Halloween. My favorite day of the year since I could form real, cognitive thoughts. There was nothing like being a kid and dressing up in a costume to go trick-or-treating with your best friends, or curl up with your same friends as a teenager and marathon every witchy movie known to man. Even though I wouldn't be doing either of those things today, I was just ready for it to be here."It's cold as balls out here." Stacy and I were camped in the same place we'd been in since we got to the party five minutes ago, standing in the damp grass waiting on one of the guys to light the brush pile for a bonfire. There were three of them huddled around a large pile of newspaper and kindle, trying to start what would be a decent sized fire in half an hour or so. "I told you to wear tights." I laughed, my teeth chattering slightly. The sun had gone down over an hour ago, and I was desperate to get my hands on a drink to warm up my body. Stacy must've had the same thought, because she was alrea
"What's going on in here?"I felt like I was frozen in place as Tessa stepped back quickly from me, taking her warmth with her. Danny's eyes were fervently scanning both of us, and I could almost hear his thoughts as he desperately tried to piece together what was happening. Fear, confusion, fear again, anger, hurt, jealousy. Fear. "Danny, what are you doing here?" I asked, enraged by his sudden appearance. Not only did I no longer love him, I hated him. Truly, passionately, despised him. In the past few weeks, I'd come to know him as a completely different person than the boy I'd known before, and I didn't like this version of him at all. I couldn't believe how easily he'd been able to lie and hide things from me, Tessa, his parents...Danny Schwinn was a sorry excuse for a person at best. "What are you doing in here? I came in here to find my girlfriend." He answered. He relaxed his stance against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood proudly. I wanted to rip
meet me at barton's cafeteria monday at 5:30 The amount of times I'd checked my texts with Tessa could have classed me as clinically insane and put me in a 72-hour hold. Stacy had taken my phone after she had come to the realization I was a naïve idiot, and told me she'd come up with a plan. She texted Tessa, asking her to show up at Barton at the end of our last cheer practice for the season, but it was now Monday morning and I'd still not heard a word from her. I still had no idea what I was going to say to Tessa, I was nervous as all-get-out to see her. I knew had to tell her that the reason I wasn't ready to end things was because I was afraid to say goodbye to her. I worried that maybe she didn't like me after all, and it was just the thrill of getting back at Danny that had her so interested in me. She could change her mind any time now that things were over with him, and it broke my heart to think about - a fact that still terrified me to realize. I'd fallen for her, I'd fal
"I'm sorry, but we've tried too many things to get you back on track. I can't have you back next season." "Coach, I will do anything to make this right. I can't lose this scholarship." Daniel Schwinn was sat in the athletic director's office of USC, a sheen of nervous sweat visible on his face. The sophomore was exhausted, and to put it bluntly, still reeling from his weekend bender. "Daniel, your scholarship isn't even up for retention anymore." The dean sat beside him, his hands folded in his lap. His knuckles were white from the tension of his grip. "You've not kept up a single one of your grades like I've asked, you've skipped almost every class you've been placed in, and you're now in a full-blown investigation for two fatal accidents related to on-campus hazing." "What happened to those freshman was an accident, and I didn't do anything to them. I've had a lot on my plate this semester, Arnold." Danny chuckled uncomfortably. "That's Dean Arnold." The man with salt and peppe
I woke up in Malibu, in the back of a renovated van, next to my sleeping wife. In all of my wildest dreams, I never imagined myself here.Abby slept peacefully beside me, blissfully unaware of my staring at her gentle figure under the white duvet. We'd taken our honeymoon late, as most people seemed to be doing nowadays, and were enjoying the cooler, February air on the beach. As cool as sixty degrees could get, anyway. October felt like a lifetime away, but I replayed our wedding in my head like it was last week. We'd been married now for five months, and I still managed to fall in love with her and learn more about her everyday.I knew how foolish we sounded getting married at twenty three, but with Abby's mom getting sick, we'd rushed our plans a little to let her be apart of our wedding. We didn't know how long we had with her, so we'd held off on our honeymoon for a few months until Abby felt safe leaving her for a week. Her dad was a great bedside nurse, but Abby always worried
I know what you’re thinking. I’ve been there.This is a teen romance novel, yes. But this isn’t the story about how my boyfriend and I overcame the trials and tribulations of high school to have our happily ever after. I don’t battle for prom queen with the popular girl. My boyfriend doesn’t have me hired by his dad to date him and raise his social status. I don’t move from a new town and star in a spring musical with him. No, there’s none of that.This is the story about how I met my boyfriend’s girlfriend.
It was a chilly, Friday night in Autumn like any other. The entire lakeside town of Barton was crammed into the bleachers of the local high school's football field watching their alumna beat the opposing team. There was nothing as small-town as a Friday night high school football game, but it always proved to be entertaining. One player had all eyes on him, as per usual. Daniel Schwinn raced effortlessly across the yard lines, beating the defense to the end zone. Danny was the fastest running back Barton Memorial had seen in two decades, since his late Uncle Daryl, and the entire town was in awe of him. Rightfully so, as he completed the pass from his teammate, scoring for Barton."Just like that, folks, Schwinn's taking us to the playoffs!" The announcer cheered over the PA system, and the crowd joined. They had missed the playoffs last season, and the goal for this past year was to take Barton to state and make up for the lost opportunity. "Abby!" I turned around to see my best fri
Saturday mornings during my senior year were reserved for music lessons, so I could prepare for college auditions. I was going to school to be a music teacher, like I'd dreamt about for the last ten years. I had just finished up my lesson with Mr. Williamson, and I was waiting for Danny to pick me up outside of the church our families attended. Mr. Williamson was the choir and music director of the church, and had been hosting lessons there for years. I had met Danny through church, when my family first switched from Catholicism and I signed up to help with Bible school music. I wasn't the most devout, but I believed. Easter and Christmas were typically my most attended days. Danny was a little more of a firm believer, since his father was the preacher. Danny was taking a little longer than usual to pick me up, and it was starting to get chilly throughout the day now. I pulled my varsity jacket out of my bag and slid into it. Just as I was about to text him, I heard his truck pull in