My Mediocre Love Life Chronicles: The Crush

Where It All Began

Now, it wasn't like Maya was interested from the very beginning. Sure, she had thought of him as attractive when she spotted him that first day in American History class. At the time, she was less than interested in looking for any kind of relationship. It was too complicated for her. Too emotionally tiring to deal with. At least that's how she looked at it when she heard story after story from friends, from acquaintances, and even from strangers of heartbreak and disappointment. All the Rom-Coms seemed too good to be true and all the books in the romance section that portrayed that "happily ever after" never really computed in Maya's mind.

When she had to pick where to sit, she immediately looked at the boy sitting in the front row. No, her mind told her, No boy trouble this year. Against her better judgement, however, she decided to sit next to him. Maya tried to reason that she didn't know anyone and should make friends.

"Hey," she greeted, trying to be polite. He looked up at her and from then on, she knew she had made a wonderful mistake.

~Four Months Later~

Maya sighed as she tried to control the all too familiar churning at the pit of her stomach. She looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. There were five more minutes left in English class, meaning that next was American History. With Ashton.

No, she was not excited about going to class because some guy was in that same class as well and they talked and had a lot in common and he was really adorable and cute...

Okay, fine. It was because of that, but he wasn't some guy. He was Ashton. It's not like they were childhood best friends or anything and it's not like she knew everything there was to know about him either but somehow, this annoying thing called a crush had happened. She could only blame herself for this bittersweet thrill.

"Someone's excited for next block," her best friend, Trisha mused.

"Well, we are learning about WWII," Maya casually replied even though she was ready to bolt for the door.

Her friend merely laughed, "Oh, please, Maya! You're too obvious. You like Ashton way too much."

"Shhh. Don't say his name, Trisha!" Maya whispered urgently, looking around to make sure no one was paying attention, but everyone else seemed to be focused in their own conversations. She sighed, relieved that no one else heard.

Just before Maya could scold her best friend for being so careless, the bell rang, signaling it was time for her favorite class. "Time to go see your boyfriend," Trisha joked.

"He's not my boyfriend!" She denied before they parted ways.With her bright green backpack on her back, Maya walked just a bit faster to her second block.

Alright, Maya thought. Keep calm. Don't say anything stupid.

Honestly, this crush situation was getting tiresome. She didn't understand why she should go all crazy over some boy. Yeah, some boy. Maya would most likely not even see him next year for all she knew. They might lose contact during summer vacation and then ignore each other next year when they passed down the halls.

What a nuisance, Maya thought, annoyed. I'm not falling for that smile again. Nope. I will not succumb to his laughter whenever I make him laugh. Definitely not gonna care if he says something nice to me. Not today.

With this in mind, she marched into American History class, determined to beat this wolf in sheep's clothing.

As soon as she saw Ashton, the butterflies that she had successfully ignored during her internal speech, bursted back with a newfound intensity she couldn't quite hate.

There he was. The boy that had made her mind lose focus at times. The one that made her all jittery and unable to sit still. He looked up from his paper and noticed Maya.

"Oh hey Maya," He smiled warmly at her.

She felt herself flush but hoped it wasn't noticeable. So much for throwing her feeling out the window. "What's up? She asked as she hurried to sit down next to him and start class.

Maya always had the same thoughts whenever she walked down the hallway. This was when she would try to become mentally prepared for trying to outwit this crush. But when it came time to defend herself, all her walls would be infiltrated with a simple greeting from him.

Better luck tomorrow, I guess, Maya thought to herself as she eagerly talked to Ashton about how she hoped there wouldn't be too much class work that day.