To say that I was shocked would be the understatement of the century. I was downright dumbstruck.
It was as though time stopped as I stood there, staring into the most beautiful pair of gray eyes I'd ever seen.
"Derris saved me! Derris frigging Fox just saved me!" was the only thing I could think.
My waist which he'd held was still buzzing as my eyes alternated between his amazing gray eyes and beautiful pink lips. It seemed as though everything else faded into the background and it was only Derris and I that existed. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world!
"You know, you really should be careful. You could have gotten hurt," Derris said all of a sudden, breaking the spell.
"W-What?" I stuttered, snapping out of my daydream.
"I said you should be more careful. Your shoes are untied so you tripped on it. Lemme help you with it," he said, stooping to help me knot my loose shoelaces.
As he did, his hand brushed against my leg several times causing a shiver to race up my spine every time.
I couldn't get over the shock of it all.
Derris Fox, my crush for as long as I could remember, was actually knotting my shoelaces.
Was I dreaming? Because there was no way in hell or in heaven that Derris Fox could actually be helping me tie my shoe.
"There. All done," he said rising up.
Oh jeepers! It's really happening!
"Come on Allison, say something. This is your chance!" my subconscious prodded me.
"I like your nose," I finally found myself saying before I could stop myself.
Wait what?
"Oh! Uh, thank you?" He answered, staring at me weirdly.
"Gosh! What is wrong with me? Why did I say that?" I said to myself, almost face palming myself right there and then.
"Um I like your nose too," Derris said and I inwardly groaned.
"Thanks," I replied, not having a clue as to what to say again.
What followed afterwards was silence, a silence that stretched on for a long time and eventually became awkward.
"So uh, bye!" I said and basically ran away since I didn't know what else to do.
Now it's official! I'm totally crazy!
I had the opportunity to talk to Derris like actually talk to him and I blew it! No person in their right mind would have done what I just did.
I'm crazy I tell you! CRAZY!
***
Nellie agreed with me, that I was crazy, that is.
"You did what!?" she yelled after I recounted the whole experience to her, later that day.
"I know, I know. It was stupid," I groaned, covering my face in embarrassment.
"More than stupid. It was flat out dumb. Allison, how could you do this to me? To yourself? You've had a crush on this guy since forever and when you finally get the chance to talk to him, you tell him you like his nose!?"
I winced. "When you put it that way, it sounds a lot worse."
"That's because it is. Do you know how many girls would kill to have been in your position?" Nellie yelled.
Wow, she's really taking this really hard! I thought.
"Nellie, don't you think you're taking this a little too hard? I mean, even I'm not as bummed!" I muttered.
"Of course I'm taking it hard. I've always wanted to be the bridesmaid at you and Derris’ wedding but you pretty much just ruined my chance," she answered, flopping on the bed with a smile.
"Wedding? Don't you think that's a little too far?" I asked, arching my eyebrows.
"Uh no! Based on how long you've been crushing on this guy, it's literally impossible for you guys not to end up together," she said with all seriousness.
"Okay. Whatever you say, fortune teller," I murmured rolling my eyes at her.
"Be sarcastic all you want but mark my words, young lady. Now you're going to talk to Derris tomorrow..."
"And why would I do that? He probably already thinks I'm a weirdo," I answered with a pout.
"Well you are but that's beside the point. You'll go to him tomorrow with cookies and yogurt and you'll tell him they're for saving you today."
"Wait, shouldn't that be yesterday if I'm seeing him tomorrow?"
"Whatever. Just give him the cookies and yogurt and start a conversation with him. Also don't mention his nose," she remarked pointedly.
I rolled my eyes at her.
"Whatever you say, Nella. Now go. I have homework."
"Okay. I've gotta go too. But remember, tomorrow!"
"Mm-hmm," I nodded.
***
Ultimately, I didn't speak to Derris until a week after he helped me and you can probably guess why. I chickened out every time but eventually Nellie put her foot down.
"You're going, Allison. Now!"
"B-but but Nellie..." I tried protesting but she gave me a stern look that flushed all my complaints down the drain.
"Allison, you can do this. Just believe in yourself. Hand him the cookies and talk to him. It's not that hard. You're pretty, smart, funny... He would be crazy to laugh at you," Nellie said, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"Okay okay. I can do this. I can do this," I muttered repeatedly to myself as I shakily made my way over to Derris.
"DERRIS! HI! REMEMBER ME?" I yelled as I walked towards him.
Did I mention that I yell when I'm nervous? Well I do. And now that I'm a nervous wreck, I'm literally screaming.
Anyway, just as Derris’ quizzical eyes came to a focus on me, I suddenly stumbled and my yoghurt accidentally spilled on Derris’ pristine white shirt.
Since I'd read online that Derris’ favorite type of yoghurt was chocolate, it ended up leaving a brown stain on his shirt. In short, his shirt was ruined. Well not really ruined but you get the gist.
"Oh my gosh! I am so so sorry! I did not mean for this to happen!" I blabbed as I tried cleaning the stain with my handkerchief.
"Stop! Just stop it!" Derris yelled all of a sudden, startling me.
"This is a fifteen hundred dollars designer shirt and you just ruined it, you clumsy bitch!" He yelled again, pushing me away from him angrily.
My eyes began to water.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to give you the yoghurt to thank you for h-helping me b-but I was nervous so I stumbled and...and..."
"I helped you? I must have been blind because I would never help a stupid bitch like you. By the way, here's what I think of your yoghurt!"
He bent down, picked up the cup of yoghurt and to my surprise, poured what was left on my hair. I gasped instantly, shocked to the core.
It made things worse when everyone started laughing at me. I felt like the ground open and swallow me as I stood there, staring at Derris with tears in my eyes.
Then I did the only thing I could do. I ran...
"Allison, I am so so sorry. I never should have pushed you to do something you obviously didn't want to. I'm so sorry," Nellie said, comforting me as I cried ceaselessly in the bathroom. I tried to stop crying but remembering the fact that Derris called me a bitch brought tears to my eyes again and I found the tears coming even more. It didn't even bother me that much that he poured my yoghurt on me. What hurt me the most was his behavior. The way he looked at me and spoke to me. Like I was a piece of garbage. It was so different from how he looked at me last week and that hurt me to the core. All because I ruined his shirt... "Allison, I'm sorry. Derris is such a douchebag," Nellie said obviously still trying to comfort me but as silly as I was, I was quick to jump to his defense. "It wasn't his fault, Nellie. It was mine. I spilled the yoghurt on his shirt so he had every right to be mad," I murmured. "Allison! You're not ser
The next day started out like any other day. I woke up early, got ready for school, made breakfast for my dad who didn't apologise for what happened yesternight (then again, no surprise there), I met up with Nellie and we walked to school together. Everything was going great but all that went awry once we got to school. As I walked down the hallway with Nellie by my side, I could feel everyone's eyes on me. The reason behind that was quite obvious. It'd only been a day since the incident with Derris so as expected, everyone was pointing at me and murmuring. Not used to that kind of attention, I drew closer to Nellie who, understanding my predicament, patted my hand reassuringly. I let out a sigh of relief as we went into the homeroom which was mostly empty, except for a few people reading. We walked to our seats which happened to be beside each other and sat. "So Allie, how are you doing?" Nellie asked while we waited. "I don't know what
After getting over my excitement about meeting a celebrity who didn't hate my guts, I snuck into the girls locker room and after taking a super long shower and managing to get as much glitter, cheese and chocolate off me as possible, I changed into my gym clothes and met up with Nellie at her locker. "Oh my gosh, Allison, I was so worried about you. I heard what happened in class. I'm so sorry," she pulled me into a tight hug. "It's okay, Nel. I'm fine," I shrugged when she pulled away. "No it's not. Derris is such a prick. Can you believe he uploaded the video online?" "Really? He did?" I pouted, feeling a part of my heart shatter into pieces. Nellie nodded and brought out her phone. She tapped a few things and soon I found myself looking at a video of chocolate, cheese and glitter being poured on me. Worse enough, the video was trending. Sighing sadly, I handed Nellie's phone back to her and whimpered. "Why is this happening, Nellie? I didn't mean t
The bell rang signalling the end of class. Everyone poured out of the classroom, murmuring to themselves. I however, sat still on my seat wondering what I'd done to deserve this. I looked up at Derris who was still seated with Caleb and Jeremy. Nellie was already making her way towards Caleb, obviously to talk about the project but I couldn't bring myself to do it, for fear of being embarrassed again. What if he hit me? No, he couldn't do that... right? He did seem pretty pissed that we were partners so who knows? What if I tripped again and...? "Hey," a deep voice resonated beside me. I was so startled that I jumped off my seat in fright. Looking up, I felt myself flush when I realized it'd just been Max. "Oh! It's just you," I mumbled, rising from the floor. "Yeah," he said, moving a nearby seat and placing it in front of my desk. "Sorry if I scared you." "Oh, don't apologise. I was kinda zoned out so it's not your fault." "Hmm
I could feel my heart pounding against my chest, my eyes widened in fear. It was quite obvious that I was cursed. Why else would so many bad things be happening to me in a day? And judging by the look on Derris' face, my fate was obviously sealed. I chanced a glance at him and immediately looked away for fear of what I saw. The seconds seemed to drag by as I awaited my fate in Derris' hands. And just like that, he was standing in front of me, an unreadable expression on his face. On impulse, I sank to my knees and clasped my hands in front of him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll pay for it, I swear," I begged, my voice quivering as I spoke. "And just how do you plan to do that? That's a frigging two thousand dollar vase and last I heard, you were attending Ridgeway on scholarship so how exactly do you plan to get two thousand dollars?" His words were curt and sharp. I bowed my head and admitted, "I don't know." I waited f
"Oh Allison!" came the all-too familiar call, a couple of metres away from me. Holding back a frustrated groan, I slid off the stool I was seated on and sluggishly walked over to the poolside where Derris and Elaine, the girl who'd sat with Derris in Chemistry were relaxing on lounge chairs. "You called, Miss?" I said through gritted teeth. "Yeah. I would like a refill of my drink," she held up an empty cup which I was sure I just filled a minute ago. "Why?" I asked in an overly sweet voice. This was getting ridiculous as were her requests. "What do you mean 'why'? I want a refill of my drink and last I checked, you were here to help, weren't you?" "Yes, to help him. Not you!" I retorted, losing the politeness. "Besides, I just filled that for you. Do you have a tank in your stomach or something?" She gasped and turned to Derris. "Derris! Your maid's being mean!" Derris who hadn't been paying attention t
I was not ready to see Derris again the next day after what transpired the day before but it wasn't really up to me. It was up to him which meant that I was already at his parking spot, thirty minutes before his arrival because that was what he wanted. A part of me desperately wanted to hate Derris for what he did, like really hate him but it was literally impossible for me. I'd been in love with him since I was a little girl and a part of me still hoped that things would change and he would love me for me. I know it sounded stupid but what could I do? By the time Derris arrived in his flashy Ferrari, I was downright exhausted but I tried not to let it show as I greeted Derris a good morning and took his backpack from him. "Why's your voice so hoar... Oh!" he nodded on remembering. A part of me hoped to get an apology or something but it was not to be. "Serves you right, anyway," he shrugged, shouldering past me and heading into the school
Was it possible to love a jerk? Someone who was so mean and inconsiderate you sometimes found it hard to believe you actually loved them? If you ask me, I'd say yes. I should know too. I'm in love with the biggest jerk I know. Worse still, he doesn't love me back. After my meeting with Aria and my conversation with Nellie afterwards, I had no idea what to do concerning Derris. A part of me wanted to agree with Nellie and get rid of my feelings for him but another much larger part of me could only think of Derris defending me against Aria Charles, his own ex and a celebrity like him. And when I thought of that single act, I felt it more than made up for his earlier treatment of me. Anyway, by the next day, I was excitedly waiting for Derris at his parking spot, eager to see him again. When he hadn't arrived by the time he usually did, I became worried and thought of calling him. There had been no reported accidents so where was he? I had just made