Chapter 1
Justin’s POV
On Valentine’s Day I gave her a card.
It was just a little red piece of paper with Minnie Mouse on it, nothing spectacular.
Y’know, the kind that kids pass around to their class. I wrote as neatly as I could.
To:
Brittany From: Justin
Happy
Valentine’s Day.
That’s it. I couldn’t think of anything else.
And, I didn’t want her to think I was a dork to find out that I liked her, so I settled on Happy Valentine’s Day.
When I saw her on set she was with some of her friends.
I didn’t want to give to her then, but I was afraid I wouldn’t see her again that day.
If I gave it to her tomorrow, I’d seem pretty stupid.
I certainly didn’t want her to think I was stupid.
I argued with myself whether not to go up to her.
My hands were behind my back as I held the card.
One of her friends, I think her name was Daisy, looked up from their conversation and spotted me.
Even though we were 11 or 12, I’ve never really been one of those guys that the girls hated.
I guess it was being raised in the south and all, my mom taught me to be very polite.
“Hey Justin.” Daisy said, giving me a little wave.
The rest of the girls looked at me.
I might have been polite, but I was also very shy.
I even sweated from nervousness.
“Uh…hi.” I said quietly.
The girls smiled at me, which I took as a good sign.
None of them resumed back to the conversation they were having, so I guess they were letting me into their circle.
“What are you doing?” another girl asked me, giving me a friendly smile.
“Oh, um…nothing.” I replied. Very smooth.
I shifted my weight from foot to foot and looked at my shoes.
“I just wanted to give a Valentine’s Day card, that’s all.”
I looked up and noticed I had all of their attention.
I smiled at them and they all smiled back.
At this point, I felt kinda guilty cause I didn’t bring them all one.
Slowly I walked up to them and soon I was standing in the middle of the circle.
Finally, I pulled out the card from behind me and handed it to Britney. My body was stiff from fear.
Her brown eyes went wide with surprise.
She glanced over at the back of the card, reading it.
“Thank you very much.” She said.
“But you spelled my name wrong.” She smiled.
I stepped back from her a bit, my face turning pink.
I felt so dumb, why; she must have thought I was the biggest idiot on earth!
“I-I-I’m…so sorry…I didn’t…uh…” I stuttered out something that sounded like English.
The other girls giggled and I blushed again.
I think even the tips of my ears were pink.
Sensing my embarrassment she stepped closer to me and said sweetly, “Don’t worry most people spell my name that way.”
I grinned sheepishly, relieved that she wasn’t mad at me.
“My mom spelled my name differently because she says names should be spelled the way they sound.”
I nodded. “She's right.” I said to myself.
“Yeah.” She laughed, then reached into her pocket and pulled something blue and pink with hearts all over it.
“Here.” She gave it to me.
I must have looked like the biggest fool in the world, standing there, in the middle of a bunch of a girls grinning from ear to ear just because I got a card from her, even if I knew she gave one to everyone anyway.
I opened it and read it.
To:
Justin From: Britney
Hope you have a great Valentine’s Day.
Her writing was neat and squiggly.
So that’s how she wrote her name. B-R-I-T-N-E-Y.
Well, that was easier to remember.
“Thank you.” I said and color flushed into her cheeks.
“It’s not much.” She told me.
“Oh no, I really like it. I mean it.” I said and gripped the card a little tighter.
She said “I’m glad.” And laughed nervously.
Boy, this was awkward.
The girls were still there, hearing every bit of our conversation, and though for a few moments I had forgotten they had existed.
It was like she and I were the only two people on earth.
“Happy Valentine’s Day Justin.” She said.
“Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Her eye caught mine and we smiled at each other.
I stared right into them, and something happened.
For a split second my mind went completely blank.
The other girls giggled brought me back into reality.
Even though I was 12 years old, I knew I had fallen madly in love, and that Britney was the only girl I’d ever love for the rest of my life.