Girl Next Door

Trevor Moran lived next door to me. He had an older brother who no one ever saw much of, named Lucas. He moved in during the summer, a few weeks after my thirteenth birthday and had become quite the stud in his time being here. I'd had a crush on him since the first day I saw him. He had the most astounding smile and a gorgeous face, deep brown eyes, and dark brunette hair. He had flawless skin, with just a slight tan. He was outgoing and athletic, always out in the street passing a football back and forth with some of the other guys in the neighborhood. No one ever knew I had a crush on him and that was how I liked it; what I didn't like is just being the girl next door. He never seemed to notice me, I simply blended in with my surrounding and was invisible to him.
His life seemed so perfect, his aura so carefree. He had friends and great looks, girls that dreamed of weddings with him, and so much more going for him. His grades weren't so bad. Even when I was sixteen and he was seventeen, he seemed so perfect. He had already been offered athletic scholarships, he was still cute as ever, he was still popular, and he still hadn't ever noticed me.
I guess I just assumed that there were people who had nothing and people who had everything, with no gray zones in between. I remember getting off the bus and starting to walk home when Daniel Littler and his little group of friends had approached me, all grinning, and knocked my books out of my hands, so that they scattered all over the ground. They surrounded me, like wolves around a rabbit they'd labeled as their next victim, all taking turns shoving me around and making their little comments towards me. Trevor was the one who'd finally shown up and nailed Dan in the face, it swelled up real good too. The others scattered and I remember that perfect smile being directed at me as he offered his hand towards me to help me up.1

"Sophia, right?" he asked, pulling me to my feet.
"Uh... yeah," I murmured, shyly, brushing myself off.
He has knelt over and started gathering my books, "Sorry 'bout those guys, they're real assholes,"
I looked to the ground, afraid to catch a glimpse of his beautiful brown gaze, being confused as ever, and even a bit excited. "It wasn't your fault, thanks a lot Trevor..."
"It's nothing," he had said, already walking with my books, "How 'bout I get you home?"
"Uh, sure, yeah.. okay," I shuddered, catching up with him. "Why'd you help me?" I had finally asked.
"Because you don't deserve to be treated like that," he responded simply, a saw his eyes change slightly, looking saddened. "No one does," he finished, a frown appearing on his face.
I hadn't ever realized why he had been saddened by that statement, but ever since that day we ended up spending a lot of time together. He had become my best friend. It wasn't until a week before prom, I'd learned the true significance of his saddened expression that day. I learned his older brother, Lucas, had gotten himself in a lot of trouble before they moved in next door. Apparently he was an outcast who never really fit in and so he became a pretty defensive character. He was always getting into fights, most though, he hadn't started. They had moved after he had gotten in a really bad fight where he was slammed real bad in the head and back. I had never known that the reason he was so rarely around was because he was always in the hospital, and I hadn't ever realized that his brother had eventually passed away. I guess Trevor was really good at hiding his emotions, because no one had even noticed a change in his behavior after his brother died. I was sad for him, I hadn't realized that Mr. Perfect had gone through so much sorrow and pain. I finally realized that no one's life was perfect, even if it seemed as if it was. I remembered seeing him bow his head, the memory of his brother now fresh in his mind. I remember seeing him cry and felt a pain of my own surge through my own body just seeing him in pain. I made sure that he knew I was there for him and I would always be right next door, if he ever needed someone to talk to. I wanted so badly to take his pain from him.
I remember the next day I found a bouquet of beautiful flowers at my front door step, a little note attached that asked if I would go to prom with Trevor. Of course I was delighted and immediately went next door to seem him. He must have been anticipating I would be there, because I didn't even have to knock before the door opened and he was smiling at me. Prom was amazing, looking into those eyes and being held in his arms. That perfect smile once again directed at me. When it had finally ended we sat on the swinging chair on his front porch, beneath a dark sky on a warm night, the stars twinkling. It was then I'd received my first kiss ever, and the most warm, intense, passionate feeling I could ever remember having surged through my body with utter delight.
My name is Sophia Moran. I am twenty-five years old and married to the most amazing man in the world. The two of us high school sweethearts, are together and now I know I'm noticed, I know that I will always have someone to help me through my struggles, and I know that he is always loving me, and in return I am and will forever be here for him always, through his struggles, and I will always be loving him.