Blue: A soul warming young adult novel

by Maggie Joan

  I rolled my eyes and unwrapped them like a prize. “Oh, stop being such a princess.”

  “Look,” she said, pointing at the grease marks on the paper. “You’re putting that into your body. Doesn’t that make you feel ill?”

  I grinned and picked up a handful of chips. “I’d feel ill if I didn’t eat.” I put the chips into my mouth, one by one, until my cheeks were puffed out like a hamster. “Nom nom nom,” I said, looking at her as I chewed.

  She couldn’t help but giggle. She stopped laughing for a moment, gasped, then laughed even harder.

  “What?” I said, still struggling to finish my mouthful.

  Izzy opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out except howls of laughter.

  “Hey.”

  My entire body froze at the sound of that voice. I knew instantly why Izzy was laughing so much. What a biatch. My cheeks flaming with heat, I turned to see Aaron and Regan stood at the bottom of the rocks, grinning wildly.

  My mouth too full to talk I put my hand up and waved. I felt like a right greedy cow. I resisted the urge to spit them all out and look gross but chewing quickly would make me look even worse. What a dilemma.

  “Room up there for us?” Aaron asked, looking at a still giggling Izzy.

  “If you can stand the stench of greasy chips,” she replied, grinning at me.

  “I think we can manage that,” Regan said, giving me a cheeky wink.

  My heart did a backflip. Izzy scooted to the furthest edge of the rocks, creating a gap in between us for the two boys. Aaron and his crew were the most popular boys at our school. Actually, most likely in our town. We’d nicknamed them One Direction because they were super-hot and always went everywhere together.

  Aaron, with his spiky blonde hair, green eyes, and athletic body, was like the lead singer. All the girls gravitated towards him naturally, like he was a magnet and they were paper clips. Except me. I couldn’t deny he was good looking but there was something about him that just felt off. I had yet to put my finger on it though.

  Regan, wow, Regan. To me, he should have been more popular than Aaron. He played rugby so had a gorgeous built body with broad shoulders and muscled legs. His arms were full of toned muscles. Thanks to his Italian mother, he had the most delicious olive skin. Chocolate brown eyes I could stare into all day and thick glossy black hair with gentle curls I was dying to touch—Regan was the absolute personification of perfect.

  They climbed up the rocks with ease, making it look like nothing more than running up a set of stairs. Aaron moved towards Izzy, slipping his arm around her shoulders. Her cheeks flushed pink and she giggled again.

  Regan sat opposite me, our feet touching as they dangled over the rock edge, but my open fish and chips between us forcing us apart.

  “How are you?” he asked, his eyes dancing with life.

  My entire body erupted into goosebumps. I swallowed the last of my chips and said, “I’m good. How are you?”

  “I was good,” he said, emphasising the word ‘was’. “But now I’m fantastic.”

  The serious edge to his words combined with his direct eye contact made me blush. Hot tingles surged all around my body and I couldn’t do anything but look away.

  “Why don’t we switch places?” he said.

  I frowned. “Why?”

  “You’re making me kinda nervous sat near the edge there.”

  I bit my lip to resist the ‘awwwww’ that wanted to escape. That was unbelievably sweet and so thoughtful. “What if you make me nervous sitting here?”

  He curved his pink lips into a smile. “I’d rather have you nervous than falling off.”

  If he knew what I’d lived through, then he’d know that falling off fifteen-foot-high rocks would be like a walk in the park. However, I’d never been shown such a simple act of thoughtfulness, so I obliged. He offered me his hand to stand up, which I gladly took. His hands were almost double the size of mine and he towered over my petite five-five frame with his six-foot height. His skin was warm and surprisingly soft. As he guided me carefully around to where he’d been sitting, I couldn’t help but look up at him and imagine for the briefest of moments that we were dancing.

  “Are you going to prom?” he asked, not letting go of my hand until I’d sat back down.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders. “Are you?”

  He nodded. “Kind of a tradition really. Like a backwards initiation ceremony. You haven’t officially left school until you’ve attended prom.”

  I giggled. “Interesting take on it.”

  “I’m guessing you don’t have a date yet then?”

  My heart leapt into my mouth and I shook my head. Was he going to ask me? It would be like a lifetime of Christmases all at once if he did.

  He broke out into a broad grin and winked. “I’m sure you’ll have a queue of boys dying to ask you.”

  I spluttered with laughter. “You must be living in an alternate universe to me then.”

  “Not at all,” he said. “But I do suggest you start dress shopping.”

  I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot. Life wasn’t good. It was bloody marvellous.

  Chapter 3

  Needless to say, after Regan’s appearance, my fish and chips soon went cold. My appetite completely vanished because I was happily full of spending some quality time with Regan. As twilight fell, the rest of Aaron’s crew turned up—Max, Eddie, Barney, Michael, and Jake—all with booze and radios.

  Max and Eddie concentrated on starting a fire, having hauled a couple of bags of logs along with them. The other three set up the music and cracked open a can of beer each.

  “We’re going down there to grab a beer,” Izzy said. “You coming?”

  I wasn’t fond of alcohol. Ok, that was a slight understatement. I absolutely detested the stuff but that was my problem to deal with. I wouldn’t expect others to not enjoy it because of my aberration to it.

  “I’m good,” I said, smiling up at her.

  She rolled her eyes but said nothing more. She didn’t know why I hated alcohol but had enough sense to realise it related to my past.

  “Are you cold?” Regan asked, drawing my attention back to him.

  I shook my head. “I’ve always been a hot kind of person.”

  “I can see that,” he said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

  I giggled and looked away. I’d never been the focus of anyone’s attention, not like this, let alone paid compliments. To say I didn’t know how to react would be putting it very lightly.

  “I was going to suggest moving closer to the fire if you were cold,” he said, inching his way towards me.

  My heart tripled in speed. The spicy tones of his aftershave drifted towards me, making me want to suck in a deep breath to take in all that I could.

  “I’m good, thank you. I kinda like it up here. It’s quiet and peaceful but still close enough to the party.”

  He nodded. “It’s like we’re in a dark corner of the school hall at a disco or something.”

  I agreed with him. We had perfect low lighting, were sat close enough to the party, but were far enough away to enjoy things with just us two. Shadows from the flames danced around at our feet on the rock faces and remembering that people can’t see from light into dark, we genuinely did have the best seats in the house. We could see them but not vice versa.

  We indulged in some general chit chat about TV shows and films we liked, all the while gazing out from our vantage point over the scene in front of us. At least a dozen more people had joined since twilight blended into darkness.

  Regan moved closer to me, our legs now touching. “Is this ok?” he whispered.

  My pulse now racing, I nodded. In true me style, I had to say something to sabotage it. “What about Poppy?”

  “It’s complicated,” he said, sighing.

  I closed my eyes and sighed. I liked this guy, a lot, but that didn’t mean I would excuse him potentially cheating. “I don’t
believe in two-timing, Regan. It’s not fair.”

  “No, no, no,” he said. “It’s nothing like that. She really likes me but I’m not into her like that. Aaron likes the idea of me and her though because they’re cousins and he wants someone who will look after her.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “They’re cousins?”

  He nodded. “Not many people know that. Her dad and his mum are brother and sister. Her home life is pretty rubbish, she doesn’t have it easy and I kind of feel like I have to be nice to her because Aaron is my best friend, but she takes anything from me as me liking her like that and I don’t. She’s totally not my type.”

  “Have you told her you don’t like her like that?”

  “Yep. She doesn’t believe me though. Thinks I’m running from my feelings for her.”

  I laughed. “Isn’t that called being delusional?”

  “I think it’s just called being Poppy.”

  We both laughed. Hearing him explain the situation eased my worries to pretty much nothing. It now made sense why he walked her home and carried her schoolbooks for her. He was being a dutiful friend to Aaron in helping to look after his family.

  “I’m guessing you’re taking her to prom then?”

  “I haven’t asked her and I have no intentions of doing so. I’m trying to bribe Eddie into asking her but it’s not working so far. He’s a tough one to please.”

  “Why Eddie?”

  “They were childhood sweethearts like way back in primary school. Eddie hasn’t really had an interest in anyone, so I thought they’d be a good fit.”

  “That would be quite sweet. They start school being sweethearts and maybe end school being sweethearts.”

  Regan nodded. “Exactly what I thought too. Unfortunately, Eddie doesn’t seem to think so.”

  “Maybe he’s seeing someone you don’t know about? Someone who isn’t from our school?”

  He looked at me, his eyes gleaming. “Of course. I hadn’t even thought about that. You are such a little genius.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.”

  He lifted a hand and brushed a stray hair back from my face. “I definitely would.”

  My entire body leapt into overdrive. The way he was staring at me, the closeness between us, the atmosphere we were in, I knew he was going to kiss me. My heart jumped up and down with joy whilst my head could only think of one word—yes!

  He closed the gap between us, cupping my cheek with one hand. As he was about to kiss me, I heard a, “Hey, Regan.”

  I turned my head to see Poppy and her followers stood at the bottom of the rocks, staring up at us.

  “Hey, Poppy,” Regan said, moving away from me.

  The instant he moved away from me, an overwhelming urge of disappointment washed over me. Not because we’d been about to kiss and she’d interrupted it, but because he’d intentionally made space between us. It was as if he were trying to hide the fact something might have been about to happen.

  Maybe this whole situation with her was more complicated than what he made it out to be. Was the idea of me and him just a dream as oppose to a potential reality?

  “Can we talk?” Poppy asked him.

  “Sure,” he said. As he turned to stand up and climb back down, he whispered, “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

  A swell of excitement rose inside me and I bit my lip to contain the grin that wanted to break out. Maybe my dream could be a reality. Only time would tell.

  ***

  I sat on the rocks for an hour waiting for Regan to return. With each passing moment, my hope evaporated into a depressing reality. As I realised he likely wasn’t going to return, I bit back my frustration and climbed down from the rocks.

  Making my way over to the fire, I could see Izzy with her tongue down Aaron’s throat. I grinned and rolled my eyes. So much for keeping her options open. I looked around for Regan, squinting my eyes into the darkness as much as I could in the hopes of catching sight of him, but my efforts were fruitless. When I realised that Poppy planned on keeping him for the rest of the night, I slinked away back home, biting back disappointment.

  Chapter 4

  “Hey,” Izzy said, bounding up to me at school with a huge smile on her face. “Where did you disappear to last night?”

  I closed my locker and forced a smile back. “I got bored so I went home.”

  “From what I hear, you were far from bored,” she said, nudging my shoulder and winking.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Apparently Poppy saw you and Regan kissing.”

  I rolled my eyes and sighed. “No, we didn’t kiss. We were about to kiss and then she magically appeared.”

  Izzy laughed. “It’s like she has a sixth sense when it comes to Regan.”

  “No kidding. He went off to talk to her and said he’d come back but didn’t.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess that’s that.”

  “I’m going into town at lunch with Aaron. Wanna come?”

  I shook my head. “No, thanks.”

  “Why not?”

  “Just don’t feel like it.”

  “Awww, is someone lovesick?”

  “No,” I replied, my cheeks flaring with heat. “I just can’t be bothered.”

  “Ok, well if you change your mind, text me.”

  She turned and flounced off to her next class just as the bell rang. I hugged my books closer to my chest and headed towards biology.

  ***

  “What’s this?” I asked, frowning.

  “It’s a letter,” Izzy said, pushing it at me. “From Regan.”

  I frowned. “Why didn’t he just text me?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders. “Don’t shoot the messenger. Aaron gave it to me at lunch and asked me to pass it on to you.”

  I ambled outside and sat down on the neatly trimmed grass, leaning back against one of the old oak trees to read this mysterious letter.

  As soon as I opened it, I recognised Regan’s handwriting. Flowing letters written with a fountain pen, almost an italic tilt to it, his handwriting really was an art all on its own. His mother loved calligraphy, so he’d told me once, and I guessed that’s where his beautiful script had come from.

  Hey Blue, I’m so sorry about last night at the beach. I meant to come back, and every part of me wanted to, but something came up and I had to go. I’ve lost my phone, hence writing to you. I didn’t want you to think I don’t care because I really do. I like you a lot and I know you like me too. Do you think we could maybe meet at Arlene’s after school? I’d love to spend some time with you again, just me and you. I’ll be waiting for you at 4pm, sharp. Regan x

  I bit my lip to curb my excitement. Everything made sense now. I hadn’t seen him at school today so guessed he must have had a family emergency or something last night. Arlene’s was my favourite place in town, a beautiful quaint corner café that served the best toasted sandwiches and freshly squeezed orange juice. My stomach grumbled just at the thought of it.

  Was this a date? I forced myself to contain a squeal of joy. It must be, right? He’d asked me to meet him somewhere, outside of school, somewhere that served food and drink. This was a date.

  The rest of school dragged like hell. Each minute that ticked away felt like an eternity. Finally, when the bell rang at the end of the day at three-thirty, I picked up my stuff, ran to my locker, and then dashed to the bathroom to make sure I looked presentable enough. I finger combed my hair and ruffled it up a little then put some of my Burts Bees tinted lip balm on. The soft pink tones it left behind looked fantastic against my make up free face.

  Like a kid at Christmas, I dodged my way through the throng of kids trying to make their way outside to the buses and headed for town. I checked my watch—twenty minutes to go. I’d be there in about ten minutes. My stomach did backflips and my heart pounded against my ribs, jumping up into my throat every so often.

  As I approached Arlene’s, I scanned over the tables and chairs outside, but he
wasn’t there. Reminding myself this was a proper date, I realised he would most likely be waiting inside. I resisted the urge to skip or run and tried to act as cool and casual as possible as I wandered in the cosy little building.

  I stood in the doorway, looking around in case he was here early. The booths that lined the right hand wall were all taken except for an empty one at the back. The tables to the left were mostly taken but no sign of Regan. Heading for the booth at the back so we had some privacy, I chewed on my tongue to distract my mind from the anticipation of seeing Regan walk through the door.

  Despite reading the menu to try and keep myself busy, I found my eyes glued to the door and the outside windows, eager to catch a glimpse of him. I checked the time on my phone—two minutes to four. My stomach fluttered and my mind flooded with images of his gorgeous chocolate eyes lighting up when he saw me.

  “Would you like anything to drink?”

  A tall blonde waitress stood at the side of the table, pad and pen in hand ready for my order. “Orange juice please. Actually, make that two. I’m waiting for someone.”

  She nodded as she scribbled it down on her pad and headed back to the kitchen. I knew from my chat with Regan last night that he loved fresh smooth orange juice, no bits. Just the way I liked it too. My heart was in my mouth as I caught sight of every dark haired person that walked past the windows. None of them Regan, yet.

  I checked my phone again—one minute past four. I frowned and smiled. He’d said four p.m. sharp. This wasn’t so sharp. But then again, people’s watches and phones could easily be out of sync by up to five minutes.

  The waitress returned then with our glasses of juice. “Would you like to order food now or wait until your friend gets here?”

  “I’ll wait until he’s here if you don’t mind please?”

  She nodded and walked away.

  I took a sip of my juice and revelled in the cold fresh drink on a warm summers day. With my nerves on the verge of boiling over, I found myself scrolling through Facebook just to keep my attention on something. By the time the clock ticked over to ten past four, my nerves were turning into dread. Was he actually coming? I thought about ringing him but then remembered he’d lost his phone.