Status: Active, not sure of frequency of updates
Give 'Em Hell, Kid
Chapter One
I can’t pin point the moment I fell in love. To be honest, I don’t think there was a defining ‘moment’ where I suddenly fell madly in love. I would like to think that it was a gradual thing, built up over years so quietly and subtly that when it hit, it hit me harder than a ton of bricks.
I do, however, remember the moment I realised I was in love. It wasn’t a big, dramatic moment like they make you believe on television. It was just one of those moments were everything seemed to stop as the realisation dawned on me with uncomfortable clarity.
It was just an ordinary day during the summer. We were out causing trouble as we always did back then. We were a bunch of stupid kids who thought we were invincible. Nothing could ever get us, or rip us apart. That’s the beauty in childhood I suppose, the lack of care about the future or the present. Things are the way they are and that’s all there is to it in the mind of a carefree adolescent.
We had taken our bikes into town, and being the asshole I was I was doing my best to push everyone to their limits as I always did.
‘Chicken shit’ I teased, knowing it would rile her up. She hated the thought of any of the boys thinking she was weaker than us, but even then she was stronger than us and we knew it. She was tough, stubborn and unable to ever admit defeat. She had too much pride to ever give up and we admired it in our own way. We would never ever let her know this though. It was vital for her to want to keep up with us, and not the other way around. There wasn’t any reason for this, it was another one of those things that had become an unwritten rule.
‘Fuck you Way’ she spat, her hair tied back in a ponytail as she clenched her fists in anger. She was wearing jeans and converse like the rest of us, her top a plain black t shirt as she tried to cover up the fact that she was a girl. The one time she wore a dress Frank had tried to look up it, inadvertently revealing her underwear to the world and ever since then she refused to wear skirts or dresses. Mikey and Frank were behind me sniggering, they knew Alexia was close to breaking point. They found it hilarious when we fought. One of us would always end up running home crying. Usually it was her, which was worse for me when my Mother heard about from my snitch of a brother. The amount of beatings I had gotten over the years because of that girl and I still hadn’t learnt. That should have been the first clue really.
We stood on the sidewalk clutching onto our bikes, facing the road. The traffic was racing past us in a blur the way it always was when it hit rush hour. I should have known how stupid I was being, egging her on to do something so ridiculously crazy. But I never thought logically around her. That should have been the second clue.
‘You’re afraid you’re not fast enough to dodge the cars. Therefore, you’re a chicken shit!’ I retorted.
The funny thing is, if you asked me now would I change what happened next, I would answer no. Because love is strange thing and if I hadn’t learnt it that day I would have only found another idiotic way to realise it.
She bolted out into the road, so fast I had to do a double take when I realised she was no longer beside me as her bike fell to the ground. The road was huge with four lanes of traffic going both directions. The cars were speeding in each lane and my heart stopped beating when one car narrowly missed hitting her as it screeched to a halt in the nick of time, with the driver lowering his widow and yelling abuse at the girl who had nearly killed herself. Alexia didn’t seem to notice as she continued to run.
That was the moment. When I realised that my life would be over if Alexia Collins ceased to exist. That I wanted to marry her, have babies with her. Travel the world together. Continue to do stupid things together. My life would be nothing without her.
She made it to the other side, her face flushed with the effort of trying not to get killed and a shit eating grin on her face.
‘Now who’s the chicken shit’ she yelled from the other side of the road, her voice barely audible from the noise of the traffic.
I gulped as I realised the answer, my heart still pounding in my throat where it had found new lodgings.
I was. Because I also knew right then I could never tell her how I felt about her. She would never want to be with me. I was awkward, self conscious and not good enough for her. We had thirteen years of friendship and I wouldn’t ruin that by telling her how I felt. I thought that maybe if I pushed the feeling away and buried them deep down inside I would eventually forget my feelings and Alexia would go back to just being another annoying friend.
I didn’t know just how wrong I was.
I do, however, remember the moment I realised I was in love. It wasn’t a big, dramatic moment like they make you believe on television. It was just one of those moments were everything seemed to stop as the realisation dawned on me with uncomfortable clarity.
It was just an ordinary day during the summer. We were out causing trouble as we always did back then. We were a bunch of stupid kids who thought we were invincible. Nothing could ever get us, or rip us apart. That’s the beauty in childhood I suppose, the lack of care about the future or the present. Things are the way they are and that’s all there is to it in the mind of a carefree adolescent.
We had taken our bikes into town, and being the asshole I was I was doing my best to push everyone to their limits as I always did.
‘Chicken shit’ I teased, knowing it would rile her up. She hated the thought of any of the boys thinking she was weaker than us, but even then she was stronger than us and we knew it. She was tough, stubborn and unable to ever admit defeat. She had too much pride to ever give up and we admired it in our own way. We would never ever let her know this though. It was vital for her to want to keep up with us, and not the other way around. There wasn’t any reason for this, it was another one of those things that had become an unwritten rule.
‘Fuck you Way’ she spat, her hair tied back in a ponytail as she clenched her fists in anger. She was wearing jeans and converse like the rest of us, her top a plain black t shirt as she tried to cover up the fact that she was a girl. The one time she wore a dress Frank had tried to look up it, inadvertently revealing her underwear to the world and ever since then she refused to wear skirts or dresses. Mikey and Frank were behind me sniggering, they knew Alexia was close to breaking point. They found it hilarious when we fought. One of us would always end up running home crying. Usually it was her, which was worse for me when my Mother heard about from my snitch of a brother. The amount of beatings I had gotten over the years because of that girl and I still hadn’t learnt. That should have been the first clue really.
We stood on the sidewalk clutching onto our bikes, facing the road. The traffic was racing past us in a blur the way it always was when it hit rush hour. I should have known how stupid I was being, egging her on to do something so ridiculously crazy. But I never thought logically around her. That should have been the second clue.
‘You’re afraid you’re not fast enough to dodge the cars. Therefore, you’re a chicken shit!’ I retorted.
The funny thing is, if you asked me now would I change what happened next, I would answer no. Because love is strange thing and if I hadn’t learnt it that day I would have only found another idiotic way to realise it.
She bolted out into the road, so fast I had to do a double take when I realised she was no longer beside me as her bike fell to the ground. The road was huge with four lanes of traffic going both directions. The cars were speeding in each lane and my heart stopped beating when one car narrowly missed hitting her as it screeched to a halt in the nick of time, with the driver lowering his widow and yelling abuse at the girl who had nearly killed herself. Alexia didn’t seem to notice as she continued to run.
That was the moment. When I realised that my life would be over if Alexia Collins ceased to exist. That I wanted to marry her, have babies with her. Travel the world together. Continue to do stupid things together. My life would be nothing without her.
She made it to the other side, her face flushed with the effort of trying not to get killed and a shit eating grin on her face.
‘Now who’s the chicken shit’ she yelled from the other side of the road, her voice barely audible from the noise of the traffic.
I gulped as I realised the answer, my heart still pounding in my throat where it had found new lodgings.
I was. Because I also knew right then I could never tell her how I felt about her. She would never want to be with me. I was awkward, self conscious and not good enough for her. We had thirteen years of friendship and I wouldn’t ruin that by telling her how I felt. I thought that maybe if I pushed the feeling away and buried them deep down inside I would eventually forget my feelings and Alexia would go back to just being another annoying friend.
I didn’t know just how wrong I was.
♠ ♠ ♠
I took this down yesterday for several reasons.
I was a little dissatisfied. There are a few mistakes and inconsistencies. So, I shall be editing and reposting at least one chapter a day, possibly several a day depending until I've caught up with the last posted chapter, which is chapter 17. I may making a couple of changes to the plot, so I would advise you to reread just in case.
I know it's annoying when authors do it, its happened to several of my favourite stories but I really feel like it needs to be done. I want to make sure the story progresses the right way.