An: If you recognize it, It's not mine. Fitzgerald owns all things Gatsby.

North Dakota, 1907

"Jay-Jay! Come quickly! Come on, now!" I hurried as we climbed a tree in the forest behind his farm.

"I'm coming! Anna, flower, wait up!" He said as he got the right footing, Pulling himself to a higher branch.

This was how it always was. Every night in the summer in our childhood, we would run and frolic through the forests. Well, I- would frolic, James was more elegant. Even though he was a farm boy, he tended to have the mannerisms of a prince. Yet, every now in then, he would join me in a bit of uncanny foolishness and humored me by climbing trees. But, this was the last time we would be together for a long time. My father, Timothy Dawson inherited some land from a cousin of ours in Minnesota. I hear that it was a larger estate, nothing like the small cottage we had here. Though the new property wasn't all that grand, it was more than what we had. My father was a Journalist but would like to resume his job in Minnesota, writing for a small newspaper company that paid better than what he was currently making. My mother, Maryanne was a part-time maid. I was being schooled with James, my closest friend, and I would miss him very, very dearly.

James is the only boy I have ever fallen in love with, but he did not know it. I was too afraid that our friendship would be ruined because of it. I can't lose my only friend. The way he called me 'flower' in fondness of my love for them, made other girls in our class swoon, but he never acknowledged them. I don't know why, and I would never have the nerve to ask.

His beautiful golden locks shined even more so as the sun started to slowly set over the greenery of North Dakota. I sat on the branch and stared at the vast beauty of the forest I would miss oh-so-much. I pulled out my flower embroidered bandana and retied it on my head to keep my unruly, brunette locks tamed. As I finished tying it, I felt the branch dip a bit as Jay sat beside me.

"I'm going to miss this," I whispered as a flock of deer scurried past a few trees.

"So am I," James said back, his eyes still trained on the sunset. "I don't want you to leave."

"I don't wish to leave. You are my only friend, James. Who am I supposed to talk to when I need a listening ear, or who am I supposed to go to when I need a helping hand?" I felt the tears stinging in my eyes, but I willed them away.

"We'll see each other again someday, I'm sure of it! And when I do, I'll have the world in the palm of my hand, and I will give it all to you, flower." He said with a strong face of determination and hope. The hope James has always had was a strong, dominant part of his personality. We talked about leaving this place when we are older, making money and living a life of wealth and happiness that we read about in books and dreamed about when we went to sleep at night. We were both prepared to work hard for it, but I've always had doubts. I always have a backup plan. James had only one plan and intended to follow it. Once he creates a goal in his mind, he will spend the rest of his life trying to achieve it, unless something grander comes along, and he'll change the goal, or abandon it altogether.

"How can you be so sure, Jay?" I asked as I turned my attention fully to him. The stars started to come out of the twilight, twinkling in its wake, making Jame's eyes shine like blue diamonds in the moonlight.

"I know we are only thirteen years old, but I can see that our lives have to go like this,"

He used his finger and motioned to the stars above.

" we will keep moving up."

And a shooting star passed across the moonlit sky.

"A shooting star! Quick, make a wish, flower!" He smiled widely, the excitement in his eyes showing. It must be contagious because I eagerly closed my eyes.

I made my wish, and opened my eyes and looked over at Jay. His eyes were still closed, in serene concentration. He sighed as they opened and looked over at me.

"So, what did you wish for?"

I blushed as shook my head. "What did you wish for?"

He blushed and stuttered, "I-I-I-I…..I asked you first."

"And I asked you second. It shouldn't matter the order in which we ask things. The question has been asked, and so, it should get an answer-"

And suddenly I lost my balance.

I started to fall back, reaching for anything I could. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact of the other branches,

but they never came.

I opened my eyes to see Jay's strong arms around me, steadying me. His face was inches from mine and our noses were almost touching. We were breathing hard and one of his hands came and cupped my cheek. He leaned in slowly, as did I. My eyes fluttered closed as his lips made contact with mine. It was a sweet, innocent kiss. My first kiss! And Jay KISSED ME!

When we pulled apart, he was blushing just as hard as I was. He grabbed my head and hugged it to his chest as I hugged him as tight as I could.

"Now I really don't want you to leave." He said and laughed a little. I giggled softly.

"Let get down before one of us almost falls- again."

We climbed down out of the tree and started walking back to my house, hand in hand. With every step, I felt a little bit of me dying inside and the doubt started to rear its ugly head. Doubt is like cancer, It spreads. First It consumes your sub-conscience, then it affects your thoughts. Next, it screws with your emotions, and then It causes you to behave irrationally. Its all like a cycle. Nothing is wrong with a little bit of doubt, but when you let it consume you, It makes you retreat into yourself. When you have doubt, It is hard to trust.

By the time we were on my front porch, I had tears falling down my face. Jay and I stared at the door and I broke down in sobs. Jay held me to his chest and sobbed as well.

" Please, don't forget about me-"

"-I swear I won't-"

"-I'll write to you often-"

"-I'll write you every single week-"

"-Jay, I love you"

"..."

I pulled back from our tight embrace and his face was drenched with his own tears.

"I l-l-love you too, but this is making goodbye more difficu-" His voice cracked and he started sobbing into my neck, and I ran my hands through his hair on the back of his head.

I breathed in his scent on last time. And once we calmed down, he let go. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter.

"Don't open this until you turn 18. I know that time is so far away, but I want you to have a bit of something to remember me by." He said as he extended his hand and I gratefully took the letter.

I look off my hair bandana, and slipped it into his breast pocket in his jacket, and put my hands over his hammering heart. He smiled softly and covered my hands with his.

"Take care of yourself, James Gatz," I said with a soft smile.

He took one hand and put his time and index finger under my chin, compelling me to look into his eyes.

"Don't stop blossoming, my dear flower, Anne Dawson." He gently kissed my forehead, then my nose and planted a soft kiss on my lips.

"Au revoir," he whispered.

"Until we meet again," I whispered back.

Our hands slowly slid to our sides and he smiled a little and began to step off the porch.

"Wait!" I said and grabbed his arm.

I kissed his cheek, feeling the touch of his skin on my lips for the last time.

"Keep moving up no matter what, Jay-Jay."

With that, I let him go and into the house. I shut the door and ran up to my now empty room. And watched out of my window as James Gatz walked down the road, walking up the gigantic hill to his farm, staring at his retreating form. As he disappeared behind the hill, that cancerous doubt, for the first time, truly consumed me. I was so certain that I would never see James Gatz again. I jumped onto my bed and clutched his note tightly to my chest. I cried and cried and cried. Even if we did meet again, things would never be the same. No matter how hard you try, you can never truly, or perfectly repeat the past. With time comes change, and no one can stop time, so change is inevitable.