Chloe got home from school earlier than usual, beating out her dad and her brother. So instead of doing homework, she jumped into bed and pulled out her phone. Opening up the app, Chloe loaded Kik and smiled when she saw the group conversation was already in action.
Stacie: But what you don't get is that you need to go to school, Amy!
Fat Amy: I don't need school if I can get a sugar daddy. Besides, you're one to talk about school. Little miss big boobs
Stacie: I have boobs but I also have a brain!
Cynthia Rose: Prove it. Show us your brain and your boobs.
Chloe smiled at the antics. She had joined a group chat a few months ago and found the best friends she could ever imagine.
The only problem, however, was that every single person in this group chat lived in a different part of the world.
Fat Amy lived in Sydney, Australia.
Aubrey was from Virginia.
Emily lived in Ohio.
Flo came from Guatemala.
Lilly lived in Korea.
Ashley was from New Jersey.
Jessica was from Wisconsin.
Stacie lived in Buxton, England.
Jesse was from New York.
Benji lived in California.
Bumper lived in Iowa.
And Chloe lived in Georgia.
Their entire group chat really did reach all around the world. Chloe was sad that nobody lived close enough to one-another that they could all hang out, but was satisfied none-the-less that her group of friends was an amazing group.
Their conversation progressed, Chloe was smiling at her phone and was so engrossed in everything the group talked about that she didn't hear the front door open. By the time she realized her dad was home, she was too slow to even pretend to have been doing homework.
"Chloe Anne Beale, what are you doing?" Her father screeched. Chloe was on her knees, digging through her backpack and pulling out her homework as quickly as possible.
"Chloe, I am trying my best to give you a proper education and, with my budget, it's proving difficult to get you to and from school on time. If you don't value your education and would rather waste away on that stupid phone of yours, then I have no choice but to take it." Chloe's father worked three jobs to hold some sort of financial security for the family.
He really only needed one job to be able to make rent and afford enough food for one week, but he knew he had teenagers and teenagers had needs. So, he picked up two more jobs to be able to provide his children with phones and clothes that didn't reflect their financial situation.
Chloe knew he worked hard. She attempted to take the workload off by looking for jobs for her and Nathan, but her dad insisted for the two to focus on school. He was adamant about both Chloe and Nathan getting proper education and a good scholarship to a good school so they would never have to worry about money like he does.
They live in a small one bedroom apartment, not nearly big enough for the three of them. Chloe got the bed because she was the girl of the house and she reminded both men of Chloe's mother, they treated her like her mother should have been treated.
Chloe's father sleeps on the small futon on the opposite wall of Chloe's bed, and Nathan switches between sleeping on the floor between the two beds and on the small sofa that's backed into the corner of the apartment.
Chloe looks at her father sadly, apologizing for not taking her education as seriously as she should have. She knows how important education is to her father. He is always talked down and frowned upon because he never got the chance to finish college since both his parents passed away and he needed to come home and take care of his own little sister.
He feels now that he is too old to pursue a proper education, therefore he puts all his aspirations onto his children. He isn't mean or abusive towards them, just strict. He only wants the best for his kids and won't allow them to settle for less than they deserve.
Her father holds his hand out, waiting for Chloe to hand over her phone. She holds down the power button and complete powers the phone off, then places it in her dad's hand. He tells her she can have it back on Friday, but only after she finishes all her homework for the weekend.
She agrees and knows that it's fair; it's just going to be hard without her best friends in her pocket whenever school got rough.
Tuesday rolls around the next day and Chloe gets up earliest. She showers quickly in cold water, knowing how impossible it is for her to shower any longer or with much warmer water as it would reflect in the water bills.
She quickly throws on a pair of blue jeans and a red t-shirt that is lightly distressed. It doesn't look designer, but she knows this is about the best her and her family can afford. She pulls on her Target-brand white sneakers and goes to do her makeup.
She only ever wears eyeliner and mascara, keeping her makeup to a minimum because she knows it's not a necessity and it's selfish of her to ask her dad to spare more money on her appearance.
As Nathan gets up to shower, Chloe notices a small rip in the knee of her jeans. Rather than making her father upset with the accidental hole in her nice pants, she grabs a knife and pulls her pants off.
She takes the knife and starts cutting more rips into the jeans, then grabs a rock from outside to distress. Once she finishes prepping her jeans to look less nice but more fashionable, she can't help but feel a small sense of pride in what she's been able to do with old clothes.
She's done that before. Take old garments that are too small, too dirty, too ripped, too poor, and change them to look new and intentional. She's turned old sweaters into new leg warmers; she's turned old t-shirts into new crop tops; she's changed baggy t-shirts into cut tank tops; she's turned old jeans into shorts.
She's even done the same for Nathan and her dad: fixing old t-shirts into new ties; changing old jeans into cargo-style shorts; fixing ripped pants into fashionably distressed jeans; she helps in the only way she knows how.
This is, however, the first time she's ever had to distress a pair of jeans for herself. She keeps most of the rips to the thighs, but throws a few small ones onto the shins and behind her thighs, just under her butt.
She knows it's risky; this look can either be absolutely amazing or it could give her peers the impression that she's poor and can't even afford clothes with all the fabric on it. Rather than worrying about it, however, she runs to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone.
As soon as her dad wakes up, she and Nathan are finishing breakfast and running out the door to make it to school on time. They tell him they take the bus, so he gives them both enough money to make it to and from school for the whole week.
But, in actuality, Chloe and Nathan have been saving that money each week to be able to afford a family vacation in the summer. They thought up the idea the first week of school, and they have about $4000 saved from their "bus rides" as well as days where they would find small, one-time jobs that would pay for help.
With five more months of school left, they know they can save enough money to travel anywhere they want in the States. They quickly run through the cold weather and make it to school just before the first bell rings.
Nathan reminds Chloe to not buy lunch for the rest of the school year, but if she gets hungry then to use the bus money. Chloe is always hungry, but she pushes the feeling down throughout the day in order to save the money.
Their financial situation isn't the most ideal, but Chloe knows it's made her and Nathan very selfless and giving people.
Chloe makes it throughout the day without a single negative comment about her jeans. People compliment her and ask where she bought them and for how much, but she just shrugs it off and says she doesn't remember.
She could brag and say she did it herself, but not only would that give it away that she couldn't afford jeans like this, she doesn't like to boast. She hates standing in the spotlight. She'd rather be behind-the-scenes of something amazing and let someone else take credit, because she knows for herself that she contributed everything she could. She doesn't need recognition for that.
Friday afternoon finally rolls around and Chloe finds herself working through all her weekend homework as quickly as possible. By six, she had finished everything and went to go ask her dad for her phone.
"Hey Dad, I finished my homework. I can still study some more for my biology test in two weeks, but my brain is fried for the night." She smiles somewhat shyly, hoping he'll remember to give her the phone.
"Good, honey. I want you to study and ace that test, okay? But take a break for tonight. I have work in an hour, but we can have a quick dinner now and I'll let you have your phone after. Deal?" They smiled brightly at one another; Chloe shook her head and told Nathan that it's time for dinner.
After a quick meal of one can of tomato soup and two slices of bread per person, they finished dinner and Chloe got her phone back. Giving her dad a hug, she bid him a goodnight as she knew he wouldn't be back until the early morning.
Chloe jumped on her bed and opened up Kik.
Chloe: Guess who's back, bitches!
Aubrey: Chloe! Thank god, it's been madness without you here
Jessica: Where have you been?
Ashley: Haven't found a better group chat, have you?
Stacie: We missed you so much!
Fat Amy: Chloe! You missed Luke!
Chloe: I got my phone taken for the week, I missed you guys too. Who's Luke?
Fat Amy: Only the newest addition to our wonderful group chat. He had to go do something, but I'm sure he'll be back later
Chloe: Is he nice? Is he just gonna leave when the chat dies?
Stacie: I don't think so, I picked him out and he seems nice enough. He's also hot.
Aubrey: I approve, for the most part
Chloe rolled her eyes. Aubrey never fully approves of anyone new joining the group chat because the blonde is so used to everyone else, she hates changing the group dynamic. Part of her rolling eyes was also due to Stacie's comment; whenever Stacie invites a guy in, he usually thinks it's a sex group chat.
Jesse: To be clear, I don't think he's that hot.
Bumper: Agreed, he's got nothing on all my goodness
Fat Amy: Bumper, shut up!
Chloe smiled at Jesse and Bumper. Those two always got jealous whenever another guy joined the group; they liked being outnumbered by the girls.
Chloe: I can't wait to meet him, then. Especially if Jesse's jealous of him! ;)
The chat continued on for a few hours. They all talked about their days; it was rare for all of them to be up and talking at the same time because of all the time differences, but it was nice for at least a few people to be up most of the time.
It was nearing midnight for Chloe. She was just about to bid the group goodnight, but a text caught her attention.
Luke: hey, i'm back. what'd i miss?
Chloe clicked on the profile picture and felt her jaw hit the floor as she saw a shirtless selfie of the blonde boy. She couldn't help but feel attracted to him, prompting her to flirt and test the waters with the guy, see if he was a fuckboy.
Cynthia Rose: Luke! Chloe! Now you guys can officially meet.
Luke: pleased to meet you, chloe. i've heard a lot about you.
Chloe: All good things, I hope. The pleasure is all mine ;)
The group chat started to die, leaving only Luke and Chloe left to talking. Chloe took it upon herself to private message Luke, so as for their notifications to not bother the group.
Chloe: So, Luke, tell me about yourself?
Luke: not much to tell, honestly. i'm from washington, i have no siblings. my birthday is september 22, and i'm 18. i'm 6'2 and i am a senior in high school. i don't do any sports, but i do play around a lot with music. in fact, i've got a job at a radio station where i take the night shifts and play my own music. it's normally at those times when i get to play my own mixes. also, i mix music by the way. kind of an aspiring dj. but yeah, that's me. tell me about you!
Chloe was enticed by the description of this man. She loved how passionate he seemed about music; loving that he mixes music. She always thought DJs could be hot, she's just never actually met one.
Chloe: Well, I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. I have one younger brother, Nathan. He's 17 and I'm 18. My birthday is June 7th, Nathan's is May 5th. I'm 5'4, so wow you're almost a whole foot taller than me. I'm also a senior, and I don't do any sports but I'm in my school's choir. It's not as lame as it sounds, we actually compete at the national level and I can get some college scholarships out of that.
The two end up talking for hours. Chloe is three hours ahead of Luke, but she finds herself ignoring the fact that she's extremely tired. They stay up until five in the morning. Chloe knows her dad will be home soon, so she reluctantly bids Luke goodnight, and promises to text him when she wakes up.
She pretends to be asleep when her dad comes home, but her mind is dancing with thoughts of Luke. Aside from how attractive he obviously is, Chloe is more entranced with his personality.
He's kind and funny and sweet. He was shy to compliment her when they exchanged selfies to get a better idea of what they looked like, but Chloe can't argue the feeling she got when he called her beautiful.
She closed her eyes and expected to picture Luke without his shirt on, instead, she was greeted with the thought of him holding her hand and telling her she's beautiful. She knows it's only been a few hours and he could possibly still be a fuckboy, but she can't help how perfect he seems to be.
The way he talked and acted and complimented, the way he told jokes and genuinely seemed interested in Chloe's life, she thought he seemed perfect.
Too perfect.
Almost as if he had the mind of a girl to be able to know exactly what a girl wants.
This story is going to be a very slow burn; keep in mind Bechloe is endgame ;) R&R so I know if this is a good story, or if I should abandon it.