WEST COAST 18+

10.

W E S T C O A S T

That night at the carnival was fun for Daniela.

She loved the stroll with Enrique and the energy that was trapped within her for the time she spent with him. He kept her smiling, laughing, and blushing all at once. Daniela started to become addicted to the memory of Enrique and the conversations they held within the hour.

She remembers drinking her milkshake and staring up at him, the sound of her slurping filling her ears because she neared the very bottom. He was so fine. His lips, as he spoke, she was picturing putting her own on em. His eyes intimidated her, yet she had trouble looking away. And his voice, like pure honey to a sore throat—soothing.

Daniela didn't like him flirting with her because Enrique knew how she got, and she hated the way she had to be unaffected by the fluttering feeling in her stomach. It made her antsy and joyful, the smile on her face signaling to him that she liked what he said.

After Enrique dropped her off and her brother, it was all she could think about.

But that was two weeks ago, and she hasn't seen Enrique since. Daniela didn't want to ask questions to get people teasing her, because clearly they loved to do that.

She wasn't the only one on the lookout for someone because on every corner in this high school building, Ashton searched for Raquel.

It was then he saw her at her locker, opening it to grab a textbook. Today, Ashton talked himself into speaking to her, and nearing her made all that anxiety come back.

But he took deep breaths, tired of being a tongue-tied fool.

"Hey, Raquel," he greets, grabbing her attention.

She was shocked to see him but put a smile on her face. "Hey."

"Everything okay? I haven't seen you in like a week," he says, fixing his bag on his shoulder.

"Yeah. I got a cold. My mom had to take care of me, which was soup and ginger ale for four days straight."

He brightens, "Feeling better now?"

"Way better," and hearing the bell ring for students to rush to get to class, she closes her locker. "I gotta go, but I'll see you at lunch?"

His brows raise at her proposal of them sitting together, "S-sure," Raquel sending a small wave to him before leaving.

Ashton was just standing there smiling big, feeling on top of the world that he got more than five words out with her. But just as quickly as his smile came, it left as he was shoved to the locker.

"Well, if it ain't Ashton," Jerry said with a forced smile, taking steps towards him.

Jerry's best friend chimed in to say, "he ain't got his sister protecting him this time."

Jerry nods, "That bitch or Georgie," the two smirking at the same time.

"Don't talk about my sister like that," Ashton demands quietly.

"Who's going to stop me?" Jerry asks, Ashton sighing deeply through his nose and clenching his jaw.

The tension was growing thick, especially because it seemed like Ashton wasn't cowering away today. He wasn't trying to avoid Jerry. He stood there and waited for something to happen, and because Jerry felt like he was being challenged by the look on Ashton's face, he got in his space.

Ashton wasn't fazed. He never was. Jerry just used the fact that he had an entourage behind him to his advantage.

"Boys, break it up," a teacher says, their dress shoes clicking while they traveled down the hall.