Title: The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case
Author: TWBasketcase
Chapter Summary: Summer is coming to an end and Andy and Allison reflect on their time together before it is time for him to leave.
Rated: T; Warning…fluff alert…gag.
A/N: Alright this is the second last chapter and this story should be done by the end of the week. I just wanna say thank you to everyone who has been following me and those who have been supporting me since April. Thanks all. I also just wanna say; UPDATE YOUR FRIGGIN' STORY PAM! YOU LAZY PILE OF B.S.! Lol, you wanted me to yell at you so there you go! This chapter goes out to you! And you too Hannah! And hell, it can go out to everyone; I'm in a giving mood. :) So yeah, let me know what you think, as we are so close to the end.

Chapter 41 – I Remember You

I stretched my arms over my head and lifted my chin to take in the spectacular view of the sky; there are only a few moments out of the day that you can see the sky like this…pink, gold, and purple, blue and black…it makes me feel at peace. It's like everyone can see the same sun set from wherever they are in the city and yet, it's probably also the only time of the day where everyone feels at peace with themselves.

Watching a sunset, or even a sunrise for that matter, is a constant reminder that there is a new day. Another chance to roll out of bed and smile, another chance to lay in the grass and enjoy fresh air…hell another chance to live another eventful day of your life.

Somehow in a way I think that a sunset and sunrise kinda represent life in itself; the sun rises and everything is new, shiny, fresh and the day goes on more and more eventful until you are too tired to continue, and the sun sets in a blaze of glory.

You start your life as an infant; from those days you depend on everyone and everything around you. You can't keep yourself warm, you can't hold a spoon to your mouth, you go to the bathroom in your pants, and you can't even hold your own head up. Mom and Dad mean just about everything to you and teach you all the walks of life.

It seems as though the learning phase never ends; hell, it doesn't end. You learn to eat, brush your teeth, manners, pain, happiness, everything. Each and every day of your life is a new learning experience yet you can't remember everything. Just the big things stick out in your head; as the years go by the memories just become more and more faint and after time you don't recall any of it at all.

I mean, my first birthday was a big thing for me; I got my first rocking horse and play-doh set, my first birthday cake, and my entire extended family was there. I should remember getting hit on the head by a basketball from my cousin George, I should remember Uncle Kevin throwing me on his shoulders and spinning me until I barfed, and I should remember shoving my entire face in the birthday cake. But I don't recall. It was much too long ago and even though it was an important event it just doesn't stick in my mind.

On the flip side I can remember my first picnic and my first trip to the zoo; I can also remember the first time I fell off my bike and the first time I was pushed into a mud puddle in a new dress. It seems like a select bunch of memories stand out in my mind and no matter what I can't get the old ones back unless I look at pictures or such. Pictures can speak volumes and capture a smile but they sure as hell can't bring back the emotions and feelings you had at that exact moment in time.

Even the bad memories I miss sometimes. I miss the way my parents used to yell and scream at each other and I miss the way mom would come into my room when she thought I was sleeping and look through my drawings. No matter how many problems we had as a family I knew those things showed that they actually cared. They cared enough to raise their voices, they cared enough to sneak up, they cared enough to look at me…and now all of that is gone. Even though there are a lot of bad memories within my family I still wish they could come back. My mother has been gone now for well over eight months and my father is going to be walking down the aisle in one. I still haven't spoken with my mom and I still haven't mended any fences with my father. Yet I found a new form of security in his bride to be. Sure I still can't get along with the little spawns she calls children and they still go out as a family without me, but she has put forward the effort from the time I met her no matter how nasty I may have been to her.

Pam, over the last three months, has turned into someone special to me; she has stayed up talking to me at night when I have felt upset and has helped me to prepare with the heart ache that is tomorrow. The first time I saw her I never would have thought I could share anything remotely extraordinary with her; hell I thought she was the most unbearable woman on the planet. I bribed her and talked back, ignored her every chance I got, but now I realize that she is my real link to a real family life even if I can't get things back to normal with my father. I would probably never admit it out loud but I love her; love her like a mother.

My mom wasn't there when I felt at my lowest; she wasn't there for my prom or any of the important things a teenage girl wants and needs her mother there for. But Pam was there. And for that I am grateful and appreciate it more than she would ever know.

My prom was probably one of my most memorable nights in my life; I expected it to be a total cheese fest where everything could go wrong. But in the end everything was tied together for me and it went smooth. Brian finally let himself go loose, and John and Claire came to silent terms with one another; Ashley Young finally got what was coming to her, and Andy…holy hell I have never loved him more. He taught me to stop dwelling on all the hardships of the past and just look at everything that was good in my life and savor it.

Andrew Clark, my unexpected guidance. When I first laid eyes on him back in March I looked at him and saw a cocky façade, someone who saw himself as better and above everyone else; a muscle head jock who would never give me the time of day. Hell we were – and somehow still are – polar opposites. I, the basket case, the recluse, the school freak; I put up my walls on everyone and no one had ever tried to break them down.

Until I met him.

He saw right through it all and offered me his hand of friendship; I didn't know it at the time but I think he saved me. I was headed down a spiral of despair and it was him that made me realize that things weren't always so bad, even when he had his own problems to deal with. He always put me ahead of himself. Through his injuries, his family problems, his schooling, he always cared for me first.

Now I have one day left; he is going away and moving on to bigger and better things. A scholarship to the University of British Columbia; I mean anyone with half a brain could have guessed that he would be headed off to some big time school going all the way with his athletics, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. It still hurts to know that he will be leaving. Don't get me wrong but I am totally happy for him picking up and doing what he loves to do without the harsh and overbearing shadow of his father looming over his every move. He needs to get away and be himself, become the successful man I know that he will be…but I am still gonna miss him like I would miss a limb. And this is my last day; 8:30 am tomorrow morning his plane will be headed down the run away and it will be another half a year – at least – before I see him again.

I'm not too sure if it makes me naïve, or love sick, but either way that darkness still glooms over my heart every time I look at him. I don't know for sure what will happen with us, I don't know for sure what will happen to me, and hell, I don't even know for sure if he will ever really come back. But one thing he taught me and one thing that I know – no matter how much time fades it away – is that I have all of our memories together to hold and think about. He has had such an impact on my life that I don't think it is possible for time to erase him.

But then again, in a lot of the books I read people always say they don't forget their first love…and then they move on. The thought makes me shudder.

But somehow I don't think I would ever be able to pull my thoughts away from him.

"Are you awake?"

I turned my face over and smiled; the sun had gone down and the only light illuminating the park we lay in was a small lamppost about fifty feet away spraying a dull glow across the grass and his face. I could see his eyes shining in the light and the slow rise and fall of his chest, "Yeah…I'm awake."

The corners of his lips twitched up and he took my hand, "What are you thinking about?"

"Everything," I replied with a sigh, "Mostly tomorrow I guess."

He swallowed and nodded slowly, "You okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay…I'll be okay." He nodded and turned onto his side and slipped his arm under my head. The wind picked up slightly as the last bits of summer blew threw the trees; it was a little chilly and a cruel reminder that September is so close. A few birds flew from the trees silently and my hair began to tickle my eyes; it sent a chill down my spine.

He must have picked it up or something because then he decided to pull me closer; I could smell his scent, a bit of spice and cologne. I remember the same smell on the blue sweater I took home when I first met him. I had kept it hanging on the head of my bed and the smell was always there; hell I don't think I will ever get sick of it.

I pushed my face closer into his neck and smiled as he sighed happily. He reached two fingers under my chin and titled my face up to meet his. His kisses played out as a slow rhythm, gently caressing mine as I savored his taste. Every kiss felt like the first and it never gets old with him. He hovered over top of me and gently rubbed my cheeks with his fingers and teased me with his tongue.

He stopped momentarily and smiled, "You wanna go home?"

I smiled slowly, "Yeah."

He nodded and hesitated, "…One last time?"

I felt hot tears prick the back of my eyelids as I blinked back the tears forcefully, "One last time," I repeated. He held out his hand and pulled me to my feet and enveloped me into a hug, "Don't cry, okay?"

I nodded and hugged him back, "Only the good memories." It had become my mantra every time this happened; he would just grin goofily and nod and make me feel great all over again. But I knew this time would be the last…I also knew now that no matter what happened he wouldn't be one of those childhood memories that faded with time.

TBC