Monday afternoon, Raven rushed through the door to her kitchen at top, raging speed. She was so relieved to be home, away from all the people who'd ask about her tears. Over and over. It was them trying to be friendly by asking, 'Are you okay?', but it was actually quite annoying.

She threw her book bag on her floor and reached for her phone. Her bedroom was nice and cozy, and quiet. Relieved to be home, she snuggled in with her pillows and blankets and started dialing Eddie's phone number.

Raven put the phone to her ear, and waited for a response at the other line. It rung. And rung. And rung some more. She heaved a sigh. When the answering machine came on she just hung the phone back on the hook. It was perfectly useless.

She wasn't in the mood to call Chelsea, or to do her homework at all. She ate her dinner and put on a fake smile for her family so they wouldn't complain and nag, 'What's wrong?' the whole time.

At eight o'clock, when she finally could put down her annoying pen because her frustrating homework was complete, she layed back on her pillows and reflected on her day. It was a start of the week. First she saw Eddie's deserted locker. Then she was late to homeroom and Mr. French practically ate off her head about it. After that, she ran into Mr. Thomas, who was obviously not in any state to change his mind about moving. She'd been teary all day and it was embarrassing. Plus, when she got home and called Eddie, he wasn't home. She hadn't reached him for three days and it was annoying her very much. It was scaring her a lot, too.

She figured she could give it another shot and she'd call Eddie. She picked up her phone and once more dialed his number. It rung. It rung some more. Raven was about to hang up the phone when she heard a voice at the other end of the line say:

"Hello. Who's this?" The voice sounded like….EDDIE!

"Eddie? It's me, Raven!" Raven said, hopping off her bed and holding the receiver closer to her ear.

"Hey, Ray! What's up?" Eddie asked casually, as if he wasn't moving or anything.

"Nothing much. But, uh, I, uh, got a question." Raven answered.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" He asked, even more casually than before.

"I had a vision that you were, uh, moving? And I saw your dad at the school office, too, and um, he said you guys were moving to Montana." Raven sorta stuttered through that.

"Yeah, Ray. We are moving. To Montana. I don't want to go, though. I'm just acting excited because Dad's excited and I can't let him down…ya know?" Eddie's words struck Raven. So he truly really honestly WAS moving to Montana. She had a hard time believing it before. But now it was the truth.

"NO! You can't go Eddie! No! You can't! Why didn't you call me about this, Eddie? Friends tell each other everything, and you didn't tell me this! I had to ask you about it! Why didn't you call me sooner!" Raven exploded. "When are you leaving? Please, though, don't leave-"

"Ray, Ray! Calm down!" Eddie interrupted.

"No, Eddie! How can I calm down?" Raven started welling up with big juicy tears again.

"Listen, Raven. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal, Eddie? You're leaving me and Chels! We'll never see each other again!" She was getting agitated with his good spirit in this tragic time.

"Raven, will you listen to me?" Eddie was getting impatient.

"What? What could you possibly say to make me feel better right now? Why aren't you even angry sounding! You're moving to Montana, for crying out loud! What about having stores around every corner and going to fun parties on Fridays? You're just leaving that all behind to see a deer in your backyard! You're even leaving ME behind!"

"Raven, you're a drama queen. Listen to me! For one, I can't help where I'm moving. It's all up to my dad, right now, okay? And for two, it may not be that bad. I mean, who knows? I'm sure you've never stepped a foot in Montana, so how can you go around judging it! And for THREE, I'm not staying forever! Surprisingly, I'm coming back! So stop whining and complaining. Although, I know it's hard for you to leave my good looks, Ray." Eddie chuckled.

There was a silence as Raven soaked up everything he just said to her. Woah.

"Oh, yeah, Eddie. Your looks are just too amazing to leave." Raven said jokingly.

"But, Eddie, when are you leaving? And, when are you coming back?" Raven asked.

"When am I leaving? Hmmmm…maybe next week or so. I'm not going to school though 'cause my dad wants us to all stay home, relax, and pack the house up. And when am I coming back? Uhhhh… next year or maybe the year after that. Sorta a long time, but hey, I'm coming back at least! My mom hates this idea, but my dad is DYING for it, so we're going for just a little bit. Sorta strange, but my dad is too in love with the idea for my mom to say 'no'. So, whatever. I'm just going along with it." Eddie answered.

"But, hey, Ray? I gotta get going. My family wants me to get off the phone. I'll call you back, alright?"

"You better call me back!" Raven said with a smile. "Bye Eddie!"

"Bye Raven." With that he hung up the phone.

Raven sat on her bed, holding the phone to her heart. She was so amazingly relieved that he staying in Montana. Phew! But, still, she sure would miss him while he was gone! She had to call Chelsea and tell her the good news about Eddie coming back!

She dialed in the phone number with much agility (what girl doesn't learn to punch in her best friend's number at 100 mph?) and waited for somebody to pick up. At the second ring, she heard Chelsea's mom pick up the phone.

"Hi, Mrs. Daniels! It's Raven. Can I speak to Chelsea, please?" She was twiddling with the phone's cord as she talked.

"Raven, dear! Chelsea can't talk right now, sorry honey. Actually, I don't think my Chelsea will be able to talk for awhile." It was quiet for a minute, when Mrs. Daniels finally added, "My daughter is in the hospital."

"WHAT? Why? Is she okay, Mrs. Daniels?" Raven felt her stomach drop a mile a minute into her feet.

"Well, if she was okay, honey, she would be at home right now." Mrs. Daniels did a nervous chuckle.

"Well, Mrs. Daniels! What happened?" Raven's eyes grew with surprise as Chelsea's mother told her what had happened.

"Raven, dear. Oh, it's horrible! My poor baby is in the hospital!" Mrs. Daniels whined into the phone. She sniffled to regain herself. "I'm sorry, Raven. I now you don't want to hear me moan and groan. Anyhows, my daughter was working at the animal shelter, like she always does on Monday afternoons. You knew about that, right?"

Raven nodded, as if Mrs. Daniels could see her on the other end of the line.

"Well, she was working with this German Shepherd, who had been taken in from an abusive home. You know how it is, wild families may make the dog itself wild. Chelsea was going to work with the dog, you know, give it some treats and a nice bath. Hugs and kisses. My Chelsea just loves animals. She was just doing her job. When she bent down to give the dog some bacon, the dog snapped it from her hand with a snarl and slit some of her fingers with his big snarly, mean dog, teeth. My poor, poor baby. Well, then she bent down some more, because she's just so gosh darn brave, to give the dog a pat on the head to calm the mean ol' mutt down. Well, the dog…the dog…" Mrs. Daniels left Raven curious.

"Oh, Mrs. Daniels! I'm so sorry! Um, well, I'll let you be. Is she in the hospital over in Leximstout?"

"Yes…yes she is. Goodbye Raven. I don't want to be rude, but I have to get down to the hospital to check on my baby." Mrs. Daniels hung up the phone.