Roses & Jewels [Chapter 1]

Sorry I didn't blog today. Since it's late and I can't really stay for long, I'll leave you with the first chapter of a new story I'm writing. Enjoy! :)

Chapter One

“Dyke,” Someone hissed at me. I blinked. What the heck were they talking about? I ignored them and kept on walking.

“Hey hon,” My chemistry teacher grabbed my arm as I walked by her classroom. “I heard about Julia,” She said. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here,” I nodded like I knew what she meant.

Then I saw a familiar face; it was that girl from drama club. I couldn’t remember her name but we had waltzed together in Romeo and Juliet, one of my favourite plays.

“Hey!” I called out to her. She looked at my briefly but then turned away. I walked quicker and fell into step with her. “Do you know where-“

“Leave me alone, lesbo,” She huffed, leaving me standing there in the middle of the hallway. What had I done wrong? Or, better yet, what had Jewels done wrong?

Jewels, a.k.a. Julia – only teachers called her by her real name, was my best friend. I had met her in grade two, on the playground at school. I had recognized her as the girl on TV. Her mom had died at the beginning of that year in a drunken driving accident. Only, unlike most situations involving drunk driving, her mom was the drunk driver. After that, her dad realized how precious she was to him and started calling her Jewels, because she was his jewel. The name had stuck.

I walked into the computer lab and saw her blonde head on the other side of the room. I walked over to her.

“What the hell is going on?” I demanded. She looked at me like I had just thrown a puppy out of a ten story high window.

“Everyone’s calling me a dyke Jewels. You better have a good explanation for this!” I threw my bag down on the floor and sat in the chair next to hers.

“Oh yeah, about that,” She scratched the back of her head. I gasped.

“Oh God, don’t tell me,” I muttered, reaching into my bag for some gum. It always calmed me down.

“It’s true,” She confirmed.

“It’s okay, we can get over this,” I said, more to myself than her.

“There’s something else,” Jewels added.

“So what if everyone makes fun of you? So what if everyone assumes I’m a lesbian too just because you are? So what if-“

“Listen to me! God dammit!” I looked at Jewels. “There’s something else I have to tell you,” She said.

As if all this isn’t bad enough already, I thought. But I didn’t say anything.

“I kind of think I’m in love with you,” She told me, looking down.

“Oh my God Jewels, are you trying to kill me?” I demanded.

“I’m dead serious.” She said. I just shook my head.

“Just hear me out, would you?” I shook my head again.

“Ro-“

“Don’t talk to me,” I hissed. Then I got up and stormed out of the computer lab.

XXX

That night as I lay in bed I thought to myself, did I do the right thing? I mean, Jewels needs someone now more then ever. Her dad isn’t going to know how to deal with this. Maybe I should call her. No, it’s too late. Maybe in the morning.

After that I still couldn’t fall asleep. After about an hour I found my thought drifting back to Jewels.

So what if she likes me? She’ll get over it eventually.

Jewels isn’t even that bad, maybe I could pretend to like her back just to make her happy, but that would damage my reputation, wouldn’t it?

Oh well, it’d be worth it for Jewels, wouldn’t it? I mean think about what she’s done for you! She helped you when you fell out of that tree. She told everyone to fuck off when they thought you were pregnant with Nick. She even helped you get Nick to date you!

Jewels is awesome, any guy- I mean, girl- would be lucky to have her. Her, with her blonde hair and bright eyes and her awesome sports ability, who wouldn’t want that?

And she always has the best advice, and she can get you out of any situation.

And she can teach you just about anything, I remember when I started dating Nick and I was afraid I wouldn’t meet his standards when it came to kissing. Jewels taught me how to practice on a teddy bear.

Overall Jewels is just an awesomely-awesome person I guess.

A short while after that I fell asleep, I had the weirdest dream though:

I was walking down a gravel path, and at the end was a forest. I entered the forest and ended up in a clearing. Then I sat down in the clearing. I looked down at myself. I was wearing a rose coloured sundress.

Then Jewels emerged from the trees, wearing a jewel covered dress like mine. She sat down across from me and put a basket between us. We ate the food she had packed for us and then we went for a walk. We were halfway to our destination when she reached out and took my hand. I gladly accepted it.

When we got to the next clearing we sat down again. There was a pond in front of us. We sat side by side and looked at it. Then I noticed a flower that matched Jewels’ dress. I picked it and placed it in her hair. She saw a rose coloured flower. Then she picked it and placed it in my hair. I looked at her and smiled. She smiled back.

Then she was leaning closer, and closer. Our lips met. It felt so right. I felt my fingers find their way into her hair. I was enjoying it way too much.

Wake up! Wake up!

I sat up in bed panting. What the heck was wrong with me? I took a few minutes to calm down trying to block out the awful thought floating through my mind. As much as I tried to make it go away, I couldn’t- because it was true.

I loved Jewels. The same way Jewels loved me.

Sweet, innocent Rose had fallen in love with challenging, rebellious Jewels. And it scared her to death. 

And so the lion fell in love with the lamb, well actually it's more like the other way around, but whatever! You know what I mean!

-Ritz