Love
"Kari, I love you!" I grimaced as I heard those words. Those three little words that sounded so big. What did they mean? "Kari, did you hear me? I said I loved you!" Jordan, the one who had said them was getting impatient. She was always impatient though, no matter the situation.
"Yes Jordan, I heard you." I replied, though my words lacked the enthusiasm hers had held. And why should I have been enthusiastic? It wasn't like I was saying it back to her. I was just telling her I'd heard her.
"Well, aren't you going to say it back to me?" She stepped in front of me, keeping me from walking to my car and going home. "Kari?" She blinked her big brown eyes at me, looking worried as she waited for my answer. I sighed, trying to find the right words I could use without hurting her.
"Jordan…" I hesitated, wishing there was an easier way to say this without her getting hurt. But alas, there was not. "Jordan, listen to me. I don't love you. I don't love anyone. I don't even know you well enough to say that I really like you. Love does not appear out of nowhere. Sure, you can immediately feel attracted to someone, but you can't immediately love them. So, no. I don't love you."
I watched as the words slowly sank in and the tears started to well up in her eyes. Her eyes scrunched and her mouth started to tremble as the words took effect. And then, the wailing started. That horrible, choking, wailing sound that a person made when they cried. And like floodgates being flung open, the tears started to roll down her smooth cheeks. And her two friends, the two people that really did love her, were there in an instant.
"Jordan?! Jordan honey, what's wrong?!" Tanya. Sweet little Tanya was always there by Jordan's side. Worrying about her, protecting her and just wanting to be there for her. Hopefully my rejecting Jordan would give Tanya a chance to shine.
"Jordan it's alright. It's okay. We're here now." And Louis. He loved Jordan too and wanted only her happiness. He might get a chance to shine now too. He looked at me as I turned to leave. "Kari."
"Louis, I can't love." I didn't look at him as I spoke, but instead let my words find their own way back to him. "I'm sorry I hurt her. But I don't love her; I don't love anyone. And hey, look at it this way. Maybe now she'll take notice of how hard you and Tanya work to make her happy." Saying that, I walked off, eager to get home and away from this cursed place.
"Uh... Um… Kari!" Marcus's halting words made me inwardly cringe. Good lord, I thought, slowly turning to look at the nervous boy. He kept rubbing his hands on his pants, and pulling at the collar of his shirt; no doubt about it, he was going to confess too. Well, better to let him get it out of his system than to turn him down before he even has a chance.
"K-K-Kari! I… I… I l-l-l-love y-y-y-you!" He blushed bright red, waiting for my response. And I smiled, spotting the one that loved more than I ever could.
"Marcus," I said, grabbing his shoulders and turning him around to face Laura, a pretty slip of a young woman that blushed anytime Marcus happened to even glance at her. "This is Laura and she loves you. Or likes maybe. Either way, she's the one you want to be confessing to. Not me. I'm a horrible person to be confessing one's love to. And do you know why? Because I can't say it back. Now go get her tiger." With that, I gently pushed him forward, smiling as he stumbled and stuttered.
Well. One more good deed done for the day. Kind of. I sighed as I walked to my car, hoping against hope that I wouldn't get stopped again. And for once, I didn't. But, it was just one more day in my entire life. And who knew how many more times in my life I would get stopped by people like that, wanting to say the same thing. Thoughts about my life and the things people had said ran through my mind as I got into my car and drove towards home, probably the one place I was safe from all the crazies.
"Thomas!" I yelled when I got home, hoping my roommate was here so I could rant to him. "Thomas?" Unlocking the front door and stepping inside, I looked around as I slipped out of my shoes. "He must still be at work. Oh well. I guess I'll do homework then." Shrugging, I walked over to the dinner table and sat down, unzipping my backpack and pulling out my textbooks and started to work.
He smiled as he opened the door and saw her sitting at the table, her head on a textbook and her hair hiding her face. She'd fallen asleep at the table again, but he didn't mind. As he walked towards her, he noticed a note. Curious as to what it said, he picked it up, smiling as he read it.
Dear Thomas,
You aren't home yet and its 10:30 pm which means that work must have kept you late again. It's okay though. I was just going to rant to you. :] Anyway, there were two more incidents today. This time though it was Jordan and Marcus. I told Jordan I didn't love her and she started bawling. I felt so bad for making her cry, but it was the honest truth. Besides, Tanya and Louis were immediately there to comfort her, so I think it all worked out. And I pointed Marcus towards a girl that obviously likes him. So, I think I handled things pretty decently today.
Though I wish that things like this didn't happen as often as they do. It's like Society has made it alright to throw the word love around like its nothing. And Disney doesn't help either! All of their movies make it seem like love is just something that happens as soon as you meet someone and it isn't!
Love is something that is built through constant interaction with someone, like trust. Love at first sight doesn't exist, that's just a physical attraction. Anyway, on with what I was saying. You love someone because of who they are. The way they talk, the way they walk, all of their little quirks; when you love someone, you should love all of them. Sure, you can like someone a lot when you first meet them but hey, that's kind of part of the physical attraction thing.
But love… Love is something that comes from conversations and getting to know a person for who they really are. Not that immediate physical attraction that so many people confuse with love. And I wish more people would understand that, but sometimes I think you're the only sane person in the world.
And really? What is love? Besides knowing someone for who they really are and, as some people say, a set of chemical reactions in a person's brain? I mean… I don't know what I mean. Oh well. I'm going to finish my homework now and I'll see you when you get home. Bye!
Your friend,
Kari :]
He leaned down, smiling and brushing her hair back from her face. "I love you," he whispered as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.
"Yes Jordan, I heard you." I replied, though my words lacked the enthusiasm hers had held. And why should I have been enthusiastic? It wasn't like I was saying it back to her. I was just telling her I'd heard her.
"Well, aren't you going to say it back to me?" She stepped in front of me, keeping me from walking to my car and going home. "Kari?" She blinked her big brown eyes at me, looking worried as she waited for my answer. I sighed, trying to find the right words I could use without hurting her.
"Jordan…" I hesitated, wishing there was an easier way to say this without her getting hurt. But alas, there was not. "Jordan, listen to me. I don't love you. I don't love anyone. I don't even know you well enough to say that I really like you. Love does not appear out of nowhere. Sure, you can immediately feel attracted to someone, but you can't immediately love them. So, no. I don't love you."
I watched as the words slowly sank in and the tears started to well up in her eyes. Her eyes scrunched and her mouth started to tremble as the words took effect. And then, the wailing started. That horrible, choking, wailing sound that a person made when they cried. And like floodgates being flung open, the tears started to roll down her smooth cheeks. And her two friends, the two people that really did love her, were there in an instant.
"Jordan?! Jordan honey, what's wrong?!" Tanya. Sweet little Tanya was always there by Jordan's side. Worrying about her, protecting her and just wanting to be there for her. Hopefully my rejecting Jordan would give Tanya a chance to shine.
"Jordan it's alright. It's okay. We're here now." And Louis. He loved Jordan too and wanted only her happiness. He might get a chance to shine now too. He looked at me as I turned to leave. "Kari."
"Louis, I can't love." I didn't look at him as I spoke, but instead let my words find their own way back to him. "I'm sorry I hurt her. But I don't love her; I don't love anyone. And hey, look at it this way. Maybe now she'll take notice of how hard you and Tanya work to make her happy." Saying that, I walked off, eager to get home and away from this cursed place.
"Uh... Um… Kari!" Marcus's halting words made me inwardly cringe. Good lord, I thought, slowly turning to look at the nervous boy. He kept rubbing his hands on his pants, and pulling at the collar of his shirt; no doubt about it, he was going to confess too. Well, better to let him get it out of his system than to turn him down before he even has a chance.
"K-K-Kari! I… I… I l-l-l-love y-y-y-you!" He blushed bright red, waiting for my response. And I smiled, spotting the one that loved more than I ever could.
"Marcus," I said, grabbing his shoulders and turning him around to face Laura, a pretty slip of a young woman that blushed anytime Marcus happened to even glance at her. "This is Laura and she loves you. Or likes maybe. Either way, she's the one you want to be confessing to. Not me. I'm a horrible person to be confessing one's love to. And do you know why? Because I can't say it back. Now go get her tiger." With that, I gently pushed him forward, smiling as he stumbled and stuttered.
Well. One more good deed done for the day. Kind of. I sighed as I walked to my car, hoping against hope that I wouldn't get stopped again. And for once, I didn't. But, it was just one more day in my entire life. And who knew how many more times in my life I would get stopped by people like that, wanting to say the same thing. Thoughts about my life and the things people had said ran through my mind as I got into my car and drove towards home, probably the one place I was safe from all the crazies.
"Thomas!" I yelled when I got home, hoping my roommate was here so I could rant to him. "Thomas?" Unlocking the front door and stepping inside, I looked around as I slipped out of my shoes. "He must still be at work. Oh well. I guess I'll do homework then." Shrugging, I walked over to the dinner table and sat down, unzipping my backpack and pulling out my textbooks and started to work.
He smiled as he opened the door and saw her sitting at the table, her head on a textbook and her hair hiding her face. She'd fallen asleep at the table again, but he didn't mind. As he walked towards her, he noticed a note. Curious as to what it said, he picked it up, smiling as he read it.
Dear Thomas,
You aren't home yet and its 10:30 pm which means that work must have kept you late again. It's okay though. I was just going to rant to you. :] Anyway, there were two more incidents today. This time though it was Jordan and Marcus. I told Jordan I didn't love her and she started bawling. I felt so bad for making her cry, but it was the honest truth. Besides, Tanya and Louis were immediately there to comfort her, so I think it all worked out. And I pointed Marcus towards a girl that obviously likes him. So, I think I handled things pretty decently today.
Though I wish that things like this didn't happen as often as they do. It's like Society has made it alright to throw the word love around like its nothing. And Disney doesn't help either! All of their movies make it seem like love is just something that happens as soon as you meet someone and it isn't!
Love is something that is built through constant interaction with someone, like trust. Love at first sight doesn't exist, that's just a physical attraction. Anyway, on with what I was saying. You love someone because of who they are. The way they talk, the way they walk, all of their little quirks; when you love someone, you should love all of them. Sure, you can like someone a lot when you first meet them but hey, that's kind of part of the physical attraction thing.
But love… Love is something that comes from conversations and getting to know a person for who they really are. Not that immediate physical attraction that so many people confuse with love. And I wish more people would understand that, but sometimes I think you're the only sane person in the world.
And really? What is love? Besides knowing someone for who they really are and, as some people say, a set of chemical reactions in a person's brain? I mean… I don't know what I mean. Oh well. I'm going to finish my homework now and I'll see you when you get home. Bye!
Your friend,
Kari :]
He leaned down, smiling and brushing her hair back from her face. "I love you," he whispered as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.