My Beautiful Valentine

Chapter 1

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock blaring Katy Perry's Last Friday Night. I groaned and rolled over to turn it off. It took a while but when it finally stopped playing I closed my eyes again.

"Erin, you better not be going back to sleep!" My eyes immediately opened again. Standing at my bedroom door was my mom with her arms crossed.

"Can't I just sleep five more minutes?" I asked, my voice groggy.

"Come on. It's a Friday. The last day of the week. You can sleep in tomorrow."

I groaned. "Fine." I climbed out of bed.

My mom smiled. "Good." She turned and left, shutting the door behind her.

I headed to my closet and looked for an outfit to wear. I decided on my favorite. It's a black shoulder shirt with the word 'Diva' written in hot pink. The skirt is black and reaches just past my thighs.

Once I finished getting dressed I went into the bathroom to do my makeup. I applied mascara, pink eye shadow, and lip gloss. When I was satisfied I put my makeup kit away and went back into my room. I turned my laptop on.

Every morning my best friend Riley and I video chat until we have to leave for school. Sometimes when we don't know what to wear we help each other decide. She's been like a sister to me since the first time we met in kindergarten.

When the laptop finally loaded to the start page I went onto Skype and logged in. Riley was already on so I clicked on her name to request a video chat. Her picture appeared on the screen a few seconds later.

"Hey, Diva!" She calls me that a lot. I got the nickname a couple years ago because I used to love music and acting. Now I don't that much.

"Hey, Ri. What's up?" I asked.

"Not much. Guess what I heard?" 

"What?" I didn't even have to ask. I kind of already know. She probably got another boyfriend like she does almost every week.

"I heard from Addison that Jason Hart likes you!" Jason is the most popular guy in our grade. Addison is his step-sister who's a year older than us.

I laughed. "Yeah, right. That's definitely not true. Besides, I don't date. Not after what happened to Tyson."

Tyson was my older brother. He was dating this girl Carolyn and was in love. They dated for two years and planned to get married when they graduated. But two years ago she broke up with him for another guy. He was devastated. For two weeks he wouldn't talk to anyone. Then one day my parents were at work and I was at volleyball practice. When I got home an hour later I went upstairs to take a nap. I saw his body lifeless on the bathroom ground. He had committed suicide because of a broken heart. My parents haven't spoken about him since but I can't get the incident out of my head. I vowed to never fall in love because of it.

"I know. I'm just saying. Maybe you should make an exception for him. He's really hot."

I looked at her like she's crazy. "Definitely not. He's a player and would most likely lead to heart break."

"Okay. Whatever. It's your choice."

"Erin, come downstairs for breakfast! I made pancakes!" my mom called to me.

"Okay!" I called back. I turned back to the laptop. "I gotta go. I'll see you at school."

"Okay."

I clicked off and went downstairs. My mom had already set a plate of pancakes on the table. I pulled back a chair and sat down.

"Coffee?" she asked.

"No, I'm good."

She sat down across from me. "So how are things? We haven't really talked in a while."

"Fine. Riley thinks Jason Hart likes me." I rolled my eyes at the conversation we had.

"Isn't he Addison's step-brother?"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, he's nice. Would you say yes if he asks you out?"

"No. I don't date. He's a jerk anyways."

"How do you know? Have you ever talked to him?"

"A few times. I mean, he was nice then but-"

She cut me off. "Then give him a chance."

"But I don't date. Not since..." I cut myself off. She seemed to know what I was thinking because her expression turned to upset. I quickly changed the subject. "Besides, I don't even know f he likes me."

"I'm not saying you should go out with him. I'm just saying you should at least be friends with him." She stood up and went into the kitchen.

I finished eating. I stood up, grabbed my backpack, and went out the door. When I got to my car I threw my backpack onto the passenger's seat and turned on the radio. Kesha's Crazy Beautiful Life was playing. I turned the volume up and started driving to school.

The drive wasn't that long so I arrived to school within five minutes. I parked at the front of the school. I took my backpack off the front seat and went inside to my locker.

"Hey, Erin."

I turned around. Jason was standing behind me with his hands in his pockets. He smiled at me. "Uh, hey?"

"What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing...." I replied suspiciously. Is he gonna ask me out now? I really hope not.

"So, I was thinking... Do you want to hang out later?"

"Sorry. I'm busy." I started to walk away but he followed.

"Okay. What about tomorrow then?"

I stopped and turned around to face him. "I could hang out today actually. I just don't want to." I tried to walk away again but he wouldn't let me go that easy.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to hang out with you specifically. That's why." Sure, it was rude of me to say, but hey. The guy won't leave me alone. I continued walking. Luckily he didn't follow me this time. Maybe he got the hint.