There He Stood

And in the middle of the night, I may watch you go. There'll be no value in the strength of walls that I have grown. There'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown; but I'd be yours if you'd be mine.

In every school, there’s that girl; the girl with the perfect clothes, the perfect hair, a perfectly toned body, and a seemingly perfect life. At Linwood High, that girl was none other than Natalie Barker. She walked down the halls of the prestigious school with utter confidence, head up high and Jimmy Choos tapping loudly against the ground. Her short brown hair was always perfectly styled, not a single strand out of place, and her clothes were just the same. And she always sported the one thing that reminded people of her hierarchical status; Jake Collins. Jake was Lacrosse team captain, student body vice president, and a curly-haired surfer. The two were practically recognized as royalty at Linwood; everyone knew it, and no one dare challenge it.

 It seemed as if her life couldn’t have gotten any better. And it was true. Because how could her life get any better after she met the love of her life, and lost him.

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Summer time. One of the best times of the year, according to Natalie Barker and other Cosmo readers everywhere. Her sunglasses were sitting on the tip of her nose as her blue eyes scanned the latest article about Gretchen Vance’s latest scandalous rendezvous with her movie director.

Turning to face Monica, Natalie put the magazine in her lap and pushed her sunglasses up to keep from squinting. She definitely wasn’t about to develop Crow’s Feet. Ew.

“Can you believe her, Mon?” She scoffed, for dramatic effect. “I mean, can these Hollywood actresses get anymore cliché?” she asked. Natalie drew her knees closer to her chest as she readjusted her position. She loved Monica dearly, but God were her lawn chairs uncomfortable.

Monica shook her head slightly, trying to hold back a smile. “Hey, at least they’re actually famous.” She snipped light-heartedly, peering over the top of her sunglasses.

“Don’t you worry your precious little red-head on me. I’ll be famous soon enough.” She said, confidence oozing out of every word. That was the Natalie Barker Charm. Even if the things she said weren’t true, or so far-fetched that the chances of those things happening were slim-to-none, she always talked about them with such passion that it was practically impossible to not believe her. “Enough about Gretchen though, how’s Renee?” Renee was Monica’s newest girlfriend, and she rarely spoke of her. The only thing Nat knew about Renee was that she was dating Monica.

“O-oh, Renee? She’s the same, I guess,” Monica tried to say nonchalantly. But even a stranger could recognize the sadness in her voice.

“You can tell me what’s up, honey. Is everything okay with you two?” Monica’s brown eyes met Nat’s for a moment, before she looked away. “Monica Dume Gellar! I am your best friend. And as your best friend I demand that you tell me this instant,” Nat said with a childlike sigh. It made Monica chuckle, and a smile filled her face for a moment.

“Okay, okay. I’ll tell you, if it’ll make you stop acting like a kid… Um, Renee said that, um… Well she kind of wanted to see other people, I guess? I don’t know. S-she just wasn’t happy with me or something. So that’s that.” Monica said, folding her hand on top of her lap.

“Oh, sweetie. I’m so sorry… But now I can tell you that I never even liked her anyway. You were way too good for her. It’s kind of a blessing that she didn’t want to see you anymore because now you can find someone totally worth your while.” Natalie said with a reassuring smile. Monica smiled, for Nat’s sake, but it didn’t make anything better. Heartbreaks were tough, even for people with the strongest hearts. And it hurt Natalie to see her friend hurting. She was about to suggest they do something as her eyes flicked to her gold Rolex quickly, before turning back to Monica. Wait. She looked back at the watch and gasped, quickly standing up, not caring that she just threw her Cosmo onto the pristinely manicure lawn. “I’m so late! Oh my God. I totally forgot that Jake wanted me to meet him down at Rosa’s for lunch,” She told Monica as she frantically threw a white tank top and some shorts over her bikini.

“Hey, just call him and tell him what happened; he’ll understand. Plus, you need to hang out with me more anyway. You’re literally always with him. Tell him you needed some best friend time.” Monica winked.

Natalie exhaled a short laugh as she threw her phone into her bag. “Like he’d go for that. Don’t be ridiculous Mon.” She said, walking over to Monica. “Bye doll.” She said, giving her friend a quick peck on the cheek before heading through the modest mansion and out to her car.

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Natalie drove faster than she should have to get to Rosa’s, but she thanked her lucky stars that the cop who was stationed on the street she was flying down was too preoccupied with paperwork to notice her car zoom by. She pulled into the parking lot, and got out of the car. Across the lot, leaning against his new Hummer, was her boyfriend, Jake. His hair looked like it hadn’t been combed in days, but the shaggy surfer look worked on him. He was wearing board shorts and a grey v-neck, and she was sure he’d just come from the beach. Her heart pounded faster as she approached him, and although they’d been dating for well over six months now, she still got nervous whenever she was around him.

When she finally reached him, before she could say anything, Jake wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him for a kiss. His hands sent shivers up her spine; his touch still relatively new to her body. His soft pink lips met hers like they did for the first time, and they shared a kiss longer than they should have (in a parking lot, that is). She brought one of her hands up to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. She brought it up slightly to run her fingers through his blonde locks. In a quick move, Jake had moved his hands from her waist to slightly under her butt, picking her up. She automatically wrapped her legs around his waist, and Jake put his against his car for support. Natalie couldn’t help but laugh into his mouth, and she had to break the kiss for air.

“What’s so funny, babe?” Jake asked, concern filling his eyes.

Natalie shook her head, small laughter erupting from her throat. “Nothing -- no. It’s just,” She said between laughter, “We’re -- making out -- in a -- parking -- l-lot,” She continued, her hands resting against his shoulders. Jake must have found it funny too, because after a moment, he began laughing just as much as she. “Alright, babe. Lemme down and let’s go eat.” She said, giving him a quick peck.