Look Who’s Back

I really hoped Maya was right about Josh, he seemed like a really sweet guy and not Matt-like at all. I just really wanted Maya to see that dating Josh means dealing with Ella, much to her dismay. I had faith in Maya though, I mean, if anyone could balance a perfect boyfriend and a queen bee, it was my good old friend Maya.

As for me, Friday night had finally rolled around and I was just arriving at the community center. Brandon and Olivia decided to tag along, too because this meant that I would have a ride, plus Olivia wanted to come cheer on her little brother.

The community center was way more packed than I thought. Apparently we had some pretty decent talent level in this town.

“When does Danny come on?” Brandon asked Olivia. I rolled my eyes, knowing that Brandon was only curious because he wanted to get some alone time with his Serena van der Woodsen-esque girlfriend.

“He’s second to last I think,” she replied. I watched my brother’s shoulders droop and gave him a smirk in return.

The concert started quickly and was very entertaining to watch. I recognized some people from school who were performing but I couldn’t put my finger on who they all were.

When Danny finally came on to perform, Olivia and I started to excitedly cheer until Brandon told both of us to sit down because we were embarrassing him. We probably were but isn’t that what older sisters and girlfriends are here for??

After Danny finished and the cheering died down, he took the mic and said with a satisfied edge, “Thank you everybody for being so supportive of everyone who performed here tonight, it really does mean a lot to all of us who want to pursue this as a career. Speaking of which, the last performer is someone who I have helped over the last few weeks with her singing because she has suggested to me that she has an interest in this art. She is very talented and a gifted performer. Please give a warm welcome to….Miss Kendra Otens.”

Knight in Shining Armor

Ever since Josh’s sweet V-Day poem, I’d been in heaven. I was astounded by what it was like to actually have a decent boyfriend. As we walked down the hallway, Josh’s arm casually slung around my shoulders, I pondered Danny’s impending community center concert. I hoped he had some other romantic performance dreamed up for Nicole’s benefit; I had a feeling he would.

In my little corner of the universe, things seemed to be going equally well. One little problem, though: my dear, sweet friend Ella and Drew Dunn were still going strong. But worse yet, Josh was quasi-friends with Drew, who was a nice guy other than the whole Ella thing. I was starting to fear that a run-in with Josh’s friends – like Nic had had with Matt – was inevitable. But I was pretty sure Josh, my knight in shining armor, would take my side.

Watch Out for the Groupies

It’s been awhile since Valentine’s Day and I still couldn’t get over the poem that Josh wrote for Maya. It was definitely one of the most adorable things ever…I don’t know if I could rate it higher on the cuteness scale than Danny singing to me though.

I had to admit, right now, my life couldn’t be going any better. My boyfriend was the sweetest person in the world and my week had been pretty drama-free. I just had to hope I wasn’t jinxing that.

I walked into my 3rd period, science which had become one of my favorite classes because Danny was in it and neither Reagan or Carmen weren’t. When I entered the room, Danny excitedly waved me over.

“Hey, I have awesome news,” he told me, putting extra emphasis on the word awesome.

“What’s up?” I asked as I propped my head on my hands.

“So, on Friday night, they’re having this concert at the community center for kids who live in town who like to sing or play instruments and I am one of the performers,” he said, trying to sound cool but he still hasn’t figured out that I can read right through him.

“That’s amazing! You know I’ll be there,” I reassured him.

“That’s what I thought. I mean, I know how you get about all the girls who are just dying to date a good-looking rock star like me,” he joked as I playfully swatted him on the arm. Danny’s warped sense of humor never got old.

Hopeless Romantic

I was so glad Danny had arranged his special rendition of “Hey, Soul Sister” for Nicole’s Valentine’s Day present. At first, I sympathized with Nic for Danny’s seemingly aloof behavior, but somehow I had had a feeling there was more to it. Especially after Danny had been so sweet to Nicole on every other day. I couldn’t believe my friend hadn’t figured it out.

I had a very busy Valentine’s Day myself. Throughout the day, Josh had surprised me with some candy. Whenever I’d try to talk to him, he’d offer a shy smiles – I figured it was because we hadn’t been together very long – but when I tried to find out more, he only smiled and lifted a finger to his lips.

I was sprawled out on my bedroom floor after school, surrounded by a sea of flashcards and notes as I tried to study for the big test my World Studies teacher had oh-so-kindly announced for the next day. That’s when the doorbell rang. I assumed it was a door-to-door saleman of some sort and resumed studying, so I was startled to hear my mom’s voice summoning me downstairs a few moments later.

I was astounded to see Josh, looking awkward and wearing a crooked smile, in my doorway. My mom dismissed herself from the foyer with a wink my way. What was going on here? I turned to Josh for an answer, but before I could open my mouth to form a question, he took my hand and merely said, “Come with me.”

I raised an eyebrow, but followed Josh. He patted the handles of his bike, parked on my driveway, so I hopped on. I felt Josh’s breath on my neck as he climbed onto the bike behind me, but I didn’t mind.

Five minutes later, Josh was undoing his helmet chin strap. We’d arrived at Kahn Park. As I pulled my jacket tighter around me, Josh again took my hand, leading me in the direction of a secluded grove of trees. That’s when I saw Josh had laid out a picnic, blanket, basket and all, for the two of us. How’d he know I would much prefer this to dressing up and going out to a fancy restaurant? He urged me to sit, and the rest was history. I seriously thought I couldn’t have been happier – until later that night, when I was back in my room studying. I peeled off my jacket, only to find an unfamiliar lump in my pocket. I reached in and drew out a folded piece of notebook paper with “To: Maya” scrawled on the front in Josh’s handwriting. Heart racing, I slowly unfolded the paper.

I know we haven’t been together very long,

So I was afraid I’d get your present all wrong.

As you know, I’m no hopeless romantic,

And I know writing a love poem is so sycophantic.

I just wanted to tell you that you are the writer

That makes my day so much brighter.

I hope we can get to know each other better;

One thing you probably shouldn’t expect from me: a love letter.

– Josh

Prince Charming Does Come Around Once in Awhile

I slammed my locker shut as I headed to 3rd period, History. Throughout the morning, Carmen and Reagan had continued to pick on me in the halls and I didn’t even have the energy to fight back, I was so down about the whole Danny not caring about Valentine’s Day thing.

History started out with Ms. Mazef talking about stuff that I was not paying attention to. I felt bad about not listening because Ms. Mazef was my favorite teacher but I just couldn’t find it in me to care.

Then, the strangest thing happened. Right when Ms. Mazef was giving us our homework for tomorrow, the lights in the classroom went off. Everyone else in the room were talking back and forth about what this was except for Ms. Mazef. I assumed she was in on it since she was the only not asking questions.

I started to hear the opening guitar chords to a very familiar song that I couldn’t seem to put my finger on. When the lights went back up, I saw Danny standing in the doorway with his guitar intently focusing on singing the first lines of the song:

“Her lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains”

I couldn’t believe he was really doing this in front of everybody! And that all the stuff he said on IM was just a cover up for doing one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for me!

As he got to the chorus, he came up and sang at my desk so it was clear that he was really serenading me. When the song came to a close, everybody in my class started wildly cheering as I gave Danny a reassuring smile that everything was absolutely fine between us. In exchange, he gave me a wink and stuck a note to my desk as he left. I emerged into a goofy smile when I saw that the note read:

“Don’t worry, I’ll give you more than a wink later”

Talk About a Disappointment

I couldn’t believe that Maya had a boyfriend! I was so happy for her and Josh, I can only imagine how happy she is! Plus, this year hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park for either of us so I was happy for both of us that we would have someone special when Valentine’s Day rolled around in a couple days.

As this thought entered my mind, I glanced at my computer to see that Danny had logged on to his IM. I was extra happy about this because I did have a pretty important question for him that I didn’t want to wait too long to ask:

nicole837: hey danny, so we should probably start making some plans for valentines day when you have a chance

guitarman101: oh, well i don’t really think we should do anything special

When I read this, my heart sank so deep into my stomach, I thought I would puke it out. Danny had always done romantic things for me and now suddenly it’s Valentine’s Day and he wants us to act like we would on any other day???

nicole837: but danny, its our first valentine’s day together, don’t you think that means something?????

guitarman101: yeah sure i guess, i just don’t really feel like making a big deal out of it

nicole837: you know what, fine whatever you want. i gotta go, bye

I angrily logged off of my IM as newly formed tears threatened to roll down my face. I grabbed my IPod, clicked on “Someone Like You” by Adele and flopped down on my bed feeling unloved and exhausted from arguing with one of the only people I knew would always be there for me.

A Dream Come True

I wasn’t sure how to feel about Nicole’s latest news. Sure, it was great that Nic wouldn’t have to worry about Kendra anymore, but it looked as if my theory was correct: Reagan and Carmen would be jumping right in to take her place. I shot Nicole an IM to see if anything new had happened, but I was interrupted by an incoming IM from “tenpin1000″. At first I wasn’t sure who it was, but then I remembered that Josh’s last name was Tenley. Maybe it was a play on words. This would be interesting: I opened up a dialogue with him.

tenpin1000: hey Maya this is Josh

maya96: oh hi Josh. whats up?

tenpin1000: not much. you?

maya96: same here!

I sensed an awkward silence coming on, but luckily my fears were quelled when I heard the all-too-familiar ping that let me know I had a new message.

tenpin1000: this is going to be kinda weird, but stick with me, ok?

maya96: ok…

So much for not having an awkward silence. I idly surfed Facebook while I waited for Josh’s next message: the indicator reading “tenpin1000 is typing…” was displayed.

tenpin1000: so ever since leah and i started sitting with you, maya, i kind of started liking you.

tenpin1000: i know this seems really weird, but i really like you.

tenpin1000: i just haven’t gotten up the nerves to tell you. until now

tenpin1000: i know you don’t really like me, so i probably just ruined our friendship

tenpin1000: that was really stupid of me to say.

tenpin1000: just forget this conversation, ok? i’ll see you at school

maya96: josh, wait

tenpin1000: yeah?

maya96: the thing is…

I took a deep breath, fingers shaking as I typed my next message to Josh.

maya96: i kinda like you, too.

tenpin1000: really? no joke?

A broad smile broke out across my face.

maya96: yep. i guess i have all along, i just never realized it before.

maya96: i didn’t think i had a chance

tenpin1000: maya doyle, will you be my girlfriend?

maya96: yes, josh.

War Strategy: Intimidate the Enemy

When Maya texted me about how Josh winked/eye twitched at her, I let out an excited squeal which earned me a confused look from Brandon at home. I’ve been waiting so long for her to get a boyfriend or at least a crush that might turn out decent unlike the past guys she’s liked.

I couldn’t spend too much time focusing on this at home though because my thoughts about Maya were interrupted by my IM on my computer. I had been brought into a group chat with rayray245 and colorgirl. It didn’t take me too long to figure out they were Reagan and Carmen.

colorgirl: hey nic, we have some good news for you.

nicole837: first of all, i kind of only let people i actually like call me nic and 2nd, why would you guys care about telling me something good??

rayray245: because we really do think you’ll like this! kendra transfered schools. she goes to that new private school 2 blocks away from our school, i think its called ashford academy.

My spirits soared when I read that, turns out they actually did have good news!

colorgirl: don’t get too excited tho, sweetie. while you’ve been focusing on your dopey boyfriend, reagan and i have been climbing our way up to the top of the heap. so basically, that means we’re just as popular as kendra ever was

rayray245: oh and matt is now dating carmen just to let you know

The messages were coming in so quickly, I didn’t have a chance to get a word in edgewise. Reagan and Carmen sure were good at ruining my good mood fast.

nicole837: ok look, im not scared of you two or matt or anyone! you can’t intimidate me

colorgirl: oh, isnt that brave of you??

nicole837: ….

rayray245: you know what we told you in the halls

colorgirl: i think we’re done here

After Carmen typed the last message, the two of them simultaneously logged off. I had a feeling that school on Monday was going to be hell.

A Spark to Light the Fire?

The nerve of some people! Could the Reagan/Carmen combo be the new Kendra? On second thought, maybe not: I was sort of scared for Nicole that Kendra – and Matt – would try to retaliate after Nic got off scot-free (and rightfully so) for the whole Principal Jilson fiasco. I sent Nicole a text warning her of my newest theory.

But I didn’t have time to strategize about Nicole’s situation; I had my hands full with one of my own. Leah, Josh, and Angela had just left my place. I thought things had gone relatively well, considering we’d all been a little nervous unconsciously. But towards the end, when everyone else was heading out the door, something happened that changed my outlook on the day.

And I could’ve been just imagining this – it was probably just a little twitch of the eye – but I could’ve sworn that Josh Tenley winked at me.

No Rest for the Weary

At lunch that day, I sent Maya a rather long text explaining everything that had happened in Principal Jilson’s office. After Danny, Matt, Kendra and I told our sides of the story, it was decided that Matt and Kendra were at fault, not Danny and I. This meant that both of them had after school detention for the next three weeks. Thank goodness someone at this school had a brain.

When it was time to head home, I was beyond grateful that the day was over. I wanted to get out of that building before I was caught in the middle of any more drama. I realized that some wants are just wishful thinking when two people started to head towards me that I hadn’t thought about in a long time.

“Okay, what is with those pants? It looks like you time traveled back to the 70s to get jeans that flare out that much,” Carmen snapped at me with Reagan following right behind her. I still couldn’t believe I had ever been friends with the two of them. It was just disgusting.

“But anyway, that isn’t what we’re here to talk about,” Reagan interjected before I could make a comeback at Carmen. “You and your stupid boyfriend completely ruined our party at Starbucks last weekend. Turns out when the ambulance comes, people just aren’t psyched about partying anymore.”

“Are you serious? That was Matt’s fault, not Danny’s or mine. Heck, Danny is the one that got knocked out trying to protect me! If that makes him a villain, I don’t want to know what the rest of us are,” I told them as I made an attempt to walk out but Reagan got in front of me just in time. She always was faster than me.

“Call it whatever you want but point is, you were part of what happened in some way or another. That means that this won’t go without you tasting your own party-bombing medicine,” Carmen declared as she walked off laughing with Reagan. I clutched my bag tightly, knowing that I was probably cutting off my circulation but was too scared to care. Without thinking about anything I else, I sprinted out of the building and got into Brandon’s car quicker than I had ever done anything in my life.