tim-beautiful I felt my heart grow dense and thud expeditiously as I beckoned closer with each step. Coming upon the broadly shaped doors, that indescribable aroma crept over my nose, overwhelming my senses. My women's instinct told me that he was in there, beyond the doors, kindly and casually greeting every person that entered the store. So I paced myself, hands shaking and butterflies in my stomach. Moreover, a joyously gut- churning feeling that I remembered feeling just yesterday, When I saw him last. Impassively, I turned. Making my way through those gigantic doors, or what looked like the dreary gate I had seen in Steven King's, "Pet Cemetery". It didn't phase me for a second. For as soon as I set foot within his boundaries, out of the corner of my eye, I caught him sprinting vivaciously to where I stood. "Hey, what's up?" He questioned in a rather light-hearted voice. I looked at the floor below me, smiling with such inadequacy, thinking of how I had no idea what to say. "Okay." I responded in a skeptical tone. "What's up with you?" And as he babbled on about his morning and whatnot, I shook my head as if I was listening attentively. My eyes glazed on him, noticing every diminutive feature. His hair tucked so firmly under a dingy red baseball cap, the swishing sound of his silvery Caffeine brand attire, and the lost, but beautiful expression he had on his face. I observed him wander around aimlessly. I watched his root-clustered, bleach- blonde locks fall into his enigmatic light brown eyes, as he'd continuously remove the hat from his head. I tried to concentrate, but could do no more than run the rim of my left Converse shoe across the rigid, black vinyl flooring. I attempted an innocent laugh or two at his tedious actions. Maybe a few of my valley girl giggles were real. Watching him carry on as he played with bracelets, an air freshener, and a baby doll key chain had to cause me to laugh a little. And as he noticed that I meant to laugh, he playfully tackled me onto the floor. And at that moment, as I lay sprawled on the ground, he looked down at me. His overbearing smirk glistened as we both resiliently laughed. Looking up I realized the lack of genuineness in his horseplay. I grew skeptical and could only presume that I may had well been just another notch in his 'Look at me I'm a handsome salesclerk and all the girls love me' belt. And in that moment I felt as though my skin had grown a thick layer of ice; hands driven at my side with fists clenched so tight that I could barely stand it. I could hear my molars grinding against each other as he continued to buoyantly skitter about my presence. I removed myself from the floor, dusting the dirt off of my day old jeans. He stepped forward. I raised my knuckles waiting for the right moment to arise. I felt the animosity growing in my chest as his face became clearer, then closer, then as the sky of the fluorescent lights grew dimmer I felt a soft piercing pain on my cheek. I blundered in retrograde, grabbing my face with such haste. My evil eye stared him down, I was motionless with a hateful delight. I turned and walked away, vowing so disgustedly to never have a crush again. I never question that motive, and to this day I believe what it all comes down to is that I was being thirteen. *back*