Riiiiinnnnggggg!

The sound of my alarm startled me on Monday morning, and I drew in a deep breath as my eyelids fluttered open. I pulled back my beige comforter and lazily rolled off the bed with a soft thump. I moaned unhappily. The sunlight reflected through the trees outside my window, and as a slight breeze passed, the light danced. I pushed myself up and sat against my white nightstand, trying to remember what I was supposed to be doing. I gasped stupidly when I recalled the fact that I was supposed to be getting ready for school. I hopped up and staggered a little bit, but caught myself.

I probably look drunk, I thought with a laugh.

I walked over to the bathroom, and began brushing my wavy, golden curls. I smiled at how my hair always looked good. I never had to flat iron or curl it; I would simply wake up this way. "You get it from your grandmother," my dad used to say. I stopped in mid-brush.

Sometimes I forget he's dead.

It was three years ago, and he got in a wreck. He was drinking recklessly and rammed into another car.

When I found out, I couldn't sleep for three days straight, and I cried the whole time. It was odd to me why I was so upset-I never really spent much time with him and he was always drinking and fighting with mom, anyway. It must have been my empathy.

I continued my daily routine, which consisted of normal hygienic customs; getting dressed and the like. I pulled on a loose, vintage gray sweater and a pair of too-tight black skinny jeans. I shoved my feet into my low-top black converse, grabbed my backpack and keys, and made a beeline for the kitchen. I crammed a banana in my mouth and grabbed a water. I bolted outside and slipped into my car. I relaxed when I noticed the time.

It was 6:45. I had rushed for nothing.

I drove slowly, taking in the softly falling leaves and aqua sky. There wasn't much to my town, Smallhaven, but that. Smallhaven was a small town in North Florida-it was a relatively mundane and normal place. It was sunny in the summer and snowy in the winter; tiny strip malls were everywhere.

I arrived at school around 7:00, and nobody was there. I sat silently there for a minute, but quickly became bored. I pulled on a white and gray plaid jacket and stepped out of the car. I began to walk the perimeter of the school.

There was nothing special about Bretts High. It was big and brown. There were no special exchange or arts programs. That disappointed me, because I loved playing guitar.

I noticed a car pull into the parking lot, then another one. Soon more pulled in, so I scrambled back to my car to grab my bag.

I grabbed my books from my locker, and ambled towards my first class. I kept my eyes on the ground. Suddenly, I bumped into somebody, and my books fell to the floor. I bent down to pick them up without looking to see who I ran into. "Gosh, I'm sorry…I didn't see you…" a male voice apologized as I gathered my textbooks. Whoever-it-was bent down, too, to help me. He collected my books in one swift motion and handed me them.

This time I looked up.

The world stopped for a moment.

His face…his eyes…there wasn't anything about him that wasn't perfect.

His blond hair hung perfectly around his face, and his eyes were a strange ice-y kind of blue. His face was too clear-too perfect. I found it hard to look away.

His face twisted into an enthusiastic grin.

Reverie.

We both stood up in unison, and I found him holding his hand out to shake.

"Hi, I'm Benjamin. You can call me Ben or Benny or whatever."

I stared at his hand for a moment, then lifted my hand to shake it. His hands were warm.

"Nice to meet you Benny-" I sounded like I was choking. "I'm Eden."

I was surprised I could get myself to say anything.

Benny chuckled, and I thought I heard him murmur, "That's ironic."

I realized I was grinning, too.

"What's your first class?" he asked.

I looked down at my French textbook, and he followed my gaze.

"I guess we should go to French then."

We trudged towards class slowly. I could tell he didn't want to end the conversation either. Luckily, French was downstairs, at the end of the hall.

"Are you new here?" I was calmer now.

"Yes. Are you?" I noticed his voice was like silk.

"No. I've been here for two years. What school did you go to before here?"

"Homeschooled." He sounded almost like he was annoyed.

Then, bam, we were at class. Time went by so fast.

He held the door open for me, and I mumbled a thank you.

Benny sat by me in class, but we didn't get a chance to talk over the loud teacher.

I couldn't stop staring at him. I don't think he minded, though, because he couldn't stop staring at me either.

What perplexed me the most was his eyes-the color was unlike any eye color I'd ever seen. They looked almost like somebody put a blue light behind a block of ice. I made a mental note to ask him about them.

We had the next two classes together, then lunch.

Benny interrogated me. He must have been making up for the silence in the other classes.

He asked me questions about my hobbies, and my pets, and then my family.

"What're your parents like?" He sounded somewhat eager.

"My mom's…weird. My dad's…dead."

He pulled back in shock, but then he relaxed. "Sorry."

"It's fine. People make that mistake all the time." I played with the lid on my water bottle.

"Does your mom treat you well?"

I sighed. "She's okay. She leaves early in the morning and comes home late at night, so I don't see her a whole lot. But we occasionally hang out on weekends."

"Occasionally…" he muttered. "so do you just take care of yourself?"

I laughed. "I guess so…"

"That explains it…"

"You mutter a lot." I noticed.

"Sorry," he spoke louder this time. I laughed again.

"What're your parents like?" I was getting a little tired of being in the spotlight.

"They're just like normal parents, I guess…" he sounded dubious.

"Do you spend a lot of time with them?"

He hesitated. "Not really. Only because I'm pretty independent."

I thought about that for a moment. "How do you spend your free time?"

"It doesn't really matter." He seemed defensive.

"Hm." I dropped the conversation, and the bell rang just in time.

For the rest of the day, he followed me around. Or maybe I was following him around.

We had all of our classes together but one, which was math. That didn't bother me; I was horrible at math. It saved me from further embarrassment.

The next two weeks went just like that.

I learned two things those 14 days:

One, Benny was hiding something from me.

Two, he liked me. Alot.

It was the way he looked at me-like he saw a Christmas tree light up for the first time-that I could tell. I probably looked like that too, though.

I wondered why we liked each other so much. Anyone could easily tell why I liked him-he was perfect. In every single way explainable. Perfect, perfect, and perfect.

But the reason he liked me was unbeknownst. There was nothing special about me. I wasn't even that pretty. I was a boring, gray blob.

It was strange, because whenever I was away from him, I kept getting anxious. But when I was back with him, the anxiety was gone. I wondered if there was a name for that.

Sunday night, my phone lit up with a text.

Benny: Hello, Eden.

I smiled, and texted him back.

Eden: Hi

Benny: Do you need a ride to school tomorrow?

Eden: No, but I'll gladly take a free one.

Benny: I'll be there around seven.

Eden: Cool

I assumed the conversation was over, so I clicked my phone off.

The next morning, I woke up around 6:35, so I rushed. I pulled on a gray tank top, a white cardigan, black skinny jeans, and my usual, routine black converse. At exactly seven, a small white car pulled into the driveway. I peeked out of my window to make sure it was Benny. I grinned when he waved at me. I ran downstairs quickly and bounded out the door, grabbing my backpack as I did. I was practically out of breath when I reached his car.

We both grinned when we saw each other.

I touched the handle, and he unlocked the door. I wondered why he had it locked.

"You didn't even eat breakfast…" he sounded somewhat offended. I poked his arm childishly. "How'd you know that?" He didn't answer. I made a huffing sound.

He started the car, and backed out of my driveway. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept in, so yes." He smiled.

I wondered if it gave him satisfaction to know I was well.

There was a moment of silence, but then he asked, "Why did your parents name you Eden?" I thought for a moment. "Because I grew up in a Christian household, and my mom wanted to reflect that. Eden Grace." He grinned. "I'm glad you're a Christian."

I grinned back. "Me too."

We small-talked the rest of the ride, which was mostly him telling why his parents named him Benjamin. Apparently there was some big inside story behind it.

The day went by as all the days with him went. Benny seemed so intrigued by my mundane existence-I didn't get it. His life seemed somewhat interesting-by that, I mean the bits and pieces he gave me. Every time I tried to ask him something, he replied with a simple, unspecific answer. I couldn't draw any conclusion to what his problem was.

At lunch, he offered to take me on a walk after school. I couldn't turn down that offer. I wasn't really into walking, but any chance to be with him would be worth it.

"What do you think of me?" Benny asked me while we were driving to the park. I elaborated on that.

What did I think of him. I couldn't just say 'I like you' because that would be my feelings, not thoughts.

"I think…you're perfect." I barely enunciated perfect. A puzzled look spread across his face. "Perfect?" I nodded. He chuckled. "I'm far from perfect. If anyone was perfect, it'd be you." Now I was the one who was confused. "No! You're a Saint! I'm just a piece of sh…" my voice trailed off.

Benny parked at the parking lot, and did three things.

He got out of the car.

He opened my door.

He yanked me out of the car, pulled me into his arms, and kissed me.

I wasn't surprised at all.