Chapter 1
MIA
I sit on the wall outside the front of the school, and lift my feet up. I lean against the pillar, and turn my music up. The sound coming through my headphones drowns out the arrival of all the other students. A bit of Pearl Jam on a Monday morning will hopefully wake me up. I scroll through my socials whilst I wait for Sam to get here.
Sam is my best friend. We have this weird relationship, where we are best friends, do almost everything together, we also have sex sometimes, but we are still just friends. Did I mention that I am totally in love with the guy? No? Well, I am. He knows I am, but that's just how it is. He doesn't lead me on or anything, I know the score, and we both sleep with other people too, we just sometimes end up screwing each other. It is what it is.
I'm deep in to the music, when someone grabs me under the legs behind my knees, and another arm behind my back and scoops me up bidal style. "Morning beautiful" Sam drops a kiss on my forhead, and puts me down on to my feet.
"Asshole" I grunt at him. I turn my music down, but don't remove the headphones.
We start walking towards the school doors, and Sam drapes his arm over my shoulders.
"What climbed up your ass Mimi? You're usually the morning person" He laughs, pulling me in to his side.
"Rough night dude. Was out scoping the streets for one of the youngsters from the centre till 4am. Couldn't sleep then, so took Murf out for a little jaunt" Murf thought it was his birthday, he loves a random walk early hours. He was my lovable golden retriever, with copious amounts of energy to burn.
"You training today?" He gives me the side eye.
"Yep. I'm fine Sam, I need to keep my times up". We reach the doors where we need to go in separate directions to our first class.
"Meet me here later baby, I need to chat with you about something, so we'll go to Jimmy's for lunch ok" Sam kisses my cheek, salutes, and heads off to where his mates are waiting for him. I hear a chorus of cheers and whistles as he nears them, and shake my head.
Sam is the captain and QB of the school football team, but he's also scary as fuck... to those that don't know him well anyway. We aren't you typical highschool teenagers, we live in a different world to most of them here, they have no idea how to deal with us.
I wander in to my first class, and sit down behind my desk in the far corner. I am so tired. I help in a Youth Centre occasionally, as that is the career I want, working with teenagers that cause trouble, just like myself. One of them, a 13 year old girl, ran from her foster parents last night, so there was a group of us out searching for her for hours. Thankfully she was found by one of the volunteers, but I dread to think what could have happened to her. At 13, I was capable of surviving, I had to be, but this young girl was very innocent by comparison.
I get through my morning classes, and am now feeling much more alive. I head down to the quad where I'm meeting Sam, and my best girl friend catches up to me. "Mims! Where have you been hiding? I have news!" Aims grabs my arm dramatically, and gets pulled along by the side of me. We are total opposites. Aims is all about fashion, and dramatics, and I couldn't give two shits about either. Despite my chaotic social life, I like to keep shit out of school. I don't dress to impress, I dress for comfort. Today for example, I am in jean hotpants which i cut from an old pair of tattered jeans, frayed at the edges, a loose vest top which keeps dropping off one of my shoulders, a checked shirt tied around my waist, and my converse hightops. My hair is wild and loose, with a baseball cap on backwards to try and tame it slightly so I can see where i'm going. Aims is wearing a short tight skirt, a crop top, heeled ankle boots and her hair and make up are immaculate.
A path seems to clear its way infront of us, and that's because of me. People just move, probably because they don't want to talk to me incase I snap.
"I've been in lessons Aims, same as you chick. Not hiding" I grumble "what's this news then?"
"I went home with Al last night! Oh my God he's fucking hot!" Aims goes off on one then about Sam's mate Al. I tune out, and eventually she hugs me, saying she's got detention, and flounced off.
Sam is leaning against the wall in the quad, looking at his phone. As I approach, he puts his phone away, lifts his head and locks eyes with me grinning.
"Here's my best girl. Let's go" he drapes his arm over my shoulders and starts heading out of the gates. We hear a shout behind us, as Sam turns.
"Sam! Where you heading dude?" Jax comes jogging up to us, and leans down to kiss my cheek "Mia, where are you dragging my buddy off to now?" He winks at me.
"His call Jax, apparently we need to chat" I shrug my shoulders.
"Finally popping the question are you Sam?" He teases.
"Fuck you Jax" Sam laughs "Just need some time with my girl ok. We'll be back soon". We head off to the cafe up the road from the school.
......
"No fucking chance, uh-uh" I say shaking my head at Sam, eyes wide.
"Come on Mimi, just this once. Schools almost done" he pleads with me. He just asked if we should go to prom this year. We've never been to any of the school shit that goes on, I just can't for the life of me understand where this has come from. Sam isn't rhe type for school proms, hell, he's not the type for school! He only comes because he has to and because of football. Don't get me wrong, he is super intelligent, like top grade without trying intelligent, but none of us actually want to be here. He wears jeans and tight t-shirts and leather jackets, obviously shorts at the beach, but he has tattoos covering his arms, a large one across his chest and another at the top of his back. He also has them on his legs. We are not typical highschool students, as I've mentioned. And now he wants to go to Prom?!? What is that all about!?
.....
As we get back to school, I start to head off to the gym, when Sam jumps up on the wall above the quad and starts singing
🎶"why you gotta be so cruel, don't you know I'm human too, gonna marry ya anyway"🎶 I turn around and glare at him, as he gives me that lopsided killer grin of his.
"Don't you fucking dare Sam" I warn him.
"Well say yes then" he says as he jumps down, and strides over to me. By now, we have an audience. He pulls me close to him, and looks down at me.
"OK, tell me an honest reason your so adamant we go to prom. Why can't you just go if you want to, why do I have to go too?" I gaze up at him.
"Because I want us to do something fucking normal before the end of our school life baby. I want us to be normal fucking teenagers for one night. We haven't been normal since we started here, well you havent, i'm half way there" he winks "Look around us, none of them know what the fuck to do around us" he looks down at me, pleading me with those gorgeous dark eyes.
"Well why didn't you just say that in the first place, you know I'll do anything for you handsome" I tease him with a wink. I move my arms around his waist and smile up at him cheekily. I see his eyes go dark suddenly, and his body tense under my touch. He reaches down, lifts me up and places my legs around his waist, so I drape my arms around the back of his neck. He takes a few steps so we are by the wall, and pushes me up against it. He leans his face in to mine, and kisses my lips eagerly. There is so much passion in him at that moment, my body just reacts to his. When he pulls away, he leans his forhead against mine.
"I love you baby girl. It's you and me forever. I need you next to me or I can't breath, you're my lifeline beautiful" he says to me gently.
We hear a clearing of throat behind us, and Sam stiffens.
"OK Bronsen, put Mia back on her feet before this turns in to an x-rated scene" Coach Carter says behind us. Sam puts me down but doesn't let go of me. He turns around to his football coach with a smirk lingering on his lips.
"Can't help myself when she's around Coach, she has my heart, body and soul" he says with a wink. I grin and shake my head at him as I move away.
"Laters asshole" I say as I walk away from him, and head to the gym.
