I shift uneasily while my mom starts laughing next to me. She told Mr.Cladwell a joke and they titter with laughter. She tells the same joke every time we come to these stupid banquets. I glance over my shoulder at my father, a large man in a navy blue, double breasted suit. He has a glass of amber scotch in his hand, the really expensive kind that has a smell that will burn your nose hairs off. He has a really deep, rumbling laugh that shakes the room. He is telling the Jameson’s about his latest surgery when the patients spleen looked just like a flower and the nurses started to crack up and when they came out after, they were still laughing and the patients family was mortified.
I kick my yellow flats together, admiring the shiny gems on my toes. My curly, red hair cascades around my face as I look down at my shoes. It created a dome of amber, engulfing me in a feeling of seclusion. I awoke from my dreams when I felt the front of my dress get soaked with a cup of blood red punch. Just before I fall I see a pair of dazzling blue eyes staring at me. I land on my back with a THUD! I stare up at the crystal chandelier, the intricate designs of the crown molding on the ceiling. I sit up and look around the room, I see the many women with the long dresses mingling with rich, handsome men. I feel the carpet beneath me, soft and looks like it came out of a classical movie. I stand up, looking at the boy who poured the red liquid on my favorite party dress.

“My names Gavin…”

“Excuse you!” I yell at him, bringing my face up to meet his. He has piercing blue eyes, and medium length caramel brown hair. He smiles, dazzling white teeth stunning me. I stare at him trying my hardest not to drool all over my already drenched-in-punch dress. He is beautiful, I know guys aren’t supposed to be beautiful, but he is. I wipe the imaginary dirt off my dress and try and give him a smile half as dazzling as his.

“I’m so sorry” I say hanging my head

“I think you are mistaken miss I am the one who ruined your beautiful dress with my beverage” he said with a wink. In my head I think holy cow!, holy freaking cow!!! he just freaking winked at me, how much hotter can he possibly get?

“It’s ok” I say”It wasn’t even one of my favorite dresses”the truth is that it was in fact my favorite dress. I wasn’t about to tell him that.

“Honey?” my mom said, shaking my arm”Its time to go, I will go wrestle up your father, why don’t you say goodbye to this handsome young man.”

“Ok mom” I said embarrassed that she called him handsome

“Well since you have to leave now, I must give you your parting present early” he said grinning then he snatched my iphone out of my hand and punched his number in. Then he whipped around and grabbed me by the waist tickling my side so that I was laughing like a weirdo in the middle of the banquet. He snapped a photo ID picture of him smiling and me laughing, I know that I love it even though I haven’t even seen it yet. Everyone was glaring at me and I felt my face turn a shade of red not in the rainbow.
A few minutes later my mother has my father wrangled into the passenger side laughing out the words “flower” over and over again. My mom slides into the drivers seat and we all click our seat belts in place, after about 5 minutes my dad starts to say something:
“So my little Charlotte Marie Anderson” he said his words slurring slightly” I hear you have yourself a new boyfriend”
“OH MY GOSH...MOM!!! YOU TOLD DAD??!!!!”

“Sorry honey I didn’t know this would make you so upset,”
“So...again I refer back to the fact that my 16 year old daughter has a boyfriend!”my father says his voice raising
“HE ISN’T MY BOYFRIEND!!!” I yell agitated at my annoying father. We ride the rest of the way home in complete silence. I have my headphones in blasting music while thad sits next to me playing some stupid bird game on his phone. When we reach the driveway I go inside the house without another word to my parents. I pass May and the babysitter on my way up to my room. I reach the top of the stairs and run the rest of the way into my room, I fling my body onto the California King sized bed and take out my phone again. I set some avril lavigne on and stare at the picture of me and Gavin.
I fall asleep on a voluptuous cloud of pillows, and my dreams begin floating throughout my cluttered brain.

I drift into a deep abyss of gavin filled sleep. He stands in front of me his hands in a pair of dark washed jean pockets. He has that goofy grin on that does such a good job at turning my face red. I suddenly feel self conscious of the fluffy kitten and rainbow pants that I don’t remember putting on. Gavin stepped forward, he grabbed both of my hands in his own.
“I love you Char, from the moment I first lay my eyes upon your beautiful face, I knew...I had to have you”he pulled me closer, embracing me in a warm cozy hug that didn’t last nearly long enough for my liking.
“You don’t love me” I said” this is all in my head, I want you to love me so those are the words that pour out of your mouth.
“ Why would you think that I couldn’t love you in the real world?” Gavin said his face growing serious.
“I’m not as pretty as the other girls you date”
“Believe it or not my dear Charlotte but I haven’t even thought about dating anyone but you”I looked at him with a shocked expression.
“But you’re so gorgeous!”I said then just as quick, slap my hand against my mouth as I started to turn away from him. He came up behind my and wrapped his arms around my waist and whispering “ I love you, I love you, I love you” in my ear. He turns me around, looking so intently into my green eyes that I thought he could see my soul splayed out in front of him like paper on a table. Quivering, I reach up my hand to his face brushing my thumbs against his cheek, I stand on my toes and he bends down. We kiss. A warm, sparks flying sort of kiss.
We roll to a stop in front of Hartsville High School, Thad heads toward all his jock friends while I make a beeline to the bathroom to check my makeup.
When I come out of the bathroom, makeup perfect someone slams into me, knocking me and my backpack to the ground.
“HEY!” I yell, getting back up to face them.
“Hey Char”I melt at the sound of him saying my name. Gavin stand before me picking up my books.
“Gavin” I say slightly awestruck
“Here are your books, beautiful”with that my face turns completely red
“You flaterer you” by then a crowd has formed to see the boy who has the “it” girl stumbling for words. I hear a few “Ooh's” and “AAh's” but I try and ignore them because gavin is mine. He offers to walk me to my first hour and I most definitely don’t refuse. Right before letting me go to Mr. Lakers biology class he says
“Call me some time, we should totally hang out”
“Totally.”was all I could think to say, all I can think about for the rest of the day is how our lives will turn out. At lunch I sit with my best friends: Maggie Star and Amanda Jennings, I tell them all the details about last night and they float away with every word about Gavin. When I meet Thad after school he tells me about football practice, but all I’m thinking about is going straight home and calling Gavin. We roll around the corner to main street Just as a SUV the size of a semi rolls across the road slamming into the side of my car. I bring my hands up to my face as the drivers side door flings off. I hear a ringing in my ear. I...can’t...feel...my...legs…
I wake up with a pain aching through my bones. A needle is sticking out of my arm, and I have nubbins in my nose. A constant beep of the heart rate monitor beside me keeps me from drifting off. When my mother comes in I see her tear streaked cheeks and it breaks my heart. I drift off again.
I don’t know when he came in but when I wake up for the second time Gavin is sitting in the baby blue chair next to me sound asleep. I reach my hand over to his and rub his knuckles, his eyes flash open and he is standing in front of me within seconds.
“H...Ho...How did you do that” I asked in a weak voice that sounded nothing like me.
“I’m fast...sorry did I freak you out”
“You could never freak me out”I said, sheepishly looking away from him. He let go of my hand and went out the door to find a nurse to tell her I am awake. The nurse comes back and takes my blood pressure.
“What happened?”I ask
“Well, honey you and your brother were in a car accident, a SUV plowed into the drivers side. Luckily your brother olny has a broken leg and some bruised ribs, he’ll be fine by next week…”
“I don’t feel to bad”
“Honey” she said placing her hand on my wrist “ A piece of the car got embedded into your spine…you're paralyzed from the waist down.”she gives me a look of pity before she leaves the room. Tears cloud my vision as I shudder, no sounds coming out, my body just shaking like an earthquake. I throw the rough hospital sheets off my legs, I try to move my legs, my feet, my toes, no luck.
“WHY!” I scream “MY LEGS!” I lose control as I try and stand up, all of a sudden I am crashing to the floor my useless legs collapsing under me. Doctors rush into the room and place me back on the bed, I am thrashing, clawing, and screaming at the doctors when one of them rolls me over and sticks a needle in my butt, I...am...slipping...falling...unconscious…
When I wake up for a third time Thad, Gavin, Mom and Dad are sitting on the couch on the left side of my bed. Gavin rushed forward holding my hand in his, we had a real connection. but why is he still here? I ask myself who would stay when i am like THIS! I beat myself up thinking that he could never love a girl who can’t walk. And just like he was reading my mind he said
“So? are we still on for that call?” a single tear slipped out of his eyes before he hugged me so hard it hurt but I would never let on. We cried in each others arms for a few minutes until he pulls away and lets the rest of my family hug me and kiss me. But the whole time we are staring at
each other smiling like doofuses.