The Means To See

Chapter One

I watched Abby through the flames of the bonfire, my back to the yard fence of the sprawling lawn.

The flickering flames did nothing to lessen her beauty, dark brown hair pouring down her back in a glistening path, and even from thirty feet away, her laugh lifted my spirits.

"Hey!" A large arm slung around my shoulders, "what are you trying to do man, be invisible?"

I looked up into the face of tackle guard Andres, a large grin plastered on his broad face as he followed my line of sight, "Have you asked her yet?"

I resettled my crossed arms with a scowl, "You think I'd be over here if I had?"

"What's going on?" asked Tacky's voice, and I shrunk further into my hood as he and two of my other friends made their way over to my hiding spot.

Silence reigned as they all followed Andres's finger toward where Abby stood with three of her friends, and Tacky snorted, "Of course."

"Five bucks he doesn't get up the courage," Kade whispered to Theo, and I spun around to glare at both wide receivers, "I can hear you."

Kade gave me a look, daring me to prove him wrong, and I turned away.

The five of us stood in silence at the edge of the yard, and I chewed on the corner of my lip, trying to quell the nerves roiling in my stomach.

The whole reason I'd come to this stupid party, in somebody's ridiculously huge backyard, was because I knew Abby would be here. But I'd been standing next to this fence for an hour, unable to make a move.

"You know what?" Andres said, pushing his black hair out of his face, "why don't I ask her out, eh? We'd make a cute couple."

"Nuh uh," Theo said, "I'll tell Elise."

Elise was Andres' girlfriend and Theo's younger sister, and I smiled at the image that popped into my head of the petite girl railing into Andres with her words.

"This is boring," Kade said, "see you all later." He walked away, heading for a group of cheerleaders on the other side of the lawn, Theo joining him, and Andres patted my shoulder before leaving me alone.

Finally, it was just me and Tacky.

The large cornerback had gained his nickname after having the best tackles on the team, but now he just shrugged at me, "Look Jake, you can think of it this way, she's nice, so she'll probably say yes no matter what."

I glanced at him, disgusted, "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

He shrugged again.

Taking a deep breath, I shrugged off the fence with a sudden burst of courage, pushing my hood back and trying to comb my blond hair down with my fingers.

Then I started walking.

My knee pulled with every step, complaining about standing against a fence for an hour, but I ignored it and fixed my eyes on Abby's dark hair.

But my sudden courage faded as I reached the bonfire, my steps stuttering to a stop.

What are you doing? Asked the voice in my head, this is a horrible idea.

But this was Abby, we'd known each other forever, so how bad could it be?

I looked to my left, where all my friends had convened and were watching me, Andres giving me a thumbs up when he saw me looking.

What was this, pressure?

I forced myself back into motion, wiping the sweat off my hands and onto my pants, and walked over to where Abby stood, laughing with her friends, and stopped a few steps away.