Impressed!

Two popular high school twins bring you into their world just before the senior prom.

“Shut up!”

“No, I will not freaking shut up!” I screamed.

“So, you’re saying you won’t shut up because I missed three dates with you in three weeks! I was busy, okay? It isn’t my fault I had three football games at the same time our dates were!”

“You care more about freaking football than you care about me? I can’t believe you! What the hell, Connor? We are so over!” I yelled.

  I couldn’t believe this guy. After three months of dating, he missed three dates in a row? I thought he was the nicest guy I ever met, and now I dump him three months later! Who would’ve thought that would have happened?

“I swear to God, Connor, if you ever want to get a freaking date to prom, you have to go to every freaking date you arrange!” I fumed. I spun on my heels and ran down the street to my house. I yanked open the front door and slammed it shut.

“How was your walk with Connor, honey?” Mom asked.

“Terrible.”

“I told you that you were going to dump him eventually.”

“Whatever.”

“Go have your pasta. Heat it up in the microwave if it’s still cold. It was very rude to leave in the middle of dinnertime,” Mom scolded.

“Fine. Dad is the worst cook ever.”

“Be grateful that you even have food!”

I didn’t answer that. I was in too bad a mood. I shoved the rest of my spaghetti into my mouth and dashed upstairs to my bedroom. I grabbed my diary and began to write furiously.

April 29, 2015

Dear Diary,

Today I dumped freaking Connor Avery. He missed three dates, as I told you in the past three weeks of writing. I can’t get over the fact that he cared more about his freaking football games than he cares about me! I swear, that boy will be sorry when he has no date to prom. I just hope I have a date. I expect all the boys will be crowding me since I’m free now. They’ll say, “Katrina, do you want to go to prom with me?” They’ll ask me all day. Boys like both me and my twin, Samantha. Why not get the pretty, free, available twin? I am so not looking forward to Monday. Sam will tease me all day long, even when we walk home from school with her boyfriend, Alexander, who she’s been dating since the beginning of twelfth grade. She’ll say, “So...you and Connor broke up, huh? That must suck.” Then, she and Alex will swing their hands back and forth, making faces like they always do. I feel bad for Alex. He’s a cool guy, but who would ever want to date Sam? She’s just...

I stopped writing.

So, here’s the deal: In our school, having a prom date was the first priority. If you didn’t have a prom date, you were screwed. I wanted a prom date, and Connor was my choice out of the three thousand boys who had asked me. I chose him because I loved him. Even if I was angry at him.

I made up my mind. I picked up the phone.

He picked up on the third ring. “What do you want, Katrina?”

At least he called me by my name. “I’ll give you one more chance. If you want me back, you’ll have to be the best boyfriend a girl could ever have. And I mean it, Connor. You missed three dates in three"”

“All right, I get the point. I have to be the best boyfriend ever. Right... Thanks for the chance. I’m really sorry that I missed those dates. The games I had to go to were the championship games and I couldn’t let down my team. I went the first time because I knew we had another date set up the next week. I figured you would be okay with that. When my coach said the next game was the exact time our next date was, my heart literally felt like it dropped to the bottom of my stomach. That happened the next time, too. I never apologized because I was afraid you would be mad at me.”

He paused for a second.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“I love you, and I wanted you to go to prom with me, but you got mad. You know, I watched you run into your house. I heard you yelling, although I couldn’t tell what you were saying. I’ll be the best boyfriend to you, Kat. See you Monday.”

I felt satisfied with my call and went downstairs. My mother was watching TV with my dad, and Sam was emailing on the computer.

“Hi, Sam.”

“Hey, Kat.”

“How’s it going with Alex?”

Her face dropped.

“He...”

I understood her perfectly. “Sorry. I just broke up with Connor and then I called him up and gave him another chance. Why did Alex dump you?”

“He said he was going out with Alisha Perris now. I guess that brat is now ‘more popular’ than us two.  I think Alex only dated me because I was popular.” She made a face. “Anyway, I think Connor will definitely take you back. You know how easily he stole you from Gabe.”

I had been dating a guy called Gabe O’Leary before I started dating Connor.

“I was going to dump him anyway. I think he drinks. He hit me the day before I started going out with Connor.”

“Whatever.”

“I really hope he does something great. He did say he would on the phone, though. I don’t think he would lie to me again if he wants me that badly. Anyway, good luck with Alex.”

“Thanks. Aren’t you supposed to be studying?”

“I don’t need to. I know the answers by heart. You can test me now if you want to.”

“No thanks. I know the words too. I’m in the middle of an email, so please excuse yourself from my presence.”

“Bye.”

“See you tomorrow, Kat.”

“Poor Samantha. Now she knows how it feels to be heartbroken,” I said to myself. “For once, someone broke up with her. Still, something’s gotta be done about that Alisha. She’s taken boyfriends away from so many of my friends, and now Sam! Alisha Perris, you are in huge trouble. You break so many boys’ hearts, and now you steal boyfriends from my own friends! Wait a second...” I ran downstairs.

“Hey, Sam! Alisha Perris having a slumber party with her friends and their boyfriends tomorrow.”

“Your point being?”

“Okay. Here’s the plan. Since I’m invited, you’ll come. She never pays attention to the guests in her house. She just plays ‘Spin the Bottle’ and ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven.’ You distract her by starting ‘Spin the Bottle.’ I will put a fake note that is supposed to be from all her friends and Alex. It will be a heartbreaking note, and Alisha will get mad at all of them for nothing. She won’t be popular anymore, so Alex will then go back to you. I know he still loves you.”

“I don’t know, Kat. I’m not sure Alex will go back to me. He only went out with me because he wanted to make a good impression on his friends. They were playing a game. In fact, they’re still playing it. The game is that whoever could get the most popular girl to out with them, the whole group would vote for them to be Homecoming King. I guess Alisha and her friends were playing the same game, because now Alisha is going to be Homecoming Queen. It said it in today’s school paper. The headlines said, ‘ALISHA PERRIS IS FUTURE HOMECOMING QUEEN WITH THIRTY-FIVE VOTES!’ Yesterday’s paper said, ‘ALEXANDER FORESTER IS FUTURE HOMECOMING KING WITH THIRTY-FOUR VOTES!’ I really don’t know, Kat.”

“So what? When I counted your votes, you had 30. You can beat her.”

“I can’t beat you. You have 33. All of your friends voted for you. You can beat Alisha for me.”

“It was 32 votes yesterday. Who voted today?”

“Connor Avery.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. He said you would make a better Homecoming Queen than Alisha Perris.”

“Wow.”

“Come on. Let’s go to bed. I’m tired. I’ve been emailing for almost an hour. We got a big day tomorrow, with the party. We got a long day of planning and revenge to do.”

“So you’re going to do it?”

“Do what?” Sam asked.

“The ruining of Alisha Perris’s life.”

“Yes, of course! I hate that girl as much as you do.”

“Let’s go to bed so Mom and Dad won’t get mad at us. Their yelling will wake up Tina.” Tina was our sister in the seventh grade. She had to finish her project for school on Roman history tomorrow. I felt kind of bad for our father. He had three girls and no boys. The Haven Family was made up of Olana (Mom), Henry (Dad), Katrina Wendy (Me), Samantha Paige (Sam), and Tina Victoria (Tina). My life was completely normal until Connor entered my life.

“Let’s go to bed,” Sam repeated.

“I’ll meet you in our room.” We shared a bedroom because we hadn’t wanted to sleep in our own rooms when we first moved here. We still had the same queen-sized beds. Sam left, and I took over the computer. I logged into my account and looked at my email. I had one unread message from Connor. I began to read.

Katrina,

I know now isn’t the ideal time to email you, but it’s the only time I have right now. I was wondering if you wanted to go see the new movie, ‘Darkness Awaits’ with me this Friday. I’ll treat you, so you won’t have to bring anything. I’ll pick you up, too. Please email back with your answer when you can.

Love, Connor

I couldn’t believe he wrote the word “love.” I guess he really wanted me back that much. I thought about how much I really wanted him, and gave him my answer. By the time I finished the email, it was 11:30pm.

On Saturday, Sam and I were finally ready for the party.

“Let’s go crash Alisha’s life,” I said to Sam.

“I’ve wanted to do this since the beginning of eighth grade. That was over four years ago. I can’t wait!”

“Well, what are we waiting for?”

“I don’t know. Come on!” Sam squealed. She acted as if she was a girl about to get married. She could get crazy sometimes. We entered the house, unnoticed, just as I had predicted. I considered myself a genius for coming up with this plan. Sam did her part of the scheme, and I did mine. We met in Alisha’s second bedroom, (Alisha was a rich and spoiled brat) since no one was there. They were all in the party room playing ‘Spin the Bottle.’

“Okay. I wrote the note,” I told her. “It said:

Alisha Perris! How dare you talk about us behind our backs! You took everything we had and stole our friends and boyfriends from us. You are no friend of ours. Be prepared to be alone at school every day of your school life. We’ll warn everyone in the entire building that you are a nasty, spoiled brat and that you are never to have any friends. Goodbye Alisha Gwen Perris. And btw, the Haven Twins are so much better than you. They’re even  better girlfriends.

“Like it?” I asked.

“It’s perfect. I started ‘Spin the Bottle’ and it’s Alisha’s turn now. Let’s get out of here before she finds out we wrote the note,” Sam said.

“Come on!” I told Sam. We rushed out of the house, but not before we bumped into Alisha.

“Where are you going, Katrina? I see you brought Samantha with you.”

“Yeah, where are you going?” Alisha’s gang chorused.

“We"”

I cut her off. “We were going to the car because we were going to get professional ‘Spin the Bottle’ bottle. They have those. We got one just for you.” Thank God I had earned part of Alisha’s trust a long time ago.

“All right, but come back. I want to see the bottle. Hurry up! What are you waiting for?” Alisha demanded.

“We’ll be right back!” I yelled as we ran out the door and into the car.

“That was close,” I said as we drove away.

“Yeah. You saved me.” Sam let out a deep breath.

“I know Alisha’s favorite game is ‘Spin the Bottle,’ so I knew exactly what to say. I guess pretending to be Alisha’s friend paid off.” I told her.

Sam and I were walking in the hallway on Friday when we heard Alisha and Alex arguing. I smiled to myself, and I could see Sam’s grin.

“I can’t believe you wrote that note to me! Those are like, totally lies!”

“I never wrote the freaking note, Alisha!”

“You did too! Just admit it!”

“I won’t admit it because I never did it! We’re over. Sam’s better than you. Even the people who wrote the note knew that.”

“Excuse me? Did you just say Samantha Paige Haven is better than I am?”

“That’s exactly what I said.”

“How dare you! I am way better than Samantha!”

“Are you deaf? We’re finished, Alisha Gwen Perris.”

“You will never use my full name in my presence, do you understand me? Not ever!”

“I’m not listening to you.”

Sam and I watched as Alex walked away from Alisha Perris. She was staring at him, her mouth gaping.

“Hey, Sam. I just broke up with Alisha. You want to come to the movies to see ‘Darkness Awaits’ with me, Connor, and Katrina?”

“Sure, like a double date?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay!”

“Here, I’ll carry your books to class.”

“Thanks,” Sam said. I watched Sam happily walk with Alex to their Math class. I jumped when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

“Hi Kat.”

“Connor. You scared me.”

“Sorry. Look, I didn’t know Alex was going to invite Sam to our date at the movies. Are you okay with it?”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

“Great.”

Connor and Alex showed up at my door a couple minutes early that evening. I tried to be as neutral as I could, considering I was still really angry with him.

“Hi, Katrina,” said Connor. He was twiddling his thumbs. He always did that when he was nervous.

“Hi Connor. So...”

“I have the tickets.”

“Okay.” We didn’t talk for the rest of the way. I guess it was kinda awkward, going out with your ex to the movies on a double date with your twin sister and her boyfriend. Sam and Alex talked the whole way. They seemed happy together. I was feeling a little jealous of Sam and Alex. We arrived at the movie theater and walked inside.

“May I see your tickets please?” asked the ticket master.

“Here. There’s four of us. Four tickets,” Connor told him. The man took the tickets, ripped each of them in half along the dotted line, and handed them back to us.

“Thank you. Go up the stairs and turn left. You’ll see a hall with numbered doors. The theater you’re going to is number 7. Have fun!”

“We will,” I said.

When we stepped into the theater, it was only half full. Not many people were there, but that was fine with me. More privacy, right?

“Come on, Kat! What’re you waiting for?” Sam said. I realized I was still standing in the middle of the aisle with Connor and that Sam and Alex had already sat down. Sam was waving at me.

“I’m coming, no worries,” I told her. Connor and I walked down the steps to where Sam and Alex were sitting. Two tubs of popcorn were in their laps and two drinks. Sam handed the drink and popcorn in her lap to me, and told me to share with Connor. Let’s see how this goes, I thought. Either I would end up taking Connor back or we would walk out of this building even more angry than before.

  The movie started with a blinding white light on the screen. From there, Connor, Sam, Alex, or I didn’t talk. The movie was too action-packed to miss anything.

After it was over, none of us said anything. Alex was holding Sam’s hand, and I could tell Connor was itching to take mine. I let him suffer the whole ride home, giving him the silent treatment. When I was about to get out of the car with Sam, Connor said, “Please, Katrina, at least talk to me.”

  I looked over my shoulder at the cozy, comforting house that awaited me. “Fine. But it’ll have to be quick. Sam doesn’t like being kept waiting.”

Connor stepped out onto the pavement. “Look, I’m really sorry, okay? They were championship games. I know I should have told you instead of letting you go to the restaurant and sit there for a couple hours, but everything was last minute.”

The moment he said, ‘for a couple of hours,’ everything that was boiled up inside me exploded out. “THREE TIMES!” I screamed. “You made me sit at those restaurants THREE FREAKING TIMES, Connor Avery, and do you know how many people were looking at me? Every single person! EVERY SINGLE FREAKING PERSON, CONNOR! They were all wondering where my date was. You know what I told them? I told them you put you freaking football games before your own GIRLFRIEND! What the HELL?”

I stomped into the house and slammed the door. My family watched me as I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room. I kicked and punched the punching bag at least twenty times before I decided to take a shower. Yes, I had a punching bag in my room. I’d started taking martial arts classes when I was two, and everyone knew not to pick a fight with me. Even Connor knew that, but he did it anyway.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I heard something bang against my window. I lifted myself up and looked out. There, on the ground right underneath my window, was Connor Avery, holding a rock in his hand. “What the hell are you doing out there?” I asked him.

“I came to apologize to you.”

“Again? You know I’m not going to accept it, Connor. Just go away.”

“All right, but at least take this. I didn’t walk half a mile just to take it back.” Connor tossed a small jewelry box up to my room. I caught it neatly in my right hand and shut the window.

I opened the box when I was sure he was gone. Inside were a pair of earrings and a matching necklace. I could tell the diamonds had been hand carved. The heart shaped jewel on each earring and the pendant on the necklace were rough around the edges, but you could still tell what they were. I was stunned by their beauty.

Sam woke up on her side of the room. “What is it?” she asked.

“A pair of earrings and a necklace.”

“From Connor?”

“Yeah. And he made them himself. It’s just like him,” I replied, realizing that there were tears in my eyes. Connor had an unusual artistic talent when it came to jewelry and wood and stone carving. I still had the cherrywood bracelet he’d given to me on our month anniversary. My hand reached instinctively for it.

“Are you going to take him back?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know. He left me hanging three times. He says he loves me, and I know they were just football games, but what if he was seeing another girl?”

“I don’t think so,” Sam said. “He does love you, you know. Alex said so. You know how close they are.”

“I know, but how can I trust him?”

“Football season is pretty much over,” Sam told me. “The championships are over, the season is over.”

“I have to think about it.”

“No pressure,” Sam said, and flopped back on the pillow. In an instant, she was out like a light. At least, I thought so until she said, “Prom’s tomorrow.”

“I know, but I have to sleep on it.”

“If you don’t have a date, you’ll ruin your reputation as the smart, popular, hot senior who always has a boyfriend.”

“Right now, I’m single. Tomorrow, I don’t know what I’ll be.” I sighed. I had a lot of thinking ahead of me.

“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty,” Sam said. I sat up. I’d taken a nap before we decided to get ready for prom. And yes, in case you’re wondering, I did take Connor back. I’d called him earlier.

“What?”

“Connor’s going to be here in an hour. It’s one in the afternoon!”

“Holy crap, it is? That was a long nap. I told you to wake me up two hours ago! I wasn’t supposed to sleep for four hours!”

“Yup. We’d better get ready. He’ll be here before we know it. He told me he was wearing a tux when I called him. You were asleep.” Sam winked at me.

“All right, let’s go,” I said.

After about fifty minutes, we were all ready to go. I had my blue dress that went down to my ankles; blue eyeshadow; red lipstick; black mascara; blue nail polish; and white high heels. The theme was Under the Sea, after all.

  Sam had her turquoise dress that went down to her ankles, too; turquoise eyeshadow; turquoise nail polish; black mascara; heavy eyeliner, which I refused to wear (it made me look like Cleopatra); and golden heels.

Connor pulled up into the driveway. “He’s here,” I said.

“Let’s go,” Sam said. We hurried downstairs to see Connor and Alex"both in tuxes with roses in their hands"standing by the door. “We’re ready,” Sam told them. This was going to be a night to remember.

As soon as we pulled in to the school parking lot, I could already tell that we were not going to see many chaperones. I could hear plenty of noise coming from the gym. The loudness was mostly because of the music, which the DJ always played at a deafening volume at the school dances. Almost everyone who went to Southwater High knew what the teachers’ cars looked like. Old Fords, BMWs, Hondas, those kind of cars.

“Kat? You coming?” Sam, who was already halfway to the gym doors, asked.

“Yea,” I replied, looking up to find Connor holding his hand out to me. When I took it, his hand was stiff and shaking. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” he said with some forced effort to keep his voice even.

“You know, Connor, there’s no need to be nervous. We’re a couple now. We’re back together. No reason for any awkwardness. Let’s just push the breakup out of our minds, okay? Just let everything go back to normal,” I said. And I meant it. I smiled at him when I felt the tension drain from his body.

“So am I allowed to do this now?” asked Connor.

I was about to ask him what he was talking about but he kissed me before I could say anything. His kisses were always sweet and gentle, just like his personality. Before I knew it, I was kissing him back. He smiled and put his hands on my waist. “Save that move for the dance,” I teased, and led him towards the gym.

“So, how was that kiss? Did I do well?” Conner winked at me as we danced to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John.

“You aced it.” I smiled at him, then rested my head on his chest.

“Sam and Alex are happy now that they’re back together,” He told me.

“Yea. She deserves him,” I replied, my voice muffled by Connor’s suit.

“Katrina, are you happy? With me? Answer honestly. If you don’t want me, I won’t force you to be my girlfriend,” he said.

I was stunned by his words. Had he really just said that?

I lifted my head and looked deep into his eyes, realizing at that moment that I belonged with him. That he wasn’t just a football star who won the MVP award. That he cared so much about me that he was willing to break up with me if it meant I’d be happy.

“I am more happy than I’ve ever been, Connor. I really am.” This time, I was the one who kissed him.

We both heard someone whistle at us, and we laughed. The song ended and we all clapped.

“Okay, for this song we’re going to switch partners. Let’s go, people!” said the DJ. Within moments, everyone had different partners. I was with Alex, and Sam was with Connor.

The song was a short one, only about two and a half minutes. “He’s a great dancer. You’d better hang onto him,” Sam whispered to me as she walked past me. Once I reached Connor, he took my hand and gently tugged on it, signaling for me to follow him. He led me through the doors and outside.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He was silent until we reached the football field. Then he said, “I want to give you something.”

I looked at him and he looked back at me. Then he reached in his pocket and took out a small jewelry box. I held my breath.

“I made this for you.” I watched his soft hazel eyes as he handed me the box.

It was like time slowed down and we were the only people on Earth. My heart felt like it was being stabbed once I saw what he had given me. A hand-carved amethyst pendant in the shape of a heart dangled from a thin gold chain.  I couldn’t believe I’d ever thought he’d been cheating on me. I’d been so horrible to him when it really wasn’t his fault. I felt a sob in the back of my throat but before I let escape, I said, “It’s perfect. Would you mind...?”

He put my new necklace on and turned me around to face him. “I love you, Katrina Wendy Haven. I don’t think I could live without you.”

“I love you, Connor Jake Avery. I’m sorry I ever got mad at you. It wasn’t your fault.” My voice cracked on the last word as the sob emerged and a tear slipped down my cheek.

“Don’t cry, Kat, please don’t cry. It’s okay, I understand.” He held me close until my tears stopped and I looked up at him. He pressed his lips to mine.

We stood there for what felt like hours. My hands were tied in his hair and his were on my waist. I had never felt so happy in my life to be forgiven the way he forgave me. And at that moment, I knew that I had made the right choice.

Author's Note

So, what do you think? This is my first post and I really hope you like it. If there are grammar and spelling errors, just ignore them. :)

Reviews

[Scarlett]

I loved it. It was so sweet and I really loved Connor. You did well and I really enjoyed it. You should write another story about them.