Ashton’s POV

“Come again, Ashton? You mean Megan Corteza?” Zach asked me for the third time.

“What is wrong with you, Zach? Do you have some problems with your ears? Do I need to tell you ten times that yes, I will be late for practice today because I need to talk with Megan?” I declared, and he eyed me for a long time.

“What do you need from Megan, Bro?” He asked me.

“It is none of your business, Zach,” I replied.

“It is my business, Ashton, because you are my best friend, and we to talk about it if it regards with the girls we have to share. And why do you change your preference for girls? He asked, and I can feel his irritation.

“And why do you look so scared if I am going to ask Megan out?” I said to him, and his eyes widened.

“What???? Are you going to ask her out? Are you out of your mind? Would you please do not do that to her, Ashton? I know that Megan is way out of your league, but she is different from all the girls on campus. If I can only go in there and ask her out, I will do it in a heartbeat, but I can tell Megan is very serious about her studies to maintain her scholarship. And you are aware that our school is only for the rich kids, and those who don’t belong to the elite family depend on the scholarship, so I am asking you don’t bother Megan?” It is my turn to enlarged my eyes at him.

“And why do you even care about Megan?” I asked him because my curiosity is making me impatient.

“Well, I have been crushing Megan for a long while now. I always watch her from a distance because I can tell behind her clothes is a body that can make boys look at her with total admiration, and you need to accept that even if she doesn’t wear any makeup, she is beautiful. And if she is not only using reading glasses sometimes to protect her eyes, you can see her natural beauty.

“You don’t need to tell me how does she look, Zach, because that is the reason why I am going to ask her out.” I seriously said to him, and I can see the sadness on his face.

“Ashton, I know you. You have never been serious to anyone. And you had a short relationship with cheerleaders, mostly hot girls, and I know nothing last for more than one month because you don’t like commitment, and you hate girls asking for your time, and why do you even bother to ask her out this time when we are in our senior year? He asked me, and I laughed at my best friend, who happens to be my teammate in football, and he is one of the Running Backs in our team.

“Relax, Zachary, I know what I am doing.” I declared, and he released a long sigh.

“I am sorry, Bro, I didn’t know that you were also crushing the brightest student of our class. But I am telling you, I am not planning to back down, even if you like her to, and I am now determined to know Megan, and I don’t care if I am going to hurt your feelings. That is why I am asking sorry in advance.” I declared, and he offered me a weak smile.

“And who I am to compete with you, Ashton? I know I can never win against you because we can see that all the girls in this school are crazy about you.” He said it makes me feel sad because I don’t want to be the center of every girl’s fantasy. After all, I don’t want to hurt their feelings. But I am on a mission of knowing Megan.

“You can ask anyone out from the cheerleading squad, but I am warning you or anyone from the football team to never ask Megan Corteza out on a date. Because I will make her my girlfriend whatever it takes.” I said, and I laugh when I saw Zach’s reaction on his face, and I couldn’t believe the expression I saw on my best friend’s face.

“Why do you look pale, Zach?” I asked.

“I just couldn’t believe that you will be so affected by a girl because this is the first time that I hear you say something like that.” He said as he shook his head, and I said goodbye to him and run to catch Megan. She was walking fast, and I smiled as I watched her walk, and I hate that I became a stalker for the first time. I haven’t done this before because I am so used to how many years girls chasing me around, and they always ask me out. And sometimes, I ask a girl out because of my curiosity but not because I am very interested. Maybe because since I can’t remember, girls are throwing themselves at me.

I have been calling her again and again, but she didn’t even bother to stop walking and turn her head on me. And I am impressed that she could walk fast like an athlete. And I hate that I have to hold her wrist to make her stop walking so fast. And the time that I spun her around, I catch my breath when I am face-to-face with her, and this is the first time that I look at her this close and for a long while.

Damn! Megan Corteza is beautiful, and I realized she was hiding her true beauty behind her glasses. And right now that she is not wearing any eyeglasses, I couldn’t stop myself from staring at her lovely face, her smooth skin wants me to trail my fingers all over her face, and her expressive eyes are making me speechless. And her natural red slightly opened lips are tempting me to kiss her, and I couldn’t stop myself from inhaling her scent, and I can’t stop gazing at her beautiful angelic face. And Zachary was right, Megan is a natural beauty, and I hate to think that I haven’t noticed her before.

I felt so hurt when she asked me how did I know her name. Does she think I am that kind of snob? She is popular in our school because of her intelligence, but I see no one acknowledged her because mostly the rich girls will never give her attention, and the boys are more afraid to deal with her because of her wits. And now that I am face to face with her, I became more determined to know her and spend more time with her, most of all to ask her out.

But I got frustrated when she turned me down, and this is the first time a girl said no to me, and she touched my ego, I became more persistent, and I hate to think that I will be doing this, and watching her walk away made me feel a pang on my chest. I will not allow Megan not to give me a chance to date her, and I am so eager to meet her again, and I don’t care if I have to be tailing her around campus as long as she will give me a chance to know her.

“Hey! What is wrong with you, you were late for practice and punished by our coach, but I can feel you are frustrated about something, and it has nothing to do with our football practice. What happened?” Zach asked after we finished our training and after we took a shower, we are now in our locker room.

“I couldn’t believe Megan said no to me.” I declared, and I was so shocked when my best friend laughed at my face, and his laughter reverberated the entire locker room that made our teammates looked in our direction, and I give him a hard stare.

“I am sorry, Ashton, I couldn’t believe that finally, someone turns you down, and she is way out of your league, not on your radar for years, and I wonder why you suddenly became interested in her?” My best friend asked me, and I shrug my shoulders because I am so frustrated with Megan’s walk-out episode.

“Hey, don’t look so sad; I know where to find her at this hour.” He said, and my face lit up, but I suddenly felt jealous of why he knew where Megan is at this time. And I am scared of what I am feeling right now.

“And where could she be at this hour, Zach?” I asked him because I couldn’t believe he knew where is Megan at this moment or where she lives because I felt desperate.

“She is working part-time in a cafe four blocks from here. And don’t ask why because I have been stalking her for quite a while now.” He said, and I laughed as I patted his shoulder.

“And I can tell that I am so delighted that I didn’t ask her out because she didn’t even say yes to you when you are the hottest guy on campus as what the girls said, and I can’t imagine what type of guy Megan Corteza likes.” My best friend added, and I continue laughing because I felt so happy that I now know where she is, and I am going to surprise her and tell her that I don’t easily surrender.

“I want you to come with me, Zach, because I am not going home tonight without her as my passenger in my car.” I declared and got out of the locker room in a hurry, and I can feel my best friend was walking behind me

The moment we arrived at the cafe, the stunned looked on Megan’s face made me feel victorious because even if she said no, I could feel deep inside her, she wants to go out with me, and for how many times our eyes met, and Megan caught me staring at her. She looked so adorable every time she blushes. And it made me realized I never felt this way before to any girls, even to the hot and gorgeous cheerleaders that I dated, and how come a simple girl like her made me feel this way.. She suddenly became like a puzzle to me that I thought my desire to know her became more intense.