Stories Based On Taylor Swift Songs

DEBUT: 8. Stay Beautiful

8. Stay Beautiful (11/25/20)

I watched Corey walk down the street. It seemed like he was walking on air, and everyone watched him as he floated effortlessly down the street. There was only one word to describe him: beautiful. Now, I've always been a firm believer that beauty is subjective, but when it comes to Corey, it's unanimous. Everyone finds him good-looking. And yet, I let him walk out of my life.

Corey and I hadn't started talking until last year. Despite his good looks, he always seemed to have trouble keeping up with conversations. He didn't have many friends, and even though the girls ogled over him, they wished he would make the first move. But Corey was shy, and didn't enjoy small talk or banter. If anything, he would ask the serious questions first and then ease into the easy stuff, like what your favorite color is. Corey would've been perfect for The Bachelorette.

I stepped away from my apartment window for a moment. Corey had reached the street corner, and I watched as he crossed. The cars stuck in traffic all took notice of the beautiful boy.

I wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. Corey and I had ended on a strong note, one that we had both agreed on. Since our first meeting last year, when we were paired up to work on a chemistry assignment, he and I had been inseparable. Everyone at school wondered how I got Corey to open up, but it was easier than I had thought. He enjoyed chemistry, and once we stopped talking about balancing equations and elements, the rest of the conversation came easily.

Corey and I saw each other a few times, but I knew he was not cut out for a relationship. He rode through life relying on his good looks and nothing else. He had no work ethic, except when it came to chemistry, and he had trouble speaking and sharing his opinions. After the first couple tries, I stopped asking him where he wanted to eat because I knew he wouldn't give me a cohesive answer. His go-to response was always "Well, where do you want to go?" And since communication was the most important part of a relationship, I knew Corey and I would not last long.

I was at fault as well; Corey wasn't the only person to blame for why the relationship didn't work out. His good looks took my breath away at times, and I couldn't stand the thought of seeing other girls looking at Corey like a piece of meat. If Corey wanted to walk through life and appease every girl who found him good looking, he could, but he had to leave me out of it.

An hour ago, I had invited Corey to my dad's apartment. My parents had divorced when I was younger, and while I was meant to spend the weekends with my dad, he had been called into work today. I didn't mind, since it gave me time to talk to Corey. He came over, and I broke the news to him.

"We can't keep seeing each other," I told him plainly, not wanting to waste his time.

His face fell. "Why?"

I crossed my arms against my chest, shifting my weight from foot to foot. "Corey, you know this isn't working out. You can hardly communicate with me. I need someone who can talk to me for hours without getting bored." I paused, letting the words sink in. "And I don't like how other girls look at you. It makes me jealous. So I think it's best if we stop seeing each other."

Corey didn't reply. When he glanced up at me, his green eyes were filled with tears. God, it was like someone had punched me in the gut and taken all the life out of me. Corey's pout made him look much less beautiful.

"I'm sorry, but I think we're just at different points in life," I said, as if I was presenting a project and only had a certain amount of time to say everything I needed to. "You need to go out there and see the world, get a hobby, get your heart broken a few times, I don't know. Have an opinion about something."

All Corey did was nod, which was to be expected. I could've throttled him, if it wasn't for the cute way he looked at me.

"Maybe, a few years down the line, we can try again, but this isn't gonna work out right now," I said, ending the presentation. I waited patiently for any sort of response, but all Corey did was run his fingers through his hair and bite back tears.

"I understand," he said before grabbing his coat and walking out the door. I watched him go, my eyes following him down the street and past the parked cars.

At that moment, I should've called out to him. The break-up should've had a proper ending, and we all knew it wouldn't come from him. So I yelled out, even if he couldn't hear me, "Stay beautiful!" A few of the girls on the street looked up at me, but I liked to imagine that Corey heard my sentiment and smiled.