The Curse of Your Past // Charlie Gillespie

Chapter 11

"Victoria! Come on! Please go to that party with us! Just this once! I promise you'll have fun!" I sigh in defeat. I know there's no use arguing with Kat. If she has made up her mind she'll bug you until you give up and join. "Alright. Fine. But only this once." She smiles victoriously and walks over to my closet to go through it.

Jenny and Miranda are sitting on my bed, watching this as if they are watching a movie. I shoot Jenny a pleading look but I know she wanted me to go out with them for a while now too. I feel fabric being thrown over my head. It is a tight black mini dress. I had a feeling that's what Kat was going for... not that she has too many options since I hardly have any party worthy clothes.

It's just not the type of thing I like to do. I prefer just heading to a bar and having a drink. This may seem a little contradicting since I wanna open up my own club but that's different. My club will have concerts, karaoke-nights, open-mic-nights and things like that...

The club is way too full but Kat, Jenny and Miranda move through the crowd as if they own the place. Maybe they do. I know Kat and Miranda go here a lot. Jenny stays with me sometimes... that's just how our friendship works.

Jenny doesn't mind because, even though she enjoys partying, she enjoys some downtime too. We met Kat and Miranda at school and grew really close with them but it's no comparison to the friendship Jenny and I share. We are like sisters and it's nice to get to spend time with her alone. I follow them towards the bar.

We all order a cocktail... without a drink I won't survive this night. After finishing my Tequila Sunrise we make our way to the dance floor. I need to admit, if you give it a shot it's not too bad. I mean, this will never grow to be my favorite activity but it definitely isn't terrible either.

After a while some boys come walking towards us. It's Josh with some of his friends. I recognize a few of them but I can't remember their names. I've seen them at school but I never talked to them much. "Hey Tori! Didn't expect you to come." I roll my eyes and hug Josh quickly "Hey Joshy... yeah, neither did I." He smiles at me.

Wrapping an arm around my shoulder he turns us towards his friends. "Guys, remember Victoria?" Then he turns to me. "Tori, remember the guys?" I wave at them shyly, pretending to know them. I mean I do know them... just not well... I mean, I don't even know their names. One guy is staring straight at me. He has something about him... he seems mischievous, like he has some kind of secret. I like secrets... or better to say I like unravelling them.

Admittedly, the night didn't turn out terribly but I'm really glad once I finally fall into my bed. Jenny stays at my place but Kat and Miranda went over to Kat's. Once we wake up it's already after noon. I fumble for my phone and find a text from Josh. Hey Tori, my friend Max would like to go out with you... is it alright if I shoot him your number?

Huh? His friend wants to go out with me? Over the night I carefully paid attention to the names of the guys... I know Max is the one I felt is having a secret. I didn't think he paid much attention to me though. I know he pierced me with his looks at the beginning but he soon lost interest.

Yeah, sure. I don't want to sound too enthusiastic. I've never dated anyone before. There wasn't really anyone who was interested in me and also no one I was really interested in. Max though... as I said... I like a good puzzle.

We meet up on Monday, right after school at a coffee shop nearby. When I enter the shop Max is already waiting. "Hey Victoria. I'm really glad to meet you again." With a bright smile he comes walking over towards me. He holds out a hand for me to shake and I take it, returning his smile.

We sit down and order our drinks. He pays for both of us, which I really didn't expect him to do, but it's nice. We talk for what feels like hours and when we leave the shop it's already dark. He offers to drive me home since I don't have my own car yet.

When we stop in front of my house he says "That was lovely. Care to do it again?" I turn to face him. With a smile on my face I say "I'd love to."

We went out on a couple more dates. First, it was only coffee. Eventually it turned into dinner or a movie. I have to admit, in the beginning I didn't think I would fall for him. I've never been in love but I enjoy reading about it a lot.

There was no spark, no tingling feeling... but the more time I spent with him, the more I enjoyed his company. He's a lovely guy. Always on time, always offers to pay for me, which makes me feel a little bad sometimes, and he always makes sure I get home safely. I feel good around him.

We just got back from the movies. Stopping in front of my house I open my door and climb out of his car. Today, he gets out too. He hasn't done that before so I wait for him to come around to my side. He steps closely in front of me.

And then, just like that he leans down and kisses me. It feels nice. The next morning he picked me up for school and we walked into school hand in hand.