He & She

It was cloudy, the way that she loved. Though she liked sunny days and blue skies and cumulus clouds, there was just something about the way that gray skies looked that mesmerized her. The way that the charcoal-colored clouds stood out against the light gray background that the sky provided, threatening to release what some despise, threatening to rain down all the water it had stored up over time. She never understood why most people look up at storm clouds with frowns on their faces. She’d always gaze at the beauty of them, at the beauty that no one else seemed to see.

It wasn’t stormy today however, just slightly overcast.

The two of them had gone to the park and found a quiet spot and talked together for hours.

Some people get sick of simply talking with someone else for hours on end, but they never did. They could talk together forever and not even realize it. When it was just the two of them talking, it was like nothing and no one else existed. And it didn’t matter what they were talking about—friends, family, school… As long as they were together, nothing else really mattered. It didn’t even matter if they talked at all. Sometimes, they could just sit together and read and not say a word. They loved that about each other.

So far, they had eaten lunch, quietly read, and talked a lot together. They had just been laughing about something that one of their friends posted a few days prior, when he said, “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” she replied.

“Well, we’ve known each other since we were fifteen…” He looked nervous. “And I’m glad I was your first kiss, but… I also want to be your last.”

The song “Last First Kiss” by One Direction came to her mind. “What?” she said, confused.

He paused, unsure of how to say this. “You are so kind and fun and caring and so incredibly beautiful.”

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to retort, but he smiled and cut her off.

“Don’t argue. I know you don’t think so, but you are. You’re literally the definition of beauty. Every time I see you, you take my breath away. And yet, you give me life.”

She felt her cheeks redden. She smiled and shook her head. He always seemed to know just how to make her blush.

“You’re my weakness and my strength. My greatest distraction and my strongest motivation. You are my everything, and without you, I would be nothing.” He then hesitated, not because he didn’t know exactly how he felt, but because he wasn’t sure how she would respond. “I love you.”

She inhaled sharply as he said it.

He took a deep breath before continuing. “Will you—”

She interrupted him before he could ask the words that would change her life forever. “Don’t. Just don’t.” She quickly turned with tears in her eyes, about to walk away, but he reached for her hand and spun her back towards him.

“Why are you acting this way?”

She replied, “I think you’re just confused.”

He sighed. “I’m not. I meant what I said. I really do love you. But based on the way you’re acting, it’s obvious you don’t feel the same way…”

She quickly responded, “No, it’s not that at all, it’s just—” She sighed as a tear slid down her cheek. “I’m sorry… I don’t think we should see each other anymore…” Another tear fell.

His hands fell limply at his sides. He looked hurt. “W—Why?”

“It’s not because I don’t feel the same way.” She paused.

“Okay…”

“It’s because I do.”

“I—” He paused as the reality of what she said sunk in. “Wait, you—”

“Yes… I love you too.”

A smile showed up on his lips, and then vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “So then, how come you said—”

A raindrop fell on his arm. And another on her dress.

“I just—” She sighed and looked away.

“Hey,” he said as he gently moved her face back towards him. “You can tell me anything, you know.”

It was raining softly now. Their clothes were starting to get wet.

He looked at the rain falling around them. “Good thing I decided not to wear my suede shoes,” he said.

She ignored his attempt to lighten the mood. “Look, the thing is… I don’t want to get hurt again.” She paused before continuing. “And I don’t want you to have to deal with someone like me, someone hurt. Someone broken. You should be with someone perfect… someone more—complete…”

He rolled his eyes, and then said, “You are complete. In fact, I think the broken pieces of you are what make you complete. I don’t think we were meant to be some perfect version of ourselves. Maybe… maybe being ‘perfect’ is not really about being ‘flawless.’ Maybe it just means that we are who we are, and that we’ve accepted it.”

She never understood how he could be so poetic and philosophical sometimes. And also so romantic.

“Look, you may be broken, but you are perfect. Every bit of you. See, when I said ‘I love you,’ I didn’t mean that I only love part of you or most of you. I didn’t mean that I only love the flawless things about you. I didn’t mean that I only love the pieces of you that are intact or ‘complete,’ ” he said using air-quotes. “I love all of you. Everything about you. Everything that makes you who you are. Including the broken pieces inside you.” He smiled. “If I had a choice between you or someone unbroken or flawless, I would choose you. Every time.”

She smiled. “So… you had a question for me?”

He had been thinking about saying this for a few weeks now, maybe even months. But now he was certain.

“When we first met seven years ago, my life began, and I want the rest of it to be spent with you. I want to be your ‘forever.’ Will you marry me?”

Her jaw dropped. Then, after a few seconds of shock, she smiled slightly and gave him a reply. And her answer to his life-changing question may not have been the best answer or the wisest answer or the most romantic answer. But it was honest and real, and it was what she always knew in her heart that she would end up saying.