Love Him

Mature, fifteen year old Carmen receives an unexpected surprise when she finds out her close friend - tall, grey-eyed, Josh - likes her. Despite the surprise, she can't deny the chemistry between them and so both teens agree to pursue more outside of their friendhsip. As things start off sweet, they turn a little sour as Carmen deals with the fact that Joshua has lots of unresolved emotional issues caused from a painful past. Meanwhile, Carmen is quite the opposite and deals with trust and committment issues. Carmen wants to be there for Josh and help him, but she doesn't know how when she can't even figure herself out. And so a journey of confusion and heartbreak begins...

*WARNING*
There is some mature language in some parts of the story
This isn't a full on happy romance story
The storyline may be a little confusing/complicated, but was made like that on purpose
Characters and events = a mix of fiction and non-fiction
Here are a few snippets...

***
I looked at him sideways. "So, um, what are we?" I had to ask.
Josh seemed taken aback but still answered casually. "What do you mean? Friends. Like always."
I nodded again. Mm-hm. So friends who kissed. Yup, got it. Pretty clearly. "Alright." We headed upstairs to our second floor math class.
***
"Yeah, but..." Joshua's voice was suddenly very quiet. It made me feel bad. "Realistically Carmen, we haven't been acting as 'just friends.'" He got louder. "In fact, for the past week or so, I've been considering you to be my girlfriend." He paused. "Is that wrong of me?"
I sighed inwardly. "No. It's just, I think-" I searched for my words. "I think we're better off where we started. As two people who like each other and vibe well, but without a title to complicate things." I couldn't figure out whether I was just saying this as an excuse not to be with him. My mind was jumbled.
"No title makes things more complicated."
***
Enjoy!