Status: Active
Dan Western Stole My Girlfriend
Chapter 1
Avery's POV
“Avery, I’m done. I can’t do this. I don’t love you anymore. I like someone else.”
Holly stood a few metres away from me as she spoke. We’d been shouting at each other for the last twenty minutes about why she’d become so distant recently. We barely saw each other outside of school for weeks leading up to our shouting match. There was always some excuse. “I have flute practice.” “I have to go help my mum with something.” “Tamara is sick again and I have to look after her while Mum and Dad are working.” Excuses, excuses. I was sick of them, so I confronted her. And that’s how I finally found out what was going on with her.
“Who?” I asked through gritted teeth. I swear to God, if she says his name…
Holly sighed hesitantly, before replying, “Dan Western.”
Fuck. She said it.
I’d seen him staring at her in class a lot over the last few weeks. He always managed to pop up whenever she was walking between classes or to lunch, talking to her and smiling at her with his stupid perfect teeth. I know what he’s like. I should know; I grew up with him. Our brothers just had to be friends and then our mothers just had to get on like a house on fire when they met. That meant they would set up play-dates for Dan and me so they could have coffee together when we were toddlers. And later on, I had to invite Dan to all of my birthday parties so, again, our mothers could hang out. Our families had to have a Christmas dinner together every year – exchanging presents, eating roast turkey, Dan and I pretending to get along; the whole shebang. It’s a tradition and I hate it. It wasn't so bad when were kids, but God, it's a nightmare now.
So yeah, you could say I know what Dan Western is like. Here it is: Dan Western is a player. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. He wanted Holly, and now he’s got her wrapped around his little finger, right where he wants her. Fantastic.
How else can I describe the wonderful Dan Western?
Dan Western is like the typical male lead in every cliché high school comedy/romance movie. He’s the guy that the dorky female lead drools over as he walks the school halls. You know what I’m talking about. He starts walking down the hallway and the scene plays in slow motion. There’s light from some previously non-existent source shining on him as he shakes his perfectly messy hair out of his eyes. His teeth glitter when he smiles as his friends come up to him, maybe they toss him a football, and then he laughs at some joke that’s been told off-camera that nobody actually hears but is obviously hilarious. All of the girls in the hall stop what they’re doing. A folder drops out of someone’s clumsy hands just from the sheer shock of being in the vicinity of the handsome, God-like teenager. He always has the hottest girl clinging to his arm, his perfect cheerleader girlfriend, until he and Dorky Female somehow connect over something lame and he falls for her instead of Hot Cheerleader and they all live happily ever after.
Yeah. Dan Western is that guy. I hate that guy.
Unfortunately not many people agree with me.
Holly did, up to a point. She couldn’t see the appeal of the football player cliché – or, well, soccer player, if we want to be accurate about Dan. She would roll her eyes when he walked past with his school shirt untucked and his tie wrapped around his head, until a teacher would tell him off, and then he’d shoot them an award-winning smile and fix his uniform to standard. Holly disliked his showy personality, but she didn't hate him like I did.
Of course, Dan Western never paid Holly much attention until school started back this year. Before, she was just a quiet, inconspicuous part of the school. She kind of just faded into the background a lot of the time. The popular kids didn’t really notice her. She wore her uniform right – her skirt was always sitting just above her knee with her shirt tucked in smoothly and her tie done in a perfect half-Windsor. Her brown hair was always in a braid down her back. She had a best friend, Amanda. And she had a devoted boyfriend – yours truly. And that was it. Well, besides Ash, Taylor and Hansel, but they're more my friends than hers. Holly was not interesting to the popular kids. But she wanted to be and she requested my help.
I was reluctant. I thought she was perfect. She was my perfectly perfect girlfriend, as cliché as that sounds. I always loved her exactly how she was. We got together when we were 14. She was my first girlfriend and I was her first boyfriend. I was there for her when her grandmother died. She was there for me when I was struggling with my sexuality when we were 15 and when I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder that same year. We were there for each other when the time came for awkward sexual encounters, which began to happen soon after my 16th birthday.
I truly thought that we would be the high school sweetheart couple who got married right out of school and settled down for a perfect life together. The fact that I had an attraction to guys as well as girls wouldn’t be an issue. We’d have a couple of kids, I’d become an accountant like my dad and she’d be a pre-school teacher. Or something like that.
But that wasn’t what Holly wanted. She wanted to be known. She looked up to strong female musicians like Hayley Williams and Avril Lavigne (before she went all ‘Hello Kitty’). She wanted to be the Next Big Thing. And more than anything, I wanted my girlfriend to be happy. So I helped her.
Holly is what might be known a couple of years down the track as a “puberty success story”. She came back from the summer holidays a brand new woman – at least in the eyes of the school’s general population. Me, on the other hand, well I watched her transition from “geeky invisible flute ensemble girl” to “sexy rockstar princess”, all within a matter of six weeks. I bleached her mousy brown hair. I paid for her lip piercing. I bought her an acoustic guitar using a good chunk of the money I earned working at a music shop during the school holidays, and taught her the basics. YouTube taught her how to apply makeup, even though I told her time and time again she didn’t need it because she was already beautiful.
She changed so much, but I loved her as much as I did beforehand and I made sure I told her that everyday.
So why was it that, after all I did for her, Dan Fucking Western got the girl?
Because that’s what Dan Fucking Western does.
“Avery, I’m done. I can’t do this. I don’t love you anymore. I like someone else.”
Holly stood a few metres away from me as she spoke. We’d been shouting at each other for the last twenty minutes about why she’d become so distant recently. We barely saw each other outside of school for weeks leading up to our shouting match. There was always some excuse. “I have flute practice.” “I have to go help my mum with something.” “Tamara is sick again and I have to look after her while Mum and Dad are working.” Excuses, excuses. I was sick of them, so I confronted her. And that’s how I finally found out what was going on with her.
“Who?” I asked through gritted teeth. I swear to God, if she says his name…
Holly sighed hesitantly, before replying, “Dan Western.”
Fuck. She said it.
I’d seen him staring at her in class a lot over the last few weeks. He always managed to pop up whenever she was walking between classes or to lunch, talking to her and smiling at her with his stupid perfect teeth. I know what he’s like. I should know; I grew up with him. Our brothers just had to be friends and then our mothers just had to get on like a house on fire when they met. That meant they would set up play-dates for Dan and me so they could have coffee together when we were toddlers. And later on, I had to invite Dan to all of my birthday parties so, again, our mothers could hang out. Our families had to have a Christmas dinner together every year – exchanging presents, eating roast turkey, Dan and I pretending to get along; the whole shebang. It’s a tradition and I hate it. It wasn't so bad when were kids, but God, it's a nightmare now.
So yeah, you could say I know what Dan Western is like. Here it is: Dan Western is a player. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. He wanted Holly, and now he’s got her wrapped around his little finger, right where he wants her. Fantastic.
How else can I describe the wonderful Dan Western?
Dan Western is like the typical male lead in every cliché high school comedy/romance movie. He’s the guy that the dorky female lead drools over as he walks the school halls. You know what I’m talking about. He starts walking down the hallway and the scene plays in slow motion. There’s light from some previously non-existent source shining on him as he shakes his perfectly messy hair out of his eyes. His teeth glitter when he smiles as his friends come up to him, maybe they toss him a football, and then he laughs at some joke that’s been told off-camera that nobody actually hears but is obviously hilarious. All of the girls in the hall stop what they’re doing. A folder drops out of someone’s clumsy hands just from the sheer shock of being in the vicinity of the handsome, God-like teenager. He always has the hottest girl clinging to his arm, his perfect cheerleader girlfriend, until he and Dorky Female somehow connect over something lame and he falls for her instead of Hot Cheerleader and they all live happily ever after.
Yeah. Dan Western is that guy. I hate that guy.
Unfortunately not many people agree with me.
Holly did, up to a point. She couldn’t see the appeal of the football player cliché – or, well, soccer player, if we want to be accurate about Dan. She would roll her eyes when he walked past with his school shirt untucked and his tie wrapped around his head, until a teacher would tell him off, and then he’d shoot them an award-winning smile and fix his uniform to standard. Holly disliked his showy personality, but she didn't hate him like I did.
Of course, Dan Western never paid Holly much attention until school started back this year. Before, she was just a quiet, inconspicuous part of the school. She kind of just faded into the background a lot of the time. The popular kids didn’t really notice her. She wore her uniform right – her skirt was always sitting just above her knee with her shirt tucked in smoothly and her tie done in a perfect half-Windsor. Her brown hair was always in a braid down her back. She had a best friend, Amanda. And she had a devoted boyfriend – yours truly. And that was it. Well, besides Ash, Taylor and Hansel, but they're more my friends than hers. Holly was not interesting to the popular kids. But she wanted to be and she requested my help.
I was reluctant. I thought she was perfect. She was my perfectly perfect girlfriend, as cliché as that sounds. I always loved her exactly how she was. We got together when we were 14. She was my first girlfriend and I was her first boyfriend. I was there for her when her grandmother died. She was there for me when I was struggling with my sexuality when we were 15 and when I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder that same year. We were there for each other when the time came for awkward sexual encounters, which began to happen soon after my 16th birthday.
I truly thought that we would be the high school sweetheart couple who got married right out of school and settled down for a perfect life together. The fact that I had an attraction to guys as well as girls wouldn’t be an issue. We’d have a couple of kids, I’d become an accountant like my dad and she’d be a pre-school teacher. Or something like that.
But that wasn’t what Holly wanted. She wanted to be known. She looked up to strong female musicians like Hayley Williams and Avril Lavigne (before she went all ‘Hello Kitty’). She wanted to be the Next Big Thing. And more than anything, I wanted my girlfriend to be happy. So I helped her.
Holly is what might be known a couple of years down the track as a “puberty success story”. She came back from the summer holidays a brand new woman – at least in the eyes of the school’s general population. Me, on the other hand, well I watched her transition from “geeky invisible flute ensemble girl” to “sexy rockstar princess”, all within a matter of six weeks. I bleached her mousy brown hair. I paid for her lip piercing. I bought her an acoustic guitar using a good chunk of the money I earned working at a music shop during the school holidays, and taught her the basics. YouTube taught her how to apply makeup, even though I told her time and time again she didn’t need it because she was already beautiful.
She changed so much, but I loved her as much as I did beforehand and I made sure I told her that everyday.
So why was it that, after all I did for her, Dan Fucking Western got the girl?
Because that’s what Dan Fucking Western does.
♠ ♠ ♠
Welcome to my new story! I hope you enjoyed the little introductory chapter. If you would like to see what the characters look like, there are photos in the characters tab.If you liked it, please subscribe, recommend or comment :)
Thank you rawrritsjess for commenting before the first chapter was posted. You're awesome!
Fun fact: The Word document on my computer for this is "NO DAMNIT WHY TF AM I WRITING ANOTHER STORY" because I swore to myself I wouldn't start another before my other one was finished, and yet there I was writing another one. Good self-constraint there.