Love Has Gone To Hell (A Guy's Story)

Love Has Gone To Hell (A Guy's Story) - Chapter I

I don’t know how thing got this messy. I remember how excited I was just months ago, ready to embark on my senior year in high school, when my only care was being with my friends, and readying my college applications. If I had known...

1

First day of class. It is now 7 o'clock and my alarm is ringing. I open my eyes, and it takes me a few seconds to figure out what day it is. I jump out of bed, then hop in the shower while brushing my teeth. The water is so hot that I kind of burn myself with it... "So clumsy", as my friend Dana would say. I then get out, wrapping myself in a towel before heading to my walk-in closet to choose an outfit. Girls are always told guys don't care about clothes and stuff but that is just another lie, I guess. I choose a pair of black jeans, a navy blue shirt and a black leather jacket, grab my bag that I had thrown in there at some point over the summer, put my shoes on and sprint downstairs.

 "James", I hear my mum yell as I come down, "be careful or you'll break your neck !"

She is baking her delicious chocolate chips pancakes. She does that every year, when school begins. She doesn't like to cook but when she does, it is just heavenly !

I head into the kitchen, give her a kiss, before sitting down on of the stools around the kitchen isle. She is pouring me some orange juice when I see her about to cry...

"Mum, what's wrong?" I say worryingly.

"Nothing... It's just... this is the last time... I'll be doing this for you... you'll be in college this time next year and I'll... just miss you... ",she says, barely containing herself.

My mum is not big on showing her feelings, but when she does, it just makes it more special.

She really is a great woman. The best. And I am not only telling you this because I am her son. She has the best laugh, that can always cheer you up. She is tall, with light brown hair, and brown eyes, with the fairest complexion ever. She really is amazing—to me at least. I guess now would be the time to tell you more about my family. My mum, Mary, is a neurosurgeon, and my dad, Andrew, is a mergers and acquisitions lawyer who lives abroad due to his job. He comes back every chance he gets, and he and my mum keep the flame going, if you know what I mean...

I am an only child and my parents adopted me when I was still a toddler. A closed adoption, they said. I neither dwell on the past, nor am I curious about my birth parents. The Williams are my family, and I like it this way. Enough said about all that for now...

After I have finished my breakfast, my mum hands me down the keys to my car—yes, because I always loose them somewhere around the house..., and tells me to hurry up if I want to pick up Dana and still make it to school on time. I have known Dana since kindergarten and her mum works with mine at the hospital. We became friends after I shared a chocolate bar with her around that time. We've been the best of friends since then. We then met Dustyn a few years later and we included him in our little pack.

Dana's house is on the same street and when she sees my black Jeep pulling in her driveway, she runs over to it, and hop on the front sit. I take a moment to gaze at her. She is tall, about my size when she is wearing her heels. She has short wavy light brown hair and green eyes with brown spots on them. She really is pretty. She is wearing one of her favorite outfits. A little black dress, red boots and a camel overcoat.

"Hey" she says, "I thought you'd never come!"

She gives me a kiss, plugs her iPod into the car and we drive off.

As I pull up in my spot, Dana and I see Dustyn waiting for us, sitting on a bench with a Starbucks bag beside him. You've got to love this guy! I haven't seen him for quite some time. He left during the summer to go visit his dad in London. His parents got divorced a few years ago, but he stayed here with his mum. Weirdly enough, his parents still get along just fine. Dana always says it is because they might get back together. She is a romantic, although she doesn't like to admit it. He got a bit taller over the summer. He has light brown hair that looks like it was carelessly brushed. Believe me, it's not. He also has green eyes, and I see that the British weather has made him look even whiter. It suits him. He is dressed the same way I am, the only difference is the red shirt. He sees us and smiles and we head his way.

“Dana, here’s for you, extra caramel”, he says, while handing her her drink and giving her a kiss.

“James, this is for you, hot cocoa, like always”, he says while giving me a hug and handing me mine.

We talk about what our summers were like, and we hear all about Dustyn's adventures in London. We learn that Dana has enjoyed visiting Morocco with her mum, and I tell them about my trip to Italy. And it all feels like we had never left. Just three old friends reminiscing.

At the Woodrow Wilson International School (WWIS), we are part of the popular bunch. Dustyn plays football, I am in the school government, and Dana, is well... Dana. She is so nice and carrying that you can't help but love her. Plus everyone loves the school balls and parties that she had a part in setting up. We've all had our ups and downs, but we've always had each other to manage through it all. Like when I found out I was adopted, when I was ten, or when Dustyn's parents split up, or when Dana had some issues of her own. It feels nice to have people you can rely on, whom you can share anything with.

“Which class are we supposed to have now?”, Dana ask, pulling us out of our conversation.

Dustyn took out his phone to check the email sent by the school last week, with our schedule.

“An hour with Mr Flintshire, then French class”, he said.

Mr Flintshire is our school headmaster. He's a good man in his fifties, with the best Scottish accent you'd ever hear, which makes it so hard to stay focused or to understand a thing when he is speaking to you. He always wears a suit with the weirdest bow ties ever! Dana always says it's because he has the soul of an artist. Go figure...

As the bell rung, formally announcing the beginning of our final year of high school, Dana stood up, wrapped her arms around Dustyn's and I's and we ventured into the hallways of WWIS, heading to Room 203 to meet this year's class.

“So good of you to come” Mr Flintshire said dramatically as we were entered the classroom a few minutes late.

We sat on the few spots left and after allowing a few minutes for the students to catch up, our dear principle knocked on the desk, demanding our attention. After his assistant passed out some brochures about the classes we would have to take this year and the usual administrative papers, he gave a speech where he advised us to take this year seriously, to plan out our college applications ahead of time, and stuff. You know, the usual.

The hour went by fast enough and as we are leaving the room, I noticed a new student who had been sitting at the back. She was slim and tall, and had wavy blond hair that seemed to get lighter or darker each time you would blink. She also had those blue eyes that felt like they were looking right into you. I felt so intrigued. I unconsciously stopped and started gauging her for a minute. She seemed at ease. Not what you would expect from someone just starting school somewhere else.

I then realized I was staring and smiling at the same time. How stupid I must have looked...But then something happened. She smiled back and I decided that she was simply the most beautiful person I had ever seen.

Little did I know how that moment would impact my life forever...