Try and Catch Me: A Young Adult Fiction

by Sarah Kirchner

  Yes, you heard that right.

  I still have difficulty using the words ‘Aiden’ and ‘girlfriend’ in the same sentence. It’s certainly strange. For starters, he’s never had a girlfriend before. Never. He’s had plenty of opportunities, of course. What with girls throwing themselves at him left and right. But he never felt the urge to take things further with any of them. It never went beyond casual.

  But suddenly one day Aiden’s telling me about this girl he met at this party, and how they had this instant connection—as if that ever happens in real life—and how they’ve been hanging out all summer.

  So what? I’d asked. You’ve dated plenty of girls before.

  But it’s different this time, he’d retorted.

  Different how? Are her boobs bigger? I’d laughed, brushing it off.

  I guess he’d taken that jest to heart, because he never mentioned her again. Of course, I’d assumed his silence as confirmation for what I’d known all along: that this was just another fling. Maybe it had lasted a little longer than most, but it was a fling all the same.

  Turns out, I was wrong. A week ago, Aiden came up to me, demanding my help. Apparently, he was going to ask this girl to be his girlfriend. Girlfriend! God, can you believe it? I knew I couldn’t.

  “Okay, okay, stop!” I’d exclaimed. “You almost got me there for a second. You’re going exclusive? As if!” I start laughing. “But honestly, drop it. It’s not that funny.”

  “It’s not supposed to be funny. I’m being serious here, alright? I like Hailey and I’m going to ask her to be my girlfriend. I came to you because you’re my best friend. But that was obviously a mistake.”

  My eyes had widened. So he was serious. Wow. “No! It wasn’t,” I’d protested. “You just took me by surprise, that’s all. So tell me, who is this special girl?” I’d looked at him with curiosity burning my insides.

  “You’ll find out soon enough. What I need you to do right now is to help me surprise her on her birthday next week.”

  Aiden had wasted no time telling me his plan. The detail and precision with which he’d related it made me realize that he had spent a lot of time thinking it through. And that was saying something. Aiden’s not a planner. This Hailey girl must be really special to him.

  And turns out she is. Because here was Aiden Walkers, a week later—cool and confident Aiden Walkers, hyperventilating over a girl. I’d never thought I’d see this day.

  He’s leaning against the railing. I think I’ve told him to not do that at least five times already. It’s prohibited to come up here. This place is always kept locked for safety reasons. But Aiden being his reckless self refuses to budge. I keep worrying someone will spot us here and then it’ll be detention for a week.

  Aiden’s genius little birthday plan had been this: us stealing the janitor’s extra key, sneaking to the school’s roof and giving Hailey a surprise here. We’d cut the last two classes of the day and spent time blowing purple and pink balloons and spreading confetti on the floor of the roof. Of course, since it was a little windy here, that had back fired. The balloons were still here. The confetti? Not so much.

  Of course, we could have done all this at his house. Or hers. Or he could have taken her out like normal people do. But oh no, why go with the easier and the normal when you can break a dozen rules and make your life harder? Aiden’s justification: “it’s more fun this way.”

  Boys.

  I’d be giving him a hard time right now if I couldn’t see how obviously nervous he was. His cheeks are tinged with a pinch of pink. He’s running his fingers through his wavy hair. Holy shit. Aiden is actually nervous! I still can’t believe it.

  “Hey! Chill out, will you? Why are you so tense? You’re Aiden fucking Walkers for God’s sake! No girl in her right mind would turn you down,” I say. I know I’m going a little overboard with this and it’ll probably go straight to his head but I don’t care. He needs this right now.

  “You sure she won’t?” he asks, sounding doubtful.

  “I know she won’t. It’ll be okay, I promise.” I give his shoulders a gentle squeeze.

  He smiles his beautiful smile at me. “Thank you so much Scar. You really helped me out.”

  “Honestly? You’re thanking me? I thought we were past these formalities.”

  He steps forward. His arms wrap around my body, pulling me in for a hug. I gently collide against his chest. My heart reacts violently, thudding hard and fast. It’s still in a state of chaos when Aiden steps back. I smile at him, as if my heart hadn’t almost shot up my throat a few seconds ago. It has been happening for a while now. I have no idea why.

  “You’re sure about this, aren’t you? You’re sure about her?” I ask him rather seriously. It shouldn’t be a big deal. Teenagers get into relationships all the time. It’s normal. It’s fun, even. But for just a few seconds I get this strange sensation that everything’s happening too fast. For a few seconds, it all feels wrong. That if he doesn’t stop and think, it’ll be too late.

  Too late for what?

  I don’t know.

  He looks at me, and I see something flicker in the dark pools of his eyes. Some strange, unnamed emotion I can’t quite put a finger on. It comes and it goes.

  His lips part. He’s going to say something. He’s . . . going to answer his phone. It’s her.

  “Yes.” He nods. He’s smiling, but it looks a little strained. “Yeah, come upstairs. We’re—I mean, I’m at the roof. See you!”

  He hangs up, and then turns to me.

  “I’m sure.”

  I feel something change; a sense of loss. Like we’ve crossed a threshold and can never go back now. I don’t know what I’d wanted to hear. But somehow, this wasn’t it.

  I nod. “I should go now. She’ll be here any minute. Don’t want to be the third wheel! Tell me how it went tomorrow, okay?” I’m about to head downstairs when I hear footsteps. Aiden and my eyes meet at the same time. He mouths the word ‘hide’ at me. I head towards the water tanks at the back and hide behind them.

  About two seconds later a black high heel emerges through the doorway. She’s here.

  Wait, I know her . . .

  I carefully look at her face, trying to commit it to memory. Where have I seen her before?

  And then it hits me. Aiden had mentioned that he’d met her at a party. Well that wasn’t just any party. It was that party we attended together, Aiden and I, right before summer started. The one where we almost…

  Oh but it’s her! It’s that same girl who’d been staring at him throughout the evening. There’s no mistaking it.

  Who would have thought, right?

  She starts walking towards him. This is my cue—I need to leave. But for some unknown reason, my legs stay frozen to the spot.

  She’s looking at the balloons. Then she buries her face in the palm of her hands, blushing. She’s actually surprised.

  Okay, okay, can we please get on with it?

  He clears his throat, glancing at a box we’d carefully set on a spare desk lying on the roof: the cake.

  He’s going to go ahead with the surprise. Finally.

  Now would be a good time to leave.

  “So, I got something for you.” He gestures towards the box. They both step towards the desk, and he opens up the box to reveal the cake. I can’t see it but I know it’s red velvet. I ordered it after all. Aiden quickly sets up the candles and lights them.

  She giggles, not able to help herself. “Wow, is this for me?”

  I roll my eyes. Of course, it’s for you! Can you get any more stupid? I don’t recall anyone else here who has a birthday today.

  She blows the candle, shutting her eyes closed for just a few seconds. She grabs the plastic knife that came with the cake and cuts out a small piece of cake. She brings it up to Aiden’s mouth, letting him take the first bite. He takes a bite, making her eat what remained. “Happy birthday,” he says softly, staring deep into her eyes.

  Great, he’s working
his Aiden charm on her. Soon enough she’ll be weak in the knees, kissing him like there’s no tomorrow.

  Oh wait, I don’t want to be here when that happens.

  “I . . . uh . . . also brought you something.” He extracts a tiny box from his pocket and takes out a necklace. I can’t see it very well from here. But she obviously likes it because she claps her hands excitedly like a child.

  He didn’t mention this part of the surprise to me…

  She turns around, removing her hair to expose her neck, gesturing Aiden to put it around her neck. He takes this opportunity to look in my direction. He silently asks me what he should do next. He’s still a little nervous. ‘Ask her,’ I mouth, nodding my head fervently to emphasize my point.

  He takes in a long breath, licking his lips.

  “Hailey . . . I . . . uh wanted to ask you something,” he mumbles.

  She gestures for him to go on, while her fingers play with the pendant dangling down her neck.

  "I like you, Hailey. I-I really do. The last few months have been almost dream-like. I’ve loved all the time we’ve spent together. I’ve loved hanging out with you. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before.” He pauses for a second, trying to compose himself. “I don’t want us to stop doing this. As much as going out on random dates has been fun, I want more. I want to be with you. Will you be my girlfriend?”

  She gapes at him. Her cheeks pop, her eyes twinkle. She’s blushing. For a few seconds, there’s nothing but silence. Then she nods, ever so slowly.

  “Yes Aiden, I’d love to.”

  "Wait, really?" he asks, shocked.

  She nods, then starts chuckling. He pumps his fist in the air, victoriously. His shoulders relax. He doesn’t look stressed anymore. Everything has gone exactly as he’d wanted it to, maybe even better. He is happy.

  I smile to myself. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe this is exactly what Aiden needed . . .

  They are doing that thing, that thing couples do. They are looking into each other’s eyes, smiling like a bunch of fools and slowly, oh so slowly, leaning towards each other.

  Oh god, they are going to kiss.

  I suddenly feel nauseous. My insides were in knots, until it got hard to breathe. My chest hurts just a little. It’s not a nice feeling.

  I need to get out of here.

  I finally gather the courage to leave. I stealthily head towards the door. Once out of sight, I rush down the stairs. I can finally breathe again.

  If you enjoyed this sample, look for

  A Flirtationship

  on Amazon.

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  However, her facade slowly fades away when the bad boy, Lucas Johnson, arrives at the school she studies.

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  “Why do you like to hurt me so much?”

  “I won’t hurt you. Not anymore. So please, don’t run away from me.”

  With a devil-may-care attitude and a naughty reputation, Jason Brown is Raven High’s resident Casanova.

  Bookish and reserved, Samantha Simpson is the school’s ‘unofficial’ Book Nerd.

  Now, what happens when two people from completely different worlds are thrown together?

  When Sam’s name appeared on Jason’s secret list, just like the rest of girls listed, Jason is certain she will be crazy in love with him in a week. But there's no way a smart girl like Samantha Simpson could ever like a womaniser like Jason Brown. Is there?

  As Jason goes the extra mile to win Sam’s heart and crosses her name off the list, he has no clue that an eye-opening truth is about to unravel before his eyes, pulling him out of his carefree world to see past her shyness and thick books.

  After a shocking discovery, regret, and a change of heart, Jason soon realizes Sam needs help, and he is willing to go to greater length this time to save her from the violent life she struggles to survive.

  But with the weight of his reputation and bad decisions fending him off from being the knight in shining armour, could Sam really trust him with her life?

  Grab a copy now and fall in love with Kay S.H’s Playing the Field. A beautiful story of self-discovery, a second chance, and love that all starts with a List, a book club, and The Notebook.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I have to begin by thanking my mom and dad. You both have given me a life filled with love and showed me that I am able to be whatever I want to be. Dad, you were the first person to call me an author and I will never forget how embarrassed I was when you first began telling everyone. Thank you for believing in me. And Mom, thank you for being my best friend. You were the one who gave me a love for books and sparked the imagination in me. That’s the greatest gift I could have ever asked for.

  To my brothers, Matt and Noah, you guys drive me insane, but I’ll always love you both. Thank you for making me stronger and for teaching me how to stand up for myself.

  To Silas, thank you for being another parent to guide me and help me through life.

  To Connor Christuk, thank you for standing by me. There’s nothing more I can say other than I love you. Forever and always.

  I have to thank Mr. Ruoff, my 6th grade reading teacher. If you never read my short story aloud, I never would have followed my dreams of becoming a writer. I got here because of your initial faith in me, even if it didn’t seem like much back then.

  Thank you to my whole family for filling my life with a love and support I could not have gotten from anyone else. All of you have taught me so much and I am extremely grateful to be part of a big family. You all are my biggest cheerleaders!

  A big shoutout to my friends for giving me amazing memories. Madison Gilmore, Savannah Plaisted, and Alyssa Cohen thank you for constant laughs, amazing adventures, and heartfelt conversations I will never forget. Thank you to my girlfriends from home who helped me to grow and inspire me day by day. I am lucky to call each of you my friend and I cherish each of our relationships. Thank you to Brennan Lux, my best friend since 3rd grade! Thank you for our endless library trips and our shared obsession with reading (even if you love spoiling books for me). And I must thank Elisa Ueno for always talking nonsense with me for the sake of my writing.

  Thank you to everyone who has followed my journey since day one and the people just joining. I am thankful for all who have taken the time to read my book.

  And lastly, thank you to Wattpad for giving me my writing start. But mostly thank you to Typewriter Pub for choosing me. I could not have asked for a more supportive and hardworking team. To my editor, Shem Semblante, I looked forward to all of our emails and the overall excitement your created for my book (Go Caleb am I right?). Thank you for the adventure and for many more to come!

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Thank you so much for reading Try and Catch Me! I can’t express how grateful I am for reading something that was once just a thought inside my head.

  Please feel free to send me an email. Just know that my publisher filters these emails. Good news is always welcome.

>   sarah_kirchner@awesomeauthors.org

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  One last thing: I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book. Please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads because I just love reading your comments and getting to know you!

  Can’t wait to hear from you!

  Sarah Kirchner

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I’m studying English at Providence College where my love for literature grows. When I’m not going on adventures throughout Rhode Island, I spend my time with family on Long Island. My ideal day is curled up on the couch with the ones I love (plus a cat or two) enjoying a good book or movie. This is my first book ever to be published, and I’m very excited for the journey it will take me on.