"Ms. (l/n)? Can you please read what is written on the board?" your teacher asked.
"Uh... it says... uh" you said, squinting at the board.
You were in Germany as an exchange student for high school. You loved being in Germany, except for one thing- you had no insurance. Therefore, you had to pay for everything out-of-pocket; and that really wouldn't be a problem...except for the fact that you were as blind as a bat; your vision was absolutely horrendous.
You expected everyone to tease you about it, and most did so.
You had a spare pair of glasses, but you were too afraid to wear them because people teased you more WITH them.
Except for that lonely one.
There was a boy who sat across from you one seat. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, stereotypical German right? Not that you could differentiate him from any other boy there...well you could, if you had glasses. He, everyday, noticed that you couldn't see six inches in front of you.
His name? Ludwig Belshmit. Of course you wouldn't notice him, you couldn't see a person one seat down clearly.
Although he'd never admit it, he had a bit of a crush on you. And sadly, he only knew your name because the teacher called on you to do various tasks.
He desperately wanted to talk to you, but his hard, cold, unfriendly outer emotions kept his soft, warm, ultra-friendly inner emotions from doing so. Yes indeed, he was deeply conflicted.
-Time Skip-
You walked through the narrow, crowded halls of the school. You tried to see everything and everyone ahead of you, but we all know THAT wasn't going to happen.
Eventually, you sub-conscience took over your mind.
'I can't wear those silly old glasses! Everyone will tease me!' you thought.
You weren't the kind of person to go around caring about what people thought of you, you were just tired of being...neglected and harassed. There's only so much a person can take ya know. Your whole life you had been teased and bullied to the point where you had gone suicidal. And no matter WHERE you went, the insults followed you. Even to GERMANY!
You thought more intensely until you bumped into someone and you thought you were going to fall on the hard, tile floor, however someone caught you in strong arms.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Uh yeah, danke," you said.
"Nicht darum kümmern" he said.
You face palmed. You hadn't been in Germany THAT long, and your German was still a bit rusty.
"It means, 'don't worry about it'. Anyways, you're (f/n) right?" he asked, taking the hint to change the subject different from the sore one of your German speaking abilities.
"Was the last time I checked!" you said and smiled.
You thought, even through you lack of sight, you saw his cheeks go red.
"Oh... well... ich bin Ludwig... Belshmit.
"Hi there! Um... hey do you think you could... um maybe help me get through this crowd? I um... can't really see" you said, letting your head roll down.
"Sure" he said.
After Ludwig and you got through the crowd and out the doors to the school, you told Ludwig 'thank you', and before you could leave, he told you... he wanted to see you again(?).
You smiled and agreed, he seemed really nice! You had heard rumors that he was just as cold as a glacier in the north pole, but he wasn't like that at all.
-Zeit Weiter-
Like you had promised, you and Ludwig met up again, and soon became good friends.
Before you knew it, it was the end of the school year, and you were going back home to (country) for the summer.
As you sat on the bench at the airport, you talked to Ludwig about what the two of you were going to study the following year.
"I don't know Ludwig... there's just too many choices!"
"Well, you're going to have to decide before August, that's when your forms are due."
"Flight 237 last call for boarding" the female voice said over the loudspeaker.
"Well Luddy, I'm off! I'll video-call you when I get home okay!?" you said extending your arms for a hug.
"How many times have I told you NOT to call me 'Luddy' (f/)?" he stated, hugging you back.
You just laughed and waved goodbye before you boarded the plane.
-Time Skip-
"Hey mom! Dad!" you said, running off the plane to greet your parents.
"Hey (f/n)! It's good to see you! How was Germany?" your parents said, hugging you.
"GREAT! I met a new friend!" you said with a big grin.
"Really? What's her name?" you father asked.
Oops. Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned Ludwig. Your parents, mostly your dad, didn't like you having friends that were boys. You dad especially, gets really jealous... but all dads do so hey.
You used to be able to have friend that were boys, that was until you got into high school. Now you're sixteen and you're not even allowed to TALK to boys let alone be their friend.
"Uh... Ludwig... Belshmit" you said with ease, trying to keep the situation calm.
"And this friend, is a boy?" your father asked.
"Yeah, he's super nice and-"
"YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE FRIENDS THAT ARE BOYS! WHAT PART OF THAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND!?" your father yelled.
Well, so much for trying to keep things calm; it seemed like every eye in the airport had landed on you and your father.
"Y-yes father."
"And for punishment, you're not going back to that school EVER again!" your father yelled.
WHAT!?
How on EARTH were you going to explain this to Ludwig? He was your best friend since... well? EVER!
There was only one way- sneak him into your life.
Later that night, when your parents had gone to bed, you opened up your laptop, and managed to find the video-call icon on your home-screen.
You scrolled through the blurry list of names, and managed to find 'Ludwig Belshmit'. And lucky you! He was online!
You pressed the blurry green phone, and almost immediately, Ludwig picked up.
"Guten tag (f/n)!" he said.
"Luddy, I'm not coming back next year" you said with wide eyes.
"W-wait, WHAT?!" he shouted.
"SHH Luddy keep it down. Well, my parents found out that I had a friend that was a guy, and well? I told you how my father acts!"
It took a minute to register in his mind, but eventually, Ludwig comprehended that fact that at the airport was probably the last time he would see you in person.
"But (f/n), I want, no scratch that, I NEED to see you again!"
That was all you could make out before your father smashed that blurry screen of a computer into bits and pieces.
-Time Skip-
You were graduating today, and somehow, you managed to get through your last high school year without Ludwig.
Graduation seemed to go by really fast, and before you knew it, your diploma was in your hand, and you were walking down the aisle of seats, out into the lobby of the gymnasium in which your school held it's graduation ceremony.
You still couldn't see straight, and you hated that fact that the teasing followed you back home. Would it EVER go away?
The only person who didn't tease you (in a mean way, you both teased each other a lot) was Ludwig.
You felt warm, wet droplets fall down your cheeks as you walked out the double doors of the gymnasium.
"Hey (f/n)" a voice said from behind you. You stopped walking, but you didn't turn around to see who was the origin of the voice.
"You just graduated, why are you crying?" the voice asked. You tensed up; 'that voice, it couldn't be.'
You turned around to see a handsome, muscular blonde smiling at you.
"LUDWIG!" you shouted and practically tackled him, and if it wasn't for his strong physique, he would've fallen over.
"I missed you too (f/n)!" he said somewhat sarcastically while holding you close.
In the background of the other voices, you could pick out a few, 'why is a hot guy like him hugging such a loser? Is he as blind as she is?', followed by evil laughs and taunts, which only made you cry more.
"(f/n), don't listen to them. If only you could see- you're perfect the way you are" he said, pulling you closer.
You didn't know, but your parents had found you there in Ludwig's arms a few moments ago. They would've stopped you, but they saw your tear stained, emotionless face fly into Ludwig's embrace. They then decided that it was a mistake to make you go all that time without seeing the one person outside of your family who cared for you.
-Back to you and Ludwig-
"(f/N), would you mind following me outside?" Ludwig asked, holding out his hand.
"Sure" you said.
You followed him outside and sat on the curb.
"Where are your glasses?" he asked.
"In my pocket why?" you asked.
"Give them to me. It's time for you to see what you've been missing" he said.
"What am I missing?" you asked.
"Well? For instance, this beautiful sunset. But more importantly, the perfect picture- the beautiful (h/l)(h/c) hair that frames your face perfectly; the beautiful (e/c) that goes with that flawless smile you own- (f/n), you're missing out on you!" Ludwig said, cleaning off the lenses.
He then gracefully put the glasses on the bridge of your nose.
"But Ludwig, I look stupid" you argued.
"Sie irren. You're wrong. You look beautiful- more so than you did before" he said, placing his hand on your cheek.
"I...I" you said, but was then interrupted.
"Ich leibe dich...I love you" Ludwig said, then closed the gap between the two of you and pressed his soft lips on your own.
"(f/N), I've loved you since before you even know my name- so, danke. For everything" he said, "and now that I'm here, I promise to protect you from anything or anyone who tries to hurt you."
You suddenly felt like a huge burden had been lifted off your shoulders.
"Thank you Luddy" you said.
"HOW MANY- I mean, you're welcome."
"I love you Ludwig."
"I love you too, (f/n)."
I can see clearly now the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way.
All of the dark clouds that had me blind,
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright,
Bright and sunshiny day!
