• We were best friends; I guess there would have been more for us. We always talked about how our lives were the best, how we were the best friends all growing up. Maybe it was just puppy love when we were growing up, I don’t know. I guess I thought we had more than friendship. Everybody was shocked when he started dating the head cheer leader our senior year. He dated nobody ever! It was just me and him hanging out, so everybody thought he was cheating or something. My senior year I thought would have had more too it then me being heartbroken but I guess not. I’m only a dreamer after all.
    “Hey Erica!” My best friend in the whole wide world said running up to me on the second to last day of summer. He was every girls dream, and he was my best friend in the whole wide world.
    “Hey Spencer.” I said with a smile stopping so he could catch up with me.
    “Can you believe were going to be seniors this year?” Spencer said with a smirk walking next to me.
    “I know! It’s crazy! It’s just like yesterday we were building our fort!” I laugh recalling the memory.
    “Yeah, our fort was nothing but weird pieces of wood nailed together.” Spencer laughed nodded his head. “Then the next day when we woke up your dad had secretly rebuilt our fort into a masterpiece.”
    “We thought it had transformed over night!” I say laughing and shaking my head. “We had so much fun back then didn’t we?”
    “We certainly did. We most definitely did…” Spencer says agreeing with me. “Well what I came to ask you was that I’m having my last day of summer party tomorrow night and was wondering you wanted to come?” Spencer asks like he’s never asked a girl out before.
    “You ask me that every year, and what do I say every year?” I say looking at him smiling.
    “Of course Spencer! I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Spencer says making his voice all girly sounding.
    “Oh wow Spencer, I think you just hit puberty!” I say laughing.
    “Lay off Eric!” Spencer says making my name sound like I’m a complete guy.
    “Don’t worry so much man…. I’ll always be here to be your baritone voice you never had.” I say mimicking a very low guy voice.
    Spencer and I break out laughing and wrap arms around each other’s necks before turning into my drive way.
    “Mom I’m home! Spencer is here as well!” I shout going through the front door.
    “Hi honey! Hello Spencer!” My mom shouts out from the kitchen. “Yes!” My mom shouted and peaked around the corner.
    “No…” I said shaking my head.
    Spencer gave a confused look but then walked into the kitchen with me where my mom placed down a bowl of popcorn.
    “There you guys go….” My mom said with a smile and got back to doing the voodoo that she does, aka going on baking for the bakery grand opening tomorrow.
    “Thanks mom… we’ll be in my room….” I shout taking the bowl of popcorn as Spencer and I go to my room.
    “So what’s up with your mom?” Spencer asks sitting down in his normal chair at my place while I sit on my bed.
    “Oh… her bakery is finally opening tomorrow so she wants to get a bunch of baked goods ready for four in the morning tomorrow…” I say with a chuckle popping some popcorn into my mouth and getting my sketch book out.
    “Okay now explain this to me! You are planning on working at your mom’s new bakery, when you could easily enroll in some of the craft stores and make twice the money?” Spencer says quickly.
    “Yeah I know it’s weird but oh well, now don’t move…” I say shaking my head as I continue Spencer’s portrait.
    “You’ve been working on it for how many days now?” Spencer asked but kept still so I could finish drawing him.
    “Three days now… I told you it would take this long and I’ll finish it today.” I say looking up then back down and my pencil moving quickly drawing his gorgeous face I’ve always adored.
    “Alright… just a few more finishing touches…” I say with a smirk and then turn the sketchbook towards him. “Done.”
    “Sweet! You really do have a talent Erica…” Spencer says as he looks over the drawing.
    “AH!” I say looking at the drawing. “I forgot one small thing…” I pout.
    “What?!” Spencer says worried.
    “Large letters across the top that say DORK.” I smirk.
    Spencer shakes his head and then shoves me over taking my sketch book. “MINE!” He shouts then bolt out of the room.
    “SPENCER!!!” I shout and dart after him. It was like we were little kids again, I bolt down our stairs after him and back out the door into my back yard. “Spencer give it back!” I say charging after him.
    “Let’s see, a picture of me, a picture of me, a picture of your dog, a picture of me, a picture of your family, and picture of us, a picture of me, a picture of your best friend, a picture of your room, a picture of your parents, a picture of my family, a picture of the school, and a devishly handsome picture of me.” Spencer says teasing me.
    “Come on Spence give it back.” I say shaking my head hiding the blush that most of my pictures were about him.
    “Give me one good reason I should!” Spencer said acting like a little kid. He was standing about five feet away from me, I could make a quick dash for him and tackle him to the ground, or I could give him the reason that I’ve always been in love with him since we were kids.
    “How about the fact that we’ve been friends since we were toddlers; and I’ll tackle you to the ground if you don’t.” I say quickly ready to make my jump at him.
    “Yeah righ..” Spencer begins to say when I tackle him to the ground and I’m on top of him pinning him, “Right okay.” Spencer chuckles; smiling up at me. I smile softly as my hazel nut hair gently falls down onto my face.
    We slowly begin to move towards each other, our lips just inches away from each other when his phone begins to go off; snapping each other out of the moment. I quickly shake my head hiding the blush with my hair and roll off of him so he can answer his phone.
    “Hello?” Spencer says quickly sitting up taking out his phone, “Oh yeah Stacy.” Spencer said a lightly smile came to his face.
    Stacy was our schools class president, lead cheerleader, and most popular girl in the entire school. She had this perfect blonde hair cut that made it look messy but very stylish, her breasts here all pushed up and everything to make her boobs look bigger, her lips perfectly shaped according to her, and apparently she got up at five in the morning and went to bed at eight at night for her beauty sleep.
    I sigh brushing my hair out of my face and looking down at the ground for a moment at one of the sketches that was facing me. It was my favorite one, the picture was one that my best friend took of Spencer and I at the Formal dance. She had taken it while Spencer was hugging me and putting his coat around me. I pick up the note book and slowly close it as Spencer hangs up the phone.
    “Um… sorry but I have to go.” Spencer says, his voice was almost apologetic; not from the fact he was leaving, but from the fact we were just inches from kissing each other.
    “It’s alright, besides… I have to finish my application for a new job.” I say lying through my teeth and I knew he knew it wasn’t true as well.
    “See ya round Erica.” Spencer said getting up and patting my head and strolling out the gates of my heart.
    “UHG!!” I exclaim and fall backwards back onto the ground. “Really Erica, oh I’m applying for a new job. You just told him twenty minutes ago you were working in your mom’s new bakery!” I say beating myself up. Sighing at my patheticness I get up slowly and mope back inside.
    “You okay hun?” My mom asks peering around the corner again and sprinting over to him looking me over.
    “I’m fine mom…” I say softly and go around her and mope up to my room. I throw the book down onto my bed and collapse face first into my pillow.
    “Erica! Dinner!” My mother shouts from downstairs.
    I let out another painful moan before getting up and going back downstairs. “Coming!” I shout skipping down the stairs of my home. I go into the kitchen and just about fall over, “OH MY GOD!!” I say. My eyes meet those of a soft blue green eyes, “DAD!” I shout and jump into his arms. He was standing in the kitchen with his navy seal uniform on and his duffle bag standing near the door.
    “There’s my baby girl.” My dad says quickly holding me close to him. My mom was crying and standing near us both, “Well, I can’t really call you my baby girl any more; you’re my seventeen year old baby girl.” He says softly letting me go.
    “I can’t believe your home!” I say wiping away the tears that had started forming, “But, I though you still had three more years?” My father was silent for a moment before sighing.
    “I was wounded in a battle… a shot through and through. It when through my chest and pierced my left lung.” My dad says softly.
    “So your home on permit medical leave?” I sigh, moving away from my own father.
    “Yes, I never have to go back again.” My father says softly, “They did a great job patching me up, and I’m not going to ever leave again.” He adds hugging me again, “So how about we go out to Jin’s Buffet to celebrate.”
    I smile widely and nod my head hugging him once more before making a quick dash to my room. I grab my phone and start a quick text message to everybody on my contact list and go onto my laptop to post on facebook that my father was home. As I open my facebook a small alert comes up on my homepage, and no sooner than I had posted my dad was home I had almost thirty replies that said awesome or people like it, or ever congrats.
    I smile and shut off my phone so it would stop vibrating from everybody telling something about congrats and awesomeness. Jumping up out of my moon chair I go into my bathroom and brush my hazel nut hair out and pick a few leaves that were hidden from the little episode with Spencer. Sighing lightly at the memory I look into my mirror and laugh lightly.
    “Well, what can you expect? He’s going to be happy with her, you’ll be his best friend and only person who has loved all your life. Get over it I guess…” I say to myself looking at myself in the mirror. Throwing my hair into a messy ponytail I gallop back downstairs and nod to my parents who are having one of those lost in your eyes moments.
    “I’m ready.” I say going over to them snapping them out of their little moment. Chuckling I grab the keys to our SUV and have them follow me. As I’m getting to our SUV, my dad snatches the key’s from my head.
    “Not a chance kido I’m driving.” He says with a warm fatherly as I climb into the back seats.