Too Close
Chapter Two
I shot up from my seat the second the bell echoed through the school and began to join the crowd spilling into the hallways. I had survived the first day of classes…but only barely. I unfortunately only had two classes with Ally and I had every class with Reid and Tyler…I really felt as if my life was now being directed by some twisted director who found enjoyment in tormenting me with seeing Reid's face everywhere. This was the absolute worst possible day I kept saying as I watched the clock as if my life depended on it.
Thankfully I met a few of Ally's friends throughout the day, I wasn't sure if it was my shyness or the uptight atmosphere of the classroom, but I didn't speak to them much. I spoke enough to know their names, which I hoped I could remember the next day.
There was Hannah, sweet and reserved Hannah was a lot like me except for the fact she was more interested in filling her head with knowledge instead of facts of others learned through small talk. She would be easy enough to get along with.
Next there was Ashley and Ashton, the Caldwell twins. Both very striking in their flawless appearance yet both are well-known class clowns. I spent the entire third period class hiding behind my book to keep from allowing my bright red face to be noticed. They would often let out loud remarks and obscene jokes for the sake of a classroom filled with laughter. They were entertaining to say the least, but I was absolutely mortified that I chose to sit between the two during their relentless attacks of humor.
Ashley was very nice though and Ashton was too in his own way, I was soon made slightly uncomfortable at his constant questioning of my relationship status and his continuous complementing of my red hair. Those two were quite the interesting pair. They also were close to Reid and proceeded to send the infamous head nod to the blonde as he entered the classroom. I was beginning to think I'd never catch a break from his presence.
I shook the thoughts of the day from my head as I continued to hurry my way towards my dorm room; quickly making a fool of myself by trying to sneak a peek at the school map I was attempting to hide under the cover of my literature book. I managed to look up from my map to make sense of where I was until I finally caught glimpse of my room close by. I released a sigh of relief as I made my way into my room.
"Danvers! You made it out alive!" Ally chuckled as she began to crunch on a potato chip while stretching out upon the bed to reach for her laptop.
"Barely…I don't know if I'll be able to make it through the week Ally…this school is so much different than I had expected." I said while stacking my books neatly by the edge of my bed before plopping myself upon it.
"Well what in the hell where you expecting then?" she asked while beginning to tap away on her laptop.
"I don't know, it's just Caleb spoke so highly about this school. He loved this place and never wanted to leave." I sighed while wondering if I would ever want to leave the safety of my room again.
"Well that's because he ruled this school girl, everyone knew him and everyone was either in love with him or wanted to be him. You got to start acting more like your brother if you want to make it here and make it to that level of popularity that you've been talking about wanting to reach." Her words were blunt but I respected the fact she told it like it was. She was right, she was more than right. As much as I hated being compared to my brother, I had to be like him in order to have a place here at Spencer Academy. But how?
Before I could ask for further advice, Ally began coughing and laughing without care that her chips began to fall onto the wooden floor below.
"OH MY GOD! NO WAY!" Ally began screaming at the top of her lungs. I was instantly confused and reassured that this might just be a normal act from my energetic roommate.
"You are NOT going to believe what Ashton posted for his status!" she said while throwing me an excited expression that made me regret to even ask what she was talking about.
"Ashton's status says that his new favorite color is red!" She shrieked while proceeding to throw a pillow towards me in excitement. I quickly caught it but continued to wonder what she was so excited about.
"What's the big deal? A lot of people like red."
"Oh my goodness girl, he's talking about YOU! Your hair!" She shouted and then my mouth dropped which only added to her excitement. She began to giggle as I forced my head into the pillow. I knew Ashton was a bit too forward with his flirtations, but I figured that was just how he was…well this school was finding more and more ways to surprise me.
The week quickly flew by and much to my astonishment; Ashton and I had quickly become the closest of friends which seemed to shock Ally more than anyone. It was nice to have someone to be yourself around and despite my first reaction to run and to freak out in a dramatic display of aggravation after learning of his attraction towards me…I learned that this was actually a good thing. Ashton, away from the urge to be the main entertainment within the classroom, was actually a really great person to get to know. He so quickly brought me around his other friends who then in turn brought me around their friends. I was unfortunately given the title of "that cute, shy red-head"…I tried to pretend they focused more on the "cute" than the "shy" but it was a start nonetheless.
Classes grew easier to handle and even my courage to be able to see Reid walk in without slow motion taking control of my vision and embarrassment taking control of my cheeks. Small victories…that's what my life was at this point and I was proud of it!
Rolling over onto my side and facing the brightness of the sun creeping through the blinds of the window; I couldn't believe that it was now Saturday: party day. I was thankfully not feeling the need to vomit from nervousness however I was still unsure as to how the night would go. This will be my first high school party…I kept repeating that to myself as I then rolled back onto my back and began to stare up at the textured ceiling.
Sure I had gone to a few gatherings in Europe with a few classmates, but much like everything else in my arsenal of experiences they would prove to be quite different that what I was accustomed to. I was sure that the part would involve beer rather than chilled wine and I was certain that the music wouldn't involve a circle of people with acoustic guitars in hand. As all the differences I was reminding myself of began to attack my mind, my breathing became heavy. It wasn't even 8am and I was already about to hyperventilate over this party taking place tonight.
Maybe there was still time to back out and catch up on some of my television shows. Well I sounded just like my mother which was reason enough to force the ideas of what "illness" I could magically fall victim to before the party out of my mind. I had to go, I didn't have a choice.
Before too long I began to hear the snoring of Ally slowly begin to fade indicating she was about to wake up. I managed to pull myself together and push away the onslaught of thoughts and anxieties.
Ally stretched out with a muffled shout as she began to squeal about how excited she was for tonight; I was hoping that excitement would start to rub off on me but who was I kidding? This was uncharted territory for me, I was the odd man out here and it was going to be hard to keep up the act I had been creating for myself to my peers throughout the week. I was apparently a party animal and could down a shot better than my brother…well this was definitely going to be an interesting night to say the least.
"I say…we go shopping for a new outfit for the party! Tonight we're going all out, I've got my newest party partner now and we got to look better than every other girl there!" Ally said while yawning.
"A new outfit would be good! I could use something new to wear for the party!" I said, still faking my enthusiasm.
Before too long we had managed to blow the majority of the day with endless rounds of trying on clothes and girly small talk that I couldn't deny enjoying. It had been so long since I have had anyone I could talk to about anything. Most of the people I met in my studies abroad were private and secretive people which suited me fine because I quickly became the exact same way. But there was just something about Ally that led me to tell her more about my life and my thoughts in the matter of one week than I have told my family in the entire span of my life. It was somewhat funny to think about, but it mainly made me think of how I was actually beginning to enjoy school and Spencer Academy as a whole…a realization that I didn't expect to reach until at least mid-semester.
I was now out from the department store dressing rooms and facing the full length mirror in my dorm room. I turned my head slightly to see the glowing numbers of my digital alarm clock reading: 7:04pm. I then returned my gaze onto my reflection.
My small frame was dressed in an outfit I would never allow my mother or brother to catch me in but I was glad I was so easily talked into getting it. It was the tightest pair of black leather pants I think I could squeeze into without making it impossible to move. My top was a slightly looser fitting white sheer shirt that draped in such a way that my upper chest and shoulders remained bare; a white tank beneath. I was standing taller than I ever have before in a pair of high heeled black heels. My bright red hair was straight as a board and fell perfectly about my shoulders. I couldn't believe my appearance and I certainly couldn't believe that I was about to go to a party. Excitement and nervousness both took their place in the knot formed within my stomach.
"Ashley and Ashton are waiting for us in the parking lot! We'll be riding with them to the party." Ally called from the bathroom. She was adding the final touches to her pink party dress. She was so full of excitement and the bold choice of color and dress matched it perfectly.
I was so relieved to know the twins were accompanying us to the party; Ashton had without a doubt become my source of confidence in entering a social situation. I regretted the fact I wasn't developing an interest in him romantically, I really hoped I would but it was obvious he was just a friend to my heart.
My train of thought was broken as Ally stood behind me and took hold of my shoulders.
"Alright you sexy thing, let's do this!" she said with a devilish smile. That had to be the famous last words that would go down in history with whatever this night had in store for me.
Author's Note: Thanks for everyone who has shown an interest in the story and chose to follow and favorite it! AWESOME! Hope you enjoy the fic as it unfolds! The next update will be in *REID'S POV* so be aware of that, I do tend to shift POV's from time to time just to have some fun in portraying my main characters to the best of my ability! I also hope everyone enjoys all my characters I've added to the story, I hope they stand apart in a good way and aren't just those lame backup characters haha! Hope you enjoy!
Supernaturalfan17980: Thanks for your review, you were the first one! Glad you like the story, I will most certainly see this fic through til the end!
AliH1: So glad you came to read and review my new Covenant story thanks so much and I hope you continue to enjoy it!
HapaDoll: Well hello there my friend, so glad you found your way to this story! I'm glad it seems different than my other story but still good and I'm like you I do so enjoy the setting of Spencer Academy, it just feels right and a bit more believable than my other fic that seems to stay in the motel room hahaha terrible lol! And as for the age difference, I sort of took the creative lead with it. They do not specify in the movie what year in school they are each in BUT with Caleb ascending first and that sort of scenes where Caleb is the lead because of his maturity of ascending first and everything AND the fact that Tyler and Reid both act so young compared to both Caleb and Pogue, I just went with the thought that they were a year apart. Probably has no true basis of truth to it, but ah well, I think it's believable I hope you do as well. So glad your excited for what's to come, trust me there will be plenty of drama, angst and adventure in this one as well, never a fairy tale romance in my stories haha! Thanks for following along! I saw your PM I'll be replying to that today! I'm trying to get out of lazy holiday mode and get back to updating my stories while I have some time today haha! Wish me luck, hope you are well!