Loving Someone

A Different Realization_4

Meg put all her books into her locker, and then slammed it shut. She was about to walk away when she saw Ryan coming in her direction. Unconsciously, Meg prepared herself for the tingling sensation that always overcame her in Ryan's presence.

A heartbeat later, nothing happened. She was so shocked that she did not respond to Ryan's greeting.

"Meg, are you okay?" Ryan asked, when Meg looked shell-shocked.

Blinking her confusion away rapidly, she looked into Ryan's worried face. "Oh, I'm alright. I... uh... I just got something on my mind."

Smiling, he said, "You had me there for a moment. I saw the pictures you guys took yesterday."

"Pictures?"

"Yeah, the ones you took with David. They were fabulous."

Meg's stomach made a somersault. She didn't wonder at what truly made her feel that way, just relieved to finally have some sensation again. "Actually, I haven't seen the finished product yet."

"Oh." A thought seemed to cross his mind, "You can find David at the big tree by the office building. Go look for him, he has the pictures with him."

Without another word, he walked off.

Feeling slightly disappointed, she went to look for David. Meg was feeling disoriented by her weird behavior.

When she saw David reclining against the tree, she stopped dead in her tracks. All of a sudden, she felt warm all over.

What the heck, she thought. She was starting to lose control over her own body's reaction. All these made absolutely no sense.

Shaking her head to clear it, she approached David.

"Hey."

David looked only mildly surprised to see her standing there, but he did glance away from her, rather sheepishly.

Without waiting for any greeting from him, Meg sat down on the ground beside him. "Ryan said that you have the developed pictures. May I see?"

David handed her a thick envelope without a word. While Meg was looking over the pictures, David's gaze scrutinized her silently.

Meg was impressed by the pictures, which were another testament to David's skill. As she was indulging herself with the pictures, she came across one of her sitting on the bleachers. Surprised, she looked back at David with a question in her eyes. When she saw that David had been watching her all this while, a blush stole across her face.

Unflustered at being caught watching her, David gestured toward the picture of her with a hand. "I was just testing the amount of light."

Looking back at the picture, she failed to quench an unreasonable feeling of disappointment. "Oh." Of course it was just a test, what was she thinking? she silently scolded herself.

Before he could stop himself, he asked the question that had always been on his mind. "Why Ryan?"

Meg blinked once, then turned her head to look at David. She must have heard him incorrectly. "Pardon?"

Patiently, he rephrased his question, "What is it about Ryan that made you so faithful to him for so long? Four years. Nothing had happened, what made you wait for him?"

It was a question Meg herself had contemplated many times. She had the answer ready, "He was the first to have noticed me."

David's frown deepened.

Chuckling softly, she explained, "I am not indifferent to the attention I got from other guys. The reason I prefer to evade them and chose to wait for Ryan's acceptance was because Ryan knew of my existence before I shone." Meg exhaled a heartfelt sigh. "He was the one who knew me for who I am before I saw it for myself. But so far, I'm afraid it had been one sided."

"Is it love, or gratitude?"

Annoyed, Meg said, "What is it to you anyway?"

David shrugged, and closed his eyes instead.

Feeling her hackles raised, Meg cried, "Don't you dare pretend to sleep! You can't just make a statement like that and not explain yourself!"

He gave out a few fake snores as a response to her instead.

Unable to help herself, she laughed softly at his insolence. It's not that she was truly mad by his question, it was that she was no longer sure anymore. Before yesterday, she would answer confidently that of course it's love. But now, she didn't know anymore. She wondered why.

Looking at David's relaxed form, she thought she knew the answer. Her eyes strayed to his lips, and thought back to the smile she saw yesterday. So, he really was capable of smiling. And what a smile it was.

Even relaxing, a frown marred his forehead. She knew the frown could be erased, knew that it's not really a permanent mark.

Quietly, she reached out a hand, and placed her thumb on his forehead.

Instantly, David's eyes flew open. "What do you think you're doing?"

With eyes narrowed in concentration, she shushed at him. She rotated her thumb gently on his forehead, smoothing his frown away. "Don't you tense up now."

"Wha-" He kept quiet immediately when he saw the enraptured expression on her face. Suddenly, he had a thought. He now knew when she was most beautiful. Meg was most beautiful when looking at him.

Satisfied, she leaned back to view her own handiwork. "There! Your frown is now gone!" Inspecting his face, she observed that he was really a good looking guy without the angry look. Smiling, she said, "Now all the girls will certainly chase after you."

Softly, he asked, "Will you be one of them?"

Startled, she quickly got to her feet. She smiled as though he had just told a very funny joke, "Of course not. I will only chase after Ryan."

His frown came back to his face. "Of course."