Authors note: I just want to say thank you for checking out this story, your reading means a lot. I am open to any kind of feedback and comment and I will try to reply in a timely manner. Love you!
Chapter 1
I wake up to the sweet smell of Mary J in the air. I open my eyes to see my best friend Rob and his friend Ben smoking the last of our weed.
"Hey fucks, were you just going to smoke the rest of that without me?" I ask, pissed off. They always do this, but then again I do it too.
Rob just hands me the pipe, sometimes he is pretty quiet, unless it is only me and him. I'm pretty much all Rob has in the area of a 'real friend' everyone else just wants to get bud or smoke.
Even though he's my friend, I wouldn't exactly say Rob is a good person. He steals from everyone except me and doesn't have the best rep when it comes to the ladies, even though he has a girlfriend right now. I'm not really sure how we became friends because I'm not an obsessed girl who documents how everything happens and when.
My name is Declan, I'm 18, unemployed and I couch surf most of the time because I can't stand my dad. My dad is like the shittiest dad the world has to offer. He has a crazy drinking problem and a hitting his children problem. You would think a father wouldn't want to hurt his own flesh and blood, wouldn't you? Well think again, I'm still recovering from a black eye I got for visiting my mother last week. At least I saved my little brother from getting it, so no regrets.
I take a big hit from the pipe; its beat now. I hold the smoke in as long as I can, then I burst out coughing. I feel the day coming to a start as a calmness washes over my body.
"Dudes, the bus is gonna be here in like two minutes," Ben says to us. I feel my high start to dim at the thought of school. I am a senior this year, thank the gods. I don't think I could handle one more year of this high school bullshit. A honk sounds outside, shit, the bus. Normally I wouldn't care but at Rob's house, which is where I am at the moment, skipping school is unacceptable. We all scramble to get our stuff and run outside to the bus.
Rob's house is the first stop on the very long, tedious drive to school. Rob, Ben and I squeeze into the seats at the very back. It is pretty convenient because one seat is only big enough for one person and the other across from it can fit two. I sit by myself on the smallest side. We start talking about plans for the weekend which mostly involve acquiring and smoking the almighty green. It is Friday so we are working on plans for Saturday and Sunday.
"Sounds like my kind of party," a female voice says. We all turn to look at her. Our class's biggest over achiever and goody two-shoes stands before us. If you're imagining three boys with their mouths open in shock then you are right on point. She sits in the seat adjacent to Rob and Ben. Her name is Elly Jacobs and she's a short, light brown-skinned girl with dark brown curly hair. I am the first to speak up.
"No way, definitely not your scene. More like study groups and health shakes." The guys and I laugh. This is way weird.
"First of all, I don't do study groups. My intellect comes naturally. Second, I would rather eat shit then a health shake," Elly says.
"Well personally I would take the health shake." I smirk at her, then she flips me off! This girl is just full of surprises.
"Anyway, it is my scene now. Can I chill with you guys this weekend or what?" Elly asks sweetly, slightly batting her eyelashes. Sneaky, trying to get by with her looks. Which I haven't noticed really till now. I have never spoken to her before and the closest I have come in contact with her is passing her in the hallway.
Right now her hair is in a loose side bun with curls spilling out around her face. She is wearing skinny jeans and a tight black sweatshirt. The whole outfit accentuates her body, which curves in all the right places. She isn't stick thin but, she isn't chubby either. I keep getting drawn back to her eyes. They are a very light brown, I didn't know brown could be bright, but her eyes sure make that so.
"Uh, hello?" Elly looks around at us. I realize I was staring and blush. She notices and suppresses a smirk. I also realize that no one has answered her. I look at Rob and Ben for help.
"I'm not sure that is a good-" Ben starts to say, but is cut off.
"I have money," Elly says slowly.
"You're in." I say, making the decision for all of us. The rest of the way to school we make plans for what is sure to be an interesting weekend.
When we arrive at school we all part ways, I only have one class with Rob until he leaves for this special program that he does during the second half of the day and Ben is a grade lower than us.
My first class is Economics which is very easy, even though I never pay attention. As long as you do the worksheets in class you will pass. I mean, I would pay attention if my teacher didn't have the worst monotone voice I have ever heard in my life. I bet this guy could make a lot more money being paid to put children to sleep then teaching. After that is physics, the class I have with Rob. This is a pretty difficult class but for some reason I have a knack for physics. I do all the in-class stuff pretty well, I just don't get my homework in most of the time because I have more important extra-curricular activities to do.
Today we are working on formulas, I have to pay attention, so there isn't much time for me to goof off with Rob. Plus, I already am on thin ice in this class for messing around by the chemistry chemicals. By the time class ends we have gone through 6 really long and confusing formulas. I think I've got the hang of them but hopefully we go over them one more time before the test we have sometime next week.
Rob and I part ways and I head to another lunch spent alone. I sit alone almost everyday. On rare occasions some of my not close friends will sit with me, but like I said it is pretty rare. I sit in my usual table in the corner with my usual turkey sandwich from the deli line. I begin to unwrap my sandwich when I notice Elly walk in. I watch her walk past the table that contains all of her friends and I watch their shocked faces watch her walk all the way over to my shocked face.
"Can I sit here?" I close my mouth and nod. She sits right next to me and her knee accidentally brushes mine. I quickly move my knee away.
"Uh..hi," is all I manage to get out. Elly looks at me and smiles, and that's it, I'm hooked. I don't know a single thing about this girl but the moment she smiled at me I was a goner. I'm sure it seemed like just a regular smile to anyone else but to me it was beautiful, innocent and just grabbed ahold of me. I feel high, but a different kind of high and it is scary.
"You're staring again Declan," Elly says grinning. I blush like the little bitch I am and look away. "Oh, you're shy, that's cute!" Elly says making me blush even more.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I say, still facing away from her. "Why are you sitting over here anyway? Aren't those people your friends?" I nod my head in the direction of the people I usually see her associate with.
Elly looks in their direction. A few people quickly snap their heads in the other direction, they clearly were talking about her. Her gaze stays in that direction for a bit and then goes to the floor. She seems sad, I wish I could make her happy again. Elly looks back at me.
"I needed a change, and no, those people aren't my friends. Hanging out with them is just too much, it's like watching television and there's a bug on it, moving around. Eventually it becomes too much and you swat the bug away, sick of it getting in the way."
"That's a weird analogy but, I think I get it," I say taking a bite of my sandwich. Not a very good sandwich but I take what I can get these days. I watch Elly eat her lunch, not in a creepy way, but in a she's right across from me way. I have to stifle a laugh because she is a fiend. Eating like a monster.
"You got a noodle on your chin from eating like an animal," I say, bursting out laughing because I can't hold it in anymore. Elly turns red and wipes her face quickly.
"Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed! Sorry!" Elly covers her face with her hands. Shit, I meant for her to laugh not get upset.
"Don't be sorry. Just be yourself, I'm not judging. I would be the last person to judge you. You're perfect, I mean like, you are way better than I could ever be," I say quickly. Elly smiles.
"What is perfect? Perfection is something created by humans to make others feel inferior. Humans can't really define perfection because how are we to know what actual perfection is." Elly says, looking at the ceiling.
"Okay...?" I say, slightly confused.
"I'm sorry, sometimes I babble on about dumb things," Elly replies, apologizing yet again.
"Stop apologizing for being who you are, that's nothing to be sorry for."
"I'm s...Alright." She smirks and tosses a noodle at me, it hits me in the eye. I take it off, stick it in my mouth and then the bell rings.
"So what class do you have next?" I ask her, making conversation as we get up to leave.
"Vocal and Dance." She tells me looking unamused.
"Do you like the class?"
"I love it, it's the people don't really like me," she says sadly. I don't see how anyone could not like her, I think she's brilliant and I barely even know her. We arrive at her class and I peek in the window.
"I guess I was wrong earlier, I don't get it. You always looked so happy with them whenever I would see you," I say curiously. She looks at me, like she wants to tell me something. She shakes her head and goes to walk in. I watch her as she goes, Elly turns to me right before she walks in.
"Looks can be deceiving." And then she's gone.