From Unwanted to Wanted

Fighting Back

"Adeline? Adeline, are you there?" Katie asked, waving her hand in front of my face. I just stared at her before nodding slowly. "Yeah, I'm here." I stared blankly at her. I looked around her face and met her eyes. Her bright blue eyes. Maxson's were brown...My mind went back to the kiss and my heart fluttered. Why did he kiss me?

"Are you sure? You keep spacing out? Adeline? Hellooooo?" It was no use, I just couldn't get my mind off of his warm lips touching mine. They were soft, the kiss was soft, everything about it was soft and warm... "...like coffee..."I mumbled. Katie looked at me like I was insane. "What's wrong with you? What happened, you're never like this." she said. I just shrugged and kept looking out at the parking lot. My truck was somewhere out there. He kissed me in that truck.

"Hey, Adie...Adie? Adie, are you in there? Yoo-hoo? Earth to Adie? Come in Adie. Hey, Cry-Katie, what's up with Dreamy-Eyes over here?" Maxson said. I just stared straight ahead, I didn't know if I was just imagining it or if he was really there, so I just ignored it. Katie shrugged and continued to eat her food. Maxson sat down and snapped his fingers in front of my eyes. I jumped and glared at him. "Maxson!" I whined. He laughed and kept doing it over and over. I grabbedhis hand to get him to stop. "Holding my hand, Adie? Are you sure we're not dating?" Maxson asked me, a playful smile on his face. I looked at the lips forming the smile and blushed. I let go and looked down at my food. "We aren't dating." I mumbled. Maxson leaned his arm on the table and laid his head on it. "Really? I thought that kiss sealed the deal." He said, looking at me with an intense gaze. Katie opened her mouth wide in disbelief.

"So that's what you've been spacing out about all day!" she said. I glared at her and hid my face from Maxson. "She's lying, I haven't-" "So, you do like me." Maxson muttered. I glared at him. He had the same intense gaze that he had on that night. I gulped. His brown eyes stared deep into mine. I looked away and regained my courage. "I don't like you, how many times to I have to say it before you understand?" I stood and walked towards the garbage cans. "As many times as it takes!" He yelled after me. My heart skipped, but I crumbled up my plate in anger and threw it away.

~

"Honey, somethings wrong with you." Leslie said. I looked at her and then back down at my fuschia dress I was wearing for the photoshoot today. "I don't know what you're talking about." I retorted. "People only say that when something is up." Maria said, a twinge of dissapointment in her voice. I sighed and turned around to look at them. "...I had my first kiss yesterday..." I mumbled. Both of them squealed and hugged me. I knew I would regret telling them that. They sat me down and looked at me with excitement. "So, give us the details!" Maria said. "Who was it? What does he look like?" Leslie asked. I gulped and bit my lip. "This guy at my school. His name is Maxson, he has brown hair with blonde highlights and-" "Is he popular?" Maria butted in. "Yeah, he's pretty popular. Everyone calls him the dollar coin because he's so 'perfect'." I said. Leslie grabbed my hand. "Do you like him?" "Well, no. He's actually kind of annoying. He keeps following me and I have to come up with excuses as to why I'm doing things, like photoshoots. It's tiring." I said with a little bit of exhaustion. Maria raised her eyebrow at me. "Aren't those the types of relationships that are always in love stories?" Leslie jumped up and down in excitement.

We put our dresses on and walked into the studio. My boss came up to us, holding a clipboard and wearing glasses. They looked funny on him and made him look like a librarian. "Alright, Maria, Leslie, step out for this one, this on is for Adeline." He said. I walked forward onto the set and waited for my male partner to come up. "Where is that boy?" My boss said angrily. I bit my lip and shifted from foot to foot.

"Found him!" Someone shouted. We all sighed in relief when he stepped onto the set, except me. I stared in astonishment at him, and he did the same back. "Alex?!" I said. He smiled and ran up to me, hugging me. "It's so good to see you again, Adeline!" he said. I remembered what Maxson said and tried to lightly push him off. He obliged, but kept one hand on my waist, keeping me close to him. "We have to be like this for the shoot, remember?" He smiled playfully at me and I couldn't help but grin. His smile was contagious.

~

Alex and I stepped out of the building together. We both looked goody in our disguises. "You look like a turtle trying to be a human." He said, snorting. "Oh yeah? Well, when you snort, you sound like a whale." I retorted. He gasped. "Take that back." I smiled playfully and stuck out my tongue. "Make me." Suddenly, Alex picked me up and threw me into the air. I screamed and begged him to put me down. "Not until you take it back!" he said over my screams. "Never!" I yelled. "Okay then." He threw me up again and started spinning me around. I giggled like a little kid. He laughed and rested his forehead on mine. He were panting for breath. I laughed and he chuckled. I pulled away a bit, but he took me in close to him.

"Alex?" I asked. I was getting a bit uncomfortable. He just stared into my eyes. "Shhh...paparazzi." he whispered. I saw the camera glint out of the corner of my eye and I pulled away, looking in the opposite direction of the camera. Alex did the same and we both dove into the bushes. We could hear curses from behind us as the man ran off. Alex sat up and looked over the top of the bushes before relaxing and laying down next to me. "Well, that was fun." he muttered. I huffed in agreement. We looked at each other and began to laugh again. I rolled around as he struggled to get up, reaching a hand out to help me up. I took it, but then someone smacked Alex's hand out of mine.

"What do you think you're doing?" Maxson stood above me, glaring at Alex. Alex looked at him, confused. "I was just helping her up..." "Don't touch her ever again, you hear me?" Maxson nearly yelled. "Maxson..." I muttered. Maxson glared at me and i pulled back. "Didn't I tell you not to go near him?" He yelled. Alex tried to make Maxson back off, but Maxson pushed him away. "Stop it, Maxson! Alex isn't hurting anyone, and especially not me!" I yelled. Maxson turned and walked over to me. He was close to me now, leaning in to look at my face. "I'm not letting him take you away from me." He looked at me with that intense gaze again.

I slapped him. No one did anything for a few minutes. Alex stood there, stunned. Maxson just stood there with his head looking down at the ground away form me, his hair covering his eyes. My hand was in the air. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not yours before it'll sink in? No matter how many times you say I am, it's not true." I said. Maxson just stood there like that for awhile before straightening up. His hair still covered his eyes, so I couldn't tell if he was angry. I cowered away a bit. "...Fine. I'll stop, I'll leave you alone." he muttered. He walked off slowly.

I lowered my hand, shaking. Alex came up to me and felt my forehead. "Are you ok, Adeline? You don't look so good." he said. "I'm fine." I replied. I walked to my car and got in. Alex went up to my window and looked at me with worried eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked. I looked at his sad, green eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure." I said. I could tell he didn't believe me, but that didn't matter to me. I just wanted to go home. Alex nodded before leaning through my window and kissing my forehead. "Get a good night's rest, you need it." he said. He walked off towards his own broken down car. I started the engine and pulled out, driving towards home.