Chasing Calloway

One - I Love Him

Song Of The Chapter || You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift


𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄

I love him. I know I've loved him since second grade. Since the moment he offered me his hand after his friend's basketball hit me in the face. I don't know what heaven is like, but I'm certain I almost died and seeing him for the first time was the closest I ever got to reaching it. I love him irrevocably. I love—

"Hello? Earth to Annie?"

Garrett Blanchard catching me staring dead at him from an approximate one foot distance.

"Yes! Annie is here, so on earth. I was— was just—" Today, Annie, today! "Thinking about that upcoming international relations assignment." He will never believe that.

"The slideshow? I don't blame you, getting up in front of Professor Macklin's class sounds like a death sentence."

Every day I curse and praise the powers that be for having such an oblivious best friend.

I praise because after almost thirteen years of friendship, Garrett Blanchard has never once picked up on the fact that I'm so embarrassingly in love with him.

I curse because after almost thirteen years of friendship, Garrett Blanchard had never once picked up on the fact that I'm so embarrassingly in love with him.

Well, he's not all to blame. Not once have I ever even come close to making a move. Maybe back when I left him an anonymous love letter back in ninth grade for Valentines Day. It didn't do much. He received five that day, and a very special one from Elizabeth—a sophomore—who he started dating. His first girlfriend, and my first heartbreak. Still, I helped him plan dates, assisted in him asking her to homecoming, and watched a whole nine hours straight of survivor with him when he and Elizabeth called it quits after eleven months.

Elizabeth said Garrett never put effort into anything besides ice hockey, or someone else had to push him to do it. I was inclined to agree.

Their breakup made me more upset than I thought it would. I liked Elizabeth, she and I became friends by proxy, and she was never rude about my long-standing friendship with Garrett. I liked her, but I couldn't help but feel a tremendous sense of relief when he called me and asked if I could come over for a reality-tv marathon. I felt like a double agent for almost a year. Sure, it was never even in the realm of possibility that I would try anything while they were together (or ever) but every time Elizabeth would wave to me in the halls while holding his hand, I felt like my emotions alone were the biggest betrayal of all time.

Maybe I was overreacting, maybe it had been years and he was clearly happy without me being romantically involved so I should be as well. But when we fell asleep in the middle of watching Survivor in his living room, blankets strewn all over the place, I knew something was still there. When I woke up at three AM tangled in his arms, with the murmur of reality-tv bickering the background, I knew that it was stronger than ever. I was in love, and it was the first time I had ever given those feelings that name.

When Garret woke up the next afternoon, I was already gone. I left a note saying that I had a study session. At 8am. I have always held the award for worst liar ever. I couldn't face him, not when I realized how true my love was. How it was everything I could hope for and more. That's why it turns back into praise when I think about how incredibly oblivious Garrett Blanchard is when it comes to me. If he knew the truth, I could never imagine how he would react about—

"Annie!" Garrett whisper shouted.

Shit! Caught yet again.

"Relations!" I blurted out, a bit too loud for the class around us. "International Relations." I repeated with a hushed tone. Garrett stifled a laugh. His smile was radiant, I should know because I remembered the news in middle school that he sustained an injury and had to go through procedures to get some of his teeth re-straightened. Under the anesthesia he told me I looked good in pigtails. I wore pigtails for a month afterwards. I sound like a stalker. I am. With permission.

"Annie, you have got to work on that volume control." He chuckled out breathlessly while light brown strands of well kept hair fell into his face. "I know this assignment is stressing you out, but let's try to focus on our other Gen-Ed, yeah? Can't have you failing Abstract Algebra."

Please, I would never fail Abstract Algebra, I was in Calculus by senior year of high school. The only reason I took such a rudimentary Math Gen-Ed class in college was because he was taking it. We agreed to take all of our college Gen-Ed classes together.

We were in two different majors at Wakeford University. Garrett was in Sports Management to go along with his ice hockey scholarship. I was an English major. I had always had a knack for it, so I suppose it was only natural that I got a scholarship.

Wakeford was nationally renowned for its hockey team, so Garrett getting accepted was the chance of a lifetime. For me, going out of the state of Michigan was never really an option because of finances. Wakeford wasn't incredibly famous for their English Literature program, but they stuck a big scholarship in my face that would allow me to graduate with no student debt and that basically sold me on the school. I got accepted early to Wakeford, before Garrett even did. I might be crazy about him but there was no way I was going to follow him out of high-school and base my entire life around him.

...Maybe the thought had crossed my mind. But I would never actually do it!

But fate made something clear to me the day he got the acceptance. The day he told me our friendship wouldn't be defined by once a month FaceTime calls, but ten minute walks to his dorm. Then choosing to live in the same apartment complex once we hit sophomore year. I knew that I was destined to be in his life.

It didn't matter the way I was in his life, being there was enough for me.

So I could get through the friend-zone, the hook-ups, even a girlfriend here or there. It didn't matter. I was in love with Garrett Blanchard. That's what you do when you love someone.

You put their happiness before your own.

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I've never published anything that I've wrote before. I figured I'd try now!

I'd appreciate you following along with the story, thank you!!!

If you want to, please vote, comment, follow, etc etc etc ❤︎

Question Of The Chapter: Who is your favorite musical artists right now?

I've been obsessed with Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers, and TV Girl

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Yours Truly,

November Summers