This is my first submission to the site, I hope you enjoy it. My stories are a mixture of truth and fantasy, the names have been changed to protect the innocent, the ignorant, and the impotent.
Chapter 1 (Michelle)
1
Cole Russell's eyes were closed, his head was resting on the black fabric of his book bag, and he was breathing shallowly. The bell rang, and the other two dozen or so students quickly got out of their desks and headed for the halls. Cole's dark brown eyes barely opened when he heard the sounds of his classmates leaving the room, catching the form of a single girl from between his eyelashes as she left the room. A few seconds later, he himself raised his frame to his five-ten height, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and made his way out into the halls one last time before summer vacation began.
"Cole!" A voice called to him as he made his way through the doorway. Cole looked over his left shoulder as he turned to the right, making his way to his locker. He saw his best friend, Bryan, making his way through the throng of students toward him. He slowed his pace until his friend had caught up.
"What's up Bry?" Cole asked as the shorter boy slowed his gait to walk next to him.
"What's up?" Bryan asked, a bit of shock in his voice. "Don't you realize that we're seniors, man? We now officially run this hell hole."
"Great, just what I wanted to achieve in my life." Cole spoke back glumly to his friend. They turned a corner and made their way down the steps to their first floor lockers.
"God, what the hell's up your ass, man?" Bryan asked, slightly perturbed that his excitement had been, at least momentarily spoiled by his taller friend. They walked in silence for a minute before coming to Cole's locker. Bryan looked at his handsome friend's face, or what he could look at, since a good amount of long straight black hair hung in it as Cole looked down at the combination lock, turning it this way and that, trying to get the locker open.
"I don't know, man, sorry." Cole apologized as he opened the metal door and reached for his leather jacket and sunglasses. "Just got a lot on my mind, I guess."
"Ah, I see." Bryan nodded, turning and placing his back against the locker next to Cole's. "Let me guess, another year gone by without the opportunity seized?"
Cole whipped his jacket on, looping it over his head and getting both arms through at the same time, something that he had done for years. He adjusted his hair out of his face, then slowly turned his dark glance to Bryan.
"Oh, don't give me that look, you know you don't scare me, man." Bryan smirked back at him. "Suuure, you might be mister big bad boxer with your tough lookin' jacket and everything, but you know exactly what I'm talking about."
Cole relaxed the glare from his face and pulled his book bag up over his shoulder. He slammed the door of his locker for the final time of the year, then he and Bryan made their way to the doors that led out to the cool Ohio spring.
"I plead the fifth." Cole muttered as they walked, drawing a stifled laugh and a shake of the head from Bryan.
As they neared the doors that led to the parking lot a group of people turned out of a hallway and directly in front of them. Among them was the girl that Cole had watched leave the class room. Instantly Cole slowed his steps as his heart began to speed up. It took Bryan a few paces to realize that he was no longer at his friend's side. He looked ahead, saw the group, then turned back to Cole.
"Dude, you're just horrible." Bryan laughed. He waited for Cole to walk up to him, then continued. "You know, you've had a thing for her since we were in middle school, I don't know why you don't just go for it."
"She doesn't know I'm alive, Bry." Cole shook his head. "She's way out of my league."
"Who's out of your league, hunk?" A cheerful voice interrupted them. Bryan glanced over to the other side of Cole and saw the tall brunette that had come upon them. Cole didn't need to look to know who it was, instead, he just smiled slightly.
"Take a wild guess, Michelle." Bryan answered her question for Cole. "Who else makes our friend here act like a pansy ass?"
"Oh!" Michelle smiled and leaned her upper body over until her chin rested precariously on Cole's shoulder. "That wouldn't happen to be Sarah would it?"
Cole jerked his shoulder away from her as they stepped out into the afternoon sun. "You know, with friends like the two of you, I'll be paying therapy bills for the rest of my life."
"Well, I just can't understand why it is that you don't grow a pair and ask her out, man." Bryan observed.
Cole stopped abruptly, making his two friends turn toward him. "Oh, this coming from you!" The glare had returned to his face.
"What now?" Bryan asked.
"Hmm, let's see, the name Melanie come's to mind."
Bryan's face instantly grew a light shade of red. He glanced to Michelle who had a contemplative look on her face. "Hey, asshole!" Bryan spoke through gritted teeth. "Damn, someone says one thing to you and that vise of a mind of yours never lets it go, does it?"
"Okay, boys," Michelle stepped in between the two and used her tall thin body to separate them, "fight nice."
Bryan backed off a bit, and Michelle turned her back on him so that she could face Cole totally. The wind was blowing and Cole could smell the faint sent of the perfume that she wore. Her brown eyes were looking directly into his which were, he guessed, about five shades darker than normal, as they tended to become when he was mad. He thought of stepping back from her, but didn't.
"Now," she spoke softly, but firmly, to Cole, "that wasn't right and you know it."
"Sorry." Cole said back quietly. He knew that the look had by now gone from his face and that his irises had returned to their normal color. Michelle could always bring him back from the point of losing his temper.
"I think you should say that to him, not me." She advised.
Cole stepped back and looked around her form to Bryan. "I'm sorry, Bry."
"It's alright." Bryan waved his hand like he was shooing a fly away.
The three soon formed the same line that they had before, with Cole in the middle, and resumed their walk to the parking lot.
"So, seriously," Michelle broke the silence between them after about twenty steps, "what is it that intimidates you so much about her?"
"I don't know." Cole answered, putting his black mirrored sunglasses on as they stepped down off the curb and into the lot. "I just know that she doesn't want anything to do with me."
"How do you know?" She asked.
They came to Cole's car first, a '89 Cadillac el Dorado that he had spent his life savings on when he turned sixteen. He unlocked the door, and swung it opened and threw his book bag into the back seat. He began to get in, but stopped to look at his two friends. "I guess it's because I know that I'm not in her league, like I said before."
"What makes you think that?" Michelle asked, her brow creased with a look that Cole mistook for pity.
"I just do." Cole got slipped into the driver's seat and turned the ignition, bringing the car to life. He lowered the power windows, and looked out once again to the two best friends that he had known since he had transferred into the school district back in middle school. "Do you work tonight, Michelle?"
"Yeah," she answered. "I'll be there around five."
"Okay, see you then. Talk to you later, Bryan."
"Got it, man." Bryan waved.
Cole shifted the Caddy into drive and pulled away. He looked back in the rear view and saw Michelle and Bryan talking. He was sorry that he had lost his temper with Bryan, he knew that he shouldn't have. As he pulled out of the parking lot and made his way home, he thought back to the exchange, and the way Michelle had stopped it before it had gone too far. He realized that in some strange way, she seemed to be his conscience, but he had known that for years, deep down. She always kept him from punching some punk ass out, she had kept him out of a lot of trouble, really.
He knew that she had some sort of influence on him, what he didn't know was why. As he picked up speed and left the high school further and further behind, he thought about something else. Something that he didn't know the reason to, but something that, right now, stuck out a lot more than her influence on him. He wondered why, when she was between Bryan and himself, his heart was pounding so hard, almost like it had been when he had seen Sarah in the hall. He couldn't figure it out.
***
Michelle and Bryan watched as Cole pulled away. After a second, she turned to Bryan.
"What's going on with him?"
"I don't know." Bryan shook his head. "I guess it's just a sensitive subject for him, ya know?"
"But why?" She crossed her arms. "I mean, come on, we both know there is a bunch of girls that think Cole's really nice. What is it that has him thinking that Sarah is so untouchable?"
"I don't know, he never tells me." Bryan answered. "All he keeps saying is that he knows. I mean, he's tried to talk to her before, just talk, but she always acted sorta weird when he does, I don't know why."
"Weird, huh?" Michelle echoed, deep in thought. "Well, I better get going, I've got some work to do before I go to the store tonight."
"What do you mean, work?"
"I've got to figure out who said what to Sarah to make her act like that toward Cole."
"Well, good luck." Bryan said to her as he began to walk away.
"Bryan!" Michelle called to him. He stopped and turned to her. She smiled slightly. "For real, Melanie?"
"OH GOD!" Bryan rolled his eyes. "Now another one starts!"
"Just kidding, Bry. See ya around." Michelle walked to her car. She had an idea of who might have said something to Sarah about Cole. She knew how to find out. She just didn't know why she was going to try so hard to help Cole overcome whatever it was that kept him from Sarah. She decided it was because she loved Cole so much. She also knew that he might never know exactly how much that was.
2
Cole arrived to work at four-thirty and clocked in. He went into the stock room in the back to see the list that Brent, his boss, always left for the evening workers. Cole was happy, the list was short, just face the shelves, empty the trash, then face the shelves again. Cole grabbed one of the small steps that served to help them reach the back of the top shelves, as well as something to sit on while facing the bottom shelves. He decided to start in the pet food isle, that way he'd be in the baby food isle by the time that Michelle came in to run the cash register in the service center, as was their custom, so they could talk a bit, and figure out if they were going to do anything after work.
He was exactly where he planned to be when she walked in. He waited until she clocked in and turned on her register before he went up to her. As he made his way toward her, he noticed the same fluttering in his chest. He nearly turned back, but she had looked up and smiled before he could, instead he walked on.
"Hey beautiful." He said to her, he noticed that his voice slightly waved when he spoke. He hoped that she didn't notice.
"Hey yourself." She smiled. "Feeling better?"
