Just Another Teenage Love Story

There I was, walking down the dull hallway with lockers on either side when I saw him.

Jayce Daniels.

The guy that moved here to Colorado freshman year from Maine. Jayce was also the same guy that had been plastered to my brain since I first encountered him in 9th grade. Now I’m a senior and am still day-dreaming about him constantly. Well I continued walking down the hallway, eyes directly on Jayce of course when he gave me the “sup” nod which caused me to go weak at the knees. Only this time, I didn't drop my books. I was still in deep thought about Jayce when my two best friends, Ryder and Jess came up behind me.

“Hey, Dakota, what’s up?” Ryder asked as he came up on my left side. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Hey, Kota, guess who I just saw?” Jess asked with raised eye-brows.

“Jayce,” I said with a sigh. Jess smiled.

“I heard he hasn't had a girlfriend since he broke up with Kristen last spring. You should ask him to hang out sometime.” Ryder suggested. I shook my head.

“No. Ski season is right around the corner and I am determined to do well at championships this year. I can’t deal with any distractions.” The bell rang. “Well I’ll see you guys later.” I waved to Ryder and Jess as I walked into my class.

All through my next class I thought about what Jess said. There must be a reason that he hasn't had a girlfriend since the spring.
When I was putting a few books in my locker before lunch, I noticed someone had approached me and now was leaning against the locker beside me. I shut my locker door only to reveal Jayce leaning against the other lockers.

“So Dakota,” he started. “Guess who the new ski team captains are? Us!”

“That’s awesome!” I exclaimed as we started walking towards the cafeteria.

“I know! But I always knew you would be the girls’ captain. I mean you’re the best we have.” This caused me to blush.

“Thanks.” I mumbled as I smiled toward the ground.

“Well I’ll catch you later.” Jayce said as he started walking away. I smiled to him as he disappeared into the cafeteria. My smile grew bigger at the thought of Jayce and I being captains, and for the rest of the day, that smile never left my face.

For the rest of that week, Jayce and I never talked. It wasn't until that Friday when I was leaving my guidance counselor's office after talking about colleges that Jayce approached me.

“Hi Jayce, what’s going on?” I said nervously.

“Well I was wondering, since coach will be out of the country for the first few weeks of practice, that we should get together and make a schedule and figure out what we’re going to do.”

“Today?” I sounded like a nervous wreck.

“Yeah,” he answered coolly. “Maybe my house at 6?”

“Sure. See you then.” I stated.

We both smiled at each other and then walked away. I looked back and saw Jayce’s dark brown hair swish back like he had just looked back also. I smiled to myself as I walked to my car and immediately called Jess and told her the news.

Within five minutes of arriving home, Jess and Ryder showed up at my door step. They rang the doorbell but came in anyway. They went straight to my room and I followed. When I walked through the door, I saw Ryder lying on my bed watching TV and Jess going through my closet.

“What are you wearing?” Jess asked.

“Umm this?” I replied.

“No no no.” She shook her head.

“I’m just going over there to talk about skiing.” I reminded her.

“How about something more revealing?” Jess suggested.

“No!” I shrieked.

“She looks fine, Jess. Kota isn't going on a date so why does she even need to change?” Ryder remarked.

“Fine, you don’t need to change. But at least let me freshen up your makeup. I mean it’s Jayce Daniels we’re talking about here.” Jess pointed out.

I agreed and then for the rest of the night, Jess tried to get me to act like it’s a date, while Ryder just watched TV and occasionally threw his opinion in. Soon enough it was six o’clock and I was driving to Jayce’s house. When I got there Jayce let me in and we sat down in his living room. For the next hour we talked about what we were going to do without our coach and set up a schedule which we sent out to everyone on the team. Around 7:30 Jayce blurted out, “I’m starving! All this work is so boring.”

“I could fall asleep right now.” I admitted.

“Let’s order food. What do you want?”

“Anything is fine.”

“Okay,” Jayce thought for a moment. “We are getting Chinese!” He declared.

“Alrighty then.” I laughed.

We ordered Chinese food and ended up watching part of a movie while we waited for the take-out guy to show up. “So what college do you want to go to?” Jayce asked after about 10 minutes of watching the movie.

“Well, I applied to a few but I’m really hoping to get into the University of Colorado which is right here in Boulder. I don’t want to be that far away from my mom because I know she’s been really lonely since my dad died and my brother is all the way out in New York at St. Lawrence so it will be just her next year.”

“Yeah I know what you’re coming from. I really want to get into the University of Colorado too. Hopefully we both can get in.” Jayce said with a wink.

I smiled and laughed nervously. After knowing him for three years, this is the longest we had ever hung out outside of school. I decided to change the subject back to skiing since I was most comfortable talking about it.

“So are you excited for championships this year?” We weren't paying attention to the movie anymore.

“Yeah I’m so excited. This will be my last one and I want to make it memorable. What about you?” Jayce questioned.

“I will not accept second place anymore. I will be getting first or nothing.” Jayce smiled.

“That’s the spirit!”

Then the doorbell rang and we collected our food. The rest of the night consisted of us eating food, getting to know each other, and laughing, a lot. At the end of the night Jayce walked me to my car.

“I had a really nice time tonight.” I said, no longer nervous.

“Me too. I hope we can do this again sometime.” Then my pale blue eyes met his electric blue ones and we just stood there for a moment. Jayce started leaning in closer and I knew what was going to happen next. But with my luck, it didn't. My phone started ringing which caused that special moment to turn extremely awkward. I quickly ignored the call on my phone and looked back at Jayce who was awkwardly standing there, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Uhh well I’ll see you around.” I quietly said before getting into my car and driving home. I looked to see who called me. It was Jess. I called her back and explained to her what happened. She apologized about a million times and of course I forgave her since she is my best friend even though she did ruin the moment I had waited years for.

During the following week, Jayce and I only made awkward eye contact in the hallway. Once, he walked up to me, opened his mouth, and then walked away. Pretty soon it was our first day of practice. We sat together on the bus ride to the mountain because the coach wanted to talk to his two captains so he called us. After we got off the phone with our coach, we sat there in silence. We conducted practice like nothing was wrong. And that’s how all the practices went from then on.

At our first race, Jayce wished me luck which resulted in me getting first in that race. A month after that Jayce finally came to talk to me. “Hey, Dakota can I talk to you, alone?” He asked and I could hear the nervousness in his voice.

“Umm, yeah.” I said good-bye to my friends and followed Jayce out to the courtyard.

“Look,” he started. “I know we both know what was going to happen that night and I don’t want it to ruin our friendship. So can we just move on from it?”

“Like forget it ever happened?”

“Basically,” He mumbled.

And after that, we barely even talked. There wasn't awkward tension between us. It just went back to the way it has been for three years. To get my mind off of him I went to the gym and trained every weekend. I can’t afford for Jayce to distract me again.

Over Christmas vacation I skied every day and every night. Jess did everything she could to try and get me to agree to tell Jayce my feelings. But obviously, I’m stubborn so I didn't. When championships rolled around I was a nervous wreck. I had gotten first in all my previous races but this is championships we’re talking about and I always seem to come in second.

When my dad went to high school he got first place at his championships, senior year. I had to do this but when I was getting ready to get in the starting gate Jayce showed up at my side and wished me luck. He then pulled me into a hug and said, “You’ll do great.” This actually killed me. Not only did he mess up my concentration but he made me get those stupid butterflies in my stomach and he made my heart race.

I crept into the starting gate and stared down at the course. This was slalom. I was good at slalom. I closed my eyes and mentally ran through the course. The man at the starting gate told me it was time. I put my poles over the wand, got into a good starting position, and took three deep breaths.

Then the man said the words I had waited for, “Racer ready? 3…2...1” And I was off.

To tell you the truth, the time between the starting gate and the finish line is all a blur to me. The last thing I remember is the man saying “one” and me thinking “for Jayce.” The next thing I remember was skiing through the finish line and the crowd cheering for me. I had the fastest time so far.

As soon as I left the finish area I was attacked with hugs from my mother, Jess, and Ryder. I waited at the finish area until Jayce had done his run. He had the fastest time for the boys too.

“Hey, Kota. Awesome job,” was the first thing he said.

“Right back at you.” I walked up close to him and wrapped my arms around him. He did the same.

“Thanks for being supportive.” I said once I was released from the hug.

“Don’t mention it.” He said flirtatiously before he winked and proceeded to the lodge. I also skied over to the lodge where I changed and sat down with my friends. My mom had gone off to talk to people. Ryder got up and sat beside me. He leaned close and whispered, “You have to tell him,” in my ear.

“I will, tomorrow. I promise.” I muttered.

At the ceremonies, it was announced that both Jayce and I had gotten first place. I was so overjoyed that nothing else mattered anymore. I really had nothing to lose to after the award ceremony I walked straight up to Jayce. “Congrats on winning first. I knew you could do it.” He exclaimed and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Thanks, and congratulations to you too. But there’s something I need to tell you. I've been keeping it in for a long time, almost four years actually. So I’m just going to tell you,” I took a deep breath. “Jayce, I've been in love with you since freshman year and you've been all I think about and I just though it was time that you found out. Congrats again!”

After that I walked away, leaving a speechless Jayce Daniels. To tell you the truth, it felt like a bunch of bricks had been lifted off my shoulders and I felt invincible. It’s crazy how good you feel when you tell the truth.

The next week at school I didn't even notice Jayce. He would walk by me and I wouldn't know he was there. This was a big change from a week ago when I could see him coming from a mile away. The following week I got a letter in the mail from the University of Colorado.

I stared at the envelope for a good 50 minutes before I opened it. I stared at the piece of paper. I felt like a kindergartner who didn't know how to read. I blinked a few times then started reading. “Dear Ms. Dakota Wright…” I dropped the letter and stood in my kitchen, speechless.

I had been accepted to the school of my dreams. I called up Jess, Ryder, my mom, and my brother and told them the news. They all were so happy for me, especially my mom. The next day at school I ran into Jayce, literally.

I was walking in the hallway, not noticing people when all of a sudden I ran into what seems like a wall but it wasn't. I looked up to find that it was just Jayce's muscular chest.

"I'm so sorry Dakota. I wasn't looking where I was going." Jayce apologized sweetly.

"No, it was all my fault. I'm a klutz!” I protested. He picked up my books and handed them to me. We started walking to class together.

“So, did you get any acceptance letters?” I asked curiously.

“Yeah, I got a few actually but I’m pretty sure I’m going to CU.” Jayce explained.

“Me too! I’m going to be majoring in zoology.”

“Engineering,” He replied. “Hey listen. It’s about what you said at championships,”

I opened my mouth to explain it all but Jayce cut in before I could form words.

“I just wanted to let you know that I feel the same way. I mean I haven’t for the same amount of time but all this year you were the only person that I thought about and you were always on my mind. I’m sorry that I haven’t spoken to you lately but it’s only because I didn't know how to tell you but when you told me that you loved me I thought that I should tell you how I feel too because…” He babbled on but I shut him up by pulling him in for a kiss.

Afterwards, Jayce spoke up. “I know this may seem like a stupid question but, will you be my girlfriend.”

“Of course I will.” I said while slightly laughing because it kind of was a stupid question. And just like that my future was set. I would go to the University of Colorado with my dream boyfriend and I would study zoology so that I could get my dream job. But most importantly, I could stay near my mother to make sure she didn't get too lonely without my father and my brother. For once in my life everything seemed in place and my future seemed a little clearer. I guess that’s why we go to high school. Not only to better our education but to set ourselves up for our futures and to find ourselves. I waited way too long to get my life straight that I never really enjoyed my high school years to the fullest, but, I finally did my senior year, and that was one of the best years of my life.