It All Started With A Whisper

Chapter 1.

Alarms are loud.
After a few annoying seconds of fiddling to unwind myself from the mess that I call my bed, I rolled over to snooze my alarm. Only instead my phone went flying across my bedroom floor.
Great.
I curse under my breath before stumbling out of bed and making my way to my bathroom, turning off my alarm with my foot. 6 am. I run through a mental checklist before sitting on the carpet in front of my full length mirror. I quickly throw on some makeup and decide to take the time to straighten my light brown curly ass hair. 20 minutes later I'm finally done. The bus comes at 6.30.
GREAT.
I throw on my light washed high waisted skinny jeans, a comfortable maroon crop top and some high top converse. i glance at my clock and it's fuzzy. I FORGOT MY CONTACTS. I run to my bathroom, stab my eyes, and grab my empty book bag. I was debating taking it today since I don't have any supplies but decided to bring it anyways. My phone is still on the floor. After groaning and picking it up I rush downstairs, grab a granola bar, a 5 dollar bill, and I'm out the door.

As I un peal the rapper I realized I don't know where to meet the bus. I decided to go with my gut and walk towards the corner where a blob of mediocre teens all stand with their face in their phones trying to avoid eye contact with each other. I can already tell this will be a great day my subconscious chimes in. I try and clear my mind of my sarcasm and keep an open mind. The move from Los Angeles to Madison was a big jump. It's not like I have anything against cheese but I loved the vibes back in LA. After my parent's divorce and my father's arrest, my mom and I couldn't afford to live in California anymore. So we downsized and moved to Wisconsin. We sold most of our furniture and packed whatever we could into my mom's tan 2003 Chevy Tahoe. It wasn't that hard to leave my friends since I really didn't have many and I didn't have a boyfriend at the time so the move didn't really affect me socially. But attending junior year at a new high school with no friends, yikes.

Once the bus arrived everyone rushed on and took their seats. I surveyed the seats and saw a pretty girl in the back waving, at me? I looked behind me to make sure there wasn't anyone else. Nope she was waving at me. I made my way to the back, stepping over backpacks and avoiding fist fights. I slid into the seat with the girl and she greeted me with a warm smile.

"Hi I'm Samantha but you can call me Sammie, welcome to Woodcrest, I can tell it's your first day!"
Is she always so preppy?

"Yeah I bet it's gonna be great here"

"Ha yeah I mean it's highschool what do you expect"

We both share a laugh and continue talking the rest of the ride to school. By the end we've followed eachother on every social media platform and have exchanged numbers. We all shuffle off the bus and Sammie walks with me to get our schedules.

"Look we have 3 classes together!! And cheer!"

Of course she's a cheerleader.

Once Samantha and I parted ways I decided it would probably be best to look for my class. Advanced health. After walking into four wrong class rooms and the boys bathroom I finally made my way to Mr. Grey's room. The class was mostly full. Mr. Grey stated taking roll as the bell rang. I spotted an empty seat towards the back and rushed to it.

"Levi Hammerstine?"

"Present sir."

I looked around to see who had just spoken and I realized it was the boy beside me. He met my glance and greeted me with a warm smile. I returned the favor and waited patiently for my name to be called.

Second, third, and forth period went well, I saw my new friend and also talked to a bunch of new people. I also noticed the cute boy was in my forth period class as well. Lunch time. Sammie and I walked to the crowed cafeteria and lined up to get our lunch. Chicken tenders, mandarin oranges, and water. We walked over to a large round table where boys in jerseys sat along with their cheerleader girlfriends.

"Ok guys this is the Noel I was talking about! She's new and she joined the squad!"

They smiled and greeted me kindly, not at all how cheerleaders seem in movies.

"So how are your back handsprings?" A short brunette asks.

"I'd say they're good" I reply

"Normally I can add in a round off before and a backflip after" I add in and they seem impressed.

Lunch was good, I chatted with all of the girls and I got some stare downs from the boys which caused the girls to hit them or give them a glare. I never considered myself to be pretty but I've always gotten attention from boys. My eyes are light crystal blue and I have dimples on both sides of my mouth then I smile. Fifth period is English literature II. When I walk in I'm surprised to see the cute boy, I mean Levi, his name is Levi. He looks up and smiles at me again. The same warm welcoming smile that you can see from a mile away.

"Hey"

"Hey" I reply

"Here come sit by me" he says picking his backpack out of the seat next to him.

I slide into the seat and take out my notebook. Levi doesn't seem like a literature kind of guy. The teacher is giving a speech about what we will accomplish this school year but I can't help but stare at Levi's perfect features. His light tan skin and caramel colored eyes, his cheekbones slightly carved out and his jaw line sharp, his nose has a cute little slope... my thoughts are interrupted when I realize he's staring at me. "Sorry" I mumble and he laughs. "It's ok you're kinda cute when youre observing aren't you?" His comment caught me off guard and my cheeks flushed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to, um" I mutter and he giggles again. His laugh is a beautiful sound. "It's ok it's ok, are you coming to the game today?" He asks pointing to his jersey. "I wasn't really planning on it but I'll see." I tease. He smiled and nodded. "Well I hope to see you there." He's so nice.

After seventh period I meet Sammie in the gym for cheer practice. We all changed into our shorts and woodcrest sweatshirts. I tied my hair up and changed into my plain white cheer shoes. 25 minutes of stretches, 30 minutes for learning cheers, and 10 for figuring out what type of drinks and snacks we wanted for half time. It's only 3:55 and the game doesn't start till 4:30 so we all decide to go back to the locker room and do each others makeup for the game.

It's 4:20 when we stop with the gossip and change into our uniforms. I add a bow to my hair and I'm ready for the game.

The marching band crosses the field followed by the team. We cheer like normal cheerleaders, snack on Chex mix and Gatorade during half time, then continued screaming for the rest of the game. The team ended up winning by a long shot so Samantha decided to celebrate. Once the whole team was crowded around the girls she grabbed the megaphone and announced her party tonight. "Are you going?" Levi asks and I jump. "Geez you can't just sneak up on my like that!" I laughed and he smiled, man I love his smile. "So is that a yes?" He asks again. "Is that you asking me to go with you?" I throw back and he blushes. "Well, um, I think I wanted, you to, um yes it is" he finally manages. "Well then I guess I can't say no." He seems surprised by my answer but his smile grows even bigger. "Ok so I'll pick you up at 8?" I nod and we part ways.

Sammie walks up to me and nudges my arm. We just laugh and head for the late bus. Once we get on she starts talking. "Noel!!!!! That's Levi Hammerstine! The varsity quarterback! Mr. Hottie hottie! He never asks anyone out! Everyone wants him you're so lucky!" She practically screams. "Oh" is all I can manage to say. But what I'm really I'm screaming in my head. I'm over joyed. Levi oh Levi.