Blinded by Love

Clank! That's the sound it made the day Analise fell. Hitting the curb, it threw her backward onto the sidewalk outside of the school. Oh no, she thought, time to embarrass myself more. She says this every time because if she was being honest, there's never a time in her life where she's not embarrassed. She has learned to live with the staring, the people who act like they've never seen a girl in a wheelchair before but when she falls, well, that's a different story. When she falls it becomes a spectacle for everyone to see. Teachers rush to her aid offering assistance but she always insists that she can handle herself. Afterwards they would praise her for being so strong and call her an inspiration, but really, what is she an inspiration for? That is the question that always comes to mind because she's really only doing what any other person would do.
Now lying there on the sidewalk, with a bit of blood surfacing on her leg, she begins to turn on her side until a sharp searing pain forces her to lay flat again. Letting out a soft cry she stays there, eyes searching desperately for someone to call out to.
"Analise, are you okay?" a voice asks from behind her.
" Fantastic." she says as she tries to move. Unsuccessful yet again, she whimpers and breathlessly gives up.
" Come on now," the voice says walking up to her, " you're clearly not okay."
You've got to be kidding me, she thinks as she pairs the voice with a person. Evan? Really? Evan Thompson, the smart alec boy she used to play with when they were kids, Evan Thompson, the player, heartbreaker, and over all complete jerk is standing over her with worried eyes.
"No, okay. I'm not fine. Could you just get my chair, please?
" You're bleeding," he says.
" Oh thanks, Captain Obvious," Analise says, rolling her eyes, "I didn't notice."
" Ana, will you please relax," he says, carefully lifting her into his arms, " if you're afraid I'm gonna hurt you, don't be."
" Um, thanks for the advice. Can you put me down now?"
" Hmm... nah." he smirks as he holds her gently in one arm and grabs her chair with the other.
" Excuse me?" Ana asks, wondering how a boy could be so sweet and yet so conceded at the same time.
" You interrupted my run, and you're still bleeding. So, as punishment, you have to come back to my house and have dinner with me."
" But-"
" No buts," Evan smiles poking her cheek, " you're blushing." he says just before he takes off running with Ana's arms around his neck.
"You know, some people would consider this kidnapping." she says, trying to seem annoyed while she studies him.
She studies the way his muscles contract and relax when he moves, the way his arm is protectively wrapped around her, and the way his laugh sends a tingle up her spine. He's looking at her now, his ocean blue eyes staring deeply into hers.
" What?" Ana asks, eyes still locked on his.
" Would a kidnapper do this?" Evan asks, pressing his lips gently to her cheek and lingering in position for a moment causing her cheeks to heat up, which, in turn, makes him smile against her cheek and kiss it once more.
Well yes, yes a kidnapper would do that, among other things. Okay eww, no, done thinking about that. Gross.
" I-" she starts, but he silences her with a finger to her lips. She looks around then, realising they've made it to his house.
He leaves her wheelchair on the porch, opens the door, and takes her straight to the couch in the center of the room. He sets her down and examines the gash that runs down leg, now painful to the touch and covered in dry blood.
" I'll be right back," he says, making his way to the stairs but turning back at the last second, "And Ana,"
" Hmm?" she looks up at him, pale blue eyes threatening to release tears.
" Relax."
When Evan is a safe distance up the stairs, she lets the waterfall of tears begin its descent. How can this happen? she thinks, How can a boy like him care about me? He doesn't... He can't, he's playing with me like the rest of them did. I'm not gonna have my heart broken again. This can't happen.
She must have been too blinded by her tears to see him come down the stairs because next thing she knew, Evan was kneeling beside her, wiping away the tears from her eyes.
" Hey," he says, gently pulling her hands away from her eyes, " hey, look at me." He tilts her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes.
" What's wrong?" He looks so worried, it only makes her cry harder and wish she could just walk out of there. In fact, she tries to move but that amounts to nothing but a sharp pain shooting up her leg.
" Mmm." she whimpers.
"Yeah, we've gotta fix that, don't we?"
She should slap him. He knows better than anyone that she hates being talked to like a five year old, but watching him slowly wipe away the blood, with his free hand outstretched for her to hold as the pain increases, she rethinks it.
At some point, Ana starts biting her lip to distract herself from the pain of her leg. Evan looks up at her and smiles.
" You're cute when you concentrate."
" Shut up." she says, laughing.
" There it is," he says, just as he finishes wrapping the gauze around her leg, " There's that smile."
He leans toward her and kisses her blushing cheek yet again.
" Stop that." she says, pulling away.
He stares at her, confused. Ana looks away not wanting her tears to be seen by him again. She turns her head into the couch and sobs lightly.
" Ana... Analise look at me," he demands, softly taking her chin with his finger and turning her head to face him, "What's wrong?"
She takes a deep breath and begins to speak, " You're being so sweet to me, how do I know it's not just some stupid joke? Or a bet you made with your friends? See who can get her to fall in love with them and then break her heart. How do I know that's not what this is?"
He moves closer to her, removing whatever space was separating them. He wipes away the tears still falling down her face and takes a stray strand of hair in his hand, twirling it around his finger.
" Analise Kate Moore, listen to me," he pleads, taking her hands in his, " I will never hurt you, do you hear me?"
" Why me?" she asks, realizing that is the only question she needs an answer to.
He smiles at her, " That's easy, you might just be the sweetest, most kind-hearted person I know. That, and you're insanely smart and beautiful."
" Ha, that's hilarious because I don't think I'm anything resembling attractive and I don't think anyone else does either."
" Well that's not true, because I do. You are beautiful and I will keep telling you that until you believe it."
What in the heck is happening right now, she dare not say this aloud but Ana can't believe a word. A boy kissing me, telling me I'm beautiful, how is this real life?!
" Come on," Evan says standing up, "you're helping me with dinner."
"No buts," he says, kissing her cheek again while pulling her into his arms, " walk with me."
Ana reluctantly stands, careful not to put too much pressure on her injured leg. Evan carefully turns her and places his arms gently around her, securing her against him.
"So," Ana begins, "Why me?"
" I believe I already answered that. You're sweet, smart and beaut-"
" No, not that. I mean you've dated a lot of other girls, why all of the sudden choose me?"
They walk into the kitchen and Evan quickly walks to the counter before spinning her around to face him. Ana takes in a sharp breath, not because of the pain in her leg, but because they are so close together, breathing the same air. She is pressed up against the counter, trapped by the gorgeous boy standing in front of her. The way he's looking at her now sends electricity through her. His eyes are something of a detector, staring deeply into hers: burning down any walls she had put up to protect herself. He sees her as she truly is, a girl only looking for acceptance: only looking to be loved for being herself.
Now with their faces inches apart he says, " I've been watching you."
"What?" Ana says, her voice breaking as she tries to control her breathing.
" I've been watching you, Ana. Watching the way you hide who you are to make other people happy. Watching the way you blend in with the crowd, trying not to draw attention to yourself. Watching you build walls around your heart to keep from getting hurt again."
He takes her by the waist and lifts her gently onto the counter, wiping a tear from her eye. She smiles and shoves him away before he can kiss her again. He raises an eyebrow at her and heads to the pantry, getting ingredients for dinner.
" So, um, where are your parents?" Ana asks, nervous and blushing because of what that question could imply.
" On a business trip in Boston. They'll be back soon."
" Hmm." she says, absently picking at her nail. This was a habit she'd been accustomed to since she was a little girl, something to distract her from a fear, pain, nervousness, and sometimes just to have something to focus on other than reality.
"What?" Evan asks, walking out of the pantry with all the ingredients to make pancakes. He'd been planning to ask Ana out for months but was always in conflict with his own feeling. Then he got lucky with this opportunity and decided to make her favorite food to break the ice and, hopefully, to finally earn her trust.
"Nothing, I just..." she starts, he can't know what she's thinking. Nope, time to change the subject. "Are we making pancakes?"
"Just so you know, I do know why you were asking that and there's absolutely no reason to worry, so don't. And yes we are making pancakes."
Ana turns away, blushing as Evan opens up the container of flour and starts pouring some into a mixer.
"Ana," he says, moving to her, "what are you so worried about?"
She takes a deep breath, looking into his eyes just waiting for tears to pour out again, but to her surprise this time they didn't. She gives the mental peptalk, compose herself, and then begins.
"I'm just... I'm scared. Scared of being too honest, of ruining something because I said something wrong or because I'm afraid to be myself. All I want out of the friend, let alone a boyfriend, is honesty and trust. But when I'm too afraid to be honest or to trust, how my supposed to have a real relationship with anyone? I just don't want to be alone."
She surprised to realize that through all of this, her eyes had been shut, like she was too scared to look in his eyes; but now he's over by the counter grabbing the flower and moving toward her again.
"You know you can trust me and you also know, that I will always be honest with you if you want me to be. Honestly, I'll be anything you want me to be. I hate the way strangers look at you like you're from another planet, and I will always protect you no matter what. You can count on me, okay? I promise." As if knowing what Ana was thinking, he takes her hand gently and holds it up in front of them. Then, he gently places his hand in hers and laces their fingers together, saying, "We're in this together Ana. Always."
Gosh, can he be more perfect, she thinks, I swear, I've never had anyone been this interested in me. Honestly I don't get what's so interesting about me. I'm just a girl with a problem. Isn't every other girl?
Lost in thought, Ana took no notice to Evan bringing the flower closer and only really noticed when he started flicking it at her seconds later.
"Ahh-ha Evan!!" she screams with laughter, making him stop and smile at her. "What?" she asks, blushing.
"You should laugh more. I think that's the best sound I've ever heard."
"Yeah right. Wait a minute, were you just quoting a Taylor Swift song?"
"Maybe." he says, smiling.
" Dork."
"You love it."
"Maybe."
They stare at each other in silence for a while, as if passing a mind message trying to say,
Yes, I do. But I also love you. It doesn't last long before they're both clearing their throats and turning away.
"So," Evan says, taking Ana in his arms and walking toward the table, "Turns out there are, surprisingly, two pancakes made."
"Surprisingly." Ana teases.
They spend the next hour talking, eating, and most of all, laughing. At some point amidst the talking, Evan had turned on music, mostly because it made Ana smile.
After hearing the opening notes to a certain song Ana leaned against the table and gonna saying, "Oh my gosh, I love this song. Will you dance with me?"
Evan stood up and help her walk to the living room, where there would be more room to move.
When we were both standing in the middle of the room he said just about the sweetest thing Ana had ever heard.
"I'd be honored."
She tried so hard not to blush, but after he had put his arms around her waist and pulled her close, he kissed her cheek softly, "You're blushing."
"I know." she says, smiling before starting to sing along to "Play It Again" by Luke Bryan.
"She was like, oh my God, this is my song. I've been listenin' to the radio all night long, sittin' 'round waitin' for it to come on and here it is." she sings, swaying back and forth in his arms. And to her surprise he sang along with her.
"She was like, come here boy, I wanna dance. 'Fore I said a word, she was takin' my hand."
Her smile got wider as they continued, "Spinnin' me around 'til it faded out. And she gave me a kiss."
At these lyrics he carefully spins her. Am I dreaming? I swear I had this dream, she thinks as he pulls her to him again. He tightens his hold on waist and traces his lips down her forehead, all the way to the tip of her nose before pulling away to look at her. She nods and smiles, giving him silent permission.
"And she said, play it again, play it again, play it again." he says before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers.
Ana is the first to pull away, laughing as she says, "And I said, play it again, play it again, play it again."
Evan smiles and kisses her forehead again.
"I love you, Analise."
This stuns her at first, but then Ana finally decides to live in the moment and trust. "I love you, too." she says, pressing her lips to his.
They spend that night laughing, smiling, and just being happy. Together.
For the first time in her life, Ana was happy; making her own choices, and allowing herself to forget the world and be blinded by love.