Crush: A YA Romance Collection

by Lavinia Leigh

  Arielle shook her head as she walked toward the front door, but the phone started ringing and she turned, running back to the dining room to answer it. Reed plowed ahead, trying to get there first, so she bumped him out of the way.

  “Hello.” Her voice came out breathless. When Reed glared at her, she couldn’t help the big, goofy grin that stretched across her face.

  “I forgot to tell you to be ready at six.” Jess sounded excited.

  “You didn’t have to call to tell me that. You already told me earlier.” Arielle walked out of the dining room toward the front door to fetch her backpack, chuckling.

  “Well, I forgot.”

  Arielle shook her head, smiling. “What am I going to do with you?” She smacked the door handle, springing the screen door open.

  “Accept me as I am?”

  Arielle leaned against the banister. “Already have, Jess. You can’t get rid of me now.”

  She could hear the smile in Jess’s voice. “Glad to hear it.”

  Arielle lifted her book bag up, dangling it from two fingers. She tilted her head, pinching the phone between her shoulder and cheek. With her other hand, she opened the door, moving through the living room and back into the dining room. She threw her backpack on the table and stared out the window, grabbing the curtain and dragging it back and forth. “Do I have to go tonight?”

  Jess sighed. “Arielle, we’ve been over this. You need to get out of that house once in a while. No more being a hermit this year.”

  Arielle dropped the curtain and sat down at the dining table. “But being a hermit is so much fun. You should really try it sometime.”

  “Um, how about no? You need to try not being a hermit sometime.”

  Arielle nodded, but then realized Jess couldn’t see her through the phone. She knew her friend had a point, but it didn’t make it any easier for her. She liked to stay at home, locked away in her room with her journal, writing the evenings away. “Guess I’ll see you tonight, then?”

  “Yes. Tonight. Be ready.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  Again, Arielle could hear the smile in Jess’s voice. “Bye, Hermie the hermit crab.”

  Grinning from ear to ear, Arielle hit the button to disconnect the call and set the receiver on the charger.

  ***

  Getting ready for something had never been harder. Arielle had no idea what to wear and she never really put makeup on, but she decided tonight, if she had to go out, she’d go all out.

  Her closet mimicked the aftereffects of a bombing, but somehow she found the dress she wanted. She pulled it over her head, watching as it fell right above her knee. It had green polka dots, which stuck out against the dark blue color of the fabric. The warm temperature made it easy to veto the matching tights. She dug through the bottom of her closet until she found a specific pair of dark green flats. She slipped on the glittery shoes, which reminded her a little bit of Dorothy’s ruby slippers, although hers were emerald and had no heels.

  Arielle grabbed her makeup bag and headed downstairs to the one bathroom in the house, off the dining room. She put on some light blue eyeshadow, then some glitter gel over it, and before it had time to dry, she dabbed some blue glitter over the shadow on her eye. After she finished with the other eye, she drew a line with eyeliner on her bottom lids, followed by a couple coats of mascara, and then she stood back, admiring her work in the mirror.

  She should totally do this more often, put makeup on. With her long blonde hair falling past her shoulders and the eye makeup, she looked decent. Not gorgeous like a lot of other girls, including Jess, but she would take decent.

  If only she knew how to do anything at all to her hair. Running her fingers through it, she grabbed the ends and pulled it up around her face, then dropped it back down and shrugged, leaving the bathroom.

  She glanced at the clock in the kitchen. It read five forty-five. Already? How had so much time gone by? No wonder she didn’t have time to do any of this in the morning. Sleeping a few extra minutes became priority one when she stayed up late writing all the time.

  Dad came out of his bedroom as she started to walk to the front of the house. “Where are you going tonight?”

  “A bonfire and then back to Jess’s. I’m probably going to spend the night, if that’s okay.”

  Dad shrugged. “I guess that’s all right. You stay there almost every weekend. But be home tomorrow night. Your mother doesn’t have to work so we are going to have a nice family dinner.”

  Arielle smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “I can do that. Love you, Dad.”

  “Love you, Ari. Have fun tonight.”

  She nodded and skipped out the front door, stopping when she ran into Reed on the front porch.

  His lip curled up. “Where do you think you’re going dressed like that?”

  “To the bonfire.” She rolled her eyes. “Duh!”

  He shook his head, leaning back against the banister and crossing his arms over his chest. “No. I don’t think so. Not my bonfire.”

  Arielle rolled her eyes. “Give me a break, dweeb. It’s not your bonfire, it’s for the whole school. And sorry, we’re going. Get over it.”

  Reed grinned from ear to ear. “Did you ask Dad?”

  Arielle grinned. “Nope, but I told him and he was fine with it.”

  Reed stomped and ran through the front door. “Dad. You can’t let Ari go to everything…” His voice faded as the door shut, leaving Arielle smiling.

  Jess’s SUV pulled up and Arielle hopped in the passenger side. “Let’s have some fun.”

  Jess did a double take. “Wait a minute. Where’s my best friend and what did you do to her?”

  “She’s still here, but she’s letting loose tonight.”

  “Good. Then let’s get out of here before she changes her mind.” Jess laughed.

  What Jess didn’t know was Arielle wouldn’t change her mind. Not tonight. She needed a little fun in her life, and starting today, she would let herself have it.

  ***

  Tigers High was bursting with life when Arielle and Jess got out of the car. There were people everywhere. A big pile of long sticks in the form of a teepee sat in the middle of the crowd, ready to be burned. Arielle didn’t know what they were waiting for to light the fire. Maybe darkness, but so many of the kids from school were already there they might as well start.

  Security officers stood at each corner of the area, bluetooth headsets at their ears. Arielle couldn’t blame the schools. With all the bomb threats and school shootings, it made her feel better knowing the school officials took precautions.

  Jess grabbed Arielle’s hand. “I think Damien and Garrett are over there.” She pulled Arielle as she weaved through the crowd.

  Damien and Garrett, Jess’s boyfriend and his best friend, were standing with a group of people all dressed like Jess. She wore a short black skirt with fishnet stockings and combat boots. Her shirt was tattered in the front with a white tank top underneath it. Her hair draped to her shoulders, pure black with blue streaks down the front.

  Arielle dressed in darker colors today, but she would normally wear pink. It was her favorite color. So hanging out with all the goth kids made people look twice most of the time. Sometimes she cared what people thought, like Karla and her groupies, but she didn’t care about a lot of the other kids. She tried not to care about any of them, but she couldn’t stop herself most of the time.

  Arielle scanned the area and her eyes fell on the blonde guy from earlier, the one she’d seen entering the school, standing by himself. She nudged Jess, whose face was planted on Damien’s, and pointed. “That’s the guy from earlier. Do you know who he is?”

  Jess glanced over for a few seconds and shook her head. “Never seen him before.”

  With butterflies in her stomach, Arielle started walking toward him. “I’m going to go introduce myself.”

  Jess clapped. “Go for it. It’s about time you started living that life of yours.”

  Je
ss might have been right, again, but Arielle could barely breathe. The thought of talking to him first made her want to turn and run in the other direction, but somehow she forced her feet to move forward until she stood in front of him.

  Sticking her hand out, she smiled. “Hi, I’m Arielle. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

  He took her hand. His skin was rough against hers. “I’m Blake. Just moved here.”

  “Oh yeah? From where?” Arielle still held his hand.

  “South Carolina.” He looked around a minute. “I don’t really know anyone here. Today was my first day. I thought coming here might help with that.”

  “Well, you know one person now.” She dropped his hand, wiping her sweaty palm against her dress.

  “You do, and she’s a weirdo chicken lover.”

  Arielle turned toward the voice and Karla Lust marched up beside her, shoving her out of the way to extend her own hand. “I’m Karla, by the way.”

  Blake shook her hand, looking confused. “Nice to meet you…”

  “Tubby here was just leaving.” Karla glared at Arielle, who looked down at the ground.

  Blake moved beside Arielle and wrapped an arm around her. “Actually, she isn’t.”

  Arielle looked up just in time to see Karla’s mouth drop open. Then she stomped away, her posse following behind her like evil minions. She smiled up at Blake. “Thanks for that.”

  “I don’t like bullies.”

  Arielle laughed. “Me either, but for some reason they sure like me.”

  Blake chuckled. “Probably because they’re jealous.”

  Arielle’s cheeks flamed and she stepped out of Blake’s hold.

  “There you are.” Jess ran up beside Arielle. “Damien said this place is boring and they won’t even light the fire until it’s completely dark. We are going to head back to my house and get the party set up.” Jess looked past Arielle to Blake. “Who’s that?”

  Blake stuck his hand out in front of her, reaching around Arielle to do so. “I’m Blake.”

  Jess shook his hand. “Well, hi, Blake. Why don’t you come to my house? I’m having a party and I’m sure Arielle would love the company.”

  “Sure.”

  Arielle had never been more excited for a party. She’d never had a boyfriend, a sad fact for sure, but maybe Blake would be the one to change that. Or maybe she’d taken a giant leap into a future that might never happen. She needed to slow down. One step at a time and all that.

  She smiled up at Blake. “See you there?”

  As she began to follow Jess back to Damien and Garrett, Blake grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “I don’t know how to get there. Will you ride with me?”

  “Jess, I’m going with Blake to show him the way.”

  Jess looked back and smiled, then nodded. “Sounds good.”

  Arielle waved her hand in the air, gesturing forward. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Blake slid his hand down from her wrist to her hand and pulled her to his car, a pastel blue, old-fashioned Mustang convertible. Arielle’s stomach flopped as excitement hit her. Mustangs were one of her favorite cars.

  As she slid into the black leather seat, she smiled. “Head out of the parking lot and hang a left.”

  And they were off.

  Chapter 2

  The Party

  When Blake pulled into Jess’s driveway, Arielle’s heart sped up. She couldn’t believe she’d rode with him to the party. Blake, with his golden skin and blonde hair, looked like a guy who would never be seen with an overweight, kind of pretty girl. No, he should be with a drop-dead gorgeous model type who never ate anything at the parties, not the girl who ate everything.

  Arielle had to change her thoughts before she allowed self-pity to swallow her whole. Blake had wanted to come with her and she needed to make sure he had fun because this could be her chance to change the whole almost-seventeen-and-never-had-a-boyfriend thing. The fact she knew just how pathetic that sounded in her head made her stir up the courage she needed to face the night.

  As she stepped out of the old Mustang, she smiled at Blake. “So, you ready to party or what?”

  Blake shrugged. “Sure, I guess. I’m not really a big party guy though.”

  Arielle laughed. “Me either. At all. But Jess…she loves her parties.”

  Blake tilted his head as he met Arielle in front of the car, then he leaned back against the hood, crossing his arms over his chest. “How did two people who are so different become best friends?”

  It took a minute for Arielle to realize he was talking about her and Jess. She grinned. “Actually, it’s a funny story.” She paused. “When I was in first grade, we moved here in the middle of the school year. When I went to the new school, all the kids made fun of me.”

  Blake scoffed. “Why?”

  Arielle pressed her lips together. “I don’t know. Guess even when I was a kid I attracted the bullies. At recess, I played by myself. I remember the day like it happened yesterday. I was swinging when a little girl threw some pebbles at me. They stung as they hit my arms and I hopped off the swing and started to run, but another girl came in front of me and yelled at the girl who threw the rocks. Jess, of course. We’ve been best friends ever since.”

  Blake grinned. “I guess she’s always looked out for you? Because right now, she’s glaring at me through the front door. So, if that’s normal behavior, I guess I shouldn’t be worried she might slit my wrists in my sleep or something, right?”

  Arielle looked at the front door and sure enough, Jess watched like an overprotective mother. Arielle should be mad since she had her own parents to do that, but instead, her heart warmed at the thought. She couldn’t ask for a better friend than Jess. “No, you shouldn’t worry. She’s just good at watching over me.”

  Blake took a deep breath. “Phew. Guess I’m safe.”

  Arielle laughed and tugged Blake by the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go inside and see if we can help get ready for the party.”

  “Since you’re tugging my shoulder, guess I don’t have a choice.”

  Arielle laughed again. Blake had a sense of humor, something she hadn’t thought when she’d first met him. “Nope. Didn’t your mom teach you when you’re on a date, the girl gets to make all the decisions?”

  Blake stopped, making Arielle slingshot back into him. “Wait, this is a date?”

  Arielle’s cheeks flamed. She looked away and focused on the gravel in the driveway, afraid to meet Blake’s eyes. The gravel did look kind of nice, so maybe she could stare at it the rest of the night. “Um…sure. I guess.”

  Blake shuffled around her and tipped her chin up to face him. “There’s no reason to be shy about it. I was excited when you said it was a date. I wanted it to be one.”

  Since she couldn’t look away because he still held her chin, she smiled. “Okay, good. Guess we’re on the same page.”

  “Guess we are.” He linked his arm in hers. “Now let’s go inside before Jess’s eyes set me on fire.”

  Arielle laughed again, something she couldn’t put a stop to around him even though she probably came off as an idiot. She never laughed like this…oh, who was she kidding? She laughed all the time and everyone thought her to be just another dumb blonde. Little did they know she wasn’t. In fact, every grading period she made the honor roll.

  As they walked in the house, Arielle winked at Jess. “Thanks for watching out for me.” She kept her voice low so Blake wouldn’t hear, but he looked back at her anyway.

  “Anytime,” Jess said. “Now, let’s get set up for a party!”

  They joined Jess in the kitchen and began working. Bags of chips were dumped into bowls and set on the counter, along with dip. They made punch, which Jess doused with a bit of vodka to liven things up. Her parents were gone for the weekend, so they would never know.

  “I ordered a ton of pizza. It should be here any minute.” Jess glanced at the clock on the wall by the kitchen table. “In fact, I think it s
hould have already been here.”

  The doorbell rang then. Jess answered it and a delivery guy brought in a stack of pizzas that almost touched the ceiling. Arielle guessed she hadn’t been kidding when Jess said she ordered a lot. But the delivery guy went out and came back in with another stack, which he set on the kitchen table by the other.

  After Jess paid, she came back into the kitchen. “Well, hopefully that’s enough food.”

  Arielle raised her eyebrows. “How many people did you invite?”

  Jess shrugged. “No clue. Between Damien and me, we probably invited the whole school.”

  Arielle shook her head. “I thought this was supposed to be a small party.”

  Jess’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, it is.”

  Arielle put her hand over her face. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Love me for eternity?” Jess wrapped an arm around Arielle. “I hope.”

  After a few seconds, Arielle returned her hug. “Of course I will. By the way, where is Damien?”

  Jess shrugged. “Around somewhere. You know Damien. He’s not really into helping.” She made air quotes with her fingers when she said helping.

  Blake leaned back against the kitchen counter. “What time’s the party start?”

  “Any minute. As soon as people start showing up.”

  Damien and Garrett came in through the back door, right off the kitchen. They were talking and laughing.

  “There you are.” Jess rushed forward and kissed his cheek. He flinched away from her touch. The corner of her lips dropped toward the floor.

  Arielle moved without realizing it and pulled Jess back to the activity around the food. “Let’s finish setting up so we’re ready when everyone gets here.”

  Arielle had never liked Damien. He seemed like a bad influence, but it wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t also an absolute jerk. In fact, Arielle couldn’t stand him. But she put up with him for Jess. As much as she could.