When Our Worlds Collide (Our Worlds #1)
Lindsey Iler
Chapter One
Two Years Ago
-Kennedy-
“How do they all look so flawless all the time?” I say to myself as I turn to head towards the high school.
Something fishy is going on in this town. They pump hormones into the water supply in the locker rooms is the only reasonable explanation. The boys are unbearably beautiful around here. I don’t remember them looking like this back in Michigan.
A handful of tall, gorgeous boys from the varsity baseball team are surrounding my best friend, Violet. Tennessee’s hottest are giving their undivided attention to my best friend as one of them swings her around in the air as if she’s weightless. As her feet leave the ground her laughter rings from the parking lot where I’m standing, watching in envy.
Violet is a force of nature making it impossible to not be drawn to her. Even the upperclassmen can’t resist her charm. She’s drop dead gorgeous with the deepest red hair that only causes jealousy in girls. Her hypnotizing green eyes are what make it nearly impossible to say no to her.
We’ve been best friends, attached at the hip, since I moved to Tennessee at the beginning of this year. I’m the new girl and she’s been the only one willing to give me an ounce of compassion, befriending me when I needed someone on my side the most. She’s been the main influence of breaking me out of my shell, even though her quest hasn’t really been working.
She’s the reason I’m here tonight. I’m not here to cheer on my boyfriend like most of the girls sitting on the metal bleachers. They’re all wearing their boyfriend’s number on the back of their poorly sized t-shirts. It’s a dead give-a-way for the ball chasers (Violet’s expression, not mine). She refuses to call herself a ball chaser even when I point out time and time again that she fulfills all the necessary criteria to be a part of the coveted group of future ex-wives.
Busying myself watching Violet’s shameless flirting makes me a single step away from colliding into a situation I would have preferred to avoid. They haven't noticed me yet and neither seems too rushed to come up for any source of air. I'm not surprised I’m going unnoticed. I'm nearly invisible to these people. I flitter by every day, but no one turns their heads to acknowledge me. I’ve grown to live with it.
Out of pure curiosity and some form of horrid punishment, I can’t pry my eyes away from the two of them. I know I should have gone to a different door---at the very least turn away until they’re done mauling each other, whenever that could be.
He has her pinned against the metal door running his hands up and down her nearly flawless body. He’s bold slipping his hand beneath the fabric of her tight shirt. Her hands are pushing through his thick hair as she stands directly between his legs. Only their clothes stop them from doing something that only makes me blush thinking about it.
My only thought, an embarrassing one, is that I wish someone would kiss me like he’s devouring her. As if it were the kiss to end all kisses. I could feel the evidence of my embarrassment creeping up my cheeks as I watch in on something that will never happen to me in this lifetime. Jealousy is a normal human response I keep reminding myself as I continue to watch their display.
Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not miserable. I’m just not content with where I’m at in this point of my adolescence either. I'm a freshman in high school who just wants to fit in like everyone else. Being asked out on a date or to go to a party should be a top priority for me like it is for most girls my age. I just let it all go, writing it off as a fairytale that will never come true.
I know…I’m pathetic.
I have this unrealistic fantasy that if I still lived in Michigan, high school would be easier for me. I felt a part of something living there. Everyone knew who I was. Here, I'm just the new girl that all the girls ignore. The freshman guys in my class are too busy drooling over upperclassmen and Amanda Drims with her freshman cackle of followers to notice someone as boring and mundane as me. To sound more self-deprecating than I already do, I’m forgettable.
The only reason why I'm even at the baseball field tonight, besides being dragged by Violet is for the school newspaper. Mr. Randall, the freshman English teacher, practically forced me into newspaper class after reading my essay on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I like being creative making the decision to join a no brainer. Plus, I know that it will look promising on my college applications.
Yes, I'm also that girl who’s already thinking about college essays and interviews. No wonder no one notices me, right? Columbia doesn't let just anyone in though. I’m going to have to work my butt off if I want to get noticed. My grades, as stellar as they are, will not be enough to make me stand out in the busy crowd of America’s elite. These kid’s parents are alumni that purchase new wings in different corners of the campus to guarantee admission. My parents graduated from state college. I can’t buy my way in. It’s just not going to happen that way for me. I have to depend on my hard work to make it there.
I roll my eyes as I see that the make out bandits still haven’t come up for air. I’m still approaching their compromising position day dreaming about the what-if’s of my life.
"Excuse me," I speak softly as I approach the door that leads inside the school.
They don't dislodge themselves from each other even when I’m right in front of them. Either they don't hear me or they don’t care enough to peel themselves off of each other. I make an attempt to reach around them to grab at the door handle hoping to sneak by unnoticed. He pushes her to the side nearly trapping my hand beneath her bony body.