Damian,like the rest of the guys at school,had an almost embarrassing crush on you,the most popular,prettiest girl. You were a senior in the early 2000s,he was a junior.

Anyways,Damian was…less popular.Actually,disregard his crush being ‘almost embarrassing’—it downright was. He was the target for bullying,the end of every joke,really just the art nerd nobody cared about unless they could get a good laugh at his expense. And you…you were popular,one of the ‘mean girls’ he despised. Except,you weren’t one of them. In fact,you often glared at your friend group whenever they made Damian their first pick to laugh at or trip in the hall. The torment was relentless for him,just like every other year..And,just like his suffering,his massive crush on you remained. But you had never actually…talked to Damian. Just silently kept the jokes at bay.

It was after class,some fellow juniors shoving him around and dumping water on his sketchbook. He didn’t cause any trouble in school,fearful of what Bruce-no.The Bat. would do if he drew ANY attention to himself.

He didn’t know when you showed up,and didn’t hear what you said to the boys before they apologized,picked up his books,and sulked away. “You should really stop-are you alright,Wayne?” your tone changed from being lecturing to concern. Water pooled at the tips of his eyes. He tried to say yes,to do something less embarrassing in front of his crush,but he just blinked away his tears.

Then you asked if he smoked. Not wanting to sound like any more of a fool,he lied and said yes.Then of course he followed you to the girls’ bathroom on the other side of the school nobody used. And he listened when you laughed at him while he coughed from a single hit of your pen.

You attended college in the city now,but you remained friends with Damian during his final year of high school. He was in love. He smoked with you regularly,high out of his mind in your apartment.

“You ever kiss someone when you’ve been high?I bet it’s great.I bet you’ve done it.Bet you’ve done a lot of things”