The chapter before this, and this chapter as well, is disclaimed:)

Massie dragged the heavy yellow trash bag behind her. She was too tired to carry it all the way back to her house. When she ran outside of the Plovert residence, she didn't exactly "call Isaac" like she said she would. Instead, she walked aimlessly down the street. She was lost in her world of sadness that she didn't even realize that she stepped in a doggy no-no.

She sighed and looked up at the sky. A cloudless, blue sky looked back at her. "Why? Why me? I was good. I stayed loyal to my friends, loved Chris with all my heart, and kept my grades up. So why did you choose me, God? Huh?" And as if he was really trying to communicate with her, a wind blew, blowing Massie's soft hair into different directions.

The cold wind stung her cheeks, but she didn't feel it. The only pain that hurt was the one that filled her heart; the one Chris applied. The air blew through her open button-down shirt, causing it to fly. Memories floated through Massie's brain. The day in freshman year when he asked her out; their first hug; first kiss; the time they felt asleep in each other's arms the night they went star-gazing. The memory after that would be scarred into her brain forever. Alicia in the bed, Chris begging for her forgiveness, and her, Massie the Great, not caring about anything anymore.

She was never one for making a scene. She disliked attention, even from her two best friends. But Kristen had always thought Massie should get attention. Massie was the kind of person who laughed at the popular crowd. The popular crowd in Briarwood Academy consisted of three snotty girls: Skye Hamilton, the Alpha, Olivia Ryan, the Beta, and Dylan Marvil, the Ass-Kisser.

These three were known as the Pretty Committee, best friends since the sixth grade. They had never noticed Massie and her small group of friends, but they were pretty happy about it. Massie smiled as she thought of her friends. The three of them had been the best of friends since the first grade.

It all happened when Massie was called on to answer a question that she didn't know the answer to. When she shrugged and the teacher frowned, she recalled silently crying with her head bowed down. Claire was sitting to her left, and from her desk, she retrieved a box of Kleenex and gave it to Massie, who reluctantly took it. The teacher had called on Kristen, who answered the question with perfect ease. Claire consoled Massie who was jealous of Kristen.

During the lunch break, Claire and Massie were talking about the new Polly Pocket dolls. After a few minutes, Kristen came up to them with a bag of Oreos and said, "I'm sorry I took your question. Will you please forgive me?" Little 6-year-old Massie smiled and nodded, patting an empty space next to her. The three soon made a ritual of Oreos from Kristen, apple juice from Claire, and tuna sandwiches from Massie.
Massie snapped back from her daydream as she yelped. Near her ankle was a tennis ball. She picked it up and examined it. There were initials signed on the white lines. "D.H," she murmured.

She gasped and her eyes widened. Could it be that her archenemy was back? No, she thought. It can't be. He's not supposed to come back. Massie heard footsteps coming from behind her. She shut her eyes tight and opened them again, the ball still in her hands.

"Excuse me," a childish voice said.

Massie turned around and stared directly into the air. She looked down and saw a boy with red hair and freckles. He looked like Annie. She bent down so that they were eye to eye and she greeted. "Why, hello young man. Is this your ball?" She showed him the tennis ball.

He nodded enthusiastically. Massie felt a pang of regret in her stomach that it wasn't Derrick. But then again, if it was Derrick, what would the conversation be like? Well, there wouldn't be a conversation. Derrick is more on a violent term. So, it'd be something like…

"Oh, hey, Derrick, this your ball?"

He'd stare at it, shake his head, and start poking her… Hard.

Massie felt a tapping on her shoulder as the boy brought her back to reality. Jeez, I'm really out of it. See what Chris did to me? she thought. "Excuse me, lady, but can I please have my ball back?"

Massie smiled and gave him the ball. He took it and he smiled. Two of his front teeth were missing, like Derrick in the second grade.

"What's your name?" she asked.

The red-headed male version of Annie looked her in the eye and answered, "Devon Hayes, seven years old. May I ask what your name is, lady?"

She smiled softly. "Massie Block, 16. You know, I know someone else with the same initials as you."

Devon's eyes twinkled. From behind him, a black Kia Sorento rolled down the street. Massie took Devon's hand and led him to the sidewalk. "We should talk here, where there's no cars."

Devon nodded and asked, "Who is he?"

"The person I know with the same initials as you?" Massie asked, sitting on the sidewalk's edge with the trash bag in her other hand. Devon nodded patiently, sitting next to her. His eyes flickered to the yellow bag every once in a while, but Massie didn't mind.

"Well, his name is Derrick Harrington. I've known him since we were seven. We used to play around a lot." She didn't tell him that they actually hurt each other.

Devon nodded. "Where is he?"

Massie sighed. "He moved to Minnesota. I never heard from him after he left."

"Do you miss him?"

She gulped. She didn't know who this kid was, but she felt comfortable talking to him. She inhaled and decided to tell the truth. "Yes, I do. I miss him a lot."

Devon nodded, like this was perfectly understandable. "Then do you love him?"

Massie's dark amber eyes widened. She never thought of Derrick as anything more than an enemy. For her, love was when you think of the person and smile; when you get butterflies just at the sound of his name; when seeing him smile brightens up your whole day. Those were the kinds of things that she thought love contained. But she and Derrick would never get together.

"No, I don't like him like that."

He nodded again. "But you miss him, right?"

Jeez, she thought. I have a feeling that I know what you're gonna major in. She nodded.

"Then you do love him." He threw the ball in the air and caught it. He rolled it in his hands and squeezed it. He repeated the process and Massie watched his little boy hands—boy hands that reminded her a lot of Derrick. She raised an eyebrow, half of her wishing he would come back, the other half questioning herself.

I hate Derrick, right? she asked herself.

"So, you hate him, but you miss him?" he asked, repeating the same thing that's been said so many times.

"Yeah, like that."

"You're a weird teenager."

"You're a weird kid," she laughed.

Devon's face was strained. "Well, you're weirder since you carry a trash bag full of pictures."

She cringed. She felt her heart shatter, which wasn't a good feeling. "It's just stuff that I took from an ex-boyfriend."

Devon nodded. "Well, this talk has been nice, Massie, but I need to go now. My mom might be looking for me." He stood up and dusted off his bottom.

She smiled and stood up with him. "Thank you, kid, for the talk."

"Anytime. Oh, and if ever this Derrick guy comes back, tell him how you feel. Bye Massie." He turned on his heel and scampered down the sidewalk.

She watched him go. If ever she was going to have a boy, she would name him Devon, after Devon Hayes himself.

A/N: =D

Don't you just love Devon? I do.

Review?

Pizzazz,

xoxoDDLSG