You know, I kind of forget what this felt like. Do you remember the last time you developed a crush on someone? No, not the last time you fell in love. The last time you got a harmless little crush.

It starts with the thought “Oh, he’s cute.” And then you smile at him, and he smiles back. You see something you like about his smile. You talk to him for the first time, and you’re cool and collected on the outside, but on the inside you’re thinking, “Ohmygoodness, I’m talking to him! I hope I don’t say anything stupid!” You throw in a few cute smiles and flirty giggles for good measure.

You start interrogating your friends, trying to find out anything you can about him. And you start noticing him. You see him halfway down the hallway after English class. You notice that his locker isn’t too far from yours. You discover that if you scoot three inches to the right at lunch, you have a perfect view of him.

But more than that, you notice his little quirks. Maybe he has a chipped front tooth. Maybe his hair’s always in his eyes. Maybe he laughs really loudly. Maybe he likes to frustrate people. And you pick out a favorite feature. He might have huge green eyes. He might have curly hair. He might have an adorable splash of freckles across his nose. He might have really prominent ears, or a huge nose. And you like it.

You start talking to him more, and you try your best to get on his radar without appearing to be stalking him. You try to be your sweetest self. You want to be witty and funny and smart and adorable, but you want to be yourself too.

And then it hits you. It should have hit you before, but you never really realized it until now. You like him. You really do. And it’s not just his adorable ears, or his wavy hair, or his big brown eyes. You like his personality. You like that his voice fills a room. You like the way the right side of his mouth is a little higher when he grins. You like how he’s always grinning. You like that his best subject is History. You like that he likes writing stories. You like that he can always make anyone laugh. You like that he’s a hugger.

And then…. And then! That day comes. You glance his way in religion class, and you see him looking at you. And he’s got that goofy grin that you love, and it’s directed completely at you. He turns a little red at being caught looking, and you smile at him. Inside, your heart is leaping for joy. But it starts beating like a drum when after class, he stops you… Just to say hey.