HIM.

He said, “What would you do if aliens were going to blow up the world in two days?” as he played with my hair, gracefully. It was a rainy Tuesday, but in that moment it felt like we were on a sunny Friday. Yes, our very own sunny Friday.

The thoughts started to appear like snowflakes: First, slowly, and then all at once. Everything was so sudden, and I must admit I felt a little overwhelmed.

I thought about hugging my relatives and spending time with them. I thought about acquaintances, regrets, apologies, and my “so-called” friends. I thought about traveling, planes, and trains. I thought about love songs, unsaid feelings, and secret crushes. I thought about alcohol, drugs, and running away.

“I don’t know…Why don’t we just focus on making the most out of this moment?” I answered vaguely, trying to hide the fact that I wasn’t able to face my own feelings.

Because let’s face it: The end of the world was such a scary prospect, yes, but to me, admitting that I had a crush on him, that I would dare to be vulnerable and show him my heart, that I loved his long, black eyelashes and sweet smiles, that he was sexy but cute at the same time…felt even scarier.

I had already spent most of my existence running away from my feelings. I had to confront them, it was now time to grow up and face them.

“What do you mean by that?” he answered, with a soft, cheeky smile.

I tried hard to control myself—I wanted to show him love in a calm, not aggressive way. But fuck it, that wasn’t going to happen. At least not this time.

So I got close to his face and kissed his left cheek. A stain of my red lipstick was left there, followed by a couple of seconds of uncertainty and awkwardness. My mind was already overthinking, starting to regret what I had just done.

“Oh, you’re so cute…if we only had two days of life left, would you…would you mind If I kissed you?” he whispered.

“Let’s pretend that today’s our last day alive; go ahead and kiss me.”

—By Beatriz C., 18, Spain