(Author's Note at the end.... Even if you lose interest in this story, you should probably read it, especially if you're mad at me for not uploading some stuff)
Abigail walked down the sidewalk, head down, bent against the biting cold. Her cheeks were stained pink and a strand of curly, dark hair flew into her face, sticking itself to her lipgloss. Annoyed, she pulled it away, reaching for her phone at the same time. "Shoot," she mumbled to herself. It was 6:17 and choir rehearsal would start in less than fifteen minutes.
She picked up her pace, striding confidently uphill and sticking her phone into her bag. Suddenly, a figure raced around the corner and slammed into her, causing her to stumble backwards a few steps.
The figure held out a hand to steady her, while cursing quietly under his breath. He was going to be late for rehearsal if his father didn't come soon with his costume. The choir director had already made it clear: one more tardy, and he'd be demoted into a lower class. He shuddered at the thought of singing with those inexperienced freshman. What would the be worse, though, wouldn't be the nauseatingly off-key singing; it would be those annoying freshman girls that threw themselves shamelessly at him.
"Sorry," he muttered to the girl he bumped into, realizing with a blush that he had held her hand for a bit too long. After looking into her hazel eyes, he cleared his throat. "Yeah... Sorry... I'm Collin," he said rather awkwardly. "I kinda gotta go. Bye. And, erm, sorry." He ran down the street frantically, looking for his dad's car, leaving the girl standing there, staring at his retreating figure.
Abigail sighed as he disappeared into a car. She turned around and made a right, walking heavily towards the choir room. Inside would be a safe haven, she thought. As she stepped into the room with renewed energy, she smiled at the familiar smell of cinnamon rolls. Festive lights adorned the walls, and the mirror was painted with various holliday greetings. This was her home away from home. She walked to the piano, setting her bag down, before being attacked with a bear hug. Without turning around, she knew who it was. "Hey, Diane," she said, pulling out her dress- a beautiful, knee-length, sparkly number. Straightening up, Abigail turned towards her friend, who was already wearing the same dress Abigail had in her hands. The baby blue fabric brought out Diane's eyes, and the dress shimmered with every movement. "Ugh, you pull off that dress so well," Abigail said. "I wish I could look at good in it!"
"Oh, shut up," Diane exclaimed, her strawberry-blonde curls bouncing forward as she rolled her eyes. "You'll look gorgeous, as usual."
Five minutes later, both girls stood in front of the bathroom mirror. Diane giggled and turned around, making sure everything was in place. "We look hot!" she said, smiling into the mirror amd realizing with a frown that she had forgotten her makeup. "Hey Abs? Can I borrow your makeup?"
Abigail barely registered her friend asking her a question, and she nodded quickly, sinking back deep into thought.
Diane put on her makeup in silence, sweeping dark mascara onto her long lashes and dabbing some bright red lipstick onto her lips. After musing for awhile about whether or not to put on sparkly eyeliner, she turned to Abigail to ask for advice. "Should I...?" she stopped mid-sentence when she saw Abigail standing there, staring off into space. Diane shrugged. Might as well go with the sparkles. After all, show choir was all about the glamour. When she finished, she looked at her silent friend in worry, wondering if she should ask what's wrong. Normally, Abigail told her everything, so what was bothering her must be something big. "Hey, are you alright?" Diane asked quietly.
Abgail suddenly jerked out of her reverie. "What makes you think I'm not alright?" she asked quizzically.
"I don't know," Diane began sarcastically. "Maybe the silence for the past few minutes?"
Abigail looked sheepishly down at the floor as Diane gasped in surprise. "Oh my gosh, it's a boy, isn't it? Who?"
"It's nothing." Abigail rolled her eyes. Trust Diane to make such a small thing seem so big.
"No it's not! Tell me! Who's the lucky guy?"
Abigail blushed and traced a circle in the ground with her shoe. "He's not a lucky guy, like that. You know, I just met him. Collin Hammer? He introduced himself to me." After he crashed into me, she mentally added.
Diane gasped, eyes wide. "No way! THE Collin Hammer? But he's so shy and doesn't talk to anyone! He's gorgeous, though!" She laughed at the fact that she had totally fallen head over heels for him last year. But then again, everyone had, hadn't they?
Even though Collin Hammer barely talked to anyone, he had that quietly stoic persona that every girl seemed to swoon at. He was perfect in every way, a blonde Adonis, with his shaggily tousled blonde hair and sparkly eyes that looked both blue and gray. Looking into his eyes was like staring into the depths of the ocean, where the waves crash together, foaming and swirling into a turbulent mass. However, most girls were also trying to use him to meet his father, former member of The Thermedorians. Although that band had been past its glory days long ago, Mr. Hammer was still influential in the industry, and every girl dreamed of killing two birds with one stone. Getting to date Collin while meeting ex-celebrity Mr. Hammer was a dream come true for most.
Abigail was thinking about Collin, too, when Diane dragged her away from her thoughts. "You know it's almost time for rehearsal, and you don't even have makeup on!"
Abigail gasped as she saw the time and clumsily fumbled for her makeup pouch, swiping on some eyeshadow and blush with the air of someone that did this constantly. Within minutes, she was ready.
Diane whistled in admiration. "That must be an applying makeup record!"
Abigail just rolled her eyes and sprinted towards the choir room, grabbing Diane's hand. "We're going to be late, Di!" She groaned as her heel got stuck in a crack in the concrete. When she finally got out, she quickly crept to the door, Diane hot on her heels. It was already 6:30- they were late. She tried to slip in unnoticed, ducking her head and creeping along the back wall until... "Ow!" she exclaimed, clutching the back of her head ruefully. Looking up, she gasped as she saw who she had run into, again.
Collin looked up at who he had bumped into, ready to look at them apologetically and walk away. Suddenly, his breath caught in his throat as he recognized those eyes he was looking into. It was the same girl he had run into earlier, except now she was dressed in her costume, and her hazel eyes were lined with makeup, making the colors pop. Involuntarily, he straightened his tie, then silently cursed at the costume for being so darn itchy. He had to admit, it made him look good, but couldn't it be a bit more comfortable? He made a mental note to ask his father to help a bit in the wardrobing department.
The girl stared up at him, blush creeping across her cheeks as she caught him staring at her. Any minute now, he thought warily, waiting for the typical response to meeting him. He braced himself for her to go into flirtacious mode, gigglimg amd twirling her hair ditzily. It's what all the girls did to him, hoping that he'd find it attractive. Frankly, he thought it made them look like malfunctioning Barbies.
To his surprise, the expected reaction never came. There were no sultry glances at him, no "Oh, Collin!"'s spoken to him. All she did was tuck a lock of brunette hair behind her ear and whisper "Sorry," crouching down to continue her trek against the back wall. The girl behind her, with bouncy reddish blonde hair, smiled at him knowingly before following the brunette girl. Collin couldn't help wondering who she was, and why she acted so... normally around him. Not that he minded, of course
At the back of the room, Abigail and Diane were hissing loudly. "He SO likes you!" Diane declared, making Abigail blush.
"No he doesn't!" Abigail snapped back at her friend.
"He does, he just might not know it yet!" Diane said, while Abigail stifled a laugh and rolled her eyes.
"Whatever."
No, I'm serious. He was searching your eyes, and looked at you for longer than is normal for 'just friends', or 'just classmates.'"
Abigail felt her heart soar at this, but didn't dare believe it. They were blowing this out of proportion, and all of this was giving her false hope. It would only make the inevitable heartbreak worse. She shouldn't think about heartbreak, she scolded herself. Her heart wouldn't be broken, because there was no way she liked him. After all, they had known each other for less than a day, and he still probably didn't know her name.
As the choir director, Mr. Hague, rambled on and on, Collin found himself nodding off. He spotted the brunette girl with the hazel eyes off in a corner, saying something to her friend. He couldn't explain the inexplicable pull he felt towards her, as if he had to know what she was saying. "Hey, Nick?" he asked, turning to his friend, who was leaning against the wall. Nick had been best friends with him since elementary school, and was one of the few people Collin felt he could truly trust.
He prodded his friend in the side, and Nick jerked away. "Argh!" he yelped, causing half the class to look over. Mr. Hague kept talking, choosing to ignore the interruption. "What?" he asked Collin, eying him with reservation.
"Do you know those girls over there?"
"Yeah, they're in my classes." He looked at Collin suspiciously. "Why? One of them strike your fancy?" he teased, faking a British accent.
"Shut up." Collin elbowed Nick in the knee. "What's her name?" he asked, pointing at the brunette.
"Oh, that's Abigail," Nick said. "And that girl next to her is Diane."
"Oh. Yeah, I kinda know Diane." Colin sank back against the wall and stared off into space, thinking.
Why hadn't Abigail treated him like the other girls did? He pretended to hate the special treatment, but now that someone other than Nick was treating him differently, he felt deprived, as if missing something. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as she threw her head back in laughter, obviously at something Diane had said. He clutched his hair in frustration. He was acting like a creep; he didn't even know her. However, despite these reservations, he couldn't help but smile as she smiled. What was she doing to him?
"Alright, guys, let's practice the dances now. We've got most the choreography done, so now all we need is the effort. And the financial support." As Mr. Hague said this, Collin rolled his eyes. Thanks to his dad, the Choral Department had enough money to last them a few decades. "Now, get up, we're starting." When barely anyone moved, he climbed onto a squeaky chair, his short frame wobbled haphazardly. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? I SAID REHEARSAL TIME!" A collective groan issued from the room as the students got up.
"Now, we're breaking the show into two parts- one being small groups, and the other will be a huge group dance. If you want to be in the small groups, sign up over here," Mr. Hague gestured to the slip of paper behind him. "For now, we'll be working on the main dance. We've got most of the choreography figured out, so we'll start up by getting into pairs. You can pick your partner, but if I see any smoochy faces during rehearsal, I'll split you two up."
Some of the students tittered with laughter, and everyone began moving around, about to pair up. "I'm gonna go with Nick," Diane said, skipping off to join him.
Abigail sighed and looked around blankly for someone to pair up with. The only two boys she knew well in show choir were Sam and Nick, and Nick was already taken. She could always dance with Sam, but he was a head shorter than her so that would make everything rather awkward. Lost, she turned around in a circle, not knowing what to do. For a second, she caught Collin's eye, but looked away quickly, blushing furiously.
On the other side of the room, Collin stood awkwardly, trying unsuccessfully to blend in with the wall. Girls clamored around him, trying to catch his attention, but he pretended not to see them. Groaning, he looked around for Nick to help him, but he was already being dragged into a corner by a giggling Diane.
"Hey, Collin," a blonde girl said, twirling her hair around her index finger. "Wanna be my partner?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him, and he felt sick to his stomach.
"Um... No, I already have a partner," he said, backing away from her.
She frowned and said "Who?" with a dangerous look on her face.
He looked around quickly, trying to find someone, anyone was better than Brittany, the blonde slut standing in front of him. His eyes scanned the room and landed on a lone brunette girl standing in the shadows, looking completely unperturbed that she didn't have a partner yet. "Her," he said, and Brittany's eyes followed his. She let out a snort of contempt and walked away, probably to attack someone else. Collin laughed, feeling bad for the next guy she would target, but suddenly became somber as he realized that he'd have to ask Abigail to be his partner now. Brittany was still watching him, her eyes in suspicious slits, as he took a deep breath. Why was he nervous about this, as if scared of rejection? This was no big deal, only a dance in a show.
At the back of a room, two people were arguing. "We HAVE to get them together," Diane exclaimed, as Nick looked down at her in amusement. "They would be SO cute."
Nick's eyes twinkled with laughter. "I don't think we have to get them together. They seem to be doing that without our help."
Diane whipped around to look where Nick was looking.
Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, Collin cursed at himself while walking towards Abby, as he liked to call her in his head. Abigail sounded too formal for his liking. Why did he have to open his big mouth and say he was with her? Okay, you can do this. It's not that hard, he told himself, clearing his throat.
Abigail turned around to face him, surprised.
Collin felt his face go hot as he looked at her. "Um, um... Um..." he mumbled incoherently, trying to remember what he was going to say. She frowned and his mind went blank. "Hi?" he ventured uncertainly.
Abigail looked at him with suspicion, wondering why he was talking to her. Maybe it was for a dare or something. Or maybe- no, she didn't dare hope that it was because he liked her. That was ridiculous!
"You're Abigail, right?" Collin asked, feeling more and more nervous by the second. She stared at him with a weird expression on her face and he felt his heart plummet. She probably thought he was a creep.
"Yeah," she said slowly. "Abigail Jones. And you're Collin."
"Yeah," he agreed, copying her. "Collin Hammer." He looked down at his shoes and Abigail looked away awkwardly. She had no idea what to say to him.
"Um, wanna be partners?" he asked quietly.
She wasn't sure if she heard right. Collin was asking her to be his partner? Why? "What?" she squinted at him in confusion.
He flushed and said, "If you don't want to, it's totally fine, just..." he trailed off as he saw her laughing.
"No, no, no, I'll be your partner. Brittany's glaring at us. If I'm not your partner, she'll probably pounce on you. I would never feed you to the wolves." She laughed as nonchalantly as she could, trying to mask her excitement.
He sighed in relief, happy that she said yes. For some reason, a smile broke out upon his face and he tugged her arm. "Come on, let's go get in line, or Mr. Hague will have a conniption."
Abigail giggled and followed him into the line, right behind Nick and Diane, who had their heads together, muttering about something. "What are you two plotting now?" she asked playfully, suddenly in a better mood.
Nick and Diane jerked apart. "Nothing, nothing," he said, looking at one of the lights hanging from the ceiling.
Abigail sent Diane a meaningful look, but Diane also avoided her gaze.
"Alright, guys, so you're going to start off in a line formation like this," Mr. Hague gestured to the line they made, "with the boys on the side facing the audience. Then, every other couple will take two steps backward, and branch off into two lines- You start off, Lena." A petite redhead stepped backwards, pulling her partner with her. "And hold hands!" Mr. Hague scolded the next couple, who hastily wound their hands around each other.
Collin reached out his hand unsurely and grasped for Abigail's, willing his hands not to turn clammy and gross. Abigail tried to keep her expression neutral as she felt his warm hand enclose hers. It just felt so right.
"Okay, now you step up close together, and dip forward and backward. Be carefree! Remember, this is SHOW CHOIR! I don't want to see any wimpy dancing out there!" Mr. Hague said.
Abigail gasped as Collin pulled her into him, their bodies only inches apart. He swung forward, bringing her with him, and melted into the rhythm. Abigail tried to ignore the fact that their bodies were almost touching. She couldn't look into his eyes, or she knew she'd get lost in them. Instead, she looked over his shoulder.
Collin groaned in frustration as he looked at the girl he was dancing with. Why was she avoiding his gaze? And more importantly, why did he care? He wasn't normally like this; normally he was shy, and avoided eye contact with anyone. Maybe it was the coldness of the winter making him sick. He should probably go see a doctor.
As they stepped through the routine, Collin couldn't help but notice her grace. She was such a natural dancer and learned the moves easily, just like him. It was like they were meant to be together. Now I'm acting like such a girl, he thought wryly, still trying to catch her eye. All throughout rehearsal, she hadn't looked him in the eye, not even once.
Finally, Mr. Hague announced what everyone was waiting for. "Alright guys, great job. You can go now! Have a fun long weekend and I'll see you on Tuesday!"
Everyone hollered. Thank goodness for Monday off!
Abigail stepped away from Collin's arms, feeling rather reluctant to do so. "Bye," she said to him, looking purposely at his forehead, which he scrunched up in confusion. He surveyed her with his eyes, frowning, and she felt herself turning red under his intense gaze.
"Bye, Abigail," he said rather stiffly, and she turned away to go find Diane.
Collin looked around the room to find Nick, his fists unknowingly clenched into fists. He needed something to distract him from thinking of all that had happened in the past hour. How she had been so close to him, wrapped up in her arms. He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes and saw her laughing with her friend Diane. She was blushing slightly, as if embarrassed, and Collin felt himself wishing that he were in Diane's place.
"What's up, bro?" A loud, familiar voice called out from behind him.
"Hey, Nick," Collin said wearily, picking up his water and chugging it.
"What's wrong?" Nick asked, registering the sadness in his friend's voice. "Is it Abigail? Get some, man. You guys totally hit it off."
Collin nearly choked on his water in surprise. "Wha-what? No, it's not like that."
"Whatever you say," Nick said teasingly. "Hey, look, I gotta go. See you at the party tomorrow?"
"Later."
Collin watched as Abigail left with Diane, chattering excitedly about something. Maybe Nick was right. Maybe he did like Abby.
--
Hey guys, so I know what you're thinking. "Why in the dang heck is she writing a new story when she has two on hold?".... The reason those two are on hold is because 1. my mom feels that over the holidays, i should spend less time on the computer :P and 2. I want to finish this story before my friend's birthday. So this story should be done before or on Jan 18, and I'll go back to my usual neglecting of "I Kissed a Vampire" and occassionally adding of Albus.
I hope you guys liked this story! It's gonna be short, most likely less than 10 parts, maybe only 5, we'll see. But please VOTE and COMMENT! It'd make my Christmas so much happier.
XOX. LOVE YOU ALL! AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! (unless you don't celebrate it!)
amanda grace.