Always

four

KYLER

The first time I had seen her was from afar.

The first time I had seen her, I knew damn right that the new girl next door was absolutely gorgeous.

And I couldn't get her out of my head.

It was an odd thing for me to be constantly thinking about this one person who I only saw once or twice, but with her, nothing felt so odd. It just felt right.

I thought I knew why I couldn't stop thinking about her. She was stunning. But not just the kind of beautiful which only lingered to her looks. She had this innocent, soft aura to her, something that was so gentle and comforting, like a warm hug after a long day--something you wanted to keep around for a long, long time.

She was absolutely beautiful, and I knew that without even having to speak a word to her.

My fingers danced over the strings of the guitar on their own and the sound of it filled the empty room.

I knew staying here after school was risky, no matter how many excuses I made to the janitor that Mr. Kaminsky had allowed me to stay back for practice, but I couldn't help it.

I needed it. I needed to busy myself with something other than school work before I went insane.

My mind had the horrible, destructive tendency to fill itself with all sorts of thoughts, sometimes the ones which didn't even matter and sometimes a few of the ones which made me want to rip my hair out.

And with music, I could either pour all those thoughts out in lyrics and melodies or I could just forget about my mind, my sanity and my surroundings for a little while.

Maybe I was too lost in my own thoughts or maybe the music was too loud because I didn't hear the door open.

But the second the sound of soft footsteps hit my ear, I stopped abruptly, fingers freezing over the strings and my eyes snapped up. But instead of the dreadful janitor I was expecting to see, I saw a much, much better sight standing before me.

It was her. Here. With me.

It was her, with her white blonde hair tumbling down her shoulders, stopping right at her chest. Pale green eyes--jade green--stared back at me from under thick lashes and now that she was nearer to me, I could see golden freckles dusted across her nose. A white top peeked out from beneath the bright blue cardigan. It had oranges on it. How cute was that?

My heart was pounding against my chest, and I had no idea why. It could have just been the shock of seeing her.

Or maybe it was just the fact that I had been wanting to talk to her so desperately that now that I finally got the chance to, I had no idea what to say.

She must have seen the shock in my wide eyes and parted lips, because she took a careful step back, an ashamed expression flashing over her face.

Before she could even say anything--or run away--, and by the looks of it, she really was going to, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You know, I was really trying to believe that you're not a crazy stalker but you're making it harder and harder each day."

Clearly, she wasn't expecting me to say anything, especially not that, and her taken aback expression was a clear indication of that. But then, she noticed the goofy smile on my face and her shoulders visibly relaxed.

"Hey, I'm not the one who keeps creepily staring all the time." She retorted, humor lacing her voice.

Her voice. Goddamn, it was so beautiful and soft, her vocals so enriching and enchanting. I wanted to listen to them forever.