Chasing Miss Conner •OLD VERSION•

Three

|Shay's mom in pic|

Three

Classes flew by quickly but I found that I actually enjoyed the teachers I had and the material they taught. They were all really good. I especially enjoyed my English class, for obvious reasons. I was just cleaning up my stuff and about to leave my history class when I saw someone approach me from the side.

"Hey." I glanced up and he greeted me with a smile. Even though I wasn't particularly open to guys at the moment, I couldn't deny that he was attractive. My mom knew I was bisexual, and that I preferred women more. I'd been so nervous when I came out but she took in stride. I mean, what was she going to do, kick out a girl with a heart condition? Yeah right. And there was just something about this boy that made me want to give him a chance. With hair the color of dark chocolate, strong features, and a muscular build, he was pretty hot. I brushed a stray hair out of my eyes and smiled. "Hi." The guy rolled onto his heels and ducked his head almost as if he were embarrassed.

"Can I help you?" He looked up at me and laughed. "Yeah...I mean no, I mean...I know it's your first day here but do you want to go out sometime?" My eyes widened in shock. "Uh, well I don't normally go out with people I don't even know the name of."

His cheeks reddened and he scratched the back of his neck bashfully before holding his hand out for me to shake. "Right aha, sorry. I'm Caleb Ryce." I smiled and shook it, his hands were rough and callused. "Do you by any chance play the violin?" He looked at me in surprise "Yeah, for about three years. Why?" I flipped his hand over and gestured to his callouses.

He raised his eyebrows. "Impressive. How'd you know to look for that?" I shrugged. "I've played piano since I was 5. I know the music scene." He smiled at me and handed me my notebook. "Thanks." He shoved his hands in pockets. "Welcome. So how's next Friday? I have a whole bunch of stuff to do this week, so I'm sorry I can't do it earlier. I can pick you up at 8. I know this great pizza place downtown." He looked so excited and eager I couldn't say no. "Sure." This big smile lit up on his face and I just smiled back.

"Great! See you then." He turned to leave but I grabbed his arm. "Hey, don't you want my number?" He shrugged and said "I wasn't going to ask yet, but if you want to give it to me you can." I stopped for a moment and thought about how sweet that was. I asked for his phone and he obliged. I secured my number in contacts and handed it back to him.

"See you tomorrow." I said over my shoulder.

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I made it home around seven, I had to call a cab. I had stayed at the library late working on school work I had to catch up on in order to graduate on time. Placing my things on the counter I was just about to head upstairs and take a nice long bath when I heard my phone go off.

Mom: Be home late -there's left over pasta in the fridge. Lock all the doors! Love you!

I rolled my eyes and typed a reply. My mom was so over protective with the heart condition, she was always afraid that someone would break in and give me a heart attack or something. On movie nights, we always watched some dumb comedy since she was afraid I'd literally scare myself to death. I love the woman, but for a brain surgeon sometimes she wasn't all that smart. I pulled out the pasta and went to turn on the bath water while it was heating up.

Yep I eat while I'm in the bath, sue me.

I stripped and put on my favorite purple robe and even laid out some scented candles. My pasta announced its hotness and I practically skipped down the stairs to get to it. I was just about to take a bite of the cheesy goodness when I heard the doorbell ring. Groaning in exasperation I stomped over to it, eager to tear into the person who'd dare interrupt me and my food.

I opened the door, wincing at the cold draft and peeked outside. I frowned when I saw no there. There was a package though. Frowning, I picked it up. The label was addressed to my mom which was even more weird considering we'd been in Seattle for week and hadn't told anyone back home our new address. I wanted to open it, but I knew mom would kill me so I just set it onto the counter and headed back upstairs.

I sighed as I sunk into the warm water. The candlelight flickered, creating strange shapes and forms across the walls. My mind wandered to the date tomorrow night, and I wondered what I should wear. He said it was just pizza so I think I'm going to just opt for a sundress and leave my hair down. I was a bit nervous since this was my first real date. Yep, believe it. The great Shay Daniels has never been on a date. I guess "heart condition" just doesn't scream "sexy."

Whatever.

I wasn't really all that interested in relationships anyways. I was too focused on school and worrying about my heart to pay attention to them. I stayed in the bath until the water grew cold. It was nice, all my doctors actually encouraged me to take baths instead of showers because the water pressure in a shower could actually be stressful for my heart. Odd, considering showers are supposed to be calming, but I didn't mind.

"Shay? I'm home!" I heard mom yell downstairs. I was surprised until I glanced at the clock and realized it was already 11 o'clock. I towel-dried my hair and left it down to air dry, then pulled on a pair of sweats and an old sweatshirt. I still had a little bit of homework to catch up on but luckily I didn't need to be to the school until 8:30. I enjoyed that it started at 9, it was relieving knowing I didn't have to rush my mornings.

"Hey mom." I said as I walked into the kitchen. She was still in her scrubs and was grabbing some pasta. "Kill anyone today?" She just rolled her eyes at me, used to my antics. "No, but this horrible case came in." She shuddered, a scared look in her eyes. Frowning, I took a seat on one of the stools. "What happened?" It was weird to see her so affected by something since working at a hospital you're basically exposed to every horrible situation ever. Mom's been a neurosurgeon for most of her life, she practically lived at the hospital.

"This girl was walking home from a friends house and these two guys jumped her. They beat and raped her and left her for dead. She had some pretty bad bleeding in her brain that took forever to fix, but oh god when she came in you could hardly tell what she looked like." I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand, my heart hurt for that girl. "Oh my god, that's horrible." She agreed and we were quiet for a moment before she suddenly stopped eating and pointed her fork at me, pinning me with a stare. "Never leave the house at night without me, got it?"

I sighed, well there goes my date.

"Mom, I got asked out today." She squealed, dropping her fork. I winced at the shrill sound."WHAT! By who?!" I fought to bite back a smile at her overreaction. "His name is Caleb Ryce." She paused for a moment and then squinted at me. "Well, he will meet me before this date. And I want to know where you'll be at all times. And I want to pick you up." Other girls might scream or freak out on their parents and blame them for being strict, but I actually didn't mind. Mom wasn't being strict, I just knew she wanted to keep tabs on me. "He's just taking me to a pizza place. We're gonna hang out there, I looked it up and it has an arcade and everything." I tried and failed to contain my excitement. She smiled and came around to hug me. "I'm so happy for you honey! And on your first day at a new school? How cool is that!"

I laughed and pointed at the box. "A package came for you." Her brows furrowed in confusion when she leaned to over to read the label. "I didn't order anything." She muttered. I shrugged, "Are you going to open it?" She turned and smiled at me, but something in her eyes was forced. "Not right now. I want to hear all about this Caleb guy and your date!" I groaned but let her tug me to the couch.

The date was all she could talk about the rest of the night. It just about drove me crazy! The woman might as well be the one going on the date she was so excited. But I had to admit, it was pretty wonderful to know someone found you attractive. But when I closed my eyes that night, I didn't see Caleb. Before I drifted away, cobalt blue eyes burned into mine.