SUZIE HAS NOT MOVED BACK. FIELD TRIP NEVER HAPPENED. FAYMEN NEVER MOVED. PLEASE REVIEW.
"Ned?"
"Ned?"
"Ned, are you okay?" Jennifer Mosely asked Ned Bigby as they were walking home from the bus on their last day of 9th grade.
"Yeah... I'm fine Moze," Ned answered when he finally snapped out of his daydream.
He sure has been acting weird around me lately,Moze thought to herself. Moze. That was the nickname Ned had given her when they were little. There were three Jennifers in the class, but only one Moze. She had always said she hated the name, but that was the farthest thing from the truth. Although she would never admit it, Moze loved it when Ned called her by her nickname. It made her heart jump, and she got a warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside when he said it.
"Moze? I think I should be the one asking you if you are okay," Ned said with a smile on his face.
"Oh. I couldn't be better. Summer's finally here!" Moze replied, blushing while she realized she had been daydreaming just like Ned.
"Yeah. I know. I've been waiting for this for months," Ned exclaimed, oblivious to the blush on Moze's face.
"We should go to the beach tomorrow, unless Suzie is coming to town again." Moze tried to not let any jealousy show in her voice when she said "Suzie".
"Actually, Moze, Suzie and I broke up a few days ago. We live too far away from each other for this to work out," Ned said while Moze tried to look sympathetic. The truth was that on the inside she was jumping for joy. 'Why am I so happy?' Moze thought. 'I should feel sorry for my best friend. Besides, I still have Faymen. I couldn't possibly like Ned.' Moze's last thought echoed in her head. How could she even think about liking her best friend. Not knowing what she should say to him, she just nodded her head.
"So, I can go to the beach tomorrow. Cookie won't be able to come though. He finally has a date with Lisa," Ned continued, not noticing that Moze was struggling with an internal battle.
Suddenly, Moze felt someone grab her from behind, spin her around, and kiss her. Her heart leaped into the air for the split second when she thought it was Ned, but it sank back down during the kiss. It was Faymen. She could tell his kisses anywhere because they were nothing compared to Ned's.
"I'll leave you two alone. See ya tomorrow Moze," Ned said as they arrived a his house, leaving Moze disappointed.
"What are you doing with Ned tomorrow?" Faymen asked worriedly.
"We're just going to the beach, Faymen. You said you were okay with Ned being my best friend," Moze answered with disbelief in her voice.
"I know that's what I said," Faymen spat back. "But you've been hanging out with him too much lately. And you kissed him."
Moze stared at him with her mouth hanging open. "That was in eighth grade!"
"But, Jennifer, you obviously have feelings for him, and I am the jealous type."
"Are you saying that I can't be friend with him Faymen?" Moze questioned with tears starting to fill her eyes.
"I'm saying you have to make a choice. I don't want you to be friends with him anymore if you're still going out with me. You have to choose Jennifer. Will it be me? Or Ned?"
"Faymen, I can't believe you're doing this. I've been friends with Ned for as long as I can remember. I can't just end that." The tears were now sliding down Moze's cheek.
"Then this is goodbye Jennifer," Faymen said, and he walked away.
Moze had really started to cry now, and she decided to go to the only person who could comfort her at a time like this. She sprinted at full speed toward Ned's front door and knocked on it three times.
Within a few seconds it opened, revealing Ned standing there with a puzzled look on his face. "Moze, what's wrong?" he asked with genuine concern.
"Faymen..." Moze choked out through her tears, but before should could finish, she felt Ned's arms wrap around her and pull her in for a hug. That was all she needed to say, and Ned knew what she was talking about. "Shhh... It's okay Moze," he whispered to her softly, and she hugged him back.
They stayed like that for several minutes, just the two of them hugging each other. It felt so right to Moze. She wanted to stay there forever and be with the one person she cared about more than anyone else in the world. The moment was so perfect.
'Hold on,' Moze thought. 'This is why Faymen broke up with me.'
She pulled away from Ned abruptly, causing him to give her another confused look. "What is it?" he asked her.
"Nothing," she replied but knew Ned would be able to she through her lie.
"Moze, I know you better than that. It's not nothing."
She had to think of something quick. If Ned found out what she was thinking about, it could ruin their friendship forever.
"I... I...just can't believe he broke up with me."
"I know, but I think I know how to cheer you up," Ned said with a smile. Moze couldn't help but smile when she saw his face. She remembered when they were both in middle school, and Ned tried to win "best smile" in the yearbook to be next to Suzie Crabgrass on a page forever. His brilliant plan to smile all of the time failed. However, he did end up next to someone else in the yearbook in the "cutest couple" category. This person was none other than Moze herself.
"Come on," she heard Ned say and was forced back to the present when she felt him grab her hand to pull her down his front steps and up the street.
'Where in the world are we going?' Moze asked herself in her head before she saw the park come into view. Then she knew exactly where they were going.
The two friends walked together with Ned slightly in front and pulling Moze along. They walk past the swingset and the monkey bars. The sun was now much lower in the sky than it was previously, and it was making the clouds around it turn a light shade of red. It was a beautiful sunset.
Moze felt Ned pull her across the open field to the edge of the park, where the woods started. He grabbed her hand a little tighter and led her down an overgrown dirt path. Moze smiled as she remembered when the two had discovered this path. They hadn't even started school yet, but they were already best friends. Ned and Moze had been playing hide and seek together that day, and it was Ned's turn to be "it". She ran playfully to to the woods as Ned counted out loud...
"One...Two... Three...Eight Nine Ten," Moze heard Ned shout and she knew he was peeking through his fingers to see where she was hiding.
"Ready or not, here I come!"
Moze quickly walked down a path in the woods, hoping Ned wouldn't see her. Realizing he had, see walked along even faster, trying to find a hiding spot. Then, something caught her eye. She turned to he right and saw a huge gray rock looming over her. It looked to Moze as if it was even as tall as the trees around it. But that wasn't all that she noticed about it. There were also several footholds and handholds leading all the way to the top. It looked like it would be easy enough to climb. Plus, Moze was already very strong and athletic, even for a kid her age.
She carefully put one foot onto a low, protruding ledge and pushed herself up. 'This is easy,' she thought. Before she knew it, Moze had scaled almost half of the wall.
"Moze, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ned screamed at her from below.
"Ned, you idiot, you scared me! I almost fell!" she retorted back at him.
Ned's eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped. "I'm telling you're mommy. You not supposed to call anyone that.
Moze rolled her eyes. Ned never said words like idiot. He was too nice. But Moze knew if her parents found out what she said, she would never be allowed at the park again.
"Please don't tell my mommy," she pleaded. "I'll do anything."
"Help me climb that rock with you," he said with a smirk on his face. "And I won't say anything."
"Okay," Moze sighed and climbed back down to the ground again. Ned was nowhere near as athletic as her, and he would need all the help he could get.
"You can climb up first. This way I can catch you when you fall.
Moze was careful to say "when" instead of "if" because she knew it was almost certain that Ned would lose his balance.
"Hey!" Ned said, realizing she had done this. "You don't know for sure that I'll fall." With that he began to scale the rock with Moze following behind him and laughing.
Much to her surprise, Ned did not fall, slip, or injure himself in any way during the climb. He simply scurried onto the top of the rock with Moze just a few feet below him.
"Wow!" Ned exclaimed.
"What is it?" Moze asked, but Ned didn't need to give her an answer because she found out for herself when she reached the top.
"Wow!" she said, imitating Ned.
The entire ocean (or what two five year olds thought was the entire ocean) could be seen over the trees.
Seagulls were flying through the air over the water and diving down to pick up fish. Boats of all sizes could being seen moving over the deep, blue-colored sea. And waves could be seen breaking over rocks that were just barely visible at the surface.
The best friends just sat there for a moment, taking it all in. It was Ned who broke the silence first.
"Let's make this place our secret hideout."
"Yeah," Moze replied. "And we won't tell anyone about it."
"Agreed," Ned said, and they stared back out at the water.
Moze ended her daydream when they reached the rock. She laughed to herself. They were so young then. Still, they had kept this location a secret. Ned and Moze hadn't even told Cookie about it when he became their other best friend a couple of years later. She couldn't believe that no one else had discovered this place in the last ten years.
Ned looked over at her with the same smirk he had that day, so long ago. "I'll go first so you can catch me when I fall," he said, barely containing his laughter.
Obviously he remembered that day just as vividly as Moze did.
"Oh, and I won't tell your mommy if you say a "bad word" again," Ned added, but this time he could control himself. He exploded into a fit of laughter, clutching his stomach.
Moze couldn't help it either. She started laughing uncontrollably along with Ned. "I think... you can...handle going... behind me... now," she managed to cough out between her heavy breaths.
"Yeah. 'Cause I'm a "big boy" now," Ned said with a huge grin on his face, causing him to go into into another fit of laughter.
They both sat there laughing for a few minutes until Moze started to speak.
"I'll race ya to the top," she shouted, and with that they were off. They started out side by side as they began to climb the huge boulder that lay before them. Now that she thought about it, this rock didn't seem as tall as it did when they were five years old, but the view would be just as breathtaking as ever. Wanting to see the beautiful blue waves first, Moze had a burst of speed and pulled herself over the top just before Ned. But just barely. She had to admit, Ned was much stronger and faster than he used to be. He had finally found a sport that he was somewhat okay at and signed up for cross-country at the beginning of the school year. While he was not very good in the beginning, he improved throughout the season to the point where he almost won a race. The practices had left him in good physical shape, and allowed him to almost beat Moze up the rock. Plus he now had an advantage over her: he was taller than her. Yes, it was hard for Moze to believe, but Ned had finally grown taller than her, although it was only by a couple of inches.
"I let you win that time," Ned told Moze trying to act stronger than he really was.
"Yeah right, Ned Bigby. You have never beaten me and you never will," Moze replied back.
The teenagers laughed a little and turned their heads to view the sunset. It was incredible. The streaks of colors made by the sun caused the sky to look like it was on fire, and the way the clouds looked with the red and orange light shining through them was amazing. To top it all off, these things were all reflected in the water below. It was just so beautiful.
Ned and Moze were silent for several minutes, just gazing at the beauty over the trees. Then, Ned broke the silence just like he did ten years ago.
He turned to Moze and and chuckled softly. "I wonder what Cookie is doing right now."
"Probably trying to figure out away to impress Lisa on their date tomorrow with one of his crazy schemes. I think I heard him mention something about a superhero," Moze said.
"Oh, God. He better not be doing something stupid in that bird suit he made for Halloween. What did he call it? Oh, yeah. It was the Steel Eagle," Ned stated back.
The two laughed and began an in-depth conversation about what had happen during their first year of high school, what would happen next year, and what their new favorite flavors of gum were.
Moze was having so much fun talking with Ned that she forgot why they were even there in the first place. She had not spent this much time alone with Ned in a long time, since before she started dating Faymen.
Faymen. That was why there were there. But Moze didn't care anymore. In fact, she was even happy that Faymen had dumped her, because if he hadn't, she wouldn't be here with Ned right now.
The sun had finally dipped completely below the horizon, and the stars had started to show in the sky. Moze leaned back to lie down and put her hands behind her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ned do the same beside her. A cool breeze blew through the air, and Moze shivered.
"Are you cold Moze?" Ned asked politely.
"Just a little," she answered, and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him. A chill went down her spine, but it wasn't from the cold. Butterflies were zooming around in her stomach, and her heart was beat so fast, it felt as thought if would leap out of her throat. These intense feelings surprised Moze. Since when did she get nervous around. 'It's nice being so close to him, though,' Moze thought as she gently rested her head against his chest. "Thanks," she whispered.
"For what? Keeping you warm? It's no problem Moze."
"No, not for that, for everything you've done for me today. I mean, you just broke up with your girlfriend and here you are, comforting me. You really are my best friend." Moze sighed as she said the last line. All he would ever be is her best friend, no matter how much she wanted him to be more.
But she didn't need to think about that now because, at that moment, she was happy.
"I'll always be there for you Moze." Ned said, and Moze began drifting off to sleep with Ned hugging her.
'Yeah,' she thought before her eyelids closed. 'Faymen was right.'
