The wind howled against Christine’s bedroom window and rain began to spatter it. Glancing away from her vanity mirror to the window she groaned as the rain began to fall harder. She slipped the last bobby pin into place as she crossed over the stare out the window at the falling rain.

“Perfect,” she muttered. Crossing back over to the other side of the room she began to rummage through her packed closet for an umbrella. She spent the past 45 minutes on her hair, and she wasn’t about to let the rain ruin it. Finally, she pulled an umbrella from under a large pile of clothes that littered the floor of her closet and threw it onto her bed. Turning to go back to the mirror, he stopped when she saw Benny standing in the doorway.

“Can I help you?” she asked, hands on her hips. She was running out of time to get ready so whatever Benny had to say was unimportant at the moment.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“A party,” Christine replied shortly, double checking her hair and makeup in the mirror.

Benny snorted with laughter. “You were invited to a party?” A second later realization slid across his face, “Wait, it’s not Seth’s party is it?”

“Totally,” Christine rpelied.

“You’re not going.”

She glared at him, “I totally am. Besides who are you to tell me where I can and can’t go?”

“I’m your older brother, and if I say you can’t go then you aren’t going. How are you planning on getting there anyway? There’s no way in hell I’m driving you.” Just as the sentence was out of his mouth he heard a car horn from outside.

“Well it’s a good thing John just got a car now isn’t it?” Grabbing her jacket and umbrella off her bed, she pushed past Benny and left.

The rain has let up a little by time Benny pulled in front of Seth’s house. Turning off his car the little rain that was still falling began to cover the front of the windshield.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” his friend Janine asked. “How do you know Courtney wasn’t totally lying to you?”

“Cause I trust her more than I trust Seth.”
“I wouldn’t trust her farther than I could throw her. We both know she has a major crush on Seth. She could just be using you.” Ignoring the accusation, Benny got out of the car and headed toward the house, Janine following reluctantly behind.

The music was so loud he could hear it on the front step. Letting himself in, Benny walked through the living room in search of Christine and Seth.

Christine stood in the kitchen with Seth. Once her and John had arrived they parted, John more excited than Christine to be at a party. All she wanted to do was find Seth and hang out with him. Unfortunately, they couldn’t be alone. Seth’s friends stood around them, downing beers and smoking. Christine was getting nervous because there were a lot of people there and everything seemed to be getting too loud and out of control. Seth, on the other hand, seemed calm, laughing and having a good time with his friends. He didn’t seem to notice that already several beer bottles had been spilled on the carpet, or that at least two picture frames were cracked. It also didn’t seem to bother him that there was a group of people getting high in his bathroom. But he did notice Christine. Every now and then he would steal glances at her, making sure she was having a good time. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her close and kissed her.

“Hey dickhead, get your grody hands of her.”

Pulling away from him, Christine turned to see Benny standing in the kitchen doorway.

“What are you doing here?” Christine demanded, but he ignored her. Striding across the small space that separated them, Benny shoved Seth off Christine and started dragging her toward the front door. Recovering, Seth rushed at Benny, turned him around and punched him in the jaw, knocking him into the wall. The whole house seemed to go silent. As the two stared daggers at one another, a girl who stood leaning against a nearby wall alone said, “Do it.” Before anyone could stop them the two were throwing fists at each other. Christine’s ears seemed to be working again because she suddenly heard her own voice rising above the blasting stereo and the crowd that was forming around the two.

“STOP IT!” she screamed. “BOTH OF YOU! STOP!” Once again the room grew quiet as Christine shoved herself between the fighting boys. Both were breathing too heavy to say anything. Benny’s nose was bleeding and Seth had the beginning of a black eye. Christine turned to her brother, “We’re leaving.” Without looking at Seth, or saying anything else, she walked out of the house tugging Benny along with Janine and John following behind them.

Monday at school Seth met up with Christine at her locker before homeroom.

“Hey,” he said, leaning against the neighboring locker. “I haven’t heard from you this whole weekend. What’s up?” Slamming her locker shut, Christine turned from him and headed toward her homeroom. Seth followed closely behind. “What are you not talking to me now?”

“Nope.”

“What the hell did I do?”

Stopping, she turned to face him. “You punched my brother, that’s what you did.”

“He started it though!” he said, following her as she began to walk again. “I had to defend myself or else I’d look like a complete pansy.”

“I wouldn’t have thought you were a pansy.”

“C’mon Christine, I have a reputation to look out for.”

She stopped right outside her homeroom and faced him, “Yeah well then maybe we shouldn’t be together then. If you don’t have respect for my family then why should I even bother?”

“You know me and your brother don’t get along.”

“And I know that things can change. You should have thought about my feelings before you thought of your reputation.” The bell rang and Christine left Seth with plenty to think about.

The day was taking too long. Seth sat outside the school behind the dumpsters, a place he would commonly go when he didn’t feel like being in school. He had the urge to light up but he knew how much Christine hated when he smoked, and since he was already in trouble with her he figured he better not. The whole situation was frustrating. He had no idea that Christine and her brother were close enough that she would choose his side in a fight. Seth knew he had to accept it though. If Christine wanted the two of them to get along he would try to make it happen. He didn’t want to lose Christine just because of his image.

A shadow fell over him and without even looking up he asked, “What the hell do you want?”

Courtney slipped down next to him. “You weren’t in class so I figured I’d find you like here.”

“Yeah, you found me, now leave me alone.”

“What’s wrong?”

“None of your damn business Valley Girl.”

They sat in silence for a while, Seth hoping that Courtney would just get up and go away. “I like heard what happened at like your party.”

Seth’s head swung around so he was glaring right at her. He had no desire to talk to anyone about what happened at his party, especially not her. When he saw the small smirk that was plastered on her face he realized that she had something to do with the situation. “What did you do?”

“Oh nothing, just told Benny about how I totally caught you and his sister like all over each other at the park.”

“We were not all over each other,” he said getting angry. “What else did you tell him? I know there has to be more.”

Courtney’s smirk became wider, “Oh nothing really, just that you got her drinking alcohol and smoking pot.”

Seth stood up. He was so mad that he was shaking. Glaring down at Courtney his hands balled into fists. “Why the hell did you say those things?” he asked, trying not to yell. Courtney’s smug look had disappeared. She looked more frightened now and before she could say anything, Seth grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up. Holding her by her shoulders he got in her face and said, “You’re going to find Benny and tell him what you did. If you don’t I swear Courtney I will make sure your life is a living hell.”

Courtney’s courage finally came back to her. “No. Why should I do anything you like tell me to? You know that Christine totally does not make you as happy as I do. It should be me that you’re like going out with, not her.”

Letting her go, Seth took a step back and shook his head. “You’re one stupid girl Courtney.  I don’t like you and I never have. Maybe one day you’ll wake up and realize how selfish you really are.”

Christine sat at her desk, leaning back in her chair instead of concentrating on the homework that sat in front of her. Several hours had passed since she started the first assignment and she wasn’t done it yet. She couldn’t get her mind off Seth long enough to concentrate on even the easiest subjects. She felt that maybe she was being a little unfair to him about how he reacted to the attack. If it was any one else that had gone after him like that Christine would’ve wanted him to fight back. Suddenly there was a light tapping on her window. Thinking it was rain, she ignored it, but when it continued she realized it was too loud to be rain. Going to her window, she looked out and saw Seth on the lawn, throwing pebbles up. Opening it she stuck her head out. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Trying to get your attention,” Seth replied. “Look, Christine, I know what I did was wrong and I’m sorry. I need you to know that your brother attacked me on false pretenses. Apparently Courtney told him some story that I got you drinking and smoking and that she caught us all over each other at the park. Your brother was stupid enough to believe it.” Christine glared down at him. “Sorry, shouldn’t have said that. The point is that it was all a mistake. It would’ve never happened if it wasn’t for Courtney. So do you forgive me?”

Christine knew that she couldn’t stay mad at Seth for long. She love him too much and knew that he was a nice guy no matter how much he wanted people to believe that he was bad to the bone. “Give me a minute,” she called down to him. Closing the window she slipped her shoes on. Running downstairs she rushed out on the front lawn, greeting Seth with a passionate kiss.

Courtney stopped bothering Seth after the truth came out. Christine and Seth told Benny that Courtney had been lying so he would break them up. Benny was devastated, thinking that Courtney really did have feelings for him. The two guys resolved their differences, and even though they never became good friends it was enough for Christine. After Benny stopped chasing Courtney he realized true love was in front of his eyes the whole time. Apparently Janine had a crush on him for years, but had accepted that he would never feel the same way and settled on just being friends. Luckily for Christine, Seth and John got along pretty well, although John still tried too hard to be liked by him. Seth and Christine were together for the rest of high school and remained happily ever after.

The End

Author’s note: kind of lame ending I think but I wasn’t sure how to end it. This will probably be a story that I work on more in the future to fix it up. I might change the time period just because I wasn’t sure about a lot of things from the 1980’s.

Courtney hid in an empty classroom, waiting. Sitting on a desk away from the view of the door she crossed her arms across her chest and leaned against the wall as she mentally prepared herself for what she was about to do. She jumped as Benny walked through the door.

“What’s so urgent, Courtney?” he asked as he swung his book bag off his shoulder and onto the desk across from the one Courtney was sitting on. Opening the bag he began ruffling through it to make sure he didn’t leave anything in his locker. He was in such a rush to meet Courtney in between their classes that he was afraid he left something by accident.

Clearing her throat she slid to the edge of the desk, trying to look as seductive as possible. “You trust me don’t you Benny?”

Looking up, he turned red, and began looking through his bag again before responding, “Of course I do.”

“That’s good, because I wanted to tell you this before you found out from someone else. It’s better to find information out from your friends first, don’t you think?”

“Uh huh.”

Standing up, she reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him from looking through his bag. Tipping his chin upward she made sure he was looking right into her eyes before she continued. “I saw your sister and Seth the other night at the park, like practically having sex right out in the open. Not only that but I like totally smelled pot on them and I’m convinced they were drinking also.” Of course Courtney knew that this wasn’t true, that she only saw them making out, but she knew that Christine wouldn’t tell her brother that, especially since she knew the relationship Benny and Seth had. She watched as Benny’s face changed from white to crimson in five seconds flat. “I’m so sorry Benny,” she finished up, flinging herself around his neck in a tight embrace.

Benny pulled away from her and grabbed his bag off the table. “I’m going to kill him,” he muttered as he stormed out of the room.

Leaning against the side of one of the dumpsters in the back of the school, Seth took a cigarette out of the pack he had on the inside of his jacket. Lighting up, he slid down to the ground. Looking up at the sky he started thinking about recent events that happened to him, like meeting Christine. He always knew who she was because he knew her brother, but he never thought she was interesting, or beautiful. His face grew hot as he remembered the walk they took through the park and the scent that came off her as the wind blew through her hair. Every time he got in his car he could smell her, even when she wasn’t there. Seth wasn’t sure if he liked the thought of him falling in love. He never really experienced the feeling before and it didn’t fit the descriptions from any love song. It felt more like a stomach ache.

He hadn’t told anyone how he felt yet, too afraid of what they might think. He was so used to being alone the thought of sharing a life with someone was odd to him. Add on not only what his friends would think, but how Christine’s brother would react if he found out and Seth realized why he had constant stomach aches. The whole situation was a mess and the best he could think of was leaving Christine alone so she wouldn’t be too hurt. Taking one last puff of his cigarette, Seth threw it across the space he was sitting in.

Hearing footsteps, Seth quickly looked around for some place to hide, but when he didn’t find anything he accepted the fate that waited him around the dumpster. To his surprise it was Courtney who walked around the corner.

“Hey Seth, I thought I’d find you here,” she said. Seth watched her as she took a seat next to him on the ground.

“Aren’t you afraid you’re gonna get dirty?” he asked mocking her.
Ignoring the question, Courtney looked at him and batted her eyes. “What you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh, come on Seth. You have to let me in.”

“I don’t have to do nothing,” standing up he started walking away but Courtney’s words stopped him in his tracks.

“You can’t be with her.”

“Who?”

“Christine. You can’t be with her.”

Facing her, he glared down at her with hatred radiating from his eyes.   “And why’s that?”

“She’s totally nothing like you and me,” Courtney said. “She doesn’t understand what our lives are like. Neither of them do. That’s why it like wouldn’t work.” Seth turned from her and started walking away again. He heard her stand up and begin to follow him. “But us, Seth, we totally understand each other. We’re like perfect for each other.”

Turning around Seth caught Courtney by the shoulders and glared at her, making her try to back away in fear. “You don’t know me, little girl. You don’t know the first thing about my life. Don’t try to act like you do. It doesn’t matter to me whether Christine would get me or not. What matters is how she makes me feel, which is a lot better than you ever made me feel.” Letting her go Seth continued on his way, leaving Courtney staring after him.

A few days later Seth lay with Christine outside at the park. The park was their favorite spot to go because there weren’t many people at night to bother them. Although Seth had been to Christine’s house a few times he never invited her to his, but it didn’t seem to bother her. While Christine stared up at the sky, trying to find different constellations, Seth stared at her for short periods of time so she wouldn’t notice. The moon shone on her face making it look ghostly white, but not in a creepy way. She looked amazing and Seth wanted nothing more than to tell her.

“Oh! I found Orion’s belt!” Christine exclaimed pointing up at the sky. She looked over at him and smiled. Her smile was contagious and the next thing Seth knew he was smiling too.  Bolting up Christine hid her face in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I’m such a nerd. You’re probably bored.” Seth sat up and turned her face toward his.

“I’m not bored one bit,” he replied which made her blush. They stared into each other’s eyes and Seth barely noticed that he was leaning in closer to her until their lips were touching. He ignored the warning that went off like an alarm in his head and refused to pull away. Shivers traveled through him, a feeling he never felt with anyone else. They only pulled apart when the sound of someone clearing their throat made them jump. Standing over them was Courtney, a wild look in her eyes.

“Oh, uh… hi Courtney,” Christine muttered. Courtney cast a short glance at her before her eyes set on Seth again.

“What do you want?” he asked getting annoyed. Without saying anything, Courtney turned and stomped off but the feeling of uneasiness stayed after she was long gone.

“I should be getting home,” Christine said breaking the silence. Standing up they both left the park, not saying a word about what had happened between the two of them.

It was times like these that Christine wished she had a girlfriend to talk to. Sitting around John’s kitchen table, she watched as John, Steve, Frank, and two boys who lived down the street, Toby and Tommy, played one of their Dungeon and Dragon games. She didn’t know why she came today, but she knew it would be better than sitting at home alone. She hadn’t talked to Seth since the night they kissed, and hadn’t told anyone what had happened between them. Although she knew she should be happy about the situation she was more confused. Her dream was coming to life but for some reason it felt wrong.

“Seth kissed me,” she announced to the room suddenly. All the boys looked up at her stunned. She knew announcing it the way she did would grab their attention which is what she wanted. Usually at one of these games she wouldn’t get them to notice her even if she was prancing around naked.

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” John asked sounding stunned that the act even happened.

“Well, yeah, but it doesn’t feel right to me.”

“What’s the problem?” Steve demanded, as if the problem could be Seth.

“Courtney showed up and she looked really pissed.”

John waved the situation aside, “Ah, Courtney always looks pissed about something. Remember the how she threatened you in the hallway. She’s probably just pissed that you got Seth and she didn’t.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Christine trailed off.

“Look,” John said as the boys prepared to get back into their game, “this is what you’ve been wanting for a long time. It’s like a dream come true. Just ignore Courtney and make sure that you’re happy, not her. You deserve it.”

Christine brightened up at these words. “I do deserve it, don’t I?”

“Yeah,” Steve said half distracted as he tried to find his spot in the Dungeon Master Guide, “and if that witch tries to mess anything up we’ll take care of her.” Christine smiled at this, knowing that they would chicken out at the last minute, but happy that the offer was there.

The next day at school Christine told John all about her night out with Seth.

“Seth invited you to a party?” he asked incredulously. “You’re gonna go right?”

“Well duh! Why would I pass up a chance to go to Seth’s house?” Christine slammed her locker shut and they began to walk to homeroom. “The only thing I’m worried about it Courtney. She looked like she was about to have a cow seeing me and Seth hanging out. At least she didn’t find out that he invited me to his party.”

“You were invited to Seth’s party?”Christine whipped around at the sound of Courtney’s voice. She was stopped in the doorway of her homeroom glaring in disbelief at Christine. “How does that happen? I know you guys like don’t chill together because that was the first time I’ve ever seen you two like anywhere near each other. That and like everyone knows how much Seth and your brother hate each other. I’m totally surprised he even let you leave the house with him.” Christine was too shocked to say anything. Suddenly, Courtney was right in her face, “I swear Wheeler, if you do not leave Seth alone I will make you wish you were never born.” The bell rang and Courtney backed off and headed into her homeroom, leaving Christine and John scared stiff in the hallway.

After their meal, instead of heading back behind the restaurant again, they clambered back into Seth’s car and went to the nearest park to go for a walk. Christine thought this made it feel like they were on a date, and wanted Seth to hold her hand. It took her a few minutes to remember that they weren’t on a date, that this was just thanks for her not tattling on him.

“What was the big deal back there?” Christine asked. Seth looked at her, unaware of what she meant. “You know, the whole me being related to Benny thing.”

“Oh, that,” Seth said. “Well, your brother and I don’t really get along, that’s all.”

“Yeah, why is that? It seems like you guys have so much in common.”

“It’s just a misunderstanding really.” Silence filled the air as the two of them continued to walk. Christine wanted to know what the misunderstanding between Seth and her brother was, but she didn’t want to pry where she didn’t belong.

Curiosity got the best of her though. “What kind of misunderstanding?” Seth sighed. He didn’t seem to want to talk about it, which made Christine feel bad about bringing it up. She could have easily asked her brother, but knew that he probably wouldn’t have said anything either. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.”

“It’s really not that important. He just thought I was moving in on some chic he liked. You know, stupid shit.” Stopping, Seth turned to Christine. “You know, my folks are going away in a few weeks and I’m having a party. You should come by.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be majorly awesome.”

Christine stopped and thought for a minute. “You really want me there? I thought this was just payback for not tattling earlier.”

“Well, at first it was, but you’re a pretty cool chic and I want you there.”

They suddenly heard barking coming from behind them, and turning they saw Courtney walking a small poodle right toward them.

“Seth!” she shouted, sounding excited. “I didn’t know you’d be here!” Christine heard Seth sigh. They looked at each other and he rolled his eyes. It wasn’t until she was right next to them that she noticed Christine. “Oh! Christine, what a surprise. I didn’t know you two like hung out.” Courtney’s facial expression clearly changed from excitement to sheer annoyance.

“Yeah, we hang out quite often,” Seth replied cooly.

“Like awesome!” Throwing a small glare in Christine’s direction, Courtney turned her body so that her whole attention was on Seth. “So Seth, I heard you’re having a party and just wanted you to know that I will so be there.”

“You know Courtney, that’s great but it’s an invitation only party.”

A flash of anger interrupted Courtney’s beautiful features, but tranquility quickly settled back in. “Oh, well, I’ll be expecting an invite soon then. Good night.” Pushing past Christine, Courtney continued walking her dog.

Christine could barely hold back a smile. “What was all that about?” she asked.

Seth sighed again. “Fucking miss priss Courtney has been hounding me for the longest time. She’s practically in love with me but I can’t stand her or any other Valley Girl.”

Christine laughed nervously, thinking how glad she was that she never actually became one of Courtney’s friends.

The T-bird stopped abruptly and Christine nearly went through the windshield. Seth wasn’t the safest driver, but she didn’t have the nerve to tell him to slow down. Instead she secretly clutched the edge of the seat and silently prayed that she would live. Looking out the window she saw they were stopped in front of the local Fuddruckers. Christine felt the stares of people milling about the parking lot as ACDC blared through the car’s open windows. Red tinted her cheeks as she felt the heat rise to her face. She didn’t like being the center of attention, but if she wanted to hang around with Seth she would have to get used to it.

The music was cut off as Seth pulled the key out of the ignition. Looking over at Christine, he mistook her terrified expression for a look of disgust.

“Please don’t tell me you’re not into burgers,” he said.

Christine jumped at the sound of his voice, “What?”

“You’re not one of those chics who are too busy watching their weight to enjoy a burger, are you?”

“Oh! No, no I love a totally greasy burger as much as the next fat chic.” An awkward silence filled the car, and just as Christine started to silently hate herself Seth began to laugh. Getting out of the car Christine was left feeling foolish. Suddenly, Seth’s face appeared at her open window, his arms resting on the car roof.

“You coming?”

As she reached over to unbuckle her seatbelt, Seth opened the door and she slipped out. Instead of going inside the restaurant, Seth led her around to the back of the building. The back was a dead end with trees and dirt facing the back wall and a few dumpsters blocking the other way out. One small light hung over an old iron door, barely lighting anything around it. At first Christine thought they were the only one’s back there until she hear someone call out “Seth!” Squinting she saw a few guys leaning against a dumpster farthest away from the back door. Walking toward them, Christine noticed that they were drinking. She tried to control her facial features so a frown of disapproval wouldn’t appear and make them think she was goodie-goodie.

“Who’s the chic?” asked the guy who shouted out the greeting.

“This is Christine Wheeler. I invited her to hang tonight.”

“Wheeler? She related to Benny Wheeler?”

“Yeah,” Christine chimed in, “that’s my brother.”

This sparked the interest of all the guys who started to shift and mutter. “Dude! You’re chillin’ with Wheeler’s little sis? That could get you in a lot of deep shit!”

Seth shot the kid a look. “Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s chill.” Turning to Christine he asked, “You wanna go get a burger?”

Christine nodded, happy that Seth finally asked if she was hungry. She didn’t like hanging in the back with these guys, it just didn’t feel safe. Turning around the two of them walked away from the guys and headed back to the front of the restaurant.

Christine ran around her room trying to find something to wear. After school that day Seth had met up with her and, to the amazement of her friends, asked if she wanted to hang later that evening. Trying to stay calm, Christine smiled and accepted. Once Seth walked away though, she let her excitement out.

“Can you guys believe it!?” she shrieked.

“No. What did you do, give him drugs?” John asked, staring wide eyed at her.

“Well, not exactly.” Christine told them about the scene she saw in the library.

“So because you didn’t rat him out he wants to hang out?” Steve asked skeptically.

“Totally. Face it, your little Joanie is growing up.”

After she got home though, the reality of what happened sunk in. Rushing up to her room she started rummaging through her closet, trying to find something that wasn’t to lame to wear. But after an hour of frantically searching, Christine finally gave up. Sinking onto her bed she had to admit that she didn’t have anything she could wear that would impress Seth.

After sulking for several minutes she jolted up realizing that, although she might not have something to wear, her brother might. Bolting down the hall, Christine almost barged right into her brother’s room. It was locked, though, and instead her whole body slammed into it, making a bang.

“Ouch!” she yelled as she bounced off the door and onto the floor. Within seconds her brother was in front of her, his door opened a sliver.

“What?” he asked sounding annoyed.

Standing up slowly, Christine asked, “I was wondering if I could borrow one of your band shirts?”

His eyes turned into suspicious slits as he stared at her, half curious to know what she was up to and half not caring. “Why?”

“No reason. I just want to wear one.”

He snorted. “Yeah right, nice try. I’m not letting you wear anything of mine until I hear a god reason why I should.”

Christine sighed. “Look, Benny, I’m going out with this guy tonight and I was to look like I fit in.”

“No, you’ll look like a poser.” Benny began to close the door on her but Christine stuck out her hand to stop it.

“Please Benny!” she begged. “This could be my only chance to hang out with Seth and I need him to like me.” It wasn’t until after she finished her sentence that she realized what she said. Benny’s eyes grew wide at Seth’s name. Benny and Seth did not get along, even though they were into the same things. Christine knew it was because Benny didn’t like that Seth does drugs, otherwise they would’ve been best buddies.

“Now I’m definitely not letting you borrow my clothes and no, it’s not because you’re going out with Seth.”

“Why not then!”

“Even if you don’t wear my clothes you’re going to look like a major poser. Majorly.” Benny succeeded in closing the door on Christine’s face and she heard the lock click back into place.

Skulking back to her room, Christine accepted the face that she was going out with people she had nothing in common with. Hopefully by the end of the night that would be changed. Opening a box on her dresser, she pulled out some money and pocketed it. Hearing a horn outside, Christine peered out her window and saw Seth’s T-bird outside. Heart pounding, she slipped on a pair of shoes and raced down the stairs.

Christine was wrong thinking that going to the library would help her concentrate more because the words of her friends followed her all the way to the back table in the library. She was glad that they didn’t think she was an airhead, no matter how much she tried to act like on in order to be accepted by Courtney and her group. She couldn’t even be mad that they called her a brunette because that was just pointing out the obvious. Everyone in Courtney’s group was blonde, and Courtney rarely associated with anyone who wasn’t. But when John took that extra step and called her a Joanie that was just unfair. Christine didn’t think that she was a Joanie, and felt that she was cooler than those three combined. Throwing her pencil down on the table in frustration, Christine covered her face with her hands and rubbed her eyes. Maybe they did have a point. As Christine thought about her life up to that point she realized she didn’t have many friends besides the three that she hung out with. Anyone who was even considered high on the social ladder never talked to her, and when they did it was usually to get answers for their homework. She was never invited to any of the parties that were held, and even if she was she doubted she would even go.

Groaning, Christine put her head down on the table and muttered, “I’m a Joanie.”

“You got the stuff?”

At the sound of other voices Christine’s head snapped up. Half concealed by the book shelves Christine could see a tall, lanky kid with freckles and a Croc Dundee Hat talking to Seth. Her heart skipped several beats at the sight of Seth in tight stonewashed jeans, a ripped Slayer tee, a jean jacket covered in chains, and his long curly hair just brushed out of his eyes. Christine was infatuated with Seth and tried everything to get him to tell her the time of day.

“Yeah, right here,” Seth replied to the kid. Christine watched as Seth reached into the pocket of her jean jacket and pulled out a small plastic baggie. She saw Seth slip it to the kid, who gave him some money in return. Christine gasped as she realized what just happened. Covering her mouth quickly, she was hoping that neither of the boys heard her. The taller kid didn’t seem to notice as he pocketed the drugs and walked away. But Seth’s eyes caught Christine’s and he held them, nailing Christine to the spot. The bell rang, pulling Christine away from the hypnotizing gaze and back to where she was. Snatching her books off the table she raced to the door, not wanting Seth to catch up with her.

Out in the hall she walked quickly down the hall toward her classroom. Behind her she heard hurried footsteps.

“Hey wait!” Glancing behind her she saw Seth calling out. She didn’t want to stop but thought it would look more suspicious if she kept at the pace she was going after looking back at him so she slowed down and waited for him. “What’s the rush?” he asked when he caught up to her.

“Well the bell rang so I was hurrying off to class,” Christine blurted out quickly.

Seth looked at her curiously, “Class?”

“Yeah…”

Leaning against the wall he looked closely at Christine, which made her break out in a sweat. “Oh okay, well, I wouldn’t want to keep you from class Christine.” Omygod, he knows my name, Christine thought frantically. “I just want to make sure that you know nothing was going on back there besides a nice conversation between two friends.” All words were caught in her throat and all she could do was smile and nod. “Cool. You know, you’re a pretty awesome chick. We should chill some time.”

Christine’s eyes grew wide and she nodded, “Ok.” Smiling at her, Seth stood up straight and walked around her, leaving her staring after him in the middle of the hallway.

NOTE: I’m trying to place this story in 1985 (hence the title) so I did some research since I was born in 1989. If anything is off at all, which there definitely will be mistakes, I’d like someone to inform me of them so I can fix them. This is another story for Christine because she enjoys being in my stories and I enjoy writing them for her.

Christine slouched at her desk, her hand holding up her head as she gazed out the window in a trance. She was only half listening to the teacher drone on about quantum physics, a completely different topic then the one they were on ten minutes ago. He just became very excited any time someone challenged his knowledge in physics which led him to go on a rant to prove them wrong. Usually the rant would lead them to the topic on quantum physics and since no one understood what he was talking about they couldn’t prove him wrong. This was the third time they had to hear this speech and it was only the second month into school.

The bell rang and Christine nearly fell out of her seat. She didn’t realize it was so close to the end of the class period. Grabbing her books she had just enough time to hear the homework assignment, a paper on the importance of quantum physics, before she left the room. It was a good thing she actually took notes the first two times he ranted about the topic. Being the smartest kid in the school didn’t help her when it came to topics like quantum physics. She would have to study her notes hard that night before even attempting to write the assignment.

Stopping in front of her locker, Christine quickly opened it and stuffed her books inside grabbing the ones she would need after lunch.  Her heart skipped a beat when she slammed her locker shut and saw her friend John standing behind it. He had a skateboard tucked under his arm, was wearing a lime green hat that pushed his long blonde hair into his eyes, a long Celtic Frost tee shirt, and had several rubber bands around his right wrist. He smiled to reveal brightly colored braces.

“What are you doing?” Christine asked with laughter in her voice.

John frowned, “What? Don’t I look bad to the bone?”

“You look absolutely cheesy!” Turning from him she began to walk down the hall toward the cafeteria.

“You wouldn’t say that about Seth!”

Christine gave John a death look. “Shut up! Anyway, Seth doesn’t have to try to look bad to the bone, he just is.”

“Why, because he skips school and smokes pot?”

Ignoring him, she entered the cafeteria, threw her books on a table near the door, and got in the lunch line. Nothing was ever that appetizing, and today wasn’t any exception, so without paying much attention to what she was taking she grabbed a peanut butter sandwich, an apple, and a small carton of white milk, paid for her meal and went back to the table which was filled with the usual crowd of nerds. Taking a seat, Christine entered into a conversation on Dungeons and Dragons. She would never understand that fascination they had with this game, and they would never understand why she didn’t have a fascination with the game.

“I got Prisoners of PaxTharkas yesterday in the mail. We should try it out this weekend at my house,” John was saying as Christine sat down. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to participate in the conversation she pulled out her English Literature notebook to double check her answers before class.

“If your little sister isn’t going to be there bothering us then you’ve got yourself a game,” Steve, a fellow senior, said. “Otherwise I vote on Frank’s house.”

“Why my house? You know how my mother gets when I don’t inform her of hosting activities at least two weeks in advance.” Frank was a year younger than the rest of them, but he was smart enough that it seemed like he was in the same grade.

“Yeah, and it is my game,” John interjected.

“Well, Frank’s mom makes the best sandwiches,” Steve retorted. “And he’s an only child too.”

“What do you want me to do then? Lock my sister in a closet? My mother would have a cow!”

“Like awesome hat dweeb.” Flinging around in their seats the three boys and Christine saw a girl with bleach blonde hair, a tan, and a bit too much make-up on surrounded by a gaggle of girls who looked exactly like her, standing behind them.

“You really think so Courtney?” John asked, sounding a little embarrassed.

The group of girls glanced at one another and giggled. “Like fer shure,” Courtney said with a small roll of her eyes. Staring back at Christine, Courtney continued, “Got my homework for McDermit, Chris?”

“Oh yeah, it’s right here,” Christine said fumbling through her trapper keeper to find the right papers. Removing three sheets she handed them to Courtney who snatched them out of her hand.

“Thanks! McDermit would’ve like totally spazzed if I didn’t have it today.”

“No problem! Are we still on for this Saturday?” Christine asked half holding her breath.

Courtney looked around at her friends before answering. “You know what Chris, I completely forgot but I like have this thing to go to with my parents. It’s one of their like totally lame work parties but they like insist on me like going, so I’m gonna have to reschedule.”

Christine’s heart sank, “Oh, that’s fine. Some other time then.”

“Yeah, but like thanks again!” Without a formal goodbye the group of girls strutted away from the table, swaying their hips from side to side. Christine let out a sigh.

“That girl is majorly bodacious,” John said as soon as he lifted his jaw off the ground.

“I don’t understand how you can want to hang out with her, Chris,” Frank said.

“Don’t call me that,” Christine snapped. “I hate it when people call me Chris.”

“But you let Courtney call you it.”

“Yeah, well that’s different.”

“Face it Christine,” Steve interjected, “you’ll never be accepted into their group.”

Christine glared at the two boys, “Give me one good reason why they wouldn’t want to hang out with me.”

“You’re a brunette.”

“You’re not an airhead.”

“And, no offense Christine, but you’re pretty much a Joanie.”

Christine shot death glares at the three boys. She shot up out of her seat and started to gather up her books, “Well at least I don’t spend my weekends sitting in someone’s living room playing some lame board game.” Before the boys could even show their outrage she scooped up her tray and left the cafeteria for the library where she could get some peace and quiet.

Other notes:

I’m trying to write as much as possible this summer so look for:

-1985

– Maybe a few short little writings based off dreams I had

-I’m really trying to write that sci-fi/fantasy one I was working on before, that still doesn’t have a title. I’m going to start from the beginning using third person instead of first and see how that goes.

-There will also be lots of revisions since I enjoy revising now. I realized my writing makes me really happy after I revise it like 5 different times haha!

-Casey

Ten months later, Christine and Jon lived in an apartment that wasn’t far from their old neighborhood. Mr. Wilson was taking care of the expenses until Jon and Christine could pick up on the payments. Mrs. Raymond placed herself in a rehab as soon as Christine informed her of the new family member she was bringing into the world. She had realized that her daughter needed her more than she thought she did. Jon was attending the local community college, as well as holding a part time job. His greatest accomplishment was convincing Christine that Harvard could kiss his ass and that he didn’t mind the slightest in giving up his dream college to be with her. Christine went into labor in October, and brought a baby girl into the world. They named her Lenore.

After everything Christine had been through, she never thought her life would turn out the way she did. The moment she found out she was having a girl was the greatest moment of her life. On that day, she vowed that she would not have her daughter go through what she went through. Deep down inside Christine knew she wouldn’t have to worry because Jon was there to help her through whatever troubles life threw her way. Watching Jon hold Lenore Christine knew that deciding to try to get with her old best friend that one winter day was probably the best decision she ever made.