Stories...

Everybody has a story. Here is a story I know...

Once upon a time, there lived a girl. Young and insecure. She always smiled, and she had everything she could ever ask for, but she was never truly happy. ‘Why?' you may ask. It was because she had fallen for a guy she could never have. Nobody knew about this, not even her closest friends, but I knew. I could tell by the way she looked at him, the way she acted around him. His name was Ryan. The bad boy from school. Not only was he on every girls ‘Wanted’ list, he was her best friend’s crush. She and Ryan had known each other since they were born. Although they were never really close, they knew each other well, they were like siblings in a way. Siblings who were estranged. She knew he would never like her, but she continued to wish with all her heart that he would know how much he meant to her.

Every time she talked to Ryan, she would be blissful, but it crushed her heart at the same time. She would tell herself, "He's way out of your league & I’ll never be more than just another girl who knows his name." She would tell herself this every time Ryan made her smile so she wouldn't get too hopeful, then later have her hope blown away by a cold shoulder. And she would say that to herself every time he ignored her so that she would stop liking him and he would not crush her heart anymore. But she couldn't ever stop thinking about him. She just couldn't. Everything she saw, everything she heard, made her think of him.

One day, she decided that she would tell Ryan how he felt because she couldn't take the pain anymore. She knew where he would be at work, at the Starbucks down the road. She rummaged through her closet for the prettiest top she had and a pair of nice jean shorts and began walking to Starbucks. She thought of all the different ways that she could tell him, and she decided to say it fast and simple. She would just ask him if he was free for dinner and she would tell him then. She walked slowly towards the Starbucks, telling herself to breathe and forcing her hands to stop shaking.

As she walked in, he saw Ryan sitting at one of the tables. “Good timing,” she told herself, “he’s on break.” As she walked up to him, a girl walked to Ryan and sat down across him. Ryan looked up as the insecure girl walked in the door. “Hey! I haven’t seen you in a while. What’s up?” Ryan asked casually with that endearing grin on his face. “Oh hey! Nothing much, how ‘bout you?” she asked as she walked over to him with a smile on her face. “Nothing much. Hey, have you seen my girlfriend? We met few weeks ago,” he replied. “Girlfriend? He has a girlfriend?” she thought to herself as she stared at Ryan’s face. “Hey babe, this is the girl I told you about,” Ryan said to the skinny, beautiful, blonde girl sitting across from him. “Hey there! My name’s Nicole. What’s your name?” the blonde girl asked. She turned her head to the blonde girl and smiled as naturally as she could. “Hey are you alright? You don’t look so well…” Ryan asked. “Um, I’m not feeling so well. I’m gunna go. Bye.” She rushed out the door as tears began falling down her face. She hid behind a pole and looked back. She saw the Nicole sitting comfortably on Ryan’s lap.

Who was this girl? This girl was me.