This is story I felt compelled to write today. It has a little bit of reality to it, as some of the feelings conveyed here are feelings I have felt, and some experiences are ones I've had before. This is definitely from the heart. Sorry it's so long, but all this was vital to the story (and I couldn't stop writing! Of course! Haha). Please feel free to comment/critique- I'd love it (and you!) if you did. So pleasepleaseplease do!

"Happily Ever After"

Fiction

 

Happily ever after is real, isn’t it? That’s exactly what I thought on that warm, sunny day. The sun shone like a flaming ball of fire, casting a golden aura around my entire world. I sat with my legs over the edge of the small dock, staring down into the sapphire waters as if they could answer all my questions. I asked the water this, as it seemed to be all I could think of. Its only answer, as if it was being coy, was to lap lazily onto my feet. Absentmindedly, I lifted my legs out so they were splayed haphazardly in the air. He sat down next to me, barely making a sound. Your toes look cute, Ari, he whispered in my ear. I turned to stare at his face, and saw a smile playing on the corners of his mouth. He knew I hated my toes. I smacked him playfully on the arm. Yeah, right. I couldn’t help staring into those strikingly blue eyes. The same blue eyes I had fallen in love with so many years ago. The ones that rivaled the sky in all their brilliance. So, you want to get some ice cream, kiddo? He winked at me. That’s all I’d ever be to him. A little kid.

 

That summer passed, just as time seemed to always do. I had my share of memories, and held onto them dearly. The next passed just as quickly, and he was gone. Moved out of state, out of my mind. If only for a little while. The summer of my seventeenth year had finally come. Everything was going well. I got a summer job, I’d met a really sweet guy, and I had really grown up. Balmy, warm evenings I’d spend casting my feet over the same dock as the summers previous. It had become my spot, the place I came to ask the sea questions I couldn’t answer myself. Hopes and dreams, wishes, and even fears seemed to be created and quelled in my magic world on the edge of that dock. But that special night began the same as any other. I brought my usual dessert of chocolate chip cookies and sweet tea to the dock to watch the sunset. As I was settling myself in, I heard the unmistakable slap of sandal against skin. Wondering who could possibly be disturbing me, I spun around. Well, don’t you look grown up? The drawl was unmistakable. Michael? There he was, looking like he had never left. He was the only one, besides me, who really belonged on the dock. And he was standing before me, a glorious apparition, too good to be true. I didn’t think. Getting up, I walked straight up to him, and kissed him.

 Wow, Ari. He said to me, after the shock of my actions wore off and were replaced by a slight pink tinge to his well-crafted face, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by me. I’m so glad you did that.

What? I blurted out.

I love you. He smiled his slow, easy smile.

What? I said again.

I love you.  I’ve loved you since we saw each other last summer and you stood up to those guys who were pushing my little brother around.

Really?

Yes.

Well, I love you too.

I know.

I turned slightly pink, but took the initiative again. I pulled him close, and kissed him until the stars shone brightly, and I was sure my lips would fall off, but that was okay. The sea, I believed, had finally answered me.

 

We were, as expected, inseparable that summer. Everything about him was awe inspiring, from his eyes to his toes, always more perfect than mine, and everything in between. His hair, dirty blonde with a slight wave that he hated and I adored. He was my Adonis. He said I was his Aphrodite. He told me he loved everything about me. The way my blonde hair fell in waves over my back, my green eyes flecked with gold, my full, pink lips, and the freckles that adorned my face so boldly. Even my toes, the thing I despised. My body was perfect, he claimed. I rolled my eyes at this, brushing it off, but inside I was pleased, as any girl would be. We swore to each other that our love would go on forever, that each of us was the only one the other had ever, and will ever, love.

 

I pleaded with the sea. Please, don’t let my fairytale end. Never.

 

There came the night. This was the kind of night no one in love should ever have to face. We sat at the edge of the dock, staring into each other’s eyes, willing the other to break the silence, but never doing it ourselves. This went on for what seemed like hours. Finally, I spoke.

Michael, do you have to leave? I felt an unbearable weight in my chest.

I’m sorry, Aria. I have to go home. His handsome face was marred with sadness I’m sure was mirrored on mine.

I nodded.

But… we can make this night memorable, if you want.

I cracked a small smile. And how do you suppose we do that?

He pulled me into him, and pressed his soft lips onto mine. Flipping me over so that I was flat on the ground, he began sliding his hands underneath my dress, and underneath my bra and underwear. Pulling, pulling them down.

I yelled. Michael, I told you! I’m not ready for sex!

He scowled. I put up with this all summer. I listened to you all summer, and didn’t touch you. But you’re being such a prude now. Don’t be a tease, Aria. Think of me for once.

I shut my eyes, but I was firm in my convictions. I won’t, I said firmly.

His returning smile was cruel, unlike any smile I’d ever seen on his face before. This shocked me. I stared into his eyes, expecting the welcoming familiarity. But now, all that remained of the eyes I once adored, of the man I once loved, was a cold glimmer of malice as he made a decision that would change our lives forever.

Forcing me down, he pulled my underwear clean off.

I fought, but to no avail, yelling protests in desperation as realizations dawned. Suddenly, a sharp pressure pierced me, and I felt pain.  I wrenched my eyes closed, as fat, hot tears made their way down my cheeks. I cried violently, begging and pleading for this to end. Finally, he was done. Anger overtook me. How could you? I yelled, shoving him hard, as hard as I could. I was shaking unbearably, and the lower half of my body was aching. I looked at him, now with a cocky smile on his face. I told you I wasn’t ready! I yelled again.

He got up. Looking at me with those eyes, the ones that only revealed a ghost of the boy I sat with on the dock so many years before, he said the last words he’d ever say to me. My girlfriend back home was better, sweetheart. Oh, and you’re an idiot for believing I really loved you. I just needed a summer fling. And you fit the part perfectly, kiddo.

And he turned and walked away.

 I sat at the dock for a while, losing track of time, crying the silent tears that smudged my mascara, but I didn’t care. Finally, after what seemed like ages, I knew what I had to do. Standing up slowly, I reached to the edge of the now-black water, and dived as gracefully as I could manage. The cool water was a balm for my body and soul. There, under the water, I found peace where I had always asked questions. There, completely submerged for the first time since I had asked my first question to the sea, I finally found my real answer. See, I thought the sea had answered my question before. Now, I found it was not so. The true answer was one I think I’d known all along: happily ever after is real, but sometimes you don’t find it in the first places you look.

Today, I got into a very interesting discussion with my boyfriend.
It started out because I was waiting for him to finish a meeting at our school after my last class. When we were getting ready to walk to the city bus stop, a thought popped into my head, somewhat randomly. I told him, "Why is it that when I'm friends with two people, and I introduce them, they always end up becoming better friends with the person I introduced them to, instead of me?" Naturally, he had no clue. It was meant to be more of a rhetorical question anyways. But it really got me thinking. I'm one of those people who's friendships are really complex. I'm better friends with guys, because they cause little drama and aren't so, well, snappish and easily offended. Plus, all my guy friends are great listeners, and never overreact. I'm also one of those girls who just want that best friend that they grew up with. The one who just gets them, and never overreacts or gets angry at them for no reason (those are really big issues with me). I definitely fluctuate between having this overwhelming desire to be popular, to just wanting that one girl I can really connect with. Honestly, I can say that I don't have any really close friends right now- albeit, my boyfriend. We were talking about our relationship- and I am truly dating my best friend. We talk about everything, from my friendship issues (I just recently lost a close friendship with a girl I thought was my best friend) to my feelings. He's so understanding. But sometimes, I just want the best girl friend I can go shopping with, talk about girl stuff, and just do things with. I'm just scared to try again with any other girl, cause I'm afraid of losing that closeness I always assume we have . My boyfriend said that the reason I don't have any close close friends is because I'm a loner. I just don't fit into any stereotypical group. Before you say, "Stereotypes don't define us", think back to high school and college. Yes, they kind of did. Since that's where I am now, that's what I'm going through. Anyways, he's right. I am a loner, and so is he. That's why we're each other's lover, but above that, each other's best friend. The difference is, he's happy just having me, and a few slightly close friends. I want more, just one close friend, a girl who understands me. But I don't fit into just a Geek, Prep, Jock, Goth, or any other stereotypical group. Except for loners. So I guess I'll just have to find another loner to get close to. My being a loner comes from being an only child and having deaf parents, which creates a whole different level of responsibility many teenagers don't face yet, or so my counselor says. My counselor also says that I'm at least 4 years ahead of my peers, maturity wise. So that creates big problems, wanting to relate to kids at my school and failing miserably. My old best friend says she's a loner. Yet, she always must be with people. I don't know how that translates, but to me, it means she's really not. So she's going to start hanging out with anyone who I try to get close to because she craves emotional connection, but to an even greater level than I (or most human beings) do. My nature has gotten me into a predicament, and I fear I'll never get out. Acquaintances I have, but I crave something more- emotional connection with the one best friend I was meant to have.