I walked into the cold night air not really caring about the chill up my spin. I felt empty. Like I was without something I desperately want. Silly that I have no clue of what it is. Just a sick filling of doubt and insecurity. Like, I was all alone with nothing to hide. Bear in a desert. No water of civilization in miles. Abandoned and needy.
That is, till I saw him.
He was walking across the street with a heavy jacket, something I probably needed. He looked stern and focused. My opposite. He came to my side and walked past me in a hurry. I could barely breathe. Do I know him? What is this I feel? He seems so familiar. But yet I know nothing about him.
I went home to my empty apartment. It seemed twice as empty and even a little bit on the pathetic side. Like it was laughing in my face over my loneliness. 'But I'm not alone!' My mind screamed in denial. I dressed in my fleece pajamas and went to bed to find I wasn't at all tired. Weird, I left the coffee shop dazed in tiredness. I tossed and turned for hours to find a good place, but always coming short of it. I finally went to bed when I thought of the serious man.
Maybe I could lessen his stress and sternness in his life. Make him feel relaxed and cozy.
The next day I found myself in a arcade I haven't been too in such a long time. It was once my hang out back in the old days. I hung out here with my friends as we tired to decipher which guy was cuter. I haven't been here in three years. It looks completely different. Like a hallow shell of the old days. It aged as if it was human. The man behind the counter wasn't my cute cheery Andrew; it was a guy in his thirties that gave all the teenagers glares, as if warning them. I frowned at the change. It showed that I was once cheerful and happy. Complete.
I looked around and I saw something I didn't in the first place. The man from last night. Was he wearing the same clothes as the night before? I walked towards him unintentionally. I just wanted to see his face closer. He just seemed to be familiar and very important. I feel as if I know him.
Oh shit. I do.
I couldn't turn around fast enough. He saw my face.
"What happened to your meatballs?" He asked with a cheeky grin. Something in his voice changed. He seemed genuinely happy to see me. I turned around surprised. I smiled in self gloat as I slide into the booth across from him.
"You actually missed me, Darien?" I asked teasingly. I felt something glow on the inside. I actually felt happy to see someone smile now a day. But most people walk around in a daze of stress and depression which grew on to me. I missed the warmth of smiles and the funs of flirting….I mean teasing.
"Well I haven't seen you since the graduation." He stated matter of fact like. I loved his ego.
"You went to that?" I asked surprised.
"Of course he did! He was totally in love with you!" Said another manly voice I knew. I turned and was faced with Andrew, the old employee of this arcade. I smiled as he slides in to the seat next to me as he nudged me playfully; I looked to Darien who had a serious face on. As if hiding in another world. Sheltering him self. I frowned.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked serious. I don't know but I felt like something in me click. He looked up surprised at my question. At least he had an emotion on his face, I thought to myself.
"That isn't important, what is, is that you haven't been here in AGES! How have you been?" He asked trying to turn the conversation away from him.
"Well to tell you the truth, I have been in misery since I left High school." I told them truthfully. They looked at me in shock and pity.
"Collage life's that hard on you?" Andrew asked. I bit my lips before answering.
"No it's been everything that I thought it would,"
"Then what's the misery about?" Darien asked somewhat worried. He still tried to cover it though. I looked at him and smiled.
"I left behind my friends and most of all. The one man I grew to secretly love." I told him. He seemed to look broken hearted. Andrew though took the hint and left quietly. I nodded my goodbye to him as I looked back to Darien to come to stare him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry to hear that." He said pitifully as he grabbed his coat and went to leave. He stopped as I grabbed his wrist. I stood up and stared him in the eyes.
"I fell in love with the biggest jerk in the world. He use to call me this weird name, and I would bump into him constantly on my way to school. But most of all, I fell in love with a man who use to wear black every day. You might know him. His name is Darien Shields." I said before I broke out into a wide grin.
"I'm in love with you." Was all he said to me…
And I felt my life become whole.