writingonthewall713

[writingonthewall713]

A Book for every student

Books are one of the most important resources you can have in elementary school. They give you access to so many different adventures. I am raising money to buy new books for my classroom. As a first year teacher, I inherited some books but not enough to meet the needs of all my students. My students are reading between a first grade level and a fifth grade level. I want to make sure that every single student in my classroom has a book at their level to read. Please consider donating because every small bit helps. I love my students and I want to give them the best education possible. To do this, I need books at every student’s level. The money raised for this project will go to specific sets of books for all my students. Thank you so much!

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/a-book-for-every-student/2867065/?rf=page-siteshare-2017-10-ifproject-teacher_4901184&challengeid=21026384

[writingonthewall713]

Writing Prompt: What would you do if....

Hello everyone! November is only 16 days away, which means National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner! Here’s a prompt to warm yourself up before NaNoWriMo begins!

What would you do if you met @taylorswift? How would you react when you saw her? Would you scream? Cry? Laugh? What would you say to her?

[writingonthewall713]

National Novel Writing Month anyone?

Stay tuned for some @taylorswift themed NaNoWriMo word sprints/word crawls

[writingonthewall713]

Check out my story for All Too Well! 

Here’s the first story! (Italics are flashbacks)

All Too Well

I stumbled around my room, picking up the tipped picture frames. I needed to put away all of the reminders of my ex boyfriend. Two weeks earlier, my boyfriend of two years took me to the Boston University Bridge just to shatter my heart. I sank to the ground, dropping the frames on the floor with a clatter, and buried my head in my knees. I could still picture us on the bridge, looking over the river.

Nathan had texted me a few minutes before, asking me to go for a walk with him. I smiled at the text. It was autumn, my favorite time of year and he knew it. He knew I loved the color of the leaves and the crispness of the air. I met him in front of my building, just like we always did. When he saw me, he smiled but his face didn’t light up the way it usually did. Something wasn’t right. “Nathan, is something wrong?” I asked curiously. I wrapped my fingers around his. He said nothing. We walked in silence to the Boston University Bridge, our favorite place on campus. He stopped in the middle of the bridge, surprising me. I was getting worried now. “Please tell me what’s wrong. You know you can tell me anything.” I watched him take a deep breath.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he said calmly. I looked up at him, concerned.

“What do you mean?”

“This, us, I can’t do it,” he repeated. He took a step away from me.

“I don’t understand,” I stuttered. I ran a hand through my hair.

“I’m not feeling it anymore. I don’t love you anymore. I hope you understand,” he said. He took a step toward me and reached out as if to comfort me. I pushed him away. I didn’t understand. How could he just not love me anymore? What changed? Why wasn’t he feeling it? Was it something I did? My eyes started to well up. I brushed away the tears as quickly as possible. I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I tried to say something, anything to him but nothing came out. I was shocked. Nathan said nothing else, just turned away and fled. I stayed frozen in place on the bridge. I looked out on the water, trying to convince myself that it wasn’t true. Nathan hadn’t just broken my heart. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Excuse me? Are you okay?” a voice asked. I nodded, pulling myself out of my haze. Was I okay? I didn’t feel any pain, I wasn’t hurt. I was just numb. I stuffed my hands in my coat pockets and ran back to my dorm. It wasn’t until I collapsed on my bed did the pain come.

I wanted to hate him. I really did but I couldn’t. I wiped my tears on my sleeves and pulled a box out from underneath my bed. It was just a shoebox covered in light blue paper but it was my memory box. Inside were pictures, tickets, and other mementoes I had kept. On top was a receipt from Starbucks. I looked at the date. September 23, 2015. Our first date.

I ran a brush through my hair one last time and adjusted my bracelet. I was going on my first date with a guy who had become my best friend at college. I took a deep breath to try to calm the fluttering in my stomach. I wiped my slightly wet hands on my dark skinny jeans and took one last look in the mirror. I was wearing my favorite purple blouse. I had been waiting for this all week. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Deep breaths, I reminded myself as I opened the door. Nathan stood there in a dark blue plaid shirt and jeans. He looked incredibly attractive.

We were both strangely quiet walking. We had never been this awkward before but things were different now. I didn’t know what to say to him. How did we talk for hours as friends? Why couldn’t we get back to that? We walked to the Starbucks on the corner. When it was our turn, he stepped back. “Ladies first.” I smiled shyly and ordered my maple latte. It was my favorite autumn drink. He ordered and we found a table in the corner. “So…how about this weather?” he asked. I laughed.

“It’s my favorite season,” I told him. His eyes lit up. Finally, something to talk about. The conversation lasted for hours. I told him all about my obsession with the season, with the activities the season involved. He told me about his family, about having two older sisters and an older brother. He was the youngest. The conversation came naturally, like it had before when we were just friends. I rolled my eyes at the thought of the awkwardness we suffered through in the beginning.

We decided to take our drinks and go for a walk outside. I watched as the leaves swayed in the wind. They fell, like pieces into place. As he dropped me off at my dorm again, I looked at him and knew. This was the beginning of something magical.

  I could picture it after all these days. The feeling of the warm autumn air surrounding us. Suddenly, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The feelings were too much. What had happened? How had something so beautiful and pure fallen apart? I knew he was long gone. The magic just wasn’t there anymore. It was two weeks later and I thought I had been okay but looking at all the memories reminded me I wasn’t fine at all. I grabbed the first picture frame and studied it closely before tossing it in the box. It was a picture from winter break two years ago. I had just met his family for the first time.

The front door opened and I stepped through the door. It was Christmas time and the air was cold but something about it felt like home. I clung to Nathan’s arm, hoping that if I was close enough to him, maybe no one would notice me. With my friends, I was fine. I was lively and outgoing. With people I had never met before, especially my boyfriend’s family, I was timid and quiet. What if they hated me? What if I said the wrong thing? His mother met us in the entryway. “Come in,” she ushered us in. “Everyone is in the kitchen.” She brought us through the house. We circled around the room, greeting various aunts and uncles of his. I didn’t remember most of the names. They all asked variations of the same questions. My name, my major, my future career goals (I was only a freshman!), how we met, and how long we had been dating. Last but not least, he introduced me to his parents.

“Mom, this is Amelia, my girlfriend.” I smiled nervously.

“It’s so nice to meet you Mrs. Langford,” I said, reaching out to shake my hand. She ignored it and hugged me.

“It’s so nice to meet you Amelia,” she replied warmly. “Nathan’s told me wonderful things about you. Merry Christmas.” I thanked her. After a quick conversation with her, I excused myself. It was a little chaotic to say the least. I didn’t like large groups of people like this. Nathan appeared at my side minutes later.

“Are you okay?” he asked, concerned. I nodded.

“Fine,” I replied. “Just a little overwhelmed. I needed to step away from everything for a minute.” He wrapped his arm around me.

“My mother loved you,” he said. I smiled.

“I was really nervous to meet her,” I admitted. “She was really nice.”He took my hand with his free hand and gave it a small squeeze. We rejoined the family and enjoyed the rest of the night.

  Later that night, we were hanging out with his parents, sisters, and brother. Nathan was off talking to his brother and I was left with the rest of the family. I watched his mother leave the room and a minute later, she came in with a big book. I soon realized it was a photo album. She dropped it on the counter and opened it to a page in the middle. She pointed out a picture on the bottom of the page. “This is Nathan when he was six. He had all his animals spread out around him on his bed. He loved his stuffed animals,” Mrs. Langford told me. I giggled. It was a picture of Nathan sitting on a twin sized bed wearing glasses. He had beanie babies spread out around him. It was adorable. Just then, Nathan joined us again. He glanced at his mother and the photo album and then at me.

“Mom! What are you doing?” he exclaimed. He rushed over to grab the book but his mother moved it out of the way first.

“I was just showing Amelia some pictures,” she told him innocently. Nathan scowled. “You were such a cute kid.” His cheeks turned red. Mrs. Langford kept flipping through the book. “Remember when you played tee ball?” She launched into stories about Nathan on the tee ball team. I smiled. His family treated me like I had been part of the family for a long time, not like someone they just met. About ten minutes later, Nathan successfully dragged me away from his mother and the photo album.

“We’re going for a walk!” he called. He took my hand and led me out the front door. He led me around the neighborhood, stopping at different spots and telling me stories about his past. He told me about breaking his arm on the swings in his neighbor’s back yard when he was eight and his first kiss under the weeping willow with a girl that lived nearby. It was amazing how he let me in so easily. We had only been dating for about a month even though we had been friends before that. It was like he thought I was going to be part of his future.

It was hard knowing that I wasn’t going to be part of his future anymore. The relationship was over. I knew it was long gone and there was nothing I could do anymore. I hated knowing I had no control over the situation. It was hard to forget about everything we had been through and done but hopefully I could forget about him long enough to forget why I needed to. I picked up the next picture frame. This one was a picture of me in the kitchen of his apartment. The picture was from this past fall. He had made dinner for me one Friday after a particularly stressful week.

“Nathan?” I called as I walked into his apartment. I stopped in place, taking in the smell of garlic.

“In the kitchen,” he answered. I hung my jacket up and found him with an apron on. I couldn’t help it- I burst out laughing.

“You look ridiculous,” I teased him. “What’s for dinner?”He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

“Fettuccini Alfredo with garlic bread.” I smiled.

“That’s my favorite,” I said.

“I know,” he replied. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on my lips. “Do you want anything to drink?” I shook my head. He rummaged through the cabinets and pulled out a glass. He filled it with water before handing it to me. “Sit and relax. You deserve it after this week.” I couldn’t help but smile. How did I get so lucky?

“You’re amazing,” I told him.

“I know,” he smirked. I rolled my eyes. We chatted idly while he finished cooking dinner. Right before dinner was finished, I started to set the table. “Stop it! Sit down!” He whacked me with a dish towel.

“That wasn’t very nice,” I pouted. He laughed and kissed me. “You aren’t allowed to help tonight.” This was why I loved him. He always knew exactly what I needed. He was absolutely perfect to me.

Unsurprisingly, dinner was amazing. We talked and joked and flirted. After dinner, we settled on the couch to watch a movie. He put on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, my favorite movie (not part 2 though. It was absolutely awful). Nathan sat down and I laid my head in his lap. He played with my hair. I loved when he did that. It felt amazing and was incredibly relaxing.

  I yawned as I opened my eyes. I looked around and realized Nathan and I must have fallen asleep during the movie. The movie was long over. I stretched my legs and tried to get up as carefully as possible so I didn’t wake him up. I crept to the kitchen to check the time. One in the morning. Great. I guess I wasn’t going back to my dorm tonight. I grabbed a cup from the cabinet and was about to fill it when I heard behind me, “What time is it?” I looked behind me to see Nathan. Guess I hadn’t succeeded in not waking up.

“A little after one,” I answered. He took the cup out of my hand.

“You know what we should do?” I gave him a questioning look. “We should dance. Right here in the kitchen.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” I laughed.

“It doesn’t matter.” He took my hand and started spinning me around. We danced around the kitchen. The refrigerator light lit up the room, like a spotlight just for us. I couldn’t help but laugh as we went around and around. I loved Nathan’s spontaneous side. I didn’t know anyone else who would do this. It was crazy and ridiculous but it was Nathan and I loved Nathan.

I remembered it all too well. Standing in the kitchen, no longer feeling the exhaustion. The only sound in that kitchen had been our laughter. Nathan didn’t need music to dance. How did we lose that? Did we get lost in translation? Did I ask for too much from him? It seemed like a masterpiece before he tore it up on the bridge. I remembered running back to my room as soon as I could move. I hadn’t pictured a future without him. I remembered feeling so scared, scared of what my future would be now that he wouldn’t be part of it. Nothing had been worse than the phone call. Two days after he broke my heart he called me.

“Amelia?” a voice on the other end of the phone asked. It sounded unsure, nothing like the boy I had known.

“Nathan,” I breathed. “What do you want?”

“I’m sorry,” he told me. “I feel really bad about hurting you.”I froze. What was I supposed to say to that? Did he think that a “sorry” would make everything okay again? Did he think that I would magically be okay? “Are you still there Amelia?”

“I’m still here,” I answered.

“I hope you’re doing well,” he said. “I’m really sorry about everything.” The line went dead. He was gone. I collapsed on the ground sobbing. Why would he call? Did he call me again just to break me like the promises he made to me? It was cruel, so casually cruel of him to call, all in the name of being honest. I laid on the ground, unable to move, like a crumpled up piece of paper as I remembered it all too well.

Here I was, two weeks later. It felt like time wouldn’t fly, the one time I needed it to. I was paralyzed by it. I needed to pick myself up again. I wanted to be my old self again but I couldn’t find it. I thought back to the days when I stayed at Nathan’s apartment, the days when he gave me his plaid shirts to wear. I thought back to the bridge two weeks ago, the feeling of walking home by myself. I thought back to a week and a half ago, when I got a package and opened it to find that Nathan had sent back my things. Inside were the presents I had given him and the clothes I had left at his apartment. Everything except the scarf I left at his parents. I wondered why, out of everything, that’s what he kept. To remind him of happier days? To remind him of innocence? Or maybe to just remind him of me. I hoped he remembered it all, that he remembered it all too well.

I remembered telling him that I loved him, before he lost me. Before he lost the one real thing he had ever known. Finding a love like that was rare but I remembered everything all too well.

[writingonthewall713]

THIRD SWIFTIE FOLLOW TRAIN

FOLLOW EVERYONE WHO REBLOGS THIS, AND FOLLOW EVERYONE BACK WHO FOLLOWS YOU.

PLEASE ONLY REBLOG IF YOU ARE ONLY A TSWIFT FAN ACCOUNT.

(NO OTHER FAN ACCOUNTS ACCEPTED) 

You will gain quickly, trust me.

[writingonthewall713]

Swiftie Support Train

The first step is admitting you have a problem. If your tumblr is dedicated to your obsession with Taylor Swift, reblog and follow your fellow Swifties as a sign of support. We can get through this together!

[writingonthewall713]

TAYLOR SWIFT FOLLOW TRAIN!

Your blog must be at least 90% Taylor. Reblog this and follow everyone who has reblogged. It’s a great way to gain followers and find great blogs!

[writingonthewall713]

Still Active Swifties

Since @taylorswift​ decided to take a well deserved break from tumblr, I know a lot of other people have left as well. This follow train is for all of the still active swifties! So reblog if you’re still active, follow those who have already reblogged it, and maybe make some new friendships!

Stay cute, x0x0

[writingonthewall713]

Swiftie Follow Train

So, I finally reached 5000 followers! Thank y’all so much! So I thought I’d make a swiftie follow train to celebrate! 

Rules

Must be a 90% Taylor blog

Follow me @slaylor-swiftt

Reblog this post

Follow everyone who likes or reblogs

The more you reblog, the more you gain. 

♡ Brandy

[writingonthewall713]

Story #2 Too Late (White Horse)

Note: Italics- flashbacks

Bold- Song lyrics

“I just don’t understand how he could say that he never loved me, or even liked me if he asked me out four months before. It doesn’t make sense to me,” I said to Elizabeth, my best friend since our freshman year of high school.

“You still don’t know?” she asked incredulously.

“What?”

“He never liked you. At least not in a romantic way. All he wanted was a girlfriend. He just wanted sex.” My heart shattered, again for the boy I thought I knew.

“Say you're sorry that face of an angel comes out just when you need it to.”

I sat in my room, alone, tears cascading down my face. How could he? I trusted him.

It had been about a year since my friendship, or what I thought had been a friendship, with Adam had fallen apart.

I guess you could say we had history. In June of my sophomore year, he asked me out and I turned him down. I just didn’t like him in that way. All I wanted was to be friends. But he wanted more. Then, in October of my junior year, he asked me to our Homecoming dance. Again, I said no. We were friends after that. Until December.

“Elizabeth, what’s this?” I asked her, showing her a text message she had received from Adam. As we did every time we had a sleep over, we were going through each other’s phone.

“Oh, it was nothing,” she replied. I gave her an ‘are you serious’ look. The text message read, “I never loved her. But I love you.”It didn’t take a rocket scientist to understand who he was talking about. It was me. My heart shattered.

“That’s nothing. What did Sam (her boyfriend of 4 years) says about it?” I stopped. “He knows about it, right?”

“Of course he does!” she exclaimed. “He isn’t happy about it. I mean, Adam is his best friend. They are neighbors. But that’s all it will ever be. A crush. I love Sam.” She looked over at me. “Are you okay Lauren?”

“I’m fine,” I replied, my voice a little shaky. All that I could think about was that text. He never loved me. If he never loved me, then why would he ask me out? Why would he ask me to Homecoming? Was I just some charity case that he thought he had to help just to be nice? Was everything a lie? Were we ever even friends? I couldn’t even process what that one text meant. It could mean so many different things.

Since that one night, that one message, I spent weeks questioning what was real and what was fake. And now, here I was, one year later questioning myself about that same text message.

“As I paced back and forth all this time 'Cause I honestly believed in you”

I believed him. I believed that he was sorry. I was ready to rebuild our friendship. I believed that he had actually loved me and that he didn’t mean what he said to Elizabeth. And now all that trust was gone. He used me. He. Used. Me.

“Holding on, the days drag on, stupid girl, I should have known, I should have known”

I felt so stupid for believing him. For trying to see the good in him, when clearly, there was no good. I should have known that his intentions were as bad as I had originally believed. I just couldn’t believe that I had made myself think otherwise. I felt like a complete idiot for falling for his games. Because that was all this was. A game Adam was playing. Trying to make me believe that we could be friends again. We could put the past behind us and start over. But it was all a lie.

“I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale, I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet, lead her up the stairwell. This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town, I was a dreamer before you went and let me down. Now it's too late for you and your white horse to come around.”

I would never be able to forgive him after this. There would be no way to be friends. That was it. How could he do this? How could anyone be so cruel? How could any person with a heart come, with a face of kindness and good intentions, and use another person, only to break them when they didn’t get what they wanted or were done? Who would use someone like that? For sex? I had never felt so violated before. He only wanted me for my body and for the pleasure I could potentially bring him. I just didn’t understand what type of human being would do that? Unfortunately, he would not be the last person to try.

“Maybe I was naïve, got lost in your eyes, and never really had a chance”

I was naïve for believing in him. Naïve for trying to see the good in everyone when not everyone was as nice as they seemed. I was too…nice. I was blind. I couldn’t even see his real goal. To seduce me. To get me under his spell. To break me. To shatter me into so many pieces, I didn't even recognize myself anymore. I broke down sobbing. Just thinking about it was too much.

“My mistake, I didn't know to be in love you had to fight to have the upper hand. I had so many dreams about you and me. Happy endings. Now I know”

Never again would I make that mistake. Never again would I fall for something like that. I couldn’t. It was too painful. Everything I thought I knew, ripped from me. Everything was gone. Old scars were reopened but this time, they were even deeper than the last. They were more painful than a year ago. I realized that I could never trust anyone anymore. I couldn’t let any guy close to me anymore after this. The fear of trusting someone and then having that destroyed again would be too much to handle.

“I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale, I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet, lead her up the stairwell. This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town. I was a dreamer before you went and let me down. Now it's too late for you and your white horse to come around”

“And there you are on your knees, begging for forgiveness, begging for me. Just like I always wanted but I'm so sorry.”

I couldn’t help but remember when he had tried to apologize. Had it only been a few days ago? It seemed like a life time ago.

“Lauren, I’m so sorry,” Adam said to me at lunch one day. I had asked to talk to him. To get answers from him so I could finally forgive him. “It was stupid of me. I shouldn’t have sent her that message. I didn’t mean it. I really did love you. But you rejected me and I was upset. Elizabeth had helped me through everything. She helped me move past you. She helped me move on. I thought I loved her at the time. I said it because I wanted it to be true. But it wasn’t true. It will never be true. I really loved you. I hope you can see that.”

He had said exactly what I had wanted to hear a year ago. Even a few days ago. But now, I knew it was all one big lie. Just like every other part of our friendship. Just a hoax to get to me. To use me.

“Cause I'm not your princess, this ain't a fairytale, I'm gonna find someone someday who might actually treat me well. This is a big world, that was a small town. There in my rear view mirror disappearing now, and it's too late for you and your white horse. Now it's too late for you and your white horse to catch me now”

It was too late. Too late for apologies. Too late to go back. I was broken and no one could save me anymore. As much as Elizabeth or anyone else tried, I would never be the same. I would never be that naïve girl who always tried to see good in everyone, no matter how small. I no longer believed in second chances. These scars would never go away. They were too deep. The pain was too much. I would never be able to find the forgiveness to let Adam back into my life. My faith in people in general was gone. The only thing I believed now was that people were only going to let you down. In my mind, 99 percent of guys, and people in general were just assholes looking to use whoever they could. Of course there were exceptions to every rule. I had met some very nice guys but they were scarce. You would be lucky to stumble upon them.

It was too late. I would never be the same.

[writingonthewall713]

OH MY GOSH YES😂

[writingonthewall713]

Here’s the first story! (Italics are flashbacks)

All Too Well

I stumbled around my room, picking up the tipped picture frames. I needed to put away all of the reminders of my ex boyfriend. Two weeks earlier, my boyfriend of two years took me to the Boston University Bridge just to shatter my heart. I sank to the ground, dropping the frames on the floor with a clatter, and buried my head in my knees. I could still picture us on the bridge, looking over the river.

 Nathan had texted me a few minutes before, asking me to go for a walk with him. I smiled at the text. It was autumn, my favorite time of year and he knew it. He knew I loved the color of the leaves and the crispness of the air. I met him in front of my building, just like we always did. When he saw me, he smiled but his face didn’t light up the way it usually did. Something wasn’t right. “Nathan, is something wrong?” I asked curiously. I wrapped my fingers around his. He said nothing. We walked in silence to the Boston University Bridge, our favorite place on campus. He stopped in the middle of the bridge, surprising me. I was getting worried now. “Please tell me what’s wrong. You know you can tell me anything.” I watched him take a deep breath.

“I can’t do this anymore,” he said calmly. I looked up at him, concerned.

“What do you mean?”

“This, us, I can’t do it,” he repeated. He took a step away from me.

“I don’t understand,” I stuttered. I ran a hand through my hair.

“I’m not feeling it anymore. I don’t love you anymore. I hope you understand,” he said. He took a step toward me and reached out as if to comfort me. I pushed him away. I didn’t understand. How could he just not love me anymore? What changed? Why wasn’t he feeling it? Was it something I did? My eyes started to well up. I brushed away the tears as quickly as possible. I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I tried to say something, anything to him but nothing came out. I was shocked. Nathan said nothing else, just turned away and fled. I stayed frozen in place on the bridge. I looked out on the water, trying to convince myself that it wasn’t true. Nathan hadn’t just broken my heart. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Excuse me? Are you okay?” a voice asked. I nodded, pulling myself out of my haze. Was I okay? I didn’t feel any pain, I wasn’t hurt. I was just numb. I stuffed my hands in my coat pockets and ran back to my dorm. It wasn’t until I collapsed on my bed did the pain come.

 I wanted to hate him. I really did but I couldn’t. I wiped my tears on my sleeves and pulled a box out from underneath my bed. It was just a shoebox covered in light blue paper but it was my memory box. Inside were pictures, tickets, and other mementoes I had kept. On top was a receipt from Starbucks. I looked at the date. September 23, 2015. Our first date.

 I ran a brush through my hair one last time and adjusted my bracelet. I was going on my first date with a guy who had become my best friend at college. I took a deep breath to try to calm the fluttering in my stomach. I wiped my slightly wet hands on my dark skinny jeans and took one last look in the mirror. I was wearing my favorite purple blouse. I had been waiting for this all week. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Deep breaths, I reminded myself as I opened the door. Nathan stood there in a dark blue plaid shirt and jeans. He looked incredibly attractive.

We were both strangely quiet walking. We had never been this awkward before but things were different now. I didn’t know what to say to him. How did we talk for hours as friends? Why couldn’t we get back to that? We walked to the Starbucks on the corner. When it was our turn, he stepped back. “Ladies first.” I smiled shyly and ordered my maple latte. It was my favorite autumn drink. He ordered and we found a table in the corner. “So…how about this weather?” he asked. I laughed.

“It’s my favorite season,” I told him. His eyes lit up. Finally, something to talk about. The conversation lasted for hours. I told him all about my obsession with the season, with the activities the season involved. He told me about his family, about having two older sisters and an older brother. He was the youngest. The conversation came naturally, like it had before when we were just friends. I rolled my eyes at the thought of the awkwardness we suffered through in the beginning.

We decided to take our drinks and go for a walk outside. I watched as the leaves swayed in the wind. They fell, like pieces into place. As he dropped me off at my dorm again, I looked at him and knew. This was the beginning of something magical.

 I could picture it after all these days. The feeling of the warm autumn air surrounding us. Suddenly, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The feelings were too much. What had happened? How had something so beautiful and pure fallen apart? I knew he was long gone. The magic just wasn’t there anymore. It was two weeks later and I thought I had been okay but looking at all the memories reminded me I wasn’t fine at all. I grabbed the first picture frame and studied it closely before tossing it in the box. It was a picture from winter break two years ago. I had just met his family for the first time.

 The front door opened and I stepped through the door. It was Christmas time and the air was cold but something about it felt like home. I clung to Nathan’s arm, hoping that if I was close enough to him, maybe no one would notice me. With my friends, I was fine. I was lively and outgoing. With people I had never met before, especially my boyfriend’s family, I was timid and quiet. What if they hated me? What if I said the wrong thing? His mother met us in the entryway. “Come in,” she ushered us in. “Everyone is in the kitchen.” She brought us through the house. We circled around the room, greeting various aunts and uncles of his. I didn’t remember most of the names. They all asked variations of the same questions. My name, my major, my future career goals (I was only a freshman!), how we met, and how long we had been dating. Last but not least, he introduced me to his parents.

“Mom, this is Amelia, my girlfriend.” I smiled nervously.

“It’s so nice to meet you Mrs. Langford,” I said, reaching out to shake my hand. She ignored it and hugged me.

“It’s so nice to meet you Amelia,” she replied warmly. “Nathan’s told me wonderful things about you. Merry Christmas.” I thanked her. After a quick conversation with her, I excused myself. It was a little chaotic to say the least. I didn’t like large groups of people like this. Nathan appeared at my side minutes later.

“Are you okay?” he asked, concerned. I nodded.

“Fine,” I replied. “Just a little overwhelmed. I needed to step away from everything for a minute.” He wrapped his arm around me.

“My mother loved you,” he said. I smiled.

“I was really nervous to meet her,” I admitted. “She was really nice.”He took my hand with his free hand and gave it a small squeeze. We rejoined the family and enjoyed the rest of the night.

 Later that night, we were hanging out with his parents, sisters, and brother. Nathan was off talking to his brother and I was left with the rest of the family. I watched his mother leave the room and a minute later, she came in with a big book. I soon realized it was a photo album. She dropped it on the counter and opened it to a page in the middle. She pointed out a picture on the bottom of the page. “This is Nathan when he was six. He had all his animals spread out around him on his bed. He loved his stuffed animals,” Mrs. Langford told me. I giggled. It was a picture of Nathan sitting on a twin sized bed wearing glasses. He had beanie babies spread out around him. It was adorable. Just then, Nathan joined us again. He glanced at his mother and the photo album and then at me.

“Mom! What are you doing?” he exclaimed. He rushed over to grab the book but his mother moved it out of the way first.

“I was just showing Amelia some pictures,” she told him innocently. Nathan scowled. “You were such a cute kid.” His cheeks turned red. Mrs. Langford kept flipping through the book. “Remember when you played tee ball?” She launched into stories about Nathan on the tee ball team. I smiled. His family treated me like I had been part of the family for a long time, not like someone they just met. About ten minutes later, Nathan successfully dragged me away from his mother and the photo album.

“We’re going for a walk!” he called. He took my hand and led me out the front door. He led me around the neighborhood, stopping at different spots and telling me stories about his past. He told me about breaking his arm on the swings in his neighbor’s back yard when he was eight and his first kiss under the weeping willow with a girl that lived nearby. It was amazing how he let me in so easily. We had only been dating for about a month even though we had been friends before that. It was like he thought I was going to be part of his future.

 It was hard knowing that I wasn’t going to be part of his future anymore. The relationship was over. I knew it was long gone and there was nothing I could do anymore. I hated knowing I had no control over the situation. It was hard to forget about everything we had been through and done but hopefully I could forget about him long enough to forget why I needed to. I picked up the next picture frame. This one was a picture of me in the kitchen of his apartment. The picture was from this past fall. He had made dinner for me one Friday after a particularly stressful week.

 “Nathan?” I called as I walked into his apartment. I stopped in place, taking in the smell of garlic.

“In the kitchen,” he answered. I hung my jacket up and found him with an apron on. I couldn’t help it- I burst out laughing.

“You look ridiculous,” I teased him. “What’s for dinner?”He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

“Fettuccini Alfredo with garlic bread.” I smiled.

“That’s my favorite,” I said.

“I know,” he replied. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on my lips. “Do you want anything to drink?” I shook my head. He rummaged through the cabinets and pulled out a glass. He filled it with water before handing it to me. “Sit and relax. You deserve it after this week.” I couldn’t help but smile. How did I get so lucky?

“You’re amazing,” I told him.

“I know,” he smirked. I rolled my eyes. We chatted idly while he finished cooking dinner. Right before dinner was finished, I started to set the table. “Stop it! Sit down!” He whacked me with a dish towel.

“That wasn’t very nice,” I pouted. He laughed and kissed me. “You aren’t allowed to help tonight.” This was why I loved him. He always knew exactly what I needed. He was absolutely perfect to me.

Unsurprisingly, dinner was amazing. We talked and joked and flirted. After dinner, we settled on the couch to watch a movie. He put on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, my favorite movie (not part 2 though. It was absolutely awful). Nathan sat down and I laid my head in his lap. He played with my hair. I loved when he did that. It felt amazing and was incredibly relaxing.

 I yawned as I opened my eyes. I looked around and realized Nathan and I must have fallen asleep during the movie. The movie was long over. I stretched my legs and tried to get up as carefully as possible so I didn’t wake him up. I crept to the kitchen to check the time. One in the morning. Great. I guess I wasn’t going back to my dorm tonight. I grabbed a cup from the cabinet and was about to fill it when I heard behind me, “What time is it?” I looked behind me to see Nathan. Guess I hadn’t succeeded in not waking up.

“A little after one,” I answered. He took the cup out of my hand.

“You know what we should do?” I gave him a questioning look. “We should dance. Right here in the kitchen.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” I laughed.

“It doesn’t matter.” He took my hand and started spinning me around. We danced around the kitchen. The refrigerator light lit up the room, like a spotlight just for us. I couldn’t help but laugh as we went around and around. I loved Nathan’s spontaneous side. I didn’t know anyone else who would do this. It was crazy and ridiculous but it was Nathan and I loved Nathan.

 I remembered it all too well. Standing in the kitchen, no longer feeling the exhaustion. The only sound in that kitchen had been our laughter. Nathan didn’t need music to dance. How did we lose that? Did we get lost in translation? Did I ask for too much from him? It seemed like a masterpiece before he tore it up on the bridge. I remembered running back to my room as soon as I could move. I hadn’t pictured a future without him. I remembered feeling so scared, scared of what my future would be now that he wouldn’t be part of it. Nothing had been worse than the phone call. Two days after he broke my heart he called me.

 “Amelia?” a voice on the other end of the phone asked. It sounded unsure, nothing like the boy I had known.

“Nathan,” I breathed. “What do you want?”

“I’m sorry,” he told me. “I feel really bad about hurting you.”I froze. What was I supposed to say to that? Did he think that a “sorry” would make everything okay again? Did he think that I would magically be okay? “Are you still there Amelia?”

“I’m still here,” I answered.

“I hope you’re doing well,” he said. “I’m really sorry about everything.” The line went dead. He was gone. I collapsed on the ground sobbing. Why would he call? Did he call me again just to break me like the promises he made to me? It was cruel, so casually cruel of him to call, all in the name of being honest. I laid on the ground, unable to move, like a crumpled up piece of paper as I remembered it all too well.

 Here I was, two weeks later. It felt like time wouldn’t fly, the one time I needed it to. I was paralyzed by it. I needed to pick myself up again. I wanted to be my old self again but I couldn’t find it. I thought back to the days when I stayed at Nathan’s apartment, the days when he gave me his plaid shirts to wear. I thought back to the bridge two weeks ago, the feeling of walking home by myself. I thought back to a week and a half ago, when I got a package and opened it to find that Nathan had sent back my things. Inside were the presents I had given him and the clothes I had left at his apartment. Everything except the scarf I left at his parents. I wondered why, out of everything, that’s what he kept. To remind him of happier days? To remind him of innocence? Or maybe to just remind him of me. I hoped he remembered it all, that he remembered it all too well.

I remembered telling him that I loved him, before he lost me. Before he lost the one real thing he had ever known. Finding a love like that was rare but I remembered everything all too well.

[writingonthewall713]

Here are a series of short stories based on @taylorswift‘s songs (you’ll definitely notice the lyrics)