Sequel: Pirate Smile
Status: Giving it a go...wanted to see what Holly and Jared would have been like before...

Pretty Eyes

It's Where You Came From

“So what, you don’t like me then?” Jared looked at her, his lips twisting in a crooked smile.
He’d trailed behind Holly the entire walk home, stepping on her heels. She ignored him to the best of her abilities, though she couldn’t exactly kick him out of the tree—it was on the property line between their houses.
At lunch Evan, a sophomore, asked her to the homecoming dance. When she declined, he asked her if she already had a date. Holly stared hard at Jared, who was sitting across from her obliviously tearing open a carton of chocolate milk, and said nothing. For the rest of the day everyone teased her about dating him.
“How could I not like you?” Holly rolled her eyes, and gestured to his drooping cigarette and mop of hair. “You just ooze charm.”
He watched her legs dangle over the tree branch as she tipped back the tan fedora on top of her head. Holly Finn had been wearing it long before that punk Jason Mraz made it cool. When Jared asked her about it, she said Indiana Jones wore one—end of story. She was like that, offbeat. The better half of her wardrobe looked like she’d raided Molly Ringwald’s closet and then stopped by Joan Jett’s place to complete it. In their town, Holly set the trends before the trends even knew what hit them, even though all of the girls would deny they got their fashion ideas from her. She wasn’t exactly the coolest girl in school.
There was no way he’d admit it—what fourteen-year-old boy would—but if he could stay up in that tree with Holly for the rest of his life he would.
“I know, right.” He tickled behind her ear—something she hated—and garnered a disgruntled sigh. In return, she pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked it. Holly smiled brightly, clearly satisfied with her mastered ability to grab it before Jared could swat at her hands.
“Well,” She noticed the slight crack in his voice and smiled to herself. She’d been teasing him about it since the beginning of the year. “I like you.”
After he’d spoken, he scratched at some bark.
“I know,” Holly replied softly. She nudged him, tapping her toe against his shin.
They both wore Converse. Hers were black, his were white. Their selections suited their friendship—she was the yin to his yang.
Jared wasn’t quite sure what to say. He’d liked girls and had outspokenly told them that he liked them, but Holly was different.
“Do you…” Holly twirled a lock of honey-colored hair between her red-hot nails. “Want to go to the dance with me?”
Jared thought for a moment, rubbing his chin effectively.
“Could I wear a red suit?”
“Only if I can wear a yellow dress.” Smiling, Holly stretched her arms out in front of her.
They both stopped, realizing their color scheme. To Hell with coordinating.
“Ketchup and mustard,” Jared mused. “Very classy.”
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I wrote this as an experiment, but I ended up loving it and wanting to share it with you.