1 CHAPTER I: A DAY LIKE SUMMER

I was fourteen when I first fell in love. It was anticlimactic, to tell you the truth. None of those sparkling fireworks or freezing in time kind of moments. It was with my neighbor, who was four years older than me. Her name was Olivia. She was nice, and her family always went for dinner at our place. I confessed; my pimple ridden face contorting in what was supposed to be a cool smirk but instead turned out to be a forced grimace. She smiled, gently patted my head, and turned me down.

Five years later, I've transformed into a gangly teenage boy to a now slightly less gangly teenage boy at heart. My parents were still the same, my neighbors (Olivia's family still visit our house from time to time) and pretty much everything else remained the same. It's not like I dislike the fact, on the contrary, I find it quite enjoyable.

"Then we looked at each other and— are you even listening to me?" I turn my attention to Caleb, who looked dramatically offended. "You aren't paying attention to what I was saying in the first place, are you?"

"This is the fifth time you've told me about your date with Allison."

"So?"

"It happened yesterday."

"What? Can't a guy talk about his amazing date with his gorgeous girlfriend to his friend?" He leaned closer, one hand on the side of his mouth. "Be honest to me, are you secretly a traditionalist?"

I gave him a baffled look, "What? No, I'm not. What even is one?"

"An outdated conservative. The ones I've met were a real pain in the ass."

When I didn't respond, he swung an arm around my shoulder and squeezed it a little. "Maybe you should try to, I don't know, expand your horizons? We've been friends since elementary and I haven't seen you trying to make a move on anyone."

I open my mouth.

"Olivia doesn't count, you said it yourself that it was obvious that she wouldn't accept you in the first place."

I close it, defeated.

"If you're not interested, that's fine but at least try to socialize with other people. I'm not the only person you'll ever meet in your life, you know?"

"Yeah, but you're the only person that I need."

He rolled his eyes, already used to me bringing up cheesy pick-up lines to avoid this specific topic. Fortunately, before he could even retort, Allison joined in. Never have I been grateful for her to shut him up and into their own little world, effectively kicking me out of the conversation. That ability can be a blessing and a nightmare at the same time. They look good together, though I bet they would last for three to four months max (with his last girlfriend, they only lasted for two weeks).

My stomach growled. Perfect timing.

I muttered a goodbye to the couple beside me, though I doubt that they would even hear me, and strolled towards the nearest vending machine that I could find. The weather was hot, so I decided to buy a cool refreshment, probably milk. Once I've faced the familiar glass container filled with variety of snacks and drinks to indulge in, I realized that my right pocket felt emptier than usual.

And then it hit me. "Damn it, I forgot my wallet."

With a groan, I prepared to trudge back. Hopefully, I would make it in time to grab it without any distractions to prevent me from going. And by distractions, I mean Caleb pestering me to buy him a drink too. Allison will chime in too, and I have now turned into an unfortunate errand boy for my friend and my friend's girlfriend. And isn't that the best-case scenario ever? I could already imagine—

A tap on my shoulder.

I looked behind me and a milk bottle was thrown unexpectedly into my direction. I'm no spiderman, but thankfully my arms were cooperating right when I needed them to. Maybe I can audition, though the chances of Marvel suddenly contacting me to be the next Spiderman would be when the Earth will be upside down.

"Nice catch."

It was a girl, a few inches shorter than me, an amused smile on her face. Besides Caleb, I'm not one to memorize every face that I socialize with or familiarize myself with my classmates. So, it isn't much of a surprise to me when I didn't know her at all. But for the sake of my curiosity getting the best of me (mostly about why she threw a milk bottle at me without notice), I decided to respond.

"Nice throw."

"You aren't going to ask me why I gave you that drink?" She asked and I shrugged. The stranger rolled her eyes. "I saw you suffering, and I noticed that you were eyeing that drink oh-so longingly."

I raised an eyebrow, "Why would you do that?"

"Just because. Also, you looked cute."

The milk carton from my hands almost dropped. Almost.

Seemingly satisfied with my reaction, her lips raised to form that amused smile on her face that was slowly starting to get on my nerves. How can a girl be so… brazen? Dumbstruck, I watch her step forward. Only when my skin prickled because of an unfamiliar breath that I snapped back into my senses.

Oh, she was close. Too close for my comfort.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking at your face."

I hoped that she wouldn't notice my ears getting hotter by the second. "Thanks, captain obvious."

She didn't say anything as she took a step backward. After a long excruciating minute, she turned her back on me and started to walk away. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. Well, time to pretend that this interaction— if I should even call it that— existed. I prepared myself to go back to the couple, swearing to myself to never speak of this to anyone again.

"Oh, your ears looked cute too, by the way."

I whirled around. "What—"

Her lips stretched into that damned smile again, before finally walking away from me.

"Oh! There you are! I knew that this is where you'd be— hey, you alright?"

I blinked. Caleb and Allison were staring at me worriedly. I was too preoccupied by my thoughts that I didn't notice them. I could feel my ears getting red again in embarrassment. Was I really that out of it?

My name is Malcolm Alexander Hendrix, and I have never felt so perplexed in my entire eighteen years of living with just a few words, an annoying smile, and a milk bottle.

Great. Just great.