Sparks Fly

I never meant for it to happen. I never meant to fall in love with him. Oh, but I did. And the worst part is that he has no idea— and that he certainly doesn't feel the same way about me.

Scratch that. The worst part is that it's not even like I can get away from him. We're tied together. He's close enough to touch, but I can't— I won't.

It doesn't even make sense for me to love him. He's reckless and so infuriating, and he makes me crazy.

At first, it was just his eyes. Those gorgeous, big brown eyes. I swear, I could look into them all day long and be totally happy to do so.

Then it was his smile. That sexy half-smile that he does so well. The one he pulls out when he's causing trouble or when he wants something.

Then, it was his body. That's usually the first thing girls notice about him. And I was no different, but all of those years of hockey did him wonders. He's every girl's wet dream— Biceps the size of my head and washboard abs.

And I know I said he makes me crazy— he does, and he damn well knows it. But ultimately, that's what made me fall for him. His looks don't hurt, of course, but in the end, it's everything. Everything about him.

We fight almost every day. Even still, while we're away at school. I swear, he purposely seeks me out just to get under my skin.

I even love the stupid little nicknames he calls me now. I hated them for so long. But I figure he wouldn't keep coming up with them if he didn't care, even just a little.

I'll probably never tell him how I feel though. It's a bad idea. I love him so much it makes my head spin, but I can't tell him that. It would change everything.

A loud whistle breaks me out of my thoughts.

"Hello? You in there, Princess?"

I shake my head, attempting to clear those thoughts from my head.

"Y-yeah," I stutter, looking up at him from across the table. "S-sorry, I'm here."

"What's his name?" my step-brother laughs, biting on the eraser on his pencil.

I scrunch my eyebrows together, questioning.

"Oh, come on. I've seen that exact look on your face so many times. You were daydreaming about some guy. Who is he?"

"Der-ek!" I groan, rolling my eyes, closing my textbook harder than is probably necessary.

"Derek, huh? I swear, I know a guy by that name," he says, pretending to think hard, that stupid smile taking root on his face.

I eye my step-brother pointedly, shoving my textbook into my backpack.

"Just drop it, Derek," I try, even knowing he'll never do that.

I stand from the table in the courtyard that I'd been studying at (and that he'd been pretending to study at) and turn around, starting towards my dorm room.

"Caaaase," Derek calls after me, dragging out my name. "I'm just messing with you. I'm sure whoever he is, he's great."

I hear Derek gather up his own books, and then footsteps like he's jogging after me before he appears by my side.

"He's not. He's awful," I groan, turning to look at him, wishing I hadn't.

He's laughing— that's another thing. His laugh. It's beautiful. Melodic. And you can't laugh without a smile, and we've already established that I love his smile.

"Must really be a looker then for you to throw the whole personality out," he says, still laughing, offering me a Twizzlers from his backpack.

I shrug, biting into the licorice.

"He's alright," I lie, bumping his shoulder with mine.

Derek laughs again, taking a bite from his own licorice.

"So, average looking guy with the personality of a toaster? Great, I'm sure Nora will be so proud."

I shake my head, but I can't help but laugh. His sense of humor gets me too. I can hold my own in an argument with him, but his one-liners are dangerous.

"Oh, please, you're not known for picking winners either, D."

Derek shrugs, opening the door to my dorm building for me, following me inside and up the stairs to the third floor.

I'm pulling my keys out of the kangaroo pocket of my sweatshirt when we reach my dorm room. Derek leans up against the door, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets.

He smiles that half-smile again, his eyes meeting mine.

I try to yank my gaze away, but I can't. He's like a firework show, or maybe a car accident— either way, he's got me completely captivated.

"Princess?" he asks, leaning his head back against my door.

I raise my eyebrows, without answering verbally, but he understands me anyway. He's usually the only person who does understand me. He understands me so well. He knows when I'm upset, or worried, or happy, or stressed. I don't even have to say anything— He just knows.

"You can do much better than Toaster Guy," Derek says quietly, exhaling heavily.

I sigh, leaning my shoulder against the wall beside him.

"What if I don't want to?"

The corner of Derek's lips pulls up, his face softens, and he shrugs.

"What if I don't want you to either?"

I furrow my eyebrows together, confused, but it only lasts a moment.

The next moment, one of Derek's hands cups the side of my neck, the other rests on my hip, and he pulls me to him. He leans down, pressing his lips to mine.

His lips are soft, and he tastes like Twizzlers, but that's not why my head is spinning.

I drop my backpack and coil my arms around his neck, kissing him back.

Part of me feels like this is some kind of dream that I'll wake up from any minute, but I'm hoping it's not. It'd have to be one hell of a vivid dream. I can taste the Twizzlers, I can smell his leather jacket, I can feel his arms around me.

When I pull back from him, I look up at him, happy, but confused.

"How'd you know?"

He laughs lightly, brushing a strand of hair out of my face, and leans his forehead against mine.

"I know you."

Hello, friends. So, this one-shot is inspired by the song "Sparks Fly" by Taylor Swift. I'm sure everyone has heard that song by now, but if you haven't listen to it. Also, when I asked in "Up All Night" which one-shots y'all wanted to see next, when I mentioned "song-inspired", it hadn't occurred to me that I have three song-inspired one-shots written, not just this one. The next vote was for "high school first kiss Dasey", so, would you like to see "high school first kiss Dasey" or another song-inspired next?

Thanks for reading.