Not Even Love
Title: Not Even Love
Rating: G
Author: Kat
Word Count: 1037
Summary: The girl and the boy had known each other all their lives, but not everything can last forever....not even love.
Notes: Maybe possibly half-based on something that really happened >.> Mostly me rambling and letting out some steam. Didnt' even bother to really proof read it....
A boy and a girl had been friends since they were both very young. They played together, spent their summers between school together, and shared every secret with each other. When they grew to be consenting adults, the boy confessed that he loved the girl.
‘I suppose I love you too.’ the girl said.
‘Suppose?’ asked the boy, bewildered.
‘Yes.’ said the girl. ‘Because I am very fond of you and I can’t see myself living my life without you.’
‘Then you love me!’ The boy exclaimed.
‘Yes.’ the girl agreed. ‘I suppose.’
The boy, happy in this knowledge, was content to let things go at that and they continued on as normal close friends do---the girl dragged the boy out shopping with her, the boy asked her out to lunch and took her to the movies, they held hands as they had since childhood, or they simply sat in companionable silence together when neither one could really think of anything to do.
Then the boy asked the girl to marry him.
‘I suppose.’ said the girl.
‘Is that a yes?’ asked the boy.
‘After college.’ the girl replied. ‘Then maybe we will be married.’
The boy was ecstatic and told all of his friends that he was engaged to his best friend. In their small town, the word spread quickly, aided in its speed by technology that can not be stamped out, even in the country, and soon people were stopping the girl in the store and on the street to congratulate her and ask when the wedding was. The girl grew more and more uncomfortable with these questions until finally she confronted the boy.
‘Why are people asking me when we are to be married?’ she asked.
‘Why, because we are getting married, aren’t we?’ He replied, surprised.
‘I’m getting a doctorates. That’s seven more years.’ she pointed out, annoyed that he hadn’t remembered this. ‘Then maybe we will get married. Someone told me she heard it was happening next March.’
‘Sorry.’ the boy said, looking abashed but no less eager. ‘I just thought that maybe you would want to start planning ahead?’ The girl just shook her head and left.
Time passed, the boy and the girl both lost touch with each other for a few weeks, despite living just down the road form one another---the girl bounced form job to job and went to school off and on when she could afford it. The boy, learning the craft of a professional chef while working full time as a manager in a fast food place, was either at work, in class or asleep and didn’t have time to talk to the girl. This bothered the girl slightly, as she missed her best friend dearly, but she didn’t call him for fear that she would wake him or catch him at work and get him in trouble. The boy just didn’t have time to call.
Then, one day over the summer when class was out and the boy had more free time, he asked the girl if she wanted to come over. The girl happily agreed. When she got there, the boy’s family welcomed her warmly, as they had known her as long as the boy had and she had spent many lazy days in their house.
‘So,’ the boy’s father said, grinning at the girl who was not much shorter than he was. ‘I hear you and my son are engaged.’
‘We’re not engaged!’ the girl exclaimed, looking very surprised. The boy and his family stared back at her, equally shocked.
‘But…yes we are!’ the boy protested. ‘You agreed to marry me, remember?’
‘Yes.’ said the girl with a sigh. ‘I suppose I did. But I don’t much believe in engagement---you’re either married or you’re not.’ she paused thoughtfully and tilted her head. ‘And, while I’m thinking of it, I suppose I don’t really believe much in marriage, either. Not the way you keep going on about it anyway.’
‘Oh?’ the boy snapped, annoyed. ‘Then what’s your idea of marriage?’
‘Why, living with someone of whom you are very, very fond, of course, and being closest only to that person. That is a true marriage, to me.’
‘What about love?’ the boy demanded. The girl shrugged.
‘How do you mean Love?’ she asked. ‘Love is a very romanticized term that has been blown out of proportion by sappy bodice rippers and adolescent girls dreaming of her Disney Prince Charming. Love as most people define it, does not exist. I don’t think so anyway. Humans simply aren’t biologically capable of it.’
‘But you love me!’ the boy cried, distraught. ‘You said it yourself!’
‘I do love you!’ The girl cried, becoming distressed as he did. ‘I am very, very, very fond of you! You’re my best friend and I can’t see the rest of my life without you! I love spending time with you! But I do not Love you in the way you mean it!’ They were both silent for a long while.
‘I do not want to marry in front of a group of people, exchange vows, make it legal.’ the girl said finally. ‘All of that is pointless pomp and circumstance that human beings have invented in order to show off and to make sure that everyone knows that such-and-such is taken and therefore cannot sleep with someone else, not that everyone listens, which is a whole other issue I have with marriage that I don‘t want to get into right now. I do not believe that sex has an emotional role in love and that one person should be bound to another in anyway other than fondness and feeling. I adore you, my best, best friend, and I will stay with you forever if I can and I will continue to care for you always---that is my love and that is my agreement to marry you. If you will have me. But do not tie me to you or put me in a cage because it will only make me run. I want to always have a choice, and option, and I want you to as well. Because nothing lasts forever. Nothing. Not even Love.’
Rating: G
Author: Kat
Word Count: 1037
Summary: The girl and the boy had known each other all their lives, but not everything can last forever....not even love.
Notes: Maybe possibly half-based on something that really happened >.> Mostly me rambling and letting out some steam. Didnt' even bother to really proof read it....
A boy and a girl had been friends since they were both very young. They played together, spent their summers between school together, and shared every secret with each other. When they grew to be consenting adults, the boy confessed that he loved the girl.
‘I suppose I love you too.’ the girl said.
‘Suppose?’ asked the boy, bewildered.
‘Yes.’ said the girl. ‘Because I am very fond of you and I can’t see myself living my life without you.’
‘Then you love me!’ The boy exclaimed.
‘Yes.’ the girl agreed. ‘I suppose.’
The boy, happy in this knowledge, was content to let things go at that and they continued on as normal close friends do---the girl dragged the boy out shopping with her, the boy asked her out to lunch and took her to the movies, they held hands as they had since childhood, or they simply sat in companionable silence together when neither one could really think of anything to do.
Then the boy asked the girl to marry him.
‘I suppose.’ said the girl.
‘Is that a yes?’ asked the boy.
‘After college.’ the girl replied. ‘Then maybe we will be married.’
The boy was ecstatic and told all of his friends that he was engaged to his best friend. In their small town, the word spread quickly, aided in its speed by technology that can not be stamped out, even in the country, and soon people were stopping the girl in the store and on the street to congratulate her and ask when the wedding was. The girl grew more and more uncomfortable with these questions until finally she confronted the boy.
‘Why are people asking me when we are to be married?’ she asked.
‘Why, because we are getting married, aren’t we?’ He replied, surprised.
‘I’m getting a doctorates. That’s seven more years.’ she pointed out, annoyed that he hadn’t remembered this. ‘Then maybe we will get married. Someone told me she heard it was happening next March.’
‘Sorry.’ the boy said, looking abashed but no less eager. ‘I just thought that maybe you would want to start planning ahead?’ The girl just shook her head and left.
Time passed, the boy and the girl both lost touch with each other for a few weeks, despite living just down the road form one another---the girl bounced form job to job and went to school off and on when she could afford it. The boy, learning the craft of a professional chef while working full time as a manager in a fast food place, was either at work, in class or asleep and didn’t have time to talk to the girl. This bothered the girl slightly, as she missed her best friend dearly, but she didn’t call him for fear that she would wake him or catch him at work and get him in trouble. The boy just didn’t have time to call.
Then, one day over the summer when class was out and the boy had more free time, he asked the girl if she wanted to come over. The girl happily agreed. When she got there, the boy’s family welcomed her warmly, as they had known her as long as the boy had and she had spent many lazy days in their house.
‘So,’ the boy’s father said, grinning at the girl who was not much shorter than he was. ‘I hear you and my son are engaged.’
‘We’re not engaged!’ the girl exclaimed, looking very surprised. The boy and his family stared back at her, equally shocked.
‘But…yes we are!’ the boy protested. ‘You agreed to marry me, remember?’
‘Yes.’ said the girl with a sigh. ‘I suppose I did. But I don’t much believe in engagement---you’re either married or you’re not.’ she paused thoughtfully and tilted her head. ‘And, while I’m thinking of it, I suppose I don’t really believe much in marriage, either. Not the way you keep going on about it anyway.’
‘Oh?’ the boy snapped, annoyed. ‘Then what’s your idea of marriage?’
‘Why, living with someone of whom you are very, very fond, of course, and being closest only to that person. That is a true marriage, to me.’
‘What about love?’ the boy demanded. The girl shrugged.
‘How do you mean Love?’ she asked. ‘Love is a very romanticized term that has been blown out of proportion by sappy bodice rippers and adolescent girls dreaming of her Disney Prince Charming. Love as most people define it, does not exist. I don’t think so anyway. Humans simply aren’t biologically capable of it.’
‘But you love me!’ the boy cried, distraught. ‘You said it yourself!’
‘I do love you!’ The girl cried, becoming distressed as he did. ‘I am very, very, very fond of you! You’re my best friend and I can’t see the rest of my life without you! I love spending time with you! But I do not Love you in the way you mean it!’ They were both silent for a long while.
‘I do not want to marry in front of a group of people, exchange vows, make it legal.’ the girl said finally. ‘All of that is pointless pomp and circumstance that human beings have invented in order to show off and to make sure that everyone knows that such-and-such is taken and therefore cannot sleep with someone else, not that everyone listens, which is a whole other issue I have with marriage that I don‘t want to get into right now. I do not believe that sex has an emotional role in love and that one person should be bound to another in anyway other than fondness and feeling. I adore you, my best, best friend, and I will stay with you forever if I can and I will continue to care for you always---that is my love and that is my agreement to marry you. If you will have me. But do not tie me to you or put me in a cage because it will only make me run. I want to always have a choice, and option, and I want you to as well. Because nothing lasts forever. Nothing. Not even Love.’