Genre: Romance
I used to spend my days up in my room doing everything I thought of. I read all the time to escape my reality. I wrote all my feelings in my favorite notebook. But most of the time, I caught myself in a deep thought, staring blankly at the empty space in front of me. I used to think a lot too-about forever, about happy ever after, about what ifs and just about anything quite impossible but imaginable.
I saw no one but myself in the mirror and I refused to go out of the house. I only even went out of my room to eat. I avoided the sunlight like a glittering vampire afraid to be found out. I didn't want to talk to anyone but myself and yes, I talked to myself. In short, I shut the world out for the past 6 months. Even my mom couldn't get to me. I could see that she was very worried. She would hold my hand on the dining table and look me in the eyes. It's as if she was crying inside. Seeing that look on her face made me hurt more.
What if?
What if I just did it and got it over with? What if all of this never happened? What if he never left? Would I be daydreaming like now or waking up to see him again?
I finally got out of the house when my mom forced me to come with her to buy some groceries. I repeatedly said no. In the end, she won.
That was the day I met Nathan. I was scanning the magazine section when he came up to me.
"Hi," he said. I looked at him and saw his bright smile like the sun creeping through the clouds after the rain. I wasn't sure if it irritated me or simply took me by surprise because I didn't know such smile existed.
I got back to scanning the magazines. "Not much of a talker, huh?" he asked.
Still, I didn't say anything. "So, Reese..."
"How'd you know my name?" I finally asked.
"Your necklace." He pointed at it as I automatically looked down to it. "I'm Nathan, by the way. Just to be fair because I already know your name."
My brows furrowed as I looked at him again like he was a puzzle I was trying to solve. He smiled wider causing his eyes to scrunch up on the sides and bottom. A few seconds passed when I decided to go to a different aisle. I felt him following me so I stopped.
I turned around to face him. "What do you want?" I asked.
"To be your friend," he said matter-of-factly.
"I don't do friends, okay? Leave me alone." I walked towards my mother who was already in line for check out.
"Hey," she said when she saw me. I put my hands in my pocket as I stood there quietly waiting beside her.
"Oh, I see you've made a friend." What?
She must have seen the confusion in my face so she looked at someone behind me. I turned around and saw Nathan with his bright smile again.
I immediately turned back to Mom and said, "No, he's not my friend. He just came up to me a while ago."
"Ouch." I heard him say so I looked at him again. He had his fake pained look on his face and his hand on his chest as if he was clutching his heart. I rolled my eyes heavenwards.
My mom's giggle was audible, though she didn't really try to hide it.
They had a quick chat while we were waiting in line. In the car on the way home, my mom wouldn't shut up about Nathan. I kept rolling my eyes because I wasn't really interested. In my room, I kept thinking about him and his bright smile. His face would pop into my mind until I noticed something. His smile didn't reach his eyes.
