This boy I know

Back during the fall I was inspired to write this by some drama going on with some of my young'uns. It's kinda inspired by them and other stuff. By no means is it even loosely based on a true story, just some wanderings that were in my mind and wanted to escape.

There’s this boy I know, maybe you’ve noticed him too. He’s hard to miss because when he’s around, all those clichés in all those sappy love songs that kinda make you wanna throw up, they are suddenly a little less sickening. And the awful part is, they’re less nauseating because they’re real.

Seriously, when this boy’s around time stops ever so slightly, and this lump forms in your throat and your pulse races as you search for the perfect thing to say. And you don’t really know yourself anymore. It’s like you’re this pod person. You look like you. You sound like you, but these things are coming out of your mouth that just don’t make any sense. He kinda makes you trip over things: rocks, feet, words, whatever could lead to the most embarrassing situation for you at that given moment.

And the whole time you talk to him, if you can muster up the courage to walk up to him, you pray. You pray not to look too eager, too stupid, too clingy. You pray you’re hair’s just right, that there’s nothing horrible, leafy and green stuck on your front tooth. You pray he can’t hear your heart pounding so hard it might rip right through the shirt you decided to wear just because he told you once he liked it. But mostly you pray for him not to leave.

Leaving, that’s the hard part. Cause when he leaves, that’s when all the air leaves the room; that’s when your soul feels like a bunch of deflated balloons left behind after a birthday party. Watching him walk away from you is like opening your last Christmas present because everything you’ve looked forward to, dreamed about, and wished for is over.

And this boy, he has no idea. He has no idea that his smile can brighten your day. He has no idea that the way he jokes with his friends, drives his truck with one hand, or mindlessly sings some song under his breath is mesmerizing. There is just something about the way he knows and does things a boy is supposed to, like how to grip a football, fix a flat tire, or effortlessly back up a trailer without taking out a small forest.

There’s the way that, even though he tries really hard, he always ends up wearing something that isn’t quite right, and the way he smells, not his cologne, but him. And there’s the way he laughs big and loud, and gets so mad when someone does something he doesn’t think is right.

There is something about the way he looks at him mama like she’s the best woman on earth, and wants and respects his daddy’s opinion and advice above everyone else’s. There’s the way he “hates” his kid sister, but would come to blows with anyone who dared to do her wrong.

Then there’s this look on his face. You know the look, don’t you? The one where his eyes are filled with hurt and disbelief, but the rest of his face shoes nothing cause boys aren’t supposed to feel.

Did I mention there’s this boy I know? Maybe you’ve noticed him too, but then again, best friend, you are the one who put that look on his precious face.