PURPLE RAIN – “I never wanted to be your weekend lover”

From the very first day they met, there was something about Johnny Kavanagh that seemed to pull him toward her even if, at that moment, it happened in the most literal way. The soccer ball hit the new girl right in the face, and Johnny hurried over to apologize, flustered and red to the tips of his ears. And right there, between his awkward apology and her unexpected laugh, an unlikely friendship was born.

Over time, their connection became obvious to anyone who paid attention. They had the kind of natural synchronicity that required no effort: long conversations, glances that understood each other without words, a comfortable presence that felt like home. But they were still young — 15 and 16 — and everything felt too big, too intense, for either of them to know how to handle. The friendship grew, and with it grew something neither dared to name.

Until the party. The loud music, the colorful lights, the warm atmosphere. The two of them laughing, standing just a little too close.

The whole world seemed to fade when Johnny looked at her with a different expression deeper, more real. And when he kissed her even though they both tried to pretend it was “no big deal” neither of them believed their own lie. After that night, Johnny was torn.

He was in love. Everyone could see it except him, who kept trying to convince himself that it couldn’t happen. What if it ruined everything? What if she didn’t feel the same? And yet… how could he hide something so obvious? He tried to push the feeling away, shove it into some corner of his mind where it felt less dangerous, less real. But whenever she smiled, whenever she said his name in that light, effortless way, whenever she looked for him first in a group… it was impossible.

Johnny was scared. Scared of losing the friendship. Scared of losing the comfort she brought into his life. But he was even more afraid of continuing to pretend he wasn’t completely in love with the way she seemed to brighten everything around her. And that was when things grew confusing as if a cloud had settled between them, hiding whatever the right path was. Not because there wasn’t enough feeling… But because there was too much.