• tab By the time she reached the pool, she was already thirty minutes late. Dahlia had suddenly decided that they weren’t spending enough time together and wanted some insight on her granddaughter’s life.
    tab “So are there any particular boys that you like?” She had asked innocently as she handed Jenna her dinner plate.
    tab Blushing, Jenna looked away though Dahlia erupted into a round of laughter, “I knew I recognized that look, I looked the exact same way after meeting my second husband,” she sighed.
    tab For the next ten minutes Jenna had listened her grandmother recount her last three marriages and how each husband meant something different to her.
    tab “You’re late you know,” Nate said grumpily from one of the pool benches.
    tab “I’m sorry, Dahlia decided to talk about marriage and she’s been married a lot so we had quite a few decades to go over,” Jenna replied as she pulled off her shirt, and set her stuff down on an empty lounge chair.
    tab “Patience is not one of my strong points,” he responded before pointing to the pool. “Swim out to the deep end and stay there,” he ordered.
    tab Jenna had just finished pulling her hair into a ponytail, “I can hardly swim, why would I go out there?”
    tab Taking her hand, Nate helped her into the pool, “Just trust me,” he whispered.
    tab Face growing red, Jenna nodded and followed Nate’s directions. He didn’t have to ask her to trust him anymore. She knew that he would never hurt her.
    tab Once she reached the deep end, she clumsily swam over to the wall and held on. Behind her, she could hear Nate swimming through the water. Then she felt his arms around her but unlike before, she wasn’t afraid. Slowly, Nate pulled her away from the wall until they were in the middle of the pool.
    tab “Still trust me?”
    tab Jenna turned around and faced him. His hair was plastered to the side of his face and his eyes were red due to the chlorine from the pool. Smiling she pushed his brown hair out of the way so she could see his eyes better.
    tab “Yes, I still do,” she whispered before Nate closed the gap between them and kissed her gently.
    tab Compared to Lance, Nate’s lips felt good against hers. Unlike Jason or Lance, Nate didn’t force himself on her. He took his time, waiting for her to get comfortable before he started kissing her with a little more intensity.
    tab Earlier that day when they had been playing in the park, Jenna had watched on the sidelines as Nate and his friends vanquished a dragon. She hadn’t been able to imagine along with them. But even though she hadn’t seen it, she wished she had because it meant that she actually belonged with them. And when her lips parted from Nate’s, she noticed that the room suddenly seemed different. It was as if someone had turned on lights in room and now she was able to see what she had failed to before. Was this what Nate saw when he looked at the world? Instead of just seeing a pool and white tile walls, Jenna saw something more. What she was looking at didn’t even have words to describe it. It was as Cassidy had said, once gazing into the world of Fantasia, one wished to never see anything different.
    tab “Jenna,” Nate whispered to her just as she felt the pool floor against her feet again. Sighing, he let go of her and moved over to the steps. “I’m not popular; I hate almost all forms of social gatherings like dances and football games. I assume the worst about people long before I even get to know them. I’m stubborn, cold, sarcastic, and take pride in the fact that I can completely disconnect myself from world. I’m not the big guy on campus, I’m the guy that he shoves into gym lockers.” Nate ran a hand through his hair before glancing back at her.
    tab “I’m perhaps the worst guy you could possibly date. You could do so much better than being with me. Dating a guy like me that’s…that’s basically social suicide.”
    tab “Why are you telling me all this?”
    tab He smiled slyly at her, “I just wanted you to know all the reasons why you shouldn’t go out with me, in case you’ve forgotten that I’m the lowest level on the social food chain.”
    tab Jenna didn’t wait for him to say anything else. Instead she walked over to him before putting her arms around him and resting her head against his back, “I really don’t care if you’re considered to be the lowest of the low. I don’t care if people hate you, call you names or even shove you into lockers. I like you for who you are, not for whatever your social standing is.”
    tab Nate cast her a sideway glance, “Last chance to back out. Once you do this, people will never let you live this down,” he looked serious though she could tell from the tone in his voice that he was trying hard not to smile
    tab Jenna closed her eyes as she felt him take her hands in his, “Nate, would you go out with me?”

    tab They wouldn’t start going out until Lance was brought down crying to his knees. Nate was the one that decided that, claiming that he wouldn’t start dating her until he had gotten his revenge on Lance for what he had done to her at the anniversary dance.
    tab “If I can’t defeat him, then it means that I can’t protect you,” Nate had told her as he walked her back to Dahlia’s apartment.
    tab She didn’t want to know what he was going to do. It wasn’t like he had many options. Lance was at least twice his size and could easily crush Nate in a fight.
    tab “You don’t have to defend my honor, its not that important,” she whispered. Nate responded by kissing her lightly.
    tab “I’m stubborn remember?” He was just trying to lighten the mood; they both knew that there was nothing that she could say to make him change his mind. Then he kissed her forehead and walked away.
    tab As soon as she closed the door behind her, Dahlia immediately started making kissing sounds.
    tab “Very mature grandma,” she sneered jokingly as Dahlia ran up to her and gave her a big hug.
    tab “Don’t tell him I said this but, I always thought he was a good kid,” she whispered before kissing her cheek. Then she grabbed the remote and turned the sound up on the TV.
    tab Walking into her room, she pulled out her phone and checked her messages in case her parents had called. To her surprise there was a message from her ex-friend Ashley. Hesitantly, Jenna brought her phone to her ear and listened to the message.
    tab “Um hey Jenna, it’s me Ashley,” her voice sounded weak and frightened, “I know that it’s been awhile since we last talked and I’m pretty sure that you hate me for not standing up for you. But…but something happened to me at a party last week and you’re the only person I can talk to about it. I won’t blame you if you don’t call me back but I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for letting you down and I wish I could take everything back…”
    tab Jenna pulled her phone away, not wanting to hear anymore. She didn’t want to deal with this, didn’t want to believe that her friend who had snubbed her at school was now reaching out to her for help. Not needing to hear the rest of the message, Jenna quickly dialed her friend’s number. At first no one picked up but on the third ring she heard Ashley’s familiar soft voice, “Jenna?”
    tab “Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I don’t have to help you, in fact I’m pretty sure that any of your so-called friends would just hang up. But I’m better than that, better than them and better than you. So tell me what happened and I’ll try and help.”
    tab For the next hour, Jenna listened patiently while Ashley told her what had happened. She had been at a graduation party with her friends and there had been alcohol there. All of her friends had been drinking but after a few hours, Ashley had found herself all alone. The next thing she knew, she was being pulled into a dark room before someone climbed on top of her. Though it had been dark, she had recognized the voice. It belonged to one of the guys on the football team.
    tab “I tried talking to Beth but she said if I told anyone else, they’d just think I was a whore,” Ashley cried.
    tab “There’s not a lot I can do,” Jenna admitted while she stared out at the boardwalk.
    tab “It doesn’t matter,” Ashley confessed, “I just like knowing that someone out there believes me.”
    tab Before hanging up, Jenna promised to call Ashley once in a while, just to check in.

    tab The sun was shinning the next morning when Jenna went down to the beach. Though Nate was on lifeguard duty, he made frequent visits to see how she was doing. During those visits, he’d complain about his job, how he only did it cause they paid well.
    tab “I actually hate most of the people that come here,” Nate said after he returned with a soda for her, “sometimes I wished that they’d all get swept away by a big wave so they would leave me alone.”
    tab “And what if I got swept away too?”
    tab Nate didn’t hesitate with his answer. “I’d dive in without even thinking. I’d keep swimming until I had you safe in my arms.” Then Nate leaned forward and kissed her, “I mean it too,” he whispered as he touched her cheek.
    tab Then they heard an arrogant voice yell from behind them.
    tab “Congratulations locker boy, you finally found a girl who isn’t repulsed by the mere sight of you.”
    tab Jenna watched Nate’s face tightened with hatred as he turned around and glared at Lance. “I’m sorry, but I think you’re on the wrong beach, the one for dumb-asses is over there,” Nate smirked before pointing down to the other end of the beach.
    tab Lance crossed his arms and laughed. “Well look who thinks he’s so cool now that he’s found himself a girlfriend. Talk all you want, we both know there’s nothing you can actually do to get me to leave,” he challenged.
    tab “Really? Why don’t I tell everybody about the little stunt you pulled at the dance, I’m sure everyone would love to see you go away in handcuffs.”
    tab Jenna wanted Nate to stop, before he said something that would earn him a punch in the face. “It’s alright Nate,” she whispered before touching his arm, “just let it go.”
    tab Lance threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah Nate just let it go,” he remarked, imitating Jenna’s voice. “It’s not like anyone’s going to believe you.” He turned to walk away before adding, “Besides, your girlfriends a whore anyway.”
    tab A dark cloud seemed to pass over Nate’s face as he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, “Say that again?”
    tab Glancing back, Lance smiled dashingly, “I said your girlfriend’s a whore, she practically begged me to kiss her-” Nate cut him off by running towards him and punching Lance right on the side of his face.
    tab Eyes widening, Jenna watched a crowd began form around Nate and Lance as they fought one another. Though he was bigger, Nate used his size to his advantage dodging Lance’s swinging fists. The crowd started to cheer as Nate successfully punched Lance once more in the face before knocking him off his feet into the sand. Though he was winning, Jenna knew that Nate’s luck could only last for so long. She didn’t understand why he insisted on fighting Lance. Yeah what he had done to her was awful but it didn’t mean that Nate had to resort to violence to solve her problem.
    tab “Nate! Nate, stop it,” she called as she pushed through the crowd and over to Nate before grabbing his arm, “it’s not worth it, just let it go.”
    tab “Are you crazy, this son of b***h has been asking for this for years,” he responded.
    tab So what if Lance was a jerk, Nate had gone too far. “You made your point, now can we please just go,” she was begging him, not trusting the wicked look he had in his eyes.
    tab Shoving her away, Nate shook his head. “Don’t you get it? I’m doing this for you,” he was shouting at her now. “I’m doing this so this b*****d never touches you again and yet you’re telling me to stop?”
    tab Jenna started to tell Nate that Lance wasn’t worth it but before she could, Lance suddenly kicked Nate away from her.“ You should have listened to your girlfriend,” he snarled before swinging his fist right into Nate’s jaw…