She had gone from crayons to makeup. He had gone from comics to rock concerts. She had gone from tea parties to cheerleading. He had gone from trading cards to football. She had gone from princesses to romance novels. He had gone from cartoons to driving. She had gone from frocks to tank tops. He had gone from corduroys to sagging. She had gone from him to another. He had gone from her to another. It was inevitable, they had grown up.
It had been years and counting, they could barely hold onto their childhood memories as life sped up and ran them through high school life. They lived in the same world but in different fantasies, her knight in shining armor had upgraded to a knight in shining Armani. They would bump into each other in the hallway, maybe end up as desk partners the next day, but they were no longer kids, they were teenagers, wild and reckless, each with their own interests, wants and needs, barely able to hold a short conversation.
It was a hot and sticky spring day, the girls of Gallagher High were wearing shorts and tanks, most of the students sporting sunglasses. Wallabee Beatles was heading out of the boy's locker room, his mind full of thoughts that were no longer filled with an amethyst eyed oriental. He was thinking about that upcoming Calculus test and his French oral the next day. A hurtle of thoughts about football hit him, joining in his pool of stress. His blonde locks were scattered across his dashing face, hanging in front of his pools of jade green eyes. The look on his face showed he was deep in thought, his mouth pressed together in the bottom left corner of his face, his one dimple on his left cheek deepened as he contemplated his schedule.
Kuki Sanban was walking out from her Honors English class, her mind was a whirlpool of activity. Her porcelain face was filled with determination as she tried her best to keep her head out of the clouds and not be distracted, to reach her locker safely without engaging in any conversation. The soft pat of her dainty feet hit the cold cement of the outdoor school. Her steps were joined by the hum of literally three thousand other students doing as she was, making a trip to their locker. She took a deep breath as she thought about the oncoming events, there was that dance she had to plan, that cheerleading competition that she needed to practice for, and that ridiculous math test. She was lost in her sea of stormy thoughts when she hit something, strong and hard. Her amethyst orbs filled with remembrance.
He was sure, at least that's what he had convinced himself those many weeks of eighth grade, that he no longer liked her, all his feelings had been locked away, he had dated many other girls, dozens to be exact. Wallabee felt the tumult of emotion hit him like a concrete wall the moment she bumped into him, "Crud," he had whispered, he didn't need to look down to know it was her, the feeling of her near him was all it took. He felt his body sway, the kind of swaying when you go into a haze, a complete other universe as your mind wanders, it was the trance she put him in. He noticed that her colorless cheeks had turned to resemble the color of one of the roses she loved very much, and he was sure his had become the same tint. Then in the moment that their eyes had met his anger recoiled, his worries melted away. He remembered sitting up all night with a flashlight reading comics, the way he would kill for just one last trading card to complete his collection. He felt the laziness that he felt on Saturday mornings when he would flip through the channels, always finding his way to the cartoons. He almost frowned at the memory of those itchy corduroys his mom would force over his head. But with all the nostalgia he remembered the tinkling of her laughter, the way he would do anything and everything for her to smile for him, the way she would brush away her anger with a tight hug and the way she would call him "silly". He remembered back to his first day of preschool, the first time he had seen her and he remembered the spell she had cast on him.
She felt her cool face, from spending hours in air-conditioned rooms on high, become a searing burn, hot enough to burn through a tough brick, kind of like him. The feeling she felt in her stomach, the feeling that felt like a swarm of butterflies had let all hell loose in the pit of her stomach, the feeling that she remembered when she thought of him, the feeling that wound its way deep into her thoughts randomly during the day whenever the thought of jade orbs staring her down, or that adorable left dimple, or the thought of blonde locks shadowing a face of pure amusement, appeared in her mind. She felt creases appear on her forehead as she thought about how much he had grown out of that short huggable little boy he once was, the little stub of only a few feet that was now a towering, built, teenager. Kuki opened her mouth to say something, but somehow her eyes wandered upwards to meet his and in seconds she was reminded of everything she had forgotten. She thought of the smell of crayons after a good day spent with her coloring book, the feel of a fluffy stuffed animal sitting on her lap as she poured invisible liquid into her mother's old china cups, the nights when she couldn't sleep and would instead find herself staring into a book about a damsel in distress. Kuki felt the pure joy of getting a new, pale pink frock, the feel of the lacey material in her fingertips. She remembered the way he would speak to her sweetly, compared to the gruffness he showed to everyone else, she remembered the way her arms would rap around him in a tight embrace and the way the sight of the material of his orange hoodie could make her day.
Just as it came, it went, the two apologized to one another and headed their own directions to the opposite ends of the schools, he sighed, then she sighed. Finally he felt his willpower give way as he turned on his heel, taking a deep breath, and cupping his mouth, "Kuki!"
A smile surfaced to her beautiful face as she spun around at the sound of his thick, Australian accent, the accent and the voice of the one that had won her over, even after all these years. "Yes Wally?" She asked, holding her books closer to her, adjusting the way her tote bag sat on her feminine, right shoulder.
He felt a pink rise to his cheeks, and he couldn't help his happiness from bubbling over as she said his name, loud enough for all the passerby to hear. "I was thinkin'..."He said trailing off, as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Hm?" She questioned, walking forward in that way that made it seem like she was floating.
"Maybe after you put your books away, I could, um, maybe take you for some ice cream to, you know, catch up or somethin'?" He pulled at the collar of his orange v-neck, the various wristbands on his hands trying to tumble down his masculine arms, making no progress than an inch past their original position.
"Sounds just perfect Wally, I'll meet you out at the front of the school?" She questioned again, feeling like the ten-year old inside of her was going to explode at any second.
He grinned at her smiling face and her perfect posture, and her childlike manner that was hidden behind the problems of a cheerleader and honor student, but he could see past that. "Sure, see yah then, Kooks." She gave him one last fleeting smile and turned away, it seemed as if she was skipping, but he could have imagined it. Wallabee leaned against the cold wall behind him, somehow, that girl had a way of making him feel like a child. He had never wanted to grow up, and in some way, she helped him achieve that goal. He was wrong, telling himself he was over her, it was pointless, it was a lost game, he would never outgrow her.
Kuki Sanban and Wallabee Beatles were, forever young.
So this was inspired by Forever Young by Jay-Z&Mr. Hudson. Yeup ! I know this is like terribly suckish. Please Review !(=
