The Last Victor

Chapter 1

The Selection - Part 1

I glance back over at the black-framed wallclock for the ninth time in the past ten minutes, scrutinizing the second hand, which seems to speed by at every passing second. It is silent except for the impatient tapping of my foot, my eyes never leaving the peek of the stairs.

"I swear to god Danny! Out of all days you choose to be late, of course you would choose today! You know today is the one day out of whole the year we have to be on time!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" he yells down, the distant sound of things shuffling coming from upstairs.

"Danny so help me! If you're not down here in the next minute—"

The doorbell cuts me short for Danny's sake, and stops me from finishing my sentence.

With a huff and a series of curses under my breath, I swing the door open to reveal my best friend Asher.

He's leaning against the doorframe with a wide smile that showcases his perfect teeth, his eyes glistening with amusement.

Asher has the kind of face that stops you in your tracks. The light brown hair, bright green eyes, fairly perfect smile. I guess he must get used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they look his way, followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Of course the blush that accompanies it is a dead give-away. It doesn't help that he is so modest with it, it makes the girls fall for him all the more.

One of them unfortunately being me.

I couldn't tell you the exact moment I fell for Asher Bennet.

But I do remember when I realized that we'd always care about each other.

Our families joined together for a summer picnic in the park, and like any nine year olds do when unsupervised, we'd managed to slip off on an adventure.

We were exploring some woods near the edge of the park when it happened.

He doubled dog dared me to race him to the creek, and everyone with a right mind knows that you can't not take on a double dog dare.

So we raced.

We ran and laughed the whole way, me having the lead on him up until the last stretch of the race where I tripped and scraped my knee pretty bad.

So I at least thought at the time, but like any child does when they are hurt, I blew things out of proportion.

I sobbed and whimpered, completely breaking down into tears as I cradled my knee, but Asher was quick to take control, never once faltering.

He held me in his arms and calmed me down with soothing words, telling me that I was strong and assuring me that everything was going to be alright.

Once I was settled down, I remember him pulling back to gaze down at me with the sweetest and most comforting smile I've ever seen.

And that's when I knew that everything was going to be okay.

After brushing off all of the leaves and twigs I'd taken on during the fall, he helped me up and gave me a piggyback ride all the way back to camp.

The memory comes flooding back as he stands in front of me in the door frame, once again, smiling down at me with that heart shattering smile.

"What's all the ruckus about?" he chuckles with an perfectly arched brow.

I give him an all too knowing look.

"Danny STILL isn't ready!" I reply, yelling over my shoulder loud enough for my brother to hear.