Blue

Chapter 1

Beyoncé

I first met my husband our senior year in high school. I was seventeen and he was eighteen. He doesn't know it, and I've never told him, but the very day I met him, he saved my life. I was going through so much emotionally, I felt that I no longer had a reason to live. I had already made a plan, and I'd even set everything up, down to my letter. But he came in between me and those plans.

~*~*~*~*~*~

April 1998

Five more minutes. I sighed to myself after glancing at the clock for the millionth time today. I didn't want to be there. I should have done it this morning. I'd be away from this place by now. It's not that I didn't like school. School itself is fine, and I'm one of the top in my class. But the people here are not all that great.
Finally, the bell rang after five minutes that really felt like five hours, but I groaned again when the teacher reminded us that we all had a mandatory assembly to attend in the gym. I could have snuck out, and I thought about it, but there were administrators lining the doorway to make sure that other students didn't have my exact thoughts as well.
So, I behaved as the good girl I always am, and I obediently made my way to the gym as other students shoved their way around me.

I took my seat on a bleacher somewhere in the middle so I could become lost with all the other faces. The know-it-all's usually sit up front while the kids who are deemed the "trouble-makers" tend to sit in the back. I didn't want to be seen at all, so I made sure to keep away from the good and bad.
I sat quietly with a blank stare on my face and re-thought my intentions for the night, when I heard an unfamiliar voice next to me. "Anyone sitting here?" He asked. I could tell just from his accent that he wasn't from here. When I looked up and saw him, I immediately recognized him as the new kid. He'd just moved into town and started school here the week before, and already, he had made friends with all of the popular crowd. Probably because he was the shiny new face around here. We don't get too many new people at my school.

I shook my head and scooted over some, giving him some room to sit. As the gym filled, more and more students sat around us. It seemed as if he knew everyone too. All the girls would smile and wave while some of the guys gave him a dap. I, on the other hand, covered up with a hoodie so no one would notice me. I didn't want people to start talking again.
It took about ten minutes for everyone to get into the gym and get seated before they started. I didn't bother to listen. They did this same stupid presentation every year, and it's honestly pointless. They call it an "Abstinence Assembly," and it's exactly what it sounds like. Some old teachers start preaching to us high schoolers that abstinence is the best and only form of true birth control, therefore we should wait until we're married to have sex. The whole thing is really biased on girls though, so I really hated it. Especially today.

Next to me, I heard the new kid opening a package of some sort. When I curiously looked over to see what it was, I saw that he had a pack of peanut M&Ms. I guess I was looking for a long time, because he glanced at me, and then he held the packet towards me and asked if I wanted some.
My face flushed and I quickly glanced up at him before looking away. "No thank you."
"You sure? You starin' kinda hard."
I shook my head and smiled politely. "I'm sure."
Truth is, I did want some. Peanut M&Ms were my favorite treat, but I felt too miserable to enjoy anything at that moment. But then I thought, if it's my last day on this earth, I might as well have my favorite snack.
"Well, actually-" before I even finished, he took my hand and dumped out a pile of the M&Ms into my palm.
"I thought you might change your mind. You sittin' there droolin' and shit." He smiled crookedly, which caused me to smile for the first time that day, even though I really didn't want to.
"I am not drooling." I said softly.
He just glanced at me and continued to smile that crooked smile. "Aight." He said softly too.