ever had about you. I was entranced in a state of pure ecstasy that ended all too soon when you broke away. You stood up very abruptly and offered your hand out to me. The gesture, I could tell, was out of pure politeness. You did not seem to be quite as at ease as you were only a few moments ago. Despite the fact that you had clearly shocked yourself you set down on the same swing that you had originally sat in and started to swing.

Too shocked to do anything else I simply followed suit. You were, now, thrusting your legs hard back and forth, using all of your glorious muscles to gain momentum. I did as best as I could to meet your pace and after a few minutes you seemed to relax and we soon fell into a steady rhythm. The night was virtually silent except for the dancing hum of the crickets in the distance and the sound of the wind whooshing between our swings. I knew that this time I was going to have to be the one to speak first.

“You know I never even thought that you would show up. Well, I suppose I didn’t think you would arrive alone anyways. I figured that after you read my letter you would gather up all your friends and come only to beat the living shit out of me. I never even meant to put that letter in your locker. I wrote it one day in English class and for some stupid reason convinced myself that I had to give it to you. Of course, once I saw you in the hall with your girlfriend and all your other friends I quickly gave up that idea. It wasn’t until later that day during sixth period when I went to the restroom that, when I walked past your locker, I remembered the letter was still in my pocket. I initially turned toward the trashcan to throw the folded up piece of paper away but then something inside of me clicked and I just did it. After I was back in class I realized that there was still one more period to go in the day and I couldn’t bear to see what was going to happen when you found the letter. So I went to the office and signed myself out, complaining that I had a horrible headache.”

My words drifted off then and I fell silent. I realized that I had been babbling on and I turned and looked at you. Your head was still turned up toward the sky and you remained quiet for a few minutes. We were still swinging in the same rhythmic motion and when you did, finally, speak there was only excitement in your voice.

“On the count of three, jump!”

Then you counted off and thrust yourself full force into the air. I hesitated and jumped off one swing after you. We landed and rolled side by side crashing into each other in the grass. We were both laughing and out of breath, now. You propped yourself up sideways facing me and tried your best to gain your composure.

“You know, Jake, they aren’t really my friends. I mean, they are but I really doubt that a one of them cares what happens to me after high school. It’s the same way with Natasha. She’s my girlfriend but only because that is the way everyone wanted it to be. I am so done with trying to please everyone in this