christmas lights

1. eleanor

Eleanor had an obsession over musicals.

She didn't know why. Her parents hated musicals, her brothers would fall asleep right after the first song, and almost all of her relatives were tone-deaf. Her friends thought it was weird.

But sometimes, the things that we like don't need a reason as to why we like them.

This statement extremely describes Oliver Green, the boy Eleanor has always mooned for.

Eleanor didn't know why or how. But no matter what she did, no matter how many other boys she fancied, she couldn't get away with her feelings for Oliver.

Ever since she was seven, ever since they moved next door right beside the Greens, Eleanor had had feelings for Oliver. Ever since she saw him, his secondhand green sweater, his faded jeans, and that ridiculous cap of his.

But that was ten years ago. Before the long bike rides with him when they were eight, their many arguments about board games, their deep talks of crushes when they were eleven, and when they grew slowly grew apart when they were twelve. And their regained friendship when they were fourteen-almost fifteen.

Eleanor knew it was coming, but how come her feelings stayed? She didn't know. Sure, she had liked a few boys while she knew Oliver. But no matter what, Oliver was like a shadow lurking by.

Every boy Eleanor liked was always compared to Oliver, highlighting all of their flaws than their promising qualities.

Basically, it was like this. Eleanor could date all of the boys in Colorado, all of the guys in her magazines and band posters, every actor in her favorite musicals, and it would always end with one single boy: Oliver.

He was a punctuation mark, Oliver. Every time Eleanor decided to make another sentence, she would always end it with the same thing, Oliver. He was there even if Eleanor didn't want him to, finishing things Eleanor didn't want to end but had to, because that's the rules of grammar.