Cursed crushes

“Oh c’mon your love life wasn’t even half as bad as mine was in school. Nate would agree to that.” Grace stated while she took another sip of champagne and looked towards Nate.

A round table with three glasses of drinks kept in front of three friends, it was a small reunion of old school friends. All three of them were in hometown after many years and they all wanted to catch up on new stuff and relive their teenage years once again together.

“Yeah…I could say that too” Nate said in his calm voice.

“Yours was a little better than mine.” he added after a second. To that both girls looked at him with a mischievous smirk on their faces.

“Ok fine.” Nate gave up trying to look cool in front of them. They both knew him too well for even trying.

“I didn’t have any love life back then.” he finally said. With that both girls shared a laugh. Nate simply sat there with an invisible pout on his face.

“Well that’s not entirely true! Did you forget about that girl you took to the prom?” Grace teased him again. Nate Camfield was a sweet guy, and a basketball player in his teen years. He had all the ingredients of a guy to kill for, but there’s one quality with which he manages to throw of every single girl who comes near him far away, and that is his overly shy nature. The only girls he could talk to freely were the two sitting with him right now.

“What did we decide Grace?” June said while blushing a little yet maintaining a firm look on her face. Nate took June to the prom as both of them were practically dateless, and Nate seemed rather desperate so June had to say yes after teasing him a bit. Since then Grace got a reason to pull his leg every now and then.

“…that we will not tease Nate. Ok I won’t. So anyway, what i was saying was that you have had the biggest line of crushes among the two of us in high school.” Grace said in her oh so right tone. As much as June wanted to rebel against this totally exaggerated statement, she restrained herself with just a simple no.

“Oh so you need a little flash back? Let’s start shall we?” Grace commented as she and Nate shared a mischievous smile. Grace Scott, a beautiful girl, had this cute yet sometimes annoying habit of always teasing her friends with one or the other thing. She teased and pulled leg most of the times yet she was the most rational and practical girl of this small group, unlike June McCray, who was more of a day dreamer. Where June trusted anyone and everyone, Grace had this ability to judge and decide who is a right person and whose not. Although both the girls had a good heart and were genuinely nice girls, June’s naive nature made her a sweet person to everyone, even to those who didn’t deserve her good natured friendship. Grace on the other hand was a bit on the infamous side for her suspicions and practical thinking, which often made her rude.

“Nathan” Grace said.

“Oh Nathan…yeah….that was a nice time.” June replied, as she found herself drifting in the old memories of how Nathan always made her heart skip a beat.

June was 17 and school had just begun after summer vacations when Nathan started talking to June. This was it, he was talking to her all the time, there was absolutely no reason why she shouldn’t be falling for him other than Grace’s continuous warnings, which of course didn’t seem to bother Junes little heart which was hearing the wedding rings already. He was the one, for sure, love of her life.

“I have something to tell you…” he said.

“Hmm?” she waited for him to say. Her heart had already anticipated it. She had dreamed of this moment for so many times that she almost knows how to react when he would say it, finally he was telling her how much he adores her and that it is not possible to stay without saying it out loud how much he loves her. Thinking all this was only making her face flush red as she quietly waited for him to quickly propose her, finally.

“I don’t know how you’d react to it though” he said, and was it just June or there was nervousness on his face? What more proof is required that he indeed was proposing to her. He was nervous and was wondering how she would react. Does he not know that she would most definitely say a yes? Does he not know that she has a crush on him since like ever? He probably doesn’t.

“Go on.” she managed to say controlling that urge of saying I love you too right away.

” oh c’mon just spill it out will ya” she said, restlessness clearly making its way right through.

“So here’s the thing, I think… No I know…. I love a girl.” he said finally.

” awww… Who is she?” she asked, silly question really, obviously he is talking about her, but a girl has to act a little to get the magic of the moment going. After all, it would be an exquisite moment when he says, it’s you my love.

“Samantha” he said with a ridiculously childlike enthusiasm. Did he just say Samantha? Did he mean that Samantha who is June? How can it be someone else, it should be her.

“Oh really? Wow thats great…totally great” She said, that’s how it probably feels when someone flushes your heart down the toilet. This is the end; no more stupid crushes and no more falling hopelessly in love, ever again.

“That really went quite…. Well..” She said to both Grace and Nate, who were busy discussing how annoying Nathan really was. June took a big sip of the drink to wipe out the remnants of her failed crush.

“oh oh and do you remember that fella…what was his name… Duke… Puke…” Nate reminded them.

“Luke. Luke was the name” June corrected him in a slight annoyed voice.

“And he was awesome” she said before she could feel herself right back in that hallway of the school.

Luke Gilbert, the one and the only, the love of June’s life. It had only been 4 days that she had got a friend request from her crush since a very long time, Luke, and the romantic fantasies have found their way back to June’s heart. Nathan sure broke her heart a month ago but Luke was different, she could almost see love in his eyes for her, totally and exclusively for her. No one can stop her from becoming future Mrs. Gilbert now. All she has got to do is wait for the proposal, well how long would it take really.

“Hey cupcake” Luke said as they both stood near the lockers in the hallway. Cupcake, how cutely he calls her that, giving someone nick names is a full proof that they love the other person. A perfect hubby luke would be.

“wassup lukiedoo” she replied.

“I have got a date with a junior girl” He told her. There must be some mistake; he can’t go on a date with a junior. Can he?

“Aren’t you happy to hear it sis?” he asked as he saw a puzzled look on her face. Did he just call her sis? Is that another term for future wife? Sis? Really?

“I am I am…. It’s a totally eeep thing!” she told him.

“Absolutely great!” she added trying to sound as enthusiastic as she possibly could. There, heart flushed, again.

June had to shake her head a little to make that memory go away.

“And that Jeremy?” Grace commented.

“Ok fine! Let’s stop remembering my lovely crushes please.” June finally said as she didn’t even want to go to the flashback of how Jeremy flushed her heart down again.

“Cheers to June and her crushes” Nate said as they all rose a toast to June and her never ending crushes.

“June a girl of cursed crushes” June sighed, and got looks from both of them.

“No really I think I am cursed” She added.

“aww… No honey you are not cursed. Just stupid.” Grace said in a matter of factly tone.

” and orthodox” Nate added. Both girls looked at him in puzzlement.

“What?” he said and found the look again.

“She didn’t even let me kiss her on prom night” he said in an innocent tone. June laughed and punched him as they continued talking. Old memories had opened up a vault of nostalgia for June. She could feel herself slowly drifting away to all those silly yet memorable crushes she had while she was in school. That feeling of being in love and the heart breaks, there is nothing even remotely comparable to those feelings. As much as those teenage years have taught June, they have also made her live inside a shell.

It had been a month since she had a journey down the memory lane of her teenage years. Aiden has been trying to gather up the courage for a few months now to tell her his feelings. Every now and then he would throw hints also, but June has locked that section of her mind and threw away the key far away to understand. It’s now time to actually tell her on face, once and for all, then whatever happens just happens. Aiden is restless to get it done with, how long can he hide his feelings after all. Ever since they both have started working in the same office, he had felt a connection with her. They became friends also, but somehow June seems to be holding herself back, is it because she is not interested in Aiden, is it because someone else?

“You are coming out with me tonight.” Aiden declared as he passed her desk.

“No way” June replied.

“8 o’clock. Be ready ill pick you up.”

“Yeah in your dream.” To that he just went away with a smile on his face. June wasn’t holding herself back because there was anyone else, in fact there was no one and she had lost any hope of there ever being any one for that matter. She has had enough of heart breaks in her teenage life, heart breaks that came from false hopes. Now she has politely accepted the fact that when she might think someone might be interested in her, she is absolutely without a doubt being mistaken. So whenever Aiden tries to flirt with her, she knows it’s not because he might like her or something, it’s just because he sees her as a friend or worse as a sister who he can, when the time comes, lay the secret of who he is actually falling for in front of.

At sharp 8 o’clock someone rang June’s door bell. She wrapped her shawl around as she went to open the door.

“You? Really” she said with an exhaustively annoyed expression.

“yes me.”

“Why are you here?”

“I told you to be ready. I give you five minutes”

“You are out of your mind. I am not going anywhere with you.” She had just said this and Aiden picked her up in his arms and walked out the door towards his car after he closed the door behind them.

“You are so dead! Put me down” June tried to kick Aiden and get herself out of his grip, but Aiden was determined. Her feeble attempts were only amusing him. He made her sit in the car and started driving. He kept driving without saying a word while June went on and on about how she can actually file a complaint against him for such indecent behavior, how this is no way of acting in front of a lady, how he doesn’t have any manners and she went on and on till Aiden stopped driving and opened her door.

“What the hell are you trying to do” She said

“Will you just shut up for some time?” He replied as he held her hand tightly and made her walk down a small aisle. As she stopped talking she realized what a beautiful place it was. They were standing on a small deck of wood which was right above the sea. Moonlight was making the water glitter and stars were adding a charm to the tranquility. She looked towards Aiden in puzzlement.

“I have something very important to tell you.” He said, his eyes intently looking in hers.

“What?”

“I have wanted to tell this for some time now and you never give me a chance to tell so that’s why here I go” With that those old feelings of anxiety were trying to make their way back in the pit of her stomach but she knew it too well to know it’s too good to be real.

“You have fallen for someone.” She said rolling her eyes.

“Yeah… yes…”

“And she’s gorgeous; she’s smart she’s everything you have always dreamt of…”

“Exactly”

“And you can’t wait to go out with her”

“You know it?”

“Yeah I do”

“So… what do you think…? Do you also…?”

“What do I think? I think instead of telling me you should tell her.”

“Her? Who?”

“The girl! What who”

“But you are the girl” Aiden said all puzzled up.

“What?” June said all confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“I am saying that you are the girl! I love you.”

“ME? Like me me? That me who is actually me?” June asked, just to be sure.

“Yeah!”

“Like really? I mean let’s be clear! You love me?” She once again tried to clear the confusion.

“I do!” And with that, without waiting for her answer, he held her in his arms.

“I can’t believe it.” She nervously said.

“Have you always been this teenish?” He said with a smiling face as he placed a kiss on her lips, showing just how much he loves her. She kissed him back telling him that she too feels the same.

“I have always been a teen.” She pulled back to reply and hugged him with a content smile on her face. Finally, they both thought.

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