A/N: I apologize for this in advance. I'm not really happy with it. I thought it would come out much better than it did. Please review.

Your name is Abby Mills, and all you know right now is that you're not happy to be here.

You're just starting the first grade, and your best friend, Henry Dunn, has left at the start of the school year. You don't understand why he can't just stay with you instead of going back to his school, and you don't want to be sitting in this classroom without him.

Your teacher gives everyone a little time to make friends with the people sitting next to them, and you just sit there looking around at everyone else. You don't want to make any new friends, because you only need one. Your best friend. And if he can't be there with you, you just won't talk to anyone else.

But the boy sitting next to you already messes up your plans when he starts talking to you. He says his name is Jimmy, and he doesn't like school either. He asks you if you want to draw a picture with him, and when you are sad that your sun isn't bright enough, he gives you his yellow highlighter and lets you keep it all year.

Even though he isn't Henry Dunn, you think he can be your other best friend. "Because people can have more than one best friend, right, Mom?" She tells you you can, and you suddenly are excited to see the brown-haired boy in class who smiles at you and tells you your dress is pretty.

You think that maybe you might have fun, even though it's not summer.

You know when you come home crying from school on one Wednesday afternoon that you are never going back to school. One of the guys in your class decided to be mean, and he pulled your hair and called you names, picking on your clothes and tripping you in kickball.

You don't let him see you cry, of course. You never let the other kids see you cry or they'll just make fun of you more. So you hold back your tears until you are walking home, and then you let them go.

Your mom asks you what's wrong when you get home. You tell her that you don't like anyone at school and that you're never going back. She tells you that she's sorry that you had a bad day, but you have to go back tomorrow. She promises it will be better.

But tomorrow isn't any better. That mean kid in your English class is just as mean and stupid as he was the day before, and he takes your lunch and pulls the ribbon out of your hair. You bite your bottom lip so you don't cry, and when you get to go to lunch he follows you all the way, teasing you.

You yell at him to leave you alone, but he keeps poking you and telling you to make him leave you alone. And just when you think you're going to burst out crying in the middle of the junior high hallway, Jimmy Mance, one of the cool boys with his cute smile and eyes, comes up behind him and tells him that if he doesn't leave you alone he'll be sorry for the rest of his life. You thank Jimmy for helping you, and you hope that the kid will leave you alone.

He does. That boy is never mean to you again, and every time someone else is, the rumor is that Jimmy Mance has a "chat" with them and they never say another word to you.

You silently thank whatever gods above that your eleventh grade Algebra II teacher sits you next to Jimmy. Every girl in the school knows he's so cute, and you are glad that you'll have the chance to talk to him all class. You've only spoken to him a little bit even though you've gone to the same schools your whole life, but you are determined to make that change this year.

Your dream comes true when he asks you if he can borrow a pencil, and you float down the hallways for the rest of the day.

You're the happiest girl alive when Jimmy asks you to the prom. You've been talking all year, and you couldn't be more excited that he wants you as his date.

You dress in the prettiest dress you can find, hoping that he'll give you your first kiss at the end of the night. You're glad that he isn't scared away by your dad, who kindly reminds him that he's a sheriff and owns a gun when Jimmy takes you by the hand and walks you to his car, opening the door for you before getting into the other side.

You have the best time of your entire short life that night. Jimmy is the model date, and he gives you your goodnight kiss on your front porch. You can't sleep that night, for you feel his lips brush yours every time you shut your eyes.

Two short weeks later you are officially his girlfriend, and you think that life can't get much better than this.

Your best friend comes back for the summer, and you are ecstatic to tell him the news that you and Jimmy Mance ("Jimmy Mance, can you believe it, Henry?!") are dating. He's happy for you of course, and you promise him that you won't forget about him.

You spend that summer on the boats with Jimmy and hang around with Henry the rest of the time. Jimmy is the perfect boyfriend; he always calls you before he goes to sleep at night, and he takes you to dinner and holds your hand, even in front of his friends. You're the happiest you can ever remember being, with your perfect boyfriend and perfect best friend.

You don't see the look of jealousy in your perfect best friend's eyes, though, when Jimmy's around. You never think that he could want you as anything more than a friend, and you go on oblivious to the feelings that grow in secret for the next few years.

If only you'd noticed sooner.

Your senior year is absolutely fantastic. It's your last year at school, and Jimmy is still by your side. Nothing can taint this year. You even make the decision to go camping. But as if life determines that you've gotten your fill of happiness and it's time to set the balance straight, your mother is killed and your dad ships you off to Los Angeles, and suddenly your whole world is upside down.

You hate it in L.A. You thought you would be able to have a new beginning here, with no one knowing what had happened to you. In an ironic twist of fate, their not knowing grates on your nerves. With everyone happy and smiling all the time, you just want to shake them, wondering how they can be so joyful when you are so miserable.

After a particularly bad day you come home sobbing hysterically. You hate where you live, you hate every one you know, and you hate your dad for making you come here. You pick up the phone and dial Jimmy's number by heart. On the second ring you decide that it's already been two months and that Jimmy will be pissed at you, so you hang up the phone and decide never to bother him. He's probably moved on already anyway.

You get the call a few years later that Henry is marrying Trish Wellington. You congratulate him and tell him how happy you are for them both. You talk for a good forty-five minutes on the phone when he suddenly "remembers" to tell you that they're getting married on the island. He then tells you that he hopes you'll make it, and he lets you go, leaving you to wonder how you'll be able to handle going back home.

But in the end you ultimately decide that you need to be there for Henry, and you fly out to Washington. The whole time you're on the boat you think 'What am I doing here?', but to your credit you get off at the dock.

You look up and suppress a smile when you see Jimmy Mance waiting for you, leaning against one of the beams of the dock. You're scared out of your mind to be home, but you valiantly cover it up when you talk to him.

You don't want him to know how much you've missed him, in case he doesn't feel the same way. So you tease him instead and the banter comes easily between you both. You make your way up the ramp, never knowing that in less than a week your world will once again be turned upside down, and this time Jimmy Mance is the only thing that will get you through it.