Claws

Chapter One- Wishing for Romance

     One   

    Prom night was something I had been dreading for the past month. I, Kaylee Black, was not like all other girls. I didn't jump up and down at the thought of prom like most girls did. I was not one for dresses. Or sparkles. Or anything girly. I'd rather spend my time on the wrestling mat, even though my high school didn't have a girls wrestling team. Sexist pigs.

     I guess part of the reason is because I was raised by my four older brothers, Colby, Carter, Cameron and Kyle; my parents died in a car accident when I was seven. All of them except for Colby was out on their own, in college, married, Kyle even had a son. But Colby rejected his acceptance to Harvard to stay behind and take care of me until I was eighteen... thank God I was already a Junior and only three months away from my eighteenth birthday.

     So, anyway, I guess growing up with my brothers kind of toughened me up, taught me to fight, made me think girly stuff was wrong. Of course, no one would assume this from my appearance. Mu long blonde hair, green eyes, tan skin, and great body apparently made me one of the "prettiest" girls at Francis Howell Central in St. Louis. And yet, I hardly ever dated and spent most of my time on wrestling, volleyball, and softball. But prom? Something was just bound to go wrong...

     "Come on out, tough guy." Sydney, my best friend, banged on my bathroom door. 

     "Ugh," I groaned as I stared at myself in the full-length mirror. Seeing myself in a red, sparkly dress... made me shudder. I was all for the short black one, all torn up at the bottom, along with maybe some awesome earrings from Hot Topic, but... I didn't get my wish. 

    "Come on!" Sydney said again, trying to yank open the locked doorknob. 

   "Okay, okay!" I opened the door, stepping out into the light of the hallway. Sydney gasped. 

    "You look beautiful!" 

    "Yeah, yeah." 

    "No, seriously, I've never seen you dressed up, Leelee!" (Leelee was Sydneys nickname for me.) 

    "This dress is God-awful." I whimpered, picking the long train up and walking into my room, staring at myself some more in the full-length mirror on the back of my door. 

     "Oh, come on, you look amazing. Maybe you wouldn't hate the idea of prom if you were going with someone you actually liked." 

   Okay, this was true. I agreed to go to prom with this dork, Mitchell Pinkley. Don't ask me why, because I had been asked by millions of hot guys, plus the quarterback on the football team. Maybe I pitied him. 

    "No, not even then." I decided. "Now, please Syd, can I get this monstrous dress off? I gotta get ready for school." 

    "Fine," she chuckled. "but if I see you in that black dress at prom, I'll-"

    "You won't." I cut her off, shutting the bathroom door. I quickly threw on athletic shorts, a loose T-shirt, and threw my hair up in a ponytail. Yup, that was pretty much all I did to get ready. 

   When we finally got to school, I saw the one who made my world go round. Jack Simmons. No, not my boyfriend. Did I want him to be? Yes, possibly. But he had been my best friend since fifth grade, no reason to screw it all up now. Jack was the person I told everything to. Literally, everything. There were no secrets between us. Well, besides the fact that I liked him. I trusted him more than Sydney, more than my own brothers. 

    "Jack!" I squealed as I saw him standing by my locker. 

    "Hey, c'mere!" he opened his arms and I took to them quickly, squeezing his torso hard.