One word answer short story

Tagged Charlaine Harris, Hadley Trueblood Short Story, One Word Answer, Sookie Stackhouse Short Story about Hadley

                                    
                                          
It was nothing but a normal day in Miami, Florida. The blinding star was high above the horizon in the glistening blue sky. There weren't even a single cloud visible in the void of blueness.
In Ms. Suzy's twelfth grade English class at Marino High School, there sat a bored-out-of-his-mind Austin (Monica) Moon, with his blonde locks slightly messy yet swept to one side, the blonde's eyelids were barely halfway open. A silent yawn would escape through his mouth with every minute that ticked by.
In order to keep himself awake enough to not let his head collapse onto his desk, Austin focused on balancing his unused pencil in between his nose and upper lip. His hazel brown orbs crossed as his lips imitate an accurate duck.
His lips puckered slightly into an adorable pout when the wooden tool collapsed onto his desk. He picked up the writing utensil and repeated his previous actions myriad more times. Getting bored of balancing the pencil on his nose, he decided on twiddling his thumbs instead.
His mind was elsewhere in space, lost somewhere not within this universe we call Earth. He couldn't get a certain brunette out of his mind. It was like she carved a mark in his heart (and mind) and there was no way he could get it out. He couldn't get the image of her radiant chocolate orbs and her dazzling smile out of his head. He tried but there was no avail. Then again, he wasn't complaining; he didn't want to get her out of his head.
He snapped from his stupor when he heard a slam on his desk. He looked up to see none other than Ms. Suzy herself with a stack of papers in her hand.
She made eye contact with Austin, and during that moment all he wanted to do was to crawl into a dark hole in the corner and stay there for the rest of his life. He shrunk a little in his seat and his eyes widen slightly like a deer caught in headlights, but all she did was give him a small smile before continuing on passing out papers.
He let out a small, silent sigh of relief when he saw that the sheet was not a test, but an opinion worksheet about "Romeo & Juliet". He let out a shrug before grabbing his pencil to scribble his name messily on the blank line at the top right corner. His eyes roamed through the questions and he was bemused. Well, only a few questions did catch his attention.
For each statement on the worksheet, write on the blank line about whether you think it's true or false with the statement given. This assignment will be your opinion so there is no right or wrong answer to it.
1. _______ Teenagers are too young to know anything about love.
He wrote down an answer as "true" but erased it a second later as the thought of a certain brunette crossed his mind. He mentally grinned before rewriting his answer as "false".
Before he had met her, he would've laughed right then at how young and naive teenagers are with love, but now... he was one of those people. From the moment his eyes locked with her radiant chocolate orbs, he knew it was love at first sight. (Call him cheesy, he could care less.)
"Hey, Austin!" Dez excitedly greet him at his locker.
"Hey, buddy! What's up?" he replied while shutting his locker, leaning against it.
"You cannot believe what I got us!" Dez grinned and jumped up and down like a kid who was going to open a surprise. "I got us both tickets to see the new Zaliens movie that's going to be out in two months! It went sold out 5 minutes after the tickets were available for sale!"
"That's awesome!" he exclaimed before doing their signature handshake. "What up!"
"Well that's the bell. I'm going to head to class before I'm late again. I really don't want another detention. My parents are going to ground me from pancakes for a week. See ya!"
As he was rounding the corner to head to class, he collided with a petite figure. All the books and binders that were once in the figure's hands skittered across the hallway floor. The figure fell to the floor and let out a soft "oof!" while raising their hand to their forehead, rubbing it slightly.
 It took him a moment to snap out of his stupor and took notice of the situation. "Oh shoot! I'm so sorry! Here let me help you."
Those words flew out of his mouth before his brain could even process properly. His hand reached out to help the figure which they took gratefully and stood up before wiping nonexistent dirt off their floral skirt. "It's fine."
He bent down and picked up some of the books and binders that had fallen to the ground before handing them back to the owner.
"Here you go."
The petite girl smiled and let out a soft "thank you" before reaching out to grab her stuff. Her fingers gently brushed his which sent electricity down his spine and he shivered slightly, the tips of his ears blushing red.
At that moment it felt like time had stopped as his hazel brown eyes locked with her glistening chocolate brown ones. When he finally took a moment to fully scrutinize her, he was gob-smacked.
Her skin was slightly pale and looked as soft as silk. Her eyes were doe and sparkle so bright that the stars would be jealous. Her hair was brown with streaks of amber and was slightly wavy at the ends. Overall, she was drop dead gorgeous!
He was awestruck. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out so he closed his mouth before reopening, hoping for something to say to come out of his mouth. Yet again, nothing to his dismay.  
He turned even redder - if that was even possible - in embarrassment. What was wrong with him? Usually he was able to talk to girls so easily and have them wrap around his finger in a matter of seconds so why not with her?
Deciding to break that awkward tension between them, he stuck his hand out for a shake. "Hi, I'm Austin Moon."
She slipped her soft hand in his and he swore he felt the tingles once again, "Ally Dawson."
2. _______ Parents should always make choices for their children.
He frown at this statement for he could literally relate to this statement. His parents wanted him to take over the family business "Moon's Mattress Kingdom" but all he really wanted to be was a rock star.
His parents told him that he had a bazillion to one chance of making it. He knew they were right, but he wasn't the type to give up something before trying it out first. He's Austin Moon. He could do anything.
So with that, he wrote his answer down without a second of hesitation. "False".
He was in his room, guitar in his hand with a guitar pick on the other, strumming the instrument softly. His voice echoed around the room melodically as he sung, passion dripping within every syllable.
A ginormous grin was evident on his face and his eyes gleamed with pleasure. His fingers strum the strings with dexterity. The music roared around the room loudly yet softly with every strum.
When he finished the song, he let out a sigh of contentment before the door to his room swung open with a small squeak.
"Hey, mom," he grinned at her from ear to ear, showing his pearly whites.
"Hey, sweetie," she smiled, walking over to sit next to him on his bed. "That was a beautiful song."
"I think so too," he replied putting his instrument back on its stand.
When he turned back to look at his mother, he saw the expression on her face and his smile disappeared and he pursed his lips. Her expression showed something along the line of sympathy and pride yet at the same time disappointment.
"Honey," she started in a soft voice and he knew exactly what she was going to say. His gaze hardened and he shut his eyes waiting for the words that would be flung at him from his mother's lips, "I know you love music and it's not that I don't support your dreams and passion, but you have to understand that making it into the music industry is bazillion chance to one."
His fists clenched tightly and he bit his bottom lip with his eyes still closed. His parents never truly understood him. They would say they were supportive of his dreams but he knew in honesty that they truly don't.
"And besides," his mom continued. "We need you to be in charge of Moon's Mattress Kingdom anyways. We could use some extra help later on when we have loads of customers coming in after we finish that commercial."
He let out a silent exasperated sigh. Why did he even bother hoping they would ever understand? Music was his life. He doesn't want to spend the rest of his life working in a mattress store with a lame corny slogan. (There's no hassle in our castle!) Not to mention the annoying crown. His parents always try to make him wear the stupid crown on top of his head that makes his hair looks awful. (And that's a lot coming from him since he takes forever in the morning to make sure his hair is perfect.)
"I know, mom," he glumly frowned. His mother let out a sigh and kissed his forehead before leaving, shutting the door behind her. The room suddenly became deafening with silence and Austin ran a hand through his blonde locks before he collapse on his bed as his thoughts race and echo in his head.
"I just want to prove them wrong."
3. ________ Love at first sight is real.
Austin wasn't the type of guy who was into cliché or cheesy things. He was the type of guy who was into playing video games in his best friend's (Dez) basement and watching movies that has zombies, blood, and zaliens in them.
Romance wasn't really his thing either. Sure, he had like two girlfriends before but the relationship lasted about 2 weeks maximum. Most teenagers these days mostly only care about looks and how good they are in bed. It was hard to find people who actually genuinely care about getting to know people and finding out their personality.
Well that is until he met Ally Dawson.
Ally (Edgar) Dawson is the greatest person you would ever meet. (And he's not just saying that because she was his best friend, partner, and girlfriend either.) She would never fail to bring a smile to his face. Even if he was in such a horrible mood from a very bad day. Whenever he was sick, she would always come over to his house with his favorite movie and freshly made pancakes. Ally made the best pancakes. (Sorry mom!)
Ally made him a better person. She's changed him and had such a huge impact on his life and she didn't even know it. She was his everything and he wondered how he even managed to live without her in his life before. If he was being honest, he hardly remembered what his life was like without her in it.
He could rely on Ally for basically anything. If he had something on his mind, he could go to Ally and he would vent on and on about what was on his mind even if it wasn't a huge deal. She would always comfort him no matter the situation and he was so thankful that she was always there for him.
Ally was not only his best friend that he could always count on for anything, she was also the love of his life. He loved her unconditionally and he didn't care what other people think. People would say that he was too good for her but they couldn't be anymore wrong. She was too good for him.
Sometimes he wondered why she liked him in the first place. She was better off without him. She could be with some other smart guy who probably have a 4.0 GPA on average and yet she chose to be with him. He never truly understood how he had gotten so lucky.
He snapped out of his thoughts and hurriedly scribbled down his answer "true" as the bell rung, signaling the end of the school day. He slung his backpack onto his shoulder and dropped off his worksheet on Ms. Suzy's desk before exiting the door.
He raced through the sea of students until he got to his locker. He dialed the combination before swinging the metal door open. He grabbed a box from his locker and hurriedly stuffed it into his backpack before anyone could see. He slammed the metal door closed and he went to find a certain brunette.
She was at her locker, stuffing some books into her backpack, unaware that he was approaching. As she was in the middle of organizing her locker, he snuck up on her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. She let out a squeal and backed away from him.
"Austin!" she exclaimed, her hand flying to her chest.
He chuckled before embracing her in a warm hug. "Hey, love."
"Idiot!" she pouted, her small fist making contact with his chest. "You scared me!"
"Sorry," he said unapologetically. She rolled her eyes at him.
"Anyway," he said as she slammed her locker shut. "Are you busy tonight?"
"Well, I have to work at the store," she replied slinging her backpack on her shoulders. "But my shift ends at 5, so what do you need?"
"I was hoping we could go somewhere," he smiled. "Like on a date."
"I'd like that," she grinned. "Pick me up at 6?"
He nodded, grinning ear to ear. She pecked a soft kiss on his cheek and waved before heading off to work. He let out a content sigh, the idiotic grin still visible on his face as he left the school grounds. Let's do this.
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His palms were sweating like crazy and nervousness coursed through his veins. He constantly wiped his sweat covered palms on his dark jeans every several seconds that pass by. He breathed in a few deep breathes and grabbed the delicate single red rose before getting out of his vehicle.
He walked up to her front door and his balled up fist raised to make contact with the wooden door. The door swung open several seconds later, revealing none other than Ally Dawson.
His breath hitched at the back of his throat. Her wavy caramel locks cascaded down her shoulders and her face was evident with light natural make up. To say she was gorgeous was an understatement. She was so utterly, literally, genuinely beautiful that even Aphrodite would be jealous.
She gave him one of her stunningly radiant smile and he swore he might faint. Even after three years, he never managed to yet get over the sensation it gave him whenever she smiled.
He gave her a gigantic grin of his own before his hand, which was behind his back, was offered to her. Her eyes gleamed and her cheeks blushed a hue of crimson and all he wanted to do then was to pepper her face with soft sweet kisses. She took the rose from him gratefully, and she lingered a soft kiss on his cheek. It was his cheeks' turn to tint the color of ripe cherry.
"Ready to go?" he asked offering her his hand.
She gave him a small nod and took his outstretched hand.
They drove around town for a little while until he stopped at a French restaurant called L 'Amour.
They stepped into the restaurant and he watched as she let out a small gasp, gaping at the sight. He gave her his million dollar grin.
He had reserved a private spot for them in a different part of the restaurant. The table was set up in an area inside that made it look almost like something from a fairytale. Bright strings of light were hung along the walls to make the scene even more mesmerizing.
The table was candle lit and there were even wine glasses set beside the expensive porcelain china. The utensils were not plain ordinary ones, they were gold. Next to the candles sat a bouquet of red and yellow roses.
He led her to their table and didn't even hesitate to pull out the chair for her. She gave him a grateful smile, still awestruck by what she was seeing.
"You did all this for me?" she asked, her eyes glistening with admiration.
He sat across from her and grinned, nodding, "Of course."
"Thank you," she reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers together.
"You don't have to thank me," he shrugged. "It's nothing much, really."
"It means everything," she squeezed his hand before letting go, picking up the menu.
They ordered a few dishes and shared them together. He would constantly pick up his utensil and feed her as she did the same to him. Overall, they had a great time together and enjoyed their meal.
When a check was placed atop their table, they had a debate on how they were going to manage the bill. She offered that they split the bill but he would always protest that he should be the one who pay. Let's just say he won their mini debate and he paid, to her dismay.
When they exited the restaurant, Austin drove Ally around downtown. After a while they decided to head to the beach. It was sometime around eight when they arrived, yet the sun was just setting. The sun usually doesn't set until sometime almost nine since it was already summer time.
They walked along the shoreline hand in hand, fingers interlocked, as the sun sets lower and lower to the horizon. She was snuggling close to him and he couldn't be any happier than that moment. They stopped walking when they reached the dock.
They turned to face one another and got lost in each other's eyes. Gigantic loving smiles were evident on their faces as their forehead leaned closer and closer towards one another until they, including their noses, were touching. The infinitesimally small distance between them were secured shut when their lips made contact with the other.
It was as if fireworks and bombs were literally exploding around them and the butterflies fluttering in their stomachs were fluttering so frantically that it was as if they were going to burst. Sparks ignited between them and they were practically in pure bliss.
His arms were secured around her waist, holding her close, basically flustered against him. Her arms snaked around his neck while her hands tugged slightly at his golden locks.
After what felt like eternity later, they pulled away. They snuggled up against one another and turned to face the sunset. Loving grins were evident on their faces and could be seen from a mile away.
When her attention was stuck upon the colorful sky, he sneakily took out the small box from his back pocket. He took the glistening band from the box and slipped it on her left ring finger.
She glanced at the gleaming object on her finger and her eyes widen before they glanced up and made eye contact with him. Her lips were parted and a soft gasp escaped her lips.
"Before you say anything, this is not an engagement ring," he chuckled, yet somewhat nervously. "It's a promise ring."
He took her small hands, loving the way they fit so well in his hands. Just like a puzzle piece.
"I don't think we're both ready for that stage yet," he played with her fingers, fidgeting slightly.
"But I want to promise. To promise that one day– even if it's going to be in 10 years or however long you want to wait, I'd wait– we would spend the rest of our lives together."
"A promise ring is supposed to symbolize commitment and the reason I'm giving you this ring is because I'm dedicated to you. Since the moment I met you, I knew that you'd be the best thing that's ever happened to me. I can't imagine my life without you. You make me feel like I can do anything, and I know I can do anything as long as I'm always by your side."
Tears started to well up in her eyes, and she smiled, not even bothering to wipe the brine that had slipped down her cheeks away.
"When I first laid eyes on you, I was intrigued. Then later on when I get to know you, my feelings for you grew stronger and stronger than ever. Whenever I'm with you, it felt like as if I was on cloud nine. And no matter how many times I say it, it will never compare to how much I really mean it when I tell you I love you."
His hand reached up to her gently cup her cheek and his thumb softly wiped her tears away from her crimson cheek. He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers and the tips of their noses touched as their lips brushed ever so slightly.
He placed a soft gentle kiss on her sweet, pink, kissable lips with his hand still caressing her cheek. "I love you so much, Ally Dawson. To the moon and back and beyond."
"I love you too, Austin Moon."
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AN: 3634 words yikes! Longest thing I've ever written in my entire life! I really really hope you guys like this one shot! It took me a long time to write it and I know it's been a while since I updated or posted something so I hope this was worth the wait. I am so happy that you guys are such loyal readers and are sticking with me no matter what. I love you guys so much! Oh and happy April fools day! - XxX Ashley