As always:
Thanks to "alpineskier" for editing.
Thanks to "Doc" for story advice.
All characters involved in sexual acts are at least 18 years of age. (So get your mind out of the gutter!)
Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter
A young couple is walking down the halls of the art museum. They are both graduating from State college in a month. He is graduating Suma Cum Laude with a degree in engineering and her with a degree in teaching. They are celebrating their four year anniversary of being boyfriend and girlfriend. He has always enjoyed art and she fell in love with it after he introduced it to her. They are nearing her favorite painting, an impressionist work of a couple on the verge of kissing. The young man reaches into his pocket for a small box. He went down to one knee.
"Will you marry me?"
"Yes!" Her response echoed in the building as she fell upon him with tears of joy flowing down her cheeks.
Four years and one week earlier:
"C'mon Jason, one more good roll and this dragon is defeated."
"Nick, Adam, get prepared to storm the castle because this battle is over." Jason stood, flung his arm forward, and let the die roll.
In unison the three boys cheered, "Yes!" Hi five slaps went around. A midst the celebration, Jason peered through the cafeteria and saw an all too familiar scene, and it wasn't the fact no one was looking in his general direction despite the table's outburst. No. Right outside the cafeteria was Tiffany, Candice, Chelsea, and Allison. All members of the cool clique of the senior class and they were encircling their victim of the day. A position he found himself in far too often.
It apparently was his complete nerd exterior they found revolting. If it wasn't his superhero t-shirts and baggy shorts which he wore religiously or his black unkept hair that was never styled, it was his role-playing or chess prowess that was ammunition for his ridicule.
"Guys, we'll have to finish this quest tomorrow." Jason started walking away.
"Where are you going?" Nick asked.
"We still have ten minutes of lunch." Adam added.
Jason kept going. Normally he would do nothing, not wanting to incur the wrath of those deviants himself. This was different. They were near the sophomore lockers and he had a good idea who it was they were verbally berating.
Jessica was a slender with flat brown hair. Her body was still transitioning from girl to woman and it still looked a little awkward.
"Excuse me." Jason made his way through the teens surrounding his sister. It was one thing to make fun of him, at least he was their age, but quite another to go after his younger sister.
"Hey dork, this doesn't concern you." Tiffany, the blonde headed leader of the mob and captain of the cheerleaders harshly responded to my intrusion. "Unless you want it to." She added with a smile.
Jason faced Jessica and lifted her head so their eyes met. "Are you alright?"
She nodded, but couldn't prevent a few tears from cascading down her cheeks.
"Go on to your next class. I'll take care of this." Jason then turned to face the oppressors as Jessica made her way out of the area.
"So, since you can't date someone your own age, you figure you can score with a sophomore, huh nerd?" Tiffany scowled, then added, "Cradle robber."
"Cradle robber! Cradle robber!" The other girls began chanting.
"She's my sister." Jason defended, even though he knew they didn't care.
"Ooh, so you're into incest cradle robbing."
"Hey Tiffany, is this geek bothering you?" Steve, Tiffany's muscle bound jock boyfriend interrupted.
"Oh Steve, glad you're here." Tiffany leaned in and kissed him. "This dweeb here ruined my fun while I was toying with an underclassman."
"Is that so?"
Steve followed that up by shoving Jason hard into the lockers and he landed on his knees. The group disbanded, laughing. The last was Chelsea, a curly shoulder length red haired beauty.
"Chelsea." Jason muttered.
Chelsea didn't answer, but didn't walk away either.
"I know the real you and this isn't it." Jason stood up. "Are you sure this is who you want to be?" Without waiting for a reply, Jason walked away.
Chelsea was frozen. Her mind stuck on what he said. Who am I and who do I want to be? Then her thoughts drifted to the tall lanky kid. He says he knows me. How? I don't even know his name. The bell interrupted her. She hadn't moved. Hell, she was still standing mid stride like a statue. Why were his words bothering her so much? She shook her head and brushed away a curl of hair from her face and headed toward class.
The next week, Chelsea was her normal cheery and bubbly self, when with her friends. However, when the teachers were lecturing or she was supposed to be working on an assignment, she would constantly hear the lanky kid's words. It was as if a CD was stuck on repeat and it would play over and over again. How does he know? She had to do something. She had to talk to him. Somewhere her classmates don't hang out. That would kill her popularity she worked hard to get in the four years since her family moved to this town.
After school, Chelsea surveyed the groups of teens outside. She spotted her mark talking to a slightly chubby blonde haired boy dressed in similar attire as her target, except his shirt said something about X-men and her aim was for the guy in the shirt that had a sasquatch on it that said Chewbacca. She walked toward the two boys, acting as if she did not see them. She ran straight into him and dropped her purse.
"Watch where you're going?" Chelsea announced. She bent down to pick up the contents that spilt from her purse. "Look at the mess you made."
Jason bent down to help her. "I think you ran into me. I wasn't even moving." He gathered a few of the scattered items: lipstick, a folded piece of paper, a vial of pills, and a pair of sunglasses. "Are you alright?" He asked as he handed her the small pile.
