AN: SORRY! I couldn't include the song in this one because it was getting really long! So wait until next time! The song for this chapter is She Is Love by Parachute.

Chapter 13

I sigh, leaning back in my chair. An end to a miserable day, I remind myself, secretly hoping a car ran over my locket. With that thought, I pull the familiar wristlet from my pocket, slowly twisting the knots between my fingers. I look at the small charm attached to the bracelet. The carved "C" is still visible, but only if you would look hard enough. I toss it across my desk, not feeling like looking at it any longer. I don't want another memory to pop up, I think to myself.

I wonder what will help me keep my mind off of everything. The first thought is TV, but I know that anything that comes on will somehow remind me of him. Then, my mind goes to the answer of guitar, but I have nothing to sing. I think for another moment then decide that if I don't have something to sing, others will. So I rummage around my drawers to find my iPod. I sit down on my bed, scrolling through my songs and finding nothing. Giving up at letter "G" I turn my iPod on shuffle.

"I've been beaten down. I've been kicked around. But she takes it all for me." I recognize the song instantly. It had been my favorite since I was little, but new music came along and I soon forgot about the melody. Yet I know every word and note by heart. And my mind is cleared and my breath seems to escape me as well. I tilt backwards, finding the soft covers of my bed in a hard thump. When the song ends, I replay it. Over and over again.

Tap. Tap. Tap. My eyes open, my body straightening to sit on the sheets in a brief moment. I turn to look to my door. It is closed and undisturbed. A possibility comes to mind, which I quickly deem impossible, but yet my eyes look out the window. The pale shades are pulled to the side, which I remember doing that morning to let in sunlight. But I never thought that instead of the sun, I would see Chad standing on a branch with multiple things in his arms, giving me a hopeful smile. Tap. Tap. Tap.

I stand up from the bed, walking over to the windowpane. His grin widens at the fact of I not leaving the room in a hurry. I admit I am curious. He removes his fist from the glass and climbs down a little on the tree, finding a small, flat area to place a wooden basket and guitar case. I narrow my eyes as I pull open the window. He turns to me to decipher my expression.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, his large grin now even larger. I bet he's just happy that I hadn't said, "Go away" to begin with. I admit I'm curious.

"Just come out and join me," he says, his eyes not reaching mine. His focus is on the basket as he hands explore the inside of the wooden mystery.

"I'm not joining you out there. It's- it's dangerous," I decide was my best excuse. He chuckles lightly; opening the basket and pulling out a greasy take out bag.

"Lost your sense of adventure, eh?" he asks, yanking open the taped shut carrier, taking a quick inhale of whatever was inside with a smile.

"No. I'm just not thrilled to join you," I tell him truthfully, my tone a bit harsher than what I how mean it to be. He sighs, nodding slightly.

"I'll be gone as soon as I say what I need to." I look at him as he continues to search through the basket and pull out bags of all sizes. So I jump out onto the closest branch, reminding myself not to look down. I am only a large jump away, when I look up from my feet to see Chad has stood up. I smile, moving my foot to find another branch.

My foot misses by an inch and everything goes by in a flash. My leg drops through a hole, nearly pulling me to the great descent of 30 feet. But I feel this small grasp on my sweaty hand, which keeps my foot from plunging down. My breathing is jagged and I look up to see Chad's terrified face to greet me. I put on a smile, pulling my foot from the hole and jumping to the flat spot where Chad is standing.

"Careful," he mumbles, sitting down again. I can't help but blush a bit, for he hadn't let go of my hand. But I remember that I'm not staying long out here, or so I hope, so I pull his hand from mine and take the bag from the bark it was lying on.

"What is this?" I ask, tearing open the bag. I look to him, who is smiling like a lunatic.

"Garlic bread and wings," he states shyly. I scoff, thinking they're from Pizza Hut. He couldn't make me forgive him with cheap food that didn't even come from-

"Uncle Joe's," I whisper, interrupting my own thoughts as I see the bag's logo. There was no way I begin to think. He didn't. He couldn't.

"All the way from Appleton. See just like old times," he says with a grin. I shake my head.

"You probably got it here on your private jet. Not like old times, Cooper," I speak his last name with complete disgust. He frowns a little, but his eyes tell me this isn't all he has planned. I look over his head to see the large black guitar case and smirk.

"What's with the guitar-" He cuts me off midsentence.

"Eat first. Questions later." I roll my eyes, grabbing the familiar tasting chicken and taking a huge bite. With the barbeque sauce already being used as lip-gloss, I grin. I have missed the household taste of Uncle Joe's. I continue to eat the wings and bread, nearly stuffing each into my mouth.

"So what's the guitar for?" I ask, wiping my mouth with a napkin after eating all I could. He sighs, knowing he would have to answer the question eventually.

"I play, remember?" he answers my question with a question. I roll my eyes. Of course I remember.

"Yes, but why'd you feel the need to drag it up a tree?" I ask with a smirk. He smiles faintly.

"I planned to play it," he murmurs. I grin, for I have wanted to hear him for a while now.

"Then play it!" I tell him, giving him a small nudge on the arm. He sighs and picks up the black case. He unzips the case that lies in his lap and pulls out the guitar. It's a beautiful acoustic, which looks new and shiny. He positions it in his arms, his fingers hovering above the strings. And then he began to sing.