A Love That Couldn't Be

Prolouge

I'm sitting in the bathroom, trying to calm down from a panic attack that was induced by someone in my class being rather... invasive. I had decided to wear my marching band shirt that day and I had taken my jacket off due to my AP Psychology teacher liking his classroom an ungodly temperature in the summer (why man, why). The kid, who I've known all my life but wasn't relatively friends with, noticed some scarring on my arm. He started questioning me about them and started making jokes about it. Typically I wouldn't really care about that kind of humor, I'm not a sensitive person, but today was different. And this was coming from someone I didn't know and vice versa and his pushiness brought me back to a place I didn't want to be ever again. It clicked something in my head and I started to panic.

As I'm sitting in the bathroom, the minute bell rings, signalling class starting in one minute. I tell myself to suck it up and let it go. I grab my things, leaving the bathroom and right as I take one step outside the door, I'm slammed into from the side by a guy running late to class. I groan in pain and try to see who rammed me into oblivion.

"Oh my God, I'm so so sorry," the boy says, offering a hand for me to pull myself up. I recognize him from one of my classes but I don't remember his name.

"No worries, I'm fine," I reply shakily, still shocked from the impact of him running into me and me hitting the floor. He nods and continues to run to his next class. I'm suddenly grateful that my next class is close to the bathroom and I walk in right as the bell rings. I sit in Government and Economics, trying to remember that kid's name. Before I know it, the bell rings, ending this godforsaken class period. I shove my books and things into my bag and end up holding my economics textbook, not wanting to deal with the weight of it in my already full bag. I walk out of class and to my final class: Symphonic Band. I've been in band for the last two years, doing Marching and Symphonic. For marching band, I was in Color Guard but for Symphonic, I switch to Percussion. I walk in the class, greeting my teacher and putting my things down on the couch behind the percussion equipment. The rest of the day is kind of a blur with the pretty boy with cerulean eyes still in my mind.
The next day, I walk into my AP Psychology class, headphones at the ready in case the dude wants to keep talking to me about one of my biggest regrets of my life. I sit down and thankfully, he leaves me alone. I sit and take notes and listen to the teacher make god awful puns as the sophomore-suckup encourages. The bell rings and I'm the first one out of the classroom and by some coincidence, I see the same boy from yesterday and I make eye contact with him. He sees me and starts walking my way.
   
"Hey, are you okay? I'm really really sorry about yesterday..." He says, scratching the back of his neck, his face red as he recalls our previous collision.
   
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks... Sorry, I forgot your name, I know you're in my algebra class but I'm not too great with names," I tell him. I feel a little bad because I have this uninterested kind of voice when it comes to people I don't know.
   
"It's cool, I'm Ryan," he says with a smile.
   
"Leila," I tell him, smiling back and holding out my hand. As he takes it, I see his face turn slightly pink.

"So where are you going?" He asks me. I'm not sure how to respond, I never really talk to anyone outside of band kids because, you know...

Band kids are introverts.

"I'm going to symphonic band, what about you?" I reply after a bit of a pause.

"I've got forensics," he tells me with a smile. "You're in band?"

"Last two years," I reply with a nod and an awkward smile. I'm a little puzzled as to why he is still talking to me, he doesn't know me at all and our first interaction was him tackling me so, maybe he feels bad.

"Nice," he says with genuine interest. "Listen, I have to get going but I wanted to ask you something?" I look at him skeptically, wondering what he could possibly have to ask me. He has only known me for about five minutes in total.