Fireworks

            I dreamed of my first kiss since I was a little girl. Princess movies and love stories helped me fantasize the perfect kiss. At first, I wanted to have my first kiss under the moonlight during a picnic date. I had everything planned, from the type of sandwiches we would eat to which way our heads would be tilted. I imagined fireworks going off in my head as my knee would bend backward.

            After my fantasy to have my first kiss under the moonlight, I imagined something a little more realistic. I saw my first kiss in the high school parking lot in front of his car, in front of all his friends to see. There were still fireworks and my leg bending upwards. It was the perfect time for a first kiss. It was romantic and so much more.

            I met Brandon in health class. I don’t think I’ve met anyone like him before in my life. She was sweet and funny, adorable and handsome. He reminded me a little of Nolan Funk, with his lightly colored hair and his facial features. He even had a mole above his mouth. Brandon was my celebrity crush in a non-famous form. He made it very difficult for me to hide my affection for him. He knew exactly how to get a reaction out of me.

            “Hey, want to work together on this book assignment?” He touched my arm.

            I looked up and bit my tongue. “Thank you for the offer but I think I’m going to work on this alone.” I said.

            “Come on. It’ll make this go by a lot faster.” He moved his thumb in circles on my arm.

            I gave in and we worked together for the first time and out relationship started to bloom. We saw each other in secret; it wasn’t something we could celebrate in public because of his friends. Let me just say, I wasn’t the most attractive or skinniest person in the school but I was the only one who didn’t care about what I looked like or what I wore. I think Brandon called it “down to earth.”  

            It was pretty tough watching him get invited all these parties I wasn’t invited to with some girl I didn’t know, knowing that I could never be the one to go with him. I made a quick decision and decided it was time to set him free. I couldn’t handle having some blonde bimbo hang all over him while I sit at home and hope that I still had a boyfriend.

            “Brandon, this really isn’t working anymore.” I confessed.

            “What are you talking about? Our relationship hasn’t been better until now.” He said.

            “This isn’t a relationship. This is a fling.”

            “A fling?”

            “Yes, a fling. We don’t go out in public for our dates and I’m tired of ordering take-out and watching movies I’ve already seen before. And, I don’t know how much longer I can watch you go to a party with another girl.” I said.            

            “Kaela, this isn’t a fling. If this were a fling, then I wouldn’t have the strong feelings for you that I do. This is love.” He took my hands.

            “I wouldn’t be in this much pain if this is love. If this is what love truly is, then I don’t want it.”

            I walked out of health and didn’t look back. It wasn’t worth the pain to stay with him when he obviously didn’t care about my feelings. I used to think that the one person I loved more than world itself would want to show me off and not keep me locked in my room like I’m some sort of a monster.

            I should’ve seen through how he treated me so nicely. I don’t know why I thought a relationship with him would work. We came from different worlds. We were like the Greasers and the Socs. I was a Greaser and he was a Soc. It would be better for the both of us if it stayed that way. Yet, he was so persistent in trying to make it work between us. I refused the entire time.

            It wasn’t until the Homecoming dance that he proved that the love he had for me was pure. “Please, will you go to the Homecoming dance with me?” He asked.

            “No.” I said.

            “Please attend the dance with me.”

            “No.”

            “Kaela, I know what I did was wrong but, please, let me make it up to you. You deserve it.” He said.

            “Well, I’m not going to the dance. Take Clover. Don’t you take her to all the other parties?” I accused. “Don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl.”

             He didn’t ask me again. He didn’t even talk to me, oh no, he just stared from afar. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when he showed up at my house the night of the Homecoming dance.

            “I really don’t understand why you’re here, Brandon. I told you I wasn’t going to the dance and it would be better if I didn’t go with you so you don’t lose your friends, and Clover can actually think she has a chance with—”

            He kissed me and it was unexpected yet wonderful. “Now that was worth the wait.”

            He planted a few tiny kisses on my lips and took my hands. “Brandon, this shouldn’t be happening.” I said.

            “Why can’t you just let us be in love? I’m trying really hard to make up for what I’ve done. I want to attend this dance with you. I want all my friends to meet the girl I’ve fallen deeply in love with.” He said.

            “Are you sure you’re willing to lose friends over this?”

            “If they can’t see why I fell in love with you, then they are no friend of mine.”

            I agreed to go to the dance with him. No one questioned why we were together and Clover didn’t come near us. We danced at all times and he didn’t let me dance with anyone but him. We snuck out of the dance when it was time to name king and queen.

            “Don’t you want to know if you won?” I asked.

            “And leave you? No.” He smiled.

            “I don’t want you to miss out on being king!”

            “Being with you, I already feel like a king.”

            “I love you, Brandon.” I said.

            “Not near as much as I love you.”

             He kissed me under the moonlight and fireworks were set off in my head. My leg bent behind me, making my kiss the best one I’ve ever had and more.