Crush(ed).

(Fig. A: Crush according to my memories from 1998. Stars, rainbows and hearts actually were in constant orbit around him.)

My fondest teenybopper crush-memory was this boy in eighth grade who befriended me when I was a scared new kid in a new school. We ended up as homeroom buddies and constantly got reprimanded by the teacher for “playing footsie” under the desks when we were actually trying to kick each other in the shins because everyone knows kicking someone in the shins is the craziest fun one can have with a crush (or anyone) during class. I sat in a desk perpendicular to his and during class he’d always tilt his cute little head back all the way to stare at me in boredom and his eyes were the brownest eyes my little 13 year old heart could ever hope to drown in. My teenybopper heart nearly suffocated with emotion, and at an abject loss of how to react to his gaze, I would then stab him between the eyes with a mechanical pencil, triggering another round of friendly kick-em-in-the-shins.

The other day whilst sharing teenybopper crush stories with my buddy M I got so overwhelmed by warm fuzzies and nostalgia that I searched and found him on Facebook, only to my immediate regret.


(Fig.B: Crush present day no longer accompanied by band of hearts, stars and rainbows.)

(Fig. C: All of Susan's fond memories instantly decimated by a single facebook picture.)

Some things are definately better left unseen.