It was the first of June, and Matt's spirits were soaring. Amy, his best friend, was coming up from Florida for three whole months. She had been a friend of the family for four years now, but she only came to see them on holidays and special occasions, when she visited her dad. Her parents were divorced, and she spent most of her time with her mom.
Her 13th birthday had been a week after she'd visited Cameron, NC for her spring break. Laying on his bed, Matt looked at her wrapped birthday present in his hand. He was 12 years old, and girls were suddenly more appealing to him than ever. He'd been in like with Amy since the first day he'd met her, but it hadn't turned into anything. They were kids. Even now, he wasn't sure anything was going to come of it, but he did know that he had developed a serious crush on her since the last time she'd visited.
He was still staring at the package in his hands when the door opened and Jeff came in. "What's that?" he asked.
Matt patted the bed and Jeff came in and sat beside him. "It's Amy's birthday present. I didn't get a chance to give it to her the last time she was here."
Jeff held out his hand and Matt handed him the package. It was kind of big, and almost flat. "What is it?"
Matt shook his head. "I'm not going to tell you yet. You'll spoil the secret like you did last year."
With a goofy grin, Jeff handed Matt back the present. "Can I see when she opens it?" When Matt nodded, he smiled happily.
There was a knock at the front door and Matt hastily jumped from his bed and stared out the window, seeing that her dad's car was parked in his driveway again. "She's here!"
Together, him and Jeff ran down the stairs to open the door. Their mother was already there, greeting Amy with a warm hug. "There they are now," she said as Matt and Jeff slid to a stop.
Amy smiled at Jeff first, hugging him and planting a kiss on the top of his head, much to his delight. Then her gaze turned to Matt, and they both smiled before staring at the floor. "Hi," she said softly, pretending to study the design on her new sneakers.
"Hi," he responded, reaching out and giving her a tentative hug. Her light brown hair smelled like the flowers his mom grew in the spring, and he almost didn't pull out of the embrace. "I, uh, have something for you. Upstairs," he said, taking her hand nervously and leading her up the steps to his room.
Jeff came up directly behind them, sitting down eagerly on the bed as Amy examined her gift. She ripped open the green wrapping paper and pulled it away slowly.
"Ooh, Matt, I love it!" It was a medium sized journal, with enough pages for one entry a day for three years. The cover was black with silver, glittery lettering that read "The Teenage Years of Amy Dumas".
"I didn't know what else to get you," he said shyly. "I had it special ordered from the store so it would have the words on the front."
Amy reached across the bed and hugged him then handed the book to Jeff, who was dying to see what was so great about a blank book.
"I missed you," she said, chewing on her lower lip and scooting just a little closer to him on the bed.
His heart soared. "Really? I — I mean . . . I missed you, too." His heart was pounding in his chest and his breath was strangely missing, but he managed to lean in closer and press his lips to hers. She responded, and he tentatively put his arms around her, ignoring Jeff's gagging noises from the floor. After a few seconds of blind kissing, Matt pulled back with a small, forced laugh.
"Matt?"
He looked up at the sound of her voice. "Yeah?"
"Would you like to be my boyfriend?"
"Are you sure you want *me* to be your boyfriend?"
Her face fell a little, but she nodded.
"Wow! Of course! Yeah!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Cool!"
"GROSS!"
@~~~~~~
*Two years later*
Amy closed her journal with a soft thud, then tucked it under her pillow. She had dutifully been filling it in since the day Matt had given it to her over two years ago. Almost every entry had been about him. The way he made her feel, the way he kissed, and the way his butt looked in Wranglers. She was fifteen years old, and nothing had changed between the two of them. If anything, they had gotten better.
She propped her feet up on the windowsill in her room and stared out the window. Winter was fast approaching, which meant that she'd be going to Cameron soon for Christmas vacation with her dad. Which also meant that she'd be able to spend time with Matt.
They had decided to not date exclusively, since the location difference was so great. She, however, had not given any thought to dating anyone but him, and she believed him when he said he felt the same way. Her parents were urging her to cool things down with him, because they felt she was getting too serious too fast. Her mother had told her straight up that she would disown her if Amy became pregnant. Her father had voiced similar concerns, but she had just smiled and told both of them not to worry. Sex was not in the picture. Yet.
The telephone by her bed rang, and Amy reached over to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Amy? It's me."
Amy sat up quickly at the sound of Matt's voice, instantly knowing that something was wrong. "Matt? What's wrong?"
There was a strangled sob on the other end. "Mom died, Amy. She's gone."
+ ~~ +
That day, she got on a plane and flew to Cameron. By the time her plane arrived and she met her teary eyed father at the airport, it had been four hours since Matt had called her with the news. She hugged her father immediately and grabbed her overnight bag. The drive to the Hardy's was long and tense. Finally, they pulled up in front of the house and Amy vaulted out of the car and ran up the steps, not even bothering to knock.
She found Matt in the living room, holding his brother Jeff. They were both crying, and she knelt down in front of them. Matt looked down at her with red-rimmed eyes and wet cheeks before sinking down to the floor and into her arms. Jeff came down as well, and the three of them sat heaped on the floor, crying.
+ ~~ +
She stayed for two days before bidding Matt another tearful goodbye, giving him a light kiss on his lips. She got in her dad's car, feeling like she was going to break down crying again at any minute.
"Are you okay, honey?" her father asked gently.
"I will be. Daddy, do you think you could convince Mom to let me come out a week early for Christmas? It's going to be Matt and Jeff's first Christmas without her, and I know they could use a friend right now."
Mr. Dumas considered it for a second before giving a small nod. "I'll
certainly talk to her, baby."