Been a LONG time coming: How I became Mrs. Day, Part 1

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I began the seventh grade at a new school. As I stepped on the bus that first day, I had no clue that I was about to meet my husband. What twelve year old would? But that’s exactly what happened.

I got on the bus and the closest available seat was next to a girl named Stacy. There was a quiet boy sitting across from us. I would learn later that he was Stacy’s brother, TJ. I became fast friends with both of them. Stacy was the more outgoing one, while TJ was always quiet and laid back. He was a jokester though, and always had me laughing. The three of us spent a lot of time together. It wasn’t long before I was at their house all the time and having sleepovers.

Before the school year was half over, I found out ( I don’t remember HOW) that TJ liked me. I was a naive girl. I had no idea what having a boyfriend meant. I had no romantic experience with boys, so I didn’t recognize the signs. TJ always treated me with respect. He would do anything I asked him to do. I don’t know how he did it, but he got me sitting next to HIM on the bus, while Stacy would sit in front of us. After I found out about his feelings, I pretty much tried to ignore it. I had never thought of him as a boyfriend. He was my buddy! Besides, I liked someone else. Isn’t that always how it goes?

I tried to ignore it, but I couldn’t. Everytime he looked at me, I could see it in his face. When he spoke to me, I could hear it in his voice. He let it be known that I was the only one for him. Poor boy. He didn’t know that he shouldn’t give so much power to a girl. He didn’t know that when you let an immature teenage girl know that she HAS you, no matter what, that it might not be a good thing.

I was horrible. For the rest of seventh grade and all of eighth, I teased and tortured him. I He was always on my street because his friends lived there. I ignored him at times. Sometimes, I’d do things like pull him into my house, kiss him for a few minutes, and push him back outside. I’d make him go to the store for me. When I stayed at his house, I’d lay next to him, kiss him, and then leave. But if you would have said that I had feelings for him, I would have told you that you were crazy. I treated him like my personal plaything…..and he went right along with it. No matter how I treated him, his feelings for me never changed.

Then, the summer before our freshman year of high school, his mother remarried. Right before school started, they moved out of our school district. I didn’t have my best girl friend anymore, and I didn’t have TJ. I had to go to a new high school without my buddies. I still talked to them on the phone, and slept over at their new home every weekend. But not seeing them everyday made me realize something: I MISSED TJ.

Next: Part Two