Disclaimers: All of the characters in this story are fictional. Two of the characters just happen to resemble the physical features of Xena and Gabrielle.
Love/Sex: Depicts a loving relationship between two female teens.
Violence: Nope
Notes: Hi everyone! I know… where have I been right? What can I say…? LIFE. I hope you all purchased a copy of my first published book Within the Heart! I use the author name Daisy TimShar. Anyway, this is yet another high school love story I just had to get off my chest. I just wanted to share this with my fellow readers. I hope you like Part 1 and I will update weekly, possibly sooner.
Please let me know what you thought of my new characters and their story!
Chapter Two
Morgan sat in her English class concentrating on her latest sketch. The subject of her drawing was across the room, paying close attention to the teacher. Morgan had not spoken to the blonde since the homecoming game and that was a month ago now. She was even happier that the blonde was no longer dating Brett Peters. He was the wide receiver for the football team and a total bonehead if you asked Morgan. She never understood what Dana saw in those guys.
The brunette was doing the final shadowing on the blonde's face when she felt a hovering presence around her desk. She stopped the movement of her pencil and looked up. Her English teacher, Mrs. Turken, was standing over her; a look of disapproval on her face.
“Is that something you would like to share with the rest of the class?” the tall lanky woman with glasses asked.
Morgan looked around the room and realized all eyes were on her. She felt a blush begin to rise on her cheeks. “No,” she mumbled, closing the sketchbook.
“This is the third time, Ms. Reed. Now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to set up a conference with your parents. Hand it over. You can get if after class.”
Morgan was horrifically embarrassed and she knew her cheeks were now beet red. She reluctantly handed over her art book and slunk down in her desk. She was even more embarrassed because Dana was witnessing the entire thing. Morgan refused to look into any of her classmates prying eyes, keeping her gaze fixated on her desk. She remained that way until the end of class.
The following afternoon, Morgan was sitting outside the Principal's office while her mother was in conference with her teacher. Since the door was open, she could hear everything they were saying.
“Really, Mrs. Reed,” Mrs. Turken began. “Morgan is a daydreamer. I constantly catch her doodling away in that art book of hers. She is behind on her assignments and her grades are slipping.”
“Well, I had no idea. I have told her in the past to stop that art nonsense.”
“I know Morgan is a bright young lady. She just has trouble focusing in class. I'm not sure what it is, but perhaps you can talk to her?”
“I certainly will. My other daughter, Keri would never behave this way. I don't know where I went wrong with Morgan.”
Tired of hearing her mother insult her, Morgan abruptly stood from the chair and walked out of the main office. She would wait it out in the hall.
On the drive home, Morgan sat in the passenger seat with her arms crossed, staring out the window.
“See where this daydreaming has gotten you?” Annette began. “Your teacher can even see that it is doing you no good making sketches all day. I think the best thing for me to do it take away your art supplies until you raise your grades.”
Morgan shot up in her seat and faced her mother. “What?! You can't do that!”
“I think it's the only way you will start concentrating and realize that academics are more important than wasting your time doodling.”
“It's not a waste of time. Not to me.”
“Are you talking back to me young lady?” Her mother asked in a tempered manner. “I am clearing out your art things and that is final.”
Morgan growled between her teeth and angrily slammed her fists on the dashboard in front of her.
“Okay, that's it! You are grounded, Morgan! Until further notice!”
The brunette huffed and crossed her arms once again. As soon as they reached the house, Morgan opened the car door and took off running down the street.
Annette quickly got out of the driver's seat and angrily began yelling at her daughter. “Morgan! You come back here now! You're grounded young lady!”
Morgan ignored her mother's shouting and kept her legs in motion. She ran down the street until she was out of sight.
****************
“I'm so sick of her shit, Jax.” Morgan groaned, sitting on her friend's beanbag chair, in his room. Jax was lying on his bed, reading a comic book.
As the brunette was running away from her mother, she decided to go Jax's house to blow off some steam.
“You know your Mom puts the -itch in bitch. Don't believe anything she says.”
“She's taking away all my art supplies and she's grounding me. When I get home I'm sure my room will be cleared out.”
Jax sat up in the bed and looked at his friend with some panic. “What about your drawings of Dana?” he questioned. “Won't she see those?”
“No,” the brunette sighed. “Those are hidden. She won't find them.”
“Oh,” Jax sighed with relief.
“My Mom is always on my damn case.”
“She just doesn't understand you.”
“I don't think she even wants to understand,” the brunette said, in a defeated tone.
Jax hated seeing his friend lose self-esteem because of her bitch of a mother. He got off his bed, walked over to Morgan and knelt down in front of her. “Well, I understand... and you don't have to please anyone in this world but yourself. You taught me that.”
Morgan looked down at her friend and smiled lightly. “You sounded very insightful just now. How many times did you practice that?”
“A few times,” the redhead chuckled.
The brunette laughed, knowing her friend meant well. “Thanks, Jax.”
“Anytime.”
There was a knock on the door. “Jackson, Morgan's father is downstairs,” Valerie, Jax's mother began. “You guys come on out.”
“He's tracked me down,” the brunette said, climbing off the beanbag.
The two friends trudged downstairs. Nathan was standing in the doorway chatting with Valerie.
“There she is,” Nathan said, spotting his daughter. “Your mother was worried about you.”
“ Sure she was,” Morgan grumbled under breath. “See you later, Jax.”
“Later.”
Morgan walked past her Dad and headed towards his truck. Nathan smiled politely at Valerie and Jax before following his daughter.
On the ride home, Morgan refused to say anything. Her father knew her well enough not to question her when she was in a mood like this. As soon as they entered the house, Annette came over to them.
“Morgan, what were you thinking running off like that?” Annette demanded.
“Annette calm down. She only went to Jax's house,” Nathan said.
“Jax? Who's Jax?”
Morgan rolled her eyes. “He's my best friend. Do you not know anything about me?” The brunette brushed past her mother and headed towards the stairs.
“You're still grounded, Morgan. The only reason you should be picking up a pencil is to write that essay you have due on Monday!”
That was the last thing she heard her mother say before closing her bedroom door. Morgan walked over to her desk and as she had suspected, her art supplies were gone. The brunette plopped her body on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
*********************
The following week, Morgan was bored out of her mind. She couldn't watch TV, sketch, or go out of the house. All she could do was work, go to school, eat, and sleep. While she was attempting to not fall asleep reading her English book, she heard the doorbell. Curious, she slid off her bed and looked out the window. Her heart skipped when she saw Dana's car parked out front.
“Oh, fuck me. What is she doing here?” Morgan whispered to herself.
Seconds later, another car pulled up. It was two other girls from Keri's cheerleading squad.
“Great. It's a sleepover night,” Morgan dreadfully uttered.
Usually, when Keri would have her sleepovers, Morgan would escape to Jax's house for the night, but she couldn't this time. She was grounded. Morgan suddenly became nervous when she heard Dana's voice pass by her door and the sound of her sister chuckling. The girl of her dreams was right down the hall from her room. Morgan plopped back down on her bed and tried to get some reading done.
An hour later, Morgan's stomach began to growl loudly. She had done well barricading herself in her room, but now she was starving.
“Damn it,” the brunette chastised her stomach.
Morgan carefully opened her bedroom door and poked her head out. She looked down the hall towards her sister's bedroom and heard the girls giggling about something. Morgan looked the other way as well. The coast was clear. She headed downstairs and made her way into the kitchen. Seeing that the pantry door was already open, she decided to raid it for food. She was dying for a snack. Morgan stepped in the doorway and got the shock of her life when she saw who was inside the pantry.
Dana turned her head and flinched a bit when she saw Morgan standing there. “Geez, you scared me,” the blonde smiled.
Dana was wearing a tight teal tank top with white pajama bottoms with teal stripes running down the sides. Morgan thought she looked adorable.
“S-sorry,” the brunette sputtered. “I didn't know you were in here,” Morgan began to leave.
“Wait, Morgan?” Dana called.
The brunette stopped and turned back towards the blonde.
“I'm actually glad you're here,” the blonde smiled again. “I can't reach those chips.”
Morgan looked up and spotted the chips on the top shelf.
Dana shrugged sheepishly. “They sent me down for snack duty, but I can't reach the snack. Can you help me out?”
Morgan chuckled lightly. “Sure.” She stepped into the small space with the blonde and easily grabbed the chips from the shelf. The brunette shyly smiled as she handed the snack to Dana.
“Wow. Being tall has its advantages, huh?” Dana giggled.
Morgan shrugged, a light smile on her face. No words would form in her brain in that moment. Not with those sparkling green eyes looking up at her. Morgan could feel herself falling into them. Being in such a small place with the blonde was making her heart pound like crazy.
“Well, thanks. I better…” Dana began, indicating that Morgan was blocking her path.
“Oh…”
Morgan stepped to the right, as did the blonde. Then she went to the left, and the blonde did the same. It was like bumper cars. Morgan felt mortified doing this clumsy little dance in front of Dana, but that soon dissipated when the blonde chuckled lightly.
“Sorry,” they both laughed in unison.
Morgan stepped to one side giving the blonde a path. Dana gave her one last glance with a smile, before leaving the pantry and going up the stairs. Morgan leaned against the wall and let out the breath she had been holding. That smile of Dana's always left her feeling paralyzed and to have the blonde smile directly at her was to her undoing.
After grabbing some junk food, the brunette ran back upstairs to her room. She did not see Dana again during the sleepover.
***********************
A few days later, Morgan met up with Jax in the town's junkyard. The place was their hangout and no one ever came there. The large lot mostly contained abandoned cars and old furniture. The two friends were sitting on the hood of an old car chatting.
“So, any more encounters with the lovely Dana Campbell?” Jax teased.
Morgan fiddled with the car antennae in her hand that she had found on the ground. “Nope.”
“You know what? I'm glad you were grounded. It forced you to talk to Dana again.”
“Yeah, well… I guess something good came out of it. I'm glad Dad got Mom to let up on my punishment.”
Jax stood up on the hood of the car and jumped onto the car's roof. “You should just ask Dana out while she's still single. Those football players are always all over her.”
The brunette shook her head. “It's not that easy, Jax.”
“Sure it is.”
Morgan turned her body and looked up at Jax. “She's straight, Jax.”
“As far as you know,” he said with his hands on his hips, looking down at her.
“Yeah, whatever,” the brunette replied, rolling her eyes.
Jax hopped down on the hood next to Morgan, creating a major dent in the already beat up car.
“Have you written your poem for English class yet?”
Morgan shook her head. “No. I can't think of anything. Have you started?”
“I finished.”
“Of course you did,” Morgan muttered. “What's it about?”
“Well, we're supposed to write about something close to our heart, so I wrote about my brother.”
“How is Gary ?” the brunette asked with seriousness. A solemn look fell over Jax's face and he sat down next to Morgan. “What's up?” the brunette asked. She didn't miss the look on her friend's face.
“He's good. I'm just bummed.”
“Oh… it's that time again, huh?”
“Yeah. His unit deploys to Afghanistan in one month.”
“I'm sorry to hear that.”
Gary was a twenty-three year old soldier in the U.S. Army. He was a fun guy to be around and always took the time to listen to Jax when he needed him. But these days, it was tough. Jax was beginning to feel like he was losing his brother to the Army.
“It just sucks, you know? He's only been here four months. I barely get to see him anymore.”
“I'm really sorry, Jax. I know it's really hard for you.”
Jax nodded sadly. “We're going to try to spend some time together before he leaves. We're going camping up in the mountains this weekend.”
“That sounds cool.”
“I'm excited. We haven't gone camping since I was twelve. We would go fishing with my Dad up there. Most of the time was spent collecting firewood, exploring the woods, and following trails, a whole bunch of stuff … it was fun.”
“Well, you'll be doing it again… and many times after that.”
Jax looked at Morgan and smiled. He prayed that was true. Gary was going into a dangerous area overseas.
*****************
One Saturday evening, Morgan and her father were locking up the auto shop for the night. The two of them stood outside the shop and Nathan looked at his daughter.
“Are you sure you don't want me to drop you at home?”
Morgan smiled and shook her head. She knew her father was in a rush to get to his monthly poker game with his friends. “No, Dad it's cool. I feel like walking anyway.”
“Alright, kiddo.” He dug in his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Here's your paycheck. Hard earned money.”
“Thanks,” the brunette smiled. She folded the envelope and stuffed it in her jacket pocket. “I'll see you later, Dad. Go easy on the bets.”
“I always do.”
Morgan chuckled and headed off down the street. It was a cool evening, almost 6 p.m. and the sun would be down in another hour. The brunette had been walking for a while and decided to cut through a park since it would save some time. As she was malingering through the playground, she heard the faint sound of someone crying. Morgan stopped walking on the path and stood still, listening to hear where it was coming from. There it was again. It was coming from behind a tree to the right of the path. Morgan took a step in that direction.
“Hello?”
The crying suddenly stopped.
Morgan made her way to the other side of the large tree. “I'm sorry. I heard crying and…” The brunette's words faltered when she saw who it was. Sitting with her knees up to her chest and tears in her eyes was-
“Dana?” The brunette spoke carefully.
The blonde looked up at her, wiping at her tears. “Oh…” Dana sighed, recognizing her friend's sister. “Hi, Morgan…”
Morgan studied the blonde for a moment and her heart went out to her immediately. She had never seen Dana in a state of sadness before. It was almost too much to bear. “Are you okay?”
Dana seemed to ponder the question before another burst of fresh tears shook her body.
“Hey, hey, I'm sorry.” The brunette softly spoke, sitting next to the upset blonde. “I didn't mean to upset you more.” Morgan cautiously patted the blonde's arm trying to comfort her.
Dana shook her head and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. “No, it's not your fault,” the blonde spoke sadly. “It's something else.”
Morgan fidgeted with her hands for a moment not knowing what to do. Should she pry? The girl of her dreams was upset and she wanted to know what was wrong. “Do you… I mean; is there anything I can do?”
Dana sniffled and shook her head sadly. “No, there isn't…” the blonde looked into Morgan's eyes. “But it's sweet of you to ask though.”
Morgan felt her heart flutter as Dana looked at her before casting her eyes back down. The brunette looked at Dana sympathetically.
“Can you tell me why you're crying?” Morgan asked softly.
Dana took a shaky breath and let it out slowly. “It's… it's my mother.” Morgan sat patiently, waiting for the blonde to continue. “We had a fight and I just had to get away from her.”
Morgan nodded in understanding. “I know what that's like.”
Dana leaned her head back against the tree and took a moment. Morgan studied the blonde's profile and thought Dana was gorgeous, even with puffy red eyes. The blonde picked at a blade of grass with her fingers.
“My mom drinks wine… a lot of wine,” Dana spoke cautiously. “She's an alcoholic.”
The blonde slowly looked at Morgan to get a reaction. Morgan simply looked at the blonde with undivided and caring attention. Dana cast her eyes down to the grass blades she was fiddling with.
“It started after my father passed away. He died in a car accident when I was thirteen.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Thanks…” Dana said, glancing at the brunette. She let out a heavy sigh. “It started off slow. A drink maybe every other week, but now it's practically every other day.”
“Does Keri know about this?” Morgan began gently. “I mean she's at your house all the time.”
Dana looked at Morgan with uncertainty. “I'm not sure. My mom tends to cover herself when I have company. She's good at keeping up appearances. I always warn her before I have someone over. Sometimes she goes to the bar after work and takes a taxi home.” The blonde slowly shook her head. “I hate when she gets drunk. She says the most awful things to me just hurt me. Anything I do is not enough for her. She totally trashes my cheerleading, she calls me stupid, and says I was a mistake.” Dana's voice broke as she spoke her final few words.
Morgan took a moment to take in Dana's sorrows and everything she was saying hit home. She ran a hand through her hair and blew out a breath.
“My mom thinks my art is a waste of time. She thinks anything I do is a waste of time.” Morgan felt Dana's eyes on her, but she kept her eyes down. “She cares more about what Keri is doing. In fact, I think she loves Keri more than me. She's the perfect one. My mom and I are always arguing too. I might as well not exist. I just feel like I'm in her way. She makes me feel really worthless sometimes.”
Morgan had no idea why she felt the need to express her feelings just then. It just felt right… it felt comfortable. Suddenly, she felt a soft hand on top of hers and a jolt of electricity went through her body. The brunette met Dana's understanding green eyes.
“That's exactly what I feel too,” Dana spoke softly.
Morgan looked at her sad companion. Sitting next to her was the sweetest person in the world, and all this time she had been fantasizing about her, Dana has been having days like this. Crying behind a tree in the park. Morgan felt like an ass for never considering Dana's personal life. She hated that the blonde was having such a tough time at home. She wished she could take Dana's pain away.
“Your Mom has no idea how wrong she is,” Morgan began. “You're always on the straight- A honor roll, you're the best cheerleader out there… you're kind to anyone who talks to you, and … you know you're pretty.”
The blonde turned to Morgan and the brunette timidly lifted her eyes. “Dana you're gorgeous.” The words slipped from the brunette's mouth before she could stop them.
Dana smiled lightly and ducked her eyes. “Thank you…”
Morgan bent one leg and outstretched her arm on her knee. Her other leg was bent Indian style. She felt a bit nervous giving the blonde a compliment. Calling Dana gorgeous was something she had always only spoken in her head. But seeing the blonde's reaction, it felt good to express her thoughts about Dana to Dana.
They sat in silence for a moment. All that could be heard was the soft wind blowing through the trees in the park.
The blonde's voice broke the quietness. “So…what do you draw?”
Morgan looked at the blonde with a bit of surprise, wondering if the question was truly directed at her. Dana was looking straight at her with full attention. “Um…”
The brunette could not believe this was really happening. Dana Campbell was actually interested in hearing what she had to say.
“I just draw what interests me.”
“Like what?”
Morgan looked into Dana's eyes, knowing full well what interested her. It was looking right back at her. But she couldn't say what was on her mind in that moment.
“A lot of things. People, places … mostly people. It depends on how I feel.”
“Do you draw to get things off your mind?”
The brunette smiled a bit, surprised that Dana had hit the nail on the head. “Yeah, actually. How did you know?”
“Well, if I could… I would want to take my mind off of Turken's English lessons too.”
Morgan gave Dana a sideways glance and realized the blonde was teasing. Dana was referring to when Morgan was busted in class for sketching.
The brunette chuckled. “That's funny,” Morgan smiled.
Dana grinned.
“That was so embarrassing. I haven't drawn in that class ever again.”
The blonde chuckled lightly and it was music to Morgan's ears.
The two teens sat there for another moment. “Well, it's getting kind of late,” Dana commented.
Morgan looked around the park and realized it was dark out. “Yeah, I guess so.” The brunette hopped to her feet and looked down at Dana. She stretched out her hand to the blonde. “Walk you home?” Morgan offered.
Dana smiled and took Morgan's hand, allowing the brunette to help her off the ground.
It took them about fifteen minutes to reach the front of the blonde's house. They stood on the sidewalk and faced each other. Morgan felt kind of awkward, like she was dropping Dana home after an intimate date. The blonde looked up at her and smiled lightly.
“Thank you for listening to me Morgan.”
Morgan nervously stuffed her hands in her pockets and nodded. “You're welcome.”
“I mean it. It felt good to talk to someone about my problems. You won't tell anyone, right?”
“It's no one else's business unless you want it to be. I won't say anything, I promise.”
Dana nodded and looked towards her house, clearly not ready to go back inside. She looked at Morgan once more. “You know if you don't mind. I'd like to see your art sometime.”
Morgan's eyes widened slightly at the blonde's request. “Really?”
“Definitely.”
“Um… sure,” the brunette replied, surprised Dana had interest in her art.
The blonde gave Morgan a winning smile and the brunette nearly lost her senses. “Great. Well, I better get inside.”
“Okay.”
Dana began to walk towards her house.
“Dana?”
The blonde turned around.
“Will you be okay?” Morgan asked, nodding her head towards the house.
Dana glanced towards her home and looked back to Morgan. She smiled slightly. “I'll be okay. She probably…” Dana headed towards the door again. “I'll be okay.”
Morgan nodded. She understood not to pry anymore. “Alright.”
She watched Dana climb the steps to her house.
“Wait!” Morgan called, trotting over to the blonde.
The brunette quickly dug in her pocket and handed Dana one of her father's business cards.
“Here's my work number… if you ever want to talk again… or anything.”
Dana examined the card. “Reed's Auto Garage?”
Morgan shrugged. “I'm there most of the time working so…”
The blonde smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Morgan.”
Morgan saw that wonderful kind sparkle in Dana's eyes and felt her cheeks grow hot. “Sure.”
Dana opened her front door and turned her head towards the brunette. “Goodnight. Thanks for walking me home.”
“Anytime. Goodnight, Dana.”
Morgan watched the blonde disappear into her house. The brunette stood there a moment, just in case Dana needed help. After a minute or two, Morgan turned around and headed home.
**********
When the brunette made it home, she snuck past her mother in the den and began to whistle happily when she made it upstairs. Keri opened her bedroom door and smiled at Morgan knowingly. The brunette stopped whistling, realizing Keri was watching her.
“What?”
“You seem awfully happy. Where have you been?” Keri asked, stepping out of her room.
“Just out for a walk.”
“For a whole hour and a half?”
Morgan shrugged. “Yeah… I just lost track of time I guess.” The brunette headed towards her room.
Keri looked at her sister with curiosity. “Alright, who is he?” the head cheerleader demanded.
Morgan turned to her sister and stood in the doorway of her bedroom. “What?”
“Morg… you've obviously been spending time with someone who makes you really happy. You were whistling for God's sake.”
“So? I always whistle.”
“You do not.”
Morgan sighed with annoyance. “Unless you have something important to say to me Keri, go away.” Morgan stepped into her room and attempted to close the door, but Keri stopped it with her hand.
“Come on, just tell me, Morg. I know there's something going on with you. I can tell.”
Morgan rolled her eyes. She hated when Keri would play the twin intuition card. It was kind of scary how she was right sometimes.
“Keri, it's no one. Trust me.”
“Is it someone I know?” the lighter haired brunette smiled.
Morgan struggled to close her door, but Keri stood firm. “Damn it, Keri. I'm not seeing any guy.”
“You're lying.”
Morgan had to admit that Keri was onto her. However, as keen as her sister's intuition was, she had no idea Morgan only liked girls. She was happy Keri couldn't read into that one.
“Fine,” the brunette relented. “I'll tell you, if you get your hand off the door.”
Keri released and her hand and looked at Morgan expectantly.
“You really want to know?” Morgan asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well… it's--” Morgan quickly slammed her door shut and locked it.
“Morgan!” Keri pounded her fist against her door.
The brunette let out a wicked laugh of victory. “Goodnight, Keri!” Morgan smiled, walking over to her desk.
She plopped down in her chair and sighed. Her mind immediately went to Dana. After speaking with her tonight, she was even more in love with that girl. Suddenly, her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw it was a text from Jax.
Finish the poem? Remember it's due tomorrow J - Jax
“Oh, crap,” the brunette chastised herself.
Thanks for the heads up. - Morgan
I knew it you slacker! See you later. – Jax
Morgan put her phone on her desk and sat back in her chair. She had to write about something that mattered to her; something that emotionally grabbed her. Morgan grinned, thinking of Dana. That should be easy enough. She picked up her pen and began to write.
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