It was fall. The leaves were changing colors and even under an overcast sky they pieced together a breathtaking scene. It was the last day of school before fall break of my junior year. Alison and I were walking home at a slow pace, breathing the crisp air.

"Em?" She asked.

"Hmm?"

"I just had a great idea. You should stay the night at my house tonight. Nobody will be home." Her tone rose with the last words. She bit the tip of her tongue and grinned at me, her dimples appearing.

"That sounds fun. Do you want me to text the girls and invite them too?"

"No," she snapped,"just you and me tonight. We have all week to get together with everyone." She squinted her eyes and looked at the sky, then glanced in my direction. "What?" she demanded.

"Nothing." I said, putting my hands in the air and laughing lightly. She let herself smile a little, and bumped her shoulder into mine. I bumped her back, I could feel the heat rising to my face, so I looked to the ground to hide it. My cheeks hurt from smiling so big, but I couldn't help it. Being playful with Alison was my favorite thing. I could feel her staring at me as we walked on.

We stopped by my house to get clothes for the night, then went on to her place. Like she said, no one was home. We walked into the house and it all seemed still. She dropped her bag by the door and sauntered her way into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator first.

"I'm starving. Are you hungry?" She said looking at me.

"I could eat." I said.

"I bet you could..." she said under her breath. I began to say something to her about it, but felt myself blush and lose my words. She looked over her shoulder at me and laughed shortly. "I'm kidding, Em. Relax." I shoved my hands in my pockets and joined her by the fridge, looking in around her. She sighed and stood up straight. "We're ordering pizza." She said.

She grabbed her cell and looked up the number. As she ordered her half of the pizza, she leaned against the table, crossing her ankles, staring at me. It looked like there was a glint of something in her eye. "What do you want?" she asked. I stuttered, fumbling for a response.

"I-uh..."

"Pepperoni," she said. "With banana peppers."

I swore at myself for acting weird, but it made me smile how well Alison knew me. She looked right into my eyes, and I knew she could see my soul.

She hung up the phone and slid it into her back pocket slyly. She strode to me, and while I thought she would go around me, she came straight to my face and pressed her index finger against my lips before I had time to react. "What's wrong Emmy? Cat got your tongue?" She licked her bottom lip, and smiled, then pulled away. I stood still where I was as she laughed and swayed past me toward her room. My heart was pounding.

I followed her, like the puppy I was. I peeked into her room and she was sprawled on the bed, her phone in her hands above her face. She looked up at me, and patted the bed next to her. Excited, I walked to her and wiggled my way into the crook of her shoulder. My arm rested across the warmth of her stomach; I could feel her steady breathing and the softness of her body. Our thighs pressed together, I melted into her.

It was nice to have such a good friend that you could snuggle into them an feel at home. That wherever they were was your home. She was my home. I pressed my face into her body and inhaled her scent. I wanted to remember the way she always smelled forever.

"Are you smelling me?" She asked.

"You always smell good." I admitted.

"Youre such a dork." She laughed. I could feel the muscles in her stomach flexing and I liked the way it felt.

"Who are you texting?" I asked after a while of silence.

"Brad Turner. He sits behind me in Statistics and he's really cute." She giggled.

"Oh. Cool."

I could hear her fingers tapping the screen of her phone.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." I said, easing my way up.

The bathroom in her bedroom was tiny. Just a sink and a toilet, it was hardly the size of a closet. I shut the door and locked it behind me. I looked at myself in the mirror. I smiled at myself just to see what it looked like. I imagined I was looking at Alison, and smiled like I would at her. I wanted to know what I looked like when she saw me. I was cute, I guess. But like a baby. Innocent and sappy, big round eyes. She wanted something different. Like Brad Turner's neck hair evidently.

There was a knock at the door and I jumped.

"Em? I want to fix my make up before the pizza guy gets here. Open the door."

I quickly ran my fingers through my hair and checked the mirror, shifting my face from left to right. I opened the door and she came bursting in, pushing me in farther instead of letting me out first. She pulled out a tube of lip gloss and went straight to work. I took a seat on the toilet and watched her lips make a perfect "o". Her eyes darted to me in the mirror and she tilted her head to the side mischievously. I had been caught staring. I looked away immediately.

"It's okay to look." I kept my eyes down. She went on putting on make up for a few minutes until she deemed herself presentable. "I want to take a picture. Em, would you go get my phone off the bed."

"Sure." I got up and faced the door. She took a step back from the mirror, still looking at herself, giving me room to squeeze past in front of her. I turned sideways and took a choppy step to the side. The backs of my thighs touched the counter while the fronts were pressed against Alisons. I was between her and the mirror and she looked directly at me.

"You seem nervous." She said, taking a half step forward, pinning me between her and the counter. My hands grabbed the edge of the marble sink, and Ali put her hands on top of mine, leaning into me. "Am I making you nervous?"

I shook my head hard, feeling exposed.

"Look at me." She whispered. I did what I was told. "I'm your best friend. There is nothing to be nervous about." She smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. She pulled away like nothing happened and went to lay on her bed, picking her phone back up and going back to texting, evidently not concerned with taking a picture anymore. She was right. She was my best friend. I let myself get too worked up over nothing.