Teenage Dream

Twitter challenge

This story was written based upon a prompt I was given by Twitter which was:

'It wasn't that he didn't want to be with her, but rather he didn't want her to be with him'.

 

Teenage Dream

Chantel was the prom queen, the one they all wanted and for the last two years she had been on the arm of the star quarterback.

That was until she had caught him making out with her best friend.

Chantel had cried off going to the gathering at Shannon's house, but feeling better later in the evening she had snook out and arrived as the party was in full swing.

As she walked in people turned and stared. The room had fallen silent of the general roar of a teenage party and only the banging base continued to beat out from the stereo.

The glances towards the garden sent her running through the crowd. Teenagers easily parting. No one even attempting to stop her. No one wanting to get involved.

As she emerged into the garden she was ignored by the couples making out. She looked around unable to see what she already knew she was looking for. Then she heard it. Shannon's giggle and she knew what she would see even before she pushed through the bushes into the back corner of the garden. There snuggled under the arbour with his hand up Shannon's top and slobbering into her left ear was Brad.

Before Chantel knew what was happening and before the two lovers could realise they were being watched she grabbed the hose conveniently lying on the ground and she blasted them with ice cold water.

Shannon lunged towards her soaker, almost halfway there before her brain registered what her eyes where seeing.

'Chantel,' Shannon stopped dead. 'I thought you were ill.'

Chantel dropped the hose and turned, pushing her way through the crowd that had gathered to see the inevitable cat fight. 

                                                ***********************************************

That was how I ended up with Chantel the prom queen.

I'm Andy. The head of the debate team and used as a punch bag for the football team even since high school began.

I have spent the last five years dreaming over Chantel. Offering to carry her books home and buying her shakes if I ever see her in the diner without the other cheerleaders and football jocks.

Last Sunday she was there alone and I offered to buy her a drink. She accepted and asked me to join her. We talked about the debate team and somehow ended up discussing the role of women in Tolstoy's War and Peace.

Before long I had to go and mow Mrs Petersen's lawn but we agreed to meet to next day.

I walked into the diner the next day and there she was surrounded by the rest of the cheerleader troop.

'Chantel. I'm here,' I said as I walked over.

'Beat it geek. We're busy.' Shannon said from her place next to Chantel.

It looked like the natural order had returned. I dipped my head, turned and headed to a booth the other side of the diner.

I ordered my food and sat with my head bowed.

'Can I sit here?'

I looked up and there was Chantel.

'I thought you were with those guys,' I said nodding towards the cheerleaders sitting in the booth by the door.

'They sat with me while I was waiting for you. Shannon isn't the sort of person I want to hang around with anymore.'

I nodded at the seat opposite and then waved at Mindy, my favourite waitress, to let her know to bring Chantel a milkshake along with the rest of my order.

 I was halfway through my frothy coffee when, as if the gods of tension had decreed it, the jukebox stopped and Brad walked in.

He started heading towards his usual crowd when out of the corner of his eye he saw Chantel sitting with me.

'Chantel why you sitting in Geek corner?'

'I'm sitting with Andy because we're together. You've got Shannon now.'

'Come on Chantel. You're the one who let me down. You weren't expecting me to go to the party alone were you?'

'Seriously Brad, this is my fault?'

'I'm glad you realise that now why don't you get back where you belong?'

'Brad I was being sarcastic. I am not coming back with you. I'm with Andy.'

'You,' Brad said pointing at me. 'Will regret this.'

Brad walked towards the crowd and grabbed Shannon, kissing her full on the lips

'Let's go, this place is getting to geeky for me.'

The rest of the afternoon was me and Chantel. It was the best afternoon of my life. That evening I walked her home and she kissed me. The sweetest strawberry lip-gloss kiss.

I was still floating on air as I walked across the playing field and round the back of the school towards the alley way that cut through towards home. I entered the alleyway not aware of anything. It was only when I was half way along that I noticed the two large shadows at the end. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed a similar two shadows approaching behind me.

'She's mine Geek,' one of the shadows said as all four of them piled into me.

The next thing I remember was waking up in hospital with a young woman sitting by my side.

'Chantel?' I whispered.

The girl blew her nose, wiped her eyes and squeezed my hand.

'It's me,' she said. 'Mindy. I was so worried about you.'

'Mindy?'

'Yes. Chantel popped in but she left with Brad. It seems they're back together.'

'But Brad did this?'

'Then you need to let the police know. He can't get away with this.'

Just then the door pushed open and Chantel appeared.

'Andy, can I have a word?'

'Mindy do you mind?' I asked.

'No problems. I'll go get a coffee. I'll be back in five minutes.'

Mindy got up, left and Chantel took the seat she had left.

'How are you?' Chantel asked.

'I've been better. What the hell did Brad think he was doing.'

'What do you mean? Brad didn't do this.'

'Chantel, Brad did this. I heard him.'

'You can't prove it. He was at football practice. I saw him there.'

'Chantel how can you say that? I had just left you at home.'

'Brad wouldn't hurt you. He had no reason to. And he's not that kind of guy.'

'Has he threatened you?'

'Don't be so silly. I don't know why you think he would hurt anyone.'

'Chantel I thought you were better than that. Brad has hospitalised me and he cheated on you with your best friend. How can you defend him?'

'If you're going to start slagging my friends off I think its best we don't see each other anymore.'

'Chantel you are a beautiful girl but you really need to choose your friends better.'

Chantel stood and turned tossing her mane of perfectly coiffured hair over her shoulder. She stomped towards the door, pushing it outwards and nearly knocking the cup of coffee from Mindy's hands as she headed back into the room.

'What's wrong with her?' Mindy said as the door closed behind Chantel.

'She feels that her boyfriend isn't the type to beat anyone up.'

'You are joking. She knows he did it.'

'But she and the rest of the cheerleader, football player gang are going to give him an alibi.'

'So what are you going to do?'

'I thought I might keep my head down, get better and then see if the best looking diner waitress in town wants to go out sometime.'

Mindy put her coffee cup down on the nightstand and leaned in towards me for a kiss that beat any strawberry lip-gloss kiss by a mile.