisper in his ear.

"You bet." I giggle as Danny starts tickling me. He opens his door and places me out of the jeep and he gets out behind me. We walk hand and hand into the hotel. I stare up at Danny and smile wide.

"What are you doing?" Danny asks. I can't help but grin.

"Tag!" I sprint off and look back at him only to see panic on his face.

"ALEX!!!!" I feel my side being hit and my feet come out from underneath me. Everything goes so fast but slow at the same time. 

What's that noise? God it's so annoying. Why won't anyone turn it off. I can hear more than just the beeping now. There's the sound of lights, like the flickering ones at your school that get on your nerves quick. I squint as I open my eyes because the light is so bright. God my head hurts. Ow. There's a lot more than my head that's hurting. what hurts? My neck? No, well kinda. But there's more. I can hear someone breathing next to me. I see Danny's hand ontop of mine. He's leaning toward me and has his head burried into the side of the bed. I give his hand a squeeze. OWWW. HOLY CROW OWW! Danny jerks up and looks at me.

"Hey. Are you alright?" He moves his hand toward my ear and tucks a piece of hair behind it.

"Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital room babe. We were in the hotel parking lot and you ran ahead, and that's when you got hit by a car. You hit your head against the windsheild and blacked out." I got hit by a car? Damn. 

"Oh. I'm so sorry Danny. I ruined our weekend." I look down at my lap.

'No you didn't babe. We'll have more weekends. Ones that don't involve camping with bears and hospital rooms, but hey at least this hospital has good food." He smirks at me. I giggle at him. Leave it to him to make me feel better about this with hospital food.

"Do my parents know?"

"Yeah, I called your dad, and then I called your mom. Your dad should be here any minute."

"Thanks. What about my mom? Is she coming?"

"She said she had an ultrasound appointment that she couldn't miss. She'll be on her way after though." I nod my head.

"Meh, doesn't matter. All I need is you and my dad anyways" Danny smiled at me and got up from his chair.

"Do you want anything to drink? I can get you some water?" He looks so concerned about me. Like he thinks that if I got pinched, I'd break and fall apart. 

"Danny, is there something you're not telling me?" I stare at his face. He looks down.

"Babe?" My voice is wavering now. I'm nervous.

"Well, um. When the doctor's were running test and xrays on you, the doctor said he thinks he found something he'd like to discuss with you when you wake up.."

"Do you know what it is?"

"No, he wouldn't tell me." I nod my head. I hear a knock at the door. I see a doctor standing there. He walks in and smiles at me.

"I'm glad your finally awake."

"Finally?" I asked, confussed.

"Yes, you've been out for almost 17 hours now."

"Oh.." He turns his attention to Danny.

"Sorry son, I didn't catch your name when we spoke last."

"My name is Daniel. You can call me Danny though." The doctor nods his head.

"So did Danny tell you that I believe I caught something in a blood test we did of yours?"

"Yes, we actually just talking about that when you walked in." He nods his head again.

"Okay so first I'll tell you the extent of your injuries from the accident. You banged your head pretty hard, so you have a concussion. Your left wrist has a V-Fracture, your left knee cap has been shattered into 13 pieces. Don't worry, we got you into surgery and we repaired your knee. You have some screws in your knee, so it may become a little more sensitive in cold weather." That's a lot to take in. A concussion, a break, and screwed knee? I just stare at him expecting him to continue his list of injuries but then Danny speaks.

"What did you find in her bloodwork and the other tests?"

"Oh yes. Alexandra, -" I gulp.

" - We found some signs of an early stage of leukemia." Everything else he goes on talking about I don't hear. I just stare at the wall. Everything is buzzing. It's too loud in my head. I can feel a tear coming to my eye. I hear Danny, but it's so loud it sounds like a whisper.

"I think we should continue talking about this later. I think Alex needs some time to comprehend all of this."

"Of course." The doctor nods his head and leaves. I shake my head. I feel danny sit on the bed next to me. He takes me in my arms. I start shaking my head.

"No. I can't have leukemia. No." He holds me tighter.

"Alie, it's going to be alright babe. I'm here for you. I'm not going to leave your side. I promise you that." I cuddle into him. I hear footsteps walk into the room.

"Alie hun, are you alright?" Dad. It's my dad. I feel Danny lay me down on the bed. I hear him walk off with my dad out of the room. I get myself together when they come back in. I look at my dad.

"You're going to be fine. We'll make sure of that. The doctor said it was in it's early stages, so that's good hun. You can fight it.You've always been a fighter." I smile at him and nod my head. The doctor comes back in and introduces himself to my dad. He catches my dad up to speed with my injuries. And then the leukemia talk starts. I take a deep breath. I feel Danny gently squeeze my hand.

"Like I said earlier, there's an upside to this. We caught it in time, so we can start you chemotherapy. That will be our best shot at getting you to beat this. " I nod my head. 

"When should we get Alex started on the chemo then?" I can hear the struggle but the confidence in my dad's voice as he asked that.

"We'll start her in two weeks. I've already booked her a slot on monday the 19th." 

"Thank you." I give the doctor a smile. He returns it with one of his smiles.

"Leukemia aside, you're fine to go home today once we get a cast on your knee." Finally. There's that reliefe I was looking forward to.

"Since you have a concussion, you will need to wake up every few hours. Standard procedure." I nod my head. 

"Try to get as much sleep as you can between your wake ups. See you on the 19th." And with that, he left.

It was quiet in the room. 

"Well, Danny could you take her home while I go over to her mother's and share the news?" My dad read my mind. I don't have the energy to tell her and Rick. 

"That sounds good to me." Danny nods his head as well.

"Danny, could I ask you to help me out tonight?" My dad turns his attention to Danny.

"Yeah sure, how so?"

"Would it be alright if you stayed the night and woke Alex up every few hours? I'm not sure when I'll be getting in. Alex's mom likes to dramatise these sort of things..." I let out a chuckle.

"I'll call my parents and let them know. I'm sure they'll understand." Danny got up and walked out to the hall. My dad and I just sat there for a moment. 

"Well, I should go now, that way I can get home sooner than later." He reaches his hand out and messes up my hair. I give him a half smile and nod. Danny and my dad pass eachother in the doorway.

"Alex, the nurse is here to do your cast." Danny nods his head towards the nurse.

"Great." I smile at the nurse.

 

Impressum

Texte: Emily Mabee
Bildmaterialien: Google images
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 28.07.2012

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