AN: merryman (Same to you! It's always awesome to get such a positive review from you after a bunch of flamers.You have no idea. My inspiration from this story came from a song I heard by Rascal Flats called 'Sarabeth', or 'Sarah's Song'... I've heard both names. Of course, this combined with a few books created my story! Thank you! 'The Rock'. I actually have about three stories now I'm working on, so I probably won't continue with that one for a few weeks or more, but I do plan on continuing it whenever I get the chance!) Jess (Are you a romantic sap as well? Yeah, I just had to add that in there... I'm glad someone enjoyed it!) Lillisse (Perhaps you're right... that one was kind of a dud, wasn't it? I'm thinking about taking it off and doing it all over again. I'll take your advice! Thanks! And no, most of the time I don't take that stuff seriously, but it doesn't make me happy either. Definitely doesn't encourage me! God bless you) Crystal (Oh, lol! I didn't even think of that! I know what you mean now... I'm glad you and Jess both enjoyed that, I know I enjoyed writing it! Awww, thanks. You're too kind. I mean, the story isn't complete without the kiss and "everything is awesome" sceneright before the big problem and the "everything is not-so-awesome" scene. Plus, being a romantic sap I couldn't resist, ya know? Hey, give me your ideas. I need them, if I'm going to get to my goal of seventy pages for this story. You know better than to keep quiet about your ideas.) mookersgirl (Hey, thanks! I'm glad you think that. God bless, and yes I like to know when people like what I write!)

Chapter Fourteen

Throughout the entire next week of school, Aaron didn't feel like himself. The guilt of what he'd done kept coming back to him, not just in his thoughts but in tangible ways. Even as he walked down the hall to his locker, he was the recipient of glares and looks full of pity. No, this Dare had not been worth it. Why had he even attempted to solve it?

His previous thoughts came back to him then. If you hadn't tried to solve the Dare, you would never have become Rebecca's friend… never shared so many things with her. He shook his head, trying to clear it of this thought. And look where it's gotten you now, Aaron. Worse off than when you started. She's never going to be your friend again.

When Aaron saw Chris at school, he neither glared nor talked to him in a friendly manner. He didn't know whether to thank or slap the guy.

Immersed in his thoughts, Aaron didn't see the same person he'd been thinking about approach his locker as he grabbed the books he needed for his next class. "You know, you were going to have to tell her sometime."

Aaron shut his locker, resisting the urge to slam it and walk away. Instead he replied with self-control. "I would have preferred to break it to her myself."

"Do you think you would have been better off?"

He nodded. "I know she would have rather heard it from me instead of from some gossiper."

"She still would have gotten angry with you."

"But at least I had been honest with her," Aaron hung his head, waved to his friend, and went of to class.

Aaron sat in his regular spot at church, alongside his family, but found it extremely hard to tune in to their pastor's sermon. All of his thoughts seemed jumbled, and this was the first time he'd actually had time to sort them all out.

He thought about the last time he'd sat in the same spot he was sitting now, in the front row with the steps only a few feet away. If only the sanctuary could empty out and Rebecca would enter through the doorway again, and they could replay that conversation. If only he could go back and be honest with her, if only he could have another chance to talk to her, to explain everything that had been going on inside him.

If only he could start their entire friendship over again. There were so many if only's.

Yes, she should have known that he had been Dared, just as she'd said so many times. But at the same time he had known, deep inside him, that it would turn out this way. Because of his own stubbornness this had happened. It was his fault and no one else's. He couldn't even blame the juniors, even though they were the ones who conjured this Dare anyway. But he should have known to be honest with Rebecca. He should have been prepared for it to end up this way, should have told her the truth.

But at this point, with all his emotions jumbled, he asked himself what the truth was… and couldn't answer. Yes, at first he had tried to approach Rebecca because of the Dare, but his feelings after that were unknown—even to him.

Rebecca got to youth group as late as she possibly could. Her parents, not yet knowing about Aaron, had insisted she go. And it wouldn't have done any good to tell them about it. Her mother, even if she had known about his betrayal, would tell her it would do not good to hide from the truth.

The truth. The words echoed cruelly in her head, ever and over as she approached the front door of Don and Anne's house. The truth was something she'd refused to acknowledge. She'd believed Aaron in everything, trusted there were no lies in his words, had thought his actions were from his heart. Were they?

Hesitating to walk into youth group, where humiliation—and Aaron, seeing that his car was parked out front—awaited her inside. Aaron's feelings were false, the fact that everything, including their friendship, had been a lie proved that. The fact that he felt so at ease lying to her for all those weeks told her that was true. But what about her own feelings? They had been uncorrupt and she'd had nothing to hide… was it time to face what they really were?

"Rebecca?" a voice from the door pulled her out of her reverie. Anne, her youth group leader, stood in front of her smiling.

She flinched; hoping those inside hadn't heard her name being spoken. She'd just been considering running back home and didn't want her chances of that spoiled. When she looked up, she realized the door had been shut. Anne gestured for her to sit down on one of the comfortable porch chairs, and Rebecca knew what was coming.

"I know what you've probably been thinking about all of this," Anne said, getting right to the point and looking directly into her eyes.

"So you've heard the story?" Rebecca asked, but she already knew the answer.

Anne nodded slowly. "You've been thinking Aaron only made friends with you because of the Dare he was given." When Rebecca started to protest, she held up a hand and continued, "If you recall, Rebecca, I watched Aaron grow up. He has one of the softest hearts that I know of, and he would never hurt you on purpose. I talked to him that first time he tried befriending you… and he genuinely sounded hurt about not being able to do so."

Rebecca sighed. "You would think that if he wanted our friendship to be genuine, though, that he wouldn't have lied to me the entire time. He would have come clean if he wanted us to keep being friends, don't you think?"

"I'm going to turn that question back around on you, excuse me," Anne smiled, "Don't you think he was afraid of what your reaction might be? Perhaps he wanted to continue your relationship as if everything were normal… as if the Dare hadn't even happened."

"I think if he knew me as well as I thought he did, he would've known that I would rather have had him come clean and be honest than have to hear it from the church gossips that he was lying to me," Rebecca replied, and that was the end of the conversation. However, even as she walked into youth group as her usual quiet self, she kept thinking about all that Anne had said. Obviously Anne had known those words would stick in her mind or she would have continued the conversation, and Rebecca was glad she had such a wise woman as a youth group leader.