A Story
Once upon a time, there was a girl.
This girl had a very large crush on a senior at her high school. She was a freshman. The senior would flirt with her in his own goofy way, but as time went on it became clear that they would only ever have goofy flirtatious relations. The girl was fine with that, because she was young and a flirt herself whose time spent in theatre and riding horses really meant that she had little time for a “boyfriend” anyway.
The senior had friends of course, friends that the freshman girl began to hang out with on a consistent basis. They were all older than her and goofy as well, and the freshman girl felt at home among them. There was one boy, the best friend of the senior, who caught her eye. He was tall and thin with reddish-blonde hair. He was quiet at first, but the more she hung around him the more she began to realize that he had a sarcastic wit that the freshman girl loved.
One day, the senior graduated as all seniors do, and went off to college. The best friend, however, remained. He was a senior now, but the freshman girl (now a sophomore) was glad that she got to spend another year with him. As the days progressed, she confessed her feelings for the boy, but he shot her down. The girl was sad, but she could not help being attracted to him. On and on the year went, until one night, while seeing Star Wars Episode III in theatres, the boy put his arm around the girl. She was elated. They started dating shortly thereafter. Their relationship was not destined to last, however. The boy broke up with her at his graduation party. She was shocked and saddened by this sudden turn of events, but like so many high school relationships, she got over it in a few months.
Ironically enough, the girl stayed close friends with the boy when he went off to college. They talked about everything, and the girl even gladly gave him advice to get another girlfriend. Years came and went, and soon enough the girl was going off to college in Richmond. Then, one night while she was chatting with the boy online (this was an era when IMing was still somewhat acceptable), the girl realized something. After all of these years of friendship, she still had lingering feelings for the boy. She confessed these feelings over winter break, and was surprised to see that the boy shared these feelings. They talked about dating again, but the girl’s life choices were off-putting to the boy. She smoked and drank and partied too much. They argued over this, but the girl saw nothing wrong with her lifestyle. Their argument was so bad, they stopped talking to each other for months.
They began to talk again eventually, and soon enough things went back to what they were before. Their communication may have dwindled, but they still shared quips on Facebook, which made the girl smile. She still had her feelings for him, but she knew that he would never be with her so long as she kept up her current lifestyle. She was stubborn though, and she refused to let go of her party girl ways. Her partying began to effect her grades and her health, however. And though it took her nearly four years to realize it, the girl came to the realization that she needed to stop what she was doing and get her life on track.
She triumphantly told the boy that she had quit smoking and cut back her partying. He congratulated her and said that he was glad. Then, one night while hanging out with friends (and having a beer to fortify her courage), the girl sent him a text message with something she had never said to anyone else. It said,
“Don’t freak out when I tell you this, but….I think that I’m in love with you.”
The boy did not freak out. Instead, he was happy because he had been attracted to the girl all this time. They began dating for a third time, and are still together to this day. They are the happiest that they have ever been, and the girl seriously doubts that any other girl on the planet is as content and happy as she is.
The moral of the story is never give up on those you love, no matter how tough things may get. Because sometimes, your relationship is just a diamond in the rough <3
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