Not So Romeo

14

Tatum

I honestly feel like being a teenager is the worst part of anyone's life, especially mine. There are many reasons why being a teenager sucks:

Huge expectations; everyone expects you to be mature enough to handle the things adults do. But how can we if we're only kids? Yes we can do some stuff, but society doesn't deem us responsible and mature enough for others.

Hormones and Puberty; sure we learn a bit about this in fifth grade health class, but it doesn't prepare us enough for when we actually go through it. I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say puberty was one of the scariest things I've ever gone through. Out of no where, our once smooth faces are now covered with pimples. Hair is growing in places we never wanted it to, and when learning to shave, we may accidentally cut ourselves which hurts pretty badly. Our hormones go crazy and whenever we see someone attractive, we get this funny feeling in our downstairs region. Honestly, I can go on and on about this topic.

Bullying; honestly, bullies will be a problem no matter how old you are. But it's worse when you're a teenager. For girls, society has an ideal teenage girl made up. If we don't fit into that 100%, we get shamed. You're either too fat or too skinny, too tall or too short, too smart or too dumb, ect. It's like we will never be good enough and our peers have to point that out. If you sleep with even one person, you're labeled a slut. For guys, it's a bit different but still just as bad. The way that it's different is they can sleep with a hundred girls and get praised for it. Well obviously not a hundred but you get it. But at the same time, they will get bullied for not being the most athletic person or for being smart and so on. Just because of society's image of a perfect teenager.

Parents; I'm sure a lot of you can agree with me that sometimes, our parents just don't get it. Yes they were teenagers too, once upon a time. But as much as it was the same, it's also very different to back then. They're just not on the same wavelength as us and it gets really hard.

Independence and Privacy; back to the maturity thing. Adults say we're mature but still treat us like children. We just don't get enough privacy to really be independent.

'Love;' our first love is hard. It's the first time we truly care about someone other than family. But with a first love, comes a first heart break. The entire relationship tugs at your heartstrings and you don't know if it's a good or a bad thing. Another thing with love as a teenager, is a lot of the time it's not love but infatuation. Then again, if it is love, everyone says it's not because apparently we're too young to know what love is. I call bull on that one.

Bad Reputation; we teens get a bad reputation because of a minority the old people call "hoodlums." Those so called "hoodlums" gave the rest of us the reputation of being obnoxious, disrespectful, delinquents, and any other bad stereotype adults give us teens.

Identity; our teenage years are the ones we use to really figure out who we are. While that can be a good thing, it's also bad. We are so lost because we don't know who we truly are just yet and as we try to figure it out, we get judged. Then we get put into these stereotypes that aren't actually who we are but think we are because everyone is saying that. In turn, this makes us even more confused about our identity.

"Alright class, put down your pencils and trade papers with your seat mates." Mrs.Smith, the English teacher, announces and we all comply.

I trade with Alex and he smiles sheepishly when he gives me his paper. I look at it and see only three sentences written. Well this'll be easy.

"How'd you manage to only get three sentences done in half an hour? It was an easy topic."

Alex shrugs, "I got distracted."

"By?" I question.

He shrugs again, nonchalantly. "You."

I roll my eyes and read his short paragraph.

The worst part of life, not just as a teenager, is that you are rarely ever noticed by the one you love. They either hate you, friend zone you, family zone you, or are unaware of your existence. In my case, I'm forever in the friend zone because the girl I love loves somebody else.

I finish reading and look at Alex, who is reading my paper. "Who do you love?"

He looks at me with a frown, "Isn't it obvious?" I shake my head no. "You. I love you."

"I'm sorry." I look down at my hands and Alex takes one in his, causing me to look back up.

"Why are you sorry."

"I'm probably the worst person on Earth to love. And I've practically ignored you the last couple weeks. I'm horrible."

Alex rolls his eyes and changes the subject, "You wrote quite a bit. Seems like you do a lot of thinking about this."

I shrug, I don't really know what to say to him, I feel horrible. I'm absolutely the worst friend in the world. "Tatum, stop. Don't beat yourself up, it's not your fault. We can't control who we fall for."

He's right, but I was still a horrible friend. "I'm still sorry. I just kicked you to the curb when Shawn came into my life."

He gives me a small smile, "It's okay. I see how happy he makes you. It's like he flipped on a switch that nobody knew was there. I'm not sure you realize it, but you two are falling fast and hard for each other."

I laugh nervously, "We're not falling for each other, it's just a little crush. It'll be gone in a month tops." he just gives me a knowing smile and takes his paper as well as mine to the teacher's desk.

Not long after, the bell rings and we're off to lunch. As usual, Shawn is waiting at the doors to the cafeteria. I wonder how he always gets there so fast. I guess I'll have to ask him.

"Hi." I give him a big smile. Alex is right about one thing, this boy makes me so happy. Just seeing his face makes me smile.

Shawn pulls me into a hug. "Hi, princess." he kisses the top of my head and pulls away. We quickly get our lunch and head outside.

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Shawn and I are currently walking down the boardwalk. We didn't have homework so we thought, why not go out? It's a little past seven and the Sun is just starting to set. "I've always loved the sunset. It's just so calming." Shawn says, looking at the horizon

I nod in agreement, "Yeah, it really is."

Shawn slips his hand in mine and intertwines our fingers. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Shawn speaks again. "So I talked to the counselor, I'm switching to your government class on monday."

I beam up at him, "Really? I can't wait!"he chuckles and kisses my head. "Did you know Alex is in love with me?"

"I knew he liked you, I never would've gone as far to say he's in love with you, though. Why?"

"He confessed to me earlier in English. I feel really bad because I've just kind of ignored him for a while and he's always been one of my best friends. I can't imagine being in a romantic relationship with him." I explain.

Shawn thinks for a minute. "I get why you feel bad, but at the same time, you didn't really ignore him. He's always with his other friends and I'm pretty sure he knows a relationship between the two of you would just be weird. I honestly wouldn't feel too bad if I were you."

"Well I guess I feel more guilty than anything. I know this might sound weird, but I talk a lot about you to my friends, including Alex. I never knew he liked me though. It must've been hard on him to hear me go on and on about you." I take a deep breath because I said that all in one. Shawn just smiles at me.

"Don't think too much about it. He'll be fine, I promise. It's just a phase. Even Grayson likes you right now."

I pull a face of disgust, "Grayson Lucas Chance? My brother's best friend, Grayson?"

Shawn laughs, "That very one."

"But he's like my brother."

Shawn squeezes my hand, "Doesn't matter, you're not his sister and right now, he really likes you. But it'll pass. His feelings aren't serious, you can tell by the way he looks and acts around you. Same with Alex, he's not in love with you. He might think he is, but he's not."

"How can you be so sure?" I inquire.

He shrugs, "I've never had many friends, so I've observed people. It's become a habit for me to observe. I've gotten pretty good at it."

Hmm. I guess that makes sense. But I still can't believe Grayson has a crush on me. That's just gross. Maybe I can get Shawn to help me learn how to interpret body language better so I can be more aware of what people are feeling.