Love Only

Chapter One

Vanessa's POV

The sound of my alarm clock blares at me until I shut it off, sigh heavily, and roll out of bed. I head towards the bathroom and grab the handle, but not so surprisingly, it's locked. Great. I pound on the door.
"Roni, hurry up! You're gonna make me late." I hear a click and the door swings open. I am greeted by my sister who does not look very happy.

"Hey, it's not my fault you slept in. But fine, the bathroom's all yours," she says.

"Thanks," I say as I walk onto the cold bathroom tiles.

"Oh, and if you aren't ready in 15, I'm leaving without you." Roni playfully smirks and turns to walk away.

After Roni leaves, I begin getting ready. Quickly, I brush my teeth and splash cool water on my face in an attempt to wake me up. It doesn't work. Moving on, I hurriedly apply concealer to hide the notable dark circles under my eyes and throw on some mascara too. Before I leave, I glance at myself in the mirror. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. Nothing special about me.

In my room, I grab my ripped jeans and a tee from my closet. Looking at the time, I run my fingers like a comb through my hair, grab my backpack, and rush out the door.

"Wow," Roni remarks as I get into the car, "14 minutes and 53 seconds, that's a new record!"

I laugh. "Oh shut up Roni."

"Hey! Now is that anyway to talk to your beloved sister who even brought you breakfast?" She holds out an apple.

"I guess you're right." I grab the honey-crisp and take a small bite. Roni turns up the radio and quietly hums along. I check my phone for any notifications, but there's nothing. I don't know what I expected. In a few too short minutes, we're at the school.

Almost immediately after we get out of the car, Ethan shows up and pulls Roni in by the waist, giving her a quick peck on the lips. I smile sadly as I watch them laugh and talk. I silently wish I had what they had. Suddenly, as if they just now remembered I was there, Ethan acknowledges me. "Oh, hey Nessa."

"Hey Ethan," I reply. He and Roni lock fingers and swing their arms joyfully back and forth as we begin to walk into the school. I'm clearly the third wheel in this relationship. "Aww, you guys are so cute," I muse.

"Don't worry," Roni says, seeing right through me, "You'll find someone someday."  We're walking past a large group of people, all gathered around one person: Grayson Dolan, the star of Trinity High. He's wearing his football jersey, talking to the crowd about his latest victory. Roni's eyes flicker up at him. "Maybe sooner than you think," she teases me.

"Yeah definitely. You'll get a guy, just as long as it's not my jackass brother." He motions towards Grayson. They've been on bad terms ever since their parents split the summer before eleventh grade.

"What a jerk!" I agree. Roni and I shoot each other a glance. What Ethan doesn't know is that that jackass is all I can think about most of the day. I shake the thought of him out of my mind and head to first period.

It's a very slow day. Somehow I survive all the way to fifth period. I set my stuff down in Mr. Stenson's class and go to see Roni in the room next door before class begins.  I check my phone for the time and as soon as I look up I bump into the one and only Grayson Dolan. He is surrounded by all his douchebag friends.

"Hey, watch where you're going sweetheart," he teases. I attempt to sidestep him, but Grayson just copies the movement. I try and move back the other way, but he does the same.
"Where are you off to? Class is about to start and it's that way," He points inside the classroom.

"Like you care," I roll my eyes and shoulder him hard enough to get past. His friends part to make a path for me, and they all obnoxiously act like I'm royalty coming through. When I'm far enough down the hall, I turn back and see the guys laughing at Grayson while he stands in the doorway, looking shocked. The bell rings and Mr. Stenson ushers everyone into class. I dodge into the bathroom to avoid the hall monitors looking for kids to mark late.

I press my back up against the wall, and slowly slide to the floor. The wind is nearly knocked out of me. Holy shit. I just rejected Grayson Dolan.