The Boy In The Crystal Ball

Chapter One: Discovering

Stuck With The Arrogant Jerk: The Boy In The Crystal Ball

Chapter One:

discovering

Tugging the sweater over her shoulders, Joanna looked at her friend through her mirror. Stacy was sprawled across her bed, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and delicate silk shirt, while she flipped through the pages of an old gossip magazine. She had her hair piled atop her head, with some few tendrils swaying down towards her neck; a perfect look for the mildly humid summer they endured these past two months, except now the weather was beginning to show the telltale signs of fall and Joanna couldn't help by cringe at her friend's choice of clothing.

"Remind me why we're going to the carnival again," Joanna mumbled. She took a seat on the edge of her bed and began to tie up her boot's laces. "This is the third time this week. You and I both know how much I enjoy those silly games, but don't you think we could find something better to do tonight?"

Stacy was silent for a moment, before she flicked the pitiful magazine off the side of the bed and crossed an arm over her face. "There's just nothing to do in this house anymore, Jo. We've seen so many movies this summer my eyeballs could melt. And I'm tired of going swimming or sitting in the sun." She suddenly sat up, leaving the bun on her head to bob and dip, with a wicked smile on her face. "Besides, I heard that Connor is going to be there tonight."

Joanna cursed the blush that dusted her cheeks, before dropping her boot-clad feet to the floor. Just the name alone brought on the embarrassing image of him at that drunken party, smiling cheekily at her beneath his golden bangs. She hadn't wanted to go to it, felt no need to be there since she knew not a single person there. Yet, the moment she walked through the threshold of smoke and loud music, she had spotted him across the room with a red cup in his hands, and he looked heavenly. And after countless hours of being too shy to even speak his name, Joanna was forcibly shoved into his side and had gained the honor of having his drink spilled over her top. It wasn't the best introduction, but it did give her his undivided attention when he dragged her to the kitchen to help clean off the mess. Just thinking about his hands moving over her soaked blouse caused the blush on her cheeks the magnify.

Connor had been so sweet, so thoughtful that night and his hands were rough and smooth. He had been the first guy to ever touch her breasts, in fact, Joanna had forgotten they even existed, until he dragged that cloth over them expertly and gave rise to the warmth that bloomed in her stomach.

"See, it'll be fun! Maybe this time he can help take off your shirt," Stacy chimed in, wagging her eyebrows dramatically. Her remark brought on a pillow thrown in her face, before the two of them began to laugh and gush. It wasn't until Joanna noticed the time, that they both headed out of the vacant house and onto the sidewalk.

 "It'll be fun," had lost its charm the moment Joanna could smell the testosterone and sweat in the air. Kids' screams of happiness rang through the atmosphere like sound waves through an ear bud, while most of the teenagers from their local town were in large groups - some couples were even spotted on benches nearby, holding hands. The Ferris wheel was colored with multiple shirts' as more and more people begged to get their turn to ride on it. As soon as they stepped foot onto the dirt soil, Joanna had lost her friend among the swarm of people. At first, she felt a strong sense of panic; losing the only person you knew amidst a crowd of strangers can cause that feeling. But she spotted her bouncy bun from a few meters away at the food stands, only to be swept up by the tall crowd of rowdy boys that ran past.

Joanna ignored her instinct to grab her friends by the wrist and drag her along, instead she began to look for a place to sit. Almost all of the supplied benches were taken up by the elderly, romantic couples or families with small children. But Joanna found an empty seat near a small, red tent.