2Chapter One
The first time a boy ever confessed to be was when I was thirteen-years-old.
It was Valentine's Day, and love was in the air. I'd never been one for that sort of thing, but it was so unbelievably... adorable that I couldn't help but swoon. It was so obvious that he'd practiced it over and over again in the mirror before approaching me, making sure everything was perfect. But I suppose that was his first problem.
He'd forgotten the chocolates.
I didn't care about that, though. It wasn't like it was that big of a deal. You could buy chocolates any other day of the year. He'd been devestated, though, insisting that this was not how it was supposed to go. He'd promised that the next year, he'd get it right. His confession would be perfect.
What could I say? The thought of someone wanting their confession to me to be so... amazing, I instantly fell in love with the idea. So I agreed. Next year he would "properly" confess. Next year it would be perfect. Next year would be the year.
Only, for one of us, next year never came.
I sigh in defeat, before crumpling up the paper and shoving it to the bottom of my backpack where it'll probably stay, forgotten for a long time. I don't know what possessed me to write about that. There were so many other ideas I have running around in my head, there's no reason for that specific one to work its way out.
The bell rings, saving me from the nightmare of this class. Usually Creative Writing is pretty cool, but this new assignment, writing a descriptive piece about the most memorable time in my life, is proving pretty fucking tiring. I don't even know what Mrs. Henders had in mind. That's practically invasion of our privacy.
I sling my backpack over my shoulder and push my long dirty blonde hair out of my eyes. At least the assigment isn't due for another week so I have a good three or four days to figure out another memory to write about.
There's a boy next to me before I even have the chance to stand up, his nose already buried in a book. I push myself to my feet with one more heavy sigh and wordlessly head for the door, no doubt in my mind that he's following me.
It's because today's Valentine's Day. I tell myself as we make our way down the hallway. That's the only reason why that story came to mind.
This thought makes me excited as I'm suddenly reminded what this means. I reach out and grab onto my companion's arm, hurridly rushing him to the parking lot. This is the moment I've been waiting for all year. My day. And like hell am I going to let some stupid assignment get me down.
"Whoa!" Ian gasps, stumbling in his attempt to regain his balance after suddenly being forced to go at a much faster velocity. He drops the book to his side, revealing his heavy lidded brown eyes and short but scraggly black hair. "What the hell?!"
"Hurry!" I laugh, whirling around so that my giant smile is facing him. "You're meeting up with Gabi today after school right? That means we don't have much time!"
"Much time for-" he cuts himself off as realization fills his eyes. Really, it's almost sad how long it took him to catch on. It's not like I haven't done this every year that we've been friends.
We dart between cars that are basically frozen in spot thanks to the after school half-hour "rush". It's the only reason why I have any sort of time to do this today.
An excited squeal escapes my throat as the large black truck that serves as our after school hang out during the warmer months comes into view. "C'mon!" I tighten my grip on Ian's wrist and begin to pull even harder than before.
We round to the back to catch sight of three more boys, all resting inside the truck, around the edges. Despite it being the middle of Feburary in the fucking midwest, it's actually rather warm which is why we're all meeting here. Just enough of a chill to require a sweater.
"Don't you look excited today?" Dante, a boy with deep red hair that's swept to the side asks, sarcasm lacing his voice.
I nod, before scrambling to climb up into the trunk with the rest of them. Despite having done this hundreds of times before, I still feel two pairs of hands grabbing a hold of my upper arms in attempts to help. This is something I used to get mad over, but I've come to accept the fact that I'm just hopeless when it comes to anything physcial. I mean, seriously. We hadn't even run for five whole minutes and I'm already out of breath.
"So, anyone else have plans for tonight?" I ask, as Ian skillfully climbs up behind me. It's a stupid question to ask. The only one who ever has what I would consider "Valentine's Day appropriate" plans is Ian. But I just can't help myself.
Ulrich shakes his head as he slips the phone he'd been texting on back into his pocket. "You know Valentine's Day is the no-go day. Girls start thinking about relationships, they don't want just a one night stand."
"Of course," I roll my eyes and settle down next to the spiky haired boy. "Ever thought of maybe, I dunno, settling down?"
"Not my style," he wraps rests an arm on the side of the trunk behind me, before shooting me a rather large smirk. "What about you?"
"Not my style," I repeat with a smirk of my own, before shaking my head. "Besides, I'm Cupid. And Cupid doesn't fall in love."
"Oh great," Dante groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Here we go again. You've hooked up one couple. Congratulations. You are officially an average teenage girl. You are not Cupid."
"Correction, I hooked Ian Lawless, world renouned recluse up with an actual girl. That has to count for at least like, ten couples." I motion over to the black haired boy who already has his face buried back in his book. Somehow I'm almost surprised that he went this long without ignoring all of us like the cockroaches we clearly are.
"Oh! Right! Speaking of!" I clearly shrug off my backpack and unzip it before grabbing out four heart shaped boxes and handing one to each of the guys. Well, I more shove Ian's box into his lap as he still refuses to look up from his book, but that's usual, just like how Percy is the only one to bother thanking me for going to the trouble.
"Dear god," Dante lets out another groan even as he yanks open the box to reveal a bunch of assorted chocolates. "You do realize this is why everyone thinks we're all going out, right?"
I shrug before shooting him a smirk all the same. "Just remember that White Day is on a Monday, this year."
"This isn't Japan, Carolynn," Dante hisses through a mouth full of chocolate. "Just because you insist on going against the grain and giving guys chocolate on Valentine's Day doesn't mean we have to play along."
"March Fourteenth." is all I say in response. We have this exact same conversation every year.
He doesn't get the chance to respond as Ulrich suddenly lets out a loud yell before toppling halfway out of the truck. He manages to catch himself before he completely falls out, but just barely. I turn my head to see a girl with an ash-brown bob glaring menacingly up at him.
"Oh," he deadpans down at her. "If it isn't Miss. Double A."
"Come up with a new nickname, Dick Face." Julianne hisses back up at him, before grabbing a hold of his dark brown hair and using it to pull herself up into the truck, elicting a loud yell from the boy. "Anything for me?" she asks, a sudden smile on her face as she plops down in between me and the spiky haired boy.
"Of course." I nod, before grabbing a giant Reese's out for her. My best friend is a picky eater, especially when it comes to chocolate.
"Fucking A," Ulrich plops back down as he rubs the back of his head. "I'm going to be bald before graduation at this rate."
"And what a crime to humanity that would be." Julianne rolls her eyes, offering no more condolance to the poor boy than just that. "So, what are we talking about?" she offers her smile to the other three boys.
"Just about Carolynn's delusion that she's some Roman God." Dante snorts and rolls his eyes. I can't help but be impressed that he knew that Cupid was actually a part of Roman Mythology and not just some kiddy fairy tale.
"Well, she did get Ian to settle down." Julianne smiles over at me.
"That's what I was trying to say!" I latch onto her arm and snuggle into her side as a breeze blows by. A harsh shiver racks through my body, prompting Percy to reach into the truck and pull out a wool blanket.
"Here," he holds it out to the two of us, the nicest grin adorning his feature.
"Thank you, Perce." Julianne gratefully takes the blanket from him before shooting a glare at Ulrich. "Why can't you be nice like that?"
"Maybe if you gave me a fucking-"
"Anyway," she cuts him off, causing the brown haired boy to scoff. "That's got to count for like... four or five couples."
Dante snorts, "I'm not gonna be impressed until she manages to get Ulrich settle down."
"Be fair, man." I whine, leaning towards him ever so slightly. "That's like asking for the sun."
"Besides," Julianne adds in with a sneer of distain, "Why would you want to force any woman on that?" this prompts Ulrich to roll his eyes, but he doesn't make the effort to say anything, probably knowing that she'll just interrupt him anyway.
Julianne's distaste for the brunette comes from a bad experience with one of her ex-boyfriends. It happened before the two of us met and really became friends so I don't know all the details, just that she caught him cheating on her, leading to her hatred of any man who refuses to settle down. The only reason why she even tolorates Ulrich's presence is because we're so close and she does seem to enjoy the company of the other three.
"Alright," I say after a second, "Then let's make a bet. If I can hook Percy up with a girl before the end of the school year, you will have to admit that I'm Cupid."
"What do I look like, a five year old?" Dante rolls his eyes. "Besides, getting a girl to go out with Percy? That's child's play."
"Hey, wait," Percy suddenly breaks in, his green eyes wide with worry. "Why am I the guine pig?"
"Because it obviously can't be me." Dante shoots back. "And apparently Ulrich is too much of a challenge for her."
"He so is not," I narrow my eyes dangerously at him. "But that's not the point."
Dante sticks his tongue in his cheek for a second, before letting a slow smirk cross his face. "I'll take the bet. But I get to choose the girl. And Percy can't know who it is. And when I win, you have to do whatever I say."
I purse my lips as I think over his conditions. It's true that it would make it increasingly more difficult if he chooses the girl, because I won't be able to assess her over before making the decision if they'd be right for each other, but I suppose that's just a risk I'll have to take. I can do it. I am Cupid, after all.
"You cool with this, Perce?" I ask, turning to the black haired guy.
"I guess so," he sighs, moping in his corner, although he says it more like "Would it matter even if I wasn't?"
"Cool," I turn back to Dante and take his outstretched hand. "You've got yourself a deal."
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