Notice Me Read online

  Notice Me

  by

  Stella Wilkinson

  Books by Stella Wilkinson

  The Flirting Games

  More Flirting Games

  Further Flirting Games

  The Flirting Games Trilogy, Books 1 - 3

  Good @ Games

  Flirting with Friends

  Halloween Magic & Mayhem

  Werewolf Magic & Mayhem

  Solstice Magic & Mayhem

  Notice Me

  A Christmas Gift

  All Hallows EVE

  Romancing the Stove

  Bend it like a Bookworm

  If you would like to be informed immediately when future books by this author are released then please sign up to the mailing list at: http://eepurl.com/wEMmD

  Copyright Stella Wilkinson 2014

  Cover Design by Melody Simmons of eBookindiecovers

  All characters herein are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher or author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book was written, produced and edited in the UK, where some spelling, grammar and word usage will vary from US English.

  Part 1 – Jenny

  Chapter One – Noticing Him

  How do you make a boy notice you?

  I’ve had a crush on Scott Lawes for months now, and if I hoped it was a passing phase, then I was wrong. It keeps getting stronger. He’s just so gorgeous.

  He’s got blond hair that flops right into his eyes, a killer smile, big baby blues, and a great body. He’s very sporty, in fact he’s vice-captain of most of the school teams.

  Not the captain; I didn’t fall for the super jock. That would be Damon West. Damon is captain of everything, and Damon is the muscle-bound heartthrob of Blue River School. And I didn’t fall for the resident bad boy. That would be Nick Weathergale, the dark sexy one that tons of girls sigh over, the love-’em-and-leave-’em flirt.

  No, I fell for the funny one. The joker of the pack. The one who lights up a room, who makes me smile even when it’s pouring with rain and I don’t have an umbrella, the one everybody likes no matter who they are. Funny is sexy.

  Add funny to gorgeous and it’s pretty lethal. Well, it is for me.

  I’ve known Scott since we were eleven, but it wasn’t until my seventeenth birthday that I finally realized a veritable God had been living amongst us.

  For my seventeenth I went out for pizza with a large crowd of friends. They weren’t all out for me. There are three of us with our birthdays in the same week, so we decided to combine a pizza party on the Saturday night to celebrate.

  I think it was Becky who invited Scott. But it could have been anyone really; it wasn’t an invitation-only kind of party. About forty friends and casual acquaintances from my school were there and it was all going great. Right up until the moment I stepped outside for some air and found my boyfriend kissing a girl I used to call my friend.

  I’d been dating Will for about three months. It wasn’t love, but it had been nice. We’d flirted on and off for about a month and then he’d asked me out. Simple as that. I was thrilled because he was my first “official” boyfriend. We held hands, we kissed, he carried things for me and he bought me a pair of earrings. All was going well, in my opinion, right up until I found him wrapped around Carrie Grey. Carrie Grey The Easy Lay, that’s what my friends call her (at least they do now). Maybe things with me just hadn’t been moving fast enough for Will? I don’t know. I thought we were both in the same place in the relationship. But I heard on the grapevine that a week after I dumped him he was bragging that Carrie had put out already and how satisfied he was, so I guess that’s all he really wanted.

  Anyway, finding them together on my seventeenth kind of put a downer on my night. Yeah, I may have gotten way more upset than the scumbag deserved. But at the time it felt like a punch in the gut. I think I actually burst into tears and ran off. It irritates me now that I let him even see that I was hurt, but it was my special day! He could have at least cheated on me on a regular day, instead of crapping on my birthday.

  I went round the side of the building into the shadows and had a good cry. Then I texted Andrea, my best friend, and asked her to bring out my bag. My face was a mascara-streaked mess, and I couldn’t go back inside looking that way.

  I was kicking the wall just for the hell of it when I heard a voice say, “Who’s that?”

  At first I was terrified. I was in a dark alley on my own, but then I recognized Scott’s golden hair in the light from the street and sighed with relief.

  “It’s me, Jenny.” I told him, staying in the shadows.

  “What are you doing out here?” He moved closer.

  “Um. Kicking the wall in the balls?” I sniffed, trying to hide my tears.

  He laughed, “Why?”

  “Well, it’s the wall or Will Dobright. He’s out front swapping spit with Carrie Grey. But he’s supposed to be here with me.”

  “Oh, I see.” He ducked into the alley with me and leaned against the wall. “I wouldn’t bother taking it out on the wall. He’ll get his comeuppance. Paul shagged her last week and now he’s got crabs.”

  I burst out laughing. I didn’t know if he was serious or not, but it cheered me up no end.

  “Anyway, they’re not outside now, so you can stop hiding down here. Plus I think someone might have peed against this wall.” He wrinkled his nose at the alley smell and hastily moved away from the wall. “It wasn’t you, was it?” There was a twinkle in his eyes as he said it and I knew he was joking, but I glared at him anyway for even suggesting I would do such a thing!

  “I can’t go back in there,” I said. “Everyone will know about Will and Carrie by now, plus I look like a mess.”

  “Don’t be silly, you look as lovely as always.” He gave me an adorable half smile and my heart did a funny flip-flop.

  It was only one of many many funny flip-flops that my heart would do around this boy in the months to come, but I particularly remember it because it was the first one.

  He thought I always looked lovely?

  I smiled back, feeling a little better, and stepped out of the shadows.

  “Uh oh!” Scott stopped me, and tipped my chin up to get a better look at my face. “Scratch that last comment. You are a mess.”

  “Argh! I knew it!” I hid my face in my hands. “Where the sodding bells is Andrea with my bag?”

  “I’m over here.” She appeared at the corner. “Sorry, Jen. I couldn’t find it for ages. It was under a pile of coats. Hi, Scott.” She did a shoulder hunch and blinked fast, which she thinks is cute, and gave away the fact she thought Scott was worthy of it.

  I gave her a small smile, and then fished in the bag until I came up with a mirror and a tissue, and attempted to wipe my face. I had black streaks down my cheeks and I looked minging. There was no way I was going back through the crowd to get to the bathroom for a real repair job.

  “It doesn’t matter; thanks anyway, Andi. But it’s nearly eleven and I just want to go home.”

  “You can’t leave,” she said, horrified. “It’s your birthday, there’s a cake.”

  “I’m sorry. I not in the mood anymore.” I shook my head decisively.

  “But… my dad’s not picking us up for another hour, and you can’t walk home on your own. Shall I wait with you for a taxi?”

  “I’ll walk you,” Scott said as I opened my mouth to argue. “I have an early swim meet, so I was heading home anyway. You live right off King Street don’t you? It’s on my way.”

  Andrea began to nod at me like a mad head-bobbing thing you get in a car window, and gave Scott another barrage of eye-blinking. “That would be so kind, Scott. Text me when you get home, Jen?”

  “Are you sure?” I asked Scott as Jen hurried back into the pizza place. “I didn’t know you live near me.”

  “A bit further on,” Scott said, checking the street before steering me out of the alleyway. “I back onto the River near the old bridge.”

  “Oh, okay, great. Thanks.”

  “Are you sure you’re going to be able to make it up Lords Hill in those heels?” His eyes traveled down from my skirt to my feet and back up again in a lazy manner. Was he checking me out? Surely not. I wasn’t his type. I was too quiet and wallflower-like to attract his attention. I mean, sure, we knew each other; we were in the same form and several classes together at school. But even though I was often hanging out at the same places that he was, and we had some mutual friends, our groups didn’t overlap much.

  I looked down at the heels in question. It was true that they weren’t my usual style, but it was supposed to be a special night and I had dressed up. To be honest, I had my doubts about getting all the way home without hobbling, but I suddenly wanted nothing more than a long walk with Scott Lawes, and a few blisters would be worth it.

  “I’ll be fine. I often go out in heels.” I didn’t feel bad about stretching the truth; after all, it was going to hurt me a lot more than him by the time we got back to my place.

  We dawdled up the hill, enjoying the late June night. Conversation was a bit awkward at first. Mostly we just talked about films. I hadn’t seen half of them, but I enjoyed listening to him describing the details he liked. He kept doing comedy one-liners in the voice of the actors who said them. I don’t know why but I found it sexy.

  I think being really
good at something should be considered a major factor in attraction. I liked the way he was excellent at sport and I really liked that he was a talented mimic. Most of all I liked that he made me laugh. How could I not have noticed before that he was all that, as well as really easy on the eye?

  If it hadn’t been for my aching feet, then I would have sworn we had barely left the pizza place before we were on my road.

  We had got there too fast. I wanted to stretch the night on and on. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

  I sat down on the wall outside my house and winced as I eased my shoes off a bit. Thankfully he didn’t seem to notice.

  I patted the wall next to me. Scott glanced at his watch and then shrugged and sat down.

  “So what’s the story with you and Stacey?” I said. It was cheeky to ask, but after half an hour of walking and talking together, I felt we were comfortable enough to get a bit more personal in our conversation.

  “We broke up last week. She wanted more of my time and I have too many commitments already. She was kind of whiny, and she wanted me to give up swimming.”

  I silently shook my head at her stupidity. If Scott were my boyfriend there’s no way I would nag him to give up swimming. He clearly loved it more than he had loved any girl.

  “I can just imagine how she would have acted when cricket season started.” I joked, trying to show him I understood.

  He raised his eyebrows at me; hopefully he was impressed that I remembered he was on the cricket team and how time-consuming that was during the summer. Maybe he didn’t know that half the girls in our school kept their noses pressed to the window when the cricket squad came out on the field.

  There was something about those tight, white, bum-hugging… I stopped thinking about it.

  “So do you think you might forgive Dobright? Or should I call him Not-so-bright?” Scott asked in return.

  “No chance.” I shook my head.

  “Good.” Scott gave me that adorable smile again, the one with just one corner turned up, and my heart flip-flopped once more.

  “I’d better be off.” He stood up and I shot to my feet as well, ignoring the cries of my heels. I desperately tried to think of a way to make him stay longer but came up with nothing.

  I stared into his eyes. I wasn’t under any illusion that this was special for him. He’d just been dropping me off on his way home, but I wanted to somehow convey that it had been special for me. That things like this didn’t happen to me often.

  I tried to give him a “speaking look”, but my eyes must have been on mute because he didn’t seem to get it.

  He tilted his head like a question, and when I stood there and didn’t say anything, he lowered his face to mine.

  Then he kissed me.

  Even though I had been willing him to do it for at least the last twenty minutes, it was still a shock.

  Okay, it wasn’t a real kiss. Unfortunately. There were no open mouths or tongues in the kiss; it was just a gentle brushing of his lips against mine. But a zing shot straight from my lips to my stomach and then bounced about in there, making me feel totally over excited.

  It was over in a heartbeat, and I had to wonder for a second if it had even happened or if I had imagined it.

  “Happy birthday, Jenny.” Scott pushed up from the wall and I knew the moment was over.

  “Thanks for walking me home.” I tried to sound casual.

  “No problem. Anytime.” He gave me a little wave and then sauntered off down the road.

  I stood and watched until he turned the corner, wondering if he’d look back, but he didn’t.

  I went into my house on a total high. My parents were in bed so I sneaked up the stairs and into my room, trying not to dance all the way.

  Then I clutched my giant teddy bear to my face and squealed into his fur for a full minute until I’d gotten it out.

  Then I texted Andrea: “Home safe. OMG Scott sort of kissed me!”

  Her reply was instant, “WHAT??? You lucky cow. W’ U mean by sort of?”

  I had to think about that. How did I describe the almost kiss? On paper it was the sort of kiss he might give his mother; except it had been on the lips, and I wasn’t family. So what had it meant? Something or nothing? I didn’t know…

  I needed to talk to Andrea in person, but I was bound to wake my parents if I started talking on the phone and she might still be out.

  “I’ll tell you L8r, gotta sleep now. XX”

  I lay in bed and relived every word we’d said, over and over. How was it possible to go straight from being one person’s girlfriend, to totally over them, and obsessing about another guy, in just a few short hours?

  I’d always known Scott was gorgeous and funny, but how had I not been a gibbering mess around him for years? Why had I only tonight noticed he was the most amazing guy ever?

  I didn’t have the answers, but I was fairly sure this was the beginning of something. He’d walked me home and he’d kinda kissed me.

  So where did we stand now? Was he going to make us official? Had I truly caught the interest of Super Hot Scott? (My new name for him).

  I went through Sunday in a daze; I couldn’t wait for school on Monday. I checked my phone repeatedly, wondering if he might call or text for a date, but he didn’t. I bent Andrea’s ear for about two hours on the subject and she agreed he was obviously into me and clearly wonderful.

  I got up at silly o’clock to get ready for school, all full of adrenaline at the thought of seeing Scott again. I actually ditched my trainers for cork wedges, and my usual school jeans were replaced by my tight “going-out” jeans. I spent almost an extra hour on my minimal makeup, and I tried on about thirty different tops before settling on the coral halter with matching shrug.

  I walked in to registration feeling like I was floating on air. Life was about to get fantastic.

  There was Scott, at his usual desk, sitting with his chair turned around backwards as he chatted to his friends.

  He looked up as I entered and I gave him a huge smile and a wave, “Hi!”

  He didn’t say anything, just gave me a nice smile and a nod as if to acknowledge my presence and then turned back to his friends.

  I stopped dead.

  That was pretty much identical to how he’d always treated me. Not as though I didn’t exist, but as though I was a casual acquaintance.

  Someone bumped into my back, forcing me forward, and I stumbled to my desk in confusion.

  I think my face was actually dumbstruck in the “Huh?” position.

  Hadn’t we bonded on our walk home? Hadn’t we shared a magical moment? Hadn’t he sort of kissed me and totally rocked my little world?

  Hadn’t it meant anything to him?

  Well, obviously not.

  At first I thought maybe he was playing it cool. Like he didn’t want to lose face in front of his friends, or maybe it was too soon after breaking up with Stacey. But as the days turned into a week, and then two, I had to face the fact that all that had happened was that I had totally and utterly fallen for him, and he didn’t feel anything at all!

  And so began my unrequited adoration of Scott Lawes. My first serious crush.

  But I didn’t want to just adore him from afar, I wanted this boy to be mine! I wanted him to fall madly in love with me and we’d live happily ever after.

  I had to find a way to make him notice me. And boy, did I have a plan…

  Chapter Two – Getting Help

  “I have a plan to make Scott Lawes notice me, but I need your help.”

  Andrea screwed her face up at my words.

  “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?” She gave me a nudge and I automatically nudged her back.

  “Please, Andi. You know I’d do it for you.” I gave her my best puppy-dog eyes.

  She narrowed her own eyes at me. “What exactly would you do for me?”

  I took a deep breath. “Well… The problem, as I see it, is that as far as Scott is concerned I don’t really exist.”

  She nodded cautiously, encouraging me to continue.

  “So basically he needs to see a lot more of me.”