Richard

Richard sat in agonizing silence amid a loud and boisterous crowd of friends. The collective din of their voices and laughing faded into a dull hum in his ears and eventually evaporated altogether. Time slowed to a halt and Richard closely examined each friend in turn: Joey, Naomi, Will, Scott.

Richard desperately wished he join in that moment of mirth, but everything changed earlier that afternoon.

He did not even know her name, but he knew he loved her. She had blue and black hair, and she smiled at him. She said something, but he could not hear for her smile.