Hi, my name is Elizabeth Hartwell, but my friends usually call me Beth. I'm in 11th grade, and well... I have a crush. There's this guy I always see hanging out with his friends. Out of all of them, he just stands out—the most attractive one, for sure.
From the moment I noticed him, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I asked one of my friends, who happens to be in the same class as him, for more details. That's when I found out his name was Louis. It wasn't long before I did a little social media sleuthing, and after a bit of hesitation, I followed him on Instagram.
And then—surprise! He followed me back. I literally screamed, jumping around my room, grabbing my pillow just to muffle the noise. Louis Sinclair actually followed me back! I spent the whole night debating whether I should text him or not. I had so much nervous energy, but no courage.
Finally, out of nowhere, I decided to just go for it.
"Hi."
Seen.
My heart dropped. Then...
"Hello."
I screamed again, burying my face into my pillow. He actually replied! I couldn't believe it. The next day, I made up a silly excuse and told him it was one of my friends who texted him, trying to hide my embarrassment. But after that, he started asking more about me, and we ended up texting a lot.
We became close pretty fast. Louis would send these adorable stickers that would make me laugh out loud, and he had this playful way of teasing me. Every text from him made my heart skip a beat.
One Monday, we even took a picture together after school. I was so excited but also super nervous. My heart was racing the entire time. That day, something else happened that totally blew my mind.
After school, Louis waited for me outside my classroom.
"Why are you here?" I asked, genuinely confused but secretly thrilled.
"Can I give you a ride home?" he asked casually, as if it was no big deal.
I nearly fainted on the spot. "Sure, if it doesn't bother you," I replied, trying my hardest to act cool, even though I was internally screaming.
He really did give me a ride home. When we reached the front gate of my house, he turned to me, looking a little serious.
"Elizabeth, I like you," he said out of nowhere.
I opened my mouth to respond, but he quickly cut me off.
"Go inside, it's getting late," he said, giving me a playful push toward the door before speeding off in his car.
That night, I couldn't stop thinking about what he'd said. I grabbed my phone and called him. I know it was like a little weird, but I didn't care. I needed clarifacation. To my surprise he answered it.
"Louis?" I called him.
He hummed back. "Hmm?"
"I need to ask something, but you can't lie," I said.
There was a long pause on the other side, I just took it as a sign to continue. "You like me?"
There was a pause that felt like forever before he responded.
"Hahahahaha, yes."
My heart exploded. He went on to explain everything, how when I first followed him on Instagram, he asked his friends about me because he liked my name. He said he noticed me talking to Zoey at school and asked her boyfriend, James, for more info. When he learned that I went by Beth, he became even more curious about me. He admitted that he had tried to find me on social media but, to his surprise, I had followed him first.
I was screaming again, running around my room like a madwoman.
"Elizabeth! Keep it down!" My mom yelled from downstairs.
"And that's how I met your dad," I said, finishing the story with a smile on my face.
Matthew, our son, wrinkled his nose. "Too boring," he said, unimpressed.
Louis chuckled from the doorway, ruffling our son's hair. "Go to bed, kiddo."
"Dad is no fun," Matthew muttered, pulling the covers up.
Riley, our daughter, peeked in from behind her dad. "Good night, honey," she whispered, blowing Matthew a kiss.
As the lights dimmed, I looked over at Louis. We exchanged a smile, knowing that while the story might seem ordinary to our kids, to us, it was the beginning of everything.
