You take a deep breath
And you walk through the doors
It's the morning of your very first day…
"Hey, guys," Mitchie waved to a couple of her friends.
She walked towards them in the busy hallway, accidently bumping into someone's arm.
"Watch where you're going!" an older girl scowled at her. "Stupid freshman."
"Sorry…" Mitchie whispered quietly.
She tried not to let it get to her, but she couldn't help it. She'd always been self-conscious. All summer, she had thought that when she got to high school, she could reinvent herself. It was a new year and she could be a new person. But as soon she walked through the doors, she started to doubt herself again. The high school was so much larger than the middle school, and there were so many more people. Last year, her class had been the oldest in school, and now they were, as that girl had said, just "stupid freshman."
She heard the first bell ring. She anxiously pulled her schedule out of her pocket and looked for the room number of her first class – 325. She looked around at the students around her, racing to their classes. They all seemed to know where they were going.
"Are you lost?"
Mitchie looked up to see a tall, handsome boy smiling at her. He looked old enough to be a senior.
"How'd you guess?" she asked.
He shrugged and winked at her. "I haven't seen you around."
She felt herself starting to blush a little. He took the piece of paper from her hands and glanced at her schedule.
"325…I'm heading that way, too. I'll show you. You have Watson? We should hurry, she hates when people are late," he told her. He started to walk towards the stairs, still examining her schedule. "And in Mr. Jones' class, you can totally get away with just reading the Spark notes instead of the books. His quizzes are so easy. Ms. Johnson – she always 'suggests' extra reading, but you should do them. The extra credit questions on exams are always from the optional readings."
Mitchie wasn't sure how much of that she would remember, but she liked the way his voice sounded. She also liked the way people were looking at them – being walked to class by a cute senior probably gave her some status. Maybe she'd be able to reinvent herself, after all.
"325 – right here," he pointed to a classroom on the left side of the hallway.
"Thanks for your help, um…thanks," she smiled, embarrassed when she realized that she hadn't learned his name.
"Shane. I'm Shane," he smirked. "And you are…?"
"Mitchie."
"Pretty name," he said sweetly, taking one last look at her schedule before handing it back to her. "We have lunch at the same time…maybe I'll see you around."
"Yeah, maybe," she shrugged. She hoped that she didn't sound as excited at the prospect as she felt. "Thanks again."
"No problem. See ya."
Mitchie took a deep breath and walked into her classroom. She took a seat in the front next to a pretty girl with curly hair that she didn't recognize.
"Not to be all creepy or anything…but were you just talking to Shane Gray?" the girl asked her.
"Um…maybe…he said his name was Shane…who is he?" she asked.
The girl looked at her, shocked that she didn't know. "He's the captain of the football team! He's in a band, too. My sister is a senior and she said that she thinks they could be famous someday. He's so cute. I'm Caitlyn, by the way."
"I'm Mitchie."
"Look at those girls staring at you," Caitlin whispered, subtly motioning to two pretty blonde girls on the other side of the room. "They're so jealous of you right now."
Mitchie laughed. She liked Caitlyn already.
Count to ten
Take it in
This is life before you know who you're gonna be
Fifteen
"Hey. Mitchie, right?"
Mitchie felt her heart start pounding when she heard his voice. She and Caitlyn had been looking for somewhere to sit at in the busy cafeteria, but there weren't any empty tables.
"Yeah…hey, Shane," she replied. "Um…this is my friend, Caitlyn."
"Hey, I'm Shane," he smiled at her. "This is my friend, Nate. He's in my band. Do you guys want to sit with us?"
The girls looked at each other excitedly. "Yeah, thanks."
Mitchie noticed Nate looking at Caitlyn. She grinned happily at her friend as they took a seat at their table.
"So, Mitchie…if you don't want to, that's cool, but I was just wondering if you would want to go see a movie with me on Friday?" Shane asked her smoothly.
She nodded, trying to play it cool. High school was going to be so much better than she thought.
And then you're on your very first date
And he's got a far
And you're feeling like flying
And you're momma's waiting up
And you're thinking he's the one
And you're dancing around the room when the night ends…
And your first kiss makes your head spin around…
"I had fun," Shane told her, putting his car into park as he pulled into her driveway. "Maybe we could go out again some time."
"I'd like that," Mitchie smiled.
She glanced at the clock on the radio panel – it was almost 10:30pm, and she'd promised to be home by ten. She knew that her mom was going to kill her, but it was worth it. Shane was so sweet. She sat in the passenger's seat, full of nervous energy. She'd never been on a date before. She didn't know what she was supposed to do next.
"So, um…" she started.
She didn't get the chance to finish, which was fine, since she didn't know what she was actually trying to say. He leaned towards her and pressed his lips against hers. Her first kiss.
"Goodnight," he smiled.
"Goodnight," she grinned, hopping out of the car happily and practically floating to the door.
"Mitchie, where have you…" her mother started as soon as she heard the door open.
When she saw the dreamy look on her daughter's face, she couldn't help but smile a little. "Go to bed, Mitchie."
"'Night, mom," Mitchie said, skipping up the stairs to her room.
She turned on some music and grabbed her phone. She dialed Caitlyn's number as she swayed to absentmindedly to the melody.
'Cuz when you're fifteen
And somebody tells you they love you
You're gonna believe them
And when you're fifteen
Don't forget to look before you fall…
But in your life you'll do things
Greater than dating the boy on the football team
But I didn't know it at fifteen…
"Hey, Shane," Mitchie smiled happily at him when she found him in the parking lot after school.
They had gone out a few times, and after she'd gotten home from their last date, she'd known that she was in love with him. She'd wanted to tell Caitlyn in person instead of over the phone, but she hadn't been at school today.
"Uh, hi, Mitchie."
"Do you wanna do something? A movie? Or we could just hang out? Or…" she suggested.
Shane sighed heavily. She had never seen that look in his eyes before. "Mitchie, listen…"
"Hey, baby," a tall blonde girl smiled as she walked up to Shane and kissed him on the cheek. Mitchie recognized her. She was the captain of the cheerleading squad.
"Hey, babe," he replied, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Mitchie…"
"But…" Mitchie started, confused.
She could feel tears welling in her eyes. She turned around and quickly ran away from them. How could he do that to her? She loved him! They were perfect for each other. She ran to Caitlyn's house and knocked on the door urgently.
"Caitlyn, you won't believe…" she started when her friend answered the door. She stopped when she saw the other girl's face. "What's wrong?"
Caitlyn bit her up, trying to keep from crying. "Come in."
They hurried up to her room and she shut the door behind them. She sat down on her bed next to Mitchie and tears began to stream down her face.
"Caitlyn, talk to me. What happened?"
"I…" her friend started, burying her face in her hands. "I slept with him."
Mitchie's eyes widened. "Nate?"
Caitlyn nodded. "And then I called him the yesterday…and he said…he said we weren't going to work. He changed his mind…about being with me."
"Oh my God…" Mitchie whispered sympathetically, putting her arm around her best friend. She could feel herself start to cry, too. "Shane has another girlfriend."
"I wish someone warned us about high school boys," Caitlyn sobbed. "He told me he loved me."
"I thought Shane loved me, too."
Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams in life
And Abigail gave everything she had
To a boy that changed his mind
And we both cried…
When all you wanted
Was to be wanted
Wish you could go back
And tell yourself what you know now…
A/N: Definitely not my best, but I've had this song stuck in my head all day! "Fifteen" by Taylor Swift. I'm currently obsessed with her new album so you can probably expect a couple more song fics soon. Thanks for reading! REVIEW!