It was a chilly December morning when I entered the school one hour late, and saw Autumn relaxing in the cafeteria between classes. She was talking with one of her artist friends, away from all the other students.
It hasn`t been long since the school year started and since Autumn Brooks transferred to our school, but I already felt I had a long history with her. Too long.
I met Autumn on the first day of school back in early September, and I thought she was very pretty the first time I saw her. I have to admit I kinda flirted with her a bit right from the start.
"Wow, you`re beautiful" were actually my first words to her. She chuckled, embarrassed but also flattered.
"Autumn is such an amazing name", I added. She blushed, and tried to joke about me being a flirty guy.
As I went on to know her a bit more in the next days, I thought it was so sweet how kind and delicate she was, and her quirky, artsy nature made me fall for her really fast. I thought she was adorable, with her big head and big eyes.
Autumn was not popular at all, she often seemed anxious and out of place, but that made me like her even more. I built the courage to ask her out, and I put myself on the line by building a cardboard sign for all the school to see: "Autumn, will you go out with me?". I wanted her to feel loved. My friends gave me a lot of stick for it, but thankfully she said yes. That`s all I wanted.
We had a great time for a couple of months. I noticed she didn`t have any friends aside from her art roommates and Payton, a prep, but I didn`t care. There was this guy Julian, my teammate on the football team, who moved schools from Hearst High together with Autumn, and always seemed to talk to her on campus. Autumn`s eyes always widened when they were chatting.
However, I didn`t pay much attention, thinking she was just feeling comfortable around someone she knew. I was confident she wouldn`t cheat on me, and I didn`t think Julian liked her that way. He was a Hearst High reject, but the star of our poor football team, and a very popular guy on campus - much like myself, although he was much more popular with the ladies, to be honest.
I introduced Autumn to my friends and even though they felt she was strange, she was making progress. She confided in me saying she had a history of being bullied, and had to change schools twice, looking very sad as she told me those things. She was also dealing with the loss of her mother. This was her third attempt at a happy high school life and she was doing her best, trying to make friends and to be useful, signing up for all kinds of school activities.
I soon started to care deeply for this sweet little thing, wanting to protect her from further bullying and distress. One night, I went all in. "Autumn, I love you", I said. It just came out. There was a half heartedly "me too", but I was expecting so much more ... something didn`t seem right. It all became clear the very next day, when I saw her kissing with Julian. When I confronted her, she dumped me.
"I`m sorry, Mike, you were so nice to me ... b-but ... I love Julian. I`m so sorry", Autumn cried.
It now made sense to me, all her interaction with Julian. How could I be so stupid? This was a guy who was convinced by Autumn to join our school, she probably had a thing for him since before I met her. I think Autumn just didn`t know Julian was into her, she couldn`t believe a popular ladies-man like him would like her. When she realized it, I became surplus of requirements.
I just left, didn`t say anything to her. I was devastated, while for Autumn things were finally looking up. Or did they?