He was quiet, and when he smiled his little ears that protruded from the sides of his head would pop up. I started talking to him and telling him my life story. When I spoke he listened and smiled, he seemed so interested in everything that came out of my mouth. I'll never forget making a drunken comment about how cute I thought his ears were. It's usually comments like that when people tend to assume I'm a weirdo and go off, but not Darian. He started laughing but it was like he was trying to laugh with his mouth closed. I was drawn to him like a bug to a zapper and he thought I was funny. From that night onwards we were together every day. We took long car trips, I talked and he listened. We knew everything there was to know about each other, from our favorite color to the most traumatic experience we'd had. I was happier than ever, I felt like I had met my person... my best friend. Even though I was happy, my family was far from happy. Growing up, interracial dating was a big no no. My father, an old-fashioned Southern man, not only hated the idea, he seemed as if he hated me.