Real Love (A Short Story)

I walked out of the school's doors and smiled as I saw him walking towards me, his thin frame masking the power that rested beneath his appearance. He smiled back although I could tell that it was strained and I noticed for the first time since seeing him that his eyes were darker than usual, the glowing greenish brown now a dull comparison. I felt a small tug at the back of my mind at the sight of this, hiding the glimmer of fear and worry that sprouted in my mind. I knew that something had happened again. Something bad. Something that most girlfriends wouldn't have to deal with. However, I tried to push it away with the hopeless reassurance that it would get better despite the fact that somewhere deep inside of me I knew it wouldn't. It would only get worse. Unfortunately for me, I had fallen for him and no matter how hard I tried to back away from him or how scared I felt while being with him I knew I wouldn't be able to leave him. Not completely anyway. It was hopeless. I knew that I would always love him, even if we parted ways.

“Hey.” I greeted as we intercepted each other, trying to put on a happy face despite the worry that gnawed at my gut.

“Hey.” he replied simply, his voice not betraying anything but a bitter emptiness.

We didn't say anything as we walked away from the school and towards the sidewalk that led to my house. This was a usual occurrence, especially if something had happened to upset him. He wouldn't say anything until I spoke first. “What happened?” I asked quietly once we had gotten away from any other person.

“Nothing.” he said coldly.

I sighed in frustration. “Angel, you and I both know that you're lying. Just tell me.”

“I don't want you involved.” he replied, his voice once more chilling the already cold air.

“Please.” it wasn't a question, more of a demand that we both knew meant that I was serious.

He sighed. “Another typical day.”

“Obviously its been a bit worse.” I pointed out harshly.

“You wouldn't understand.”

I sighed again. “Then help me understand! What happened today? Please tell me?” I was now beginning to become desperate. I knew it had to be something really bad for him to be so cold and so evasive.

He stopped before turning and facing me. “Please, Christa, I just want to forget about it for now. We can talk about it later.” his eyes betrayed his emotions for a split second and I could tell that something unpleasant was taking place within his head which worried me even more. Something terrible had happened.

“Alright.” I said quietly, slightly taken aback. I tried to reach for his hand but he shrugged it off, rejecting me. This wasn't an unusual event. I was used to him rejecting my attempts at being close to him. I had always guessed that he was afraid of being seen as weak or being hurt. Either way, I had learned not to take it to heart.

We walked in silence after that, the cold winds of winter circling around us and leaving us to our own thoughts. I silently wondered why he had to be involved with all that and why it mattered so much to him. I had asked several times about what it was all about but the only information that he would tell me was that he had become close with an extremely large gang that hung around the streets of the city that was only around a half hour's drive from the small town where we both lived and that he was well known amongst them as being one of the best street fighters. I knew he did things that most people would never dare to do and I could only imagine what else he had helped with. I also knew that most, if not all, of the things that he had done or helped with were highly illegal. However, as I said before, I loved him, which meant that I would do whatever it took to help him. Even if it meant endangering myself. I hated the fact that he was involved with all of those things but no matter what I tried he would never listen. He would always ignore my pleas for him to leave the gang alone and to stop associating with all of them and all he would reply with was that he couldn't, he didn't want to.