My first crush (COMPLETED)√

My first crush

This book is entirely fiction.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Chapter One

First Love, First Kiss

I was thirteen when I first learned how dangerous a feeling could be.

My name is Sharon Jules, and back then, love felt like a sudden illness, sweet, dizzying, impossible to hide. Everything about it happened too fast, as if my heart had skipped a warning stage and plunged straight into chaos. Before Eric, I had never understood what it meant to be distracted. I had never stared at my notebook without seeing a single word, or smiled at nothing because a name echoed in my head. But suddenly, every thought led back to him.

Eric.

Was this how love was supposed to feel? That constant flutter in the chest, the way my stomach tightened whenever he was close? I didn't just like him. I really liked him. We were inseparable, moving through school like two halves of the same secret. Everyone saw it, especially my older sister, Carly, who teased me endlessly about the way my face lit up whenever his name was mentioned. My younger sister, Tori, didn't understand it yet, and my elder brother, Matt, was far away in London, living a life that felt worlds apart from mine.

I knew Eric felt something too. He was just too shy to say it out loud.

Then everything broke.

I was transferred to another school, and the distance felt unbearable. Being away from him felt like trying to breathe underwater. I couldn't let it end like that. Not without a fight. So I returned to Rose Ville High School, and the look on Eric's face when he saw me during the summer fun made it all worth it. Shock. Joy. Disbelief. My heart nearly burst. I was so happy that I memorized his phone number on the spot, repeating it in my head until it felt etched into my brain forever.

But happiness never stays simple for long.

Jane did.

She had been around for as long as I could remember, dark, tall, effortlessly beautiful. Everything I wasn't. When Eric confessed that he liked her right in front of me. It felt like a punch straight to my chest. I smiled through it, but inside, something bitter bloomed. I hated myself for the resentment, yet I couldn't stop it. Fate, or maybe just cruel timing, stepped in when Jane left the school due to family issues. Relief followed guilt, and I carried both quietly.

Life moved on, dragging me with it.

That was when Stephen entered the picture.

He was new to my class, infamous already. The kind of boy teachers warned about and girls whispered over. He had that careless charm that made resisting him feel pointless. Stephen was also my friend Patricia's ex-boyfriend, their relationship destroyed by a misunderstanding no one ever fully explained. I tried to convince myself it was harmless, that it was just admiration. But it wasn't.

I was falling.

And the worst part? I was almost certain he felt it too. There was something unspoken between us glances that lingered too long, smiles that carried meaning. It was thrilling and terrifying all at once.

After our final exams, my childhood friend Bella and I were in the school hall, surrounded by laughter and noise. Someone suggested truth or dare, and before I could think, recklessness slipped out of my mouth. I dared Stephen half joking, half testing something I didn't understand.

He didn't laugh it off.

Instead, he grabbed my wrist.

The suddenness startled me. My heart raced as he pulled me away, my protest tumbling out in nervous laughter. I told him it was a joke, that he should stop but he didn't. Something in his expression had changed, something intense and unreadable. Panic mixed with curiosity as he leaned closer, his presence overwhelming.

When his lips met mine, time fractured.

It wasn't gentle. It wasn't what I had imagined my first kiss would be. My thoughts scattered as fear and longing tangled together, leaving me frozen between wanting to pull away and not wanting the moment to end. I whispered his name, begged him to stop but my voice sounded small, uncertain, even to my own ears.

Then, just as suddenly, he pulled back.

"I'm not done with you, Sharon," he murmured, his words brushing against my skin like a spark. "Some other time."

I stood there, shaking, trying to steady my breath as I fixed my clothes and gathered what remained of my courage. When we stepped out, eyes followed us, curious, knowing, intrusive. Heat flooded my face as whispers chased me down the hallway.

I escaped into an empty classroom and sank into a chair, my heart still pounding. It felt unreal. I touched my lips, replaying the moment again and again. A dangerous wish flickered inside me, one I immediately tried to bury.

Reality crashed down hard.

I had betrayed a friend.

Ex-boyfriend or not, it didn't matter. I had crossed a line.

Later, when I met up with my friends, Bella wasted no time pulling me aside. Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"What happened in there?" she demanded.

Helen joined us instantly. "Yeah! Spill!"

"Nothing," I lied, my voice barely audible.

Bella's smile sharpened. "Really? Because I'm sure Stephen would love to tell us himself."

"No!" The word burst out of me before I could stop it. The thought of him talking about it made my stomach twist.

"Then tell us," they insisted.

I hesitated, nerves buzzing under my skin. "Fine," I whispered. "We kissed."

Their reactions came instantly gasps, teasing smiles, wide eyes.

"And?" Bella pressed.

"That's all," I said quickly, my cheeks burning. "It took a while before I let him."

"Well," Bella laughed, "you and Stephen."

"That's exactly why I didn't want to say anything," I muttered. "I'm scared."

Helen shrugged playfully. "Let's just hope Patricia doesn't find out. She can be terrifying."

Her joke landed wrong. My chest tightened as guilt settled deeper, heavier than before.

Because some kisses don't just change moments.

They change you.