Defying Love | Teen Ink

Defying Love MAG

May 24, 2009
By awesomeaugust GOLD, Boston, Massachusetts
awesomeaugust GOLD, Boston, Massachusetts
10 articles 0 photos 176 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground"
~Theordore Roosevelt


I didn't want to like him. He was just so charming.

This might sound like every other love story, and it may be, but it may not. If you don't read on, you'll never know.

My name is Emily Brown, which I've always been quite happy with. I think it makes me sound pleasant but ordinary, and I prefer to blend in. Now, I suppose it's only polite to tell you a bit about myself before I jump into my story. I am five feet, two inches, have brown hair that comes to my shoulders, and I am not talented in any special way. These are the basic facts of me, and I think these are all I ought to tell you.

His name was Andrew Rivers and he was perfectly wonderful in every way. When he first came to my school in twelfth grade, he was a bit eccentric and didn't fit in right away. He was into music and played the drums and the guitar, although he wasn't good at either. What he was good at was singing, and when he did, you wanted to cry and laugh and sing along with him all at once.

My name is Emily Brown and his was Andrew Rivers and I loved him.

About two months into my last year of high school, Andrew asked me out. I was surprised since I had hardly ever talked to him, but I didn't have a boyfriend, and I didn't know how to say no.

It may help you to know that at my school there were couples that were simply together for the name, and some that were together only to have a date for dances and for kissing and other such things. When Andrew asked me out I had no idea what his intentions were, and I didn't like having no idea. I'm by no means a confrontational person, but I was starting to feel offended that after I had said that I would date him, he hadn't said another word to me. So I went up to him and we had a little talk.

Me: “Hey, Andrew.”

Andrew: “Hey.”

Me: “So …”

Andrew: (annoyingly, nothing)

Me: “You asked me out.”

Andrew: (nothing again)

Me: “Why?”

Andrew: “Why'd I ask you out?”

Me: “Right.”

Andrew: “I felt like it.”

Me: (irritated) “You felt like it?”

Andrew: “That's what I said, isn't it?”

Me: (infuriated) “I'm sorry. Actually I'm not. I didn't realize you were such a jerk, and I don't want to go out with you anymore.” (I'd never dumped someone before, okay?)

Andrew: “Are you dumping me?”

Me: “What do you think?”

Andrew: “Why?”

Me: “I feel like it.”

Andrew: (smiling) “Do you like Chinese food?”

Me: “I hate it.”

Andrew: “You've never had it.”

Me: “How do you know?”

Andrew: (laughing) “I'm good at reading people.”

Me: “Well, obviously you suck, because I've had Chinese food a million times and I hated it every time.”

Andrew: “Would you like to go out with me tonight?”

Me: “You're asking me on a date?”

Andrew: “Yes.”

Me: “Read my answer.”

Andrew: “Wonderful! I'll see you tonight. Be ready by six. Ish. Sixish.”

I hated this strange boy who I'd only really talked to twice. He made me infuriated. The only problem was, I couldn't figure out if I liked that or not.

That night at sixish sharp, Andrew showed up at my doorstep. My parents have never been into meeting my boyfriends, but as I was stepping out, he stepped in. He walked right into the living room where my parents sat watching the baseball game.

When he came back out I asked, “What'd you say?”

“I told them I'd have you back by eight.”

“Ish?”

He laughed. “Nope. Just eight.”

We didn't talk much on the car ride. He had a CD playing that sounded kind of like Bob Marley, but I'd never heard the song before. It wasn't until we got there that I realized I didn't know where we were going. A small sign stood in front of the building but the name was too peeled away for me to be able to read it. What I could read was the sign beneath where the name should be, and it said, “The best Chinese cuisine for miles.”

“Chinese, huh?”

He smirked.

We walked inside and it was only then that I realized exactly how small the building was. There were little tables in the center of the room, about five of them, and a couch against one wall for sitting while you waited. As if. There was no waiting; we were the only customers. A sign read “PLEASE SEAT YOURSELF,” but I guess because of the lack of business, a waiter came over to seat us. He tried to show us to a table, but Andrew said, “Oh, no, thank you. We'll be sitting down here.”

He strolled over to the couch and at first I thought he wanted us to sit there, but then he grabbed two pillows and placed them on the ground a little way away from the tables.

I looked at him, baffled.

“Authenticity,” he said, smiling. He was always smiling.

I, personally, couldn't see how sitting on the floor was authentic.

***

There were many other dates, all very unusual. I was used to dances and movies, but with Andrew I got sunsets and local concerts. Once he took me to a bingo night that his aunt was hosting. Oddly enough, that was the night we first kissed.

I remember so clearly the day of graduation, the day I realized that Andrew and I wouldn't always be together. After we threw our hats and got our diplomas, he found me.

“End of high school, huh?” he said.

“Yeah.”

“What do you want to do, Emily?”

“With my life?”

“Sure.”

“Be with you.”

He didn't smile like I wanted him to.

“Don't you want to go to college?”

I sighed. “Want to, or have to?”

Now he smiled. “You choose.”

“I should. Go to college, I mean. I found one that'll accept me.”

There was a long pause before I said, “Andrew, what about you?”

“What about me?”

“What are you gonna do?”

“I dunno. Do what I do best, I guess. Play my music.”

“Oh. Yeah. That's cool. See you later?”

“When would I see you?”

“I see what you mean.”

“Bye, Emily.”

“Bye.”

Thinking back, I wish I had said something better than bye. I wish I had told him that I loved him more than words could describe and that when he sang to me I felt like I was all that mattered in the world. I wanted to tell him that if he had just asked, I wouldn't have gone to college. I would have played his music with him.

I'm sitting at my computer right now, looking at a name on the screen on a website called “peoplefinder.” I want to call him and hear his voice, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid that he won't be my same Andrew.

I get a glass of cold water and sit on my couch. I picture myself having one last conversation with him.

Me: “Hey, Andrew.” (I say it so casually, just like old times.)

Andrew: “Hey, Emily.”

Me: “Why are you wearing a tie?”

Andrew: “Why shouldn't I be?”

Me: “I don't know.”

Andrew: “I have a job.”

Me: “Good.”

Andrew: “I'm a lawyer, Emily.”

Me: “That's great.”

Andrew: “You don't sound like that's great.”

Me: “Don't I?”

Andrew: “I live in an apartment in the city. I talk on the phone with other businesspeople.”

Me: “I'm proud of you.”

Andrew: “I have a diploma hanging up on the wall of my office. My office.”

Me: “Do you play music anymore, Andrew?”

Andrew: “Music.”

He looks at me as if he doesn't remember the word.

Andrew: “No, I don't play my music anymore.”

Me: “Oh.”

Me: “I loved you, Andrew.”

Andrew: “Loved? Past tense?”

Me: “I think so.”

Andrew: “I love you.”

Me: “Why'd you ask me out?”

Andrew: “I thought you were beautiful and smart, and I loved how shiny your dark brown hair was. I liked how you weren't too loud, and you didn't wear low-cut shirts like most other girls.”

Me: “I wish you'd said, ‘Because I felt like it.'”

Andrew: “Sorry.”

Me: “Me too.”

Andrew: “I have to be going.”

Me: “Yeah.”

Me: “Wait!”

Andrew: “Yes?”

Me: “I'd never had Chinese food before.”



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 542 comments.


on Aug. 18 2012 at 8:39 am
Luna3952 SILVER, Lynchburg, Virginia
6 articles 0 photos 81 comments

Favorite Quote:
All is fair in love and war.
Palsm 114
John 3:17

oh my gosh!!!!! BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!

on Jul. 17 2012 at 9:43 am
Whitehouse503 SILVER, North Waterboro, Maine
7 articles 0 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
"In the end you should always do the right thing, even if it's hard."

this is one of the best stories I've ever read, and I say that everytime I read it. I'm going on reading it for the fifth time.

on Jul. 9 2012 at 10:30 pm
allaboutmylife PLATINUM, Miami, Florida
25 articles 0 photos 24 comments
this is ssooo cute i love the ending!

on Jul. 7 2012 at 8:35 pm
DayDreaamer BRONZE, Raleigh, North Carolina
1 article 0 photos 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Liar liar. Plants for hire!" -Patrick, from Spongebob XD

Awww this is SO cute!! :) 

But I could never be able to deal with that, I like to have a guy who I can have good conversations with and stuff. Sadly, there aren't much guys like that...

Well anyways good job, you are a great writer!! :)


on Jul. 5 2012 at 10:48 pm
PhoenixCrossing GOLD, Tinley Park, Illinois
14 articles 0 photos 178 comments
cute story line but style could definetely be improved. keep writing!

on Jul. 5 2012 at 4:04 pm
ignorance_is_bliss PLATINUM, Memphis, Tennessee
27 articles 0 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
"This is what it is, this is who I am
This is where I finally take my stand
I didn't wanna fall but I about to crawl
I met the one with two scarred hands"

-Newsboys, Born Again

oh sorry abt the caps lol

on Jul. 5 2012 at 10:21 am
Kestrel PLATINUM, Warrenton, Virginia
29 articles 11 photos 189 comments

Favorite Quote:
-There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. (Shakespeare, Hamlet)

hahaha me too. it's the type of thing i say a lot. 

HadiMDK said...
on Jul. 5 2012 at 6:31 am
HadiMDK, Lkl, Alaska
0 articles 2 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
It is worth living in difficult life, if we have a great aim :)

Awesome..! Sweet & amazing. really like it. Keep going :)

on Jun. 22 2012 at 5:49 pm
Shining.With.Crystal.Clarity SILVER, Bristol, Virginia
6 articles 0 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Doctor talks to himself sometimes, because he's the only one who knows what he's talking about!"
~Sarah Jane Smith


"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen..."
~Hebrews 11:1

"Aim small, miss small."

Yeah, I guess... but I love romance stories with happy endings where they stay together. Oh well. Great story, anyway!

on Jun. 19 2012 at 8:35 pm
ignorance_is_bliss PLATINUM, Memphis, Tennessee
27 articles 0 photos 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
"This is what it is, this is who I am
This is where I finally take my stand
I didn't wanna fall but I about to crawl
I met the one with two scarred hands"

-Newsboys, Born Again

I LOVED THE PART, 6ISH SHARP. LOVE THIS!

on Jun. 15 2012 at 10:25 pm
kate12345me GOLD, Sydney, Other
11 articles 0 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth." - Thoreau
"Sometimes you're flush and sometimes you're bust, and when you're up, it's never as good as it seems, and when you're down, you never think you'll be up again, but life goes on."

THIS IS THE SWEETEST THING EVER! I LOVE THIS. You are actually my favourite author as of now. I almost cried. This didn't actually happen to you, did it? Aw! I loved the Chinese food thing! :) Please please keep writing!!

JPanda13 GOLD said...
on Jun. 13 2012 at 7:05 pm
JPanda13 GOLD, Roswell, New Mexico
10 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
just cuz you put syrup on somin dont make it pancakes
Whoever said sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me, had never been hit with a dictionary

Ohhhhhhhh.......Im about to cry.....not even kidding at alll.....cutest thing EVER!

on Jun. 13 2012 at 9:35 am
fidgetyfrog GOLD, Panchkula, Other
12 articles 40 photos 23 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind"- Dr. Seuss

the magic would have died that way

on Jun. 4 2012 at 5:08 pm
ForeverInLoveWithYou, Queen Creek, Arizona
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
It'll cost nothing to dream,and everything not to.

Great story!I would love to hear more.(:

on Jun. 1 2012 at 2:52 pm
Shining.With.Crystal.Clarity SILVER, Bristol, Virginia
6 articles 0 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Doctor talks to himself sometimes, because he's the only one who knows what he's talking about!"
~Sarah Jane Smith


"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen..."
~Hebrews 11:1

"Aim small, miss small."

Wow, great story! Sad, too. I liked Andrew! He seemed so decent. And I loved the way he talked to her parents and told her he'd have her home by eight.

But I did have one question: Why'd you end it the way you did? Why didn't he stick with her?


on May. 28 2012 at 1:23 am
KateLovesMusicAndArt BRONZE, Mesa, Arizona
4 articles 20 photos 29 comments
THIS IS AMAZING!!!!!! I love it!!!! The ending was great!!! Please keep writing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Buttercupz said...
on May. 22 2012 at 9:48 pm
Buttercupz, Savona, New York
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"-the mad hatter
"you must be the change you wish to see in the world"-ghandi

omg this story made me laugh and cry at the same time. dont ever stop writing. your amazing!

JessiLynn187 said...
on May. 22 2012 at 7:48 pm
JessiLynn187, Orillia, Other
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"And will you succeed? Yes! You will indeed! 98 3/4% guaranteed, kid, you'll move mountains" ~Dr. Seuss

ThPlease keep your comments positive and constructive. We'll remove anything inappropriate. Thanks!

on May. 22 2012 at 2:18 pm
KellDawn13 BRONZE, Clinton, Missouri
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Some say holding on is what makes you strong, but sometimes it takes much more strength to let go, and move on.

AWH! I love this. It's not just any classic love story, but yet it is at the same time. That's what makes it so interesting! I wanna read more of your stories, your an amazing author!! <3

on May. 22 2012 at 12:26 pm
BritishLittleDemon GOLD, Washington Court House, Ohio
11 articles 9 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
You would have to be CR@ZY to think like me ;)

:3

i really do luv this

ives read it 10 times already... xDD

but luv the work so much! >w<