One Shot
Ridgeway Country Club was the coolest place in the area. It had a tennis court, a golf course, a basketball court, and a huge pool. And that was only the outside! The inside was ten times more amazing. There was a game room, a lounge area just for teens, a play area for kids, a sports room for guys, a spa room for girls, and every Friday night, the ball room was transformed into a night club for teens. It was without a doubt the place to be. Too bad my family couldn’t afford a membership there. It’s not that I was poor, I wasn’t. My family did have money. It was more my family wanted to teach me a lesson so whenever I wanted something, I had to work and save up money to get it. It had been like this for so long now that it didn’t bother me that much anymore. Sure, maybe I couldn’t afford to be part of the coolest hang out spot in town but I was still allowed inside. You’re probably confused. It’ll all make sense in a second. Remember a few seconds ago I told you I had to work to get what I wanted? Well, I do work for my stuff. It just so happens to be that I work at the country club. I bet you’re having one of those “aha” moments now. And I know it sounds like one of the most glamorous jobs there could be but if you think that, you are oh so very wrong. My job is far from it! I’m not allowed near the lounge area, the Friday night clubs, or any of that good stuff. Nope, my job is giving out towels to the people who are chilling near the pool. Sometimes, if my boss is feeling really generous, I get to serve food and drinks to the kids in the club. It would be fun if all the people that went there weren’t my classmates. Let me explain. I live in a very wealthy town and the way it worked was unless you were poor, you went to Ridgeway Prep. That was the best high school in the state of Tennessee. It was also the most expensive, which was why only the richest people could go there. I was also allowed to attend too. I had gotten a full scholarship due do my fantastic GPA. Because it was so expensive, there was only 400 kids in the entire school. That’s right, only 400. Since that’s obviously such a small number, you quickly got to know everything and everyone in that school. The same 399 kids in that school were also members of the country club. It wasn’t so bad except for when the jocks and preps showed up. Especially this one kid in particular, Joe Jonas. He was your average cocky, conceited, jock. Don’t get me wrong, he was hot but being that full of yourself was a major turn off. But still, there was something about him that made him seem different. Like when he looked over at me during math. He didn’t look at me with disgust like the others jocks. He looked like he had a heart. What am I saying?! He was a jock, nothing could ever come of this. Anyway, back to my story. Today was Friday and my boss had given me permission to serve the teens at the club. I was excited to do it. Anything beat handing out towels.
“Miley, the doors open in 5. Get to the bar and be ready to take orders for drinks.” My annoying boss was freaking out as usual. But hey, I wasn’t gonna complain, I got so serve drinks. Non alcoholic, of course. I followed Dave’s orders and took my place behind the counter. 5 minutes later, as promised, the doors opened and in came a herd of teenagers. They all rushed over to the lounge chairs and began chattering. I just stood there, awkwardly, watching them have fun. I wanted so badly to be considered part of their group. I don’t have very many friends. Scratch that, I don’t have any friends. It’s because I live in a wealthy community and the money I make has to be spent wisely. Daddy doesn’t hand me a credit card before I go out. I had to save my money, something they didn’t understand. It was fine though, I was learning lessons for the real world. I was deep in thought when I felt someone set themselves down at the stool in front of me. “Hello, anyone in there?” The deep voice questioned. I snapped myself out of my thoughts and was brought back to reality. Staring directly at me were those light brown eyes. They looked amazing, especially on him. “Hi, Joe.” I gave him a smile. “Hey, Miles. The usual, please.” He said please. A guy with manners, swoon! “Coming right up.” Joe nodded his head and waited patiently. I was in the process of blending his blueberry smoothie when I looked over at him for a second. He was no longer alone, his jock friends had joined him. I dumped the liquid from the blender into a neon green cup for him. Before handing it over, I got a straw and placed
it in the cup as well. I handed it to him and waited for him to thank me like he normally did but that moment never came. He snatched it from my hand. “Jeez, do you think you can go a little faster next time? Some of us actually have friends
we wanna hang out with.” Was what I got from Joe. He clique of friends started laughing and I just nodded my head. “Sorry.” I mumbled under my breath. Joe and his group walked away and I couldn’t help but stare as they did.
The night seemed to drag on slower than any other Friday night. I just wanted to get home and be by myself. It didn’t help very much that Joe was grinding with a bunch of random girls. Well it was more the girls were all up on him and he just followed along, not as passionately. What killed me even more was when he would look over at me. He tried to smile at me a few times but I would always look away from him and pretend to be interested in other things. I looked over at the clock 11:45, 15 minutes until closing and I could go home. I was tempted to take a chance and ask Dave if I could leave early but I knew the chances of that happening were slim to none. The crowd slowly began to die out as it got closer to midnight but Joe still remained, unfortunately. After what felt like an eternity, 15 minutes, the music came to an end and whoever remained cleared out. I had to stay behind for a little while to tidy up some of the garbage and make sure no personal belongings were left behind. When the room was in a reasonable state, I shut off the lights and headed out to my car. This was my least favorite part, the walk at night. It was dark, quiet, lonely, and a little creepy. But I managed to get there without trouble. I backed out of my space and was gonna pull out of the driveway when I saw a figure standing on the sidewalk. I put my car in reverse and slowly backed up to the sidewalk and towards the figure. “Joe?” I questioned. Joe looked over at me and nodded. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be home?” Joe let out a deep sigh. “All the guys I came with are heading to Taylor’s basement to get high. I didn’t wanna go with so they just left me here.” A small part of me felt bad but then I remembered his actions earlier that evening and the sympathy went away. Still, though, I couldn’t just leave him here. I couldn’t believe I was gonna do this. “Get in.” I said quietly before unlocking the door. The ride to Joe’s was surprisingly interesting. We talked about school, sports, and music. I felt like I could live in this moment forever. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true. Once Joe got out of that car, I’d go back to being a friendless loser and he’d be Mr. Star athlete. That’s just the way it went. I pulled up to his house and slowed my car down until it came to a full and complete stop. Joe looked from his house to me back to his house then down to his lap. “I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier. And not just earlier but how I’ve always treated you. I just didn’t know how to act around you.” Joe gulped. “It’s fine, Joe, I understand. You’re Mr. popular and I’m just the dork with no friends. You’re embarrassed to be seen with my I understand.” Joe took my hands in his and looked directly into my eyes. “No, you’re not understanding. I’m not embarrassed to be seen with you, I’m honored. I didn’t act that way because my friends were around, it was because I was nervous I would say something that made me look dumb. I don’t really know how to say this but I’m gonna try, I like you Miley. I really, really like you.” Those words touched my heart and sent chills down my spine. Joe Jonas, the guy who no matter how hard I tried to deny it, I’d been crushing on for as long as I can remember liked me back and he just admitted it. “Really Joe?” I asked, unsure. I was convinced that this was all a joke and I was being punk’d. Joe nodded his head and leaned in towards me. Oh my God, maybe this wasn’t a joke. Maybe he did like me. My thoughts were cut short when I felt Joe’s soft lips gently connect with mine. I closed my eyes and let our lips do the talking. Joe pulled away and looked at me. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” Too shocked to respond, I just nodded my head. Joe gave me a quick kiss again before leaving and then walked inside his house.
The next day, as promised, Joe called me. We made plans to go to the mall then to the movies and then out for pizza afterwards. I was told to be ready for 3:30 and I was. I figured since it was a mall, movies, pizza date, that meant casual so that’s how I dressed. I wore a purple flower sundress and white flip flops. I let my hair air dry, giving the curls a more bouncy look. I hoped I didn’t look stupid. Right on time, Joe rang the bell at 3:30. I opened the door and smiled. “Hey gorgeous.” Joe said, before leaning down and gently kissing me. “Hi handsome.” I answered back, giggling. Joe looked so cute in army shorts, a grey t-shirt, and brown flip flops. It was a simple outfit but looked just right on him. “Ready to go?” I nodded my head and Joe reached for my hand. I strolled around the mall with Joe, hand in hand, as happy as can be. But soon this happiness was brought to an end when I saw Joe’s group of friends coming towards us. I waited for Joe to drop my hand and make some comment to me. That moment never came though. In fact, Joe’s grip tightened. “Joe, what are you doing with Milly?” Zac, the basketball player, asked. “Yeah, she’s not one of us.. She’s a dork.” Sterling, the baseball player, agreed. “One. It’s MILEY, not Milly. And two. She’s not a dork, she’s my angel. And if you can’t accept her for not being ‘one of us,’ then I quit being ‘one of us.’” And with that, Joe took me outside and we sat on the mall steps. I couldn’t believe any guy would ever do something that sweet for me. I rubbed Joe’s back and put my finger under his chin so he was now looking at me. “That was really sweet of you to do back there. Thanks.” “They were way out of line. I couldn’t stand there and let them pick on my girl like that.” “Do you really mean I’m your girl?” Joe nodded his head. “If you wanna be.” I pretended to think. “I’d like that a lot.” Joe smiled and took my hands. “Miley Ray Cyrus, will you be my girlfriend?” “I’d love to.” We both leaned in and kissed. That was the best kiss I’d ever had in my life. Joe gently pulled away and slowly got up. "Come on, we got a movie to catch." Joe helped me up and we walked off to his car and went to the movie theater. After the movies and dinner, we drove to the park and laid in the sand watching the stars. I looked over at Joe and he looked back at me. "What's up, Miles?" I looked into his perfect light brown eyes and wasn't sure if I should say what was on my mind. I figured if Joe could take a risk for me, I could take one for him too. “I love you, Joe.” “I love you too, Miley.” Joe held me tighter as we watched the stars together. Life was perfect.
“Miley, the doors open in 5. Get to the bar and be ready to take orders for drinks.” My annoying boss was freaking out as usual. But hey, I wasn’t gonna complain, I got so serve drinks. Non alcoholic, of course. I followed Dave’s orders and took my place behind the counter. 5 minutes later, as promised, the doors opened and in came a herd of teenagers. They all rushed over to the lounge chairs and began chattering. I just stood there, awkwardly, watching them have fun. I wanted so badly to be considered part of their group. I don’t have very many friends. Scratch that, I don’t have any friends. It’s because I live in a wealthy community and the money I make has to be spent wisely. Daddy doesn’t hand me a credit card before I go out. I had to save my money, something they didn’t understand. It was fine though, I was learning lessons for the real world. I was deep in thought when I felt someone set themselves down at the stool in front of me. “Hello, anyone in there?” The deep voice questioned. I snapped myself out of my thoughts and was brought back to reality. Staring directly at me were those light brown eyes. They looked amazing, especially on him. “Hi, Joe.” I gave him a smile. “Hey, Miles. The usual, please.” He said please. A guy with manners, swoon! “Coming right up.” Joe nodded his head and waited patiently. I was in the process of blending his blueberry smoothie when I looked over at him for a second. He was no longer alone, his jock friends had joined him. I dumped the liquid from the blender into a neon green cup for him. Before handing it over, I got a straw and placed
it in the cup as well. I handed it to him and waited for him to thank me like he normally did but that moment never came. He snatched it from my hand. “Jeez, do you think you can go a little faster next time? Some of us actually have friends
we wanna hang out with.” Was what I got from Joe. He clique of friends started laughing and I just nodded my head. “Sorry.” I mumbled under my breath. Joe and his group walked away and I couldn’t help but stare as they did.
The night seemed to drag on slower than any other Friday night. I just wanted to get home and be by myself. It didn’t help very much that Joe was grinding with a bunch of random girls. Well it was more the girls were all up on him and he just followed along, not as passionately. What killed me even more was when he would look over at me. He tried to smile at me a few times but I would always look away from him and pretend to be interested in other things. I looked over at the clock 11:45, 15 minutes until closing and I could go home. I was tempted to take a chance and ask Dave if I could leave early but I knew the chances of that happening were slim to none. The crowd slowly began to die out as it got closer to midnight but Joe still remained, unfortunately. After what felt like an eternity, 15 minutes, the music came to an end and whoever remained cleared out. I had to stay behind for a little while to tidy up some of the garbage and make sure no personal belongings were left behind. When the room was in a reasonable state, I shut off the lights and headed out to my car. This was my least favorite part, the walk at night. It was dark, quiet, lonely, and a little creepy. But I managed to get there without trouble. I backed out of my space and was gonna pull out of the driveway when I saw a figure standing on the sidewalk. I put my car in reverse and slowly backed up to the sidewalk and towards the figure. “Joe?” I questioned. Joe looked over at me and nodded. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be home?” Joe let out a deep sigh. “All the guys I came with are heading to Taylor’s basement to get high. I didn’t wanna go with so they just left me here.” A small part of me felt bad but then I remembered his actions earlier that evening and the sympathy went away. Still, though, I couldn’t just leave him here. I couldn’t believe I was gonna do this. “Get in.” I said quietly before unlocking the door. The ride to Joe’s was surprisingly interesting. We talked about school, sports, and music. I felt like I could live in this moment forever. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true. Once Joe got out of that car, I’d go back to being a friendless loser and he’d be Mr. Star athlete. That’s just the way it went. I pulled up to his house and slowed my car down until it came to a full and complete stop. Joe looked from his house to me back to his house then down to his lap. “I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier. And not just earlier but how I’ve always treated you. I just didn’t know how to act around you.” Joe gulped. “It’s fine, Joe, I understand. You’re Mr. popular and I’m just the dork with no friends. You’re embarrassed to be seen with my I understand.” Joe took my hands in his and looked directly into my eyes. “No, you’re not understanding. I’m not embarrassed to be seen with you, I’m honored. I didn’t act that way because my friends were around, it was because I was nervous I would say something that made me look dumb. I don’t really know how to say this but I’m gonna try, I like you Miley. I really, really like you.” Those words touched my heart and sent chills down my spine. Joe Jonas, the guy who no matter how hard I tried to deny it, I’d been crushing on for as long as I can remember liked me back and he just admitted it. “Really Joe?” I asked, unsure. I was convinced that this was all a joke and I was being punk’d. Joe nodded his head and leaned in towards me. Oh my God, maybe this wasn’t a joke. Maybe he did like me. My thoughts were cut short when I felt Joe’s soft lips gently connect with mine. I closed my eyes and let our lips do the talking. Joe pulled away and looked at me. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” Too shocked to respond, I just nodded my head. Joe gave me a quick kiss again before leaving and then walked inside his house.
The next day, as promised, Joe called me. We made plans to go to the mall then to the movies and then out for pizza afterwards. I was told to be ready for 3:30 and I was. I figured since it was a mall, movies, pizza date, that meant casual so that’s how I dressed. I wore a purple flower sundress and white flip flops. I let my hair air dry, giving the curls a more bouncy look. I hoped I didn’t look stupid. Right on time, Joe rang the bell at 3:30. I opened the door and smiled. “Hey gorgeous.” Joe said, before leaning down and gently kissing me. “Hi handsome.” I answered back, giggling. Joe looked so cute in army shorts, a grey t-shirt, and brown flip flops. It was a simple outfit but looked just right on him. “Ready to go?” I nodded my head and Joe reached for my hand. I strolled around the mall with Joe, hand in hand, as happy as can be. But soon this happiness was brought to an end when I saw Joe’s group of friends coming towards us. I waited for Joe to drop my hand and make some comment to me. That moment never came though. In fact, Joe’s grip tightened. “Joe, what are you doing with Milly?” Zac, the basketball player, asked. “Yeah, she’s not one of us.. She’s a dork.” Sterling, the baseball player, agreed. “One. It’s MILEY, not Milly. And two. She’s not a dork, she’s my angel. And if you can’t accept her for not being ‘one of us,’ then I quit being ‘one of us.’” And with that, Joe took me outside and we sat on the mall steps. I couldn’t believe any guy would ever do something that sweet for me. I rubbed Joe’s back and put my finger under his chin so he was now looking at me. “That was really sweet of you to do back there. Thanks.” “They were way out of line. I couldn’t stand there and let them pick on my girl like that.” “Do you really mean I’m your girl?” Joe nodded his head. “If you wanna be.” I pretended to think. “I’d like that a lot.” Joe smiled and took my hands. “Miley Ray Cyrus, will you be my girlfriend?” “I’d love to.” We both leaned in and kissed. That was the best kiss I’d ever had in my life. Joe gently pulled away and slowly got up. "Come on, we got a movie to catch." Joe helped me up and we walked off to his car and went to the movie theater. After the movies and dinner, we drove to the park and laid in the sand watching the stars. I looked over at Joe and he looked back at me. "What's up, Miles?" I looked into his perfect light brown eyes and wasn't sure if I should say what was on my mind. I figured if Joe could take a risk for me, I could take one for him too. “I love you, Joe.” “I love you too, Miley.” Joe held me tighter as we watched the stars together. Life was perfect.