Elisabeth

Part 1

It's funny to think that I can remember this like it was yesterday, when in reality, it was almost 15 years ago and if that doesn't make me feel old, I really don't know what will.

Damn! Looking back on that time, really puts things into perspective.

Sometimes I forget that there was ever a time in my life, when you weren't in it or a time when I wasn't so deeply in love with you. In hindsight, it took me a lot longer than it should have ask you out on a date but the moment I did, I couldn't see myself with anyone but you.

You know when I think back to when we first met, I can't help but laugh. Our relationship was a  disaster, to say the least. 

Everyone just assumes when we met, it was love at first sight. For some reason people tend to think that we just always kinda knew that we would end up falling in love.

Ha! How wrong they are!

Considering our relationship now, I don't think anyone would be able to guess that it took us 10 years to get over our mutual hatred for one another but there was an unrealistically long period of time where we probably would've killed each other, had we been in the same room together for more than half an hour. Hard to believe, isn't it?

I really don't think that we could have possibly gotten off to a worse start than we did, seeing how our first interaction played out. 

. . .

April 24th 2005

As I remember it, the day we met, you were in the process of moving in across the street. 

I'm pretty sure it had been a weekend, probably Sunday, seeing as my parents had been home. Sunday was about the only day, William didn't work.

I had gotten into another fight with Dad, when I walked out the door to clear my head. You know, this probably wasn't the most responsible thing to do, but hey, I was 5. What did I know about responsibility? If I'm gonna be honest, I wandered around outside the house a lot more than my parents knew about, but it's not like they really would've cared considering they left me home alone all the time, because why would a kid need anyone to watch them?

Sorry. My bad. I kinda went off on a little tangent there.

Anyway, as I was saying, I had gotten into some kinda argument with William, which is how I ended up at the lake that day.

The neighborhood had this secluded area tucked in between this patch of woods. It was essentially, a really large clearing with a lake in the center of it. 

I spent a lot of time down there, mainly to escape all the shit going on at home, seeing as it was quiet and it was always empty. Truthfully, I don't think the majority of people knew it existed. 

Knowing this, you can probably understand why I was startled when I discovered someone else had uncovered my secret hideout. 

You were sitting in the grass, staring out at the lake and if my memory serves me correctly, you had been wearing a pale blue dress and your dark hair was pulled back into 2 braids. Now, that could be completely wrong, but that is what is coming to mind at the current moment. 

As stupid as it sounds, I had no fucking idea what I was supposed to do.

Any normal person would have, more than likely, politely introduced themselves but that's not exactly how I chose to approach the situation

"Who are you?!" 

And if I might add, I definitely did not shout this in a tone that was even remotely aggressive.

You looked up, clearly startled and taken aback. You turned, only to find me glaring at you. You know, because at that age, I lacked both manners and social skills. What could possibly go wrong in that situation? You continued to stare back at me, with those big brown eyes of yours, looking reasonably and rightfully, confused.

You see, in my head, my logic was normal and it made perfect sense but to the rest of the world, not so much. In my head, I thought it seemed pretty obvious why I was upset, but from you perspective, I had just walked up behind you, shouted at the back of your head, and was now glaring at you for no apparent reason. Charming, I know. 

When you didn't respond, given, you were in shock and probably thinking I was out of my mind, I got kinda pissed off.

"Didn't you hear me? Who are you? Why are you here?"

Again, in a totally non aggressive or threatening tone of voice. You looked at me as you got to your feet and walked towards me, a slight smile on your face.

"My name is Elisabeth Reynolds! I just moved," you replied kindly as you offered me your hand to shake, you know, because you had common sense and a decent set of manners.

Any sane person would have shaken your hand and welcomed you to the area. But me? Well, I just kinda stood there and stared at your hand, not really sure what to do. We stood there for a moment in a really awkward silence, before you lowered your hand and looked at me curiously. It made me uncomfortable when you started at me like that. 

"Why are you here?" I asked again, looking away. You were starting to make me kinda nervous, not to mention the fact that I was already both angry and upset from previous events. Obviously, I had a great, totally healthy, mixture of emotions going on. You tilted your head ever so slightly, something that you still have a habit of doing today when you're trying to figure something out.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" I continued to stare at you, scowling.

"Tristan. Why are you here?!"

Yeah, 5 year old me didn't exactly have the best set of communication skills, if you hadn't already noticed. 

"I could ask you the same thing," you replied, defiantly, crossing your arms over your chest. You were just as stubborn and fierce then as you are today. I glared at you in pure anger.

"That's none of your business! You're the one in my spot!" You raised your eyebrows, before you gave me a smug grin.

"Your spot? No. I don't think so. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this area," you stated, gesturing to the clearing around us "...is public property!" I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. Whatever. Just leave," I responded, shortly, obviously making you mad. You stayed put, frowning in both, what I image was, disgust and irritation.

"What is your problem?!" You retorted. I really wasn't in the mood to argue with you. I just wanted you gone. 

"You! You're the problem! Look, Elisabeth or whatever your name is, I don't really care why you're here or what you have to say. Just leave me alone!" I shouted. Your jaw clenched as your expression turned colder. Not gonna lie, it was kinda intimidating.

You were about to respond, when someone called your name. We both turned to see three boys, two older, and one about our own age, standing at the edge of the clearing, staring at us. 

"Come on, Lissybee! We gotta go!" One of the boys insisted, as he motioned for you to follow them. You rolled your eyes and looked back at me, angrily.

"Well, this has been fun. It was nice to meet you, Tristan," you mumbled sarcastically before storming off, towards your brothers.

After you had gone, all I could do was stare off into space. What the hell had just happened?

I stood there, shocked. For the longest time, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I couldn't stop thinking about how much I didn't like you. And thus begins our adventure...