"The Boy Named Luke"

by: Athea Vinluan 41 9F

I.

I never believed in love, I believed in hormones and delusions but not when people say that they feel their knees get weak, that they have a person that is a constant thought in their mind, that they would do anything to make the person they love happy even if it means going through extreme lengths. I however would always think that they're crazy, believing in lies, that they're blind because honestly, how are you supposed to fall in love and find the right person when there are over seven billion people in the world? It just wasn't something that I thought was real . . . Until I met him. 

We knew each other in High School, we were classmates after all but I never really felt anything towards him but friendship and so did he. But after we graduated, we would hang out, it started with our group of friends and then suddenly, it became just us. I felt weird, I thought I was going crazy when I would stare at my phone waiting for his text or when I see him with other girls and my blood started to boil. I didn't want to admit it, I did not want to admit how I started to feel something when all my life I believed in the opposite. It was during that one day we were together that he confessed that he liked me, that he wanted more than this and I didn't know what to say, we were just walking on the way home and he caught me by surprise, I couldn't even utter a single word. He just smiled at me, telling me it was okay if I didn't tell him how I feel that I should just give him a chance to prove to me that what he felt for me was real.

 I did give him a chance and it was one of the best decisions of my life. It just hit me one day, I was alone lying down on my bed looking through the photos of us together when it came through my thoughts the words "I love you". I couldn't stop myself from calling him, asking him if he could meet me by the diner down town and when I saw him, I bit my lip telling him that what I felt for him is what he felt for me. His face lit up, his smile illuminating the area like it showed brighter than the stars and then he pulled me into a hug whispering into my ears that he was happy and that he can't even find it possible how he could love me even more. 

Our relationship would go on like that, dates, road trips, lounging in the sofa but we would occasionally fight about silly little things. In the end, he would always end up telling me that he doesn't want me to go, doesn't want me to leave him and I would cry and tell him how I was sick of our arguments but I always forgave him because he meant too much to me to let him go. 

My favorite day was when he set up a picnic for us on his rooftop, it didn't have the best view but at night you'd see the stars perfectly and that's when he proposed. I was looking up,telling him it was a beautiful starry night and while I wasn't looking he got on one knee, taking out a silver diamond ring and as he called out my name, I turned to face him. Just like the moment we had when i told him I had grown to love him, he said he was happy that he would want to spend every moment with the girl who makes him happy. 

II.

Before I walked down the aisle, my thoughts went to every wedding I've been too since I was a little kid. It just came crushing down to me like a hurricane but I was smiling because it was finally my turn to have my dream wedding, to wear a white wedding dress and hold a bouquet or roses as my father walked me down the aisle but the most important thing that was going on inside my head was that I couldn't be more grateful then finding Joseph, the who stood there waiting on the other side of this baroque inspired church biting his lip because he couldn't wait till I become his; forever until the day it was our time to be acquainted with death. 

When my maid of honor started walking I gripped my fathers arm as he walked me down the aisle. I was aware of the faces of everyone I knew watching me but I wasn't looking at them, I wasn't looking at their faces or the flowers and faery lights all around the church, I was looking at him, the man wearing a black tuxedo staring right at me with that look in his eyes, like he can't believe I was marrying him. My father passed me on to him and he held onto my hand, his fingertips intertwining with mine. As we exchanged our vows I realized everything was a blur, no one was in the church but us and as he said his vows he told me that he doesn't mind my flaws, my weird habits or when I can't sleep early and it results in him having lack of sleep because that's what he loves about me, he says that he has a long list of reasons why he is the luckiest man right now but it would be too long to tell and would drag on the ceremony but over all, he told me that he would always be by my side through richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health till death do we part. When it was my turn, I told him how I was sorry for all the troubles I would give and the troubles I already gave, sorry if I become a mess at times but in the end, I'll always be here for him, for all his troubles and his messes and that i wouldn't want anyone else standing in his place because I wouldn't be able to imagine spending the rest of my existence with anyone but him, he is after all the light to my darkness. Then the priest looked at us both, asking us one by one if we would take each other, love and cherish our vows to one another. He said "I Do" without any hesitation and I responded with the same words he spoke. In that moment, when we placed the rings on each other and the priest told the groom to kiss the bride, I believed that love is true that it's real. 

Our reception was in a Grand Ball Room with purple and pink lights everywhere and when you looked up, it would seem as you were looking at the stars just like the night he proposed. The rest of the reception was a blur but I still remember clearly our first dance, how his hands were around my waist and mine around his neck, an acoustic song of Fall For You playing throughout the room. I remembered that I closed my eyes as I leaned my head against his chest and he kissed my forehead, a smile on his face as he tells me nothing can be more perfect than this moment, right here, right now. 

Years have gone by and there are children playing around the house, their giggling echoing around the entire room as the siblings play with each other. My angels were twins; one boy and one girl. I leaned on the wall watching them play, the smiles on their faces lifted up my mood whenever I was feeling down. I wasn't paying attention when he caught me off guard, wrapping his arms on my waist from behind, he kissed my cheek and I couldn't help but let out a contented sigh. I turned to face him, it was one of those moments that something just hits you, could be randomly or could be an act of fate but I looked up to him, staring at those eyes that can never fail to show how much he loves me as I said "You taught me how to love you know that? When I was younger I believed love was a myth that it was just a word but then you came along, you taught me that love isn't just a delusion that it's real and it could one of the greatest things about being human and you made me be grateful for the choices I make because in the end, it all led me here to you, to the twins and to this life"

III.

As you grow up, you'd attend numerous weddings; could start as the flower girl and end up as the maid of honor and each time, you would watch the bride walking down the aisle, her face looking directly at the groom as her father guided her with tears in his eyes or a smile on his face. You'd watch her stand their in front of everyone she knows, you'd see her smile, see how contented she looks when she realizes she's about to start her forever with the boy she loves. That's when you start to wonder when it would be your turn. But how do we know when we're in love?  Is it the feeling in your chest or the way you would always want to stay by that persons side? It could be anything really and it could be shown in many different ways. If you don't believe in love however, ask yourself why? Is it because you've gone through so much heartbreak that you're done, you're done trying to give a chance to a person who might not even give half the love you can offer ? Or is it because you've watched the people around you fall in and out of love and you're scared, scared that one day you'll fall in love with someone but they'll end up crushing you, destroying and ripping out your heart like it can be replaced. Could it be because you fall in love too easily that you've let too many people tamper your heart that it can't even be healed or put a band aid over anymore. That's the crazy thing about love, it's makes you take risk, makes you take a chance on something you're afraid of. Sure, you've closed your heart enough and that it can not be opened or you've been hurt too much before or maybe even, because you're just tired of letting people in but there would be someone , someone who wouldn't be afraid of taking a chance on you because they think that you're worth fighting for, someone who would have the key to open the lock you closed your heart in and when you meet that someone, don't let them go. Don't let them go because they could be the only person who could heal you, pick up the broken pieces and fix your heart little by little and they could show you how to love and how to be in love and maybe just maybe, they would be the one that's right for you. 

Disclaimer: The author has no intent on making this happen and none of it has happened nor will it. The boy the author imagines it is, is Luke Hemmings, a member of a band called 5 Seconds of Summer.