Falice

Love

"Charles," The teacher called on him. The seventeen year old was sitting in the back of the classroom. His head was resting on the palm of his hand. "Charles."

"Yes ma'am?"

"It's your turn to present."

"Okay," Charles took his paper out of his binder. He shuffled his feet to the front of the class. All eyes were on him.

"Whenever you're ready."

Charles nods and clears his throat. He looked at the class. It was dead silent. The teacher assigned a paper for them to write. The topic was love and its effect on society. Charles thought of one thing when he thought about love. "Love is weird. It can be shown in different ways. It could come from a simple I love you or in no words at all. What is love? Love is five things."

"One, a river." His parents met the summer of '89. It was the summer before sophomore year. FP and Alice were only a couple of sixteen year olds. FP was throwing rocks into Sweetwater. Ever since his father kicked him out the house he found himself with nowhere to go. He spent his time in and out of the Wyrm. Alice was standing on top of the bridge watching the Serpent in the black leather jacket. A smart comment from Alice got him to miss a throw. He rolled his eyes and challenged her to come do it herself. Impressed by the beautiful girl they began to talk. That river was where they met. "It's a place that streams to the future."

"Two, a jacket." FP took Alice to the Twilight to watch the premiere of IT that they have been waiting to see. FP was sitting with Alice in his truck. He kept an arm around her as she rested on him. Alice excused herself to go to the bathroom. It didn't take FP long to notice how long she was taking. He climbed out of his car  to go find her. From the corner of his eye he saw a couple of guys bothering her. FP protected her by pulling her away from the group cornering her. He took his jacket off and put it on her shoulders. That night was the night they first told each other I love you. "It keeps us protected."

"Three, a milkshake." Alice was working at Pop's during the summer of '91. FP came in every day she was waitressing. She always brought a milkshake to the counter for him. He sat in the same stool every time he came to the diner to see her. He would sit there for hours admiring her. He never liked the milkshakes because he never got to share it with her, due to her being lactose intolerant. He also never got the flavor he actually liked but he never told her because he loved to see the smile on her face when she thought she remembered. He loved her smile and her presence so that made up for it. "The flavor never matters."

"Four, a band." FP and Alice bonded with the love for rock music. Together they saved up enough money to buy tickets to a Pink Floyd concert. The two arrived at the concert with the excitement to see one of their favorite bands perform live. When the band came out FP watched Alice stare in awe. Alice listened to him sing along with the crowd. Throughout the whole concert they sang and danced along to the beat. The adrenaline was pumping in their system. After the concert ended FP carried Alice on his back on their walk back to the car. Moments like these together made them happy. "Rock music assured something solid."

"Lastly, five." Charles was getting to his conclusion. "Love? Love is my parents." His parents were currently separated while they tried to work on their marriage. Charles made two other copies for his paper on love. He left one on the refrigerator at home for his mother to find. He left the other in his dad's mailbox at work on his way to school this morning. "Love is something you can't replace or get rid of. When you love someone you will always love them. Through the good times, bad times, is the speck of love that keeps us together. Sometimes you can drift apart but there is something holding said love together."

The bell rang as if on cue when he finished. Everyone clapped to his oral report. The teacher told him he did a good job on his assignment. Charles smiled and turned it in on his way out. When he got home he saw boxes at the door. He was confused but when he looked inside he saw his parents kissing. It looked like his dad was moving back in. Charles spotted copies of his assignment on the table. His parents saw him and called him over.

"You wrote this about us?" Alice had a huge smile on her face. She was so proud of his work. Reading it made both Alice and FP realize they loved each other too much to be apart any longer.

"We're real proud of you, son." FP added in.

"You liked it?" Charles asked confidently. Of course they did.

"We loved it," They both said. "We are love."