|Never Let Me Down Again||Joel Miller|

Chapter One

Chapter One

30 Years Earlier

"Get your hands off of her. Now."

"Stay out of this, Joel. It's none of your damn business"

"I said now."

"I said it's none of your goddamn business. You don't even know what she did." The bully said as he tightened his grip around the neck of the terrified girl's t-shirt. "Why don't you go back to plowin' the fields like your old man, Joel."

That was it.

Joel grabbed the hand that held a ball of the girl's t-shirt, twisted it downward, prompting the bully to drop it. Not to cause a bigger scene then already was created, Joel led the guy to the nearest set of lockers, threw him against them, and landed a solid punch right on his nose, which was most definitely now broken.

"Don't let me ever see you pullin' that shit again, do you hear me?" Joel said right into the bully's face.

"Y-y-yes Joel. I swear. Just let me go."

And with that, Joel dropped the bully right into the floor, and walked away.

He walked in the direction of the original scene, which found the girl crying alone on a bench. The original crowd of students watching the fight had dispersed, still whispering about the fight and offering no comfort to the girl.

"Hey there, are you alright?" Joel said as he took the seat next to her. He didn't recognize her, but he could tell she was beautiful. She had on a white shirt matched with a long blue flowered skirt. She was wearing a pair of white Keds and her long, brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail.

"Yeah, I'm ok, I guess." She said while wiping tears off her cheeks. "William is a real jerk. He's my boyfriend, you know. Well, ex now, I guess. He thought I was cheatin' on him with his best friend. He told me that he was gonna make me pay."

"I'm so sorry. I don't know either of you, but I couldn't just stand there and watch. Is there anythin' I can do to help?" Joel had to resist the urge to take her hand. This girl was clearly in distress, and he wanted to help.

"No, I'm alright thank you. I could have taken him, you know. I wasn't afraid. But then he hit me and I thought I was gonna pass out and..."

"Shhh, it's alright." Joel tried comforting her the best he could. He didn't have much experience in this field.

"What's your name?" The girl asked, looking up at him for the first time. God, she had the most beautiful blue eyes Joel had ever seen. Looking at them made him want to dive into the ocean, or stare into the sky. He thought that he ought to tell her that, but now was not the place nor the time.

"I'm Joel. And you?"

"Caroline. Nice to meet you, Joel."

Just as the pair shook hands, making Joel wish he could spend a lifetime gazing into her ocean blue eyes, they were interrupted by the clacking of high heels on the tile floor.

"Joel Miller?"

"Yes ma'am, that would be me." Joel already knew what was comin' for him.

"Principal Johnson would like to see you in his main office. Now. Follow me."

Joel got up without arguing and turned to follow.

"Wait." Caroline shot up from the bench and walked towards them. "It wasn't Joel's fault. Please don't get him in trouble. He was only protectin' me. Go get William. He should be the one gettin' in trouble, not Joel."

"I'm sorry, Miss. There's nothing I can do about it. Come on Joel, follow me."

"Joel, I'm sorry." Caroline said, looking up at him, ashamed. She felt horrible for getting him into trouble.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Joel said as he walked away, following the administrator. He shot her one of his signature smirks, hoping she didn't feel too bad. He would have stood up for anyone like that, he was just lucky it had been her.

........................

"Joel!" Caroline shouted down the hall. He was being escorted out of the main office, backpack in hand, out of the school. Although in a stressful circumstance, there wasn't a sign of worry in his dark eyes.

"Hey! Is everything ok?" Joel had worried about her the whole time he was waiting in the office. He thought William might come back for her knowing he was tied up with authority.

"Everything's fine. What happened in there?" The pair walked out the front of the school and were standing in the warm Austin sunshine.

"Ehh nothing much. Suspended for a week." Joel shrugged like it was nothing.

"Oh Joel, I am so sorry. I never meant to cause trouble I-" Caroline blushed with embarrassment for causing such trouble.

"Woah, seriously don't worry about it." Joel's worried facial expression turned soft when he made eye contact with her. "It's not like I was plannin' on going to class anyways." He said, shooting her a wink.

"Well, if ya say so. Is it true William didn't even get called into the office?"

"Yeah, that bastard got let off. Somethin' about his parents callin' in or whatever."

Caroline let out a sigh of anger. He hit a girl, and he's walking free. All Joel did was straighten him out a bit, and now he's out of school for a week. As they were standing there, Caroline couldn't help but notice the way his dark hair looked blowing in the wind.

"Well aren't your parents goin' to be upset with you?" Caroline wasn't sure if she believed him when he said he was fine with getting suspended.

"Look, I don't regularly attend school. My mom's always busy workin' at the hospital and my dad is out workin' in his fields day and night, I'm sure neither of them will notice." Joel's expression shifted from confidence to concern. Most people generally disapproved when hearing about his home life. His dad wasn't around much to care and his mom was so tied up with work that she didn't have time to care. People usually laughed when hearing about his social status, but this girl wasn't even phased.

"Ok, if ya say so I guess. I still feel bad. Is there any way I can make it up to you?" Caroline looked up and met his eyes, nearly melting Joel's heart.

"No, well, actually, you could let me take you out on a date?" Joel said, his breath shaking. He'd never asked a girl out before. Sure, he was interested in girls, but he never saw a relationship in the cards for him. No girl wanted to date a poor farmer's son. But, if she kept lookin' at him with that smile, he wouldn't be able to help himself but to try.

"I'd like that very much."