And Then He Fell

Chapter 1

"Hey there," I greet her as she walks my way.

"Hi," she replies.

We share a quick kiss before heading off to our practices.

"See you after," I call out as she approaches the girls' locker room.

"Sure thing," she says before disappearing behind the cherry red door.

"Blah, blah, blah," is all I hear as Coach is throwing plays for tomorrow's game at us. I know I should be listening, but this is the first Friday night of the school year that I am actually free to do what I want.

ELIZABETH (ELLIE)

Cheerleading practice wasn't as rough as I thought it would be. I think Coach Clark wants to enjoy the Friday night break as much as the rest of us. It's not often we cheerleaders get a break from Friday night games during football season. People may enjoy making fun of us, but we work hard.

I know Drew wants to go to the lake, but I was thinking more along the lines of a nice, romantic dinner. I'll agree to go to the lake, though. I'm sure that's where all of our friends will be anyway.

"Okay, girls, that's it for today. Good work," Coach Clark says. "Go enjoy your night off. Just be here bright and early tomorrow morning. The bus leaves at nine on the nose."

Groans from all of us follow this statement, but we are all so grateful for the early release, we don't make a fuss. I'm right. After listening the majority of the girls talk, it appears that most of them will be at the lake tonight. Drew and I always make a point to be social. Everyone loves us, and I'd like to keep it that way.

As I gather my things, I look toward the football field. Darn, they are still practicing. I really wish Coach Sisco would cut them some slack, too. My social activities can't begin without Drew. We are a team in the world of high school cliques.

I see Drew as I approach the bleachers. He is on the field throwing passes to Craig Simpson. When he sees me, he smiles and waves. I am so lucky to have such a devoted boyfriend.

Drew and I met in the sixth grade. We were both just learning the ropes back then. In fact, his friends actually had to talk him into asking me out. It seems silly now to even imagine a world where Elizabeth Martin and Drew Rangle are not a couple. Don't get me wrong, we've had plenty of arguments. We've even broken up on more than one occasion. We just always seem to find our way back to one another. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we ended up married one day.

"So, have you decided what we'll do tonight?" he asks before entering the school.

"We can go to the lake, if you want. It seems to be what the others are planning, anyway."

"Awesome," he says as he gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and goes inside to change.

Just then, my phone rings. Ugh. It's Emily. I love her dearly, but sometimes she is just a royal pain in the-you-know-where.

"Hello," I answer.

"Hey, Mom wants to know if you're planning on eating dinner with us." Of course, it's not Em's fault this time. It's Mother's.

"Nah. Drew and I will stop to get something. I'll be home by curfew," I explain, hoping this will end the conversation.

"Alright - I'll relay the message. If she calls back with a million questions, just know it's not my fault," she replies.

"I know. Have a good night. See you later."

"Bye."

My sister Emily is my polar opposite. We have the same coloring, the same parents, and we shared the womb, but that is where the sharing ends. We don't look much alike, and our personalities are even more different than our physical appearances. I really don't understand it. However, we do get along for the most part, as long as we stay out of each other's way socially.

Drew is coming toward me with his wet hair, fresh from the shower. He looks so good with wet hair. All thoughts of Emily leave my mind as we hop into his car and head off to Kroger Lake.

EMILY (EM)

I knew that Ellie wouldn't be coming home for dinner. Not tonight. It was FRIDAY, and there was no football. All the cheerleaders and footballers would be out socializing. I hate that my mom always put me up to calling Ellie for her. Why couldn't she call her herself. After all, Ellie is her daughter, not mine. I know we're sisters, but we are not that close.

Ellie is smart, beautiful, and funny. I am ugly, fat, and dull. Why wouldn't she be the popular one? Why wouldn't I be the bookwormish one? I love Ellie, but her taste in friends pretty much stinks.

First of all, her best friend, Jacey Stevens, is a dimwit, to put it mildly. The girl bleaches her hair so light, it looks white. Each of her boobs is the size of a watermelon, and I don't think her legs have been covered up since her diaper days. She can't pass Algebra I, but somehow stays on the cheerleading squad, and she thinks men grow on trees and are disposable toys. Needless to say, I think my sister could have picked a smarter best friend.

Secondly, her boyfriend, Drew, is a complete fake. The boy is as rich and as cute as they come. His glistening brown hair and his twinkling green eyes are to die for - that is, until he opens his mouth. Then out comes the sludge. He loves himself. I really can't understand how she can be interested in someone that is always talking about himself. It might be that she talks about herself equally as much, therefore causing some kind of cosmic balance to the whole situation, but I can't be sure. Nor am I going to pursue that train of thought any further. I just can't stand him.

Personally, I think she can do better. I mean, our parents even like Drew, which is a red flag for most girls. But, of course, Ellie does everything right. I only wish I could float through life with the ease in which she does. Anything I try to do turns into a disaster somehow.

Like the time I tried out for the basketball team. I am about as athletic as an eighty-eight year old man. I had good intentions, but I ended up almost breaking the glass backboard during practice layups. I am terrible at almost everything; however, it took me awhile to realize this.

During middle school, various boys would ask me out. I was actually dumb enough to think that they might be interested in me. I mean, I knew I was not exceptionally attractive, but girls much uglier than me were dating - so why couldn't I? As it turned out, just about every boy was not interested in me, but in Elizabeth. In their twisted minds, they thought that by dating me, Ellie might fall madly in love with them. Fat chance. If Ellie tells someone "no," she means no.

Well, everyone, that is, except Drew. She has definitely denied him many things, but he has broken through the iron curtain of Ellie's will on more than one occasion. For instance, when we were thirteen, and the new "Shriek and You'll Be Killed" movie came out, Ellie made certain that all of us understood that she hated horror movies, and would, in no way, be going to see it. A few weeks later, Drew comes to pick her up and informs us that he's taking her to see it. Turns out, he had a few tricks up his sleeve where Ellie was concerned.

I know the fact that I hated Drew didn't always make things easy, but I couldn't help it. There were some things that went down over the years that just made it impossible for me to like the boy. My friendship with his sister and his relationship with my sister were the only two things keeping me from killing him. Plain and simple.

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please vote/comment and let me know what you like and/or don't like about it so far. Please be honest. Thanks for reading.