Love Isn't Easy: Just a lie

They sat on the cold stone steps watching the sun setting over the rooftops. This was a perfect setting for a young couple deep in love, 'But they weren't a couple,' He thought miserably. She was smitten with Mike, or "Mikey,” as she called him, but he knew she'd be breathing a different name in a few months or so, it was all part of her curse she said, the relationship always starts to fall apart once it hits the three month marker. But he knew that if she was with him, they would last forever. He tried so hard not to feel bitter, but he wondered if “Mikey” knew her like he did. Did he know that purple was her favourite colour, or that it was her favourite colour because it was a combination of her other two favourite colours? He wished that it was him she was thinking about when she got up in the morning, and him that she chatted to her friends non stop about. He looked at her as she carried on daydreaming about Mike, taking in ever detail of her face. Her dark brown hair, with deep red highlights fell past her shoulders and shimmered slightly every time she moved. Her dark brown eyes turned light whenever the sun hit them, and her eyelashes were naturally curled with specks of blue mascara hanging onto them. She awoke from her daydream to find him watching her with faint curiosity, and nervously flashed him a smile. He felt as if he'd just fallen fifty feet, she had no idea what effect she had on him and he doubted she ever would. He wished he could go back in time, to the time when she was his, hold onto her and never let go. ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’ he thought. The biggest cliché of his life, but it was true.

She looked at him. There was something there in his eyes. Something she couldn’t quite work out. Or maybe she could, but just didn’t want to. For once in her life everything was straightforward and she wasn’t about to complicate things. His face was a maze of emotions and he smiled a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. She’d forgotten how gorgeous he really was. His pale blue eyes were watery and bright, his nose had a slight wrinkle and his light blonde hair fell limply into his eyes. He flicked it out of his eyes every few minutes, but it always slid straight back. It used to make her laugh. He used to make her laugh. Although they were friends, since the time they were together there was an unspoken change between them. She’d matured, wanted more from life. Whereas he, he had stayed exactly the same right down to the hairstyle.

Neither noticed nor tried to notice the dusty pink sky slowly changing into a deep purple, nor the distance twinkle of the stars, each was too wrapped up in their own world to notice the beauty of the moment. He thought about her, and only if she'd noticed his signs she would be his. She thought about Mike, and their future together. About what the future meant for the two of them. He had so much he wanted to tell her, and time was running out fast, neither had noticed the hours slip by, they had just sat in silence each wrapped up in their own selfish thoughts. There had been no need for words, each knew what the other was thinking without trying, well at least they thought they knew. Both had changed so much that neither had the faintest clue of what was on the other's mind, not like when they were younger and could finish each others sentences. He decided that now was the time, that he should just start with the most important point, she'd obviously bought him here for a reason. But she too had something she needed to tell him. The past between them made this moment more difficult for her, she was unsure of how he was going to react. Slowly she reached out and took his hand in hers. 'It's now or never ,' They both thought.
“Ella I,”
“Jamie, I,” They both began at the same time. They laughed, maybe they weren’t so different after all. There was still that tiny connection between the two. He wanted to hold that connection before it fizzled out completely. But he had to hear what she wanted to say.
“Ladies first,” He said gently squeezing her hand.
“I have something important I have to tell you,” She said slowly. His heart was racing a mile-a-minute. “I…Well me and Mike… I mean,” She took a deep breath and uttered the words that would change both their lives forever. “Well, Mike asked me to marry him!” She said excitedly. The joy and excitement in her eyes wasn't enough to mask the pain in his and her smile faltered. He dropped her hand, and his whole world seemed to grind to a halt.
“Well say something,” She said desperately "Tell me you're happy for me,”
"I can't,” He whimpered "Because I love you.” And for that moment, her world too seemed to stop completely. They stared at each other, not saying a word. He wanted so badly to reach out and stroke her face, wipe away the tear that was now rolling down her cheek, but the weight of the world kept him still. The silence was the only thing holding the two together, but it had to be broken sooner or later.
“I'm sorry,” She said, and walked away leaving him to stare after her. As he watched her fade away into the darkness, he felt a thousand emotions hit him at once and yet he was still letting the one person who ever meant anything to him walk away. He turned away from the spot where she‘d disappeared and finally noticed the dark black sky and the stars shimmering above him in the cold night air. The tears flowed thick and fast down his face, but he didn't bother to wipe them away, they were the statement of his broken heart. He felt as if his whole world been shattered into a million pieces and thrown to the heavens. 'Mike asked me to marry him' echoed in his mind.
"But I love you,” He whispered to the stars that would forever be the pieces of his heart, always out of his reach twinkling teasingly above him. They would always be the beautiful reminder of his pain.