current mood: entirely too hyper for words

current song: Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning)

* * *

He was everything I'd ever thought about. He was more different from me than I knew anyone could be. He was 19. He was off-limits. And I didn't care.

We went to Taco Bell after bowling that night. The whole group took up about three booths, and we all talked back and forth for three hours. I asked him his name, and he replied, "Dennis." I told him my name, and we barely talked after that, until Haley and her boyfriend, Jake, started fighting, again.

Dennis, Marco, Josh, and I stood outside the restaraunt entrace, while the 'happy couple' argued in Dennis' car.

"I don't understand why they're together," Dennis said. "All they do is fight."

"Relationships. All they cause is problems," I told him. "Couples get clingy and jealous and it all goes to crap after that."

"I know, I've been there," he replied.

Our ride came after that. I wanted to keep talking to Dennis, more than I'd ever wanted anything. I didn't know why I was so drawn to him. His blonde hair had been repeatedly bleached, but his eyes were a pretty light blue. The boy looked like a Nazi, but a strangely... hot Nazi.

I told Haley about that one, and she laughed like a hyena. I didn't realize that she was on the phone with Jake at the time, and that Dennis was with Jake, and that they both knew what I'd said.

The next weekend, following routine, Haley rode the bus home with me. She hated to be at home, so she made my house her second home. Every weekend we would go to see Jake, and I would sit on the floor while they sat on the bed, 'talking'. But that weekend was going to be different.

"Dennis will be there," Haley told me. I just looked at her. "I know you're excited. Come on, you haven't dated anyone in ages."

Actually it had only been about a month, but Haley was a serial dater. She did relationships and only relationships, no casual friends or just hanging out. I was excited, though, but I didn't want to show it. I'd gotten my hopes up before, and I wouldn't do it again.

At Jake's house, in his room, I sat on the floor watching TV. I didn't pay much attention to what Haley and Jake were doing. When the door opened, I carefully glanced to the side, not wanting to seem like I cared that a boy I barely knew (and was mildly obsessed with) had walked in.

"Hey," Dennis said.

"Hey," I replied.

The other two were too busy to respond. Dennis picked up on my discomfort with them.

"Wanna go for a walk?" he asked me.

current mood: tired as heck

current song: Party in the USA



When she was eight years old, her mother was an alcoholic, her father was in the middle of his third marriage. Her brother didn't have any friends, and he sometimes took it out on her with his fists.



When she was eleven, only three of twenty kids came to her birthday party. She was living with her father, who's divorce papers had just gone through.



When she was fourteen, her brother was diagnosed as bipolar. He spent a few weeks in the behavoiral center, and she slept in her dad's bed every night that her brother was gone.

When she was fifteen, at the end of her freshman year, every single thing in her life was changed.

* * *

Bowling; it was the only thing in town to do that night; the movies were crawling with teeny-boppers, the mall was closed at eight, and none of us could drive yet. So, we went bowling, Haley, Josh, Marco, and I being the original group. Haley was there, though, so we were joined quite shortly by Alex and a gaggle of his buddies. Haley's boyfriend was supposed to be there, too, but he was having trouble finding a ride. According to Haley,

"He doesn't even want to be here, if he did he'd already be here."

I didn't really respond. Haley was my very best friend but I knew she wasn't going to listen to me. He would get here when he got here, whether he wanted to or not. Haley wouldn't stop texting him until he got here.

My friend skipped off to flirt with Alex, trying to make herself feel better, and I occupied myself with Josh and Marco. Josh was currently trying to toss a bowling ball between his legs and get a strike. He was concentrating pretty hard; the bet was up to three dollars. Marco was sitting on a stool, and I sat on the one next to him.

Marco was my best friend, besides Haley. Everyone kept telling me boys couldn't be just friends with girls, but I knew Marco was different. We could hang out and even flirt a little but we'd never go beyond that.

Marco asked me, "Do you think Josh'll hurt himself trying to do this?"

I shook my head. "Nah, but he might kill a few future babies."

"Assuming anyone ever wants to have babies with him," Marco replied, and then we were quiet as Josh finally threw the ball. And knocked down all ten pins. I bought him a candy bar as a prize.

When I came back from the food bar, Haley was standing next to Marco, looking fairly annoyed, so I assumed, "Boyfriend- alert."

"Yes. I cannot believe that jerk is going to show up now after we've been fighting about it all freaking night!"

The emphasis she put on the word night must have drawn her boy to her, because he walked in the door that very second, trailed by a very blonde guy. My eyes stuck to that guy like glue, though I didn't know why exactly. I'd seen him maybe two times before, but something was different now.

"Haley," I said. "Who's that?"

PROMPT: Describe which relative you are most like, including how and why.

I don't think I can really say that i'm most like any of my family members; I see similar traits in all of us. Both of my parents and my big brother are all so headstrong and opinionated that most people don't like them, and I'm exactly the same way. none of us like to listen to other people when we've already made up our minds.

I guess I'm most similar to my mom, and not just in that I look exactly like she did when she was sixteen. I hate to admit it, but my mom and I are both extremely good liars/actors. We're both really sensitive and cry a lot when we're stressed out, and we're both OCD about orginization, though what it is we're organizing tends to vary. And we both really get on my dad's nerves.