Elizabeth's POV

The morning started out like any other. I begrudgingly got out of my warm and cozy bed to get ready for my job at the library. As I threw on a purple blouse and a pair of black jeans, I realized that tomorrow would be the five month marker of Patrick and I dating. I wondered if we would do anything for it since it fell on a Thursday night and we both usually had a lot of stuff to do on Thursdays. Thursdays' I usually had dinner with my parents and Patrick usually had a double shift at the hospital.

I walked out of my apartment and swung by the café to grab some coffee. When I was waiting for my order, I couldn't help but recall the days when Patrick, Monica, Nate, and I would all hang out here. But, those days have long since passed. It's been nearly three years since... I closed my eyes attempting to get it together. I grabbed my coffee and walked out of the café...

The bell rang and Nate, Patrick, and I walked out of our eight grade science class. Patrick went on ahead of us since he had drama next while Nate and I had study hall. On our way to the lockers, we accidentally bumped into our grade's resident angst girl, Monica Lake otherwise known as Mopey Mo. She never caused any trouble. She just sat in the back corner of the class and always looked like she had a funeral to go to after school.

"Sorry." She whispered and scurried off.

"Weird." I commented and headed to my locker. I looked behind me and noticed that Nate wasn't with me. He was still standing there gazing off in the direction that Mopey Mo went. So, I clapped my hands together, which got Nate's attention and I said, "Earth to Nate. What's going on in that big head of yours?"

"Nothing." Nate mumbled. He grabbed his book and headed for the school's library. I raised an eyebrow and practically had to run to catch up to him...

"Good morning, Miss Cloud." Our head librarian, Mrs. Harding greeted snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Good morning, Mrs. Harding." I said as I sat in the chair behind my desk.

"We had couple of books returned today. Could you make sure they are put back in their proper place?" Mrs. Harding requested.

"Of course." I answered and got to work on it. As I was working, my phone vibrated. I pulled out my phone to see who it was from and saw that it was from my mother.

Mom: Would you like to reschedule our family dinner to tonight instead? Your father and I are going to be out of town tomorrow.

Me: That works. See you tonight, Love you.

Mom: Love you more, Lizzy.

I was about to put my phone away when I received another text from Patrick.

Patrick: I hope work is going well for you. Are you doing dinner with your parents tomorrow night? I had a shift change and I have tomorrow off.

Me: My parents are actually going to be out of town tomorrow, so I will be free.

Patrick: Would you like to do dinner and a movie tomorrow night?

Me: Sounds perfect. See you tomorrow, babe.

Patrick: See you tomorrow, love. Happy five months.

I smiled. He did remember that it was our five month anniversary. Honestly, it still felt like yesterday that we had started dating. We had crushes on each other since forever and honestly we both feel a little stupid for not dating sooner. I was the one who fell for the other first. When Nate found out, he would always tease me. Ope. There's those conflicting feelings. I was wondering where they went.

When I got to study hall, I plopped down next to Nate and shoved him in the arm and I whispered angrily, "What was that for, Nate? You totally just ditched me in the hallway."

"Nothing. I just have a lot of homework that I need to do." Nate muttered not making eye contact.

I narrowed my eyebrows and asked, "Does it have something to do with Mopey Mo?"

"Don't call her that." Nate said through gritted teeth which the librarian shushed him for.

"Aha! So it does. Spill it." I stated. Nate groaned and tried to bury himself in his folded arms, but I was not one to give up. So, I prodded a bit more, "Come on, Nate. It's only fair you tell me what you are thinking since I told you about my you know what."

Nate groaned some more, then whispered, "Fine. But, you can't tell anyone."

I nodded in agreement, then Nate admitted, "I have a crush on Monica Lake."

My eyes widened and I asked, "Why her? She's so... mopey."

Nate glared and I held up my arms in surrender and said, "Okay. I'll stop calling her that. It's just that everyone else calls her that too. So why Monica, Mr. Lover boy?"

"I've had a crush on her since elementary school and I remember how full of life she was. I'm not going to share my feelings with her yet, so don't even try to set us up. I think right now she needs a friend. Not a boyfriend." Nate explained.

I playfully shoved him in the arm and joked, "Since when did you get so wise, Mr. Guru Nate."

Nate glared at me and I decided to cut it out with the jokes. If Nate really is serious about this, then I should step up a bit too. I thought about what I knew about Monica. Definitely not much other than she lives with her mom and little brother. When I think about it, she really doesn't hang out with anyone in school, which makes me feel a little sorry for her and guilty for calling her Mopey Mo. I took a deep breath and made my decision.

"Alright, Nate. Being the good friend I am, I shall aid you in this mission. I will try and become friends with Monica Lake." I declared aloud, which got me shushed by a symphony of people and it concluded with a crumbled piece of paper hitting my head.

The sound of paper being stapled together was what brought me back to the present. Once I finished putting the books away, I sat back down at my desk and drank my cup of coffee hoping that it will wake me up. I'm getting way too sidetracked.

It seemed to do the trick because I went the rest of the work day without being distracted. I gathered my stuff together and fixed my curly brown hair that had fallen out of it's bun and announced, "I'm going to clock out. Is there anything else you need, Mrs. Harding?"

"You're good to go, dear. Also, you've been working so hard, Elizabeth. Why don't you take tomorrow off?" Mrs. Harding questioned.

"You don't need to offer me that. I enjoy working here." I said.

"I insist, Ms. Cloud. Enjoy your day off tomorrow." Mrs. Harding declared.

I smiled and replied, "Thank you, Mrs. Harding. See you on Friday." Then, I exited the building.

The day started out like any other, but is turning weirder and weirder. Hopefully, dinner tonight will go smoothly. Once I went back to my apartment, I changed into some more comfortable clothing, then headed to my parents. Once I parked in the driveway, I found myself looking across the street to his place and I was a bit surprised by what I saw and knew I had a call to make. So much for being a normal day.

The next period was history and it was perfect because Monica and I had that class period together. When I entered the classroom my target was acquired. I sat down next to her, which did shock the poor girl. I held out my hand and stated, "My name is Elizabeth Cloud. Let's be friends."

Monica simply stared at me not sure what to say and went back to the book she was reading. I glanced at the title and saw that it was my favorite book series of all time. The Lord of the Rings. I have something to go off of. Thank you, J.R.R Tolkien.

"I noticed that you're reading The Lord of the Rings. What part are you at?" I wondered.

Monica didn't answer, so I repeated the question again to which she muttered in response, "A Shortcut to Mushrooms. Is there a reason why you're talking to me?"

"Was my declaration not obvious? I want to be friends with you. Is this your first time reading the series?" I wondered.

"No, it's my second read through." She admitted, then to my surprise added, "It's one of my favorites series."

"I can tell we're going to get along just fine, Ms. Lake. The Lord of the Rings just so happens to be my favorite series. In fact, next weekend, my two best friends and I going to marathon it together. Why don't come?" I offered.

"I don't know." Monica mumbled.

"Please?" I begged.

"Fine. What time?" Monica questioned and I cheered right as the bell rang.

Over the next week, we hung out together practically non stop and we actually got along really well, which completely surprised me. It was turning into a real friendship. When Saturday hit, I was looking forward to it because I finally get to introduce her properly to Patrick and Nate. Of course, I told them that she was coming and told her about them, which Nate was thrilled about. When Monica arrived, I announced, "I'm so glad you're here, Mo. Now, you can meet everyone."

I dragged her into the living room to where Patrick and Nate were. I declared, "This is Monica Lake. I would like to make the proposal to have her join our friend group."

Patrick stood up, shook her hand, and stated, "Patrick Stone. Nate brought me into this group in the fifth grade. We'll see how this marathon goes before we make a decision."

Nate smoothed out his out his auburn hair and stuttered as he shook Monica's hand, "I-I live across the street from Elizabeth. E-Elizabeth and I h-have been friends since the first grade. M-my name is Nate Burnham. I'm positive you'll fit in just fine."