**Flashback**

It was a warm summer evening. School had been out for a week and the teenagers were still very much enjoying their freedom. Colby, Bridgette, and two other friends of theirs were at the usually vacant lt to enjoy some festivities at the strawberry festival that year. The warm evening as turning into a clear warm night. There was almost a full moon shining in the sky lighting the fair ground up along with all of the stringed lights around.

They spent their night riding the rides, trying their luck at the impossible games, and eating everything from strawberry muffins to deep fried strawberries.

"Okay, seriously whoever thought fried strawberries would be a good idea has something seriously wrong with them." Bridgette said after gagging.

"Yeah well you paid for them." One of their friends said laughing.

"That is a mistake I will never make again."

By now, most of the people were leaving the fair and most of the vendors were closing up. The ferris wheel was still all lit up but winding down for the night.

"Hey, we're going to head to the diner. You guys wanna come?" One of their friends said.

"No, I think I'm good. After that last strawberry, I don't think I can even think of food right now." Bridgette laughed.

"Fair enough. What about you Colby?"

"Nah. I'm not really hungry. I think I'm just gonna head home and watch some old wrestling tapes."

"Suit yourselves."

Their two friends headed off into the distance as Colby and Bridgette were still standing n the fair.

"So what are you going to do with your night?" He asked her.

"I don't know. I might just hang out here for a while. It's a nice night and I might just stay and look up at the stars and relax."

He looked up. It was a very clear night. And other than the lights that came from the ferrris wheel and string lights from the vendors there was no other light pollution in the area.

"Did you want some company?"

"Sure, if you want."

Colby and Bridgette were very close. They knew almost everything about each other. It really was as if one knew what the other was thinking. It wasn't an odd thing for the both of them to be together late in the night. Or up early in the morning going for a run or out to breakfast during the summer. The only thing they really stayed out of was each other's love lives. Colby really wasn't dating anyone at this time. And Bridgette wasn't actually seeing anyone. He knew that she wasn't a virgin like he was, but he didn't know who she had been with. She wouldn't share that with him and he didn't want to pry. Well, he wanted to, but he didn't want to push her and make her mad. And despite what many people probably thought, they weren't romantically involved with each other.

They both sat in the grass by the light of the ferris wheel. Bridgette was just staring up and Colby was just staring at her.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked her.

"I dunno. Just life I guess."

"What about it?"

"Just wondering where I'm going to end up in the future." She replied.

"Where do you want to end up?"

"I honestly never really thought about it. But it's probably time I started." She said leaning against him. "Sometimes I just want to go far away. Somewhere where it's warm all year. And sunny. And I can do something that makes me happy rather than something I have to."

"Well that's what you should do." He said putting his arm around her. "Go make yourself happy. That's what I plan on doing."

"Yeah but at least you have a plan." She said looking up at him.

"You can make one of those ya know. It's not as if a magical genie came down and made one for me." He smiled while messing up her hair.

"You're a real jerk sometimes, you know that." She laughed back trying to fix her hair.

She looked up at him smiling down at her. When he was genuine, he had the most beautiful smile. And his brown eyes looked so soft and loving. For the first time, she saw him in a completely different light. He was her best friend, he was like family to her, but right now the love and care he was showing towards her made her think of him as more of a lover than a brother.

She leaned up and took him by surprise by pressing her hips to his. After just a moment he lightly pushed her off of him.

"What are you doing" He asked.

"I, I don't really know. Just the way you looked at me, I couldn't help it." She replied, slightly looking down.

Truth be told, he had been fighting feelings for her lately. The more time they spent together, the more he was seeing her as more of someone he wanted to be with. But at the same time, he didn't want to ever lose what he had with her right now. He wasn't sure if he should ever say something to her, but then this happened. So he figured, I guess it was not or never.

He placed his hand under her chin to lift his face up to hers and gently kissed her again. Rather than either of them pulling away, they just embraced more. He wrapped his hand up in her hair while she wrapped hers around his waist and held onto his back.

They both were thinking that they needed to stop. Stop and discuss what was happening. What any of this meant. If they should continue or stop right now. But neither of them did. They just both let themselves get swept away in the passion under the stars.

Two dumb kids, who didn't talk about their feelings, or think to use any kind of protection.

He walked her home in the very early morning hours holding her hand, yet silent the whole way. That summer, they didn't see that much of each other. Colby had really started trying to get into wrestling for himself, working out and trying to find places to train. It kept him pretty busy. Nt that he was avoiding her. He had seen her every once in a while or gave her a call. They never really talked about what happened though. Just kind of, went on, somewhat awkwardly which is what he didn't want to happen. So he tried his best to make everything seem normal whenever they did see each other. Then two months later, she was gone. And he never heard from her again.

Colby without thinking just plopped down onto her bed. He ran his hands through his hair. "Wow."

After all of this, he finally understood why she was so secretive about her sexual life. And why she got all quiet and shy whenever the topic came up. And then to find all of this out, he really understood why she pushed everyone away. S

"I know."

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Does it really matter now?"

"Kind of."

"I don't know Cole. Everything happened so fast. I told mom and she thought it was her husband's and just wanted to get us out so I didn't want to correct her. Then before I know it with everything going on I had really bad cramping and was bleeding, she and my grandmom took me to the hospital, and that was it. I really didn't even get a chance to think about I would have done."

"Would you have…"

"No. God no. I couldn't bring myself to do that. Though, mom kind of thought maybe it would be a good idea. That way I wouldn't have to deal with the pain of my step-dad every day and have him trying to be in it's life. She couldn't understand why I was against it. But I knew it was yours and I just couldn't bring myself to." She explained as she leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed.

That made his anger slightly calm down. He knew she had been threw a lot and everything she had just told him was a living hell for her. But to find out that he would have had a child that he never knew about because she wouldn't tell him was a little upsetting to him.

"I'm sorry Cole. I really am. About everything."

"I just wish you would have told me. You know I wouldn't have judged you. You know I would have been there to protect you."

"Deep down I knew that. But I had just been trying to ignore it and fight it by myself for so long, I didn't want to let anyone in. But then when this happened, that kind of changed everything. Literally everything." She said. "So many times i thought about how that shouldn't have happened, but because it did it got my mom and me out of a bad situation, which is good. But then it also took me away from the friends and the somewhat normal life I had."

"I don't regret it ya know."

She looked over at him.

"That shouldn't have happened. It messed up so much. I should have never kissed you that night."

"Well by that logic, I shouldn't have either." He said getting off of her bed and walking over to her.

"It messed so much up."

"But it made so much right. And I'm here now. We lost a lot of time, but we're here now. We can rebuild what we had. If you'll just let me in we can both be happy again."

"Cole, I am not ready for that at all. The last twenty four hours as been one hell of an emotional roller coaster.

He smiled at her and placed his hand on her cheek. "I'm not talking about going back to that night. I'm talking about going back to how it was before. Back to being friends, back to talking to each other, back to hanging out." He explained, gently rubbing his cheek with her thumb. "I think we both need to time to think about anything romantic. I don't know if either of us are ready or will ever be ready for that again. I just want you back in my life. It was the only thing that was missing."

She smiled and leaned forward hugging him. "I've missed you so much. I missed all those late nights we stayed up talking. The trips to the lake. The snowball fights. Whenever I thought of you, I thought of the childhood where I didn't have to worry or care. Being around you was the only time I was free."

He hugged her tightly. "I've never forgotten about you London. Ever. I always worried about you. Hoped you were safe. Hoped you were okay. I always wanted you to come back."

She just stood there snuggling into his chest. He was always such a sweetheart. So understanding of everything. She wasn't sure what she could have done in her life to deserve an angel like him. Her thoughts were interrupted by him humming London Bridge to her and she laughed slightly. SHe broke away from the hug and looked up at him.

"Do you have a place nearby to stay tonight?" She asked.

"No. I was just going to drive home."

"Why don't you stay here? We can stay up watching movies like we used to and fall asleep on the couch."

He smiled. "As long as we both keep our pants on."

She laughed. "Deal."