Nov. 24, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Avery slid off the bike and grabbed his keys. "Alright, anything you want. My treat." He said, pulling her inside.
Nov. 24, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Natalie led them to a table near the back and sat down. She felt a twinge of guilt. Avery couldn't even afford college, and yet here he was, buying her dinner.
Nov. 24, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Avery sighed. "I know that look Nat, don't give me that." He sat across from her and patted her hand. "This doesn't bother me, it's just dinner. I can pay for it."
Nov. 24, 2012 at 12:35 pm
Natalie pouted. "If I let you buy mine, can I buy yours?" she suggested. "Just you being here is enough, you don't have to pay for everything too."
Nov. 24, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Avery shook his head. "Nope, eating with me doesn't work that way." He smiled. "I've got it, it's fine."
Nov. 24, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Natalie didn't like it, but she let it go. "What have you been up to?" she asked, changing the subject.
Nov. 24, 2012 at 1:14 pm
"Lots of work..." Avery murmured. "You?"
Nov. 24, 2012 at 1:21 pm
"Thinking about the future," she replied glumly.
Nov. 24, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Avery sighed. "Oh... What about the future?"
Nov. 24, 2012 at 1:32 pm
"There's a college I want to go to but it's so far away from here," she explained. "There are people I'd miss too much to bear to be that far away from them." Namely you, she thought.
Nov. 24, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Avery shrugged. "If you want to go, go. Don't let that stop you..." He would be lonely though. But this wasn't about him.
Nov. 24, 2012 at 2:21 pm
"I'd miss you most of all," Natalie said softly. "Who would I have to cheer me up?"
Nov. 24, 2012 at 2:28 pm
Avery sighed. "You'd make new friends. you need to do what'll make you happy..."
Nov. 24, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Natalie sighed. "You know I'd never be able to meet anyone as great as you."
Nov. 24, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Avery shrugged. "I'm not that great....."
Nov. 24, 2012 at 5:53 pm
"What are you talking about? Anyone else who found me sobbing over the hundredth guy who's treated me like dirt would tell me to grow up or that it was my fault. You just hugged me, took me out for dinner and made me feel special. You're not just great. You're the greatest."
Nov. 24, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Avery smiled. "Well, when you put it like that..." He took her hands. "Nat, you're my best friend, I could never leave you..."
Nov. 25, 2012 at 3:44 am
Natalie squeezed his hands. "That's why I can't go," she said. "But I can do an online course, so that will be nearly as good. As long as you promise to stick around too."
Nov. 25, 2012 at 8:07 am
Avery smiled. "Trust me, I'm not going to college anytime soon..." He patted her cheek gently and kissed her forehead like an older brother would to his little sister.
Nov. 25, 2012 at 8:27 am
Natalie's forehead tingled as she felt Avery's lips. "Enough about me. Anyone special in your life?"
Teen Ink
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