Heart of Stone

Chapter 1

"Do you have the notes for Chem?"

I look up from my sketchbook right into the face of Riley High's number one football player, Parker Peterson. "Were... were you talking to me?"

"Yeah... you're in my chemistry class and I was wondering if you had the notes?"

"Yeah. Hold on a sec and I'll grab them for you."

As I was digging in my bag, I had so many questions running through my mind as to why Parker would be talking to me besides the fact that he asked me for Chem notes. He could have asked Kavinsky, his fellow player, for notes because he was also in our Chem class. In fact, Kavinsky is my lab partner and I hate every painful moment that I have to endure his long pointless conversations that I show no interest in.

I turn back towards Parker and hand him the notes so he can go back to his table. But, to my surprise, he doesn't leave. He just stood there looking into my eyes, not breaking the connection. I'm the one that looks back down to my sketchbook, my safe place and look back up. He smiles at me and asks "Whatcha drawing there?"

I try to answer strong but my response a mere whisper "A person." Which wasn't a lie. It was him that I was drawing and I didn't want him to know. I always drew people in secret. I always made sure nobody saw me doing it otherwise they would come over and ask a lot of questions. Parker's next question catches me so off guard that I drop my pencil. "Who're you drawing?"

Before I could answer, he looks over the top of it and sees himself on the paper. I feel my face burn like a flame against the dark, bright and red. He has a surprised look on his face and says "That's really good Chloe. You should try out for the art contest."

I'm in so much shock that the first thing that pops outta my mouth is "You know my name?"

"Yeah. Why is that so surprising?" he says with a smirk on his face.

"You're the most popular guy in the school. You are dating Gemma, the most popular girl. I never thought that you would know a nobody's name, like me. I never talk to anyone besides V and I never thought that I was so noticeable that somebody like you would remember my name."

He looked at me like I was insane, but understanding came just as quickly. "Well, one thing has changed that you didn't know yet. Gemma and I broke up yesterday night and I don't think a lot of people know yet."

I think he sees the shock on my face and I saw the pain in his eyes. All I could say was "I'm sorry. You two were together for a while."

At that, he sat down across from me and said "I didn't think that I should be going into my junior year being in a toxic relationship, so I ended things with her. I want to explore other..." He pauses "Options."

He looked right into my eyes as the last words left his soft, tender, pink lips. Oh yeah, I think I forgot to mention it but, I have the biggest crush on Parker and my best friend V, is his twin sister. Before I could register what was happening, he was talking to me like I was any other person he talks to.

Before I could say anything else, I had to know one thing. "What do you know about me?"

He looked like this question was something he expected from me. He simply said " You're a girl that try to go unnoticed, just weaving in and out of crowds in the halls. You try to act like there's nothing that can hurt you, but you have "chinks in your armor" as everyone else does. You always smile when you think people aren't looking. You laugh at V's jokes when they're pointless sometimes. You put up a wall to stay separated from everyone else and you are fucking adorable."

I sat there in shock. "You... you think I'm adorable?"

"Yeah, why not? Your sneeze is like a little kitten. You stand up for yourself unlike any other girl is this godforsaken school. You handle V quite well and that's a hard thing to do."

I just there wondering how long he's been seeing me like this. When I manage to wrap my head around this new information, he asks "What do you think about me?"

That was the only question that I was hoping he wouldn't ask, but he did. I looked right into his eyes and said "You're the most popular, unselfish guy in this whole goddamn school and you care about the little people. You never act like the others. You don't care about what the other pops think and" before I could stop myself "I've had the biggest crush on you since freshman year."

He looked at me like I was insane and that I said something I shouldn't have. As I watched to see if I could recognize any emotions, his face turned a slight shade of pink as the realization was setting in. He put his hand on the table, palm facing up and said only one word, "Phone."

I fumbled getting my phone out of my pocket, eventually showing up in his hand after what felt like forever. Before I could ask him anything, he set my phone on the table, got up and walked away, leaving me speechless.