Well, a storm swept through my area yesterday and downed some of our trees, and we lost power for a few hours, so this chapter is coming out a little later than I had planned.

Sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoy this anyway! :)

CHAPTER 2

Close but Not Quite

Ducky could not have anticipated what she was now looking at as she reached the end of the river …

It was Petrie.

At that very moment, the Flyer turned his eyes to his left, and it was only then that he realized that they had inadvertently bumped into each other.

Both hatchlings froze where they stood and gazed at each other nervously. This was the one moment that they were NOT prepared for. Each had foolishly assumed that the other would, for some random reason, not be joining their friends today, but now that had proven themselves fools by believing so.

Now, here they were, looking into each other's eyes while their cheeks blushed red, although one couldn't exactly tell why the other was blushing, even if they got hints from it. Neither had seen the other so nervous in each other's presence before, and it just about spooked them both because of the fact that they had developed strange feelings for each other, although they hadn't told each other once over the past year that they had those special feelings. They were best friends, but new feelings took over their minds as they thought about each other in recent weeks.

Ducky couldn't find any words to say as she looked into Petrie's eyes. She wanted to slowly walk away from him, but her legs wouldn't move. It was as if she had been paralyzed from the waist down.

Petrie felt as if he wanted to back away from Ducky, but his nervous body prevented him from moving an inch. He could only look into her eyes as he tried his best not to act so panicky.

Eventually, Ducky managed to gather up her courage and greet her best friend, "H-hi, Petrie."

Petrie shifted back an inch when he saw that Ducky was acting as nervous as he was. He felt a lump form in his throat as he struggled to form words. There was no turning back now.

"H-h-hi, D-D-Du-Ducky," the Flyer stuttered.

Ducky saw that Petrie was acting in a rather panicky state, although way more panicky than she was.

"Are you feeling okay, Petrie?" asked Ducky, although she already had a few guesses for the answer to that question.

Petrie couldn't find any words to answer her question, and he stayed silent while staring right at his best friend.

"Did you have a scary sleep story?" Ducky guessed.

"N-n-no," stammered Petrie.

The Flyer suddenly wished he hadn't said that, but now he had blown his chances of pretending that he had gone through a haunting experience in his sleep.

Seeing that Petrie hadn't endured a bad sleep story last night, Ducky began to sense that her predicament about him having feelings about her might have been correct.

"M-me never see you this nervous before, Ducky," Petrie bravely spoke as he wondered about Ducky's odd behavior, "You have bad sleep story last night?"

"No," answered Ducky.

Hearing that brought an uneasy feeling into Petrie's chest. Seeing that Ducky had not been going through bad sleep stories lately, there was definitely something odd about her strange behavior.

"Me wonder what you so nervous about?" the Flyer said, "It about something our friends have planned for today?"

"Not exactly," replied Ducky, "I was just recalling some of our fondest memories ever since we first comed to the Great Valley."

Petrie grinned faintly as he thought of the many happy times they had had together over the last year.

"Me, too," he said in a cute voice that just about made Ducky smile and giggle, "So many Great Valley memories. What can me say? This just a happy place to be."

He stopped when he noticed that his best friend was smiling at him.

"What you laughing about?" he asked as he blushed.

"Did I ever tell you that you have one of the cutest voices I have ever heared?" chuckled Ducky.

Petrie blushed deep red in embarrassment from hearing those words, while his heart received a warming sensation from a particular word that no one had ever used to describe him, except for his mother.

"Cute? Ducky thinks me voice sound cute?" he thought to himself.

As the Flyer tried to get over his embarrassment, he took a glimpse into Ducky's sparkling eyes and smile. He could only describe it as being the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his life.

Ducky took notice of the smile that appeared to be plastered on Petrie's face, and she smiled right back as their cheeks continued to blush.

"What are you smiling about, Petrie?" the Swimmer asked.

"Me think your eyes so shiny, … and your smile … just … beautiful, Ducky," Petrie answered.

"I could say the same about your smile, Petrie," replied Ducky.

The two young hatchlings stood where they were for a few moments, smiling passionately at each other, although to them, it suddenly felt as if time had slowed down tremendously. Just a moment ago, they felt uncomfortable about even seeing each other, yet just a few cute words managed to get them to overcome their strange fears and now they were seemingly falling into a pleasant trance; one they wished could last forever.

It was then that Ducky decided that she would take her chances and admit why she had been so nervous about being near Petrie …

"To be honest, Petrie, … there's a very special reason why I have been thinking about all our happy times together," she said.

"Really?" replied Petrie with a look of interest on his face, "What that reason be? It about our old games or Grandpa Longneck's stories?"

"No," giggled Ducky as he found Petrie's eager guesses to be amusing, "It is because of the time that I get to spend with you, Petrie."

"M-me?" stuttered a surprised Petrie.

"You and I are best friends, Petrie, … but that is only part of why you have always feeled so special to me."

Petrie was speechless. He could not have imagined hearing those words from his best friend. He felt tears building up in his eyes as Ducky's words sank into his heart.

"Y-you think … m-me so … s-spe-special?" the Flyer said.

"I think you are very special, Petrie. Yep, yep, yep," answered Ducky.

Petrie allowed some tears to leak from his sparkling eyes as he refused to break eye contact with Ducky's smile. Her heartwarming words had put a big smile on his face, and he promptly wrapped his wings around the Swimmer's back to embrace her.

Ducky smiled and returned the embrace by hugging the Flyer, her arms creating a warm barrier around his back.

"M-me think … y-yo-you … so special, too, Du-Ducky," he sniffled.

Ducky's heart melted warmly as Petrie's words filled her with happiness.

"Aw, Petrie!" the Swimmer sniffled as tears threatened to pour from her eyes, "You are the sweetest Flyer I've ever meeted. Yep, yep, yep!"

Petrie giggled as his smile grew wider. He could never get enough of Ducky's happy, "Yep, yep, yep!"

After what felt like ages, the two hatchlings broke their hug, and they gazed at each other's eyes, smiling as their tears subsided.

"Me guess this make our friendship very special," chuckled Petrie.

"It sure does," agreed Ducky, "You really are the most adorable Flyer I have ever knowed, Petrie."

"Aww, Ducky!" chuckled Petrie, blushing, "You most adorable Swimmer me ever know, too."

Ducky blushed deeply as they continued to smile adorably at each other. The ends of their mouths pointed upwards at such angles that it looked as if they had been wanting a moment like this to happen for a long time.

Suddenly, Petrie felt Ducky's hands gently grasping his own, and they refused to take their eyes off each other as their faces grew closer together. Any moment now, it seemed as if their lips were going to touch …

"Me think Ducky like me very much," thought Petrie, "Me wonder if she maybe …"

"Petrie must really care about me so much as a friend," thought Ducky, "I wonder if our friendship is going to have a whole new feeling?"

Their faces were now as close as they could be, and Ducky's bill had just about come in contact with Petrie's beak, … when suddenly …

"Ducky! Petrie! Where are you!?"

The two hatchlings were momentarily startled by the sound of Littlefoot's voice calling them from afar, and they both jumped back.

They looked at each other again, and they suddenly realized something that just about broke their hearts …

They had just come inches away from what just might have been their first kiss, but the sound of another echoing voice interrupting them had denied them of that pleasurable moment.

"Oh, no, no, no! We were so close!" thought Ducky sadly.

"Me can't believe we almost kissed!" Petrie thought, "Our first real kiss!"

Sure, Ducky may have kissed Petrie in such childish ways in the past, but this would have been their first true kiss that they would have enjoyed had it not been for some form of interference.

"Why our other friends always have to ruin our moments at wrong time?" thought Petrie as he couldn't help but feel angry at Littlefoot and the others for ruining what may potentially have been a warm, adorable moment.

"Very bad timing, Littlefoot," thought Ducky, "This would have been our moment to cherish."

"Me guess we better see what Littlefoot and others up to," sighed Petrie.

Ducky sighed sadly in agreement, but then an idea flew in her head …

"I have an idea, Petrie," she said, "Would you like to join me by the river just before the Bright Circle goes down tonight?"

Petrie perked up and looked at his best friend with amazement written all over his face. The idea of spending the evening alone with Ducky sounded like the most pleasant thing in the world.

"Sure, Ducky," he said with an adorable smile.

Ducky returned the smile, and the two hatchlings resumed their journey to their meeting place where their friends were waiting for them.

Before long, the duo had caught up with their five other friends, and the famous Gang of Seven found themselves playing their usual favorite games in no time.

"So, so close," Ducky and Petrie secretly thought as they reflected on their near-kiss, "Maybe tonight …"

For a moment it seemed as though they were going to do it, but they, like many other times before, have once again been denied a chance to reveal how they feel for each other, but that doesn't mean it will be their last chance.

Sorry if this chapter was a little short, but since I'm not quite the best at giving so many details about EVERY scene, some of these early chapters may be a little short. However, starting with the next chapter, they will start to get longer.

Well, see you in chapter three! XD