Beside You: A Michael Clifford Fanfic

Chapter 2- Change Your Life

Two Years Ago

   "OLIVIA! I said go now, goddammit!" She always yelled. My mother believed yelling was the answer to everything. She thought it got her what she wanted, because she sure as hell never did anything for herself. This particular time, she was yelling at me to leave to pick up a birthday gift for my little brother.

   "I'M TRYING TO FREAKING LEAVE RIGHT NOW BUT I CAN'T FIND THE CAR KEYS!! GOD." And  I usually yelled back. That's the way things are around here. I didn't exactly see eye-to-eye with my mom; but hell, what sixteen year old girl has the "oh, so perfect "My Mother Is My Best Friend" relationship with their mom? I found the keys.

   "I'm going. I should be back in an hour or so." I said, shutting the door behind me, not hesitating even a second. I hated being in that house.  I got into the car and flipped down the driver's side visor to look into the mirror. I was plain. Not ugly, but not gorgeous by standards either. Just plain. A few , light freckles, big blue eyes, brown curly hair. Plain. I grabbed my sunglasses from my bag and placed them on my face. I took one last look in the mirror and flipped the visor back up. I started the car and drove away. I spent half of the drive to the mall fishing around the car to find my Pink Floyd CD, and the other half of the drive screaming because the fucking CD wouldn't work. 

   I pulled into the parking lot and found a space close to the enterance. I didn't want to walk far in the snow. I only had a sweater on. Not to mention, my 3-year-old Converse weren't holding up well in this weather, either. It was freezing. November in Michigan is cold, no doubt about it; sunny, but still cold. I got out of the car and slammed the door. I half ran/half walked to the doors. Once I got inside I thought, "What the fuck do 14 year old boys want for their birthday, anyway??" I'm not very close to Danny. I mean, he is my brother, but we are nothing alike. We didn't look alike. He's short and quite chubby, I, on the other hand, am tall (too tall, if you ask me) and very slim. But shit, I barely talked to the kid. I don't know what he wants for his birthday! I walked around the mall for a bit, people watching, and trying to decide where to shop. Finally, I saw a Gamestop. I knew he liked video games. That's the only thing we agreed on, we both liked video games. I walked into the store and made my way to the X-Box section, because that's what he has. I browsed the games for about ten minutes and finally decided on Call Of Duty. I didn't know if he had it, and quite frankly, I didn't care. I was happy with the find and walked to the empty counter and waited for the cashier to get out of the damn break room. After about 5 minnutes, he finally came out.

   "WOW....uh.....hi...uh, how can I, uh, help you...?" Had he never seen a girl before? Never talked to a girl? "Oh well.." I thought.

  "Hi." I said, sliding the game across the counter towards Mr.40-Year-Old-Virgin standing on the other side. He rang me up.

   "Is...uh...that all for today?" 

   "Yeah, thank you." I said as I handed him my money. He quickly gave me my change and game, without even a "Thank you" or "Have a Nice Day!". I just made my way to the doors. I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and noticed a text from my friend Ashlyn. I should say, my ONLY friend, besides my neighbor Shyanne, who I've become good friends with. I was quiet at school. But I had been friends with Ashlyn for my whole life. She was the only person I liked to talk to. I wasn't really good at talking to people, especially guys. I looked down and read over the text:

   "OMG LIV TOMMY ASKED ME OUT HE FINALLY ASKED ME OMG FUCK YES CALL ME ASAP OK ILYSM!!!!!!!!!!" 

   I was so happy for her. She'd liked this kid Tommy for the longest time. I looked over the text again in disbelief. 

   "SHIT. Sorry." I wasn't paying attention. I ran into someone and dropped my bag. 

   "It's fine! Let me grab that for you." a voice said. This is who I'd run into. I could feel my cheeks becoming redder by the second. The stranger picked up my bag and handed it to me. I looked up at them to thank them. I smiled. "He is gorgeous." I thought. He was around my age. He had gorgeous green eyes. His hair was dyed: blue and purple. Our eyes met. 

   "Thank you." I said smiling, not knowing what else to say. He smiled back, but he just stood there. I felt strange. I began to walk away, but I heard footsteps behind me. Someone grabbed the sleeve of my sweater. I turned around.

   "You dropped your phone, too!" He said, "I'm Michael, by the way." Damn, I didn't know what to say. I just wanted to look at him.

   "Thanks," I laughed. "I'm Olivia." 

   "That's a gorgeous name, it fits you." Michael said. I wasn't used to compliments, guys don't usually think anything of me. I blushed. I'm sure he noticed.

   "Thank you" I looked at the ground, smiling. He was sweet. 

   "If it isn't too much to ask, do you think I could...umm....have your number?" Michael asked. His cheeks were now equally as red as mine. He handed me his phone, and I typed in my phone number. I grinned and handed him his phone back. 

   "It was nice to meet you Olivia. You'll be hearing from me very soon." Michael said as he turned to walk away. I caught a glimpse of his smile. Perfect.

   Confused and satisfied with what had just happened, I walked back to my car, smiling the whole way there. I called Ashlyn to tell her of the whole scene and to hear about Tommy.