Then You Came Along

Chapter 2

When I am about three feet away from him, he turns his head unconsciously, and his eyes abruptly meet mine. I'm so shocked I nearly scream out, but thankfully I don't do that, and instead, I turn around quickly, almost falling on the ground, and pretend I'm looking for something on the ground. My heartbeat rockets and my body heats up like it's about to explode. Ten seconds later, I glance back at him, and his eyes are back on his locker like nothing. Maybe nothing did happen, and it is all in my head. Nevertheless, I can't do this!

I run back to Giddy and Pen with my head still turned down. "I can't do it. I just can't. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, calm down," Pen side hugs me and gently pats my back.

"I don't even want you to do it anymore. I nearly got a heart attack watching you. Too much anxiety," Giddy says, then shakes his head. "Thank God you didn't go through with it. You might have fainted."

I look up and sigh, now a little bit calmer. "I was actually going to do it, but then he looked my way, and when those pale blue eyes met mine, I lost it. I knew there was no way to walk up to him and talk without shitting on myself. I'd rather survive high school invisible than be known as the girl who shit her pants while trying to talk to a guy."

"Yes. I don't want to be friends with that girl either," Pen says, slowly nodding her head and agreeing with me.

"Don't worry about it, Annie," Giddy says, trying to comfort me. "One day, your Shawn or Shelly," he included with a wink because he thinks 'being Straight' is sometimes just a constraint that less knowledgeable people fix themselves into. "Would come along, and you wouldn't need to have a heart attack just to talk to them."

I sigh, smiling at them. "Thank you, guys; I love you two."

Somehow the hallway becomes even nosier as Shawn's basketball and cheerleading friends come and meet him in his locker, and they start talking and laughing. I look back at the group. Giddy says I would meet my Shawn one day. What if it's only this Shawn I can ever get? What if it's just this Shawn I ever crave to be with like this? I longingly look over at Shawn as he talks and laughs beautifully, and then a petite girl hugs him.

It's a regular sight. Girls hug Shawn all the time, but this time this particular girl stands out because I've never seen her before. Their hug lasts five seconds longer, and her hair is a bright strawberry pink.

"Wait, who's that?"

Giddy and Pen turn around, following my eyes, and they see the girl I classify as super pretty the next second when she pulls away from Shawn, and I see her smile. She has a wide contagious smile that showcases her white teeth perfectly. I can't tell her eye color from a distance, but her skin is pale and has freckles scattered around her face. I should be an inch taller than her, but she looks stronger and bolder; anyone can immediately tell that she commands whatever room she steps into.

Giddy shrugs and Pen sighs, pushing her glasses up her nose. "How do you guys not know anything?" We both turn to her attentively. "That's Lana. She is Shawn's childhood friend from way back, and she transferred out somewhere down in middle school. She's back now."

"I don't remember her," I say, glancing back at them. Lana, her name is just as beautiful as her face.

"Neither do I," Giddy says, and we start walking away from his locker. "Do you think she will be Shawn's new girlfriend?"

"I don't know, but I think she's gay," Pen says. Giddy and I turn to her with wide eyes. "What? I engage in social media."

We walk past the group, and for a weird moment, I am confused about who to look at. Shawn or Lana? I glance, and my eyes meet that of Lana in a moment that seems like slow motion. Blue, her eyes are very blue. We walk past, and I don't know how to feel. If she's here to steal Shawn again, I shouldn't like her, no matter how pretty she is.

"I like her hair," I say, just as the bell rings for the first class.

*

Unfortunately, my first class isn't the same as Giddy or Pen, so I go in alone, folding my hands around myself and quietly heading to my seat. I wanted to have a different year, but different is hard; I will just stick to my same routine. After all, I've been doing it for years, and nothing terrible has happened.

"Just get through the year Annie," I tell myself, putting my bag on the seat beside mine. I don't want to sit with anyone; I will tell anybody who asks that the seat belongs to someone and they will be late to class. That lie works all the time.

The class is noisy, but it gets quiet, and I look up from my chair, thinking it is the teacher that walked in, but my eyes widen when I see that it's Shawn and his friends; Danny, Maddy, and Lana. My eyes rest on Shawn and he has a smile on his face, a very beautiful one as he looks around the class searching for a place to sit. Danny taps his hand and gestures to the back, and they all follow, all except Lana.

"Excuse me?" I hear a voice that startles me a bit, but my eyes meet the very blue ones of Lana, and I relax. How do I not know her but feel so comfortable looking at her? Unlike Shawn's pale blue eyes, Lana's is a deep shade of blue. Like her eyes are spray painted. Lana smiles at me, then points to my bag on the seat. "Is this yours, or is the seat occupied?"

I feel hypnotized because my hand reaches for my bag the next second, pulling it away and shaking my head negatively. "No, the seat is free."

Lana smiles at me and takes a seat next to me. "Thanks."

I nod and look away, folding my hands on the table. "No problem." It's because she looks super friendly and beautiful, and she's a friend of Shawn. These are the only reasons I let her sit. What if this is the only seat available in the class? I can't let her stand. At that, I turn my head and look around the class. My seat isn't the only seat in the class; two others are free.

"Hi?" She calls, and I quickly turn to her, raising a brow. "I don't think we've introduced." She smiles again and waves a hand at me. "I'm Lana. I'm kind of new here."

"Oh," I already know that, but she doesn't have to know. "That's cool. I'm Annie."

"Annie?"

I shrug, "Well, just Anne, but my friends call me Annie."

"That's such a cute name. Annie," she repeats the name to herself like she wants to see how it rolls off her tongue. Then her eyes rest on me again with a smile. "It's so nice to meet you, Annie."

"Your name is beautifultoo," I shyly say; I don't know why I am shy. She's just a girl. "Nice to meetyou."