My Other Half

The very first time I met him was in 8th grade, we went with a group of friends to the high school homecoming game. I didn't know him but from watching, he seemed to be a decent guy. I was too shy to say as much as hello to him. A few weeks late my bus got changed and the bus that I was put on was the same bus he rode. That first ride home on the new bus he noticed me. He came up and sat in the seat across the aisle from me. He asked, "Aren't you the girl from the homecoming game? I'm Ben, what's your name again?" I replied, "You can call me Nicky and yes, I went to the game with you and your friends." He told me his stop was coming up, so he wrote his number down and told me to call him.

It was my stop; I got off the bus, went home and had a snack. I did my homework and pulled out his number. I debated for over an hour before I finally decided to call him. When he answered, my stomach jumped into my throat. My voice sounded shaky and my palms started sweating. I was so nervous, but he seemed so calm. I wasn't very good at phone conversation with boys, so there were a few awkward moments of silence. But Ben broke all of them by saying something completely random to get me to laugh. I didn't really know Ben, but there was something different about him that made me like him. I talked to my friend Morgan about him and she told me that I should go for it, but I was too shy. One Friday night Morgan came over to spend the night and Ben called. Morgan took the phone from me and started to talk to Ben about me. Then out of nowhere she's asking him if he likes me, next she's asking me if I like him. Then she said the words that started our journey, "Then it's settled, you like her, she likes you, you guys should get together." She then tossed the phone back to me. I was completely speechless, words would not come out. Ben broke the silence as always by asking me, "So, are we together now?" I couldn't say anything. He kept saying, "Hello", finally my voice came back and I answered his question. I said "Yes, I would really like to get to know you."

Ben and I talked on the phone the entire weekend pretty much. My grandma was really annoyed with me being on the phone all the time. Monday morning Ben surprised me by standing at my bus stop and waiting on me. I had made wild berry toaster strudels for breakfast. I ate one and gave the other to Ben. He scarfed it down in 4 bites and when he finished licking his fingers, he hugged me and said thank you. From there on, I gave Ben my other toaster strudel. Ben came to visit me at my house a few times during the time we were together, but we always sat outside on the steps or on the porch and never stayed for very long. But he made up for it by talking on the phone with me almost 24/7. Ben also came to see me during the passing periods at school. They were short visits, but for some reason they really meant a lot to me. Ben and I remained together for the rest of my 8th grade year. That summer Ben and his family went to live in Speedway with his grandmother. We tried to maintain our relationship, but neither of us was old enough to drive and we had a hard time getting a ride, so we barely got to see each other. Over time the phone calls got shorter and eventually they barely came at all. It had been about 2 weeks since I had heard from Ben, so I decided it was time I gave him a call. When he answered there was a lot of background noise, like he was at a party. I told him that it wasn't working anymore, and that I thought it would be best if we went our separate ways. That was the last time I had expected to ever talk to him again.

It was two days after my 16th birthday and I was in my sophomore year of high school. I was leaving gym when I turned the corner and there he was. I almost didn't recognize him at first. He had braces and had gotten much taller. He looked shocked. I couldn't help but to give him a hug. I couldn't believe it; I thought I was never going to see him again. We talked for a second then I went on my way. That night I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. It was him. He asked how I had been and told me he was glad he got to see me again. Then my stomach got butterflies like I was back in 8th grade. I told him I couldn't believe that we bumped into each other like that and I was glad to see him too. We talked a little more about school, family, and nonsense. When I got off the phone I felt like a little girl again and it was my first crush. I couldn't help but to smile. I went to bed thinking about him. The next day he was waiting at the corner for me, and walked me to my next class. Ben was being really sweet, and he was making it impossible to not want to give him a second chance.

I was with a guy named Jason at the time, he was older and I liked him. It turned out though he was just using me to make another girl want him. Once that girl decided she wanted Jason he left me to be with her. Ben said he was felt bad that Jason treated me that way. Ben invited me to hang out at his mom's house with him. I told him I couldn't then because I had homework, but I would that weekend. That following Friday my grandma gave me a ride to Ben's moms. We got lost once we got inside of the trailer park. I called Ben and he walked up to the entrance to meet us. We finally made it to his house, my grandma told me to be home before 10 and she left. We went inside, I couldn't believe it was a trailer;