A Brief Encounter
He walked towards me. His long blonde hair hung over his face and bounced as he moved. There was something in the way he walked; something that caused my heart to catch in my chest. Maybe it was the way he seemed to glide- carelessly yet graceful, and strangely overpowering. It was a feature that made the world around him seem small and insignificant. A world I dwelled in and longed to escape.
It had only been recently that he had caught my eye, but when he did I was consumed. There was something about the tall boy that drew me in. I was intrigued by the fact that one person could make me feel so small. Small enough to be held- small enough to be loved.
We stood now, in a poorly lit hallway, both on different paths to different destinations. But for one minute, each day, our paths seemed to cross and we shared them walking next to one another. It was the time of the day that I longed for. For that short interaction was the fuel for my day; the motivation to continue.
As he came closer to me now, my heart raced. I kept my eyes trained on the floor, afraid he would notice me, but, also afraid he wouldn’t. It was too perfect to dwell in my imagination. A place where my feelings couldn’t be hurt. A dream land where him and I wasn’t such a strange idea. We belonged together there. The idea of us was safe in my mind. The real world could be so cruel, as I had learned in the past. I had always had strong emotions and in my moments of weakness I would act on them, causing more pain then not.
With him here now, I felt at ease. A way I had never felt with the other boys I had loved. There was something different about the atmosphere in the hallway. The lights didn’t seem so dim when he was near; and the hallway, crowded with fellow students, didn’t seem so lonely.
Part of me longed to know the real him. I had fabricated who he was in my mind, but there was validity in actually knowing him.
Carefully and cautiously, I raised my head to him, knowing my time was limited until our paths would soon disconnect again. If I wanted to know him I would have to start somewhere and a fleeting glance seemed like a good place to start.
My eyes started scanning him, savoring every detail they could as they went. His jeans were light blue, splashed with a royal blue shiny paint. They hung on him, but still silhouetted his muscled legs perfectly. He wore a dark t-shirt adorned with a pale white skull. The shirt was large and heavy on him, it seemed to waive with each step he took. It gave him no shape. That was until I saw his collar bones peak out from beneath it. They were sharp and chiseled like statues of Greek gods. Was he hiding beneath his large clothes?
I came to his face now. His jaw was squared and came to a point at his chin. It too was chiseled a made him look athletic.
My pulse quickened as I prepared myself. I was going to do it this time; I would look into his eyes. I took a deep breath and raised them to meet his. My glance was welcomed by his and for a brief moment we connected. His eyes fell on me and I could have gotten lost in them. They were a sea of blues and greens and the light caught off of them revealing their gold flecks.
I smiled, feeling my face flame, and saw him return a quick grin. Was my mind just playing tricks on me? Did he actually smile back at me? His head then turned to the ground as he passed leaving me behind him.
I let out a big breath, my body seemed to jitter. This felt right or at least the start of something right. I continued walking down the hallway, praying that one day our paths would line up for more than a brief encounter.
