Heidi Lovelace was struggling in high school. While she earned good grades, she didn't have much in the way of friends and didn't fit with any of the cliques. She was amazed at how some of her classmates already had their lives planned out ahead of time. She knew that Kimber Lee, that tall, leggy dancing blonde, was going to be a ballerina and would someday dance on Broadway, and that she would get a nursing degree as well just in case dancing didn't work out for her. Veda Scott, the brainy redhead, was shooting for law school. She was already captain of the debate team and could out-talk anyone and everyone knew she would someday achieve her ultimate dream of successfully arguing a big case before the U.S. Supreme Court. But Heidi? She loved punk rock and could sing, but, given that even getting into the music business was tough enough, and true punk rock had never been very mainstream, she knew it shouldn't be her first choice.
It was announced that a new student would be transferring to Heidi's school. Then, one day, SHE walked into the room. Her name was Taeler Hendrix, a tall, stunning redhead from Massachusetts with a loud, over-the-top personality, like a real-life Jessica Rabbit. Everyone was surprised by her, but Heidi, in particular, was left speechless. Heidi, who had never been interested in another girl before, couldn't get Taeler out of her head. Taeler was so exciting that Heidi saw Deonna Purrazzo covering Mandy Leon's eyes when Deonna once thought her girlfriend was looking at Taeler.
To avoid thinking about Taeler, Heidi tried hanging out with Mary Dobson. She knew Mary was straight, having met her weird boyfriend Kevin "Pondo" Canady who attended the boys' school across town, and, to Heidi's eyes, seemed most likely to grow up to be either a Hollywood stuntman or a cast member of Jackass. Kevin was a good guy and treated Mary like a queen, it was just rare to see him without some part of his body bandaged.
Meanwhile, Heidi was still fixating on Taeler and didn't know how to deal with it. She imagined that if the school was coed, the boys would either all be following Taeler around or would be too intimidated to say anything. She didn't know if Taeler was straight or what, since she was always alone. If Taeler was straight, then she'd reject Heidi, thus breaking Heidi's heart.
Heidi decided to talk to the school's guidance counselor, Ms. Emily Sharp. Ms. Sharp listened to Heidi's story and asked what did Heidi really want, and told Heidi not to do anything until she knows the answer to that question. Ms. Sharp talked about how, when she was Heidi's age, she had the opposite problem, since she was constantly getting attention from boys who she didn't want anything to do with at all. She adds that, looking back, that wasn't the best decision, since she's still very much alone.
Heidi continued to observe Taeler from afar. She didn't want to risk spooking her, or making her feel uncomfortable in any way. Despite, or possibly, because of, Taeler's beauty and outgoing personality, she was rarely seen having lunch with or even talking to other girls, since they seemed to be too intimidated. As a result, Heidi noticed that Taeler rarely looked happy.
Finally, after some months, Heidi accepted her feelings and mustered the courage to walk up to Taeler and tell her how she felt. One day, during lunch, Heidi walked up to Taeler's table and sat down.
HEIDI LOVELACE: "Taeler, I don't know if you've noticed, but, ever since you arrived, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. I've never felt this way about another girl before. It took me a long time to get the courage to even sit down here and talk to you."
Taeler listened to Heidi and nodded. After a few minutes, Taeler responded.
TAELER HENDRIX: "I sort of noticed. Honestly, the fact that none of the other girls wanted to talk to me made me fear that everybody here hated me. My previous school was coed, and all the girls hated me because their boyfriends were always paying me so much attention. The principal there told my parents that I would be better off in an all-girls school. (Crying) That another girl cares about me just feels so good. I also never imagined myself in a relationship with another girl, since other girls tended not to like me. What you said is the nicest thing any girl has ever said to me."
Taeler stood up, and Heidi did too. Taeler extended her arms and she and Heidi embraced.
TAELER HENDRIX: "Thank you. Yes. I'll be your girlfriend."
HEIDI LOVELACE: "Thank you. I love you."
As a result, Heidi and Taeler become the popular couple at WWR High, and other girls warm up to her too.
The end.
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Partially inspired by the OVW storyline with Heidi Lovelace as Taeler Hendrix's secret admirer, which they ultimately mishandled. The mention of Deonna Purrazzo covering Mandy Leon's eyes was meant as a reference to the Mandy-Taeler feud in Ring of Honor, and the fact that Mandy's indie matches are where I learned about Deonna in the first place. "They fall for you at first sight" is a line from Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You", and Billy and Taeler are both from Massachusetts. I could have titled the story, "Everybody Wants Taeler", but that seemed too easy. This is the first High School AU story I've ever written.