Hey guys!

Thanks for checking out my story. "I Got You" was officially a completed story on May 6, 2018, and I'm so glad you decided to give it a read. It was my very first attempt at Teen Fiction and first person POVs, but I'm very proud of how it came out. I hope you enjoy it!

I guess I should say something about copyright and stuff...blah blah blah. DON'T PLAGARIZE. IT'S A CRIME.

Okay, I think that covers it 🙂. Onto the first chapter! 😃

Have you ever met someone who seemed to have everything together? Perfect house. Perfect family. Perfect friends. Perfect boyfriend. Everything on YOUR "List of Wants", they have checked off. Ever met someone like that? Someone who's life is SO perfect, you'd sell a limb just to be them?

Well, I haven't, but if I did, I know I'd hate them.

Why? Because I could never be them. From the moment I was born, I was destined to live a craptastic life. And let me tell you, craptastic it has been.

I don't know why, but for some reason, life handed me a sorry set of cards, and I don't have any choice but to play them. I would demand a reshuffle, but apparently, that's not how life works. Isn't that just great for me?!

Sarcasm. I was using sarcasm.

Despite everything I had to put up with, I was actually a happy person. Well, sometimes I was. Okay, fine...I was rarely happy these days. The only person in the world that loved me unconditionally was barely around because of work. How could I be happy when he was away and I was left here all by myself?

"Natalie! You should be gone already!"

Okay, so maybe I wasn't all by myself, but besides that yelled statement from my step-mother, I wouldn't be receiving any other words from my supposed "family". So, yeah, I was basically alone.

I checked my watch, to see the time and figured it best to leave soon. I already had on my faded blue ripped jeans, a white cropped muscle tee, and my red Chuck Taylors. All that was left was my hair and makeup.

Looking in the mirror, I decided to wear my hair up in a ponytail. I grabbed a black hair tie, using it to hold the majority of my raven waves in the ponytail, but pulled out some fringe to frame my tanned face; the summer sun was kind to me. I took off my thin, black, circular glasses, placing them on my dresser and put in my prescription contact lenses. With that done, I put on my mascara, top and bottom lashes, and felt satisfied with my minimalist look. Then, I grabbed my black Jansport bookbag and headed down stairs.

Making my way to the kitchen, I prayed that everyone had already left, but that prayer went unanswered. Tracy, my step-mom, was still in her bathrobe, flipping through the daily newspaper. Seriously, who even reads those anymore?!

Walking further into the kitchen, Paully, my step-brother, was eating a bowl of cereal. He was the same age as me, dark brown hair and eyes like his mother, but a grade under. Yeah, he failed a grade. It was probably because he fried his brain from blasting music through his headphones every chance he got. I mean, it was only 7:34 a.m. and here he was at the kitchen table, bobbing his head to only God knows what, while he ate his Fruity Pebbles.

I wasn't surprised that neither one of them even acknowledged the addition of my presence to the room. Whenever Dad was away, they acted like it was just them in the house. Rolling my eyes, I walked to the pantry.

It had been three years since Dad remarried, THREE YEARS, and we were still like strangers. It's not like I didn't try, at first. But, eventually I gave up. Tracy put in zero effort to get to know me, and I accepted that reality. It was better she ignore me than be some kind of wicked step-mother, like in Cinderella. Paully, well, he was really quiet here, but I saw him when he was with his friends. He really was a different kind of person and I always was a little jealous he didn't try to get to know me.

But, he had to leave his friends behind, so maybe he'd open up to me now that he had to be lonely.

I just really wished Tracy didn't make me move, leaving behind all of my friends and childhood memories. I grew up in a house that wasn't good enough for her. I remember when she first came over. 'Oh, this is quaint,' she said. 'It's nothing like our homes in Italy'. Like, lady, WAKE UP! That's because you weren't in Italy, you were in New Jersey! I always knew she hated the house, but I didn't think she'd actually do something about it.

About a month ago, Tracy called my Dad whining about how lonely she was without him. Feeling guilty about always working, he asked her what he could do to make it up to her. And do you know what that coniving gold digger said? She said she wanted a bigger house, in a nicer neighborhood. Apparently, she didn't feel "safe" in our old one.

And that's what's brought me here, to Langston Heights, Texas, in the middle of October. Yup, I'm the lucky girl who got to change schools her senior year. How fun!

Again, that was sarcasm.

Ready to get out of there, I grabbed a granola bar and headed out the front door. I had a good thirty, maybe forty minutes before my first class, which started at 8:30, so I took my time driving. Langston Heights High was probably 5 miles away from my new "home", so I should have gotten there in ten minutes or so...as long as I didn't get lost. And, with the extra time, I could get familiar with where everything was. Feeling productive, I let a smirk roll onto my face.

...I got lost. But hey, it was a new neighborhood, and I'd only been there a week. I'd get it right tomorrow. Plus, it only took me a minute to pull up google maps, and then I was back on track. By the time I got there, it was a little past 8:15.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I kept my eye out for the closest parking spot. Spotting one up front, I drove past it, putting my blinker on so I could back into it. As I checked to make sure no one was walking behind me, a blur of black whirled past in my rear view mirror. I almost did a double take when I saw my empty parking spot now taken by a black Jeep Wrangler.

"Are you kidding me?!" I exclaimed to myself. Did they seriously just steal that spot from me?! Who does that kind of thing?! It's just so...rude!

Sitting in my car still, I looked out my window, watching to see who came out of the Jeep. I watched as a pretty girl with long blonde hair and a pink ombré emerged from the passenger seat. She didn't even notice my pissed off expression as she walked inside, but I noticed her sad expression. You know what, I wasn't even mad at her. It wasn't like she was driving. No, it was the tall brunet that stepped out the drivers seat that I was pissed at.

He walked around the back of his car, and that's when I honked him, twice.

Honk! Honk!

He looked up from his phone, staring me dead in the eyes, his expression emotionless. I noticed how attractive he was, but I didn't let that stop me from saying what I had to say.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?! Don't you know you could have hit me?!"

He stopped walking for a moment, and took in the appearance of my car. It was a 1997 white Nissan Altima. An older model, sure, but it still ran fine. After checking it out, he looked back up at my grimacing face.

"Ooops," was all he said, in such a bored and disingenuous tone. Then he turned on his heels and went inside.

Wow. And I thought this stuff only happened in books.

Looking at the time, I realized I only had ten minutes until first period, and I still had to find the classroom. I searched for another spot, finding one in the far back. Three minutes later, I was walking through the doors of LHHS for the first time. I didn't have time to waste, the halls already becoming scarce of lingering students, so I went to the first person I saw.

A girl, whose hair was in pigtails and was dressed like we had a school uniform. She was standing by a display table in the front, hanging up a few newsletters. I hated to say it, but she looked like the kind of student whose only friends were her teachers. But, that practically guaranteed that she could help me.

"Excuse me," I said as I ran up to her.

She turned around and looked me over, scrunching her barely visible eyebrows.

"Hmmm, you must be new, because I've got the whole student body memorized and I don't know you," she said, very matter of factly. No, Natalie. DO NOT stereotype her right now.

"Yeah, I am and I was wondering if you could tell me where room 231 is," I inquired, hoping she wouldn't try and chat because I hated being late, and right now I was really pushing it.

Thankfully, she just answered my question, telling me it was the first door on the right once I got up the stairs to the second floor. I shot her a genuine smile as I raced up the steps. Just as she said, the door was right there, and I had two minutes to spare. I used one of them to catch my breath and slow my heartbeat. I didn't want my first impression to be "that heavy breathing new girl". Once I felt confident in myself, I opened the door and went in.

"Hey! Who's that?!" I heard some dude say, but I couldn't tell who.

A few whistles were made by a group of guys in the back as I walked further in, but I ignored them, more aware of the eyes in the room, all on me.

See, this was why I didn't want to move. Your senior year is supposed to be the final horrah you make with the people you spent the last three years growing up with. The majority of these people probably grew up together, and I didn't know any of them. I was drawn out of my little rant when I heard the teacher say something.

"Ah, Miss Drake! Welcome to Langston Heights High! Why don't you introduce yourself to us?"

Ughhh...this dude is the epitome of an annoying teacher. He had on an ugly brown sweater vest with a short sleave peach button up underneath (EW) and he was sitting in his chair, resting his arms on his protruding belly. Plus, he was making me do the lame "introduce yourself" bit that every new student hated doing.

Turning to face the class, I was ready to get this over with.

"I'm Natalie Drake. I'm from New Jersey, where I'd much rather be right now, but I can't do anything about that until I turn 18 so..." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Until then, I guess you're stuck with me."

Finishing my little speech, I headed to the only empty seat, next to a girl that was giving me the hugest smile; teeth and everything. Everyone else just watched me sit down, while a few guys shot me a wink. Idiots. The teacher, who was on my schedule as "Mr. Hatchel", looked a little disturbed by my introduction, but he quickly shook it off.

"Hi! I'm Lauren!" The girl beside me squealed. Her golden brown skin was glowing, like LITERALLY glowing. This girl had so much highlighter on, she looked like a sun-kissed angel. If I knew how to apply makeup the way she did, then maybe I'd consider wearing it more. But, unless there was a reason, I tended to stick with just mascara and my Burt's Bees Lip Balm.

"Hi." I replied, giving her a small smile.

"You are so pretty. We have to hang out sometime," she chirped, still grinning ear to ear.

Right now, I wasn't sure if I could like this girl. She had that look that said she wanted to be the new girl's bestie, which was me, and I was not a fan of forced friendships.

As I took my seat, Mr. Hatchel struggled to get up from his. I heard a couple of giggles from the people around me, especially Lauren.

"Maybe if he didn't eat a honeybun every class, he wouldn't have to stand up like a very pregnant woman," she whispered to me.

I couldn't help but chuckle, imagining him suddenly crying out that his water broke. With that image in my head, I was genuinely amused, and just like that, I liked Lauren. She may have been preppier than I was used to, with her pink plaid skirt and white polo...but she was funny and friendly, and that's what I needed right now.

Thanks for reading chapter one! Please vote and leave a comment! I'll read every one of them. It only takes a second and would make my day! Okay, bye!