One Year of You and I

February 28th

Friday, February 28th, 2014

Luke

  I sat at my desk, noting things down frantically; each idea being followed by another. I thought I had time for what I was planning, but I had come to realize that it was needed now more than ever.

Holly

  I sat at my desk, tapping my fingers against my notebook with my pencil sticking out between my teeth. In front of me sat a blank piece of paper, waiting for me to write the words to the assignment I owed Mr. Quarten. Though my subject was obvious, I still couldn’t find the courage to press the pencil to paper. Let all of these confessions finally come out. The truth of Olive. What horrible things I saw when I looked in the mirror. How I truly felt. 

  Letting only part of this out to Luke last Sunday was hard enough. Imagining writing all that was consuming me on paper was terrifying, as it would finally be stated. It would no longer be a thought that always haunted my mind, but written work that finally concluded everything. It would be making it clear that these feelings of mine were here, and were most likely here to eternally stay. Writing would only be forcing me to face my biggest fears; note them down and have each horrid letter stare me right back in the eye. 

 Swallowing hard, I twirled my pencil between my fingers, looking at the lined paper hardly. Funny how something so fragile was so terrifying. 

  As I bit at my lip, I heard a knock on my door. Grateful for a distraction, I span in my chair and looked over at the closed door. “Come in!” I called. 

  The knob turned, only to reveal Olive in the entrance. She held a cup of hot chocolate in each hand. She wore the largest of smiles on her face. Olive was a generally peppy person, but in the past two weeks, she seemed unable to stop grinning. Every step she took was performed as a skip, as if she was walking on nothing but air. Her voice held a cheeriness to it at all times. When trying to address her, you would have to say her name multiple times, as she was constantly in a daze; looking off into the distance with that beam on her face. 

  Both of us dressed in our pajamas, I smirked at her and nodded towards my bed. Such ensembles paired with these beverages called for one thing and one thing only: a chat. We made a silent agreement, both bounding toward my bed. From my chair, I jumped onto my mattress, grabbing at one of my pillows and letting my head press against its incredibly soft surface. Olive set both of the steaming mugs on my bedside table next to the current book I was reading, only to follow my actions. 

  Grabbing at one of the mugs and bringing it to my lips, savoring the chocolatey liquid, I wiggled my eyebrows at my sister. “What is it that you had to tell me, sister dearest?” 

  She sat up straight and with that same, huge smile, she let out a squeal. Running her fingers through her hair and bouncing her knees up and down, her excitement resembled that of a thirteen year old girl’s who had just gotten tickets to see her favorite boy band. Hugging a pillow close to her chest, she tried hiding her smile, but failed miserably; the corners of her mouth turning upwards immediately.  

  I couldn’t help but laugh at her. She was an excitable person, but I had never seen her like this. Setting my mug on the ground, I lifted myself up so I was sitting as well. “Olive,” I said between chuckles, “what in the world happened?” 

  She glanced at the now-shut door before returning her focus back to me. Sticking the tip of her tongue in between her teeth, her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.