Crushed (Chapter 2)

Frankie's crush on Jared is out of control and she needs to do something about it.

"Oh my God." I muttered under my breath as Jared passed me. He really is quite literally stunning. He's only a little taller than me, very skinny, and pale, with medium length dark hair surrounding his face, curtaining one eye. Oh, his eyes. They're beautiful, a pristine clear blue, the kind you can get lost in if you look at them too long. His lips are quite full, and it has to be said, would be like heaven to kiss.

As I marvel at the beauty of this male specimen, he notices my staring and looks my way. I want to melt into the ground like chocolate. He noticed me. Maybe I did have a chance after all...

...Or maybe I don't. Kassie runs up to him from behind me, plants a kiss on his cheek, and takes his hand. He looks at her for a moment, but in a different way than he looked at me. I felt a pang of jealousy, along with a side order of curiosity. What would it feel like to hold hands with Jared Storm? To have him gaze at you like you were a rare and beautiful gemstone? They were so beautiful together, him and Kassie. But I felt the urge to destroy. I wanted to rip their relationship apart, cutting Kassie out of the picture and adding myself.

Amazingly, I found my way to homeroom. I drifted in feeling lovesick as hell and take the nearest available desk. I inspect it's surface, taking in the tiny details. This desk contains the history of those who sat here before me, it practically served as a diary. For example, I knew from reading this that CT loved RB forever, and that Mrs. Armstrong was a sociopath. But for all I knew, CT and RB could have broken up, and Mrs. Armstrong may be perfectly insane. That's the thing with school age graffiti, it expires quickly.

I wondered if my crush on Jared would ever end. Was there an expiry date stamped on it like food at a grocery store? I'd liked him for two years now, that was a long crush. Was it possible it would be over soon? Would I realize that he was infact a jerk and get over him or stay hooked on him forever and never meet anyone else? Both possibilities scared the s**t out of me. Jared was my obsession, 50 percent of my thoughts were occupied by him. Without him, who would I be? An empty shell of myself, that's who. It's sad, really, but Jared controlled my moods. He could reduce me to tears simply by kissing Kassie, or bring me to a natural high by looking my way, even if he wasn't looking at me.

Mr. Epsworth welcomed us to another year at South Bay School, and everyone introduced themselves. He was a nice man. Young, with thick eyebrows and a sense of humor. He told us some funny stories about things he'd done over the summer and dismissed us to our first period class. I caught up with Nikita in the hallway.

"I saw him!" I exclaimed, gripping Nikita's arm. "And he's gotten even more gorgeous over the summer!"

Nikita laughed, and fished out her schedule from a Dooney and Bourke purse.

"New?" I said, pointing at it. She nodded.

"What do you have first, Nik?"

"Physics."

"Me too, I guess we're in the same class."

So we walked off, hyped up on back to school jitters, Dooney and Bourke purses, and of course Jared Storm, into the most boring, desolate place I have ever had to spend 45 minutes. The physics room.

*
I felt sleepy as I exited the physics room, hurrying to get out of there as fast as was possible. I had art next, which was always nice after a boring subject. Hurrying to my locker to deposit my physics textbook and notebook, I couldn't help but wonder if Jared would be in my class...

My palms were sweating and my head was thumping so I made my way to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and examined myself. I didn't feel a patch on Kassie. My skin was really pale, and I had some acne that was visible if I lifted my bangs. I touched up my eyeliner, added some mascara, and dabbed on my new MAC lipgloss. I turned to view my profile in the mirror, and headed out to the art room.

I've always loved the art room. Maybe it's the smell of the paint that entices me. Or perhaps it's simply that in a world so dreary as school, there is one place--a safe haven of color. I took a seat at a table alone because I was one of the first to arrive and I recognized noone. People all of a sudden came filing in.

But none of them sat with me. It was almost as if I had a protective bubble around me, perhaps with a dign on it that said 'fresh meat'. The teacher, Miss Elena, started passing around sheets of paper telling us what we'd be working with this year. She smiled at me, and welcomed me back. Throughout my middle school years I had always done well at art. If you're wondering why I had Miss Elena back then, it's because my school is conjoined. The middle school at one end of the building, the high school at another. So my first day of high school really felt no different whatsoever.

Except that I was sitting alone. Usually I had Nikita or Lily or someone I knew even the slightest bit to keep me company. But it didn't really matter in a class like art, because I'd have fun anyway. It wasn't like physics or history where a friend was required to keep you from falling asleep at your desk.

But sometimes it wasn't a friend you got to sit next to, I thought, as Kassie Lennocks put her bag down opposite me, sat down in the last seat available, and smiled.

"Sorry I'm late, Miss Elena.."