Love? What's that?

Mia's POV

"Kalamazoo!!!" EllaLynn yelled and we started laughing. We were at 5:30am dance practice before school started up again. We had been practicing all summer for our performance for the first day of school. Ella and I were two of the three seniors this year so our coach, Danielle, made us captain and co-captain of the team.

"Broseph, we gotta focus. It's our senior year. Our last year. We gotta pass." Ella said.

"Yeah, we do. No relationships, no distractions." I answered.

"Mia, girl, you gotta get a boyfriend."

"No, I need to focus on school, not a relationship. I don't want to have problems."

"Dudeskie!! You're 17 years old, almost 18. You can't hide forever. Put yourself out there."

"I have anxiety, Els. That doesn't help."

"This is going to be your year. You're going to get a boyfriend and get out there. You're going to be class president."

Pause! You're probably wondering who I am or who EllaLynn is. I'm Mia Jackson, 17 years old, senior in high school, and awkward as H E double hockey sticks. I have blonde hair with red highlights, green eyes or blue, depending on the light and I have contacts. I'm on the school drill team. I've been dancing since 7th grade. I don't tell people this one much but when I was 12 I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. If you don't know what PTSD is, it stands for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. It's a disorder where a person struggles to recover after experiencing or witnessing a

a terrifying event. I don't like talking about my experience, so you're not hearing that until maybe later in the story.

EllaLynn Walters is one of my best friends. She has brown hair, brown eyes and is super blind, but refuses to get glasses or contacts. We met in 8th grade dance tryouts and clicked. She's helped me since I was diagnosed and trust me. She's a big help.

Andrew Harris is one of my guy best friends. He treats me like his sister. We met when I first moved here to Swellview. He has brown hair and blue eyes. He was the first person I told when I was diagnosed and he has taken me under his wing ever since we started high school.

"No Els. I'm not getting into a relationship. I want to pass high school, not be distracted from my work because I have a boyfriend."

"Stop being a nerd, Mia. Put yourself out there. You can't hide forever. You will pass. I'm gonna get you a boyfriend this year."

Practice went on and we worked hard on our "Get Ready" hip hop dance. A few minutes before we were excused, Andrew snuck up behind me and picked me up.

"Andrew!" I screamed. He laughed.

"I'm not letting you go." He said, as he threw me over his shoulder.

"Ella, help!" I yelled.
She laughed and said, "You're on your own. I'm not getting in the middle of this."

I realized what Andrew was doing. I kicked his stomach and he doubled over. My feet touched the ground and my hands came and hit him in the face. He let go, grinning.

"You still got it." He said. He'd been teaching me self defense since we met.

Practice ended and we were talking outside when Ella's phone rang. I couldn't hear the other end of the conversation.

"Hey, what's up?...........I just got done with dance, why?................Yeah I can do that. Are you planning on bringing me food?...........I'm kidding, Tater Tot, I'll help you................K, bye"

Andrew and I looked at her, confused. "My friend, Tate, He needs my help with a project." She said,

"So you're ditching me?" I said.

"You can come with me."

"Can I go home and change?"

"Sure"

I headed home, showered, changed, ate, and waited for Ella to pick me up because I didn't know where Tate lived. I wondered who this Tate character was. I hadn't heard of him before but his name sounded familiar. Ella always talked about her friends from the charter school she went to before she came to Swellview High.

Ella finally showed up. I climbed in and her music was blasting. "Guns and Ships" from our favorite musical was blasting. I gasped. "YES!" I yelled. We jammed out to the next few songs. "The Battle of Yorktown" "What Comes Next" and ''What'd I Miss" blasted as we sang along.
"We vibin' bruh" Ella said. We busted out laughing.

We finally arrived at Tate's house and it was HUGE! My mouth dropped.
"Is he rich?" I asked.
"Sorta. He hates talking about it." Els said.

She rang the doorbell and a few minutes later, the door opened and Tate and I made eye contact. We held it for a few minutes. My heart was racing. Holy crap, he's so cute. I just met my dream guy. No. I told myself. You can't get distracted with a boyfriend.

"Um..." he cleared his throat. "H-hey Ella. Thanks for coming."
"Hey Tate. This is my best friend, Mia Jackson. She also goes to Swellview." Ella said.

I waved. "Hiya there. I've heard a lot about you. All good things, I promise." I smiled.

"T-that's good. Um El, can I talk to you?" He asked.
"Yeah sure."

(A/N) Hey guys, sorry this is so late. I got really busy and I struggled my Sophomore year a lot and barely passed.

Anywho......How are you guys?