Our Love Isn't Perfect, But It's True

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Why did my alarm clock have to be so annoying? I reached to turn it off, slamming my hand a little to hard on top of it. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter. I tried to move to pick it up, and realized that something was pinning me to the bed.

I opened my eyes slowly and turned over under the arm across my waist. I smiled when I saw Tyler's still-sleeping form beside me. I leaned over and kissed him lightly, pulling back after a moment. Tyler groaned and buried his head into the pillow.

"Five more minutes," he complained sleepily. I couldn't help but giggle at him. Just to annoy him more, I reached over to tickle him in the one spot I knew he was ticklish: underneath his chin. Tyler's eyes shot open and he tucked his chin against his chest to fend me off. We were both laughing as I continued to try and tickle him.

"Quiet down over there! Some of us are trying to catch some extra Z's over here," Smokey complained from her bed, burrowing further underneath her sheets. We both immediately stopped laughing. Neither of us had realized or remembered she was there.

Tyler smirked and flipped us over so he straddled my waist and pinned me to the bed on my back, holding my hands against my side with his. I stared up at the victorious smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Ok fine. You win, you win. Now let me up or we're going to be late for school!" I complained with a smile. Tyler chuckled lowly and pecked me on the lips before moving off me and the bed.

I stood from the bed and headed towards the bathroom, Tyler following close behind me. I turned at the door way to face him. "I have to take a shower. So unless you want to join me, you'll have to wait outside," I said jokingly.

Don't get the wrong idea or anything. Tyler and I haven't showered together. We've never done... it either. Tyler knows I'm not ready for that yet. I'm not some slut, but I'm not a virgin either. So...yeah...

Off that awkward topic, Tyler sighed exagerratedly. "Well, I don't need to shower. But, I do need to get ready. Call me when you're in." I nodded and shut the door. I won't give you the details of our morning routines because...well it's pretty boring stuff. Anyway, we both walked out of the bathroom and downstairs to the living room where Smokey, Ethan and Josie were waiting for us.

"We're car-pooling today!" Ethan announced with a smile.

"Let me guess. By car-pooling, you mean taking my SUV because you forgot to put gas in yours and don't have enough to get you to school, correct?" I stated, crossing my arms over my chest. Ethan scratched the back of his head.

"Uh...no," he answered unconvincingly. I sighed loudly and threw my hands up in the air. This was like the seventh time Ethan had done this. I mean really, where does he drive so much that he never has gas in his car?

I stared the three of them down for a moment, before giving in to the adorable puppy dog faces of Smokey and Josie. I had never been able to resist those faces, even when we were kids.

"Fine, everyone in the car," I muttered, gesturing to the garage. The three of them raced out to the car, probably going to fight over the front seat. Just to burst their bubbles, I shouted, "And Tyler gets shot gun!" A chorus of groans came from the garage, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Tyler smiled at me and took my hand, walking me to the car. The ride to school was loud with the three of them in the car. Usually they rode in Ethan's SUV and Tyler picked me up. But since he stayed the night last night, I didn't really have a choice.

I parked and everyone immediately jumped out of the car. Josie took a deep breath of school air and smiled. "I'm sooo glad it's Friday. After classes, we can leave this place for two whole days! Yes!" she said happily. I rolled my eyes and started walked towards the school. Tyler jogged a little to join me, taking my hand in his.

Even one step into school, it was impossible to miss the colorful flyers, posters and banners cluttering the walls and lockers. "Homecoming? Already?" I said, ripping one of them from the wall.

"Wanna go?" Tyler asked, glancing over my shoulder at the piece of paper in my hands. Apparently it was next Friday night. I shrugged, thinking about it. I'm not really a dance kind of person. But the theme was 'Black Tie Affair' which seemed like it would be fun.

"Why not? Which means I have to plan a dress shopping date with the girls," I answered him with a smile. Tyler nodded and we walked to my locker. After grabbing my Physics book from my locker, we went our separate ways. My first hour was the only hour when I had Smokey, Josie and Alexandra in the same class without the guys.

"Soooo, you're all going to the dance, right?" Josie said excitedly. It isn't strange to say that Josie is the only one of us that really likes to go to school function events. Since she transferred to our high school, Josie joined yearbook and journalism to put her photography skills to good use.

"Yep!" Alex, Smokey and I answered in unison. Josie smiled and rolled her eyes at our non-enthusiasm.

"Well, I heard that the King and Queen competition is secret nomination, and you have to have 20% or above of the total nominations to be put on the ballot, which will be voted on the night of the dance. Inside information!" Josie shouted, causing the teacher, who had just walked in, to glare at her. We agreed to go dress shopping after school then let the teacher teach.

I randomly started staring out the window because this class was incredibly boring. Across the street, there was someone frozen in his spot, staring directly at me. I met his gaze, unable to turn away as my jaw dropped in surprise. He knew exactly what room I was in, and the thought made me gasp sharply. And then, just like in some old 70's horror movie, a bus passed in front of him, and he was gone.

Psycho has returned.