Butterfly

•||Chapter One: Best Friends and Big Events||•

"I can't stand it anymore, Laura," I moan, my face muffled in her pillow. "I want to go back to school! I want to see Ethan!"

Half the school year had passed by, and now Ethan was one of the most popular guys in school. He still didn't speak much, but after a party in the old arcade, everyone expected him to be competitive about everything, including arguements.

I doubted Ethan thought of me as much more than the fidgety girl in History class, even though 5 months passed by since the day we met. It was March, spring break, and I could tell we were all waiting for the warmer weather again.

"Oh, Fel, everything'll be fine. You've just got to make a move, or he has to. Which I highly doubt, because he's only one of the most pop-"

"Laura!!!" I cry out, picking my head up. "That doesn't help!!!"

She rolled her eyes, and turned back to face me and glare with those dark foresty green eyes. "Look, maybe you should give up. He's popular now, but I don't know what you saw in him the first day he came to CSHS."

I think hard about it for a moment, tapping my fingers on the headboard rythmically. "I admire his looks...but I think it's more than that. My heart says 'He's to die for' but my brain says 'He'll be your friend, and help you learn to calm down.'" Laura looks at me eagerly.

"So? Which one is it? We go back to school in two days, and you should probably talk to him." I nod, and Laura goes to brush her teeth. During most of our previous sleepovers, the talk is about sports and media, but this time, all I hear is "Ethan this, Ethan that. My name is Felicity Lockwood and I love Ethan Armstrong!" Loud and clear.

--------------------------------

"Ethan!" I holler. Ignoring the irritated looks on all the cheerleaders' faces, I grab his shoulder and turn him around. "Hey! You better not tell me you don't know who I am."

Laura arranged a party this weekend, and asked me to invite Ethan over, for us to..."chat." He gave me that dazzling white grin, and started, "Well, of course I do, little miss ADHD princess. You're-"

A gorgeous blonde cheerleader rolls her eyes and scoffs. "No, who the hell ARE you?! Come on, Ethan, let's go." She tugged on his varsity jacket, but he kept grinning at me.

"Andrea, wait. I'm talking to Felicity." I almost drop on the floor laughing, just by seeing the look of utter and total shock on Andrea's face. "Now, Felicity, what do you need?"

The cheerleaders follow Andrea off the field and probably to the bus, but it didn't matter. Ethan and I were alone now, and my heart was beating faster than my fingers tapping at the hem of my skirt. "Um, I-I wanted to know if you'd...uh...come to L-Laura's party this Saturday. It's at the community pool, eight o'clock sharp."

He tapped his chin and stoked that insanely adorable invisible beard. "Sure. Mind if I bring a few friends?" I shook my head, and swallowed nervously. "Well alright. It's settled." Ethan smiled, and it was incredible. Like a god, he towered over me, so vibrant and...just pure flawlessness.

"O-Okay," I stuttered, before shuffling out of there. I muttered, "I've got it way too deep..."

--------------------------------

I have to admit, shopping was never ideal for me, since I hate waiting in any lines or standing around. Today, Laura had taken me to this beachy surf shop that she claimed sell the cutest swimsuits.

"Fel!" She snapped. I shook my head, and then looked up at her. Laura grinned widely, holding up the yellow two piece that my father would've said showed way too much skin. "What'd you think? It's so bright, isn't it!"

I nodded and gave a half-hearted shrug. "I guess. It really suits you, Laura, you should-" She cuts me off with a loud laugh, and she playfully elbows me.

"Felicity," she giggled under her breath. "It's not for me, it's for you! I mean, honestly, it contrasts your tanned skin tone perfectly! That-" Laura points to a aqua blue striped much more modest swimsuit. "-one is mine. I'll pay for yours if you promise to wear it."

I groan, but after Laura's death stare, we're driving back to my cottage in the sand, at Miami Beach, with yellow and aqua striped swimsuits in a pink paper bag.

My mother is waiting for us, sitting on a lawnchair, right in the shallow waves. "Go on inside, girls!" she calls to us.

While Laura talks to her mum on the phone, I stand in the bathroom doorway, staring at myself in the mirror. "This girl," I whisper to myself, my fingers tapping on the counter. "is making the move first. Come on. You're Felicity Terese Lockwood. You can do it."

My mini pep-talk almost works, until Laura tells me how many people are coming. I didn't think it could get much worse, but I stood corrected when she told me who Ethan decided to bring. That's when I wanted to cry. Hard.