15

I did my makeup lightly and opened my hair, so it cascaded down my back. I had changed into dark jeans and a burgundy blouse with vans. I waved at the mirror. There was that girl again- the one that looked nothing like I felt on the inside.

She looked ordinary, yes. Yet the thing that surprised me the most about the girl in the mirror is that she looked normal. Not tormented by the raging thoughts of tomorrow or memories of the past. She was normal, just normal.

It was too bad that normal didn't quite cut it in this society.

The girl inside, felt completely different. She was fed up, frustrated, pained.

But, most of all, she was broken- a hard china doll to fix. The damage may as well be permanent.

I shook my head deciding that a change of topic would be better, so I thought about Aaron and his friend.

I was anxious now. Aaron's friend was gonna be there and I wanted him to have a positive opinion on me. What if he didn't like me?

With Sam it wasn't that nerve wrecking. She was an adult and I, being the nerd I am, can get on pretty well with adults. I've been impressing adults my whole life, but kids my age were a different matter. Kids my age didn't seem to like me and I was scared Aaron's friend would be no exception.

I grabbed a small side bag, said goodbye to my mum and stepped outside. I was surprised to say the least. I mean, I knew he was rich, but what I didn't know was that he would have such a sleek car. I didn't even know that he had already turned 18.

I wasn't into cars, but I could tell which ones were good and which ones were not.

I looked closer and there he was. Aaron Walker, leaning against the side of the black car, on his phone. I saw another guy sitting on the hood of the car with honey-coloured hair. He must have been the friend. I didn't recognise him from our school. As I got closer, the sound of my shoes alerted the guys of my presence and both boys looked up.

The guy was looking at me, his gaze looking up and down at my form as he assessed me. I inhaled deeply, placing my focus solely on Aaron, ready to start my acting.

I got closer to Aaron and grinned widely, as though I was happy to see him. He smiled in return, sticking his arms out.

"Lexi." I blushed at the way he called my name so lovingly. He pulled me to his chest and hugged me tight.

Although hugging was a foreign concept to me, it felt good to be held; to be engulfed in warmth, even if it was short-lived. I was still stiff in his arms and I heard him let out a small laugh, the vibration of it passing through me.

"Loosen up. You feel like a plank of wood." He whispered teasingly and I let out a scoff.

"You wish." I teased back before withdrawing.

It was only I realised how close we were, our noses practically touching. I blinked slowly, taking in how flawless he looked from this close up. From this close, I could see the gold flecks in his blue eyes; the slope of his angled jaw and the way in which a few strands of stray hair rested against his forehead, due to the wind, slightly wavy. I settled my gaze, lastly, on his lips that were set firm but full. Aaron stared back at me with assessing eyes as he traced over my features with a curious glint. His arms were still encircled around my waist and I sucked in a breath as his gaze seared through me.

"Quit kissing, you can kiss later, preferably when I'm gone, I wanna get to the fair!" Aaron's friend's whined and, surprisingly, I was glad for the intrusion. I shook my head to gather my sanity and tried my hardest to forget what had just occurred.

Aaron laughed in response to his friend, the sound sending chills up my spine.

"We weren't kissing. We would have been if you didn't interrupt." He joked, laughter bubbling in his voice as he stepped away and turned to his friend.

I blushed at his words, thinking of the moment that had just occurred which was so impromptu and unexpected. It wasn't planned and only happened because of the circumstances and proximity.

Get it together, Alexis.

His friend then came up to me. Sticking his hand out eagerly in the form of a greeting. I shook his hand with a small smile.

"Chance" He said simply, smiling widely like a Cheshire cat.

"Huh?" I said, confused as hell.

His smile only widened and he cleared his throat as if he had been planning this for a while. I heard Aaron groan in the background and mutter something that sounded like 'not again'. His friend only glared at him then returned his face to me. He inhaled deeply and then spoke.

"The names Chance. Short for Chancellor Benedict Williams... The fourth" he tacked on smugly.

"Bless you." I joked simply, his words tumbled out so fast, someone could have mistaken it for a sneeze and I smiled as he processed my words.

His face morphed into a scowl. I smiled in return which only widened when I heard Aaron laughing.

"My name's Alexis... the first." I tacked on jokingly to which Chance incoherently grumbled something to himself before getting in the car.

I turned to Aaron who was regarding me with a smile.

"You're something else, Lexi."