Hello everyone! I'm pleased to announce the wait between chapters this time is much less than last time! Please enjoy chapter 7!
For Ned Bigby, summer went by at a snails pace. For the first couple of weeks, he barely left his room. He tried to preoccupy himself with reading, putting the final touches on his survival guide for junior high, video games, basically anything he could think of to distract him from how much he missed Moze. But inevitably he would always find himself gazing towards her window. The blinds were closed, but it hardly mattered as her room was empty anyway. True to her note, Moze hadn't contacted Ned in any way all summer. Twice he'd called her, hoping against hope that she'd answer and they could clear the air. Ned was ready to plead and beg for her forgiveness. He wanted her back as his friend, and as his girlfriend. Both times he'd called, however, her phone was off. It went straight to voicemail, and he didn't leave a message. She'd asked him not to, and even though she'd also asked him not to call at all, he hadn't been able to hold back during those two moments of weakness. He missed her, and it truly felt like he wasn't complete without her. He had a Moze-sized hole in his heart.
After a few weeks of moping, Cookie had come to Ned's rescue. Lisa had gone on a two week vacation with her family and as a result, Cookie had nothing but free time on his hands. Like the true friend he was, he devoted it to Ned, and trying to help him get over his Moze blues. During those two weeks, he planned something every day to get Ned out of his room. They went bowling, to the movies, swimming at the town pool, camping, and even tried paintball, though it was a disaster that ended up with both of them bruised and wishing they'd picked ANYTHING different. By the time the two weeks of practically non-stop guy time had ended, Ned was feeling noticeably better.
After Lisa returned from her family vacation, Cookie spent less time with Ned, but both he and Lisa made sure to stay in regular contact with him and hang out as often as reasonably possible. Ned's parents were also encouraging Ned to get out of the house as much as possible. They knew, just like Cookie, that staring at Moze's empty bedroom wasn't going to help him feel any better. So whenever Cookie or Lisa called Ned's house to see if he wanted to go out and do something, his parents practically said yes before he did.
As the summer wore on, Ned, Lisa, and Cookie seemed to form a similar type of friendship to what Ned, Cookie, and Moze had. The main difference was that the girl in the group was dating Cookie, instead of Ned. But even as Cookie and Lisa continued to grow closer, Ned never felt like a third wheel, or left out. If anything, his friendship with both of them only grew stronger. Ned eventually lost track of how the summer was quickly drawing to a close. Cookie had managed to take his mind almost completely off of Moze. Unfortunately, that all changed one afternoon, just a few days before Labor day, when Cookie, Lisa, and Ned returned to Ned's house after an afternoon of hanging out at a nearby park, and saw the Mosely's car back in the driveway. Moze was back.
As soon as he saw the Mosely's car in their driveway, Ned's emotions switched immediately from relaxed and jovial to full on panicked. He hadn't been keeping close track of the calendar, unlike the beginning of summer when he counted the days one at a time in a mope. As a result, he was totally unprepared for Moze's arrival back home from her family vacation. Fortunately for him, at that moment no one was in the car. The family was all inside, most likely unpacking. For the moment at least, Ned was spared his first awkward encounter with Moze since the incident with Suzy. He also wasn't ready to hear whatever decisions Moze had likely reached over the summer regarding their future, both for their friendship, and their romance. He hadn't told Cookie that he was scared she was going to not only dump him, but end their friendship. Both prospects he knew, would crush him. He just hoped that a summer away had cooled her anger at him, and that she'd found a way to forgive all the lies he'd told her. In his defense, he knew he'd been trying to protect her feelings, but with a whole summer to think about it, Ned knew the decisions he'd made were not ones he'd ever repeat, whether he was dating Moze or not. As he mulled these things over in his mind, he suddenly felt very exposed and realized Moze could walk outside at any moment, and he needed a little more time to prepare himself, both to brace for the worst, and to hope for the best.
"Hey Cook, Lisa, I'm gonna head inside. You're welcome to come in and hang out if you want. I'm just not ready to see Moze yet, and standing out here isn't exactly going to help me avoid her."
Cookie gave him a sympathetic look.
"I understand Ned. You need time to get ready for whatever's gonna happen. Just know," he paused, placing a hand on Ned's shoulder, "that I'm your best friend no matter what. I've got your back."
Ned smiled and nodded his appreciation. As Cookie let go of Ned's shoulder, Lisa gently took his right hand in hers.
"Ned, Jennifer may be my best friend, but even if things don't work out, you'll still be my friend too. It might be a little weird, but I just wanted you to know, I won't let things change between us. You're a good friend and a nice guy. I really hope things work out for both of you."
Ned gave Lisa a heartfelt hug and thanked her.
"Well Ned," Cookie said, glancing quickly at Moze's house, as if afraid she was going to run outside at that very moment (she didn't.) "Lisa and I have plans to see that romantic comedy that just came out last week. Otherwise we'd be happy to hang out with you a while longer."
"Totally understand" Ned replied. Then after a moment of thought, his eyes lit up. "Did you realize we start high school next week?"
Lisa suppressed a smile. Cookie laughed a little.
"Ned" Lisa replied sweetly "I think you're the only one who didn't realize that. Guess we did a better job helping you relax this summer than we thought!"
Now it was Ned's turn to laugh a little.
"I guess so" he replied, grinning.
After saying their goodbyes, Ned turned and went inside. He'd barely closed the door when he heard an all-to-familiar voice call out "Lisa! Cookie! Is that you? I missed you this summer!"
Ned had to fight the urge to go back outside. In spite of his near-panic about facing Moze, he'd still missed her, and hearing her voice now was almost enough to overcome those fears. But given the timing of Moze appearing outside to greet Cookie and Lisa, it was either an incredible coincidence, or she'd been waiting to see them until he'd gone inside. If that was the case, it didn't bode well for him. He felt an icy chill in his heart. Does this mean she's made up her mind and she's going to dump me? he thought, panic taking over.
For the next few days, Ned basically hid inside his house. Cookie and Lisa had both called to check and see how he was doing, and to invite him to various things, but he'd declined their invitations and hadn't talked much to them. He didn't want to know if Moze had revealed anything to them. He could read Cookie pretty well, and Lisa didn't have a great poker face either. If Moze had said anything to them about her decisions about Ned, he'd know it without them saying a word, and he didn't want to find out that way. Each day that passed, Ned spent his time helping his mom with school shopping, (he made sure Moze was not outside before he'd go out to get in the car) he read books, he watched TV, and he never, ever dared to look out his window towards Moze's room. He was afraid if he did, he'd see her staring back, and he still just wasn't ready. But he was working on it.
In the meantime he kept his curtains closed. He wondered what Moze thought about that, if she'd noticed. He usually only kept his curtains closed when he needed privacy, and they weren't usually closed for very long. But now they'd been closed since she'd come home. It would certainly be a very noticeable change. Of course, Ned thought to himself, she'd only notice if she actually still looks at my window, and if she's going to pull the plug on us, maybe she isn't doing that.
The first day of school was looming as Labor day arrived. Ned's family had always had a backyard barbecue to celebrate the holiday, as well as the last day of summer vacation. Typically they invited the Mosley family over, and Ned would always be allowed to invite Cookie as well. This year his mom approached him in the morning and asked him if it was OK before inviting Moze's family. Ned let his mom know he appreciated her considering him and his feelings. But Ned had decided he was ready for whatever Moze was going to tell him. He also wanted to know BEFORE school started, as that would probably be easier on both of them. So he told his mom to go ahead and invite them. He also asked if it was okay to invite both Cookie AND Lisa. His mom assured him it was no problem and to go ahead and invite them over. Normally the cookout started at 1, but Ned made sure to tell Cookie and Lisa to come at 2. That would give him time to talk to Moze.
Ned was sitting in his backyard, on one of the fold out lawn chairs his mom had gotten at one of the many garage sales she'd frequented. He had to admit the chair was more comfortable than it looked. He glanced around at the other currently empty lawn chairs he'd brought out and set up. He tried to imagine where everyone would probably sit. His dad was over at the grill on the other side of the yard, getting it ready to cook the assortment of meats his mother had picked up at the store. It was just after noon, so he was trying to relax a bit in the time he had before everything got started. He'd just closed his eyes, and was attempting to completely clear his mind of any and all thoughts, when he was interrupted by a voice from behind him.
"You know, for someone who's supposed to be helping, you look more like you're napping."
Ned nearly fell out of the chair and then jumped to his feet. As he quickly turned around to face her, he caught a glimpse of Moze's amused smile before she could hide it.
"Hey Moze" he said, trying to sound far more casual than he felt.
The silence that followed only intensified the awkwardness that both of them were obviously feeling. Moze was looking at Ned with an expression somewhere between curious and intrigued, while Ned was staring intensely at the ground. After what seemed to Ned like an eternity, Moze finally broke the silence, and Ned was almost shocked to hear genuine warmth in her tone.
"It's really good to see you Ned."
He looked up in surprise, and was even more surprised to see a genuine smile on Moze's face.
"Really?" he asked, a bit of uncertainty creeping into his voice. So far this was not at all like he'd expected things to go. Then Moze really threw off his expectations entirely.
"Yeah, Bigby. Really. I missed you this summer." As the words passed from her mouth to Ned's stunned ears, Moze followed them and embraced Ned in an entirely unexpected, but most definitely welcome hug.
Ned didn't want to move an inch. The warm feeling of Moze's hug, her body against his, was heavenly. When Moze finally did pull away, Ned had to stop himself from moving with her to keep the hug going.
"So does this mean we're OK?" the words were out of Ned's mouth before he even thought about them, and he cringed inwardly. He hadn't meant to get to the big topic so quickly. Thankfully Moze didn't get upset or seem to mind. But she did sigh, and Ned felt his heart drop like a stone.
"Well you got right to it, didn't you?" she asked in a faintly amused voice. "No small talk?" she laughed a little. "It's OK, we needed to talk about it anyway, and now is as good a time as any." Moze sighed again. "Look Ned, this summer was really hard on me. And before you interrupt, I'm sure it was just as hard on you. I was hurt so deeply when I found out you'd been lying to me about Suzy. You'd never lied to me like that before, or that much. It was like I didn't even know who you were."
"I'm so sorry Moze"
"I know you are. I also know that you won't do it EVER again. Because if you do, you won't want to face what I'll do to you. It'll make Suzy look like mother Theresa."
Ned gulped. "Understood."
Moze continued. "So that brings us to what I had all summer to try and figure out. Where does this leave us?"
Ned silently braced himself, unsure of what was coming.
Moze was silent for a moment. Then she gave Ned a small smile.
"I'm not going to let this ruin our friendship. We've known each other far too long, and been through way too much for that. Besides, high school is a whole new world. We're gonna need all the friends we can get!"
Ned breathed a sigh of relief, but the relief disappeared quickly as Moze's smile faded.
"Now for the hard part," she said, a hint of pain in her voice. "I still care about you Ned. A lot. And I have feelings for you beyond friendship. But this was a big breach of my trust, and we hadn't even been going out that long. I can't just jump back into a relationship with you after that. I don't even know if you acted that way because we were dating instead of just friends, or if you change who you are when you're in a relationship, or...or... I don't even know. That's the problem. This whole thing happened before we'd even really gotten our feet wet as a couple. I just can't..." Moze gulped, her eyes were now misty. "I can't be in that kind of a relationship with you. At least, not right now. I need to know the person I'm with, the person I care about, truly has my back and won't lie to me. Its an entirely different kind of relationship, and I don't have trust in you in that kind of relationship. Maybe that will change, I don't know. But right now I want to be your friend Ned...but that's it."
Ned felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. He wanted to scream, to protest, to tell Moze she was making a mistake. But he couldn't find the words. In fact, he couldn't seem to find ANY words in that awful, awful moment. Moze seemed to sense this and took the initiative.
"Ned, I know this hurts. Believe me, I'm hurting too. But I am going to do everything I can to keep this from being awkward. I'll need your help. I can treat you normally like I always have as your friend. We don't need to act awkward, and we can hang out and be comfortable around each other. But only if you think you can do that too. I know it won't be completely awkward free, but you and I have known each other a long time, and if anyone can make a friendship work in these circumstances, its us. What do you think?"
Ned mulled over Moze's words for a moment before responding. He wanted to be sure he worded it right.
"Moze, I owe you at least that much. I'll do my best to do exactly what you're asking. But you need to know something as well. I'm still crazy about you. I'm not going to give up on us being more than friends. I'm going to do whatever it takes to prove myself. I'll do my best not to make it weird, but you need to know that."
Now Moze gave Ned her most heartfelt smile yet. She stepped forward and hugged him again, this time more tightly than the first time. She turned her head slightly and whispered in his ear: "I know you won't give up. Neither will I."
The labor day cookout was in full swing. Moze was talking to Lisa and Ned's dad, both moms were deep in conversation, and Moze's dad was deep in a conversation with another neighbor the Bigbys had invited. Ned and Cookie were sitting together, munching on hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, and everything else that the Bigby family was serving up. They were talking about what Ned and Moze had discussed.
"So it sounds like she left the door open for you two to get back together, you know, in the dating kind of way" Cookie said, hopefully.
Ned leaned back in his chair and sighed, fixing his gaze on Moze.
"Yeah, and she sounded supportive when I told her I wasn't giving up on that."
Cookie shook his head. "You two just got together before summer started, and now you're both technically single again. That's a lot for one summer."
"At least I got my friend back" Ned said, still gazing at her.
Almost as if she'd heard Ned speaking about her, Moze's eyes moved from looking at Lisa to looking at him, and she flashed him a smile that took his breath away. She is so beautiful. So perfect he thought to himself. This is going to be difficult just being friends, even if it ends up being temporary. I'm gonna want to hold her. To kiss her. It's going to be so hard to have to hold back. He finally turned his gaze away from Moze, who'd returned her attention to Lisa. He looked over at Cookie, who raised an eyebrow.
"You sure you can do this Ned? Go back to friendship? No way that's gonna be easy."
Ned cocked a half grin.
"You're right" he said, a determination in his voice, "It's not going to be easy. But I can do it."
Inside, Ned felt a swirl of emotions. Well, he thought, no matter what happens, it's going to be a very interesting start to high school.
Well that concludes this chapter! Hope you like it so far! High school arrives at last in the next chapter. I'll do my best to get it out as soon as I can!