From: evorst@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Ed Vorst)
Subject: A NEW ROMANTIC STORY (PART 3)
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Distribution: WORLD
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 22:25:18 GMT

	The weekend passed and Monday came slowly.  He hadn't called her
on Sunday, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.  It would have been too
 painful.  Yet talking to her face to face would be easier and if she asked 
why he didn't call,he would tell her. She asked, but they were not alone 
and he avoided answering. It didn't come up again.
	Eventually it was time to go to class.  He loved this time because
it was the only time they spent together and alone during the week.  But 
disaster struck.  Down the hall they walked, talking casually, and there she 
was.  The only other place he had seen that look before and there she stood,
 looking at Christine and him. What would he do or say, how would he react?
 He knew that he must say something, it must already be obvious to Christine 
that something was up, mainly due to the fact that he had stopped in his 
tracks and was staring at the girl.  As if to respond to her unasked question,
 he stated that  'it was her'.  That was all he needed to say for her to 
understand, for he had told Christine the story of this girl.  What he hadn't 
said was that  he felt the same way about her and saw the same look in her 
eyes that obsessed him so.   It was obvious that she was trying to think of 
something to make him feel better, but she said nothing.  Of course, from his 
point of view, there was only one thing she could say, and he didn't see 
any indication of hearing those words from her, at least not yet.  Though
this would have been the perfect time to tell her all that he had wanted so long
to say, he couldn't.  His heart and soul were filled with passion but his mind
was confused.  How is it that this girl he hadn't seen in seven years still made
him stop  and stare, or that he obviously had feelings for more than one
person, but he couldn't sort them out for anybody?  Questions were running 
through his mind and confusing his life.  He needed something to help him 
figure out all that he was thinking, all that confused him and scared him 
like a nightmare.  But he didn't even know what that would be and if he would 
know it if he ever came across it.
	Christine was able to see past his blind stare and felt both
sympathy and empathy for his dilema, she too was confused, not to the extent 
that he was though.  She never found herself staring at anybody from far 
away as he did.  But her problem was still pressing on mind, her problem, 
however, involved only one person....
	Inspired by the days events, he went home that evening feeling an
intense desire to tell her everything, how he loved her and wanted her and 
how he knew right from the beginning that they would someday be together, 
somehow.  He would tell her everything.  He was, of course, scared to death 
of rejection, but he would try to not let it show.  He tried to think of 
different ways of telling her, but only one came to mind, he would walk up 
to her the next day and say it.  He pictured himself telling her that he 
loved her, and he thought to himself that it didn't matter who was around 
and heard it too, as long as she did.  His self-confidence was oozing from 
his body as he felt better each minute about his decision.  Dancing
 around the room, he totally misplaced the possibilty of her saying no,
but he for right now, was more proud of his idea than what came of it, he would
worry about that tomorrow.  Besides, the mood would be perfect, they were 
going to the ballet tomrrow evening and she loved the ballet.  He hated it, 
and she knew it. He was only going because she liked it so much, which would 
make it the perfect setting to tell her about his dream of them being together.

	The phone rang.  As he reached over to answer it, he half hoped
that it wouldn't be her so that he would not be tempted to tell her over the
phone, something he really wanted to avoid doing.  It wasn't her and he 
might have been slightly relieved, had it not been his girlfriend of the 
last six years.  They really weren't going out anymore and they had moved
out of their apartment half a year ago,  but there were still some feelings 
there and she still thought there was some hope for them.  If only she knew.  
He still loved her, he thought, though he really wasn't sure.  He knew that 
he loved her before, and he loved the memories of their time together, but 
the feelings just weren't the same anymore.  He talked to her more out of 
sympathy than anything, though he knew it might lead to trouble, he was 
stuck for what to do now.  
	The call however, was a real reality check for him.  That trouble
came fast and furious from her lips as she talked about them getting back
together and moving in again and more ideas he thought disasterous.  His 
confidence and joy soon disipated as he realised that there was no way he 
could allow Christine and he to get involved as long as this girl was still 
around, she would surely try to ruin their relationship as soon as she found 
out.  She had done so in the past with some of his friends who were female, 
she was a jealous type.  
	He tried to avoid talking as much as possible and eventually made
up an excuse to get off the phone, but it didn't really matter anymore.  He 
knew that the only thing he could do to keep from hurting Christine was to 
avoid telling her and not to let anything come of the friendship.  He even 
thought that it would be best not to talk to her much at all anymore.  He 
lay down on his bed, hurting inside like he had only hurt once before.  He 
felt the tears roll smoothly into his eyes and the sore feeling in his throat 
he would always get when depressed.  He wouldn't go back to her, he thought, 
but he knew that it really didn't matter as long as she was there, he
couldn't ever be free.  Tears rolled down his face as the phone rang again.  
It was Christine this time and he didn't know what to say to her. 
It was obvious he was upset as he always sounded so different when he
cried, but  when she asked what was wrong, he wouldn't tell her, he
couldn't.  She tried to help but to no avail, he was not about to tell her, 
not over the phone. Besides, he wanted to spend one last night close to her 
before it all had to stop, and telling her would surely take that chance 
away.  She could only finish off the brief conversation by wishing him well 
and telling him to meet her at her place to go out the follwing night. 
They hung up, her, worried deeply about her best friend, him, crying over the
loss of his.

	The following evening he went over to her house, hiding his pain.....



	
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