A very short story for all you hopeless romantics out there xD Predictable yet weird ending. Enjoy! And Happy Holidays! The sun beat mercilessly down on the bare back of the teenage boy below it as he caught the ball on his chest and bounced it forward and back down to his knee. He let the ball travel a tiny amount of distance before he propelled it into the back of the net with his foot. He glanced up and ran a hand through his blond hair, wondering what Shaine would have thought of that goal, except he knew Shaine was all the way across the other side of the school in the sports hall probably attempting to play volleyball or something. “Nice one, man!†he heard his team-mates call out to him as he made his way back to where he had begun. There wasn’t another goal for the next ten minutes and the teacher blew his whistle. “Good playing, boys. Now, get changed.†Jon sighed and grabbed his shirt off the floor, using it to wipe the sweat of his brow. Football, the one sport he and Shaine could agree on. He didn’t support a particular team himself, but Shaine was a Chelsea fan and had been to two home games. He never dared to mention that to the boys standing around him now, changing back into their school uniforms as the smell of Lynx pressed down from above them. He’d just have to make it to his English lesson in time before someone else sat next to Shaine. Shaine’s friends were always crowding around her in English lessons; it wasn’t because they thought that the girl was pretty with her curly brown hair, grey-blue eyes and a few freckles dotted across her nose; to them, she could have been a whole lot prettier. It was because of her talent. She didn’t just know the points of the English language and use them, she had them travelling down her veins. When they studied Shakespeare, she would translate it flawlessly without even asking for a dictionary and when they had to write a short story, she would come in with around three pages about a deep, meaningful topic disguised as what could be a teenage movie. She had always had this talent, since the day that he met her when she was eight years old. He’d barely turned nine. The young boy kicked the football towards the end of the patch of grass, where his friend was waiting to stop it. If he didn’t stop it in time, he would run to catch up with it and bring it back with him. Neither of them noticed the girl in the jeans and white t-shirt coming up towards them, heading for the house with the blue door directly beside them. Not until the ball hit her in the side of the head. “Ow!†The girl’s hand flew up to her head and she dropped something in the grass. The boy ran toward her, while his friend stayed where he was. “I’m sorry for hitting you.†The boy said, standing next to the girl. There were tears in her eyes, from where she was hurt. “It’s okay.†The girl sniffed, kneeling down in the grass to retrieve the item she had dropped. The boy saw it as she picked it up, white plastic with a small ring of metal sandwiched between the plastic and a small, rounded tip. She had also dropped what looked like a cut off plastic box and a jagged plastic cord with a circle on the end. “Cool!†The boy exclaimed, causing the girl to shoot him a glare, “You have a Beyblade?!†“Yeah, and I’m the second best here!†The boy smiled, “I’m Jon. What’s your name?†“I’m Shaine, I’ll talk to you tomorrow Jon!†she called as she ran into the house, and with that she was gone. The sixteen year old Jon stood by the school gates, waiting for Shaine to come out so that they could walk home together. Shaine was now fifteen, but apart from their ages, not much had changed between them. They were still best friends. “Shaine!†Jon ran forward and grabbed the girl’s wrist. She looked up at him, wondering what he was doing. “Where are you going? We live this way.†He tugged on her sleeve a little so she would walk with him. She stayed silent throughout half of their walk home, when she suddenly shouted at him. “What was that by the gates!? Now people are going to think we like each other and it’s just going to get worse!†“I’m sorry.†Jon answered in a low voice, “I didn’t think about that, I’ll talk to them. Tell them nothing’s--†Shaine cut across him, “They still won’t leave me alone! It’s hell in there, I swear it!†she took a deep breath and continued her voice cracking slightly, “You have no idea what it’s like.†“Shaine… I know I don’t know what you’re going through but,†Jon took a deep breath, hoping she wouldn’t get mad at him for what he was going to say next, “It hurts me too.†“You’re not the one they come after though, are you?! You’re not the one they ignore, the one they call names!†Tears were streaming down her cheeks now and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “I know, I know.†He tried to make his voice soothing, but it didn’t seem to take effect on her. “Sometimes…I think you’d all be better off if I was dead. No one would miss me.†She walked off, crying. Jon kept his mouth shut, he knew how much the bullies hurt her each day and he knew exactly how she felt, as if all of the world’s love had been taken away from her. He wanted to see her smile again, and tell her that he cared but at the same time he didn’t want to lose her friendship. He spent the rest of the year doing the exact same thing, even her birthday. He never once would tell her how he felt; he’d made the promise to himself alone in his room. It was only when that day came, that he would force himself to admit everything. It was a warm July evening and Jon was making his way over to Shaine’s house after the mysterious text she’d sent him had appeared on his phone. It didn’t sound like Shaine, it sounded commanding, almost angry. All that it said was WE NEED TO TALK. NOW. It was as if he’d done something to hurt her, but that was ridiculous. He hadn’t even seen her for a few days. He knocked on the door and waited, after a minute or so her mother answered and let him in. She told him that Shaine was in her bedroom, playing. It all sounded so innocent, Jon thanked her and made his way upstairs to Shaine’s room. He didn’t bother knocking on her bedroom door; he just walked in and found her playing Devil May Cry 3 on her Playstation 2. “Surprised that you’re not in zombie mode.†He remarked. She paused the game at the sound of his voice; Jon cocked his head to the side. It was highly unusual that she’d stop for someone in the middle of a boss battle, let alone stand up and let the controller fall to the floor. “Close the door, please?†she asked. Jon shut the door, “So, what did you want to talk about?†“Sit down if you want.†She gestured to her bed, which was covered with clothes. “Nah, you’re alright. I’ll just stand. So, what did you want?†“I wanted to see you.†She replied. Jon snorted, half laughing as he did so, “That was pretty obvious.†“Jon, I need to ask you something.†Her voice was quicker, more urgent, the old softness gone. “Shoot.†He breathed. “Do you…think that anyone will ever like me?†She didn’t look up; she would not meet his eyes. “Of course, I think so.†He answered. Shaine collapsed on her bed, on top of all the clothes. “What if the person I like doesn’t like me back?†she asked, closing her eyes. “Let me guess: popular, smart, jerk.†The adjectives rolled off his tongue as he listed them, each with a sour taste. “No. Popular, funny, kind, beautiful.†Of course, her list was completely different to his. He rubbed his chin and attempted a different approach. “Depends who it is then.†She blushed and turned away from him. “Shaine, you may as well say it. It doesn’t matter to me either way.†She didn’t answer, so he went over to her and leaned close to her, so his lips were just centimetres away from her ear. “Let me be more direct,†he whispered, “Is it me?†Shaine blushed an even deeper shade of pink, and he ran his thumb along the side of her jaw. “Answer me, it is me. Isn’t it?†This time Shaine nodded and a whisper of the word “yes†escaped her lips. “Thank you.†Jon whispered, and straightened up. “But Jon, you don’t like me. I know you don’t.†She whispered. “That’s true, I don’t like you.†Jon sat on the edge of her bed, “I’m not sure but… I think…I’m in love.†Shaine turned towards him, sat up and placed her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before.†“It’s okay. I wantedll you for a while now, it’s just been hard.†He leant back, his head resting near her shoulder, his face turned toward her neck. “I can’t believe this.†He reached up with one hand and cupped her face in it before twisting himself up and around. “Why did you hide it?†he asked in a low whisper. “I...I wasn’t sure how you’d react.†He pressed his lips to her cheek and then pulled back. Shaine was smiling like an angel. “Oh man, I love that smile.†He kissed her cheek again, “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to see that?â€
Before I read the story, how shall I interpret 'hopeless' in the first sentence? I'm hoping that it's a promise of a bittersweet ending, but it can be read both ways. EDIT: Aww, not bittersweet. Oh well. Not my sort of story then.
I thought it was adorable. <33 I really liked how you ended it and everything, it was really cute. ^^ The only thing I would really suggest is formatting. @-@ It's kinda a pain with the quotes are squished together, so I'd space them out before posting if you can...But that's probably just my OCD talking. Anyways, good job. Very cute.
It was a good story. But the funny part was I was listening to metalcore while reading it. (DELUHI <3)
