Kelsi stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her curls were tussled on top of her head, and she had sleep in her eyes. But her skin was glowing, and she couldn't keep a smile off her face. She'd been feeling this way all weekend, and for once, she actually felt beautiful.
"Whew," Kelsi's dad whistled as she walked into the kitchen later on, "Who are you and what have you done to my daughter?"
"Oh shut up, Eric," she said, picking up an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. He made her call him by his real name. The term Dad made him feel old. She always obeyed his wishes. After all he'd gone through the past few years, he didn't need her to act like a normal teenager.
"Where'd you get those clothes?" he asked, handing her a glass of milk.
"They were in the back of my closet," she stated, draining her glass. "It's laundry day, I've got nothing else."
"I didn't even know you owned pants that tight," Eric laughed.
She looked down at the skinny jeans she'd forced herself into.
"They're the product of Sharpay wanting to max out her parent's credit card one weekend," Kelsi explained.
"Ah," he said, holding up his hand, "enough said."
Kelsi loved these exchanges she had with him. They were more buddies than anything else. After her mother died, she helped him with the cooking and cleaning and keeping house. Sometimes she thought about what he would do if she weren't there. Kelsi was all he had.
"I think someone should be getting to school," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "Do you want me to drive you?"
"Eric, I'm seventeen. I've had a car and license for a year now. I think I'll manage.
"Alright, see you later," Eric said as she walked out the door. "Oh, by the way."
"What?" she said turning around.
"Nice necklace."
Kelsi's hand went to the silver K she wore around her neck. The one her parents and gotten her on her thirteenth birthday. The birthday before her mother passed away.
"Thank you," she said, walking out. She stopped at the front door to slid her feet into some flip-flops and grab her things. Just as she picked up her car keys, she saw her reflection again in the mirror on the wall. She saw a different person.
Gone were her cargo pants, t-shirt, and hat. Her neatened curls were cascading down her shoulders, and the red shirt and jean that the girls had picked out for her so long ago were showing of the curves she always hid. The laundry excuse was just that, an excuse to get Eric off her back. She'd meant to dress like this today. She was doing it because she felt good, and that was all, in a way, because of him.
"He just kissed me," Kelsi thought. "Chad Danforth just kissed me." In her mind there was so much wrong with this picture. A big basketball star was pretty much saying that he liked her. Had she just entered some twisted reality? Was she being Punk'd? She pinched herself. It hurt. "Alright this is real," she told herself. "Now what."
"Okay what do I do now," Chad asked himself. Explaining his actions was not his strong point. His parents could vouch for that any day of the week. But what was he supposed to say. Kelsi, I've fallen for you in the past ten minutes, please date me. No. That's not only idiotic, it made him sound like a freak. To tell you the truth, he didn't know why he did it, but right now, he wasn't exactly kicking himself for it.
"Hey Chad," a dreary voice called from the hallway.
"Yeah," he said, shaking himself out of his thoughts.
"There you are," a half-asleep Ryan said as he stumbled into the room. "I think we should go. It's late. Troy and Zeke are pretty loopy. I think they need to go back to bed."
"Seems like you do to," Kelsi quipped.
"Well then it's a good thing I drove," Chad said clapping his hands together and sliding off the bed.
"Yeah whatever," Ryan said, taking off down the stairs while trying to keep himself from keeling over.
"Did you spike their drinks or something?" Chad joked to Kelsi as they followed him.
"Nope," she laughed as they approached the front door. "They must just get kind of tipsy when they're tired. Wow, it's almost 3:00."
"Time flies when you're having fun, I guess," Chad said, fiddling with his keys.
"Yeah," Kelsi said, dropping off.
Another awkward silence feel between them, but this one was filled with tension. Neither of them knew how to fill it until a long, loud blast came from outside.
"Dude, let's go!" Three voices screamed from the car.
"Yeah, we need ourselves a designated driver!!!" Troy shouted.
Kelsi and Chad couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of what he had just said.
"I think they're having fun," Chad said, clutching his side.
"Yeah, definitely," she said, trying to compose herself. "You should leave before they wake up my whole neighborhood."
"Alright, see you later," he said walking out the door.
"Bye."
Kelsi waved to them as they drove off.
"Maybe a twisted reality is the best one," she thought, closing the door.
Kelsi pulled into the school parking lot. Before she turned off the ignition, she took one more look at herself. Something didn't feel right. She wasn't comfortable, and she knew exactly why. Kelsi reached into her bag, pulled out her glasses, and put them on.
"Much better," she thought. People always said that she hid behind her glasses, and maybe she did sometimes. But today she didn't want to be without them. In a way they were apart of her.
Are we going up,
Or just going down
It's just a matter of time until we're all found out
Take our tears, put 'em on ice
Cause I swear, I'd burn the city down to show you the light
Chad bumped his head up and down to the music playing from his Ipod. Fall Out Boy was his guilty pleasure. He was leaning against his locker, waiting for the bell to ring. The guys were standing around him doing the same.
"My god, you people are boring," a voice said from behind him.
Chad turned around.
"Hey Kelsi, what's up?" he said excitedly, pulling the headphones out of his ears.
"Nothing much. You?" she asked.
"Can't complain," Chad said sheepishly, matching her smile, which he had just now noticed was really pretty.
"So, did you have fun on Friday?" Kelsi said.
"Absolutely," he said.
"Yeah, we all did," Ryan butted in.
"It was just what we needed," Zeke said, joined them.
"Thanks Kels," Troy said, hugging her shoulders.
"You're all very welcome, and I can't help but say I told you so," she gloated.
"Haha, very funny," Chad said, as the group shared a good laugh.
"But I also must say that it seems to have had no effect on you guys whatsoever," she teased.
"This is normal behavior for us," Zeke said, in a 'duh' tone.
"Sure," Kelsi said, rolling her eyes.
Troy, Ryan, and Zeke returned to their music, but Chad didn't.
"Hey Kelsi, can I talk to you?" he asked.
"Of course," she said happily, but just as the bell rang telling them to get to homeroom.
Hey, whatcha doing?
Sitting here, trying to stay awake. My god, has Darbus's class always been this boring?
When she's preaching to us about the "magic of the theater", it is.
Hey we better get some people interested or else we'll have no one to audition for the next production.
Yeah. And that song is too good to go to waste.
Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.
Well, when someone's got the talent, it's hard not to like.
Ok, now you're preaching bull. I'm not that good.
Yes you are, now admit it.
No.
Fine. Miss Humble.
Miss Humble, I like the sound of that.
"Miss Nielson?"
"Yes, Mrs. Darbus," Kelsi said, hiding the note her and Chad had been passing back and forth.
"Do I have your complete, undivided attention?"
"Yes, ma'ma," she said obediently.
"Good," Mrs. Darbus said, returning to her ramblings.
Kelsi looked over at Chad, and they shared a small laugh between them as the bell rang.
"That was close," she said, picking up her notebook.
"Yeah, we should've probably been more discrete," he said, walking with her out the door.
"Oh, well," Kelsi laughed as walked down the hall.
"Listen, Kelsi, I really, really want to talk to you," Chad said as they approached her locker.
"Yeah I know," she said, putting in her locker combo and avoiding his gaze.
Chad lifted up her chin so he could look into her eyes.
"What are you doing during free period?"
Kelsi smiled, and slammed her locker door shut.
"Apparently, hanging with you in the music room," she responded.
"The music room?" He asked questionably as they separated to go to there different classes.
"Where else do you think I spend my time?"
"Come on bell, ring already," Chad begged in his head as the seconds before the beginning of free period ticked away.
BRIIIIING!!!!
"Yes," Chad said as he bolted out of the classroom.
He practically sprinted down the hall to his locker. He hurriedly put in his locker combo, and threw his books in. He slammed the door shut, and just as he was about to go meet Kelsi in the music room, a pair of hands slid over is eyes.
"Guess who?"
AN: Ok, so there's Chapter 3, Finally. Excuse my language, but I've started calling this chapter the bastard chapter because it took so long for me to write. In fact it's the whole reason I took the stroy down, once again I'm sorry.
The song Chad was listening to was Sophmore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year by Fall Out Boy, obviously. I also mentioned Thnks Fr Th Mmrs. I do not own either.
That bit at the beginning was supposed to be Kelsi waking up Monday morning. I really like that part with her Dad. Oh, I'm sorry, Eric. This chapter was mostly filler, but trust me it'll get interesting.
- I swear I'd burn the city down to show you the light