Fighter | l.h.

1

The dictionary defines pain as physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury. But what I had was different. It was hard to explain and it always will be.

No, I wasn't upset because I have one more year of school to suffer through. I just was in this state where I stopped giving a general shit and I hated it. I had literally no meaning to my life. I had two friends, a job at a locally owned coffee shop taking peoples orders. I had a mom who worked the night shift at a local hospital, giving me a shitty relationship with her. I mean we had an okay one, but the fact I couldn't see her except for weekends didn't help me at all. My dad, well he was never in the picture to begin with. My mom said he left when I was two, and I'm seventeen now. I guess the past fifteen years of my life have been fine without him, or that's what my mom said about the matter.

But to get to the actual story and not some sob story, hi. My name is Christine Douglas. I'm seventeen and I live in Fresno, California. The nice part is that it isn't that big and it's not by the beach. I know, I live in California so I should like the beach. DON'T TRUST STEROTYPES OKAY? I hate the beach and water. I like the woods and nature. It makes you feel more at home when you're there, or maybe that is just me.

Anyways, it was a lovely Monday morning and it was overcast out. I didn't mind, I planned on wearing jeans with an old Rolling Stones shirt with my worm out vans. I brushed out my brown hair. Yep, just plain and boring brown hair. It lay flat against my back, ending towards my butt. I put my contacts in, letting the small layer of plastic surround the green irises. I blinked multiple times before looking at myself in the mirror. "One year left Christine. You can do it." I straightened my back out and moved my bangs to the side, then deciding I should just overall screw with my hair and left it looking messy but decent.

"Christine! Kirsten is here to pick you up!" I turned my head at the sound of my mothers voice and sighed.

"Tell her I'll be down in a second!" I yelled back before grabbing the things I needed for the day. Backpack with my ID in it, wallet for after school, cell phone and ear buds, hair brush and my glasses. Yep, just another day in paradise for me. I opened my door and walked quickly down the stairs to see my friend since second grade, Kirsten standing at the door. She had her red hair pulled into a bun and was wearing an oversized sweater with her shorts barely peaking out underneath the hem.

"That's a record of you coming down in time," she said opening the door.

"See you later mom," I said waving. I closed the door behind me and made my way down to her car. We didn't talk, mainly because we would do that in our classes and when we both went to work (she worked at a restaurant as a hostess a block away from the coffee shop I worked at.) We sat and listened to the radio, which was currently playing 'Drops of Jupiter' by Train.

"Hey, you know what I heard?" She broke the silence we had established and I looked over at her with an annoyed look.

"Is it worth interrupting the pleasurable silence?"

"Yes Miss Grumpy ass. I heard there was gonna be this new senior, really hot apparently."

I looked down and smirked, shaking my head in the process. "Yeah, we're juniors. A senior taking an interest in one of us is gonna be likely you think?

"Christine, I know you hate admitting it, but you are attractive. I have seen guys check you out and whisper about you. What if he does check you out and then asks you out. Are you gonna give him a chance or are you gonna just be a single, forever alone cat woman?" She stopped the car in the school parking lot where kids were beginning to park and go inside the building.

"Look, you know how I feel about love, or relationships for that matter." I grabbed my backpack and got out of the car.

"It was in eighth grade for gods sake come on! We barely knew what we were doing. Christine," Kirsten grabbed my shoulders and looked at me. "Try. You have one more year at school because of that scholarship you got. Try to find someone, alright?"

I looked down and nodded at her before hugging her. "What time is it?" She showed me the time on her phone and I looked down. "We could ditch today. Can't we just go and do that?"

"As much as I want to, no. I have to give a presentation in Chemistry and you know I suck in that class." We walked cautiously up the steps, avoiding the crowd that had formed, probably around the new kid that had arrived. I barely even looked at him, the only thing I saw were his eyes.

His eyes were something else, they really were. Never before had I seen a color of blue so clear, so perfect. They looked like perfectly formed bubbles under water, and I could probably drown in them if I stared long enough. I wanted to get a better look, but since he was new there really was no point. I wouldn't see him any more probably.

"Okay, go turn in that Brit Lit essay. You're gonna get an A on it anyway," Kirsten said as we stopped in front of my first hour class. "See you at lunch, okay?"

"Okay, by Kirsten." I gave her a hug before going into the classroom, heading towards my assigned seat which was in the far back. I put my back pack in the extra seat next to me and propped my feet up against the metal bars directly underneath the fake wood.

"Good morning class," my teacher Mr. Holmes said. Funny right, my Brit Lit teachers last name was Holmes but if you made fun of him he would give you a detention faster than you could say 'Shakespeare' (I should know, I got one the first day of high school.) "We have a new student today. Come on in Mr. Hemmings," he said motioning to the door. I looked up at I could feel my jaw drop slightly.

It was him. The same boy with the blue eyes that entranced me. Now that I could see him fully, he was truly gorgeous. Tall, like really tall. Maybe 6'5 if my guessing right. He had this messy blonde hair that he hid partly under a beanie. He had on this blue denim shirt with a white one underneath. He was really muscular, and he had this essence about him that really got me intrigued about him.

"Mr. Hemmings, you can have a seat next to Miss Douglas in the back," Mr. Holmes said before going heading to the board. I quickly moved my backpack and sat it in my lap as the boy whose name I still didn't know sat next to me, quite close actually.

"Hi, I'm Luke," he said sticking out his hand to me.

"Christine," I said shaking it before looking at the board. He gave me a small smile before looking up at the board like everyone else. I could tell girls would want him because it really was hard to deny he was attractive.

I didn't pay much attention in class that day, I just sat there thinking about where I wanted to go after school before work and what I should buy at lunch. I tapped the end of my pen against my white binder, thinking what I should add next to a list of things I should probably do.

"Miss Douglas!" I heard Mr. Holmes shout.

"Wh-what?" I said dropping my pen into my backpack.

"Did you hear a word I said to you and Mr. Hemmings?" I shook my head before glancing over at Luke. "I said since you have one of the highest grades in this class, would you mind catching him up to what we're doing in class?"

"Oh, yeah sure," I said looking down, feeling my cheeks get red.

"Class dismissed," Mr. Holmes said, letting us leave to go to our various second hour class rooms. I quickly got up and hugged my binder to my chest, swerving through various people and leaning against the wall once I got outside the classroom.

"Christine, right?" I heard a deep voice say. I turned and saw Luke standing there in front of me.

"Yeah?"

"Well, about that whole tutoring me, do you think we could do it this weekend? Or Friday night even?" I saw his eyes glint slightly with hope I could or would help him.

"Well, I work until six thirty on Friday, why don't you come to where I work and I can help you there?" I started walking towards the chorus room where I had to go for my second hour.

"Yeah sure, just tell me where you work," he said catching up to me. I may have been close to a foot shorter than him, but I could still walk faster.

"The Latte House on 56th street. It's a couple miles from here." I stopped in front of my destination and watched as he went to the room where they would have guitar class. "You in guitar?"

"No, teacher assistant. I had to take something else. Oh, Christine," he said handing me a slip of paper with numbers on it. "Call me later so that way I know where to start?"

"Sure," I said opening the door. "Bye, Luke."

"See you later Christine."