One Week Older: Turning Pages

Little Problems

* Jayson Daniel Daralus *

Walking down the sidewalk, a grin plastered about my face, I saw Jay's feet as they swung from a branch on our tree.

"Jayson Daniel Daralus, you couldn't go one day without me," I asked jokingly as I leaned against the tree, a smirk plastered on my face.

He laughed at me as I climbed up the tree and sat beside him, our bodies adjacent. He looked me up and down and sighed as he encased his body to mine, giving me a vast warmth that raced to shelter me. I melted in his embrace, immersing myself in my best friend, remembering our last hug and taking in his love.

Our bodies still connected, he whispered in my ear, "Are you okay," causing me to shutter from the warmth flowing in my ear, I blushed at my reaction saying, "It's better now," and deepened my head into his shoulder.

He pulled away from me and looked in my eyes, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear before telling me to divulge the truths of my day. Before I could answer him, he detected tears on my face that emerged from my leaking eyes. Our faces inches apart he wiped the tears from my face as I broke down in front of him; the only words I was able to withdraw were, "My dad."

My head was buried in Jay's chest as he ran his fingers through my long brown hair, listening to me frantically weep tears of disappointment and sorrow. Ten minutes went by and he was there for me, giving me no judgment in the least. He did not pressure me to say another word, but I needed to. I pulled myself away from him and put my broken pieces back together before I broadcasted my innermost truths to him.

I released my manifested feelings as I painted the picture of the tale my father told me on the branch neighboring this one to Jay. I did not secede one element from the narrative; I trusted Jay with every painful detail of the war inside my home to which he replied, "Day, I'm so sorry."

As he wiped the tears forming in my eyes, I told him, "Do not worry, I will be okay, even though I am not sure if I will be, but I will try to be. Or get better at pretending. Let's talk about you. How was your day?" I asked as he put his arm around my shoulder, holding me.

"Liv and I got into a fight today, we argued. She just gets pissed at me and will not tell me why. I have a few guesses, but a finite answer would be nice to receive. My little problems are absolutely nothing compared to yours though."

He told me a little bit more about how his girlfriend Olivia and he got into a verbal confrontation today but, didn't want to discuss full details, at least not now anyway. Jay and Olivia – wow, their names even sound well together – have been dating for about three weeks and uh... she's a character.

Olivia moved here two years ago and has made quite a reputation for herself in the meantime. Jay swept her off her feet after a bad break up, I guess. He doesn't talk to me about her much, he has not talked to me very much period since they have been together. She hasn't always been the nicest girl to me, but I can understand if she's jealous.

Jay and I sat and talked for hours about anything that came to mind and I indulged in his company, laughing and smiling like I always do in his presence.

"You missed it. In third block today, they clowned Mr. Benowitz. Every time he tried to say anything, this dude in class would repeat it. If he wrote something on the board, they would be like, I can't see it. So, he would write it and then erase it to appease them. I know you hate it when people disrespect teachers, but it was funny. I wish you would have been there. I missed seeing you all day."

I looked over at him and took notice to his attractive almond skin, freckles that took place beside his delicate nose, light brown hair that fell perfectly onto his forehead, and his securing hazel eyes that have the power to take me to distant universes, intriguing me.

However, since he has received his license, he obtained new-found confidence. Of course, remembering how insecure he has been in the past, this new development made me proud, but I detest that he has been ignoring me in pursuit of more lively peers as a result, aka Olivia.

I have known him since we meet at the playground at age five, friendship at first sight, some might say. I can honestly say that he's only gotten more handsome with age but if you told him he wouldn't accept it out of pride or disbelief. My pride in him was abundant but I didn't like him ignoring me because of it, but today those feelings blew away in the evening breeze. I had my best friend back and I wasn't letting him go.

"You know it's rude to stare," he declared to me in a sarcastic manner, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Laughing back, I replied jokingly, "Well stop being so nice to look at."

I saw his cheeks flush red as he turned to look straight ahead, avoiding my eyes. His reaction confused me at first but then I grasped the fact that I just called him attractive and he felt uncomfortable.

Feeling my nerves take over me, I couldn't help but feel emotional but that went away when I felt him turn my head towards him and place his hand on my cheek. Our faces were closer than ever before, and I could feel my lips gravitate towards his, wanting to close the gap between us. At that moment I finally became aware that I might love Jay as more than a friend and that scared me, I didn't know what to do.

Sharply, I turned my head away, realizing that if anything happened between us our relationship would forever change, and I wasn't ready for that. A million thoughts traveled through my mind at that moment. He has a girlfriend and he just tried to kiss me and I'm not mad at him. Was something wrong with me? What was he thinking? No matter how I feel about him or Olivia, there was no way I could ever conspire in this. As we came face to face again, and both our cheeks were stop-sign red and I didn't know how to handle myself.

Not knowing what to say I felt my stomach growl and I had never been so lucky. I was supposed to prepare dinner and of course, Jay wanted to taste the grandiose five-course meal my family was going to be graced with eating tonight. Jay helped me climb down the tree, giving us another awkward moment to joke about. Hand in hand we walked back to my house quietly, while I thought back on my decision.

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