Falling

1

Imagination fills the void left by inexperience. It's a powerful thing. It's also what we turn to when reality doesn't satisfy our desire for adventure. It dictates our perception of things, all the while shaping our view of the world. What a treacherous yet blissfully wonderful thing...to believe that we can live a life not judged or controlled by others. Only we can't. I wish we could, but nothing's ever that simple. You can't just do what you want without there being consequences. I learned that lesson the hard way.

Where are my manners? I've completely forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Ethan Chase. I'm seventeen, live in central London, and I'm currently in my last year at Johnston high school. I'm an average student with average parents, an average home, and a pretty average life. And that was the problem. It was all just so...regular. It had always been that way. Did I miss anything? Oh, right. Hobbies. Binge-watching TV shows. And reading. I loved to read, especially romance. Thing is, I didn't know why I had such a thing for bubbly love stories. But I had a theory. I think it was because I had never experienced a first love before. That feeling of looking someone in the eye and just thinking they were...beautiful. Not just their looks. Their inside personality too. Nobody's perfect. Everyone has flaws, but love isn't about finding the perfect person. It's about willingly looking past someone's flaws and truly accepting them for who they are regardless. I hadn't found that someone yet, so the stories in love novels filled the empty void of love within me. It's not that I desperately wanted to find love. I wasn't desperate (at least, I tried to convince myself that I wasn't). I was just curious. What did it feel like to really be in love? That feeling couldn't be paid for, stolen or anything. It was one of the few things that was truly priceless. I wanted that more than anything.

I walked through the school entrance, and immediately rushed towards a small semicircle made up of three people (my only friends) which effortlessly expanded to include me. "Hey, Ethan" Ben said. "We were just talking about your imaginary girlfriend". "Oh, yeah. How's that fake relationship coming along for you?" Gus smiled playfully. I sighed. Basically, what had happened was there was a junior prom a few years back and I didn't have a date. It wasn't because I was afraid of asking though. I asked five girls, but the problem was the response was five rejections. To avoid embarrassment, I made up a 'girlfriend' that I was taking to prom, but I was a terrible liar and all three of them figured out my lies pretty quickly. They took every chance they could to remind me of that embarrassment. What a great start to my day!

"You should really call her soon and ask her to prom. Oh, wait! She doesn't exist!" Lacey said mockingly. I was shitty at talking to girls, and the only reason Lacey and I were such close friends was because I'd known her for the best part of twelve years. When I was five, she moved into the house across from me and we'd been great friends ever since. 'Shut up, Lace!" I responded playfully. "Speaking of, who are you gonna ask?" As soon as I spoke, I realised what a stupid question that was. Lacey already had a perfectly good boyfriend, and his name was Kyle Parrish. Except he was a dick. A bully. But, admittedly, in terms of looks he had won the genetic lottery. In response to my stupidity, Lacey just rolled her eyes. "You're such an idiot. How you're getting such amazing grades is truly beyond me". I smiled. Today was going to be a good day. Unbeknownst to me, it was about to get a whole lot more interesting.