Freefall

: : Chapter One : :

Chapter One: Delusional

        I saw you today. You were with Hunter, someone from my Physics class. That was how I first noticed you, actually. Your hair looked so soft, your skin so flawless, as you laughed at something he said. Even your chuckle was like ringing bells.

        I don't know what compelled me to do it, but as you both walked down the corridor, I waved at Hunter and smiled brightly. 'Hi Hunter,' I remember saying. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me for a second before grinning back. 'Hey yourself, Ella,'.

        I looked at you, cocking my head to one side and asked, 'Who's this?' with a slight raise in my left eyebrow. He answers, 'This is Michael. He's new."

        It would be painfully cliche to say I fell in love with you upon first sight, but this emotion couldn't simply be infatuation. You were perfect, and ticked all the boxes of my ideal guy (cute? check. funny? check. ignores me? check.), all with barely any interaction with you. Perhaps that reflected the depth of my personality then.

        I didn't just like you, I loved you. It almost came as a shock to me when I figured out the depth of my feelings for you. It scared me, almost, that one could fall so easily, and all I knew was that when something fell, it broke.

        I asked Hunter about you during class and he said that you'd just got here today, actually. A transfer from Australia, or something. He gave me a funny look when I asked him if I thought you were attractive.

        Hunter said hell no, he wasn't gay, but the entire female population seemed to think you were. Attractive, that is. Please don't tell me you're in love with him!, he begged me, Not you too!. I think he meant for it to be teasing, but it came off as slightly bitter. I just shook my head and turned around, laughing and secretly confused.

        Although, when he said 'Not you too!', did he mean there were others? In the midst of my dreaming, I forgot that if I found you attractive, others (girls and boys) probably did too. It didn't really matter though. We were meant to be. No one would get in the way of our true love.

        I didn't know Hunter very well, apart from casual greetings and nods in the hallway, but if it meant getting closer to you, I was more than happy to. He seemed surprised, at first, when I chatted to him in class. I had a sinking feeling he knew, or at least suspected something was up.

        I don't know why this made me feel disappointed, like I needed his approval. Obviously, I didn't, but I could tell by the frown, no matter how small, that was permanently etched onto his face, that he guessed that my intentions to befriend him weren't as innocent as was the norm.

        I felt a twinge on my already burdened conscience when he invited me, with a rare smile on his face, to his 19th.