Try and Catch Me: A Young Adult Fiction

by Sarah Kirchner

  Quinn grinned. “I’m suggesting you get happy again.”

  “Quinn, can you please stop pawning off my girl?” A voice interrupted behind us. Quinn’s hazel eyes widened, and my body froze. I knew that voice.

  “Aspen,” I whispered before jumping around to see if it was truly him.

  “The one and only.” Aspen gave me a wink, and something inside me forced myself to blush. Curse you, Aspen for always making me weak. He squeezed his body into the booth beside me. Everything in me was tense. “Are you really considering just throwing me to the wolves?” Aspen said and turned to me. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

  “Aspen,” I repeated.

  “This is extremely rude of you, Aspen. If you don’t mind, Ella and I are trying to have a nice lunch. I’m allergic to your fakeness.” Quinn scoffed and flipped her dark hair. It was one of those rare moments I see Quinn take on role of the mega bitch.

  “Ouch, Quinn. That one really hurt,” Aspen said.

  “Aspen.” I snapped his attention back toward me.

  “Branson, I miss you.” His hands took mine. “Didn’t our kiss mean something?”

  “I told you. It meant nothing,” I told him and ripped my hand away from him.

  Aspen shook his head. His fingers brushed the hairs next to my cheek. “This isn’t what I wanted to hear.”

  “Then what did you want to hear, Aspen? Because clearly you control everything in our relationship!” I yelled. The waitress behind the counter looked at us before going back to her cleaning, rubbing the sparkling white counter with the towel in her hand.

  “I love you,” Aspen said. “Why can’t you just say it back?”

  “Because unlike you, I meant it when I said it the first time.”

  Aspen looked straight at me, dumbfounded. He took some time to process what I said, looked away and nodded to himself. “I deserved that.” He stood up and adjusted his soccer jacket. “I deserved everything you said to me. I was stupid to think that a girl like you would give me a second chance.”

  “Oh God,” Quinn whispered across from me, her head in her hands.

  My brain was foggy. Honestly, I had no idea what to do.

  “I’ll let you guys get back to your lunch.” Aspen frowned and began to walk to the glass door, but he stopped once he reached it. “Ella, I want you to know that I’m sorry. Maybe someday in the future we could try being friends.” He shook his head. “I’m an idiot.” The cheeks on him became wet. “I’m so sorry for ever hurting you. If I got the chance to be with you again, I swear I’d love you right, but until then, I guess this is goodbye.”

  My lips smiled just a little. “Thank you for that, Aspen.” I nodded. “I’ll see you sometime.”

  He nodded. “I’ll miss you.”

  “I know.”

  Aspen opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. His hand lifted just a little to wave me goodbye before slipping through the door.

  The bell rang out as if to announce his exit.

  Now we had closure, and everything in me finally felt complete.

  “Bye,” I whispered under my breath, and the last tear for Aspen fell.

  Epilogue

  Two Years Later

  My legs trembled beneath me. I couldn’t believe that I was only feet away from the UPenn soccer field. The nerves in me were a rollercoaster, the one with lots of flips. It was a shock to me that I even got into the University of Pennsylvania, and it was even more of a shock that I was chosen to try out for the soccer team. Of course, I wasn’t going to say yes (because of my hatred toward soccer), but it was UPenn, how could I say no?

  The sun beamed down on me, and I could already feel the sunburn coming on. I silently cursed myself for forgetting to put on sunblock like my roommate, Vanessa Brisburg, had said. She was heading off to field hockey and reminded me about the heat, but I waved aside her warning and ran off to tryouts. If only I had learn to listen at least once in my life. I was stubborn child.

  Being in Pennsylvania made me miss my friends. Caleb had gotten into MIT; I guess his obsession with video games paid off and has brought him that far. Him being in Massachusetts made Sam go to Boston College so she could be near him. I admired their relationship. I would have never said that two years ago, but they have proven that they were a strong couple. Quinn ended up at Tampa University, and Becca at NYU. She was a little upset that she didn’t get into Stanford so that she could be with Brian, but they agreed to keep a long distance relationship. I applauded them for that, because I would never have been able to do that.

  Trying out for the soccer team made me think of Aspen. If he knew that I was here, he would have been so proud. He was always one to push me to be the best, and I appreciated him for that. He went to Stanford on a scholarship though, so he was too far away to be connected to anyone from his hometown, even if it was me.

  Because Brian studies there, Quinn and Rebecca get a little nervous about visiting him at Stanford, because that meant they’d probably bump into Aspen. Once we officially broke up, I stopped talking to him. It wasn’t that hard considering five months later, he graduated and flew off to California, but I won’t deny that I did miss him. Sometimes there would be stuff that I’d do or hear that I would die to tell Aspen, but then I would remember our history and forget the whole thing.

  Aspen had that effect on me. His ghost constantly floated around me and every day I heard his voice echoing through my head.

  “I love you.”

  It was hard to push him out of my life permanently, but it was done. I probably wouldn’t ever see him again.

  I shook my head. I shouldn’t be thinking about Aspen. This was a big moment in front of me. In three days, I would know if I made the team, and I was determined to do just that. My heels kicked together and my neck craned from side to side.

  “Hurry up, Branson.” I heard someone call behind me.

  My heart skipped a beat. Only one person in my entire life ever called me that.

  “You’re going to be late for tryouts.” Aspen ran past me with his chocolate eyes locked on mine. His right eye winked at me, and I saw his lips curve into a smirk. He shifted his body and ran off toward the soccer field in the UPenn soccer uniform.

  My heart continued to skip a beat.

  Aspen had transferred to Penn.

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  _____

  Here is a sample from another story you may enjoy:

  Prologue

  Some things never change. My best friend Aiden Walkers barging into my room every Friday night to convince me to go to some stupid high school party is one of them.

  Today is no different.

  I am pretty sure he’ll be making an appearance tonight. Especially tonight. School is out, and summer has officially begun, which is why I’m not wearing my favorite tee.

  It’s all faded now, with a couple of holes here and there. My mom keeps pestering me to throw it away. I refuse to though. I always wear it before the weekend and two days straight after that. That’s gross, I know. But it’s also so comfortable. And considering that I won’t be leaving my room during the weekend anyway, it doesn’t really matter. I’m not wearing the tee right now, for obvious reasons. I don’t want Aiden to see me in it.

  My bedroom door bangs open at exactly 7 PM, and in strolls Aiden. That’s another thing that never changes—that precise time. He can be the most unpunctual creature on this earth, but he always stomps into my room at the same time every week, without fail.

  “And here you are,” I mutter, sounding decidedly unexcited.

  “And here I am!” he announces. Honestly, if he expects me to be surprised . . .

  “I know you missed me, but I’m here now,” he says, plopping down on my bed.

  I snort. “Missed you?
We were together like four hours ago.”

  “Details-shmetails, don’t matter.” He brushes it off.

  It’s not like I go out every week, you know? Most of the times I stay in, refusing Aiden’s invitation. That never stops him though. He makes it a point to come over anyway.

  “So, are you ready?” he inquires.

  “For what? Another party?” I roll my eyes.

  “Exactly!” He does look ready to party. He’s changed out of the plaid shirt he’d worn to school today, exchanging it for a tight-fitting black tee. He’s also styled his dark brown hair so it appeared effortlessly messy. He looks hot.

  “No Aiden, not again. I’m done. We’ve been going to a different party almost every week. I’m so sick of this. I don’t want to do this anymore. Plus, sophomore year has just ended. So I’m going to—”

  “Exactly! Another school year is over. Summer has begun.” He’s unfazed by my lack of interest. “You can’t just miss the start-of-summer party! Everybody’s going.”

  “Well, that’s just great then. You’ll have loads of people to keep you company. You should go without me.” I turn back to what I was doing earlier: watching the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars.

  “Never!”

  “I don’t understand why you do this every week Aiden.” I sigh. “You have so many friends, why don’t you just go out with them?”

  “Because they are not you.”

  My heart flutters just a little. Aiden smiles down at me, his milk chocolate eyes twinkling.

  “Now chop chop! Get dressed. Wear something sexy, okay? It’s going to be fun.”

  It’s going to be fun. That’s what he always says. Then when we get to the party, he gets swarmed by all these people and I’m left to fend for myself. We hardly spend more than an hour together. He always leaves with some random girl. Totally not fun.

  If given the chance, I’d spend my weekend cooped up in my bedroom, binge-watching TV shows or reading books. Aiden doesn’t let me do that though. He just has this way of coaxing me out of my shell.

  So that’s how I find myself at yet another party.

  I encounter the same thing I always do at these parties: the house filled with the stench of sweat and the thrum of bass; teenagers dancing to obnoxious hip-hop music; red plastic cups littering the floor; and couples occupying the couch, making out.

  Aiden gets swarmed by people as soon as we arrive. They either greet him from afar or come up to him, offering him a drink. Why did I have to be friends with someone as popular as him? It’s so tiring.

  He’s talking to some of the boys from the football team, when this girl pushes past the guys and plants herself right in front of him. It’s Brittany, the girl he hooked up with last week.

  Oh dear Lord, here we go.

  “Hello Aiden,” she coos, running her fingers through her strawberry blonde tresses. I stare at her face, her lips in particular. How are they so pouty and pink? And how is her hair so bouncy? What’s her secret? What products does she use? I can’t help but glance down at my own hair—dark and wavy, tangled at the tips, just a little limp.

  She takes Aiden’s hands in hers, tracing soft patterns on his wrist. “I’ve been looking all over for you.” She flutters her eyelashes. “I noticed one of the bedrooms upstairs is empty. What do you say, we get out of here and . . .?” She smiles suggestively at him.

  Ugh. Kill me already.

  Of course, he’ll concede and then they’ll go off to some secluded corner of the house and get it on. And I’ll be left to stare around awkwardly, feeling dejected and miserable just like always.

  “No, not today Brittany. I’m kind of busy.”

  Wait, what?

  She gapes at him. “Busy? With what?” she demands, sounding extremely vexed.

  “As you can see, I’m here with my best friend.” He gently wraps his arms around my shoulder. “So you’ll just have to find some other guy to mess around with.”

  Brittany is momentarily taken aback. My gaze flits between Aiden and her, feeling awkward. She glares at me and then walks away. I instantly turn to Aiden.

  “Wow, what was that? Brittany’s going to be really pissed about this.”

  “A hundred Brittanys will come and go, but there’s only ever going to be one of you,” he quips, pulling me closer to him. I open and close my mouth like a fish, unable to formulate a response. “I’m not going to abandon you tonight, Scar. I promised you we’ll have fun, and I’m planning to keep my promise. Tonight, we’re going to party together.”

  “Uh . . . I don’t know if—”

  “C’mon.” He leads me through the throng of people. “Dance with me.”

  We push our way through the crowd and stop at a relatively uncongested area. Aiden starts swaying his body to the music. He rolls his arms in the air, beckoning me to join him. I can’t help laughing. He looks ridiculous.

  I chuckle. I know he’s deliberately dancing like this to lighten my mood. “Aiden, you’re such a dork!”

  “Shh, come here.” He takes my hand and twirls me around as the speakers blast a popular number by Rihanna. Aiden and I have our arms wrapped around each other, and every time he exhales, I can feel it on my cheek. I feel laughter bubble up on the tip of my tongue. My hair bounces wildly, going all over. We continue dancing, moving our bodies to the lively beat of the music.

  Suddenly, my gaze falls on this girl. She’s really pretty—long auburn hair, sharp hazel eyes, and warm honey brown skin. She’s the kind of girl Aiden hooks up with in empty bedrooms. She’s just sitting there on the couch with a friend of hers, ogling Aiden. She realizes I’m observing her and looks away, embarrassed.

  I turn back to Aiden. My heart stops for a moment, hit by the sheer intensity of his gaze. He’s breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly with every breath he takes. The air in the room suddenly feels electric. My insides twist and my breath comes out in short spurts.

  Why is he looking at me like that?

  He takes a step closer. My breath quickens.

  His lips hover over mine. His eyes burn with a silent question. He starts leaning towards me ever so slowly . . .

  “Uh, I feel really thirsty. I think I’m going to go get a drink,” I interject.

  “Oh, uh sure.” He massages the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’ll come with you.”

  I shake my head furiously. “No, no, it’s okay. I’ll be back in a few. Do you want me to get anything for you?” He refuses. “Cool, I’ll be right back. Till then, why don’t you go talk to her.” I gesture towards that girl I’d noticed looking at him earlier.

  Her face flames up when I suddenly point towards her. She’s been checking him out for the past hour. Her eyes have been practically glued on Aiden. “She has been looking at you for a while. She’s definitely interested.”

  Before he can protest, I turn around and walk away, heading straight to the bowl of punch in the kitchen. I grab a cup and start pouring myself some.

  I really am thirsty, and I genuinely need a drink. But even the dumbest person in the room can figure out that that’s not the reason why I practically ran away from Aiden.

  I needed to get away from him. It was too much. He was too much.

  He just . . . he caught me off guard. What was he thinking!? He can’t really expect us to kiss! I mean we’re friends. We’ve never seen each other like that. Whatever we have is purely platonic. It wouldn’t feel right.

  Or would it?

  I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly feeling cold.

  Think about it Scarlett, would it really be so bad for you two to kiss?

  I shake my head in refusal, trying to convince myself. I can’t just…kiss him. I can’t.

  Oh c’mon. Don’t be a chicken. Go back in there and do it. You know you want to.

  I . . . I want to?

  Yes. Go.

  My heart jumps in my chest. With newfound fervor, I take a huge swig from the cup that’s clutched in my hand and then stomp back whe
re I’d come from.

  Yes, I should totally kiss him. Maybe I always secretly wanted to. What’s the worst that could happen?

  And so, I head back to do what I should have done the first time—kiss my best friend.

  But of course, Aiden listened to me. He always does. He listened to me and now he’s talking to that girl just like I suggested him to. They both are laughing about something. He’s playing with his hair. He always plays with his hair when he’s talking to someone he finds attractive.

  I can’t really go and kiss him now, can I?

  I dump the empty cup in the nearest trashcan, and then head outside. I know Aiden and I were supposed to hang out tonight but I just can’t anymore. It’s all so weird now. I quickly shoot him a text. I could have said it in person, but I know he would have insisted on driving me home.

  I’m heading home, I feel queasy. I think I’m about to get my period. You stay and have fun. Bye x

  My head flashes back to when we’d almost kissed. For just a second, I contemplate going back and kissing him; consequences be damned. But then I think about that really hot girl he’s talking to right now. Why would he want me when he can have someone like her?

  You know what? This is probably for the best. It would have probably changed everything.

  Little did I know that things had already started changing.

  Chapter One

  Scarlett

  “Is she here yet?” I ask impatiently.

  There are a dozen things I could be doing right now. Dozens. I’m not even kidding. I could be working on that article I need to submit to our school newspaper this Friday. It’s about the deplorable condition of the chemistry lab equipment. I could be huddled up in my friend Sharon’s car right now, jamming to the songs of our favorite boy-band. Or the best: curled up on my bed, reading a book.

  But here I am instead, on the roof-top of the dilapidated brick building that I call school, waiting for Aiden’s girlfriend-to-be.