No One's POV
The doorbell rings. Bob walks over and opens the door. He sees a familiar face, but can't remember their name.
"Can you tell Gabe I want to talk to him?" He closed the door, so no bugs would get in the house. Amy hated bugs.
"Sure." he says. It had been over a week since Gabe had had his breakup with Lauren. It was Friday, around eight o'clock. He walked over to the basement stairs where Gabe was. Gabe was sitting on the couch. He was thinking, a math textbook in his lap. But he wasn't thinking about Math, he was thinking about Lauren, and what she said to him that day. She had been really mean. And over the past week he had seen a different side of Lauren. Not the kind, sweet girl that most people knew, but the mean and cruel granddaughter of the witch next door. Then he heard footsteps coming down the basement stairs. It was his father.
"Gabe, someone is here to see you." he says. Gabe sighs, placing his math book down on the couch and stands up, following his dad up the stairs. "The door's open." he tells Gabe, and walks into the kitchen. Gabe rolls his eyes and goes to the door, opening it. He recognizes the visitor, and he can't believe his eyes.
Gabe's POV
"Jo?" I ask dumbfounded.
"Hey Stupid." she smirks. I step out and close the door. I stare at her. She's changed. I mean, the last time I saw her was when we were twelve, and now were fifteen. She's taller, her hair is longer and lighter, kind of a blonde color, but not quite. I hate to admit it, but she's gorgeous. I feel like I've been staring too long. I clear my throat.
"You look, uh, different."
"You too." This is awkward.
"So, um, I thought you moved to Arizona."
"Yeah, well, uh, my dad got fired from his job, and there was not much work there, so we came back."
"That answers the question."
"Yeah, it does."
"So, are you going to be going to South High now? To finish the school year, I mean."
"Yeah."
"Well, uh, it was good to see you, I guess."
"You too, kinda."
"Later Jo."
"Later Stupid."
Jo's POV
A few days ago...
"Jo, we have to tell you something." Mom calls. I walk down the stairs to the kitchen to where my parents are. They're standing, their faces solemn.
"Jo, I got fired today," my dad says, "and since there aren't many jobs out here, we've decided to move back to Denver."
"What?" I ask. I made some new friends here, and now I'm leaving. But, there is also a 'friend' in Denver, who I have missed a lot. "When are we leaving?"
"Thursday."
"Thursday?" I ask. That's two days from now. "How are we going to get all packed up by then?"
"It'll be easy Jo." Mom says. "We don't have a lot of stuff, and most of our stuff still isn't unpacked. We start packing tonight. Tomorrow is your last day of school here. I know it'll be hard to move again, but we're moving back to Denver, you know Denver. And you have some friends there. You okay Jo?"
"Yeah." I answer.
"Well then, start packing."
"You're moving?" Kayla, my friend asks.
"Yeah. We're leaving tomorrow." I answer.
"How long have you known?" Kris asks.
"Honestly, I just found out last night."
"Whoa." Meghan gasps. "I guess this is goodbye then."
"Yeah." The four of us fist-bump, hug, and part. That was hard, but I know that it could have been worse.
The moving truck pulls up early Thursday morning. We pack up quickly and leave. The longer I stay the harder it will be. We start driving. Mom says that we'll be there Friday morning. I watch as we leave the street, then the neighborhood, then the city. After a few hours we stop for lunch, then hit the road again. We keep driving. My mom makes us stop at the four corners, for some pictures for her scrap book. After she gets pictures of my dad, herself, me, and the view, we get going again. Night falls, and my mom starts driving. I fall asleep after 11:30, looking at the clear view of the stars. I wake up around eight to find us at the city we left two years ago. It's nice to see Denver again. We drive past my old school, Lincoln Elementary, and past the high schools. We finally arrive at our home, which turns out to be our old one. No one bought it, which is weird. I get out of the car and stretch my legs. I'm hungry for some breakfast. We start unpacking the car and the truck, putting all the furniture where it sat two years ago. I bring up my small box of picture frames and look at them. A picture of Kris, Meghan, Kris, Kayla, and me outside the ice-rink. We all enjoyed ice-skating. One of my family. I pull out a small, wooden one, covered in a light layer of dust. A picture of me and Gabe, after the horrible cotillion class. They took a couples picture afterwards. We were so cute and tiny, and so fancied up. I had a slight crush on him, but he was just my childhood crush, I'm totally over him now. I think.
At around seven-thirty I can't wait any longer. I have to go see Gabe.
"Mom, can I go visit one of my old, uh, friends?"
"Sure. Be back by nine though."
"Okay." I grab my set of house keys, my phone, and a sweater. I walk out the door and down the familiar street, remembering how to get to the Duncan's. I finally see the yellow bug truck. I can't believe they still have that thing. I walk up the front steps and ring the doorbell. Mr. Duncan opens it.
"Can you tell Gabe I need to speak with him?" I ask.
"Uh, sure, give me a minute." he replies. He doesn't even remember me. Oh well. He closes the door and I stand out there, wondering what Gabe will be like. A person can change a lot in two years. Finally the door opens again, and Gabe's appears. His eyes widen and his mouth opens.
"Jo?"
"Hey Stupid." I smirk. He steps outside and closes the door. I look him over. He's taller, his hair's longer and darker, but man is he handsome. And his voice is deeper and so, ( how can I say this?) sexy-ish sounding. It's kinda manly-ish. He's actually pretty cute. I shake my head. STOP THAT JO! Gabe clears his throat.
"You look, uh, different." he says.
"You too." This is weird. I've never had a conversation this awkward with him.
"So, um, I thought you moved to Arizona."
"Yeah, well, uh, my dad got fired from his job, and there was not much work there, so we came back." I thought he would ask that question, but the answer didn't come out as smoothly as I planned it.
"That answers the question." he states.
"Yeah, it does." Awkward again.
"So, are you going to be going to South High now? To finish the school year, I mean." He inquired.
"Yeah." Mom told me I was. It will be weird going to a new school this late in the year, but 'I need education' mom says. Frankly, I could care less.
"Well, uh, it was good to see you, I guess." He went on.
"You too, kinda." I smile.
"Later Jo." he says.
"Later Stupid." I joke. He nods and walks into his house.I blow out of my mouth and start to walk down the front stairs. I walk home, my mind swirling with thoughts. Gabe had changed. And I don't know if even likes me anymore. As a friend I mean. I don't care if he likes me in a romantic way. Or maybe I do.
I reach my new/old home, unlock the door, and walk in. I place my set keys on the hook. My parents are in the living room watching their favorite TV series: The Walking Dead.
"You're home." Dad says, not looking up from the TV.
"Yeah."
"Did you have a good time? Did you see your friend?" Mom asks.
"Yeah. It was nice to see Stupid again."
"Stupid?"
"Never mind. It was just good to see an old friend again." There's a scream from the television. "Anyway, I'm pretty tired. I'm going to go to bed now. Night."
"Good night sweetie." I hike up the stairs to my room. I thought I was going to have to sleep on the floor, but they got my bed set up. Good, I didn't really want to sleep on the floor. I undress, comb my hair, brush my teeth, and climb into bed. I lay back into my pillow. Remember when I said I over Gabe?
I'm Totally Not.