I Won't Let You Close Enough to Hurt Me

Chapter 1

     "Brooke, Brooke!" Kelly coaxed Brooke to wake up. On a normal day, it would have taken her a good ten minutes before she rolled out of bed. But today was no ordinary day; it was her first day of high school. Brooke leapt from her bed and dashed down the hallway into the bathroom. She hopped in the shower, and was out after five minutes. Then she proceeded back to her room to curl her hair and do her make-up. When she finished that task, she opened her closet and sighed. She felt like she had nothing to wear. Eventually, she decided on white short-shorts, a pale pink lace top from American Eagle, and white strappy sandals from Wet Seal. After Brooke was all ready, she ran downstairs to grab some breakfast.

     When Brooke got to the kitchen, she was bouncing around trying to figure out what to eat. She had all this built up energy from excitement and nerves. She was really excited because she loved going back to school. Although other kids dreaded going, Brooke had always looked forward to it. It was a nice way for her to take a break from dance and socialize with kids her age. But no matter how much she was looking forward to it, she just couldn't get her nerves to settle. Brooke knew that she would end up seeing him, and she didn't know if that was something she could handle.

     After a long debate with herself over what to eat for breakfast, Brooke decided that she would just have some coffee. She walked over to the pot to pour herself a cup when Kelly stopped her. "Mom!!" Brooke exclaimed.

     "I've seen you jumping around here all morning, and coffee is NOT what you need," Kelly smirked.

     Brooke was ready to argue with her mom, but she felt her phone buzz. She grabbed it out of her pocket to see a text from Claudia. It read, "We're out front." Claudia 's older brother had agreed to take Brooke and Casey to school every morning with him and Claudia, and Brooke was extremely grateful. She loved her mom, but had no desire to be dropped off at school in a minivan every morning. "Well mom, my ride is here," Brooke sighed. She leaned in to give Kelly a quick hug, but when she tried to walk away, her mom held on.

     "Oh Brooke, I just can't believe you're in high school! Have a wonderful first day, and be safe," Kelly warned.

     "Don't worry mom, I'll be fine. See you after school," Brooke said casually as she walked out the front door.

     As Brooke hopped in the car, she noticed that Claudia and her brother had already picked up Casey. The three girls chatted the whole way to school about their possible schedules and how they hoped they all had classes together. At one point, they got so loud that Claudia's brother turned up the music to drown out their voices. Before they knew it, they were in the school parking lot. After pulling into a space, Claudia's brother took off into the school, leaving the three girls to fend for themselves. They approached the giant, brick building and prepared themselves for the day that lied ahead of them.

     When they walked into the foyer, Brooke, Claudia, and Casey all stopped in amazement. The school was so big, and there were kids bumping into them left and right. Eventually, they started following a bunch of posters that read, "FRESHMAN SCHEDULE PICK UP". When they had all received their schedules, they automatically started to compare. Brooke was relieved to find out that she had lunch and gym with her best friends, and she also had geometry and history with Claudia. After they were done observing their schedules, each girl went their separate way to unload books into their lockers.

     After getting everything set up in her locker just the way she wanted it, Brooke decided to check her iPhone. She noticed that Brie, Bennett, and Ryan had all sent her their schedules. She was pleased to see that she had lunch with them as well, and that her and Brie had Spanish together. Brooke tucked her phone away, shut her locker, and then ventured down the hall. After turning a corner, she saw the one face that she was planning on avoiding all day. It was Brandon.

Authors Note: PLEASE leave comments letting me know what you think. If no one's reading, I don't think I'll publish more chapters!