There are times when you do something risky and then hope for the best possible outcome. Although what he had just done, there was no good outcome possible. He was playing around with his horse's saddle in the field when a girl walked up and frightened him. He ended up accidentally hitting her in the head with the saddle from the horse.
"I am so sorry." he kneeled down next to her.
She was groaning and holding her head as she lay flat on the grass.
"Anything broken or sprained?" he asks worriedly.
"No," she chuckles. "I think I'm good." she slowly sits up.
"Again, I am eternally sorry for that. I was messing with the saddle and I know I shouldn't have and I just don't know—"
"Calm down. I'm fine, I shouldn't have snuck up on you anyway." she sits up and gives him a small smile.
"I should still go and get you some ice." he says while attempting to stand up before she grabs his hand.
"First, I'd like your name." she says.
"Austin. My name's Austin." he holds his hand out.
Austin smiled as they shook hands before glancing down at her jeans. They were different. They were definitely jeans, but they had all types of Jean shades on them somewhere. As if all of the shades of blue were tye-dyed together. It was quite fascinating. "Like 'em?"
"Yeah they're really cool. You make 'em yourself?" Austin asks as he helps her stand up.
"Yep. My brother told me that it wasn't possible so I bet him that it was and tada, got some jeans and twenty bucks out of it." she smiles.
"They're cool. Very unique," A whistle was heard and she jerks her head towards a house a few acres away.
"I better get going, pops is calling. Maybe I'll see you again sometime?" she asks.
"Definitely. Except this time we'll have a better introduction." he teases.
"Sounds good." she giggles before running off.
What he had realized once she had vanished was something he should have known.
Her name.
It had been a few weeks since he had met Blue Jean Baby and he had seen her or had hung out with her almost every day after that. What's odd though is she wore those same jeans every single day. He didn't know why, but he didn't bother to ask either. She didn't seem to think twice about it any though. They had become inseparable in that short period of time and he was loving it and he had hoped she was too.
She never talked about her family or anyone she lives with. Just that one conversation about her brother the day they first met. He told her stories about his family all of the time and she didn't mind it, or so he thought.
"Hey blue jean baby." he calls out as she lifts her head from the book that her eyes had recently been glued to.
"Hey Austin," she smiled as she closed the book once he sat down.
"What book?" he asks with a slight nod towards it.
"To Kill a Mockingbird." she announces.
"Great book. Very great."
"Well I'm not all the way finished yet so no spoilers." she teases.
"Hey I'm not that bad."
"Oh whatever. You've ruined about two movies for me already."
"Those plot twists or endings had it in the name." he argues defensively
"How could The Fault in Our Stars possibly give it away that he died?"
"Well for one, if you read the book, you'd know. Two, stars. The stars are in the sky, heaven is in the sky. Do the math."
"That is so not math and you know it."
"It could be."
"Yeah not really. That would've been proven already."
"You can't prove that." he teases once more which causes her to stifle a giggle.
"What colleges are you thinking about going to?" he asks after a brief silence.
"Um, I'm not going to college. I don't have enough funds for college."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
They lay in a silence that could be taken as comfortable or uncomfortable. Austin felt really bad about asking her such an embarrassing question. He didn't know she wasn't going to college. If he did, he wouldn't have asked. In a few short months he was leaving his small, yet homely, house in Alabama to go to the big city.
"Why do you wear the same pants everyday?"
She looks shocked to say the least. She stands up and begins go walk away so Austin quickly shuffles to stand up and grab her by the arm.
"Please don't go. I' I brought it up. I didn't know it was a hard subject." he says honestly.
"Which is why you shouldn't have asked." she snaps before jerking her hand back and walking away.
He never saw her again after that day. He had hoped he would. He debated about a million times whether he would try and go to her house or not. That would probably make her even more mad.
The day's flew by along with the seasons and then the day has come, time to leave for the city.
With one last close of his suitcase, he looked through the window at Ally's house.
He ignored the feelings that he was getting: love, heartbreak, sorrow. They all just made him even more depressed.
Once he was out of the neighborhood, he knew his time with his blue jean baby was up.
Two years had passed. Two years had flown by and she still did not dare leave his mind. He had no idea why this girl made him so crazy when he had only known her for a short time. He hasn't even seen her since that day at the tree. Whenever he went home for the holidays, she never showed. She really hates me and it's all his fault. He never spoke of her to anyone, if his parents asked, she's just a friend.
But she wasn't. She wasn't just a friend, he felt everything possible to feel against her, except friend. He loved her, to say the least. She hated him, to say the most. There's a fine line between love and hate and they both can lead to something happening. He knew this wasn't any ordinary time. She had possibly moved on and gone to do bigger and better things. I bet, she doesn't even miss him.
He was basically a lovesick puppy. Confused. Scared. Curious. In love. He was so sick of being sad and boring.
On one special Saturday night, he was walking around the city that he had become so familiar with. He was looking around at all of the old and new faces he'd began to know and love. He was walking with his head down, something he had caught up with through the years. When he seen something.
The jeans.
Never in a million years did he ever think he would see them again. He must be dreaming. There's no way she could possibly be here in the city.
He looked up and sure enough, the jeans matched the face. Ally. Blue Jean Baby. She was smiling.
He walked towards her slowly. Carefully, he tried to make sure that she was in fact, really here and not an illusion.
He was certain when she moved forward and kissed him. She may be small, but boy she was powerful. So was this kiss.
You could describe it as any finale kiss in any good romance movie ever made. The one kisses that are just so powerful that you think their lips are going to break or be smushed to death.
He had soon realized that they still were in the middle of a sidewalk in a busy street, he pulled away.
"I don't understand. How are you here?"
"I pulled some strings. I'm not too late am I?" she teases.
"Too late for what?"
"Too late for you to keep loving me."
He smiled. A real one too. This is something he hasn't done in what's seem like ages. Of course she would have this type of power over him.
"Come on," she held her hand out. "I want to show you something."
They walked hand in hand for about five minutes before they wind up at this tree in the park. You could say it was similar to the tree in his yard back at home. The sat under the tree, her hugging her legs.
It was when she spoke, he was nervous for what she was about to say.
"My jeans," she breathed. "I wear these jeans everyday in honor of my brother. I told you I had made a bet with him over the making of them. I did actually do it, I still won. But there's more to the story than just that and I'm ready to tell you."
He nods slowly so she continues. "I was fifteen years old and my brother was ten. He was my best friend, my brother, my reason for waking up every morning. I loved him with everything in me and I would do anything for him. He had cancer. He got it at a young age, too young. Our family was so poor that we couldn't afford treatment. We knew the day was coming but we all didn't want to believe it. He was the light in our house. He made everything seem better. He never complained about the pain unless it was simply unbearable. Strongest kid I ever knew." she chokes out.
"One day, I made a bet with him. We had seen these jeans in an old catalog that my mother had gotten. They were tye-dyed, patched up, and simply ugly to the human eye. But to mine and my brothers eyes, they were beautiful. I told him that I could remake those same jeans and he said no way. So, we made a bet. I bet him twenty dollars. I knew we weren't going to have it. I would have used it to go towards helping him anyway. So, I used anything I could for these jeans. They took me about a week and a half. When I was finally finished, I went to his room to tell him. Once I got inside his room, something felt wrong. The room was cold and it felt sad. I went over to him and touched his arm when I knew. These jeans are the only thing I have left that draw some piece of me to him so that I can't ever take them off or give them away. They're far too important."
When she finishes, I'm just in shock. I never knew there was such a big story behind the jeans and now I feel something even more for her. "I don't want you to pity me either."
I shake my head. There was nothing that I could possibly say that would make this situation any better. If anything, I'd make it worse. So I hugged her. I hugged her tightly to my chest so I was certain she wouldn't slip away.
It dawned on him that he still didn't know her name. He didn't feel that it was very important at this point in time. He just wanted her to be with him.
He has so much love and respect for this one girl that he doesn't feel he'll ever lose this feeling and attraction towards her. Everything his mother had told him about love and life were paying off.
Whether it was at his college graduation, which Blue Jean Baby attended, buying a house, which Blue Jean Baby shared shared with him.
Or when he got married and had a child, which Blue Jean Baby took part in.
To this day, 20 years into their marriage.
He still doesn't know her real name.