One Point Five - An Untold Tale of High School

Hello, friends and lovers!
Halloween is fast approaching, and I'm reminded of an untold tale of my past.  I'm somewhat surprised I didn't share this one with you earlier, considering the impact it had on my young heart, but I'm getting ahead of myself.  I'll start from the beginning, since that's usually the most sensible way to go about these things.
Disclaimer:  some of the following events may be slightly idealized.  But this is my blog, so I can do what I want, dammit!
I was roughly sixteen, and it was the first day of school.  I was sitting quietly, waiting for my next class to begin, when she walked into the room.  It was kind of like one of those moments you see on TV when things suddenly slow down, and some sort of romantic theme music plays.  I was instantly in love, even though I didn't know her name.  I had a feeling she was out of my league, but I wanted her so much I didn't care.  She was one of those girls who everyone wanted, but at the same time, she was also the 'I don't need a guy' type. It was an ambitious goal for me, and I had almost no clue where to start.
Soon, I learned her name by asking around, and learned about her by talking to her friends.  (for the purposes of this blog, her name was One Point Five)  Being the guy I am, I couldn't just simply ask her out.  Just the sight of her made my mouth dry up and my heart do a crazy drum solo, and even if I was to talk to her, my nerves probably would have made my voice squeak something terrible.  Even the smell of her was enough to set me off.  She always wore a certain vanilla scent, and it was a lovely addition to an already fantastically beautiful young lady.  In short, she was stunning to just about all of my senses.  It's actually a little startling to think of how much detail I remember, even years later.
So, I came up with a brilliant plan.  In a wonderful coincidence, her locker happened to be located near mine.  I wrote her a number of poems, and would secretly slip them into her locker every once in a while.  Wanting to add a little mystery to the whole affair (although that didn't work quite as planned, as you'll see later), I signed the poems with a fake name (which may have been stolen from the work of Tolkien) and a little heart insignia I made up.
This went on for a few weeks, and then came the big night:  the Halloween dance.  As always, I attended the dance, in hopes that One Point Five would be there.  I didn't spot her at first, but I still enjoyed myself, and tried not to think about it.  After a little while, I noticed her presence.  She had a sort of Morticia Addams costume, and it looked incredible.  I spent a little time staring at her from across the room, and trying to figure out how to reveal myself to her as her secret admirer.  Before I realized it, it was the last dance.  They were playing A Long December by Counting Crows (still one of my favourite songs), and I knew that it was my last chance.  I crossed the room to her, my pulse pounding like a jackhammer, and asked her to dance.  Remember that scene from Can't Hardly Wait (90s kids, stay with me here) when the main guy finally gets to talk to Jennifer Love Hewitt's character just before she leaves the party, and he tells her all the things he's been waiting all night to tell her?  It was kind of like that, but minus the angry speech and storming off afterward part.  Anyway, she said yes, and we danced one of the most memorable slow dances I have ever known.
I told her that I was the secret admirer who had been writing to her.  It turned out that she already knew, because of my handwriting.  She told me that the letters were sweet, and she appreciated them, which made me feel lighter than air for a few moments.  Sadly, that feeling didn't last for long, because that was when she told me she already had a boyfriend.  The music ended, and she gave me a small parting hug, and that was the end of my love story.
I don't remember precisely, but I was probably somewhat devastated after that.  I'm fairly certain I wrote a few awful poems about how sad I was, and stupid teenage things of that nature.  But, seeing things from where I am now, I think this was honestly one of the best romantic experiences of my young life.  I not only got the courage to talk to one of the hottest girls in school, but I got to dance with her.  More importantly, she appreciated the nice things I had written about her, even though my affections were somewhat misplaced.  The dance was kind of a nice way of being let down gently.  Now that I think about it, it was probably the best rejection I could have gotten, and One Point Five was very nice to do things the way she did them.
I think if the time ever comes that I have to break up with anyone, I'll use this 'last dance' method.  I don't want to hurt anyone, and this seems to be the kindest approach.