Against All Odds - Chapter 1

This is my first story on here so tell me what you think. It's inspired by something I've experienced. I tweaked details here and there in order to make it something you guys would like, but I stick kinda close to the reality.
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Against All Odds
Chapter 1:

"Kiara Lacarra Carmichael!" my 12-year-old younger brother, Shawn, called up the stairs using my full name in order to get my attention, "Hurry! You're gonna miss the bus! Again!"

"No I won't!" I yelled back from my bathroom where I happened to still be doing my hair. "I still got time!"

"Whatever. I'm out."

I'm two years older than him, but we still ride the same bus because ,unfortunately, middle school and high school students ride the same bus.

I heard the opening and slamming of the front door.

"Okay now hurry Mom will kill you if you miss the bus again," I thought to myself.

I picked up my hair straightener and used it on my bangs. I was attempting to make my bangs go across my face in that way I like. It's where they go diagonally over my left eye, but today it just wasn't happening.

I looked at hair and scowled.

"Please just work with me today." I pleaded. Then felt dumb instantly.

How ridiculous, talking to my hair.

My hair is actually sorta nice when it does what I want it to. It's a deep, dark brown almost black but not quite once you actually look at it. In some places it has highlights of lighter browns in it.
Completely natural, but no one believes me. It reaches about two inches past my shoulders.

I finally manage to get my hair looking how I want it to, and I take a step back and look at myself.

Next, I look at my light brown, coffee colored skin that always manages to look just the slightest amount of sun kissed and thankfully clear.

I guess, I owe the color my skin to the fact that I'm mixed. Which also explains my green eyes.

My father is black and my mother white. They had one other kid together, Shawn. He on the other hand has six others apart from Shawn and I. My half-brothers and sisters.

My mom and dad aren't together anymore; they were never married. My mom was only 19 when she got pregnant with me. I'm still fuzzy on exactly how old my dad is.

My father and I don't exactly have an ideal relationship. A call here and there, with months almost always months in between, is our main form of communication. The calls are short and can't possibly let him have any idea of who his daughter actually is as a person at all.

Jake and I get an occasional visit once every few years. The last one was when I was 11; I'm 14 now. The one before that I was seven and the one before that I was five, that was his first visit since my mom left him when I was three or two, Shawn was just a baby, when he went to jail. (Drug dealing) He and my mom didn't have a very picture perfect relationship either.... But I don't exactly want to think of that right now.

Yeah, I don't hate my dad or anything. How can I? I barely know the guy.

My mom and I actually have a good relationship, despite what you my believe about teenage girls and their mothers. I mean, we still yell at each other and have bad moments like everybody else, but we're okay. I tell her a lot about what's going on in my life. But definitely not everything, I'm still a teenager.

My mother is now married to my step dad Durrell, he's black too, but way different from my dad in more ways than one. He's nice and we get along pretty well. Shawn likes him even though he may play the "You're not my dad!" card when he gets upset.

Durrell and my mother had a child together about two years ago. His name is Durrell, Jr., and I love him to pieces.

Pulling away from the thoughts about my parents, I take a look at my body next. I've got a nice figure, I guess. I'm not super skinny or anything I've got some curves. And my body happens to look great in the pair of light wash skinny jeans, deep blue v neck tee that hangs three inches below my waist line, black and white checkered belt, and my pair white converse I've got on today

Satisfied, I glance at the clock which states it's 7:28.

"Shit! The bus is going to get here any minute," I think to myself in suddenly rushing to get out the door. Frantically checking that I have everything before I head out to the bus stop I think, "So much for having time!"

I race down the stairs and grab my black tote bag with different colored peace signs with my school things inside.

I get to the bus stop just as it pulls up.

Just in time.
* * * * *
I drifted through the school day. I'm pretty good at school. Straight As. School's always come easy to me.

I make my way out to front lawn and hear a very familiar voice.

"Heyy!" my best friend Sam calls out to me. Her whole name's Samantha but everyone calls her Sam.

I walk over to meet her not surprised that she's talking to a guy. A cute one no doubt.

Sam's amazingly pretty even though she'll never admit it. If you ask me the amount of drool that pools at guys feet when she touches them should be enough proof in itself.

She's got white skin that almost has a tan color but not quite, and goes golden when she gets a suntan, fiery red hair and adorable brown eyes. No wonder there's always some guy back flipping for her attention.

No seriously, once a guy actually did a back flip in order to get her attention. Unreal? Not even you're name is Samantha Anne Peters.

"Hola chica!" I called back as I made my way to our table.

Kiara," she said putting her pout face on that uses when she's confused, "can you help me? I don't understand how to make my iPod work again. It's like... frozen. Ugh. Help?" She gave me a pleading look she saved for when she wanted me to something for her, and whenever she did I couldn't help but give in. I can be so easy sometimes when it comes to my friends.

I took the iPod and immediately knew the problem.

"It's on hold, Sam." I said through a smile.

"Ohhh... oopsy!" She broke into a amused laugh.

She's not dumb or anything but she can be a bit ditsy at times. But I still love her.

The guy beside her shook his head as if embarrassed.

"Whatever!" She cried out and playfully smacked his arm.

One of the guy's friends called out to him and he smiled at Sam and walked off.

As I sat down at the picnic table that we usually sat at while waiting for everyone else to get there, I noticed my other best friend, Jade, make her way to the table.

Jade is possibly the only person I truly trust. I tell her everything. And she does the same with me. I trust Sam and I tell her things, but I could never tell her everything like I do with Jade.

Sam and Jade were friends for years before I moved here last year, yet it was only this year we became best friends. But by now we've been close for months and it's as if it's always been so.

Jade's full name is Jade Nicole Myers. She's has smooth, shiny, black, long hair that ends an inch or two shy of her elbow and creamy eggshell colored skin. She has piercing blue eyes that can turn icy cold the second you piss her off. Along with Sam she would never say that she's pretty even though I know very well that she is.

Jade is the sporty one out all of us. She's on the school's girls basketball team, and rather be out there playing football with the guys than just sit there and watch like Sam and I prefer.

And like Sam, though not as intensely, she's got guys going goo-goo eyed for her too.

I guess, when you're around girls like Sam and Jade it's hard for a guy to stop and notice someone like me. But it's okay I'm not bitter about it or anything they're really nice friends to have and I'm glad I've got them.

I know having friends as pretty as them might make a girl like me who will pretty nice looking or maybe cute at best, though my friends try to tell me otherwise (But their my friends they're supposed to say stuff like that, right? I don't know maybe they're right; maybe it's a teenage girl thing to deny that you might be pretty. Or maybe not. Who knows?) feel insecure. And honestly yeah, sometimes, but mostly I'm glad their my friends at all. Sam and Jade are pretty
well-known, not out of this world popular, but well-known all the same.

I'm not a loser or anything. People like me just fine. I talk to most of the popular people, but I would never consider myself popular. Maybe cool, but not popular. I can be a dork sometimes. I say stupid things and sing lyrics to songs that no one knows at the top on lungs randomly when no one's around but my friends.

I used to be a real dweeb but I guess that I altered in some way. One of my friends even admitted to me they thought that I was a little weird back then. The change was something I didn't even notice until it happened. I just started being more defined in my wardrobe and having these friends, and before I knew it I wasn't that much a dweeb anymore to people. I'm still a dweeb at heart I guess, as most of my close friends know. I guess, you can't shake all of dweebness away some of it sticks. But that's okay with me, it makes me who I am.

I welcomed Jade as she sat down with a friendly, "Heyy!"

"What's up my home skillet biscuits?!?!!" Jade exclaimed in her fake gangsta voice. That made us both crack up.

Jade's one of those people that if she thinks something's funny (and usually it is) she just says not caring what people might think. I've always admired that about her.

My other best friends sat down at the table too, Kiona and Tiffany. they're nice and all but they don't really compare to my friendship with Sam and Jade who I trust the most.

Sam, Jade, and I decide to go ahead to and make our way to Sam's house to "do homework" (Which is basically goofing off in Sam's basement.) when suddenly this guy walks up to Sam and smiles at her and puts his arm around her protectively stating: Mine.

I give Sam a slightly confused look, noticing it she says "This is David, we're dating now, remember? I told you before, Kiara."

At first I didn't know what she was talking about, but then I remembered Sam saying something to me about a new boyfriend, and Jade laughing her butt off. And now I know why. David wasn't the usual guy you'd see Sam with.

David had an unmanaged head of black hair that looked as if it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be straight or curly. It wasn't long but it wasn't short either it was just starting to get to that point where he definitely needed a haircut. His skin was an eggshell color and unfortunate for him had an occasional bump here and there on his face. His lips were good though nice and full, but so full it was freakish or anything.

And I could tell by looking at his brown top and khaki colored shorts (dirty) that went a full three inches below his knees, that he definitely wasn't very popular. Not that I'm shallow, most definitely not, but it was a fact. I'm pretty sure absolutely no one knew his name before he started dating Sam. And how that happened is a mystery to all.

I turned to Sam, who was now released from David's arms, and whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "Ewe. Really Sam?"

I knew right then I didn't like him. I never liked any of Sam's boyfriends. They just always... didn't seem right for her, and he definitely didn't seem right all. He just wasn't her type. I knew it, Jade knew it, why couldn't she?

"Be nice," she whispered back.

Then he looked me in the eyes and I could feel something inside me. It was the small feeling deep in my stomach. Not butterflies... but something... different. Like something clicked, or melted even. I had no idea what it was but one thing I knew for sure, I didn't like it.

"Uh, hi," he said uneasily because of the look of confusion and disgust that had come across my face because of the feeling I had just experienced.

That was wrong, I told myself. What was that? That can't be me reacting to him. I could never like anyone like him. Ever.... Right?... Who am I kidding? Of course the answer is right. And besides that's SAM'S boyfriend. What's wrong with you? Get it together.

I gave him a look that I had perfected over the years that said "Excuse me?!" and shot a short "Hey." at him and quickly looked back to Sam as if he wasn't even there.

I started to have a conversation with Sam and Jade and continued to act like he didn't even exist. I was excluding him from the conversation by standing slightly in his way making a circle out of us that made it so he was just on the border. He was near the group, but not quite in it.

Rude? Yes. But it's what I have to do to discourage that feeling I had to become anything more. And it would keep anyone from ever thinking I like him.

And I didn't. I was being careful as to steer all thoughts away from that area and towards the things about him that made him seem to be the biggest loser in the school. All of that was sure to make whatever it was that I felt that day go away.... but if only it had been that easy.

I had no idea what this guy was about to put me through.
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Do you think I should keep going? It gets WAY better than this trust me. The problems they face are actually kinda heavy for a 14-year-old couple.
Anyway. PLEASE COMMENT! :)

p.s.
Does anyone know how to make italics and bold? I can't figure it out. Please and thank you! :)