Stories from My Youth Pt. 1

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Do you remember?

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The first time I saw you

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I didn’t know what love was

Back when I was younger, I never considered love to be in my realm of possibility. I was always the DUFF. Always the matchmaker, never to be matched. It’s a feeling i’m sure many of us know too well.

But, all that changed when I saw you for the first time. You walked right into our Home Ec class, sat in the back seat, and said nothing. I looked back, and we locked eyes. And that’s where it started.

I saw a lot in those eyes.

Fear.

Confusion.

But the thing that drew me to you...

was that above all that, what I saw when we locked eyes...

Was kindness.

True, Pure, Kindness.

And that’s when I knew, I had to get to know her better. I had to become close to her. I wanted to know what made her happy, I wanted to know what made her mad. I wanted to get to know her SO bad. I wanted to find out if maybe I could be part of her world, even for a little while.

But, so did all of my other friends. A “friend” started a rumor that I had photos of her saved on my iPhone, and although those lies were unfounded, it made her try to avoid me for the first few weeks of us going to school together. Everyone turned against each other, hoping to date her. Many lies were created. It’s high school, we were awful people back then. But, I didn’t want what everyone else wanted. I just wanted to know her better.

Eventually, over time, our paths crossed more and more. We started spending more and more time together. And eventually, we became friends. We would laugh together about stupid things, and we would tell each other stories from when we were little. Things started moving, and eventually, we were close enough that I could call her my best friend, and she could call me hers. We would do everything together. Homework, singing songs, we were in clubs together. But, the more and more I got to know her, the more and more I realized that maybe I wanted something more.

That night... do you remember?

I do.

That night, when it all went down.

That’s when I realized I was in love with you.

(end of part 1)