On the Other Side

Chapter 1

Daniel. That was his name. My freshman year of high school, his family moved in next door. That's where it all began. My Aunt Tina was the reason we met. She was visiting from Tampa in late June. We were walking her wiener dog when I saw a lady that lived in the same apartment complex as my family. She also had a wiener dog. I told my aunt we should go talk to her. She introduced herself to the woman, and they exchanged small talk. The woman's name was Carol. Carol mentioned that she had two kids: a son and a daughter.

"In fact, that's my son right over there" she pointed out.

My jaw dropped to the ground and I'm sure I turned bright red. He was so hot! Carol waved him over and he introduced himself.

"I'm Daniel," he said in his amazing voice.

"I'm Haylee," I managed to say.

"It's nice to meet you Haylee! What grade are you in?"

Is he flirting with me?? Immediately, I began to fantasize.

"I'm going to be a freshman at Hillsboro. What about you?"

"I'll be a sophomore!"

"Cool. I guess I'll see you around? It was great to meet you!"

I couldn't believe it! I had just carried on a conversation with an attractive guy! Was I too awkward? Did I blush too much? What if I never see him again? What if I do? Do I want to? Absolutely!

"Earth to Haylee!"

It was aunt Tina.

"Oh sorry, what?"

"Just making sure you were still with me. That boy was pretty cute, wasn't he?"

I blushed again. I was a really awkward person and I usually didn't  like talking to new people. That's why moving there was so hard for me. It had always been hard for me to make friends. I was determined to change that when I moved to Nashville. Already, I felt like I had failed. But maybe this was a start.

"Please don't make a big deal out of it. It's nothing. I could never go out with someone like him."

I was one of the 'weird girls' at school. I loved to read, I actually cared about school, and no matter how much my friends told me how pretty I was, I just didn't believe them. Daniel seemed like the type of guy all the girls wanted. He seemed smart, but not nerdy. Athletic but not overly conceited.

"What do you mean?" inquired Tina.

"He's just out of my league," I responded bluntly.

I doubted I would see him again. I told myself I needed to just let it go. I did after a few days, but just a month later, he crept back into my thoughts.