Everyone Has a Storyline

Chapter 5

The night I got to my grandma's house was pretty rough. I couldn't sleep at all, my mind was going crazy. I thought about my whole life. Trying to figure out the exact moment in time when my mother went insane. But I couldn't figure it out. Shouldn't a mother love you unconditionally? I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. Enough about the past. Let's move back to the present time. My first day of the new high school was absolutely horrible. All the students laughed at me and called me names. They didn't even know me and they were already treating me like a loser. Every part of the day was horrible, except for one special moment, but we'll get into that later.

Lunch was the worst part. Miss "popular", Angie, just had to make me look like a fool in front of the whole cafeteria. It was my first day and already the "mean girl" hated me. I didn't even talk to her and she treated me like scum. Angie tripped me while I was walking to the back of the cafeteria. Luckily, I didn't buy anything. I had nothing in my hands that could spill over me. But that isn't the point. I feel face first onto the tile floors. My face turned a bright shade of red. I quickly turned away from everyone and hid my face in my arms not wanting to get up. My eyes started to water but I didn't want to start crying. It would make me look even more like a fool. I was embarrassed enough, I didn't need anything added on top of that.

But then, the weirdest thing happened. These strong arms picked me up off the ground and placed me on my feet. I didn't want to look up, afraid of what would be standing in front of me. I closed my eyes and prayed to God that this was all just a dream. None of this was real. I reopened my eyes and saw I was still in the lunchroom. Strong hands were placed on my cheeks and my head was moved up. I was suddenly looking into the eyes of the Vanander boy. Oh, his eyes were the most beautiful shade of hazel. They contrasted perfectly against his flawless, tan skin and gorgeous black hair. I was sure I was in heaven. Snapping out of my gaze, I looked away and ran towards the cafeteria door. I ran out of the cafeteria, the laughter of all the kids echoing behind me. But I could distinctly hear a sweet, but rough voice yelling over everyone else. "Wait! Please wait!" I didn't care, I kept running, there was no stopping. I ran into the nearest girls bathroom and slammed the door shut. I sat under the sink and pulled my knees to my chest. I started to let my tears fall. My silent cries turned into audible sobs. My whole body shaking from crying and from humiliation.

All of a sudden the bathroom door opened. I immediately froze and tried not to make a sound, fearing it was Angie. A body appeared in front of me, kneeling to the ground. I saw it was the Vanander boy. I quickly hid my head in my knees and shut my eyes. He touched my knee slightly in a comforting way, my leg tingling where he touched me. "Are you ok?" He asked with a calm, soothing, voice. "Why do you care?" I asked, my voice muffled and strained from crying. He gave my knee a light squeeze and said, "Because you interest me. Something about you made me want to help you, comfort you." I was appalled at what he had just said. I didn't know what to say in return. "I'm interested in you. I don't know why. But I'm going to find out." He said to me.

I stayed silent, until a sob escaped my mouth, then another, and another, until I was full out bawling my eyes out. The Vanander boy pulled me out from under the sink and wrapped his arms around me. I laid my head on his chest and sobbed into his shirt. He gently rubbed my back and said sweet nothing's into my ear. Finally, after about ten minutes, I couldn't cry anymore. I took a few slow breaths before I stood up and turned away from the Vanander boy. He stood up and took a step back. I looked into the mirror and stared at him as he stared back.

He was the first to break the silence, "My name is Blake Vanander. What's your name?" I hesitated a little before saying "Rachel Steele." He smiled at me looking at me. with kind eyes. I didn't smile back. I won't smile, there's nothing to smile about. No matter how long I looked at him in the mirror his smile never faltered. "It's about the end of lunch. So we have to get back to class soon." Blake said while looking at the clock above the bathroom door. I nodded my head. "I can drive you home today after school if you'd like." He said, still smiling. "That'd be great, thank you." I replied. "I guess I'll see you later, Rachel." He said as he walked to the other door. He walked out the door and started walking away.

I quickly splashed some cold water onto my face and headed out of the bathroom and to my next class. The rest of the day went by quickly. I was mostly thinking about the fifteen minutes I'm going to get to spend with Blake alone, with our ride to my home. For some reason, excitement bubbled up inside me thinking about him. An emotion that I hadn't felt in a very long time.