Carly stood in front of her mirror, staring at her reflection. Her wig was off and in its place was her own hair. She had grown tired of the purple hair and had decided to dye it back to its original colour of brunette, along with a blue dip dye on the edges. A dark blue beanie was placed on top, her fringe falling out and covering her right eye. A black sleeveless shirt covered the top half of her body, her bottom half was adorned with black, ripped skinny jeans. Sneakers were donned on her feet, her nails painted a dark blue with rings littering her fingers and black studded diamonds pierced her ears. A dark blue and black chequered shirt was tied around her waist.
Carly bit her make-up less lips and smiled boldly at her reflection. This is it; I’m finally going in as Carly.
**********************
“Don’t pay attention to them,” Callum muttered in her ear as they walked down the hallway. Carly nodded and pulled nervously on the edge of her beanie, trying and failing to block out the whispers of the students.
“What the hell are you losers looking at?” A familiar voice growled. She looked up to see an angry Dylan staring down a group of students. They blanched and quickly scurried away from her glaring eyes. Dusting her hands against each other and straightening her collar, a smirk clearly evident on her lips, she made her way towards us.
“Hey,” Surprisingly it was Jasper who made the first greeting.
Dylan grinned, “Hey.”
“Where are the other two?” He asked looking behind her. His answer was there; both Samantha and Lillian were making their way towards their group.
“Hey, you guys heading towards the Canteen?” Samantha asked as Lillian gave a hug to Carly.
“No,” Carly said as she detached herself – rather regrettably – from Lillian’s warm hug.
“What do you mean?” Callum asked.
“I’m going to go talk to Elliot,” She said, determination set in her eyes; “I’m going to make him listen, no matter what.”
A squeal erupted from Samantha’s mouth and Lillian grinned, “Go kick some ass.” All eyes turned to Lillian, “What?”
“Did you just use the word ass in a sentence?” Liam asked.
“Yeah,” She answered in confusion, “Was I not supposed to?”
“No, no,” Callum reassured, “It was just unexpected.”
A silence fell over the group, “So you were going to go see Elliot!” Samantha brought up the last topic.
“Yeah,” Carly said, “Right now. I’ll see you guys later.”
They watched her retreating back, “So sweet,” Jasper said out loud, still watching Carly, “She thinks we’re not going to follow her.”
************************
“Elliot,” Carly said next to him. He jumped and hit his head on the top of his locker, a cry of both surprise and pain left his lips. He took his head out of the locker and regarded her grimacing face, “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have scared you like that.” A sense of déjà vu overcame the two students, both of them remembering when Elliot came to give her a soccer uniform.
“It’s alright,” He muttered as he rubbed his head, making his hair stick up cutely.
God damn it Elliot...Why do you have to be so perfect?! Carly shook her head and tried to lock eyes with the nervous boy. Unfortunately, Elliot was trying to avert his eyes from her as much as possible. Please look at me, she pleaded silently.
“Look I got to go lesson,” Elliot said as he started to walk away from her.
“No Elliot I-!” She started.
“I’ll see you later okay?” He said.
“Elliot wait-”
“I’m going to be really la-” Elliot started.
Carly was feeling frustrated, frustrated that he wasn’t listening to her, frustrated that everyone wouldn’t stop whispering about her, frustrated that she didn’t know if the friends she made as Carl were going to be her friends anymore. Just...frustrated.
“Elliot shut up!” She shouted, moving forward to grab his shirt collar.
You haven’t said my name once since I came to talk to you, “I need to talk to you now because I know that I won’t grow the balls to do so later, and yes, I know how ironic that sounds.” She didn’t look up at his face and instead opted to stare down at her sneakers. If I look up I won’t be able to say a word because you always draw me in. She loosened her grip on his shirt collar but still kept a weak hold on it, “I made a bet with my three friends that I could beat them in an arm wrestling match. I lost so I had to dress up as a guy for a whole month without telling anyone otherwise they would have put up an embarrassing picture of me on the school website and newsletters.”
You draw me in even when I’m not looking at you; it’s in everything that you do. “I didn’t think that I would get as popular as I did and I didn’t know that you liked me until you confessed at that party, which I still have trouble remembering by the way.” Her voice was shaking and she was saying her words in a desperate shout, as if she was afraid he wasn’t able to hear her, it made him smile. I love you, just you as you are, “I never wanted to hurt you, I never wanted you to find out. I was going to confess but then everything turned into such a mess and you were gone before I could explain.” Elliot’s eyes widened and he put his hands on her arms, holding her biceps.
The blood was rushing through her body, making it roar in her ears. Her palms were sweating and she was pretty sure that if she removed her hands from the front of his shirt she would leave a wet patch behind.
From around the corner of the hallway, which was only a couple of steps away from where the two stood, six students peered at them. Samantha was chewing on the ends of her hair, Lillian was biting her nails. Callum had Liam in a head lock and Liam was clutching onto the arm wrapped around his neck. Jasper had his forearm leaning on top of Dylan’s head, while she simply bit her lip and allowed it to stay there.
“Carly,” He breathed. You finally said it.
She drew in a breath and, “I like you.”
If Carly had been paying any attention to her surroundings she would have heard six different voices shout out in either jubilant joy or shock. All six of her friends, who had been leaning against each other so that they could see around the corner without being detected, lost their footing and fell in a jumbled mess of tangled arms, legs and clothes. Callum, Liam and Samantha were unfortunately the base of this pile, with Dylan and Jasper coming second and Lillian laying victor on the top of this shaken pyramid.
Elliot’s eyes widened, goose bumps rising on his arm, his breathing became laboured and his hands tightened on her arms. “Carly I-”
“Let me finish,” She let go of his shirt and stepped back, her hand held up but her eyes still looking down. “I understand that you don’t like me after what I put you through. However you need to understand-” Finally she looked up and locked eyes with him, her hands forming tight fists by her side and her legs parted. It was as if she was preparing for battle, “-That I will do everything to make you like me again. From this day onwards I will do anything I can to make you mine.”
Elliot’s eyes were wide, his mouth open in shock, “Carly I-”
RIIIIINNNNNNGGG! Both of them jumped, their eyes snapping towards the red bell that was attached to the wall. Carly turned her eyes back to him and started walking backwards, “If you do, however, still like me then you can tell me by the end of today. I’ll wait by my locker; it’ll be on the other side of the school.”
Elliot watched her retreating back, his mouth forming a smile, his eyes crinkling and his cheeks blushing. Ah, so that’s why I fell in love with her.
As soon as Carly turned the corner of the hallway, she covered her raging blush, crouched down into a small ball and balanced on the balls of her feet. That was...embarrassing. She covered her mouth with the crease of her elbow and moaned pitifully into it. I want to forget that ever happened. I was so cheesy, why the hell did I grab his shirt? He probably thinks I’m some needy, clingy loser. Oh the humiliation!
She lay down on the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees that she had pressed against her chest. This is the position Callum and the rest found her in. Jasper sighed and bent down, “I got her.”
**************************
“It explains a lot,” Adam mused as he linked his hands behind his head and tilted his chair back.
“We’re not angry with you if that’s what you’re thinking,” Chris reassured, patting Carly’s hand sympathetically.
“Yeah this is the coolest shit that has ever happened in this school!” Joshua cried.
“Everyone seems to like you more,” Benny pointed out, “Something about you pulling the longest and best prank in history.”
Daniel slapped her back, “Don’t think, however, that we’ll treat you any different than we did when you were Carl.”
Carly laughed and rubbed her back, “I never wanted you to.”
It was lunch and she had invited her soccer team to eat lunch with her and the rest of her friends. Lillian and Samantha were talking about some movie that had just come out of the cinema. Dylan was pulling the tomatoes that were in her salad out, while Jasper took them from her hand and popped them in his mouth. Liam was trying to create a pyramid from some plastic cups that had been discarded there from the last people who had been occupying the table. Callum...he was trying to desperately keep his blush under control as he sat in the seat that was closest to Chris.
Liam had spilt the beans on Callum’s apparent crush on Chris, and so, it was the reason that Carly had made sure that Callum got the seat closest to Chris.
“Are you alright there Callum?” She asked innocently.
Callum’s eyebrow twitched, he had found out on his own that the three of his friends had figured out what had happened. He grit his teeth and all but growled out an “I’m fine”.
Chris turned curious eyes towards Callum. Callum clenched his hands over his own knees under the table, forcing himself to not look at Chris. However, his resolve crumbled and he chanced a glance, only to snap his head away and stare at Liam’s tower of cups. From what he had seen of the brief glance were Chris’ eyes staring up at him, round with curiosity, his lips parted slightly and his head tilted to the side in an adorable fashion.
Carly rolled her eyes and turned back to the guys and Jasper sniggered under his breath as he took another tomato from Dylan’s hand.
“What about the Coach?” Adam asked, as he handed blue tack to Liam, so that his pyramid of cups wouldn’t keep falling. Liam eyed the blue tack and Adam with bewilderment, before shrugging and tearing off a piece.
“What about him?” Carly asked confused. Realization hit her and she slapped her hand to her forehead, making everyone wince at the, surely, painful smack it made, “Oh shit the Coach! I need to go talk to him right now.” She stood up and made her way briskly out of the Canteen, the students she passed wondered why she had a red patch on her forehead.
***************************
“I know finding out that I’m a girl is a real shock to you but I assure you that my intention was not to insult you Coach,” Carly explained awkwardly, as she shifted from her right foot to her left and vice versa.
The Coach’s face was blank, “So are you going to try out for soccer again next year?”
She blinked, “Er, Coach? Didn’t you – didn’t you hear a word I just said?”
“I’m not deaf Prisms,” He crossed his arms over his chest, his bald head reflecting the sun. “To be honest, I haven’t had a player save goals like you did in about three years. So I would advise you to try out next year.”
“But-but-but I’m a girl!” Carly pathetically retaliated.
“So,” The Coach looked out at his students running the track, “I’ve had many female players in my soccer team. I’m actually surprised that there weren’t any female players this year. It’s a shame really.”
Carly didn’t know what to say, she was speechless. She could only manage a few useless attempts at speaking, which only made her resemble a gold fish. “I expect you to try out for the soccer team next year Prisms, that’s all I have to say.” Carly nodded her head at his words.
“Coach my name is actually Carly Penton, not Carl Prisms,” She informed.
“Penton huh?” He tested out the name, “Good, alright get off my pitch Penton.”
Carly grinned, that is until he turned on her with a glare, “Do I need to repeat myself Penton? Get off my pitch now!”
“Sir yes sir!” She shrieked, turning and sprinting away from the easily angered Coach.
“Penton,” He repeated, a smile stretching his lips, “I could get used to that.” His frown returned to his lips and he looked across the Pitch, “Evans pick your feet up, my Grandmother – may she rest in peace – could run faster than you and she was in a wheelchair!”
**********************
“Do you think he’ll come?” Samantha asked.
It was the end of the day and Carly, alongside her six friends, were standing next to her locker. By now students were in after school clubs, detention or out of the school and on their way home. The hallway they stood in was completely empty.
“I don’t know.” Her hands fiddled with the straps of her bag.
Silence fell over the group again, “If he doesn’t come we’ll buy you all of the ice cream that you want,” Callum supplied.
“We’ll camp out in Jasper’s basement, all of us,” Liam added, glancing at Dylan, Samantha and Lillian.
“I’ll let you have a horror movie marathon,” Jasper said with a wince, “No romantic movies whatsoever.”
She sniggered, “Thanks guys.”
Five minutes went by and then ten, at Fifteen minutes Carly sighed and pushed herself off of the lockers. “I don’t think he’s going to come guys,” She smiled, “Its fine I said that I was going to make him like me again. I have all of next year to do it and-”
She had been spinning her locker combination as she was talking; she cut herself off when she opened it. They spilled out of her locker and gathered at her feet, her locker was stuffed with them. What were they? Small, purple periwinkle flowers all bunched together in small puffs. Carly reached forward and took one of them in her hands, these are my favourite.
“I seriously thought there for a second that you wouldn’t open your locker,” A voice said behind her.
A short laugh escaped her lips, “Well I almost thought there for a second that you weren’t going to show up.”
She turned to see Elliot standing in the middle of the hallway, his hands stuck in his pockets and his lips lifted in that half smile she loved so much. “That wasn’t necessarily my fault; I wasn’t going to come out until you opened the locker.”
“And what if I hadn’t opened the locker,” She scoffed as they both took steps so that they were standing in front of one another.
“Then one of your friends would have convinced you to do so.” Carly turned her head towards her friends. They shrugged from their position, “Hey, it couldn’t be helped, he was practically begging us,” Dylan muttered.
Elliot sighed, “Traitor.” Carly laughed at the blush on his face and tried to reassure him, “I think it’s sweet.”
“I can’t help it, I was born to be this way,” Elliot smugly stated, a grin taking over his lips when Carly swatted at him. He grabbed her hand when she tried to take another swing at him and held onto it, loving how she blushed. “Carly Penton will you be my Girlfriend?”
A disbelieving laugh escaped her lips, “I’m sorry,” She said when his eyes widened in alarm, “I never thought I’d hear those words escape your lips.”
“So is that a yes?” Elliot asked.
Carly nodded, squeezing his fingers, “That’s a yes.”
“Good.” With that final word Elliot moved forward and placed his lips on Carly’s. She froze, completely froze. Holy shit, holy shit, HOLY SHIIIIIT! He’s kissing me! Elliot Morgan is kissing me. Kissing! Me!
Elliot slowly moved his head away from her and studied her frozen state. His eyes widened and he panicked, “Sorry! I’m sorry! I kind of got caught up in the moment and I thought that it was a good idea to kiss you. Obviously it wasn’t otherwise you wouldn’t be making that fa-”
Elliot was cut off by the feel of Carly grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him forward so that their lips could slam into one another. They both winced at the painful contact but soon forgot about it as they melded their lips together.
Callum and Liam’s mouths dropped and they paled considerably, Samantha and Lillian cooed at the couple and held onto one another. Jasper had fainted from the shock and Dylan was poking him to get him out of his state.
“I waited since freshman year to do that,” Carly murmured, as she let go of him and stepped back but still kept a firm hold on his hand.
“You liked me since freshman year?” Elliot asked shocked. Before Carly could blush in embarrassment Elliot stated, “Me too!”
“What?!” She exclaimed.
“I can’t believe you guys liked each other for so long without even telling one another,” Calllum laughed, “You guys are idiots.”
“Says the one who has a crush on Chris and hasn’t told him yet,” Carly dead panned.
“Carly!” Elliot, Samantha, Lillian and Dylan snapped their heads towards Callum. “No way!” Samantha cried as she clutched her head, “You and Chris?”
“Carly what the hell,” Callum groaned.
“I ship the two of you!” Samantha shouted as she grabbed Callum by the shoulders. Callum stared wide eyed into her half crazed eyes, “This is the best thing that has ever happened to me, so please don’t ruin it.”
Callum nodded his head, “Okay.” His voice raised an octave or two as he pried her arms off of him and took a cautious step back away from her.
A silence fell over the group, “So!” Liam clapped his hands together, “I think this calls for desserts. All of this drama has got me craving something sweet. So who’s going to pay?”
“Not it!” Everyone shouted except for Liam.
“God damn it!” He shouted, as he pulled his wallet out and made his way down the hallway, the rest trailing behind him.
Carly and Elliot didn’t let go of each others hands and, instead, squeezed the others palms, just to make sure that it was all real. It was real and they both smiled that they finally had what they wanted the most.
The feel of your hand holding onto my own, Carly thought.
The fact that you are mine and I am yours, Elliot thought.
The way you stand close to me so that our arms brush ever so slightly, she blushed.
That smile that covers your lips, he bit his lip.
The sparkle in your eyes, she grinned.
The fact that you haven’t let go of my hand, even though my palm is sweating, Elliot chuckled.
Together. At last.