Take a Chance

He was merely sixteen, yet his face told another story. Everyone said he looked like a young man, already in college and making a living for himself. He took that as a compliment. Because of this advantage he had girls as old as twenty asking for his number, cheekily kissing him on a night out and maybe even giving him head. That was always something he looked forward to boasting about in school the following Monday.

He was a passionate boy and Tori could still see that in his eyes as she passed him in the halls every day, barely daring to glance up at him. It was a known fact that half the girls in Tori’s year would love to hook up with him but they wouldn’t risk saying it. They all secretly loved Nick Adams.

His shaved, barely visible blonde hair was one particular feature Tori liked about him. She also liked the way he walked with such confidence and pride. His head held high, his hips swinging from side to side and his shoulders moving in a sort of circular motion. Anytime she saw him a cigarette would always be dangling from the corner of his mouth whilst deep in conversation with someone. And the one thing that made Tori fall so in love with Nick was what he did. He was a rapper. Often he would perform freestyle raps in the canteen at lunch and anytime there was an event on in the school such as a Christmas concert, he’d be there with one of his own original raps. He aspired to be the next big rapper. Tori had a tendency to fall for guys that were very ambitious and who knew what they wanted and Nick definitely did.

Tori was one of those girls that all guys seemed to find irresistible. She was quite small and had long brown hair that fell in soft curls, brushing off her shoulders. She was always well made-up with perfectly manicured nails and luscious red lips, something that she was known for. Guys were hitting on her all the time but she would never retaliate. Last year there rumours going around that she was a lesbian and that’s why none of the guys could score her. But the real reason she was so reluctant to flirt back was because she was in love with Nick.

Up until the beginning of summer they had hung out all the time. They were best friends and nothing could ruin that strong friendship they had; or so they thought. That summer Nick had met Ashleigh. Ashleigh was nineteen years old and far more experienced than any of the girls around here. Nick had really scored with this girl. Nick and Tori were hanging out less and less with every day Nick and Ashleigh were together. It took two months before Nick’s contact with Tori was cut off completely. He text her one night and told her they couldn’t be friends anymore because he was afraid she would get in the way of him and Ashleigh. Tori knew Nick wouldn’t have ever said that before. Ashleigh had changed him.

To Tori’s delight, and also surprise, Nick and Ashleigh are no longer dating. Apparently she was cheating on him the whole six months they were together. She took this break up as an opportunity to get talking to Nick again but after a few weeks of thinking about it, mulling over the possibilities of what would happen if she did speak to him, she still hadn’t plucked up the courage to do it.

When Tori woke up this morning she decided to herself that if she didn’t speak to him today she would never do it. She was more determined than ever to do it today. When the bell sounded to signify the end of English class and the start of lunch she raced outside to the spot where Nick and his friends usually hang out. Of course, he was there, leaning against the wall, cigarette clenched firmly between two fingers as he spoke to his friend Lee with a bold smirk on his face.

Her heart was beating quicker than she thought was possible as she strode over to him. At first she just stood there beside him and pretended to be reading a text. She could already tell she was blushing, her face felt on fire. She reluctantly shoved the phone in her pocket and looked up at him.

“Nick,” was all she could manage to say, her heart still rapidly beating.

That smirk was soon wiped off his face at the sound of her voice. “Yes?” He looked and sounded almost as nervous as her.

“Can I talk to you?” she said as she wrapped her arms around herself uneasily.

He nodded, held a finger up to Lee to signal he would be back in a moment and moved away from the small crowd around them.

She looked directly into his piercing blue eyes and felt her stomach flutter. She thought if she didn’t hurry up and get this over with in the next thirty seconds her heart would burst out of her chest. “I miss the way we used to be, Nick.”

“Look, Tori,” he said in such a stern voice she almost whimpered. “We will never be the way we used to be. This is how it is and nothing will change that. I’m sorry you feel that way but this is the way it is.”

He began to turn away from her but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Nick, please,” she started. “We were best friends, we did everything together and I miss that. I really do. Remember when you promised that nothing would ever break our friendship? What happened to that promise, Nick?” Her eyes were beginning to sting from the mix of forming tears and the bitter cold air.

He sighed. “As I said already Tori, I’m sorry. People change, shit happens. You just have to deal with it.” And with that, he walked away leaving her freezing on the sidewalk, trying so desperately hard not to cry.