A/N: Hi everybody! Ok, so this is my first fanfiction EVER! I'm really excited and really proud of it. It isn't about a particular show, book, or famous person. I decided since it's my first story, I should start with something easy. I used to make up fanfics for my friends, so I decided to write one based on them. Please review! Leave your comments, concerns, advice, etc. I don't mind a little constructive criticism. Just no flames! Now, to the story!
Tears started to leak out of my eyes, taking me by surprise. I wasn't the kind of girl to get emotional over some stupid guy. I wasn't really the kind of girl who got emotional over anything, come to think of it. But maybe, maybe by this point, it had just become too much. Too much rejection, too much pretending, too much heartbreak. I sighed another dramatic, exaggerated sigh. I flopped off the couch, moaning. Damn puberty. Damn every testosterone-filled male on this wretched earth.
Just then, the phone rang. Feeling annoyed that I had to drag myself out of my moment of misery and self loathing, I glanced at the phone. It was Zack. My best friend.
"Yello?" I asked.
"Hey, Nat. You wanna come over and play some Call of Duty?" he asked.
"Not really in the mood." I grumbled.
"What's the matter? Mr. Sexy pants didn't show?" he teased. I could practically see that annoying smile.
"No he didn't," I snapped. "So don't rub it in."
At that point, he realized that I was actually hurt, and all the tease left his voice.
"Hey, are you okay? Listen, I didn't know you were actually upset. He's just a jerk. Don't let it get you down. How about I come over with some food and we watch a movie or something. No chickflicks though."
"Ok," I responded, feeling better already. "We can watch some James Bond, and you better bring chips and salsa!"
"Fine," He grumbled. "So bossy...
I grabbed Doctor No and popped it in the DVD player. Just then the doorbell rang. Before I could even get up to open the door, Zack rushed in, starting to run his mouth the moment he entered my house. This wasn't unusual, though. We were so close, and had known each other so long that he didn't even bother to check if I was home, he just barged right in.
"Ok, so today at basketball practice, you WON'T BELIEVE what happened."
I rolled my eyes. I really didn't give a crap about who broke the free throw record.
"Brittany Halter just strolled into the gym, with the WHOLE squad, and started cheering for me...LIKE just me. And then she made a really pathetic attempt at what I guess was supposed to be a seductive face, and then she rolled her top down all low and stuff!" he exclaimed as if in disbelief.
I cringed. Brittany Halter was probably the bitchiest, sluttiest, most desperate female to ever walk the planet. She and Zack used to date, but she cheated on him with the star quarterback of Green Ridge High School football team. Probably because one man just isn't enough for "the great Brittany Halter." Then he dumped her as soon as a better girl came along. And ever since, she's done everything she can to win back Zack. She's always throwing herself at him, and she shows up practically wherever he is. She practically stalks the guy.
"So, what did you do? Give her a pity kiss?" I grumbled turning around to grab the salsa and pour it into a bowl.
"Woah.. Am I detecting jealousy?" He asked.
I didn't even answer him. Even the idea itself was ridiculous.
"You didn't answer! You're jealous! You're jealous!" He started singing.
I loved Zack. I really did. I mean, we'd been friends since, like, before we were born. Our moms were really close, and they happened to go through their pregnancies at roughly the same time. So, we've known each other since literally forever. But, I didn't love him THAT way.
"You flatter yourself. And it's not possible for me to like you because I like someone else."
"Look I'm well aware that you like someone else. It'd be hard for me to not know, considering that you're ALWAYS talking about him."
"Pfft. Am not!" I retorted.
"Oh, Brandon! You're so gorgeous! Marry me! Make my babies!" he squealed in his "girl voice."
I blushed furiously, but covered it by throwing "the jealousy spiel" right back at him.
"What's that? Am I detecting JEALOUSY?" I asked in my "guy voice."
"You know what, I give up. You win. Happy?" He admitted.
"I'm very happy." I smiled.
"Just start the movie," He sighed
"Ok," I laughed tossing him a root beer
"How'd you know I wanted one?" he asked
"Maybe because it's your favorite drink? And you always raid my fridge looking for some?" I replied.
"I do NOT raid your fridge!" he exclaimed.
"Do too! That's why my dad's always so pissed when he comes home. Because there's none left, and it's his favorite drink too," I informed him.
"Aww, shit. Now he's gonna come after me with his shotgun," he sighed
After the movie ended, I was feeling so much better! As annoying as Zack could be at times, he was just easy to talk to, which always left me feeling relaxed.
Once I washed the salsa bowl, I flopped onto the couch and put my legs on his lap. Which caused him to stiffen immediately. That was weird.
"Umm... Are you feeling okay?" I asked him.
"Yeah..Yeah.. I'm..Um.. Totally fine!" he stammered.
"Ok.." I shrugged, dismissing the weird behavior. It was so unlike Zack. He was never unsure of what to say. Maybe he was sick or something. Whatever. It was probably nothing.
I stretched, yawning and raising my arms above my head. His face suddenly turned bright red, and his palms became very sweaty. Telltale signs of a fever. Maybe he really was sick. I was torn away from my thoughts when his thighs tensed up under my feet.
"Zack, are you okay?" I asked, looking him straight in the eye.
He gulped. "Um.. yeah...I'm..umm..fine. Ineedtogotothebathroom!" he muttered at lightning speed before dashing down the hall.
At this point, I was beyond confused. This was so out of character. It was almost weirder than my whole crying thing earlier. Maybe it was just hormones or something. Or maybe all teenagers were just deciding to be weird today.
After about fifteen minutes, Zack came back in a slightly less-awkward fashion. He wasn't himself, but it wasn't as bad as before.
"Did something happen today? You're being really weird. I mean..weirder than usual." I started.
"Look, I'm fine. So, whataya wanna do now?" he asked, brushing away all this unnatural behavior and plastering his usual cheesy smile on his face.
All I really wanted to do was watch more movies. I was still kind of getting over the fact that I got stood up, and I didn't really have any other plans for tonight. But, you know what, screw it! So what if that jerk stood me up? That's his loss, not mine! It's Friday night! I should be out having a good time! Or I should at least be hanging with my friends!
"Let's invite some people over!" I smiled.
We each grabbed our cell phones and called some friends. A couple people were free, some were busy, and most were on dates. Since, for the most part, we were friends with both halves of these couples, we told them that it was fine to bring their significant others along.
We had about 10 people coming, so I figured we should get some more snacks. I pulled the chips and salsa back out, and grabbed some cokes and root beers from the garage freezer.
About 15 minutes later, people started to trickle in. First came some of my best girlfriends, Rachel,Holly, and Meagan. At the time, I thought it was weird that Brooke, my other friend didn't come with them. When she showed up later, my jaw dropped. Her hair was a giant mess. And was that a HICKY? But, I could put the puzzle pieces together. She'd been with Peter. And I guess they were trying not to make it obvious or something because Peter didn't come with her. But, I mean, come on, he looked even worse than her! But, I was happy for them. They were FINALLY dating. At least their love lives were going well, unlike mine.
At that point, all of the people I had called were there, except for Nick. He was probably stuck in traffic. So, I had no idea who else would show. And I was totally unprepared for what would come next
A couple of minutes after Nick finally arrived, a car sped down the road, tires screeching and music blasting as it parked in front of my house. Everyone turned to the window to see what was going on, but before I could even open the door, it was blasted open. And then all hell broke loose.
The whole damn basketball team stormed into my house VERY noisily, laughing,
talking, and making a mess of my home. It was chaos. And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, they did.
Some genius started pulling beers out of the car and walked around, offering them to everyone. Much to my dismay, most of the people there, even my friends, gladly took drinks and were slowly becoming intoxicated.
At this point, I was panicking. There were a bunch of drunken basketball players IN MY HOUSE, and we were underage! My parents were going to kill me when they got back from their weekend trip to Chicago! Then dance on my grave! Thank God they weren't here now! Who the hell even invited these people?
I tried to remain calm. I really did. I told myself to just look on the bright side. I mean, things couldn't possibly get any worse, right? Well, just like always, I was DEAD WRONG.
Just as this thought crossed my mind, the doorbell rang. I sighed. Who the hell was it now? I opened the door, and I bet my jaw hit the steps. Couldn't it have been anyone else? Anyone else but THEM!
There was Brittany Halter. And Miles Jackson. I know what you're thinking. Who's Miles Jackson? Well, he's the prick that stood me up that night. And. He. Was. Holding. Hands. With. Brittany. I wanted to scream. And crawl into a whole. And die. And then you know what that jerk did? He looked at me, smiled, and said "Hi Nina!" He didn't even remember my name, let alone that we were supposed to be on a date
I just gave up at that point. Clearly I wasn't attractive enough for any guy to like me. This was, like, the fifth guy that stood me up. Brittany Halter obviously had something I didn't. Like fake blond hair, a face plastered in makeup, and a willingness have make out with any guy that came her way. Anyways, it didn't matter.
"Come on in," I grumbled.
I had a headache. No, it was worse than that. It was a MIGRAINE. I needed some caffeine. I went over to one of the guys who was passing out drinks, not planning to get drunk. So, I asked him if he had some coke. He tossed me one and got this weird smile on his face. I shrugged it off, and downed the whole thing in one gulp. It tasted kind of different.
I made my way into the living room. I expected to see total anarchy, but the chaos had died down. In its place, was everyone sitting in a circle with two cups in the middle.
"Oh! Hey, Natalie!" yelled Rachel. "You're just in time."
"For what?" I asked, confused.
"SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAAAAVEEEN!" Screamed Holly.
I really didn't have anything better to do. Plus, there were a lot of people here at this point. Way more than before. I guess the basketball players called their friends and girlfriends or something. But why didn't I see them come inside? I guess they came through the backdoor. But anyways, there were so many girls at this point, what were the chances of me getting picked? I grabbed a slip of paper, wrote down my name, and shoved it in the girl's cup.
Peter decided to be the one who drew the names.
"Okay. Hmm.. let's see. Let's do girls first!" Peter exclaimed.
Everyone held their breath as he fished around in the cup. "NATALIE SMITH!"
Shit. Shit. Shit. How'd that even happen? There were like 50 names in there, and they picked me! This felt like the Hunger Games, except I wasn't fighting to the death. But honestly, I would've rather being doing that than playing Seven Minutes in Heaven.
I really hoped the guy would at least be semi-decent. I prayed to every saint I could think of. "ZACK PARKER !"
It got really quiet then. Then I laughed. I laughed so loud that even the drunks turned around to see what was going on. I mean, it wasn't like it was horrible to be in there with Zack. He was just my best friend. I knew everything about him, so there wasn't much to talk about. Plus, nothing was going to happen.
I got up and started to walk towards the closet. I noticed that Zack's face was even redder than before. He really needed to get some aspirin.
He got up and came into the closet several seconds after me. Holly ran in, laughed maniacally, and turned out all the lights. Brooke then screamed, "OK Y'ALL GOT SEVEN MINUTES! MAKE THE MOST OF IT!"
I laughed. By doing what?
"Well then, what do you wanna do?" I asked Zack.
"No clue," he muttered.
"I got it! Let's just play another game!" I suggested.
"Umm.. like what?" He asked.
"I Never!" I yelled.
"Ok. We can just use our hands. Right?" he asked.
"I think hands works," I told him. "I'll start!" After thinking for a second, I started the game with "Never have I ever dated someone who cheated on me!"
"Damnitt," he muttered, putting a finger down. But suddenly, he froze. Scarlet started to creep up his neck, and his pupils dilated. Jesus, had he been smoking something?
"Ok. My turn," He stammered nervously. "Never have I ever... told you how I really feel about you. " He gulped and started to move closer until we were inches apart.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "You always-
But I was cut off as he leaned forward, closing the gap between our lips. I just stood there for a couple seconds, unmoving. I was feeling about 20 different ways all at once. He was my best friend, just a friend, that was all, right? But oh my God he was SUCH a good kisser. I felt so attracted to him right now, it wasn't even funny. Did I have feelings for my best friend? Or did your heart always get all jumpy when someone, especially your best friend, surprised you with a kiss?
You know what. I didn't even care anymore. I was just going to enjoy this while it lasted. I eventually got into the kiss, moving my lips against his. I inched closer to him, wrapped one arm around his waist, and tangled one in his hair. Meanwhile, he pushed me up against the wall, just touching my waist with the fingertips of one hand. The other hand was right next to my head, pressed up against the wall. I didn't know if this was wrong or bad, but I didn't care because it felt amazing. He smelled so damn good! And he tasted good too. Like spearmint. We eventually had to pull apart for air, but we started right back up again. We continued like this for about six minutes I guess. It seemed so short, but the next thing I knew, Brookewas screaming through the door again.
"YA GOT THIRTY SECONDS LEFT! USE IT TO GET YA CLOTHES BACK ON AND CLEAN UP THE EVIDENCE, ROMEO AND JULIET!"
This brought me back to reality. I froze and pulled away from Zack. Oh crap. He was a MESS. His hair was all tangled, his shirt was crumpled, and he had my lipstick on his cheek. I probably looked just as bad. I wanted to continue our previous activities so badly. I wanted more, and looking at his eyes, I was pretty sure I could see that he did too. But if anyone figured out what had happened, we were screwed. We did our best to clean up with what little time we had, and we made it just as Brooke yelled "I'M COMING IN!"
I guess we did a good job putting things back in order because when she saw us, her face dropped, and she looked thoroughly disappointed. "WELL THAT WAS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME. Y'ALL DID NOTHING INTERESTING! PETER, PASS ME THE BUD LIGHT AND GET TWO MORE PEOPLE UP IN THAT BITCH!"
Yeah. We didn't do anything interesting. That's why my heart was racing a hundred miles a minute. Before I could even leave the room to get to the kitchen, Zack grabbed my hand and lead me up to my room. He slammed the door shut.
"Ok, Natalie. Before you say anything, just let me talk. I thought you didn't like me, and even though it hurt, I was dealing with it. I'm thought you loved Brandon, but, I just had to do that. Just once. I just had to let you know how I feel." he blurted out. But then he stopped. "But that kiss...that kiss...confused the absolute shit out of me. I don't even know how you feel about me. But I need to know..do you love me?"
The look in his eyes is so hopeful, you'd have to be heartless to say no. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that he might love me. But before I can even respond, I feel my stomach clench, and I grab it. Before Zack can even ask if I'm okay, the food comes up and my puke is all over his sneakers.
I stand there frozen from shock. I just puked on his sneakers after he asked me if I loved him! How was he supposed to take that? But before I could even stammer out an apology, I felt my knees buckle underneath me. I fell to the ground, and began to vomit uncontrollably. I hugged my stomach, praying it would stop.
Zack didn't say anything. But like a good friend should always do, he held my hair back as I puked my guts out. I heard footsteps thundering up the stairs, and I shuddered. I really did not need anyone to come in right now.
But of course, the footsteps came closer. They stopped at my door and were replaced with a series of loud knocks.
"DON'T YOU TWO EVEN THINK FOR A SECOND THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT WENT ON IT THAT CLOSET! I SAW YOUR FACES WHEN YOU CAME OUT, AND I WATCHED ZACK PRACTICALLY DRAG YOU UPSTAIRS! Y'ALL BETTER BE DECENT CUZ I'M COMING IN!" Brooke yelled.
"Why wouldn't we be decent?" Zack asked, yelling so that his voice passed through the door.
"YOU MEAN Y'ALL AIN'T MAKING BABIES? WELL, YOU PROBABLY WILL BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER!" she yelled.
"Quit yelling, we're not deaf. Just come in," he sighed.
"HI LOVEBI-Oh God. That's disgusting," she cringed.
"Oh good, you're being quiet now," he muttered.
"What the hell happened?" she exclaimed.
"Well, she just started puking, I don't know why," he responded.
Suddenly, Brooke's eyes widened in realization. "Oh God, Natalie. Did you drink anything from André's stash?"
The urge to puke had washed over for now, so I was able to respond. "Was he that tall black guy on the basketball team that was passing out beers?"
"Yep," sighed Brooke. "He probably slipped something in your drink."
"WHAT?" yelled Zack. "I'm gonna bust his head in!"
With that, he left, and it was just me and Brooke.
"So," she started, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, "you and Zack, huh? Who would've guessed? Smoochie, smoochie!"
"It was NOTHING! He kissed me first, so I just kissed back. That's all there is to it."
"So.. .you didn't like kissing him? Not even the tiniest bit?"
"Well..I mean, yeah, he's a good kisser. But, we're not an item or anything like that."
I didn't even know if that was a lie or not. I was confused enough, I didn't need Brooke getting involved. I needed to convince her it was nothing so I could get her off my chest. Because if she knew, she would tell Peter, and Peter would tell everyone!
Zack came in a couple of minutes later, looking pretty pissed off. I guess he got into a fight with André or something. He tossed a wet towel at me, and then left without saying a word. He was a pretty easy going guy. André must've said something pretty bad to get him that angry.
I guess it's because she drinks so much, but Brooke really knows how to take care of someone who's retching uncontrollably. She made me lay down, and then she went downstairs for a couple minutes. She came back with some weird smelling liquid and told me to drink it. She claimed it would make me feel better. And for some reason, I actually trusted her.
I pinched my nose as I downed the whole thing. I coughed and spluttered. As bad as it smelt, it tasted three times worse. I suddenly felt the telltale clench in my stomach. I began to puke once again. However, this time, there was no pause between my puking. A huge amount came out all at once. But, Brooke was ready. She had positioned a trash can in front of me, and sat on my bed waiting until I was done. When I was pretty sure it was all over, I turned to her, angry as hell.
"I thought you said it would make me feel BETTER!" I yelled.
"I did say that. And I was right. Instead of making you suffer through hours of puking, I figured I should give you this. That drink induces and speeds up vomitting. Now almost all of those toxins are out of your system. You most likely won't puke again."
"Thanks," I muttered.
Brooke then grabbed the towel for me to wipe off my face with. She forced me to go to bed and covered me with all the blankets. It was only then that I realized I was shaking. Brooke walked away, leaving a glass of water for me to drink when I woke up.
As nosey as she could be, Brooke was a pretty good friend.
I woke up several hours later, surprised to see that I wasn't laying in a pile of my own vomit. According to my clock, it was one in the morning. So, why was I still hearing music blasting from the floor beneath me? I grabbed the water, drinking it little by little. I still didn't feel one hundred percent better, so I made sure to be careful.
I went to the bathroom to wash my face, and then I went down stairs. There were still a decent amount of people there, but at least some of them had left. Upon second examination, I realized it was just André and his friends that were missing. I guess Zack kicked them out. He was so sweet.
I turned around to walk into the living room since that was where most of the people were. When I got there, my heart shattered into a million pieces.
Zack was kissing Britney. Just like he had kissed me. With one hand around her waist, and the other pressed up against the wall. I gasped out of shock and pain. The tears ran down my face before I could even try to hold them back.
Meagan, Rachel, Brooke, and Holly saw me. Their faces turned very sympathetic, and they got up to go talk to me. At least that's what three of them did. Rachel got up and turned in the opposite direction. She stormed over to Zack and very harshly pulled him off of Brittany.
"Hey Briggs!" As he turned to face her, she brought her hand up and slapped him clear across the cheek. Everyone stopped, for the smack had been so loud it seemed to echo across the whole room. "Think twice before you screw with our friend's heart!"
This seemed to inspire Brooke, so she took it upon herself to march over there and back Rachel up.
"YEAH BITCH! OR I'LL BE PAYING YOU A VISIT WITH MY SHOT GUN. "
She then raised her leg up and kneed him as hard as she could right in the crotch.
He fell into fetal position from the pain. But as much pain as he was in, I was hurting ten times more.