Don't believe the Hype

            The setting sun seemed to beam through the back of his head and shoot out through bright eyes focused on her; the girl stared at the green orbs and began to cry.  "What's wrong babe?…What happened?…Are you ok?" he asked.  Janie's only response was more intense tears with every passing inquiry.   Finally, the questions stopped and Dan took the frail creature in his arms, trying to squeeze out the tears.

            Janie pushed him away and looked angrily at the hurt and confounded face before her.  Choking down tears for a second, she muffled the words, "I…love you."

            The confused suitor tried to grab her hand to soothe the pain, but she pulled it away powerfully enough to almost knock herself over.  Standing frozen, he tried to reason, "I love you too.  So what's wrong?"

            "I love you, that's what's wrong!" With that, his lover and adversary pushed him and began to walk away.  Dan seized her wrist and the girl turned around, tears welling up in her hateful eyes.  "I'm only sixteen, the last thing that I need is to be in love with someone and have to worry about stupid crap like this, things that are supposed to go on forever.   I just wanted a one-night stand; I definitely didn't want this.

            "You know what's going to happen?  I'm going to go off to college and you're going to go work for your dad and we're either going to break up or else everything's going to go to shit and then one of us is going to throw away their life for the other one.  Then we're going to get old and start regretting things and the sacrifices we made are only going to tear us apart and then we're either going to get divorced or else one of us is going to die.

            "No matter what, we're just going to end up miserable as hell and crying all over the place.  And all the arguments and all the tears are going to outweigh whatever stupid little feelings we have for each other now.

            "Damnit!  Just knowing about them is already making me cry.  -Imagine what it feels like when it really happens!"  Somehow, although her frame remained standing Janie's whole body collapsed as she continued weeping.

            He pulled the trembling beast close again, "No, no, no, it will be very worth it, the good times will be so good.  I promise, you'll be able to deal with the bad times just by remembering any one good day we shared.  Love conquers all, there's a reason for that."  The fiery blonde started to hug the optimistic youth in return, then lifted her knee behind his and shoved him to the ground.  After crashing into the green grass, the rejected lover chose to stay sitting, watching the girl walk away.

            Suddenly the angry and scared monster turned, stepped toward her victim, threw her arms wildly in the air and yelled, "You know, this isn't Robin Hood.  This isn't some Disney revised fairy tail.  Things aren't all going to work out magically.  And maybe you can deal with it, but I can't ok?  You're a strong person and you can deal with emotions and all that, but if it hurts this much now it will only get worse.  I am not going to lose my whole life for you, the day love conquers me is the day I run out of cyanide capsules.  I may love you now, but I won't let it get any worse…. I'm sorry.  But it's over."

            Realizing his girlfriend really was leaving, he rose to follow her, but by then,Janie had already gotten to her T-Bird and opened the door.  "I really am sorry.  Dan, I do love you," the door slammed and the engine started, while the words still resonated in the air.

            Watching the car drive away, the boy felt abandoned.  Still, the melancholy teenager knew Janie could be talked into giving things a real chance, after he walked back to her house.  He began strolling down the same road the T-Bird sped off on, expecting to hitch a ride or take a nice hour-long walk.

            Then he heard the crash and saw a patch of smoke rise just over the hill.