Then You Came Along

Chapter 8

Memories of my night at the party are a bit blurry, mixed up, and super confusing, and I have a headache. It's strange because these are the feelings you should get after a wild night out with alcohol, but I didn't even take a sip of alcohol at the party. How did I end up having a wild night without any wild drinks?

Oh, right; Lana and Shawn.

"Are you okay, Annie?" Pen asks, sitting on my right-hand side on the bus. All three of us are sitting in the back seat. Giddy didn't ride his bicycle today.

"Yeah, you've been spacing out this morning, and you look like you didn't get a wink of sleep." Giddy points out. "If we didn't go home together, I would think you never got home and partied all night. Wait, did you continue the party all alone in your room?" He gasps exaggeratedly. "Did Shawn manage to sneak into your room and keep you up all night?"

I turn to give him a look. "Stop being ridiculous, Giddy."

"Shawn might not have sneaked into her room, but I bet he kept her up all night long," Pen says, showing us the screen of her phone that showed Shawn and me kissing at the party.

I facepalm, "It was videoed?"

"Everything is videoed nowadays, kiddo," Giddy says, sounding too excited. "How was the kiss? You haven't given us the deeds?"

I remove my hands from my face and look around to make sure no one is listening in. "Shut up, Giddy. Someone might hear you."

"Everyone knows already, Annie," he and Pen say, doing nothing to lift my mood.

The weird thing is that I can't tell them how the kiss was because I don't really remember it. I barely heard what Shawn said, and then he kissed me. I don't know if the butterflies in my stomach are from my kiss with him or the residue from talking with Lana. I had Lana on my mind all through; I couldn't concentrate on the boy of my dreams kissing me. What kind of person am I? What am I turning into? Shawn kissed me, and I don't have a mentally written essay about it.

It's a disaster.

"Holy cow, it's Prince Charming," Giddy sings, and I follow his eyes, looking out the window of the now-parked bus, and Giddy isn't lying. Shawn is standing right at the entrance of the school, looking so relaxed and handsome in his six feet glory.

"What is he doing there?" I ask, even though I vaguely know the answer already.

"What else?" Pen asks, "waiting for his princess Anne of course." She and Giddy share excited handshakes. "I can't believe this is happening to you, Annie. Your dreams."

I look at Shawn and wonder if this is how I should react to my 'dream'. I'm happy he is here, though, and I'm excited to find out what happens next.

"Come on, Annie, let's go down." Giddy grabs my hand, and we get off the bus. Shawn is already looking around, and when he sees me, he smiles and starts walking closer.

"Hey," he nods at Giddy and Pen and extends his hand to me. "Morning Anne."

"Morning, Shawn," I put my hand on his hand, and he gently holds me.

Shawn lowers a bit to my ear, "Can I walk you to class?"

"Yes, please," I say, intoxicated by his cologne's scent. We start walking away, and I wave goodbye at Giddy and Pen.

Despite everybody looking at me, I have a massive smile on my face, and some are even going as far as to take pictures. Shawn and I are going to be the talk of the school for weeks, I just know it, and it doesn't sound like such a bad thing. I didn't know I could be such an attention lover until now, until Shawn. I, Anne, am holding hands with the school's golden boy. Freshman year, Anne would be so proud.