Mismatched (bxb)

THE ONLY PERSON

THE ONLY PERSON he could confide in was Savannah. Despite all the hateful things she had done to Carl during a massive part of her lifetime, she had changed since then. She had made up for every one of them, until her patience reached the boy's heart and paid off at last. 

'Carlson, you're finally going to know how good of a listener I am,' she said, smiling so brightly that even her teeth flashed under the night light.

They were seated on a river bank not so far from their college. Although Carl had had some fearful experiences associated with the river, he had chosen to grow, no matter how hard it was. It was beyond him how they had ever become friends, given how their high school years had been.

'Oh, I'm not sure about that,' said Carl, 'but I do know that you eavesdropped on our conversation in the storeroom.'

'Whose conversation?' asked Savannah, feigning innocence. 'I'm not guilty of anything.'

'We'll see about that,' said Carl as he sat with his legs crossed on the grassy meadow. 'Don't you want to know more?'

At hearing this, Savannah squinted her eyes at Carl, an unreadable expression crossing her face before she, too, planted herself beside the boy.

'Do you have something to tell me?' she asked, concerned. 'You can tell me anything, you know. It's not like I be a telltale and go running to Leah, anyway.'

'Probably the only reason I keep you by my side,' joked Carl.

'Are you sure you don't enjoy my company at all?' laughed Savannah. 'You honestly expect me to believe that?' Her smile ebbed away with the passing seconds. 'What do you want to tell me?'

'You remember how I looked like back in Year Six?' asked Carl, and Savannah slowly nodded.

Savannah, no doubt, remembered how attractive he had been in Year Six. Despite being desirable and cute, he had also been a meek and shy child, making himself an easy target for bullies. In Year Eight, with Savannah by his side, he had managed to alter his appearance. Everyone in their Year was surprised by this change, but on the good side, no one came to pick on him again. He just blended in to the environment, and suddenly, he had two cousins and a good friend to look after him.

'What about it?'

'Levi mentioned that he liked me then,' said Carl, swallowing the sadness that threatened to break him apart. 'He said he had a crush on me since elementary.'

'Wow, that escalated quickly,' smiled Savannah. 'Are you sorry you couldn't confess first?'

'That's not it, Savvy,' said Carl. 'If you still remember my conversion, you'd remember that I used to not look like this at all.'

'Well, you're not transgender,' shrugged Savannah, to which Carl flashed a glare. She put her hands up in surrender. 'All right, cool boy. I definitely remember you had beautiful grey eyes and caramel hair.' She pouted. 'Why did you change your look?'

'Ever occurred to ask me this before?' asked Carl crossly. 'I couldn't afford to get bullied through my senior years, too. I know what you're thinking.'

'What am I thinking?' wondered Savannah.

'That I still didn't need to go to that extent to feel safe?' provided Carl. 'I could keep my beautiful hair and be safe at the same time?'

'Carlson,' sighed Savannah. 'I think you should know that you're gorgeous either way. If you had aimed for anything less than Levi Cooper, I'd have stood in your way... because I know exactly what you deserve.'

'But he thinks I'm someone else,' said Carl, his shoulders hunched in an envelope of sadness. 'I'm not the beloved from his childhood, Savvy. Not that one person he paid attention to and sent Christmas cards and love letters... What do I do?'

'You can't exactly tell him to go away, can you?' said Savannah apologetically. 'You're too obsessed with him. And now that you finally got him, you're not about to let go of him, are you?'

'Do I have a choice?'

'You always do,' Savannah lifted herself to a sitting position. 'You can't live with the guilt of tricking someone, Carl. I know you too well. You should probably just suck it up and tell him that you're not the one he thinks you are, then he'll decide for himself if he wants to be with you.'

'How will I ever live with it if he rejects me?' said Carl. 'Not when I've got this close to reaching his heart...'

'Listen, cool boy,' said Savannah, grabbing him by both of his shoulders and straightening his entire body at once. 'If he ever leaves you, it's his loss. And I assure you there're tonnes of other good-looking boys with the same features as him. At least one of them has got to be gay and into Carlson Weber.'

Carl laughed as he wiped a tear from his left eye. 'Do you even know you're disfiguring my name?'

Savannah suddenly drew him into a close-fitting, tight hug. 'Do you know why I suddenly quit being a bully in Year Eight?'

'Because you suddenly wanted to play the hero?' guessed Carl, engrossed in the comforting hug.

'Wrong,' said Savannah. 'I thought you were becoming cuter.'

'What did you say?' chuckled Carl.

'I thought it'd be a mistake to not befriend you when you were definitely going to be an eye candy for my sweet little eyes. And you did. I'm so proud of my decision.'

'What're you even saying, Savvy?' said Carl, smiling into her ear.

'I have to say, I'm proud of what you've become,' said Savannah, 'even if it means I have to appreciate you being into boys.'

A single tear slipped out of his eyes and dropped onto Savannah's beautiful neckerchief. He never knew what to say when Savannah proved to be a straightforward heroine. She drew comforting circles on his back.

'For the record, I don't think Levi's mistaken you for someone else,' said Savannah. 'You did receive a Christmas card mid-January because it reached you late. And a few love letters got blocked because they had to go through me,' she laughed before turning serious. 'Couldn't that be what Levi was talking about?' 

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Plot twist! That was unexpected, I suppose? 

Even I was surprised by my sudden inspiration. 

But let's just hope the story works out just the way I want it to.

😊😊😊😊😊😊

Fun question: Who is this mysterious person that Levi used to like several years ago? Will our protagonist be heartbroken after finding out his identity?

17-03-2024