"Jones!" I heard a familiar voice call down the hallway. Before I even turned around, I knew who it was. When I looked behind me, she was right there to throw her arms around my neck before I even had a chance to respond. "Jones, it's so good to see you again! Where the hell have you been all summer?!"

"Hey, Temi." I smiled and hugged her back. "I've been working all summer. I don't even know if I was ever home."

"So, you didn't even think to call to let me know?" She was baiting me into digging my own grave. "I mean, you didn't even know that I went to Canada for two weeks! Something could've happened and you'd be none the wiser!"

"You went to Canada? What the hell for?"

"Hockey training camp! Coach thinks I have a good chance at getting a scholarship for college. This is recruiting year and they want me in top shape, so they sent me to a skills camp at the University of Guelph up in Ontario." I could see how excited she was about it. Playing hockey was a huge part of her life. It was one of the things that couldn't be taken from her when everything else was falling apart around her.

I just smiled and pushed her dark bangs out of her eyes. "What can I do to make up for missing the entire summer?"

Her face flushed the slightest bit as a devilish look shone in her eyes. "Dinner, a movie, and a camping trip to Sweetwater River since you so casually missed our yearly 4th of July trip."

"Alright. Just tell me when to pick you up." It was then that the bell rang signalling the 5 minutes between classes.

"Shit!" She exclaimed and started to run up the hallway. "I'm gonna be late for AP Physics! Dr Murphy's gonna kill me!"

"Hey!" I called after her. "You didn't tell me when to pick you up!"

She turned around, her fishtail braid swinging behind her. "Pick me up at 5 on Friday! I'm over at 32 Deering Street now! Got bumped to a new home!" And with that, she disappeared into the crowd of students hurrying to their classes on the first day.

When Friday night came around, I pulled up to a large, colonial house on Deering Street numbered "32". Artemis was waiting outside by the garage with her black and green dirt bike, helmet, leather jacket, tweed guitar case, and olive drab duffle bag that had once been her father's, an officer in the US Navy. Next to her was a fiery-haired boy of about 12 wearing a blue and gold letterman jacket that was a few sizes too big for him. Artemis started down the driveway and the boy picked up the duffle bag and guitar and brought it down for her.

"I'm sorry! I had to deal with a few things before I could leave." I said as I got out of the truck and opened the tailgate.

"At least you didn't bail." She scoffed playfully.

"Would I do that to you?" I laughed. She just gave me a scowl (this time it wasn't playful) and put her bike in the bed of the truck next to mine.

"How about we make it breakfast at Pop's on Sunday then a matinee at the Bijou after? Tonight, let's just go set up camp." She grabbed the duffle from the boy, threw it in the bed of the truck along with everything else, and smiled at him. "I'll be back on Sunday. Promise to behave for your mother?"

The boy took off the letterman jacket and handed it to Artemis. He nodded vigorously and ran back up the driveway. Once at the top, he turned around to wave and ran inside after Temi returned the gesture.

"Who was that?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"His name's Arthur Donnelley. He's my foster brother." She replied as she put on her blue and gold jacket and climbed into the passenger seat of my truck. "He's shy but he's really sweet."

I got into the driver's seat and turned over the engine. "Seems like the quiet type. I know someone else who was really quiet at first too." I smirked.

"Shut up and drive, asshole!" She barked and hit me in the chest. "Let's go camping."

On the banks of Sweetwater River, in a clearing of trees, I parked the truck and we set up camp. You could see the sunset through the trees on the other side of the river as we pulled the dirt bikes out of the bed of the truck. Artemis threw her duffle into the passenger seat and pulled out blankets while I started a fire by the edge of the river. When I looked back to see where she was, I saw that she had not only made a nest of blankets and pillows in the bed of the truck but was already laying there reading.

"You comfortable, Tem?" I chuckled and climbed up next to her. I grabbed her book from her and held it out of her reach. "Hey, bookworm, take a break from school for the weekend and enjoy the peace and quiet."

"Hey!" She snapped as she tried to climb over me to retrieve it. I only held it farther out of reach. "Give that back! That's for a class!"

As she crawled over top of me to try reaching her book, the smell of her shampoo, lavender and orange, still faintly lingered in her braided hair. With one hand, I undid her braid and the other still held the book out of her reach. When she got off of me, I quickly threw the book in the cab of the truck and smiled.

"Seriously? You're messing with my hair now?" She laughed and started to rebrand her hair.

"No, no, no. Leave it." I pleaded. "I love it when you have it down."

Her expression changed from that of being playful to that of shock. "W-what?" She stammered. Her hands dropped into her lap and she just stared at me.

"I like it when you wear your hair down." I repeated then unbraided the part that she'd already started. "You look totally different when you wear it down."

"I—I do?"

As I helped her with her braid, we were barely inches apart. The smell of lavender and oranges was now mixed with the smell of vanilla coming from her lips. "Yeah. And don't worry, it's a 'good' kinda different."

The look in her eyes was why I did it. The look of sweet innocence combined with longing was the only push I needed. Her lips tasted like a vanilla milkshake and her skin felt like silk. Everything I'd ever felt for her was finally surfacing. After nearly 7 years of friendship, I'd worked up the courage to love her the way that she deserved.

When I broke away, I could see the tears welling in her eyes. I'd made a mistake. I'd just ruined the best thing I had going. "Artemis I—" I couldn't even find the words to say in this situation. Everything I thought about saying sounded stupid but if I didn't say anything, would it make it worse?

She just looked at me with tears in her eyes. After a moment, she spoke so softly that I almost missed what she said. "It only took you forever."

"Yeah," I said back in the same soft tone. "I guess it did."

"Is it too early to say or—"

"No, I—I don't think so."

"Then, FP Jones," She gave a faint smile and wiped the tears from her face. "I love you."

"I love you too, Artemis Ivers." I replied pushing her hair back over her shoulder and resting my hand on the back of her head. I pulled her in for another kiss.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I wrapped mine around her waist. I took her jacket off of her and laid it down on the blankets beside us then ran my hands up her back underneath her shirt. Promptly, she stopped and grabbed my arms. Her eyes, illuminated by the light of the fire, showed a hint of fear which made me immediately stop.

"Do you not…" I trailed off for fear of sounding stupid again.

She shook her head. "My terms."

With a quick kiss and a loving smile, I said, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

There wasn't much else said between us after she took off her shirt and combat boots. I hastened to remove my shoes and throw them next to hers on the ground beside the truck as she took off my shirt. She ran her hands up my bare back, her fingers slender and soft, and I held her tightly kissing her neck. I laid her down on her back and kissed down her torso. When I reached the waistband of her jeans, I unbuttoned them and slowly slid them off.

On her right hip, I saw it, the emerald green snake tattoo that I knew all too well. Seeing it on her body wasn't angering, it was disappointing. She had so much going for her but yet, here she was, a member of the South Side Serpents, an affiliation that would tarnish her name for life.

"What is this?" I asked, my voice hollow.

She sat up and the look of shame in her face was only exacerbated by the light of the unattended fire. "Jones, I—" When she saw that I was disappointed, she hung her head and looked away.

"Temi, why would you do this?" I gently turned her face back towards me and looked her in the eyes. "Artemis, you have /so much/ going for you. Why would you risk losing it all like this?"

She tried to look away again, but I followed her gaze. "It was a rough summer, Jones, really rough. You remember the Atwoods? My last foster family?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I was meaning to ask why you were somewhere new. Did something happen?"

"They were planning to adopt me but…" She trailed off.

I didn't want to push her to tell me, but I knew that she was trying to. "'But' what, Tem?"

"But Mrs Atwood got really sick, cancer sick, and the state had to call off the adoption and send me somewhere else. She didn't want to. She fought to keep me but…it didn't work. The state came in while they were at the hospital and moved me to this new place over on Deering Street where I am now."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry Temi." Was all I could manage to say. I was starting to feel even worse about not being around over the summer.

"For the first couple of weeks, I'd run off like I usually did the first time I was in a new home. Then I started hanging out on the South Side more and more. I made some friends, got mixed up in some parties. It didn't take long for me to realise that this was the way my life was gonna go. I'd constantly be tossed from foster home to foster home until I turned 18 then I'd be kicked out of the system and have to find my own way in the world. I didn't want to be alone. I needed some form of security and…it was just…there." The fear in her eyes as she talked about her possible future was chilling. I'd never seen her so afraid.

I reached out and pulled her close never wanting to let her go. "Artemis, you will never be alone. No matter what, I'll always be here for you. We could drift apart and move to different parts of the country but if you called me, I'd be there for you in an instant. You could show up back here in 20 years or even 30 years and I would drop everything for you."

Without warning, she kissed me and pressed her body against mine. Her kisses were salty from her tears and her skin warm and soft. And as quick as she was to embrace me, she stopped and looked me in the eyes. When I looked back, her eyes reflected the bonfire but that wasn't the only fire I could see.

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones II" She started, and it worried me. I don't think I've ever heard her use my full name. "I fucking love you."

"The one and only Artemis Naomi Ivers, I fucking love you too."

That night, there wasn't a care in the world. The only thing that we felt was love. We had no one to impress, no one to worry about, and no one to tell us what to do. We were completely free for the first time in a long time. And the next morning, when I woke up to see Artemis sleeping with one hand on her bare chest and the other propped up on the side of the truck bed, I couldn't help but smile and think about how lucky I was to have her in my life.

When I woke up in that suite in the Five Seasons, many years later, I felt the same way. The circumstances were drastically different, but we were still here. There she was now, her hair shorter and lighter, her body and spirit broken. She slept so peacefully with one hand resting gently on her chest and the other falling off the side of the bed. Some things never changed especially not with someone like Artemis Ivers.