Splash

5 • in which myles goes to a party

Hope you guys like it.

I was so fucking proud of myself.

I was smooth and cool when I talked to Serena for the first time. I knew I made an impression on her. I could just tell by her eyes.

As soon as I made eye contact with her, I felt an overwhelming flood of emotions pour from her eyes, several of which I couldn't quite figure out. I could stare at her eyes all day.

Not that I'm creepy or anything, but still.

I didn't even stutter! Way to go Myles, I mentally patted myself on the back.

It was the first time I saw her up close, not counting the first day of school fiasco, and I was blown away. Not just because of her appearance, but because of the aura she gave off. She said one word to me, and I could tell that she was gentle, kind, and a genuinely happy person. She seemed like the type of person that everyone wanted to be around. The type of person that made everyone want to be better.

I had seen her from the moment she walked through the door with Riley, Evann, Bree, and Natalie. For some reason, it was as if my eyes were drawn to her. She looked pretty tonight, with her shorts and white cropped shirt. I could see a little strip of tanned skin peeking out from under her shirt. I could tell that a lot of guys thought so too. I could feel their eyes following her around the room, and it made me want to hold her by the waist and tell everyone to back off. She barely wore any makeup, yet she looked so effortlessly pretty at the same time. There was something about that girl, I swear. Something that made my heartbeat pick up in a way that I've never felt before, even with Riley. I just shook it off to my being slightly buzzed, thinking it was just due to the alcohol flowing in my blood.

When I saw her in the kitchen with Dale about an hour later, my face automatically morphed into a frown. He had his arm around her shoulders, and she was smiling like she enjoyed it. It looked wrong to me. I only wanted one person's arms around her, and it certainly wasn't Dale.

It was me.

What are you thinking? We've been over this. You're still not over Riley, it's not fair to Serena to lead her on even if you do start to like her, my subconscious reminded me. I guess I had a point, it would be rude to do something like that, especially to a girl like Serena. I couldn't live with myself if I broke her heart. I know what it's like to have a broken heart, and trust me, it's not pretty.

But that's only what my brain is telling me. There's also a part of me that's telling me to just go for it. There's something in my heart that's pushing me to go for this girl because I know that she's worth it. I can feel it deep in my bones. I can get over Riley. I can fall in love again. I know it sounds like I'm a sappy romantic, but it's true. There's a part of me that really believes in true love, and for some reason, I know that Serena believes it too. So in this very moment, I decide to make a promise to myself. I want to put myself back out there, put myself on the line for a girl, and I decide that the girl I want to do that for is Serena. I want to get to know her first, though, be friends with her, not just jump right into the whole dating thing. I want to take this slow, and I want to do this right. I want to meet her parents, for her to meet mine. I want her to feel comfortable around me, I want to be myself around her. I want to spend my senior year with her, and see where life takes us. I want to experience everything with her by my side.

And with that, I set out into the kitchen to rip off Ryan Dale's head.

That was obviously a joke.

But nonetheless, I cruise into the kitchen, say hi to a couple friends, and slide up next to Dale, who looks like he just won the lottery with his arm slung around Serena's shoulder, chatting to a few of his friends and introducing them to her.