Saving the Wilsons

NATALIE POV

"Sorry, I promise I'm not following you and technically I was here first," he quickly says while chuckling at me.

I glare while looking him over. I really don't have a reason to be mad at him. It's just so frustrating that every embarrassing moment that I have today has been witnessed by him.

I take a moment to calm down before pulling out my supplies. I need to focus. This is my hardest subject and if I am upset while taking notes I won't be able to understand them later. Plus I have to make sure I'm not behind in this class especially.

As I begin to take notes Ryan proceeds to try and distract me. He constantly whispers questions to me that I ignore, but he is making me angry. Why doesnt he pay attention to the teacher or take notes instead of bothering me? Probably because he is one of those snobby spoiled kids or a person that teachers give breaks to.

He seems popular and acts like he owns the school the way he walks around. When he finally realizes I'm not going to chit chat with him during the lesson, he decides to check me out instead. "Freaking perv."

Finally the bell rings granting me freedom from Mr.Bedhead yet again. I begin putting away my stuff up but he doesn't move . He just sits there staring at me.

After a few more uncomfortable seconds he seems to break whatever spell he is under. He then asks if I need help finding my next class.

I smirk at him. I want to tell him I'm not some helpless high school girl that will fall for his charm. He is probably used to girls wanting to date him. Instead I politely decline and escape the room.

Next up on my schedule is World History. I like history. It is so easy to me. It's just memorization, no problem solving required.

This classroom has separate desks positioned in rows, which I prefer. No annoying table mates. Ipick a seat in the front row so I have no distractions.

As the minutes pass students come in the room in waves. One of the waves include three guys, all big, all loud, and all annoying. Especially the one in the middle which is Mr.Bedhead himself.

They are loudly discussing their morning work out and Ryan doesnt even notice my presence as he sits two rows over, also in the front. This time I'm not flustered or embarrassed so his presence doesn't bother me. His friends are what I would call typical jerks.

They have their hair styled and overly gelled. They have dark wash jeans and really tight shirts. I mean yeah they have great bodies. And they shouldn't be ashamed of them, but one false move and you can say bye bye their seams. They are actually super muscular and cute but I can tell they date a bunch.

"Man hoes," I think to myself

Ryan seems to be their leader but he has a different vibe to him. His posture screams confidence, but his outfit and hair say casual and carefree. He is talking loud and looks happy, but he isnt being cocky like the other two are.

As soon as the teacher walks in Ryan becomes the perfect student. Not like last class at all. He sits up straight and proceeds to take perfect notes. The teacher Mr. Wilson calls on him multiple times even when Ryan doesn't have his hand raised. I feel like he is picking on Mr.Bedhead on for some reason.

As I observe him Ryan keeps catching me. He smirks everytime and I blush hard while trying to act unphased. Dang it!

Finally I push Ryan completely from my mind and I focus entirely on the lecture. I don't really care what kind of person he is. It doesn't matter to me.

At the end of class I am buzzing with excitement. I am so excited that I get to display my soccer skills. I love playing soccer. My mom has never been a consistent woman, but she has always made sure I played soccer.

I am almost skipping down the hall before I realize Ryan is walking beside me grinning.

"Hey, where are you heading in such a great mood," he asks as he sees me spot him.

"Girls athletics, you," I ask to be nice.

"Boys athletics, mind if I walk with you," he replies sounding casual and friendly.

"Sure," I reply unsure of how to say no.

After a brief silence Ryan seems to get uncomfortable. I spot him fidgeting in my peripheral vision and I realize he has something on his mind.

"What's up," I ask trying to break the tension.

The look on his face is priceless. He looks shocked just because I asked him a question. I suddenly realize I have been treating him very rudely. I quickly plaster an extremely friendly look on my face hoping it will encourage him to answer.

"What did you mean when you said the school was just another building," he asks after a moment and my eyebrows furrow for a second until I remember what he is referring to.

Oh that.

"Well, I tend to move around a bunch. I dont understand people's deep connections to places," I say while shrugging.

He looks deep in thought at my statement for a moment and I sigh.

"I am not trying to be rude if you have a ton of school spirit or something. It's just not my thing," I state feeling guilty for some reason.

"No it's fine. That just sounds sad. Having no real ties to anywhere. I know I wouldn't like that and I would feel lonely," He says with a huge frown.

Well cheese balls this dude just read my soul like a book.

"It is," I whisper.

He turns to me with a friendly smile and I want to melt. How have I not noticed his smile? It's gorgeous.

"Thanks for answering all my boring questions at lunch. You must get them all the time," he says and I snap back to my senses.

"I do," I say while chuckling.

"Well enjoy Coach Lawton, she's new this year too. But don't worry the other coaches love her," he says with a smile.

How does he know that? Before I can ask him he walks towards the boys' locker room leaving me standing there looking stupid.

****

The tryouts are full of sweat, running, kicking, and pure bliss. The goalie can't block any of my shots. My dribbling skills are on point today and my passing is impeccable. I know I made the team even before the announcement. I get the position I tried for, Center Forward. I am so happy.

Now off to my shift at Krogers and then home.

(Note: Center Forward (CF): Center forwards and strikers can often be synonymous. They must focus on scoring, whether this means dribbling past opponents when they have the ball or ensuring they stay open for a pass when they don't. Being able to head the ball accurately can really come in handy here.)

NATALIE POV

7 weeks later

Everything is going amazing. My grades are good, and we have only lost one soccer game so far this season. I was still managing two shifts a week at Kroger.

Ryan had actually become my best friend and I love his little sisters. They used to ait with us at lunch but they ditched us a couple weeks ago to start eating lunch with a group of freshmen. Ryan was so proud. I laughed at him the whole first day they sat away from him.He stared at them the entire time making a boy with glasses extremely uncomfortable.I found out Mr. Wilson is actually Ryan's dad. And boy does that man expect the moon and sun from Ryan. He expects perfect grades, perfect football performances, and perfect behavior but Ryan doesnt even seem to stress. The guy excels at everything without even trying.

He even calms me when my plans dont go just right and I flip out. Sometimes his perfection is annoying and also very intimidating. He has even started tutoring me a little in algebra.

The only thing that seems strained in my life is mom. She is rarely ever home and she looks stressed to the point of exhaustion. She has lost tons of weight. She never acknowledges my presence and it makes me so mad. She basically is living at the casino.

She is probably looking for a new boy toy and isnt having any luck. I just dont get why she chooses to spend every minute away from me. Last night she said she was leaving to the casino and I lost it.

Flashback

"Heading out congrats on the game."

"Where are you going?" I asked her knowing the answer

"Casino....."

"Okay, whatever not like you have a kid or anything. You look like total crap by the way. Which is probably why you dont have a new man on your arm yet."

Instead of saying anything she had a coughing fit after taking a drag on one of her poison sticks. She then flipped me the bird and left.

I felt bad for kicking her when she was obviously having a rough patch but I couldn't take it anymore. Today is my birthday and she didnt even come home.

She is probably losing hundreds currently and enjoying her smoke cloud.

Pushing the depressive thoughts from my head I decided to focus on all the happy things in life and get ready for school.

I did an awesome cateye and even curled my hair. I put on a very flattering little black dress that flared out at the knees. I wanted to be pretty for Ryan.

He was literally perfect in my eyes. He was over six feet tall and freaking built due to his football dedication. He never really cared how his hair looked but I did. It was like chocolate silk. I wanted to run my fingers through it for hours. His eyes were brown, green, and gold all mixed together.

But I knew I was basically like a third sister. He never flirted with me or even said anything inappropriate. He was a breathe of fresh air in a building packed with teenage testosterone.

I really didnt ever want a boyfriend but if I could pick a dream guy it was definitely Ryan.

The walk to school was basically one long daydream about confessing my feelings.

By third period I was excited to see him at lunch. The bell for my third period to start had just rung and I was getting out my binder when Mrs. Faust put her phone down and said "Natalie you are needed in the principal's office."

I felt my mouth fall open. I had never been called to the principal's office in my life. "Umm.... should I take my stuff," I asked with slight panic.

Mrs. Faust shrugged "better safe then sorry."

I could feel the stares starting to hit my back from all the other kids.

"Head up. Dont panic. Head up," I chanted in my head while I gathered my things and marched from the room.

I had only ever been in the office once but I knew which room was Mrs. Sheppards. Due to my great first day were mom showed how amazing her parenting skills are.

I knocked on her door feeling my nerves hit a whole new level of anxiety. A quick "come in" was heard and I opened the door to find Mrs. Sheppard, a Female police officer, and a woman with red glasses. I sat down silently and felt the heavy tension in the room immediately.

"Ms. Marshall we are sorry to have to tell you this but your mother passed away this morning," Mrs. Sheppard said very gently.