Introduction:

-1956-

I tugged at my hair, desperately wanting him to say something to me. The rain came pouring down on top of us, but at the moment I didn't care. We were both standing outside my house after he walked me home, waiting for something to happen.

Finally, something did happen. Will reached for my arm and started to pull me closer to him. He had a mischievous smile on his face, that smile that used to make me sigh and smile when I saw it. He leaned in closer to me, and as he did I felt my stomach twist into a knot. I closed my eyes anyway, trying to ignore it as best I could. Even though Will and I had kissed before, it was a long while ago and it wasn't the type of kiss I wanted.

His other arm moved up my side until his hand reached my head. He hid his hand in my hair and held my head in the right place, and I suddenly forgot about the rain as he kissed me. I started to panic at the last minute, but just as our lips met I started to calm down, which made me feel relieved. I had dreamed about this moment since I started high school, and now it finally was happening in real life.

I shouldn't take all the credit for this. Although Will and I had spent a lot of time together over the last few weeks, we didn't fall in love by ourselves. At first I was the only one in love- Forbidden love, I called it. Will was the tough guy on the block, the boy who bullied people like me around. Although he never came near me, I used to watch him pick of people in school and at the diner. I could never feel angry with him, because of my strange liking to him, but every night I'd go to bed wishing I did something about his bullying. I felt guilty that I was in love with such a mean person, and then I felt even worse when I realized I only wanted to stop him so I was in love with the right person. I tried to convince myself that I was trying to stop him because it wasn't right to bully others around. Somehow I never got the feeling that this was the real reason.

Another thing I felt bad about was I wasn't brave enough to stand up for myself and the others that were bullied. I was the shy type, and I certainly wasn't the type to stand up to a bully a few inches taller than me.

I never understood why I was in love with this boy, either. I knew it was just a crush and would go away for a few years, but I started to worry when I still watched him walk into the diner after two years. We never spoke two words to each other, but I felt that I knew a lot about him by just listening to his conversation.

Our lips separated, and we continued to stand together, soaked to the bone. I started to shiver after the warmth of the kiss faded, but he wrapped his arms around me shortly after, and I felt as if everything was all right. I leaned my head against him, and suddenly a strange thought came into my mind.

"How did a boy like Will fall in love with a girl like me, anyway?" I'm sure you had the same question. The answer isn't a short one, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the story.

Our story began in December of 1955, after the traditional Christmas play. I was seventeen at the time, while Will was close to turning eighteen. He didn't exactly realize he was in the story until around February, but I'll get to that part of the story later. At the point in December, only two people were included. Me, and a younger girl I had never met before I saw the play. She was around fifteen at the time, only two years younger than I was. I didn't expect her to cause such a change in my life, but she did.

She was the reason Will and I fell into real love, and her name was Jamie Sullivan.

(The other chapters will be much longer but this was a short introduction.)