First Crush Reciprocated (Holly Schindler)
I don't remember the first crush. There were quite a few. But I was shy and nerdy and the girl behind the big glasses and some open book. So...by the time I was 15, I was pretty used to the unrequited variety. And then... Well. Then it happened. It was finally reciprocated. My freshman year of high school. By a senior. Who was so dang cute. And funny. And kind of crushed on by half the student population, it felt like. So when he stopped me in the hall and called me and asked me out and actually took me somewhere, I was so flabbergasted, I... Pretty much acted like a dope. Well. Really, I acted kind of aloof and too cool, not because I was trying to be cool, but because I was sort of frozen with shock. And fear. And confusion. And then, the cool guy just... Moved on. I've never forgotten that terrified 15-year-old. Or how quickly people can make up their minds and move on, before you have a chance to even feel the ground beneath you. I dated a lot those first two years...
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