Crystal (Silver Hills #2)

Crystal

by Jacqueline Gardner

Copyright © 2012 Jacqueline Gardner

Cover Design by Calista Taylor

Kindle Edition

Crystal
is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Author Contact

website: jacquelinegardner.com

email: author.jacquelinegardner (at) gmail (dot) com

Twitter: Writer_Jacque

FB: authorjacquelinegardner

Other Works by the Author

THOUGHTLESS (Thoughtless series #1)

BESOTTED (Thoughtless series #2) coming summer 2012

MUTINY (M.E.R. series #1)

The Silver Hills Novellas

#1: JADE

#2: CRYSTAL

#3: AMBER

#4: PERIDOT

FOR KASEY

PART 2 - CRYSTAL'S STORY

Chapter One

Six Years Ago . . .

"You set the ball like this," Amber said, rolling her eyes.  She slammed the volleyball towards the net and smirked when the opposing team failed to hit it back.
  I shrugged and took a step back
so Amber's bi
g head wouldn't knock me onto
the gym floor.

"Uh . . . we know," Alexa repli
ed.  She flicked a strand of
curled hair over her shoulder and adjusted her Silver Hills High gym shirt - an unflattering gray with a gold pickaxe on the front.
  "Our team went to Finals last year."  She chomped on her gum as she eyed the streaks of cherry red in Amber's hair.

"What exactly is a
Final
in a town like this?" Amber laughed.  "Like you
r school
came in second out of three?"

"At least my hair doesn't look like it was attacked
by a can of spray paint," Alexa retorted
.  I quietly giggle
d.  Speaking out was sort of Alexa's
thing, but it landed her
in detention too often
.

"Dumb blonds," Amber muttered.

"Excuse me?"  Alexa's voice grew louder, catching the attention of the rest of the team.  "
You're
blond too.  Hippie freak."

"Alexa!"  Our gym teacher stomped across the gym from her comfortable seat on the bleach
ers.  "I know I didn't just hear
you badmouthing the new girl."  She put her hands on her hips and her rosy cheeks brightened to a more vibrant shade of pink.

"Okay," Alexa smiled.  "You didn't."

"My office," she scolded, pointing towards the door.  "Wait for me there."  I could hear soft sniggers from the other students.  Amber raised her eyebrows before walkin
g away
.  Alexa slumped
as she marched off the volleyball court.

"Your locker should be in the detention hall," I whispered.

"See ya after school," Alexa said with a faint smile on her face.
  The double doors burst open as the footbal
l team stampeded across the gym
.  The seniors raced each other towards the boy's locker room, dodging a huddle of giggling girls.
  I tugged at my sweaty gym shirt as a familiar face jogged past me, slowing down just long enough to glance at my light blond tangles.

My heart froze as Brett
nodded in my direction. 
As my
skin
prickled, I think
my lungs temporarily sto
pped working.
  I took a step to keep my balance, forcing myself to finally take a breath.  When I looked up again, the back of Brett's head disappeared into the hallway.

"Who is that," I heard Amber say near the bleachers.  I glanced over my shoulder.

"Oh you mean Brett?" a girl called Millie responded.

"Did you see that," Amber continued.  "He looked right at me." 
I clenched my teeth as I watched her brag.  She was wrong.  Brett looked right at
me. 
I think.  Good thing Alexa was already in detention.  She would've given Amber another mouthful.

*
         
*
         
*

My boots sank into a pile of snow as I jogged ahead of Alexa on our walk home from school.
She stamped th
r
ough slush, getting her pant legs dirty on purpose.  Her red, puffy coat
hid most of her hair.  I put
my shivering hands in the pockets of my blue ski coat.

"Detention again?" I asked.

"I could
n't
care less about detention," she sighed.  "My mom cares though."

"Parents."  I kicked
a snow pile and tucked my snarl
ed
hair behind my ears.

"Yours seem
mellow
er
than mine," she responded.

"That's cuz you live houses away."  I shook my head.  If Mom didn't get her morning coffee, she wasn't pleasa
nt to be around.  One time
she actually made
up ludicrous
chores just to keep us entertained.
  After that my
little sister Jade and I learned to stay
away
when she was one of her moods
.

"I hope Troy was a little monster today."  Alexa stared up at the gray sky and distant snow-capped peaks.  She crossed her fingers.  "Please.  Oh please do something bad before I get home."

"Maybe he filled the dishwasher with army soldiers again," I chuckled.

"Something like that would definitely save me a lecture," she muttered.   "Please.  Please.  Please."  She took one last look at the sky.  "I
really
don't want to be grounded again this weekend."

"You should've saved the name calling for the locker room," I suggested.

"She started it," Alexa protested.  "Who does she think s
he is anyway?  Acting all stuck up
because she's a New Yorker.  Don't people up there have manners?"

"
It was her first day," I replied.  "She's not used to the small-town thing."

"You don't need to defend her."  Alexa shot me a disappointed look.

"I'm not," I immediately replied.  "Especially not after what she said when you left."  Alexa stopped, rooting her legs in place as she looked at my pale green eyes.

"I knew it," she huffed.  "Alright spill.  What did she say about me?  More name-calling I bet.  So original."

"It wasn't about you."  I sighed
as Brett's dark eyes and
perfectly gelled hair came into my mind.  My cheeks went red as I replayed his friendly nod in my head. 
I hope it was meant for me.

"No
?"  Alexa's mouth dropped open as she tilted her head, glancing down the snowy street.  "Oh . . . the football team."  Her wide eyes went even wider as
she
smirked.  "Does this have anything to do with Brett by chance?"  My heart thudded as she said his name out loud.

"What?"

"Oh nothing," she smiled.  "It's just every time you get that look on your face, the subject of Bret
t seems to come up
."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I said quietly.  I scratched at the skin on my thumbs, keeping my hands deeply rooted in my pockets.

"
Crystal," she rolled
her eyes.  "You gotta get over this whole Brett thing.  He hasn't talked to you since we started at Silver Hills High."

"He's had a busy
year," I interrupted.  "O
r two."

"Yeah, kickin' it with every sophomore girl but you."

"When he ran through the gym," I continued.  "He . . ."

"Let me guess," Alexa shook her head.  "He gave you the 'nod' again?  C, if he doesn't have the guts to come talk to you after years of being best buds, he's not worth your time." 

My heart thudded some more.  Brett couldn't have simply thrown away all those summers spent playing in the old school house. 
We'd spent hours gathering stray logs and branch
es to make it our special place
.  There had to be a reason why he'd stopped comi
ng over or meeting me at our usual
spot.

"He might've this time," I argued, raising my voice a little.  My arms felt hot underneath my coat.  "But the new girl ruined it."

"No surprise," Alexa sniggered.

"Amber thought the nod
was for
her
.  Can you believe that?"

"Uh
yeah," she responded.
 
"
If you haven't no
ticed, Amber
's kinda full of herself."

"As long as she leaves it at that," I murmured.  Alexa bit her lip, giving me the same
look
she had when Mitchell Haskins tried to sell me an elevator pass freshman year.   "What?  You don't think she . . ."

"Don't be upset," Alexa began.  "But it wouldn't surprise me one bit if t
he two of them were an item
by the end of the week."
  My s
tomach churned
.

"You really think so?" I questioned, but I knew she was right.  Amber didn't seem like the type to wait around for something she wanted.  So much for hoping a new neon-colored backpack might catch his attention.  Stupid idea.

"You know the answer to that," Alexa sighed.  "Trust me, C.  Just forget about him."  That was probably the millionth time she'd made that suggestion.  I couldn't just forget about him.  I'd tried that.  But every time I snuck a gl
ance at his tight arms or broad
shoulders, all the feelings I'd pushed away came flooding back. 

"You know I c
an't," I shrugged.  My heart
sank at the thought of seeing Brett with his sturdy arm around the new girl.

"Then you know what needs to happen."  A
lexa raised her eyebrows,
expecting me to know before she spoke any further.

"I should leave a note in his locker?" I sugge
sted.

"
Sure," she laughed.  "If you wanna wimp out.  You need a plan.  Something gutsy.
  Something that'll catch his attention and keep it.
"

"If anything like that exists," I responded.

"THINK," she shouted.
  The sudden blast of her voice startled me, making my brain jump as
I
hurriedly tried to come up with an acceptable answer.
  "There must be something."  I clenched my fists together, pushing my hands against the smooth fabric of
my pockets.  I guess my note suggestion was out.

"
I could make him a-
"

"No food," Alexa interrupted.  "That makes you look desperate."

"What do
you
suggest then?" I asked, a little impatient.  "Waltzing up to him after class and telling him he's a prick for not talking to me all this time?"  Alexa grinned as she rubbed her hands together.  "No way!  I suck at confronting people.  Remember Rachel H. in the fourth grade?"

"It doesn't have to be at school, and Rachel H. had it coming -
that 'lil' pick-
pocket."

"Where then?" I replied.  "Cause I'm pretty sure I'll have a panic attack
regardless of where we meet."

"Somewhere quiet and out of the way," Alexa suggested.  "And somewhere you'd have an excuse to meet up."

"
This is pointless, Alexa."  I lifted my boot from a pile of snow and continued walking as my teeth started to chatter.
  I had no excuse to
meet Brett anywhere.  I was ac
ing all my classes and I wasn't on the cheerleading squad.
  Asking him to meet me
made my chest pound like I'd just seen a ghost.
  I stopped, rubbing my forehead as I remembered those warm summer nights tiptoeing around the old school house.  "Unless . . ."

"You've got it?" Alexa said, shaking my shoulder.  "I knew there was something.  What is it?  Tell me."

"I don't know if it will work," I answered.  "But it's an excuse to meet up . . . at night . . . sort of alone."

You're killing me, C."  Alexa was practically jumping up and down.  "What is it?  And DON'T chicken out his time.  You need to tell that jerk what's up once and for all."
  I shot her a scolding look.

"I'm sure he has his reasons," I muttered.  "But he won't be able to ignore this."  I continued walking towards our street - my excitement boiling over as Alexa followed.  Why hadn't I thought of this before?

"Tell me," Alexa whined.  "Tell me."

"The Game."  I smiled as our street came into view.
  "W
hen's the next full moon?"

"How should I know," she shrugged.  "Game?  What game?"

"A few summers ago Brett and I made up a game," I responded.  "We used to meet up after midnight at the old school house."

"And do what?"  She pursed he lips and tried to hold back giggles.

"Nothing like that, perv." 
My mind was racing.  I had to come up with something
good - like REALLY good.  I'd been
on a
major
winning streak before we'd quit playing.

"Are dice involved?" she chuckled.  "Boring."

"You know those stupid horror flicks you're into?"

"Hey," she protested.  "
The Shinning
isn't stupid."

"Well, break out your collection.  We need ideas."