Idea by @mere_inkslinger

Describe a character twice: once to fall in love with them, once to the be repulsed by them.

minipage

I fell in love with you the second I saw you.

You were laughing.

Do you remember that?

Of course, I didn't speak with you right away. I didn't even know your name. But your laugh was beautiful.

And you---

You were beautiful.

I hate how cliche I sound, but it's the truth.

We live in a world of hate and darkness. I've just scrolled through my CNN app that Apple requires I have, even though I hate reading the news.

1. Story about a dead hedgehog

2. At least five wounded in an attack in Jerusalem

3. Putin critic Alexey Navalny released from jail

4. Tom Felton's response to Kim Kardashian's new hair

5. Harrison Ford's plane crash

6. Homeless man fatally shot by LAPD

7. Ferguson's Top Court Clerk fired over alleged racism

8. American Apparel is intimidating workers, complaint alleges-

I'd go on, but you're getting the point.

If it's not dark, it's insipid, like Tom Felton's response to Kim K's new hair color.

But your laugh lit up the room and it was oh-so-genuine.

You're honest. Maybe to the point of being completely and rudely blunt but at least you're honest.

It kills me sometimes: the things you say.

But they're never false, which makes it even more painful.

The first time I spoke to you, you told me I had paint on my shirt.

The conversation stopped there. I was certain I would die from embaressment.

You moved on in your life.

I did not.

I was stuck there, in that one moment.

Which might seem obsessive.

And maybe it was.

But the honest, genuine truth is that I've been obsessed with you ever since that laugh, since that paint stain on my shirt, since you finally gave into my constant badgering and went on a date with me.

It was just dinner and a movie.

It would have been horribly plain if it had been with anyone other than you.

But you ended up jumping in a fountain in the middle of downtown and somehow, I was right beside you, getting soaked.

So we ended up on another date a week later. And another. And another.

And there were dozens of dates after that.

And I declared myself even more in love than I had been when I first saw you laugh because now I actually knew you.

You only got more beautiful from there.

............

I fell in love with you the second I saw you.

You were laughing.

Do you remember that?

Of course, I didn't speak with you right away. I didn't even know your name. But your laugh was beautiful.

And you---

You were beautiful.

I hate how cliche I sound, but it's the truth.

We live in a world of hate and darkness. I've just scrolled through my CNN app because I've taken a break from work.

1. Story about a dead hedgehog

2. At least five wounded in an attack in Jerusalem

3. Putin critic Alexey Navalny released from jail

4. Tom Felton's response to Kim Kardashian's new hair

5. Harrison Ford's plane crash

6. Homeless man fatally shot by LAPD

7. Ferguson's Top Court Clerk fired over alleged racism

8. American Apparel is intimidating workers, complaint alleges-

I'd go on, but you're getting the point. At least, I hope you are.

If it's not dark, it's insipid, like Tom Felton's response to Kim K's new hair color.

But your laugh lit up the room and it was oh-so-genuine.

You're honest. Maybe to the point of being completely and rudely blunt but at least you're honest.

It kills me sometimes: the things you say to others.

But they're never false, which makes it even more painful.

The first time I spoke to you, you told me I had paint on my shirt.

The conversation stopped there. I was certain I would die from embaressment.

You moved on in your life.

I did not.

I was stuck there, in that one moment.

Which might seem obsessive.

And maybe it was.

But the honest, genuine truth is that I've been obsessed with you ever since that laugh, since that paint stain on my shirt, since you told me you would never, ever date anyone like me.

I only wanted dinner and a movie. But you said no.

It would have been the best evening of your life, if only you had let me take you out.

Turns out, you were on a date with someone else. Someone you obviously perceived to better than me.

You didn't see me. But I saw you. I was watching from a distance.

But you ended up jumping in a fountain in the middle of downtown and the only place I wanted to be was beside you.

So I asked you on another date a week later. And another. And another.

And there were dozens of dates after that. A dozen rejections.

And I declared that I was more in love with you than I had been when I first saw you laugh because now I actually knew you. I had seen you on countless dates.

I had seen you at home.

I had seen you in school.

I ate at that Taco Bell where you worked every day for a month, waiting for you to come and take the trash out, just so I could say hi and hear you say it back.

Then you pulled me aside after class one day and yelled at me (that genuinity shining through).

You called me a stalker.

You called me obsessive.

I called you beautiful.

And I only loved you more after that.