Paper Hearts

THERE COMES A moment in your life when everything falls into place. All of your problems and the disorder of your life seem to come to a halt; suspended in the air by an inexplicable supernatural power. Everything that seemed so important one day becomes completely irrelevant the next.

The gears of the world change with us and sometimes we are so unprepared that we plummet onto the ground that lies beneath our feet.

Everyone has a different Moment. And my Moment hit me like a flying saucer. I wasn't searching for anything or for anyone, but he came to me, like the sole light in the darkest of caverns (as cheesy as that sounds).

My Moment was Sebastian Thomas. The funny thing about Moments is that they never last.

*

"Welcome to McDonald's, how may I help you?"

Those were the first words I muttered every Saturday morning. While my parents and younger sister were given the great privilege to sleep in, I awoke with the golden, rising sun. I wish that I could say that I was that person in the commercials, who woke up with a smile on their porcelain face and waltzed around the room and sang in the shower with a poetic, melodic voice. Instead, I was gifted with a certain placid expression, bad morning breath, and the voice of a goat with strep throat.

It wasn't waking up that bothered me the most. It was waking up and having to greet people with a fake, plastered smile on my face. By the end of my six hour shift, my face was raw and it hurt to even frown about my day.

Large shackles of exhaustion wrapped themselves around my ankles as I ambled to the women's locker room, anticipating stripping off my grease encrusted uniform. My head throbbed from the intoxicating scent of oil and diabetes. My stomach rumbled, begging me to ease the ache.

After I had changed into a pair of jean shorts and a plaid shirt, my stomach was eating me from the inside out. The door sang a jingle as I exited into the streets of Arden, Delaware.

"Hey! Kellie!" a voice called out from behind me. I turned and saw Aidan Moore. He was tall, lean, and not as beautiful as Bradley Cooper. But, he was pretty damn close.

"Hey," I croaked, my fingers attempting to unlock my blue Dixie bike. "What's up?"

Aidan was still wearing his McDonald's cap, which was tilted to the left. I wanted to reach forward and fix it for him, but my fingers remained coiled over the handlebars of my bike.

Aidan smiled his crooked smile. "Not much. I was just curious..." he trailed off, looking at the concrete. Was he blushing?

I took a step forward. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering if you were going to Beezer's party tonight?" he lifted his brown eyes to mine and I could feel my palms grow clammy.

I tried to act cool, "I don't know. I wasn't really planning on it. Maybe."

"Cool." He half-smiled.

"Cool," I said.

"So, I'll see you there, maybe?" his face grew three shades darker.

"Yes, Aidan," I said after a moment, "I'll see you there."

His smile was easy. "Good. Okay. Alright, then. I'll see you tonight." With a couple stuttered steps, he fumbled his way back into McDonald's, the door falling softly behind him.

As soon as he was gone, my weight fell onto my bike. Aidan. Freaking. Moore. He was one of the kindest boys at Arden High, confident and ostentatious. Always smiling and encouraging everyone around him. The only reason I got the job at McDonald's was because I stumbled upon the fact that Aidan worked there as well. The money was simply a plus. Some could call me a stalker, but my obsession with Aidan was mutual.