I took this down before because I figured that I'd go ahead and edit it.
Oh! There's also quite a bit of swearing in this one (sorry guys, I was in a curse-word frenzy when I wrote this so just keep that in mind).
Anyway, without further ado, here's Apple:
Apple.
It was that damned dog's fault that it started.
Mom was in a weird phase and wanted a puppy. She and my sister, Zoey, had gotten one even though both were aware of how much I hated them—especially the ones that never stopped barking. But I was five and the kids in my class thought that having a puppy was cool, so I pretended I liked it. It did get almost my whole class to treat me like I was the coolest kid in the world, so I managed to deal with Mojo (the puppy).
However, that wasn't the case with her. Unlike everyone else who adored the dog, she didn't.
I remember the first time I spoke with her. She was crying because Mojo was barking at her earlier that day. I couldn't really blame her; I didn't like the dog either. But I got really pissed when Zoey gave her Mom's scrumptious cookies. At the time, I thought that it was unfair that this stranger of a crybaby was allowed to have some when I was forbidden to even dare to touch the cookies.
I devised a devious plan to pretend to help her clam down as I ate as much cookies as my five-year-old stomach could possibly handle. Much to my luck, I didn't just stay there for the cookies, I stayed because of her.
I devoured the cookies, trying to eat as much as I could before Zoey could take them away. But, due to the fact that I was still young and slightly uneducated with the nature of girls and their crying, I felt horrible for using her as a way to eat cookies.
Her cheeks were red and her eyes were puffy. I didn't have anything to say at the time since there wasn't really anything that a five year-old boy could say to a seemingly pretty girl back then. Her big, brown eyes were the first thing I've noticed. They reminded me of the cookies. After that, it was her tendency to get upset at the smallest things—I started calling her Apple Cheeks that day.
Who could have blamed me for making up such a weirdo nickname? I was a gluttonous kid with little vocabulary and a love for apple pies. Apple didn't mind though, I assumed that she liked the name, so I somehow grew up calling her by that.
That afternoon of cookies and mocking Mojo, we declared our friendship and we became inseparable since.
Her birth name was Amie Winston, but she always blushed whenever I called her Apple. Being five and all didn't really give me many things to talk to about a girl, so I used the nickname to tease her. It worked—quite well, actually. It gave me something to bring up whenever I saw her and she always smiled, which in return, made me happy, whenever she and I spoke.
Apple Winston was special, of course. Without a doubt, I didn't take notice of this when I was five, but I was pretty sure that I liked annoying her, making her laugh, and making her mad since Day One.
She was always that girl who I wanted to play with every freaking day.
I didn't know why, but I just had to see her. I always got a huge smile on my face when she asked me to play.
The funny thing was, we grew up together, and I watched over her seeing that I was a year older, declaring that she was mine to protect. I didn't know what it meant back then, and I was still confused about it now. One thing was for sure though: Apple Winston grew up to be headstrong, free spirited, and too damn optimistic for her own good. She grew up to be beautiful and I watched her go through the whole process. I, on the other hand, became the exact opposite. I hardly spoke or gave my opinion to anyone. I wasn't socially disabled or anything like that, but I never quite valued other's opinions and I was pretty damn sure that they cared about mine.
Just as Apple had said, when I did say something it wasn't anything more than six words—ten if they were lucky. I was completely alright with that. I spoke those who mattered and ignored those who didn't.
Somehow, the girls found the whole Mysterious Logan attractive.
Why, would you ask?
I couldn't answer that myself—girls were too fucking complicated. But they shamelessly flirted and threw themselves at me. It was a little creepy and it made me cringed as I learned what girls would do to get what they wanted.
It made me realize how lucky I was that I wasn't freaking female.
During high school I never really saw other girls. Sure, a lot of them were hot—I wasn't going to lie, but damn most of them had no personality. Especially ones who never stopped their idiotic banter, long and boring monologues of themselves, and their vain problems. For God's sake, if I was to strip all of them off of their body and left them with their personalities it would be hard to distinguish one girl from the other—they were all fucking the same.
Nonetheless, there was always one girl that stood out from the whole sea of clones. It was no one else other than Apple.
I didn't know what it meant then, but I was pretty sure I was infatuated with Apple Winston. Well, enough to get angry when the guys on the team talked about her and how "hot" she was in high school and how they wanted to have her. Hell, I would have punched them if I didn't have to face the consequence of being kicked out of the team.
So, instead, I stole her First Official Kiss (she called it The "First Official" Kiss since I've already kissed her numerous of times back when we were younger. Beat that, you fucking losers) and the bragging rights of kissing her as well as proclaimed her mine and out of the "market."
It happened when we were walking Mojo one afternoon and she being stubborn and didn't give me candy. I threatened her that I would take it from her mouth, and she dared me, assuming that I wouldn't ever do such a thing.
I happily obliged; I was fourteen for God's sake and she fucking dared me to. Of course I would do it.
It wasn't exactly a quick kiss because I tried to take the candy from her mouth, so there was a bit of tongue action, too—hey, I wasn't complaining. She tasted like watermelons because of the candy and from then on, watermelons became my favourite fruit. It always reminded me of her lips.
Jesus, and how those goddamn lips haunted my sleep every friggin' night.
Apple was pretty much horrified when I kissed her. I was, too. But damn, I wanted to kiss her even more after that. It was like taking a bite of the greatest cake in the world and never having another taste after that.
It was truly fucking agonizing.
Apple Cheeks was the kind of girl who you want to have, but once you get her, you'd just want more, more, more, and fucking more. Christ, how I loathed the nights she haunted my sleep with her doe-brown eyes and long blonde hair. She was my best friend, of course, so I never latched out the fact that I was in love with her for almost my whole life.
Our friendship wasn't something I wanted to ruin because I couldn't control my stupid, obstinate hormones. Apple was the best thing that happened to me—I wasn't going to risk it and throw it all away. She was one of the few people in the world that I didn't want to be out of my life.
And, being a greedy and stupid and a teenager, I wanted all of her firsts.
Hence, I was pretty damn happy that I got her first kiss, but it pissed me off when Jared Bridge asked her out on a date when two months after I kissed her. He knew that I kissed Apple, but he asked her out anyway, retorting that she and I weren't really a "couple."
Bull.
He was just jealous.
What I did was uncalled for and completely horrible, but I did it anyway. I followed them on their date, thinking how lame and unoriginal Bridge was for taking her to the movie theatre as a date. Guys nowadays had no imagination and clearly didn't know what a girl wanted.
Fuck, Apple made me suffer enough chick flicks to know what to do and what to say on first dates. So, with my superior knowledge and quick thinking, I devised a plan that would have brought Bridge out and forever gone of the picture.
The next night, I took Apple out on a better date.
Of course, it wasn't actually a date, but it did topped what Bridge planned out the night ago. Suck on that.
Apple and I made a Build-a-Bear (she was childish like that) before I took her out to a diner (she always wanted to eat in one after seeing a Hilary Duck?—Dulf?—Duff?—whatever—movie), and then we stayed in the park and just talked. She admitted that she enjoyed our "chillage" better than her date.
That time, I thought: Point One for Logan Fletcher, Zero for Boy Who Would Never Get Far with Apple.
But, I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep every damn sleazy guy off of her back like that. So, I stayed in the background, glaring at those who tried to approach her. Of course, there were some who were quite stupid and did not get the point. They didn't manage to get far though; sabotage was one of the many gifts I acquired from either Mom or Dad.
And I was thankful for that.
I remembered that one specific Valentine's Day when she was a junior and I was a senior and we've done something our parents told us not to do until we were married to our significant other. We were somewhat drunk from a party. Well, I was tipsy, but I could remember everything that happened quite well and I was sure that Apple was somewhat sober, too.
It was pretty fantastic and the most mind blowing thing I've ever experienced—I wouldn't regret it for the world—and the fact that I was Apple's first was pretty damn incredible. Of course, we didn't talk for a month after that incident.
It was pretty awkward, actually. It drove me fucking crazy knowing that she was right there and I couldn't talk to her—tease her—make her laugh. Fuck, I never wanted to go through that again.
But, I managed to get things back together after a while.
I couldn't just let her go like that, right? I had to work hard to get her back.
And man, it was the most motherfucking work I've done my whole life.
But she was worth it.
Apple Cheeks was always worth it.
I mean, for my whole life I'd been putting up with the chick flicks, the girl drama and her talking about her stupid crushes. Why would I let her go after working so hard to be by her side? Sorry, Boy Who Would Never Get Far with Apple, I was Apple's soul mate whether she knew it or not.
I mean, I wasn't Prince Charming material—that was for sure. Romance was not my greatest forte, and I was pretty damn certain that I didn't own any white horses to ride off to the sunset with that would give me an automatic Perfect Ten as a boyfriend material.
One thing was for certain, though: I, Logan Fletcher, was in-fucking-love with Apple Winston.
I didn't know how I would tell her that.
I wasn't sure if I even had the goddamn balls to say it.
It would be ridiculous to start my story with when I fell in love with her. Let's face it—I had no clue when it happened. It just did.
But I guess that was what love was.
There were too many occasions when I could have fallen in love with Apple. Starting it off with just one event would take too long, and I was pretty damn sure that this would be longer than the Bible if I started it at the beginning.
Because it all started with that stupid dog twenty years ago and a lot of crazy shit happened after that.
So, I guess that it would be appropriate to start things off when I finally grew a pair and decided to tell her I loved her—for some twenty odd number of years now.
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[ grace: it's been a while since i've posted this story and new readers are coming in. Where are you guys coming from? Really. I'd like to know how you guys came across this story. ]