I guess most love stories start the same. boy and girl falls for each other, some outer conflict causes them to be apart, only for them to realize that they are meant to be with one another. our relationship is similar to that.. kinda. James was his name. quiet, handsome, and mysterious. He never spoke much to anyone, especially not me. Boys really weren't my thing. I would try to work up the nerve to talk to him, but every time i cane close, my words would catch in my throat, and id get all red and sweaty in the face. it went on like that for almost five years before i finally spoke to him. our junior year, we were both in a class together. He sat behind me, so i didn't pay much attention to him at first, he was just there in the back of my mind. when i finally did notice him, i realized how dark the spots under his eyes were, how much he seemed to sleep in class, how he never spoke to anyone, and it bothered me. i wanted to know what it was that made him like that. what kept him up at night, what made him hate everyone. at first i offered to do his work so he could get sleep. so i gradually helped him get his grades up to the point where he was at lest passing. at the end of each class, id give his work back, and he would thank me and be on his way. so one day, i wrote my phone number in his notebook, and gave him his notebook. that was a Friday, so he had the weekend to find my number.. i waited all Friday night, all of Saturday, and then finally Sunday, i got a text from him. he wanted my help. so the following Monday i went to his house, and i finally discovered what he was hiding. both his parents, who i now call mom and dad, had cancer. mom, had breast cancer, and dad had lung cancer. James was staying up at night to care for his ill father, and his two younger brothers. it hit me like a brick wall when i realized that what i thought was simply teenage rebellion was actually something so serious and so devastating. as i started spending more and more time with this boy i had basically been in love with since i was thirteen, i didn't want to leave his side. he wouldn't open up to anyone. wouldn't tell me how he felt, wouldn't show any affection, or even tell me secrets. most people would have given up a long time ago, but not me. i knew there was something a lot more than just his parents that were preventing him from sleeping at night, it was something far more dark and dangerous.
