Those Eyes- Chapter 3!

Hey everyoneee!!!!
Here is the third chapter of Those Eyes! I hope you like it!! And check out my uStream as well!!!
Luv,
Ashley!

Chapter 3~ Confessions

            Too soon, the bell for fifth period rang.  So I said goodbye to Sammy, Delaney, Sara, and all the guys before leaving.  After his goodbyes, Cole caught up with me and walked with me to English. 

            Today, he made small talk and he seemed to be more tense than usual. 

            After discussing his friends and how much I liked them, we fell into an awkward silence.  I decided not to break it.  Maybe he had something important to say.  I sure hoped that was the case.

            “So,” he said after a long minute.

“Yeah,” I urged him, “What’s up?”

            “The Fall Ball is coming up,” Cole started.

            Oh. My. God!  Was he going to ask me?  I thought I was going to start hyperventilating.

            “And I was wondering,” he continued, oblivious to my inner reactions, “If you wanted to go with me.” He concluded. 

            What should I say?  If I said yes, how could I keep it from Sadie?  No one would be able to escape my joy.  But Sadie wasn’t my boss, and I could do what I want.  It was at that point that I remembered Cole was waiting for my response.

            “Yes,” I said in a sure voice, surprising myself, “I would love to go to the ball with you.”

            Cole breathed a sigh of relief and we progressed to English.  When we got there, Cole came and sat next to me, which left Gillian without a spot.  After a half happy, half annoyed glare at me, she went to go sit in Cole’s spot, which was next to Logan Ealton, Gillian’s crush since fifth grade.  She got out her purple rhinestone-covered iPhone; and seconds later, my phone was vibrating.

            Careful to keep my Razor out of Ms. Geela’s sight, I took it out and read her text.

            GILLIAN: I’d watch out.  nicki’s beyond mad.

            ME: wat’d she say??

            GILLIAN: she said she wuz gonna get the full story out of u in French.

            It was then that Carlie entered the room.  Great.  As if I didn’t have enough to worry about.

            And what about Sadie?  What did she mean ‘full story’? Every detail?  What should I tell her?  And why did everything have to be about Nicki?  Why did everything have to go by her?  I was through with it.

            GILLIAN: hello??

            ME: srry. Wat should I do??

GILLIAN: turn off ur cell, computer, and anything tht can give her access 2 u.

            ME: kk, thnx

            Right then, Ms. Geela started class, so the rest of our conversation would have to wait.  English was more uptight than usual.  With Carlie analyzing my every move and Cole sitting next to me, I hardly ever relaxed.

            The best part was when Ms. Geela wrote our assignment on the board.  Cole wrote, in his untidy, all caps scrawl:

            BORING ISN’T IT?

            I decided to be honest with him.

Only when we do stuff like this. Other than that, I love English. It’s my fav subject.

          REALLY?!

            Yeah, I love reading and writing.

            Did he enjoy finding this out?  Or did he think I was that much weirder?

            THAT’S COOL.

            Thanks.

          WHAT R U DOING AFTER SKOOL?

          Cheer, then Autumn’s probably gonna come over. You?

          Oops!  What if he wanted to hang out?  Too late now, he already read my response.

            BASKETBALL, THEN DRAKE AND I R GOING 2 THE PARK.

            Which one?? Was he going to the one across the street from my house?

            THE ONE ON CARLSON & BIRKFIELD.

            Oh my God!  He was going to the one across from my house!  Should I tell him?  My hand was writing before I’d made up my mind.

            Oh! I live across the street from that park.   

          COOL. MAYBE WE’LL DROP BY

            Before I could respond, the bell rang.

            My heart dropped.  I would have to face Sadie now; and that was something I just wasn’t prepared to do.  Only Cole’s voice was able to break me out of my internal depression.

            “So, maybe I’ll see you later,” Cole said, waiting for me to get up. 

            “Yeah, maybe,” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

            After that, we fell into an awkward silence.  I wonder what he was thinking.  I was thinking about what to tell Sadie.

            Cole only spoke when we got to the door.

            “So,” he started.  I was beginning to think that is was his catch phrase. “I’ll see you later.”

            “Yeah.”   Then, quickly, he gave me a hug.  Immediately, Cole’s signature Black was all I could smell.  I wonder if he felt the connection like I did.  After four whole seconds, he released me. 

            “Later,” he said, and his voice was slightly shaky.

            “Bye,” I responded, embarrassed that my voice was slightly shaky as well, and I was grinning like an idiot.  Come on, I told myself, It was only a hug.  But my heart said so much more.  After a few seconds, my cell phone buzzed.  It was Gillian.

            GILLIAN: smooth move! Ur lucky I got sadie turned around b4 she saw anything.

            ME: thnx. P.S. he pulled me in.

            GILLIAN: suuuure(:

            ME: haha

            French was very tense.  I was able to steer clear of Sadie, though.  And it was easier than I expected.  Madame Dusanté was in an awful mood.  She shouted every time someone talked out of turn.

            Everything was going fine; that is, until Sadie caught up with me after cheer.  And boy was she mad.

            “What were you dong with him?” she demanded.  I didn’t know how to respond.  Where was Gillian?

            “Well?” she waited.

            “Ummm….” Was my brilliant response.

             “Ummm…” She mimicked me, “Is that all you can say?  Cole and I broke up, and by honoring girl code, as you are my friend, you are not allowed to date him!”

            Somewhere in the middle of all that, I found my voice.

            “Sadie,” I started, and I sounded a lot calmer than I actually felt, “you have no right to judge me before you have all the details!” I was amazed I could make an excuse like that right on the spot.

            It worked; she was confused.  So now I had time to think up a really good, believable excuse.

            “Huh?” she questioned.  Seconds later, Carlie, Gillian, and Lexie approached.  Hopefully Gillian was still on my side.

            “Yeah,” I continued, “How could you judge me like that?  Don’t you know that I was just trying to get closer to him to be able to… find a plan to get back at him?”

            “Oh,” Sadie murmured, clearly she was embarrassed.  But she was still able to snoot at me.  “Well, you should’ve told us.  I would’ve had Carlie or someone else do it.”

            This made me upset.  Gillian and I exchanged angered glances; hopefully hers was intended to be toward Sadie’s behavior as well.  “Why shouldn’t it be me?  I mean, Cole knows we aren’t like best friends, so I was the best one for the job.”

            “Well-“ Sadie started.  How could she find a way out of that?  My logic was airtight.  I used Sadie’s confusion to make my escape.

            “I gotta go.  See you later.”  Then Gillian and I went to walk home.  It wasn’t pleasant, but it was better than fighting with Sadie.

            “What was that?!” Gillian exclaimed, “Now we need to think of a plan!”

            “First, let’s go to my house and dance for an hour.” I suggested.  Gillian and I were part of the Dancing 4 Life Dance Studio dance team.  Ms. Aimee didn’t want us to dance on the school team.  She said that team was for weak dancers who can’t make a real dance team.  Gillian and I had decided not to tell Sadie about our dance team.  She was captain of the school team.

            “Fine,” she agreed reluctantly.  “So what happened with you and Cole?”  Are you going out?”

            This was the question I didn’t want to have to answer, mostly because it would involve a lot of explanation.

            “I guess we are, but I’m not entirely certain.” I hoped my vague explanation wouldn’t set her over the edge.

            “Oh my God!” Gillian squealed, gripping my arm so hard it felt like was going to fall off, “What did he say to you?”

            “Okay!” I said, shaking her arm off.  Then I whispered, “He asked me to the Fall Ball.”

            “AHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Gillian screamed, unable to keep her cool, “Oh my god!  When?  Where?  Why didn’t you tell me?” she was gripping my arm again.

            “Ow, ow, ow!” I exclaimed, pulling her arm off me again.  “He asked me on the way to English.”

            We reached the house, and Gillian knew her curiosity would have to wait.  Of course she couldn’t talk about this in front of my mother.

            “Hey mom.” I yelled when I got inside.

            “Hi Mrs. Brown.” Autumn yelled after me.

            “Hi girls,” my mom responded, “Are you hungry?”

            “Yeah,” Gillian and I said at the same time.  We made our way into the kitchen where we could smell fresh baked cookies.

            After we finished eating our cookies, Gillian and I made our way up to the dance studio.  Actually, it was a loft, but Gillian and I used it as our dance studio because no one else ever went in there.  The loft faced the front of the house.  One of the walls was made entirely of glass.  At night, it looked like a mirror so we could watch our dancing, but during the day, it was just a really big window.  Which would be perfect, seeing as I wanted to see whether Cole was really coming or not.

            I pressed play on my sound system and “Rock star” by Prima J started playing.  Gillian made a face.  She hated this kind of pop music; she was more into metal or rock.  But it was good for dancing.  The music started, and we started dancing.

            After a solid hour of dancing, Cole still hadn’t shown up.  Gillian could sense my depression, so she suggested we go to the park and practice some gymnastics.

            Our park was like a gymnastics stadium.  The grass was perfectly level and there were regulation-size uneven bars.  This was our favorite place to come whenever we had nothing to do. 

            Gillian put my iHome down on the bench and pressed play to my favorite song, “According to You” by Orianthi.  Right away, we got into our routines.  At the end of every song, we’d switch.  First, I went on the bars and she did her floor routine.  After the song finished, we’d switch. 

            After a minute or so, I heard some people talking, coming up the sidewalk.  I kept going on with my routine, but after a second, I saw Gillian leave her routine and go to put on her sweats.  I released the bar and surprisingly stuck my landing.  What was going on?

            Then I realized the voices I heard were Cole and his friends.  I ran to the bench, too.  We hit pause, and raced into our sweats.  I wouldn’t want Cole to see me in my short-shorts and tank top. 

            Gillian tried to pack everything up as fast as we could, her ponytail flying all over the place, but they caught up with us too quickly.

            “Hi Dana,” I heard Cole say, “What are you guys doing here?”

            “Ummm…” I didn’t know what to say.  And since Gillian was still packing up everything, I was on my own.  What should I say?  No one knew we did gymnastics, and we had tried to keep it a secret. “We’re just walking around,” I said lamely.

            They didn’t buy it.  I could tell by their expressions.  But they pretended anyway.  Seconds later, my ring tone played.  I checked to see who texted me.  It was Sadie.  Uh oh.  I looked over at Gillian.  She was checking her phone with an upset expression.  I flipped my phone open.  Right after, I wished I hadn’t.

            SADIE: revenge is imminent.

            What did that mean? Was she watching us?  I looked over at Gillian again, and she was looking at me.

            After an awkward minute, Gillian spoke up.

            “Look guys, it’s great to see you, really; but we’re in a rush.  So,” she paused, looking at me again, “Later.”

            “Yeah, bye,” I muttered, and then Gillian and I sprinted back to my house.  When we were safely inside, we broke down in hysterics.

            “Oh my god!” she said breathless, “that was close.”  She started laughing again.

            I laughed too. “Dance?” I asked.

            “Sure”

            So we went back upstairs and put on “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha.  It wasn’t a favorite of Gillian, or myself, but it had a certain edge to it that just made it fun to dance to.

            When we finished, it got really hot, so we opened the window.  That’s when we heard the guys walking down the street.

            A minute later, we heard the doorbell ring.  Being as naïve as I was, I hadn’t suspected who it would be.  Of course it was the guys.

            “Hey,” Drake said, being the brave soul of the group.

            “Who is it, Dana?” I heard my mom ask from her sewing room.  I ran over to the stairs and grabbed a sweater and put it on as quickly as I could. 

            “Just some guys from school.” I yelled back.  Please don’t embarrass me.  Please don’t embarrass me.  Please don’t embarrass me.

            “Boys?” she asked, sounding as if she hadn’t heard correctly.  Here we go, I thought.

            When I looked back over, I realized Cole wasn’t there.  Where was he? 

            My mom came out of the sewing room.  Thank goodness she was wearing her cute juicy sweatpants and not the raggedy clothes she usually wore. “Oh,” she analyzed all the guys with her eyes; she seemed to approve. “Well, welcome to this house.  I’m Mrs. Brown, just call if you need anything.”  Then, before she left, she gave me a look as if to say ‘be careful’. 

            “Dude, who is it?” Gillian asked from upstairs, sounding impatient.

            “It’s the guys.” I yelled back.  Then I turned to them. “Do you want to come upstairs?” I asked, uncertain, “We can, um, hang out, if you want...”

            “Sure,” Drake answered, “uh, thanks.”

            While they looked around, I fired a quick text to Gillian.

            ME: change fast, the boys r coming up.

            My phone buzzed half a second later.

            GILLIAN: kk

            While we walked up the stairs, I pointed out the different rooms.

            “Uh, that’s my room, my mom’s room, my brother’s room, the sewing room,” I trailed off once we got to the loft.  Gillian wasn’t there, but I heard drawers closing in my room.  Seconds later, she came out.  She’s fixed her ponytail to perfection, and put on her royal purple Juicy Couture sweat suit.  It wasn’t much, but she still looked amazing.  I caught myself envying her.  I looked around the group again.  Oh, Logan was there.  No wonder Gillian got all dressed up without getting dressed up.  It was a weird compromise, but it worked for her.

            “Hi everyone,” she said confidently, “what are you guys doing here?”

            I went up to her and whispered in her ear, “you have this under control, I’m going to go get dressed.”

            This wiped the grin off her face.  Whether she was a flirt or not, and she definitely was, Gillian couldn’t be left alone with four hot jocks.  But it wasn’t like her to admit it.

            “Okay, hurry up, though.” She said, slightly panicky.

            When I got to my room, I went straight to my favorite pair of sweats.  They were lime green limited edition Juicy Couture sweats. Gillian got them for me last Christmas.  They were my favorite color, which was, of course, lime green.  I put those on, and my white t-shirt.  I wouldn’t look as good as Gillian, but who could? 

            I came back out and Gillian was just standing there talking to the guys.  She was visibly tense.  I went to her side as quickly as I could.

            “I’m back,” I announced, though it was obvious.  Gillian relaxed at my side, “Where’s Cole?” I wondered aloud.

            “Cole had to go home after we left the park.  He didn’t say anything.  I wonder what was up with him.” Drake answered.

            So for the next few minutes, we were all just conversing, I turned on the Wii, so the guys who felt awkward here could just play Mario Kart.

            After things finally started to get comfortable, I heard “Got Dynamite”, my ring tone, playing.  It was muffled, so I knew it was under something.  I went to go look for it.  I found it in between the couch cushions.  It was Sadie.

            SADIE: meeting @ the park in 10. get ready 4 revenge!

            GILLIAN: kk, c u in 10.

            AMBER: I’ll be there.

            LEXIE: c ya in 10.

            CARLIE: just finished volleyball, mite b late

            I hesitated before sending my message.

            SADIE: dana??

            ME: sure c u in 10.

            SADIE: good

            I closed my Razor and Gillian made her announcement.  “Sorry guys, we need to go, that means you do, too.”

            “Why?” Drake asked.

            “Sorry, but I need to have dinner, and I have a science test tomorrow.  Thanks for coming though.” I responded hurriedly, herding them downstairs.

            I lead them to the door.  As soon as they were out of sight, Gillian and I sprinted back to the park.  We were doing a lot of exercise today.  When we got there, we weren’t the only ones who were breathless.  Carlie was still in her volleyball gear.  She looked like she tuck and rolled out of the car, which, she probably did.

            “What took you guys so long?” Sadie demanded as soon as we were all in earshot.

            Gillian looked like she was about to slap her. “What took us so long?” she weezed, “You texted us with an S.O.S when we’re all doing other stuff and you ask us what took us so long?  Sorry we can’t be your perfect little servants who just come at your every will!”

            I looked at her in awe.  Amber and Lexie seemed at a loss for words, but I think they looked proud of her, too.  Carlie and Sadie both looked like they wanted to slap her.

            “Oh I’m sorry,” Sadie started putting extra emphasis on her words to make them sound even more sarcastic, “I’m so sorry that I just experienced the worst break-up ever, and I just wanted a little support from-“

            “A ‘little’ support is fine,” Gillian interrupted, “just don’t yell at us for coming to help you and not being able to come in an instant, because we aren’t your servants.”

            “Whatever,” Sadie dismissed the comment with a bad comeback, “well, I thought of the perfect revenge plot.”

            Whatever expression was already on face locked there.  Why did she want to get revenge?  I wouldn’t be a part of it.

            “Um, revenge?” I managed to stammer.

            “Yeah,” Sadie said, major amounts of ‘duh’ saturating her voice, “and I’m gonna need all your help, especially you, Dana.  You’ll be the brains of this operation.”

            I couldn’t respond to that. 

            “Why are you looking so awful?” Carlie asked, “What?  You don’t want to help us, isn’t that why you’re always with Cole?”

            Uh oh.  I forgot about my lie.  “Yeah,” I said, trying to sound powerful, “But why get revenge?  I mean, it would be so childish.  Are we in one of those lame T.V. shows where the girl always has to get back at the guy who dumped her?  Really guys, come on!”

            Only Lexie would be so oblivious to the tension, “Um, Dana?  What are you talking about?  Isn’t middle school all about taking things off bad sitcoms?”

            Sadie looked at Lexie, “Dude, we don’t have time for your quote unquote ‘blonde’ moments, okay?  Right now I’m trying to find out what Dana’s hiding.”

            This brought my attention back to Sadie.  “What?” I asked, wide eyed.

            “Oh, you heard me.  Don’t pretend you don’t know.  You have that glassy stare you always have when you’re thinking about something else.  Now what is it?” she demanded.

            Uh oh.  I couldn’t find my voice.  She knew I was hiding something, and she knew it was big.  I hadn’t known she even paid that much attention to me.

            “Well?” she pressed.

            “She doesn’t have to tell you anything, Sadie,” Gillian defended me.

            “I’m sorry, Gillian, but did you change your name to Dana in the past two hours? No,” Sadie scoffed, “Let her try and have a spine.”

            That got to me, “You do know that I’m standing right here, right?”

            Sadie just dismissed that, “Whatever.  I have the perfect revenge plan.  Final operation will take place during the Fall Ball” she added with a devilish grin.

            My eyes widened.  “Um, does it have to be the Fall Ball?” I stammered.

            “Why not?” Sadie demanded, “The best part is that any tramp that goes to the ball with Cole be all embarrassed, too.  So, unless you continue to sit with Cole at lunch, you can help us with the plan, okay?” Her eyes narrowed as if she dared me to tell her that I was Cole’s “tramp”.  I just focused on trying to keep my poker face.  After a while, it just became too much.  Without thinking, I started running home, ignoring the shouts coming after me.  But of course Gillian would follow.  I heard her running after me.  Oh well, I thought.  The only person who could beat me was Carlie, and it wasn’t like she was going to try.  I ran harder, until the following footsteps faded away... 

My uStream!!

Heyyyy,
I couldn't figure out how to upload videos on my blog, so heres a video of my ustream, but I also have covers of me singing.  This one is pretty boring.... I mean, like, I just talk about what I like to do, but just look up my covers and say what you think!!!
<3, Ashley!!(:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9576939

Just My Life!!

Hi everyone!!
Okay, so I've had my first 2 weeks of high school and it's been crazy!! So I'm just blogging about it, just randomness(: hahaha.  Well, I was just wondering if anyone knew about being able to post a 'video blog'?  Because I want to post a video of me maybe singing songs and stuff.  If no one knows, then I think I'm just going to copy and paste posts from my uStream account... So yeah, just thought I'd give you that lovely insight!(:
I hope you all have a totally awesome week! And I will post my next chapter of 'Those Eyes' up as soon as I can... but right now, I am on my father's computer and unable to access the file. So yeah, talk to you soon!!

Luv forever and always,
Ashley <3

Those Eyes- Chapter 2

Hi everyone!
So I want to send a big thanks to Brookie and Talia... Well, they're like my only followers, so thanks for reading the story and following!!!(: Here's chapter 2 of Those Eyes. Tell people and give me ideas and stuffs! I have 6 chapters right now, so I think I'm just gonna post like, one a day, so yeah(: Thanks again!!
Luv,
Ashley


Chapter 2~ Secrets


The next day, Gillian almost threw her binder at me. She said my excitement was making her sick. I wouldn’t have noticed.

I had told Gillian about my cyber conversation with Cole. Of course I didn’t tell her about his scholarship.

“No way!” she exclaimed when I’d told her, “That’s insane! He must’ve liked you when he broke up with Sadie!”

That’s what I loved about Gillian. Even though she was more rational than I liked, she was always happy for me with even the littlest things.

“I know! What if he asks me out?” I asked.

“Who’s going to ask you out?” I heard from behind me.

I gasped. How much had Sadie heard?

“Oh no one,” Gillian said, though it was a little too quick.

Of all the things for Sadie to notice, she actually comprehended how Gillian had rushed her answer.

“Gillian, am I a PC?” she asked.

“I’m pretty sure you’re not,” Gillian replied with a smirk.

“Then why do you think I’m that slow?” she added.

Gillian and I tried to hide our giggles behind our mouths. That breakup was really messing around with her comebacks.

“Sorry Sadie, but Dana and I were having a private conversation.” Another thing I liked about Gillian; she didn’t let anybody intimidate her. Either that or she was really naive.

“Well that conversation is officially over. We need to plan our payback on Cole. We’re meeting at lunch in the band room. No one ever goes in there.”

I wonder if my panic was as plain on my face as it was in my stomach.

“Um, Sadie,” Gillian said, “We have…. A test to make up at lunch. Sorry.”

I would have to repay Gillian for this. She was the best friend ever.

“Both of you?” Sadie wasn’t buying it.

“Yeah, remember when we went to that concert? Well we need to take the test we missed.”

“Oh, fine then. But come as soon as you finish.” Sadie ordered. And with that, she flipped her hair and walked away.

“Why’d she just agree? She never does that.” I said in a hushed voice, just in case she was lingering behind a locker or something.

“I don’t know” Gillian admitted, “In the four years I’ve known Sadie, she’s never done that.”

Just then, I caught a whiff of Black by Kenneth Cole. I would know that scent anywhere. A perfect mix of ginger, orange and mint. Cole Allon was near. That’s probably why Sadie was in such a hurry to leave.

“Hey Dana. Hi Gillian.” came an enticing voice from behind us. Gillian and I turned around as exactly the same time.

“Hey Cole,” we responded. Then Gillian looked at her iPhone and added, “Is that the time? Oh my, I better get to History. See you later, Dana. Bye Cole.”

Did she need to make it so obvious that I wanted to be alone with him? But when I looked over at him, he was smiling. Did he like that Gillian wanted to leave? Wow, I needed to stop thinking so much into things.

“So, what class do you have next?” Cole asked casually.

“Um, I have Geometry.” I responded sheepishly. Why did I have to be in such a dorky class?

“Whoa, you’re pretty smart, aren’t you?” Cole said, clearly in awe. Was he really impressed? I had never been good at interpreting sarcasm.

“I guess. But you must be pretty smart, too. Otherwise you wouldn’t have your…” I trailed off, not knowing whether he would like me to say it out loud or not.

“I’m actually on a football scholarship, but yeah, I guess I’m pretty smart. I have some AP classes.” He concluded with a grin.

“Which ones?” I asked, a little too interestedly.

“History and English. I was one percent grade away from being in AP Science,” he added ruefully, “How about you?”

Not wanting to show off, I just said, “same as you. But I’m also in AP science and math, but I bet it was just by luck.”

“I bet it wasn’t. You’re the smartest person I know.” Cole stated this like it was insanely obvious.

I blushed so deeply I bet he wondered what was wrong.

“Thanks,” I giggled, “But I’m not nearly as good an athlete as you. I only do cheerleading, and that’s to ensure that Sadie stays in control of the whole squad.”

“Well, you’re a better cheerleader than Sadie,” Cole contradicted. Would he be able to find a loophole through everything I said? Then he added, “You should be captain, not her. You’re so much kinder and much more flexible.”

“Suuure I am,” I said sarcastically, blushing again. Just then, my ring tone “Got Dynamite” by Demi Lovato played. I had a new text. It was from Carlie, she was in her ASG class.

CARLIE: date 4 fall ball has been decided. 10/24. we better find dates

So we had about two weeks until the Fall Ball. That was plenty of time to find out whether he liked me or not.

SADIE: ugh curse cole 4 dumping me now!! x-(


GILLIAN: OMG thts rite srry sadie


LEXIE: ya we’re w/ u sadie we’ll help u find a date


CARLIE: we don’t go if u don’t


SADIE: thnx u guys p.s. did u send this 2 amber??


AMBER: ya srry mr. bennet kept asking Q’s


ME: g2g hav a big test next period ttyl


GILLIAN: kk c u L8r dana


AMBER: buhbye


CARLIE: L8r gatr


LEXIE: ttfn


ME: wat??


LEXIE: tata 4 now


ME: ohhhhhhh


GILLIAN: ohhh


CARLIE: ohhhhh


SADIE: bye

Then Cole’s voice broke me away from the conversation.

“Anything wrong, Dana?” he asked anxiously.

“No, why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering what caught your attention so immediately.” Cole wondered.

“Oh,” what could I say? “Um, my friends were texting me about the Fall Ball.” Why did I say that? Now he’ll think I want him to ask me out. Unfortunately, the rest of our conversation would have to wait, because at that exact moment, the bell for fourth period rang, and I couldn’t be late for that geometry test.

“I guess I’ll see you at lunch,” I said, not knowing whether our meeting was still intact. When I looked over at him, he looked weird. I don’t know how, but his perfect face suddenly looked, well, depressed. Like Edward Cullen in Twilight (Yes, I know, I’m obsessed). It was even…rueful. Anyway, his expression made me lose my train of thought. But even upset, he was still the most beautiful guy at our school.

After a few seconds, he recomposed himself.

“Yeah, good luck on your test.” He said, all gloom gone from his face. Then he left with a few backward glances at me.

Just those looks had my heart soaring. He must like me back. Then I got a text.

It took a while to find my old pink Razor, but eventually I found it at the bottom of my cluttered bag. The message was from Carlie, but it wasn’t a forward thing. Why would she want to talk to me alone? I checked my message.

CARLIE: y were u with cole??

How could she possibly have seen that I was with Cole? Wasn’t ASG on the other side of campus? I decided to play dumb.

ME: huh?


CARLIE: u kno wat I mean

y were u walking out of study hall 2gether

I had to think of an excuse and quick.

ME: is it so wrong 2 help some1 with their hw?

CARLIE: it is when its sadie’s ex

ME: well he rlly needed help

CARLIE: fine I won’t tell sadie but b more careful. wat if she saw u?

I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she wasn’t going to tell Sadie. I would be worse than dead meat if they found out what was really going on.

ME: thnx gotta get 2 geo.

CARLIE:L8r

The geometry test was beyond easy. Way easier than what I was about to face now. Even Sadie would notice I was gone. And what would she say when she saw me sitting with Cole? That was bound to raise suspicion.

By the time I got into the cafeteria, I’d basically chickened out and decided just to go sit with Sadie and them. But when I looked over to Cole’s table, I saw an empty seat right next to him. Unfortunately, that was Sadie’s old seat. And Cole was known as the bounce-back champ. She was bound to look our way. I pretended like I hadn’t even seen him and proceeded to the usual table. Then, of course, my Razor played my ring tone. I had no choice but to see what it said. It was from Cole, of course.

COLE: aren’t u gonna sit with us?

How did he see me enter? I made sure I came in with a crowd so that he wouldn’t. Best to just get it over with.

ME: srry didn’t c u

COLE: didn’t u look toward our table?

Even with the unemotional font, it was obvious that he was hurt.

ME: srry im coming

COLE: cool 

Without another look toward my table, I went as fast as I could (without running, because that would look pathetic) and made my way to Cole’s table. I’d never really talked to any of his friends. All of them together was just kind of intimidating.

I paused when I got to their table; unsure whether I was welcome to sit down or not. Luckily, Cole’s best friend, Drake Dawson, gave me my resolve.

“Hey, Dana, come sit here,” he said extremely loudly. I wished he would quiet down so Nicki wouldn’t hear. I sat down between Sammy Shmidt, Drake’s girlfriend of two years, and Cole.

“Hi Dana,” said Sammy. She was kind of smart, and nice, too. I had English with her. She also had beautiful dark skin and black hair that was cut in a cute little bob.

“Hi Sammy, did you finish the essay?” I asked. Sammy was really good at English and writing. She was an easy girl to get along with.

“Not yet, how about you?” she replied.

I looked at Cole before I responded. He smiled and winked.

He winked?! What did that mean? Should I tell her I helped him or not? Probably not.

“Yeah, I worked on it a lot last night,” I said casually. Cole smiled. Did he like that I got along with his best friend’s girlfriend? If not, then why was he smiling? I swear, all this worrying was going to make me go prematurely gray.

“Good job, you must be really fast.” Sammy said with a big smile. That’s odd, she sounded like she meant it. That’s a first. I’m used to people trying not to act jealous, but looking all sour.

Then the rest of the group came. It was really intimidating to be sitting with the most popular guys in school.

There was Avery Austen. Avery had shaggy chestnut brown hair that just brushed the tip of his eyelashes covering his deep brown eyes. He came and sat down next to his girlfriend, Sara Seleey.

Sara had wavy reddish hair that came to her elbows. Every day, she looked like she just came from the catwalk. Every part of her was always perfect; her hair was always shiny, she had perfect teeth surrounded by perfectly glossed lips, and her skin was amazing. I sometimes truly envied her perfection. Almost like how I’d envied Sadie when I first saw her. Oh, did I mention she was president of our school?

Then came Logan, Gillian’s crush, who was (luckily) available. He had dark brown hair and beautiful ice blue eyes, but he always wore a care-free, happy expression. I understood why Gillian loved him so much.

And the last two to come sit down were Elliot Arnold and Delaney Dalley.

Elliot had dark brown hair arranged in neat little spikes and a deep tan. He looked like he belonged in the pages of Sports Illustrated, not in our little private school in Irvine. Was it really a private school? There were no uniforms, but the price to get in was mind-boggling.

Delaney had dirty blonde hair that came just past her shoulders, and was always perfectly messed up. She also had a pair of violet glasses that improved the vision of her chocolate brown eyes. Her favorite store was Abercrombie and Fitch. Anyone who had a ten- second conversation with her would know that.

Within seconds I went from feeling like a total outsider to being included in everything. All the girls included me in their conversations and not once did they roll their eyes at each other after sneaking a glance at me. They really seemed to like me.

“So,” Sara started, “Fall Ball is in two weeks.” She told us, “Who do you think is gonna…”

Drake leaning in beside me interrupted our conversation. He asked, “So what are we whispering about, ladies?”

When he did this, I squealed in fright, and then to add to my dorkiness, I blushed a deep red. I hadn’t known he was there. Drake laughed when I did.

“Oh, did I scare you, Dana?” he asked in a voice that made me wonder if he thought I was five.

“Dude, leave her alone,” Cole defended me. Was it because he thought I couldn’t handle Drake’s sarcasm, or did he just not want Drake to be rude to me? Again, I wished for a rulebook on boys.

“This conversation is too private for the guys to overhear. Let’s cyber chat.” Delaney whispered in her high-pitched voice.

“Um,” I said, “Sorry, but I don’t have your numbers.” I sounded so dorky. Did they hear it, too? Or would they actually let me be a part of their top-secret conversation?

“Oh, sorry Dana,” Sammy apologized quickly, “Here, give us your phone. We’ll add our numbers.”

One by one they took turns adding their phone numbers into my old, scratched up Razor, while I added mine in their technologically advanced phones that probably cost more than my computer.

“Okay, let’s get to the gossip,” Sara declared, once everyone had finished.

SARA: ok, so who do u think has the guts 2 b the 1st 1 to ask us?

SAMMY: hmmm…..

DELANEY: dana, I think it’ll b u.

What? Were they serious? I mean, Cole and I hadn’t even had a date yet, while these girls have been going out for like, two years! How could they think I would be first?

ME: rlly??

SARA: thts true cole does like u a lot

ME: but u guys hav had ur bfs 4 like 2 years

SAMMY: so, cole rlly likes u. he never stops talking ‘bout u

ME: rlly?????

DELANEY: ya u should b there when we IM. He always has something 2 say ‘bout u!

ME: no way!!

The rest of the hour continued like this, and by the end, Cole seemed to be completely relaxed.

<3 Thanks!!(:

Chapter 1 of Those Eyes!

Hey everyone! Here is the first chapter of my story Those Eyes. The title is not permanent, but I haven't thought of a great one yet. Please give me constructive criticism and personal opinions, even any ideas that you all have! I got the idea from The Clique by Lisi Harrison, so if there are any similarities, just remember that I used her writing style. So thanks!(:
Luv,
Ashleyyyy <3



Chapter 1~ New Beginnings
I looked him in the eyes, and for a short moment, he stared back. Was it fascination? Or did Cole Allon think I was a total weirdo for looking at him all the time? Sure, I may hang out with the populars, but I’m just totally ordinary. I was five foot five, and had short blonde hair and insanely bright green eyes. Okay, so maybe my eyes were something, but why would he always look back?


Luckily, Gillian snapped me out of my fantasy before I could think too much about it.


“Dana, snap out of it!” she exclaimed.


Gillian was my best friend. It’s like she always knows what I’m thinking. Or were my expressions that obvious on my face? Maybe that’s why Cole always stared at me, because I looked so dumbfounded whenever he was in the room.


It’s not that I wouldn’t ask him out if I had the courage. Actually, it would be quite the opposite. If I had that kind of courage, I’d be the leader, like Sadie. Not one of the followers.


There are six people in our group. Sadie was the head in cheerleading, dance, boys, and our group, basically everything excluding academics. She was as dumb as a post. But of course, whom else would she date but Cole Allon?


Then there was Carlie. She was second in command, sort of like Sadie’s backup. I guess Carlie was all right. I mean, she treated me better than Sadie did. She was smarter, too. I had some AP classes with her. She was a good athlete, too. She was captain of the soccer, basketball, and swim team. She’s led our school to championships three years running!


Next was Lexie. I don’t even know why she hangs out with us. You’d think Sadie would’ve noticed that there was someone dumber than her. Or maybe she just kept her around so that she wasn’t the dumbest.










Lexie could possibly have been a package deal with her twin, Amber. At least Amber was somewhat normal. She was smart, too. A real math whiz. That’s probably why she is the treasurer of Johnston Jr. High.


Gillian, of course was perfect in every way. She’s always had perfect hair and skin, and a mouth that never held braces but always held gossip. It’s not that I envy her, because I don’t. She’s the nicest person I’ve ever met. And she was so much prettier than Sadie, inside and out. And she and I are basically twins at heart. We were both left handed, on occasion, we even called each other ‘twin’.


Last, and probably least, there was me. I was the outcast of our entire brunette group. Everyone in our group had brown hair and bright blue eyes, excluding Carlie, Amber and me. Well, Carlie did have the brunette hair, but she also had one hot pink streak that she especially loved to flaunt and twirl when flirting with the boys. She also had a strange shade of blue violet eyes.


Amber had really dark brunette hair and amber eyes. No wonder she’s dated probably every boy on the basketball team. Aside from Cole that is. She was also the school treasurer.


I was the only the blonde. My hair has cut in what I used to think was a cute short bob, but after seeing all the girls with their long brown hair, it didn’t seem as cute anymore. My blonde hair was also embedded with a neon green streak to match my eyes. I felt so excluded. I guess I was a little jealous. Though I shouldn’t be, I still was.


Back to Cole. Cole was a jock captain of the basketball and football team. He was gorgeous. He had ink black hair and green eyes a shade darker than mine. It was at that point that he started walking toward us.


“Hey baby,” Sadie greeted him, loud enough for everyone to hear, “how’s it going?”


“Look Sadie, we need to talk,” he mumbled, then looked at all of us and added, “alone.”


This freaked her out a little.


“Okay, let’s go,” obviously she was trying to sound casual.










* * *






“OH MY GOSH!” the five of us exclaimed at once, followed by a slur of “how’s” and “whys” and “where’s”.


“He did,” Sadie said, and for the first time, her voice was on the verge of tears, “It was quick, too. Like pulling off a bandage, it didn’t hurt until afterward.”


While everyone was pitying and empathizing and getting all angry toward Cole, my insides were dancing in happy circles.


I was also glad Gillian didn’t say anything about my little encounter with Cole. After he broke up with Sadie, he had turned to go to his next class, which was also my next class, English. In fact, I am very surprised that Carlie didn’t say anything.


He came to sit next to me. After I finished mentally hyperventilating, we were actually able to have a half-human conversation. It was the best hour of the day. But so many new questions were raised. Does he like me? If he does, will he ask me out? If he asked me out and I said yes, would Sadie make my life miserable? I didn’t know the answers to any of these questions, and I wasn’t excited to find out the answer to the last one.


“Hello, Dana?” Amber asked. It was the first time I’d actually been acknowledged throughout the entire call.


“Yeah?” I replied.


“Well, you haven’t given any input on the situation. Is something wrong?”


Were they serious? None of them ever had concern for me. Did I miss something in the conversation? I would assume that everything had been superficial anyway.


“Well, nothing’s wrong, exactly. I was just…” What? What should I say? “Working on my math homework.” There, that was reasonable enough.


“How can you be focusing on your math homework?!” Sadie exclaimed, “We need to get back at Cole!”


Oh, so now it was we.


“Sorry,” I mumbled, “Wait, what mom?” I pretended like she was calling me, “Oh, sorry guys, I gotta go. I’ll help plot tomorrow, though.” Then I hung up without waiting for any response.


A second later, my AIM bleeped. That’s weird, I thought. I didn’t even know why I had an AIM. No one ever talked to me on it…


Oh my gosh!! It was a friend request from COLE!!


“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” I screamed. Did he really want to be my friend? It was like a dream come true.


“Is everything okay?” my mom yelled from downstairs.


“Yeah,” I yelled back, trying not to scream again.


I hit accept as fast as my fingers could go, and a second later, I was chatting with the hottest guy at Johnston Jr. High.


COLE: hi dana wats up?


ME: nm u?


I wonder if he noticed my attempt at trying to sound blasé. Could it really be that pathetic?


COLE: I was wondering if u finished ur essay.


Oh, that’s why he wanted to talk to me. He didn’t like me the way I liked him. How could I have been so oblivious?


ME: yea it was rlly easy


COLE: oh


“Oh”? What is that supposed to mean? Oh, as in, “well, can you help me?” or “oh, you probably don’t want to talk to me, then, since you’re so much smarter.” If only there was a dictionary on guy’s reactions!


ME: Y do u ask?


COLE: I was wondering if u could check mine


Wow. That wasn’t what I was expecting at all.


ME: uh, sure just email it 2 me


COLE: k, wait, wats ur email?


ME: darlingdana@hotmail srry it rlly lame 


COLE: I don’t think its lame 


How could I possibly respond to that?! The hottest guy ever just complimented my lame email address. Did that mean he liked me, or did he think I was a freak?


Seconds later, I got his email. It read:














Dana,


Thanks for reading this 4 me. I hope it’s good. I really need a 100 to keep my scholarship. But please don’t tell anyone. You’re the only one I trust with this secret ;)


-Cole






I couldn’t breathe. He was on scholarship, too? We were perfect for each other! Was he also not destined to be an A-lister like me? How much did we have in common? But why was I the only one he could trust? I’ve hardly ever said a word to him! But I would talk to him for days and not only know his favorite song, but everything about him. I would get to know him. Not like Sadie, where she only notices the superficial things. I would be his friend, and if he wanted to be more, I would do that too. The bleep of the AIM brought me back to reality. No, it was impossible for a girl like me to be with someone as great as him.


COLE: did u read it?


Was that curiosity or impatience? Well, best to sound casual.


ME: yea, its rlly good. if football doesn’t work, u could b a journalist!


COLE: haha yeah rite


ME: seriously


COLE: plz don’t tell any1 about my scholarship


ME: Y? im on scholarship 2


COLE: rlly? Does any1 kno?


ME: yea, evry1 but Sadie 


COLE: thts a very wise choice ;)


Oh my gosh! He must like me! He wouldn’t use a wink emoticon if he didn’t.


“Dana?” it was my mom calling me. Dinner must be ready. Why must she call now?


ME: g2g dinners rdy


COLE: kk… er I’ll save u a seat @ lunch tmrw?


ME: sure! Buhbye(:


Curse my mother for calling me to dinner now! And was he really going to save me a seat? Or were he and Sadie plotting to embarrass me in front of the whole school? I didn’t have much time to think it through, because my mom called me to dinner again, and this time, she was angry.