Chapter 1

Diane decides to join her two friends for once and goes to the mall to hang out with them. Little does she know that there's a surprise awaiting her.

That Shy and Quiet Girl

Diane

     It all started when I got a text from Brittany. She had asked if I wanted to join her and Elizabeth on a trip to the mall. I though seriously before I replied. What if I end up embarrassing myself? Or the girls? What if I break something in one of the stores there and will have to pay? Or worse, what if I have no money and Elizabeth and Brittany will have to pay for it instead. Or what if--
     My train of thought was then interrupted with a new text message from Brittany.
     It read, "And don't start thinking up scenarios that will never happen! You'll be fine, just come with us, okay? :) We'll pick you up if you want."
     She was right. I was being stupid again and making myself not want to go when I really did want to. I texted Brittany back saying that I would join them.
     I shut my phone and left it on my bed before I ran downstairs. I stopped a few steps from the bottom and hung over the railing a bit.
     "Mom!" I shouted to the kitchen, "Would it be okay if I go to the mall with Brittany and Elizabeth?"
     A few second later, my mother emerged from the kitchen followed by my father.
     "You want to go to the mall with your two friends?" my mother asked, generally surprised.
     And why shouldn't she be? It was probably the first time I had ever asked my parents if I could go out with my friends, or, for that matter, anyone.
     I nodded. "Well, Brittany sent me a text and asked me if I wanted to go. She even offered to give me a ride, so I agreed. Could I...?"
     My mother looked up to my father. He, in response, stared at me.
     "Honey, are you sure? You've never asked to go out before..."
     I stood there, my hands tightening their hold on the rail as I wished, no, prayed that he would say yes.
     And after a moment, he answered, "Okay, but I want you back by at least seven."
     I felt a smile grow on my lips as I shouted in joy, "Thank you!"
     I ran back upstairs and grabbed my phone. I stuck it in my pocket and headed for my closet. After opening it, I found my favorite green hoodie and pulled it on over my head.
     As I made my way down the small flight of stairs again, I couldn't help but buzz in excitement. I couldn't believe I would actually be going to the mall to hang out with my friends for the first time!
     When I reached the final step, I turned to the kitchen and called out, "Okay, I'm leaving."
     I walked to the door, but before I could open it, my mother called out to me, "Oh, wait, dear. I have some money I was going to give you."
     I turned around to see my mother approaching me. She handed me the money and then pulled me in for a hug. "I'm so happy you've finally decided to go out with your friends for once. I hope you have a great time."
     We pulled back from our hug and I smiled up at her. "Thanks, and I'll be fine, Elizabeth and Brittany always say that they'd protect me from any danger," I said, jokingly.
     But it was true. Every time I felt scared or was having a hard time with something, Elizabeth would always tell me that she would be there to protect me. She claimed that it was what a friend would do. And Brittany would agree and say the same thing. I was go grateful for my two best friends.
     After I walked outside and shut the door behind me, I looked across the street to see that Brittany was in the passenger seat of Elizabeth's car and Elizabeth in the driver's seat.
     Brittany smiled and waved to me out the car window. "Come on, lets go to the mall!"
     I couldn't help but smiled in return, and jogged over to the back seat of Elizabeth's car.
     "So," Elizabeth said, turning over to me once I shut the car door behind me, "you actually decided to join Brittany and me for a change, huh?"
     I gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I just hope I don't do something stupid."
     Brittany rolled her eyes at me. "Diane, please, people do stupid stuff all the time, especially at the mall! You'll be fine. And we'll be there to help you if something does happen, okay?"
     See what I mean? They always said comforting things like that. They knew how nervous and self conscious I could get. It was just the way I was. I even used to get bullied and made fun of because of how shy and quiet I was. And it would hurt me real deep. But in the end, Brittany and Elizabeth would always come to my rescue.
     "Yeah, okay." I smiled.

...

     When the three of us got out of the car after Elizabeth had parked it, we took our time walking out of the parking lot and into the mall. Here and there Elizabeth and Brittany would point to certain guys and whisper things like, "Wow, he's hot" or, "Look at the butt on that one". In the end, I found myself covering my very red and embarrassed face while the two of them giggled at me, though I knew they were only kidding.
     When we entered the heart of the mall, I couldn't help but glance all around. It was actually my first time here, and everything caught my eye. The stores, the things in the stores, the people, et cetera.
     "So, where's your little brother at, Liz?" Brittany asked, calling Elizabeth by her nickname.
     "I don't know. I'll call him right now, hold on."
     I looked to Brittany, my heart starting to race as I asked, "Elizabeth's younger brother is here? And he's coming to meet up with us? And--"
     "Okay, okay, Di, just calm down and take a deep breath. There's nothing to worry about. Ashton is a nice, sweet guy. You'll like him, trust me," Brittany said to me slowly.
     I did as she said and took in a deep breath. By the time I had finished my third one, I was feeling much better. "Okay, I'm fine, everything's all right. I'm all right," I said slowly, nodding.
     Brittany smiled. "See? You'll be fine. And Liz and I will be here when you meet him, so don't panic."
     I smiled too as I responded with, "Thanks, I feel a whole lot better."
     Suddenly, Elizabeth said, "Oh, look, there he is. Aw, he brought his stupid friends!"
     My eyes widened as I turned to where Elizabeth was scowling to and saw a really tall and attractive guy with light brown hair that swept over his also brown eyes. He made his way up to us with two other, smaller, guys behind him.
     "Hey, Brit, Liz. Who's this?" he asked, gesturing to me.
     "This is our friend, Diane. Say hi to Ashton, Di," Elizabeth told me, giving me a smile for encouragement.
     I looked up at Ashton and opened my mouth to say something, but the words got stuck in my throat and I couldn't speak.
     "Hi, how are you?" That's all you have to say! Speak, you idiot!
     I could feel all of their eyes on me as I tried to say something, but I closed my mouth and stared at the ground as I gave him a small wave instead. I was so stupid.
     "Um, okay,. Anyway, where are we going, sis?" Ashton asked Elizabeth, brushing my attempt to speak off.
     Elizabeth sighed a little. "To the food court, let's go."
     Brittany and Elizabeth wrapped their arm around both of mine as the six of us walked to an escalator. I refused to look away from the ground.
     "Hey, it's okay, Di. You tried, at least," Elizabeth whispered to me.
     "Liz is right, you did your best. And it's our fault. We thought it was only going to be Ashton, so we decided not to tell you, or you'd freak and not come."
     "But those two a******s he calls best friends had to come. He must have bumped into them when we went to pick you up."
     I nodded a little and looked up at the two of them. I smiled a little. "It's okay."
     The six of us stepped onto the escalator and chatted with each other, though, I, of course, stayed silent. When we made it to the top floor of the mall, we all decided on pizza and walk off to Pizza Palace for a few slices. I told Brittany what I wanted (two slices of cheese pizza) and stood in the back of the group. I got bumped into by people here and there while everyone ordered. I looked around and noticed that the mall was really crowded.
     After we all received our pizza, we sat at a large table that was free of any people. I sat in the middle of Brittany and Elizabeth while the three boys sat across from us. I was silent the whole time, only nodding in response to Brittany and Elizabeth.
     After we all finished our meals, we went to various stores. I was able to buy a few CDs from a band I liked. When we walked up to a particularly girly store, though, the boys stopped dead in their tracks and refused to step foot in the store. I had to agree with them, though. I wasn't really into major girly things like Brittany and Elizabeth were. And they both knew that, just like they knew how much I hated to be left alone.
     "Okay, well, why don't you stay out here and wait with the boys, Di? I know how much you aren't really into these sort of things," Elizabeth suggested.
     "What a great idea, Liz. Right, you four stay out here and wait until we're done, okay?" Brittany hardly waited for a response, and followed Elizabeth into the store.
     I could only stare after them with my eyes practically bulging out of my face.
     "Man, why'd we have to get stuck with her," one of Ashton's friend whispered.
     I looked down at the floor again as I let my short, blonde hair fall over the sides of my face. I was already starting to feel my breath shorten a bit. I folded my arms across my chest and tried to breath in and out slowly.
     "Dude, I know, we should just go to a different store and ditch the girls here," Ashton's other friend suggested.
     "Yeah, let's go."
     Keeping my head facing the ground, I glanced to the side and saw that Ashton and his two friends were gone. I quickly look up and frantically searched for the three of them, but there were too many people blocking the way. Not thinking, I started walking around, trying to look over people's heads for Ashton. But I never found them.
     At this point, it felt like I was hyperventilating as I searched all over for them. But after no sign of them, I turned back and tried to find the previous store Brittany and Elizabeth were in. I looked around for anything that looked alike to the girly store, but I found myself lost in the abyss of people, remembering that this was my first time here and I was not familiar yet with anything.
     I could feel my hands shaking. My breathing got shorter and shorter until it felt like I might pass out. I felt so lonely and lost, it was killing me, literally.
     I crouched down and hugged my knees, hiding my face in them as I gently rocked back and forth. I tried to stop all these thoughts that kept constantly popping into my head and do something. I couldn't even remember that I had my cell phone on me. I couldn't stop feeling as if I'd never see my friends and family again, that I'd be forced to stay alone for the rest of my life.
     I felt so sick that I wasn't sure if I'd puke or not. I felt numb and so many emotions were running through me that it felt as if I was having a heart attack, just like the other times.
     And all this noise. It felt so loud, too loud. Louder than it was earlier. I covered my ears with my hands and started to mumble to myself that I'd be okay, everything was going to be okay. I squeezed my eyes shut, shook my head and continued to rock back and forth, waiting for this hell to finally stop.

     "Di? Di! Are you okay? Di, calm down, we're here, open your eyes!" yelled a voice.
     I shook my head faster, too scared to do anything but stay put.
     "Di, open your eyes."
     I slowly opened them and saw that I was looking up at Brittany and Elizabeth, them both grabbing tightly onto my arms. They were crying, and I noticed that I was, too.
     Brittany and Elizabeth pulled me into a hug, apologizing over and over, and I noticed that a crowd of people were surrounding us with worried eyes. Well, some, at least.
     "We're so sorry, Di. We didn't know this would happen. We're sorry," Elizabeth said through her tears.
     "Yeah, please forgive us. We just thought that maybe if we left you alone with Ashton that you and he would talk and be friends. We're s-so sorry," Brittany hiccuped as she and Elizabeth pulled away from their hug.
     I stared at them blankly, still not fully over what had just happened to me. But then, suddenly, I heard another voice behind me.
     "Liz, what's up? Why are guys on the floor? And why are there so many people?"
     Ashton.
     "You dumbass!" Elizabeth shouted as she suddenly stood up and ran past me.
     A slap was heard moments later. There was muttering as people glanced around at each other. Brittany stood up as well and I had to place my hands on the floor to keep myself from falling over.
     "Liz! Stop, we'll deal with this later. Lets just get Di out of here," I heard Brittany's voice say above me.
     Brittany then crouched down again, sniffing away tears as she wiped mine away with her thumb.
     "It's okay, Di, we won't leave you like that ever again. I promise."
     After Brittany said that, Elizabeth was there by her side again, helping me up and wiping her tears away as well.
     I shakily stood up and saw everyone still staring, a few security guard in the group, waiting for any sign to jump into all of this.
     As Brittany and Elizabeth turned around and headed towards an escalator with me still wrapped in their arms, I saw Ashton and his two friends behind them as we pasted by them. He was staring at me with his eyes widened a fraction, his hand covering where Elizabeth must have slapped him earlier.
     When we made it to Elizabeth's car, I was finally able to walk and speak on my own.
     "What about Ashton?" I asked, "Aren't we going to give him and his friends a ride home?"
     Elizabeth scowled. "Don't worry about him, Di. One of those a******s can take him home. I still can't believe he did something so stupid. He's never just up and left someone like that!"
     Brittany shrugged as she opened the back seat door for me. "I know what you're saying. I've never seen him act like that, but let's not talk about him now. We have to get Di home."
     On the ride home, Elizabeth was the only one sitting in the front of the car as she drove. Brittany had decided to sit next to me. I laid my head on her shoulder and stared out the window, watching everything pass by us..
     "Don't tell my parents about what happened at the mall," I said after a while of silence, not taking my eyes off the window.
     "But, Di, Liz and I have to take responsibility for what we did," Brittany argued.
     I shook my head a little. "You know how they get when they know I have a panic attack. I might not ever see you again, even. Don't tell them. As long as you guys stay quiet it'll be fine."
     They didn't respond. The rest of the drive home was silent until we got to my house.
     "Why don't you guys spend the night? I know you two still feel responsible, and even though I told you I'm fine, you still won't listen. So, by making it up to me just spend the night," I suggested as we got out of the car once Elizabeth parked it across the street from my house.
     They both glanced at each other, unsure, but then nodded.
     I smiled and thanked them before the three of us walked inside. Brittany and Elizabeth pulled out their cell phones and called their parents to ask about spending the night.
     By the time Brittany and Elizabeth got the okay from both their parents and mine, it was already about six. We talked, watched TV, and listened to the new CDs I got today until we decided to go to bed at ten. It had been a long day for all of us, and I was feeling so tired.
     I laid in bed as the two of them did the same on the ground that seemed to be covered in different blankets besides my bed. I reached for the lamp by my bedside and pulled on the chain to shut off the lights. After I mumbled a quiet "good night" to the girls, I fell instantly asleep.

Author's Note

So, how was it? I worked on it all night (literally, I stayed up 'til five a.m.), so I hope it's worth it. This story will be in two point of views. It'll switch from Diane and Ashton most of the time. Sorry if you don't like that, though. I'm not sure when I'll post the second chapter, but hopefully it'll be sooner rather than later.

Reviews

[Melody]

This is very good. I can't wait for the rest!

[Rae]

Wow, this was really good. I like how you will be switching POVs. It lets us readers get to know both sides. I like how Diane is very quiet and how she is also naive. Ashton on the other hand... I don't really like so far. It is very rude to just ditch someone like that, be them female or not. I also liked Diane's friends, Brittany and Elizabeth. They seem to be very nice girls. So far, so good, Gaby-Tan! Keep up the good work and I hope to see more chapters soon. ^^