Each of her legs were on opposite sides of his as she straddled him in that tiny desk chair. Each of her hands ran through his dark hair, teasing it and twisting it around her fingers. His hands were placed on each of her thighs, his thumbs moving in little circles across her denim jeans. Her hair hung in those loose brown curls that I remembered so well; the very ones that I used to push gingerly out of her face so that I could see her brown-amber eyes. A tiny smile played at her lips; the very ones that used to dance with mine in memories that seemed like perfect dreams, too far from this dismal reality to be considered real.

I couldn’t tell you how long I stood there, just staring at the people before me. I could feel each of my fingers and then my entire hands numbing, my forehead tingly with some feeling that I hadn’t felt in a while. My stomach felt as though someone’s hand had closed around it and was squeezing it tighter and tighter by the moment. All of time seemed to stand still, and I was frozen where I stood. All was still and lifeless, except for  my broken heart, which pounded erratically in my chest at an impossibly loud volume.

            “Spencer Carlin?” I heard a distant adult voice say. It was probably belonging to the teacher who would monitor this detention, but I couldn’t look up. I nodded slowly, hoping that this satisfied the muffled voice, so far from what was important right now. No sooner had the voice said my name, in one instant, I watched everything change. Her body, moments ago so fluid and relaxed became rigid. Her hands stopped and removed themselves from his hair. The smile that had been playing at her lips had been subdued, and her perfect head turned and faced me with a look that could be described as blank and confused. Her eyes met mine, and I could feel them searching for some kind of answer. I knew Aiden was looking too, but I couldn’t have cared less. Her eyes were on mine, for the first time in months, and it was intoxicating. They held me there, and I prayed that she would soon look away and let me go so that I could gasp for the breath that my lungs were lacking. If it was even possible, everything had become even stiller. Even my fragmented and weakening heart had been arrested.

            “Spencer?” A cold gust of air rushed into my lungs and sent me breathing once more. I wished that I could have made myself look calm, but I knew that my breathing was uneven, choppy, and worst of all, loud. I was practically panting. I barely heard the whisper that escaped her lips, but my eyes were focused on them so intently that I could read my name when it was said. I had for so long wanted to see my name on those perfect lips. To hear it sung in her velvety voice, but now it had an adverse effect on me. It was like a stab to my lungs, my stomach, every other organ and part. Nearly blinded my the pain, the endless memories flickering through my mind like still frames, I turned and made my way towards the door, praying that my feet would guide me there on their own, for my mind was too far away to offer any kind of help.