Because You Knew

It's so funny. You walked into the same classroom the same way you did everyday.

You were with the same group of friends, wearing an outfit you'd worn a billion times before and that same cologne.

The only difference?

This time when you walked in my heart skipped a beat.

But I didn't want to give into it. I was not about to admit to falling for one of the guys in this class. I'd criticized them a billion times before, yelled at them, said the meanest of things. I was sure they'd stopped thinking of me as "Ryder" and started thinking of me as "that short bitch who shall not be named."

And I was okay with that. I didn't like the guys in my Literature Studies class and they didn't like me. We had an understanding. They stayed out of my way and I stayed off of their asses.

But that day came around. Our teacher rearranged the seating chart. I don't remember the arrangement, only that I sat next to Ryan Hall.

And he was nice. He made conversation, poked fun at me, cracked jokes and made me laugh, reaching around and tapping my right shoulder while he sat on my left.

He broke the rules.

And something inside me flipped. My heart, my stomach, I don't know.

I just know that it flipped. And it flipped for Ryan Hall.

I wasn't the best at flirting. In fact, I sucked. And it wasn't always because I was nervous. It was because flirting could go either way, good or bad. There wasn't enough control. And I have to have control.

So I kept it a secret up until the very end. In fact, until the last day of school.

And that was when I told him. And after answering a billion different ways, he finally admitted that he liked me back.

But it was the last day and we were going to different schools. So what did that mean?

I wasn't sure. I'm still not sure. I just know that I like him. A lot. Like a lot, a lot.

And I still think love is a bit of stretch, but I still remember that smile.

Ryan, when I saw you, I fell in love. And you smiled because you knew.

At least, that's what I think, because every smile, every smirk, every look seemed to say, "Yes, I know you like me,"

I always tried to make my look say, "And how do you feel about me?"

And his smile in response only said, "I know,"