here are sneak previews of the first chapters to the two AU stories i'm planning to upload in the near future. which one should be uploaded first? i need help deciding ><
so here's the first one: it's the farm-situated, coming-of-age story. it's called where the heart is. this is just an excerpt and not the full chapter:
I can’t say I’ve accomplished anything worth mentioning, except for the fact I’ve lived most of my life being compared to other members of my family.
My twin brother, for instance, just finished his first year in college on a soccer scholarship. He’s got a girlfriend who’s captain of the varsity cheerleading squad - a cute redhead, but too bubbly in personality - and with a 3.5 GPA to boot.
My cousin Xion got accepted into the most prestigious performing arts school in the country - yep, she, too is on a scholarship. She got the lead part in an upcoming play written by one of the city’s most known playwrights; the first show is next October.
My dad even has a few things worth boasting about; he married his childhood sweetheart and raised three kids on a ranch in a rural town with a population of three thousand. When his wife died ten years after their wedding he migrated to the city and secured a formidable job that paid all the bills, despite the fact he’s got nothing more than a high school diploma.
What did I have? Well, for starters I’m a college dropout; after three months of college I realized it wasn’t for me and abandoned post-secondary education altogether. I don’t know if it was just a bout of youthful indecisiveness or if it really wasn’t meant for me, but all I know is the moment I decided I wasn’t going back I felt relieved.
Besides that, I don’t think there’s really anything else worth mentioning.
I’m not special. I’m not overly smart like my dad is or extremely talented like my twin brother and cousin are. I have enough friends to feel like I have some sort of a social life and I got average grades in school. I wasn’t picked first in Gym class, but I wasn’t picked last either. I like music that some people like, and I like to play sports when I’m in the mood for it.
There’s nothing extraordinary about me. If anything, I’m just ordinary, and maybe that’s what makes me feel so unattached to the rest of the world.
--
the next excerpt is from the second story; it's loosely inspired from the movie 500 days of summer. the characters are young adults and the mood leans towards a romantic comedy. it'll be called hard to get. here's the excerpt:
My phone rings, and the toast and I jump at exactly the same time. I pull the hot bread out and smear whatever was left of the Nutella before answering the call. I check the name on the call display: my best friend.
“Roxas?” Axel splutters frantically, and I chew my toast calmly, “Are you still coming?”
“I’m on my way,” I assure him as I swallow the last piece of my toast, “Don’t worry, I got this.”
“You sound awfully calm.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” I ask as I down my glass of milk. I check the digital clock on the stove - half an hour.
“Well,” Axel begins in a much more even tone, “I just want you to know you’re wasting your time.”
I roll my eyes - I’ve heard this so many times before. “Axel, how many times do I have to tell you; I have to do this. I know this is what I’m supposed to do.”
“You tell me the same thing every time.” He groans exasperatingly.
“I can easily say the same thing about you.” I mutter as I head for the door. “Look, I gotta go. I’ll be there soon.”
“Wait, I think you’re misinterpreting me,” He says as I lock my door, “You don’t have to do this, Roxas. She’s-”
“There’s no point in trying to convince me - you should know this by now,” I tell him firmly as I walk into the elevator, “I know now, Axel - I belong with her. She’s mine. I can’t let her go. I need her.” My chest twitches in pain but I ignore it. I lean against the wall and watch the numbers of the floor indicator go down, down, down…
I hear giggling again, and the twitching continues.
“A kiss for every floor…”
“Roxas?” Axel’s voice jolts me back to the present, and I blink wordlessly.
