You know what I love?

Breakfast.

There's something about that wholesome combination of cereal, milk and sugar that just makes the start of every day awesome.

Of course in my case I usually put too much sugar in, then it's too sweet for my tastes, which is pretty ironic isn't it?

I mean, considering I've been alive for almost 18 years, you'd think I'd have figured out my own tastes by now, but I always end up putting too much sugar in. Or maybe I do know, and end up putting too much sugar in on purpose because of tradition. I dunno.

Anyway, that reminds me a little bit of my life to be honest, always putting a little bit too much sugar on things.

Is that too much of a metaphor?

Maybe.

What I mean is that I always build things up, or care about them too much, and then they always seem kinda disappointing in the end. Like, for example I hype up something I'm looking forward to, and then it ends up being really average. Or I'm convinced that someone likes me, but it turns out I'm making it all up.

Know what I mean?

Probably not.

Sometimes it's difficult to communicate ideas that happen in your head, like, when you're talking to someone you have a crush on and you're trying to impress them, and then everything that comes out of your mouth sounds like the worst thing you could possibly say. And at the time you think they're never ever gonna like you.

Ever.

That's a bad feeling, not at all like cereal really, is it?

But I keep on doing the same things over and over again, it's like a cycle, and the only way it's going to break is if someone else comes in and says 'Hey! I like you too!' It's like what they call 'unrequited love' or whatever, when that person you like so much doesn't like you back.

And yet I keep spooning on the sugar.

And it's always too sweet.

Too sweet to taste, but never sweet enough for real life.

Because why should life be sweet? That would be far too easy.

Why is it so much easier to be sad than happy? Why is it so much more difficult to make someone laugh than to make them cry?

Maybe it's because there are a lot more things to be sad about. Or maybe it's to set a new low with which to compare our highs, so that even the most mundane of tasks seem enjoyable.

Why can't life be more like breakfast?

You have the cereal, which you put in first. That's your life.

Then you add in the milk, which fills in all the gaps. Those are your friends and family.

And then sprinkle on the sugar, those little bits of every day that make everything sweeter.

I've gone into metaphor mode again haven't I?

Sometimes it's so easy to slip into; to dodge about topics rather than directly discussing them. That way if it gets too intense, you've never actually fully put yourself on the line. Your person isn't at risk. So people become more withdrawn and take fewer risks until everyone's like a turtle, and then anyone who dares step out of their shell is crushed, the people willing to cross the line are eliminated.

And then everyone's safe.

But no-one is new.

I jolt out of my reverie when a hand lands gently on my shoulder.

'Hey Ichigo, you busy daydreaming, huh? What about?' They look at me quizzically, an amused smile paying over their lips.

'Umm, cereal' I stutter, awkwardly.

They laugh.

'Why cereal?'

'Because I like you.' I smile half-heartedly.

'Hey, I like you too.'