A Little Story We All Like To Call Love

This is a short story about a girl that has been in love with her spanish knight in shining armor for almost ever. this is about how him and her find each other and live happy lives together.

Love is found in the strangest places. Really, it’s all around us. You just have to look for it. Of course there are those special exceptions where love just comes naturally to them. Instead of looking for love, love looks for them. But in this story I’m about to tell you, that’s not exactly the case.

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A Little Story We All Like To Call Love

                “Mom!” Arianna screamed down the stairs, “Have you seen my good jeans, you know, the ones with the stuff on the back pockets?”

                “Yea,” her mom replied, “I think I saw them in the wash last night. Go look in the hamper and see if they are there.”

                “Okay.” Arianna shouted again.

                Arianna stopped brushing her hair long enough to walk out of her bedroom door, down the hall, and into the laundry room. She creaked down the steps that led to her basement and turned a corner to find the washer and dryer. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the hamper full of clothes and her beloved jeans sitting on the top. She hurried over and snatched them up quickly putting them on, not caring that they were still a little damp. Arianna ran back up the stairs like she was on fire. She had a mere twenty minutes to brush her hair, find a top that matched her jeans, do her make-up, and eat breakfast. Not the easiest tasks for an unorganized teenager.

                “Mom,” Arianna shouted once again, “where is my ruffled top with all the sparkles on it?”

                “Did you look in the wash?” Her mom asked.

                “Well, No. I just saw my pants and…”

                But before Arianna could finish all her mom heard was her running across the floor and back down the basement steps yet again.

                “Never mind,” a light, yet loud voice called up from the room below, “I found it.”

                “Okay.” Arianna’s mom said. “Hey, are you going to be ready in time to catch your bus Arianna?”

                “Um, no,” She said, finally reaching the top of the stairs again. “Do you think you can drive me?”

                “Yeah, I guess so. But this just means you have to go straight home and do the dishes and take the dog out. You understand?” Her mom said sternly.

                “Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Arianna said sarcastically.

                “Good. Now come on, get ready so you aren’t late.” Her mom said loudly.

                “I am woman, But looking this good takes time!” Arianna said and after ten minutes walked out of her room with her bag in hand and a giant smile on her face.

                Most kids dread the first day of school, but not Arianna Johnson. No, this girl looked forward to every single moment of school not for the learning, but because she got to see him every day. Now, he wasn’t her boyfriend or anything, but Arianna would like to believe she and him were in love. Not that he knew that. It was one of those love stories that only she knew existed; a story that played out in only her head. But as long as she kept telling herself that someday that story would become reality, she was fine with admiring from a far.

                Arianna always told herself every morning that today was going to be the day she would tell him. And every day she got ten feet from him and froze. It’s not that she was scared; there was just something that stopped her from talking to him. Something that was way deeper than her free will. But as usual, she kept telling herself she’d do it. She would talk to Joseph Vasquez. She would conquer her inner self; her conscience and face him with the truth, the truth that she was madly in love with him.

                After about a twenty minute drive, Arianna and her mother had arrived at East Valley High School. The front of the school looked brand spanking new, but as soon as you stepped inside, trust me, it was just like a medieval dungeon. The classrooms were the torcher chambers, the hallways were like walks of death. All the students, the jocks and cheerleaders, were like the executioners at the guillotine. It’s like no matter where you went, you couldn’t escape the fate that was high school. But Arianna did have one way to escape, just seeing her Spanish knight in shiny armor was enough to make all the rest of the pain go away. Honestly, she didn’t know how every girl at that school couldn’t be in love with him.

Arianna watched in awe as his athletic built, tan, muscular body strode down the hall, his t-shirt clinging to his chest as if it were two sizes too small. He wore dark Levi’s with a pair of chocolate brown Converse All-Star’s just below the bottom of his jeans. But what really made Arianna stop and stare were his beautiful iceberg blue eyes. They were amazingly brilliant, the kind that made you miss a breath. They shined like diamonds to Arianna and every time she looked into them, she felt him take yet another fraction of her heart. They were set against a chiseled face with a defined jawline and the cutest cheeks ever. And to top it all off, his amazing features were surrounded by jet black, pin straight, spiked up hair that made Arianna swoon every time she could manage to move her eyes from his.

                Arianna and Joseph had gone to school together for over 9 years. And every year her love for him grew. She tried to stop the feelings but every time she got him out of her head, he popped right back into it. He was like a drug that she just couldn’t get away from. And after a while, she started to think that she needed him. But that internal voice kept telling her she couldn’t talk to him. She needed to stay away from him because there were consequences; things that would keep them apart. And just like the typical teenager, she ignored her instinct and continued to chase after her secret lover.

                The bell that signaled that first block was about to start rang and Arianna jumped as if she’d been shot. She snapped out of her daydream and started walking down the hall. She made it halfway to the end before her best friend Kelcie had snuck up behind her a startled her again.

                “WHAT THE…!” Arianna shouted at Kelcie.

                “Sorry girly, just couldn’t help myself. Hey, why is your face red?” Kelcie asked obviously curious.

“Ummm… no reason… it’s just that… ummm…” Arianna stammered trying to find words.

                “Is it… you know who???” Kelcie said a little squeaky. “Him?” she whispered.

                “What… No! What would make you think that??” Arianna said shocked.

                “Awww! It IS!!!” Kelcie screamed down the hall.

                “SHUT UP KELCIE!” Arianna screeched, “The whole world doesn’t need to know!”

                But as she always did, Kelcie proceeded to singing Arianna and Joey sittin’ in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! And Arianna almost hit her in the face!

                “Do you think you could, I don’t know, SHUT UP?” Arianna said clearly embarrassed and upset.

                “No,” Kelcie said, “No I cannot. Wanna know why… because it’s just not in my nature. I have to embarrass you publically. It’s like my calling or whatever.”

“Okay smarty pants, we’d better get to class before we’re late.” Arianna said as she shut her locker door.

                Arianna and Kelcie walked side by side down the hall to their first class. Every year, every day, Arianna would do the same thing. She would walk into class happy and calm. And then just as soon as she saw his face, hers lit up. He always saw too. He looked up at her every time she walked in and flashed a grin that said how cute. That was one of the small things that really made Arianna stop and admire how beautiful he really was. She walked over to her seat that was right next to his. She could feel her heart skipping shallow beats as he glanced at her.

                “Hey.” Joseph said to her.

                “What?” Arianna blurted out before she knew what she had said.

                “I said hey.” He replied smoothly.

                His voice was low and velvety yet calming and somehow the best thing Arianna had heard in years. He had grown up so much from last year.

                “H-h-hey.” Arianna finally managed to say silently.

                “Do I know you?” he said in his gorgeous voice.

                “Ummm, Yeah, I think so. Well, we’ve went to school together since 1^st grade. But I don’t think we had ever talked.” Arianna was shocked she actually got more than two words out without passing out or feeling like she was going to be sick.

                “I’m sure I would have noticed a girl as beautiful as you in the past eight years.” he said with a smirk.

                As soon as she heard those last few words, a girl as beautiful as you, Arianna knew she was going to either faint or die of embarrassment. She could feel her skin on her face getting hotter and hotter with each passing second. And as expected, she heard him snicker once again.

                Is today going to be the day? Arianna thought to herself. But of course her conscience kept telling her no. Today would NOT be the day, in fact, no day would be the right day. Arianna didn’t know what to make of the voice that had told her no, so she just pushed it aside and continued to look stupid with her bright red face.

                Arianna was relieved when Mr. August walked through the squeaky wooden door that slammed instantly behind him. As he walked across the floor to his desk, the class became increasingly quiet. By now, Arianna’s blush had left her face and all that was left was her lightheadedness.  She kept sneaking quick glances at him even though she knew what it did to her and every time but once, she didn’t get caught. But that one time she did get caught, instead of flashing a grin, he playfully stuck his tongue out at her. And honestly, Arianna found this very amusing. She even let out a high pitched giggle that made even joseph jump in shock. At that, he smiled and proceeded to listen to Mr. August.

                “Okay everybody,” Mr. August said, “since today is the first day of school, were going to spend a little time getting to know each other better. All I want to know is your name, one cool fact about yourself, and what you want to accomplish this year. Sound easy enough?”

                The class replied with a groggy yes.

                Mr. August went around the room one at a time until he got to Kelcie. Arianna hadn’t been listening until now. And what she was about to hear would make her want to murder her best friend in the worst way.

                “Hi,” Kelcie said, “My name is Kelcie Reeves. One cool fact about me is that I’m best friends with that red headed chick over there. And the thing I want to accomplish this year is to help her get together with her one true love. Kelcie Pointed at Arianna when she said all this and all Arianna could do was turn around and give her the evil eye. At that point in time, Arianna was so upset she felt tears coming on. And before she could stand up and storm out of the room, she felt a warm, muscular hand on her shoulder.

                “Hey, your friend doesn’t follow rules very well does she?” Joseph said with just a hint of humor in his voice, “Sounds to me like she only talked about you and not herself.”

                “Yeah,” Arianna said frustrated, “sometimes I just wanna... UGH!”

                “Well, hey, if it makes you feel better, I thought what she did was wrong. Joseph whispered, finally removing his hand from Arianna’s shoulder.

                It didn’t make her feel better though. She still wanted to kill her best friend. And oh joy, it was her turn to talk.

                “Okay,” Arianna said, exhaling. “Well, my name is Arianna Johnson and one cool fact about me is that although I may seem shy, I’m actually a pretty cool girl, or so I’ve been told. One thing I want to accomplish this year is to get through the entire year with good grades and without almost killing my blabber mouth best friend, Kelcie. “

                “Aww! Thanks girly, love you too!” Kelcie shouted from the back corner of the room toward Arianna, who sat in the front.

                “Yeah, whatever. “  Arianna murmured under her breath.

                After an agonizing 45 minutes of class time, Arianna was finally allowed to leave and go to her next class. Sadly, he was not in it, but he did stop her in the hall as they were leaving Social Studies.

                “So, I heard you think you’re pretty cool.” Joseph said to Arianna sarcastically, “But I don’t believe you.”

                “Oh, why is that?” Arianna said quizzically.

                “Well, because according to you I’ve known you since 1^st grade, and if this is true, you’ve never seemed cool before.” He said.

                “Well, I can insure you, I’m the coolest person you’ll ever meet.” Arianna whispered playfully.

                “Really?” Joseph questioned, “Well, why don’t you show me how cool you really are. How about after school today, we hang out? Sound good?”

                Arianna pondered this as she played out possible dates for the two of them in her head. Of course she couldn’t just say no… but she wondered, was she ready to “hang out” with him? And would they be hanging out, or would it turn into something more? Arianna started to feel herself panic as she thought of what would happen. But instead of passing out or going crazy, Arianna shoved the fear aside, looked into those beautiful blue eyes and said, “Yeah, why not.” She flashed a teasing smile and walked away proud of what she just did.

                Arianna trudged through English, Science, and Health class before she could finally tell Kelcie the amazing news.

                “Oh my gosh! I have something to tell you!” Arianna screamed at Kelcie.

                “What girly… what’s so important that you have to scream in my face???” Kelcie replied.

                “You will NOT believe what just happened to me!!!” Arianna continued to scream.

                “Umm, no, I won’t believe because you won’t tell me!” Kelcie said starting to get annoyed.

                “Okay, well, let me start by saying this,” Arianna said, “It’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life!”

                “What?” Kelcie said obviously not catching on… as usual.

                “He asked me out…” Arianna said very squeaky.

                “ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!” Kelcie screamed.

                “100% serious and I’m kind of freaking out right now! Arianna said.

                “Okay, well spill the details. What time, where… when?” Kelcie asked.

                “Today, after school, but I don’t know what we’re going to be doing… he just said “hang out”.” Arianna said, obviously rethinking her decision to say yes to him.

                “Well, you will be fine. And hey if you want…” Kelcie started to say but was cut off by her friend.

“NO YOU WILL NOT COME WITH US!!!” Arianna shouted at her best friend.

                “Fine, but we need to get to class before were late. We will continue this later, young lady!” Kelcie said as if she were Arianna’s mom.

                And then Arianna remembered. She had to go home after school! Crap! She thought to herself. She couldn’t blow off Joseph, but she couldn’t, disappoint her mom. After all, this was the year for change. At this point, Arianna had no clue what to do. She was honestly stuck in a place she didn’t want to be.

                With the weight of her situation on her shoulders, Arianna sluggishly forced herself through the rest of school hoping the end of the day wouldn’t come. But of course it did. And just as Arianna was leaving 7^th period, a tall, tan body stopped her in her tracks. Joseph.

                “Where are you going in such a hurry.” He said peering down at little red headed Arianna.

                Arianna tried her best to hide her face for she felt a blush coming on that probably wouldn’t go away. He smelt really good and she could feel his body heat since they were so close.

                “Um, I just got to go… I’ve got to go to my locker.” Arianna said obviously flustered.

                “Well, okay. But I hope that’s not a cover up for you blowing me off this afternoon.” Joseph said playfully.

                “It’s not.” Arianna said, lying of course, “I don’t break promises.”

                “Okay, well see you later then I guess.” And with that, Joseph hugged her and walked down the hall.

                Arianna rushed to her locker hoping Kelcie would be there. Thankfully, her friend never failed to be punctuate to their everyday locker meetings.

                “This is terrible.” Arianna said to Kelcie.

                “What’s terrible honey?” Kelcie asked being sarcastic.

                “I forgot that I promised my mom I’d go home right after school and do chores for her. And I can’t let her down Kelc.” Arianna whined.

                “Okay, well, let’s just stop and think about a solution.” Kelcie said, “You can’t blow Joseph off and you can’t disappoint your mom… hmmm.”

                There was a long pause and then Arianna jumped as Kelcie screamed, “IVE GOT IT! I’ll go to your house this afternoon and do your chores instead of you. So you can go on your date with Joey. I’ll stay for two hours which should give you and him plenty of time together.” Kelcie looked extremely proud of herself for coming up with such a well thought out plan in like ten minutes.

                “Thank you Kelc.” Arianna said very quiet.

                “No problem chick but this just means you owe me.” Kelcie winked at her, gave her a reassuring hug and started to walk down the hall.

                Arianna got her stuff from her locker and walked to the back of the school. Earlier in Social Studies Joseph had passed her a note that told her to meet him out back. She got the end of the hall and saw that tall, tan body leaning against the glass outside the door. Arianna walked quickly down the hall until she got to the door and she pecked on the window with her red painted index finger nail. Joseph jumped as if he’d been shot and turned around only to end a warm smile in her direction. He opened the door and politely invited her outside. Arianna walked out the door with a cheeky grin on her face and a warm feeling in her heart.

                “So, how’d the rest of your day go?” Joseph asked as they walked across the back parking lot towards the football field.

                “Okay I guess… Nothing really interesting happened. But I’m glad the days over.” Arianna said.

                “Why are you glad?” Joseph asked.

                “I’m glad because I get to hang out with you.” Arianna said with a sweet smile.

                “Good, I’m glad to see you too. Hey, I wanna show you one of my favorite places to go. Come on.” Joseph guided her with a steady hand across the field and down a hill that led to the edge of the woods.

                “Are you sure this is a good idea.” Arianna asked questioningly.

                “Please, just trust me.” He smiled and continued leading her into the woods.

                They walked hand in hand together for about ten or twenty minutes before they finally reached a patch of brush that looked like in blocked a path. Joseph walked Arianna to the edge of the brush and told her to close her eyes. Arianna was scared of what was going to happen next but at the same time felt like she was in heaven. Arianna heard the sound of fall leaves crunching and branches snapping as Joseph started clearing the brush that covered the path. Finally Arianna felt a firm hand grab her shoulder and gently push her toward the cleared off path. Joseph continued to push Arianna until she felt warmth on her face. At first she thought she was getting flustered from him touching her but they’d been walking hand in hand for almost thirty minutes. She didn’t understand at first but after a few seconds, she started to feel her face get hotter and hotter. She realized what was making her face warm was the sun. She could also hear the sound of water running and the sound of birds chirping.

                “Okay, open your eyes.” Joseph said.

                Arianna opened her eyes and saw what she thought was the most beautiful thing ever. She was standing in front of what looked like a scene from a Disney movie. Arianna couldn’t believe it was real.

                “Joseph, this is… it’s just… amazing!” Arianna exclaimed.

                “Yeah, I found it about two years ago when I ran away from home.” Joseph said a little quieter than before, “The path was just dirt and grass then. I guess I came here so much that I paved my own way through. It always reminds me that no matter how ugly life gets, there’s always a little beauty left.”

                “That’s a wonderful way of seeing life.” Arianna said mesmerized.

                She looked around for a little while before she took her shoes off and walked about the field. She gasped as her toes felt the soft, plushness of the emerald green grass. She looked up at a light blue sky that had the world’s fluffiest clouds in it.

                “So, why did you bring me here?” Arianna said, “I mean, we could have just gone to like mini golf of something.”

                “Mini golf isn’t really my kind of party.” Joseph said teasingly.

                “But watching hawks fly over 10 foot tall grass is?” Arianna said.

                “Sometimes… why, are you not a big fan of nature Miss. Arianna?” Joseph asked sarcastically.

                “No,” Arianna said, “It’s just not really were I’d spend all my free time. I love nature but I like other things too. There’s a lot you don’t know about me Mr. Joseph.”

                “But I’d like to.” Joseph said quietly.

                Arianna blushed because although he didn’t want her to hear, she did. He actually wanted to get to know her better. For the first time, Arianna actually thought he might like her back.

                “I’d love to know about you too.” Arianna said through a red faced grin.

                Arianna and Joseph talked for hours that day. As they said they would, they got to know each other better. One thing led to another and eventually they became girlfriend and boyfriend. They walked the halls of East Valley high school hand in hand every day until their senior year of high school. They whole year had been the same as the last three, they spent every day together. They never left each other. They even got into the same college together. And the day before senior graduation, Joseph Vasquez got on one knee in the middle of the high school lobby and asked Arianna Johnson to marry him.

                “Arianna, for the past three years, I’ve told you the same thing every day. And never once did I fake those words. From the first day I set eyes on you, I knew you were the one. I just wanted to ask you, will you marry me?” Joseph asked with a slight blush coming to his face.

                Arianna looked around at the entire school who was watching. Even teachers and the principles were googly eyed over what Joseph was doing. Arianna knew she shouldn’t have to think this hard, the answer was right on the tip of her tongue but she couldn’t make it come out. She must have looked so stupid standing there making him wait she thought to herself. Finally she inhaled and exhaled deeply and answered joseph with only three words.

                “I love you.” Arianna said with a cheeky grin on her face.

                “Good,” Joseph said standing up and stepping toward her, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

                Joseph leaned in to Arianna never moving his eyes from hers. He got so close that their breath was intertwined. He kissed her sweetly on the lips and then looked deeply into her eyes. Joseph hugged her and whispered into her ear the three words that Arianna always loved to hear from him.

                “I love you.”

Author's Note

There are probably some mistakes and at some points it wont make sense, but this is just a rough draft. i promise i will revise and update it regularly if i decide to continue the story. :)