I remember it being a rather gloomy day. Clouds were obscuring the blue above. There was bit of a chill in the air. I slipped on my beat-up sneakers and dirty jacket and began to walk down the road to my best friend’s house.

She was a pale, freckle-faced girl with long, brown hair and her eyes were blue with grey accents. Most people would call her plain but to me, she was anything but. To me, she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. When I would look at her, time seemed to come to a complete stop. Everything made sense in my life when she was near. The only problem was that she was way too good for me. How could someone like me possibly be able to make someone like her feel the same way? It was just a silly dream of mine and it would stay that way for as long as she called me her “best friend.” At least that’s what I thought.

After a short walk, I reached her front door. I wiped my messy shoes on the mat and I knocked. She opened the door and stepped out. We walked side-by-side and exchanged words about school that day, as was normal for us to do. She was in a grade above me so she would go on about all the latest eighth grade gossip and complain about her teachers and how hard the work was. I would never listen though. I would just nod my head in agreement and stare at her, admiring her beauty and wishing that I had enough courage to tell her how I truly felt. After a few minutes of strolling, we came upon our destination.

Her dad built her this treehouse when she was younger and it was often where we spent most of our days. We sat in two old lawn chairs we had hoisted up there a few months prior. She continued to talk but I was more reserved than usual. She stopped talking abruptly when she noticed my focus was elsewhere. She was always able to see right through me and know exactly what I was thinking.

“Hey” she said in a concerned tone. “What’s up with you? You haven’t been yourself today.”

“I’m fine” I lied. “Just a headache. It’s no big deal”

“You don’t have to lie to me. I can help. No matter what it is.” She put her hand on my knee and and ours eyes met.

I sighed heavily. My heart was beating out my chest. My stomach was in knots. “If I tell you, you won’t think I’m weird or stop being my friend, will you?” I said in a worried way.

“Of course not” she said. “I would never think you’re weird.”

My mind was racing and I couldn’t think straight. “What if she gets weirded out? What if this ruins our friendship? What if she laughs in my face? What if-”

Then it happened, the moment I had been waiting for. At first it came as a shock to me but it felt as if it was meant to be, her lips against mine. It was as if she had given me a gift. Like she shared with me something that was dear to her heart. My own heart swelled as the bitter chill of autumn had suddenly changed to a warm summer breeze. When I pulled away from her, she stared at me with those blue-gray eyes in the same manner that I had I looked at her. All the feelings of uncertainty that I had before of being a clueless young boy had changed. That kiss made me feel something I had never felt before. And that feeling was love.