The Rebel Girl’s Fated Love

Meeting Tiffany

Chad's P.O.V.

It's the start of sophomore year, which means it's time for my annual beginning of the school year party.  I've walked around the house multiple times, making sure to greet all of my friends.  Well, I say all of my friends, but really they're just acquaintances.  The only person here that really matters to me, is my friend Tucker.  Tucker and I started hanging out at the beginning of last year, our freshman year of high school.  Unlike all of the rest of the popular crowd we hang out with, Tucker always keeps it real with me and never holds back his thoughts.  He's the only real friend that I have, my ride or die.  Me and him became really good friends, really quickly, when we first met.  We just vibe really well, something both him and I needed in our lives, a person we could count on no matter what.  I don't know what he's gone through, because he doesn't open up about it, but he always seems lost.  The only time I see him completely acting like himself is when his next door neighbor, Melanie, is hanging out on her front porch when we're playing ball in the front yard.  I secretly think he has a crush on the little emo girl, but I've decided not to say anything about it until he's ready to talk about it.  He's told me that they use to be close friends, but went their separate ways before high school.  Although, I have a feeling that's just the tip of the iceberg on that whole story.

"Hey, bro!  Party turned out to be the biggest one yet.", Tucker says to me as he walks up to me, pulling me away from my thoughts.

I look back at him and nod my head, "Yeah, it is.  Who would Chad Cooper be if he didn't throw extreme parties every year?"

Tucker chuckles and shakes his head, "There's a lot more to you than just partying, Chad.  You should let other people see that sometimes, let them in."

I shake my head at him, "Nah, I don't think so.  If I don't let people in, then there's no chance that I can get hurt when something happens to them."

Tucker lets out a frustrated sigh, "What happened to your mom was tragic, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen to everyone else."

Tears brim my eyes the second the words leave his mouth.  My mom was in a car accident when I was twelve, and unfortunately, passed away six months later when my dad decided to take her off of life support.  She was completely brain dead, but my dad spent six months hoping for a miracle, before he finally decided it was time to let her go.  I was angry at my dad for the longest time, because I didn't understand it at that age.  I still hold resentment towards him to this day, even though it makes sense to me now.  Ever since then, though, I completely shut down all of my emotions.  I act like the stupid jock, who doesn't take anything seriously, so no one would want to have a deeper friendship with me.  I also don't do girlfriends, only fool around, because I don't want to ever fall in love.  If I don't fall in love, then I can't have any heartbreak, which sounds just fine to me.  Despite all of this, though, Tucker somehow saw beneath the surface and pushed his way into my life.  As much as it annoyed me at first, I'm grateful for it now.

"You didn't tell me Melanie Wilson was coming.", I hear Tucker say from beside me, pulling me away from my thoughts about my mom.

I turn towards him and furrow my brows at him, "I didn't know.  I didn't invite her."

"Well, someone invited her.", he says as he lifts his beer and points towards the door.

I look towards the front door and see Melanie walk in, along with two guys and an older girl trailing behind her.  Then, following after all four of them, is the most beautiful girl I've ever laid my eyes on.  She's a very petite red head, with a pixie cut that frames her face perfectly.  She has bright green eyes, that are even more accentuated by the shiny green tank top that she's wearing.  She has tight ripped skinny jeans on that hug her curves perfectly.  Then I notice the black combat boots that she's wearing, which is something completely different than what the other girls at this party wear.  Every other girl here is wearing skin tight dresses that are short, leaving nothing to the imagination, and high heels that they end up taking off once they're too drunk to stand up in them.

I've never seen this new girl before, but I'm pretty sure I've heard around about her.  I've heard that she was kicked out of her old school for fighting too much, and talking back.  I've heard that she's been in a gang and that her parents moved her here to get her out of it.  I've even heard that she's in the witness protection program, and on the run from the mafia.  What I haven't heard, though, is how breathtakingly gorgeous she is.

I notice Melanie and her talking about something, and then I hear it, her amazing laugh.  It's like music to my ears listening to her laugh.  She makes her way around the room, radiating confidence and not having a care in the world.  Other girls are looking at her with disgust, or jealousy, I'm not sure which one, but she doesn't pay attention to any of them.  She looks over in my direction when Melanie whispers something in her ear, and our eyes meet for only a second, before her face falls into a frown.  I'm not too sure what that was about, but suddenly Melanie and the two guys they came with, leave through the front door.  The red headed girl looks at the older girl that stayed with her and says something to her, before the two of them take off walking through the crowd towards the kitchen.

I lean over towards Tucker, "What was that about?"

"Melanie doesn't like me.  She probably decided to leave the second she saw me.", he says with a frown on his face.

"Well, I don't know who her little friend is, but I'm about to go hunt her down.", I say to him with a smirk on my face.

Tucker chuckles, "Her name is Tiffany Miller.  She moved here from Georgia last year.  You've really never seen her around school before?"

I shrug my shoulders at him, "I guess not.  We didn't have any classes together last year, and I try not to linger in the hallways for too long so I don't have to talk to anyone."

Tucker lets out a small laugh, "Well, good luck with that one.  She's pretty feisty."

"Just my type.", I say as I wink at him and walk away towards the kitchen.

I make my way through the crowd towards the kitchen, and notice her instantly.  She's in there with her friend, but the two of them are talking to a couple of guys from our school.  The two guys are nerds, so they don't stand a chance against me.  Here goes nothing.

"How's it going ladies?  Enjoying the party?", I ask them as I casually walk up to them, making the two guys they were talking to leave suddenly.

Tiffany furrows her brows at me, "I've been to better.  I'm sorry, you are?", she asks me as she tilts her head sideways curiously.

I scoff at her, "Chad.  Chad Cooper.", I say as I put my hand out for her to shake, "This is my party."

Tiffany shakes my hand in return, "Ah, yes, I've heard about you."

A smirk makes it's way onto my face, "You have?  Doesn't surprise me.  I'm a pretty big deal around the school."

Tiffany nods her head at me, "Yeah, I've heard quite a few things.  The most handsome guy in school, lots of muscles, great smile."

"Yeah, yeah.  I'm a pretty hot commodity around school.", I say to her as I cross my arms over my chest.

Tiffany chuckles, before a playful smile pulls up on her lips, "Honestly, I don't see it.  I don't understand what all of the fuss is about.", she says before patting me on the shoulder, "It was nice meeting you, Chad Cooper.", she says, before walking out of the kitchen with her friend laughing and following after her. 

I stand there staring at her as she walks out of the kitchen.  My jaw has pretty much dropped to the floor at the fact that she just said that to me.  No girl has ever resisted my charms.  Tucker was definitely right, she's a feisty little thing.  Look like this party just got a lot more fun for me, that's for sure.