Differences

part one - noticed.

From the first moment that she saw Max, he was... different. You could tell. The way he talked, walked, smiled.

Oh his smile. That was one thing she could never get tired of, Tessa loved his smile. She loved the rare times he laughed, he would love at how angry or jealous she would get sometimes. And despite it being just a bit irritable, his smile and laugh calmed her down.

His warm embrace was always home for her when she needed it.

He was tall, he was her version of an Adonis. From the sea blue coloration of his eyes, that sometimes even appeared green, to his wonderfully lightly tanned skin and physique. She always found him to be admirable, even with imperfections that all teenagers got back in those days.

In other words, she'd never get tired of him. Where in other relationships she would lose interest fast, with this one, she was kept on her toes. Always wanting and wishing to see him. For some odd reason, he was like her own cup of calming tea.

But he was also her shot of espresso.

She could get mad at him so fast that it was crazy, but in the next few seconds, she would go through the motions of acceptance and apology. With anyone else, she was stubborn. But with him, he had her undone. She was unlike herself around him, everyone else was invisible where as he was like her own personal sunrise.

The feelings he gave her were unlike any feelings anyone else had ever given her, despite being up and down and becoming a softie. He didn't give her 'butterflies' he gave her a sense of familiarity that she found no where else. For a while, she was convinced that this boy who had grown into a man was her other half.

He was strong, resilient, stubborn, he refused to settle down for average and went above and beyond to obtain what he wanted. But he was also humble, he had respect for those who respected him and he lead others with kindness. Sometimes though, or maybe all the time, people found him intimidating.

While she dated him, people had told her he was mean. That he was going to leave her and that they didn't understand how she had fallen so hard and so fast for such a beast. This came from people who didn't understand him as a person. Who didn't know the real him, and it's why she ignored all of them. At times she would doubt, but in the end she knew he wasn't anything like all of those people had said. He was more than that, he was a human being... With dreams, goals, and a life. He had his own share of faults, and a dark past like anyone else.

Max was her other half in some sense, because he was a reflection of herself. He wanted what she wanted, and she saw him as a person deserving of her attention. She wanted to love him like no other girl had done before.