catch me

part 1

The first time I met him, the world finally made sense.

I think the French have it right when they call it coupe de foudre, which means love at first sight, or lightning strike. Depending how romantic you are. I like to think the latter.

Although I never considered myself a romantic, I was down to earth, grounded, I didn't really believe in love.

But that was before I ever spent a moment with him.

It was the springtime, and the air was fragranced with blossoms and earthy aromas. With only months left in the semester my mind had been other places than paying much attention to the cute boy outstretched and relaxed, humming to himself under a giant sweet almond tree.

But little did I know my tennis shoes were untied and they waited for the perfect moment to embarrass me.

Just as I passed the tree and the boy, I slipped and fell flat on my face.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" An unfamiliar voice called, and the next thing knew two strong arms heaved me up to standing.

I met a pair of dark whiskey-colored eyes.

"You took quite the fall there. Are you bleeding?" Concerned laced through his gentle voice, and it took me a moment to process his words.

A blush spread across my face, the embarrassment setting me aflame

"Yeah, I'm okay, I just- I tripped."

He laughs, it was a soft, musical thing

"Well, I saw that, are you feeling, okay?"

I'm fumbling for words, they taunt me, like a cat in a tree, just out of reach. The tall boy is still looking down at me expectantly, his light brown curls tumble down his forehead, and frame his angular face. He was really... cute.

The boy must've realized my predicament,

"My names Jake by the way, I'm a freshman here."

Finally, my mind seemed to work, and I was able to speak,

"Sorry, I uh, my mind went for a hike or something..." I mumbled already regretting my words.

I took a breath and tried again.

"My name is Y/N. I'm a freshman too."

A contagious smile slowly spread across his face, it reached his eyes, which became little crescents.

"Nice, what do you do for fun?" He leans back on his heels, stuffing his hands into his corduroy slacks. He was asking a follow up question... this was no longer just something for formality.

He was... interested.

In me.

In me?

That small accident turned into a stroll by the lake, and a stop at a local cafe, apparently it had been a place we both frequented, although admittedly, I never saw him there.

We talked about our hobbies; I wasn't surprised to find out he was an aspiring musician, one glance at his long veiny fingers and I could tell he was a skilled player. We talked about our childhoods, favorite movies, foods we liked and didn't like. Crazy extended family members, friends we missed, and our hometowns. He felt like an old friend, someone I'd known for my whole life.

The sun was setting when we finally parted ways, we exchanged numbers and we agreed to hang out again.

***

As the months slowly faded into one another, and finals came and went, I lost track of how many times we had hung out together, our endless strings of text messages, goofy pictures and memes that we sent back and forth. Naturally, I saved them all, he was all too precious for his own good.