Chapter 1, Maddie.
“Don’t forget to practice your solo for the spring concert, Madison.” Mr Whitman said as I was packing up my cello. I picked up my concert music and cello and walked out of the classroom alone. All of my friends are sick today, so I have to be alone.
I was walking out of the classroom as I saw a band kid. At my school, orchestra kids and band kids are mortal enemies. We have been for years. I looked down at my sheet music, pretending not to see him… until I looked up and he was right in front of me. His brown hair was insane, like he just did a fist fight with a fan in windy weather. He also smelled of strong cologne, which was disgusting. He was also carrying a trombone. Of course he was. His blue eyes were glistening in the light, and it looked like he was about to say something.
“Gross! I didn’t know that orchestra kids were allowed to use this hallway,” he laughed as he began to smirk.
“And how superior do you think you really are?” I snapped back. I tucked some of my brown hair out of my face behind my ear and rolled my eyes.
“Band kids are stupid. They don’t know that they’re dumb as hell” I said to him, rolling my eyes.
“I’m Caden! The most superior trombone player! And who do you think you are?” The boy snaps back. I had just realized that he is in my grade, 9th.
I started walking away with my cello. “Madison. Don’t you already know?”
As I was walking to my next class I realized that I couldn’t stop thinking about him. My gut told myself to hate all band kids, but… there was something different about Caden. He was also a little cute. But I’ll never tell anyone that. Ever.
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Orchestra kids and band kids can never be friends.
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Chapter 2, Caden
I was going to be late for band. I was running down the halls with my trombone, hair getting messy. I was almost to the band room when I saw an orchestra girl carrying a cello. Honestly, she looked a little cute. Her big shiny brown eyes matched just right with her dirty blonde hair. She was clutching her cello like it was the only thing that mattered, and she looked down occasionally to peek at her sheet music. She looks like a serious orchestra girl.
This is going to be fun.
I ran up to her, not caring that band and orchestra kids hate each other.
I just love to tease them.
“Gross! I didn’t know that orchestra kids are allowed to use this hallway,” I snapped at her. She deserves it. She looks a little bit too self centered, if you know what I mean.
Her eyes shot a glare at me. To be honest, it did hurt a little. Classic orchestra kids. She tilted her head a little bit, but if you weren’t looking closely you wouldn’t be able to notice it. It looked like she didn’t hate me. It looked like she was trying to assess me. I almost laughed at her. But I knew that if I did laugh, it wouldn’t end well for me.
“Band kids are stupid. They don’t know that they’re dumb as hell,” she snapped as she rolled her eyes.
I couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. She’s a bit cute. But I can’t act weird around her… that would be bad if any of my friends found out.
I took a step closer to her so she had no choice but to acknowledge me.
“I’m Caden! The most superior trombone player in band! Who do you think you are?!” I snapped at her, trying not to blush while yelling it right in her face.
She didn’t answer. I thought she would, but she just walked around me and walked away, still holding her cello like a piece of treasure.
If she wanted to ignore me, fine. It’s not like I care to be honest.
After that moment I couldn’t stop thinking about her. During our little interaction I noticed a little hint of something… like I wanted to know more about her? I’m not sure what it is… but it’s making me want to see her again.
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Chapter 3, Maddie
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I tried to walk to my next class without thinking about Caden. But I couldn’t help myself for some reason.
He was just so chaotic. His messy brown hair and big blue eyes infuriated me. Well, that isn’t quite the right word. I’m not sure what the word is, but he isn’t quite making me mad.
He was so loud and obnoxious, and he acted like he ruled the hallways. But there was something different about him. He makes me curious if I like it or not.
I shook my head, cursing under my breath. Orchestra kids and band kids can never be friends. But here I am… still thinking about him.
During our encounter, I kept glancing down at my sheet music pretending to be studying my part. But instead all I could think about was that stupid grin of his. When he stepped closer to me it made me want to roll my eyes and laugh at the same time.
This is really pissing me off. I can’t be thinking about this. Why did we even meet? But whenever I remember the look of his bright blue eyes my stomach does a little flip. I don’t know why I even think that he’s cute… but I can’t tell anyone. All of my friends will be mad.
To everyone else it seemed like a regular day.
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But I feel like that interaction is going to change the rest of my life.
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Chapter 4, Caden
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“Why are you acting so weird, Caden?” Ian asked me. It was our lunch break, and apparently I was being too quiet.
“It’s fine, don’t worry. There’s nothing going on.” I told him. Ian, who plays percussion in band, gives me a weird look and then shrugs.
“Okay, Caden. Ever since before band you haven’t been like yourself.” He tells me.
Me and Ian were eating our lunch on the curb of the basketball court, as we always do.
“...Anyways, did you study for the Spanish quiz?” Ian asks me.
“Why would I study? I have better things I can focus on.” I shrugged.I was looking around the basketball court when I saw Madison, or as some people call her, Maddie. She was sitting alone on the curb on the other side of us, opening an uncrustable sandwich. For some reason I started to ignore Ian and I started sneaking occasional glances at her.
“Dude, who are you looking at?” Ian said suspiciously. I gave him a look and I walked away from him. I gave her another glance, and she looked up at me. We looked at each other for a few seconds but then looked away. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. I probably did too, but I was too busy thinking about her.
I heard Ian laughing from a distance, and I knew that he was laughing at my complete obliviousness today.
I don’t know why, but I want to get to know her. I don’t care at all that band kids and orchestra kids should never be friends, and should never talk to each other and that kind of stuff.
I have no idea why, but something about her makes me want to break all of the rules.
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Chapter 5, Maddie
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It’s the lunch period after that interaction with Caden. For no reason whatsoever I can’t stop thinking about him. I looked around me and I forgot for a split-second that my friends were gone and sick. I walked through the sea of kids to get my lunch from my locker.
I went outside to sit on the curb at the basketball court for lunch. A chose a spot where I could be focused and study my Spanish for the quiz that I have next period. I was just about to take my first bite into my fudge uncrustable as I saw Caden. He was on the other side of the curb at the basketball court. He was with my ex-friends brother, Ian. I rolled my eyes at them and took a bite of my sandwich. As I looked up for a second from my Spanish notes I realized that Caden was looking at me.
Why was he looking at me, of all people? Ian was talking to him and trying to get his attention but it looked as if Caden was ignoring him. After a few seconds of both of us looking at each other I looked down at my notes and finished my lunch.
As I was about to get up and go to the vending machine, I saw that Caden was walking away from Ian while Ian was laughing.
Now that really made me pissed.
I walked up to Ian, livid.
“Why are you laughing at him? Huh? Answer, don’t be scared!” I snapped at him. After I finished that sentence I saw a look of disgust crawl up his pale face.
“Oh, nothing. Why do you think that you should know? My sister wants nothing to do with you.” Ian replies. He shrugs at me, his signature move.
“Ivy has nothing to do with this.” I yell at him. Ivy is Ian’s twin sister.
“Get away from me, freak. You’re so weird, I don’t even know how I haven’t punched you already.” Ian snapped.
Okay, that was enough. I’ve had enough of him.
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Why did I punch him? I have no idea whatsoever. But it was a little funny watching him get a bloody nose from a punch from a girl and then run inside the school crying. He just is a bad person and I don’t know why a good person like Caden is friends with him.
Wait… what am I saying?
Why do I keep needing to remind myself that band kids and orchestra kids can never be friends. That’s a school tradition.
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But Caden is special. I wanted to punch Ian. Caden deserves a better friend.
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Chapter 6, Caden
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As the final bell rang for the day, I ran out of my study-lab classroom and to my locker. I stopped to grab my trombone and I checked my phone.
‘Sorry, Caden. I can’t pick you up today. They need me at work. - Mom’
My mom is a nurse at the hospital. My dad is in the Army, so I’m always home alone. All of my siblings have already graduated high school and have moved away to different states, so I have nobody, literally.
I grabbed my bag and I walked out of the school. As I was crossing the cross walk I saw Madison ahead of me.
Should I go up to her?
I ignored common sense and ran up to her, accidentally scaring her and making her jump a little.
“Hi, Madison.” I said, smiling. Maddie smiled, and started to laugh.
“Do you seriously not know what I did to Ian?” Maddie asked me, looking ashamed.
I looked at her, curious.
What did she do to Ian?
I shake my head. “No. What did you do? Or do I not want to know?”
“After you walked away I sort’ve started an argument with him about you and may have punched him.” She mutters, blushing.
Wait. Did she just say that she started an argument with Ian about me? Is she serious?
The look on her face gave away that she was serious. She looked ashamed, but also like she had fun doing so, too.
“Oh. I hadn't seen him after lunch, so I didn’t know. It’s okay, though. He was being kind of rude. And I’m pretty sure he would’ve been rude to you, too. Right?” I said.260Please respect copyright.PENANAmfK1WcsObC
Maddie nods, and she stops walking.
“You do know that I still hate you, right? And that you should hate me?” She says, blushing barely enough to notice.
But I don’t want to hate her… I also may want to ask her to the upcoming dance that’s in a month. But… that’ll probably never happen.
“Yeah, I know. Sorry, I’ll leave you alone.” I say, kind of depressed now. I walk away from her, and when I look back at her I see the sad look in her eyes, her face getting sadder the farther I get away from her.
I don’t want to despise her. It doesn’t seem right. It also seems like she doesn’t want to hate me either, but it’s like she has no choice.
Okay, I’m done with hating her.
I’m so done with it. I’m gonna try to spend more time with her and then maybe ask her to the dance.
That sounds like a solid plan… right?
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Chapter 7, Maddie
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As usual, I have to walk home. My parents don’t have the time to pick me up and drop me off at school. My aunt recently passed so we have to look after her baby, Eleanor. I was at the crosswalk thinking about Caden and what happened today when Caden actually ran up to me.
Jeez! Why does he think we’re friends?
“Hi, Madison!” Caden smiled, looking happy as he always does. His strong cologne smelled faint by then, and his blue eyes shone in the sunlight.
“Before you get mad, I have something to say. I might have started an argument with Ian about you and punched him.” I say, not knowing what he’s gonna say next.
“Really? Oh, don’t worry about it. I haven’t seen Ian since lunch so I didn’t know.” He replied, laughing. I smiled at his response, because I thought he was gonna be a lot ruder about it, hence how we met.
He’s cute, and I really like him- wait, I need to stop. We can’t like each other. There’s no way we can be a thing. Doesn’t he hate me?
Out of impulse I stop walking.
“Don’t you know that I still hate you, right? And that you should hate me?” I say, trying not to blush.
“Yeah, I know. Sorry, I’ll leave you alone.” he says, and then he walks away.
I frown, not actually wanting him to leave. I watch him walking away for a few seconds, until he is almost hard to see. I walk to my house and I think about what happened with me and Caden today.
Did that really happen? When we met it seemed like he hated me. But maybe I’m just wrong about him. He does seem like a good person.
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Chapter 8, Caden
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“Why’d you punch my brother, huh? Still mad that I stopped hanging out with you just for your personality and that you changed!?” I hear a girl screaming at lunch.
Wait. What!? Oh no, someone is yelling at Maddie… I have to help her. I don’t care what people say.
I run to where the yelling is coming from and I see Maddie cowered in a corner and Ivy, Ian’s twin sister, yelling that she’s the one that deserves to be punched.
“Hey! Ivy, stop!” I say, trying to get in between Ivy and Maddie.
“What’s up with you, band kid? I’m more superior than you! I’m first chair violin! Back off!” Ivy yells at me, and kicks me in the stomach.
Maddie starts crying.
What the hell is wrong with her!?
I looked around and I realized that we weren’t unnoticed anymore. There was a group of spectators now.
I need to help Maddie before she gets hurt.
I finally managed to get myself in between the two yelling girls and out of spite I punched Ivy. After I punched Ivy, I grabbed Maddie’s sleeve and I dragged her into a practice room in the band room.
“...Caden,” Maddie starts, still crying a little bit.
“It’s fine, I’d rather get in trouble than you getting in trouble.”
I had just realized that I hadn’t let go of her sleeve. I look at her, heart still beating.
But my heart wasn’t beating as fast as a war drum because of Ivy, it was because of Maddie.
The practice room was dimly lit with yellow walls, with a keyboard leaning against the wall.
We both just stare at each other in silence for a few minutes, her sleeve still in my hand. I look at her face, and it was drenched in tears and her curtain bangs were all messed up.
“...Hey, can I ask you a question?” I say, not thinking this through at all.
Maddie leans a little closer, thumb brushing my hand through her sleeve. Her shiny brown eyes shine in the dimly lighted room in curiosity.
“Yeah. I feel… I feel like people are gonna be mad when they figure out that we’re friends. Y’know, a strings kid and a band kid? People are gonna get mad.”
“Maddie?” I say hesitant, cheeks flaming.
“That’s one of the couple times that you’ve called me that…” She notes, still not letting me let go of her sleeve.
“Uh, if you want, I was gonna go to that new ice cream place after school today. Do you want to come?” I blurt out, not knowing if I’m gonna get rejected.
“Oh! Uh, sure, I’ll go with you. Looking forward to it.” She says, looking up at me. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it before, but I am a little taller than her.
The lunch bell finally rings, which means it’s time for our next class.
“Well, see you after school, Maddie.” I smile.
“See you later, Caden.”
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Chapter 9, Maddie
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I couldn’t believe it. The person that I thought hated me saved me from Ivy and asked me out to go get ice cream.
The final bell of the day finally rang, and I found Caden waiting at my locker.
“Hi Caden,” I smile. I dragged my cello case up to my locker and I put everything in my backpack.
We walked out of the school and we were met with awkward silence. Yes, I knew that our friendship was escalating very very quickly, but… I know I can’t like him and he can’t like me, but we can’t help it.
“Caden, I don’t know-” I started.
“It’s fine, I don’t either. Come on, it’s this way.” He leads me down a street and then we are met face to face with a retro type ice cream shop.
“Come on, let’s go!” I pull him by the sleeve inside the little shop.
We both pick out our ice cream. I pick bubblegum of course, he picks vanilla. How bland of him.
We sit down at a little table in the front of the little shop and we begin to talk about how different band and orchestra is.
“Y’know, now that I have a friend that’s a band kid, it’s hard to understand how orchestra and band hate each other.” I tell him. He nods, looking at me, his cheeks turning a bright red.
After we both finish our ice cream we take a walk around the school. We were walking side by side when he started inching toward me.
“Madison- I mean, Maddie? Can I ask you something?” He asks, holding his hand out. I grab it as he’s wanting me to do, not actually knowing what he’s gonna do.
“What, Caden?” I ask, nervous.
“Will you, uh, how do I say this…” he starts.
“Will I what?” I ask, my big brown eyes shining in curiosity.
“Will you go to the dance with me?” He blurts. I looked at him for a few seconds, not knowing if he actually meant it.
“Are you serious, Caden? The most superior trombone in band wants to go to the dance with me, the first chair cello in orchestra?” I ask, “Sure. I don’t care if it causes drama.”
I couldn’t believe anything that happened that day.
Caden looked at me one final time and then he got a message on his phone. He pulls it out of his pocket and a look of panic washes over his face.
“I have to go, Maddie. I’m sorry! Have a good night, see you tomorrow!” He yells to me, while he was running in the direction of his house.
“Bye, Caden!” I yell to him.
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What the hell just happened!?
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Chapter 10, Caden
It was the morning after me and Maddie’s ‘date.’ I was eating breakfast when Ian barged through the front door of my house. I didn’t even know that Ian knew where I lived.
“Why the hell did you walk out of school yesterday with the girl that punched me!? And let’s not forget common sense, Caden! She’s an orchestra girl! You can’t be around her! What’s wrong with you!?” Ian starts screaming at me, shrugging in between sentences. His pale face looked sweaty from running, and his sweatshirt was covered in dirt.
I look at him in shock. As I inspect him further, I find that he also has dried blood around his nose and he has a black eye. I don’t say anything for a moment before Ian starts yelling at me again.
“I just want to get in her head, I guess…” I lie. I pick up my trombone and backpack and I walk out of the door, Ian following me.
“Just think before she hurts you!” Ian yells to me before he walks a different way.
I wasn’t expecting Ian to confront me about Madison…
“What? I didn’t know that you had feelings for other people. Bye, Ian. OUr friendship is over for good. You and Ivy screwed it all up.”
“When she ends it, if you two are a thing, I’m gonna say ‘I told you so,’” Ian says from a distance, walking to school on a different path than me.
The walk to school I felt bad about just running out of there on Maddie. It’s not my fault that my mom made me get home as quickly as I could because there was an emergency at the hospital.
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When I get to the school I look around to look for Maddie. I finally find her at her locker, drinking some peach flavored tea from a blue can.
“Hi, Maddie. Sorry about running home last night, my mom needed me home.” I apologized to the girl who looked prettier than usual today.
I started to look closer at her, and it looked like she was wearing makeup. When we first met I would’ve teased her for it, but I would never do that to her now.
“Oh, hi Caden! Don’t worry about it. I had to get home, too.” She says as she closes her locker shut.
“I-uh- I had fun last night. Do you want to do it again soon?” I ask her nervously.
Her bright and kind face lights up and her big brown eyes begin to shine. I see bright red blush crawling up her neck, and she started fidgeting with her hoodie strings.
“I had fun, too! Sure, we can do it again. Does tonight work or too soon?” She laughs, smiling wide, her bright white teeth shining in the hallway.
“Sure! But class starts soon. I need to get to class. See you at lunch?” I say, smiling. I grab her hand and I pull her in for a hug. I hear her chuckling under her breath, and then I finally let her go. I didn’t want to leave her warm presence, but I had to.
“See you later, Caden!”
I honestly couldn’t believe we went from being mortal enemies to being friends in only a couple days. It usually takes longer for that kind of stuff to happen.
I wanted to ask her to be my girlfriend. She’s a cute girl. She just seems perfect.
I was too busy daydreaming about her that I missed the first bell of the day ring. I ran to my first class after stopping by my locker and for some reason I couldn’t stop thinking about our awkward hug.
Why did I hug her?
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Chapter 11, Maddie
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I wanted to get to school early today. I wanted to spend extra time with Caden.
I wonder if we are officially a thing now.
I grab my peach tea out of my fridge and walk to school.
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Of course Caden had to get to school late. I was waiting like half an hour before he walked up to me and started talking to me.
I couldn’t get the date out of my head. It made my stomach flip every time I thought about it.
“Hi, Maddie! Sorry for running home last night. My mom wanted me home.” Caden apologizes.
“Oh, don’t worry, it's fine.” I tell him. I feel the blush creeping up my neck and I start fidgeting with my sweatshirt. I take one final sip of my tea before I shove it into my locker.
“Madison I had fun last night, do you want to do it again?” Caden asks suddenly.
“Of course. I had fun, too.” I tell him. I looked at the digital clock that is in the hallway and I realize that it is almost time for class.
Caden grabs my hand and pulls me in for a hug. I couldn’t believe it. What if someone saw a band kid and an orchestra kid hugging in the middle of the hallway?
Whatever. I don’t care anymore. Wait… I have a different mindset of him than how I did a couple days ago.
“Let's go after school today. I’m free.” I tell him after he pulled away. I didn’t want him to pull away. It was comforting, his warm presence comforting in my era of anxiety.
I know it’s weird that he hugged me… so why did I enjoy it?
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Chapter 12, Caden
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It’s now band class, and I can’t seem to focus. I wasn’t hitting the right notes, and Mr. Tuncha was getting pissed.
Band class felt like it was eternity today. I felt so relieved when band ended. People keep asking me what I was doing, hugging that orchestra kid this morning. I just tell them that I’m trying to get in her head. But everyone knows that's a lie.
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After school me and Maddie meet at her locker again. We both walk to the ice cream shop again, Maddie walking unusually close to me for some reason.
“Hey, Maddie, come this way.” I told her, taking her hand and pulling her down into an alley.
“Caden, where are we going…” Maddie says nervously, while I still had her hand in my hand as I was leading her down an alleyway. I stop walking in the middle of an alley, not knowing where we are, to be honest.
“Maddie, can I ask you a question?” I say, not thinking this through.
Maddie nods nervously, her cheeks as red as a tomato.
“Will-you-uh, will you be my girlfriend!?” I yell impulsively.
Madison looks at me in complete surprise, and then smiles.
“Yeah. Yeah, Caden I will.”
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Chapter 13, Maddie
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“Will-you-uh, will you be my girlfriend!?” Caden yells. He had just taken me on another ice cream ‘date’ and then took me into an alley.
I look at him in disbelief for a few moments, thinking that he’s joking. After a few seconds of looking at him I realize that he wasn’t joking.
To be honest, I didn’t know what to say. What if someone found out that a band kid is dating an orchestra kid? But I didn’t care anymore. At least that’s what I thought at the moment, anyways.
“Yeah. Yeah, Caden. Yes I will.” I smile at him, trying not to blush.
“Really? I thought you would start to tease me or something.” Caden laughs, his blue eyes suddenly brighter than they were.
I start smiling awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
Well, this is more awkward than it should be…
Caden grabs my hand again and holds it in his. I look down at our hands intertwined and it feels like my heart skips a beat. I wanted to pull away, but I couldn’t get myself to.
I can’t actually believe this is real.
“Can you help me get to the ice cream place? To be honest, I have no idea where we are.” Caden laughs.
I chuckle, my hand still in his.
“Yeah, it’s this way.” I say, leading him down the alleyway still holding his hand.
After we finish our ice cream, he grabs both my hands.
Caden stepped close to me, closing the gap in between us and smiled. His breath tickles my cheek, my own cheeks turning red. My chest tightens and my heart suddenly feels like it’s going 300 BPM (music pun intended). His eyes lock with mine, giving me a look that is too hard to even describe. I could hear and feel my heartbeat through my sweatshirt, and I wondered if Caden noticed. I could feel my legs start to wobble. Caden gives my hand a quick squeeze before he walks away, his big blue eyes looking into mine, his cheeks red.
“I have to get home, Maddie. See you tomorrow?” Caden says, holding my hands.
“Yeah. See you tomorrow!” I smile, brown eyes glinting from the street light.
I stand there all alone for a few moments just realizing what had happened.
I can’t believe a band kid just asked me to be his girlfriend!
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Chapter 14, Caden
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It was our lunch break, and I couldn’t find Maddie anywhere. I finally checked near her locker and there she was, talking to her friends. It looked almost as if her friends were scolding her for something.
I walk up to her, and I find two orchestra kids yelling at her.
“What!? You’re dating a band kid!? What the hell is wrong with you!?” I hear one of the girls say to her as I walk up to Maddie.
“Oh, this must be Caden, the band kid. What the hell is wrong with you!?” The other girl yelled at me.
I looked at Maddie, her face red. She was holding her peach tea, and looked like she wanted to punch them as hard as she punched Ian.
I tucked some of her hair behind her ear and I held her hand.
“Listen. I know we’ve been sick for everything and haven’t been here, but you can’t betray tradition. Whatever. Let’s go, Eliana.” One of the girls snapped.
I leaned a little closer to Maddie, just enough that our shoulders are touching. My head kept telling me to kiss her, but the look on her face looked… I don’t know how to explain it.
Strands of her dirty blonde hair fall loose from her messy-bun, and my legs wobble. I try to fight the urge to not tuck it behind her ear.
Out of impulse I lean closer to her and tuck her loose strands of hair behind her ear. The warmth of her warm cheeks on my hand makes my heart flutter.
I leaned a little forward, her hand still in mine, and my mind was screaming: Kiss her. Do it.
I was about to; our faces were almost touching. But… I didn’t know if she was ready yet. I squeezed her hand, as if it was a secret language or something.
She squeezed back, but her face was as red as my red converses. I leaned back a little and smiled.
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“Not today.”
But… soon. Soon I will. I just need to wait a little longer.
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She smiles, and squeezes my hand even tighter. She puts her blue can of peach tea into her locker and we walk to our next class together, hand in hand.
I knew that people wouldn’t like this, but I just want to hold her close forever.
It just feels so right and I have no explanation for it.
Her pretty big brown eyes look just so cute with her rounded pale face and dirty blonde hair. Her smile is so comforting. It makes me want to melt.
Ever since I met her she hasn’t left the thoughts in my head.
She’s just that unforgettable.
It seems as if she always has a can of tea with her. In fact, she has it so much that she smells like peaches.
If I never met her I don’t know where I would be right now. Would me and Ian still be friends? Or would I have already realized that he isn’t the best person I’ve ever been friends with?
But none of that matters.
Madison is my girlfriend now. I don’t care at all that she’s in orchestra. I don’t care what people think. When her hand is in mine everything else disappears.
I just want to be around her.
No matter how much people say, I’m always gonna like her.
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No matter what. I’ll never leave her. I’ll never break her heart, I’ll never do anything to her.
I just don’t understand now why band and orchestra kids hate each other.
Why are we so accustomed to that rule?
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Chapter 15, Maddie
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Did he almost kiss me!?
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Me, Caden, Elizabeth, and ELiana were all at my locker, and of course Lee and Eliana were pissed. I’m dating a band kid!
But… Caden was there, and I’m glad I met him. He… I guess I can say that he’s my idea of a good person.
He’s just so funny, and he’s also really cute. He also sometimes acts before thinking, but instead of it being negative, its a positive trait about him. I now have a boyfriend. When he asked me to be my boyfriend I was expecting to get crap, but I wasn’t expecting to maybe lose my friends. Okay, maybe I was.
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But I don’t care anymore. I don’t care about how we don’t belong together. I don’t care what people say.
He’s my boyfriend and I want it to stay that way.
It was orchestra class and I always kept missing a bowing. Mr. Whitman was beginning to get suspicious. But I just couldn’t get his face out of my mind. His blue eyes, his crazy brown hair, his laugh, it’s… unique. Not in a bad way, though.
His hand when it was intertwined in mine… it made me forget about everyone else. It made me forget that we probably shouldn’t be together because of the band and orchestra ‘rule.’
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My daydreaming was getting worse, though. I don’t know why it escalated so fast.
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It was the end of orchestra class, and as I was walking out of the classroom I saw Caden. Right in the spot where I first saw him.
I walk over to him, not knowing what was about to come.
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Chapter 16, Caden
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I needed to ‘talk’ to Maddie. I was waiting for a few minutes for her and then I saw her carrying her cello like a treasure off from a distance.
“Hi, Caden! What’s up?” Maddie smiles.
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Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her.
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I’m not gonna listen to my instincts just yet. I need to talk to her first.
“Maddie, After school meet me right here. Okay?” I tell her. She gives me a look of confusion, and then nods.
“Sure…?” Maddie says, hesitant.
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It is finally after school. I need to tell her. Now.
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Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her.
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I went to where I was supposed to meet Maddie and I see that she beat me there.
“Hi, Caden. What’s going on?” She asks, not knowing anything at all. I see a mob of band and orchestra kids walking toward us, yelling at us.
“Come, I can’t tell you here.” I grab her hand and I walk her to the alley where I asked her to be my girlfriend.
“Caden. What are you doing?” She laughs, smiling. I grab her other hand and my heartbeat intensifies.
My instincts tell me to kiss her. But I need to ask her something first.
“Do you even want to be with me? Y’know, with the whole band kid and orchestra kid thing?” I ask, heat crawling up my neck. The palms of my hands become sweatier by the minute, and I’m sure Maddie knows, too.
“... Caden. What makes you ever doubt that? Of course I do.” She smiles, still hugging her cello like it’s her most prized possession.
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Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her.
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“Can you put down your cello for a second?”
Maddie looks at me, confused, but she puts it on the ground.
“I just thought that you wouldn’t because of the band and strings thing.Band is just so hated by you guys, and orchestra is so hated by us.” I begin. Maddie forgets all about her cello by now.
She walks closer to me, so we’re only like a few centimeters away.
“You’re the only one that I want.” She says. Before I could say anything she shushes me.
Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her.
And did she just shush me? Classic orchestra kids.
Out of impulse, I lean closer to her. I just wanted to ask her before I actually kissed her.
She met me halfway and when we met everything seemed so warm.
Did I literally just kiss her?
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“Uh,” I begin.
“It’s fine, don’t worry. I was thinking about it for a while, too. I need to get home, though. My mom needs help with my baby cousin.” She says. She squeezes my hand and then walks away after she grabs her cello off of the ground.
Did I seriously just do that? But… I’m glad I did.
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I guess we’re officially a thing now. No matter what anyone says.
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Chapter 17, Maddie
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I can’t believe we just had our first kiss. And we’ve only been a thing for a few days!
Everything just became so warm when we leaned in, though. I don’t know how to explain it.
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When I got home I tried not to act weird. My parents were suspicious, and I knew I was acting weird. But I couldn’t help it. Caden just kissed me.
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Even a few hours later I couldn’t even comprehend fully what had happened earlier. Today was a very long day. Everything that happened with Caden, and orchestra sectionals, it was just insane today.
It was now 8 PM, and me and Caden’s moment hasn’t left my mind. My parents were busy putting my cousin to bed, so I could easily sneak out through my bedroom window.
I decided to act more like Caden. To think less. I crawled out of the window and walked over to Caden’s house. I rang the doorbell and Caden was at the door.
“Madison?!” Caden said, shocked.
“Caden… I can’t stop thinking about earlier.” I blurt. Caden looks surprised for some reason.
“Same… Maddie?” Caden says.
“...Yeah?” I ask, not knowing what he’s gonna say.
“You’re the only one I want. I’ll never forget you. You’re perfect. I’ll never forget when I met you, Maddie. 9th grade.” Caden says.
“That’s exactly how I feel.” I say.
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We spent hours talking on his front porch.
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“Caden…” I say.
“Yeah?” He says. I look up at the night sky. The sound of crickets fills the air, and there are stars as far as the eye can see.
I look down at my shoes. I didn’t know if this was the right thing to say, but I feel like I needed to say it.
“I’m sorry about Ian.” I mumbled under my breath. Caden looks at me, wide-eyed, and he moves closer to me. Eventually we were hugging, sitting on the front steps of his front porch.
“It’s fine. Now that I realize it he wasn’t the best person ever.” He says after a few moments of silence.
Still hugging him, I look up to look at his face.
“Are you sure?” I ask. For some reason I felt really bad about him losing his best friend.
He nods, and he leans more into me. After sitting there like that for almost an hour, I finally decide to look at my phone.
“Oh. It’s almost midnight,” I mutter, “I need to get home.” I yawn, squeezing his hand. When he didn’t answer I realized that he fell asleep.
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I don’t know why I decided to stay there with him. Maybe it’s just because I just didn’t want to get up.
Or maybe it’s because I didn’t want to let him go.
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Chapter 18, Caden
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I had just realized that I fell asleep with Maddie last night on my front porch. When I woke up Maddie was still there.
Is that why I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night last night? Because I was with Maddie?
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It was finally lunch break and I went to go find Maddie. She was at her locker, drinking her peach tea. As I walked closer to her, I realized that she smelled like a combination of my cologne and her peach tea.
“Oh, hi Caden! You made me smell like your cologne…” Maddie sighed. She started laughing as she reached for my hand. We both walked to the school library for some reason.
“Maddie. Maddie, don’t ever leave me.” I blurt. She suddenly chuckles, and she blushes.
“I won’t. No matter what.”
“Do you promise?”
“I promise, Caden.”
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Chapter 19, Maddie
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“I will never ever do anything. I promise, Caden.” I tell him. He takes my hand and gives me a hug.
“I just don’t want to be heartbroken like my brother was.” He says.
“Wait… what?” I ask him.
“In my big brother's freshman year of high school, which was a few years ago, he met a girl. Their relationship was exactly like ours in the beginning. But once summer came, they grew apart and never spoke again.” Caden says. “I just don’t want that to happen to me.”
“Caden! You’ve done so much for me! Do you really think I would just throw all of it away!?” I tell him. I pull him closer and I kiss him. I feel his heart beating as fast as a drum, but I didn’t care. I needed him to calm down.
When I pull back his expression looked assured.
“Thank you, Maddie.” He says.
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“Thank you for everything.”
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To be Continued…
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