she fell in love three times before she met him, and three times before she could understand what love really was.
of course no young girl really does. love isn’t something that you can use as a label and just stick it somewhere without an explanation but it also isn’t really something you can explain. love is one of those inexplicable mysteries that the universe hides it’s secrets about so it can laugh at us. maybe not laugh at us, but allow fate to toss us around like rag dolls all because of love.
the first time she fell in love, she said it to a boy she thought loved her back. he was exactly her type and was exactly what she wanted but not at all what she needed or deserved. he treated her horribly and he was “damaged” so she’d run back to him every time. after all, she was in love.
little did she know that when you are at that age, when a boy says hello to you that is considered love. being left sitting in the pouring rain on a park bench for an hour, waiting, is not considered love. but she hadn’t learned that yet.
the second time she fell in love, it was not to the boy but rather to the concept of the boy. she realized that he was everything she wanted, but not him himself. it didn’t take much for the boy to realize that he had no feelings what so ever for her, but the girl held his hand and let him take her first kiss regardless. she was drunk on the fact that a boyfriend like this could exist. there is actually a person who she can stay up texting and talking to on the phone for all hours of the night. there is actually a person she can look forward to bumping into in the halls and sitting together during lunch with.
what she didn’t realize is people like that will come again and again. that doesn’t mean they are worth your time.
the third time she fell in love, it was not to the boy or to the concept but to a relationship. love isn’t necessarily the type people expect. it’s not always the one that leaves you all "moon-eyes” and butterflied filled stomach. sometimes it’s when you meet someone who you really connect with and you know that it is the start of a beautiful relationship. but a completely platonic relationship.
she became accustomed to the stupid jokes and the teasing. she liked that once again she looked forward to seeing a friend in the halls that she could jovially banter with. there was no pressure of messing anything up, because there was nothing to mess up.
she learned that a relationship like this was more valuable then anything.

then she met him. she had already fallen in love three times before she met him, and honestly didn’t understand love even then. she didn’t understand the intense overwhelming controlling feelings she was feeling and certainly didn’t expect to just take the label maker and stick what she was feeling with the label “love”.
but she met him and things changed. she met him and she changed. all the three other loves became these stories she could laugh about with him, and any other relationship she had platonic or not became unimportant. she shut everything she learned up in a box for safe keeping. she met him and she needed nothing else, but him.

eventually, she will learn, that was the smartest thing she could have ever done.