A/N: Ahh warm weather always gets me in the mood for Stand By Me fanfic
"So what do you want to do?" She heard him ask her, but didn't look up. She remained focused on the frayed canvas of her Keds and shrugged her shoulders. Tears threatened, but she refused to let them spill over. She would never allow him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and finally looked up at him. She could smell his aftershave and somehow that brought a fresh wave of sadness over her.
She had known it was only a matter of time before he broke up with her. He was too old for her, really, although she didn't want to admit it, not even to herself. Ace Merrill had everything: good looks, a cool car, and a reputation. It was only logical that he would want to be free for the summer which had just begun.
"I guess I'll just walk home." She shrugged her shoulders and finally met his eyes. She couldn't read his expression. She wondered briefly if he would miss her, and then shoved the thought out of her mind. "It's getting late anyway." Hopefully she was doing a good job of pretending she didn't care that he had just ended things between them. It would be hard seeing him around town all summer, a new girl on his arm every weekend, but she was strong and she could handle it. There were other boys out there and maybe she could find a summer romance of her own. She turned her back on him and took a step in the direction of home.
"Lauren.." Ace called after her, and she stopped and turned to face him. Hope filled her heart that he had changed her mind. "I had fun, kid." He lit a cigarette and got into his car, not even sparing a glance in his rear view mirror at her. She let out an exasperated laugh. She didn't know what else to do, and soon she was doubled over giggling. She wondered if she had gone insane as she began to walk towards her house again, but quickly decided that she didn't care.
Her giggling fit had subsided by the time she got to her house, and she was glad for it. She didn't want to wake up her mother; she wasn't supposed to be out this late. She slipped off her heels as she walked onto the porch and quietly opened the wooden front door. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she became confident that she could get into bed undiscovered. She crept up the stairs and slid out of her dress and in between the covers. As she lay there in the quiet darkness, she began to realize that Ace breaking up with her could be a blessing in disguise. She was only sixteen after all, she didn't need to be tied down. She did miss him, though. He had been her first and although she hadn't meant much to him, he meant a whole lot to her.
They had met at the winter carnival that was held in Castle Rock every year in the high school auditorium. He had won her a stuff dog, and things had just taken off from there. It would be strange for her, no longer seeing him after school, but she thought she could adjust. By the time the end of school had come around, the bad times had begun to outweigh the good. He had called her names, taken her for granted, struck her on one occasion in front of a roomful of his buddies, and she had suspected he had fooled around on her. She had no proof of this, it was only suspicion but it had been on her mind a lot in the past few weeks. With all of this, she was able to convince herself she was glad to be rid of Ace Merrill and closed her eyes, sleeping soundly through the night as the cool summer night's breeze blew in through her window. As she awoke in the morning, however, she would have a vague recollection of a dream in which Ace Merrill had held her in his arms.