“Hey, I sit next to you in English, right?” I glanced up from the weathered hard-cover book I had just found buried behind the shelves to see a boy I recognized. I tried not to drop the drink I was holding while struggling to close the book around my laminated book-mark, awkwardly avoiding eye contact and trying to scurry away. “Yes, and you have for the past 3 months. But thanks for noticing.” I turned to walk away. The social anxiety was setting in. “The first day of school you wore a yellow shirt with denim shorts. Every day you come in, you have a new book you found, and your either finishing your sanwich or your carrots from lunch. You’ve had to replace your water bottle three times because you always drop it down the stairs.” He noticed me. Holy shit, he notices me. Continuously. “So you’re an idiot, and a stalker. Good to know.” Facepalm. Cringe. Someone, please, put me down. He laughed. And not like the others. Not like he finds me amusing, or sees me as a novelty. And not like he had a secret he didn’t want me to know. But like he genuinely thought what I had to say was funny. I tried to keep my composure, but there was something strange going on. Nobody thinks I’m funny. “Well, you obviously came here looking for me. What can I do for you?” I set down my book. I don’t think I even marked my place.He had piqued my curiosity. “Prom is next month.” he stammered before trailing off and staring at the ground. Almost as if he were embarrassed. “Indeed it is. I hear you’re in the running for King this year. Did you come to solidify my vote for you? Sorry to disappoint but I don’t plan on attending, let alone voting in that confusing democracy/monarchy trope. i have a new book coming in that I’ve been waiting to read.” He laughed again. Another genuine laugh. I found myself confused. Sure, he had always been nice to me in class, even when his football friends suffered the wrath of me when I couldn’t expand my knowledge on my favorite subject. But outside of that class I never expected him to have anything to say to me. And I definitely didn’t expect him to look me in my eyes with the focus of a brain surgeon, and the intensity of a forest fire. “I actually hate that whole King/Queen stuff. I think it’s totally unnessesary.” Another point for surprising me. “What I came to ask you was if you were planning on going with anyone, but your stance on that concept seems pretty clear.” Record scratch. Fire alarms. Did someone call S.W.A.T. down here? Am I in the Twilight Zone? “So, you didn’t just want to show off your random trivia knowledge of me?” You’ve heard of Hand, Foot, and Mouth desease right? I have Foot In Mouth Syndrome. And he kept lauging like I was some regular ol’ comedian, and not like everything I was saying was the industrial waste of my brain evacuating into word vomit. God, he’s literally so amazing it makes me hate myself. “So now its random trivia knowledge? I thought I was being a stalker.” There was a smirk. Oh, my, God. I see what they mean now. That heart palpitating half grin that you only read about in the super corny romance novels that nobody in their right mind believes to be real. But here it is, and here I am turning into a puddle on the floor. “So, is there any way I could convince you to put off your busy schedule for one night?” Was that…hope in his eyes? “Why?” “Why what?” “Why me?” “Because I wanted your last prom to be the best night of your life. I want to give you a memory to hold onto for as long as you can. You tell me every day how sad it makes you that you won’t get to experience all that life has to offer you because of…well…you know.” “Because of my tumor?” “Yeah, but that’s not why I’m asking you. I’m asking you because even though you didn’t mean to, you made me fall in love with you, and I want to show you what I would do for the people I love. And I don’t want you to think about high school, and only remember the people that don’t matter. I want to show you that there are good people out there. And I want to show you that you don’t need to shut everyone out to keep from hurting them. The people that matter won’t mind, and the people that will mind, don’t matter.” I really wish I had made it to prom.
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