Put Your Love On | obj | ✘

twenty three.

As they paraded down the hall towards Crystal's locker, she could feel eyes burning into the side of her face. A few stares were common for them because many of the other teenagers found them to be such an odd couple. While they were both student athletes, their personalities were polar opposites.

Dom was a loud goofball; responsible for being the life of the party and having a plethora of friends who never had an issue speaking his mind. He was known for his larger than life personality that never seemed to fail to have people tearing up from how hard they were laughing at him. Crystal was much more introverted though and it was obvious. She didn't have friends, in fact Dom was her only friend after the incident at that party during the summer. She wasn't known for cracking jokes or being vocal, rather known for sitting by herself quietly and keeping her head buried in the books.

Many people who attended the school thought Dom would end up with someone like Yasmine—the captain of the cheer team who was just as popular as him while being the same age. Seeing him grow close with the fifteen year old was a shock to many, even Dom himself, but there was something about Crystal that struck him the night they met at that party. While everyone else saw her as a quiet girl who had the brains, beauty, and brawn, Dom saw past all of that. He found out what penetrated the surface was a girl just as goofy as him who could make anywhere on earth, even a cardboard box, feel like home.

Crystal never saw herself being with Dom either. Not because she felt as though she wasn't enough for him or because she was younger, but because she never saw herself having a boyfriend. She was used to talking to Remi about avoiding boys as if they were the plague; Dom though, Dom was different.

Dom never failed to put a smile on her face, no matter what the circumstances were. It may have been because he was reciting corny dad jokes he found online or because he was hollering her name just as loud as Remi would when he was the only one who could make it to one of her meets. With a demanding father who put her down and a mother who got walked over as if she was a doormat, Dom was her escape from the depressing home environment she lived in. Not only was he her best friend, he was her protector.

"Can I get my face back bro?" Dom jerked his head back at one of the boys who was burning holes at the side of his head as he waited by Crystal's locker. Quickly the boy looked away and let his feet carry him at the speed of light to the other end of the hall.

"Stop," Crystal nudged him, quickly grabbing her duffle bag and slamming her locker door shut. She hated how vocal he was to other people because he came off as rude, but she knew he had no ill-intentions. He just hated the fact people were so concerned with him and her rather than their own business.

"What? He was starin' at me like I killed his puppy or something," Dom screwed up his face in dismay while Crystal chuckled and shook her head.

"Whatever, can we just go get my Sun Chips before practice?" Crystal poked out her bottom lip, scratching the inner corner of her eyes.

"I can't believe you willingly eat Sun Chips," Dom scrunched up his face, "Out of all the chips the corner store has—Doritos, Hot Cheetos, Funyuns—You willingly pick Sun Chips."

"The harvest cheddar is the best kind!" Crystal persisted in defense of her favorite chip. Dom couldn't stand the smell of Sun Chips much less the taste of them.

"I swear, I'm dating a serial killer," Dom shook his head with a laugh, grabbing a hold of her hand.

"You just might be," Crystal winked at him, making him smack his teeth with a laugh.

With their fingers intertwined, Crystal and Dom made their way out of the school and over to the corner store that was a few blocks away from the school.