Touch Me

Copyright ©2021 Victory Storm

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.victorystorm.com

Translator (fr to en): Fanny Morvan

Publisher: Tektime

Cover: https://123rf.com | Victory Storm Graphic Project

The Code of the intellectual and artistic property authorizing, under the terms of paragraphs 2 and 3 of the article L.122-5, on the one hand, that “copies or reproductions strictly reserved for the private use of the copier and not intended for collective use” and, on the other hand, that analyses and short quotations for the purpose of example and illustration, “any representation or reproduction in whole or in part, made without the consent of the author or his successors in title or assigns, is unlawful” (paragraph 1 of article L.122-4). This representation or reproduction, by any means whatsoever, would therefore constitute an infringement punishable by articles 425 and following of the Penal Code.

FELICITY

I wasn't used to going to bars.

When I was in high school, I had gone from time to time with my friends, but I never had any fun and inevitably ended up being a wallflower. I had always considered myself an outsider, unable to interact easily, to enter into other people's conversations, to show up or to let myself go.

Going out in groups had always been difficult and painful, and after my sister Bethany graduated, I had closed myself off even more. I didn't have a choice because without my famous sister, prom queen and cheerleader captain, to open doors for me through her friends, I was back to being Miss Unknown in the Battalion, just like before. The girls I hung out with for three years were her friends, not mine, and I got confirmation of that after she graduated. None of them had asked for me or called to go out or study together.

I had been alone for a whole year, forgotten by everyone and determined to make myself invisible to anyone, rather than be ridiculed or humiliated for my bland and unattractive appearance, unlike my sisters Bethany and Ava.

Feeling accepted and appreciated was complicated when those who crossed my path and learned who my two older sisters, former prom queens, were could not help but compare me to them.

For years, I had endured and suffered from this difference. It had taken me a long time, but I had finally come to accept myself as I was, with my curly hair, my ordinary brown eyes, my sensitive skin, my acne scars, and my extra pounds.

The fact that I was able to look at myself in the mirror without turning my back was due to the two people I had met during my freshman year of college: Kira Yoshida and Alice Preston. The two most beautiful and amazing girls I've ever known and, crazy thing, my friends! My own, without the help of Bethany or Ava. They had welcomed me into their circle without knowing anything about me. They accepted me for who I was, and because of their friendship, I had the best school year of my life.

I had met Kira in sociology class. She sat next to me the first day and complimented me on my hair and my double bun, telling me that she loved it but could never get it right. That was enough to make me like her immediately. Then I missed a class and she immediately left me her notes. From that day on, we often went back to study together and I discovered that she was a true genius. I had met her roommate, Alice Preston, during one of those study afternoons.

Unlike Kira, who was always calm and gentle, Alice immediately struck me as a tornado that couldn't stop, even in the face of such great danger as Easton Carson, one of four boys in my high school who had ruled over all the students and teachers like despots, making life hell for anyone who dared to oppose them. Throughout my high school years, I had kept a low profile to avoid ending up in their cross-hairs, and thanks to my ability to make myself invisible to everyone, I had always succeeded.

I had discovered, however, that Kira was no slouch either. Underneath her pure and innocent exterior was a strength and determination that had won her the heart of the most reserved and surly boy in my psychology class, Lucas Scott.

I admired and envied my best friends because they were beautiful, courageous, fearless, able to fight against adversity and win over the most difficult boys to approach and tame.

They were undefeated, and now they both had wonderful boyfriends who adored them. If I thought about Easton and Lucas, I still wondered how Alice and Kira had won hearts as rebellious and dark as those two boys.

"Felicity, there you are! We're here!" called Kira, who was already waiting for me at a table in the bar.

Relieved that I hadn't arrived first, I ran over to her and noticed that Lucas was there too.

“ Hi, I greeted them.

- Okay, I'll go and leave you to it," sighed Lucas after a glance towards Kira. It was a special girls night, to celebrate my birthday.

- “Thank you my love. I'll call you when I get back to campus.