Chapter 3 : Never form any Lasting Relationships
Daniel flipped off Jessica as she walked away from him. With her back turned to him, she didn't see it. Daniel wouldn't have done if it she could see him. He told her he agreed with her, that the 'magic was gone'. The truth was Daniel thought that was a bunch of bullshit. Magic. Daniel never felt any magic with her. She was hot and he was interested. That was it. He made the mistake of dating the class valedictorian. He was easily twice as smart as she was but he was what the teachers called 'a boy with potential' or 'a lost cause' and the students called 'a punk' and 'a freak'. He aced all the tests and his homework. But his class participation was non-existent. He sat in the back of the room, doodling hieroglyphics and such or daydreaming out the window. He looked like he wasn't paying attention but when a teacher called on him he responded quietly and matter-of-factly, correct every time. But that didn't matter.
He had blonde hair streaked with blue that was either spiked in every direction or laying flat over his face. The torn jeans, the hard-rock band t-shirts, and the dirty red converse gave a vibe of being pissed off to the other students. Its what Jessica, and the dozen other girls he dated during high school, found so alluring. They wanted one of two things; to break free from their crowd of trust funds and pompoms and show off to their friends. Or they wanted to change him, be the one to 'tame' him, so to speak.
It was high school life. Daniel may be the youngest in his class, but he could see the reality of the whole situation. High school students hooked up senior year and the summer after for the sake of hooking up. He wasn't expecting to form a lifelong relationship with any of these girls. He wasn't even sure he wanted to. Daniel wanted someone to care about, someone to provide some sort of stability. One of the girls, Lydia, could have been that girl. But Daniel blew it. He cared about her a lot, but Daniel didn't want anything to anchor him to this school, to this place. He planned on leaving come September for Chicago. He didn't want anything tying him down, even if it meant the girl of his dreams.
At least that was his excuse. The truth was Daniel was afraid. He didn't know how to have a relationship. He didn't want to hurt her, or get hurt. Disappointment seemed to follow Daniel around. He didn't want to commit to something only to have it taken away. He couldn't afford to have that done to him again. So Daniel stuck to relationships that he knew would never mean anything. He stuck to the girls who felt 'the magic' for three months and then got bored. He hoped that with college and the start of his life, that would change. But that small bit of hope was like the girls he dated. You could always count on them abandoning you.