Stories Based On Taylor Swift Songs

FEARLESS: 16. Fifteen

16. Fifteen (12/28/20)

"Thanks!" I called. The tall senior boy, who had been walking in front of me since I hopped off the bus, was holding the door open for me. I adjusted my grip on my backpack and walked inside, ignoring the senior boy. He had been nice, but I had only been in school for five minutes. It wasn't time to look for a boyfriend.

The halls were busier than I expected, and no one was dancing or gossiping at their lockers like teenagers did in the movies. An announcement blasted over the speaker, telling everyone to get to their homeroom before the first bell rang. I dug out my schedule, which my mom had printed out last night, and saw that my homeroom was just down the hall. I started to walk in that direction, until I noticed the senior boy who had held the door open for me was looking at me.

"I haven't seen you around before," he said, crossing his arms against his chest. His backpack was noticeably light.

"It's my first day," I replied. "I'm a freshman."

The guy's eyes widened, but I had a feeling he already knew I was a freshman when he opened the door for me. I tried not to be fooled by his tricks, but his smile was adorable, and his brown eyes were captivating.

"What's your name?" He asked me as more and more students searched for their homeroom. At least I didn't have to trek across the school to find mine.

"Leah," I told him, smiling back. It was almost like a game, except I wasn't sure who would win or lose.

"I'll see you around, Leah," he said before walking down the hallway. I watched him go, wondering if I was really going to "see him around" or not. He walked into a nearby classroom, confirming my belief that he was a senior. The senior homerooms were in this hallway, while the freshmen had homeroom in the older area of the building. My eyes lingered a bit longer on the hallway before I walked to class.

The morning wasn't as terrible as I thought. After homeroom, I had English and History. Both teachers were nice, and didn't assign any homework, since it was the first day. They both explained the syllabus and plans for the year. We would be reading Romeo and Juliet in English, which caught my attention. I had seen the movie a few years ago (not the one with Leonardo DiCaprio, the older one) and it was both tragic and romantic.

After History, I headed to math. It was my last class before lunch, since I had the earliest lunch period. I didn't understand why they made students eat lunch at ten forty-five, but I wasn't about to argue. So far, my first day of freshman year was going well. As I walked into math, I was reminded of the cute senior boy who opened the door for me this morning. I wondered if I would ever see him again.

By the time I got to math class, there were only two seats left. One was right next to a girl with curly red hair and a bright smile. I walked confidently across the room and sat next to the girl, making sure to introduce myself.

"I'm Abigail," she replied. "Please tell me you're good at math."

I shrugged. "Pre-Algebra wasn't too bad last year. I got an A."

Abigail let out a dramatic sigh before saying, "Thank god. I'm terrible at math. Maybe we can be study buddies or something?"

I couldn't help but smile. I had successfully made a new friend, and it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought. Over the summer, one of my friends from middle school had moved away, and I didn't have class with any of my other friends. It was good to know Abigail and I were getting along.

We sat together at lunch, and Abigail mentioned the junior boy in her creative writing class. "He has a car! And I'm pretty sure he's going to ask me out."

I was happy for Abigail, but the mere mention of a boy brought up memories of the senior boy from earlier. My eyes scanned the lunchroom as I haphazardly threw chips in my mouth. Next to me, Abigail chuckled.

"Who are you looking for?" She asked me. Her thermos was filled with spaghetti, and she was twirling her fork around a section of noodles.

"This guy I met earlier," I said, and I couldn't help but grin. "He's a senior, and he held the door for me this morning."

Abigail squealed. "Oh my god! We could double date or something. Now all we need is for them to ask us out."

We giggled, but I abruptly stopped when I noticed the senior boy walked across the cafeteria with a tray of food. He saw me and waved before sitting down across from Abigail and me.

"I told you I would see you around," he said with a smile. "I'm Blake."

Abigail introduced herself, and I reminded Blake of my name, even though he seemed to remember.

"Leah, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight," He asked, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "We could see a movie or go out to eat."

My heart fluttered at the possibility of going out with this attractive guy. I glanced at Abigail, who was nodding so fast I was worried she would get whiplash. I turned back to look at Blake and said, "I'd love to."

That night, Blake dropped me off at home after our date. We had ordered food at the diner and spent the evening eating and getting to know each other. I was taken aback by his smile and good looks that I didn't hear a word he said the whole evening. Just the idea of being with this guy was sending my heart into overdrive.

He drove me home, and just before I could leave, he kissed me on the mouth. It was my first kiss, so I tried to relish in it, but it was over much too quickly. I glanced at Blake, wondering if he was going to say anything else, but it was silent. So I climbed out of the car and opened the front door.

Inside, my mom and Abigail were sitting on the couch. I dropped my purse when I noticed Abigail crying, and my mom seemed taken aback that I was home so late.

"What's wrong?" I asked Abigail, pushing my mom aside so I could sit next to my friend. "Did something happen?"

Through tears, Abigail said, "That guy I told you about? The one from my creative writing class? He asked if I wanted to hang out tonight, so he picked me up, but he spent the whole night kissing some other girl."

She blubbered, and I reached for a tissue. I wrapped her in a tight hug, my eyes wide. Earlier at lunch, Abigail believed that this guy would be the one she would spend the rest of her life with. But she had been wrong, and this boy had crushed her dreams. I couldn't help but think of my night with Blake, and if it had been as successful as I thought. If I thought hard enough, I could remember Blake telling me that he would turn eighteen soon. He was much too old for me. Maybe I needed to spend more time worrying about myself instead of chasing after boys who didn't care about me.