Love Like This

1

"Annie, can you please go downstairs and bring up a case of Coke?" Rachel asks, wiping up a puddle of punch off the tiled kitchen floor. "The cooler is completely empty."

"Yeah, sure," her sister curtly replies, fighting the urge to argue with her. Annie begged her Rachel not to host this stupid, last-day-of-summer party countless times, yet here they are, cleaning up after sloppy people who weren't even invited to the gathering.

Annie weaves through the crowds of sweaty high school students that lean on their walls and on each other. She drags up two cases of soda from the depths of the basement and hastily dumps the cans into the cooler.

Feeling overwhelmed and irritated, Annie marches upstairs, yearning to bury her head underneath her bed sheets. The sensations of safety and comfort flood her mind as she flings open her bedroom door and--

Click. Click. A flash blinds Annie, and she shields her eyes from the harsh white light. "Who are you? And what are you doing in here?" she asks, horrified that a stranger has been camping out inside of her bedroom (which she swears she made sure to lock before the party started).

Blinking profusely, Annie watches the boy lower the antique camera from his face. "I apologize," the boy says, his hazel eyes glowing in the yellow light. "I wanted to test out this thing, to see if it actually works. I guess it does, huh?"

Annie raises her eyebrow, attempting to hide the fact that she finds this boy to be strikingly beautiful. "I would know; I own it."

The boy's face lights up. "This is yours? Wow, this thing is super chill. You know, I collect a few antiques myself."

"Like what?" Annie asks, hanging onto his every word.

"Typewriters and vintage cameras, mostly." The boy pulls his gaze from the camera and looks at her with kind eyes. Annie almost melts at the sight of his boyish smile; something about him is so pure that it feels like a blessing to meet his gaze.

"It's for you," Annie hears herself say, curiously looking at the boy in front of her. Her heart beats faster and faster as he lets out a laugh, thanking her as he suddenly hugs her tightly.

Something about this boy is light. He must have been crafted with sunshine, since never in her life has Annie felt so happy to be around someone so quickly. He hasn't even said anything special, but she can tell by the way he talks and by the way he looks at her that he's innately genuine.

"Can I at least thank you in a proper way? What is your name at the very least?" he asks, extending his hand to her.

"Annie," she beams, taking his hand without any hesitation.

"Well, Annie," the boy says, spinning her in a circle before taking her hands in his. "I'm Anthony, and it has been an absolute pleasure to meet you."