Sweet Misery

Harley Washington was by far the most perfect specimen to ever walk this planet and she had no idea whatsoever.

She sat in the library every day during sixth period either reading or scribbling something down in her notebook all while listening to music on her iPod. Her lips would carelessly and silently move to the lyrics sung and her vibrant green eyes would scan the page in front of her. Every so often she would run a hand through her hair, ruffling it and altering it's appearance altogether.

Everything about her was absolutely perfect and I still can't believe why I continue admire her from afar.

It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm terrified of her.

My infatuation with Harley started freshmen year when we made eye contact in gym class. She was joking around with one of her friends and her infectious laugh caught my attention. Naturally, I looked over and spotted a rather tall girl with dark chocolate locks looking over at me with a contagious smile written across her lips.

Since then, I've been in love.

Well, not necessarily. That was what sparked my interest. I didn't tell anyone because it wasn't like I had a crush on her or anything. She simply interested me. I liked walking into school and finding out what band t-shirt she was wearing that day or whether she looked happy or not. For whatever odd reason, it was important to me.

Now, the day I fell in love with Harley Washington was the day she was at her worst.

It was sophomore year and I was failing about three different classes. The first semester was coming to a close and I knew I was pretty much fucked. Convincing my parents I was going to be in a band was hard as it is- but having a couple Ds and Fs on my reporter card is just asking for some type of western civilization torture punishments.

I had stayed after school so my Geometry teacher could maybe, for once, teach me Geometry. It didn't go over very well, but I left the room feeling slightly smarter than I was an hour previous.

Anyway, I was walking down the quiet, empty halls when I started to hear something that sounded like soft crying. I ignored it. I mean, it's not my fault if some chick just took a pregnancy test in the girl's bathroom only to find that little pink plus sign on the death stick.

I continued walking, but the crying was still clear in my ear. Sighing, I shook it off. That is, until I turned the cover to find a brunette with her head resting on her knees and her arms wrapped around her.

I recognized the girl at once. I mean, how could I not? I thought about her way too often and as a teenage boy, that's never healthy.

And then, right there, I uttered my first few words to Harley Washington. "Are you okay?"

Her head snapped up and her crying seized at once. "Shit," she hissed and then sniffed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I'm okay." She waved me off.

I would have left. Trust me, if it were any other girl I would have gotten out of this situation as quick as possible- but this was Harley Washington; the most perfect girl in the world. So, as nervous as I was, I stayed.

"You don't look okay."

She wiped beneath her eyes, laughing dryly. "Well, it hasn't been the best of days."

She peered up at me and her cheeks turned a stunning scarlet. My words caught in my throat as I noticed the startling and shocking green her eyes withheld. It was as if the redness and tears around them only brought them out more clearer.

"You have pretty eyes." I blurted out, like the idiot that I am.

She laughed again. "Thanks."

I gathered my nerve and took a seat next to her. "So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" I noticed the papers in her lap now. Her plain, navy blue jeans had rips in the knees and her green sweater looked great on her. So perfect yet so simple.

"You're going to get annoyed with me." She muttered, sniffing.

"I'm sure I won't." How could I ever be annoyed with her?

She licked her bottom lip. "I'm going to sound like a snob."

I shrugged. "Hit me."

Sucking in a breath, she flattened her legs and exposed the paper resting on her thighs. There were red marks all over it. As a high school student, you know what that means.

She slipped to the last page where a "D" was written with a circle around it.

"I know it's not a big deal, but English is my subject. I want to be a writer more than anything, but how in hell am I suppose to do that when I can't even get a good grade on a stupid Oedipus essay? And my grades have been horrendous in this class."

This wasn't my area of expertise- in fact, I was pretty much fucked in this area just like my other subject. I was going to be in a band. I didn't need to pay attention in school or achieve for some type of job in the future.

So, as I swallowed everything down, I spat out the biggest bullshit ever. "This is going to sound stupid but, even the best people out there were the worst at some point. Everyone sucks at some time. The only people who don't suck are the people who have it served to them on a platter. You have to mess up occasionally- it's what teaches us. It's all apart of a lesson, I guess. You have to fuck up. It's what makes you in the end."

Her eyes seemed to dry as they scanned her black vans. She sniffed one last time before looking up at me. "You should go into inspirational speaking."

I shrugged. "Never thought about that before." I looked over at her, earning a smile. She exposed her perfectly straight and white teeth. I wondered if she ever had braces.

"I'm Garrett by the way."

She nodded her head. "I know who you are."

I felt my cheeks radiate. God, I had never been so oddly flattered before. I bit back a smile. "And you're Harley."

"Indeed."

Next to her, her cell phone rang. She sighed heavily and picked it up. "Hi.....yeah....yes....okay, I know.....right....I'll be out in a second....okay, see you."

She stood up, gathering her belongings. I grabbed a book off the floor and handed it to her. "Thanks," She responded and grabbed the books.

She wrapped the book against her chest and pursed her lips for a moment, scanning me up and down. "And thank you for the lovely encouragement. Really. It helped."

I wanted her to stay. I wanted to ask her about writing. I wanted to know everything about her.

"Not a problem at all." I replied.

"Bye Garrett." She smiled lightly and waved.

"Bye Harley." I said, but she was already halfway down the hall.

I sat there like an idiot for about fifteen minutes replaying everything in my head. After everything that happened I had come to the same conclusion that I am still familiar with almost two years later.

I'm in love with a girl I barely know.