Out Of My Comfort Zone
Invisible, that’s what I am. For the most part, that’s the way I like it, but when you can’t walk down the hallway to your locker without accidentally being body-slammed by people passing by, completely unaware that you are standing there, it can get a little bit tedious.
“Holy Crap!! Do you see how he looks today!!”
Jessica, the one and only soul that sees me at this school, and my best friend since third grade, would be the one freaking out beside me. She is the only thing I will miss about this horrible town.
“Whoever could you be talking about?” I sarcastically remarked while rolling my eyes dramatically.
“Alicia Cunningham, you are insufferable. You know exactly who I’m talking about.” She narrowed her eyes at me while grabbing my shoulders and spinning me around to give me a good view of the tall, dark, and handsome man she was referring to and whom she drools over every day, (even though she has a boyfriend), Logan Saunders.
He did look great, wearing a jet black t-shirt that fit snug on his rock-hard body, only accentuating each bulge, well-defined chest muscles, and huge biceps. Jeans that fit perfectly to his body to show a perfect backside, and of course, my favorite part, his gorgeous blue eyes, a captivating dark blue, one could get lost in them forever, like being lost at sea.
Of course, like any boy at our school who looks like him, not that any of them could compare, his personality inevitably ruins the entire package with his arrogance and sense of entitlement and superiority; he is entirely self-centered. I have had a few run-ins with the school king that has rendered me officially (not a fan), not that he even noticed.
“Jessica, one day, your boyfriend Kyle is going to walk by at the same time you are eyeballing the resident eye candy, and he’s not going to be so forgiving,” I reminded her, emphasizing boyfriend.
“Oh, please, I’m allowed to look. Besides, Kyle knows I love him. I told him so last night.” She said with a sly grin.
My jaw instantly dropped to the floor, “Oh my god, did you say the L-word to Kyle?”
She nodded yes with excitement, “And he said it back!!”
“That is amazing. I’m so happy for you two.”
“So we are going out to celebrate.” She mumbled, not making eye contact.
My eyes narrowed, recognizing when my friend was up to something. “You and Kyle?” I enquired, knowing very well that’s not who she meant.
“Come on, Alicia, you know I’m talking about you and me!” She pouted. “And... There’s this party.”
Yet again, no eye contact.
“Nope, you know I don’t do parties. I don’t feel comfortable at them, there’s nothing but drunken, sweaty people trying to hook up and grind on each other. Worst of all, the last party you talked me into, you and Kyle ditched me to find a room not even bothering to tell me where you went,” I whispered angrily with a scowl.
“Please! Kyle won’t even be there. He has a family thing, and I wanted to go to this party with you to celebrate the huge step Kyle and I have taken! Please, please, please.” Her pout became even more profound as if that was possible, and she fluttered her eyelashes at me, looking up with puppy dog eyes.
“Fine! I will go, but if you ditch me again, Jess, I swear to God that will be the last party I will ever attend with you.” She squealed in excitement and started jumping up and down in the hallway, grabbing a few confused looks from people around us.
“Ok, calm down; you’re making a scene.”
“Oh my god, I’m going to make you so hot tonight. You’re going to be the one ditching me at this party.”
“No, you are not, and I very much doubt that,” I mumbled into my locker, grabbing the last of the books I needed for class. I glanced over to the group of the hottest seniors at our school, one in particular, and thought to myself; nobody even knows I exist in this school.
Later That Night:
“Will you stop fiddling with it? You look great.” Jess slapped my hands away as I desperately attempted to get more length from the skirt she made me wear while we walked up to the party.
“This is barely even a skirt. It’s a small bit of material wrapped around my ass and is dangerously close to revealing the goods underneath.” I felt so embarrassed showing this much skin, and I don’t think I had ever shown this much cleavage before. When Jess shoved my hands away from the hem of the skirt, they immediately attempted to lift the shirt to show less boob.
Jess sighed a long dramatic sigh, grabbed my arm, and dragged me to the side of the house where the party was currently underway.
“Listen, you are a strong, independent, beautiful woman. You look hot, and it’s time you start to show it. No more messing with my perfect creation. We are going to go to that party, dance together, get drunk and start to enjoy our youth because you have done nothing the past three years but kept your nose in the books, not even looking at the world around you. Well, today you are going to look, and people will look at you!” She hollered while grabbing my arm again and dragging me towards the door.
I couldn’t help but laugh; Jess has an infectious laugh and endless enthusiasm that makes even the lamest, like myself, want to get involved. Perhaps I will go a little bit out of my comfort zone tonight.
Sure enough, the scene before us was as expected: half-naked teenagers grinding on the dance floor with people they probably don’t know. People were piling into the house from front to back, and I desperately wanted to look for a place where I could breathe.
“Jess isn’t there anywhere we could stand with a little less... people?” I said, starting to feel quite claustrophobic.
“Come over here.” She led the way to somewhat of an empty corner of the room, and I let out a sigh of relief. “I’m going to get us a couple of drinks, you stay here, and I’ll be back.”
I nodded to her since it was pointless to respond, I barely even heard her, and I just awkwardly stood in my place, already feeling like I should be going home.
Off in the distance, in the middle of the dance floor, Sarah Richards, with her gorgeous blond hair and perfect model-type body, looked like she was desperately looking for someone. She began to seem a bit agitated, and as she stepped closer, I could hear what name she was calling out in her somewhat drunken state. Of course, it was Logan’s name. Who else would it possibly be? The queen needs her king.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Logan coming into the room, a look of anger and panic. He looked to his left and was met with more crowds demanding his attention. He looked to his right and found... me.
He swiftly moved over to me, using his body almost as a blockade to the rest of the party. Startled, I took a few steps back and was stopped by the wall behind me. He was so close I had no idea where to look or even where to put my hands, considering with the confusion I may have placed my hands on his rock-hard chest as he moved forward. As soon as I realized where my hands were, I embarrassingly shot them down to my sides and immediately looked up to see what the hell was going on.
When I looked up, however, I met those beautiful dark blue eyes staring right back into mine. Logan was breathing heavily, I could feel his minty breath brush my face, and I was painfully aware of how close his lips were to mine.
“Logan. What are you..”
My question was cut off short as Logan interrupted, “I’m sorry about this.”
Confusion hadn’t even set in before his lips crashed onto mine.
