I'll Settle For You
It was cloudy outside, and the teacher was ranting on and on about some random anecdote that seemed to be as interesting and as useful as the broken down walls of the school. Hardly anyone was in class, and those that were distracted themselves from the lecture by playing a rather intense game of spitball. It just so happened he was lodged in the corner, right next to her.
Rose, the pharmacist's daughter, with her beautiful, long blonde hair and blue eyes. He had liked her for over a month by now, and almost the whole school knew. Everyone except her, because she was so oblivious to everything besides her job as a medic. Oblivious to everyone except him. The perfect huntsman with a voice that made the birds stop to listen. Of course she'd fall for him, much in the way anyone else would.
It hurt, because John didn't notice her at all, and yet he did. He noticed every day how she'd laugh at a joke her friend told, he'd notice the way her nose crinkled when she was concentrating, and she'd notice the stupid things she'd do to impress John. He'd always make fun of her for it, but he only made fun of it because it hurt so much to see her falling for him when he could just as easily catch her.
He'd tried to get over her. Hell, he'd even built himself a lie just so he could pretend for one second that he wouldn't end up alone. It was embarrassing what he'd do for her, but not quite as embarrassing as when she never noticed. He'd weave an entire web of lies about some other girl just to maker her jealous, but instead of being jealous, she just had to laugh at him. She didn't care. She never did.
He remembered the day he first befriended her. He didn't like her quite as much back then, simply thought of her as a friend. That changed all too soon. He began noticing how everything she did was so damn cute, how everything she did was so incredibly and irresistibly perfect. For God's sake, she even smelled nice! And then he'd remember how he could do nothing about it. She would never feel the same way. To her, he was just another boy she just so happened to be lab partners with.
If only she knew how much she meant to him.
"Are you okay?" He looked up to see Beth, a rather plump girl who stopped by the bakery a tad too much. She was certainly not the prettiest girl in the school, but nor was she the worst looking. He feigned a smile, nodding. But Beth knew. She always seemed to know.
"I know you like her," she whispered, making sure the teacher wasn't looking. He blushed, glancing her way to make sure she wasn't looking. Of course she wasn't. She never looked at him for more than a second, most times even less. He turned back to Beth, who was giving him a look that said so much more than words.
"There's no evidence," he countered weakly, hoping Beth would just drop the subject. As his luck would have it, she didn't.
"Everyone knows by now. It's all too obvious; your feelings for her," Beth laughed, sending him another one of her piercing looks. She always was able to see straight through his lies, no matter how well woven.
Beth was right. There was no denying it now; he was head over heels for Rose. Every smile made his heart flutter, her scent made his stomach fill with butterflies, and when she didn't look at him, it made his entire soul feel dead. She always smelt like a fresh summer day. She always looked beautiful, not beautiful like the capitol idiots, but beautiful in the same sense a tree was beautiful. Always so strong, so determined, and so natural.
"You're right," he sighed. A flash of hurt crossed Beth's face, as if she wanted him to disagree. She sat down beside him, giving him a hug.
In that moment, he realized it. Beth liked him. She genuinely cared. And maybe that's what he needed. Maybe he needed a shoulder to cry on, arms to give him a hug when he was sad. Beth would never in a million years be Rose, but maybe she'd be a close second.
He said it in a whisper, but enough a whisper that Beth heard just a glimpse of it.
"I'll settle for you."
