Hey...

So I kinda forgot that I was posting my stories on this site, hence the lack of updates. But I won't forget again, so expect more updates soon.
And I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing.
Flashbacks are in italics. Now onto chapter 3...

Summary:He lost the two most important people in his life...fourteen years ago. But even today, he is dealing with the grief. When someone he once knew comes back into his life, will he be able to handle it? Or will he push them away?

We Were Kids
CHAPTER 3

So here I am, dreaming again. If I could, I would never wake up. Because in my dreams, everything is perfect, everything is happy. My dreams are like Disney movies, the good guys always win, the boy gets the girl, and the family lives happily ever after.

If there is one point in the day that I hate the most it is when I first wake up; I am definitely not a morning person. The second you open your eyes, reality comes crashing down and you have to deal with the world.

I hear a light tapping on my bedroom door and I open my eyes to see Ryan staring at me. I can't really tell if he is shocked or amused by my current situation. I roll over carefully and stand, careful not to make a lot of noise as I push Ryan out the door into the hallway.

"Friends huh?" He smiles gesturing towards my bedroom door. I motion for him to be quiet so we don't wake anybody else up.

"It's not what it looks like." I whisper. He smiles, a questioning expression on his face.

My outside door creaked open, light and cold night air filling my room. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to find out what was going on. "What the hell?" I questioned sleepily as I sat up in my bed.

"Hey." Ashley said walking nervously into my room. I scoot to one side of my bed and hold the blanket up for her to get in. After a second of hesitation she slides in next to me.

"Ash…" I say pulling her close. I can feel her body shake as she sobs into my shoulder and I pull her closer. "What happened?"

She pulls away slightly, her eyes red and puffy. "Can we talk in the morning?" She asks quietly. I nod and lay down softly pulling her beside me. After a few minutes the bed stops shaking and I know that she finally fell asleep.

"Well I wanted to see if you wanted to go for a run." Ryan stated. "Uncle Jake said to make sure that you were in shape."

"Uh, ya sure." I said still kinda tired. "I'll be right out." I stated as I walked back into my room to get dressed. I returned a few minutes later after writing a note and leaving it on my nightstand and getting dressed.

We started off down the street slow, taking our time so I could get used to it. It was still early, so the sun was barely up. It was peaceful out, not many people, and cars weren't filling the streets.

"So the first game is this Friday." Ryan stated. "You gonna be ready?"

"I hope so." I said smiling. Slowly we picked up the pace. We ran past all the shops that still weren't open, and past all the houses where people were still sleeping. Somehow we ended up running along the beach.

"Need a break?" Ryan asked noticing my heavy breathing. I nodded and we stopped for a moment. I lifted my arms on top of my head trying to catch my breath.

"Well, well, well." A voice broke over us. Both of our heads jerked up at the man. "It's like a flashback." He laughed to himself. I hated this man with every fiber of my being; I'm not sure why, but something about him…made me want to punch him.

"Like father like son huh?" He laughed in my direction. I stood up, my jaw clenched, my knuckles turning white as I fought to keep myself under control. "He always was a weak one."

"Just leave us alone Dan." Ryan snapped. I could tell that he was mad too. "You're just pissed cause our dads were smart enough to cut you out of their lives."

I grabbed Ryan's arm and pulled him backwards away from Dan. "Let's just go." I said and started to run back towards our house, eventually Ryan followed.

"Say hi to them for me!" He called after us. This time it was Ryan's turn to stop me from turning around and hitting him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. The rest of the time home was silent, just our feet hitting the pavement.

I opened the door to my bedroom, slamming it shut behind me forgetting that Ashley was still in there. I pulled my shirt over my head throwing it to the ground as I walked into my bathroom and turning on the shower water.

The water ran down my body, washing away everything. I just stood in there, not really caring if we were going to be late for school or if I was using up all the water. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door startling me. "Mikey, lets go." Uncle Nate yelled through the door. I stepped out and pulled on some shorts and walked out of the bathroom to find Ashley, Uncle Nate, Aunt Haley, and Ryan sitting in my room.

"What's going on?" I questioned as I ran the towel over my head. I could tell by the look on Uncle Nate's face that he wasn't too happy, and Ryan still looked pissed from earlier.

"Care to explain?" Uncle Nate questioned. He threw me a shirt and I pulled it over my head.

"Not right now." I said, my anger suddenly coming back. I grabbed my necklace and slipped it on and walked into the kitchen.

"Mikey." Uncle Nate said following me, everyone else behind him. I stopped and stared at him expectantly. Aunt Haley whispered something in his ear and I could tell he was processing it. "We'll talk after school." He stated as he walked away.

"You ready?" I questioned Ashley and Ryan as I walked out the door. They both nodded and followed me out to the truck. We all got in, not a word passed between us as I sped off down the road. For once in the past year I didn't stop at the café for my coffee, I just continued straight to the school.

Ryan got out as soon as we got there and hurried to his locker. "Mikey." Ashley said grabbing my arm as I tried to walk away. "You wanna tell me what's going on, or just assume I know?"

"You first." I said turning towards her. She gives me a confused look, "About last night." I add.

"Its nothing." She stated.

"Well that nothing is probably going to get me screwed by my uncle."

"Yeah, did you see the look on his face?" She burst out laughing. I have to admit, the look he had was pretty funny. "Now what's really going on?" She questioned.

"We ran into Dan this morning." I sighed as I guided her into the building.

"That bad?"

"Well first he insulted me and my dad." I said opening my locker. "Then he said to say hello to my dad for him."

"Ok, just to clarify. Dan is your grandfather right? " Ashley asked confused. "I mean he was your dad's father?"

"Technically, yeah." I said leaning my back against the lockers.

"So then why is he so mean to you? I mean, you are his grandson."

"I dunno. Uncle Nate said he's always been like that. And as for my dad, Dan abandoned him and my grandma."

"So then why do you let him get to you? Just block him out."

"I usually do, I dunno why he got to me today. He even got to Ryan, and that never happens." I pushed myself away from my locker and walked with her to hers. I leaned my head against the one next to it as she got her books out. "So what wrong last night, I mean you show up at my door in the middle of the night crying, there had to be something wrong."

"Me and my parents got in a big fight last night when I got home." She said quietly as she shoved a book into her bag. I watched her intently; trying to read her, figure out what was going on.

"About what?" I asked.

"Everything. Me coming home late, my 'attitude', my grades, you." She explained, a small laugh as she said the last one.

"Me? What did I do?" I laughed a little.

"They think you're the reason I'm not doing well in school." She said shutting her locker and turning to face me. "They think you distract me."

I had to laugh; its like they never even met me before. I've always been the one to try to get her to pay more attention; she is the one that always distracts me. "Ya ok." I laughed with her. "Are your grades really that bad?" She nodded, a faint smile still on her lips. "I can help you know, I'll tutor you."

"I dunno." She said hesitantly.

"Why not?" I questioned as I laid my hand on her arm. "I know what I'm doing."

"Mikey, what are we?" She asked.

"Uh, humans?" I laughed, oblivious to what she meant. I could tell it wasn't the answer she was looking for. "Like what, us?"

"Yeah. What are we?" She asked motioning between us. "I mean, after last night. Was that just a one-time thing? Does it change anything?"

"I dunno." I found myself smiling. "I do know I could get used to kissing you." And that was the truth. When our lips met, I had never felt so alive; it was like electricity was shooting through my body and I felt like I could do anything. It was the first time in a while where I was truly happy, there was nothing else on my mind.

"Really now?" She said taking a step closer to me, our faces inches apart, and the butterflies in my stomach growing by the second. I nodded, not sure if I could say anything. She moved a little closer, a smile on her face. "That's good to know." She laughed as she took off running down the hall. I groaned to myself as the first bell rang.

They day went by relatively fast after that; all day I kept finding myself sneaking glances over at Ashley, who for once, was actually trying to pay attention. The bell rang for the end of school, but I still had my first day of basketball practice.

"Walk you to practice?" She offered as we exited the main building and made our way towards the gym. I suddenly found myself curious to exactly what we were. I didn't want to go and blow anything if we had a chance, but I didn't want to just sit back and let it pass me by either.

I stopped walking, pulling her back towards me. I needed to know if there really was something there, or if it was just heat of the moment. I grabbed her hand firmly and pulled her so her body hit against mine and instantly pushed my lips into hers. I was right…there was definitely something there.

She pulled back, a smile on both of our faces. "You're right, I could get used to that too." I walked away slowly, a big smile plastered on my face. "Call me later." She stated.

Basketball practice was definitely not what I expected. Ever play something over and over in your head, something that you think is going to happen, and you think about it so much that you begin to think that its real? Well I was undeniably wrong.

When I got home I collapsed down on my bed, every muscle in my body ached. I found out that I had muscles that I didn't know I had. Sometime after my Uncle Nate stopped yelling I fell asleep, still in my practice clothes.

Ah, dreams, my happy place; my place away from all reality. Suddenly I felt a jolt and my eyes opened leisurely. A smile instinctively crept onto my lips as I saw her hovering over me. I could absolutely get used to waking up this way.

"You never called me young man." She fake scolded me as she lay down, her head resting on my chest. I just grunted. "Practice that bad?" Again I grunted.

"I meant to call." I said straining my arm to stoke her hair lightly. "But when I got home, my lovely uncle decided it was time to have, the talk."

"The talk?" She questioned.

Uncle Nate walked into my room; Aunt Haley and Ryan close behind. "Sit." Uncle Nate said to Ryan making him sit next to me on the bed. "We need to talk." He stated.

"About what?" I questioned as I struggled to sit up.

"You guys are at that age…" Aunt Haley said trying to find the right words. "Where you're interested in girls."

"Oh god." I moaned burying my head into my hands. I've been dreading this moment forever.

"Mom." Ryan said with a look of disgust on his face. "We really don't need to do this."

"Just shut up and listen." Uncle Nate said pushing him back down onto my bed. "I don't want you guys getting in over your head. Before you make that decision I want you to think if it's really worth it."

"I can't believe your actually saying this." I mumbled to myself.

"You have to look past the moment." Aunt Haley added. "Think if it is really right. You should be in love, not just in the moment. You have to think long term. We waited, and it made us stronger." She said motioning between her and Uncle Nate.

"Mom!" Ryan cried again. "I really, really, don't want to hear that!" I had to laugh a little. This was uncomfortable for me; it had to be unbearable for him.

"But, just incase you decided your ready." Uncle Nate said reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. "You should at least be safe about it." He threw something onto each of our laps.

"Condoms?" I questioned skeptically.

"Yeah." Uncle Nate stated and I could tell even he was starting to become uncomfortable. "You put them on…"

"I know what they are!" I said covering my ears so I wouldn't hear him finish.

"Oh wow." She laughed loudly. "I guess they wouldn't be too fond of this scene right here."

"Probably not." I laughed with her. I felt her starting to sit up so I pulled her back down. "Where you going? I didn't say I wasn't"