*Beauty*
Will's Facebook page confirmed what I'd always thought: he was out of my league.
I'd stared at the page a billion times before, but it never failed to intimidate me.
His friend section was full of Professors with fancy foreign names. His name was constantly tagged in videos or photographs displaying him accepting a myriad of prizes. It ranged from awards in music and art to English, maths and science. From what I'd counted, in the past year alone he'd won 52 trophies, 73 ribbons and at least 15,000 dollars. Not including the other side prizes or the awards that weren't displayed on his Facebook page.
And that was one year.
I was sure that he'd won more than that within the last year, simply because Will was conservative. He was too humble to boast about his achievements. The only reason the awards were mentioned was due to all the competitions that had linked to his profile, declaring him as the victor. And, if I was making an intelligent guess, not even half of the competitions had tagged him.
And, frankly, everywhere I looked was another fancily-named professor complimenting Will on being so incredibly intelligent and so incredibly talented for his 'youthful age'.
And so incredibly out of my league.
A sigh escaped my lips as my eyes locked on the message I'd received last night but only spotted this morning.
Ellie, we can't meet at my house. Please meet me at Devin Town Library at the same time.
-- Will
My finger brushed the screen, hovering over his name.
Sigh.
Even his name was perfect.
My disappointment was palpable.
How many fantasies had I had about Will's house? And, just like that, the dream was ripped away from me.
Maybe he'd realized I was much too idiotic and shallow for his house.
Oh, Will.
Despite it all, nervous butterflies still fluttered within my stomach, brushing their dainty wings against my insides.
In four hours, I would be with Will.
Four hours and I would be in the presence of my seven-year crush.
I squealed.
I couldn't wait.
For the past thirty minutes, I'd read and re read Will's message. Every time my eyes scanned over the letters, my chest would escalate in anticipation. My mind would instantly be filled with a vision of him writing this, affectionately typing out my name as he considered my reaction.
I wish.
If this were a different universe, a universe where I was more than the dumb blonde he was stuck tutoring, maybe he would feel affectionate at the mention of my name. Maybe he would even consider going on a date with me.
But this wasn't a different universe. This was reality, and in reality he was out of my league.
My heart sunk the moment I slid my mouse across the page, clicking apprehensively on my profile. I groaned as my eyes fell on videos from last night's party. My friends had tagged me in dimly lit photos and videos. All featured me either laughing like a maniac or belting out lyrics like a maniac.
Had Will seen them? Was the first thing I wondered.
I bet he spent his Friday nights building houses for the homeless or something.
I sighed. Why are you so out of my league Will?
I went back to my inbox, ignoring the unopened mail and zoning in on Will's message.
I bit my lip as I re-read it again. My fingers hovered over the keyboard as I contemplated my response. How would he react? What would he think? What if I didn't sound intelligent enough?
Breathing in, I quickly typed out a response:
Aww :( Of course, I'll see you there ;)
--Ellie
For a blind, dumb, moment I felt a surge of pride run through me at the casual nature of the message. I almost sounded like I wasn't totally obsessed with him. Then I realized it was completely hideous and rubbed it out, jamming my finger against the backspace button. He'd probably think I was trying to flirt with him or something.
Which I was.
I am such an idiot.
I re-typed the message, dropping in a few intelligent words:
That's unfortunate. Of course Mr Johnson, I'll be in attendance at the time.
--Ellie
I gaped for a moment at the sentence.
I sounded so pretentious! What the heck was Mr Johnson?! He'd probably think I was some stuck up freak!
It took me fifteen more tries before I finally came back to the original sentence:
Aww :( Of course, I'll see you there ;)
--Ellie
I frowned at the sentence. Ugh, no
I rushed to rub it out but, because I am an idiot, I accidentally pressed the enter button. I watched with wide-mouthed horror as the message disappeared from the writing box, appearing beneath Will's own message.
Noooooooo...
I waited with bated breath for Will's response. Please please please don't hate me.
In moments, the part below the message box said: Will Johnson is typing... My breath caught in my throat as I watched for what felt like forever. After at least ten minutes, his message popped up:
Alright
--Will
I leaned back, groaning into my pillow. Way to leave a girl hanging, Will.
I stared longingly at Will's name for a moment longer before finally hoping off my bed. Okay, Ellie, shake it off. Goal for today: steal William Johnson's heart.
I did a mini-cheer to get myself pumped up, before skipping over to my bathroom for a shower.
Today, I was going to make sure I looked perfect. As of now, it was 10:00 pm and I fully intended to spend the next three hours primping and prepping before finally making my way to the library.
As I showered and washed my hair, I hummed a love song, imagining Will and I as the characters. My thoughts went back to last night and I giggled. I still couldn't believe I'd spoken to Will, laughed with him even. I still couldn't believe that his fingers, those perfect lengthy super soft fingers, had brushed my face.
Just unimaginable.
I padded out of the bathroom after thirty minutes of thorough scrubbing and washing, plopping down on my bed in my robe. After moisturizing my skin, I painted my toenails and reapplied my fake manicure nails. Following, I slicked on make-up, trying to appear natural but attractive.
Two hours later, I was ready. I'd chosen an oversized cashmere knit sweater over black knee-length leggings and black flats. One look at the mirror and I appeared to be the picture of innocence. A thin sheath of make-up ensured I didn't look like I was trying too hard while the flats portrayed sophistication.
Sort of.
Okay, I wish.
Before I could nit-pick my appearance to death, I stepped out of my room, scurrying down the stairs.
I made my way to the kitchen, where my mother and Amelia were already present.
Amelia was plopped on one of the tall seats beside the kitchen island, her eyes pasted on a book as she absentmindedly ate from a salad bowl. She wasn't wearing her glasses today--probably due to my mother's presence.
My mother stood at the centre of the kitchen, balancing a tub of fruit salad and an organic smoothie. Which was ridiculous because I'd only ever seen her eat three times in the last year. (Weird, I know).
Despite being at home, she was immaculately dressed. She wore designer blue jeans below a gemmed white blouse that perfectly hid her baby bump. Her hair, pale blonde with golden highlights, was whisked back into a perfectly aligned bun at the crown of her head. Earrings dangled from her ears, matching the necklace around her flawlessly tanned throat. She tapped her long manicured talons against the island thoughtfully.
"Where's dad?" I asked as I grabbed a fruit salad bowl from the fridge.
If you ate anything besides salad in front of my mother, you were dead to her. Literally.
"Good morning?" she replied, not glancing up.
"Morning," I grunted as I pulled open the tub.
"Not very ladylike," she tsked. "Martin got an emergency call from work."
I frowned. He hardly ever acknowledged those calls on a weekend. "He went?"
My mother nodded. "Yes. I told him to."
"Why?"
"I feel it is important to address work matters," she replied.
I frowned as I continued eating my salad.
My mother finally glanced up at me. "Why are you all dressed up?" Suddenly, her eyes glittered. "A date is it?"
I nearly choked. I thumped my chest as I coughed out an apple slice.
I wish it was a date.
My mother, shockingly, instead of telling me off laughed. "Gemma did mention that you had a little tryst with the quarterback." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
I rolled my eyes. "Heck, no. We were on a group outing."
My mother made a smug hmm sound. "That's what they all say. You know me and your father had our first real encounter at a 'group outing'." The way she said 'group outing' made it sound as if it meant something different.
I frowned, trying to decipher what she was implying. Finally, I groaned. "It's not like that mom. I don't like him. Besides, he's not who I'm meeting."
She frowned. "The girls then?"
I shook my head. "Nope."
Her frown deepened. "Who is it?"
Before I could reply, I heard the sound of the door opening and shutting reverberating through the house. My dad walked in, dressed casually in a t-shirt and jeans. He pulled off his sunglasses as he approached us.
"Morning, girls." Dad pecked a kiss on Amelia and I's heads before stepping behind my mother and wrapping his hands around her stomach. "Hey, babe." He nuzzled her head.
"Martin! You're messing up my hair!" She squealed, swatting at his hands. She struggled to hide her smile.
I glanced up at the clock behind my mother's head, reading 1:15pm.
I immediately stood, abandoning the remnants of my breakfast.
"Bye guys," I tossed back as I whipped up my bag (stuffed full of revision books) and hurried out the door.
"Don't forget to take your vitamin pills!" My mother called out from behind me.
"Won't," I chimed back before shutting the door behind me.
***
My silver Porsche pulled up outside the library at exactly 1:25 pm.
OK, maybe I was a little early.
Taking a deep breath, I switched off the car and stepped out. The parking lot was mostly vacant, only a few other cars in the lot.
Will's car wasn't one of them.
I nervously walked towards the double glass doors, stepping into the cool air conditioned front room. Devin Town Library had an ultra-modern appearance, with most of the walls made from glass that revealed the extent of the library inventory.
I hardly went to the library. To be honest, the last time I'd come in here was when I was thirteen and Amelia had forced me to take her.
Unsure what to do, I hesitantly walked towards the doors leading to the main library. After making a round trip of the floor, I finally plopped down at a seat next to a window displaying the parking lot.
I tugged out the books from my bag, placing them on the table in preparation.
I bit my lip as I watched for Will's Range Rover.
After a few minutes, a yawn escaped my throat. I'd hardly gotten any sleep last night between Gemma's party and watching Will run. When Will didn't appear within the next few minutes, I rested my head on the table and shut my eyes for a moment.
I was fourteen. Gemma and I jogged, exhausted, around our middle school track.
"Ugh, Jamison is such a douche," Gemma grunted. Perspiration slid down her forehead. Her chocolate brown hair was pulled back into a frizzy ponytail.
"You shouldn't have sworn at him," I panted. This was totally her fault. Gemma always got us in trouble.
Gemma rolled her eyes, though I had no idea how she managed that. If she was anywhere near as exhausted as I was, just speaking was too much effort.
"Its not my fault he sucks," she gasped in response.
Just as I was about to shove her, a squeal shocked me.
I slowed to a stop as my gaze fell on the school swimming pool several yards away from us. The girls were swimming today. Two tall lean girls surrounded another shorter, pudgier girl. I recognized the taller girls--eight graders like Gemma and I.
"What's wrong?" Gemma slowed to a stop.
I gestured to the swimming pool. I frowned and took a step closer.
The girls' expressions were menacing, their smirks directed at the chubbier girl's terrified expression.
The other students shot nervous glances at the trio, but didn't intervene.
Then it happened. In moments, one of the girls shoved the shortest girl. She fell back, arms flailing, and mouth wide in shock before falling back into the pool.
The two eight graders cackled.
I scowled, fully intending to walk over to the pair and give them a piece of my mind. Then I realized something: the girl hadn't come back up.
She should have floated to the surface by now.
"Oh no, I don't think she can swim!" another girl squealed.
My hand came to my mouth. Oh my goodness, no.
I was frozen in shock.
I stepped over, ready to race towards the pool.
Then I saw him.
William Johnson raced towards the swimming pool. Fully clothed, he dived into the water and in moments dragged the girl out of the pool.
Horror clenched my throat. Her body was limp.
"Oh my gosh, is she dead?" Gemma gasped.
A sob made its way to my lips.
Will laid her down beside the pool. Rapidly, he began doing chest compressions, his hands, overlapped, pressing against her chest in rapid succession. Immediately after he pressed his lips to hers, performing CPR.
Everyone watched in frightened awe as he continued to work over her.
I clutched my chest, praying quietly that she wouldn't die.
Finally, she spluttered out water, gasping for breath. The girls surrounding her clapped and hooted.
Her eyes rolled towards Will. "Thank you," she whispered, her hoarse voice cracking.
Then his lips lifted, giving her that smile that had haunted my dreams since Fifth Grade. My breath caught in my throat as he spoke.
"You're alright now."
"Woah." Gemma placed her hands on her hips. "That was some hero stuff right there."
I sighed, clutching a hand to my chest as I whispered a thankful prayer to God.
In my mind I thought:
Oh, Will, my hero.
Betty Lancaster.
As my eyes peeled open, I remembered the name of the girl Will had saved. He'd saved her life. She wouldn't be alive without him.
After that incident, the two girls had received harsh disciplinary punishments. Betty Lancaster on the other hand had moved to Canada.
Why hadn't there been a teacher there? Why hadn't anyone there to prevent the bullying?
Either way, Will was a hero. Will would forever be the boy who knew what to do when no one else did.
The scent of citrus brought me back to the present. Slowly, I glanced up, right into a pair of sparkling emerald eyes.
***
Thank you for reading :)
This chapter is dedicated to bethan4j who voted on all these cheesy chapters and brought a smile to my face :)
God bless xxx
Yemi Everest