Tangled in Love

Prologue

It all started on Valentines Day, in a dusty gym with a quick-paced pop song pounding the ears of the students dancing.

Nolan sat shyly against the wall, partly shrouded from sight. He scanned the room for a person to speak with, but could barely even see anyone's face because of the strobe lights dancing across the floor. He thought momentarily of his friends, Samad, Justin, or Henri, but then looked out at the crowd and thought they must be dancing with their date. He had wanted to go to the dance with someone, but didn't want to go with some girl he barely knew. It was the Valentines Dance, after all. He wanted it to be special.

Bored, he gazed at the decorations strewn about the room. Red streamers hung from the ceiling, and pink hearts decorated the walls. There were also posters about Nature Club, school lunch, and the Clinton basketball team, the Clinton Hawks. Nolan sighed. His eyes drooped. The DJ just switched the music to a song he didn't recognize, so he pulled himself off the ground, patting the dust from his clothes, and started to walk around the gym.

He walked up grey stone steps leading to a risen platform that snaked its way around the gym. Spotting the snack table, he walked over and grabbed two giant swirly lollipops the size of his hand. Unwrapping one of them, he started to lick the red and pink lollipop like a little child, holding the other in his hand and letting it dangle next to him. He turned around, heading back to his spot near the wall.

Suddenly, he noticed a girl running frantically after another. The girl chasing her friend had long, brunette hair, that waved side to side as she ran. She was too far away to see clearly, but Nolan could make out a smile on her lips.

"Hey!" the girl shouted towards her disappearing friend. Nolan was about to call out to the smiling girl when he saw her foot connect with someone's boot, sending her sprawling onto the ground. Nolan bit his tongue, trying to see through the dense crowd. The girl, to Nolan's relief, began to crawl slowly into a sitting position, her brown hair lapping against the ground and her laughter quickly fading as she examined her ankle. Nolan began to push through the crowd.

"Hey... You okay?" Nolan began, approaching her as slowly as he could.

She glanced up, meeting her bright eyes with his. "Yeah, I think so. I just scraped my ankle."

Momentarily, he was struck with her beautiful innocence. He wanted those bright, hazel eyes, flecked slightly with green, to be his girlfriend's eyes, and for her red lips to press against his. He knew it would be a perfect match.

Nolan mentally scolded himself for having such thoughts, and pushed out his arm, offering his hand. She grabbed it with a warm smile, introducing herself in a sweet, kind tone.

"I'm Maya."

Slowly, he heart began to beat so fast he worried she would be able to hear it.

Maya felt the same way.

"You're as sweet as this lollipop," he blurted out, thrusting the unopened lollipop he held in his palm in front of him, offering it to her. Realizing he had just spoken his thoughts aloud, he tried to cover it up by quickly rephrasing. "Here, it's for you." He turned to the left, trying to hide his flushed cheeks from Maya.

The girl chuckled, dimples showing on her cheek as Nolan turned back towards her, feeling his cheeks fading from crimson-red. "What's your name?" she inquired in her sweet voice.

"I'm Nolan," he began, turning back around once he decided that his cheeks were their usual complexion. "I haven't really seen you around that much. . ."

"Oh, yeah. It's a large high school. Plus, I'm sort of. . . Quiet? I guess." Her face nuzzled into her shoulder, trying to hide her tomato-red face, her short rambling making her wince.

Nolan gazed at her with a small smile on his lips. "Well, I like quiet."

Silence filled between them. Nolan tried to avoid looking directly into Maya's eyes, as Maya directed her vision towards her torn-apart Converse sneakers.

Maya broke through the quiet, like shattering a glass window, and chuckled nervously, offering her hand to him. "Uh... Do you..." she started, before clearing her throat. "Do you maybe want to dance?"

Suddenly, the girl Maya had been chasing ran up to the two of them, freezing awkwardly for a moment as she noticed their hands wrapped together. Nolan finally saw the girl Maya had been chasing after clearly. Havah Bernstein had short, wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. Nolan recognized her from his chemistry class. She smiled suggestively at Maya, eyeing Nolan and nudging Maya's arm, before Maya tore her hand from Nolan's gentle grip and broke into a nervous laughter.

"Uh..." she began. "Sorry."

How cute... Nolan thought to himself, a mental smile engraved on his lips.

"No, no it's okay. I didn't mean to... Intrude," Havah winked before skipping back into the dancing crowd. "Have fun with your... friend."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Maya pressed her palms against her face in embarrassment.

"It's okay," Nolan laughed. "And I'd love to dance."

Awkwardly, Maya lifted her hands up, glad that she had a sharp memory. She remembered the correct dancing posture, and it saved from from further embarrassment towards the boy in front of her.

Nolan's arms rose as well and as it touched her's, the two seemed to fit together, like they were pieces of the same puzzle. His mesmerizing eyes stared straight into hers, but the deepness and emotions in it made her cheeks blossom in red. Avoiding his gaze, she decided to look behind Nolan's shoulder and immediately regretted it.

In the shadows, she saw Havah, smirking as she stared at Maya's swaying figure. When she noticed Maya's glare, she sent her a quick wink and blew a kiss, pointing to Nolan and raising an eyebrow. Maya felt her hands grow clammy, and had the sudden urge to hide her face in her hands. She quickly altered her gaze, focusing on the red poles on either side of the dance floor, sporting a large banner that exclaimed, "HAPPY VALENTINES DAY" in bright pink letters.

Suddenly, she felt the end of her silky green dress catch her boots, her hands immediately letting go off Nolan's as tumbled towards the ground. Her arms flailed for support, trying to grab the white walls and stop her fall, but the smooth surface was just beyond her reach.

Closing her eyes, she knew that there would be a thump when her body hit the cold, dusty ground. But suddenly, she felt an arm twirl around her waist, stopping her just centimeters, millimeters even, from the ground. Again, she had the distinct sensation that the hand was meant to be sturdily catching her, warming her, comforting her. It made her feel safe when she felt the glow of his hand on her side. When Maya gazed up, her vision blurred from the bright light shining on her face, she only saw the blue eyes staring at her, silently quizzical, wondering if she was okay. In that moment, they both felt a deep connection with each other they never shared with anyone else.

Not speaking, Nolan nuzzled Maya into his arms, pulling her close to him and resting his head on her shoulder. She pressed her face into his chest, wanting to feel comfort it brought. They danced for hours, until the music stopped playing and students started to trickle out of the gym. Before they left their separate ways, Nolan had lain his head Maya's shoulder, sweeping her even closer into him. Maya thought that was his way of saying goodbye, but Nolan knew it was him saying hello.

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