Lost Yet Loved 686f15

Lost Yet Loved

Rayna Johnson

Copyright © 2021 Rayna Johnson All rights reserved First Edition NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING 320 Broad Street Red Bank, NJ 07701 First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2021 ISBN 978-1-63692-960-6 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1-63692-961-3 (Digital) Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Memory 1 Memory 2 Memory 3 Memory 4 Memory 5 Memory 6 Memory 7 Memory 8 Memory 9 Memory 10 Memory 11 Memory 12 Memory 13 Memory 14 Memory 15 Memory 16 Memory 17 Memory 18

Memory 19 Memory 20 Memory 21 Memory 22 Memory 23 Memory 24 Memory 25 Memory 26

This is a story about a young teenage girl who thinks she knows love but sees it as a lie. But then she loses her memory; the only thing she can is her first name and age. But this story also follows a young teenage boy who never understood love. Until he meets the young teenage girl, and they both learn the real meaning of being in love.

Memory 1

Young sixteen-year-old Lena from Greeley, Colorado, is 5'1 1/2" tall, beautiful, smooth tan skin, and a slim body, dark hint of light-brown eyes, shoulder-length dark-brown hair, a smile that is happy yet sad, smart—at the top of her class year —slightly athletic but loves to dance and watch movies, and always there when she is needed for her friends. “Lena!” yells Lena’s best friend, Ally. Ally and Lena have been friends for almost ten years. Ally is 5'3" tall, lightskinned slim body, dirty-blond hair down her back, dark-brown eyes, and has a secret that she’s keeping from Lena. “Ally, what’s wrong?” Lena asks gently. Ally looks up at Lena because she’s holding on to Lena’s right leg. “Tom broke up with me. And I thought he was going to be the one. Lena, what do I do? Tom is so great,” Ally asks. “Why ask me?” Lena replies gently. “Because you and Chris have been going out for six months. And I want a boyfriend that will last more than two weeks. Please, Lena, help me.” Ally cries. Lena pauses for minute and looks at her friend, trying not to laugh at the face she is making. “Well, maybe you should stop telling them how to act when they’re around you,” Lena replies. “I do not do that,” Ally quickly replies as she stands up. “Yeah, you do, girly. Sorry to say but guys don’t really like a girl to tell them how to act in everyday life. Plus why do you go out with them only to change them…well, try to,” Lena replies softly.

Ally just stares at her for a minute, then comes slowly from behind Lena’s boyfriend, Chris. Chris is 6'1" tall, slightly buff, has tan skin, brown eyes, very short curly black hair, slightly deep voice, is captain of the football team. And if it wasn’t for Lena, he wouldn’t be able to stay on the football team or be ing any of his classes. And that is how they met—she’s his tutor. “Hey, babe,” Chris says. Chris gives Lena a hug and is about to kiss her, but she gives him just a kiss on the cheek. Chris gets angry, then looks at Ally. “So, Ally, I heard you and Tom already broke up. New record.” Chris laughs. “Shut up,” Ally yells. Chris and Ally, with a friendly glare, then start to slightly laugh at each other. Lena just has a small smile for them, happy that they get along. Then the bell rings, and everyone heads to class. Lena and Ally walk to their English class. Chris watches them walk away, then he heads to his football practice. As Lena and Ally walk to their English class, Ally sees that Lena looks like she has something on her mind. Ally tilts her head, and Lena looks at her. She gives her a fake smile. “Lena, that smile is so fake. What’s wrong?” Ally asks, concerned. Lena’s smile slightly fades, then turns into sadness. “I don’t know, Ally.” Lena pauses. “I just think that Chris and I are not really a good couple. I just feel like he only wants to go out with me because I’m a virgin.” Ally looks at her with guilt, then looks down at her desk. She takes a deep breath, then looks back at Lena. “Lena, what are you talking about? You and Chris are a great couple, you’re just thinking too much,” Ally replies. Lena just looks at her, then she looks at the teacher writing on the blackboard. As they listen to the teacher talk about poetry, after about forty-five minutes, the bell rings.

“All right, everyone, that’s it for today. I want your poetry samples tomorrow, no ifs, ands, or buts. Lena, can you stay for a minute?” says the teacher. Lena looks at Ally, and she shrugs her shoulders as she walks out of the classroom. Lena then looks back at the teacher and watches him close the door. Meanwhile Ally slowly walks down the hallway, seeing if Lena is coming out. “Hey, Ally, where’s Lena?” asks Chris. “Our English teacher wanted to talk to her when the bell rang,” Ally replies, still looking at the classroom. Chris looks at her, then at the classroom where Lena is. After about five to six minutes, Lena slowly comes out of the classroom. She looks to her left and sees that Ally and Chris are waiting for her. She gives them a quick smile, then looks back at her teacher. They see that she nods her head to him, then she starts walking to them. As she walks over to them, she doesn’t give them eye to eye. “So what happened?” asks Ally. Lena looks at them. “He asked me if I wanted to go to the school skills program.” Ally and Chris look at her with shock, then they look at each other. For the rest of the school day, Lena doesn’t say anything about the skills program, even when Ally or Chris keeps trying to ask her about it. But Lena just walks to her classes, writing her notes and thinking about the skills program. Then at lunch, Chris corners her. “Come on, Lena, we need to talk about this,” Chris slightly yells, following Lena to her locker. Lena doesn’t say anything still; she just keeps walking to her locker. She opens her locker and puts her books away and takes the ones she needs for her next classes. At the same time, she keeps getting angrier and angrier. “Lena, we need to talk about this. You’re going to be gone for like two weeks. Shouldn’t we talk about it?” Chris slightly yells.

Then Lena slams her locker shut and looks at Chris with a hurt yet angry look on her face. But Chris is looking at her with anger and turmoil. “We should talk about this,” Lena says in a deep, angry tone. “Yes, we should,” Chris replies. “Why…why! This has nothing to do with you, Chris!” Lena slightly yells, angry. “Lena—” Chris is cut off. “No! I’m asked to do the skills program, and you don’t even say, ‘That’s great! What did you say…oh, right—why! You can’t even be happy for me, Chris. Unlike you, I need that for college. I don’t have money, Chris. This skills program can get me into just about any college. And you don’t even give me a warm feeling, you give me the cold shoulder. What the—heck is that. And you’re supposed to be my boyfriend!” Lena yells. Lena then starts to walk away. “That’s right, I am your boyfriend. A boyfriend that you don’t even want to truly kiss. What the hell is that?” Chris yells back, following Lena. Lena quickly turns around. “Is that all I am to you? A girl that you can deflower! ’Cause if it is, that’s not a true relationship.” Lena continues walking away, leaving Chris standing there without anything else to say! That day after school, Lena goes home to tell her family about the skills program. But like always, her family doesn’t pay much mind; they just listen to her two older twin brothers’ sport games. Her brothers both play baseball; the older brother, John, plays pitcher, and her other brother, Jason, plays ace batter. They are both eighteen years old and are in their last year of high school. They are 6'3" tall with tan skin. Jason has short black hair, and John has braids in his hair, brown eyes. Her mother is 5'4" tall, brown skin, light-brown eyes, long brown hair, up to her shoulder blades, and her name is Jonna. Her father is 6'5" tall, light-brown skin, brown eyes, shaved black hair, and his name is Luther. So she just goes up to her room and starts to do her homework. As she sits at her

desk, doing her homework, she keeps thinking about the skills program and her fight with Chris. The whole time she is doing her homework, all she does is think. Not once does she call Chris, nor does he call her. So around 11:30pm to midnight, she stops waiting for him to call and goes to bed. The next morning, Lena gets up and gets ready to go to school. She goes to her bus stop and waits with the other students who are waiting for the bus. She waits for the bus, thinking about how she is going to face Chris. But that day, Chris is not in school, and Lena doesn’t know what to think. So since she can’t talk to Chris, she tells her English teacher that she will do the skills program. She has two days to get ready to go because they will be leaving Friday late afternoon since it’s a half-day. So since she only has two days, Lena gets all her homework and classwork from her teachers, all the homework and classwork that she will miss for the next two weeks. And all her teachers will give her the tests that she will be missing since she will be doing the skills program. For those last two days and nights, Lena has done nothing but homework and classwork. And those two days, Chris has not come to school, nor has he called her. She starts to feel that she shouldn’t go to the skills program. But as Lena keeps thinking about Chris, she starts to realize that Ally has also not been in school. Then that Friday, after Lena is done with all her tests and waits for the teacher’s results to be over, she goes to Chris’s house. She uses that extra key that Chris’s mom gave her for days that she will not be home and so that Lena can go and help Chris with homework. She slowly walks in and gently closes the door behind her. “Chris,” Lena gently yells. Then she hears a bang upstairs. She slowly walks up the stairs and hears banging from Chris’s room. Lena gently and slowly opens the door, but then stops. She has the door slightly opened with a shock yet hurt look on her face. There she sees Chris and Ally—in bed together! Tears run down her cheeks, then she quickly runs out of the house, leaving the key. She gets on the town’s bus and runs to her house and quickly packs. Then she heads back to the school just in time before the bus for the skills program leaves. The whole bus ride to skills, Lena is up in a ball in her seat, crying. So all the way from Greeley to Loveland, Lena has not said a word to anyone. She’s still in her ball, slightly crying. Then she feels her phone vibrate. She slowly lifts her

head and looks at her phone and sees that it’s from Chris, sending her a text message. She stares at it for a minute with a blank stare; as she stares at the text message, she keeps thinking about Chris and Ally in bed together. That’s all she can see as she looks at his name. Then she slowly opens her phone to reads the text:

Sorry, I missed you take off. But I can’t wait for you to get back. By the way, when did you come by my house? You left your key here. Chris.

Lena stares at his text message, making it hard for her to stop crying again. Then she slowly replies to his text:

Sorry, yeah. We’re done—it’s over, Chris. Lena.

Then she turns off her phone after she sends the text message. Meanwhile Chris gets Lena’s text message and tries to call her but sees that her phone is off. He stares at his phone, then he looks back at Ally, who is sleeping right next to him.

*****

As they pull up to the hotel building where the skills are taking place, Lena wipes the tears from her face and gets off the bus with her head high. But her eyes say they still want to cry. The skills go on for the next two weeks. But then the night they are heading back to Greeley is when it all begins. They have to

take a different way back because the way they came before is being fixed. So they must go over the five-foot bridge with a croc-like river with a rock bed below them. As they drive through the bridge, it starts to pour down hard. Then a Ford pickup truck pulls up behind them and starts to blow his horn. Since the bus is not moving, the driver decides to cut off the bus, making the bus driver turn his wheel too hard so the wheels lock, making the bus spin out of control. The bus hits the bridge rails that are old and rusty. The bus hits the rail hard enough that the bus breaks through it, causing the bus to tip, and some of the students that are on the bus fall through the bus windows. Lena falls out of the bus and falls under the bridge. Lena falls into the river current, badly hitting her head on the rocks in the riverbed, knocking her out. And since it’s down pouring, the river is too strong to stop, and she is pulled with the current. The police and ambulance come five minutes after the bus tipped. They help all the students that are still on the bus. They have bumps and smalls cuts, but the students that fell out of the bus are badly hurt but not lifethreatening, but they all still have to be taken to the hospital. “Are all the students ed for?” asks the policeman. “No…one of my students is missing,” says the English teacher. Everyone looks around and sees that the one student that is missing is Lena!

Memory 2

Young seventeen-year-old Lyon from Fort Collins, Colorado, is 6'2" tall, nice smooth tan skin, slim but buff body, long brown hair past his shoulders but always in a ponytail, with pieces hanging on the side of his face, green-brown eyes, kind smile. He knows martial arts, karate, and mixed martial arts. He also plays soccer and basketball—captain of soccer and cocaptain of basketball. His grandmother is like a sage; she makes medicine from scratch with her herbs. His grandfather owns two bars that are also restaurants. All three of them live together on a family farm. With this farm, they make wine and milk and sell chicken eggs. But when Lyon is not working at home with his grandparents, he works at a garage fixing cars. “Come on, Lyon, take him down!” yells a man. “Yeah, Lyon!” yells another man. Lyon is fighting in a martial arts tournament that he has been doing for years, undefeated! He has won year after year without getting one hit by the one he is fighting. And once again, Lyon wins this year’s martial arts tournament. Everyone in the stands jump out of their seats, yelling with joy. Lyon looks at them at grins, but his grin has a hint of loneliness in it. Lyon takes his bow, then heads to take a shower. After Lyon takes his shower, he gets dressed, then grabs his things and leaves the locker room. His hair is out and wet and curly. He has his towel around his shoulders so his hair doesn’t wet his clothes. Lyon walks out of the building and gets ready to walk to the parking lot. As he’s walking, his two best friends come running up behind him. Raphael jumps on Lyon’s back, making him drop his bag, and then Lyon gently flips Raphael off his back. Then he looks at Daniel, and they both grab hands, saying hey to each other. Then they look down at Raphael, who is looking at Lyon like he can’t believe he flipped him off his back. Daniel and Lyon try not to laugh, but then they help him up and just start laughing. Raphael is 6'2" tall, light-tan skinned, short curly hair, slightly buff, has lightbrown eyes. He’s not like Lyon, calm minded and laid back; he’s louder and a

little bit of a hothead because he plays on the football team. Daniel is 6'3" tall, tan skin, slightly darker than Lyon. He always has his hair in braids (cornrows), slightly buff—about the same size as Raphael—and has dark-brown eyes. He’s like Lyon but has his loud moments like Raphael. Daniel also plays basketball with Lyon, he’s cocaptain. Both Daniel and Raphael are also seventeen, but Daniel is three months older than Raphael, and Raphael is four and a half months older than Lyon. All of them grew up together, but Daniel and Raphael have known each other since birth because they are cousins. Both their fathers are brothers, and the three of them work in their car shop. As the three of them walk down to the parking lot, Raphael is talking about Lyon’s tournament. “Man, Lyon. Those moves that you pulled out on the mat was amazing. I wish your grandpa would teach me some moves.” Lyon and Daniel look at him, slightly laughing at him trying to do the same moves as Lyon. “You know moves, Raphael. You do kickboxing. So you know things,” Lyon replies. “But it’s not the same as what you know, Lyon,” says Raphael. They continue to talk down the street, watching Raphael still trying to copy Lyon’s moves. All the way to the back of the parking lot, they talk about Lyon’s tournament. Then they get to their motorcycles; Lyon’s bike is black and silver, Raphael’s bike is red and black, and Daniel’s bike is blue and black. The three of them get onto their bikes and get ready to head home. They come up to Lyon’s road to his house; they all say their goodbyes. They grab hands, small hugs, then they all go their way home. Lyon drives up to his house that looks like a large cottage, with a big porch with two chairs and one porch swing. Lyon walks up the six stairs and slowly walks into the cottage. As he walks in there, he sees his grandmother, whose name is Emily, waiting for him. She’s 5'3" tall, beautiful, slightly dark-tan skin, long black hair up to her shoulder blades, dark-green eyes, nice slim body, looks like she only in her early forties. “So how was it?” asks Emily as she takes his bag. “Why do you ask when you already know the answer?” Lyon replies with a

slight laugh. Emily smiles at him, then she takes his bag to wash the clothes inside. “Your dinner is on the table,” Emily says. Lyon looks at her as she walks away and nods his head, then he walks into the kitchen. There he sees his grandfather, whose name is Nathen. Nathen is 6'6" feet tall, slightly dark-tan skin, and short brown hair, light-brown eyes—almost golden—nice big buff body, looks like he’s in his early forties. Lyon sits next to him and eats his dinner. They both sit there, talking about the tournament, sitting and laughing. Then Emily comes into the kitchen and walks over to the sink. She starts to put the dishes into the dishwasher. “Lyon, we’re really sorry that we couldn’t make it to your tournament,” says Emily. Lyon looks at her and grins at her. “Grandma, it’s fine. You’ve come to all of the other ones that I’ve done. Missing one is not going to kill me,” Lyon replies. They both smile at Lyon, and he grins back at them. Then he slowly gets up. “Okay, well, I’m going to bed. If you want me to do that in the morning. I should get some sleep, my body is killing me.” “Okay, I’ll wake you up before we leave, all right,” Emily says. Lyon nods his head, then heads to his room. Lyon’s room is in the back of the cottage. His room is connected to the cottage with a porch walkway. His room has a king-size bed, a 45–50-inch-screen TV, a radio/CD player on his wall, with two medium dream catchers on both sides of it, two nightstands on each side of his bed, a tall bookshelf that is built into the wall filled with all different types of books, one tall dresser that’s next to his large walk-in closet with a mirror on the other side of it, and one small but long six-drawer dresser that has a colorchanging light medium-size water fountain on it. Lyon sits on his bed, reading one of his books. He sits there with his four-year-old mostly-black-but-tan-legs German shepherd, Shadow. Shadow lays there next to Lyon on his bed; he slowly picks his head up, and his ears slowly move. Lyon looks at him, then he sees him slowly put his head back down. Lyon stares at him for a minute with turmoil, then he goes back to reading his book.

The next morning, Emily comes to wake up Lyon. He slowly gets up, then takes some of his clothes and a towel. As he walks into the main cottage, he sees his grandparents getting ready to leave for work. Emily tells Lyon that his food is in the microwave. Lyon nods his head slowly as he walks into the bathroom to take a shower. After about twenty to twenty-five minutes, Lyon comes out of the bathroom wearing a black muscle shirt and jean shorts that go a little past his knees, with black sneakers. He has his towel on his head, so his wet curly hair doesn’t drip everywhere. He slowly takes his food out of the microwave, then puts it on the built-in kitchen table that looks like a bar, but it’s rectangle in shape, an island. He looks down at Shadow and gently throws him a piece of sausage. Lyon eats his food, then he and Shadow head outside to bring in the cowherd. As Lyon brings in the herd, he sees that Shadow has his nose in the air. Lyon locks the gate, then he walks over and kneels beside Shadow. “What’s wrong, boy, Shadow?” Lyon asks with concern. Lyon then looks and sees that Shadow is looking in the way of the river. Lyon then slowly gets up and starts walking to the river, with Shadow following. As he walks on the path near the river, after about five minutes, Shadow starts barking. Lyon looks behind him at Shadow, then looks down at the river. He slowly walks down to the river and Shadow follows. As they get closer, Shadow runs in front of Lyon and runs over to the edge of the river. He starts barking even more! Lyon walks up behind, and his face turns to shock. Shadow is barking at a girl in the river being pushed on to a large tree branch that fell into the river. It’s Lena!

Memory 3

Lyon quickly runs over to a huge rock near the river. Lyon jumps off the rock, into the river, and swims over to Lena. He puts one hand on the huge tree branch, and with his other hand, he puts two fingers to Lena’s neck. He gets a very slight pulse. Lyon looks at the way she is stuck to the tree branch, so he gently and slowly takes her arm off the tree branch and takes her other arm and puts it around his neck. Then he quickly swims them both back to bank. He puts his ear to her chest, then to her mouth. Lyon looks at her, then he quickly starts R! After about four minutes, Lena spits up the water in her body. But she doesn’t stay conscious. Lyon then fixes her head and neck so that she can get air into her lungs. Then he sees that she is bleeding from the left side of her head. Lyon takes off his wet shirt and rips a piece off from it and puts it to her head. Then he gently ties it to her head, he looks at her for a second. He looks up at Shadow breathing heavily. “Good boy. Good boy.” Then he gently picks Lena up and slowly walks back to the cottage. He puts her down on the couch. Then he runs to get a towel and blanket to wrap her in. He stares at her for a minute, then runs to get the phone and is about to call the town’s head doctor, but then he re that he is out of town on a business trip. Same with his grandparents, his grandmother is with the doctor, and his grandfather is at a bar/wine gathering. They will not be back for two to three days. He puts his hand on his head, then slowly moves his hair out of his face. Still with his hand on his head, he looks down at Shadow. “This isn’t good.” Then he looks at Lena and puts his head back against the wall. Then he slowly pulls his hand over his face, covering only his left eyes, taking deep breaths. After about two hours, Lena slowly starts to wake up. Shadow looks up at her, then he slowly and gently hits Lyon’s leg. Lyon is sleeping in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. He’s sleeping standing up, but he’s leaning on the doorway wall. He feels Shadow hitting him and slowly opens his

eyes. He looks down at Shadow, then at Lena. He can see that she’s starting to wake up. Lena’s eyes completely open, and she looks around, scared and confused. She slowly leans up, and then she sees Lyon. As Lyon slowly leans off the wall, he slowly uncrosses his arms. Lyon looks at her as if she’s not real, almost like he’s mesmerized by her. She slowly moves off the couch. Lyon then puts his hands slightly up. “Okay, I get that you’re scared, and you don’t know where you are, but just let me ex—” Lyon says. But then Lena runs. “Plain,” Lyon continues. “Should’ve seen that coming. Wait.” Lyon then runs after her. Lucky for Lyon that Lena didn’t run out of the cottage, she runs into the other living room, then into the kitchen, into the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind her and locks it. Lyon stops right before he gets his face hit. He takes a deep breath, then looks down at Shadow. “Could have been worse.” Shadow just shakes his head, then Lyon looks at the bathroom door. “Okay, look, I understand that you’re scared. But I promise you that I’m not going to hurt you.” Lyon pauses to see if she’ll say anything. Lena just sits on the bathroom floor in a ball. And Lyon just looks at the door with concern. “Okay, tell you what…I’ll just sit right here till you are ready to talk, okay,” Lyon says as he sits down. Lyon sits down on the floor, leaning against the bathroom door. Shadow lies down next to him. For the rest of the day and that whole night, Lyon hasn’t moved from that spot, not once. Then the next morning, Lena slowly gets up and walks over to the door. She puts her hand on the door and feels that Lyon is still in that same spot. She then slowly opens the door, and Lyon ends up falling back, hitting the back of his head because he was sleeping. As Lyon falls, Lena also falls, then quickly crawls back. She crawls all the way to the wall under the window. Lyon has one hand

on the back of his head and the other hand over his face. “Don’t get mad, don’t get mad. She’s hurt, scared, she has no idea where she is. She’s in a panic, let it go, let it go,” Lyon mumbles to himself. Then he looks up at the ceiling and takes a deep breath. Lyon rolls over, lying on his stomach, and looks at Lena who has a scared look on her face. Lyon takes another deep breath, then slowly pushes himself up and sits down, still with his hand on his head and the other hand slightly up as a sign to stop. “Okay, I get you’re scared, but I’m not going to hurt you, okay?” Lyon pauses. “Can you tell me what happened to you?” Lyon gently asks. Lena just stares at him, still with a scared look on her face. “Can you talk?” Lyon asks softly. “Yes,” Lena replies, nodding her head. “Okay, um, let’s start small. What’s your name? Mine’s Lyon.” Lena looks at him, but then her face slowly turns to fear and shock. “I can’t…I can’t my name. I can’t anything,” Lena replies with a broken voice. Lyon looks at her with shock and sees that she has tears coming from her eyes. “Okay…um…why don’t I call someone, and we can see what’s going on. Okay,” Lyon gently says. Lena nods her head, then Lyon gets up and slowly walks over to her. He puts his hand down to her, g to help her up. She looks at his hand, then looks up at him. “I promise, I will not hurt you. You can trust me.” Lyon grins. Lena then takes his hand, and he slowly and gently pulls her off the floor. They both slowly walk into the kitchen. Shadow walks up to her and gently hits her hand. She looks down at him.

“Oh, that’s Shadow. He’s the one who found you. Do you want something to drink, like some water or anything?” Lyon asks. “Um…water’s fine. Thank you,” Lena replies. As Lyon gets Lena her cup of water, he calls someone that the doctor works with, his assistant. “Okay, I called Joe. Um…he’s going to come over. So you don’t have to deal with everyone in town,” Lyon explains. Lena nods her head but looks back at Lyon. “Where am I?” Lyon looks at her. “You’re in Fort Collins, Colorado.” Lena nods her head as she pets Shadow’s ears. Lyon stares at her for a minute, then he looks at Shadow who has this look on his face, like he’s in paradise. “You know, the more you keep doing that, the more rotten he’s going to get,” Lyon says. Lena looks at him and sees that he’s grinning at her. She gives him a shy smile, then looks back at Shadow. After waiting about ten minutes, Lyon’s doorbell rings. Lyon looks at her, then he walks to his front door, while Lena stays with Shadow. Lyon walks over to his front door and sees that it’s Joe at the door. He opens the door and tells him that she’s in the kitchen with Shadow. “That dog of yours is still alive,” says Joe. “Shut up,” Lyon says as he closes the door. Then they both walk into the kitchen, and Joe looks at Lena with shock. Then he turns his head and looks at Lyon. Lyon shrugs his shoulders, then he walks over to the kitchen counter. Joe gives Lena a check out. As she sits on the kitchen table, Joe checks her eyes and the cut she has on the left side of her head. Lyon is leaning against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed, with Shadow sitting right beside him. “Okay, I can’t tell everything. I don’t have everything I need to give you a

complete checkup. But from what Lyon told me, that large cut on the side of your head is what caused you to lose your memory. For how long, I don’t know. But I would like to have you down at the hospital so I can give you a full checkup,” Joe explains. Lena puts her head down, and tears slowly fall from her eyes. Lyon looks at her for a minute, then he looks at Joe. “I’ll bring her later. I don’t think it’s good for the whole town to come at her, asking a truckload of questions that she can’t answer right now,” Lyon explains. Joe looks at him and nods his head. He starts to pack his things, then gets ready to go. Lyon walks him out. “I’ll bring her in later tonight. When it dies down,” Lyon says, leaning on the door. Joe nods his head, then he heads back to the hospital. Lyon watches him walk off the porch and down the road till he can’t see him anymore. Then he closes the door and walks back into the kitchen. He looks at Lena, who is still sitting at the kitchen table. She slowly looks up at Lyon, and Lyon leans on the doorway wall with his hands in his pockets. “If you…don’t want to go…we don’t have to,” Lyon says gently. “No, it’s okay. I want to know…and it would be nice to know if there is anything else wrong with me,” Lena replies. Lyon nods his head, then he tells her that they’ll go later that night. Later that night, Lyon gives Lena one of his T-shirts and one of his basketball shorts for her to wear. She takes a shower, washes her body and hair. Lena comes out of the bathroom with her hair in a bun, wearing the clothes Lyon gave her. “How big are you?” Lena asks, coming out of the bathroom. Lyon is sitting on the couch; he looks at her and starts laughing at her. His clothes on her look like she is wearing a dress. Her face is what also makes him laugh at her—she’s pouting. “Come on, it’s not that bad.” Lyon laughs.

Then Lyon calls Shadow; all three of them head down to the hospital. They come up to the hospital, and there is Joe to meet them. Joe takes them to one of the rooms. Shadow is outside sleeping, waiting for them to come back. As Lyon and Lena wait for Joe to come back with the results, Lena starts shaking. Lyon looks at her and sees that she’s shaking. So he gently takes her hands and stands in front of her. As he holds her hands, he says, “Relax, it’s okay, I’m here.” She gives him a shy smile, then puts her head down. Then Joe walks back in, and they look at him, slowly letting go of each other’s hands. Joe then tells them about the tests results. Lena has nothing life-threatening with her body, but the blow to the head caused a huge amount of memory loss. Unsure if or when it will return, all they can do is wait. As they listen to Joe, Lena just slowly puts her head down. After Joe is done telling them everything, Lyon follows him out of the room so Lena can get dressed. Five minutes , and Lena slowly comes out of the room. Lyon is leaning on the wall across from her room. They give each other small smiles, then they go to get Shadow and head back to the cottage. As they head back to the cottage, with Shadow walking right beside Lyon, Lena looks up at the sky. Lyon stops and looks at her, then she looks at him. Then they continue walking back to the cottage. That night, Lyon and Lena stay in the living room. Lena falls asleep on the couch, and Lyon stays awake by the living room window. As Lyon sits at the window, he looks at her with concern, feeling bad that she doesn’t know one thing about herself. The next morning, when Lena wakes up, she sees that Lyon is not in sight. “Lyon,” Lena gently calls out. Lyon comes around from the kitchen doorway corner and sees that Lena is awake. “Hey, you’re awake,” Lyon says gently. Lena turns her head and sees Lyon in the kitchen doorway. Her face slightly glows. “Don’t worry…I’m not going anywhere.” Lyon grins. She smiles, then slowly gets up and walks into the kitchen. As she walks into the

kitchen, she sees that Lyon is cutting fruit. Lyon turns his head. “Hey, I don’t know what you eat. So I just cut up some fruit…because I don’t know if you eat meat or not.” Lena pauses. “Neither do I.” They both eat the fruit, then they go and sit out on the porch. And they sit there, Shadow lying next to Lena as she strokes his fur. And Lyon, slightly sitting on the porch wood railing, laughs under his breath at Shadow. As they sit there, Lyon hears cars driving up the road. Then he sees that it’s his grandmother’s and grandfather’s cars slowly driving up. Lyon stares at them for a minute with confusion, then he looks at Lena. He hears the car doors; Emily and Nathen get out of their cars and see Lena on the porch. They look at each other, then they slowly walk over to Lyon. “And who’s this?” Emily asks. Lyon looks at her, then at Lena, who’s looking up at him. “Um…huh. This is…well…I have no idea,” Lyon slowly replies. Emily quickly looks at him “It’s not like that. I just don’t know because…she…doesn’t know,” Lyon explains. She looks at him with slight shock, then looks at her and takes a deep breath, then she smiles at her. “Well, then…I guess we’ll have to help you out,” Emily says. They all look at her and smile, but then she looks at Lyon. “You got some explaining to do.” Lyon grins at her as he nods his head. Then they walk into the house, and Lyon tells his grandparents what happened. “I see…well, you know what that means.” Emily looks at everyone.

They look at her, waiting to hear what she’s going to say. “Until she can or we find out who she is, we have to make up that extra bedroom, and, girly, you’re going to need some clothes. Even though Lyon’s clothes can much indeed fit you, you need some of your own, okay?” Emily continues. Lena smiles at her with joy and nods her head. Emily stares at her with a smile, then she and Nathen go and make up the extra bedroom. Lyon and Lena watch them walk upstairs. “Well, in the meantime, River, that’s what we’re calling you,” Lyon says. Lena looks at him and starts to laugh. “River…is what you’re going to call me.” Lyon nods his head, and Lena just keeps laughing at him. Meanwhile up in the extra bedroom, Emily and Nathan are talking as they set up the bed. “What’s on your mind?” Nathen asks. “I don’t know. I guess I’m a little nervous,” Emily replies. “Nervous about what?” Nathen asks. “What do you mean about what? Nathen that’s a beautiful young girl in the house. I guess I’m a little nervous about how well Lyon and she will get along… a little too well,” Emily replies. Nathen looks at her and smiles. “Relax…everything is going to be okay. He’s seventeen, did you think that it’s never going to happen?” “Not funny,” Emily replies with a glaring smile. Nathen starts laughing, and Emily slowly shakes her head, then start to laugh also. After about ten to twenty minutes, Emily and Nathen come downstairs and see Lyon and Lena sitting in the living room. Lyon is at the window sketching, and Lena is on the couch, looking through a magazine.

“Okay, River, let’s go,” Emily says, walking down the stairs. “Yeah, I have to get going too. I have work today,” Lyon says, putting his sketchbook down. “Same here,” Nathen says, following Emily downstairs. Lena watches them all get ready to go, then she gets up when Emily calls her. They all leave; Lyon goes with his grandmother and Lena. She has to drop off her car, so he goes with them ’cause he works at the car shop. They go to the car shop, and Lyon drives it inside while Emily and Lena walk to the clothes store. “Are you sure it’s okay for you to buy me all these clothes?” Lena asks. “You need clothes, don’t you?” Emily replies. “Yes, but—” Lena’s cut off. “Then it’s fine. I miss buying clothes. Lyon’s seventeen, so I don’t buy him much anymore,” Emily replies. Lena looks at her and smiles. “Thank you.” Emily looks at her and smiles back, then they continue shopping. The next two to three hours, Lena and Emily go shopping crazy. When they are done they go back to Lyon’s job. As Lyon is fixing a tire, Shadow runs over to the car shop doors. Lyon looks at him, then he sees that Shadow is running over to Lena. He grins, then he gets up and walks over to them. Lena is wearing black jeans and white-gray spaghetti-strap shirt with black-and-white sneakers. She also has silver hoop earrings. “Wow, River. You and Grandma had that much fun,” Lyon asks. “Oh yeah, it was, your grandmother is funny when she is shopping,” Lena replies. “Yeah, I know. Where is she now?” Lyon asks. “Oh, she’s filling out the paperwork. So I came to see where you work. I mean, see what it looks like inside,” Lena replies.

“Oily,” Lyon replies. Lena starts laughing, and Lyon slightly laughs as she laughs. As Lyon is talking to Lena, Raphael sees them talking. “Hey, Daniel, who’s that girl Lyon’s talking to?” asks Raphael. Daniel turns around and sees what Raphael is talking about. “I don’t know…never seen her before,” Daniel replies. “I’m going to go ask,” Raphael says. Then he starts to walk over to them. “Raphael, don’t,” Daniel says, trying to stop him. Raphael walks over to Lyon. “Hey, Lyon, who’s your pretty friend here?” asks Raphael. Lyon looks at Raphael and shakes his head as he looks down to the floor. Raphael looks at Lena up and down, then he licks his lips. “River, this is my friend Raphael. Raphael, this is River,” Lyon says. “Hi, nice to meet you.” Lena smiles. Raphael smiles at her for a minute. “Wait, your name is River.” Lyon quickly looks at Raphael, then looks at Lena. “No, that’s just what they call me,” Lena replies. “Oh, so what’s your real name?” asks Raphael. Lena looks at him, then at Lyon, making him take a deep breath. “Okay, Raphael, here’s the truth. And don’t ask a lot of questions,” Lyon says. Lyon then starts to explain his and Lena’s meeting. As Lyon explains, Daniel walks over and listens to what is going on. They both look at Lena, who is next to Lyon, kneeling down, still petting Shadow. Then they look back at Lyon who is looking at Lena.

“So she’s going to be living with you?” asks Daniel. Lyon looks at him and nods his head. “Yeah, oh um…Daniel, this is River. River, this is Daniel.” Hi, nice to meet you.” Lena smiles. “Hi, nice to meet you too,” Daniel replies. They don’t say much about the fact that Lyon is taking in a girl he found. Then Emily comes to get Lena. “River, come on.” Lena looks at her, then at Lyon. She looks at him like she doesn’t want to go. Lyon looks at her, then at his grandmother, “I’m almost done with my shift, so I’ll take her back with me.” “Are you sure?” Emily asks. “Yeah, it’s okay. Plus I have Shadow, so walking is good,” Lyon replies. Emily smiles and nods her head. Then she heads back to the cottage. Lyon looks at Lena. “Okay, I’ll be off in about thirty to forty-five minutes, okay?” Lena nods her head. “Okay, so stay here with Shadow. I’ll be back,” Lyon continues. Lena smiles and looks down at Shadow. Lyon grins, then goes back to work. After about forty-five to fifty minutes, Lyon finished his shift for the day. He goes over to Lena and Shadow, and they get ready to go. As they leave the lot, Raphael and Daniel come running behind them. Raphael is running to get up to Lyon and Lena, but Daniel is trying to stop him. “So where are you two heading?” asks Raphael, out of breath. “Heading home. Why?” replies Lyon. “Oh, no reason…just asking. So you two want to come clubbing tonight?” asks

Raphael. Lena and Lyon look at him, and Daniel hits him in the back of his head. Raphael quickly looks at him. “Sorry, Raphael. But no, I think it’s best to take things slow right now. Plus the doctor says that she shouldn’t do too much because of her head injury. Maybe next time. Thanks, though, see you later,” replies Lyon. “Bye, nice meeting you,” Lena says as they walk up the road to the cottage. Raphael and Daniel watch them walk away, then Raphael looks at Daniel. “What the hell did you hit me for?” Daniel just stares at him for a minute. “You know damn well why I hit you. What the hell are you asking her to go clubbing for?” Raphael doesn’t reply. He just slowly walks away, and Daniel shakes his head. Then he looks up at Lena and Lyon walking up the path and grins. “Good for you, man. Good for you,” Daniel says to himself. Then Daniel slowly walks away, still with a grin on his face.

Memory 4

Two months have ed since Lena was found by Lyon. Lena hasn’t gotten any of her memory back. But she is now working at a video store four to five times a week. Everyone in town knows about Lena and that Lyon found her. “River, you’re going to close tonight, okay?” says the manager. “Oh, okay,” Lena replies. After replying to the manager, she sees that five guys are looking at her like she is fresh meat. She then walks over to the store phone. “Lyon, phone,” yells Daniel. Lyon looks at him and nods his head. He grabs a rag and wipes the oil off his hands as he walks over to the phone. “Talk to me,” Lyon says. “Lyon,” Lena softly replies. “River, what’s up?” Lyon asks. “Um…do you think you can pick me up after your shift? I know we meet up, but can you pick me up tonight?” Lena asks. “Yeah, sure! Are you okay? Lyon asks. “I will be, when you get here,” Lena replies. Then she hangs up the phone. Lyon looks at the phone and slowly hangs it up. Then Daniel walks over. “Lyon, you all right?” Daniel asks. Lyon looks at him. “What are you doing after work?”

Daniel looks at him with confusion. After Lena shuts down the video store, she turns around and sees that the five guys that were looking at her earlier are standing in front of her, only a few feet away. She backs up into the door, looking around and starts shaking. Then the five of them slowly walk toward her. She looks around again, and as much as her mind is telling her to run, she can’t move. “You know we’ve been watching you for some time, and you get cuter and cuter every time we see you,” says the one in the middle of the five. They get up real close to her to the point they are only a few inches away from her. Lena turns her head while one touches her hair, another strokes her arm. The one in the middle tries to get her to look at him. The last two are just watching and laughing. But then— “You guys seem lost,” a deep strong voice says from behind. All of them turn around, and Lena looks up, and she smiles with relief. For there is Daniel, Lyon, and Raphael. Lyon is standing in the middle of Daniel, who is on the left with his arms crossed, and Raphael, who is on the right with his hands on the back of his head. Lyon just has his hands in his pockets. The three of them look at the five of them with plain glares on their faces, but even if their faces are plain, they say much more. The one in the middle of the five of them glares at them. “Don’t—that’s Daniel and Raphael, they’re both kickboxers. And then you have Lyon, the undefeated. We need to go now,” says the one who was touching Lena’s hair. Then the five of them slowly walk away, but Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael’s faces never change once. They watch them walk away, then Lyon looks at Lena. He slowly walks over to her; she looks up at him, then she slowly puts her head on his chest. Then she slowly starts to cry, Lyon then wraps his arms around her. She puts her hands up to the side of her head, hiding her face, and Lyon can feel how much she is shaking. Just with his head, he turns and looks at Daniel and Raphael. He looks back at Lena. “Let’s get going.”

They head home. Daniel and Raphael walk with Lyon and Lena to the road that goes to their cottage. “Daniel, Raphael, thank you,” Lena says. They both look at her with smiles. “Anytime, River, anytime,” they both reply. Lyon also says his thanks, then they all head home. As Lyon and Lena walk up to the cottage, they see that the lights are still on but low, meaning that Emily and Nathen are already sleeping. They both quietly go into the cottage, then go to bed. But that night, Lena just can’t sleep. She quietly gets out of bed. She slowly walks out of her room and quietly goes down to Lyon’s room. She gently opens the door, and Lyon looks up from reading his book. As she walks in, she sees that Lyon is awake. “Did I wake you?” Lena asks. “No, I always have to read one of my books before I go to bed. What about you, what’s wrong?” Lyon replies. She stares at him, and he can see that she looks like she’s going to cry. He puts his book down as he gets off his bed and slowly walks over to her. “I won’t know if you don’t tell me,” Lyon says with a grin. “Can I stay here?” Lena replies. Lyon nods his head, then they both slowly walk over to Lyon’s bed. Lena lies down, and Lyon sits down while putting the covers over her. Lyon just sits beside her, just reading his book. After about two hours, Lena and Lyon are sleeping. But Lena is not sleeping well; she is twitching in her sleep. Then she wakes up screaming, waking Lyon. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Lyon calms Lena. Lena wraps her arms around him, shaking. “Tell me what happened,” Lyon asks gently. “I keep hearing screaming and seeing a number,” Lena replies.

“Okay,” Lyon replies calmly. “Lena…” Lena says. “What?” Lyon gently asks. “I think my name is Lena,” Lena says. “Why do you say that?” asks Lyon. “Because…every time I heard Lena…I saw my face. And I keep seeing the number 16,” Lena replies. Lyon stares at her for a minute. “So, Lena, sixteen years of age. Maybe your memory is trying to tell you something.” “It’s better than River,” Lena replies. Lyon slightly laughs and Lena smiles. “Okay, Lena. Nice to meet you.” Lyon grins. Lena smiles, then she gently put her head on Lyon’s chest, and he kisses her on the top of her head. That night, Lena stays in Lyon’s room, sleeping in his arms. Lyon is still leaning against the backboard of his bed; Lena has her back against Lyon’s chest and her head on his left arm. The next morning, when Emily wakes up, she goes to check on Lena, but when she goes to the room, she starts running to the other four bedrooms, but she isn’t in any one of them. She runs downstairs and sees that Lena is nowhere in sight. Then she runs to Lyon’s room. “Lyon, have you—” Emily pauses. There she sees Lena in Lyon’s arms, fast asleep. Emily starts breathing more calmly as she put her hand on her chest. As she looks at both, she sees that Lena is sleeping more peacefully than she has been. Emily wants to say something, but she doesn’t want Lena to wake. So she just lets it be for now, until they get up. She gently closes Lyon’s bedroom door and slowly walks back into the house. As Emily is making breakfast, she tells Nathen what happened this

morning. “So big deal, you found them in the same bed,” says Nathen, reading the newspaper. “Nathen,” Emily slightly yells. “They both were wearing their clothes, right?” Nathen replies. “Yes,” Emily answers. “All right then. Something probably happened, and she ran to Lyon. You know how close she is to him. He found her and took care of her. Let them be,” Nathen continues. Emily shakes her head with a smile, then continues to cook breakfast. As Emily cooks breakfast, Lyon slowly begins to wake up. As he wakes, he looks down at Lena and grins. “Hey, Lena, time to get up,” Lyon whispers in Lena’s ear. Lena’s eyes slowly start moving. Then her eyes slowly start to open. She slowly turns her head to look at Lyon and smiles. “Morning, Lena.” Lyon grins. Lena smiles. “Morning, Lyon.” They stare at each other with desire in their eyes. Suddenly their faces very slowly start to move closer to each other. But then they snap out of it when they hear Emily call. They look at the door, then back at each other and slowly get up. They walk into the house and see Emily staring at them. She’s about to say something but— “Lena.” “What?” Emily asks. “I think my name is Lena.” Lyon looks at her, then at his grandparents. They look at him, at Lena, then at

each other and slightly laugh. Lyon and Lena sit down at the table and start to explain. “Well, all right then, nice to meet you, Lena,” says Emily. Lena smiles. “Nice to meet you as well,” says Nathen. She looks at the both of them, still smiling. “Nice to meet the both of you as well. And thank you for letting me stay here,” Lena replies. All of them smile at one another, then Emily and Nathen get ready to leave for work, while Lyon and Lena eat their breakfast. “Okay, you two, don’t wait up. We’re both working late tonight. If you two want to make something, just clean up, okay?” says Emily. “Grandma, it’s fine. It’s not like you haven’t pulled an all-nighter before,” Lyon replies. Emily stares at him for a minute, but Lyon just grins at her. “Just clean up when you’re done,” Emily says, slightly laughing. “Oh, and here are my keys if you need to go anywhere.” Lyon nods his head with a grin, then Emily takes off for work. Lyon then looks at Lena, then they both start laughing. After they both finish with their breakfast, Lena washes the dishes, and Lyon dries them and puts them away. Then they go outside to do the chores. Lena feeds all the animals, and Lyon takes all the new hay and puts it away in the barn. As Lena feeds the animals, all the horses come around Lena. There’s one shire, one Boulonnais, two Kladruber, one Finnish, two American quarter horses, two Mustangs, three Vladimir Heavy Draft, two Clydesdale, one Nonius, two Friesian, two Swedish Ardennes, and one black palomino. The black palomino is fond of Lena. Every time she goes to feed, he follows her around. He loves to eat the apples that she gives him. No one else can hand-feed him, just Lena. After she’s done feeding, she opens the gate to let them run. They all run out, then she looks at Lyon, who is putting the last of the hay away. Then he comes out of the

barn and calls Shadow. Shadow comes running down from the porch and over to Lyon. She looks at Lyon and Shadow and smiles. Lyon and Shadow walk over to the large area that the cows are in. Lyon looks at them, then down at Shadow who’s looking up at him. They stare at each other for a minute, but then Lyon looks back at the cows. “Shadow,” Lyon yells. Shadow quickly stands up and gets ready. “Round them up,” Lyon commands. Shadow then quickly takes off; he runs over to the cows, barking. Shadow is getting the cows to go back to the barn. The cows slowly head back to the barn. Lyon whistles to Shadow, telling him what way to move the herd. As they get close, Lena opens the gate for the cows. The cows get inside without any problems. Lena locks the gate, and Lyon walks over to Shadow. He gently pets him on the head, then he looks up at Lena, who is smiling at them. Lyon slowly stands up. “Okay, that was a good two to three hours,” says Lyon. “So what do you want to do?” asks Lena. Lyon looks at her, then looks up at the morning sky and how there are no clouds in the sky. “Well, it’s a nice day. It’s about 80 degrees today, so you gave me an idea,” Lyon replies. “I don’t live here. I’ve only been here for two months. Doesn’t mean I know everything,” Lena replies. Lyon looks around and grins, then he looks back at Lena. “What do you want me to say? I don’t do a lot on days like these. Soccer practice doesn’t start for another couple of weeks, so no,” Lyon replies. “Soccer,” Lena says.

“Well, it’s not really practice, but they want us to come by to see if we’re still in good shape for when the season starts,” Lyon explains. Lena slightly laughs, then she looks around and takes a deep breath. “Okay, it’s about 80 degrees today, right?” Lena says. “Yeah,” Lyon slowly replies. “Well, then let’s go swimming.” Lena smiles. Lyon looks at her and grins. “I really don’t feel like going into town,” Lyon replies. Lena smiles. “Don’t you live next to a lake?” Lena replies. Lyon slightly tilts his head and nods. “Okay, I guess we’re going swimming.”

Memory 5

Lyon and Lena go and change to go swimming. Lyon has his plain black swimming trunks on and a gray vest. Lena is wearing her white-and-orange swimsuit two-piece; the bottoms are like shorts, and the top ties around her neck and snaps in the back. She has a little see-through white dress to wear over her swimsuit. Lena comes out of the cottage, and Lyon is sitting on the porch. As Lena walks out of the cottage, Lyon’s face slowly turns to shock as he slowly lifts his head. She looks at him and gives him a shy smile; she slightly puts her head down. Then they walk down to the lake, with Shadow right beside them. As they get to the lake, Lena slowly runs to it. Lyon grins and slightly laughs, then Shadow runs down with Lena. Lyon puts their towels up to hang on a low tree branch. Lena is kneeling down next to the lake, feeling how cold the water is. She slowly turns to look at Lyon but then quickly turns her head; Lyon is taking off his vest. Lena slowly turns her head back to look at Lyon, but then her shy look turns to shock. “Lyon,” Lena slightly yells. Lena runs over to Lyon. “What?” Lyon quickly asks. Lena runs over to Lyon and looks at his chest. “Oh…that. Don’t worry about it,” Lyon asks. “Where did you get this,” Lena asks, concerned. “I was thirteen, after my last tournament that year. The last guy I fought didn’t like the fact I beat him. So after the tournament, he came after me,” Lyon replies. “Does it hurt?” Lena asks, concerned. “It did then,” Lyon replies with a grin. Lena looks up at him, then she looks back at his chest. Lyon has a small scar on the right side of his chest. Lena gently touches it. Lyon looks down at her and gently grins at her, then she looks back up at him with a smile but also concern.

“I’m fine, it happened four years ago.” Lyon grins. Then Lyon walks around her and walks over to Shadow. Lena watches him walk over to Shadow, then she slowly starts to take off her dress. Lyon turns around, about to say something to Lena, but his face turns to mesmerizing shock. He looks at Lena’s smooth tan skin; he swallows, then breathes out as he looks down to the ground. Then he looks back at her and watches her stretch to put her dress up with the towels. As she stretches, Lyon takes his right hand and moves it through his hair, breathing heavy. Then he looks back down at the ground, and he kneels down next to Shadow, trying not to look at Lena. Lena then walks over to him, and he looks up at her, mesmerized by her even more up close and how the sun behind her makes her skin shine to a glow. Lena looks at him with confusion, but she also smiles, then she side-kicks him, then runs to the lake. Lyon looks at her and grins, then runs after her. She runs right into the lake, and Lyon runs in after her. Lena goes underwater, and Lyon follows, but when Lena comes back up, Lyon doesn’t. She looks around. “Lyon…Lyon…Lyon!” Lena yells in a slight panic. Lyon slowly comes up behind her and grins at her, then slowly moves closer to her. “I’m right here,” Lyon whispers in Lena’s ear. Lena quickly turns around and glares at him, then splashes him. Lyon wipes the water from his face and grins at Lena. But she is still glaring at him. “Not funny.” “No,” Lyon replies, still grinning. “No,” Lena angrily replies. “Oh, come on. Don’t be mad at me,” Lyon says, still grinning. Lena shakes her head, then starts to move away from Lyon, still angry at him. Lyon, still grinning, follows her and gently grabs her by her waist, then gently pulls her back to him. Her back against his chest, he holds her slightly tighter, and her face looks like she’s about to melt. Lyon slowly moves his mouth from her neck to her ear.

“You still mad at me?” Lyon gently whispers. “I hate you,” Lena replies with a melting smile. Lyon grins, then he slowly unwraps his arms from Lena, then suddenly Lena’s face changes to shocking smile. Lyon quickly picks her up and throws her. Lena comes back up, and they both start splashing each other. They laugh and splash, and Lyon keeps grabbing Lena and throwing her for hours. They played almost three hours. But when he’s about to throw her again, she quickly wraps her arms around his neck. They look at each other, their faces only a few inches away from each other. Their smiles slowly and slightly fade, breathing heavily. Looking right into each other’s eyes, their faces slowly move closer to each other. But then out of nowhere, Shadow starts barking, making Lena and Lyon slowly let go of each other. For here comes Raphael and Daniel; Lyon and Lena slowly start to walk out of the lake. As they walk out of the lake, Lena looks at Lyon, mesmerized by how the water moves down his buff tan body, his pecs and abs. She’s also mesmerized by how he moves his hair out of his face by running his hand through his hair, pushing it back. She turns her head, trying to breathe normally, but when she looks back, she sees Lyon’s muscles flex as he grabs the towels from the tree branch. Lena quickly turns her head and puts her hand to her heart, breathing heavily. Lyon turns around and sees how the sun makes Lena’s wet tan skin shine. Her skin shines like the trees on a sunny day after it rains. Lyon slightly turns his head and breathes to calm himself, then he slowly walks over to Lena. He gently wraps his towel around her, Lena holds onto his arms. But then they quickly move away from each other, for they hear Raphael and Daniel getting closer to them. Lyon then gets Lena’s dress for her, and she smiles at him. Lyon then puts on his vest, and Lena puts on her dress, then they slowly start to walk away from the lake. As they walk away, they run into Raphael and Daniel. Raphael and Daniel look at them, then at each other and grin. “So whatcha guys doing?” Raphael asks with a cocky tone. “Oh, it’s hot out today, and we finished everything early. So we decided to go for a swim,” Lyon replies. “Right. That’s it,” Raphael replies, not believing. Lyon gives him a small glare with his hands in his vest pockets. Lena slowly

shakes her head, slightly laughing. Daniel has his hand covering his face, laughing at Raphael. “Anyways what are you guys even doing here?” asks Lyon. “Oh yeah, you two can’t bail on us this time. Dad finally said okay—car shop party,” replies Raphael. “You guys—” Lyon is cut off. “No, Lyon, no. You and Lena are going to the party. ’Cause if you don’t, we’ll bring everyone to the cottage,” says Daniel. “And we know how you grandparents are going to take that since they are pulling an all-night shift today,” continues Raphael. Lyon slowly shakes his head, looking at them with unbelief, breathing heavily. Then he looks at Lena. “What do you want to do?” Lena looks at him, then at Daniel and Raphael and takes a slight deep breath. “Why not?” Lena replies. But with that reply, her face has uncertainty to it, and Lyon sees it. “Yes,” Daniel and Raphael yell with joy. “Okay, we’ll see you two tonight at eight o’clock,” says Raphael. Daniel and Raphael slowly start running back to the car shop. As they watch them run back, Lyon looks at Lena, who still looks unsure. “If you’re so unsure, why did you say yes?” asks Lyon. Lena looks at him and shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know…I guess I’m nervous, but at the same time, I can’t keep hiding at the cottage. We need to have a little fun.” Lyon grins at her, slowly shaking his head, then they both slowly start walking back to the cottage. They both go and take a shower; Lyon goes to the downstairs shower, and Lena goes upstairs. When Lyon comes out of the

bathroom, he sees Lena in the kitchen and is trying to get a bowl. Lyon grins, slightly laughing at her, shaking his head; he walks over to her and helps her get the bowl she wants. “Lena, what are you doing?” asks Lyon, giving her the bowl. “Oh, I’m making a fruit salad. And I need this bowl to mix everything,” Lena replies, smiling. Lyon grins at her, then he goes to put his clothes on. Lena watches him walk away, looking at his shoulder blades. Lena then looks back down at her melons and takes a deep breath and slowly continues to cut her melons. As she cuts her fruit, Lyon comes back into the kitchen, and Lena looks up at him; he’s wearing gray sweatpants and a white muscle shirt. “That’s…what you’re wearing to the party?” Lena asks. “No, but the party is not for another three hours. I’m not going to get dressed to sit around in and get it all dirty. Plus you can’t talk, you’re in my white T-shirt. I’ve been looking for that, by the way,” Lyon replies. “What, it’s hot out, plus I have shorts on. Not my fault that you like to get shirts extra-large to extra-extra-large,” Lena replies, smiling. Lyon laughs, then he goes to get a water bottle from the refrigerator. Then he walks into the living room and sits on the couch. He puts the TV on and puts on a movie to watch. Lena then walks in. “You are so not funny.” Lyon looks at her and grins. “What.” “You can’t play it yet, you know I love this movie.” Lena pouts. “Okay, I’ll wait for you,” Lyon replies, grinning. Lena then quickly goes back into the kitchen to get her fruit salad bowl, then quickly walks back into the living room. She sits right next to Lyon. Lyon’s right

arm is on the back of the couch where Lena lays her head, looking at the TV. Lyon then plays the movie. Lena likes the movie Avatar. As they sit and watch the movie Lyon, lays his head on top of Lena’s head as she lays her head on his shoulder. As they watch the movie, their eyes start to get heavy, Lena and Lyon fall asleep at the same time. After the movie ended, they still have their eyes closed, then at 9:00 p.m., they both wake up to the sound of the phone ringing. Lyon picks up the phone next to the couch and looks at the caller ID and sees that it’s Raphael’s cell phone. He looks at Lena, then he answers the phone, trying not to laugh. “Hello,” Lyon says calmly. Then he quickly moves the phone away from his ear. “Hello is all you can say? Where the hell are you two? You were supposed to be here an hour ago. Get your asses down here now. I’m not playing around,” yells Raphael. Raphael then hangs up the phone. Lyon looks at Lena, and they both just start laughing. “I guess we should go and get dressed,” Lyon says. “Okay,” Lena replies. They both slowly get off the couch and go to their rooms to change. After about twenty to twenty-five minutes, Lyon comes back into the cottage and sits on the couch, waiting for Lena. He’s wearing dark-blue jeans with black Timberlands, black wifebeater shirt with a black button-up shirt that he leaves open, where his chain can be seen. He’s chain is long and silver with an L. “Lena, come on, it’s not that big a deal. Raphael is going to call any minute to see where we are or come here,” Lyon yells up to Lena calmly. “I’m coming,” Lena yells back gently. Then Lyon looks at the clock, then he hears footsteps coming down the stairs. “Okay, we can go…now,” Lyon says. Lyon looks up at Lena with a daze. Lena comes downstairs wearing skinny black jeans, with three-inch black-heel Timberlands, an off-the-shoulder plain down-

to-her-waist gray shirt. She has small silver hoop earrings and silver bracelets on both wrists and clear lip gloss, her hair is half-up half-down with two small pieces on both sides of her face. She looks at Lyon nervously. “What, is something wrong? Is it too much, not enough?” Lena asks nervously. Lyon slowly shakes his head with a small grin and walks over to her and puts his head up to her. She gently takes his hand, and she slowly walks down the stairs, and he pulls her close to him. “I think you look great,” Lyon softly says. She smiles, and their faces slowly move closer to each other, but then the phone rings again. They pull away from each other, then Lyon walks over to the phone and sees that it’s Raphael again. “Yes, Raphael.” “Don’t yes Raphael me. Are you two on your way?” Raphael yells. “Yes, we were just about to leave before you called,” Lyon replies. “You better be,” Raphael yells. Then Raphael hangs up the phone again, and Lyon looks at Lena. Then they both head to the party. They slowly walk over to Emily’s car. Lyon opens Lena’s door so she can get in, then he walks over to the driver’s side. He starts the car, and they head down the road, talking and laughing. “You put that movie on purpose, didn’t you?” asks Lena. Lyon looks at her and grins. “Yes, I did,” Lyon replies. “Why?” Lena asks. “Because truthfully, I really don’t want to go to this party. I know how it can get as the night goes on,” Lyon replies. Lena stares at him for a minute, then she looks down at the floor. “We don’t… have to go,” Lena says.

Then Lyon stops, causing Lena to look up, seeing that he stopped driving, making her slowly stop smiling. As she stops, she sees that Lyon, for the first time in two months, is not joking. “No, it’s okay. But if it starts to become too much, you need to tell me,” Lyon replies. Lena nods her head, then he leans over to her; they hold hands and continue driving to the party. As they get to the party, Raphael sees them driving up to the car shop. He runs over to them. “It’s about time.” Raphael smiles. Lyon just slightly grins and shakes his head as they get out of the car. “Look at you, always have to show me up, Lyon,” Raphael says, “and look at you. Dressed all sexy and whatnot, damn girl.” Lena smiles, then Raphael runs back into the car shop, and Lyon watches him run back inside. Lena is about to walk in, but then Lyon quickly grabs her by the waist and pulls her back. Lena looks at him. “I’m not kidding, Lena…one wrong step and we leave,” Lyon says with a deep tone. Lena nods her head, then Lyon looks at the party, and they both slowly walk inside. Different-color lights are flashing, music is booming, everyone is dancing on the floor or the cars. Lena smiles, but Lyon looks around like he’s watching for anything. Lyon sees Daniel sitting down; he and Lena walk over to him. “Hey, what’s up, man,” Lyon asks. “Not much, you?” Daniel asks. Lyon sits next to him, and Lena sits next to Lyon, then a pretty young girl walks over to them. She’s sixteen and a half years old, 5'3" tall, light-tan skin, goldenbrown eyes, long black hair down to her shoulder blades, and captain of the cheerleaders. She’s wearing a one-piece black-and-white stripe halter-top suit. “Hey, Lyon, who’s this?” asks the girl.

“Oh, hey, Mya. This is Lena. Lena, this is Mya,” Lyon replies. Lena and Mya wave to each other, smiling. “Hey, nice to meet you, Lena,” Mya says. “Nice to meet you too,” Lena replies. “Sorry, they don’t know how to give details, right. I’m Daniel’s girlfriend,” says Mya. “Really, he never told me.” Lena smiles. “Yeah, I guessed,” Mya replies, smiling. They both look at Lyon and Daniel, giving them cocky smiles. Lyon and Daniel look at each other, then they look back at the girls, like they are guilty. Then Mya looks at Lena. “So, Lena. Can you dance?” asks Mya. “I don’t know,” Lena replies. Mya looks at with a confused smile and looks at her with guilt. Lyon and Daniel look at them, then at each other. “I have no memory…of my life. All I is my name and how old I am. I’ve only been here for two months,” Lena continues. Mya looks at her with shock, then she looks at Lyon and Daniel. She takes a breath, then she shakes her head at Lyon and Daniel. Then she looks back at Lena and smiles. “Okay, well, we won’t know if you can dance if we don’t get you on that floor,” says Mya. Lena smiles, then Mya takes Lena’s hand, and they walk over to the dance. Mya starts dancing, and Lena looks around. “Don’t fight the music, just feel it,” Mya yells over the music.

Lena nods her head, then her body just starts to move to the music. The DJ is playing all different kinds: hip-hop, R&B, reggaeton, and Creole music. As Lena and Mya are dancing and laughing, Lyon and Daniel are still just sitting down, talking. Mya sees them sitting down, then looks at Lena. “We need to get them up,” Mya yells over the music. Lena looks at her. “What?” Lena asks. Mya then points to Lyon and Daniel. Lena looks at her nervously. “I can’t,” Lena says. “Yes, you can. You’re just asking him to dance…without asking,” Mya replies. “How do you do that?” Lena asks. “I’ll show you, watch me,” Mya replies. Then Mya takes Lena’s hand, and they walk back over to Lyon and Daniel. Lyon and Daniel look up and see them coming over to them. They look at each other and grin, then back at Lena and Mya. As they get closer, Daniel starts to shake his head, and Lyon just starts laughing. “No way,” says Daniel. “I haven’t even asked you anything yet,” Mya replies, smiling. “Yeah, that’s because I know you. And you want something.” Daniel smiles. “Come on, dance with me,” Mya asks. Lena smiles and Lyon is still laughing, then he looks at Lena, who just smiles at him. Lyon grins at her, and she holds her hand out to him. He grins at her, then he takes her hand and slowly gets up. Then she leads him to the dance floor. He looks back at Daniel, shrugs his shoulders, and grins. The DJ plays a reggaeton song Wisin y Yandel’s “Sexy Movimiento.” Lena turns to Lyon and smiles. Her hips slowly start to move. Lyon looks at her up and down, grinning. Then he suddenly pulls her close, she smiles at him, and he grins at her. And they slowly start to dance with each other. As the beat gets faster, so do they. Lyon then takes her hands spins her around. Then he pulls her back to him, putting her back to

his chest, and they continue to dance. They go side to side, up and down, back and forth, all around. As they dance, Mya and Daniel are watching them. “Come on, Lyon is dancing, so come on.” Mya pouts. “Oh all right. Come on,” replies Daniel. Mya and Daniel start walking to the dance floor over to Lyon and Lena. The four of them start dancing together. When the DJ put on Edwin Hawkins’ “I Know,” Lyon, Daniel, Mya, and Lena start to dance salsa. The four of them dance side by side, with Lena and Mya switching off between Lyon and Daniel. The four of them dance to about five to six songs before they start to get tired. They all look at one another, laughing, then they all go to sit down. As they all sit down, Raphael comes over to them. “Guys, what are you doing? Get up and dance,” Raphael says, out of breath. They all look at one another; they slowly turn their heads to Raphael. “Raphael, we just danced to five to six songs,” Mya replies. Raphael stares at her, then he looks at everyone, and he pauses for a minute. “Well, I didn’t see it. Let’s go back on the dance floor,” Raphael replies. Raphael slowly walks back over to the dance floor, g to the others to get back onto the dance floor. But they just look at him, shaking their heads no. Raphael then is grabbed by a girl and pulls him onto the dance floor. They all start laughing at him, then Lena and Mya get up to go to the bathroom. The boys watch them walk to the bathroom, then they look at Raphael and start laughing at how Raphael is dancing. He’s dancing more with the floor than with the girl. As they watch Raphael, Lyon sees that there is this guy who has been watching them since he and Lena came to the party. Not making it too noticeable that he knows that Lyon knows he’s been watching him. As Lyon is watching the guy, he’s making it seem that he is still laughing at Raphael with Daniel. Then the guy slowly walks away, and Lyon slightly watches him walk away, but then he looks back at Raphael who is on the floor, looking like he’s trying to move it with his back, making Daniel and Lyon laugh even harder. Then Lyon looks around and sees that the guy is gone, then he thinks about Lena. Lyon quickly gets up and tells Daniel that he’ll be right back. Daniel nods his head, still laughing at Raphael. As Lyon walks to the girls’ bathroom, he bumps into Mya.

“Mya, where’s Lena. I thought you two went to the bathroom together,” Lyon asks in a slight panic. “She was just behind me,” Mya replies in a panic. They both look around and can’t see Lena anywhere. “Okay, you go back to the bathroom and see if she went back there,” Lyon says in calm yet panicked tone. Mya nods her head, then she runs back to the bathroom. Lyon then looks around and walks to the back of the car shop. Meanwhile Lena is grabbed by the guy that was watching her and Lyon since they came to the party. “Look, I really need to get back to Lyon and everyone,” Lena says nervously. The guy just looks at her, then as Lena is getting ready to walk away, the guy quickly grabs her wrist and throws her down onto the backroom couch. He pushes her down, and Lena tries to push him off of her. “What are you doing? Get off of me. Get off!” Lena yells. “No one will hear you, that music is too loud,” says the guy calmly. Lena looks at him with deep fear, trying to get her hands free to push him off of her, but he’s ten times her size and muscle strength. She then bites his hand, and he quickly removes it. Lena then pushes him off and runs. But before she can get out the door, the guy grabs her by the hair. Lena screams, grabbing the guy’s hand that’s holding her hair. The guy throws her down to the floor hard, making Lena hit the floor hard. “I wanted this to be painless, but you just had to do it like this,” says the guy calmly. Lena looks up at him with even more fear; tears slowly go down her cheek. Lena tries to run again, but before she could get up, he pins her down to the floor. Lena tries to fight back. “Get off…me.” Lena cries.

The guy rips Lena’s shirt, staring at her bra. Lena cries even more, still trying to fight the guy off of her. Meanwhile Lyon comes to the backroom door; he tries to open it and sees that it’s locked. He looks at the door up and down, then he slightly gets shocked, but then he glares at the door. Lyon then quickly kicks the door open, and there he sees Lena on the floor, crying, kicking, and screaming. Her shirt is ripped, and the guy that he saw watching him before was on top of her. Lyon stomps over to the guy and the crying Lena. “Hey,” Lyon says, tapping the guy’s shoulder. The guy turns his head, and Lena looks up. Lyon looks at the guy with death in his eyes. Then he quickly punches the guy off of Lena. The guy quickly gets up and is about to come back at Lyon, but Lyon spin kicks him in the face, knocking the guy out. Then he walks over to Lena. Lena is in a ball, crying. Lyon gently touches her shoulder. “Lena.” Lena quickly turns her head and looks at Lyon with fearful tears. Then she jumps right into Lyon’s arms, holding him tightly. Lyon holds her tight and close, then he looks at the guy on the floor and looks at him with a hateful glare. As Lyon holds Lena, he pulls out his phone and calls 911. The police come in a matter of minutes, and the party is shut down, to find out that the guy is someone that the police are looking for. Lyon, Mya, and Daniel are with Lena by the cop car as a doctor takes a look at her. She tells them that Lena is going to be fine, only her wrist will be a little swollen as the doctor wraps it. Mya says sorry to Lena about fifty times; all Lena does is shake her head. Raphael then comes running over and says sorry to Lena about sixty to seventy times, but each time, Lena just shakes her head. But Lyon doesn’t say anything, he has his arms crossed and glares at Raphael. Daniel looks at Lyon, then at Raphael, then Lyon walks over to Lena, and she quickly wraps her arms around him. Lyon then takes off his button-up shirt and puts it on Lena’s shoulders, then they start to walk to the car. Raphael is about to go over to Lyon, but Daniel stops him. “Don’t, Raphael.”

“Why not?’’ asks Raphael with confusion. “Just don’t. Give him a few days,” Daniel replies. Raphael looks at Lyon drive away, he puts his head down with guilt. That night, Lena stays in Lyon’s room. Lyon stays awake till Lena falls asleep. She lies in his arms; Lena’s head is in Lyon’s chest, with her hands next to her head like she’s hiding. Lyon’s right arm is wrapped around her waist, and his left hand, Lena’s using as a pillow while Lyon is gently stroking her head. Lyon has his head on top of Lena’s head as she hides. Emily and Nathen hear about what happened and rush home to make sure that Lena and Lyon are okay. They get home, then run to Lyon’s room to ask him more of what happened. But as they run into Lyon’s room, they stop; they see Lena in Lyon’s bed, hiding herself and Lyon covering her, and they both know, even though he wouldn’t mean to, Lyon will strike. They look at each other and know that now, Lyon and Lena have a bond that will not be broken in the matter of eyes or words!

Memory 6

The next morning, Emily and Nathen are in the kitchen. Nathen is reading his morning paper, and Emily is making breakfast. They look at the clock and see that it is almost one o’clock in the afternoon. They look at each other with concern, then they look out the window to Lyon’s bedroom, wondering if they should go and wake them. But Nathen just keeps reading his paper, and Emily keeps making breakfast. As Nathen reads the paper, he sees that what happened last night is in the paper. He calls Emily over, and she looks at the paper with him. They both read what happened, then look at each other. Then they both look back out the window to Lyon’s bedroom with even more concern. Meanwhile in Lyon’s bedroom, Lyon is awake, looking at Lena sleep. Lena still has her head in Lyon’s chest, still hiding her face. Lyon looks at her with concern, then he gently stokes her hair. As Lyon stokes Lena’s hair she, slowly opens her eyes and looks at Lyon half-awake. He looks down at her and grins. She gives him a small smile, then she puts her head back onto his chest. Lyon looks down at her, then he kisses her on the head, then Lyon looks at his door. “Grandma and Grandpa are home,” Lyon gently says. Lena picks up her head and looks at Lyon. “Come on. Let’s get you something to eat,” Lyon says. Then Lyon gets up and slowly moves off his bed, then he walks over to Lena and helps her up. She looks at him, then they take each other’s hands. They walk to the main cottage and into the kitchen. As they walk into the kitchen, they see Emily and Nathen in the kitchen looking at them. Lyon sees that Nathen is reading the morning paper, like he does every morning, but on the front of the paper is what happened last night. Lyon glares at the paper, then he looks at Lena, who starts to move closer to Lyon. She tightens her grip on Lyon’s hand, making him stop glaring at the paper and slightly kiss Lena’s head. “What happened?” Emily concern asks.

Lyon and Lena look at her and Nathen, then they slowly walk over to them, and Lyon slowly tells them what happened last night at the party. As they listen to what happened, they look at Lena who puts her head on Lyon’s shoulder, trying not to show that she’s about to cry. As Lyon tells them what happened, Nathen looks at Lyon seriously. He looks at him like he is studying him and the way his face is. Then after Lyon is done telling them everything, Emily walks over to Lena and hugs her. She is about to stay home, but Lena says she’s okay and that she wants her to go to work. Emily doesn’t fight her because she doesn’t wish to overcrowd her, so she smiles at Lena, then she goes and gets ready for work. Lyon and Lena eat breakfast with Nathen on the side of them, getting Lena to slightly laugh. Lyon doesn’t say much, and Lena can see that he’s not happy. After they’re done with breakfast, Lena and Lyon start to wash the dishes. Lena looks at Lyon slowly. “Um…Lyon,” Lena softly says. “Are we done?” Lyon replies, angry yet calm. “Yeah,” Lena softly replies. “Okay, I’m going to go and get dressed,” Lyon replies in a low angry tone. Then Lyon walks away and heads to his bedroom to get dressed to do the morning chores. Lena watches him walk away and puts her head down. Then she looks back up and follows him. Lyon is only able to take off his shirt before Lena comes walking in. Lyon quickly turns around. “Don’t you knock?” Lyon slightly yells angrily. “I’m sorry.” Lena cries. Lyon pauses for a minute and looks at Lena with confusion, slightly shaking his head. “What are you talking—” Lyon is cut off. “I’m sorry! If it wasn’t for me, we would have never gone to that party. None of this would have happened, and you wouldn’t be mad at me,” Lena cries, yelling. “Wait, you think that I’m mad at you?” Lyon asks.

Lena looks up at him and nods her head. Lyon walks over to her and pulls her close to him, hugging her. Lena wraps her arms around his shoulders, and Lyon wraps her arms around her waist, holding her tight. “Lena, I’m not mad at you,” Lyon gently says. “But you—” Lena is cut off. “I’m mad because I wasn’t there to keep you safe…from the start. Just like that time at the video store. Lena, I hate seeing you cry,” Lyon gently replies. Lyon kisses her on the head, and Lena holds him tighter. Then Nathen comes to Lyon’s bedroom door and knocks on it. “Lyon, Raphael is here to see you,” Nathen says. Lyon looks at his door and glares at it, then he looks at Lena, and she looks up at him. He wipes the tears from her cheek, then he goes to put on his gray-andblack sweater vest. Then he walks out of his room and to the main cottage, with Lena next to him, holding his hands. Lyon walks into the kitchen and looks to his left and sees Raphael standing in the front doorway. Lyon glares at him, then he looks at Lena, and she tells him that she’s going to take a shower. Lyon watches her go into the bathroom, then he looks back at Raphael and glares at him. He slowly walks over to him with his arms crossed, then Emily comes downstairs. “Okay, Lyon, if you need anything, don’t wait to call me,” Emily says. “Lena, you too.” “Okay!” Lena yells back from the bathroom. Then Emily leaves. She says hello to Raphael as she leaves. Raphael nods at her, then she takes off. Then Raphael looks back at Lyon, whose face is still glaring at him. Raphael gives him a guilty glare, then he looks at the bathroom that Lena’s in. “Is she—” Raphael is cut off. “Fine? No,” Lyon replies angrily.

“Lyon, I get that you’re angry. But you can’t be angry at me. I didn’t know that was going to happen. No one could have known that was going to happen,” Raphael slightly yells. Lyon just stares at him. “How are your little parties supposed to be, Raphael,” Lyon calmly asks. “How…what do you mean,” Raphael asks in turmoil. “Unless your name is on the list or you have been invited, you are not allowed in the party, isn’t that right?” Lyon calmly replies in an angry tone. Raphael stares at him for a minute, shocked, and slowly looks down to the floor, then slowly nods his head. Lyon slowly but angrily nods his head. “Yeah, so you tell me, Raphael, how a wanted guy gets into your party…without an invite or listed name,” Lyon asks in a deep, angry tone. Raphael pauses; he can’t think of any words that will ease Lyon’s mind. ing that Lena was once surrounded by five guys before, Lyon was able to get to her, but this time, it went too far for Lyon. “Lyon, I get it. I should have been paying more attention. And I know you have this thing for Lena that makes you get all angry—” Raphael says. “Wait a minute, I don’t have a thing for Lena. Where did you get that idea?” asks Lyon. Raphael looks at him, almost about to laugh. “Lyon, tell me you’re joking.” Lyon shakes his head no and looks at Raphael with a blank look. “Okay, you can look at me like that, but I know you. And I know that you have a thing for Lena. It’s all over your face when you look at her. And I saw you two at the party dancing all close, laughing, and smiling.” Raphael laughs. Lyon’s face doesn’t change, and Raphael looks at him. “Go home, Raphael,” Lyon calmly says.

Raphael and Lyon grin at each other, and Lyon shakes his head. Raphael then walks over to the front door, slowly opening it. But then he stops halfway out of the door and looks back at Lyon, who looks up at him. “Don’t take forever to tell her how you feel. She’s a beautiful girl in and out. Don’t walk away from her, and I’m sure she feels the same.” Raphael slowly walks out the door and down the porch. As Raphael comes off the porch and turns to the road, there is Daniel, texting on his phone, not looking at Raphael, just keeping his eyes on his phone. “Well, look at that. I didn’t have to go in and save you. Is everything all squared away now?” Daniel calmly asks. Raphael looks at him with a grin. “Yeah, everything is all good now,” Raphael replies. Daniel looks at him. “Good, now keep it that way. Being on Lyon’s bad side is not…a good thing.” Raphael looks at Daniel, then he looks back at Lyon’s cottage, slowly nods his head as he looks back at Daniel. Then Daniel and Raphael slowly head back into town. Meanwhile Lyon is on the couch, watching TV, thinking to himself what Raphael said.

Flashback

Don’t take forever to tell her how you feel. She’s a beautiful girl in and out. Don’t walk away from her, and I’m sure she feels the same.

End Flashback

Lyon shakes his head. “I don’t have feelings for her,” Lyon says to himself. “You don’t have feelings for who?” Lena asks from behind. Lyon quickly turns his head and looks at Lena who is leaning on the back of the couch, smiling at Lyon. Lyon shakes his head, then Lena walks around the couch and sits next to him, looking to see what he’s watching. They both sit there for a few minutes, then Nathen walks in. “Don’t forget, you two, to take care of the animals.” They both turn their heads to look at Nathen. “We won’t, we’re going,” Lyon replies. Nathen grins at both of them. “Okay, well, I have to get going. I’m getting some new supplies today, so I must go. Lena, are you sure you’re okay?” asks Nathen. “Yeah, I’m fine. Plus I have Lyon here with me. I’m not going anywhere right now,” Lena replies, smiling. Nathen nods his head, grinning, then he takes off. Lyon and Lena watch Nathen leave the cottage and hear him drive off. They look at each other, then they slowly get up to go and take care of the animals. Lyon sees the truck pulling up with the new hay, and Lena is right next to him, then Lena walks over to the horse stables, Shadow with her every step of the way. Lyon sees her with the horses and he grins. Then he goes and helps the truckers take the hay off the truck. Lyon signs the paper. The truckers take off, and Lyon starts to put the new hay away. After Lena finished feeding all the animals, she and Shadow go over to Lyon, who is putting the last hay away. Then Lyon and Shadow get ready to get the cow herd in. Lena stands next to Lyon. “Shadow,” Lyon yells. Shadow quickly stands up and gets ready. “Round them up,” Lyon commands.

Shadow then quickly takes off; he runs over to the cows, barking. Shadow is getting the cows to go back to the barn. The cows slowly head back to the barn. Lyon whistles to Shadow, telling him what way to move the herd. As Shadow is rounding up the herd, Lena looks at Lyon. “Can I ask you something?” Lena calmly asks. Lyon quickly looks at her, then back at Shadow and the herd. “Yeah, sure,” Lyon replies. Shadow brings the cows up to the gate. Lyon and Lena slowly close it and lock it. Lyon looks at Lena and sees that she’s nervous to ask him. “Lena, you can ask me. I’m not going to bite you,” Lyon gently says. Lena looks at him and gives him a small smile, then she nods her head. “Okay, um…can you teach me?” Lyon looks at her with small confusion, slightly shaking his head. “Teach you what?” Lyon asks. Lena pauses for a minute, then she takes a small but deep breath. “Can you teach me how to defend myself?” Lyon looks at her with small shock, then he looks at her with concern. “Lena, why do you—” Lyon stops himself. “Because…I’m scared. I’m still scared…and I don’t want to feel like this anymore. I don’t know why people are seeing me as a target, but I don’t want to feel like this every time they do. Please, Lyon, please…please.” Lena cries. Lyon looks at her with sadness, then he walks over to her and hugs her, gently wraps his arms around her waist, and Lena gently wraps her arms around his shoulders. She cries on his chest. Lyon gently puts his head on her head. “Okay, I will. I’ll teach you,” Lyon gently replies. Later that day, Lyon and Lena stand in the field right across from the cottage.

Lyon and Lena are standing across from each other, only a foot away from each other. Lyon is wearing a black muscle shirt with light black sweatpants so he doesn’t over sweat. Lena is wearing a girl gray wifebeater shirt with light black sweatpants also. “Okay, first thing we need to do is to get you out of your fear,” Lyon explains. “Okay,” Lena slowly replies. Lyon walks over to her, slowly walks behind her. “Do you trust me?” Lyon asks, walking behind her. Lena nods her head. “Yes.” Lyon then slowly puts a blindfold over Lena’s eyes, making Lena slightly jump. Lyon doesn’t stop, he just keeps gently tying the blindfold. Lyon can feel that she’s starting to shake. He looks down at her left hand. Then Lyon softly whispers in her ear, “Just listen to the sound of my voice.” Lena nods her head and slowly stops shaking. Lyon then walks from behind her and walks back in front of her. The second he walked away from her, she begins to shake again; all she can hear is the first time she was cornered at the video store, then last night at the party. They just keep playing over and over in her head. Lyon watches her for a minute, then he takes a small deep breath. “Let it go,” Lyon says softly. Tears fall from Lena’s eyes as she shakes her head. “I can’t…I can’t.” Lena cries. “Yes, you can…just listen to my voice. Forget it all…and just listen…listen to my voice, Lena. I’m right here. All you have to do is let it go and listen,” Lyon calmly says. As Lyon keeps telling Lena to listen to his voice, she slowly stops shaking. Lena is thinking about all the time she and Lyon have spent together. All the times they watched TV, all the times they had to cook dinner or call for dinner, the first time they danced together, all the times he smiled at her, the first time they met. Lena starts to breathe normally. Lyon grins, then he slowly walks back over to

the front of her and gently removes the blindfold. She slowly opens her eyes and looks up at Lyon, who is grinning at her. “Good.” Lyon grins. Lena smiles with joy and relief. “Okay, next we will work on your balance and strength,” Lyon explains. Lena nods her head. Lyon then takes two types of weights out: the wrist and ankle sand weights. Lyon gently puts them around Lena’s wrists and ankles. “These are heavy,” Lena says, trying to hold her wrists up. Lyon looks up ay her. “Lena, they’re only ten pounds each,” Lyon replies. “That’s a lot,” Lena replies, still trying to hold her wrists up. “No, it’s not,” Lyon replies. “Yes, it is,” Lena answers. Lyon stares at her for a minute, then he shakes his head. “Well, too bad. That’s what we are working with,” Lyon says. Lena pouts while Lyon puts her left ankle weight on. As Lyon is putting the ankle weight on, Lena looks down at him, looking how his back muscles show, looking at his broad back muscles. She breathes heavy, then she quickly shakes her head, then looks at the field. Lyon slowly stands up and looks at Lena who slowly turns her head to him. Then Lyon slowly backs up, leaving a few feet between them. Lena looks at the weights, then at Lyon who is grinning at her, but his grin makes her a little nervous. “Okay, now this is going to be fun,” Lyon says. Lena looks at him like he has lost his mind. As the day goes on, Lyon has Lena jogging through the woods with him. They have been jogging through the woods for about three hours. Lena has fallen about five times, and every time she falls, Lyon has her do ten push-ups. They

keep jogging through the woods, and every time they the cottage, Lena tries to make a run for it. But Lyon gently grabs her by the waist and turns her back to the woods’ path. The first time, he had put her over his shoulder and carried her back into the woods. “Lyon, are we done yet?” Lena asks, out of breath. “No,” Lyon replies calmly. “Lyon, it’s been three hours. It’s already starting to get dark,” Lena says, out of breath. Then Lena stops and falls to the ground, sitting. Lyon stops and looks at her; he walks over to her. Lyon slightly laughs, then he sits down in front of her. “You…are…cra—zy,” Lena says, out of breath. Lyon grins and shrugs his shoulders. “You got it easy to what I had when I was six. When I was six, I had to have fifteen-pound weights on my wrist and ankles.” Lyon grins. Lena looks at him with tired shock. Then Lyon slowly gets up and looks down at Lena who is looking up at him. He puts his hand down to her to help her up. She slowly gives him her hand, and he pulls her up off the ground. “Okay, just one more round,” Lyon says. Lena nods her head with a small smile, then they both start jogging their last lap. After they finished their last lap, Lyon and Lena slowly walk back to the cottage. As the walk up the porch steps, Lena gets close to the door, but before Lyon can open it, Lena falls. Lyon quickly catches her and sees that she has fallen sleep. He grins at her, then he picks her up and opens the door; he brings her upstairs to her room and gently puts her down on the bed and pulls the covers over her. Then he goes downstairs to take a shower. After Lyon comes out of the shower, he goes to his room, and as he opens the door, he stops. For there lying on his bed, fast asleep, is Lena. He looks at her for a minute, then he shakes his head with a small grin. “When did she even get down here?” Lyon says to himself.

He walks over to his walk-in closet and closes the door behind him. After about three minutes, Lyon comes out of his closet and has a white muscle shirt on and basketball shorts. He walks to the other side of his bed and slowly lies down. As he puts his head back and begins to relax, Lena turns over and puts her head on Lyon’s chest. Lyon looks down at her and grins, then he gently wraps his arms around her waist. Then Lyon slowly starts to fall asleep. As Lyon and Lena sleep that night, Emily and Nathen come home at 3:00 a.m. They park their cars in the back and slowly walk up to the cottage. As they walk up to the backdoor, Emily goes to check on Lyon. She slightly opens the door, and there she sees both Lyon and Lena sleeping. She gently closes the door and walks into the main cottage. They walk into the kitchen. Nathen gets the food, and Emily gets the plates. “She is in his room again?” asks Nathen. Emily nods her head as she puts the plates on the table. “Don’t worry so much, she just needs some time,” says Nathen. “Are you still going to sign her up?” “Yeah, if she doesn’t anything, it’s best she doesn’t fall behind,” Emily replies. Nathen nods his head as he makes his and Emily’s plate. They both sit down, say thanks for their food, then start talking about how things are going to work out. The next morning, as the sun sneaks its light into Lyon’s room and slightly onto his face, he slowly opens his eyes. He yawns and looks down at Lena, who is still fast asleep. Lyon gives her a kiss on the head. He slowly moves away from her and gently puts her head on the pillow; he moves the covers back over her. He looks down at her, then he walks to the main cottage into the kitchen. As he walks into the kitchen, he sees Emily and Nathen at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. “Morning,” says Emily as she drinks her coffee. “Morning,” Lyon replies in turmoil. Lyon walks over to the sink and takes a cup out of the strainer, then fills it with

water. He turns and looks at his grandparents, who are slightly grinning at him. Lyon lifts one eyebrow and looks at them like they have gone mad. “Okay, why are you guys looking at me like that?” Lyon asks. “When Lena gets up today, I’m going to take her down to the school,” Emily replies. Lyon just stares at her for a minute with a blank look, then he looks around for another minute. “Lyon, what are you doing?” asks Emily. Emily looks at Lyon like he has lost his mind. “I’m just wondering where the cameras are,” Lyon replies. Emily looks at him like that’s a dumb thing to say. Nathen looks at her, then at Lyon with just a grin, then he shakes his head as he looks down at his coffee cup. “Lyon, I’m just saying that if her memory doesn’t come back by the time school starts, I don’t want her to be too far behind everyone. All she’s going to do is take a test to see what classes she should be in when school starts,” Emily explains. “Yeah, I know. I don’t want her too far behind either. But at the same time, what if she does get her memory back? We went through all of this for nothing,” Lyon replies. “Lyon, I know where you are coming from, but it is nothing but what ifs. It’s best to do something now instead of saying what if later,” Emily replies. Lyon nods his head as he grins at Emily, and she smiles back at him. He shakes his head, then he heads back to his room to get ready for work. As he walks in his room, there is Lena, still fast asleep. He grins at her, then he slowly walks over to her; he kneels on the side of the bed. He gently puts his head down on the bed, looking right at Lena, he looks at her for a minute, then he slowly stands up and kisses her on the side of her head. He gently strokes her hair, then he walks over to his closet and pulls out his work clothes. After he put on his clothes for work, Lena slowly starts to wake up; she looks around, and there she sees Lyon getting dressed. Lyon heard his bed creak, making him slowly turn

around as he puts his shirt on. He sees that Lena is awake; they look at each other. Lyon grins at her, and Lena gives him a smile but still half-asleep. Lyon walks over to her. “Morning,” Lyon says. “Morning,” Lena replies. Lyon sits on the bed in front of Lena. Lena puts her hand on her mouth as she yawns. Lyon slightly laughs, and Lena looks at him. “How long was I sleeping for?” Lena asks. “Well, I can answer that when you tell me when you came down into my room and into my bed,” Lyon replies. Lena looks at him with shock, then she looks around, sees that she’s in Lyon’s bed, she slowly looks back at Lyon. “I have no idea, why?” Lena asks. “Because, Lena, I put you in your room last night. Then I went to take a shower, and when I came into my room, here you were in my bed, as you can see,” Lyon replies. Lena doesn’t reply; she just covers her face and leans forward on the bed, putting her face into the bed. Lyon grins while slightly laughing and sees that Lena is also laughing. “Well, I have to go. I’m going to be late for work. Do you still want me to pick you up at the video store after my shift?” Lyon asks. Lena just slowly nods her head yes, still with her head in the bed, and Lyon just starts laughing, making Lena laugh even more. “Okay, I have to go, I’ll see you later. Now get up,” Lyon says. Lyon gets off the bed and walks to the bedroom door. After Lyon leaves the room, Lena picks her head up and slowly gets out of the bed. As she gets out of bed, she sees that she still has last night’s clothes on. She pouts for a minute,

then she goes to get something to eat. As she walks into the kitchen, she sees Emily and Nathen at the table. She says her hellos and good mornings, then she looks at Emily, who calls her. Emily then tells her that she wants her to go with her to the school and sign up to attend in the fall. Lena is not sure at first, but after she explains why she should go, Emily feels like she has déjà vu. For Lena says the same things as Lyon had, making Emily repeat everything she had told Lyon to Lena, making Lena understand. So after Lena finished eating, she and Emily head down to the school. Nathen watches them go, then he goes and gets ready for work. Emily and Lena get to the school, and there standing in front of the school’s main doors is the principal of the school. His name is Mr. Jones. He’s in his late forties, light-skinned, 5'8" tall, very short thin brown hair, brown eyes. He’s wearing a gray suit, white shirt, with a blue tie. Lena slowly gets out of the car and walks over to Emily. She looks at Emily, and they both slowly walk up to the principal. “Hi, Mr. Jones. How are you today?” asks Emily as she shakes hands. “Hi, Emily. I’m good, how about you?” Mr. Jones replies, shaking Emily’s hands. “I’m doing well myself,” Emily replies. “And who might this be?” asks Mr. Jones. “Oh yes, this is Lena. The one I told you about,” Emily replies. “Oh yes, you’re the one Lyon found in the riverbank. How is Lyon doing? Is he going to go this year, or is he just going to stay home, like always?” Mr. Jones asks. “He’s doing good, still working. And you know he’s not going, he never does,” Emily replies. Lena looks at the both of them with confusion, then they all start walking into the school. As they walk into the school, Mr. Jones tells Lena that all she has to do is take a test to find out what class level she is going to be in. As they head to the classroom, Lena starts to get nervous, for Emily will not be in the room with

her. Emily sees that she’s getting nervous, but she tells Lena that she knows and that both his sons come to this school. And she doesn’t have to be nervous around him, and if she needs her, she’ll be right outside. Lena slowly walks into the classroom, looking at Emily the whole time she walks into the classroom. She sits in the classroom, and he gives her a test packet. Lena looks at it with slight shock and takes a deep breath. She slowly opens the test packet and starts to answer the questions. Emily waits for her outside the room, and Mr. Jones is in the room with her, reading the paper at the teacher’s desk. As Lena is taking this test, she answers the questions as if she’s seen them before. After about an hour, Lena closes her test packet and slowly walks up to Mr. Jones. He looks at her with shock, then at the test packet. “You’re done?” asks Mr. Jones. “Yes,” Lena slowly replies. Mr. Jones takes the test packet from Lena and slowly begins to grade it. As Mr. Jones is grading Lena’s test packet, he looks up at her with shock. After Mr. Jones finishes correcting Lena’s test packet, he walks over to the door and calls Emily into the classroom. Emily walks into the class room and looks at him and Lena. “She…got 98.5 percent,” Mr. Jones says. Lena and Emily look at him with shock. Just as Lena is about to say something, she sees the time and sees that she’ll be late for work. Mr. Jones tells her that she will get her classes when she comes back, she just has to go to the main office first to find out her homeroom. Lena nods her head with joy, then she thanks Mr. Jones and Emily, then quickly runs to the video store. They both laugh, then Mr. Jones looks at Emily. “That’s not just a beautiful young girl, she is also one of the smartest students that I’ll have in this school. She’s the second student to finish this packet in an hour and the second student to get this high of a score. The only one student to get this high of a score is your grandson, Lyon, with a perfect 100 percent,” Mr. Jones explains. Emily looks at him and smiles with joy. “Well, then I guess I’ll be seeing you around—for two students.” Emily laughs.

Mr. Jones laughs, then Emily slowly gets up. They shake hands, then Emily heads to work. Lena makes it just in time for work, but like always, the manager makes Lena close down the store. But today, Lena doesn’t let it get to her; she’s just so happy to be upset, so for the rest of the day and night, Lena smiles. Then around 9:55 p.m., Lyon walks in the store and sees that Lena is getting ready to close the store. She locks the door to go into the store, then she runs back to the counter to cash everyone that’s left out. Lyon watches her work and sees that she has a glowing smile on her face and that she has no idea that he is there. After she cashes the last customer out, she goes to lock the door; she looks to see if Lyon is outside, waiting for her, but she doesn’t see him. She locks the door, then she slowly turns around. “You know—” Lyon says. Lena cuts him off with a scream, causing Lyon to start laughing. Lena puts her hand to her chest and looks at Lyon like she wants to hit him. Lena then slowly walks over to him. “That’s not funny,” Lena says, slightly out of breath. Lyon just nods his head yes and shrugs his shoulders. Lena shakes her head. As Lena is counting the money, Lyon is sitting on the counter, watching her; he grins at her. Lena can feel his eyes on her, making her slowly smile. “Stop watching me,” Lena says smiling. “Sure, as soon as you stop being mad at me,” Lyon replies. “No,” Lena replies with a smile still. “Really,” Lyon says. Lena doesn’t say anything. Lyon then jumps down from the counter and walks behind her. Lena stops counting the money, for she feels Lyon’s chest on her back. He slowly and gently puts his hands on her waist. Then he puts his chin on her left shoulder. Lena, just with her eyes, looks at him. Then she looks back at the money with a look on her face, like she’s about to melt. Lyon wraps his arms around Lena’s waist, making Lena put the money down. She slowly puts her hand on Lyon’s arms,

“You still mad at me?” Lyon whispers in Lena’s ear. Lena pauses for a minute. “No,” Lena softly replies. Lyon looks at Lena’s smooth tan skin, then he looks at her neck. He slowly moves closer, then he says in her ear, “Then finish counting that money and let’s go,” Lyon quickly says. Lyon says that, then he quickly moves from behind Lena and walks around the counter, and goes to look at the movies. Lena looks at him with a laughing glare, then she slowly starts to finish counting the money. As she finishes counting the money, Lyon looks at her. He puts his hand on his head and takes a deep breath. After about ten minutes, Lena has finished counting the money and shut down everything. Lyon waits for her at the backdoor. Lena shuts all the lights off and sets the alarm. As she and Lyon walk home, they talk about their day. “Oh, you have no idea. This old man had me, Daniel, and Raphael rolling today. He didn’t know what he was talking about. All he did was yell and yell at the three of us. We were trying so hard not to laugh at him. Then we finally were able to tell him that all he needs is his brake lights replaced.” Lyon laughs. Lena is laughing at his story so hard that she can hardly breathe to the point that she starts to get tears in her eyes. “So other than me getting yelled at today, how was your day?” Lyon asks. “Oh my god, I completely forgot—Lyon, Lyon,” Lena yells with excitement. “What, what?” Lyon is laughing. “I went to the school today, and I had to take a test,” Lena replies. “Okay, and what happened?” Lyon asks. “I got a 98.5 percent on the test,” Lena replies with joy. “Wow, so you can go to school?” Lyon asks with joy. Lena nods her head with excitement, then she jumps on Lyon to hug him, and he catches her also with a hug. He gently puts her down. Lena looks up at him, still

jumping up and down. And she jumps up and down back into Lyon’s arms. Lyon, laughing, looks at Lena, happy for her excitement. They walk home, still talking about their day, as they walk up the path getting in sight of the cottage. “You know, there’s one thing I’m trying to figure out,” Lena says. Lyon looks at her. “Yeah, what’s that?” “He said I got the second-highest score in the school,” Lena replies. “Yeah, you got 98.5 percent, but I got 100.100 percent,” Lyon replies. Lena looks at Lyon with shock, then he runs into the cottage, and she runs after him, both of them laughing. As they run into the kitchen, Lyon turns around, gently grabs her wrist to spin her around, and pull her back to him with her back to his chest. They both start laughing, then they look and see that Emily and Nathen are watching them. They quickly move away from each other, looking like nothing happened. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they walk in different directions. Lyon goes to his room, and Lena goes to her room. Emily and Nathen watch them walk away from each other, then they look at each other and slightly laugh. After about twenty minutes, Lena and Lyon come out of their rooms and back to the kitchen. They sit at the table, looking like nothing happened. Emily and Nathen look at them, making Lyon and Lena up at them; they look at each other, then back at Emily and Nathen. “Why are you guys looking at us like that?” asks Lyon. Emily and Nathen look at each other, then look back at Lyon and Lena, just smiling. Then they start to walk out of the kitchen and into the living. Lyon and Lena watch them walk into the living room, then they look at each other and shrug their shoulders. Lena sleeps in her room that night. The next morning, she goes downstairs, and the first place she goes is into the kitchen. She takes two plain bagels and cuts both of them in half; she puts them into the toaster. Lyon wakes up, and he also goes into the kitchen; he walks over to the cabinet and pulls out two plain tall glass cups and plates. He goes over to the refrigerator, pulls out SunnyD. He gently pours it into the glass cups, and Lena slowly takes the two plates from

him and walks back over to the toaster. Then she walks over to the refrigerator and takes out the strawberry jelly and cream cheese. Lyon then takes the strawberry jelly and cream cheese; he puts the jelly on one bagel and the cream cheese on the other bagel. As Lyon is getting the bagel ready, Lena is getting the napkins for them and puts the glass cups on the table. Lena then sits down and divides the newspaper between her and Lyon. Lyon reads the sport and newspapers, and Lena reads the weather and horoscope. As Lena is dividing, she looks up at Lyon, and Lyon looks at her. “We do this every morning when your grandparents leave early.” Lena smiles. Lyon grins at her. “Okay, and what’s that?” “This—we both get up, come into the kitchen. I get food ready, you come and get the plates and drinks. Then you do the final touch-ups to the food, and I get the table ready and divide the paper, and we never say good morning to each other,” Lena explains with a smile. Lyon looks at her, trying not to laugh, and Lena starts laughing. Lyon slightly laughs, then he shakes his head as he finishes up the bagels. Then he gives Lena her plate with the bagel on it with strawberry jelly. Lyon has the cream cheese. Lyon walks around the table and sits next to Lena, who is still slightly laughing. Lyon looks at Lena, who is drinking her SunnyD. “Good morning, Lena.” Lyon grins. Lena looks at him and smiles. “Good morning, Lyon.” After Lyon and Lena finish their breakfast, they get dressed and head down to work. Lyon walks Lena to her job at the video store, then he walks down to the car shop. Lena tells Lyon, before he walks away, that she gets off early today, making Lyon tell her that he’ll come and get her on his lunch shift. Lena smiles, and Lyon grins, then, with a slight wave of his hand, says bye and continues walking. Lyon gets to the car shop; he puts his hands in his pocket. As he walks to the backdoor, comes a running Raphael with his arms wide open. “Lyon,” Raphael yells. Lyon looks at him, then as Raphael gets closer, Lyon moves out of the way. Raphael runs right by him and hits the fence and falls on the ground. Lyon

slightly turns and looks at him. Raphael lies on the ground, looks up at the sky, with his arms and legs spread out. Lyon then looks at Daniel, who is walking over to him. “Why is he yelling my name and running at me?” Lyon asks calmly. Daniel looks at him, then they both look at Raphael and shake their heads. “Raphael is having a happy morning. He got a girl to do a double date with him, so he’s been doing it all morning to everyone that has come in,” Daniel explains calmly. Both Daniel and Lyon have plain looks on their faces as they look at Raphael on the ground with a large smile on his face. They shake their heads, then they turn and walk into the car shop. “So what are we working on today?” Lyon asks. “Oh, we’re working on an SUV. Their engine keeps breaking down on them,” Daniel explains. As Daniel and Lyon walk away, Raphael looks at them. He quickly rolls over and gets up and runs after Lyon and Daniel. “Hey, why did you two leave me!” Raphael yells with excitement. Lyon and Daniel just keep walking, while Raphael runs to get up to them. Lyon and Daniel work the SUV; Lyon works on the engine, and Daniel works under the SUV. After about four and a half hours, Lyon looks at the clock and sees that Lena is going to be getting out of work in ten to twenty minutes. So he tells his boss that he’s going to pick up Lena and that he’ll be right back. Lyon’s boss nods his head, and Lyon slowly takes off. As Lyon walks to the back of the video store, he sees Lena locking up the store. Lyon slowly walks up to Lena from the back and slowly wraps his arms around her. Lena slightly jumps and screams, then she starts laughing. Lyon laughs, then he grins at her. Lena slowly turns around and looks at him; she gives him a small smile. Lyon just grins at her. “You all set, ready to go?” Lyon asks.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Lena replies. Lyon slowly removes his arms from Lena’s waist, then he starts walking. Lena looks at her waist, then at Lyon. She gets a look of disappointment on her face as she looks down at the ground. “Lena, come on,” Lyon says. Lena looks up at him and smiles. “Coming,” Lena says. Lena then walks over to Lyon, and they both head back to the car shop. As they come up to the car shop, everyone sees that Lena is coming with Lyon to the car shop. They all yell her name, and she smiles at them. She walks over to Daniel and Raphael; she gives them both a hug, then she sees Mya is also at the car shop. She walks over to her and sits on the couch with Mya and talk. Lyon and Daniel look at Lena and Mya, then they both continue to work on the SUV. “So when are you and Lena going to be more than just friends?” Daniel asks, making Lyon drop his tool, then look down at Daniel. “What?” Lyon asks with confusion. Daniel looks up at him, then he slowly stands up next to him and smiles. “Don’t what me.” Daniel smiles. Daniel then gently grabs Lyon’s shoulders and turns him around to look at Mya and Lena. Lyon looks at him, and Daniel looks at him. “Look at her. The way you two look at each other,” Daniel explains. “Not funny and not going to happen,” Lyon replies. “Why not,” Daniel asks. “Because she has no memory. How do I know that she doesn’t belong to anyone already? Plus say I do, that we do become something. When her memory comes back and her family, she’s going to leave. I’ve had enough people leave me,” Lyon replies in a deep but calm tone. Daniel doesn’t say anything, then Lyon walks away and goes to the office. He

sits down on the couch and puts his hand to his head, covering it. He takes deep breaths, but then after about ten to twenty minutes, Lena comes into the office. Lyon takes his hand off his head and looks up at Lena. “Are you okay?” Lena gently asks, concerned. Lyon doesn’t say anything; he just looks down at the floor. Lena looks down at him. “Okay, um…if you want to talk I’m here, okay?” Lena then slowly closes the door and stands there for about a few seconds, then she walks back over to Mya. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he puts his hand back over his face. Lyon has been in the office for about three hours. While Lyon is in the office, Daniel tells Raphael what happened. “Okay, I get where you’re coming from, but at the same time, I also get where Lyon’s coming from. It’s getting close to that time of the year. People are already starting to put things up. He’s not in a good place right now. Just give him some space, you know how he is. He’s been like that since we were little,” Raphael calmly explains. Daniel nods his head calmly, then he and Raphael look at the office. Then they head back to work. Lena looks at Daniel and Raphael, then she looks at the office. Then after another three hours, the car shop is getting ready to close, and Lyon still hasn’t come out of the office. Lena looks at the office, then she looks at everyone getting ready to punch out. She then quickly walks over to the office and gently opens the door. As she walks in, she sees that Lyon has fallen asleep; she walks over to him and gently shakes him. “Lyon, Lyon, wake up,” Lena quietly yells. Lyon slowly opens his eyes, then he quickly gets up. “What time is it?” Lyon quickly asks. “It’s closing time. You’ve been in here for about six hours,” Lena replies. “Great,” Lyon says angrily. Then he gets up and quickly leaves the office. Lena watches him walk away,

then she quickly follows him. Lyon punches out and takes off, and Lena follows him, trying to keep up with him, but Lyon doesn’t slow down. As they walk through the town, Lena sees that everyone is putting up pictures and one name. The whole town is doing it, “Hey, Lyon, are you coming this year?” asks the baker. Lyon glares at him, then he keeps walking. Lena looks at him, then at the baker. Lena looks at the baker, then at everything that the town is putting up and wonders why Lyon doesn’t seem to like it. As Lyon and Lena walk up the pathway to the cottage, Lena is trying to get Lyon to talk to her. All the way up to the cottage, Lyon doesn’t say anything to Lena until they get to the cottage. Lyon storms into the cottage, and Lena walks in behind him. They walk all the way into the kitchen before Lyon snaps. “Lyon,” Lena gently yells. “Lena, stop, okay. Just stop…just give me some space!” Lyon yells. Then Lyon storms away and goes right to his room. Lena stands in the kitchen, then she slightly jumps when she hears Lyon slam his door. She doesn’t do anything; all she does is walk up to her room and gently closes her door.

*****

Three days have ed, and Lyon has not come out of his room, not once. Lena goes downstairs and sees Emily and Nathen getting ready to leave. “What’s going on?” Lena asks with confusion. “Oh, Lena, we have to get going. We’re already late, but after you’re done eating, maybe you will us downtown. Okay, see you in a little bit,” Emily says. Then she and Nathen take off without giving Lena much of a chance to ask about what’s going on in town. Lena then looks out the window to Lyon’s room. She

takes a deep breath, then she gets up and walks over to Lyon’s room. She stands outside the door for a minute, then she quickly opens the door. Lyon, who is lying on his bed with his right hand covering his face, looks up at her. “Go away, Lena, not now,” Lyon says in an angry but low tone. Lyon puts his hand back on his pillow and puts his hand back over his face. Lena takes a slight deep breath. “No,” Lena replies. Lyon looks at her, like he can’t believe she said that. Then he leans up, looking at Lena with a slight glare and shakes his head at her. “I’m not going anywhere till you tell me what’s going on,” Lena demands. Lyon pauses for a minute. “No, I don’t have to tell you anything,” Lyon angrily replies. Lena glares at him. “Okay, that may be true. But you’ve been in this room for the last three days, not once have you come out. I’m not asking a lot, I’m just asking as your friend, for you to tell me what’s wrong,” Lena yells, tearing up. Lyon shakes his head, then he quickly gets off his bed and walks over to Lena. She looks up at him, but then he walks around her. Lena then quickly runs in front of him and blocks the door. Lyon looks at her. “No, not till you tell me what’s wrong,” Lena says. “Lena, move,” Lyon demands. “No,” Lena replies. “Lena—” Lyon is cut off. “Stop taking everyone’s pain. Ever since I’ve been here, all you have done is take my pain and put it on your shoulders. For once, Lyon, put some of your pain on me, tell me what happened,” Lena asks with her tears slowly falling. “Lena, don’t ask, come on,” Lyon says.

Lyon walks back over to his bed; he puts his left hand on his hip and the other hand on his head. Lena slowly moves away from the door and walks over to Lyon, and for the first time, she sees that Lyon is in pain. Lyon looks down at her, and Lena slowly wraps her arms around him, hugging him. Lyon hugs her back, hiding his face on her right shoulder. “If you really want to know, my mom died thirteen years ago on this day,” Lyon says.

Memory 7

Lena looks at Lyon with shock, and Lyon has a look of pain on his face. Lyon then sits on his bed, and Lena sits next to him. Lena gently puts her hand on the side of Lyon’s head, then she slowly runs it through his hair. As Lena slowly moves her hand through Lyon’s hair, he looks at her with deep sadness in his eyes and all over his face. Lena looks at him like she’s about to cry. Lyon then looks back down at the floor, then he slowly looks back at Lena, who is still looking at him the same. “Tell me,” Lena gently asks. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he slowly tells Lena what happened. “I guess you can say it all started when my mom found out she was going to have a baby, me. She told my dad, but he didn’t want a baby, so he told her to get rid of me. My dad wasn’t faithful to my mom. She didn’t know how many women he had. So she didn’t do it, as you can see. She divorced my dad and came back here to have me. When my mom told my grandparents that she’s going to have me, they were so happy that they didn’t know what to do. For six months, they just kept getting things ready for me to come, but that’s when it got even worse. My mom went for her checkup, and that’s when the doctor told her that she’s sick. My grandma was in the room with her when the doctor told her that if she keeps going with the pregnancy, she could die. They told her that she needed to have a C-section right away and hope that I’ll live. And my mom didn’t accept that, so she told the doctor that she would have me the right way and both would live. My grandma looked at her with joy but sadness. They told my grandpa, who was waiting for them outside. He didn’t say anything to her. All he did was smile, gave her a hug, then they headed back home. “For the next three months, my mom acted like she’s not sick. Everyone in town knew. But that didn’t stop her. They looked at her like she’s a hero. Then the time came I was born. They checked me to see if I was sick, but they said I was healthy, and my mom smiled with joy. She raised me for four years, and for those four years, I was always with her. She showed me music, how to sketch, to ride. It was on the same horse as her, but it didn’t bother me.

“But then four months after my birthday, she was taken to the hospital. My grandma took me to her room, and there she was, she looked so pale and sick. But when she saw me, she smiled like nothing was wrong. I slowly walked over to her, and my grandpa put me on the bed, and I…sit next to her. She gently put her hand on my face, and I began to cry, like I already knew. I put my head down on her lap, and she slowly ran her fingers through my hair, like she always did to help me relax—my hair was really long. She never wanted to cut it, she liked my long braids, and all she did was feathercut it after she washed it. As we sat there, she just started singing to me, the first song she ever wrote for someone was me. That song always put me to sleep, but when I woke up, she was gone. I looked around, trying to find her, but I couldn’t. My grandma and grandpa come into the room and saw that I was awake. I saw that both of them had been crying. They walked over to me and held me in their arms. I didn’t move, I was frozen. “The following week, we…we put her to rest up on that hill, under that big old tree where she liked to sketch the horses run, where I took a nap on her lap, and the sun just shines. After that, I became angry. After we left, I never went back up there. I didn’t talk to anyone, I stayed away from everyone. So when I turned five, my grandpa decided to teach me different types of fighting styles to control my anger. “When I started to go to school, that’s when I ran into Daniel and Raphael. At first, I didn’t want anything to do with anyone in my class. But then one day, close to the end of the school year, Raphael came up to me and just started talking to me. I looked at him like I didn’t care what he was talking about, but that didn’t work. Raphael just kept talking to me and followed me everywhere. Then I met Daniel. And that’s when I found out that they are cousins. But at that time, I just didn’t care. They knew who I was because I was in the martial arts tournament. I won without getting hit once. Raphael kept trying to talk to me repeatedly. “Then one day, after school, Raphael started to follow me. Daniel was trying to get him to leave me alone, but Raphael didn’t do that. So I stopped walking and turned to him and started listening to what he was saying to me, but after that, I looked at him with a plain look on my face, and all I said to him was, ‘Are you done?’ After that Raphael started talking again. Daniel then grabbed him by the ear and pulled him away. “Two years after that, I couldn’t get Raphael to leave me alone. Daniel told me

that it’s because I replied to him. So then I stopped fighting him and slowly became friends. Every year they go to the town for my mom. But I don’t. That’s when they found out that every year, it’s my mom that they are ing. The first year we truly became friends, they tried to get me to go, but when I said no, they stopped asking me after that. My grandparents never asks me to go, they just let me stay home. Today is not going to last long anyway. It rains every year. I’m so sorry that I yelled at you…you didn’t know,” Lyon explains. Lena looks at him, then she slowly moves closer to him, then he looks at her. She gently puts her head on his shoulder, making him put his head on her head. “It’s okay. I’m so sorry,” Lena gently says. They look at each other. “You need to stop, though,” Lena says softly. “What?” Lyon says with confusion. “You’re blaming yourself for what happened to your mom. The only thing you can blame yourself for…is that you made her sunshine happy. That you gave her something to fight for…that’s what you can blame yourself for.” Lena very slightly smiles. Lyon looks at her, still with pain. “It’s just—” Lyon is cut off. “No.” Lena then gets up and kneels down in front of Lyon. “You gave her life.” Lyon looks at her. “Have you ever thought that…it rains every year because you don’t go to see her? Maybe she’s crying. Maybe…she thinks that you’re mad at her or something,” Lena says. “I’m not mad at my mom,” Lyon replies softly. Lena looks at him for a minute, then gives him a soft smile. “Then go tell her that…go see your mom! And tell her thank you!” Lena then slowly stands up and puts her hand out to Lyon. Lyon looks at her hand, then up at her. He gently takes her hand, then Lena and Lyon slowly walk out of his room, through the cottage, and up the hill to where Lyon’s mom is. As

they walk up the hill, a little more than halfway, Lena stops. Lyon turns his head and looks at her. She looks at him and smiles, then with just her head, she tells him to go. Lyon does a double take between Lena and the hill, then Lyon slowly keeps walking up the hill, and Lena stays behind. She sits under a tree to hide from the sun and watches Lyon walk up the hill. Lyon walks up the hill, and then he stops, for there he sees his mom’s grave. There under the large tree that his mom and he would always sit under is her grave. The sun shines right on it. He pauses for a minute, then he slowly moves closer to it, thinking of all the things that he and his mom had done together. As he gets closer to her grave, he stops and sits across from it. Lyon stares at her grave for a long time before he says anything. He looks upon the grave and reads what it says:

In Memory of Sonja Loving Daughter and Loving Mother Hero and Bringer of Life

Lyon stares at his mother’s grave, just reading it repeatedly. He takes a deep breath, then he looks around, trying not to let it all go. “Hey, Mom,” Lyon says, then pauses. “I’m so sorry that I haven’t…been here in a long time. I just didn’t know how to come here…to see you. I’m angry, Mom, all the time. I know I don’t show it, but I am. I’m mad because you left me… here…alone. I know I have Grandma and Grandpa, but…they’re not you.” Lyon’s voice begins to crack. “I miss you. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. Mom, I wish you were still here with me. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I really wish you can be here…to meet all my friends…and I think I finally found someone. Well, it’s started out funny…I found her in the river near the cottage. She lost her memory, she’s been with us for two and a half months now. Everyone tells me that we should be more by the way we are with each other, but I can’t. What if she has someone back where she is from? I lost you…I can’t lose someone else.” Then the sun shines even more, right on Lyon and his mother’s gravestone. The wind gently blows, making a long tree vine gently touch Lyon’s chest. The vine

touches him right where his heart is. He looks down at his chest, then he looks at his mother’s gravestone. Lyon slightly laughs and smiles with joy. He looks at her gravestone, then up at the sky and sees that not one rain cloud is in sight. Lyon smiles even more and laughs, slowly nodding his head. “I love you too,” Lyon gently says. Then he slowly gets up and looks down at her gravestone; he stares at the stone for a long minute. Then he slowly turns around and starts walking back to Lena, but then he stops and looks back at her grave. Lyon grins. “And, Mom, thank you.” Lyon then continues walking, and the sun shines even more, making him look up to the sky. And at the moment, he knows that she is there and always has been. As he walks down the hill, there he sees Lena under a tree, blowing flower petals off a flower. He smiles at her, and she looks up at him and smiles. She slowly gets up, and Lyon walks over to her. As he gets closer to her, Lena gets a shocked look on her face. Suddenly Lyon hugs her. Lena gently smiles, then she wraps her arms around Lyon and hugs him back. “Thank you,” Lyon says. Lena looks at him, and he looks at her. “Now we’re even.” Lena smiles. “Well, almost.” Lyon looks at her with turmoil. Lena takes Lyon down to the town, but as they come into sights of the town, Lyon stops. Lena takes his hand, then they both slowly walk down the pathway together. Lyon looks around, slightly nervous. Lena looks at him; she gently moves closer to him, then she gives him a kiss on the cheek. Lyon looks at her, and she smiles at him; he just takes a deep breath. Then they both walk into town. As they walk into the town, everyone sees Lyon has come to the festival. There he is with Lena, slightly smiling. Lyon walks over to his grandparents, and they both smile at him. They hug him, then Lyon says his hello to everyone, but then he says goodbye. No one says anything to him as he and Lena start to leave. They all watch Lyon and Lena slowly walk back up the pathway to the cottage. “That’s it…he didn’t even stay for five minutes,” says the baker.

“At least he came,” Emily replies. “Now he’s going to heal,” Nathen continues. They both smile, then everyone goes back to enjoying the festival. As they all enjoy the festival, they see that not one rain cloud is in sight of the sky. Lyon and Lena go back to the cottage and go for a nice horse ride. Lyon and Lena look at each other as they ride. They ride all around the land and all the way down to the lake that they swim in. Their horses are walking around, eating the grass near the lake, while Lyon and Lena are swimming in the lake. Every time Lena splashes, Lyon picks her up and throws her. They are in the lake for about two hours, play-fighting with the horses still nearby. Lyon and Lena slowly start walking out of the lake, and they drain their clothes of the water. They look at each other. “Okay, you know how to splash good. But now it’s time to put you back to work.” Lyon grins. Lena looks at him with confusion but also smiling. Lyon then starts to teach Lena more about fighting again. He starts to teach her how to block when someone is about to hit her and how to watch their body movement to see what they are about to do. They hang around the lake for another two hours, practicing. After Lyon teaches Lena the basic ways of blocking, he then shows her after she blocks, she can flip people over her back. He slowly shows her how to grab someone after she blocks them. “After you block, one…two…three, grab, turn, then flip,” Lyon explains. Lena nods her head. “Okay, but we’re going to work a little more on your strength and your balance. Because by the way you are flipping me, you’re going to fall as you flip me,” Lyon continues explaining. Lena nods her head and smiles. Lyon grins at her, then he looks up at the sky and sees that the sun is going down. They look at each other, then they slowly walk over to the horses and get ready to head back to the cottage. As they ride back to the cottage, and it comes in sight, Lyon and Lena can hear everyone down at the festival. They both stop and look in the direction of the festival. Lyon takes a

deep breath. Lena looks at him, then she slowly moves closer to him. She gently takes his hand, and he looks at her and sees that she’s smiling at him. He grins back at her, then they continue to head back to the cottage. They put the horses back, and they walk into the cottage. They go to their rooms to change out of their wet clothes. After about five to ten minutes, they both come out of their rooms and go into the living room. They sit on the couch; Lyon puts the TV on, and Lena puts her head on Lyon’s shoulder, making him put his head on her head. Lyon stretches his legs out, making his feet sit on the coffee table, and Lena has her legs on the couch. Both of them are watching Kevin Hart, but they end up not watching the whole show, for they start to fall sleep. Late that night, around midnight to 1:00 a.m., Emily and Nathen walk into the cottage and see that Lyon and Lena are fast asleep on the couch. They don’t say anything, then just look at each other. Then Emily grabs a blanket and gently puts it on them. Nathen smiles, Emily looks at him and smiles with tears slowly flowing down her eyes, then they look at the picture on the wall. In that picture is Lyon when he was a baby, when he was first brought home, and his mom holding him on the front porch. Lyon’s mom had beautiful long dark-brown hair, the same colored eyes as Lyon’s green brown, smooth nice light-brown skin, slim body, beautiful smiles, kind and warm. Looked about 5'5" tall and is wearing a long sky-blue summer dress. “Well, look at that, baby girl, your son found someone who brought his mom back. Who brought my Sonja back. Good night, baby.” Emily smiles. More tears fall from Emily’s eyes, Nathen walks over to her and wraps his arms around her waist. She looks at him, then they both head upstairs to bed. They both look down at Lyon and Lena and smile, then they look back at Sonja’s picture. The next morning, Emily and Nathen come downstairs, and they see that Lyon and Lena are still sleeping. Lyon and Lena are still on the couch, haven’t moved once. They don’t do anything; they just walk around them and go into the kitchen. “They must be really tired…they haven’t woken up once,” Nathen says. “Yeah, but leave them be. He came, so…” Emily replies.

Nathen looks at her and smiles. “I know. I’m happy too.” Then Nathen and Emily get ready to leave for work. They take their coffee and bagels then take off to the bar and hospital. An hour after Emily and Nathen leave, Lyon’s eyes slowly begin to open. He looks around and sees that Lena is next to him, still sleeping. He grins at her, then he slowly moves a piece of her hair out of her face. Then he sees that Lena’s eyes are slowly beginning to open. Lena looks up at Lyon and smiles. “Good morning.” Lyon grins. “Good morning,” Lena replies. They stare at each other for a minute, then Lyon slowly gets off the couch and stretches. Lena leans up and stretches as well. Lena then gets up and stands next to Lyon; they look at each other, then they walk into the kitchen. They have their breakfast, then they go to take care of the animals. They didn’t get a truck of hay this week, so Lyon just helps Lena with the animals. They end up giving the horses a wash down since it’s hot out—almost 98 degrees—so they take out all the horses. They only give them the same wash, then they let them run down to the lake, so they can run through the water. Lyon and Lena watch the horses run, then they go to feed the other animals. As Lena feeds the other animals, Lyon goes to take notes on what they have to order for next week. Then he and Lena walk over to the area where the cow herd is in. Lyon calls Shadow over to him. Lena walks over to the gate and slowly unlocks it. Lyon looks down at Shadow, and he looks up at him. “Shadow,” Lyon yells. Shadow quickly stands up and gets ready. “Round them up,” Lyon commands. Shadow then quickly takes off; he runs over to the cows, barking. Shadow is getting the cows to go back to the barn. The cows slowly head back to the barn. Lyon whistles to Shadow, telling him what way to move the herd. Lena grins at them, then as the herd gets close to the gate, she slowly begins to open the gate. The herd slowly runs into the gate without hitting one another. Lena slowly closes the gate and locks it after the last cow walks in. Lyon looks down at Shadow.

“Good boy.” Lyon gently grins. Shadow gently barks back at him, then Lena walks over to Lyon and Shadow; she kneels down in front of Shadow. She smiles at him, then Shadow gives her a kiss. Lena slightly laughs, then she gives Shadow a cookie that she grabs for him. Shadow then goes to lie down on the porch. Lena and Lyon watch Shadow lie down at the porch. They look at each other, then they walk over to the horse stables. They clean out all the stables, then they wash all their brushes. Because of the festival, Lyon doesn’t go into town. Even though he went to the festival yesterday, he doesn’t want everyone to ask him all kinds of questions of why he went this year and if he is going to keep going to the festival. Lena looks at Lyon and slightly smiles, knowing that yesterday was hard enough doing everything that he did in one round. Plus school will be starting in a month, and soccer practice is starting next week. Lena and Lyon still have more things to do around the house; Lyon has to make sure that there is food for the horses, Lena has to water and pull weeds from the garden. About two hours go by before Lyon and Lena stop to have lunch. As they sit on the porch swing, relaxing and having drinks to cool off their bodies, Lyon has his left arm behind Lena’s neck so she can lay her head on his shoulder. As she drinks her soda, she looks at Lyon, who is looking at the horses running in the field like he’s in a trance. “Hey, Lyon, can I ask you something?” Lena asks. Lyon looks down at her. “Yeah, sure,” Lyon gently replies. “Not that’s…I’m not happy about it,” Lena slowly replies. Lyon grins at her, trying not to laugh. “Okay, Lena, just ask me.” “Umm, you’re a year older than me, right?” Lena asks. “Yes, but that’s not your question,” Lyon replies, still grinning. “Well, I guess my question is…why are you in the same grade as me?” Lena slowly asks. Lyon looks at her and slightly laughs. “The school had a bad flood, plus one of

the bio labs exploded. One of the kids in school thought it would be funny to mix different kinds of chemicals.” “Oh my god. Was anyone hurt?” Lena asks with concern. “Lucky enough, no. It was a nice day out that day, so everyone was outside. He was the only one in the building. And that was a good thing because the school…well, we lost just about half of the building. But the kid who thought it would be funny, he’s fine, he just can’t hear out of his right ear,” Lyon replies. “Oh, wow. He’s lucky that’s all he got,” Lena says. “Yeah, he is. So the school was put under huge remodeling. They just told us that we will miss a whole year. They just knocked down the rest of the school, cleaned everything up from the flood and the explosion. So this year, we just relaxed and waited,” Lyon continues. “Wow, sounds like one heck of a year.” Lena laughs. She and Lyon just start laughing, then they look back at the horses. As they look at the horses, Lena puts her head back down on Lyon’s shoulder. They sit there, listening to the trees move to the gentle winds blow. As they sit there, calm and relaxed, Lyon slowly puts his head back while breathing heavily. Lena looks at him, still with her head on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” Lena asks. “Three, two, one! Raphael,” Lyon replies. Lyon slowly leans his head up and looks at the pathway. Lena, keeping her head on Lyon’s shoulder, also looks at the pathway. As they look at the pathway, Lena can hear Raphael’s voice, yelling Lyon’s name over and over. Lyon slowly shakes his head, and Lena slightly laughs. Lyon looks at her, and she looks up at him, both of them look at each other with small smiles. Then they look at the path, for they can hear Raphael’s stomping feet. Raphael then comes running up from around the corner and stops on the porch stairs, out of breath. Lena looks at him, trying not to laugh, and Lyon looks at him with a blank stare while shaking his head. Raphael leans on the porch rail, then he looks up at Lyon and Lena. “What is it, Raphael,” Lyon calmly asks.

Raphael still can’t breathe, then Lyon looks up and sees Daniel walking up the path. Daniel walks up next to Raphael and just looks at him with a plain face and shakes his head. Then he looks up at Lyon and Lena. “Hey, guys, what you two are up to?” Daniel asks with a smile. “Not much, just taking a break. What about you?” Lena replies, smiling. “And why is Raphael out of breath?” Lyon asks. Daniel looks at Lyon, then he looks at Raphael, who is still leaning on the porch railing, out of breath. Daniel stares at Raphael for a minute with a blank look on his face, then he looks at Lyon and Lena. “Raphael is here because he wants to know if you two want to go to the bonfire tonight. Because summer is almost over, school starts soon. Everyone is getting their classes, so he came running to see if you want to go,” Daniel calmly answers. Daniel then looks down at Raphael. “Right?” Raphael slowly nods his head yes. Lyon looks at him. “You know for someone who knows kickboxing, you get out of breath way too quickly. You’re way out of shape,” Lyon calmly says. Raphael looks up at him, then he looks at Daniel who is looking at him the same way. Raphael gives him a plain glance but also friendly, making Lena laugh at the three of them. The three of them look at her; Raphael laughs with her, Daniel slightly laughs, and Lyon grins at her. Lyon then looks at Raphael and Daniel. “I don’t know, you guys,” Lyon gently replies. Daniel and Raphael look at him; Raphael gets a disappointed look on his face, and he looks back and forth at Daniel and Lyon. He looks at Daniel to see if he can talk to Lyon, and he looks at Lyon to see if he’ll change his mind. “Ah, come on, Lyon. We only do this once a year at the end of every summer. It will be fun, mostly since you have someone to go with, right, Lena?” Raphael pouts.

Lyon gives him a plain look, and Lena just smiles at him, then she looks at Lyon who slowly turns his head to her. “Why not? Raphael really wants us to go, and we don’t have to stay long.” Lena smiles. Lyon takes a deep breath, then looks back at Lena. “Fine”—Raphael jumps —“but only for an hour or two. That’s it, Raphael,” Lyon continues. Raphael nods his head, and Lyon just shakes his with a grin. Everyone looks at Raphael jump up and down with joy. Daniel then tells Lena that Mya is also going; Lena smiles. Daniel, Lena, and Lyon talk while Raphael is still jumping with joy. “Okay, well, we’ll see you guys tonight. Lena and I still have to finish things around here,” Lyon says. Lyon and Lena stand up and walk off the porch and slowly head to the back to finish cleaning. But as they are walking, Daniel stops them. “Oh, Lyon, I also came here for another reason. Boss needs you to go to the car shop for a minute. There’s something wrong with one of the cars, and he can’t seem to find what’s wrong,” Daniel explains. “Oh, all right,” Lyon replies, then looks at Lena. “Will you be okay till I get back?” “No, it’s only going to take a minute. So just bring her, no point of her staying here by herself. Plus it’s nice out. It gives you both more of a break, and with everything you two have to do today, you need it.” Daniel smiles. Lyon shrugged his shoulders, and Lena walks with them to the car shop. As they walk to the back of the car shop, everyone is around this one Ford truck. They all turn their heads when they see that Lyon is coming in the backdoor. They all jump up and run over to Lyon. All at once, they tell Lyon what’s going on with the truck. “Guys, guys, one at a time, yes.” Lyon cools them down.

Then Lyon walks past them and walks over to the truck and looks around it to see what everyone is having trouble with. Lyon then takes a deep breath and slowly gets a plain look on his face. He slowly turns his head and looks at everyone; his face changes as he looks at them. “Really…really, though.” Lyon pauses. “You guys are telling me that you can’t figure out what’s wrong with this truck?” Everyone looks at one another with turmoil, then they all look at Lyon and shrug their shoulders, making Lyon look at them like he can’t believe it. He rolls his eyes, then he slowly tells them all to come over to him with his right hand. As they all walk over to Lyon and the truck, he turns around, and they all look down into the engine. “The engine just needs a new pump,” Lyon explains. They all look down, and Lyon is pointing down at the pump. They look at the pump, then at one another, then they all slowly look at Lyon, who is looking at them with a plain look on his face. They all slightly laugh, feeling that they can’t believe they didn’t see it. Lyon, still with that plain look on his face, slowly shakes his head. Lena is standing in the doorway, leaning back, looking at everyone laughing. Lyon looks at her, and she smiles at him, making him have a slight laugh, then he grins. He walks over to Lena, then they head back to the cottage to finish up everything they have to do. As they are walking back, they by the high school. Lena stops and looks at it with concern. Lyon stops and turns around; he sees that Lena is looking at the high school that they will be going to next week. Lyon then slowly walks over to her. “Hey, you okay?” Lyon softly asks. Lena looks at him, then back at the school. “Yes, and no. I don’t know about this school thing next week,” Lena replies. “Why?” Lyon asks. “Because…everyone here knows what happened to me. And they may look at me as if I’m…I don’t know,” Lena nervously replies. Lyon grins at her. “Look, in a way you’re looking at yourself, as if you are a freshman, going to a new school with people you don’t know. But ,

you got me, Daniel, Mya, and Raphael, okay,” Lyon replies. Lena slightly laughs, then she and Lyon continue to walk back to the cottage. Lyon and Lena get back to the cottage and start to work on the rest the chores. As they are working, the sun in the sky slowly starts to lose its light. Lyon looks up at the sky, then he walks over to the barn, and there he looks at Lena. He grins for there he sees Lena with her forehead on the black palomino’s forehead. The black palomino just keeps its head still. Lena has her eyes closed with a smile on her face. She gently strokes the side of his face, the other horses are around. They are all surrounding Lena, circling her, eating the grass in the barn. Lena then gives him a kiss on his head, then gently puts her head back against his. Lyon just stares for a minute, but then he takes out his phone and takes a picture. The first picture of Lena and the first picture of the black palomino, Lyon thinks to himself. Lyon puts his phone back in his pocket, and when he looks up, he gets a slight shocked look on his face. For there he sees Lena looking at him with a small but gentle smile, making Lyon, for the first time, pause. As many times as she has smiled at him, for some reason, this smile seems different from all the other ones. Lena then slowly starts to walk to the stables, and all the horses follow her. Lyon watches her walk to the stables till he can’t see her, then he looks down at Shadow, who is wagging his tail and barking at Lyon. “Shut up,” Lyon says. Lyon then looks back at the stables, then he walks away. As he is walking, he hears Lena scream. He quickly turns around and runs to the stables; Lyon runs right into the stables but doesn’t see Lena. Then he looks up, there up on a pole, almost to the ceiling, he sees Lena holding on for dear life. “Lena, what are you doing? How did you get up there?” Then he hears Shadow growling, so he slowly walks over, and there he sees a garden snake on the ground. Then he looks back up to Lena. He takes a small deep breath, then he picks up the snake and takes it outside the stables. He slowly walks back into the stables and sees that Lena still hasn’t come down. He looks at her, trying not to laugh. “Lena, it’s gone, you can come down now,” Lyon gently yells to her.

Lena shakes her head no, making Lyon laugh under his breath, covering his mouth with his hand, trying not to make a sound. He looks back at Lena, then he walks over to the pole that she is holding on to, still trying to hold in his laughter. Lyon then gets an evil grin on his face; he looks up at Lena and takes a few more small deep breaths, trying not to laugh. “Lena, you need to get down. There’s another snake up there,” Lyon yells to Lena. Lena’s eyes widen with panic and she screams as she quickly lets go of the pole and falls “Lena,” Lyon yells. Lyon catches Lena, and she quickly wraps her arms around his neck, holding on tight, and hides her head on the side of his neck. Lyon looks at her and tries so hard not to laugh, then he slowly puts Lena down, and she looks around and sees that there is no snake. Then Lyon just lets it all go and just starts laughing. Lena looks at him; she sees that he is laughing and slightly banging on the wall. Lyon is laughing so hard that he is almost in tears. “Wait a minute…are you telling me that I almost broke my neck because you played a prank on me?” Lena asks, slightly angry. “Sorry but your face…was too much…I couldn’t help it.” Lyon laughs. Lena gets a shocked look on her face, then she pouts with slight anger. “Well, now you can go to the bonfire by yourself,” Lena slightly yells. Then she storms off. Lyon goes after her, still laughing. “Come on, Lena, it was a small joke.” Lyon laughs. Lena doesn’t reply, she just keeps walking. Lyon then stops laughing and just grins at her. He then gently grabs her hand and pulls her back to him. Lena gets a shocked look on her face as Lyon pulls her back. Lyon wraps his arms around her, and she digs her head into his chest with her hands covering the rest of her face. “Look, I’m sorry. But I haven’t truly laughed in a long time, and when I saw you like that, I couldn’t help it. Your face was so funny. I don’t know. I guess I

wanted to laugh, then you know,” Lyon explains. “Well, next time, can you pull a prank with something that I’m not afraid of?” Lena asks. “Deal.” Lyon grins. But as Lyon holds Lena, his grin slowly fades, for he knows that the snake was not really what got Lena to jump up and climb up the pole. So that night, as Lyon and Lena get ready to go to the bonfire, Lyon puts Shadow on guard. Shadow is to kill anything that he doesn’t know. Daniel and everyone come over to get Lyon and Lena. As they both leave the house, Lyon looks down to Shadow, and he gave him a hand sign, making him go to the window and listen. Then Lyon locks the door behind him but also left the window in the back open. All of them head to the lake to watch the bonfire. As they all get closer to the lake, they can hear people screaming, splashing, cars and trucks, and music. As they come up to the site, Lena smiles, then she grabs Mya’s wrist and pulls her down to the bonfire. They both laugh as they run over; the boys watch them run off, and they just slowly walk down. Lyon and Daniel both with their hand in their pockets, and Raphael with his hands on the back of his head. They talk and laugh as the walk back to the bonfire. Mya brings Lena over to the DJ, who has brown skin, about 6'3" tall, brown eyes, and has dark-brown hair in dreadlocks. “Hey, Damon,” Mya yells over the music. “What’s up, girl, who’s your friend. She’s cute,” Damon replies. “Oh, this is Lena. And she’s taken! She’s Lyon’s girl,” Mya replies. “Mya, don’t say that,” Lena says nervously. “What, it’s not like it’s not sure. You are Lyon’s, and don’t act like you don’t want to be,” Mya says with a friendly but evil smile. Lena just starts laughing, and Mya slowly starts to laugh with her. The boys are over by the fire, still talking while having eyes on them. The three of them look at the girls that are looking at them, then just with their eyes, they look at each other. They grin then they look back at the girls and give them a quick wink, then slowly walk away, laughing at the girls screaming. As they walk around, they see Lena and Mya by the water edge. Lyon grins at her, and Raphael looks

at him, then at Lena, then back at Lyon. “Well, are you going to talk to her?” Raphael asks. Lyon sighs, then he slowly turns his head and looks at Raphael. Daniel slowly turns his head to the both of them. “She’s having fun with Mya, so no! I’m going over there to talk,” Lyon replies with a plain look and tone. Then he slowly walks away to go get something to drink. Daniel looks at Raphael, who is in slight shock. “You know you can’t get Lyon to talk to Lena just by telling him he should! You should know this by now.” Daniel grins. “So if you want him to talk to her, you have to do it right.” Raphael looks at Daniel who has a confident cocky grin on his face. Raphael gets an evil smile on his face. Then Daniel whispers in Raphael’s ear. Raphael looks at him, and Daniel just grins, then he walks over to Lena and Mya. While Daniel is walking over to Lena and Mya, Raphael walks over to Lyon, who is now talking to the DJ, looking at his music set. Raphael walks over to Lyon, and Lyon looks at him with that same plain look on his face. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Raphael pouts. Lyon stares at him for a minute. “Because you want something just by the way you came over to me.” Raphael doesn’t say anything, then Lyon says bye to the DJ and walks over to Raphael. Raphael grins, then they both walk over to Daniel and the girls. As they walk over to them, Lyon sees that Daniel is whispering something in Mya’s ear. As they get closer, Lyon looks at Raphael, then back at Daniel and looks at the both of them like he knows that they are up to something. Lyon walks over to Lena and whispers in her ear, “What’s going on with the three of them?” Lena looks at him and shrugs her shoulders as she shakes her head no. Lyon then looks at Daniel and the others, but then Daniel looks at them.

“Okay, we’ll be right back. We have to check on something.” Daniel grins. “Yeah, we’ll be right back, Lena. Don’t go anywhere.” Mya smiles. “You lying piece of—” Lyon is cut off. “Be right back,” Raphael says. Then the three of them run away, leaving Lyon and Lena by themselves. Lena looks at Lyon and sees that he doesn’t believe that they will be right back. “I hate them sometimes,” Lyon says. Lena starts to laugh, and Lyon looks back at her. He grins at her, and she looks up at him, then they slowly start talking. Daniel and the others are with the DJ. “Nice, Daniel,” says Raphael. “What, this is not the whole plan. That was to get things started.” Daniel grins. Mya and Raphael look at each other, then at Daniel like he’s crazy. “Okay, dude, something’s wrong with you. Really,” says Raphael. “Shut up. You’re just mad because he’s not getting mad at me,” Daniel replies. Then Daniel looks at the DJ, and he nods his head. The DJ changes the song. Lyon and Lena look at the DJ. “Wow, I haven’t heard this song in a long time.” Lyon grins. “You…you like this song?” Lena asks. “Yeah, it’s one of my favorite songs. I used to dance to it all the time,” Lyon replies. Lena looks down at the ground. Lyon looks at her with slight concern, then he looks down to the ground but then grins and looks back at her. “Do you want me to teach you?” Lyon asks.

Lena looks at him and smiles, so Lyon gently takes Lena’s cup, and they walk closer to the DJ where everyone is dancing. Lyon gently takes Lena’s hands and shows her where to put them on his body—on both of his shoulders. Then he gently puts his hands on her hips, and they slowly start to move. Lena keeps looking down at her feet, but then Lyon takes his right hand and lifts her head, making her look right into his eyes. Then he pulls her closer to him to the point that there is no space between them. Lyon and Lena dance with each other like they have been dancing with each other for years. Even though they danced with each other at the car shop party, this dance is completely different. Daniel, Mya, and Raphael smile, then they go to talk to some of their old classmates from school. For the rest of the night, everyone just laughs, dance, and party all night long. At the end of the bonfire, everyone packs up all their things and slowly heads back to their homes. Mya and Lena are fast asleep on Daniel and Lyon’s backs. “Man, those two really had a great time if they are sleeping like that,” says Raphael. “Raphael, what do you expect? It’s almost two o’clock in the morning,” Daniel says. “Yeah, and Lena and I were working around the barn today since early morning, so yeah, she’s tired,” continues Lyon. Then they get to Lyon’s pathway; the three of them say their good nights, then Lyon walks up the pathway. Then he turns to watch Daniel and Raphael walk away till he can’t see them anymore. He looks at Lena, then slowly continues to walk up the path to the cottage. As he comes up to the cottage, he sees his grandparents sitting on the front porch. He pauses for a minute, then he slowly walks over to them. They look at him and see that Lena is sleeping on his back; they smile. “So I take it you two had fun at the bonfire?” asks Emily. “Yeah, you guys are home early since there was a bonfire and all,” Lyon replies. “Well, everyone was at the bonfire, so parents left the bar early,” Nathen replies. “And since the police were around the bonfire this year, weren’t that many

problems,” Emily replies. Lyon slightly laughs, then he looks at Lena. Nathen and Emily smile at them, then at each other. “Okay, well, we should get her up to bed, and the same goes for you,” says Nathen. “Good thing you didn’t bring your motorcycle tonight.” Lyon grins, then he follows Nathen into the cottage and up the stairs, with Emily behind them. They walk into Lena’s room, and Lyon gently puts her on the bed. Emily walks over to her as Nathen and Lyon leave the room. Emily helps Lena out of her clothes and into her nightshirt. Lyon and Nathen walk downstairs and into the kitchen. Lyon is about to go to his room, but Nathen stops him. “Lyon, hold on for a minute. I want to talk to you for a second,” Nathen says. Lyon stops and slowly turns around and looks at him; he walks back over to him and sits down next to him at the kitchen table. “So what’s up,” Lyon asks. Nathen pauses for a minute, then he looks at Lyon with slight concern. “Lyon, I want you to be careful.” Lyon looks at him with turmoil. “I don’t…I don’t understand. Grandpa, what are you talking about?” asks Lyon. Nathen looks at Lyon and takes a deep breath. “I just don’t want you to get too deep into Lena.” “Wait, you think something’s going on between me and Lena,” Lyon replies. “Don’t try to blow it off. I see the way you two look at each other. The way you always get protective of her. The way she makes you smile, the way she smiles at you. I see it all, Lyon, and she is a great girl,” Nathen continues. Lyon slightly laughs. “Don’t worry, Grandpa, there’s nothing going on between me and Lena. And there never will,” Lyon replies. “Lyon, that’s not what I—” Nathen says. Lyon then gets up and walks to his room, and without looking back, he slowly

closes his door. He leans back against his door, then he slowly slides down to the floor. He lays his left arm on his knees, and with his right hand, he covers his face. Back in the kitchen, Nathen is still sitting at the kitchen table. He watches Lyon walk to his room, then he looks down at the table. “Are you saying for him or for you?” Nathen looks at the living room doorway, and there he sees Emily. Nathen doesn’t say anything; he just looks back down at the kitchen table. Emily walks over to him and sits next to him. She gently grabs his hand, and he looks at her. “You don’t have to be afraid to say it. Lena has touched everyone in this house, even though she’s only been here three months. But you can’t be afraid to hold ’cause one day you will have to let go, but that doesn’t me that they won’t come back.” Emily slightly cries. Nathen smiles at her, then he gently wipes her tears. Emily gently puts her head on Nathen’s shoulders, then they both look at the kitchen window.

Memory 8

The week has ed, and school is getting ready to start. Lyon and Lena are getting ready for their first day of school. Lyon comes into the kitchen, and there is Emily and Nathen getting their coffee like they do every morning. The three of them talk, then they hear Lena scream. They all go running up to her room. They all come in, and she screams again. Nathen and Lyon quickly run out of Lena’s room, for she is throwing things at them. Emily then closes the door and sees what made Lena scream—Lena can’t get her shirt on. “Lena, that’s not a big problem.” Emily laughs. “It is a problem. I just got this shirt last week…it fit at the store. I got fat…fat in that short amount of time.” Lena pouts. Emily tries not to laugh. “Lena, calm down. You’re not getting fat, maybe you should try to put the shirt on right,” Emily says. Lena turns and looks into the mirror and sees that she is putting her shirt on the wrong way. She stares in the mirror for a minute, then she slightly screams. “Lena, it’s okay. Just calm down,” Emily says. “I can’t go…I can’t go to school today.” Lena panics. “Lena, calm down. It’s okay to be nervous on your first day of school,” Emily says. “Nervous…I’m not nervous. I’m completely freaking out.” Lena is still in a panic. “Why?” Lena and Emily look at the door and see that Lyon and Nathen are standing in the doorway. “What do you mean why? What if I fall down the stairs, go to the wrong class?

Can’t open my locker, drop my lunch all over me,” Lena explains in a panic. Lyon, Nathen, and Emily look at Lena, trying not to laugh at her. They look at one another, then back at Lena. “It’s not funny,” Lena whines. They look at one another, then Lyon walks over to her. She looks at him pouting, and he grins at her. “Lena, you don’t have to worry so much. what I told you before, you have me, Mya, Daniel, and Raphael with you. Plus don’t you have just about every class with Mya? So you don’t have to worry about going to the wrong class. If you have a problem with your locker, your locker is right next to mine, so I’ll help you. And about the lunch and stairs, you’re not the only person to do that,” Lyon says. Lena slightly smiles, then she nods her head. She and Lyon then head downstairs with Nathen and Emily following them. Lyon and Lena get ready to leave. Nathen and Emily watch them off and smile. As they watch them leave, they finish getting ready to leave themselves for work. As Lyon and Lena are driving up into the school parking lot, they run into Daniel and Raphael, who are getting off their motorcycles also. The four of them walk to the school. As they come to the school doors, Lena stops. The three of them turn and look at her. “Come on, we got you.” Smiles Raphael. Lena smiles at the three of them, then she follows them into the school. As they are walking into the school, Mya comes running over to Lena. She gently wraps her arm around hers. “Can you believe it? We have almost every class together…I’m so happy.” Mya smiles. “Yeah, you’re going to help me. ’Cause I have no idea where I’m going.” Lena slightly laughs. As they walk to the gym for the opening ceremony, the whole school is there, with the teachers and students listening to the principal’s speech. Mya and Lena are whispering to each other, Raphael is falling asleep, Daniel and Lyon are

playing a game off their cell phones. After about an hour, everyone can leave the gym and go to their homeroom class. “Oh, wow. The five of us have homeroom together,” Raphael says. “Look at that, you have all of us in a class,” Lyon says to Lena. She smiles at him, then they all go to their locker. Lena’s locker is right next to Lyon’s. Lyon looks at Lena, watching her try to open her locker. “See, my locker already hates me.” Lena pouts. Lyon just starts laughing, making Mya and them look at them. Lena looks at them, and they all just start laughing at her pouting face. As they all are laughing, a girl with her two friends walk around the corner and seem them all. She looks at Lyon and smiles and is about to walk up to him, but then she sees him with Lena. Meanwhile as Lyon slowly start to stop laughing, he moves over to Lena’s locker, and he looks at her numbers. He slowly moves the lock, and with one try, he gets the lock off and opens her locker. Lena pouts and Lyon looks at her. “Told you.” Lena pouts as she looks at him. Everyone walks over to them, and once again, they all start laughing, making Lena pout even more. Lyon walks over to her and hugs her, making her smile and laugh with the others. The girl squeezes her books, then Lyon and the others go into their homeroom that’s next to their lockers. As they all sit down to listen to their homeroom teacher telling them how their first day is going to go, no one is really listening. But Lena leans next to Lyon, and he leans closer to her. “So let me get this right. We are only seeing how classes are going to go for the first,” Lena whispers. “Yeah, the first day, you don’t do anything really. They just tell you how the classes are going to work for the year. That’s all, except gym, they make you do something,” Lyon whispers back. Lena nods her head, then they both lean back up right in their seats. As they wait for the forty-five minutes to go by, everyone in the class is talking since their

homeroom teacher has already told them how their homeroom class is going to go. The bell rings and Lena looks up at the clock, then she looks around, seeing that everyone is getting out of their seats. She slowly stands up and follows everyone out of the classroom. As she comes out of the classroom, she sees Lyon and everyone waiting for her. She walks over to them, and they all head over to their next class. The boys walk with Lena and Mya, for their class is in the same direction behind them. As they come to Lena and Mya’s classroom, Daniel gives Mya a kiss. Daniel walks over to Raphael. Lyon looks at Lena, who is pausing to walk into the classroom. Lyon walks up behind her and leans down to her ear. “You know you have to go into the classroom, right?” Lyon whispers. Lena slightly jumps, then she turns her head and looks at Lyon; she looks at him like she’s nervous and afraid. Lyon sees the look on her face, and he gives her a gentle grin. “Don’t worry, Mya is with you all till lunch. And I’ll see you around that time, okay? You’re going to be just fine. I have to get going or I’ll be late. I’ll see you at lunch, okay?” Lyon says. Then Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael run to their next class, and Lena watches him run away. Mya walks up to her and gently puts her hand on Lena’s shoulder. Lena looks at her, then they both walk into the classroom, and they sit in the middle row, next to each other. Some of the girls look at Lena and start whispering to one another. Lena leans over to Mya. “Is it just me or is just about every girl in the class staring at me like they want to eat me,” Lena whispers. Mya looks at her, then she looks at the girls in the classroom, then she leans over to Lena. “Don’t take it wrong. It’s just that Lyon is pretty popular with the girls in school. Not that he went out with them or anything. Just walking a girl to her class, saying he’ll see her for lunch. It puts up a few green flags,” Mya replies, “but they’ll get over it.” Lena slightly smiles at Mya, then the teacher walks in. Three more classes go by before it is time for lunch. When the bell rings for

lunch, everyone runs out of their classrooms and runs down to their lunches. Mya and Lena walk outside to the bleachers next to the football field. As they walk to the bleachers, they see Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael already sitting up there, eating their lunch, laughing at Raphael. Raphael is chugging down water bottle after water bottle. “What did Raphael do this time?” Mya asks as she sits next to Daniel. “He ate spicy food way too fast,” Daniel replies, laughing. “What, you don’t even know what you’re eating now?” Mya laughs. Raphael, still chugging down a water bottle, waves his hand in a way that says leave him alone. But Mya and Daniel just keep laughing. Lena walks over to Lyon, and he looks at her as she sits down next to him. “So how’s it going so far?” Lyon asks. “I felt like I was going to die. Every girl in my classes look like they wanted to eat me. All because you walked me to my class,” Lena replies. Lyon slightly laughs. “But other than that?” Lena looks at him and smiles. “Other than that, so far so good.” Lyon grins at her, then they both look back at Daniel, and then they see that Raphael has now started running back and forth, trying to cool off his tongue with the gentle wind blowing. As they all laugh at Raphael, the girl from the hallway is watching them. The bell rings, and everyone heads back into the school. They all go to their lockers to get their others book for the next three classes. As they go to their lockers, Lena sees that she and Mya don’t have the next class together. As she stands at her locker, Lyon looks at her, then he slowly walks up behind her and looks at her next class. “So you have bio next,” Lyon gently says. Lena slightly jumps, then she nods her head yes. “And I don’t know where I’m going.” Lena panics. Lyon slightly laughs, then he leans back on the lockers next to Lena’s locker.

“Don’t worry, I’m going that way. So I’ll show you where to go.” Lyon grins. Lena smiles with relief, then she takes her books out and gently closes her locker. They both say their later to everyone and walk in the opposite direction. As they walk to Lena’s bio class, Lyon is trying not to laugh. They come up to the bio class, and Lena looks at Lyon. “Okay, let’s go. We’ll be late.” Lyon grins. Lyon walks into the class, and Lena looks at him with turmoil, then she walks into the classroom after him. “Wait a minute, you’re telling me that you have bio with me?” Lena asks. Lyon turns around and looks at her. “Yeah.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” Lena asks. “Why didn’t you ask,” Lyon replies with a grin. Lyon sits down at one of the lab tables, and Lena sits next to him. Lyon look at her and sees that she’s pouting, “Are you mad?” Lyon laughs. Lena looks at him, then she looks back down at her books. Lyon slightly laughs, then he looks back at her. “Lena.” “It’s not funny.” Lena pauses. “You knew that we had bio together, and you let me freak out.” “Lena, I didn’t know we had bio together till I saw your classes when we were at our lockers. I never look at my classes till I have to go to that class,” Lyon replies. Lena stares at him for a minute. “You still could have told me.” “If I told you, I wouldn’t see that pouting face of yours,” Lyon replies.

Then he looks up at the teacher as he walks in. Lena stares at him for a minute, then she does a double take with Lyon and her books. Lyon grins and looks at her with his eyes, then he looks back at the blackboard. As the class goes on, the teacher put Lyon and Lena as bio partners! As they go through the class, every time Lena doesn’t completely understand something, she asks Lyon, and he tells her what the teacher is trying to say. As the class goes on, Lyon and Lena start laughing as they talk to each other. Some of the girls look at them, same with some of the boys. As the class comes to an end, the teacher tells Lyon and Lena to stay for a minute. After everyone leaves the classroom, Lyon and Lena walk up to the teacher. “Okay, you two are my smartest two in the class. So next week, I would like you two to help me give a presentation,” asks the teacher. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they look back at the teacher, and they both agree to do the presentation with him. Then they head to the next class. As they walk to their next class, Lyon and Lena talk about next week. Lena doesn’t feel nervous about going to her next class ’cause Lyon’s class is right next-door. As they walk up to their next class doors, Lena looks inside and sees Raphael. She smiles at Lyon, then she slowly walks into the classroom. Lyon watches her walk into the classroom, and then he walks into his class. Lena sits next to Raphael; Lyon walks into his classroom and sits next to the window. Daniel walks into the classroom and sees Lyon sitting next to the window. Daniel sits next to him and sees that Lyon is looking out the window; he sees that Lyon is in deep thought. The teacher walks into the classroom, but Lyon just keeps staring out the window. “All right, class, History 2. Who’s ready for it?” asks the teacher. Then she looks at Lyon who is still just looking out the window. Daniel looks at her, then at Lyon. She stares at him for a minute, then slowly walks over to him; she stands in front of his desk. But Lyon still doesn’t move his eyes from the window; he stares out to the tall trees gently moving from the wind’s breeze. “You see something out there?” asks the history teacher. Lyon blinks his eyes, then he slowly turns his head and looks up at the history teacher. He looks at her with a blank look on his face, then he looks around the room and sees that everyone is looking at him. Lyon then looks back at his

history teacher, he leans on his desk, and grins at his teacher. All he does is grin at her, then she lifts one of her eyebrows, then walks back over to the blackboard. He watches her walk back over to the blackboard, then he looks at Daniel, who is covering his mouth so he doesn’t show that he’s laughing. Meanwhile in Lena’s classroom, she and Raphael are sitting in the back of the class. Their teacher is writing on the blackboard. “So, Lena,” Raphael softly calls. Lena looks at him. “How much longer are you and Lyon going to take?” Raphael smiles. Lena looks at him with confusion. “What do you mean?” “Oh, come on, when are you two going to tell each other that you like each other?” Raphael asks. Lena stares at him for a minute, then she quickly looks back down at her books. Raphael slightly laughs, then the teacher walks in. The teacher walks in and says hello to them in a different language. “Great, Spanish class. I hate Spanish class. I have to take it every year. I can never this class,” Raphael whines. Lena looks at him and smiles with a laugh, then she looks back at the Spanish teacher. As the class is going on, no one can reply to anything the teacher says or asks them. But then as the teacher asks two of his bothersome students how their summer was in Spanish, they both look at him like he’s crazy. Everyone starts laughing, Raphael rolls his eyes, then Lena looks at them like she is aggravated. But then she speaks Spanish, saying that the two of them should look at the board, and everyone looks at her. The Spanish teacher looks at her with shock, the same with Raphael. The teacher then asks her if she knows Spanish, but she doesn’t say anything. The two bothersome students look at her, then at the teacher. “What is that snail wipe saying about me?” asks the bothersome boy in front. He points at her, then everyone starts laughing. Lena slightly looks around, then

she looks back down at her books. Raphael stares at her for a minute, then he looks back at the teacher. The bells rings. Lyon and Daniel are leaning against the wall, waiting for Raphael and Lena to come out of their class. Lena comes out of the class but just keeps walking. Lyon and Daniel look at her, then they look at each other. Raphael comes out of the classroom and walks up to Lyon and Daniel. “Hey, Raphael, what’s going on with Lena?” asks Daniel. “I don’t know…we were in class. Those two guys, like, always make a scene. Lena…I don’t know how she started speaking Spanish. And when the bell rang, she just took off,” Raphael replies. Lyon looks at him, then he runs after Lena. As Lyon runs after Lena, Mya comes over to Daniel and Raphael. She asks what happened, and Raphael explains again as the three of them walk to gym class. Lyon sees Lena quickly walking past the library. “Lena,” Lyon gently yells. But Lena keeps walking, making Lyon run after her still. He runs up behind her and gently grabs her by the waist. “Lena, stop,” Lyon says. Lena stops but doesn’t turn to look at Lyon. He slowly walks around her and stands in front of her. He looks at her, but she doesn’t look at him. Lyon takes his hand and gently lifts her head, making her look at him. “What happened? What’s wrong?” Lyon gently asks. “Is it because you spoke Spanish?” “No…I mean. I don’t know…I mean I…can how to speak Spanish. But I can’t anything else. Lyon, I could understand everything that he was saying, like it was a first to second language to me. And it just really freaked me out…a lot,” Lena nervously replies. Lyon looks at her and sees that she’s really nervous; he doesn’t say anything, all he does is move closer to her and gently wraps his arms around her. Lena puts

her head on his chest and slowly wraps her arms around him. Lyon gives her a kiss on the head, then she looks up at him and he grins at her. “I can’t say everything is going to go smoothly, but what I can say is that I’m here. I’m always here if you need me.” Lyon grins. Lena smiles, then they both takes each other’s hands and start walking down to the gym. “Where were you going? The gym is not down at the library,” Lyon asks. “I don’t know…I was having a panic moment.” Lena laughs. They walk all the way to the gym. As they come to the gym, Lyon points the way to the girls’ locker room, and Lyon walks to the boys’ locker room. Lena walks into the locker room, and she sees Mya at a locker. She walks over to her “Lena, are you okay?” Mya asks with concern. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Lena replies with a small smile. “Are you sure? What happened?” Mya asks, still with concern. “Yeah, just…a memory freak-out. That’s all,” Lena replies. “Oh, really! Are you okay?” Mya asks. “Yeah, I’m good. I just know Spanish,” Lena replies. Lena then laughs, and Mya smiles. “Okay, well, that just means that you can help me on my Spanish tests.” Mya laughs. Lena and Mya laugh, then they change into their gym clothes that the school gives for the first day, but after that, they have to bring their own. Meanwhile Lyon walks into the boys’ locker room and tells Daniel and Raphael that Lena is okay. “Are you sure she’s okay?” ask Raphael with concern. “Yeah, don’t worry. You didn’t do anything. She just had a memory freak-out,” Lyon replies.

“She ed something?” asks Daniel, closing his locker. “No, not really. She can speak and understand Spanish, and she doesn’t understand how. So it freaked her out a little bit, but she’s okay. So stop freaking out, Raphael,” Lyon replies. The three of them laugh and continue to dress for gym. Everyone in that gym class walks down to the gym and sit on the bleachers. Lyon and everyone sit together, and sitting a few steps below them sitting dangle is the girl from the hallway this morning. Lena looks down and sees that the girl’s glaring at her. She stares at her for a minute, then she leans closer to Lyon. Lyon quickly looks at her, then he leans closer to her. “That girl over there is glaring at me,” Lena whispers. Lyon looks at her, then he looks down at the girl who is glaring at him and Lena. Lyon’s face changes; he looks at the girl with a plain glare. Daniel, Mya, and Raphael see that Lyon is glaring at someone, so the three of them turn and see who he is looking at. Lena looks at them all with turmoil, then she looks back down at the girl that everyone is looking at. After the gym teacher tells everyone the rules of the gym, everyone walks down from the bleachers and just sits or plays any game that they can. Since it’s the first day, all the students get at relax for today. “Mya, who is that girl? She keeps glaring at me. I asked Lyon, but he didn’t answer me,” Lena asks. Mya looks at Lena, then she looks at Lyon, who is over by Daniel and Raphael, talking. Mya looks back at Lena, “That’s Tamie. The most popular girl in school. And she thinks that she and Lyon are supposed to be together because they’re both the most popular people in the school. And those are her two friends, the one on the left is Alex, and the one on the right is Mary,” Mya replies. Lena looks at her with slight shock, then she looks at Tamie, who is still looking at her with her two friends on both sides of her. Tamie is about 5'4" tall, is sixteen years old, has light-brown skin, long dirty-blond hair, dark-brown eyes, and is captain of the girls’ volleyball team. Alex is sixteen years old—will be

seventeen in a week—is 5'3" tall, has very short black hair, up to her chin, lightskin, brown eyes, and is cocaptain of the girls’ volleyball team. Mary is seventeen years old, is 5'4" tall, brown skin, dark-brown hair that’s up to her shoulders, green eyes, and is a member on the girls’ volleyball team. Lena and Tamie give each other a stare down. Tamie is glaring at Lena, but Lena is just staring at her. But her eyes say much more, even though she’s just staring at her. Then Lena and Mya turn their backs to Tamie and her friends, making Tamie slowly walk over to them. “So who are you?” Tamie asks with an attitude. Mya and Lena slowly turn around and look at Tamie and her friends. “What’s it to you, Tamie?” Mya replies also with attitude. “Wasn’t asking you, Mya,” Tamie says with attitude. Lena looks at Mya, then she looks at Tamie and pauses for a minute. “Lena…my name’s Lena.” “See, that wasn’t so hard…was it, Mya,” Tamie replies with attitude. “Okay, first you don’t have to be like that. Second, what do you want?” Lena asks. “I don’t like your tone,” Tamie replies with attitude. “Well, then I guess we’re even…because I don’t like your voice,” Lena replies with a cocky grin. Tamie looks at her with shock, and Mya looks at her with shock but with a slight laugh. Mya tries not to laugh. “You got a lot of nerve, girly. No one talks to me like that,” Tamie says. “Nerve…ha, like you have the nerve to talk,” Lena replies, still with a cocky grin. Tamie walks a little closer to Lena. “You know what—” Tamie is cut off.

“Yes, they do,” Lena says. “What?” Tamie asks. “They do…they have showers here,” Lena replies. Mya starts to laughs, and Tamie stares at her for minute, then she glares at her. Tamie then slightly shakes her head, but then she slaps Lena in the face. Lena puts her hand on the left side of her face; she slowly turns her head and looks at Tamie. She slowly puts her hand down, slightly tilts her head, glaring at her at the same time. Tamie looks at her with a cocky glaring smile. “What’s the matter, hurt your face?” Tamie asks. Lena’s right hand slowly turns into a fist as she listens to Tamie and her two friends laugh. Tamie looks back at Lena, and as she looks at her, Lena punches her in the face. Tamie falls to the floor, and she looks up at her. “What’s the matter, hurt your face?” Lena asks. Tamie quickly gets up and looks at Lena, then she punches Lena, making her fall to the floor. Lena looks up at Tamie and kicks her ankles, making her fall to the floor; they both start fighting. Lena and Tamie are punching and kicking each other. “I bet you didn’t know this, girly, I go to a boxing gym,” Tamie says, slightly out of breath. “Well, let’s see who has the better teacher,” Lena replies. Lena then runs toward Tamie and tackles her to the floor and punches her. Tamie flips Lena over her, they both roll over, glare at each other. Mya watches them fight and the same for the rest of the students in the class. Mya looks and sees that Lyon and them are not in the gym nor are the teachers. Mya runs to the guys’ bathroom out of the gym and sees Lyon and them walking out laughing. “Lyon,” Mya yells, out of breath. “Mya, what’s up? Why are you out of breath?” Lyon asks with concern.

“Lena…is fighting,” Mya replies, still out of breath. Lyon looks at her, then he runs back into the gym, and Raphael follows; Daniel goes over to Mya to make sure she’s okay. Then they both run back into the gym. Lyon sees the student in a circle and move through them. When he and Raphael get through, they see Tamie on Lena’s back. Lena grabs Tamie by her hair and throws her over her shoulder. As Lena throws Tamie over her shoulders, she falls as well. They both glare at each other, out of breath, then Tamie sees that Lena has some of her hair in her hand. “You bitch,” Tamie says, out of breath. Lena give her a cocky grin. “Thank you.” Tamie and Lena get up and are about to go at it again, but Raphael and Lyon step in. Raphael grabs Tamie by her shoulders, and Lyon grabs Lena by her waist. The teachers come running and see that Lena and Tamie are fighting. They tell the both of them to follow them to the principal’s office. Lyon watches Lena leave with the teachers. He looks at Daniel and the others, then back at Lena with concern.

Memory 9

After Lena and Tamie are taken to the principal, everyone goes to the locker rooms and changes their clothes. The bells ring, and everyone runs out of the school; they all scatter. Lyon waits for Lena in the front of the school. Meanwhile back in the principal’s office— “I didn’t do anything. She hit me first, why is she off the hook?” Lena yells. “It does not matter if she hit you first. The matter is that you hit her back, and you both kept fighting,” the principal replies. “I know you’re new here, Lena. But if you get into another fight with Tamie again…you leave me no choice.” Then the principal tells Lena she can go. Lena gets out of the chair angrily and storms out of his office. She storms out of the school and right past Lyon, who is sitting on the school steps. He sees Lena storming out of the school. Lyon looks at the school, then at Lena and runs after her. “Lena, Lena, wait up. What happened?” Lyon asks. “I got yelled at…because Tamie is the girls’ volleyball captain. That’s what happened,” Lena yells. Lena storms off again, and Lyon looks at her with confusion, then follows her. He walks up next to her. “Wait a minute. You’re telling me that’s what he said to you?” Lyon asks. “No…he didn’t have to. All she got was ‘Don’t do it again,’ but me, no. I got yelled at and threatened that I’ll get kicked out of the school or whatever,” Lena replies. Lyon doesn’t say anything; he and Lena just get on his bike and head home, but he can see that she’s trying her best not to cry out of anger. They get home, and Lena goes right up to her room, and Lyon goes into the kitchen. As he drinks his water, he hears his grandparents pull up. He looks at the kitchen doorway, and

there walks in Emily. “What happened?” Emily asks. “Hi to you too,” Lyon replies. “Don’t be cocky with me! What happened today. I got a call from the principal while I was at work,” Emily asks. Nathen walks in behind Emily and over to the table across from Lyon. Lyon stares at her for a minute, then he takes a deep breath. “Tamie decided…to fight Lena today in gym. Lena got in trouble for defending herself,” Lyon replies. Emily and Nathen look at Lyon with shock, then they look at each other. They look back at Lyon, who still has this grin on his face. “Lyon, tell me that’s a joke,” Emily asks in an angry tone. “No, it’s not,” Lyon replies while shaking his head. “Where’s Lena?” asks Nathen. “She’s upstairs in her room. Probably thinking of ways to…change the principal’s mind,” Lyon replies with a grin. Emily looks at Lyon, then she looks back at the stairs; she slowly walks to the stairs and slowly goes up. She walks over to Lena’s bedroom door and gently knocks on it. “Lena, may I come in?” Emily gently asks. Emily slowly opens the door and sees that Lena is on her bed with her face jammed into her pillow. Emily walks over to her and sits on her bed next to her. “Well, there’s no point of me asking how your day went.” Emily pauses. “Lena, I’m not mad at you. The principal has always been like that. Even with Lyon…I have to get back to work, but I’ll be back later, and we can talk then okay?” Emily asks.

Emily slowly gets off the bed and walks over to the bedroom doorway. She looks at her, then she gently closes the door behind her. As she walks down the stairs, she sees Lyon is sitting on the couch, watching TV. She walks over to him, she gently hits him on the head. “Ow, what you hit me for?” Lyon asks. “Go talk to her. Lyon, you have a bond with her that no one can reach…let her know what she did wasn’t wrong. It’s wasn’t right, but it also wasn’t wrong,” Emily says. Lyon nods his head, then he slowly gets off the couch and goes upstairs. Emily watches him go upstairs, then she walks to the kitchen. She sees Nathen at the sink, looking out the window. He slowly turns around and looks at Emily. “She’s going to have it hard for a little while,” Nathen says. “Yeah, just like Lyon did his first year. But if this happens again, you know that we—” Emily says. “Yes, we will go and have a talk. Just like last time,” Nathen continues. Emily smiles. “Are you going back to work?” Emily asks. “Yeah, I have to get back before it gets crazy,” Nathen replies. Emily nods her head and smiles. Nathen walks over to her and gives her a kiss. She kisses him back, then she leaves to go back to the hospital. Nathen watches her leave, then he looks at the stairs and takes a small deep breath. Meanwhile back up at Lena’s bedroom door is Lyon who is just staring at it. After about a minute, Lyon knocks on the door “Lena, I’m coming in, okay?” Lyon gently and slowly opens the door and sees that Lena is lying on her bed, with her face deep in her pillow. Lyon slowly closes the door behind him as he walks over to Lena’s bed. He sits on the bed next to her. “Lena,” Lyon gently says.

But Lena doesn’t reply, all she does is shake her head, still on her pillow. Lyon then grins and rolls his eyes, then he slowly gets off the bed. “Lena, look at me,” Lyon says. But Lena just shakes her head again without moving her face from the pillow. Lyon moves closer to Lena; he gently wraps his arms around her waist, he leans her up. Lena quickly grabs her pillow so she can keep her face hidden. Lyon sits Lena up on her bed, and he kneels down in front of her, but Lena still doesn’t remove the pillow. Lyon gently tries to take the pillow from Lena, but she doesn’t let it go. Lyon takes a small deep breath, then he pokes Lena in her right side, making her loosen her grip on her pillow. Lyon then gently pulls it away from Lena and looks at her with a slight glare. He lifts one of his eyebrows. “Lena, I already knew you were crying. That’s why I left you alone,” Lyon explains. “Well, I hate it.” Lena slightly cries, wiping her eyes. “Hate what?” Lyon gently asks. “I hate being such a crybaby,” Lena replies, still wiping her eyes. Lyon gently puts the pillow on the bed; he stands up and goes to sit on the bed next to Lena. Then he wraps his arm around Lena to her shoulder and gently pulls her close to him, motioning her to put her head on his shoulder. Lena lays her head on Lyon’s shoulder, and Lyon gently puts his head on Lena’s head. “Lena, you’re not a crybaby. You’re just angry that Tamie got away with starting a fight and you didn’t, for finishing it. Don’t take it to heart. The principal did that same thing to me my first year in high school.” Lena looks up at him. “See, when my grandparents were in school, Grandma use to go out with the principal. But he wasn’t always nice to her, and he forgot everything like her birthday, movie or dinner plans, everything. Then my grandpa here, this is his cottage. My grandma was crying on the football field bleachers. Grandpa was going to eat, and he saw her crying, so he went to ask her what’s wrong. She told him it was her birthday and that her boyfriend didn’t . So my grandpa sits down next to her and says happy birthday to her and gave her a muffin that he just bought. And that’s when it started for them. See, Grandma and the principal been going out since sixth grade. But after their first year of high school, she broke up

with him and started going out with Grandpa,” Lyon explains. Lena doesn’t say anything; she just puts her head back down on Lyon’s shoulder. Lyon and Lena fall asleep on Lena’s bed. Two hours before Lyon wakes up. Lyon looks around, then he sees that Lena’s head is on his chest and that she’s sleeping. He slowly and gently rubs her head, making Lena slowly open her eyes. Lena looks up at Lyon, and he grins at her, making her smile at him. They both slowly get up and head downstairs. As they come downstairs, they see that Emily and Nathen are not there. Lyon walks into the kitchen and sees that Nathen has left him a note.

Lyon, your grandma and I have to pull an all-nighter tonight. We would be back till, most likely, when you and Lena are getting ready to leave for school. So you and Lena have to find something to eat. Don’t forget to fix the sink in the bathroom, it’s leaking again. I had to get back to work, didn’t have time. See you later.

Love, Grandpa and Grandma.

PS, I shouldn’t have to tell you to be careful.

Lyon gives the last piece of the letter a plain glare while shaking his head. Lena comes into the kitchen, and Lyon looks at her, then he looks back at the letter. Then he looks at the bathroom; he walks over to the bathroom and clicks the light on. He walks over to the sink and kneels down to open the cabinet. He looks at the pipes, he sees that it is leaking; he takes a deep breath, then he stands back up and goes to the bathroom doorway. He looks at Lena, who is looking through the phone book to find something to eat. Lyon grins at her like he is trying not to laugh at her. Lena then looks up at him and smiles. “What?” Lena asks.

Lyon looks at her. “Lena, what are you doing?” Lyon laughs. “What do you mean?” Lena ask with a small smile. “Lena, since when do we use the phone book?” Lyon laughs. Lena looks at him with embarrassment. She looks around, and Lyon walks over to her. She looks at him, and he slowly closes the phone book. “I don’t know the phone numbers, you always call for us to get something to eat.” Lena pouts. Lyon slightly laughs, then looks at Lena. “Okay, why don’t we go out to eat? It’s only 5:30 p.m. So help me fix the sink, and we can go wherever you want to go,” Lyon says. Lena nods her head, then she goes to get the tools, and Lyon goes back into the bathroom. He rolls up his sleeves, and Lena walks into the bathroom. Lyon lies on his back and slowly moves his head under the sink. Lena hands him the tools that he asks for, and Lyon slowly begins to fix the sink. Lena is about to grab another tool, but then she hears water running. She turns her head and Lyon is standing up, soaking wet. Lena quickly stands up and walks over to him and tries not to laugh. Lyon looks at her, and they both just start laughing. “Take that off before you get a cold.” Lena laughs. Lyon slowly takes off his shirt while Lena gets him a towel. Lena turns around to give Lyon a towel, but as she turns around, she gets a shocked look on her face. She drops the towel; she looks at Lyon’s nice smooth tan skin, slim but buff body. Lena looks at him with hot desire as she stares at Lyon’s wet body. Lyon looks at her with his green-brown eyes, his hair is out, curly wet and drips down his smooth tan skin. He stares at her the same way she is staring at him. He slowly begins to walk over to her, he gently grabs her and pulls her close to him. As he pulls her close, he kisses her, and she kisses him back! “You okay?” Lyon gently asks. Lena shakes her head, then looks at him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Lena replies. Lyon nods his head, then Lena slowly walks over to him, and she gives him the

towel. Then she slowly moves back, still looking at his chest. She stands in the bathroom doorway; she slowly puts her hand to her lips, then she looks back at Lyon, who is back under the sink, fixing it. Lena tries to pull herself together. Lena looks back down at Lyon. “Lyon, how’s it going down there?” Lena asks. “Almost done, just two more minutes,” Lyon replies. Lena nods her head. “Okay.” Lyon then fixes the sink and gently pushes himself out from under the sink and slowly stands up. He looks in the doorway and sees that Lena is not there. He walks out of the bathroom and sees that Lena is in the kitchen with her head in the sink. He walks over to her and sees that she has her face in water. Lyon touches the water and feels that it is ice-cold. He gently puts his hand on her back. “Lena, what are you doing?” Lyon asks. Lena quickly pulls her head out of the water and screams at the same time. Lyon takes a step back and looks at her; he lifts on eyebrow as he stares at her. Lena looks at him. “Why is your face in ice-cold water?” Lyon asks. Lena stares at him for a minute, then she looks around. “No reason,” Lena quickly replies. Lena then slowly walks around him and walks into the living room. Lyon watches her walk around him, then he goes to his room to get another shirt. Lyon comes into the living room five minutes later, “You ready to go?” Lyon asks. Lena turns her head and looks at him. “Yup,” Lena replies. Lyon and Lena leave the cottage; they head down to the town and go to the place that everyone goes to. It has a dance floor, and it has an area where everyone can eat, they call it the Dinner Dance or DD for short. Lyon and Lena walk in and

see just about everyone from school is there. Lena hasn’t been there before, for Dinner Dance was under construction due to the last storm. Lyon walks in and grins. The music is loud, people are on the dance floor, at the bar, and at the upper area, eating. Lyon takes Lena’s hand, and they go to Lyon’s table. “What is this, your table?” Lena asks with a smile. “Hell yeah, this is my table and area,” Lyon replies with a grin and a wink. Lena smiles, and they sit across from each other. Lena looks at the menu and doesn’t understand it. She looks at Lyon, then back down at the menu about five to six times before Lyon says anything. “Okay, what’s wrong?” Lyon asks. Lena pauses for a minute. “I don’t get what this menu is saying,” Lena replies. Lyon stares at her for a minute, then he slowly starts laughing, and Lena pouts, making Lyon laugh even more. Lyon then slowly gets up and walks over to Lena and sits down next to her, making her smile. Lyon tells Lena how the menu works, making her laugh, and Lyon looks at her with a grin. Lena and Lyon then make and order, Lyon still sitting next to Lena with his arm resting on the back of her chair. They sit there, talking, then someone from behind Lyon puts him in a headlock. “Daniel, get off me.” Lyon laughs. Lena and Lyon look up and see that Daniel and Mya are standing at their table. They say their hellos, then Lena looks at Mya. “Mya, can you come with me to the bathroom really quick?” Lena asks. Lena stands up, she and Mya go to the bathroom. “So, girly, what’s up?” Mya asks. They walk into the bathroom. “I’m freaking out,” Lena replies in a panic.

Mya looks at her with confusion. “Why, what’s wrong?” Mya asks. Lena tells Mya what happened at the cottage before she and Lyon came to the Dinner Dance. Mya listens to Lena explain everything, from start to finish and how she’s feeling. “So I don’t know what to do,” Lena says. “Okay, okay.” Mya nods her head with a smile. “Lena, I have to tell you…um… you’ve got the hots for Lyon.” “No, I don’t. I’ve seen Lyon a few times. And well, nothing,” Lena replies. “Lena, it was always there. You just never listened to it…guess till now,” Mya answers. Lena stares at Mya for a minute, then she looks in the bathroom mirror and slowly starts to all things that show her that she does like Lyon. “I don’t know what to do. We live together…and…and…oh my god…I do like Lyon,” Lena says. Mya smiles at her and slowly walks up to her. “You never have to tell him.” “How the hell do I do that?” Lena asks in a panic. Mya pauses for a minute and smiles at Lena. “It will come to you.” Lena slightly smiles and nods her head, and they both get ready to walk out of the bathroom. As they walk out of the bathroom, Lena and Mya sees Tamie and her friends walk in. They look at each other, then they walk over to Lyon and Daniel. They sit down next to them. Lena looks at Lyon then she looks at Mya. As much as Lena wants to tell Lyon how she feels, she can’t find the words. As the four of them sit there, talking and laughing, Tamie sees them. She gets a cocky grin on her face, then she slowly starts to walk over to them. Lena sees her come and looks at Mya. Mya looks at her, then she slightly turns her head and also sees that Tamie is walking to them. Mya looks back at Lena and tells her, only with her breathing, to stay calm. Lena nods her head. Lyon looks at her, then he looks up and sees that Tamie is walking over to them. He slightly glares at her, then he looks at Lena.

“Well, well, well…look who it is. What are you four doing here?” Tamie asks. “What does it look like?” Daniel angrily replies. “Don’t have to say it all like that,” Tamie replies. Tamie then looks at Lyon who is paying her no mind, making her glare at him. Lyon then slowly turns his head and looks at Tamie. “Who the hell are you looking at like that? You better back those eyes up,” Lyon says. Lyon then looks at Lena, then to the dance floor and grins; he slowly turns his head back to Lena. “You want to dance?” Lyon asks. Lena turns her head to him and smiles. “Yeah, sure.” Then Lena and Lyon slowly get up, they both walk right past Tamie, and walk down to the dance floor. Daniel and Mya just start laughing to the point where they almost couldn’t breathe, then they both get up and walk down to the dance floor. The DJ is playing hip-hop and reggae music. But then after the third song, the DJ slows it down. Lyon and Lena look at each other. Lena looks around, and Lyon just stares at her. “Do you want to sit this one out?” Lena asks. Lena starts to walk away, but Lyon gently grabs her hand, pull-spins her back into him. “But I like this song.” The DJ put the song “I Want to Be Your Man” by Roger. The DJ looks at Lyon and Lena, then he looks at Mya, nods his head with a smile. Mya looks at him; she smiles, then she walks over to Daniel who is standing on the stairs with his arms crossed. Daniel looks at her, then back at Lyon and Lena. “So this is what you think is going to make those two finally say that they have feelings for each other?” Daniel asks. “Well, Lena finally said it…not to Lyon, but she said it. Now it’s just Lyon’s

turn,” Mya replies. “And that’s why you picked this song,” Daniel continues. “Exactly,” Mya replies and kisses him on the cheek. Lena smiles. Lyon then wraps one arm around Lena’s waist, and the other hand, he is holding Lena’s hand. Lena has her other hand on Lyon’s shoulder. Tamie glares at both of them, then she walks away. Lyon takes Lena’s hand that he is holding and wraps it around his neck, making both of her hand be around his neck. Lyon then wraps both arms around her waist. Lena smiles at him, and he grins at her. She then gently puts her head onto his chest, and he gently puts his head on her shoulder. As the song comes to its end, Lyon and Lena look at each other. They look deep into each other’s eyes, but just as they move closer to each other, Tamie walks by and purposely drops her drink all over Lena. Lena backs away from Lyon, then she looks at Tamie like she’s going to rip her hair out. But Tamie just turns and looks at her with a cocky smile. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” “The hell you didn’t. What the hell is your problem?” Lena yells back. “Enough,” Lyon says. Lyon walks in between Lena and Tamie; he glares at Tamie, then he quickly but gently grabs Lena’s wrist, and they walk out of Dinner Dance. Daniel watches them leave, then he looks at Mya who is pouting. “What’s wrong with you?” Daniel asks. “Really…really. They were this close. I’ll kill her,” Mya replies. Daniel doesn’t say anything, he just smiles and slightly laughs. “Oh my god, can’t believe this. I’m going to punch her lights out,” Lena says, angry. Lena gets ready to turn around, but Lyon stops her by turning her back around,

gently grabbing her hand. “No, you will not. Lena, don’t pay her any mind,” Lyon calmly says. Lena stares at him for a minute. “Okay, I’m just going to come right out and say it.” Lyon looks at her with confusion. “What?” “Is there something going on between you and Tamie? Or did something happen between you and Tamie?” Lena asks. Lyon stares at her for a minute; he doesn’t say anything, making Lena think that there is something between Lyon and Tamie. Ponds slowly form in her eyes, then she nods her head and walks away. Lyon gets ready to run after her, but then he just slowly follows her at a distance, Lena with a river flowing down her cheeks and Lyon just in deep thought. The next day at school, everyone can see that something is wrong with Lyon and Lena. Mya walks over to Lena. “Are you okay?” Lena looks at her, and Mya can see that she has been crying. “Lena, what’s wrong?” Mya asks. Lena very slowly shakes her head, then she walks into her next classroom. Lyon has said nothing the whole day. Then lunch comes, and Lena doesn’t come to sit with everyone; Mya stays with her. “I just got a text from Mya. She said she and Lena are going to eat at the water fountain,” Daniel says. Lyon looks at him, then he looks down at the football field. Daniel and Raphael look at him, then at each other. They both then get up and walk over to Lyon. Lyon slowly lifts his head and sees that they are looking at him. “What,” Lyon asks.

“Okay, Lyon, what happened between you and Lena? You are not talking to each other, and that doesn’t happen. You can’t even look each other in the face,” asks Raphael. “What the hell happened, Lyon? You two were fine last night at DD. Now you two can’t so much as look at each other. And don’t give me no damn I don’t know either,” says Daniel. Lyon stares at them for a minute, then he takes a deep breath, then he tells Daniel and Raphael what happened after Lyon and Lena left DD last night. Meanwhile with Mya and Lena, Mya asks Lena the same thing. “What!” yells Daniel and Raphael. “Yeah,” says Lyon in depression. “Lyon, you have to be kidding me! You let Lena think that you have a thing for Tamie,” yells Raphael. “Lyon, you can’t stand Tamie! You didn’t even like her when we all were kids, so why the hell would you let Lena think that?” yells Daniel. Lyon doesn’t say anything, making Daniel get even angrier with him. Daniel walks over to Lyon and grabs him by his shirt collar, making Lyon stand up. “Okay, Lyon, I get that you don’t want to get to close to her because she’s not from around here. But at the same time, isn’t it better to have someone that you care for with you now instead of letting them go? And wonder what if, there are too many of those already. Lyon, you care for Lena, more than you’re willing to show. Tell her how you feel. It’s better to have her with you now than to never have her with you at all,” yells Daniel. Lyon stares at him with shock, then he slightly grins. Daniel slowly lets go of Lyon’s shirt and takes a step back, and Raphael looks at the both of them. “Okay, I just have one question,” Raphael says. They both look at him. “How can you all go to DD and not call me?” Raphael pouts.

Lyon and Daniel look at him, then at each other and just start laughing. The day goes on, but then when gym class comes, Lena and Lyon still don’t say anything to each other. “Dude, go talk to her,” says Raphael. Lyon looks at him and sees that Daniel is also telling him to go and talk to Lena, but when he looks at her, he sees that she’s not even looking at him, not even in his direction. “Easier said than done. She won’t even look over here,” Lyon says. “I wouldn’t want to look at you either after you let that lie go through,” says Daniel. “Shut up,” Lyon replies. “What, the truth hurts, don’t it?” Daniel continues. “Daniel,” Lyon says, “it’s not as easy as you make it sound.” Daniel doesn’t say anything, he just looks up at Mya, and she looks at him. They both smile and wave at each other. Mya then looks at Lena. “Okay, you need a change,” Mya says. Lena looks at her with confusion. “Okay, like what?” Mya takes Lena outside. “Okay, now Lyon can’t really talk to her,” says Raphael. “He has a point…where the hell is your girlfriend taking mine?” asks Lyon. Daniel and Raphael look at Lyon, who looks at them like they are crazy. “What?” “Lyon, you just called Lena your girlfriend, do you realize that?” asks Daniel. Lyon gets a slight shocked look on his face.

Meanwhile Mya takes Lena to meet the cheerleaders. Lena looks at them and gives them a nervous smile. Mya talks Lena into becoming a cheerleader, so for the rest of gym class, everyone in the cheer squad help Lena with some of the cheers. Then after school, Mya and Lena stay a little longer to help Lena the cheers more, but at the same time, they both come up with new ideas. After Lena and Mya were done they, go to get something to eat. “Lena, I don’t mean to bring your mood down, but do you really think that Lyon has a thing for Tamie?” asks Mya. “No,” Lena replies. “Then why are you not talking to him?” Mya asks with confusion. “Because…he didn’t try to stop me from thinking it. So it shows that he doesn’t want to get any closer to me than what we are now. So till I can let go, I can’t be around him right now,” Lena replies. Mya doesn’t say anything, for she can’t because what Lena says is true. If Lyon doesn’t step up, Lena will lock up her feelings, and it’s hard to say if she’ll open them up again if Lyon changes him mind. So Mya doesn’t say anything, she just grabs Lena and pulls her into the mall, and they hang out to take Lena’s mind off of it. The sun starts to set and they both head home. Mya walks Lena to the path, then they say their nights and both walk home. Lena walks up to the cottage and takes a deep breath, then she walks into the cottage. When she walks in, she doesn’t see Lyon, so she just says hello to Emily and Nathen, then walks up to her room. Emily and Nathen know that something is going on between Lyon and Lena, but they just let them fix it. Lena sits on her bed and puts her headphones on and plays Brandy’s “Have You Ever” as she does her homework. Lyon is in his room, playing with his guitar, with Shadow lying on the end of his bed. The next day, it’s still the same—Lena and Lyon still are not talking to each other. And the next day and the next day and the following days. “It’s been about…a month and a half. You two need to talk…she’s not even talking to me. I’m failing Spanish now,” says Raphael. Lyon looks at him, but then he looks out the window.

“Oh wow, the rain is coming down hard,” Lyon says. Raphael and Daniel look at him. Raphael looks at Daniel who is shaking his head. As the school day goes on, Lyon is walking in the hallway, heading back to class, then he sees Mya walking back to her class. He runs up to her, and they both start talking. After about five to seven minutes, they both head back to their classrooms. Lyon walks in to his class and takes a deep breath. He doesn’t have his class with Lena today, making Lyon breathe normally. That day after school, Lena goes to her locker, and she can see that her umbrella is not in her locker. “Great,” Lena says. She walks down to the front of the school and sees that Mya is not there. Then she gets a text on the new phone that Emily and Nathen got her since she’s coming home late and won’t tell them why. Lena sees that it’s from Mya:

Hey, girly, sorry about today. I completely forgot that Daniel and I have plans today, but we can hang out tomorrow. Later :).

Lena replies to Mya’s text:

It’s okay, have fun. You two haven’t seen each other for a long time. See you tomorrow :).

Lena then looks up at the rain, then she sits on the stairs waiting for the rain to die down, but it just starts to get harder. Then just as Lena is about to call Emily — “Lost your umbrella again?” a voice from behind says. Lena turns around and sees that it’s Lyon. “Y-yeah,” Lena replies.

Then Lena turns back to the rain. Lyon grins, then he walks over to her and sits down next to her. She doesn’t say anything nor does she look at him, but Lyon looks at her and stares at her for a minute. “Okay, me first again,” Lyon says. “Lena, we need to talk about something.” Lena looks at him, still without saying anything. Lyon then stands up and grabs Lena’s hand, pulling her off the steps. Then he starts to run, still holding Lena’s hand, pulling her into the rain. “Lyon, what are you doing?” Lena yells over the rain. “Just come on,” Lyon replies. Lyon pulls Lena all the way to the cottage, but he just drops off their things, then he pulls Lena off the porch, for she tries to go into the cottage. “Oh no, you don’t,” Lyon says. Lyon pulls Lena into the woods next to the cottage. “Lyon, where the hell are you taking me?” Lena yells over the rain. Lyon doesn’t say anything, he just keeps pulling her, then they get to a bunch of bushes that look like a tunnel or bridge, they are all stuck together. Lyon then slowly let’s go of Lena’s hand; he takes his hair out of his ponytail to drain the water from it. Lena does the same with her hair that is getting a little longer. She looks at Lyon, who’s back is to her. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Lena yells. Lyon turns at looks at her. “Don’t look at me all calm and relax. What the hell did you bring me out here for?” Lena yells still. Lyon looks around with a grin, then he looks at her. Lena just stares at him with small anger. “Okay, let’s start with, why are you angry at me?” Lyon asks.

“What?” Lena asks with confusion. “Why are you angry at me?” Lyon asks again. “Lyon—” Lena is cut off. “Answer the question,” Lyon demands but calmly. “No, just like you didn’t answer mine,” Lena replies angry. “Actually, you kinda just answered my question,” Lyon says, slowly walking to Lena. “No, I didn’t,” Lena yells back. “Yeah, you did,” Lyon says, still walking to Lena. “No,” Lena replies. “So you think that there is something going on between me and Tamie. And I didn’t reply, making you think that there is or was something there,” Lyon says calmly, still walking. Lena slowly begins to step back. “Now the real question is, what makes you think that there’s something between me and Tamie? The only way you would feel to ask me that, is that you feel threatened by her. But the other question is, why would you feel threatened by her?” Lyon says calmly, still walking. Lena backs up into the bushes and hits a thorn, making her quickly move away from it—right into Lyon’s arms. She looks at him and moves away but still slightly in his arms. She still doesn’t say anything, but the second she moves into Lyon’s arms, she doesn’t know what to do. She looks at him with a hot desire. Lyon sees how she is looking at him. Lyon starts to get closer to Lena, and she is about to take off, but the second she turns to leave, Lyon grabs her hand. “Nope.” Lyon pulls Lena back to him and turns her around, he wraps his left arm around

her waist and his right hand on her face. “You tell me if there’s something between me and that girl,” Lyon says. Then suddenly Lyon kisses Lena! Lena gets a shocked look on her face, but then closes her eyes and slowly wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck, kissing him back. Lyon then slowly moves his right hand from Lena’s face, wraps it around her waist. Lyon then slowly moves his lips from Lena, and she looks at him. Lyon looks at her, making her body melt, even with the raindrops that are ing through the branches. “Do you still think that something’s going on, or are you happy that I finally answered your question?” Lyon says. Lena looks at him with slight shock, she sees that Lyon knew the whole time why she wasn’t talking to him. She sees that like her, he also didn’t know how to say what he’s feeling; she smiles and shakes her head. “You answered,” Lena replies. Lyon grins, then he pulls her into another kiss as they hold each other close as the rain falls!

Memory 10

The weekend comes, and Lyon and Lena are finally talking again, and they are no longer two strangers. A boy who found a girl in a river, they have become boyfriend and girlfriend for about three weeks; they just haven’t told anyone yet. “Lyon and Lena, come on, we’re going to miss it,” yells Emily. Lena comes running downstairs, and Lyon comes from the kitchen with Nathen talking. They are going to Nathen’s new bar. “You nervous, Grandpa?” asks Lena. Nathen looks at her and smiles. “No, but I just hope that they don’t break anything. It took a lot of work to get the place the way I want it,” Nathen replies. Everyone leaves the cottage, and they get ready to go to the bar. Everyone is at the bar. Nathen walks in and sees how the place looks with people, and he can’t stop smiling and laughing. Lyon and Lena look at each other and smile, then they go over to everyone that’s their age. They sit and talk to everyone, but then one of Lena’s favorite songs comes on, and she looks at Lyon. Lyon looks at her, then he listens to the song that is playing; he grins at her, then they both get up and walk over to the dancing area. As they dance, Daniel and Mya walk in; they both look around, then they see Lyon and Lena dancing. They walk over to Nathen and Emily first. “Like the new look,” says Daniel. “Thank you, Daniel,” says Nathen. “Yeah, the place looks great. You ready to have your hands full even more?” says Mya. “Thank you, both of you. We’ll never know, but I may be out of energy by the end of the night.” Nathen laughs. Then Nathen and Emily walk over to some friends that they see, Daniel and Mya

walk over to Lyon and Lena, who are dancing to Romeo Santos’s Sin Filtro. “Having fun?” Daniel asks. Lyon turns around, and they both grab hands with a quick small hug. “Your grandpa’s place turned out nice,” says Daniel. “Yeah, I know. And this is the only time underage gets to come in,” Lyon replies. Mya and Lena say their hellos with a hug. Then Mya says hello to Lyon, also with a hug, same with Lena and Daniel. But then as Daniel and Mya look at Lyon and Lena as they stand next to each other, they see that there is more. “Okay, what is with you two?” asks Mya. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then at Daniel and Mya. “What do you mean?” asks Lena. “The air around you two. It’s different, like it’s more happy,” replies Daniel. “And on top of that, when did you two start talking again?” asks Mya. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then just start laughing. Daniel and Mya look at each other. “Okay, tonight is supposed to be fun, right. It’s the weekend, we don’t have school tomorrow. So let’s just have a good night, okay?” Laughs Lyon. “Shall we?” “Yes, we shall,” Lena replies. Lyon and Lena go back to the dance floor. Daniel and Mya just look at each other, then they shrug their shoulders, and they go to the dance floor. Everyone dances and drinks the night away. As they all are having fun, Raphael is walking in. “Yeah, now this is a place to let loose,” Raphael says. Raphael walks into the bar, already dancing with a big goofy smile on his face.

Raphael then sees Daniel and Mya in the dance area. He dances over to them; Mya sees him coming and just starts laughing. Daniel looks at her, then he turns his head and shakes his head while laughing. Raphael comes over to them. “What’s up, guys?” asks Raphael. “Raphael, what are you doing?” asks Daniel, still laughing. “I like this song. I think I’m going to put it on my phone,” replies Raphael. Daniel and Mya just keep laughing. As they laugh, Raphael looks around and slowly stops dancing. “Hey, where’s Lyon and Lena? I thought they’d be here,” asks Raphael. “Oh, they’re right—” says Daniel. Daniel and Mya look around and see that Lyon and Lena are not on the dance floor anymore. They look around, but no sign of them; they don’t even see them with Nathen and Emily. The three of them look at one another. “Maybe…they went outside to get some air,” says Mya. The three of them shrug their shoulders. Meanwhile in the back of the bar, in a corner, there is Lyon and Lena. Lyon very gently pinning Lena with one arm wrapped around her waist, and the other arm leaning against the wall, slightly above Lena’s head! Lena is slightly leaning against the wall with her arms wrapped around Lyon’s neck! Lyon and Lena are in the back of the bar, hiding to have a few minutes to themselves! Lyon and Lena are ionately kissing for a few minutes since they wish to keep the fact that they are a couple a secret for a little while! Mya comes out of the bathroom, and there she sees Lyon and Lena talking to Emily, Nathen, and a few others around the bar. Lyon has all the guys laughing, Lena is talking with Emily and the other women who are also around the bar. Everyone at the bar is laughing. Mya looks at Lyon and Lena. As she looks at them, she sees something that she has seen before when she and Daniel first came. Mya looks at the dance floor and sees Daniel; she walks over to him and he looks at her.

“Something is really going on between Lyon and Lena,” Mya says. “Why, what makes you think that?” asks Daniel. “Look at them at the bar. They look like the sun and the moon…it’s weird. Something’s up,” Mya replies. Daniel looks at her, then he looks at the bar, and he can see what Mya is talking about. He looks at them with slight shock. “Okay, you’re right. ’Cause Lyon…doesn’t talk or laugh that much. Mostly in one night, and Lena is not being all that shy…something is really going on,” Daniel continues. As Daniel and Mya try to see what’s going on between Lyon and Lena, Raphael comes over to them. They look at him like he has gone crazy. “What is it with that goofy smile on your face?” asks Daniel. “I think I found the right girlfriend for me,” Raphael replies. They look at him, then at each other. “Really, and who might that be?” asks Mya. “Well, she’s not here anymore, she had to leave. But you guys know her, she goes to our school. Melissa,” Raphael replies. “Oh, yeah. I know who you’re talking about. She’s on the cheer squad we me. Why didn’t you just say it was her?” Mya replies. “I just did,” Raphael replies. “Well, I need to get going. She gave me her number and asked me to call her before it gets too late. So I’m off. You guys seen—oh, never mind, I see them. Later,” says Raphael. Daniel and Mya watch Raphael walk over to Lyon and Lena. “Raphael, what’s up? When did you get here?” asks Lyon. “I’ve been here for almost two hours,” Raphael replies.

“Oh, sorry, man. I didn’t know.” Lyon laughs. “Are you okay?” asks Raphael. “Yeah, why?” asks Lyon. “You seem…happy. Really, really happy,” replies Raphael. “I do—oh, I don’t know. But what’s up? You leaving?” asks Lyon. “Y-yeah. Lyon, what the hell is wrong with you?” asks Raphael “What?” asks Lyon, laughing. Raphael stares at Lyon, who has this huge grin on his face like he’s crazy. Lyon looks at him like he’s trying his best not to laugh. “Okay, okay. Is Lena around? I just want to say hi, then I’m going to go,” asks Raphael. “Yeah, she’s here,” Lyon replies. “Hey, beautiful, come here for a second. Raphael is leaving,” Lyon calls Lena. Lena turns her head and sees Lyon and Raphael, and she walks over to them. “Hey, Raphael, you’re leaving already? Wait, how long have you—when did you get here?” asks Lena, slightly laughing. “I’ve been here for two hours. The question is, where the hell have you two been?” asks Raphael. “We’ve been here since it opened, for about what, four, five hours.” Lena laughs. “Yeah, about that long. You haven’t been looking hard enough.” Lyon laughs. “Yeah, because he was dancing with that pretty girl,” Lena continues. “Okay, I’m gonna go. I said I’d call her before it gets too late,” says Raphael. “You better hurry then. It’s almost two o’clock in the morning.” Lyon laughs.

Raphael looks at the time, then he says his goodbye to everyone, then he takes off for home. Lyon and Lena watch him run out of the bar; they look at each other and just start laughing really hard. As Lyon and Lena hang at the bar, Daniel and Mya walk over to them. They see Lyon leaning back against the bar and Lena leaning her back to his chest. Lyon’s arms wrap around Lena’s waist, and Lena’s arms wrap around Lyon’s arms. Everyone is laughing. Daniel and Mya look at each other, then they continue walking over to Lyon and Lena. “Ah, don’t tell me that you two are leaving too,” Lena whines. Lyon looks at them. “Yeah, you two are leaving already?” says Lyon. “Lyon, it’s almost three o’clock in the morning, and I still have to finish homework,” Daniel replies. “Damn, what do you have left to do?” asks Lyon. “Just an English assignment,” Daniel replies. “Oh, have fun with that.” Lyon laughs. “Shut up.” Daniel laughs. Then a friend of Emily and Nathen, who works at the bar with Nathen, comes over to Lyon. “Lyon, you have gotten big. But I have to go, new bar, a lot of people will be coming now.” “Thanks, Jim. See you around,” Lyon replies. “Lena, it was nice to finally meet you,” Jim says. Jim was about to give Lena a kiss on the hand, but Lyon takes her hand away. “No, toughie,” Lyon says. Lena just starts laughing. “Stop, that’s mean.” Lena laughs. “Nice to meet you too, Jim. See you around.” “It’s okay. To have a woman like you, I wouldn’t want another man touching her

either,” Jim replies. Jim then goes to say his good nights to Nathen and Emily. Jim is about 6'4" tall, has a buff body, light-skinned, buzz cut black hair, and dark-brown eyes. Lena turns her head and looks at Lyon. “That was mean…go say sorry.” Lena laughs. “For what?” Lyon asks, slightly laughing. “What do you mean for what? Good, say sorry,” Lena says, slightly laughing. “No, I see him at the gym. I’ll say it then, okay,” Lyon replies. “Okay.” Lena smiles. “How long have you known him?” “Who, Jim?” asks Lyon. “Mmhm,” Lena replies, nodding her head. “I’ve known Jim since I was little. I teach weight lifting down at the gym now sometimes. When he’s not here at the bar, he helps me when I go down there. He grew up with Grandma and Grandpa,” Lyon replies. “Oh, that’s so cute.” Lena laughs. “Shut up.” Lyon laughs as he tickles Lena. Daniel and Mya look at each other, then back at Lyon and Lena. “Okay, um…” says Mya. Lyon and Lena look up at them, then they look at each other. “Oh, hey. What’s up?” asks Lyon with a grin. “Nothing, we’re just heading out,” Daniel replies. “Okay, see you later, man,” Lyon says. Lyon and Lena slowly let go of each other. Lyon and Daniel grab hands with a quick small hug. Mya and Lena hug; the four of them say their good night, then

Daniel and Mya head home. As they head to the door, they look back at Lyon and Lena; they get slightly shocked looks on their faces. Lena is now facing Lyon, leaning on him with her arms wrapped around his neck, and Lyon has his arms wrapped around her waist. He kisses her head, then her cheek, next her neck, then they hold each other tightly. Lena then looks at Lyon, smiling, and he grins at her, then she pulls him to the dance floor. Daniel and Mya watch them, smiling, then they slowly take their leave. “When their ready to tell us, they will,” says Daniel. “Yeah, I know. But I’m happy for them,” Mya replies. “Yeah, and it’s about time,” Daniel continues. Later on that night, around 4:30 a.m., Lyon and Lena get ready to head home. They say their good nights to everyone. “Yeah, you two need to go and get some sleep. Even if it’s only Saturday—well, Sunday now,” Emily says, giving Lena a hug. “Yeah, plus, Lyon, basketball practice will be starting soon. So you need to get some sleep. So see you later,” Nathen continues. Lyon and Lena say bye to Emily, Nathen, and everyone that works at the bar. They slowly head to the cottage with smiles on their faces. They slowly walk into the cottage. “Man, now that we’re here, I’m feeling sleepy.” Lena laughs. “Yeah, I know,” Lyon replies with a grin. “Hey, Shadow. Did he eat?” “Yeah, you fed him before we left and gave him ice water,” Lean replies. Lyon nods his head, then gently rubs Shadows head. As he sits down on the couch, he looks up at Lena and sees that she’s not walking to her room. He gets off the couch and follows Lena. As he follows her, he sees that she’s walking to his room. “Lena, where are you going?” asks Lyon.

“To sleep,” Lena softly replies. “Your room is in the house…upstairs,” Lyon says. “Yeah, I know,” Lena replies, still walking to Lyon’s room. Lyon watches her for a minute, then he looks down at Shadow. “Better go lock the front door. I’ll take her to her room when she falls asleep.” Lyon yawns. Lyon goes to lock the front door, and when he goes to his room, he sees that Lena’s clothes are on the floor. He looks at his bed and sees that Lena is fast asleep on his bed; he walks over to her and kneels down on the side of the bed. He looks at her and grins, her eyes slowly halfway open. She smiles at him. “I borrowed one of your shirts…is that okay?” Lena asks. Lyon grins with a slight laugh under his breath. “Yeah, it’s okay. Come, let’s get you to bed.” Lyon gets ready to pick Lena up to take her to her room, but then Lena gently grabs his arm. He looks down at her. “Can I just stay here? It’s already late…and you need to get some sleep,” Lena asks. Lyon takes the covers and gently puts them back on Lena. “Okay, you can stay here,” Lyon grins. Lyon then goes to change his clothes. Two to three minutes later, Lyon goes back into his room. He has a red muscle shirt on with a pair of black basketball shorts. As he slowly gets into his bed, he stares at Lena for a minute with a peaceful grin. He slowly lies down, then he wraps one arm around her waist, and the other arm, Lena gently puts her head on. She wraps one arm onto Lyon’s arm around her waist, and the other hand, she gently puts into Lyon’s hand that she’s using as a pillow. They both fall asleep very quickly, for the night they had was long. As the sun slowly rises, Lyon and Lena are still fast asleep, but then Lyon’s eyes slowly begin to twitch. “Lyon, Lyon, Lyon,” someone is yelling.

Then Lyon’s eyes completely open but still half-asleep when he hears his door slam open. “Raphael, what are you doing?” Lyon asks with a yawn. “Lyon, I need your help. I have a date tonight—and why is Lena in your bed?” asks Raphael. Lyon looks at him, then he slowly turns his head and looks at his clock. “Raphael, it is 6:45 a.m. We just got to sleep two hours ago. And how the hell did you get in here? You can only get into my room by going through the house,” says Lyon. “I used the spare key,” Raphael quickly replies, “I need your help.” “What spare key?” Lyon asks in a deep voice. Lyon looks at Raphael like he is going to hurt him. Raphael looks around, trying not to look Lyon in the eyes. “Don’t worry about that. Anyways about my date tonight,” Raphael says. “And what time is your date?” Lyon asks. “Oh, not till eight o’clock tonight,” Raphael joyfully replies. Lyon slowly turns his head to Raphael, even worse than he did a few minutes ago. He stares at Raphael for a long minute. “Your…date…is not till eight o’clock…tonight,” Lyon replies in a deep voice. Raphael nods his head with a happy smile. Lyon very slightly tilts his head and looks at him like he is going to slam him onto the floor. Raphael just looks around the room, still with a happy smile on his face. Lyon takes a very deep breath. “Raphael, come back when I’m awake,” Lyon says in a deep slightly angry tone. “When will that be? I really—” Raphael is cut off.

“Raphael,” Lyon slightly yells. “Okay, I’ll be back later,” Raphael says as he runs away. Lyon slowly starts to relax, then he looks down at Lena and sees that she is slowly starting to open her eyes. “Hey,” Lena says, half-asleep. “Hey, sorry, did I wake you?” Lyon softly asks. “Oh, no, sorry. Is it time to get up?” Lena asks still half-asleep. “No, no. Go back to sleep…two hours is not enough sleep,” Lyon replies as he puts his head down. Lena smiles as she gently takes Lyon’s arm and wraps it about her. Lyon looks at her and grins as they hold hands. Lyon and Lena sleep till noon. Emily and Nathen saw them sleeping when they came home an hour after they did. They just left them alone since it was a late night. As noon comes, Emily and Nathen sees that Lyon and Lena are still sleeping, “Should we wake them?” asks Emily. “No, let them sleep a little longer. We’ll call them around 1:30 p.m. to see if they’re up. And if they’re not, we just wake them up,” Nathen replies. Nathen and Emily give each other a kiss, then they head to work. A few minutes after Nathen and Emily leave for work, Raphael, Daniel, and Mya are heading to the cottage. They walk up the porch, and Raphael tries to open the door. “Okay, Raphael, the door is locked. Can we come back later?” Daniel says. “No, I need you and Lyon to help me with my date tonight,” Raphael replies. Raphael then picks up the plant pot next to the door, and there Daniel and Mya see a spare key. They look at each other, then back at Raphael. “Raphael, how the hell did you know that was there?” asks Daniel. Raphael looks at them, then he just turns and opens the door; he walks inside.

“Raphael,” Daniel calls. Daniel looks at Mya and see that she is laughing. “It’s not funny,” Daniel says with a small grin. Then Raphael comes back over to the door. “What are you two doing! Come on, I need you two to help me get Lyon to not…hurt me for this morning.” “What did you do this morning?” asks Daniel. “Nothing,” Raphael quickly replies. Raphael walks back into the cottage with Daniel and Mya slowly following him. As they follow him, they see that he is walking to Lyon’s room. Raphael walks over to Lyon’s bedroom door. Daniel runs over to Raphael and stops him from opening the door. “What are you doing?” Mya whispers. “Going to get Lyon,” Raphael replies. “You’re just going to walk into his room. What is wrong with you?” Daniel whispers. “Oh, it’ll be fine. You two are here,” Raphael says. Raphael walks around Daniel and slowly opens Lyon’s bedroom door. Daniel and Mya try to stop him, but as he opens the door, their faces slowly turn to shock. They see Lena sleeping in Lyon’s bed, they see that Lena’s head is against Lyon’s chest with her hands slightly covering her face. Lyon’s arm is still wrapped around her waist, and his other arm is above Lena’s head. Daniel and Mya look at each other with shock, then they look back at Lyon and Lena. Raphael walks over to them, and Daniel runs over to him. “Raphael, what are you doing?” Daniel whispers. “Waking up Lyon,” Raphael replies.

“Raphael…” Daniel whispers deeply. “It’s noon…time to wake up. I need help,” Raphael says. Raphael looks at Lyon. “Lyon!” Raphael yells. Lyon and Lena quickly wake up, but Lyon is the only one who quickly leans up. He puts his hand on his face, then he looks at Raphael, half-asleep and angry. “Raph—a—el,” Lyon says in a deep, angry tone. “Hi, it’s later. And I need help…I brought Daniel and Mya with me,” Raphael says. Lyon slowly moves his hand from his face; he looks at Daniel and Mya. Lyon gently rubs his eyes as he takes a deep breath. Lena slowly leans up; she still looks more asleep then wake, and she puts her head on Lyon’s back shoulder. Lyon looks at her and grins. “Hey, I think it’s time we got up,” Lyon gently says. Lena slowly nods her head but doesn’t move it from Lyon’s back shoulder. Lyon then looks at everyone, then he looks at Daniel. “He did tell you that his date is at…eight o’clock tonight, right?” Lyon asks. “Yup, but he wouldn’t leave me alone. Next we went to get Mya, and last he told us we have to come get you,” Daniel replies. “Raphael, why do you need us to help you?” asks Lyon as he looks at him. “Because…Daniel have been dating for a long time, and, Lyon, you know how to relax and be yourself. Plus you helped Daniel out when he went on his first date with Mya…so I thought you can help me,” Raphael replies. Lyon takes a deep breath. “All right, I’ll help you.” Raphael yells with relief and starts running all over Lyon’s room; he’s about to run over to Lyon—“Don’t even think about it,” Lyon says, making Raphael pout, but then he runs over to Mya and hugs her as he picks her up, shaking her.

“I feel like I’m being hugged by King Kong,” Mya says. Lyon and Daniel laugh. “Okay, well, I have to get dressed, so get out,” Lyon says. Raphael puts Mya down, and the three of them look back at Lyon as they get close to the door. “Do you want me to get Lena?” asks Mya. Lyon looks up at her, then he looks back at Lena. “No, it’s okay,” Lyon replies. “Are you sure?” asks Mya. “Yeah, she fell back asleep,” Lyon replies. The three of them then gently open and close Lyon’s door; they go into the cottage and wait for him in the kitchen or living room. Lyon waits for a few minutes, then he turns his head and looks at Lena; he kisses her on her head. Lena’s eyes slowly open, and she looks up at him, smiles. “Thank you for letting me sleep in here. I really didn’t want to walk up those stairs.” Lena smiles. “Yeah, I guessed, but we have to get up. Or Raphael is gonna come back in here,” Lyon says. “No, can’t we stay like this a little longer?” Lena whines. Lyon grins, then he slowly gets out of bed; he walks over to his closet as he fixes his hair into a ponytail. Lena watches him, still just sitting on his bed, not really wishing to move, slightly pouting. Lyon turns is head and sees that Lena hasn’t gotten out of the bed; he grins at her. He slowly walks over to her, then he sits on the bed next to her. She looks up at him, still slightly pouting, and Lyon just grins at her. “As much as I would enjoy staying in bed with you all day, we have three people in the house waiting for us,” Lyon says. Lena slightly laughs, then Lyon moves closer to her, and she looks at him. He

gently puts his hand on the side of her face, and she gently puts her hands on his chest. Lyon and Lena kiss! Lena then gently pulls Lyon more to her by pulling on his shirt. Lena slowly leans back as Lyon moves forward, but then they hear Raphael yelling. They both start laughing. Lyon leans back, then walks back over to his closet. Lena slowly gets out of bed, walks over to her clothes from last night. Lyon looks at her. He sees that she is wearing his Chicago Bulls jersey that says “Jordan” on the back of it. He grins but then he sees her legs, making him stare at her deeply; he looks at her from her legs all the way up to the side of her face. Lyon then walks over to her. Lena turns her head and sees that Lyon is walking over to her. Lena looks at him with slight confusion but not enough time to ask him what’s wrong. For Lyon gently grabs Lena waist and pulls her close to him and kisses her. Lena is surprise at first, then she kisses him back! Lena walks back, and Lyon walks forward, still kissing, into the wall. Lyon has his arms wrapped around Lena’s waist, and Lena has her arms wrapped around Lyon’s neck. Their kisses have heat, ion, and desire in it! But then just as Lyon’s hands move down to the bottom of the jersey to lift it, they both hear something break in the cottage. They both look at each other; Lyon steps back, and Lena just gently puts one arms around her waist and the other hand to her lips. Lyon just looks her up and down again, then looks her in the eyes. Lena looks at him the same way—with desire. They look at Lyon’s bedroom door as they hear Raphael yelling. They start laughing again, then they both go to see what Raphael is yelling about. They walk into the kitchen, and there they see Raphael trying to take a bone away from Shadow. They see that Daniel and Mya are watching in the living/kitchen room doorway. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they look back at Raphael and Shadow. “Raphael, what are you doing?” asks Lyon. Raphael looks at him. “I’m trying to take back my rib bone,” Raphael replies. Lyon stares at him for a minute; he shakes his head, then he slowly walks over to Raphael and Shadow. He looks at Shadow, Raphael, and the rib bone that they are fighting over. Lyon then slowly turns his head and looks at Raphael. “Raphael, did you get that rib bone from the counter wrapped in foil?” Lyon asks. Raphael looks at him, still trying to take the rib from Shadow. “Yeah, why?”

Raphael replies. “Raphael.” Lyon pauses. “Those rib bones belong to Shadow. We give it to him once in a while, mostly after we are done working with the chores around here,” Lyon explains. Raphael looks at him, then at Shadow. “Then why was there so much meat left on this one?” Raphael asks. “Maybe we wanted to give him a treat? We do that occasionally also,” Lyon replies. Raphael then slowly turns his head down to Shadow. “Okay, Raphael, let it go. Let it go, Raphael,” Daniel says. Raphael slowly let’s go of the rib bone, and Shadow walks to the back porch. He slowly lies down and eats his rib bone. Everyone watches Shadow walk to the back porch, then they all look at Raphael. Raphael looks at them with guilt yet not guilt. “Okay, Raphael. What are you having a problem with right now?” asks Lyon. Raphael looks at him, then he takes a deep breath and tells everyone that he doesn’t know how to go on a normal date with a girl. They look at each other, then they all just start laughing, making Raphael pout. Lyon and Lena go to get dressed, then after about ten minutes, they all leave the cottage and take Raphael out to help him understand how to treat a girl when going out on a date. They go to the park; Lyon and Daniel sit on the grass next to one of the park’s pathways. Mya and Lena act like different girls, and Raphael has to try and get them to agree to go on a date with them, seeing how well he can do with a small walk in the park. But Raphael just keeps doing the same thing over and over again. “Raphael you can’t keep looking at their backsides,” Daniel says. “Try standing next to them and talk to them instead of walking behind them, making them think that all you want to do is get them in your bed,” Lyon explains. “Okay, well, how do I do that?” Raphael asks.

Lyon and Daniel look at each other, then Lyon slowly gets up and walks over to Lena. Mya walks over to Daniel and sits down next to him. “Okay, Raphael, why don’t you watch Lyon and Lena?” says Daniel. “They’re not even a couple. Why don’t you two do it?” Raphael asks. “Because it works better this way because they are not a couple. So you can see how two, who like each other, should act on a first date,” Daniel says, looking at Lyon and Lena. Lyon looks at him, then he looks down at Lena, who is looking up at him, slightly leaning against his chest. Lyon grins at her while they start to hold hands. Daniel and Mya look at them, carefully trying not to laugh, “Not a couple my ass,” Mya whispers to Daniel. Daniel looks at her, then he looks back at Lyon and Lena. “Okay, Lyon, you start. Raphael, come over here and sit down,” Daniel says. Raphael walks over to Daniel and Mya; he sits down next to Daniel. Lyon and Lena slowly start to act like they are going on a date. Daniel explains the first part to Raphael. “First part is dinner or a movie, right. First part, see what kind of movie they are into seeing that can tell you a few things. If you go to dinner, talk to them about all different kinds of things, ask them questions about why they like what they like. Try to get to know them before you scare them, making them think that all you want to do is show them your bedcovers, okay. Don’t even bring it up, mostly on a first date. If you two finish everything before the hour is up, take a small walk through the park. And talk some more,” Daniel explains. Raphael nods his head, then Daniel tells Lyon and Lena they can start walking. Lyon and Lena slowly start walking from behind the bushes’ blind spot. They are holding hands, talking. “Okay, we talked about some of the big things. So can I ask you something small and stupid?” Lyon asks.

Lena laughs. “Yes.” “What’s your favorite color?” Lyon asks. Lena stares at him for a minute, then she looks up at the trees, still smiling. “I would have to say my favorite color is”—Lena pauses as she looks at Lyon—“a greenish-brown color.” “And why would you pick that color?” Lyon asks. Lena doesn’t answer, she just smiles. Lyon grins, for he knows why she said those two mix colors. “Okay, that was great,” Daniel says. Lyon and Lena stop walking right in front of everyone. “Okay, you see what Lyon did. When he asks her that second question, Lena didn’t reply, and Lyon didn’t force it out of her. Don’t make her do or answer if she doesn’t want to. That also goes the same for you, if she’s doing something you don’t like, don’t do it,” Daniel explains. “Yeah, well, Melissa is not like that, from what I know. Like they say, treat them the way you want to be treated,” Mya says. Raphael looks at them, then he looks back at Lyon and Lena. Lyon grins and slightly shrugs his shoulders, and Lena just smiles. “Okay, next we will see how you do when you two are eating,” Daniel says. They still stay at the park; they all sit at one of the tables that the park has. “Okay, Raphael, when you sit and eat with a girl, don’t scarf down your food in front of her. Mya went to get some fruits. Only because you don’t want to eat too much before your real date tonight. So show us how you will eat,” says Daniel. Raphael nods his head as Mya puts some cut fruits in front of him. Lena is still across from him and smiles. Raphael looks at the fruit, then at Lena; he does that about three to four times before he does anything. Then he slowly takes a bit of his food and starts talking with his mouth full of food. Daniel puts his hand to

his face, then he slowly moves it off, looking at Raphael. “Raphael, you don’t talk to her with your mouth full of food. All your food will get all over her, or she just might walk away,” Daniel says. Mya is shaking her head, and Lyon is trying his best not to laugh as well as hiding his face so they can’t see. “Okay, let’s try it again,” Daniel says. Raphael nods his head, but then he does the same thing—talks with food in his mouth. He does it about two more times before Daniel tells him to stop. Then Lyon and Raphael change places; Raphael goes to sit next to Daniel, and Lyon goes and sits across from Lena. Mya puts another plate of fruit down for the both of them. “Okay, let’s try doing this again. Lyon and Lena, go ahead,” Daniel says. Lyon and Lena look at each other, trying their best not to laugh, then they slowly start to eat the fruits. But then Mya, Daniel, and Raphael stare at Lyon and Lena with shock. Lyon stops eating his food and is now just staring at Lena, resting his chin on the back of his right hand and his left arm just lying on the table at the bottom part of the plate. Lena looks up at him, and her eyes are in a daze. Lyon is looking at her with a gentle very small smile; his eyes are looking right into her eyes. “What?” Lena softly asks. But Lyon doesn’t reply, all he does is stare at her. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Lena softly asks with a small smile. Lyon still doesn’t reply, all he does is turn his smile into a grin. Lyon stares at Lena like she is a rare beauty, like he is taking pictures with his eyes of this moment. Lena looks at him like she can’t move. She gives him a very small gentle smile, looking at him the same way he is looking at her. “Wow, you two are really something else,” Raphael says. Lyon and everyone snap out of it and look at Raphael who is standing at the

other side of the table, next to Lyon and Lena. Daniel and Mya look at him with plain glares. “I can’t believe he did that,” Daniel quietly says to Mya. “Yeah, just when it looks like it was going to get good,” Mya quietly replies. Lyon stares at Raphael, but Lena is slightly laughing as she covers her mouth. Lyon looks at her with his eyes and sees that she is laughing. He slowly shakes his head, slightly laughing under his breath. “Okay,” Daniel gently says. “So, Lyon. That staring at a girl while you’re eating or while she’s eating, where did you get that idea?” Raphael asks as he kneels at the edge of the table. Lyon looks at him, then he looks at Lena with his eyes and grins; he looks back at Raphael. “Raphael, when you’re with a girl that you feel right about, you’re going to do things that you don’t normally do,” Lyon replies. Raphael looks at him and nods his head. “Now that, I get,” Raphael replies with a grin. “Okay then, why don’t we see what you’re going to wear and do tonight?” Lyon asks.

Memory 11

Everyone goes to Raphael’s house. As they walk up to his house, Lena looks up at it. She looks at Lyon, then back at Raphael’s house. Lyon looks back at her. “What?” Lyon asks. “You call this a house? It’s huge,” Lena replies in a whisper. Lyon laughs under his breath, making Lena slightly pout. “Lena, did you forget that Raphael’s and Daniel’s fathers are owners of the car shop? They stay at this one because it’s in our hometown. But this is not their only car shop,” Lyon replies in a whisper. Lena gives him a small smile, slightly sticking her tongue out at him. Lyon just grins at her, then they follow everyone into Raphael’s house. As they walk in, Lena’s head slowly goes back, looking up to the point that she almost falls. But Lyon gently pushes her back straight; she looks at him, then they follow Raphael and everyone up to Raphael’s room. As they walk into Raphael’s room, they all stay at the door. Raphael turns and looks at them. “What?” Raphael asks. “Raphael, when was that last time you cleaned your room?” asks Daniel. “I cleaned it,” Raphael replies. “Raphael, I can’t see your floor. And we’re going to fall and probably into something that we don’t want to even smell,” Daniel replies. Raphael looks at Daniel with a slight pout, then he slowly looks around his room, then he looks back at Daniel and the others. “Okay, my room needs a little help,” Raphael says. “A little. We’ll be lucky if we can find you anything to wear for tonight,” Mya says, “and your date is in three and a half hours.”

“Okay, let’s start with getting these clothes off the floor and washed,” says Daniel. “Mya, you and Lena take care of the clothes. Lyon, Raphael, and I will take care of the rest.” Lyon quickly looks at Daniel. “Like hell,” Lyon replies. “Oh, come on. Raphael needs us,” Lena says. Lyon looks down at her, slowly shaking his head with a grin. “It will be fun watching Raphael run around in a panic. Trying to clean his room and get ready for his date tonight,” Lena whispers in Lyon’s ear. Lyon looks at everyone who are dividing Raphael’s clothes’ colors. Lyon then slowly looks back at Lena and leans down to her ear. “If I were to do this, what do I get?” Lyon asks in whisper. He looks at Lena, and she smiles at him. “I can…give you what you always wanted,” Lena replies in whisper. “Yeah, and what’s that?” Lyon asks, still in whisper. “I can give you that…massage that you always wanted,” Lena replies, still in whisper. Lyon stares at her for a minute, then he grins at her, and she smiles back at him. “You are so unfair. But fine, I’ll help,” Lyon replies. “Thank you.” Lena smiles. Lyon shakes his head at her, then he walks over to everyone, and Lena slowly follows. She walks over to Mya, and they take three different clothes—the whites, the darks, and the colors—down to the wash. Meanwhile Lyon and Daniel are helping Raphael clean the rest of his room. As they work on the room, Daniel looks at Lyon a few times before they say anything. Lyon sees that Daniel keeps looking at him. “Okay, Daniel. Is there something on your mind that you want to ask me?” Lyon

says. “No, not really,” Daniel replies. “Why do I feel like you’re hiding something?” Lyon replies. “Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?” Daniel replies. “Don’t know. Should you be?” Lyon replies. Daniel just laughs under his breath. Lyon just grins, and Raphael looks at them. “This is no time to be laughing. My date starts in two and a half hours, and we still need to find me something to wear for tonight,” Raphael whines. Lyon and Daniel stare at Raphael for a long minute, then they just start laughing at him; they laugh at him for the kind of pouting face he is making. Raphael starts yelling and whining even more, making Lyon and Daniel laugh even harder. Meanwhile down in the laundry room, Lena and Mya are talking and laughing. “So have you told them yet?” Mya asks. “Told them what?” Lena asks. “Have you told them that you are a cheerleader yet?” Mya asks, laughing. Lena laughs. “Are you crazy? No.” “What about Lyon, have you told him? He’s going to end up seeing you at practice, plus midnight madness is going to be happening next weekend. He’s going to see you,” Mya says. “And that’s when he will see me,” Lena replies with a smile. “You are too much.” Mya laughs. Lena laughs with Mya as she put the wet dark clothes into the dryer, and Mya put the color clothes into the wash. After that they both start to fold the whitecolor clothes. After about thirty to forty-five minutes, Lena and Mya fold the last

bit of colored clothes. But then as they walk up the stairs, back up to Raphael’s bedroom, they hear him scream. They look at each other, then slightly run up the stairs right to his bedroom door. But before Mya can open it, Daniel and Lyon come running out of the room about to fall, laughing. Mya and Lena look at each other, then at Daniel and Lyon. Daniel is on his back on the floor, and Lyon is leaning on the railing. Mya and Lena put down the baskets and slowly look into Raphael’s bedroom. As they look into the bedroom, they both also start laughing. For there is Raphael, covered from head to toe in gray paint. “I forgot that I was going to paint my room this weekend, but the paint decided to paint me instead,” Raphael, pouting, slowly says. Mya holds her stomach, and Lena falls to her knees, laughing. “He looks like a statue.” Mya laughs. Daniel slowly leans up, waving his hand. “Go take a shower while we find you something to wear.” Daniel laughs. Raphael nods his head slowly and walks into his bathroom. After about two minutes, the four of them are able to get up and go back into Raphael’s room. They all are still laughing as they try to clean up the paint. As Lyon and Daniel take the trash out, Mya and Lena bring in the clothes. After about a few minutes, Lyon and Daniel come back into Raphael’s room. They walk over to Mya and Lena; they look at the clothes that Raphael has. “Okay, well, we have to pick a few different kinds of clothes, one for just dinner, one for just the movies, one for both,” says Daniel. “Okay, let’s see what we have then,” says Lyon. Lyon and Daniel put out some clothes ideas and show Lena and Mya; they look at them and start laughing. Then Raphael comes out of the bathroom, but just as he comes out, Lyon and Daniel push him back in with some clothes they want him to try on. Raphael comes out of the bathroom; they all look at him. They all give their input. “No,” Daniel says, shaking his head. “Maybe…” Mya says, shrugging her shoulders.

“Hmm, it’s not really fitting,” Lyon says. “I don’t know,” Lena says. Raphael bobs his head, then he goes back into the bathroom. As he comes out, they all start laughing. Raphael slowly begins to start his own runway show. Raphael puts on five to six different clothes. As he comes out with his last outfit, everyone looks at him. “That one works,” says Daniel. Everyone nods at him as he looks at them. Raphael has short-sleeve dark-blue shirt with light-blue jeans, with black sneakers. Lyon and Daniel walk over to Raphael and see if he wants to wear any type of chain or anything. Then they look at the time, and Raphael’s date time starts in ten minutes, and Raphael is starting to get nervous. They all get ready to leave as they head to the meeting stop that Raphael set up. As they get close, Raphael comes to the site of the meeting stop. As he looks at the sight, Raphael then quickly turns around. Daniel and Lyon grab him gently and turn him back around; they continue walking by pulling Raphael. As they come into sight of the meeting spot, Raphael sees Melissa. Melissa is 5'2" tall, light-brown skin, curly dark-brown hair up to her shoulders, nice slim body, and light-brown eyes. She is wearing black skinny jeans, oneshoulder yellow shirt, and three-inch-heeled black ankle boots. Raphael sees her and begins to freak out. “I can’t do this,” Raphael says, trying to run away. “Raphael, stop that. Come here,” says Daniel, pulling him back. “No, look at her. I don’t…I can’t handle that,” Raphael says. “If that was the case, then she wouldn’t be waiting for you to show up, now would she,” says Daniel. Raphael looks at him, then he looks at Melissa waiting for him, and he nods his head. He takes a deep breath, then he slowly starts to walk over to Melissa. Melissa sees him walking over to her, and she smiles, then they continue walking. As they walk, everyone watches them walk away. They all look at one

another, then slowly start to walk in the opposite direction. Daniel and Mya head to Daniel’s house to watch movies together, while Lyon and Lena head over to the hospital to see Emily. Lyon and Lena go into the hospital; they head down to the lab area that Emily works at. As they are walking to her area, Emily sees them coming; she smiles then comes out of her office to see them. Lena gives Emily a hug, then she takes Lyon and Lena into her office so they can talk. They tell her what happened today, making her laugh that she almost has tears coming out of her eyes. They don’t stay long, all they do is go to talk and see if she is going to be late going home ’cause Lyon’s cell phone battery died. She tells them that she will be coming home late and the same with Nathen. She already talked to him, and they tried to call them, but since Lyon’s cell phone had no battery, they couldn’t tell them. So Lyon and Lena say their goodbyes and nights, then they head out. They head home, and on the way, they get a couple of pizza. “So what are we going to watch when we get home?” asks Lena. “You like too much TV,” says Lyon. “No, I don’t.” Lena laughs. “Yes, you do. We can never eat without you watching something,” Lyon replies, laughing. Lena laughs. “Okay, what do you want to watch? But it can’t be another dance movie, we watched every single one in the house about three to four times already,” says Lyon. “Okay, um…so we’ll watch an action movie?” Lena asks. Lyon nods his head, and Lena smiles. They walk into the cottage and get everything set up. Lyon puts the pizza on the long coffee table, while Lena goes into the kitchen to get the plates and something for them to drink. Lena comes back into the living room and sees Shadow sitting on her seat. “Oh, you are not funny.” Shadow looks at her and gives her a small bark; she laughs, then she walks over to Shadow and Lyon. Lena sits on the floor between Lyon’s legs and leans back

against the couch. She puts the plates and the two Pepsi can sodas on the table. Lyon puts the movie on; they both sit there, watching the movie, eating pizza, and giving Shadow pieces of their crust. As the movie goes on, Lena and Lyon are laughing and messing with each other. Then Lyon pauses the movie so they can clean up before they finish the movie. They come back into the living room, and Lena sits on the couch next to Lyon for Shadow is now on the floor; she puts her head on the shoulder while gently stroking his head. He lies there, slowly falling asleep. Lena looks at him and gives him a small smile, then she looks back at the movie. Lena laughs at some of the parts in the movie. As she laughs, she can feel that Lyon is not laughing. So she slowly lifts her head and looks at Lyon; she smiles at him. Lyon has fallen asleep; she gently moves the pieces of his hair out of his face. Lyon is using his left hand to keep his head up and his right arm is laid on the back of the couch. Lena stares at him for a minute, then she leans closer to him and gives him a kiss on the side of his forehead. Then she whispers, “Thank you.” She gently puts her head back on Lyon’s shoulder and continues to watch the movie. Lyon never moves, and Lena just keeps the smile on her face. After about two hours, Lyon wakes up and sees that Lena and Shadow are not there. He looks around, then he slowly gets up; he walks into the kitchen, then into the sunroom. But no one is there; he looks out the window, and even though it’s dark outside, he goes to the front porch. He walks onto the porch and slowly walks down two steps of a five-step stairs. He grins, he puts his hands in his pocket. The moon shines in the field, and he sees Lena and Shadow. Lena is looking at some of the flowers that look like they are glowing in the moon’s light. Lyon leans on the porch pole and just watches Lena and Shadow, who is keeping her safe. After a few minutes have gone by, Lena turns around and looks at the cottage. She smiles for there she sees Lyon, grinning at her from the porch. She looks down at Shadow, and they start walking back to the cottage. She walks up the porch standing on the step before the one Lyon is standing on. He looks down at her, and she looks up at him. They stare at each other for a minute, then they both start moving closer to each other. Then they kiss! Lyon grins and Lena smiles, then Lyon slightly tilts his head, saying, “Let’s go back inside.” Lena sleeps in her own room that night because they both have school in the morning. The next morning, Lyon and Lena are both getting ready for school. Lena has

her hair half-up and half down. She puts clear lip gloss on to go with her blackand-white sweat suit. She grabs her school bag and head downstairs. Lyon, like always, has his hair in a ponytail. He puts his long silver chain on, with his initial, L, on it, to go with his white-and-black sweat suit. He pulls up his sleeves. He grabs his school bag then heads into the cottage. As they both walk into the kitchen, Nathen and Emily look at them. Then they look at each other, then back at Lyon and Lena. “What are you to doing, color coordinating?” asks Emily. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then back at Nathen and Emily. They slightly laugh, then they both head to school. Emily and Nathen look at each other and laugh. Lyon and Lena walk into the school and head to their lockers. As they open their lockers, Lyon looks to his left and sees Daniel is slightly running to him. Lyon lifts one of his eyebrows and has this plain look on his face. Daniel hides himself on the other side of Lyon. Lena looks at him and tries not to laugh, then she looks at Lyon, and he just shrugs his shoulders. Then he sees Raphael coming; he looks down at Daniel, then he looks back into his locker. Raphael comes over to Lyon with a big goofy grin on his face. Lyon slowly turns his head to him and tries not to laugh. “Yes, Raphael?” asks Lyon. Raphael just stares at him with the big goofy grin. Lyon shakes his head and slightly laughs. “I take it that the date was a great one,” Lyon says. “Great doesn’t even begin to cover it. It was amazing…and she’s…my girlfriend now,” Raphael replies. Lyon nods his head. “Good, I’m happy for you. Now can you tell me why your cousin is hiding behind me?” Raphael looks behind Lyon and sees Daniel hiding behind him. Daniel stands up and glares at Lyon but in a friendly way. “I have no idea why Daniel is hiding behind you,” Raphael says. Everyone looks at Daniel.

“What’s going with you?” asks Raphael. Daniel looks at the three of them, then he takes a deep breath. “I’m hiding because Mya…is mad at me,” Daniel replies. “Whatcha do?” asks Raphael. “Last night, while she and I were hanging out, I may have said something that I shouldn’t have,” Daniel replies. “Like what?” asks Lyon. “You know how Mya says that she might want to be a movie director?” says Daniel. “Yeah,” Raphael replies. “Well, I kinda said…that she couldn’t really do it,” Daniel continues. The three of them look at him like with shock; they just stare at him, and he slightly shrugs his shoulders. Lyon then takes a deep breath. “Okay, Daniel. I get you are a little nervous about not being with each other in two years. You two have all that time to talk about schools that you guys can go to together. But already trying to push her away…killing yourself. So stop it and go talk to her,” Lyon says. Daniel nods his head, then he goes to the front of the school to wait for Mya and talk to her. The three of them watch him go. “Okay, well, I have to go. I said I’d meet up with Melissa before homeroom, so I got to go. See ya,” says Raphael. Lyon and Lena watch him run down the hall; they look at each other and laugh. Then they head to their homeroom class. They walk into their homeroom and hang out next to the window; they look out the window and see Daniel and Mya talking. They watch them for a few minutes, then they see them hug. Lyon looks at Lena, and she smiles at him. The bell rings and everyone comes into the classroom. Everyone goes to the seats and waits for their homeroom teacher. Mya and Daniel walk in, then comes Raphael, running. Everyone sits waiting for

the next bell to ring to go to their first-period class. After about two to three minutes, the bell rings for everyone to go to their first period class. Raphael and everyone come out of their homeroom class, and there he sees Melissa waiting for him. All of them say their hellos, then they all walk together to their firstperiod class. As they all come to them parting ways, Lyon and Lena roll their eyes and continue walking. For Raphael and Melissa, Daniel and Mya give one another a kiss goodbye. Then when Lyon and Lena come to the split path, they look at each other. Lyon has to go down the hall, and Lena has to go up the hall. They look at each other. “See you at free period,” says Lyon. “Of course,” Lena replies and smiles. Lyon grins at her, then they both head to their classrooms. After about three classes go by, Lena goes to the back of the school. As she gets to the back, she’s looking around, then out of the shadows behind her comes two hands. They grab her by the waist and pull her into the shadows. She turns and sees that it’s Lyon; she smiles at him and he grins at her. Lena then gently grabs Lyon by the front of his shirt and pulls him to her and kisses him. Lyon kisses her back; he takes a couple of steps forward, making Lena take a couple steps back. She backs up against the wall where Lyon gently pins her. Lena slowly wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck, and he has one arm leaning against the wall slightly above her head, his other arm is wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him. Their kiss has desire and ion. As they stay there, one of the students that is walking by sees them. They quickly walk to the other side of the wall to hide behind. They peek around the corner to get a closer look of who they are. As they look, they can see that it’s Lyon and Lena. They get a shocked look on their face, then they quickly run back into the school. As the student runs back into the school, the bell rings and the student almost falls. Lyon and Lena look at each other with hot desire; she gives him a seductive smile, and he replies with the same grin.

Memory 12

The next day at school, Lyon and Lena are walking into the school. Daniel, Raphael, Mya, and Melissa come running up to them. Lyon and Lena look at them like they all are crazy, then they look at each other. “What is up with you guys?” asks Lyon. “Yeah, why are you all out of breath?” asks Lena. The four of them catch their breaths, then they look at them. “Why didn’t you two tell us?” asks Raphael. “How can you guys keep this from us?” asks Melissa. Lyon and Lena give them both a plain stare, then they look back at each other. “What are you guys talking about?” Lyon asks. “You guys don’t know?” asks Raphael. Lyon and Lena slowly shake their heads no; everyone looks at them, then at one another. “The whole school—” says Raphael. “Knows that you two are a couple,” Melissa continues. Lyon and Lena look at them with shock, then they look at each other. “Why didn’t you tell us?” asks Raphael. “You didn’t know?” asks Daniel. Everyone looks at Daniel and Mya.

“You two knew?” says Lyon. “Well, yeah,” Daniel replies. “When?” asks Lena. “Since the party…at the bar. You two were all over each other. Plus you two seem really happy. So we kind of guessed…and we were right,” continues Mya. “Why didn’t you two say anything?” asks Lena. “Because we said that when you two were ready to tell us, you would tell us,” replies Daniel. Raphael runs over to Daniel. “What about me? I’m your blood, and you didn’t even tell me.” Daniel stares at him for a minute with a plain look. “You would have never kept you mouth shut,” replies Daniel. Raphael pouts and everyone laughs. “Okay, you guys didn’t say anything. Then who did?” asks Lyon. “Some kid who caught you two making out in the back of the school yesterday,” says Raphael with a creepy grin. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they all walk into the school. Everyone looks at them, but Lyon just slightly glares at them. Then they all keep walking or look away, but Tamie glares at them. Lyon and Lena go to their lockers. They look at each other, and Lena just starts laughing. Lyon looks at her, and he slightly starts laughing. Then they head to their homeroom class. The bell rings for everyone to go to their first-period class. Everyone walks together, for all of them have class on the first floor. Lyon and everyone come to Lena’s and Mya’s classroom. Daniel and Mya give a small kiss on the cheek. Then they look at Lyon and Lena. “I’ll see you in a little bit,” says Lyon with a grin. “Okay,” Lena replies with a smile.

Then they give each other a kiss(peck), then Lena goes into the classroom, and Lyon walks down the hall to his classroom. They look at them, then they follow Lyon, and Mya goes into her classroom with Lena. Mya sits in her seat next to Lena; she looks at her, making Lena look at her. “What?” Lena asks. “Nothing…I’m just happy for you,” Mya replies. Lena smiles. “Thank you.” They both smile at each other. Meanwhile in Lyon’s classroom, Raphael keeps trying to ask Lyon questions. But Lyon just works on his notes. Daniel laughs every time the teacher tells Raphael to stop talking. Raphael starts pouting because Lyon is not telling him anything. After class is over, everyone slowly gets up, with Raphael still asking what happened. Lyon leans on the wall outside of Lena’s and Mya’s classroom. Lena comes out of her classroom and walks over to Lyon. They hold hands, and Lena looks at Raphael, who is still asking about when Lyon and Lena started dating. Everyone heads to their next class. Lyon and Lena wave later to everyone ’cause their next class is together. They sit in their seats and wait for their teacher. Everyone in the class is looking at them. Lyon and Lena look up at them; they look at each other. Lena gives Lyon a slightly cocky smile. Lyon looks at her with slight turmoil, but then he grins back at her with the same cocky grin. Then slowly Lyon and Lena lean closer to each other. Lyon gently puts his hand on Lena’s chin, and Lena gently puts her hand on the side of Lyon’s face. Then they kiss each other in front of everyone. Everyone looks at them with shock. As Lyon and Lena part, the teacher walks into the classroom. Lena winks at Lyon, and he grins at her as they lean back up on their seats. They sit through the whole class with one student after another looking at them. At the end of the class, everyone looks at Lyon and Lena holding hands as they leave the classroom. After that the students in that classroom don’t follow or bother them. Lyon takes Lena to her next period class. “Okay, so I’ll see you at the field?” asks Lyon. “Yep, I’ll see you then. And thank you for walking me to class,” Lena replies

with a smile. Lyon and Lena give each other a kiss, then Lyon heads to his next class. Lena walks into her classroom. As the bell rings to go to lunch, Lena, Mya, and Melissa head over to the field. They come out of the school, and they see Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael on the bleachers. They walk over to them and slowly walk up the stairs to the bleachers. Raphael is standing up, looking like he is imitating something. Daniel is sitting down, laughing, holding his stomach, while Lyon is lying back, laughing, but at the same time is reading a book. The girls walk over to them; Mya sits next to Daniel, and Melissa sits up one seat. Lena walks over to Lyon. Lyon moves the book from his eyes and looks at Lena. She smiles at him, and he grins at her; she leans down to him while moving the hair out of her face from the wind. Lyon slightly leans up, and they kiss! Then Lena walks a little more past Lyon; he lifts his head so Lena can sit down, and he puts his head on her lap. As Lyon reads his book, Lena takes out his ponytail, then she gently and slowly moves her fingers through his hair. Lyon’s face is calm and relaxed, almost to the point where he is about to fall asleep. Everyone is laughing, but then Raphael sees Lyon getting pampered by Lena, making him pout. “That’s not fair,” Raphael yells. Everyone, still laughing, looks at Raphael and his pouting face, making them start laughing again to the point that Daniel is about to cry. “What’s not fair, Raphael,” asks a laughing Daniel. Raphael points at Lyon and Lena; everyone looks at them and sees that Lyon has his head on Lena’s lap, reading a book, and Lena is running her fingers through his hair. Everyone looks at Raphael, then Raphael looks at Melissa. He sits down next to her, then he plops his head on her lap. “Hold me,” Raphael playfully whines. Everyone starts laughing. Lena looks at him, laughing, and Lyon just laughs under his breath, slowly shaking his head. As they all sit there, Lyon slowly starts to get a cocky grin on his face, for with the corner on his right eye, he can see that Tamie is staring at them. He slightly turns his eyes to look at her, then as he looks back to his book, he slightly laughs under his breath. Lena looks at him,

and he looks up at her, he grins at her, slightly shaking his head. She just smiles at him, then she continues to run her fingers through his hair. They all look at them. Raphael opens one of his eyes, then he quickly leans up, and everyone looks at him. Lyon slightly moves the book aside to look at Raphael. Raphael stares at them for a minute. “Okay, there is one thing that I really have to ask,” Raphael says. Lena just keeps running her fingers through Lyon’s hair, but Lyon just stares at him with a plain look for a minute before he says anything. “Okay, what?” Lyon asks. “So when exactly did you two start dating?” asks Raphael. Lyon closes his book but keeps his thumb inside to keep his page and gently holds the book on his chest. He slightly moves his head and looks up at Lena; she gently smiles down at him, and he grins at her. “What would you say…about three weeks or so now?” says Lyon. “Yeah, I say about that.” Lena smiles. Everyone stares at them for a minute, then they look at each other with shock. Raphael quickly turns his head and looks at him. “A month…you two have been together for about a month?” asks Raphael. “How the hell did you two keep it a secret for so long?” asks Melissa. Lena just slightly shrugs her shoulders, and Lyon just opens his book back up and continues to read. Lena starts to rub his hair again. “You know, that’s when we should have guessed,” says Mya. “What do you mean?” asks Melissa. “Well, think about it. Lyon and Lena were not talking to each other for a while, right? Then about three weeks ago or so, they just start talking again. That should have been a green flag right there,” Mya explains.

They look at Lyon and Lena, but they seem like they are not listening to what Mya was just explaining. They look at them like they can’t believe that they are not listening to them, but then Mya slowly gets a cocky smirk on her face. She looks at Daniel, and he looks at her with turmoil but, at the same time, with a small grin. Then she looks back at Lyon and Lena. “How did it happen?” Mya asks. Lyon closes his book but keeps his thumb inside to keep his page and gently holds the book on his chest again, and Lena looks up at her. Lyon slowly lifts one of his eyebrows. “How did what happen?” asks Lyon. “You know…who asked who out first,” Mya asks. Everyone looks at Mya, then they look at Lyon and Lena. Lena is still playing with Lyon’s hair, and Lyon is just relaxing, looking at them with a plain look on his face. Then he and Lena look at each other, thinking about how they told each other what they feel for each other.

Flashback

Lyon pulls Lena back to him and turns her around; he wraps his left arm around her waist and his right hand on her face. “You tell me if there’s something between me and that girl,” Lyon says. Then suddenly, Lyon kisses Lena! Lena gets a shocked look on her face, but then closes her eyes and slowly wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck, kissing him back. Lyon then slowly moves his right hand from Lena’s face, wraps it around her waist. Lyon then slowly moves his lips from Lena, and she looks at him. Lyon looks at her, making her body melt even with the raindrops that are ing through the branches. “Do you still think that something’s going on, or are you happy that I finally

answered your question?” Lyon says. Lena looks at him with slight shock; she sees that Lyon knew the whole time why she wasn’t talking to him. She sees that like her, he also didn’t know how to say what he’s feeling. She smiles and shakes her head. “You answered,” Lena replies. Lyon grins then he pulls her into another kiss as they hold each other close as the rain falls!

End Flashback

They look at them, but they don’t say anything about how they got together, making Raphael pout and start to complain. Then the bell rings that lunch is over. They all slowly get up and walk back into the school. As they go into the school, Lyon puts his arm around Lena’s neck, and she wraps her arm around his waist. They look at each other; they head to their lockers to get their books for their next period classes. They all talk about how the teachers are already talking about giving tests. The bell rings for everyone to head to their classes. Lyon and Lena have to go in different directions, for Lena’s class is on the top floor, and Lyon’s class is on the second floor. They give each other a kiss, then they head to their classes. Lena goes with Mya, and Lyon goes with Daniel. Raphael has a class with Melissa, so they head to the first floor, and they say that they all will see one another in gym. Lena and Mya walk to their next class together, laughing, Lyon and Daniel walk to their next class. Daniel looks at him as they walk, making Lyon look at him. “Okay, what…if you want to ask me something, then just ask me,” says Lyon. “Well, since you asked. What happened between you and Lena?” asks Daniel. Lyon rolls his eyes and takes a sign, then he looks back at Daniel while shaking his head at him; he grins with a slight laugh under his breath. Then Lyon ends up telling Daniel what happened the day Lyon and Lena became boyfriend and

girlfriend. Daniel looks at him with shock, then he smiles at him as Lyon continues to explain. Meanwhile in Lena’s and Mya’s classroom, Lena is also telling Mya about how she and Lyon started dating. As the classes go, everyone is looking at the clock, waiting to go to their final class, gym. The bell rings, and everyone heads to their next period class. Lyon tells Daniel that he’ll see him there, he forgot something in his locker. Daniel nods his head, and Lyon runs to his locker. As Lyon opens his locker, he gets a cocky grin on his face as he takes a deep breath and shakes his head. Lyon pulls his notebook out of his locker and slowly closes it as he turns around. He leans back against the lockers and crosses his arms, slightly shaking his head. “What do you want, Tamie?” Tamie is standing in front of him, glaring at him with anger. Lyon just looks at her with a plain look on his face. Meanwhile Lena is also coming to get something out of her locker that she needs. For she forgot it for her last class, and Mya told her she can copy her notes. Lena is slowly walking to her locker while Lyon and Tamie are talking. “I can’t believe you. Why did you pick her…of all the girls in this school? You pick the one with no memory,” Tamie says. “Is that all?” Lyon replies. Tamie just stares at him for a minute. As Tamie stares at Lyon, Lena comes around the hall corner. “What is it about this one girl that the other girls in this school don’t have?” Lena slightly takes a few steps back to hide behind the doorway. She looks at Lyon and Tamie with turmoil. “Tamie, who I’m dating has nothing to do with you. And the reasons why…I don’t have to tell you. But I can make it a little simple for you—she’s not you. And you for damn sure are not her. Lena showed me something that you other girls in this school have not shown me, and that’s why I picked her. And that’s all I’m going to tell you. Now go away,” Lyon calmly replies. Lena smiles from around the corner.

“Really, she has shown you something.” Tamie then starts walking closer to Lyon. “How about give you?” Lena then looks back over to Lyon, but then she gets a shocked look on her face. For there she sees Tamie kissing Lyon. Lyon quickly pushes Tamie off and away from him. “What the hell is wrong with you?” yells Lyon. Lyon wipes his lips and looks at Tamie with disgust. “How about that? Does she give you that?” Tamie asks with a cocky tone. “No, she gives it to me a lot better. One hundred times better,” Lyon replies. Lena comes storming from around the corner. Lyon and Tamie turn their head and see Lena walking to them. Tamie looks at her with a cocky grin. Lena looks at Lyon, then she slowly turns her head to Tamie with a glare. “What?” Tamie asks. Lena doesn’t say anything, then Tamie slowly starts to walk away. Lena turns her head back to Lyon, and he looks at her confusion. “By the way you are looking at me, I take it you saw Tamie kiss me,” Lyon says. Lena still doesn’t say anything, all she does is glare at him, making Lyon a little nervous. Lena then slowly starts to walk closer to him. “Lena,” Lyon says. Lena then grabs him by his shirt and quickly pulls him to her, making him drop notebook, and she kissed him! Lyon is shocked at first, but then he wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer to him! Lena releases his shirt and wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck, holding him even closer to her! Then Lena ends up pinning him to the lockers while still kissing him, then she pulls away and looks at him with a glare! She grabs him by the shirt again and pulls him closer to her. “If I ever see another girl kiss you again…you’re not going to like the outcome,” Lena says!

Lyon looks at her for a minute, then Lena gets her notebook out of her locker and walks down to gym class. Lyon watches her walk, then he picks up his book and follows her to the boys’ locker room in the gym, trying his best not to laugh. Lyon walks into the locker room and sees Daniel and Raphael. They look at him and see that he is about to laugh; they look at each other, then back at Lyon. “Okay, what’s so funny?” asks Raphael. Lyon looks at him and slightly laughs. “Um…I think I just got in trouble,” Lyon slowly replies. Daniel and Raphael look at him with confusion. “What do you mean?” asks Daniel. “I mean, Tamie followed me to my locker, then she kissed me. And Lena saw and heard the whole thing,” Lyon replies. “What,” Daniel and Raphael both yell. “Tamie kissed you?” asks Raphael. “Yeah, she did,” Lyon replies. “And Lena saw that,” says Daniel. “I don’t know how long she was there, but…I think she saw enough,” Lyon says. “What happened?” asks Daniel. “You two didn’t break up, did you?” “No,” Lyon replies, shaking his head. “So what happened?” asks Raphael. Lyon looks at them, then he looks back at his locker. “She stands in front of me and doesn’t say anything…all she does is glare at me. Then she slowly starts to walk closer to me, next thing I know…Lena then grabs me by my shirt and quickly pulls me closer to her, and she kisses me. Then Lena ends up pinning me to the lockers while still kissing me, then she pulls away and looks at me with a glare again. She grabs me by the shirt again and pulls me closer to her…and then she says to me, ‘If I ever see another girl kiss you again…you’re not going to

like the outcome.’ Then she gets what she needed out of her locker and walks away,” Lyon explains. Daniel and Raphael stares at him for a minute, then they look at each other with shock. Lyon shrugs his shoulders, then he continues to get dressed for gym. Then their gym teacher comes out of his office and tells them that they need to head down to the gym. As the boys head down to the gym, Raphael walks up to Lyon. “She pinned you to the locker…while making out?” asks Raphael with interest. Lyon looks at him and slightly starts laughing, then he looks at Daniel, who looks like he is about to fall from laughing too hard. They walk into the gym, and Lyon sees Lena; she looks at him for a second, then she turns her head from him. Lyon takes a deep breath. “Great,” Lyon says in a low tone. “Yep, she is really mad at you,” says Daniel. Lyon looks at him. “Thank you, D. Anything else you’d like to add?” Raphael looks at them and laughs. Lyon looks at the both of them and just shakes his head while he starts laughing. “I hate you two.” Lyon laughs. Then the whole class looks at the teachers. “Okay, everyone, today we are going to play baseball,” says the girls’ gym teacher. “So we are going to divide everyone into teams,” says the boys’ gym teacher. The gym teachers divide the students into teams. Daniel, Raphael, and Lyon are on the same team as well as Mya, Melissa, and Lena. Lyon looks at Lena, but she still doesn’t look at him. Lyon looks at Daniel, shaking his head. Daniel shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. “What the hell am I supposed to do? She won’t even look at me,” Lyon says. “I don’t know. See, Lena knows that Tamie has been after you forever. And the fact that she saw her kiss you…” Daniel replies.

“I pushed her away, though,” Lyon says. “Even so, in Lena’s eyes. Maybe she’s mad that you even let her get that close,” Daniel says. “I did not know that she was going to do that,” Lyon says in slight anger. “Lyon, Lena has been with you for how long? And she knows that you have been trained to see things coming. So maybe in Lena’s eyes, you did want Tamie to kiss you,” Daniel says. Lyon doesn’t say anything, all he does is look at Lena who is talking to Mya and laughing. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he sees that it’s his turn to bat. Lyon walks up to the plate as he twirls the bat in his hand. Lyon watches the pitcher’s movement; in his eyes, it looks like everything is moving in slow motion. Then the pitcher gets ready to throw the ball, and Lyon grips the bat to how hard he is going to throw it. The pitcher throws the ball, and Lyon hits the ball hard enough that it’s a home run. Everyone on Lyon’s team yells and jumps up and down, but Lena just claps her hands. Lyon comes around and sees that Lena is clapping for him and, very slightly, smiling. Then he thinks that what Daniel said to him is maybe why Lena is mad at him, causing him to take a deep breath, then he walks over to Daniel and Raphael. As the games go on, Lyon sees that Lena is heading to the girls’ bathroom. He looks at Daniel and tells him to cover for him. Daniel nods his head, then Lyon slightly runs after Lena. Daniel watches him run after her, then he looks at Mya. She smiles and winks at him, and he winks back at her with a grin, then they look back at Raphael getting ready to bat. Meanwhile Lyon slowly walks into the girls’ bathroom, and he sees Lena at the sink. She looks up into the mirror and sees Lyon standing behind her. She stares at him through the mirror for a minute, then she slowly turns around to look at him. They stare at each other for a minute. Lena looks at him with hurt yet glares. Lyon looks at her with slight guilt. “Are you mad ’cause you think I wanted Tamie to kiss me?” Lyon asks. Lena stares at him for a minute without saying anything. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Lyon says.

“No, you can take that as—why did you let her?” Lena says, angry. “I didn’t,” Lyon replies in a deep tone. “Lyon, I was there. From just about the start to finish,” Lena replies in anger. “You…let…her.” “If you saw and heard everything, then you know I didn’t want her to,” Lyon replies. “Do I? I saw what you did when you were batting. So you could have stopped her before she got that close,” Lena says. Lyon looks at her and sees that water is running down her face, making him look at her with guilt. “Can you just tell me one thing?” Lena asks. Lyon looks at her. “If I didn’t see what happened…would have told me?” Lena asks in a breaking tone. “Of course I would have,” Lyon replies in a low tone. Lena nods her head, trying her best not to cry hard. “Thank you. That’s all you had to tell me.” Lena then slowly starts to walk to the bathroom door. Lyon takes a deep breath while he leans back against the wall. Lena walks past him, but then he slowly shakes his head. “Hell no,” Lyon says. Lyon gently but quickly grabs Lena’s arm; he pulls and turns her around back to him. Lena looks at him with shock. Lyon gently pins Lena to the bathroom wall and kisses her! Lena tries to push him away, but Lyon gently grabs her wrists and pins them to the wall on the side of her head. Lyon kisses her with heat and ion. Even with her trying to push him away, she still kisses him back! Lyon then let’s go of her wrists and wraps his arms around her waist.

“No…I can’t,” Lena says. “Shut up,” Lyon says. Lyon keeps kissing Lena to keep her quiet. Lena wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck, and Lyon pulls her closer. Lyon then gently pins her to the wall again. He puts one arm on the wall to lean on and the other still around Lena’s waist. Lena moves her hands on to his chest, then she moves them back up to his neck; she does that a couple of times. “Lyon, wait, stop,” Lena says, covering her mouth, slightly out of breath. Lyon looks at her, then he pulls her hands on the wall and slightly puts his head down. “Sorry…I didn’t mean—” Lyon is cut off. “No, it’s not that…it’s just. We’re in school…in the girls’ bathroom,” Lena explain. Lyon looks at her, breathing heavy, then he looks around the bathroom. Lyon slightly laughs, and Lena starts laughing. “Look, Lena, about Tamie—” Lyon is cut off. “I’m not mad at you for that. I’m just mad that…another girl kissed you,” Lena says. Lyon looks at her and slightly laughs as he nods his head. “I really didn’t mean for that to happen,” Lyon says. “I know…I saw, and I just felt it,” Lena replies with a small smile. “I guess the fact that I have you makes me forget some things. But I promise that I will never let that happen again,” Lyon says. Lena smiles at him, then she kisses him, and he kisses her back. “We need to get back to gym,” Lena says. “Right,” Lyon replies.

Both trying their best not to laugh, Lena looks out of the bathroom to see if anyone is around so Lyon can come out of the bathroom without anyone seeing him. They both run back into the gym. They hide in the back so the teachers don’t see them. Lena looks at Lyon and gets a shocked look on her face; she moves over to Lyon, and he looks at her. “You got my lip gloss all over your lips.” Lena laughs. Lyon laughs as Lena is gently trying to remove her lip gloss from Lyon’s lips. Then the bell rings for everyone to change and get ready to head home. The girls head to the girls’ locker room, and the boys head to their locker room. Lyon and Lena smile at each other as they go into the locker rooms. Mya looks at Lena as she comes up to her locker. “Lena, are you okay?” Mya asks. “Yeah, why?” Lena asks. “’Cause your face is all red,” Mya replies. “We just got out of gym,” Lena says, laughing. “Okay, whatever you say,” Mya replies in a friendly, cocky tone. “Shut up.” Lena laughs. Lena and Mya start laughing at each other, then they get ready to leave the locker room. They go to the girls’ locker room door and wait for Melissa. “So what are you going to do? Cheer practice starts soon,” asks Mya. “But basketball season hasn’t started yet,” Lena replies. “I know, but I need you to help me with additions,” says Mya. “Oh, okay, when?” Lena asks. “Um…next week. ’Cause after additions, then we have to go through everything with them and all that stuff for midnight mindness,” Mya replies. Lena nods her head, laughing, then Melissa comes over, and they head to their

lockers to get what they need for their homework. They come around the corner, and they see Lyon and Daniel up against their lockers, laughing at Raphael. The girls look at each other with confusion yet also trying not to laugh. They slowly walk over to them. “Raphael, shut up,” Daniel yells, laughing. “No, that’s exactly what happened, man. I am telling you, our gym teacher is out to get me, man. The way he was eyeing me in gym…looks like an animal ready to lunge at me,” Raphael yells. The girls get closer. Lyon and Daniel are laughing even harder, and the girls just stare at them. Lena walks over to Lyon while looking at Raphael, who is explaining still what happened in the locker room, trying not to laugh. Lyon looks at her, still laughing, then they give each other a kiss. Mya walks over to Daniel, and they give each other a kiss, then Mya and Lena go over to their lockers to get their things. Melissa walks over to Raphael and looks at him like he’s crazy yet also like she wants to laugh. “Okay, Raphael, babe. What is wrong with you now?” Melissa asks. Raphael turns his head and looks at her. “I’m explaining it right now,” Raphael replies in a high voice. Melissa starts laughing along with everyone else. Melissa goes over to her locker and gets her things, and Raphael keeps going. They all get ready to leave the school. Lyon puts his arm around Lena’s shoulder. Daniel and Mya hold hands, Raphael and Melissa wrap their arms around each other’s waist. They all walk out of the school, and Raphael still has them all laughing. “I’m telling you, if I get an F this semester, it’s because our gym teacher doesn’t like me,” Raphael says, still yelling. “Raphael, can you blame him?” Lyon asks, slightly laughing. “How many pranks did you play on him last year?” continues Daniel. Raphael looks at them and pauses for a minute with a pouting face. “You can’t prove that, man. You can’t…there is no proof that I’m the one who colored the coffee. Or that I magnified his desk. Can’t prove all of that,” Raphael says.

As Raphael is explaining, Lyon and Daniel are shaking their heads, laughing. “Didn’t you…just…say you did it?” Lena asks. Raphael quickly looks at her, and Lena tries not to laugh. “Like I said, Lena, you can’t prove that,” Raphael replies. Lena starts laughing, and everyone slowly follows. Raphael just looks at all of them. “It’s not a laughing matter.” Raphael pouts. Everyone laughs even harder, then they come up to Lena’s job. Lena slightly pouts, but she is still laughing; she puts her head slightly on Lyon’s chest, then she looks up at him. He looks down at her with a grin, and she smiles up at him. They give each other a small ionate kiss, making everyone look at them with slight shock. They look at one another, then back at Lyon and Lena. “You’re going to come get me later?” Lena says. “Always,” Lyon replies. They give each other one more kiss, then Lena walks into the store, and she waves bye to everyone. Lyon lifts his head, and everyone waves back to her, then they all continue walking, looking at Lyon. Lyon looks at them and sees that they all are staring at him; he starts laughing and continues walking. “No, no, no, come back here,” Raphael yells, “you need to explain that.” “No, I don’t,” Lyon yells back with a small laugh. They continue walking. As they are walking, Raphael drops Melissa off at her job, working at a clothes store. Then they all head to the car shop. “So I knew that you and Lena are close. But I didn’t know you two were that close,” says Daniel. Lyon looks up at him. “Give some RPM so I can hear this engine.” Lyon grins. “She means that much to you, doesn’t she,” Daniel says.

“Yeah, she does,” Lyon replies. “Now can you give me some RPM?” Daniel and Lyon laugh as they work on a truck’s engine. Lyon looks at Daniel and shakes his head. As Lyon puts his head down to look back at the engine, Daniel looks at him and nods his head with a grin. After Lyon’s shift, he goes to pick up Lena from work. As Lyon walks down to the video store, he pauses for a minute. He sees that there are three guys acting up. They are walking around the streets, making noise, yelling, and screaming. Lyon doesn’t do anything, all he does is look at them and keeps walking. He comes up to the video store and grins. There he sees Lena just walking out of the store. She sees him and smiles; she slowly walks over to him, and they give each other a small kiss (peck). Then they hold hands and start walking home. “So how was work?” Lena asks. “It was all right. The same always, Raphael making noise, and Daniel trying to say that they are not family,” Lyon replies. “How about you?” Lena slightly laughs. “It was fine, didn’t really do much. I just checked people out and worked on homework, but I’m having a hard time with our bio homework. I don’t get some of the questions,” Lena replies. Lyon looks at her. “Okay, what questions don’t you get?” “Um…I don’t get the second, fourth, or sixth questions. What about you, did you have any trouble with the homework?” Lena asks. “No,” Lyon replies, slightly shaking his head. Lena looks at him with a small pouting face. Lyon looks at her and slowly starts laughing at her face. As they keep walking, Lyon sees those three guys like he did before. Lena looks at him, then at the three guys. Lyon looks down at her, then he gently pulls her hand to keep walking. Lena looks at him, and she just walks. But then the three guys see Lyon and Lena walking. They look at one another and grin. Then they start following them, then they run in front of them, making Lyon and Lena stop and look at them. Lyon glares at them, and Lena slightly glares at them as she slightly moves behind Lyon. “Well, well, if it isn’t Lyon…the undefeated. And this must be your little

girlfriend,” says the guy in the middle. “She’s cute, like the eyes,” says the one on the right. “I like the body. Looks like it knows a few things,” says the one on the left, slightly tilting his head. Lena just glares at him. “What the hell do you guys want?” asks Lyon in a deep low tone. The guy in the middle looks at Lyon. “I want to see if you really are meant for that title of yours.” “I want to get to know your girlfriend,” says the one on the left. “Same goes for me,” says the one on the right. Lena looks at them. Lyon looks at them, just with his eyes. Lena looks up at him, then she looks back at the guys. “I think you guys need to walk away…right now,” Lyon demands. “And if I say no?” the guy in the middle says. “You should think twice,” Lyon says in a deep low tone. The three guys are just looking at him with cocky grins. Lyon’s eyes then turn slightly calm yet still glaring at the three of them. Lyon then gently puts his hand on Lena’s right side, gently pushing her more behind him. As Lena moves more behind Lyon, he is slowly taking deep breaths, looking back at each one of them. The guy on the left quickly moves over to Lyon; Lyon’s eyes turn to him. The guy gets ready to punch him, but Lyon slightly moves back and quickly grabs his wrist. The guy looks at Lyon, and Lyon looks at him; he then flips the guy over to his back. Then the guy on the right looks at him, then he looks at Lyon; he runs at him. Lyon looks at him with just his eyes, then he looks down at his feet. Lyon gently pushes Lena away from him, then as the guy gets closer, Lyon moves to the ground and spins, tripping the guy. Lyon slowly stands up, and Lyon looks at the guy that was in the middle of the other two. The guy looks at the two of them, then he looks up at Lyon and gives him a cocky grin. Lyon just stares at him.

“You know what’s funny about all of this?” asks the guy. “No, what?” Lyon replies. “Is that you don’t me, Lyon,” the guy answers. Lyon stares at him for a minute, then the guy slowly lifts his right hand. Lyon looks at his hand with slight shock, then he looks back at the guy. “That’s right…I’m the guy that gave you that scar on your chest. And in return, you made it hard for me to fight ever again,” the guy explains. Lyon just stares at him with a glare; the guy gives him a cocky grin. “I’m a little shocked to find out that the one guy who doesn’t really care for the females…got himself a girlfriend.” Lyon doesn’t say anything, all he does is stare at him still. The guy still looks at him with that cocky grin, then he looks at Lena. And Lena just glares at him. Lyon looks at Lena with just his eyes, then he looks back at the guy. “So, Jack, what is it that you want?” Lyon calmly asks. Jack stares at him for a minute. “He finally speaks.” Jack is 6'4" tall, light-skinned, short black hair, dark-brown eyes. Jack slowly starts to walk over to Lyon, making Lyon, with just his hand, tell Lena to stay back. Lena moves back a little more and looks Lyon with a little nervousness. As Jack gets closer, Lyon slowly moves his body as he does to watch his movements. Then as Jacks comes face-to-face with Lyon, Lyon quickly grabs Jack’s right wrist, stopping him from punching him. Then Jack grins at Lyon, then he quickly takes his left leg, getting ready to kick Lyon. But Lyon sees his leg moving, making him move his hand, still grabbing Jack’s wrist. Lyon moves his body into a different position to use his other hand to grab his leg. Jack quickly looks at Lyon, and Lyon looks at him; they both look at each other right into the eyes with a glare. Jack is about to use his other hand, but Lyon quickly let’s go of Jack’s leg and flips over Jack’s arm, making them both come face-to-face with each other. Lyon then takes Jack’s wrist and twists it. As Lyon twists Jack’s wrist, Jack slightly loses balance, then Lyon punches Jack in the

stomach hard enough that it almost sounds like bones crack. Lyon then lets go of Jack’s wrist. Jack wraps his arm around his stomach, then he looks up at Lyon. “Still think that I don’t have the right for my title?” Lyon says in a deep but calm tone. Jack just looks up at him, then he slowly stands up, and Lyon slowly walks up to him. Jack just glares at him. Lyon just looks at him with a calm glare, making Jack even more mad ’cause Lyon looked at him the same way the last time they fought. But before Jack can do anything else, cops slowly pull up. They all look over to them. “Is there a problem here?” asks the cop. Lyon and Jack look at each other, both with glares in their eyes. “No, we’re good,” Lyon replies in a deep tone. “Yeah, we’re good…for now,” Jack continues. The cop looks at them back and forth, then he slowly drives off. Lyon and Jack watch the cops drive off, then they look back at each other. Jack then looks down at his friends, who are slowly starting to get up. They both walk over to Jack, then the three of them stare at Lyon and Lena who walks over to Lyon, slightly behind him. She gently holds on to his arms. Lyon gently puts his hand on Lena’s hip, keeping her behind him. Jack just grins at him, then he and his friends slowly start to walk away. But Lyon doesn’t move till Jack and his friends are no longer in sight. Lena looks at Lyon, but Lyon is still looking in the direction of Jack and his friends, looking like he’s ready to fight if they come back. Lena slowly and gently puts her hand on Lyon’s chest, making him quickly look at her. He looks at her, and his face slowly begins to calm down; he slowly starts to breathe normally. Lena gives him a small gentle smile, and Lyon just begins to breathe. Lyon looks one more time in Jack’s direction, then they both slowly continue to walk home. They both just hold hands without saying anything. As they come up to the cottage, Lyon walks into the other room. There he looks at his tournament trophies, then he looks at the paper that Nathen has on the wall. The one shows Lyon and Jack fighting in the final round, how Lyon won the fight and that year’s title of undefeated. Plus how Jack tried to kill with a knife, and Lyon using that same knife to make Jack unable to use his right hand. Lyon stares at

that newspaper for about two hours. Lena comes into the room and sees Lyon just staring at the newspaper. She slowly walks over to him and stands beside him, and Lyon slowly looks down at her; she gives him a small gentle smile. Lyon grins back at her, and then they both slowly walk out of the room and go into the kitchen. They both go into the kitchen completely forgetting about earlier. They both are cooking and laughing while Lyon helps Lena with her bio homework. As they are cooking, Nathen and Emily walk into the kitchen. They see that Lyon and Lena are cooking; they look at them, then at each other and start laughing. Nathen and Emily help Lyon and Lena cook and help Lena with her bio homework. “That makes no sense,” Lena slightly yelling, laughing. “Yes, it does,” everyone replies, slightly yelling, laughing. Lena pouts, and everyone starts laughing at her, making her laugh with them. Then they all put the food into the dinner bowls and plates. They all walk into the dining room, holding a bowl or plate or both and gently put them onto the table. Lena and Lyon then go get the plates, knives, and forks to set up the table, while Nathen and Emily get the rest of the food. As they are setting up the table, Lyon is asking Lena questions about the bio homework. He’s asking her to make sure she understands the homework. Then when Emily and Nathen walk back into the dining room with the last bit of food, everyone sits down around the table and hold hands. Nathen then begins to say grace. Everyone sits at the table eating, laughing, and talking about how their day went. But Lyon and Lena do not mention what happened on their way home. As they continue talking and laughing, Nathen gets a call on his cell phone. Nathen leaves the room to take the call, and everyone starts to clean up the table. Nathen then slowly comes back into the room and looks at Lyon. Lyon looks up at him, and Nathen tells him that they need to talk, so Lyon walks over to Nathen, and they go into the other room. “That was the sheriff…” Nathen says. Lyon looks at him with slight shock and guilt; he looks around, trying not to look Nathen completely in the face. “He…wanted to let us now that Jack…is back,” Nathen says. Then Nathen sees

that Lyon looks like he’s trying to bite his lips. “Lyon,” Nathen says. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he walks over to the window; he puts his hand and gently leans on it. “I already knew that Jack is back.” Nathen looks at Lyon with shock, and Lyon looks at him with slight guilt.

Memory 13

“What do you mean you already knew he was back?” Nathen says in a deep low tone. Lyon takes another deep breath, then he slowly turns around and looks at Nathen. As he turns and looks at Nathen, he sees that he’s not happy with him. “After I picked up Lena from work, as we were walking home, we ran into Jack and two of his friends. I didn’t know it was him at first…until he said something,” Lyon explains. “Nothing happened…not really.” “That means…that something did happen,” Nathen says. Lyon looks at him and pauses for a minute. “His two friends tried to make a move on me and Lena, so I backed them away. But then Jack decided to remind me of who he is. And that’s when he decided to see if that fight we got into those years ago…was I right to get the name that I got,” Lyon continues to explain. “Lyon,” yells Nathen. Emily and Lena look at the other room’s door, then they look at each other. “I know,” Lyon slightly yells back. “No, you don’t, or this wouldn’t have happened. Do you…you what happened last time you two went one on one? ’Cause i do…you were in the hospital for almost two to three weeks,” Nathen yells. “Yeah, Grandpa, I ,” Lyon slightly yells back. “No, you don’t. ’Cause if you ed, you know that the first thing you should have done—walk away. He’s not to come near you, yet you two decide to fight on the streets,” Nathen yells. “You make it sound like I went to go find him,” Lyon yells.

Lyon then looks down at the floor, breathing heavy. Nathen stares at him for a minute, then he slightly shakes his head as he looks down at the floor. Nathen looks back at Lyon. “Lyon, you’re the last piece of her we have left. We are family…I just wish when it comes to him…you think,” Nathen says. Lyon looks at him, then Nathen walks away. Lyon is about to say something, but he just watches Nathen walk. Emily sees Nathen walk upstairs, then a few seconds later, she sees Lyon walk to his room. Emily and Lena look at each other; they both shrug they shoulders, then they walk to Nathen and Lyon. Emily walks into her and Nathen’s bedroom, and she sees him sitting on the chair next to the window. The chair that he used to sit in with their daughter, reading to her; she smiles at him, then she gently closes the door. Emily walks over to him, and she gently puts her hands on his shoulders. He looks at her hands, then he puts his hand on hers. “You both have a point. But yelling at each other…is not going to fix anything. Nathen, I know you love him, but you can’t stop him. He may have known, but he did not go looking for it. You Jack just as I do. And he’s always looking for a fight with Lyon, and Lyon never looks for a fight with anyone. You taught him that, don’t think he doesn’t know,” Emily says. Nathen takes a deep breath. “I know. It’s just the second I heard that Jack was back…memories. I still can’t get that feeling, that image out. He called for me… for the first time in a long time, he called for me. And I couldn’t do anything,” Nathen says. Emily leans down and gently kisses him on the side of his head, and all she says is, “I know…I know.” As they both look out the window together, they that day four years ago.

Flashback

“All right, here we are at the last fight for tonight, with your two favorite fighters…Jack and Lyon,” says the announcer. Everyone in the building starts screaming, waving their hands, and standing out of their seats. Jack looks at everyone, waving to them, but Lyon is just sitting, relaxing, and talking to Nathen. As they wait for the platform to get ready for their fight, Nathen tells Lyon to close his eyes and relax. Nathen and Lyon sit down across from each other, looking at each other. “All right, we still have a few minutes. Close your eyes and relax. Forget everything that you see and hear. Clear your mind of everything, just think of a peaceful place and go to it. Forget everything…even my voice…relax,” Nathen says. Lyon sits there, slowly relaxing his mind and body. Breathing very slowly and gently, Nathen watches him breathe, then he looks at Jack. He sees how Jack is with the people in the building, waving at them, showing his muscles to them. Then he looks at Lyon who is still relaxing. As he looks at Lyon, he hears his name. He looks up and sees Emily walking over to them. He smiles at her; they give each other a hug, then a kiss. She looks at Lyon and sees that he is relaxing. “How is he?” Emily asks. “He’s fine, still not one point on him. But this guy…I don’t know. Something about him gives me a bad feeling,” Nathen says. Emily looks at Lyon’s opponent. “Do you think Lyon can’t win?” Emily asks. “No, it’s not that. This guy is all about the show. If he wins, he gets more of this, but if he doesn’t win, his opponent gets it all,” Nathen replies. Emily and Nathen stare at Jack, then they look at Lyon with a little concern. Then the bell rings for both fighters to get into the ring. Lyon slowly opens his eyes and looks up at Nathen. Lyon slowly stares up, and they both walk over to the ring. As they walk over to the ring, Lyon looks at Jack. Jack is waving and showing off his muscles to everyone and screaming with them. Lyon lifts one eyebrow, looking at Jack like he’s crazy, then he looks at Nathen. Nathen just shrugs his shoulders, then they go to the ring stairs. Lyon and Nathen look at each other, then bow to each other. Lyon slowly walks up the stairs into the ring. Jack slowly runs up the stairs, but then as he gets to the last two stairs, he does a

front flip to the ring. Landing on his feet, everyone screams even louder. Jack puts his hand on his ear and his other hand to the people, telling them to scream even more. Lyon looks at him with a plain look on his face, with one eyebrow lifted, looking at Jack up and down. Then the announcer walks up to the ring. “All right, in the first corner, we have Jack. The boy that all you girls love”— everyone screams—“and in the second corner, the boy that has never gotten one point against him. Never been touched by anyone he has ever fought against… and know how to make you see a show, we give you Lyon.” Everyone screams even louder. Jack hears the difference in their screaming, then he looks at Lyon. As he looks at Lyon, he gets a little angry look on his face, for he sees that Lyon doesn’t really care at the fact that everyone is screaming his name. Then the announcer walks over to Jack. “Is there anything you would like to say?” asks the announcer. Jack looks at him, then he looks at Lyon who is fixing his shirt. “They say that Lyon over here has never been hit. Well, I’m about to change all of that. Lyon, get ready for a first,” Jack says. Lyon looks up at him, then he goes back to fixing his shirt. The announcer walks over to Lyon. “Those are some pretty hard words. Lyon, do you have anything to say to that?” Lyon just looks at the announcer; the announcer smiles with a slight laugh. “Like always, Lyon has no words to say, so let’s get ready to fight.” Everyone screams, getting out of their seats, waving their hands. Jack smiles at everyone, then he looks at Lyon. Lyon is still fixing his shirt, then he slowly looks up at Jack; they look at each other differently. Jack looks at Lyon with a glare, but Lyon just gives him a plain look. He looks at him with no care in the world, then he slowly walks to his corner. Jack glares at him even more, for Lyon’s face just makes him angry. Jack walks over to his teacher. “That guy is really starting to piss me off,” Jack says in a deep tone. “Watch him carefully, Jack, he didn’t get here just by luck,” says Jack’s teacher. Jack looks at him for a minute, then he looks at Lyon and glares at him. The bell

rings for the two fighters to go to the middle of the ring. The referee walks over to the middle of the ring as well. Lyon and Jack bow their heads to the referee, then they bow their heads to each other. Jack cracks his knuckles one by one. Lyon looks at him, still with the plain look on his face. Then he cracks his neck as he turns both his hands into fists, they both crack at the same time. Jack looks at his hands, then he looks at him, and Lyon’s face has changed. He sees that Lyon is now getting serious. “Fight,” yells the referee. Jack and Lyon take their fighting stance; Jack moves back and forth, but Lyon just watches him move. He watches his whole movements from his hands to his feet. Lyon’s breathing is slow and relax, but Jack’s breathing is quick. Then Jack runs to Lyon, but Lyon moves his body to dodge it. As he dodges his body, he grabs his wrist, then he takes his other hand and punches him in the left side. Jack backs away, holding his side, and Lyon stands up tall. Jack looks up at Lyon and glares at him, but Lyon just looks at him with that same plain look on his face. Jack gets angry, making him run at Lyon again. Lyon stares at him as Jack runs at him. Lyon takes a fighting stance. Jack comes at him with his fist ready to hit. Lyon stops his punch by grabbing his fist. Jack looks at his hand, then he looks back at Lyon. He is about to punch him with his other hand, but Lyon grabs his wrist. Jack is about to kick his leg, but Lyon blocks it with his legs. Jack gets even more angry, but then Lyon slightly kicks his legs away, then he jumps up and puts both of his feet together. As he puts both of his feet together he kicks Jack in the chest. Jack goes flying back, almost to the point where he is out of the ring. Jack puts his hand on his chest, then he looks at the screen and sees he just has to get hit once more, and Lyon wins that fight. He gets up slowly and stares at Lyon, but then he sees that Lyon is stopping himself from yawning. Jack runs over to Lyon; Lyon takes a fighting stance. Then both he and Jack fight, punching, kicking, front and blackflips, blocking. No matter how hard Jack tries, he can’t seem to lay one hit on Lyon. Jack sees an opening in Lyon’s side, but the second he’s about to hit it, Lyon does a backflip to dodge his punch. Jack looks at him, but before he can act, Lyon does a spin kick right in Jack’s face. Lyon hits Jack hard enough that he also spins and falls to the floor. The referee comes onto the ring and gently grabs Lyon’s wrist; he puts it up to the air, and everyone starts screaming. “Untouched and undefeated, winner of this year’s tournament—Lyon,” says the referee.

Everyone yells, and Lyon just looks at them, then he looks at his grandparents. They smile at him, and he grins at them. Jack slowly stands up and looks at his teacher. Jack’s teacher walks up to the ring and over to Jack. Jack slowly stands up. As he stands up, he sees that his teacher has his old rusty pocketknife. He glares at Lyon, then he looks back at his teacher’s pocketknife. Jack then quickly grabs the knife and starts to run over to Lyon. Jack’s teacher yells, and everyone looks at him. Lyon turns around but not in time. Jack stabs Lyon right in the right side of his chest. Lyon ends up grabbing the knife in time that it doesn’t go too deep into his body. Jack keeps trying to push the knife down, but then Lyon grabs Jack’s wrist with his other hand. He takes his left leg, moves it up to Jack’s stomach, and pushes Jack off of him. “Get off me,” Lyon yells. Jack slowly leans up and looks at Lyon. Lyon slowly leans up and glares at Jack, breathing heavy. Lyon then slowly puts his hand on the knife, and Jack looks at him with shock. For Lyon starts to pull the knife out of his chest. Lyon pulls the knife completely out of his chest and looks at Jack. Lyon then takes the knife and looks at Jack with deep anger in his eyes. Jack stands up and stares at Lyon. Lyon looks up at him, then quickly throws the knife at him. But the knife didn’t hit him where everyone thought. The knife hit him in his right hand. Jack falls to his knees, screaming. Lyon stares at him for a second, then he looks down at his chest with weak eyes. He slowly moves his hand from his chest; he sees blood on his hand, he slightly looks up. “Grandpa…Grandpa,” Lyon says quietly. Nathen and Emily are running over to Lyon. As they run over to him, Lyon slowly begins to lose balance. Nathen catches Lyon before he falls to the floor. Nathen looks down at him and sees that he can’t completely keep his eyes open. “I need a first aid kit now,” yells Emily. “And call 911.” One person calls 911, and one other runs to get a first aid kit. He runs up the ring stairs and over to Emily. He gives her the first aid kit, then slowly backs away. Emily quickly opens the kit and looks at Nathen. They both look at each other, then they look at Lyon. Emily then takes the alcohol in the kit and the stack of bandages that are in it. “Lyon, this is going to burn. But I don’t have a choice, I need to stop the

bleeding, and the knife was not clean. So this is going to burn…okay…just bear with me,” Emily says in a shaky voice. Emily then quickly puts the bandages on Lyon’s wound. The second she put it on, Lyon quickly grabs Nathen’s arm tightly and screams in pain. “I’m so sorry, Lyon…just a little longer. I have to try and stop the bleeding— where the hell is that ambulance,” Emily yells. Emily and Nathen look at Lyon and see that his eyes are getting heavy. Nathen can feel that his grip is not as strong as it was before. Nathen and Emily look at each other, then quickly look back at Lyon. Nathen then quickly but gently grabs Lyon’s face and looks at him. “Lyon, Lyon, look at me…look at me,” Nathen yells. Lyon’s eyes keep opening and closing, breathing low and shallow. Lyon’s eyes then completely close. Nathen and Emily quickly look at each other, then back down at Lyon. Lyon’s hand that was holding onto Nathen’s arm slowly begins to loosen its grip, then falls to the floor. Emily quickly takes one of her hands and quickly puts it to Lyon’s face. “Lyon, Lyon, Lyon, look at me,” Emily yells. Nathen and Emily look at each other, then Nathen gently puts Lyon’s head down onto the ring mat. Emily moves over closer to Lyon’s face, then she puts her ear down to see if he’s breathing. “He’s not breathing,” Emily says. Emily quickly brings her head back up. She puts both of her hands together, one on top of the other, and begins to preform R. “Where the hell is that ambulance,” Nathen yells. Emily is counting down as she begins R. “They’re here,” someone says. Three medics come running into the building; one goes over to Jack, and the

other two go running over to Lyon. The first medic gently pulls Emily away from Lyon, and the other medic cuts Lyon’s shirt open. Nathen and Emily hold each other as both medics work on Lyon. “Clear, no pulse. Charge up to 300—clear. Still no pulse,” says the second medic. “Oh—my—god—Lyon.” Emily cries. Nathen just holds her tightly, but his eyes are watering. “Charge up to 400—clear,” says the second medic. “We got a pulse,” says the first medic. “Let’s get him moving. How’s he doing?” asks the second medic. “Nothing life-threatening, but he does have to go to get the knife from his hand removed,” replies the third medic. “All right, let’s move,” yells the second medic. Emily and Nathen follow the medics to the ambulance. Nathen tells Emily to go with them, and he’ll follow them in the car. Jack was taken into the other ambulance. As they pull up to the hospital, the medics run Lyon inside. Emily runs inside with them, but they stop her from going all the way in and tell her to wait in the waiting room. Nathen comes running inside and over to Emily. As they sit waiting for news, Emily gets up to walk back and forth, but as she does, she sees Jack and his family. Nathen looks up at her, then he tries to see what she’s looking at to make her so angry. Then he sees that she’s walking. Nathen slowly stands up and walks over to where she was standing. Then he gets a shocked look on his face, for he sees that Emily is walking over to Jack and his family and his teacher. Nathen runs to her. “Emily!” Nathen yells. When Nathen yells Emily’s name, everyone looks at him, then they see Emily storming over to them. “Emily, I’m so sorry,” says Jack’s mother.

“Sorry is that all you have to say?” Emily yells. Nathen comes over to Emily and gently pulls her back from being too close to the family. “My grandson stopped breathing in our arms. And he could die in this hospital…because of your son…and his stupid jealousy. And for what…a scoreboard!” Emily yells. “Emily—” says Jack’s teacher. “And you…what the hell is wrong with you! what are you doing with a rusty knife at a martial arts tournament?” Emily yells. Nathen pulls Emily into his arms as she cries. Jack’s mother looks at Jack with slight anger and disappointment. “Well, you don’t have to worry about anything. We’re moving, and Jack can no longer fight with his hand,” Jack’s mother says. Emily and Nathen look at them. “If…I find your son anywhere near my grandson again. I don’t care what it’s for, I will have your son put away. I don’t care how long it is from now, he tried to kill my grandson, I will have him put away for that. But for now, since you are moving away, I’ll leave it at that. But you will be getting a restraining order from us. You or your son with not be able to get so much as one thousand feet of our grandson,” Nathen says. Then Nathen and Emily slowly walk away, back over to the waiting room. Jack’s mother and father and teacher watch them walk back over to the waiting room. They stare at them for a minute, then as they are about to walk away, they see a doctor walking over to them. They watch them for a minute, then they see Emily and Nathen hold each other in joy. Then they see that they are following the doctor into the back rooms. Jack’s teacher looks around, then goes over to one of the nurses “Excuse me, about the boy that just came in, is he okay?” “I’m not supposed to give out information,” replies the nurse. “I understand, but I’ve known him for a long time…please,” Jack’s teacher says.

The nurse takes a deep breath and stares at him for a minute. “Okay, from what I know, he’s going to be fine. There’s going to be a nice good size scar on his chest. He lost a lot of blood, he’s going to be stuck in a bed for a while. But other than that, he’s going to be okay,” explains the nurse. “Okay, thank you,” Jack’s teacher says in relief. “You’re welcome,” says the nurse. Jack’s teacher then goes over to Jack’s mother and father and tells them what the nurse told him. They both breathe in relief, then they look down at Jack. He looks at them with an angry look on his face. Then they all slowly leave the hospital. Meanwhile Nathen and Emily walk into Lyon’s room. As they walk in, they see that he’s sleeping. The doctor explains to them what’s going to happen the next few days to weeks. “He’s going to be in a lot of pain. We gave him some medicine for it, so he won’t wake up for a while. He can’t move for a while. Considering the fact where he was stabbed and the fact that he pulled it out, he could have died. It was old and rusty, so a small piece did break off but we can remove it. It should only take about an hour to two to remove it. But , this is still close to his heart. Meaning, when he’s more stable, we will take him down and remove it. After that he cannot be moved for a while. When the time comes to take him home, that will be his summer—bed rest. He cannot walk, no strain, no stress on his body right now. It’s going to be hard, but try to keep him as relaxed as possible,” explains the doctor. Emily and Nathen both nod their heads and thank the doctor for everything that he’s doing for Lyon. The doctor leaves the room. Emily and Nathen walk over to Lyon’s bedside. They both watch over him for about an hour before they come to take him to remove the piece of knife. Emily and Nathen wait in Lyon’s room for him to come back; they are waiting for about two hours. The doctor comes into the room with Lyon behind him. He walks over to Nathen and Emily. “Okay, he’s going to be fine. Everything went smoothly. He should wake up in a couple of hours,” says the doctor. “Thank you,” Emily and Nathen says at once.

The doctor nods his head, then he slowly leaves the room. Emily and Nathen walk over to Lyon’s bedside. Emily sits on the chair next to him, and Nathen walks back over to the window and looks outside. Rain slowly starts to fall from the sky. Nathen looks up at the night clouds, then he looks over to Lyon. Two hours have ed, and Emily has fallen asleep in the chair, but Nathen is sitting on the other chair on the other side of Lyon’s bed. As Nathen sits there, reading a magazine, Lyon’s eyes slowly begin to open. Nathen looks up at him and sees that Lyon’s eyes are opening. Nathen quickly moves closer to Lyon, and Lyon’s eyes slowly look at him. “Lyon, it’s me. It’s Grandpa,” Nathen says. Lyon doesn’t say anything, then Emily hears Nathen talking, so she slowly opens her eyes and sees that Lyon’s eyes are opened. She quickly jumps out of her seat and hugs Lyon. “Lyon, oh my god, you’re finally awake.” Emily cries. Nathen and Emily look at Lyon. Lyon has a weak look on his face. Nathen then goes into the hall to get a doctor. Lyon looks at Emily. “What happened?” Lyon quietly asks. Emily doesn’t say anything, “Why am I in the hospital? What the hell is going on? Why am I here?” Lyon asks but in a panicked tone. “Lyon, calm down.” Emily tries to relax Lyon. Nathen and the doctor come into the room and see that Lyon is getting irritated. Nathen runs over to Lyon and tries to not get him moving around too much. “Lyon, calm down,” Nathen says. “Why I am in this room?” Lyon slightly yells. As they try to get Lyon to calm down, the doctor calls for some help. Three nurses come into the room. As the doctor and the three nurses try to calm Lyon

down, Emily and Nathen look around to see what’s making Lyon so angry. “Stop,” Emily yells. She runs over to Lyon, and Lyon looks at her with anger. “We’ll get you another room, okay?” Lyon slowly begins to calm down, then Emily gently pulls the doctor away from Lyon over to the doorway. “This is the room that our daughter—Lyon’s mother—died in,” Emily explains. The doctor looks at her, then at Lyon and tells them that they’ll get him a new room. After about two and a half weeks, Lyon is finally about to go home, but he isn’t able to do anything. Once he gets home, he is put into one of the spare rooms in the cottage, right down the hall from Emily and Nathen’s room. Lyon hasn’t said a word about the fight, about being in the hospital, about not being able to move. Lyon says nothing, all he does is sleep and look out his window with a look of no life. But then one day, after two weeks, Nathen and Emily try to get him to talk. “Lyon, please talk to us,” Emily asks. But Lyon just looks out the window with that same look and no reply. Nathen stares at him for a minute, then he walks next to him and looks out the window, trying to see what Lyon is looking at. Nathen then gets a shocked look on his face, for he sees what Lyon is looking at. Nathen looks at Emily, making her get up and look at what they both are looking at. Emily gets a shocked look on her face as well, for they see that Lyon is looking at the tree that his mother’s grave is under. They don’t know what to say after that, for they understood why it happened. Lyon was put in his mother’s hospital room, the one that she ed away in. All that pain and anger came back to his mind and heart.

Emily looks at Nathen. “I know what happened, and I don’t want to go through that again either. All we can do right now is do what we did before. Now go talk to Lyon, make things right. It’s not that he didn’t want to tell us. He just wanted

to avoid this, I’m sure,” Emily says. Nathen looks at Emily and slowly nods his head. Emily smiles at him, then points her head for Nathen to go and talk to Lyon. Meanwhile in Lyon’s room, Lena and Lyon are talking about what happened between Lyon and Nathen. As they talk, Nathen slowly comes into Lyon’s room; they both look at him, then Lena looks at Lyon. She smiles at him, then she gets up and slowly goes out of the room and gently closes the door behind her. Lyon watches her, then he looks at Nathen. Nathen walks over to Lyon and sits on the bed next to him. It’s silent for a minute. “I’m sorry. I did overreact a little bit. I just don’t want to go through that again,” Nathen says. Lyon looks at him and grins, trying not to laugh. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you.” Nathen looks at Lyon and starts laughing. “That’s what your grandmother said.” “Well, she’s a smart woman. And you’re the one who told me that,” Lyon replies. They both laugh. “Okay, next time, tell me. He’s not supposed to be around you, Lyon. He knows that, his parents know that, even the police know that,” Nathen says. “Okay,” Lyon replies as he nods his head. Nathen pats Lyon on the back, then Nathen gets up and heads back into the house. Lyon takes a deep breath, then lies back on his bed. Lena slowly comes back into his room but stands in the doorway, staring at Lyon. Lyon just stares up at the top of his room. Lena smiles. “Are you going to keep staring at me? ’Cause it’s kinda…creepy,” Lyon says. Lena starts laughing. “Basketball is about to start. You ready for that?” Lena asks. “Yeah, Coach already has all of his players for last year getting ready. Plus he

wants us to be there for tryouts,” Lyon replies. Lena walks over to him; she walks to the other side of the bed and looks down at him, and he looks up at her. “Sounds like funny,” Lena slightly whispers. “Not ready,” Lyon slightly whispers back. They both slightly laugh, then Lyon leans up. Lena then slowly crawls on the bed, then lays on her stomach and looks at Lyon. Lyon looks at her. “So you going to go next week?” Lyon asks. “Where?” Lena replies. “To midnight madness, it’s for basketball. Everyone goes. The cheer-leaders do a couple of dances, and the basketball players do a small warm-up,” Lyon explains. “Oh yeah, I’ll definitely be there.” Lena smiles. Lyon looks at her like she is hiding something but doesn’t say anything; he just grins at her. Then Lena slowly gets up and gives Lyon a kiss good night; he kisses her back, then she heads to her room. As Lena heads to her room, Shadow comes into Lyon’s room and jumps right on his bed and curls into a ball, slowly falls asleep. Lyon shakes his head, then he slowly lies back on his bed. The next morning, Lyon and Lena get up and get ready for school. They both go into the kitchen, and they see Nathen and Emily are in the kitchen. They look at each other, then they look at Nathen and Emily. “Gramps, Gramps. What’s going on, you two don’t have work today?” Lyon asks. “Your grandmother and I have been talking. And we think it’s time for you two to start taking something other than your bike or Emily’s car to school,” Nathen replies. “Is this about Jack?” asks Lyon.

“Yes, and no. The sun is going to start going down early, and you two work late, so it would give us both peace of mind. And it’s a very far walk. Plus, Lyon, basketball is going to be starting soon. You’re not going to or want to walk after practice, are you?” Nathen explains. Lyon nods his head, then Nathen gets up and walks over to him, takes the keys out of his pocket. “You can take the truck that you always wanted. Look at it as a beginning-ofthe-basketball-season present,” Nathen says. “Don’t joke.” Lyon starts to grin. “It’s already under your name. You have to pay for it, and your grandmother needs her car back. Can’t have you driving around in that anymore, and your bike is more of a summer thing. So now you have a new truck. Now get going, you’re going to be late for school,” Nathen says and smiles. “Thank you, both of you, so much. And I’ll see you after school. Let’s go.” Lyon grins. Lyon gently takes the keys, then he looks at Lena who is smiling at him. They both then says their byes, then they head out to the garage. Lyon puts on the lights and slowly starts to grin, for Nathen brought Lyon an off-gray New Chevrolet Avalanche truck. Lyon runs over to the driver’s seat, and Lena goes over to the enger seat. They both gently close the doors, looks at the truck with joy. “So I take it that you always wanted one of these?” Lena asks. “Hell yes…New Chevrolet Avalanche. We are never walking again.” Lyon grins with joy. Lena starts laughing, then they head to school. As they drive to school, Lyon is blasting his music, playing Romeo Santos’s Golden Album. As they pull up to the school lot, everyone looks at Lyon and Lena driving in. Daniel, Raphael, Mya, and Melissa see them pull up; they all look at them with shock, almost about to lose their bottom jaw. Raphael screams, then he runs over to Lyon and Lena. Everyone looks at Raphael, then they follow him.

“Are you kidding me? Where the hell did this come from?” Raphael yells. Lyon and Lena get out of the truck. Lyon grins at Raphael, slightly laughing. Then he looks at Lena who’s smiling at him, laughing. They all walk around the truck, and Raphael keeps trying to get Lyon to let him take it for a small drive. Lyon keeps laughing at him, looking at him like he’s crazy, and keeps the keys tight in his pocket. Lyon shakes his head, then he puts his arms around Lena’s neck, and she wrap her arm around his waist. They all head into the school with Raphael still trying to get Lyon to let him take his truck for a drive. But as they all laugh into the school, they suddenly stop! Lena looks at Lyon. “What the hell are you doing here, Jack?” asks Raphael. Jack looks at Raphael, then he looks at Lyon who’s just giving him a plain glare. Jack grins at him, then he looks at Lena. Lena lifts one of her eyebrows and looks at Jack like he shouldn’t be looking at her. She rolls her eyes. Lyon looks down at her and starts to slightly laugh and same with everyone else. Lyon takes a slight deep breath, then he looks back at Jack. “What do you want, Jack?” asks Lyon. “Well, we are going to school together now. But the good thing for you, we’re not supposed to be around to the point of a fight,” Jack replies. Lyon pauses for a minute and just stares at Jack. “Good for me,” Lyon says. “Yeah,” Jack says. “Jack, listen very carefully. Let—it—go,” Lyon says. Then they all slowly walk away and head to their lockers. Lena looks up at Lyon, and he looks at her; he grins at her, then he kisses her on her head. As they are at their lockers, Lyon is leaning back against his locker; he and Lena are kissing each other, her arms on his shoulders, and Lyon’s hands gently on her hips. Raphael looks at them and smiles. “Do you want us all…I don’t know…to go away?” Raphael says. Lyon and Lena look at him and gently start laughing. Everyone looks at them, and they all just start laughing together. Then the bell rings for homeroom; they

all head to homeroom with the guys behind the girls, talking while the girls talk, walking in front of them. Then Mya slightly turns her head and looks at the boys. “So what do you guys think the midnight madness theme will be this year?” “Mya, babe. Midnight madness is not till next Friday. So don’t know. We haven’t even gone to see Coach yet,” Daniel replies. Mya smiles at him, then they walk into homeroom. They all talk and sit, waiting for their homeroom teacher to come in. A few minutes after the final bell rings, their homeroom teacher walks in and tells everyone to calm down. Then the teacher starts to take attendance, then starts to explain what’s going to happen today at school. That after lunch today, everyone will be coming back to homeroom, and then they all are going to the gym. The bell rings for everyone to go to their first-period class. Lyon and Lena’s first class is bio. As they all are walking to their class, they are talking about why they have to go the gym after lunch. Then they all part when they come to the different directions; Lyon and Lena head upstairs. Melissa and Mya head straight, Raphael and Daniel go downstairs. They all walk into their classrooms, laughing, but when Lyon and Lena walk into their classroom, their laughing slowly stops and turns to anger and shock, for they see that Jack is in their bio class and sitting at their lab table. Lyon and Lena look at each other. Lena gently takes Lyon’s hand, and they walk over to their lab table. Jack looks at Lena, but she just keeps her head down. Then their bio teacher walks into the class and sees that Jack is sitting at Lyon’s lab table. Their bio teacher quickly tells Jack to go to another lab table. Jack slowly gets up and goes to the back of the room’s lab table. Lyon, Lena, and the other students on their lab table are working on a bio project. The bio teacher walks to each table to see how everyone is doing, also to make sure that nobody is going to blow up the bio wing. As he walks around, he comes to Lyon and Lena’s table. He stands there for a few minutes. He nods his head, then he slowly walks away to the other tables. Everyone keeps working on their projects that time es by, and the bell rings. Everyone shuts down their projects, then they pack up their things and head to their next period class. Lyon walks Lena to her class, then head to his class, but not before Lena gently

grabs his hand, making him look back at her. Lyon looks at Lena, and with her other hand, she tells Lyon to come back over to her. Lyon grins at her, slowly shaking his head, then he moves closer to her. Then they give each other a kiss, then Lyon heads to his class, and Lena smiles at him. Lyon walks into his class and sits next to Daniel. He looks at Lyon and asks him what’s wrong. Lyon tells Daniel that Jack is in his bio class. Daniel gets a shocked look on his face. They look at their teacher and put out their notebooks; they start writing the notes on the blackboard. Later on the lunch bell rings, and everyone heads to lunch. Like always, the girls meet the boys at the bleachers. As they walk to the bleachers, Lena sees Jack looking at her; she slightly shakes her head and rolls her eyes. Jack laughs under his breath, then he walks back into the school. Lena and the girls walk up the bleachers. Mya walks over to Daniel and sit next to him. Melissa walks over to Raphael and on the seat above him. Lena walks over to Lyon and sit behind him. Lyon leans back between Lena’s legs and rests both of his arms on her thighs, and Lena slowly, gently runs her fingers through his hair. All of them talk and laugh at what happened in their classes before they came to lunch. As they all sit around, eating their lunch, they start talking about what it is that the teachers want to tell every student to make them all go to the gym after lunch. Then Raphael looks at Mya. “Hey, Mya,” Raphael says. Mya looks at him. “What’s up?” “So were you able to find a spot for that missing cheerleader?” Raphael asks. Mya stares at him for a minute, then she looks at Melissa, and they both just start laughing. They all look at them, then each other, but Lena gently puts her head down on Lyon’s head, trying not to show that she’s laughing. The boys look at Mya and Melissa, trying to understand why they are laughing and not to look at them like they are crazy. Raphael and Lyon look at Daniel. He looks back at them, and he shakes his head, saying that he doesn’t get why they are laughing, then they look at Lyon, and he does the same. They then look back at Mya and Melissa. the both of them try to get their breathing back on track. Mya and Melissa then look at Raphael. “Yes, um…we did find someone to take that spot,” Mya replies.

“Okay, why are you guys laughing so hard?” Raphael asks. “No…no reason,” Melissa replies. The boys shrug their shoulders. Lena looks at Mya and Melissa, trying to tell them to stop laughing but is still laughing herself. After forty-five minutes to an hour, the bell rings for everyone to return their homeroom so they can go to the gym. Everyone goes into their homeroom, and their teacher takes count. After their teacher is done taking count, everyone talks low, waiting to hear when they can go down to the gym. Everyone gets up and lines up in a row of two when the teacher tells them to line up at the door. They all head down to the gym, and everyone starts to sit down where they want. Lyon, Lena, and everyone go up to the top of the gym bleachers, slowly sitting down, and have that whole top corner to themselves. Raphael leans back against the rails with his legs straight out, crossing each other, with Melissa sitting one seat down, leaning her head on his stomach. Daniel is sitting on the same seat as Melissa, resting his right arm on his right leg. Mya is sitting right behind him, with her chin resting on Daniel’s left shoulder with her arms around his waist and Daniel’s left arm around Mya’s arms. Lyon is sitting on the bleacher seats right behind Raphael. Lyon is slightly leaning on the rail next to him and the wall behind, with his left leg straight out and his right leg against the wall, resting his right arm on his right knee and his left arm on the bleacher seat hanging. But then Lena comes up the seats and lies right in front of Lyon on the same seat, leaning her back against his chest. Lyon gently takes his left arm and slowly puts it in front of Lena. She gently wraps both her arms around Lyon’s arm. As they all sit there, talking and waiting, Lena looks at Lyon’s left hand and slowly begins to play with it, feeling how smooth his skin is, how big his hand is compared to hers, how many lines he has on his palm. Lyon looks at her and grins with a very light laugh. “What are you doing?” Lyon gently asks. Lena doesn’t say anything, all she does is smile and slowly shrug her shoulders. Lyon grins with a small chuckle, then kisses Lena’s head. Lena leans back more against Lyon’s chest, and Lyon looks at their hands, watching and feeling Lena’s hand on his. As they all sit there, they see that their principal is walking into the gym. They also see that there are people walking in behind him.

“Hey, isn’t that stuff for a projector and screen?” asks Raphael. “Yeah,” Lyon replies. “Great, now for the rest of the day, we are going to be listening to a lecture,” says Daniel. Everyone looks at him, then they look down at their principal. As they set up the screen and the projector, the principal takes a microphone. He looks at all the students for a minute, listening to them all talk. Then he puts his hand up. “All right, everyone. Listen up,” says the principal. Everyone slowly stops talking and looks at the principal. He slowly puts his hand down, looking at all the students to make sure that they all are looking at him. “Okay, you all are most likely wanting to know why you are here. Well, as you can see that there is a screen and a projector behind me.” The principal pauses. “This is for you students. From what I can tell, no one here knows of what happened to a student here.” Everyone looks at the principal, not understanding what he’s saying. “We lost a student due to drugs,” says the principal. Everyone looks at him with shock, then they all look around at one another. They all slowly start to look back at the principal. The principal starts to explain what happened to the student, that the student was a good student. But the student met the wrong person and got them to take some drugs, they find out that the student had a terrible reaction to the drugs. “So what we have everyone here for is to show you about drugs,” says the principal. The principal then puts the mic down and waits for the other teachers to put the screen and projector together. After about a few more minutes, everything is set, and they plug in the projector. The principal walks over to one of the teachers and tells him to press play; everyone looks at the teacher as he presses play. They turn off the gym lights and turn on the large screen so everyone can see

that the film is slowly starting. Everyone sees that film is starting; some slowly pull out their phone, others start playing games or even start to fall asleep. Daniel and Mya just start kissing each other. Raphael and Melissa flirt-whisper in each other’s ears, laughing. As for Lyon and Lena, they both are watching the film, holding each other’s hands even still, feeling how smooth their skin is. Close to the end of the school day, the video slowly begins to come to an end. The gym lights slowly start to come back on. Lyon looks at Daniel and Mya, seeing that they are still kissing. He slightly and quietly laughs, then he gently kicks him in the back. They both stop kissing, and Daniel looks up at him. Lyon gently tilts his head, telling them that the video is just about over, and the lights are about to come on. Daniel and Mya look at each other, laughing, then they look at the screen to watch the last few minutes of the video. The gym lights come on, and the principal comes in front of the screen and looks at everyone. He begins to talk about the film and can see that not that many people are listening to him, but he just continues talking about it. After about a half an hour, the principal stops talking to the students; he tells them all they can go home. They all slowly get up and head to the gym door to go outside or the other gym door to go get their things from their lockers. Lyon, Lena, and everyone head to their lockers to get their bags. Lena is leaning back against the lockers next to Lyon, laughing at Raphael, like everyone else, as he complains about everything, mostly on how he’s the only one out of everyone to get homework. They just laugh at him. Lyon is looking for one of his notebooks. Lyon looks at Lena, and she looks at him. “You have work today?” Lyon asks. “No, not today,” Lena replies, slowly shaking her head. “Okay, well, today, I won’t be able to go home with you. Coach wants to see the team today and talk about next week and the beginning of the season,” Lyon explains. “Oh, that’s okay. Us girls are going to hang out after school today, do some girl stuff. So no, you can’t come.” Lena laughs. “Very funny.” Lyon laughs. Then they give each other a kiss and say their later to each other. Lyon, Daniel,

and Raphael head back down to the gym to the boys’ locker room to see the coaches. Lena, Mya, and Melissa watch them walk away, then they look at each other and head outside to Mya’s car. Meanwhile back at the school, in the boys’ locker room, Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael are in the coaches office. Daniel and Lyon are sitting down on the chairs, while Raphael walks around the office, touching everything. Lyon looks at him, then he looks at Daniel, who has his face in his hand, slowly shaking it back and forth. Lyon slowly begins to laugh, then the coach comes into his office. The coach is about 6'3", light skin, dark-brown eyes, short black hair— almost none—and is about late twenties to early thirties. He looks at Raphael because he made one of his pictures fall. Daniel quickly looks at him, but Lyon puts his hand over his mouth, hiding the fact that he’s laughing. The coach then walks over to his desk, and he looks at Daniel and Lyon with a smile. “Well, look at my two best basketball players,” says the coach. Lyon and Daniel look at each other, then they look at their coach and grin. Lyon is leaning on his hand, and Daniel is leaning back with arms crossed. Then the coach begins to explain what he wants them to do this year. Then after talking to them, Coach tells them he wants them to meet some of their new teammates. Lyon and Daniel follow the coach who has Raphael by the ear, down to the gym to see some of the new players. As they come down to the gym, they stop for they see the players that they will be working with. Daniel and Lyon look at each other, then they continue walking to follow the coach. They stand next to the coach, who now has Raphael sitting on the floor; they slowly turn their heads and look at him. The coach looks back at them and sees that they are shocked at the players he has picked. Lyon slightly puts his hand on his face, and Daniel puts his hand on his head, both of them shaking their heads slowly. Meanwhile, Lena and the girls are at Mya’s house. “Okay, next Friday is midnight madness. That’s the beginning of basketball season and for us cheerleaders. So we have to make sure that we are all set for next Friday. And on that note, girls,” Mya says, “Lena, you have helped us with a lot of our dance moves. And now we have something for you to show that you are now a cheerleader.” Lena looks at her, then at the other cheerleaders that are coming out of the other

room. She gets a happy shocked look on her face. For they bring her the cheerleader uniform; she looks at the other cheerleaders, then she looks at Mya. She walks over to Mya and the two other cheerleaders, slowly taking her uniform. Then Melissa puts on the music, and they all look at her; she looks at them. “Let’s get this cheer party started,” Melissa says. They all start laughing, then they run over to Melissa and start dancing together for fun and coming up with new moves for midnight madness. Then back at the school, Lyon and Daniel are working with the new players to see how good they are. Daniel and Lyon look at each other, then they look back at the players. “Okay, he has bad balance,” says Lyon, “and he has no control over the ball.” “That one can’t seem to stay on his feet,” says Daniel. “He keeps falling.” Daniel and Lyon look at every one of the players, seeing what they need to work with, then they see one player who is a little overcocky. “Okay, you guys, bring it in,” says Daniel. The players walk over to Daniel and Lyon; some sit down and others stand. Lyon stands next to Daniel with his arms crossed, and Daniel has his hands in his pocket. They look at the players, then they look at each other. Daniel takes a couple of steps toward them. Lyon just stays where he is. “Okay, this is what I have to work with.” Daniel pauses. “I don’t like it.” They all look at him with confusion and slight anger. Lyon and Raphael are laughing behind Daniel, trying to hide the fact that they are laughing by putting their hands over their faces and turning their heads from everyone. Daniel turns his head to Lyon and Raphael; they look at him and just shrug their shoulders. Daniel looks back at the players and takes a deep breath. “We have a long way to go.” Daniel and Lyon slowly begin to start teaching everyone about how they play basketball. For the rest of the week, Lyon and Lena only have time to see each other at home and during school, but even then, they still don’t have too much

time together, for now after school, Lyon had basketball practice, and Lena is working with the other cheerleaders for midnight madness.

Memory 14

Late the night before midnight madness, Lyon is in his room, sitting on his bed, leaning back against the wall, reading one of his favorite books. He looks up as he hears his door open and sees that it’s Lena, smiling at him. She slowly walks over to him; she comes to the end of the bed and slowly crawls on the bed over to him. He grins at her as he slowly puts his book down, putting it on the desk next to his bed. They just look at each other in the eyes, smiling and grinning at each other. “You going to tell me why you are in here?” Lyon gently laughs. Lena starts laughing, then she moves over to Lyon and sits next to him. “No reason, just haven’t seen you in a while. That’s all. How are you?” Lena says. “Yeah, I know. Sorry with everything that has been going on with school, work, and now basketball practice,” Lyon replies. “It’s okay. I’ve been hanging out with Mya and the girls a lot,” Lena replies. “Yeah, about that. You’ve been hanging out with Mya and the girls a lot, how? They’ve been working on their cheerleading,” Lyon says. “I know, but Mya wanted my help,” Lena replies. “That’s all?” Lyon asks. Lena smiles at him, then she moves closer to him and kisses him. Lyon kisses her back. “Nice subject change.” They both laugh and kiss each other again. The next morning, Lyon and Lena get ready for school. Lyon packs his basketball clothes and heads to the kitchen. Lena comes downstairs and goes into the kitchen. They both act they normally do, help each other with their breakfast, not realizing that Emily and Nathen are sitting at the kitchen table, watching them. Emily has her word puzzle, and

Nathen is drinking his tea. They look at each other, then back at Lyon and Lena. Lena throws up the bagels, and Lyon catches them on a plate, then he puts cream cheese on his and jelly on Lena’s. Then he slides the plate back over to Lena as he walks by her to get the juice bottles. Lena puts the bagels in napkins so they both can head to school. They grab their bags and head outside to the truck. Nathen looks at Emily, and she looks at him; they both just start laughing. At school, Lyon and Lena meet up with everyone at their lockers. They walk to their locker floor, turn the corner, and see Raphael once again has everyone laughing. They look at each other, then back at everyone and slowly shake their heads with gentle laughing. As they walk over to them, Jack comes in front of Lena and Lyon. He looks at Lena like he wants to see her with no clothes on. She glares at him, then she sees how he’s looking at her, making her turn her right hand into a fist and is about to hit him. But Lyon gently and quickly wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. As Lyon has his arm around Lena’s waist and his other hand holding his basketball bag, he looks at Jack with a cocky yet calm grin. “Morning, Jack,” Lyon says. Jack looks at him, then he looks at Lena who has one hand on Lyon’s chest and her other hand holding her bag. Lena glares at Jack; he just stares at her, “Morning, Lyon, ready for midnight madness, I see,” Jack says. “Yup, can’t wait,” Lyon replies. Jack nods his head, then he walks around Lyon and Lena, walking away from them. Lyon watches him with just his eyes, then he looks at Lena who is looking at him. Lyon sees that she is slightly pouting. “Why didn’t you let me hit him?” Lena says. Lyon starts laughing, then he gives her a kiss on her head, then they walk over to their lockers. Daniel and everyone sees them walking over to them. “What was up with Jack?” asks Raphael. “Lena…wanted to punch him,” Lyon replies.

Everyone looks at her, then they look at Lyon and slightly start laughing. “Why didn’t you let her?” says Raphael. They all start laughing, then Lyon and Lena go over to their locker and everyone is talking about midnight madness tonight. Lena looks at Mya and Melissa; the three of them try not to laugh at one another. The boys look at them; they look at them, then they put their heads down and head to their homeroom class. The day goes on and the time es. The last bell rings for everyone to go home and get ready for tonight if they are going. Lyon goes to the gym with Daniel and Raphael so they can get everything ready for tonight. Raphael is able to go with them because he is the team’s second manager. Whenever the second coach can’t, help Raphael is around to take his place. In the girls’ locker room, the cheerleaders are getting ready for the night, moving over the moves for tonight’s dance. Around 11:30 p.m., everyone starts coming to the school and heading to the gym. They all sit or stand on the bleachers, waiting to hear them announce for the night to begin. Daniel, Lyon, and the rest of the team players are getting ready. In the girls’ locker room, Mya and Melissa are helping Lena with her hair and makeup. The girls stretch out and the boys warm up. Daniel turns his head and looks at Raphael, who is looking out to everyone. “Raphael, what are you doing?” asks Daniel. Raphael turns his head to him. “I’m looking for the cheerleaders. I want to see what dance they got going on.” Daniel laughs, then looks at Lyon who has his head in his hand, laughing. He looks at Daniel who is shaking his head with a smile. “That’s your family.” Lyon laughs. “Shut up.” Daniel laughs. Meanwhile in the girls’ locker room, Mya and Melissa goes over to the other girls. “Okay, girls. It is now official, she is now one of us,” says Melissa.

“Girls, let’s welcome Lena,” continues Mya. Lena comes out from behind the corner, wearing her cheerleader outfit, smiling and laughing with embarrassment, for the girls are screaming with joy for her. “Okay, girls, let’s do this,” says Mya. They all get up and head to the gym, while the boys wait for their sign to come out. The girls go into the gym and see that they are just finishing up “The StarSpangled Banner.” Mya walks over to the DJ so she can give him the song they are going to be dancing to. Raphael is still looking out to see the girls. “Hey, have you seen Lena out there?” asks Lyon as he looks out. “No, haven’t seen her,” Raphael replies. Daniel walks over to them and looks out with Lyon and Raphael to everyone. The three of them look and see Mya waving to completely come out and the girls get ready to start dancing, also to see if they can find Lena. Lyon sees his grandparents sitting in the bleachers. He grins then he tries to see if Lena is with them, but he still can’t see her, then the principal comes out to talk to everyone. “All right, everyone it’s just about time to start midnight madness, let’s count down,” yells the principal with excitement. Everyone stands up, shouting the countdown from ten, slowly banging their fists in the air for the excitement. “Five, four, three, two,” yells everyone. “One—let the madness begin,” yells the principal. The principal then walks off the floor and over to the teachers, and the cheerleaders come out as they put on a small amount of a smoke screen. The DJ puts the song the cheerleaders are going to dance to, which is Audio Push’s “Turn It Up.” As they come out, Lyon gets a shocked look on his face as his jaw slightly drops. Raphael looks at him. “Lyon, are you okay?” Raphael asks.

Lyon doesn’t reply, then Daniel looks at him. He looks at him with confusion, then he looks at Raphael who shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know,” Raphael says, shaking his head. Daniel looks at him, then back at Lyon. “Lyon, what’s wrong with yo—u,” says Daniel as he looks at the cheerleaders. Raphael looks at him and sees that Daniel now has the same look on his face as Lyon. He slowly turns his head to the cheerleaders. He then slowly gets a shocked look on his face, for now Daniel and Raphael see that Lyon is in shock that he sees Lena in a cheerleader outfit. They both look at each other, then they look back at Lyon who just can’t take his eyes off Lena. Lyon looks at her arms, legs, hips, her smile, and into her eyes. At the end of the dance, Lena and Melissa turn to Mya and both do a split while Mya does a split facing the crowd. They all get up, jumping up and down, waving their hands to everyone. Lyon then snaps out of it, then he looks back at Lena, and he sees that she is leaving the gym. Lyon looks at everyone, then he looks back at Lena; he then slowly walks away. He walks down the hall and sees that Lena went into the girls’ bathroom. He walks past the girls’ bathroom. He hides in a corner and waits for Lena to come out of the girls’ bathroom, looking at the same time to make sure no one sees him. After about a few minutes, Lena comes out of the bathroom and walks back to the gym. But then she feels her arm being grabbed, then she is pulled back. Lena is pinned to a wall; she looks up and sees that it’s Lyon, staring at her, slowly shaking his head. “So when did you plan on telling that you’re a cheerleader?” Lyon says. Lena slowly smiles, then she starts laughing. “It’s not funny,” Lyon says. “Why, did you want to see the cheerleading outfit first?” Lena says with a smile. “You planned this from the start, didn’t you?” Lyon says. Lena just looks at him and smiles, telling him yes with just that look. Lyon looks at her with shock but with a slight laugh. Lena then moves a little closer to him, gently holding his basketball jersey. She looks up at him with a seductive smile

on her face, gently wrapping her arms around his waist. Lyon looks down at her with a seductive grin. “So I take it you like the outfit?” Lena smiles. Lyon looks at her and her uniform. “I like how the girl in the uniform makes it look,” Lyon softly replies. “And how’s that?” Lena softly replies. “I’m still thinking of a word.” Lyon pauses. “But for now, I’ll just say really hot.” Lyon then puts his hand on Lena’s face, and they slowly move closer to each other, they then kiss each other. Lena then slowly moves her hands up from Lyon’s waist to his neck, and he moves his hands down to her hips. Slowly feeling how smooth her skin is, he pulls her closer to him, making no space between them. Gently pinning her to the wall, her arms still around his neck, Lyon has one arm leaning against the wall above Lena’s head and the other hand still wrapped around her, keeping her close, both kissing each other with heated ion! Meanwhile back in the gym, over at the boys’ locker room door, Daniel and Raphael are looking for Lyon. “Where the hell did he go? You guys about to go out in two minutes,” says Raphael. “Make that one,” Daniel replies. They look out to the principal who is about to call out the basketball team. They look around to see where Lyon is. “This isn’t good. You and Lyon are the first two he is going to call,” says Raphael. Daniel just looks at him, then he looks back at the principal; both have worried looks on their faces, and they are freaking out. Mya and the girls are looking for Lena, but they don’t see her. Back with Lyon and Lena, they are still kissing each other, but then Lyon slowly stops, and they look at each other. Lyon then looks to the hallway, then he gets a

slight shocked look on his face, then he looks at Lena, trying not to laugh. “We have to go, the principal is about to call me,” Lyon says. Lena laughs, then they both run back to the gym, but then they part because Lyon has to go into the gym through the boys’ locker room, for the team is there. Lena runs into the gym the same way she came out and over to the girls. The girls look at her, and she is trying her best not to laugh and show that she’s red. “Where the heck were you?” asks Mya. Lena looks at her and pauses for a minute. “Oh, it got a little hot, so I was trying to cool off,” Lena replies. Mya stares at her for a minute, then she looks back at the principal. Meanwhile Lyon comes running into the boys’ locker room and over to Daniel and Raphael. They both look at him. “What the hell, man, where did you go?” slightly yells Raphael. “I went to the bathroom, if you must know,” Lyon replies. “That’s a long bathroom break. You’re cutting it close,” says Daniel. Lyon shrugs his shoulders, then he looks out to the principal who then just calls the team to come out. The whole team comes running out from the boys’ locker room, ripping through the large paper they are holding up with the team name on it. They all come running out, and the girls are cheering for them. Then the boys begin to show how they can control the basketballs. “All right, boys,” says Daniel. “Let’s bounce,” continues Lyon. All the boys on the team begin to dribble the balls at the same time, like they are playing a beat, moving the balls at the same time. After the madness was over, everyone leaves the gym, and all the players and cheerleaders meet up outside in the parking lot.

“Okay, so after-party at DD’s?” says Raphael. “Hell yeah,” everyone yells. They all head to their cars, and they all go down to DD’s. Lyon and Lena are pulling up in DD’s parking lot. Lyon looks at Lena, and she looks back at him. “I can’t believe that you are a cheerleader,” Lyon says. “It happened when you and I weren’t talking. Mya thought that it would be a good idea to see your face when you saw me in my outfit,” Lena replies. Lyon starts laughing, and Lena puts her head down with a small blush. Lyon looks back at her, then he slowly nods his head. “Well, I’ll give it to her. She sometimes knows what she’s talking about,” Lyon says. Lena smiles at him, then Lyon moves closer to her, and she moves closer to him, and they kiss each other. Then they slowly get out of the truck and walk into DD’s, and they see everyone on the dance floor. They walk over to their table where they see Daniel and everyone’s things; they put their things down. As they put their jackets on the back of the chairs, Mya and Melissa come running over to them. Daniel and Raphael slowly walk over to them. Mya and Melissa pull Lena onto the dance floor. Daniel and Raphael start to talk to Lyon about Lena and her being a cheerleader. Lyon starts laughing and tells them what happened. “So it’s all your girl’s fault,” Lyon says. Then he starts walking away with Raphael, who’s laughing. “How is it my girl’s fault?” asks Daniel. They walk over to the stairs that lead to the dance floor and take a few steps down. “Because your girl is the one who got Lena to become a cheerleader,” Lyon replies. Daniel just looks at him, then he looks at Raphael who is trying to hold back all

his laughing. Then they look at the girls on the dance floor who are telling them to go dance with them with just their hands. The look at one another, then they look back at the girls and slowly walk down the stairs and over to them. They all dance together like it was planned; everyone on the dance floor slowly move off into a circle and watch them take over. After about a few hours, everyone slowly starts to leave and head home. Daniel and Raphael walk Mya and Melissa to their cars as they say their nights to Lyon and Lena. Everyone heads home. Lyon and Lena walk into the house quietly, for Emily and Nathen are sleeping. Lena slowly start to walk upstairs to her room, and Lyon stops her. “Lena,” Lyon gently says. Lena turns and looks at him. Lyon pauses for a minute, making Lena smile at him with a small laugh. “Question,” Lyon says. “Yeah,” Lena replies. Lyon takes a few steps up to her. “Will you go to homecoming with me?” Lyon asks. Lena smiles at him even more, then she kisses him, almost causing them to fall down the stairs. They both laugh gently, then they look at each other. “I would love to,” Lena replies. Lyon grins at her, then they give each other a kiss and a goodnight kiss. Lyon watches Lena go upstairs, then he slowly walks to his room. Lyon walks into his room and flops on his bed and rolls over to look at the ceiling, with a grin of happiness on his face. Next week has come, the week of the homecoming dance. It’s the day before the dance, and everyone is getting excited. Lena, Mya, and Melissa are talking about what they are going to wear for the dance during cheerleading practice. Lyon and Daniel are running suicides, while Raphael is taking notes on how everyone is doing. The bell rings for everyone to stop running; everyone falls to the floor, but Daniel and Lyon put their hands on their knees and look at each other. Both

are breathing heavy. The couch slowly stands up from the bleachers and looks at them. “You all call that suicides. Do it again, and this time you all better hit those lines at the same time,” the coach yells. Everyone looks up at him like he’s crazy, still breathing heavy, then they look back at each other. Lyon and Daniel lean up, and everyone else slowly stands up and go back over to the first line, all of them sweating like a rainstorm. The girls look at the boys and feel bad that they are still running; they look at each other. Lena looks at Lyon and slowly goes into a trance, for Lyon is taking off his shirt. She stares at his chest, smooth tan skin, broad shoulders, and muscular body covered in sweat. Pieces off his hair in his face dripping water, she slightly bites her pointer finger as she wraps her left arm around her stomach. Mya and Melissa look at her; they cover their mouths so she doesn’t hear them laughing. After about a few minutes, Mya gently calls Lena so they can finish the cheer routine. An hour and a half has ed, and the boys are finally able to stop rerunning; every one of them fall to the floor and begin to breathe. “You boys hit the showers and rest over the weekend. ’Cause come Monday, we get started again,” says the coach, laughing. They all slowly get up and walks to the boys’ lockers room and head to the showers. As they walk into the boys’ locker room, Raphael walks over to Lyon. “You should look like this more often. Lena couldn’t take her eyes off of you.” Raphael laughs. Then Raphael walks over to the other players. Lyon looks at him, then he pauses for a second, slowly turning around. Lyon looks at Lena who is packing her cheer bag, laughing with the girls, getting ready to head to the girls’ locker room. Lyon stares at her for a minute, then he slowly grins as he continues walking into the boys’ locker room. Lyon comes out of the shower and walks over to his locker, already with a pair of light-blue jeans on. No shirt, just his towel around his neck, he sees Raphael talking to everyone, making them laugh. He walks over to Daniel whose locker is right next to him. “What the hell is Raphael talking about now?” asks Lyon.

“You,” Daniel replies. “What—me, me what?” Lyon says. “About how Lena was watching you work out today,” Daniel continues. Lyon stares at him for a minute, then he slowly turns his head to Raphael. He takes a breath and walks over to Raphael and the other player. Raphael looks up at him and smiles, but Lyon just stares at him with a plain look on his face, slowly lifting his eyebrow, crossing his arms. The other players slowly get up and walk away. Raphael looks at them, then looks back at Lyon who slightly tilts his head. Raphael slowly puts his hands up. “I’m done, stop talking.” Lyon then slowly walks back over to this locker and puts his shirt on. Meanwhile in the girls’ locker room, Lena comes out of the shower and goes over to her locker. “So, Lena, are you coming with us to go shopping for something to wear tonight?” asks Melissa. “Oh yeah,” Lena replies, smiling. They all start laughing for no reason, making them laugh even more. After everyone was all done with changing, they all meet up in the parking lot. Lena sees Lyon waiting for her by his truck with Raphael and Daniel laughing. Lyon is leaning against his truck with one arm on his truck and the other hand in his pocket. Raphael is standing next to Lyon with his hands in his pocket. They both look, laughing at Daniel talking about one of his classes today. The girls look at one another, then they walk over to the boys. As they walk over, Melissa goes over to Raphael, and she wraps her arms around him. Raphael takes his left hand out of his pocket and wraps it around Melissa; they both give each other a kiss, then they look back at Daniel. Mya walks over to Melissa and stands next to her, looking at Daniel, starting to laugh. Lena walks over to Lyon; she wraps her arms around him. Lyon takes his hand out of his pocket and puts his hand on Lena’s waist. They give each other a kiss. Then Lena turns around and leans back against Lyon’s chest. Lyon keeps his hand around Lena’s waist. As everyone stands around laughing at Daniel, Lena looks at Lyon who’s staring at Daniel, slightly laughing. She slowly moves closer to Lyon’s cheek and kisses

him. He looks at her. “Are you okay?” he softly asks. “Yeah, I just wanted to tell you that I’m going with the girls today to do some shopping,” Lena replies. “Okay, why are you looking at me like that?” Lyon slightly laughs. Lena just slowly and slightly shrugs her shoulders, making Lyon grin, as if he’s laughing at her. Then he puts his head to her. “Did you think I’d get mad?” Lyon’s asks. “No.” Lena pouts. “Yes, you did. Lena, you’re going to hang with your friends. It’s not a bad thing…go and hang with them. I’ll be with the boys,” Lyon says. “I just don’t want you to think that I don’t want to go to the homecoming dance,” Lena says. Lyon grins at Lena. “Lena, the fact that you’re going with your friends tells me that you’re going to get ready for the homecoming dance.” Lena smiles at him, then she kisses him, and he kisses her back. Then everyone says their byes, and they all head home to get ready for tonight’s homecoming dance. Later that night, the boys are at the school in the front, talking, waiting for the girls to come to the dance. The dance starts at 8:00 p.m., but the girls didn’t show up till 8:10 p.m. They see them pull up in the parking lot. Raphael is wearing black jeans, red jean shirt, with black-and-red sneakers, and a chain bracelet. Daniel is wearing blue jeans, green button-up shirt, black sneakers and light cross-chain necklace. Lyon is wearing light-gray jeans, gray silk button-up shirt opened with a black muscle shirt, dark-gray-and-white sneakers and a black wristband. As the three of them stand there talking, they see the girls walking to them, and they get shocked, slight jaw-dropping looks on their faces. Melissa is wearing a tan jean outfit, one piece. It shows her back, and she is wearing white one-and-a-half-inch-heel boots. Mya is wearing a green one-shoulder shirt that

shows a little of her left side, with white jeans and green-and-gray high-water sneaker Nike’s. Lena is wearing a two in one dark-blue and light-blue shirt that is loose in the front that has feather and leaf designs on the right side of it to see the other part of the shirt, with light-and-dark-gray jean leggings with flat anklehigh gray boots. The girls look at the boys and smile as they walk over to them. Daniel and Mya give each other a kiss. Raphael hugs Melissa and kisses her on her forehead. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they hug, with Lyon giving her a small kiss on her neck, after he whispers in her ear how beautiful she looks. They all look at one another, then start to walk into the gym where they are having the homecoming dance. They walk into the gym, and the lights are amazing, different colors. Some are lines, others are flashing, the DJ is set up in the office upstairs, and everyone is just dancing. They all look around, then the girls hear one of their favorite songs. They look at one another, slightly screaming with excitement, “I love this song. Come, girls, let’s show them how to get a dance started,” says Melissa. “Hell yes.” Laughs Mya. “Let’s party.” Laughs Lena. The girls walk over to the dance floor and begin to dance next to one another, while the boys walk over to one of the free tables. They sit down at one of the front tables, right in view of the girls dancing. They stare at them. “I wonder how girls move like that,” says Raphael. Lyon and Daniel look at him and just start laughing at him, then look back at the girls. For two songs, the boys sit at their table, just talking and laughing, but then comes Melissa. They turn their heads as they see her walking over to them, laughing. “Come, let’s go.” Melissa laughs, making them get out of their seats. “Why are you making us get up?” Laughs Raphael. “To protect our asses, come on,” Melissa says in a Western voice.

They look at each other and grin with a laugh as Melissa pulls them on to the dance floor over to Mya and Lena. Melissa walks over to the girls, and they all look at one another with friendly but cocky grins and smiles on their faces. They look at one another as they are about to have a girls vs. boys dance battle. The DJ sees them and smiles and slowly nods his head, then he changes the song. “All right, it looks like it’s going to be a girls vs. boys dance off. Let’s see what you all can do,” says the DJ. “Cheerleaders vs. jocks.” The girls start it off, and they start it off sexy, making the boys tilt their heads to them with grins on their faces. The girls back up, so the boys can go. They look at each other, then they nod their heads and look at the girls with cocky grins. It almost looks like Chris Brown’s “Run” music video. As they go on dancing, they all move closer to one another, and they start dancing with one other, like it was planned. After the song ends, everyone laughs and claps their hands, then everyone just starts dancing. After about three to four songs, the DJ puts on a slow song for everyone to take a breather. Some go to sit down, and others stay on the dance floor, still dancing. Daniel looks at Mya, and they smile at each other. He spins her around, then he pulls her to him, and they hold each other, slowly dancing. Raphael and Melissa hold each other close, with him spinning her around and pulling her back to him. Lyon and Lena slowly dance with each other. Lyon has one hand around Lena’s waist. Lena has one of her hands on Lyon’s shoulder, while both of their other hands are hand in hand. But then Lyon slowly takes Lena’s hand, putting it to his shoulder. She smiles as she wraps her arms around his neck. While she wraps her arms around his neck, he slowly wraps his arms around her waist, both looking deep into each other’s eyes with gentle looks on their faces. But as they dance with each other, Lena is pushed closer to Lyon by someone dancing behind her. Lena turns her head, and Lyon looks up and sees who pushed Lena back. They both get slight shocked looks on their faces and see that it’s Jack and Tamie dancing with each other. They turn around look at them. “Oh, Lyon and Lena. Nice to see you two.” Tamie smiles. Jack smiles at the both them. Lena just gives them a plain look on her face, and Lyon also has a plain look on his face with a lift of his eyebrow. “Sorry, my BF and I didn’t see you two,” Tamie says in a cocky grin.

“BF,” Lena says. “Yeah, my boyfriend,” Tamie replies. Lyon looks up at Jack. “You go out with Tamie now?” Lyon says. “What’s the matter, wish you could?” Jack says. Lyon stares at him for a minute like he’s crazy. “Hell no. Why would I want that when I have someone so much better?” Lyon and Lena just give Tamie and Jack cocky grins, then they both take each other’s hands and walk away. Lyon takes Lena out of the gym and into the hall outside of the gym around the corner. He looks around to see if anyone is around or coming. Lena looks at him, smiling with a slight laugh. “What are you doing?” Lena softly asks. Lyon quickly spins her around and gently pins her to the wall; he looks at her with a grin, and she smiles at him. “I wanted you to myself for a minute.” Lyon grins. Then he kisses her, and she kisses him back, both wrapping their arms around each other. Kissing with ion and desire, they both stay there for one and a half songs. They go back into the gym when they hear the music picking up. Meanwhile as everyone is at the homecoming dance, Emily and Nathen are at the police station. The sheriff and an officer are talking to them about Lena. “So you’re telling us that you have no idea who Lena is or if anyone is looking for her?” asks Emily. “We had a problem with the computers for the last couple of days,” says the officer. Emily and Nathen look at each other, then back at the sheriff and the officer, listening to them explain why they can’t find anything on Lena. After about an hour to two hours, Emily and Nathen leave the station. They go home and talk about what to do about Lena and the fact that they can’t get any information on

her. But even though they can’t get information on Lena, they are also happy about it. As they walk into the house, Nathen puts the TV on, and Emily goes into the kitchen to make them some tea. But then Nathen goes to the kitchen to get something to go with the tea. As they are in the kitchen, the TV shows a quick picture of a missing person and the picture is Lena’s. But when they came back into the room, the TV changes to another story. Nathen and Emily look at the TV, then they put on a movie for them to watch.

Memory 15

Back to the six months to when Lena first went missing. Home, at Lena’s house, where her family is waiting for her, talking about the twins’ game, the doorbell rings. Lena’s mother, Jonna, answers the door, and she sees three police officers standing at her door. She stares at them for a minute with concern. “Hello, Officers. Can I help you with anything”? “Yes, are you Jonna?” asks Officer 1. “Yes, I am,” Jonna answers slowly. “We would like to talk to you about your daughter. May we come in?” asks Officer 3. Jonna looks at him with concern and worry and fear as she slowly nods her head yes, moving out of the way for them to come in. The three of them slowly walk into the house, and they follow Jonna into the living room where everyone is. Everyone stands up quickly when they saw the cops walk into the living room. “Mom, what’s going on?” asks Jason. “They need to talk to us…about Lena,” Jonna replies. They all look at one another, then slowly back at the police. “What do you mean?” asks John. The police tell them all to take a seat, and they will tell them everything that has happened and why they are there to talk about Lena. “What,” yells Jonna as she quickly jumps up. Everyone stands up next to Jonna and look at the cops with confusion and shock. “What do you mean…where’s our sister?” asks Jason in a low panic.

“We don’t know. They’ve been looking but can’t find her. From what they have found, they say she may have fallen into the river under the bridge. And that river, because of the storm, it won’t be easy to find her. That river goes on for miles, and we don’t know what way the river could have taken her,” explains Officer 2. “We are going to do everything we can to find her,” says Officer 3. Jonna can’t think of anything to say. Tears fall from her eyes as she slowly puts her hands to her mouth. Luther looks at her and quickly wraps his arms around her, for her legs start to become weak. Jonna almost falls to the floor, even with Luther holding her as she cries in a panic. Jason and John kneel down beside her. “Where—is—my—baby. My—baby girl.” Jonna cries. The officers look at them, then at one another. Then the front door opens and coming in is Chris and Ally. They come into the living room and see that there are three cops standing in the living room. They look at the cops, then they see Jonna crying with Luther holding her, Jason and John kneeling beside her. All of them have sad and worried looks on their faces. They look up at Chris and Ally. They both look at each other, then they look back at everyone. “Um…what’s going on?” asks Chris. “Lena…she’s missing,” answers Jason. Chris and Ally look at them, then they look at the police, “What do you mean she’s missing? Where is she?” asks Ally in a panic. They just look at her, and she starts to have water run down her cheeks. Chris just puts his head down slowly. The next morning, Lena’s family go to the station and try to see if anyone has seen or any signs of Lena anywhere. But for that whole day, nothing; they just find girls with the same first name, but the face doesn’t match. They have been coming to find out anything on Lena for days, but then days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months. As time goes by, the cops are starting to think that they will not find anything.

“We have been looking for her…for six to eight months now. Sheriff, there may not be anything to find. We would have seen sights by now. I’m not saying we should stop looking,” says Officer 3. “Yes, I know. I’ll talk to them,” says the sheriff. The sheriff looks at Lena’s family and takes a deep breath, then he goes over to them. They look at him. He sits down next to them and slowly begins to talk to them about what they might have to do. They look at him with shock, and Jonna starts to yell at him as tears fall from her eyes. Luther takes her arms gently and pulls her away. Jason and John look at her, then at the sheriff with a glare yet sadness. They stare at him for a minute, then they slowly begin to follow Jonna and Luther out of the station. The sheriff puts his arms on the desk, then he picks his hand up and slowly puts her face to his hand, hiding it. Everyone in the station looks at him, then at one another with sad yet guilty looks on their faces.

Memory 16

Back to six months later at the homecoming dance, Lena is having the time of her life. Happy, smiling, laughing, with friends, and in a happy relationship. “Oh, go, Lena, break it down, girl.” Laughs Mya. Mya, Melissa, and Lena are still on the dance floor while Daniel, Raphael, and Lyon are sitting at their table, taking a break, watching the girls laughing and having a good time. “Man, those girls can dance,” says Raphael, drinking his soda. Daniel and Lyon look at him, then they look at each other. They nod their heads, then they take a drink of their bottled water. As Lyon is drinking his water, he looks at Lena and sees that she’s smiling at him. He slowly puts his water down and slowly begins to shake his head for Lena is telling him to come over to her with just her finger. Lyon looks at Daniel and Raphael; he shrugs his shoulders then he slowly gets up and walks over to Lena. They watch him walk over to her, then they see Mya and Melissa also calling them over. They slightly laugh, then they get up and walk over to their girls and start to dance. Lyon takes Lena’s hand, spins her around, and pulls her back to him. And they begin to salsa, for the DJ is playing Don-Omar feat. Lucenzo-Danza Kuduro. The night goes on, and everyone has a great night, but it slowly comes to an end. The lights are slowly coming on, and the DJ plays one more slow song. He plays Ne-Yo’s “Slow Down.” Lyon grins, then he looks at Lena. He slowly moves the piece of hair from her face and wraps his arms around her waist. She smiles at him, and she puts her head to his chest as she wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck. Then they look at each other. They slowly move their faces closer to each other, and they kiss each other! They kiss each other with small ion, and right as the lights come completely on, their lips part. They look up at the light and slightly laugh, then they look back at each other. They look over to Daniel and the others; they take each other’s hands and walk over to them. They all look at each other, then they all look at everyone leaving the gym. As everyone is leaving the gym, they all just stand there, talking, waiting for it to be less of a

stress to walk out. After about five to ten minutes, the gym is just about empty, so Lyon, Lena and the others slowly begin to head out, still talking. “Wait a minute, are you telling me that she is trying to make you jealous with Jack?” asks Raphael. “In a way, yeah,” Lyon replies. “That’s so stupid.” Laughs Mya. Lyon just shrugs his shoulders, then as they come out of the gym, they see Tamie and Jack talking to some of their friends, laughing. Lyon looks over to Raphael and Daniel, who looks back at him, trying not to laugh. Lyon wraps his arm over Lena’s shoulder, and she wraps her arm around his waist, while holding his hand with her other hand that’s around her shoulder. Lyon has his other hand in his pocket, and they all just continue walking to the exit. As they get to the exit, Tamie calls Lyon; he doesn’t reply to her or even look at her. She glares at him and takes a deep breath. Raphael and Melissa just start laughing. Mya covers her mouth because she is laughing, and Daniel just turns his head so they can’t see that he’s also laughing. Lyon and Lena look at each other; they stare at each other, still walking, but then they kiss each other as they walk over to the doors. And everyone sees them, and they all start yelling with shock and joy. Jack and Tamie glare at them, then they look at each other. “So you two just made a statement,” says Daniel. “What?” Lyon says with a slight chuckle. “The fact that you two just kissed each other in front of everyone,” answers Mya. Lyon and Lena just look at each other with small grins on their faces. They all head to the parking lot. Lyon and Lena walk over to Lyon’s truck and leans back on it, still with their arms around each other. They look at everyone as they all stand around Lyon’s truck. “So what do you guys want to do?” asks Raphael. “Well, we have to go to Mya’s house. Her mom wants to take pictures of us,” says Daniel.

“Really, girl.” Smiles Melissa. “Don’t ask.” Mya slightly laughs. Everyone puts their heads down and tries not to laugh, but then when they look at one another, they just start laughing. “Okay, so are you coming with us, Raphael?” asks Daniel. “No way, so I can be pulled into picture moments? No, thank you,” Raphael replies. “Plus I always wanted to ride in Lyon’s truck.” “You already did,” Lyon says, looking at Raphael. “Well, I mean again,” Raphael says. They all slightly laugh, then they say their night and watch Mya and Daniel walk over to her car and wait till they take off. They look at each other. Lyon unlocks his truck, and everyone gets ready to get in, but then Lena walks over to Raphael. “You can sit up front,” Lena says. “I can—you sure?” Raphael asks. “Yeah, I want to talk to Melissa,” Lena replies. Raphael nods his head, then he gets in front, and Lena goes in the back to talk to Melissa. Raphael looks at Lyon, and he closes the door. Lyon turns his head to Raphael as he starts the truck. “What?” asks Lyon. “That’s some girl you got there. Some girls would pick the front with their man before the back with their friends,” Raphael answers. Lyon looks behind him with just his eyes and grins, then he looks back at Raphael and slightly shrugs his shoulders as he puts the truck into drive. They take off, and Lyon drives Raphael and Melissa home; he first drops off Melissa. Melissa gives Lena a hug, then she says bye and thanks to Lyon as he opens the

door. Lyon looks at Raphael and points for him to get out of the truck and walk her up to her front door. Raphael looks at him with confusion at first, but then he quickly gets out of the truck and walks with Melissa up to her front door. They look at each other, then Melissa kisses Raphael goodnight, but before she backs away, Raphael pulls her into another small ionate kiss. Lyon and Lena look at each other. Lena smiles while Lyon grins at her, then they look back at Raphael and Melissa. They see Melissa walk into her house and Raphael coming down the stairs like he’s walking on air. Lena turns her head, trying not to show that she’s laughing, and Lyon puts his hand over his mouth, also trying not to show that he’s laughing. Raphael gets in to the truck and looks at them. “What?” Raphael asks. “Nothing, it’s nothing,” replies Lyon. Then he takes Raphael home. Raphael says good night to Lena as she says goodnight back to him, then he and Lyon grabs hands and say their later. Raphael gets out of the truck and slowly walks up to his front door. As Raphael walks up the steps, Lena crawls up to the front seat, and Lyon looks at her, laughing, “What are you doing?” Lyon laughs. “It makes no sense for me to get out and walk all around just to get into the front seat,” Lena replies, laughing. Then they look up to see that Raphael gets into his house. Raphael opens his front door and looks back at them, letting them know he’s all right. Lyon puts his right hand up, then he slowly drives away. Lyon and Lena go home after dropping Raphael off. Lyon parks the truck into the garage; they both look at each other, then they slowly get out of the truck. They walk into the house and see that Nathen and Emily are already in bed. Lena walks over to the stairs with Lyon right behind her. Lena takes a few steps, and Lyon just stands beside the stairs next to the railing. Lena turns her head and looks at him; their eyes are leveled. She smiles at him with a small tilt of her head. Lyon just grins at her, then Lena kisses him, and he kisses her back. They both put one hand on each other’s faces and their other hand on the railing, with Lyon’s hand on top of Lena’s. After about a good long ionate minute, they look at each other. “Good night,” says Lena.

“Good night, Lena,” Lyon says. Then their hands part, and Lena walks upstairs to her room, and Lyon walks through the kitchen to his room. The next morning, Lyon and Lena are up before Emily and Nathen. They both go into the kitchen and see that Lyon and Lena are at the kitchen table, talking. They look at them with shock, then at each other. They slightly look back at Lyon and Lena. “Did we miss something?” says Nathen. “The world changed overnight,” replies Emily. Lyon and Lena look at them, then at each other, trying not to laugh. They all look at one another and start laughing. “Okay, you two. Signs of a snowstorm is coming. We have to get everything ready for it,” says Nathen. “There goes our plans for a house party,” says Lena. “Damn, that was a lot of plans,” says Lyon. Emily and Nathen look at them. “Funny smart-asses,” says Nathen. They all start laughing as Nathen and Emily walk over to get coffee. They all sit and have breakfast together. After they are done, they all get dressed and head outside to get everything ready for the storm. Lena and Emily are taking care of the animals while Lyon and Nathen take care of the heavy lifting. As Emily and Lena finish up getting the animals, they see Nathen and Lyon. They smile at them, then they finish getting the animals ready for the storm. After Emily and Lena are done, they go to see how Nathen and Lyon are doing. As they come around the corner, they see that they are getting ready to head to the wine field. They walk over to them, and they all go down to cover up the field, with Shadow running back and forth in front of them, wagging his tail. Emily and Lena hold one end while Lyon and Nathen hold the other end.

“Shadow, come here, boy,” Lyon says. Shadow walks over to Lyon, and Lyon hands him his end of the cover. Shadow gently bites down and slowly pulls the cover down to the ground. Lyon then nails the cover down into the ground. “Good boy, come on,” Lyon says. Then he and Shadow walks over to Nathen and nail his side down. Nathen then finishes up nailing down his and Lyon’s side, while Lyon goes over to Emily and Lena’s side. Lyon nails down both their corners, then they move over to the sides. After hours of covering the field, everyone sees that the sky is getting dark. But they can’t see any stars in the night. As they start walking back up to the house, Lena stops. Lyon and they stop and slightly turn to see why she stopped. Lena is looking up, and she slowly starts to smile. They look at her with smiles and grins yet confusion Lena then looks at them. “It’s snowing” Lena smiles. They all slowly look up, then they look at each other and smile, for snow is slowly beginning to fall from the sky. Lyon looks at Lena and grins. Emily and Nathen look at how Lyon is looking at Lena. “Come on, Shadow.” Lena laughs. Shadow runs over to Lena, and they both run down through the spaces in the field. They all watch Lena and Shadow run down through the fields; they all laugh. As they laugh, they see that the snowflakes are getting thicker. Emily calls down to Lena and Shadow. They both look at her, then at the snowflakes. Lena kneels to Shadow and hugs him, then they both run back up to everyone. They all look at the field, then at one another; they all just start laughing, then they slowly walk back up to the house. Emily and Nathen are getting ready to make dinner, while Lyon and Lena sit in the book/lounge room. Lena is looking at a book while Lyon is sitting across from her with his sketchbook. He looks back and forth at Lena, slowly drawing her in his book. But as he draws her, he’s drawing her in a different light. Everything that is in that room, he’s not drawing, just her and the way she’s

lying, with Shadow sleeping on the floor in front of her. Lyon draws Lena lying on a rock outside, with the sun shining on her, in a field of flowers, with Shadow sleeping in front of her. And instead of her reading a book, she’s holding one of the flowers, with her hair blowing in the wind, and some of the flower petals surrounding her with the wind. As Lyon is sketching Lena, Emily and Nathen come into the room and see Lyon sketching Lena. They look at each other, then at Lyon. Lena has no idea that Lyon is drawing her. Emily and Nathen then tell them it’s time for dinner. They both get up and follow them into the kitchen. As Emily and Nathen get the food and Lena, Lyon feeds Shadow. Shadow sits next to his bowl and waits for everyone to sit down at the table. Everyone holds hands, and Nathen blesses the table. After Nathen blesses the table, Lyon looks down at Shadow and tells him to eat. Everyone eats and starts laughing as they talk about last night at the homecoming dance. Emily and Nathen are not sure what to say after Lyon and Lena tell them that Jack and Tamie are an item. After about an hour to almost an hour and a half, Lyon and Lena clean up the table. As they clean up the table, Emily and Nathen puts on some old-school music. Lyon and Lena look at each other and slowly start to move their bodies. Emily and Nathen go into the kitchen, dancing. Lyon and Lena dry their hands and turn off the water. They slowly dance their way over to Emily and Nathen. They all start dancing in the kitchen together and laughing. Lyon and Emily start to dance together, while Nathen and Lena are dancing together. They keep switching partners as the music goes on. The phone rings, and Nathen goes to answer it. Lyon then starts dancing with Emily and Lena. Nathen comes back into the kitchen, and they look at him, laughing. Nathen tells Emily that some of their friends want them to go out with them tonight. Lyon and Lena tell them to go and have fun. They smile at them, then they go to get ready. Lyon and Lena then go and finish up cleaning the dishes. As they are done with their last dish, Nathen and Emily go down into the kitchen. Lena gives Lyon the last plate to dry; they look up at them. “Nice, where are you guys going?” Lyon asks. “Don’t know yet,” Nathen replies. “Well, you two look good.” Lena smiles.

“Thank you, honey.” Emily smiles back. “Okay, not sure what time we’ll be back. But we will be back before the storm hits. And I shouldn’t have to tell you two,” Nathen says. “We know, Gramps. We know,” Lyon continues with a grin. Nathen shakes his head at him, then he and Emily take off and go meet their friends. Lyon and Lena look at each other and start laughing. Lyon goes to put the plate away, and Lena cleans the sink. “Okay, so what do you want to do?” Lyon asks. Lena turns around and thinks for a second, then she looks at Lyon and smiles. “What?” Lyon says. “I want to know what you were doing in the book room,” Lena answers. She slowly starts to take steps back to the book room and Lyon slowly starts to walk toward her. “I wasn’t doing anything,” Lyon says. “Really, because you were really quiet.” Lena laughs. Then they pause and stare at each other, then Lena turns and runs to the book room, and Lyon runs after her. Lena sees Lyon’s sketchbook and quickly grabs it and runs through the other door, looking to see if Lyon is behind her. But as she runs through the other door, Lyon grabs her by her waist gently, and they both start laughing. Lyon is trying to take his sketchbook from her, but she is holding on to it with both hands while Lyon is holding one hand on his sketchbook and his other hand around Lena’s waist. But as he turns her around to look at him, she slowly starts to loosen her grip, then Lyon grins at her. He slowly moves his face closer to her, and he kisses her. Lena kisses him back. She then completely lets go of the sketchbook as she wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck. Lyon slowly pulls Lena closer to him as he wraps his other arm around Lena’s waist, still with the sketch book in his hand. Then they look at each other, and Lyon grins at her.

“Told you I wasn’t doing anything.” Lyon laughs. Then he runs away from Lena with the sketchbook in hand, and Lena looks at him with a laughing shock. She runs after him, and they chase each other all through the house, with Shadow lying by the window, watching them. Later that night, Lyon and Lena fall asleep on the couch, watching TV. Both of them are lying on the couch. Lyon has one leg hanging off the couch and the other on the couch, one of his hands is on the back of his head, between his head and the couch pillow, and his other hand is on Lena’s shoulder, who is completely on the couch with her head, and one of her hands is on Lyon’s chest, her other hand is slightly under Lyon’s shoulder. As they sleep, Shadow lifts his head and sees the snow falling heavier. Time goes by, and the snow is coming down. Nathen and Emily come into the house. They come into the house, and they see that Lyon and Lena are asleep on the couch. They smile at each other, then they hang up their coats. Nathen locks the front door, and Emily puts a blanket over Lyon and Lena. Nathen then goes to make sure that the backdoor is locked and all the windows. After Nathen makes sure everything is locked down, he and Emily go to bed, looking down at Lyon and Lena sleeping. They smile at them, then they look at each other, smiling.

Memory 17

The next morning, when Lyon wakes up, he sees that he’s in the living on the couch, with Lena sleeping right next to him. He grins at her, then he gives her a kiss on the head. He slowly gets up, making sure that he doesn’t wake her. He walks over to Shadow, who’s still lying by the window. He looks at the window and sees that the snow is everywhere. He looks at the snow and re how he and his mother used to play in the snow. As he stares at the snowed ground, he then feels hands wrapping around him. He turns his head and sees that it’s Lena. “Hey.” Lyon grins. “Morning,” Lena replies with a smile. Lyon completely turns around, and they look at each other; they give each other a morning kiss, then Lena looks outside and sees the snow on the ground. She smiles, then she runs to the front door and outside to the porch. Lyon goes to the front door and leans on it, crossing his arms. Lena runs down the stairs to the snow. She stares at it with amazement. “You okay?” Lyon asks. Lena slowly shakes her head. Lyon stares at her for a minute, then he looks at her with confusion. He uncrosses his arms and slowly walks over to her. “Are you okay?” Lyon asks. Lena turns her head to him, and he sees that she has tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong?” Lyon asks. “Nothing, I just. It’s really beautiful,” Lena replies. Lyon just grins at her and slightly nods his head. He looks down at the snow. He looks at her with just his eyes, then he looks back at the snow. He kneels down to it.

“Okay, Ms. Cheerleader, let’s see how good your arm is,” Lyon says. Lena looks at him with shock and confusion, then Lyon throws a snowball at her. Lena starts laughing. “Oh, you are so dead.” Lena laughs. Lyon starts running, and Lena picks up some snow and throws it at him. They start having a snowball fight and laughing. Shadow looks at them from the doorway, wagging his tail. As Lyon and Lena have their snowball fight, Emily and Nathen go downstairs. They see that the front door is open, and Shadow is sitting there; they look at each other, then walk over to the door. They see that Lyon and Lena are outside having a snowball fight. They smile at them, then they go into the kitchen. Shadow looks at them, then he slowly follows them into the kitchen, and they give him some water. Meanwhile Lyon and Lena are still outside. Lena keeps throwing snowballs at him. Lyon looks at her; he runs over to her, and she tries to run from him, but he gently grabs her by the waist from behind. He picks her up and starts to spin her around; they both start laughing. Lena takes the snowball that she still has in her hand and gently drops it on Lyon, making him gently put her down. She turns to him and starts laughing even harder as Lyon moves the snow from his face. He looks at her, and she covers her mouth to hide the fact that she’s still laughing. He grins at her, about to laugh, but he looks at her up and down; she looks at him, then she takes a few steps back. She slowly starts to shake her head. Lyon just keeps grinning at her. Lena then runs. Lyon nods his head once, then he runs after Lena. Lena stops and turns around but doesn’t see Lyon. She looks around with confusion but still slightly smiling. Lyon then comes running from the side. Lyon gently tackles Lena to the ground; they both start laughing. Lyon is slightly on top of Lena, chest to chest, looking at each other. Lyon has his arms in the snow so that he’s not completely down on Lena, while Lena has her arms around Lyon’s shoulders. They look into each other’s eyes; as they stare at each other, their faces move closer to each other. They kiss each other. As they kiss each other, their kiss slowly starts to turn ionate. Emily comes to the front door and can’t see Lyon or Lena, but she calls out to them so they can come in. Lyon and Lena look up, then they look at each other. They slightly start laughing at each other. Lyon slowly gets up, then he puts his hand down to Lena to help her up. He pulls her up, and she’s in his arms. Emily

sees them and shakes her head, laughing, then she walks back into the house. Lyon and Lena give each other another kiss, then they slowly walk to the house, holding each other’s hands. Lyon and Lena walk into the house. Emily gives them a large blanket, and everyone is sitting down on the floor or the couch. Nathen and Emily are on the couch next to each other, while Lyon and Lena are on the floor wrapped up together in the large blanket, with Shadow lying down next to them. All of them are watching TV; they are watching a marathon, an old movie. As Lyon leans back on the couch, and Lena leans back against Lyon’s chest, Emily and Nathen look at them, trying their best not to show that they are about to laugh at them. They all watch about four to five movies before Lyon and Lena fall asleep to the next movie, but right before Nathen puts the movie on, the house phone rings. Emily answers the phone, then she tells Nathen that they need him down at the bar; there was a problem with the order. Nathen nods his head and asks Emily if she wants to go down with him. She smiles and says yes. Right before they leave, they tell Shadow to watch over Lyon and Lena since they are fast asleep on the floor, in each other’s arms. Shadow looks at them, then he lies back down next to Lyon and Lena. Emily and Nathen look at them. Lyon and Lena are still sitting the same way they were watching the movies. They close and lock the door; they slowly drive off, leaving a note for them if they wake up before they get back.

Memory 18

Time is going by, days to weeks, weeks to months, and still no one is able to find anything on Lena. For every time they come close, something happens: they lose power, a storm comes, making them lose everything and have to restart everything. But since it has been close to nine to ten months since Lena has come to stay with Lyon and family, no one has really paid any mind anymore. They are still looking, but it’s not a top priority anymore; same is happening in Lena’s home. Lena and Lyon are still happy together, living and going to school together. Lena’s hair is a little longer, a little past her back shoulders, and her body is getting a little slimmer. Lyon is still the same, but he’s getting more muscles on his body. Daniel and Mya are also still a couple, they are still the same. As for Melissa, she’s still going out with Raphael, and everyone asks her why she still is. Raphael, nothing has changed with him; they all just think that his mouth has gotten louder. “Raphael, shut up.” Laughs Daniel. “No, okay. Winter break has come and gone. Spring break is in a couple of weeks, and I want to do something,” Raphael whines, slightly yelling. “Raphael, we can’t. We’re all working this spring break. A lot of the other workers put in the time off. We can’t do anything,” says Lyon. “So,” yells Raphael. Daniel and Lyon just start laughing even harder, as they all are on the bleachers outside, laughing, the girls see and hear Raphael. Lena and Mya look at Melissa, and she looks back at them. “That’s your man,” says Mya. “Shut up.” Melissa slightly laughs.

The three of them start laughing together as they walk up the bleachers over to the guys. Mya walks over to Daniel and sits beside him as she looks at Raphael. Melissa sits down a few steps up from Raphael, looking at him, trying not to laugh. Lena walks over to Lyon, who’s sitting and leaning back against the seat behind him. He grins at her, and she smiles at him, then she leans over to him; they give each other a kiss. Then she sits down next to him, and Lyon leans up, putting his arm around Lena’s shoulders. All of them are listening to Raphael whine and pout about how he has to work now all through spring break. All of them laugh at him, making him pout even more. The bell rings for everyone to come back from lunch; they all look at the school, and they slowly head back. They all go to their lockers to get the notebooks and textbooks they need for their other classes. Lyon is at his locker, and Lena is standing next to him, thinking of looking into his locker. As they sit there, they see that Tamie and Jack are looking at them. They look at them for a second, then they head to their next class, holding hands. As they walk past Jack and Tamie, they are talking about their bio homework. Jack and Tamie watch them walk by them, then they look back at each other. “So, Lyon, when do you start your soccer practice for real?” asks Raphael. “After spring break,” Lyon replies. “So, Lena, are you going to put on that cheerleader outfit and cheer for him?” Raphael laughs. Everyone slightly laughs, and Lena looks at Lyon. “Don’t know…maybe I might just pull it out…if he’s a good boy,” Lena says with a smile. Then she and the girls walk into their next period class, and the boys keep walking to their next class. The school day goes by, and everything goes just smoothly. The bell rings for everyone to go home. Everyone meets up at their lockers, getting things they need and putting things away. Mya and Lena come around the corner, laughing. The boys look at them with confusion and slight grins as they look at them. Lena and Mya look like they are going to fall to the floor, then Melissa comes around the corner, pouting. “Stop laughing.” Melissa pouts. But Lena and Mya just start laughing even harder, using the wall to hold

themselves up so they don’t fall. The boys walk over to them and look at Melissa since she looks like she can breathe. “What’s going on?” asks Raphael. Melissa looks at him, then she walks over to him and puts her head down on his chest. He looks at her, then at Lyon and Daniel. They shake their heads and shrug their shoulders. “Um…babe…what’s wrong?” asks Raphael. Melissa slowly lifts her head and looks at Raphael. “They won’t stop laughing at me,” Melissa whines. Raphael slowly nods his head and looks at her with more confusion, then he looks at Lyon and Daniel. They look at him, trying not to laugh at him, then they look at Lena and Mya, who are now trying to catch their breath. Raphael then looks back at Melissa. “Okay, why won’t they stop laughing at you?” Raphael gently asks. “Because…I tripped over a teacher. Coming out of class,” Melissa explains. Lena and Mya start laughing again as Melissa tells Raphael why they both are laughing really hard. Lyon and Daniel turn their heads so that Melissa can’t see that they are laughing. Raphael looks at them, then back at Melissa. “It’s okay, nothing to be upset about,” Raphael says. “It would be if the teacher that you tripped over is your homeroom teacher,” Melissa whines, “and end up making them spill their coffee all over themselves.” Raphael looks at her with slight shock, then he looks at the others who are all standing next to one another, laughing even more. Raphael looks at them, slowly shaking his head, then he looks at Melissa and tries to calm her. After they all start to calm their laughing, they slowly begin to leave the school and head down to the parking lot. They all walk over to their cars and see that they are next to one another. Mya walks over to Daniel’s car and sits on the hood, while Daniel slightly sits on the hood. Mya wraps one of her arms around Daniel’s neck and the other hand on the hood. Daniel has both of his hands in his pockets. Raphael

walks over to his car and leans back against the car door. Melissa walks over to him and leans against Raphael, hiding her face in his chest so no one can see her face. Lyon is leaning back against his truck above his front tire, with Lena leaning back against his chest, with their arms wrapped around each other. They all look at Melissa. “Oh, Melissa. Stop hiding that fact that you’re laughing.” Daniel laughs. Melissa slightly looks at them. “Shut up.” Melissa laughs. Everyone starts laughing, and Melissa, still hiding her head, slowly begins to shake her head but still hiding her face from everyone. As time goes by, they see that it’s getting late, so they all say their next times and begin to head home. Lyon and Lena slowly get into the truck and head home. As they pull up to the house, they see that Emily and Nathen are standing outside, talking to a police officer. They look at each other, then Lyon slowly parks the truck. Both of them get out of the truck and walk over to Emily and Nathen. As they walk over to Emily and Nathen, the police officer is getting ready to get back into the car. Lyon and Lena are holding hands as they walk over to them; they look at them with confusion and each other. They both come up to Emily and Nathen; they turn to Lyon and Lena, and Emily has tears in her eyes. Lyon looks at her with shock, then he looks at Nathen. “Okay, what’s going on?” Lyon quickly asks. Emily and Nathen tell Lyon and Lena that a member of Emily’s family has just ed away, and with everything that has been going on, the police station got the letter. Emily and Nathen tell them that they are going out of town to see the family. Lyon and Lena both say that they want to go and see the family also. They both smile at them, then they all go into the house and start to pack some clothes for them to leave. Next day, Lyon and Lena go to school and tell their teachers that they are leaving because of a family member ing. The teachers give them apologies, and during class, they gave them some papers that they will be missing. The day goes on, and at the end of the day, Daniel and everyone walk Lyon and Lena outside where Emily, Nathen, and Shadow are waiting. “Shadow’s going too?” asks Raphael. “Yeah, you know that he doesn’t like our caretaker,” Lyon replies.

“Well, sorry again, man. See you when you get back,” Daniel says. Lyon nods his head, then he looks at Lena, who is giving Mya and Melissa hugs goodbye. Lyon grabs Daniel and Raphael’s hands, one after the other, and give one another quick hugs. Lyon and Lena then walk down to Emily, Nathen, and Shadow, then they slowly take off to see Emily’s family. A few days later, Lyon, Lena, Emily, Nathen, and Shadow come back home from seeing the family, and Emily is still a little down. The family member that had ed was Emily’s aunt. Emily and everyone didn’t go to work or to school. They come back on a Wednesday, so Emily and Nathen says that Lyon and Lena don’t have to go to school. Emily and Nathen don’t go to work; they all just stay home and relax. Everyone just hangs around each other, trying to get Emily to feel a little better staying around family. A couple days go by, and Emily is starting to feel better. Late that Friday night, Lyon is in his room reading a book, like always, sitting on his bed, with Shadow sleeping at the edge of his bed. Lyon is leaning back against his wall. Lena walks into his room quietly. Lyon looks up and sees that Lena is walking over to him. Shadow looks up at her, and she gently pats him on the head. He puts his head back down, and Lena sits on the bed next to Lyon. Lyon looks at her, and she slowly looks at him. “Since we got back, I never got a chance to ask you. Are you okay?” Lena says. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for asking,” Lyon replies. Lena stares at him for a minute, making Lyon look at her with slight confusion. “What?” Lyon asks. “You are so lying,” Lena replies. “What about you?” Lyon says. “I may have not known her, but just seeing Emily like that, it’s making me feel down,” Lena replies. Lyon looks at her. He closes his book and puts it down on his nightstand next to his bed. “I didn’t meet her a lot. But I always hung out with her on family reunions. She

made me laugh a lot. I will miss her…I’ll miss her a lot. She was and is family and friend,” Lyon says. “I said you were lying,” Lena says. Lyon slightly laughs under his breath, then he looks at Lena, and she puts her head on his shoulder, making him put his head on hers. The next morning, Lyon and Lena are already awake, doing their weekend chores. Nathen is in the kitchen, making some food for Emily; he brings it to her upstairs in their room. Nathen walks into the room and sees that Emily is looking out the window to Lyon and Lena. They both are doing their chores but playing at the same time, with Shadow right by them. She smiles at them, then she looks at Nathen, who is putting her food down on the bed. He walks over to her and gently wraps his arms around he. She smiles, and they both look out the window to Lyon and Lena.

*****

Months have gone by, and everyone is doing better. Right now everyone is at Lyon’s third soccer game. They are playing a home game. Emily and Nathan are sitting in the stands, while Lena and everyone is near the field, yelling and cheering him on. “Yeah, Lyon, take them down,” yells Raphael. Everyone is yelling over one another, ing the two teams and their . The game has only two minutes left, and Lyon has the ball running down the field. Lyon es it to his teammate. As they both get to the goalie, Lyon and his teammate look at each other and nod. Lyon’s teammate kicks the ball up, and Lyon does a backflip, kicking the ball right as the time hits its limit. The ball goes right into the goal. Lyon looks up at his teammates as they help him off the ground, and they all yell with joy. Lyon looks over to everyone in the stands that are ing him and the team; there he sees Lena smiling at him. He grins at her, then he runs over to her. She sees him running to her, making her jog over to him. She jumps into his arms with joy and kisses him, and he kisses

her back, both kissing each other on the field, where everyone can see them. Daniel and everyone scream louder, while Jack and Tamie glare down at them, then they both slowly stand up with their friends and walk away. Everyone then comes running down to Lyon and Lena. Lena moves out of the way right on time before Raphael can tackle Lyon. Lyon pushes Raphael off of him, and they both start laughing. Daniel walks over to the both of them, then he helps them up. Nathen and Emily walk over to Lyon, and they give him a hug. Lyon grins at the both of them and thanks them for coming to his game. “Celebration party at our house,” yells Emily. Everyone jumps or throws their hands up, screaming with excitement. They all begin to head over to Emily’s and Nathen’s house. Lyon takes a shower at the school, with Lena waiting outside for him by the truck, leaning back against it, writing in her little notebook. As she waits for him—“Nice night,” says a voice from behind. Lena quickly turns around and sees that it’s Jack, smiling at her. She looks at him with a plain look on her face, as she slowly shakes her head. Lena turns her back to him and continues writing in her little notebook. Jack walks around the truck over to her; she looks at him with just her eyes and takes a deep breath. Jack comes a little closer to her. “What the hell do you want, Jack?” Lena says in a low aggravated tone. “Well, that’s a dumb question…what I want, Lena, is you,” Jack replies. Lena doesn’t say anything, she just keeps writing in her notebook, making Jack smile and softly laugh. He slowly starts to move a little closer to her. “You know, the more you don’t talk to me, the more I think you want me.” Jack smiles. “Come any closer to me, and I’ll break your leg,” Lena says. “Oh, come on, Lena. Don’t be like that.” Jack smiles as he inches more to Lena. Lena looks at him once again with just her eyes, then she looks back at her little

notebook and continues writing. Meanwhile back in the boys’ locker room, Lyon comes out of the shower with the towel around his waist and another one hanging over his neck so the water from his dripping hair doesn’t get him more wet. He walks over to his locker and starts to get dressed, leaving his hair out, letting it dry. But as he’s getting dressed, before he can put on his shirt, he feels someone’s finger go down his neck to his lower back. Lyon quickly turns around and sees that it’s Tamie. He glares at her. “What the hell are you doing?” Lyon slightly yells. “You won a game, so I’m giving you a prize,” Tamie says. Lyon, still glaring at her, lifts one of his eyebrows and rolls his eyes. He turns his back to Tamie and puts his shirt on. Tamie then gets between Lyon and his locker. Lyon backs up from her and shakes his head. “What the hell, Tamie. Get out,” Lyon yells with anger. Tamie just gives him a seductive smile as she looks at him up and down. Lyon slowly shakes his head at her and glares. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he walks over to Tamie and quickly grabs his bag from behind her. Then he slams his locker and walks away from her. Tamie watches him walk away, then she looks at her wristwatch. As Lyon is walking out to the parking lot, he sees that someone is over by Lena. He starts moving over to them a little faster. “Do not touch me,” Lena says in a deep, angry tone. “Don’t be like that. Come on, Lena.” Jack smiles. Then Jack goes to touch Lena’s face, but she grabs his wrist and twists it. Jack looks at her with slight pain on his face, then he looks at her with a smile. Then he takes his other hand and pulls Lena closer to him, close enough to try and kiss her. Lena drops her notebook and slaps him right across the face, hard enough that he almost falls. He looks at her, holding his face; he slowly stands up and glares at her. She glares back at him with a small cocky grin, but before Jack can move closer to her again—“Lost?” Jack slowly turns his head and sees that it’s Lyon standing right behind him,

holding his bag, looking at him with a plain look on his face, lifting one of his eyebrows. Jack just stares at him with slight shock. “What’s the matter? Tamie didn’t hold me back long enough?” Lyon says. Jack doesn’t say anything, he just nods his head, then slowly walks away. Lena walks over to Lyon, and they both watch Jack walk away. Lyon then looks at Lena. “Are you okay?” Lyon gently asks. Lena nods her head with a small smile. Lyon grins back at her then Lena gets her notebook, and they both get into the truck and head over to Lyon’s house. They slowly pull up and see lights, hear music, and see everyone in and out of the house. Everyone is dancing. They both look at each other, then Lyon parks the truck in the garage, and they walk into the house. Everyone sees them come into the house and start yelling with joy. They start laughing and walk over to everyone. “Where the hell have you two been?” Raphael yells. They look at him, and coming behind him is Daniel, Mya, and Melissa, walking over to him. They tell them why it took them so long to get back. The three of them look at them with shock, but before they can say anything, Lyon’s teammates come over. They grab Lyon and pull him outside, where Emily and Nathen are out talking to the team parents. They hear everyone going outside and look over to them. As they pull Lyon outside, some of the other team are already outside, waiting for them. Lyon goes outside, and the other splash Lyon with a bucket of water. Everyone laughs, yells, and claps their hands, and Lyon starts laughing as he shakes his head. Lyon turns his head, and Lena is standing next to him, laughing. He grabs Lena and wraps his arms around her. He slowly takes his arms from around her, and everyone starts laughing, for Lyon got Lena all wet. They look at each other, then they kiss each other, and everyone starts clapping. The party starts going on till late; everyone goes home almost as the sun is about to open its eyes. Emily and Nathen come into the house, and there they see Lyon and Lena sleeping on the couch. They both smile, then Nathen walks over to

them and puts a blanket over them while Emily turns off the lights. Shadow is sleeping on the window couch. Emily and Nathen look at each other, then they look back at Lyon and Lena. They both slowly walk up the stairs with smiles on their faces. In late afternoon, Lyon and Lena wake up and see that Emily and Nathen are not home. They look at each other, then they hear the doorbell ring. They both look at the door, then put their heads back down. But then they hear Raphael yelling their names; they both slightly start laughing. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they give each other a kiss, and Lyon then slowly gets up. Lena gets up after Lyon walks over to the door, and she starts to fold the blanket. Lyon opens the door and gets a plain half-asleep shocked look on his face, for Raphael is hanging from the porch roof. “Raphael, what the hell are you doing?” Lyon asks. Raphael looks at him, then he starts to just look around like he didn’t hear a word Lyon just said to him. Lyon takes a deep breath while slowly shaking his head; he slightly turns his head and sees Daniel, Mya, and Melissa sitting down. Daniel looks at Lyon; he puts his hands up slowly, shaking his head, and the girls just start gently laughing. Lyon looks back up at Raphael with a plain look on his face. Raphael then jumps down from the roof and walks over to Lyon. “I have a great idea,” Raphael says. “Really, and what’s that?” Lyon asks. “Well, since we couldn’t have a springtime from work. We’re going to throw an after-spring-break party.” Raphael smiles. They look at him, plain looks on their faces, and slowly shake their heads. “Raphael, you do know that spring break was over a long time ago,” says Daniel. Raphael looks at him with a pout. “That’s why it’s called after spring break.” “Raphael, that’s just dumb,” replies Daniel. “No, it’s not. Look, we couldn’t do anything after spring break before because

Lyon had practice. But we can do an after-spring-break-beginning-of-summer party. Because after that will be a school’s out summer party. Why not just get everything started?” Raphael smiles. All of them look at Raphael and start laughing, slowly shaking their heads at him while he has a large smile on his face. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he walks back into his house and sees that Lena fall back to sleep. He walks over to her while Raphael looks around, then looks at Daniel, wondering why Lyon just walked away. Daniel puts his face in his hand and starts laughing even more, while Mya and Melissa stare at Raphael, trying to hold back their laughter. Lyon walks over to Lena; he kneels in front of her. Then he gently and slowly moves the pieces of hair from her face. He then moves closer to her and gives her a kiss on her forehead. Lena then slowly begins to move her head. Her eyes slowly open, and she smiles at Lyon, who grins back at her. They move closer to each other, then give each other a kiss. Raphael goes to the doorway and sees them; his grin slowly turns into a smile. Daniel, Mya, and Melissa look at him like he’s crazy but also try not to laugh. Raphael slowly turns his head and sees them looking at him, slowly shaking their heads. After about a few minutes, Lyon goes back outside, with Lena slowly following him. She smiles at everyone and says her hellos, as they do to her; they both walk over to the porch swing. Lyon sits down, and Lena leans against him. He wraps one arm around her and his other arm on the armrest. Lena wraps both of her arms around his arm that he has wrapped around her, while they all listen to Raphael talk about his after-spring-break party idea.

Memory 19

The school year is close to an end, and everyone is having fun at Raphael’s afterspring-break party. Raphael has the party set up in one of the hotels with food, drinks, sweets, other kinds of things everyone can eat. The DJ is playing all different kinds of music; everyone is on the dance floor. Almost the whole school is there, except the teachers and some students, but that didn’t stop a few from coming. “Now you cannot tell me that this was a bad idea,” Raphael yells over the music, laughing. “It was a very good idea, babe,” Melissa yells over the music, smiling. She gives him a kiss on the cheek, then they see Mya and Lena on the other side of the dance floor with Lyon and Daniel. Raphael gently takes Melissa’s hand, and they walk over to them. “Having fun?” Raphael yells over the music, laughing. Daniel and Lyon look at him. Mya and Lena give him a small quick kiss on his cheeks, then they go back to dancing with Daniel and Lyon. He looks at them both and grins, making them laugh, then he looks at Daniel and Lyon. They look at him, then they shake their heads. “We’re not kissing you,” Daniel and Lyon says over the music. Raphael pouts, and they all start laughing, making Raphael in. They just start dancing and laughing. After about five songs, the girls go to the bathroom, while the boys go over to get something to drink. The guys sit down at the table, watching everyone dance, eat, drink, make out, while the girls are in the bathroom. “So, Lena, you almost been here a year, right?” asks Mya. Lena looks at her and thinks for a minute.

“Because you came here the end of spring, the beginning of summer, right?” continues Mya. “Oh wow…yeah, I did,” Lena answers with a smile. “We have to do something then,” says Melissa. “Like what?” asks Mya. Lena looks at the both of them and slightly starts laughing. As Mya and Melissa think of something to do for Lena, They start heading back to the ballroom, laughing, but as they are heading back, they look at the entrance and see a few people who shouldn’t be walking into the hotel. They get shocked looks on their faces, then they run back to the ballroom and look for the guys. They see them sitting at their table; they quickly walk over to them and tell them who they saw walking into the hotel. The guys stand up and look at the doorway to the ballroom and see Jack, Tamie, and a few of their faces standing there. They slightly glare at them, then they look at each other. They slowly walk over to them. Jack smiles at them, but then he looks at Lena. “Hello, Lena.” Jack smiles. “Bite me,” Lena replies. Jack slightly laughs under his breath, then he looks at Lyon standing next to her. Raphael walks over, and everyone is standing on the side of him. Daniel and Mya are standing slightly behind him on the left, with Lyon and Lena standing slightly behind him on the right, and Melissa standing right next to him. They all stare at one another for a minute. “Why are you here, Jack?” says Raphael. “I wanted to see the party,” replies Jack. “Well, you saw it. Now go,” Raphael says. “Unless your name is on my list, you’re not getting in, so go now.” “Ah…what’s the matter? Afraid we’re going to upstage you on the dance floor?” says Tamie.

Melissa looks at her. “Tamie, that’s a dance floor, not a bedroom.” They both give each other a glaring smile, then they just glare at each other. Everyone just stares at one another, then security comes. “So you guys can go your way,” says Raphael with a grin. “Or you can go our way,” continues Lyon with a grin. “By being thrown out,” completes Daniel with a grin. Jack, Tamie, and their friends look at them, then they look at security. Jack slightly laughs under his breath. Then they all slowly walk away and head to the exit. They all watch them walk away, then they all look at one another. They all stare at one another for a second, then they just start laughing. Lyon looks down at Lena; she smiles at him, then she slowly starts to pull him to the dance floor. Everyone watches them for a second, then they slowly start to follow. They all danced and laughed for the rest of the night. As the night goes on, everyone slowly begins to leave—friends, couples, groups. After the last pair left, everyone slowly starts to walk to the parking lot but wait for Raphael at the entrance to pay the hotel bill. Raphael slowly runs over to them, then they all slowly walk outside to their cars. As they walk outside, they see that the sun is slowly rising. They all look at one another as they walk over to their cars, but they don’t get into them right away. They all stand, lean, or sit on their cars, talking to one another about the party and laugh at how Jack and Tamie came to the party. “I can’t believe that they came to our party.” laughs Raphael. Everyone looks at him and laughs, then they look up and see that the sun is just about to take over the sky. They look at one another, then they say they goodbyes and all head home. “Good thing we don’t have school.” Lena smiles. “Yeah.” Lyon nods his head. They all go home. Lyon and Lena pull up at the house, then they see that Emily and Nathen are sleeping. They look at each other and slightly laugh, then they

get out of the truck and walk into the house. Lena walks over to the stairs, and Lyon stands beside them, and they both look at each other. Lena slightly leans on the railing, and Lyon moves closer to it. “Good night.” Lena smiles. Lyon grins at her, then he slowly nods his head. He looks back at her. “Night.” They both give each other a night kiss, then they walk to their rooms. Lena gently closes her door and gets ready for bed. Lyon walks into his room and sees Shadow sleeping on his bed, using his pillow. Shadow looks at him, slowly wagging his tail, and Lyon slowly shakes his head, slightly laughing. “You got jokes.” Lyon walks over to his bed, then lies on the other side of Shadow and slowly falls asleep. The next morning, Lyon and Lena wake up in late afternoon. Emily and Nathen don’t have work today. They both let them sleep in a while they worked on other things around the house, getting things ready for their delivery. Around 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., Lyon and Lena wake up and slowly go into the kitchen. They see that Emily and Nathen are outside, putting things in boxes. “What are they doing?” Lena asks. Lyon looks at her. “Oh yeah…we’re at school when this happens. They’re packing things for us to deliver. We don’t always have people come to us,” Lyon explains. Lena nods her head, then they both go outside to see if Emily and Nathen need any help. As they go outside, they both look up at them, and Nathen grins at Lyon. Lyon looks at him with slight confusion, then his eyes slowly widen. “No…no…no,” Lyon says. Lena looks at Lyon, then at Nathen. “What…why do you keep saying that?” Lena asks.

“He wants me to make the delivery,” Lyon answers. Lena slowly nods her head and start laughing at Lyon. Emily and Nathen slowly start to laugh as well. Lyon slowly shakes his head at all of them, then he walks over to them, with Lena behind him. Emily and Lena go and pack the rest of the wine, while Nathen and Lyon bring the delivery truck around to the back. Lyon and Nathen start to pack up the truck, each box has its own tag to say where it goes. Lena and Emily come around with the last bottles of wine and slowly put them in the boxes. Lyon and Nathen slowly and gently put them into the truck. Lyon closes and locks the back of the truck and looks at everyone. “Okay, I’ll be back. Hopefully by tonight,” Lyon says. “Oh, can I go? I want to go,” Lena asks with excitement. Everyone looks at her, then Emily and Nathen look at each other. “Sure you can go. Make sure that Lyon makes all the stops.” Emily laughs. “Thanks,” Lyon says with a slight grin. They all start laughing, then Lyon and Lena get ready to go and make the deliveries. They slowly drive off, while Emily and Nathen watch them drive off, waving at them. “Was that a good idea?” Emily says. “In the back of a truck…they’ll be fine. That’s not how they want things to go,” Nathen replies. They both look at each other with smiles on their faces, then they slowly walk onto the front porch, with Shadow lying on the porch. Lyon and Lena are driving the truck to the first stop. As they are driving, they both are blasting the music. They come to the first stop that is only about an hour out of their hometown. Lena stays in the truck while Lyon goes to make sure they get the right boxes. Lyon signs the paper, then he gets back into the truck and looks at the paper that Nathen gave him for the stops. Lyon looks at Lena, who just has a big smile on her face. Lyon grins at her as he shakes his head. Then he slowly starts the truck and brings to drive off. Lena looks out the

window. She looks at all the things around. As she looks at everything, Lena re that she hasn’t left the town once. Driving around with Lyon makes her happy that she can’t believe that they are together. Deep inside, Lena never felt this happy. Lyon looks at her. “You okay?” asks Lyon. Lena just smiles, then she moves closer to him and gives him a kiss on the cheek. Lyon looks back at her. “What was that thank you for?” “No reason,” Lena replies. She looks back out the window, and Lyon just has a small grin on his face, and Lena smiles out the window. As they make their stops, they have one more stop to make, and Lena looks up and sees a bridge. She stares at it for a second, then she has a flashback. It was dark and raining, but then it quickly disappeared. Lyon looks at her and sees that there is something on her mind. “Lena, you okay?” Lyon asks. Lena looks at him and shakes her head, Lyon just lifts his eyebrow, then he looks back at the road. Lena then moves a little closer to Lyon, putting her head on his shoulder. He slightly looks down at her, then he looks back at the road. After about a few hours of making the rest of the stops, Lyon and Lena are finally heading back home. The sun is starting to leave the sky as they pull up and see that everyone is waiting for them. They look at each other, then they slowly get out of the truck. Lyon gives Nathen the papers for him to go over, then he tells him that he’s going to work. Emily has already gone to work not that long after they left. Lyon and Lena looks at everyone, and they ask them if they want to go to DD’s. They look at each other, then they tell them they’ll meet them there. They are going to get changed first. Everyone says that they will meet up at DD’s in an hour. Lyon and Lena get ready to meet everyone at DD’s. Lyon takes out his motorcycle since it’s close to summertime. He feeds Shadow before he goes to get ready. As he feeds him, he texts Daniel and Raphael to see if they are also taking out their motorcycles. “Hell yeah, I’ve been waiting to take my bike back out,” Raphael replies.

“Yeah, same here,” Daniel replies. “Nice,” Lyon replies. “This is going to be sweet. We are going to be pulling up at DD’s with our motorcycles and with our girls riding with us,” Raphael replies. Everyone then gets ready. After about forty-five minutes, Lyon is ready to go and waiting for Lena to come downstairs. Lena comes downstairs, and Lyon smiles at her, and she smiles right back. Lyon leaves the backdoor open for Shadow. Then they both head to the motorcycle and drive down the road, heading to DD’s. As they are coming to the end of the road, they see Daniel and Mya pulling up. And coming slowly behind them are Raphael and Melissa. They all look at each other, then slowly pull off. Lyon and Lena are in the middle, with Daniel and Mya on the left, with Raphael and Melissa on the right. They all slowly pull up to DD’s, but since it’s now close to summertime, everyone is outside. The music is blasting, everyone is dancing, hanging around their cars, eating, having drinks for their age, and even couples are making out. Everyone turns their heads when they see Lyon and everyone pulling up on their motorcycles. Guys from the basketball team go over to them, and girls from the cheer squad even go over. Everyone gets food and drinks and sits down at the outdoor tables they have. After they were done eating, some of the girls from the squad come over to pull Mya, Melissa, and Lena to come and dance with them. The guys watch them go and dance, then some of the guys from the team come over to them and start talking. The girls start dancing, and the guys are talking and laughing, but then Lena looks over to them. She looks back over to the girls. “Okay, hold on. Some things are missing,” Lena says. The girls look to see what Lena is pointing at—she is pointing at the guys, and the girls all look at one another with small smiles. Then they all look at the guys, and they slowly start to walk over to them. The guys look up and see that the girls are walking over to them; they look at one another in a small circle. “Now when they come over here, fight them. Do not give in,” says Raphael. Lyon and Daniel look at him, then they look at each other, knowing he’s going to give in, making them slightly laugh. Then they all look back at the girls; they all give one another a stare-off, seeing who’s going to move first. But then Lena

walks past everyone and walks right over to Lyon, who looks right at her with a grin on his face. She takes one of his hands, then with her other hand, she tells him to follow her. The guys look at Lyon. “Lyon, don’t give in,” slightly yells Raphael. Lyon slightly pushes himself off from leaning on the table and slowly follows Lena over to where everyone else is dancing. The guys look at one another, and the girls just watch, almost about to laugh. “What just happened?” asks one of the team . They all shrug their shoulders, then they look back at Lyon and Lena who are dancing with each other, nice and close. Lyon then spins Lena, and when he gently pulls her back to him, he kisses her, and she kisses him back. Everyone gets a shocked look on their faces, but Daniel just chuckles under his breath. He looks at Mya, and she looks at him; he leans off the table and walks over to her. They take each other’s hands and walk over to everyone dancing. They see Daniel and Mya walking over to everyone dancing, making them look at each other. Raphael looks at Melissa, and she just starts laughing, then she walks over to him and gently pulls him over to the dancing area. Then everyone slowly begins to follow them, and everyone starts to dance. Then “The Cupid Shuffle” came on, and everyone goes over to dance. As the night goes on, and it gets late, everyone slowly starts to leave, for school is coming in the light of day. Lyon and Lena get ready to go; they look for everyone before they leave. “You two are leaving already?” asks Mya. “Yeah,” Lena softly replies. “Really…you guys don’t want to stay a little longer?” asks Daniel. “I want to, but I’m tired. I had all those stops to make today. And we got school tomorrow. I need to hit the sheets,” Lyon says. “I hear you. See you tomorrow,” Daniel says. Lyon and Daniel grab hands, Lena and Mya give each other a hug, then they go

over to Daniel and Lyon. Mya goes over to Lyon, and they give each other a small hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, same with Lena and Daniel. Lyon and Lena look for Raphael and Melissa, but they see that they are still on the dance floor. They smile, then they look at Daniel and Mya and ask them to tell them that they left. Then they both walk over to Lyon’s motorcycle. Lyon gets on his bike first, then he gently takes Lena’s hand. He helps her get onto the bike, then he starts it up. Lena wraps her arms around Lyon’s waist. They both then slowly drive off and head home. They pull up into the garage. Lyon turns the bike off as Lena slowly gets off and waits for him at the house door that connects to the garage. Lyon and Lena walk into the house and see that Nathen and Emily are still not home yet. They look at each other. Lyon then turns around and closes the door to lock it. They both walk into the living room, and Lena slightly walks up the stairs; she stops and looks at Lyon who is leaning on the railing. They both stare at each other for a minute, then they slowly move closer to each other. They give each other a kiss, not a small little kiss good night but one with a little ion in it. “Night,” says Lena. “Night,” Lyon replies. Lyon watches Lena walk upstairs to her room, then he walks to his room and sees Shadow sleeping on his bed. Shadow looks up at him. “You’re supposed to be watching the house.” Lyon slightly laughs. Shadow just stares at him. Lyon shakes his head, then he walks over to him; he gently pets him on the head, then he starts to change his clothes. Lyon lays on his bed and looks up at his ceiling as his eyes slowly begin to close. The next morning, Lyon and Lena wake up, and like they always do, they help each other get their breakfast ready. They say goodbye to Shadow, for Nathen and Emily are not home; they left early in the morning. They take his truck to school; they slowly pull up into the parking lot, and they see Jack and Tamie talking to their friends. “Those are two things I did not miss,” says Lena. They look at each other, then they go over to their parking area, and they see

Daniel and everyone sitting around their cars. They park next to them; they get out of the truck slowly, for they see that Raphael doesn’t look too good. They walk over to everyone and look at Raphael with concern yet hiding the laughter. “What’s wrong with him now?” asks Lyon. “He only got about…three hours of sleep last night,” Daniel replies. Everyone looks at him. “He’s so not going to make it till lunch,” says Mya. They all slightly laugh, then Lyon and Daniel walk over to him. Lyon takes his bag, and Daniel lets Raphael lean on him so he can walk. They all head into school and go to their lockers, Daniel gently sitting Raphael down on the floor. Lyon takes his bag and puts it next to him; they both look at his classes to see what books he is going to need before lunch. He first class is with Lena, their Spanish class. Lena tells them that she’ll take down notes for both and the other classes he has with them. Lucky for him, they don’t have gym class today. Daniel opens Raphael’s lockers and gets the books he needs. He gently puts the books in his bag, then Lyon takes his bag, and they all head to homeroom. Raphael almost slams his head into his desk, but Melissa stops him and gently puts it down. They all sit down on their seats, then after the first bell rings for them to go to their first-period class, everyone gets up. Lyon gets Raphael’s bag, and Daniel gets Raphael; the girls walk with them, for they all have classes heading that way. Lena looks in the classroom to see if the teacher is already there, but lucky enough, he was not. Daniel brings Raphael into the room, and Lyon gives Lena Raphael’s bag. They give each other a kiss, then he and Daniel run to their first-period class. The day goes on, and Raphael sleeps through all his classes before his lunch. Lyon and Daniel are sitting on the bleachers outside, and the girls are walking over to them. As they get closer, Raphael slowly starts to wake up; the girls sit next to Daniel and Lyon, trying not to wake Raphael. But he wakes up when he smells food; everyone is laughing and talking about how their classes are going. Daniel is laying his head on Mya’s lap as she plays with his hair. Melissa is sitting next to Raphael. Lyon is leaning back against Lena, for she is sitting on the seat above him. She has her arms wrapped around him with her head on his shoulder. Lyon has his arms over her legs, using them like armrests. Raphael wakes up completely, and everyone looks at him. Raphael looks around and sees that he is at school and that they are at lunch. He quickly looks at everyone, and

they just look at him. “Why am I at school?” Raphael asks. Everyone looks at him for a minute, then they slowly look at each other. There is a long pause before everyone just starts laughing. Raphael just looks at them with slight confusion. “Raphael, relax. There’s only a month left of school. You’ll live,” says Daniel. Raphael then looks at Melissa; she looks at him, then she puts his arms out to him, telling him to come over to her. Raphael moves over to her and lays his head down on her lap, and everyone continues talking about what happened before lunch. Then the lunch bell rings, and everyone head back into the school. They all go to their lockers. As they do, they all give Raphael the notes from the classes he was sleeping in. “Wow, thanks guys. You all are amazing,” Raphael says. Raphael looks though the notes while walking to their lockers. Everyone gets what they need from their lockers. But Lyon and Lena just watch them. Lyon is leaning back against the lockers, while Lena is leaning against him, his arms around her waist and her arms around his shoulders. “Why are you two not getting your things?” asks Raphael “Oh, because our next class is bio, and we are not going to be here,” Lyon replies. “Why?” asks Daniel. “Because he’s taking everyone on a little trip for the rest of the day… we had to get permission from our teachers from last week?” Lyon explains. “Oh yeah…I ,” Daniel says. As everyone is getting their things, Jack and Tamie come into the hallway with some of their friends. They see Lyon and Lena against the lockers; they look at each other then they slowly start to walk over to them. Lyon and Lena look at them, same with everyone else.

“Right in the hallway, you two are going to act like this,” says Tamie. Lena just stares at her for a minute, then she looks up at Lyon who looks down at her with a grin on his face. He winks at her, and she smiles back at him. “Wow, you two are really not going to care that you are in the middle of the hallway acting like this,” says Jack. They slowly look at Jack and Tamie. They look at them with plain looks on their faces, then the bell rings. Lena slowly leans off of Lyon, and he gently pushes himself off the lockers. They hold each other’s hands and start walking to their next class. Jack and Tamie watch them walk away without saying a word to them, making them even angrier. They tell everyone that they will see them after school, and head to their bio class. They walk into their classroom and sit right next to each other. Their bio teacher walks into the classroom and makes sure everyone is there. Then he tells them that they are to get ready to head down to the buses. Everyone has their partners and teams. Because Lyon and Lena have the highest score, they are not going to be on any team or group because they are not to help the other students on the trip. The teacher wants them to help him score the other students on the trip. Everyone who is going on the trip is waiting in the center of the school, the welcome center where everyone walks in. Lyon and Lena are standing next to the front doors, making sure that no one tries to walk out. The bio teacher and his assistant teacher are counting and making sure that all the students are there. They broke the students up into their two groups; they gave them the bus number they will be on to help them know what groups they will be in. Lyon and Lena are on the first bus with the assistant teacher, while the bio teacher is on the second bus. They all slowly get ready to head outside to the buses, the bio teacher in the front, with Lyon and Lena and the assistant teacher in the back. They all stand in front of the buses. Lyon and Lena go onto the first bus, while the bio teacher and the assistant teacher make sure that the students get on to the right bus. Lyon and Lena are sitting next to each other on the bus way in the back. Everyone gets on the bus, sitting next to friends. The assistant teacher makes a head count to make sure that everyone is on the bus. Before the bus driver closes the doors, the bio teacher comes over to their bus and tells everyone the rules on the way there. Then he goes back to his bus, and they all slowly get ready to

drive off. As they slowly drive out of the school parking lot, Lyon leans against the window with his arm on top of his seat and his other arm on top of the seat in front of him, looking out the window. Lena looks at him and smiles, then she slightly turns around and leans back against his chest. Lyon looks down at her and grins, Lena pulls out her two-pair headphones; she gives one of the pair to Lyon, then she puts the other pair in her ears. Lyon slowly puts the headphones in his ears, and Lena shows him some songs to see which one he wants to listen to. As they both sit listening to music, one of the girls on the bus sees them. She looks at her friends; they look at her, then at Lyon and Lena. They look at one another and smile, then they look at the assistant teacher and see that he’s not looking at them. They slowly move to the seat in front of Lyon and Lena. They look back at them. But Lyon and Lena are not paying them any mind. “Hello,” says one of the girls. Lyon and Lena slowly look up, and they see two girls looking down at them, smiling. The girl on the right has light skin, blond hair, brown eyes, and looks about 5'3" tall. The girl on the left also has light skin, black hair, dark-brown eyes, looks about 5'3" tall. They both slowly turn their heads and look at each other. Then they turn their heads back to them. “Yes?” Lyon and Lena say. They two girls stare at them for a minute, making Lyon and Lena look at them with plain looks on their faces. “So can we ask you two a question?” asks the girl on the left. “What?” says Lena. “So…um…how long have you two been dating each other?” asks the girl on the left. Lyon and Lena stare at them for a minute, still with plain looks on their faces. “Seven and a half to eight months. Why?” says Lyon. “So you two started dating in—” asks the girl on the right. “October,” Lena continues.

“When in October?” asks the girl on the right. Lena slowly tilts her head, and Lyon just stares at them. He takes a deep breath. “Late October,” Lyon replies. “Wow, that’s amazing. I think you two are the cutest couple in the school. If I ever get a boyfriend, I want to have a relationship like you two,” says the girl on the right. Lyon and Lena stare at them, hoping that they are not serious. “Why?” asks Lena. The girls look at her. “Because when you guys are together, you just have this vibe about you two that makes a lot of people happy,” replies the girl on the left. “And makes them want to be with someone special like that,” continues the girl on the right. Lyon and Lena don’t say anything; they just look at each other, then back at the girls who are slowly walking back over to their seats. They stare at them for a minute. “Freshmen,” Lena says. “Freshmen,” Lyon replies. Then Lena puts the music back on and gently lays her head back against Lyon’s chest, and he puts his head on hers. They listen to music all the way up to the trip that they are going to—the bio teacher didn’t tell them where they are going. Only told the parents to make sure that if a student couldn’t go, they would know why and if that student had anything that would cause that student to become sick. They pull up to a lab museum; each group will have to explore every part and room of the museum, but they will start at different parts of the museum. At the end of exploring the rooms and parts, of the groups will play a game to see who understood the rooms in the museum. Lyon and Lena will set up the game and make sure that no one is cheating while going through the rooms. The bio teacher shows them the room that they will be setting the game up in, then he and the assistant teacher go with their groups. Lyon and Lena look at

each other, then they look at everyone go to the opposite sides of the museum to their first rooms. Then they walk over to the equipment that they will be using to set up for the game when everyone is done exploring the rooms. After about an hour, everyone has explored three of the rooms that they have to look through. Lyon and Lena are done setting everything up for the game when everyone gets back. They sit and wait for everyone to come back; Lena is playing in the crossword puzzle book she brought, and Lyon is sketching in his sketchbook. After everyone is done with the rooms, they come back to the room Lyon and Lena are sitting in. They look up to them and the teachers; they both get up and walk over to everyone. The bio teacher walks over to the set up that Lyon and Lena put together; he looks at them and nods his head. Then he tells each group to sit at their tables, then Lena and Lyon will explain how the game works. Everyone was getting excited to play. Lyon and Lena look at each other. Then they look back at everyone with small smiles. “Go.” After the game was over, everyone gets ready to head back to school. The first group was happy, for they won the game. Lyon and Lena slightly laugh, for the bio teacher is pouting that his group didn’t win. They look at each other, then head to the buses. They go to the back of the bus to their seats that they were in before. They sit the same way they did before. Everyone is slowly getting on to the buses, and the teachers are making a head count as they do so. After everyone is on the buses, the bio and assistant teacher go over to each other and make sure that everyone is on their list. Then they go to their buses and slowly drive back to the school. As Lyon and Lena are sitting in their seat, the two girls from before are looking at them. Lena is looking at Lyon’s palm, and Lyon is looking at her, wondering why she likes looking at his palm. She puts her hand to see how much bigger his hand is compared to hers. She smiles, and he laughs under his breath, then he looks up and sees that the girls from before are looking at them. When they see Lyon looking at them, they quickly turn their heads and to each other and start laughing and talking to each other. He looks back down at Lena, who is still looking at his hand, then he slowly closes his hand on hers. She looks up at him, and he grins at her. She puts her head back against his chest, and he puts his head down on hers. They pull back up to the school right as the bell rings for everyone to go home. Everyone gets off the buses and heads back into the school

with the teachers to get their things. Lyon and Lena go to their lockers. As they turn the corner, they see Daniel and everyone waiting for them.

Memory 20

Time goes by and school is just about over. “One more hour, you guys, and school is out,” says Raphael. Everyone looks at him and starts laughing. Everyone is sitting in their homeroom class, waiting for the final bell to ring. Since it’s the last day of school, everyone is talking and laughing to one another, and the homeroom teacher is talking to the teacher next-door classroom. They are watching the students with no problem, for both classrooms are connected through a door. They are standing in the doorway, some of the students are walking back and forth through the classes. As everyone talks about what they are going to do for the summer, Raphael is pouting. “Really, Raphael, you’re going to pout,” says Daniel. “Yes, I am,” Raphael replies. “Why?” asks Lyon. “Because we are going to be on summer break…and all we will be doing is working. Shouldn’t we go out and do something that’s not around here…for once?” Raphael explains. They all look at one another and shrug their shoulders, then they look back at Raphael with looks on their faces, trying not to laugh. “Okay, Raphael. What do you want to do?” asks Melissa. Raphael looks at them. “I don’t know…I thought maybe you guys had an idea.” They all stare at one another for a minute, then they all start laughing. Then Lena gets up and goes to the bathroom. Mya and Melissa watch Lena leave the classroom. When Lena is no longer in sight, they quickly grab the guys and pull them over to them.

“What the hell is wrong with you two?” asks Daniel. “Shh, okay. We’ve been trying to keep things on the down low,” says Mya. “What are you talking about?” asks Raphael. “Lena,” says Melissa. “What about her?” asks Lyon. “Just about everyone in the school and friends are helping us throw Lena a surprise birthday party,” explains Mya. “What?” Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael reply. “Okay, yeah, I know. We don’t really know her birthday, but we’re going off the day that Lyon found her,” Mya continues. “That was a while ago,” Lyon says. “Yeah, I know. But there was school, and it was hard to get everything we needed ready. Plus all the people ready for the party, and knowing her, she would have told us no,” Mya says. The three of them look at one another; they slowly then look at Lyon, and he slowly nods his head, agreeing with Mya. They look at Mya and Melissa. “Okay, when is this thing?” asks Lyon. Mya and Melissa slowly look at each other, then turn their heads back to them. “Tonight.” “What?” Lyon, Daniel and Raphael slightly yell. “Like I said, it was a lot of planning,” Mya says. “Mya, this is really short notice,” Daniel says. “I know, but everything is all set. All of our friends know and are on the list, invites went out a while ago. You two just need to go and help us with a few

things, and, Lyon, we need you to bring her,” Mya says. The three of them stare at Mya and Melissa with shock and like the two of them are crazy; they slowly shake their heads to them. Then they see that Lena is coming back and stop talking about it. Lena walks over to Lyon and looks at everyone. They all just stare at her, causing her to look at them with confusion and like they’re crazy. After the hour was up, everyone goes home, running and screaming out the doors! For school is out for the summer! The teachers watch them and laugh at how they can show energy when school’s over but not in school. Lyon and everyone watch everyone running and screaming all over the parking lot. “Okay, so what do you guys want to do after?” asks Lena. They all look at each other, then they look at Lyon who just gives them a plain look while leaning back against his truck, crossing his arms. Lena looks at them with confusion, then she turns her head to Lyon, who looks down at her and shrugs his shoulders. Lena then looks back at everyone, and Mya looks at Lyon, hoping that he will do something. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he looks at Lena. “Okay, why don’t we all go home, get a little rest. Then get dressed, meet up, then talk about what we should do tonight, okay?” Lyon says. Everyone nods their heads, then they look at Lena, who slightly smiles and nods her head, then they all get into their cars. But Mya walks over to Lyon and grabs him by the arm and slightly pulls him to her. “You’re going to get her there tonight, right?” Mya softly asks. Lyon stares at her for a second. “Go away, Mya.” “Thank you,” Mya jumps with laughter. Then Mya runs over to Melissa’s car, and they all slowly drive off. Lyon watches them, then he looks at Lena who’s already in the truck. He grins at her, then he gets into his truck and drives off, heading home. As they are going home, Lyon stops by his job to get his paycheck; Lena stays in the truck, waiting for him. Lyon walks over to the counter to get his check, then he sees the manager walking over to him. He just stares at him with a lift of his eyebrow. The

manager stops right in front of him. “Lyon—” the manager says. “No,” Lyon cuts him off. “You don’t even know what I was going to say,” says the manager. “Yeah, I do, you’re going to ask me if I can work more than I should. The answer is no,” Lyon replies. The manager stares at him for a minute, but Lyon doesn’t do a thing. “Okay, I’m out of here,” Lyon says. “Wait, Lyon, please. If you work what I’m about to ask, you get a week off in the summer—your pick—and you already have next spring break off,” the manager says. “That plus a raise.” Lyon grins. “What?” says the manager. “I get all three or nothing,” Lyon says. The manager stares at Lyon for a minute, then he slowly nods his head and agrees with Lyon; they both shake hands. Then the manager shows Lyon what he wants him to work on. Lyon nods his head, then he walks out of the shop. He gets back into the truck, and Lena looks at him. “That was long just for a check,” Lena says. “Yeah, the manager wants me to work a little this summer,” Lyon replies. “Really?” Lena says. “Yeah, but I get a week of my choice of this summer. I already have spring break off, and I just got a raise,” Lyon grins. Lena starts to laugh, then they both slowly drive off and head home. But as they pull up to the house, Lyon tells Lena that he’ll be back. Lena nods her head, then Lyon slowly drives off once he sees Lena get into the house.

Lyon comes back about an hour later, parks his truck, then slowly walks into the house and looks for Lena. He comes into the living room and sees her sleeping on the couch, with Shadow lying on the floor next to her. He grins, then he walks into the kitchen to get something to drink, then his cell phone rings. He takes it out of his back pocket and sees that it’s Mya calling. He looks to see if Lena woke up, but she’s still sleeping, then he walks back into the kitchen and answers his phone. “Yes, Mya,” Lyon says. Lyon listens to Mya talk for a minute, then he cuts her off. “Mya, I will bring her when it’s time for her to be there. Take a chill pill.” Lyon then walks over to the kitchen doorway, looking into the living room where Lena is sleeping. “No, Mya. Yes, Mya. Yes, Mya. No, Mya. Mya, I will see you all later. Okay, Mya, yup, yup, sure. Goodbye, Mya.” Lyon hangs up the phone. Lyon then walks into the living room and sits on the other half of the couch and leans his head back. Then he slowly closes his eyes and falls asleep himself. Meanwhile everyone is putting the finishing touches to Lena’s surprise birthday party. Time es by to almost 7:00 p.m., and Lena’s party is in an hour, but Lyon and Lena are still sleeping. Everyone is calling his phone, but he doesn’t answer! Then they call the house phone, but that still doesn’t get Lyon or Lena up. Shadow hears the phone. He looks over to Lyon and sees he still hasn’t woken up. Shadow gets up, then he walks over to the back of the couch. He jumps up to the back of Lyon’s ear and barks, causing Lyon to wake up! He looks back at Shadow, then he looks at Lena, still sleeping. He puts his hand to his face. Then the house phone rings again, and he slowly gets up and walks over to it and sees that its Daniel’s number. He picks up the phone. “Hello,” Lyon says. He jumps right as he answers the phone, then he looks at the phone, for everyone is yelling at him, trying to see where he and Lena are. “What do you mean you just woke up?” yells Mya. “Yeah, I just got up, and Lena is still sleeping,” Lyon calmly replies.

“Lyon., she has to be here—” Mya is cut off. “Mya, relax…it’s a party. Not supposed to be there before everyone else, relax. And stop screaming at me, or there’s not going to be a party,” Lyon says. Then before Mya could say anything, Lyon hangs up the phone and looks down at Lena. He kneels in front of her. He gently puts his hand to her face, then he kisses her forehead, then Lena’s eyes slowly begin to open. She looks at Lyon and smiles. “You going to sleep the night away.” Lyon grins. Lena slightly laughs, then she slowly leans up and looks around. She puts her feet down, off the couch. “So what is going on tonight?” Lena asks, still half-asleep. Lyon just stares at her for a minute with a grin on his face, then he slowly stands up. “Just get dressed,” Lyon replies. Then he starts to walk over to the bathroom. “But dress how?” Lena asks. Lyon stops; he turns and looks at her, then he thinks for a minute. He looks back at her. “I guess like we’re going dancing or clubbing.” Lena slightly laughs as she nods her head, then she gets up and heads up stairs to get ready. Lyon watches her for a minute, then he walks to the bathroom, closes the door, and starts the shower. Lena and Lyon are both getting ready to leave, while everyone else is waiting for them, but also more and more people from school keep arriving. “Those with your invites, bring it to the checker so you can get marked, and if you have someone with you without an invite, make sure their name is on the list so they can get checked and marked also,” says Melissa. “How many people so far?” asks Mya. “Um…let’s see. The whole cheer team, basketball team, soccer team, homeroom, and some we don’t even know. So rounding off, sixty or so people,” Melissa replies.

Mya then looks at the list of people that have come so far, and she gets a shocked but happy look on her face. Then she and Melissa go back into the hall and wait for Lyon to bring Lena to the party, with Daniel and Raphael. Meanwhile back at Lyon’s house, Lyon comes out of his room, into the house, all dressed up. He’s wearing gray jeans, black Timberlands, with a nice blue short-sleeve silk shirt with a black muscle shirt under it. With his silver L chain, and his hair is half up and half down. He walks into the living room and waits for Lena at the door. He looks up at the stairs as he hears her coming. As he looks up at the stairs, his face slowly turns into amazement! For Lena is wearing a mint-green banded bottom tunic dress that goes down to her thighs and hangs off her right shoulder, but she also put on white leggings under her dress. She has black-covered ankle-strap wedges on, and her hair is out with waves, silver eye shadow, silver earrings that look like falling leaves, with clear lip gloss that has a hint of glitter in it. She stops at the second stairs and looks at Lyon. “What…is it too much? Is something wrong with it?” Lena quickly asks in slight panic. Lyon slowly walks over to her, then he reaches out his hand out to her. She slowly takes his hand, and he pulls her slowly to him, causing her to take the last two stairsteps right over to him. They look right into each other’s eyes. Lyon grins down at Lena, and she looks up at him, hoping that his grin is a good one. “You look beautiful. And that word doesn’t even cover it.” Lyon grins. Lena smiles at him with a glow, then their faces move closer to each other, but then Lyon’s cell phone rings. Their faces move away from each other. Lyon takes his phone out of his back pocket and sees that it’s Mya. He takes a deep breath, then he and Lena head to the garage to get the truck. As they are getting into the truck, Lyon is texting Mya, telling her that they both are on their way to the hall. Mya reads the text, then tells everyone that they are on their way and to get ready. Lyon then starts up the truck, and they slowly begin to pull out of the garage; they head down to the hall. Lyon pulls up to the hall, and Lena looks around with confusion, then two people come over to the truck. One helps Lena out of the truck, and the other, Lyon gives him the keys to park the truck. Lyon walks over to Lena and sees that she doesn’t get what’s going on. He slightly laughs, then they walk up the stairs to

the front door. As they are walking up the stairs, Lyon is texting on his phone, telling Mya that they both are right outside. They walk into the hall, then they are met by the doorman; he then guides them to where they are to go. They walk the halls for about a minute; they come to a door, and the doorman slowly opens it. He opens the door, but Lena can’t see a thing, for the lights are out. Lyon walks into the room, and Lena holds onto his hand tightly, looking around, not understanding what Lyon is doing. She walks closer to Lyon, slightly turns his head to her with a slight laugh under his breath. Then the lights quickly go on, and Lena quickly looks around. “Surprise!” Everyone comes jumping out from hiding, and Lena jumps closer to Lyon. She looks around, breathing heavy. She looks at everyone and sees that it’s all the people she knows from school, causing her to start slightly start laughing. Then she sees Mya and Melissa walking over to her, laughing. “What is going on?” Lena asks. They all give each other hugs, then she sees Daniel and Raphael walking over to them. She smiles at them, then they give her a hug. Daniel and Raphael walk over to Lyon, and they grab hands, then they all look at Lena. “Happy birthday,” Mya and Melissa say. Lena looks at them with confusion and a small shake of her head. “I don’t get it. I don’t know when my birthday is,” Lena says. “We know,” says Melissa, smiling. “And that’s why we threw you a surprise birthday party. ’Cause you been with us for a whole year, so why not?” Mya continues, smiling. Lena looks at them for a minute, then she smiles and her eyes start to get watery. Mya and Melissa look at each other, then they walk closer to Lena and hug her. Then they look at everyone. “Where’s the music? This is a party. So let’s party.” Lena smiles.

The DJ starts the music, and everyone starts dancing, eating, and walking over to Lena, telling her happy birthday! As the party goes on, Lena is laughing and smiling all night long, with Lyon watching her. Daniel and Raphael look at him. The three of them are sitting down at the main table, Daniel leaning on the table, Lyon leaning back against the chair, with his arms crossed, and Raphael eating fried chicken legs. “What you get her for her birthday?” asks Daniel. Lyon looks at him, then he looks at Raphael, who looks at him with the chicken to his lips, ready to bite it. They both stare at him for a minute, then they both start laughing. Lyon slowly shakes his head, and Daniel puts his head down into his arm on the table. Raphael stares at them for a minute; they look back at him and see that he’s eating his chicken leg. They both shake their heads at him; they look at each other. “Anyway so what did you get Lena for her birthday?” asks Daniel. Lyon looks at him, then grins, then he puts his hand into his pocket, slowly pulls out a box. He keeps it hidden behind the table so no one can see. “Wow…nice,” Daniel says. Raphael looks over to see what they are looking at. His eyes widen with shock. “Wow…Lyon, is that Lena’s birthday gift?” “Yes,” Lyon replies. “Where did you get it…Clair’s?” Raphael asks. Daniel and Lyon look at him with plain looks on their faces, then Lyon grins, slowly shaking his head. “No, it’s real,” Lyon replies. Daniel and Raphael quickly look up at Lyon, who’s just looking at the gift, then they look back down at Lena’s gift.

“I know I shouldn’t be asking, but…how much did you pay for this?” asks Daniel. Lyon looks up at him, then he looks back down at the gift. “About $250–$300,” Lyon calmly replies. They look at him with shock, and Lyon looks at them with a grin on his face, almost as if he’s going to laugh. Then he closes the box and puts it back into his pocket. He looks up at Lena and sees her dancing with all the girls from the cheer squad. Then Mya walks over to the DJ and talks to him, making him nod his head. Mya then takes the mic, and the DJ stops the music, causing everyone to look over at them. “Okay, everyone, now for Lena’s first real dance of the night,” Mya says. “Okay, girls, bring her over here.” Lyon slowly brings up his head, then he looks at Daniel and Raphael, who are just looking at him with large grins on their faces. He gives them a plain glare, then he looks back at Mya. “Okay, boys, bring him over,” Mya says. Daniel and Raphael look at Lyon, making Lyon look at them with more of a glare. Then they get him up and slowly walk over to Mya on the dance floor. Lyon and Lena are standing in front of each other, and they look over to Mya and everyone. The cheer squad puts dim lighting on them, as everyone clears the dance floor. Lena is trying to cover her face, smiling, and Lyon is grinning, almost about to laugh, shaking his head. Then the DJ puts on a song for them to dance to. Lena starts laughing, and Lyon looks at the DJ with shock yet grinning. For the DJ put on Michael Jackson’s “Speechless.” Everyone smiles at them. Lyon slowly shakes his head, then he looks at Lena, who is hiding her face, slightly laughing. Lyon then takes a small breath, then he walks closer to Lena. He takes her hands from her face, and she looks up at him. They stare at each other, then Lyon slowly pulls her closer to him as he gently puts her hands around his neck. Then he slowly puts his hands around her waist, and they start slow dancing with each other. Everyone just watches them dance. Mya gives the DJ back the mic and walks over to Daniel. He looks at her, and they hold hands. Melissa walks over to

Raphael. Raphael looks at her and smiles at her, for he can see that she’s about to cry. Then he looks over to Daniel, about to laugh, then he sees that Mya has her head on his shoulder, with tears coming from her eyes but a smile on her face. Raphael looks back at Melissa, then he gently puts his arm around her waist. She looks at him, then she puts her head on his shoulder. They watch Lyon and Lena dance to the song. Lyon and Lena just look right into each other’s eyes, almost as if they have forgotten that they are at a party, that it’s just them dancing with no care in the world, just the two of them dancing in a different place a different world. The song comes to an end, and everyone starts clapping. Lyon and Lena look at everyone, then they look at each other. The DJ puts on more music for everyone to start dancing to; everyone goes back onto the dance floor. Lena slowly moves her hands from Lyon’s neck, but he gently grabs her right hand; she looks at him. Lyon, with just his index finger, tells Lena to follow him. She smiles, then they both walk out of the dance room, still holding hands. Lyon brings Lena into one of the other rooms near the dance room everyone is in. Lena looks at him with a smile yet a little confusion. Lyon grins at her, then he puts his hand into his pocket. Lyon slowly pulls out the box that he had shown Daniel and Raphael. “Now this is my birthday gift to you.” Lyon grins. Lena pauses for a minute. “You didn’t have to do that. You just saying happy birthday is enough for me.” Lyon grins at her as he shrugs his shoulders, then she slowly opens the box, and Lena’s face slowly turns to complete shock. She puts her hand over her mouth, then she looks up to Lyon, who smiles at her. Lyon’s gift to Lena is a lab-created Ceylon sapphire and 1/10 CTW diamond bracelet in silver! She looks at him, then back at the bracelet; tears slowly start to come down her cheeks. Lyon then takes the bracelet out of the box. He gently takes Lena’s right wrist and puts in on. Lyon looks back at her and smiles. Lena is slowly shaking her head as she looks at Lyon. Lena walks closer to him, and she wraps her arms around him, and he wraps his arms around her. They hold each other close. Then they look at each other with ion in their eyes, and their faces slowly move closer to each other; they kiss! Their kiss has ion in it, then Lena looks at Lyon. “Thank you. I don’t mean just for this…for everything.”

“Just letting you know I didn’t plan the party. You can thank your two girls for this one,” Lyon says. Lena laughs, then she looks back at Lyon. “I know…that’s not where that thank you is coming from.” Lena smiles. They both smile at each other. Lyon pulls Lena into another kiss with that same ion, holding each other close. After about ten to twenty minutes, Lyon and Lena go back to the party. Lena is pulled right to the dance floor with the girls, and Lyon walks over to the guys. But they didn’t stand for very long; the girls come over and pull them all to the dance floor. After that, everyone is on the dance floor for the rest of the night. Daniel, Lyon, and Raphael are pushed into a circle by Mya, Lena, and Melissa. All three of them start dancing; they spin the girls around from one to the other. Then they pull the girls into the circle, then they spin them back out. The guys dance side by side, and the girls side by side, facing each other. After that song was over, the DJ stops the music again, and Lyon turns Lena around to see the cake that they are bringing out for her. Everyone starts singing happy birthday to her, causing her to turn her head onto Lyon’s chest, smiling and slightly laughing. She turns around to the cake, and everyone is smiling and shaking their heads. “Okay, make a wish.” Mya smiles. Lena closes her eyes for a second, then she opens them right before she blows out the candles with one blow. Everyone screams and claps their hands; they bring the cake over to the main table so they can cut it. They find out the reason they didn’t have it out before was because it’s ice cream cake. Lena wraps her arms around Lyon, and he puts her arms over her shoulder and kisses her on the side of her forehead. She looks up at him, then they give each other a kiss, making everyone look at them. Everyone that wants cake got a piece; some others go back to the dance floor as the DJ puts the music back on, and others sit down to each other’s cake. Lena is sitting down, eating her cake next to Lyon. She smiles as she looks back at Lyon and her cake piece. She slowly takes her finger to the cake, trying not to laugh. Lyon looks at her, but as he looks at her, Lena puts some cake frosting on his face! She gets the frosting right next to his lips because he turned and looked at her! Lena is laughing hard enough that she almost starts to have watery eyes.

“You think that’s funny, do you?” Lyon slightly laughs. Lyon then slowly takes one of his fingers and slowly moves the frosting to his lips, then he looks at Lena. She looks back at him, slowly leaning away from him, still laughing. Lyon nods his head, but then he gently but quickly grabs Lena by the waist. Lena gives a laughing scream. Lyon is giving Lena frosting kisses! They both are laughing with Daniel, and everyone is laughing next to them. After Lyon gets all the frosting off, he looks nods his head. “That’s some good frosting.” Lyon laughs. Everyone starts laughing with shock, then he looks back at Lena, and they give each other another kiss. “Okay, Lena, it’s your birthday. Get back on the dance floor,” says the DJ. They all laugh, then Lena stands up, then she takes Lyon’s hand and makes him go on the dance floor with her. As the night goes on, time gets late, the clock hits one o’clock in the morning, and everyone slowly starts to leave. Mya and Daniel go and make sure that everything is going smoothly with the cleanup, while Raphael and Melissa make sure that everyone gets their cars back or everyone in the right car. But Lyon and Lena are having the dance room to just the two of them, and the DJ is playing a slow song just for them. He plays Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire.” They dance close to each other. Lena has her head on Lyon’s chest, and Lyon has his head on top of Lena’s head. The DJ smiles at them; he slowly begin to put his things away, but he waits till the song is over to put everything away. As the song comes to an end, Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they kiss each other. Then the song comes to an end, and everyone comes into the dancing room to see if Lyon and Lena are ready to go. They walk into the room, and they see Lyon and Lena kissing each other. They look at one another, then they quietly walk back into the hall and slightly laugh under their breath so that Lyon and Lena can’t hear them. The party comes to an end, and everyone is waiting outside, in front of the hall, for their cars. As they wait for their cars, they are laughing, messing with Lyon and Lena about their last birthday dance kiss. Lyon and Lena laugh with them, but as they are laughing, Mya looks at Lena’s wrist and sees the bracelet. Mya’s eyes slowly begin to widen with shock, then she walks closer to Lena and gently grabs her wrist, lifting it up. Lena looks at her.

Mya quickly looks up at Lyon. “Lyon,” Mya yells. Lyon turns his head to her, and everyone looks at Mya. “What the hell is this?” Mya points to Lena’s wrist that has the bracelet. Everyone looks at Mya, but then Melissa walks over to Lena and looks at her wrist. Melissa stares at her wrist for a second, then her eyes widen with shock. She looks at Lyon, then she looks back at Lena’s wrist. “What the hell is this?” Lena then slowly starts to laugh, and Lyon shakes his head as he starts laughing. Lyon then explains to them that it’s Lena’s birthday gift from him. “Where’d you get it, Clair’s?” asks Melissa. They all look at her, then they look at Raphael, and he just shrugs his shoulders. They all shake their heads, then they look back at Melissa. “No, it’s real, Melissa,” Lyon replies. Mya and Melissa look at him with shock, while Lena puts her head down to her wrist, looking at the bracelet. Watery eyes come to her face, then she takes a deep breath to hide the water trying to come from her eyes. Then she looks up at everyone, smiling, then Lyon’s truck comes around. They say their good nights to everyone, then they get into the truck. On the ride home, Lena doesn’t say much of anything to Lyon, making him just stare at the road. Even though he does look at Lena a few times to see if he can tell if there’s something wrong with her, but she just looks out the window. As the pulls up into the garage, Lena gets out of the truck first. Lyon looks at her, watching her walk into the house. He doesn’t say anything, then he slowly gets out of the truck, locks it, and heads into the house. He walks into the house and sees Lena already walking upstairs; he looks down at Shadow. “Did I miss something?” Lyon says. Shadow shakes his head, then Lyon looks back at the stairs for a minute. He slowly then walks to his room.

After about twenty minutes, Lena is out of her outfit and in her long Victoria’s Secret T-shirt, lying on her bed, looking out the window. As she stares at the window, she looks down at her wrist. She takes a slight deep breath, then she gets up. Meanwhile in Lyon’s room, he’s lying on his bed, slightly leaning up using his pillows behind him. He has one hand behind his head, and the other hand holding one of his books, while his CD player is playing soft music. He’s listening to Patrick Swayze’s “She’s Like the Wind.” As he is reading, he looks up and sees the door open and Lena slowly closing it. He stares at her with concern yet confusion. Lena just stares at him, then she slowly starts to walk over to him. Lyon puts his book down, then he looks back over to Lena. She stands at the end of his bed. They stare at each other for a minute, then she crawls on the bed over to Lyon. He watches her crawl over to him, but then she crawls on him, closer to his face. She sits on his lap, and he looks up at her. They stare at each other for a minute, then Lena kisses Lyon, causing Lyon to be in shock. But then he slowly starts to kiss her back. As he slowly puts his hands on her waist, their kiss turns into deep heat and ion. Lyon slowly leans up, and Lena slowly wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck. But then Lyon pulls back. “Lena, wait,” Lyon softly says. Lena looks at him with slight guilt, Lyon slightly tilts his head, seeing the guilt in her eyes. “What’s going on?” Lyon asks. Lena puts his head down, then Lyon looks down at her bracelet, then he looks back at her. He tilts his head a little more to try and get Lena to look at him. Then he takes his left hand and puts it to Lena’s chin, slowly lifting it. She looks at him, and he grins at her. “Is this because of the bracelet?” Lyon asks. “No…I mean…I love it, but—” Lena says. “You didn’t think I spent that much on it till you heard me say that it’s real,” Lyon continues. Lena slowly nods her head, and Lyon slightly laughs under his breath, making

Lena pout with more guilt. Lyon looks at her. “Lena, the money doesn’t matter to me. You don’t have to feel guilty about it. I wanted to get you this. And besides, they didn’t have any of these in the little machines,” Lyon says. Lena gently laughs as tears fall from her eyes, and Lyon winks at her as he gently wipes the tears. She puts her head down on his shoulder. Lyon kisses her head, and she looks back at him. “Thank you,” Lena says. “You’re welcome, happy birthday,” Lyon replies. Lena then stays the night in Lyon’s room, and they hold each other in their arms with small smiles on their faces. The next morning, Emily and Nathen give Lena gifts also; she laughs, smiles, and slightly cries, and they both hug her. Lyon looks at them and starts laughing, then he looks out the window. Emily and Nathen tell Lena and Lyon that they are taking them out to eat after work that night. About an hour before Nathen and Emily get off work, they both start to get ready. They are finished with ten minutes to spare. They take Lena and Lyon out to a nice restaurant; they all have a nice and fun night together without knowing that the rising the happiness that they have will come to a strong pause.

Memory 21

Time goes by, and summer is going great for everyone. The girls are hanging out at the shop because they have the day off. The guys are working on the cars, and they have the garage doors opened in the back, for it’s hot outside. Even though they are having fun, the weather is not so nice, for it’s raining outside. The girls are talking and laughing, but there’s something missing. Mya looks at the radio for a minute. She slowly starts to turn up the volume; she, Melissa, and Lena look at one another and smile. The radio is playing back-in-the-day music; one of the songs the radio plays is a favorite, The Gap Band’s “You Dropped a Bomb on Me.” The girls jump up and start dancing, then Mya pulls them outside into the rain. They laugh and dance together; the boys look at them and start laughing as they slowly shake their heads. The boys shrug their shoulders. The girls run over to them, and pull them outside and start dancing with them. As they are all dancing in the rain, the manager comes out of his office to see what’s going on. He can’t see the boys, causing him to walk downstairs to see where they are. He comes around the cars, and he sees them dancing in the rain with their girls. He grins as he slowly shakes his head, then he walks back to his office. But as he does, he sees that the cars that the boys are working on are almost done. He looks back outside to them with a small shocked look on his face, then he grins. Walking back to his office, he doesn’t say a word to them. The song slowly comes to an end. They all slowly walk back into the garage. Raphael goes to get towels for everyone. They all stand, slowly drying themselves off; they all slowly look at one another and start laughing. Then the boys go back to working on the car, and Mya turns the radio volume back down. After that, the girls just hang around, waiting for the boys to be done working on the cars that they are assigned to. Two hours have ed, and Lyon is done with his cars. After about another ten minutes, Daniel finishes his. Then about a half an hour later, Raphael finally finishes his cars. The boys tell the girls that they are going to clean up in the showers before they all take off. The girls nod their heads, then they walk over to the waiting room and put on the TV and wait for the boys to get ready. After the boys finish getting ready, they all head out; they all head over to DD’s. They all

walk in, and all of their friends from school are there. They all go over to their table; they order their food. The girls from the cheer squad come over. They want Mya, Melissa, and Lena to go and dance with them, for they are playing one of the songs they dance to at one of the basketball games’ halftime. The boys watch the girls go to the dance floor with the others. They look at one another and slightly start laughing. They all hang around DD’s for the rest of the night, dancing, laughing, and talking. Time goes by, and it’s the middle of the summer break. and they all are having the time of their lives. They are at parties, going swimming, hanging at DD’s, and sometimes they just have days to themselves hanging out as couples. Daniel and Mya are at her family cookout, Raphael and Melissa are at the movies, Lyon and Lena are hanging out by the pond, swimming with each other, playing and kissing each other. “No, Lyon, put me down.” Lena laughs. “Okay,” Lyon replies, laughing. “Not like that—aah.” Lena laughs and slightly screams. Lyon throws Lena back into the water and starts laughing. Lena comes out of the water and looks at him with shock yet a smile. She slowly shakes her head and starts laughing, then she starts splashing the water at him. He begins to splash her back. As they are playing in the water, Lyon’s cell phone begins to ring. ’Cause they are splashing, they can’t hear his phone ringing. “Any answer?” asks Melissa. “No, how about Mya?” asks Raphael. “She said that she and Daniel are going after. The cookout will be over by then. All the adults are going to drink after the cookout. So she and Daniel are down for tonight,” Melissa replies with a smile. Raphael nods his head, then he asks Melissa if she’s okay with going to Lyon’s house to see why he’s not answering his phone. She nods her head, then they get onto his bike and head over to Lyon’s house. They pull up to the house and see that no one is home. They both slowly get off the bike and look around.

“Is he working?” asks Melissa. “No, the garage is closed today,” Raphael replies. Then Raphael looks at the tree and gets an idea, then he looks at Melissa. “Come on, I think I know where they are,” Raphael says. Melissa then follows Raphael into the woods, and they start walking down to the lake. As they get closer to the lake, they can hear laughing and splashing. Raphael turns his head to Melissa and grins with a slight tilt of his head, then they continue walking. They come around the tree, and there they see Lyon and Lena splashing each other in the lake. “That’s what you get for throwing me.” Lena laughs. Lyon shakes his head, then he looks at Lena and smiles while laughing, but then he grabs her gently by the arms and pulls her closer. Then their faces move closer to each other, and they kiss. Lyon slowly lets go of Lena’s arms and moves them down to her side, then Lena slowly moves her arms up around Lyon’s neck. Raphael and Melissa stare at them for a minute, then they look at each other and slightly smile. Then they both slowly continue walking back to the water. As they get closer, Lyon and Lena stop kissing and look over to the bank. They stare at the bank for a minute, for they see Raphael and Melissa waving at them. They look at each other, then they slowly move their arms from each other. They take each other’s hands and start to walk over to them while slowly shaking their heads and slightly laughing under their breath. They both come out of the water and over to Raphael and Melissa. “What are you two doing here?” asks Lena. “Do you want us to come back?” Melissa laughs. Lena slightly sticks her tongue out with a smile and laughs. Lyon and Raphael look at them, then they look at each other. “Okay, what’s up?” asks Lyon. “I tried calling you. I was coming to see if you two are coming tonight,” asks Raphael.

“To the lake party?” Lyon says. Raphael nods his head, then Lyon looks at Lena, and she smiles at him, making him shake his head with a grin. “Yeah, we’ll be there,” Lyon says. “Sweet,” says Raphael. “Okay, so we are all going to meet up in front of DD’s, get something to eat, then go.” They all nod their heads, then Raphael and Melissa slowly begin to walk away. Lyon and Lena watch them walk away, then they look at each other. They stare at each other for a second, then they both start laughing. They look at each other, then Lena runs back into to the water, and Lyon runs after her. Later that day, everyone meets up at DD’s to get something to eat before they head down to the lake party. After about an hour, everyone slowly begins to head down to the lake party. They walk out to their cars. Raphael, Daniel, Melissa, and Mya are all riding together in Raphael’s car, Lyon and Lena are driving behind them. They slowly pull up to where the other cars are parked. Lyon parks his truck behind Raphael’s car. They look around. They slowly begin to walk down to the lake, and as they get closer, they can hear the music. They all get to the lake and see everyone from school dancing and laughing; some of them are even in the lake swimming. They all look around, then they head over to party with everyone. Time goes by, and the boys are having fun, but the girls are having too much fun. The boys are coming back from talking to some of the guys from the basketball and football team. As they are walking back, they get shocked looks on their faces, for they see Mya, Melissa, and Lena dancing on the lifeguard tower stand! But not only are they dancing on the lifeguard stand and have everyone screaming with excitement, they are also dancing in their bras! “What the hell are they doing,” yells Raphael. The three of them run over to the girls. “What are you girls doing?” yells Daniel. The girls look down at them and wave as they start laughing, making the boys

look at them like they are crazy and even more shocked. The girls are dancing around with one hand in the air and the other hand holding their cups. Then the girls start to kick off their shoes and take their hair down. “We need to get them down,” says Lyon. They nod their heads, then they slowly begin to climb up the lifeguard stand to get the girls down. The boys come up to the girls, causing the girls to scream with smiles. “You guys came to dance with us,” Melissa slightly yells over the music. “No, but you girls need to get down,” replies Raphael. “Why?” Pouts Mya. The boys stare at them for a minute. “Because there is more room to dance down at the lake sand,” Daniel replies. The girls start laughing. “Okay,” says Mya, Melissa, and Lena at once. Then the boys slowly help the girls get down one by one, the boys helping one another get the girls down safely. But after they get all three of them down, they take a breath and turn around, but they are gone. They quickly look around. “What the hell,” yells Raphael. “Come on,” says Lyon. They then run around, trying to find the girls, then they find them dancing together close to the water, dancing and still holding the cups, slightly slapping them together every time one of them does a cute move. The boys take a breath, seeing that they are okay, but then as they are about to walk to them, five other guys come walking over to them with grins on their faces. “You girls seem like you’re having fun,” says one of the guys. The girls look at the five of them with plain looks on their faces, then they look at one another.

“Yeah, what’s it to ya?” replies Mya. “Mind if we you, girls?” says one of the other guys. “Oh, go suck a rock,” Lena quickly replies as she takes a drink. Mya and Melissa start laughing, and the guys quickly look at Lena, who looks at them with not a care in the world. “What did you just say?” asks the same guy. “What, you got wax in your ears or something? So I’ll say it slowly.” Lena takes two steps over to him. “Go—suck—a—rock.” “Now beat it,” Melissa slightly yells. The guys look at them, then at one another. They stare at each other for a minute, then they look back at the girls who have moved away but still dancing next to the water. They walk over to them, and one of them grabs Lena by her arm, making her turn around to face him. She looks at him, then she looks at her arm and sees that he’s holding her. She looks at him with her eyes glaring at him. “What the hell,” Lena yells. “I don’t like being talked to like that, little girl,” says the guy. Lena stares at him for a second, then she looks at her cup and chucks her drink at him, but still holding her cup. The guy lets go of her arm as he backs up. “Looks like you need to take a chill pill,” says Mya. The three of them laugh, then Lena looks at her empty cup and slightly pouts. “Look, my cup’s empty.” “Let’s go get more, we’re almost out too,” says Melissa. The girls slowly begin to walk away. The guys are about to follow them, but then they are stopped. “You guys seem like you need a little help,” says Raphael.

The five guys look at him, then they look at Daniel and Lyon, who are glaring down at them. Raphael has his right fist in his left hand, Daniel has his hands in his pocket, and Lyon has his arms crossed. The five guys stare at them for a minute, then they look at the girls over by the drinks. They look back at Raphael, Daniel, and Lyon. “You know those girls?” asks one of the guys. “Yeah, they’re our girlfriends,” replies Daniel. The five guys look at them with a little shock, then they look back at the girls. “Maybe you should get better control of them,” says the same guy. “Maybe you should—” says Raphael. “Start walking wherever—” continues Daniel. “You came from—” finishes Lyon. They stare at them for a minute, then they slowly back away and walk the other way. The boys watch them for a minute, then they take a deep breath. They turn around to the girls but see that they are gone again. “Oh, come on!” yells Raphael. Then they run to find the girls again. They look around the party but they are nowhere to be found. Then they see them by the drinks again, and they run over to them. “Hey, there you guys are,” says Melissa. “Where’ve you been?” asks Mya. The boys can see that the girls are not standing right, causing them to look closer at them, making the girls look at them, about to laugh. “What have you girls been drinking?” asks Lyon. “Just punch,” Lena replies.

Lyon then takes Lena’s cup, making her pout. “That’s my cup.” Lena pouts. Lyon puts the cup to his face, then he takes a slight sip of Lena’s drink. He looks at Daniel and Raphael. Then he looks back at Lena “How much did you girls have of this?” asks Lyon. “I don’t know,” Lena replies. Lyon leans over to Raphael and Daniel, and they move closer to him. “They’re drunk. They spiked the punch,” Lyon says. They look at one another, then take a deep breath, then they look over to the girls who are gone again. “How do they keep doing that!” yells Raphael. The boys run to find the girls again, and find them near the water. The girls are about to walk in, but the boys stop them. “What are you doing?” asks Daniel. “Going for a swim,” Mya replies. “You girls can’t go into the water with your clothes on,” says Raphael. The girls look at one another, then they look at their clothes, and they slowly begin to laugh. Then they give their cups to the boys; they look at them with a little confusion, then they look at one another. Lyon looks back at the girls, while Raphael and Daniel put the girls’ cups down. “Whoa!” Lyon yells, causing Daniel and Raphael to look up and run over to the girls, for the girls are trying to take their clothes off. “Okay, stop!” yells Daniel. As the boys get the girls to stop trying to take their clothes off, they look at one another, breathing slightly heavy. “Maybe it’s time we go,” says Raphael.

“Go…go where?” asks Mya. “Maybe I don’t want to go,” says Melissa. The boys look at one another. “Yes, you do…it’s an after-party,” says Lyon. “Okay,” the girls reply. The boys then slowly start to walk the girls out of the lake and, at the same time, try to find their shoes and shirts. As they are walking to the car, the girls are not making it easy. “Stop clinging to me,” Melissa says. Melissa keeps slapping Raphael away from her as he tries to help her walk straight. Mya keeps yelling at Daniel for every little word he says. “What are you trying to say!” Mya yells. “Nothing,” Daniel calmly replies. “Oh, so now i’m not worth the words!” Mya yells. But for Lyon, it’s different. Lena can’t seem to stop wanting him to touch her, or she touch him. “Lena, okay, okay. Lena, I need you to walk…no…no, walk,” Lyon says. Lena then grabs a tree branch, causing Lyon to stop walking, for Lena will not let go; he turns his head and looks at her. Lena, still holding to the tree branch, leans back against the tree and looks at Lyon with lust in her eyes. Lyon turns to her completely. “You want me to move…make me.” Lena slightly smiles. Lyon looks to the others and sees that they are having just as much of a hard time as he is, then he looks back at Lena. He slowly shakes his head, and Lena, still holding onto the tree branch, leans against the tree. Then he slowly walks over to her, and she smiles even more. “And how do you want me to do that?” Lyon asks.

Lena slightly shrugs her shoulders. “Surprise me.” Lyon lifts one of his eyebrows and just stares at Lena for a second, then he slightly grins at her as he walks even more closely to her. He grabs one to the same branch as Lena with his left hand, and with his right hand, he leans against the tree. He moves his face closer to her, then he quickly takes his right hand and wraps it around Lena’s waist. They stare at each other for a minute, then Lyon pulls Lena into a kiss. Lena’s arms fall from the tree branch, and Lyon then looks at her. “Okay, let’s go,” Lyon quickly says. “That’s not funny.” Lena pouts. After about twenty minutes, the boys are finally able to get the girls to the cars. They look at one another, slightly breathing heavy. The three of them are leaning on Raphael’s car hood, looking at the girls running through the spaces between the cars. They start laughing when they see Mya fall, and the boys slowly shake their heads as they put their hands on their faces. “How the hell are we going to get them home?” asks Daniel. They look at the girls and see that they are still laughing at each other. “This is going to be a fun ride home,” says Raphael. Lyon and Daniel slowly shake their heads, staring at the girls, then they slowly look at each other. As they stare at the girls, they take a deep breath, then they walk over to them. Daniel helps Mya up, while Raphael walks over to Melissa, trying to get her over to the car, but she keeps slapping his hand away, while Lyon is trying to get Lena to stop trying to take off her clothes. Daniel then picks up Mya, and she ends up making him fall to the ground by pushing him. Raphael is slightly running from Melissa, for she is still trying to hit him. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he walks over to Lena. She looks at him and smiles, but as Lyon is walking over to her, he shakes his head slowly. Then he slowly leans down in front of Lena, then he picks her up by gently throwing her over his shoulders. Daniel and Raphael look at him, then they look at the girls. Then they both walk over to the girls, and they also pick them up by throwing them over their shoulders.

The three of them look at one another, and the girls are just laughing. The boys slightly shake their heads with small grins. They walk over to their cars and gently put the girls down. They are able to get the three of them into their cars. The three of them look at one another, then they breathe. They wave their hands to one another, then they get into their cars. Daniel gets into the enger seat of Raphael’s car. Mya and Melissa are making noise in the back seat, playing a game. Lyon is in his truck, trying to get Lena to put on her seat belt. After he gets her seat belt on, he sits in his seat, then he starts his truck as he closes his door. Then he looks to Raphael’s car and sees that they are getting ready to pull off. Lyon puts his truck in drive as he sees Raphael slowly pull off. He looks at Lena, then he puts her window down slightly. She sticks her head out the window, causing Lyon to slightly laugh. They all head home, but Raphael takes the girls back to his place, for the girls are supposed to be hanging out at each other’s houses after the party. Daniel and Raphael help the girls get out of the car, but when they go to close the door, both Mya and Melissa fall. They both start laughing. Daniel and Raphael shake their heads, then they help them up as they slowly go into their house. Daniel looks to make sure that no one is around. Even though both Daniel and Raphael’s parents are at a meeting and won’t be back till morning, he still looks. As Daniel gives Raphael the all clear, the girls run loose through the house. Daniel and Raphael look at each other after they hear glass break, then they run after the girls. Meanwhile at Lyon’s house, in the garage, Lyon parks his truck. He leaves Lena in the truck for she’s just singing. Lyon goes to see if anyone is up but sees that the living room light is on for the two of them for when they come home. Lyon then quickly runs over to the garage to get Lena, who is now playing with the truck’s window shield wipers. He goes over to the truck and helps her out of it and to the garage door, for the garage is not connected to the house. He helps her up the stairs to the front door. Then as he opens the door, Lena stubbles inside, laughing. “Shh,” Lyon gently says. Lena just looks at him, then she walks to the couch but before she can do anything, Lyon quickly grabs her. “Lyon.”

Lyon quickly puts the kitchen lights on and gently pushes Lena into the kitchen. Then he stands in the doorway, looking at the stairs with a guilty grin. Emily comes down a few steps to look at Lyon. She looks at him as if he had lost his mind. “Are you okay?” asks Emily. “Yeah, why?” Lyon quickly replies. “Okay, where’s Lena? Both of you are getting in a little late, don’t you think?” Emily says. Lyon slightly shrugs his shoulders, and Emily slowly shakes her head. “Where’s Lena?” Emily smiles. Lyon slowly turns his head to the kitchen, and his eyes widen with shock. For he sees the water sprinkles in the air. Then he quickly looks back at Emily and gives her a slight nervous chuckle. “She’s getting some water,” Lyon says. “Okay, well, get some sleep. Just because you two don’t have school doesn’t mean anything. Your grandfather and I have to leave tomorrow. We’re going to be gone for a couple of days. So I shouldn’t have to tell you two—” Emily says. “Yes, I know. Be careful.” Lyon grins. She smiles at him. “Night, I love you,” Emily says. “Night, I love you too,” Lyon replies. Then they both hear a bang. Emily looks over to Lyon. “What was that?” asks Emily. “That was Lena…she dropped a couple of magazines,” Lyon replies. “I thought she was getting water?” Emily asks.

“She…was. She was getting water to read a magazine,” Lyon replies. Emily stares at him for a minute, then she looks at the steps, getting ready to go back upstairs, and Lyon looks over to Lena, and his eyes widen. For Lena is tumbling out of the reading room. Lyon quickly looks over to Emily and sees that she’s starting to walk up the stairs. He runs over to Lena and gently pushes Lena back into the reading room. Emily looks at Lyon. “What are you doing?” asks Emily. “Seeing if Lena is okay,” Lyon replies. “Is she?” asks Emily. Then they hear another bang; they both look at the kitchen doorway. Lyon’s eyes widen again, for Lena is standing on one of the chairs. Lyon quickly looks back at Emily, and she looks at him. “What the hell was that?” asks Emily. “Lena, getting more water,” Lyon replies. “I thought she was reading a magazine?” Emily asks. “Yes…she was and is…but you know…it’s summer, it’s hot. You go through water quick,” Lyon replies. Emily stares at Lyon for a minute, then she walks back upstairs, and Lyon watches her walk back up the stairs with a nervous grin on his face. He waits to hear the door close, then he runs into the kitchen. Lena is playing with the sink faucet holes sprinkler. Lyon runs over to her. “Lena,” Lyon slightly yells. Lyon takes the holes out of Lena’s hands, then she moves over to the freezer. Lyon reconnects the hole back to the sink, then he looks at her and gets a shocked look on his face. Then his cell phone rings; he quickly takes his phone out of his pocket and sees it’s Raphael. “Yeah,” Lyon says.

“Tell me…you found a way to put the girls to sleep or calm down,” Raphael slightly yells. “No, Lena is just into everything,” Lyon replies. “Great…same here. They keep trying to break everything,” says Raphael. “Hang on,” Lyon slightly yells. Lyon runs over to Lena, stopping her from trying to climb up on the refrigerator. Then he puts his phone back to his ear. “This is going to be one hell of a night,” Lyon says. “Tell me about it,” says Raphael. “Hang on, here’s Daniel.” Raphael gives Daniel the phone as he runs over to Melissa. “How are you doing?” asks Daniel slightly out of breath. “Not sure,” Lyon replies. “I hear you,” Daniel replies. Then Lyon looks over to Lena, and she’s just spinning herself around and around. He just stares at her, then he slowly moves the phone from his ear. “Melissa, put that down!” Raphael yells. Lyon can hear that things are breaking on the other side of the phone. He looks at his phone, then he slowly puts it back to his ear. “Why is he yelling?” asks Lyon. “Melissa is trying to hit and throw things at Raphael,” Daniel replies. “I’ll talk to you later.’ “Same here, later,” Lyon replies. Lyon hangs up the phone and puts it back into his pocket, then he looks at Lena, who is standing behind. He slowly turns around, and Lena wraps her arms

around him. She looks up at him. “Can I have a kiss?” Lena asks. But before Lyon can reply, Lena kisses him. He kisses her back, then gently pulls away. “Okay, we need to get you in the bed,” Lyon says. “Okay,” Lena quickly replies. Then they both head to Lyon’s room slowly. Lyon is trying to keep Lena from falling. As they are walking to his room, Lyon sees that Lena has a cup in her hand. “Lena, what is that?” Lyon asks. “What?” Lena laughs. “In your hand, Lena,” Lyon continues. Lena looks at her hand, then back at Lyon. “A cup.” “Yes, Lena, I know it’s a cup! But what’s in it?” Lyon asks. Lena looks at her cup again, then she looks back at Lyon with a laughing look. Then she slowly shrugs her shoulders, making Lyon look at her with shock. Then he takes the cup and takes a very small sip of it. He quickly looks back at Lena. “Where the hell did you get vodka?” Lyon slightly yells. “Found it.” Lena laughs. Lyon slowly shakes his head, then he pours the cup out to the ground. He looks back at Lena and sees that’s she’s pouting. Then he makes her continue to walk to his room. They get to his door, and Lyon leans Lena against the wall so he can open the door. Then Lena falls onto him, and he catches her. He looks at her, and she looks up at him, laughing. “Lyon., kiss me, kiss me.” Lena smiles.

“Again,” Lyon says. But Lyon gives Lena a small kiss, then he opens his bedroom door. Lena stands in the doorway, while Lyon goes to turn the light off. But then he looks at Lena and sees that she’s about to fall through the door. He runs over to her and catches her before she completely falls to the floor. Then he brings her over to the bed, and he sees that she’s ed out. He slightly laughs under his breath as he slowly shakes his head. Then he takes off her shoes and puts the blanket over her. He sits next to her, as she sleeps nice and peacefully, with a grin on his face. He stares at her for a minute, then he’s about to get up but feels something on his hand. Lyon turns his head and sees that Lena’s hand is on his hand. Lyon slightly shakes his head with more of a grin, then he moves to the other side of the bed. Still holding Lena’s hand, he lies down next to her. He looks at her, then he turns off the light. The next morning, Lena wakes up with her head pounding. She quickly puts her hands to her head, then she looks around and sees that she’s in Lyon’s room. “How did I get into Lyon’s room?” Lena says to herself. She looks around, then she hears the door close, causing her to look up. There she sees Lyon staring at her with a small grin on his face. Then she sees that he has a small bottle of water in his hand. She can see on his face that he’s trying not to laugh as he slowly starts to walk over to her. “You okay?” Lyon gently asks. She looks at him with a pained yet pouting look on her face. He sits on the bed across from her, then he hands her the water bottle and two pain relievers. After she takes the relievers, she looks at him, and he grins at her. “What happened?” Lena softly asks. “In short…you got drunk,” Lyon gently replies. Lena looks at him with shock yet still has a tired look on her face. “I was drunk?” Lena asks. Lyon slowly nods his head. “Yes.”

Lena looks at him with small confusion. “How…I was just drinking punch.” Lyon slowly leans over to her as he puts his hands on both sides of her legs. “Babe, it’s called spiking the punch,” Lyon says. “They spiked it?” Lena asks. “They spiked it,” Lyon answers with a grin. Lena slightly sulks, then she slowly puts her head down on Lyon’s shoulder. He looks at her, then he gently kisses her head. Later in the day, Lyon and Lena are in the living room, lying on the couch. Lena is leaning back against Lyon’s chest. Lyon has one arm around Lena’s waist and his other arm on the top of the couch, holding one of his books. Lena is watching TV as Lyon is reading one of his books, while Shadow is sleeping beside the couch. They all are relaxing, for it’s raining outside, and Lena has a small headache. She’s half-asleep as she’s watching TV, with her arms laid on Lyon’s arms. As they both lie there, the house door slightly slams open. Lena puts her hand to her head, and Lyon slightly closes his book with his thumb still in it to hold the page he’s reading. Lyon looks at the door and sees that it’s Raphael, and Daniel behind him. Both of them look like they haven’t slept. Lyon just stares at them, trying not to laugh. Raphael and Daniel look at him. “How is it that you look so calm and relax?” asks Raphael. “Because I do,” Lyon replies. “What!” Raphael yells. “Raphael…shh,” Lyon says. Then Raphael looks down and sees that Lena is slightly glaring at him. He sees that her hands are on her head. Then she slowly turns her body around and hides her face in Lyon’s arm. Lyon looks down at her, then he looks up at Raphael and Daniel who are closing the door. Then Daniel and Raphael sit down and relax for a minute. “Where are the girls?” Lyon asks.

“We took them home early this morning,” Daniel replies. Lyon slightly nods his head, then he looks back down at Lena. He can see that she fell asleep. He grins at her, then he looks back at Daniel and Raphael. “Did you guys get any sleep last night?” Lyon asks. They both look at him and slowly shake their heads. “No,” Daniel and Raphael reply. Lyon slightly laughs, causing Daniel and Raphael to give him small glares. But it just makes Lyon wants to laugh more, for they look like they are going to out. Then Lyon tells them to sit and relax. Daniel and Raphael look at each other. They slowly shake their heads with slight laughs. They both end up doing what Lyon said and slowly fall asleep. Lyon is still in the same reading spot of his book that he’s reading, and Lena is still in his arms, sleeping. He grins at them, then he opens his book and continues to read. A few hours before everyone wakes up from Raphael’s cell phone ringing. Lyon also fell asleep an hour after everyone fell asleep. Their eyes slowly open and look over to Raphael who’s slowly taking his phone out of his pocket. He looks at his phone as he puts his hand on his head. “It’s Melissa.” Raphael yawns. Then he slowly puts the phone to his ear. “Yeah.” Daniel slowly turns his body around so he can sit on the couch. Daniel looks at Raphael, then he looks at Lyon and Lena. He slightly grins, for Lyon is helping Lena off the couch. Then they both walk into the kitchen. Daniel then looks back at Raphael who’s still on the phone. “Right now…at Lyon’s, why?” Raphael replies. Daniel just listens to Raphael talk on the phone, then he gets up and walks into the kitchen. He comes into the kitchen and sees Lena sitting on the counter and Lyon standing next to her by the sink. They both look at him, then Lyon es him a bottle of water. Daniel catches it as he walks over to them. Lena then gives him a bag of chips. Then Raphael walks into the kitchen, and they look at him. “Looks like Melissa and Mya are coming,” Raphael says. Lyon looks at the both of them. “You two look so happy about it.”

They look at Lyon, still tired yet a small glare, causing Lyon to look at them as if he wants to laugh. Lyon then looks at Lena, and she just gives him a small smile. Then the house phone rings. Lyon picks up the kitchen phone on the wall. “Hello,” Lyon says. “Hey, guys. How’s the trip going?” Lyon is talking to Emily and Nathen, who are on a business trip. Lena is talking to Raphael and Daniel, while Lyon is on the phone. After about ten to fifteen minutes, Lyon hangs up the phone and walks back over to everyone. They all hang in the kitchen till the doorbell rings; everyone looks at the kitchen doorway. Daniel then starts to walk over to the door and sees that it’s Mya and Melissa at the door. He slowly opens the door, and they walk right in. Daniel slowly closes the door behind them, then he slowly turns around. Then Raphael slowly comes into the living room where Daniel and the girls are. Mya and Melissa look at them. “Why are you two looking at us like that?” asks Daniel. “What do you mean why?” says Mya. Daniel and Raphael look at each other with confusion, then back at the girls. “What are you two talking about?” asks Raphael. “What are…I can’t believe you guys left us like that this morning!” slightly yells Melissa. Daniel and Raphael look at each other with slight shock, then back at the girls. Meanwhile in the kitchen, Lena is still sitting on the counter, but Lyon is now standing in front of her, slightly leaning with his hands on both sides of her thighs, slightly standing between them. They are giving each other small kisses with smiles on their faces. Then they look at each other. “Thank you,” Lena says softly. “For what?” Lyon gently asks. “For taking care of me last night,” Lena softly replies. Lyon grins at her, then he gently moves a piece of hair out of her face.

“Anytime.” Then their faces move closer, and they give each other a kiss that slowly turns to small ion, but then they start to hear yelling. They look at the kitchen doorway that goes into the living room. They both look back at each other. Lyon then helps Lena down from the counter. They walk over to the doorway and see that everyone is in a disagreement. They look at each other and slowly roll their eyes. They both take a deep breath, then look back at everyone. “Why are you guys screaming at each other now!” Lyon slightly yells. Everyone stops and looks at Lyon and Lena who are standing in the doorway. Lyon has his left arm slightly leaning on the doorway wall, with Lena slightly leaning her head back against his chest. “Can’t you guys go a day without yelling at one another?” Lyon says in a deep tone. They all look at each other, then back at Lyon and Lena who are just standing there. They look at them, waiting for them to give them an answer. “They are mad ’cause they think we left them,” replies Raphael. Lyon and Lena stares at them for a minute with a plain look on their faces. Lyon puts his head down onto Lena’s shoulder, and they both slowly shake their heads. “Okay, you guys can handle this on your own.” Lyon slowly shakes his head. Then Lyon gently puts his arm around Lena’s waist as he slides his left arm off the wall. Lena slowly puts her arms on Lyon’s arm, then they both slowly head back into the kitchen. As they walk into the kitchen, Daniel and everyone look at one another. They don’t say anything to one another; they all just stand there, not looking at one another. In the kitchen, Lyon and Lena are sitting on the chairs next to each other. Lena has her head down, and Lyon is gently and slowly running his hand in her hair. Lena looks at him. “Was I that bad last night?” Lena asks. Lyon looks at her and grins. “No, you just kept trying to take your clothes off in

front of me.” Lena slightly laughs in embarrassment, then she puts her face back in her arms on the table. Lyon slightly laughs. Lena looks back at Lyon, who is grinning at her. “Sorry…I put you through a lot of trouble…right?” Lena asks. Lyon slowly shakes his head, and Lena gives him a small smile. Later on Daniel, Raphael, Mya, and Melissa are no longer disagreeing about last night. Everyone is sitting in the living room, watching TV and talking about last night and how the girls were acting. Raphael is sitting on one of the recliner, with Melissa sitting across his lap. Daniel and Mya are sitting on the floor, and Daniel has one arm over her shoulder. Lyon and Lena are lying on the couch. Lyon has his back against the back of the couch with his arm on the couch arm holding his head up. His other arm is around Lena’s waist, for Lena is lying in front of Lyon. Having her back to his chest with head on the couch arm and her arms around Lyon’s arm. As they all relax, laughing and watching TV, Daniel goes to order pizza. Everyone tells him what they want on their pizza. Daniel goes into the kitchen, then Mya slowly follows him into the kitchen. Daniel hangs up his cell phone and turns around to go back into the living room. He sees Mya slightly leaning on the counter, staring at him, with a small seductive smile. He grins at her yet has a little confused look on his face. He slowly puts his phone back into his pocket, and he completely turns around, facing Mya. Then Mya slowly leans off the counter and walks over to Daniel. As she walks over to him, Daniel slowly looks at her up and down, still with a grin on his face. As Mya gets close, she puts her arms around his neck, and Daniel puts his hands on his hips. They look right into each other’s eyes, then their faces move closer to each other, they kiss! Daniel pulls her closer as their kiss becomes ionate. Meanwhile in the living room, everyone is laughing at Raphael complaining about how he has a small football practice this summer. “For how long?” asks Lyon. “For two weeks,” Raphael replies. “Okay, that’s not too bad,” says Melissa.

Raphael looks at her. “Easy for you two say! You’re not getting slammed into the ground! And you get to sleep in.” Melissa smiles at him, then she gives him a kiss on his cheek. He looks at her with a slight grin, yet he’s also pouting. Lena slightly laughs, and Lyon slowly shakes his head with a small grin on his face. Then the doorbell rings, and everyone looks at the front door. “Daniel!” Raphael yells. Everyone looks at Raphael as if they want to laugh. “Really, you have to call him that loud?” says Lyon. Raphael looks at him and shrugs his shoulders, then Daniel comes out of the kitchen and walks over to the door. Mya comes back into the living room after Daniel opens the front door. As Daniel is paying the pizza guy, Mya looks over to Melissa, who is smiling at her as if she’s going to laugh. Mya shrugs her shoulders as she smiles at her. Melissa slowly turns her head. Everyone is looking at the door, waiting for Daniel to get the pizza. After the pizza guy leaves, Daniel closes the door and walks over to everyone. He puts the pizza on the coffee table, and everyone slowly goes over to get their pizza. Then Raphael takes the TV remote and puts a movie on; he puts Jeff Dunham on so everyone can laugh while eating. As they all are laughing and watching TV, Raphael is looking through Lyon’s movie collection in the living room. Lyon looks at him, wondering what he’s doing, but he doesn’t say anything. Then he looks back at the TV, but then Daniel looks over to Raphael. “Raphael, what are you doing?” asks Daniel. Raphael turns his head to him, also using his shoulder to hide half his face. “Never you mind,” Raphael replies. Daniel slowly shakes his head, and Lyon slightly puts his head down with a smile, as if he wants to laugh. Then the girls look at Raphael, then they slowly turn and look at Daniel. Daniel puts his hand up as he closes his eyes, slowly shaking his head, as if he’s saying, “Don’t ask.” Everyone softly laughs as Raphael looks through the movies.

After the Jeff Dunham movie was over, everyone gets up and cleans up the living room. But Raphael watches everyone bring everything into the kitchen. As everyone is in the kitchen, Raphael grins then he goes over to the TV. Everyone comes back into the living room and see that Raphael is setting up another movie. They look at one another, then back over to Raphael. “Raphael, what are you doing?” asks Melissa. “Putting on another movie, sit,” Raphael replies. Everyone slightly laughs, then they all go back to their spots. Raphael then gets up and turns all the lights off. Everyone looks at him, wondering what he’s doing. Raphael sits down and looks at everyone. “What?” Raphael asks. “What are we watching?” asks Mya. Raphael looks at her, then at everyone, then he just grins at them. “You’ll see.” They all look at one another, then they look at Raphael for a minute. The movie is about to go on, and everyone looks at Raphael like he’s crazy. “We are not watching this!” slightly yells Daniel. “Yes, we are,” Raphael quickly replies. “What makes you think we all want to watch?” slightly yells Melissa. “Gothika,” yells everyone! Raphael looks at them as he presses play on the movie. They slowly roll their eyes, then they look at the movie. As the movie gets started, everyone is looking yet hiding, but Lyon is just staring at the movie with a plain look on his face. Lena is using Lyon’s hand to hide her eyes. Daniel and Mya are using each other to hide their faces. Melissa is using a pillow, while Raphael is on the floor, hiding behind the sofa chair, poking his head out. Lena looks at Lyon and sees that he has a plain look on his face. “How can you just look at this with that face?” Lena asks.

Lyon looks at her and softly grins. “My grandparent’s kind of love horror movies…so I grew up watching this kind of stuff. It doesn’t bother me.” Everyone looks at him, then Raphael slowly crawls over to him. Lyon looks at him. “How can this not freak you out?” Raphael asks. “You put it on,” Lyon replies. Raphael gives him a slight pout, then he slowly moves back over to his hiding spot. They all look at Raphael, then back at the movie. As the movie comes close to an end, so does the rain. After the movie, everyone gets ready to head home since the rain has lightened. As they all wave their goodbyes, Raphael is gripping on to Daniel’s arm. Daniel looks at him, then rolls his eyes and waves to Lyon and Lena. They all head home, with Lyon and Lena watching them leaves. Then they look at each other and slightly smile. Lyon goes to take a shower, and Lena cleans up the living room. Then the rain slowly begins to pick up again. Lena then goes to the front door and makes sure that it’s locked nice and tight, as well as all the windows. Lyon then comes out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and around his shoulders. Lena looks at him from the living room through the doorway. Lyon looks at her and grins. “I’m going to relax in my room, okay?” Lena nods her head, then Lyon heads to his room, and Shadow slowly follows. Lena smiles, then she walks into the kitchen to get something to drink. She gets a glass of water, but after a couple of sips, lightning strikes. She looks through the window and sees the lightning in the dark-gray clouds. The second strike makes Lena jump, but the third strike causes a blackout. Lena lights a candle, then she looks around, causing her to be a little scared. She then runs to Lyon’s room, who already has candles set up in his room. The candles are lighting his room. Lyon is wearing his red muscle shirt and black basketball shorts. His hair is out and curly, for it’s still wet, and like always, he’s reading one of his books. He slowly looks up when he hears his door open. He sees Lena in the doorway with a panicked look on her face. He looks at her with confusion. “What’s wrong?” Lyon softly asks. Lena quickly walks over to him, then she crawls onto his bed and under his

covers. He looks down at her and tries not to laugh. Then he turns his head back and goes back to reading his book. Lyon finishes his three chapters per night and sees that Lena is still under the covers. He then slowly pulls the covers off of Lena and sees that she’s also hiding her head under his pillow. “Lena, what are you doing?” Lyon asks. Lena slightly lifts the pillow, then she looks at him, and he looks at her with a small grin. “You know it was just a movie, right?” Lyon says. Lena takes the pillow off of her head and slowly leans up. Lyon watches her. Lena looks at him, and he can see that she’s really scared. Lyon just looks at her with a gentle grin, then he slowly puts his hand on the side of her face. Lena is about to put her hand on his hand, but then lightning strikes, making Lena jump right into Lyon’s arms, hiding her face in his chest, causing Lyon to look down at her, trying not to laugh. Then he wraps his arms around her and gives her a small kiss on her head. They stay like that till Lyon gets up and blows out all the candles. Lyon comes back over to his bed where Lena is sitting, waiting for him. He sits down, then he slowly leans back to lie down beside Lena with her head on his chest. He puts his arms around her, and she slowly begins to relax as she listens to his calm heartbeat. Then Lyon and Lena slowly begin to fall asleep; they sleep peacefully through the rainstorm. As the night goes on, Lyon slowly wakes up from his cell phone ringing. He looks at his phone and slightly rolls his eyes. “Yeah,” Lyon softly says. Lyon’s eyes are slowly closing but open right back up. Lyon then takes a deep breath. “Raphael, why are you calling me at three o’clock in the morning?” Lyon looks at his phone, then he slowly puts it back to his ear. “Raphael, I’m going back to bed.” Then Lyon hangs up his phone and puts it on vibrate. He looks down at Lena. She’s still fast asleep, then he looks over to Shadow, who’s in his corner, lying

on his pillow bed, sleeping. Lyon grins, then he slowly begins to fall back asleep. The morning comes, and Lena wakes up and sees that Lyon is not there. Then she sees a note on the pillow next to her, where Lyon was. She looks at the note and smiles.

I got up early and just couldn’t wake you. So I went to get some things. I’ll be back maybe before you wake up or just as you are, see you soon. Lyon.

Lena then slowly leans up, and there walking into the bedroom is Lyon. He looks at her and gives her a small gentle smile, causing her to smile back. Lyon walks over to her and sits on the bed in front of her. They give each other a morning kiss, then their foreheads gently touch. They look at each other in the eyes. “As much as I would love to stay like this…you got to get up,” Lyon says. Lena slightly laughs as she nods her head, then Lyon gets off the bed. Lena yawns as she does a small stretch, then she slowly gets out of the bed. She puts her hair in a braid, then she puts her spare slippers on her feet, that she leaves in Lyon’s room. She heads to the kitchen where Lyon and Shadow are making food. She comes into the kitchen and sits at the kitchen table. Lyon looks at her and grins, while Shadow walks over to her, and she gently pets him on his head. After Lyon, Lena, and Shadow finish their breakfast, they take Shadow for a walk by the lake. They are talking and laughing, while Lyon is throwing Shadow’s play ball. As they are playing, laughing, and walking, they come to the part of the lake that Lyon found Lena. She stares at the lake, causing Lyon and Shadow to stop and look at her. Even with her staring at the lake, no part of her memory is coming to her. Then she looks at Lyon, who just grins at her, and Shadow wagging his tail. She smiles at them, then she continues walking with them; they walk around the whole lake before they walk back. As they are coming back to the sight of the house, there they see Daniel and everyone sitting on the porch, waiting for them, listening to Raphael complain.

“I called him, and he hung up the phone on me,” Raphael whines. “I would hang up the phone on you too…calling me at three o’clock in the morning,” Daniel replies. Raphael quickly looks at Daniel, and Daniel just stares at him with a laughing grin on his face. “Nobody asked you,” Raphael quickly replies. Everyone starts laughing, for Raphael’s face is still the same, making Raphael quickly look at them back and forth. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they continue walking over to the house. As they are walking, Daniel sees them walking over, for he is sitting on the porch stairs. They all look at Daniel, then they turn their heads and see what Daniel is looking at; they see Lyon and Lena walking out from the trees with Shadow. They all wave to one another, but Raphael just stares at Lyon with a slight pouting face. Lyon and Lena come up to everyone, and they all say their hellos, with Shadow who goes to sit next to Daniel. Lyon then slowly turns his head to Raphael, who’s still staring at him with a slight pouting face. Lyon looks at Daniel with just his eyes, and Daniel slowly shakes his head as he shrugs his shoulders, petting Shadow. Lyon looks back at Raphael as if he wants to laugh. “You hung the phone up on me,” Raphael says. “It was three o’clock in the morning,” Lyon replies. “You hung up the phone on me,” Raphael repeats. Everyone stares at Raphael, trying not to laugh. “You hung up the phone on me,” Raphael says. Everyone starts laughing at him, then Raphael looks at everyone and starts pouting at them even more. Lyon looks at Raphael, then he takes a deep breath. “Okay, Raphael, what is it that made you call me at three o’clock in the morning?” Raphael looks at him. “Now you want to know.”

“You going to tell me or not?” Lyon says. Raphael stares at him. “You hung up the phone on me.” Lyon looks at him, ready to laugh again, then he slowly shakes his head as he walks over to Daniel. Lena walks over to Mya and Melissa; they all look at Raphael who is just staring at them with a plain look on his face with no emotions. They all look at one another, then they look back at Raphael. Lyon takes a deep breath. “Okay, Raphael, you’ve got all of our undivided attention.” Raphael stares at them for a minute, then he walks over and sits on the stairs. They all turn their heads and look up at Raphael who is sitting on the top stairs. They’re completely silent. “Okay, since you asked,” Raphael says with a smile. They all start laughing, and Raphael grins at first, then he slightly starts laughing with them, then as they slowly start to calm down, Raphael starts to explain why he called Lyon so late. Everyone listens to Raphael explain why he called Lyon, then they all slowly look at Daniel. They stare at him for a minute, and Daniel looks around, trying not to make eye . For Raphael is telling them how his and Daniel’s family is holding a huge charity event. They all have to dress up; the guys must wear suits and ties, and the ladies have to wear long cocktail dresses. They all just stare at Daniel and Raphael with plain looks on their faces. Then Lyon looks at Raphael. “Oh and, Lyon, our parents want the three of us to—” Raphael is cut off. “No,” Lyon quickly says. “Why not?” Raphael quickly asks. “Because we haven’t done that since junior high. So no,” Lyon replies. “That’s why they call it practice. Come on, Lyon, it won’t sound right if you’re not there with us,” Raphael says. Lyon looks at Daniel, who is still looking up into the sky.

“You’re going to do it?” Lyon asks. Daniel slowly looks at him with a plain look. “I don’t have a choice.” Lyon takes a deep breath, then he looks back at Daniel and Raphael. “Fine,” Lyon says. “Yes, oh, and it’s a black-and-white theme color,” Raphael says. Lena looks at them, then at Mya and Melissa, and they just shrug their shoulders. The three of them are not getting what the guys are talking about, but they just smile. “When is it going down?” asks Lyon. “Two weeks,” Daniel replies. “Are you kidding me?” Lyon quickly says. “Don’t look at us, we just found out yesterday,” Raphael says. Lyon takes a breath, then he looks at them. “Okay, we got a lot of work to do.” They both nod their heads, then they look at the girls who are smiling and slightly laughing at them. Then for the next two weeks, Lena hangs with Mya and Melissa, looking for dresses for the event, while Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael are doing what they were talking about, all of them not seeing much of their parents.

Memory 22

The two weeks go by, and the girls’ dresses are finally done the day of. The three of them are at Melissa’s house, getting ready for the night. The last time they talked or saw the guys was about two days ago when the guys were getting their suits, and the girls were just walking out of a shoe store. They talked for about an hour, before they all said their goodbyes. Even though they haven’t talked that much, they all didn’t get angry, for they trust each other deeply. As the girls are getting ready, they look at their dresses. Mya’s dress is white strapless, with black flower design on the edges, and it opens on the left side up to the middle of her thigh. Melissa’s dress is white with black backless lace, with a diamond-glitter belt and x-shape sleeves that almost go down to her elbows. Lena is wearing a sequined white long high-neck gown with sheer back, opens on the left side up to the middle of her thigh. The girls start to get dressed. As they are just about done, a limo starts to pull up in front of Melissa’s house. Mya goes to the window to see the limo, and her eyes widen with shock and excitement. She runs over to Melissa and gently pulls her to the window; she looks out the window, and her eyes widen just like Mya’s eyes. Lena is still in the bathroom, getting ready; she is putting on her earrings and touching up her lip gloss. She looks at herself in the long mirror on the wall and takes a deep breath. Mya comes into the bathroom to see if she’s ready. As she comes in, she sees Lena staring at herself in the mirror with a worried look on her face. Mya slowly walks over to her. “You nervous?” asks Mya. Lena slowly nods her head. “Yes, I’ve never been to one of these before. What am I supposed to do? I mean, we get all dressed up, and now what?” Mya smiles at her, then she starts to help Lena with her hair. “Truthfully, we are going to show our . And to fill the room and help any way we can. It’s not all about the money, it’s to show that everyone that is coming wants to be a part of the event. And the big thing is to find out what the

hell our men are up to.” They both start laughing. “You’ll be fine. Just be you,” Mya says. Lena nods her head, then looks back at Mya as she walks in front of her. “But are you really worried about the event or because you and Lyon haven’t talked in a while,” Mya asks. Lena slowly shakes her head. “No, I trust him. Do I miss him? Yes, but I trust him even more.” Mya stares at her for a second with a small smile on her face. “I think you want to say something else.” Lena looks at her, then Melissa comes into the bathroom, and they both look at her. “What are you two doing? We need to go. Let’s go, let’s go.” Lena and Mya look at each other, then they both slowly run with Melissa, get their things, and quickly walk down the stairs and outside to the limo. The limo driver opens the door for them, and they say their thanks as they get into the limo. The driver closes the door and goes to his driver seat, and he starts to drive off. Melissa looks around the limo and starts to look through everything. “No wonder you and Raphael work so good together. You two always have to touch everything you see,” Mya says. Melissa looks at her and starts laughing as she shrugs her shoulders, causing Mya and Lena to start laughing too. Meanwhile at the hall where the event is being held, Daniel, Raphael, and Lyon are waiting for the girls to arrive and laughing at Raphael’s suit. Raphael is just staring at them as he shakes his head. Daniel and Lyon are laughing so hard that they are holding their stomachs and almost look as if they are going to cry. “Why are you guys laughing so hard?” asks Raphael.

“Raphael, you look like ghetto John Travolta.” Laughs Daniel. Raphael looks at his suit, and he is wearing an all-white suit with a black shirt and black shoes, while Daniel and Lyon are wearing the black suit with just a white shirt. Daniel is wearing a tie, but he has it loose, and Lyon is not wearing a tie, nor does he have his shirt completely buttoned; one to two are not buttoned, and his hair is straight with it half-up and half-down. Everyone slowly starts to come to the event, and they all are dressed to impress. Just about everyone from home has come, and some that are not. “Daniel, who’s that girl giving you the eye?” asks Raphael. Daniel turns his head to see who Raphael is talking about. He sees the girl, then looks back at Raphael and shrugs his shoulders. Then they both walk away to go and find Lyon, who is standing at the stairs below the entrance, messing with his phone. “The girls not here yet?” asks Daniel. Lyon looks up and shakes his head. “No, not yet.” “Did you call them?” asks Raphael. “No, why would I?” ask Lyon. “To make sure they are okay,” Raphael replies. “That’s rushing,” says Lyon. As they wait for the girls, Daniel and Lyon are talking to each other as Lyon is showing Daniel something on his phone, while Raphael is poking the flowers at the end of the stairs next to Lyon and Daniel. As they are talking, the doors open, and Raphael looks up; his face turns to shock. His eyes are still staring as he reaches for Daniel and Lyon and makes them look up at the door. Their faces turn to shock and amazement for Mya, Melissa, and Lena just walked in! The three of them look around and are a little nervous—mostly Lena—then they see the guys standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring at them. They slowly walk down the stairs, and they walk over to the guys. The guys turn as the girls get closer to them, and the girls take their arms, and they all smile and grin at one another. They all walk over to their table; the guys pull the girls’ chairs out, then

after they sit, they sit down next to them. “You know you girls took your time getting here,” says Raphael. “Oh, shut up, not our fault the driver is slow. And I mean slowly, when he drives,” replies Mya. They all start laughing as Mya tells them how the ride was on the way to the event. As they are talking, they see some of the others guest on the dance floor. “What kind of music is this? I can’t dance to this,” says Raphael. They all look at Raphael. “It’s classical music,” says Lyon with a grin. “What do you expect them to play, rock?” continues Daniel with a slight laugh. Raphael looks at them, then he looks back at the people on the dance floor, then Lyon slowly stands up, and Lena looks up at him as he puts his hand out to her. “Dance with me,” Lyon says. Lena smiles, then she slowly reaches her hand to his, and he helps her stand up. They both slowly walk over to the dance floor. Lyon slowly wraps his arms around Lena’s waist, and she slowly wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck. They look at each other and softly smile. “You look amazing, Lena.” Lyon grins. “And you look very handsome.” Lena smiles. Daniel and the others watch them dance together, smiling. “Who do you think is going to say it first?” asks Mya. “Say what?” asks Raphael. “I think Lyon will say it first,” says Daniel. “I think Lena will,” says Mya. “I think Daniel is right…Lyon will first,” says Melissa.

“Hello…what are you guys talking about?” asks Raphael. They look at Raphael, and Melissa smiles at him. “Nothing.” Raphael looks at her with no belief, then she gives him a kiss on the cheek, and he looks at her with a shake of his head. Then they look back at Lyon and Lena; they all look at one another and smile, causing them to slowly get up and walk over to the dance floor and start to dance with one another. Time goes by, and everyone is talking, laughing, and dancing, for the music picked up a little and got everyone to dance more. They play a little old school for everyone, beats for everyone to dance to. As everyone is having a blast, the music stops. Everyone looks over to the stage, and they see the woman running the event walking on to it. “Everyone having a good time?” says the woman. Everyone starts clapping. “Well, I hope so ’cause this event has raised more than enough,” the woman smiles. Everyone claps even more. “So why don’t we thank our band, the chief and his staff, the staff, the hall owner, and the event committee?” says the woman with a smile. Everyone claps for all those who helped the event go smoothly. “And to close this lovely event, I would like to call up to the stage, D. L. R,” says the woman. Everyone looks around to see who they are, then Daniel, Raphael, and Lyon slowly start to walk to the stage. Mya, Melissa, and Lena look at each other with confusion, then they look back at the guys. The three of them slowly walk up to the stage and stand there, looking at everyone. The girls slowly walk over to the front of the stage. The woman hands each of them a mic. Lyon is shaking his head, Raphael is grinning, and Daniel is hiding his face, laughing. Then the music starts, and Lyon slowly lifts his mic.

I want you to listen,

To what I have to say, ’Cause in the end I’m still going to want you back.

The lights go out, and the stage is lit with blue lights. Daniel, Raphael, and Lyon have their backs to everyone. Then Daniel turns around and starts singing.

How do I get you back How do I get you to look my way How do I get you to my name?

Lyon turns and starts singing.

How do I, how do I Get you back in my life You and I are like destiny We came together through the look of the eyes How do I, how do I.

Raphael turns and starts singing, and the three of them sing together.

How do I, how do I

Get you back in my life You made me smile You made me warm You made me feel everything was a simple storm Don’t walk away, I need you here How do I, how do I.

After the end of the song, everyone starts clapping with amazement, and the three of them just bow their heads and slowly walk off the stage. The girls walk over to them and look at them with shock. The guys look over to them; Raphael just grins, Daniel shakes his head, and Lyon just shrugs his shoulders. They all look at each other, then they see that everyone is slowly starting to leave. They all then slowly begin to follow; they all stand outside in front of the hall and wait for the limo. Three limos slowly pull up, and they look at one another with confusion. “Why are there three limos?” asks Daniel. “I don’t know,” replies Raphael. They all look at one another, then they all walk over to the limos. “I guess we’ll see you guys tomorrow,” says Lyon. Lyon and Lena get into the first limo, Daniel and Mya get into the last limo, and Raphael and Melissa get into the middle limo. The drivers close the doors, then they go to the driver’s side of the limos, and they slowly begin to drive off. Daniel and Mya are in the back of the limo, and they are taking each other’s clothes off. Raphael and Melissa are checking everything out in the limo and what it has in its small bar. Lyon and Lena are just sitting quietly in the limo; Lyon is looking through his phone, and Lena is looking out the window. Lena then looks at Lyon and stares at him, then Lyon slightly turns his head to her and looks at her.

“What?” Lyon grins. “Why didn’t you tell me you can sing?” Lena smiles. Lyon leans back against the seat. “Why didn’t you tell me you are a cheerleader?” Lena slightly laughs, then she slowly leans over to him. “So that’s why you did it? Because I didn’t tell you?” Lyon leans closer to Lena. “You could say that, or you could say that I wanted to see that look on your face when I was on stage.” Lyon leans away from Lena, then looks back into his phone, and Lena gives him a smiling glare. She then puts both of her knees on the seat and crawls over to Lyon; he slowly looks at her as if he’s going to laugh. “Yes.” Lyon slightly laughs. Lena takes the phone from him and gently slams it on the seat. “Is that why you didn’t tell me?” Lena smiles. Lyon slightly smiles at her but doesn’t say anything to her. Then Lena slowly sits on his lap, facing him, and she puts her hands on his wrists to stop him from moving and keeps them to the seat. “Is that why you didn’t tell me?” Lena smiles. But Lyon still doesn’t say anything, all he is doing is smile at her, then he looks down at his wrists, then slowly back at her. He takes a slight breath. “How long do you think that’s going to work?” asks Lyon. Lena looks down at his wrists, then she looks back at him and just keeps her smile on her face. Lyon then slightly tilts his head. He quickly moves his hands from Lena’s grip and gently grabs her waist; she slightly laughs. They stare at each other in the eyes, then Lena gently puts her hands on his chest as she moves her face closer to Lyon’s. Their faces are about a few inches away from each other.

“Yes, that exactly why I didn’t tell you.” Lyon grins. Lena just keeps smiling. She moves closer to him, and they kiss! Their kiss starts to get hot and heavy and more ionate. Lyon then kisses her neck, and Lena slowly runs her hand through the side of his hair. Then he looks at her, and they kiss again, holding each other gently yet tightly and pulling each other closer. One of Lyon’s hands moves down to her thigh where Lena’s dress opens, then slowly back up to her waist. Lena then slowly starts to unbutton Lyon’s shirt, and Lyon is slowly moving his hands up to the back of Lena’s dress. But then he stops and slowly pulls away from Lena’s kiss, and she looks at him. “What’s wrong?” Lena gently asks. “Nothing, I um…I can’t,” Lyon replies. Lena looks at him as if she did something wrong. “okay.” Lyon sees the look on her face and grins. “Not because of this. I like this position.” Lena smiles with a slight laugh, then she slightly puts her head down. “But don’t like where we are,” Lyon continues. Lena looks around, then back at Lyon. “In a limo…not going to happen,” Lyon says. Lena laughs, then she puts her head down on Lyon’s shoulder, and Lyon looks at her. “And to think…the phone didn’t ring,” Lyon says, making Lena laugh even more, then she looks at him. “Okay…I see and get what you mean.” Lena is then about to get up, but Lyon holds her hips, making Lena look at him. “But I still like this position.” Lyon grins. Lena smiles. “Really.” Then she slowly moves her face closer to him, and they kiss again and slowly wrap their arms around each other.

The next morning, everyone is home, still sleeping, and Lena slept in her room that night. Emily and Nathen let them both sleep in, for they don’t have work or chores to do. It was also the weekend; they both made them breakfast, then they get ready to leave for work. After Emily and Nathen leave for work, an hour later, Lyon wakes up, for Shadow is barking for him to get up. Lyon looks at him, half-asleep, then he slowly leans up, and Shadow jumps on the bed and lays his head on Lyon’s leg, wagging his tail. Lyon grins at him, then he slowly shakes his head as he pets Shadow’s head, “Hi to you too.” Lyon grins. Shadow then jumps off the bed, for Lyon is slowly getting up. He sits on his bed, thinking about last night. He then slowly stands up and goes to put one of his muscle shirts on, then he heads to the kitchen. Lyon walks into the kitchen; he sees Lena trying to get a plate from the cabinet. He slightly laughs, then he walks up behind her and reaches for the plate. She leans her head back to his chest and smiles at him, and they give each other a kiss. Lyon puts the plate on the counter, then he heads to the bathroom. Lena looks down at Shadow, who is wagging his tail, and she smiles at him. Then she grabs him a bone-shape cookie and puts it down in front of him. Shadow gently takes it from her hand and strolls into the living room. Then Lyon comes out of the bathroom, and Lena is putting the food on the plates. Lyon goes to see what there is to drink and takes out apple juice, then he gets them both glasses. He puts the glasses on the kitchen table, right in the spots that they are going to sit in. Lena puts the plates on the table, then she walks over to the other side of the table and sits down next to Lyon. They bless the table and food, then they both start to eat their food. After Lyon and Lena are done eating, they both go to take a shower and go to take Shadow for a walk. They both are walking out of the house. Lyon looks at Lena, causing her to stop walking and look at him. “Want to go for a ride?” asks Lyon. “But I thought that we are going to walk Shadow?” Lena asks. “We are,” Lyon replies. “How, if we are going to be on your bike?” Lena asks. “’Cause…it’s not that kind of ride.” Lyon grins.

Lyon looks over to the stables, and Lena smiles at him, then they look down at Shadow, who just wags his tail at them. Lyon then goes over to the stables, and Lena slowly follows him, and they both start laughing. Then after about twenty minutes, they both come running out of the stables, riding two of the horses that they have, with Shadow running right next to Lyon. The three of them jump over the gate and run through the field, heading to the woods. They run all around the riverbank, they run through the low river, up and downhill, jumping over large tree branches that have fallen. Then they give the horse and Shadow a break and decide to take a swim in the lake that the river leads to. The horses are standing around or eating grass, and Shadow is lying under a tree, in the shade, watching Lyon and Lena playing with each other in the lake. Lena jumps out of the water into Lyon’s arms and kisses him, and he kisses her back. They look at each other in the eyes with the water slowly running down their skin and dripping from their hair. Lena smiles at him, and Lyon grins at her, then their faces move closer together, and they kiss again. Then Lyon slowly picks up Lena and throws her back into the water; she comes up from the water, and Lyon is laughing. Lena looks at him and starts laughing, then she starts to chase after him. Lyon laughs as she is chasing him. Then Lyon goes underwater, and Lena looks down at the water, seeing if she can see him. But then slowly, coming out of the water behind her is Lyon; he slowly walks over to her and wraps his arms around her waist. She slightly screams yet laughs and turns her head to him, and they both start laughing. Lena gently puts her hands to Lyon’s arms, and they look into each other’s eyes, then they kiss. As they kiss, Lena slowly turns her body around and slowly wraps her arms around Lyon’s neck, and he pulls her closer. After about another hour, Lyon and Lena are out of the lake and sitting on a large tree branch in the sun, drying off, talking, and laughing. Then Lyon sees that the sun is close to sunset. He looks at Lena, and she looks at him and smiles. Then Lyon jumps down from the branch. He turns around to Lena, and she jumps down to his arms. They both then slowly start to walk over to the horses and Shadow; they both get on the horses, then they head back to the house. As they are going to the house, Shadow stops and starts to growl. Lyon looks down at him, then he looks up at the house. Lena looks at him, then at the house, and she sees that there is a limo in front of the house. Lyon then jumps down from the horse and holds onto the reins. Lena looks at him, then she jumps down from her horse and starts walking next to Lyon. As they get closer to the house,

Lyon starts to walk a lot slower, causing Lena to look at him with confusion yet concern. They come in complete sight of the house and the limo. Emily and Nathen are standing on the front porch with their arms crossed, and Lyon stares at the limo with a hateful glare. Lena looks at Lyon, and he stares at the limo, then a guy slowly gets out from the back of the limo. Lyon looks at Lena. “Lena, can you put the horses back?” asks Lyon in a calm tone. Lena gently smiles as she nods her head, then she takes the horses in the back to the stables. Lyon watches her go to the back, then he slowly turns his head back to the guy that got out of the limo, and he slowly crosses his arms. The guy is about six feet tall, tan-skinned, brown eyes, short black hair. The guy closes the door. Then he and Lyon just stare at each other, but Lyon stares at him with a glare, breathing calmly yet heavily. After about twenty minutes, Lena goes back to the front of the house and sees that the guy and Lyon are just staring at each other. Lena walks over to Lyon and gently puts her hand on his back. He turns his head and gives her a very small grin. Then he looks back at the guy and glares. The guy takes a few steps to Lyon, but Shadow growls and shows his teeth, causing the guy to stop. Lena looks down at Shadow, then back at the guy. “Lyon, who is this?” asks Lena. “Lena, meet John Roger.” “John Roger…that name sounds familiar,” says Lena. “Yeah…he’s one of the owners for a stock company way up in New York. He takes care of all the business part, while his partners take care of the other stuff,” Lyon explains. Lena quickly looks at the guy, and he looks over to Lena, but then he looks back at Lyon and slightly smiles at him. He takes a breath, then he looks around at the house and the land, slowly nodding his head. He looks back at Lyon. “It’s been a long time, Lyon,” says John. “Not long enough…Dad,” Lyon angrily replies.

Memory 23

Lena looks at Lyon, then back over to John, with confusion. “Wait, this is—” Lena says. “Yeah, this is the man that didn’t want me,” Lyon says. John looks at Lyon, slowly nodding his head, then looks over to Emily and Nathen standing on the porch, watching. He slowly looks back at Lyon. “Can we talk?” asks John. Lyon stares at him with anger in his eyes, still with arms crossed, breathing angrily. “No,” Lyon replies. “Look, we need to talk. It’s very important that we talk,” John says. “Why?” Lyon asks. “Because…I need your help,” says John. “You need my help,” Lyon confirms. “Yes,” John replies. Lyon pauses for a minute, then he slightly shakes his head. “Was the first time we met too subtle?” Lyon asks. “Lyon—” John is cut off. “I punched you in the face and almost broke your jaw. And you were told never to come back here. Yet here you are…standing in front of me…asking for my help. Why the hell would I help you? You didn’t want me…and the first time we met, you called me an abomination to my face. And blamed me…for my

mother’s death. There are a few other things that you said…but I really don’t care to repeat them,” Lyon says. Lena listens to what Lyon is saying, then she looks at John, can’t believe that he could say all those things to his own son. She turns her head from him, looking down at the ground, causing Lyon to slightly turn his head and look at her. He looks back at John. “You need to leave…now,” Lyon demands. Then Lyon slowly uncrosses his arms and gently takes Lena’s hand, then he slowly starts to walk away, but they walk to the back of the house. John is about to walk after Lyon, but Nathen walks in front of him. “You need to go, John,” Nathen softly says. John looks at him, then he looks back in the direction that Lyon walked in; he looks down, then back at Nathen. “I’m going to be in town for a couple of days. But I do need to speak to him…a real talk,” John says. “There is nothing I can do. He’s eighteen…he’s been making his own decisions for a long time. If he goes, he goes…If he doesn’t, I can’t help you,” Nathen explains. John nods his head, then walks away, heads back into his limo. As the limo drives off, Nathen and Emily look at each other. Then they look over to the back of the house where Lyon walked away to, thinking how he must be feeling. Lyon is just leaning against the back of the house with his arms crossed, looking down at the ground. Lena is standing in front of him, looking at him, not knowing what to say. Then he slowly leans off the house and starts walking away. Lena is about to say something, but Lyon beats her to it. “Lena, I kind of want to be alone right now,” Lyon softly says. Lena doesn’t say anything; she just watches Lyon walk away. Lena watches Lyon till she can’t see him anymore, then she slowly walks into the house where Emily and Nathen are. She slowly shakes her head, then Emily walks over to her and hugs her. Nathen looks at them, then he looks out the window, all of them

hoping that Lyon will be okay. Meanwhile a little away from the house is Lyon in the workout shed, working up a sweat. There are all different types of weights, different types of fighting weapons, and a few punching bags. Lyon has been kicking and punching the bag for almost three hours, with anger in his eyes, and breathing. Sweat is flowing down his body like rivers, dripping off his hair and face like rain. He has his hands wrapped, no shoes, no shirt and sweatpants on. As Lyon is working up a sweat, Nathen slowly walks into the workout shed. He sees Lyon and takes a breath, then he slowly walks over to him. Just as Lyon is about to take another punch, Nathen gently but tightly grabs his wrist. Lyon looks at him, breathing heavy. Nathen can see that he’s angry yet hurt at the same time. Nathen slowly nods his head. “It’s okay…it’s okay.” Lyon then slowly falls to his knees, and Nathen slowly kneels next to him, still holding his wrist. Lyon is looking down at the floor, still breathing heavy, but it sounds more as if he is in pain or is about to cry. Nathen looks at him. “Breath, Lyon. Just breathe.” After a few minutes, Nathen is able to get Lyon on his feet, and Lyon slowly places his forehead on Nathen’s left shoulder. Nathen gently rubs his head and can feel that Lyon is slightly shaking that causes him to get a little angry. He slowly balls up his right hand and slowly takes a few breaths. Meanwhile back in the house, Lena is helping Emily fold clothes in the laundry room and put the dirty clothes in the washer. As they are folding, Nathen walks into the room, then Emily looks at him. Lena looks up at her, then she turns her head and sees Nathen standing in the doorway with a calm yet sad look on his face. “He’s in the shower right now. I don’t think he should be alone tonight. Not that I’m saying anything should happen between you two…but he can use a gentle face,” Nathen says. Lena nods her head, then she looks back at Emily, and she smiles at her gently and tells her to go. Lena softly smiles, then she gives the shirt that she was folding to Emily. Then they hear the bathroom door close and, shortly after, the backdoor leading to Lyon’s room close. Lena slowly walks by Nathen, then she walks upstairs, Nathen watches her go up the stairs, then he looks over to Emily,

who looks as if she is going to cry. Nathen walks over to her and gently wraps his arms around her, and she does the same, holding each other close. Then up in front of Lyon’s bedroom door is Lena, nervously trying to open the door. She takes a breath, then she slowly opens the door and sees Lyon standing in the dark, with just the moonlight to see, looking out the window. She gently closes the door and walks over to him; she stands behind him, trying to think what to say. But then she just walks closer to him and slowly wraps her arms around his waist. He slightly turns his head and looks at her, then he looks down at her arms around him. He slowly takes his hand and touches her arms, then Lena loosens her arms, for she can feel Lyon slowly turning around to her. They look at each other, and Lena can see his eyes are full of pain, making it hard for her not to cry. But then Lyon slowly leans down, putting his head on her shoulder, and slowly wraps his arms around her. Lena looks at him, then she wraps her arms around him. As she is holding him, her eyes start to water, for she can feel that Lyon is crying! That night, Lena sleeps in Lyon’s room, holding him in her arms as he hides his face right above her chest. The next morning, Lyon is at work with Daniel and Raphael, laughing with them, looking better than last night. Lena is there with Mya and Melissa, dancing around, listening to music from one of the cars that the boys are working on. The three of them don’t have to work. As they all are having fun, Lena is happy to see Lyon in a better mood than last night. After the boys are done working, they all go to hang around the park. They see some of their basketball and football teammates; they all go over, and they ask them if they want to play. The girls tell them to go and play while they go to get some ice cream. They agree to play. Lena looks at Lyon, he looks back at her, then he jogs over to her, and they give each other a kiss. She smiles, then she and the girls go to get ice cream; the boys play five on five. After about ten minutes, the girls come back and see that their guys are not wearing any shirts. They slowly walk over and sit on the bleachers watching the boys play. “Okay, I have to ask you something, Lena,” says Melissa, slightly laughing. Lena looks at her with a smile. “Okay, what?” “Okay, how is it that you can be with that and not do anything but kiss?” asks Melissa.

Lena looks at her, trying not to laugh, but then she looks at Lyon; she looks at him everywhere. Then she looks back at Melissa and slowly shrugs her shoulders, then the three of them start laughing. Lyon then sees Lena sitting on the bleachers eating ice cream. He looks at everyone, then he runs over to her. She looks at him and smiles; he puts his hands on the seats in front of her and leans toward her, causing her to slightly laugh, then she takes her spoon of ice cream and gives Lyon a bite. Then he moves a little closer, as well as Lena, and they give each other a kiss, then Lyon runs back into the court. Melissa looks at her, then she slowly looks back at the game. “You so want to ride him.” Mya starts choking yet laughing on her ice cream, and Lena looks at Melissa and starts laughing, leaning back against the seats behind them. Melissa looks at them both and slowly starts laughing. “I’m not kidding.” They both look at her. “You know that she didn’t disagree with me…right?” Melissa says. Mya looks at her, then she looks at Lena, who just takes another bite of her ice cream as she watches the game. “She has a point, Lena,” says Mya. Lena then looks at Mya. “Are you still throwing that party this weekend?” asks Lena. “Nice, yeah, I am.” Mya laughs. Lena looks back at the game. Mya and Melissa look at each other, smiling slowly, shaking their heads. They watch the guys play, then as they are done with their ice cream, Lena takes their trash and goes to throw it away in the garbage that is slightly down the pathway. The guys take a small break to get some water and breath. Daniel and Raphael walk over to Mya and Melissa. Lyon asks them where Lena is, and they tell them that she went to throw away their trash. Lyon nods his head, then goes to find Lena, and they watch him for a minute, then they look back at each other.

As Lyon is walking down the hill, he can see Lena walking back up the hill. She looks up and smiles at him, and he grins at her. She walks over to him, and they stand in front of each other. They stare at each other for a second. Then they lean close to each other and give each other a kiss; they touch foreheads and give soft smiles. They walk with each other back up the hill, but as they are walking back up the hill, they see Jack and Tamie walking with each other. Jack and Tamie look at them, then they just keep walking. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they shrug their shoulders. They go back to the court and see that everyone is getting ready to get back into the game. Lena goes to sit back down with the girls, and Lyon goes back into the court. The guys play one more round ’cause two of them have to get ready for work. After about another hour, the game is over, and everyone says their goodbyes. They all head home or to work. Lyon and everyone just stay around the park a little longer; they all are sitting on the grass, laughing and talking. Then they see that the sun is setting. They all get ready to head home. “So we’ll meet up at DD’s later?” asks Raphael. “Yeah,” replies Daniel. They all start to head home. As Lyon and Lena go back to the house, they see Emily and Nathen sitting on the front porch. They look at them as they pull up. Lena gets off Lyon’s motorcycle first, then Lyon. They both look at Lyon with confusion yet grins. “What happened to you?” Laughs Emily. “Met some teammates at the court, played a couple of games,” Lyon replies. Emile and Nathen gently laugh. “Well, go take a shower before you get sick.” Nathen laughs. Lyon gently laughs, then he brings his motorcycle into the back, then he goes into the house and takes a shower. Lena goes over to Emily and Nathen. “You look a little tired,” says Emily. “I’m a little,” Lena replies with a small smile.

“Then go take a nap.” Nathen grins. “Okay,” Lena replies. She gives them both a kiss on the cheeks, then she goes into the house and gets ready to relax for a little while. Lyon comes out of the shower and goes into his room. He walks into his room, and there he sees Lena sleeping on his bed. He grins at her, then he goes to put on a shirt, for he already has new shorts on. He puts his hair in a braid, then he goes over to his bed and gently sits down next to Lena. He slowly lies down, trying not to wake her. As he lies down, he stares at Lena for a second, then his eyes slowly begin to close. Lyon wakes up from the sound of his cell phone ringing. He slowly opens his eyes and sees that it’s dark out. He looks over to his phone and sees that Daniel is calling him; he slowly answers the call. Daniel is asking if they are still on to meet up at DD’s for dinner. Lyon tells him yes, then he hangs up the phone. He looks over to see that Lena is still sleeping, making him grin at her. Then he slowly moves closer to her and gives her a gentle kiss on the side of her head; he looks back at her and sees that her eyes are slowly starting to open. He looks at her, and she slowly looks up at him, and she smiles at him. Lyon leans down to her, and they give each other a kiss that slowly turns to small ion. But then Lyon’s cell phone rings again, making them both slightly laugh. They see that it’s Raphael. Lena then leans over Lyon and answers the phone, causing Lyon to softly laugh. Lyon covers his mouth so Raphael doesn’t hear him while Lena is talking to him. “Hi, Raphael,” says Lena. “You’re looking for Lyon? You just missed him…he went to take a shower.” Then Lyon hears Raphael scream on the phone, causing Lena to quickly move the phone away from her ear. She looks at Lyon, both trying not to laugh, then Lyon slowly takes the phone from her. Lyon slowly puts the phone to his ear. “You know I can hear you, right?” Lena looks at him and sees that Lyon is about to laugh; she puts her head down into the pillow, and Lyon looks down at her. “Raphael, shut up. Lena was just messing with you, I was here the whole time,” Lyon says.

Then Lyon and Lena start laughing, for they both hear Raphael yelling on the phone. “Okay, see you in an hour.” Lyon laughs. Then Lyon hangs up the phone, and he looks at Lena. They stare at each other for a minute, then they start laughing again. After about five minutes, Lena gets up and heads to her room to change for DD’s. Lyon watches her walk out of his room, then he gets up and goes over to his closet to see what he’s going to wear. After he finds something to wear, he puts it on his bed, then he takes his remote and plays his CD player. He then slowly starts to get dressed. Meanwhile up in Lena’s room, she also has her CD player going. She is looking in her closet for something to wear. After she finds what she’s going to wear, she goes to see what type of jewelry she is going to put on with them. Then she starts to get dressed, slightly dancing around to the music that is playing on the radio. After Lena is done getting dressed, she brushes her hair, then she puts half up in a braid, and the rest she leaves out. Meanwhile in Lyon’s room, he is tying his hair in a braid, but like always, a couple of shorter pieces come out of the braid. As he puts the elastic on the bottom of his braid, Lena slowly walks into his room as she knocks on his door. Lyon slowly turns around and looks at her; he grins at her. Lena is wearing shorts, with an off-the-shoulder orange shirt with white letters on it, and white sandal sneakers. Lyon is wearing a gray button-up shirt with a white muscle shirt under it, jean shorts, and black sneakers. They stare at each other for a minute, then Lyon walks over to her. “You better not make me get into a fight.” Lyon grins. “Same to you.” Lena smiles. They give each other a kiss, then they slowly walk out of Lyon’s room and head to the garage to get his motorcycle. They head down to DD’s where everything is jumping. Everyone is outside dancing to the music, talking, and laughing. Lyon parks his motorcycle in his regular spot. As they pull up, so do Daniel and Mya. And right behind them are Raphael and Melissa; they pull up right next to Lyon and Lena on both sides. They all look at one another, then the girls get off the bikes and walk over to one another. The guys turn their bikes off, then slowly get off their bikes and see everyone that they know from school is at DD’s. They

walk over to everyone. Daniel and Mya are holding hands. Raphael has Melissa on his back, giving her a piggyback ride. Lyon has his right arm hanging around Lena’s shoulders, and she has her left arm around his waist. As they are walking to everyone, a few of the teammates walk over to them. They all start laughing and laughing, then one of Lyon’s soccer teammates says to him how Lena looks. “She starts out cute, and now she’s just straight up sexy. Be careful, Captain.” Everyone looks as if they are about to laugh, but then they look at Lyon, who is just staring at him. Lena looks up at him, slightly smiling, but Lyon just keeps staring at his teammate with that same look. “Guess what?” Lyon says. “What?” asks the teammate. “I’m benching you this year.” Lyon grins. Everyone starts laughing, then Lyon looks down at Lena who smiles at him even more, then he leans down to her, and they give each other a kiss. They look at each other, then Lyon looks at Daniel and Raphael who are still laughing. He just shrugs his shoulders, then he looks at the rest of the soccer team and see that they are also still laughing. He also sees that the teammate that called Lena sexy is slightly laughing. He looks at Lyon, and Lyon just shakes his head at him, then he turns away. “Okay, I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat,” Lyon says. “Lyon, you were kidding, right?” asks the teammate. But Lyon just keeps walking and looks at Lena with a laughing smile on her face. “You are so going to get me into trouble,” says Lyon with a grin. “What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t do that occasionally?” Lena replies with a smile. Then they both give each other another kiss, then Melissa comes over to them. They look at her, and Lena smiles at her.

“I need to steal her for a minute. They are playing my song. Come on.” Melissa laughs. Then Melissa gently pulls Lena away from Lyon. “Lena, do you want anything?” Lyon slightly yells. “I’ll just pick off of yours!” Lena gently yells back, smiling. Lyon slowly shakes his head, then he walks over to Raphael at the outside counter and makes an order, then they see Daniel walking over to them. Daniel walks right over to Raphael, staring at him with a pouting looking, causing Raphael and Lyon to look at him as if they are going to laugh. “Are you okay?” asks Raphael, holding back a laugh. “My girl and I were having a moment. Till your girl comes and steals her away…for this song.” Daniel pouts. Lyon and Raphael look at each other, then back at Daniel, and they both just start laughing at him, Raphael starts to hold his stomach, and Lyon turns around and leans on the wall. Daniel just looks at them both, still with that pouting look on his face, then he slowly starts laughing with them. Daniel then walks to the other side of the counter and leans back against it with his arms crossed. Lyon is leaning back against wall on the other side with his hands in his pockets, and Raphael leans back against the counter with his arms on the counter. They look at their girls dancing with one another, laughing with one another. “Can you guys believe that we are going to be seniors?” says Raphael. “Yeah, last year of high school,” says Daniel. Lyon doesn’t say anything; he just stares at Lena smiling and laughing. Daniel and Raphael look at him. Lyon takes a breath. “I’m going to makes things a little weird right now.” Lyon pauses. “But yeah, John is in town.” Daniel and Raphael look at him with shock. “What the hell does he want?” asks Raphael in a low anger.

“Don’t know…all he said was that he needs my help,” Lyon replies. “You going to find out?” asks Daniel. “Nope,” Lyon replies. “Okay,” Daniel and Raphael say. Then their food comes to the counter, and they take it to their table. As they sit down, some of their teammates come over to them. And they all start talking to one another and to see if Lyon is messing with his teammates. As the guys start eating, the girls come over and sit down next to them, but Lena, at first, sits on Lyon’s lap and takes a bite of his burger. “Oh, I want a bite.” Lena laughs. “You already did.” Lyon laughs. Then Lena sits down in the seat next to him, and they all start talking and laughing. A few minutes after they all finished eating, the girls get the guys up and dancing. They all start dancing with all of their friends, with their partners, and everyone. It’s getting close to two o’clock in the morning, and DD’s is getting ready to close for the night. Everyone says their goodnight and starts to head home. Lyon and everyone walk over to their motorcycles and just stand around them, talking to some of their teammates that haven’t gone home yet. As the night gets later, everyone slowly starts to head home. Last is Lyon and everyone; they all look at one another, then they slowly start to get onto the motorcycles. The guys start their bikes. Lyon goes first, then Daniel and Raphael follow. They come to a red light, and they all are side by side; they all look at one another, then they give their hand sign. The light turns green, and they all go their own ways, heading home and dropping off the girls. Lyon and Lena pull up at the house and see that there is a limo in front of the house. Lena slowly gets off the bike, and Lyon just stares at the limo with a plain look on his face. Then the back limo door opens. Lyon and Lena see that it’s John! John looks at the both of them, but they just stare at him. Lena then looks at Lyon, and he slowly turns his head and looks at her; he can see that she is about to laugh, causing him to look at her with unbelief but also have a small grin on his face. She slowly shrugs her shoulders, then she looks down at the ground as she turns her head from Lyon.

Lyon takes a breath, trying his best not to laugh at Lena, then he looks back at John. He stares at him for a minute, and John looks at the both of them with a little confusion. Then he looks right at Lena, who is covering her mouth, but he can see that she is laughing hard. Lyon sees him staring at Lena. He slowly turns his head to Lena and sees that she is laughing. He slowly shakes his head at her. “Really, really, though,” Lyon says. Lena slowly turns her head to Lyon, still laughing. “I’m sorry.” Lyon slightly laughs under his breath, then he looks back at John. “What do you want?” John looks at Lyon and takes a breath. “All I want is an hour of your time,” John says. Lyon stares at him for a minute, and Lena slowly starts to calm her laughing. She looks at Lyon who is just staring at John. “No,” Lyon quickly replies. “Lyon—” John is cut off. “Why should I give you anything? That’s an hour of my life going to waste… you know that, right?” Lyon says John slowly nods his head. “Look, I’m going to be leaving late tomorrow. I would really like to talk to you before I leave, that’s all.” “No,” Lyon quickly replies. John nods his head again, then he tells Lyon that he will be waiting at the bakery till he has to leave for his flight. Then he gets back into his limo, then slowly drives off. Lyon doesn’t even give him a look as he drives away. Lena looks at Lyon, and he looks back at her. “What the hell was so funny?” Lyon grins. Causing Lena to start laughing again, then Lyon gently grabs her by the waist and pulls her closer to him. She smiles at him, then they move their faces closer

to each other and give each other a kiss. Their foreheads touch, then Lena looks at him. “Talk to him.” “Are you kidding me?” Lyon says. “No. Lyon., the longer you walk away from him, the more pain he will cause you…See what he wants. Then get him out of your life…until you are ready to have him in it,” Lena replies. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he grins at Lena as she slowly shakes his head. “I’ll think about it.” Lyon grins. Lena smiles back at him, then she slowly wraps her arms around his neck, and Lyon completely wraps his arms around her waist. The next morning, John is at the bakery, sitting at one of the tables, waiting for Lyon to come. He looks at the time nervously and sees that he has been waiting for about two hours, still no sign of Lyon. Then he slightly turns around, looking out the window behind him and doesn’t see Lyon coming. He turns back around and gets a shocked look on his face, for Lyon is sitting right across from him. He slowly begins to smile, but Lyon has a plain look on his face. “You have ten minutes…don’t waste my time. Start talking,” Lyon demands. John nods his head, then slowly starts to explain why he has come to see Lyon and how he needs his help. As Lyon sits there, listening to what John has to say, he slowly starts to shake his head, looking at him with unbelief. After John is done explaining everything, Lyon just stares at him with a plain no-caring look on his face. John looks at him with a little confusion, then he slowly looks around to everyone. “No one is looking.” John looks back at Lyon. “That’s really what you called me here for? For your stupid company and its future,” Lyon says. “It’s a lot more than that. If you—” John is cut off.

“Do not finish that sentence. Your ten minutes is up, and my answer is no. Hell no,” Lyon calmly yet with deep anger replies. John looks at him with complete shock. “You want me to help that company? I will not give it to you. You got guts asking me that after all these years. And on top of that, you didn’t even so much as give me one apology. What’s stopping me from truly breaking your jaw this time?” Lyon says. John slowly leans back against his chair, looking at Lyon who has a slight grin on his face. Lyon sees that John is a little nervous, causing him to have a slight chuckle under his breath. “Relax, I know the guy that owns this place. And I’m not going to taint it with your blood.” “You’re really talking to me like that,” John says. “Be happy I’m talking to you at all,” Lyon says. They then just stare at each other for a minute, then Lyon takes a breath. “Okay, this is how it’s going to go. You’re going to get back on your plane and leave, while I go home see my grandparents and my girl. And forget you ever came here,” Lyon says. “You can’t ignore me forever. Why did you come here if this is how you’re going to be?” asks John. Lyon slowly leans on the table. “That’s exactly why I came here. Not to ignore you forever…but to say goodbye to you forever.” “Lyon—” John says. “You see, old man. I have something you will never have. A family, true friends, a home, and someone who wants to be with me for me and is always happy to see me just as I am to see them,” Lyon explains. John slowly looks down. “Goodbye, John.”

John then looks up, and Lyon is gone, then he looks up and sees Lyon walking out the front door; not once did he look back. Lyon gets in his truck and slowly drives off without looking in the mirror. He goes home and sees Lena on the front porch, petting Shadow. She sees Lyon parking his truck. Shadow runs off the porch, and Lena slowly stands up with a smile on her face. Lyon goes around the corner with his head down, causing Lena to look at him with a little worry, then she takes a couple of steps down. Lyon walks up the rest of the steps and puts his head right onto Lena’s right shoulder. As he puts his head down, he slowly wraps his arms around Lena, and she gently holds him. But then she holds him tighter as she feels her shoulder get wet, making her have a worried sad look on her face. Later on that day, everyone is at Lyon’s house, laughing and talking and listening to Raphael complain about everything. Lena is happy to see Lyon laughing, but then everyone stops laughing when they all see a limo slowly pull up. Lyon slowly stands up, and everyone slowly moves over to the porch steps. The door opens, and Lyon gets an angry look on his face, while everyone else just stares. John comes out of the car and walks over to Lyon but doesn’t get too close, for everyone is standing in his way. John looks up and Lyon. “I can’t simply say goodbye to you, Lyon…not now. I need your help,” John says. Lena glares at him with unbelief, then she looks at Lyon who is trying to hold it together. Lena takes a deep breath, then she walks in front of John, and everyone looks at her with shock and confusion. “You need to go,” Lena says. “Not without talking to my son,” John says. “You had your talk. Now you need to go,” Lena demands. “Who the hell do you think you are, trying to tell me if I can talk to me son,” John slightly yells. Then everyone gets a shocked look on their faces with slight chuckles under their breaths. For Lena slapped John right across the face, hard, causing him to take a few steps back! John slowly looks at Lena, and she just glares at him.

“You didn’t want him, ? And now you come here and want him to do you the biggest favor in the world? And it’s not even what you should be asking…you want him to help you save something that you chose over him. I thought I met selfish people, but you…take the grand prize.” Lena then slowly moves away and walks into the house with everyone watching her. John slowly puts his hand to his face, then he looks at Lyon. Lyon doesn’t even look at him; he just slowly leans off the railing and walks into the house after Lena. Everyone watches him for a minute, then they look back at John. “I think you should leave,” says Daniel. John looks at him, then he looks at Raphael, who is just watching him with his arms crossed, causing John to take a deep breath, then he slowly backs away. He walks back to his car and slowly gets inside. He looks at the house, then slowly drives off, and everyone just watches his car go down the path. Meanwhile Lyon is walking to the kitchen to see if Lena is okay, for he hears her getting ice. He slowly looks in the kitchen as he leans on the doorway wall and crosses him arms, grinning at Lena. Lena is looking at her hand as she tries to get some ice for it. “Need some help?” Lena turns her head and sees Lyon standing in the doorway with a grin on his face, making her slightly smile at him. She slowly nods her head, and Lyon gently pushes himself off the wall and walks over to her. He takes a small hand towel and puts the ice inside, then he gently takes Lena’s hand and puts the ice towel on it. She looks at him, then back at her hand. “I’m sorry for overstepping,” Lena says. Lyon looks at her, still with a grin on his face. “If you didn’t, I would have…you were just more gentle about it. What you said was the truth. Don’t ever apologize for that, and thank you,” Lyon replies. Lena smiles at him, then Lyon gives her a kiss on her forehead. They look at each other, then they hear Raphael outside. They start laughing under their breath, then they walk back outside with everyone. Raphael is talking about how Lena slapped John across the face and how hard she slapped him. Lena puts her head on the side of Lyon’s shoulder, and Lyon slowly shakes his head with a

small smile. Then they look at Lyon and Lena; they see that Lena has an ice towel on her hand. They look at one another and start laughing even more, making Lyon and Lena slowly start laughing with them. As time goes by, and everyone is talking and laughing, still on Lyon’s front porch. Emily and Nathen come home. They pull up and see that Lena has a towel in her right hand. Emily gets out of the car and walks over to her. “Lena, what happened to your hand?” asks Emily. “She slapped John across the face.” Laughs Mya. Emily and Nathen look at her, then back at Lena with shocked looks on their faces, and Lena just slowly shrugs her shoulders. Then they look at Lyon who is sitting right next to her and looks at them as if he is going to laugh. They look at each other, then they take a deep breath, then they look back at Lena. “Next time, not so hard,” says Nathen. Emily looks at him, and he shrugs his shoulders, making everyone laugh. Emily looks at Lena and slowly shakes her head. Emily tells Lena to go with her into the house, and everyone watches. Nathen looks at her, then at everyone. He grins, then he follows Emily and Lena into the house. Everyone looks at one another, trying not to laugh. Meanwhile in the house, Emily is looking at Lena’s hand. She sees that her wrist and hand are slightly swollen. She wraps them up, then she looks at Lena, and Lena looks up at her. “Try to avoid that next time,” Emily says, “and thank you.” Lena smiles at her as she nods her head, then she goes back outside with the others, with Emily watching her. Nathen walks over next to her, and they look outside, listening to everyone laughing, causing them to smile. They look at each other, then they head into the kitchen to see what to make for dinner. The sun is slowly turning into sunset, and everyone is still sitting on Lyon’s porch, talking and laughing. Lena is sitting on the step below Lyon, between his legs, leaning her head back against him, and Lyon is resting his head on Lena’s head. Everyone is listening to Daniel and Raphael disagree about when school starts back up. Then Mya and Melissa’s phones ring; everyone looks over to them.

“Got to go, my parents are calling me for dinner,” says Melissa. “Same here,” says Mya. Daniel and Raphael look at each other, then they look back at everyone and shrug their shoulders and walk over to Lyon and Lena. They grab hands and say their goodbyes as they tell Lena to rest her hand with laughing voices. They both wave bye, then they look at each other, with small smiles on their faces. They both slowly get up and walk into the house. As they come in, Emily and Nathen tell them it’s almost time to eat. They both go to set the table, then they head over to the dining room. After they finish setting the table, Emily and Nathen come into the dining room with the food. As they put the food on the table, Lyon goes to feed Shadow before they sit down to eat. They sit down, and Nathen blesses the table and food; they are all set to eat. They all are laughing and talking about their day and laughing at Nathen for what happened at work. After dinner, Lyon and Lena clean up, while Nathen and Emily go out with some of their friends. As they clean up, they start to play with each other by throwing water at each other. Shadow watches them, as he lies in the middle of the doorway. Lyon then gently and quickly wraps his arms around Lena, pulling her closer to him. As he pulls her to him, she slowly turns and looks at him, both looking into each other’s eyes. Their faces slowly move closer to each other, then their lips get closer. They look at each other again. Lyon kisses Lena, and she slowly kisses him back as she wraps her arms around his neck, causing Lyon to hold her even closer to him. Their kiss slowly becomes a little more ionate, but then the house phone rings. They slowly part their lips, then they look at the phone. Letting go of each other, Lyon walks over to the kitchen phone. He answers the phone. Lena looks at him, then she sees him nod his head. Then he hangs up the phone and looks back at Lena. She smiles at him, and Lyon takes a small breath. “We have to go lock everything up,” Lyon says. “Grams?” Lena smiles. “Grams.” Lyon confirms with a grin. Lena slightly laughs, then she nods her head, and they both head outside. Lyon calls Shadow to go with them outside. Lyon tells Shadow to go with Lena to lock up the cows, while he goes to check on the horses and lock them up.

Later that night, while everyone is sleeping, Lyon is sitting on his bed, like always, reading one of his books before he goes to sleep. Lena is sleeping on the other side of Lyon on his bed with a small ice pack on her hand. Shadow is sleeping in a ball on his bed, but then his eyes go up, and he quickly looks at Lyon’s bedroom door. He slowly stands up, growling, causing Lyon to look over to him, then at his door. The door slowly opens, and Lyon gets a plain angry look on his face as he slowly shakes his head. For John is standing in the doorway. “I know you told me to go—” John says. Lyon slowly turns his head to Shadow, who is still growling, standing at the edge of Lyon’s bed, making sure that John doesn’t come any closer. “Shadow, easy,” Lyon gently says, causing Shadow to sit down but not stop growling. Then Lyon looks back at John. John stares at Shadow for a minute, then he looks at Lyon for a minute. But as he stares at Lyon, he sees Lena sleeping right next to him. “She sleeps in your room?” John asks. “You so much as wake her up, I will rip your tongue out through your throat,” Lyon softly yet deeply says. John looks at him, then he nods his head but still looks at Lena. “Stop staring at her or lose an eye,” Lyon says. John looks at him. “You can stop threatening me.” “Don’t tempt me,” Lyon quickly replies. John puts his head down. “Why are you here?” asks Lyon. “I do care, you know. I watched you fight on TV. You’re amazing. I’ve never seen something like that before. Then again…I didn’t start watching TV again till I saw you on it. I know what I’m asking is wrong. I’m really leaving in the morning. I would really like for you to be there. If you’re not, then I get it…I have no right to ever be in your life. And that means goodbye for good,” John

says. Lyon stares at him for a minute, then he slowly shakes his head. “I said goodbye to you five years ago when I almost broke your jaw.” John nods his head, then he slowly turns around and slowly starts to walk out of Lyon’s room, then he stops in the doorway. He turns his head back to Lyon, who is just staring at him with that same plain look. He is about to say something, but he just takes a breath, then he continues walking, gently closing Lyon’s door. Lyon watches the door for a minute, then he looks down at Shadow. “Easy, Shadow.” Shadow slowly turns his head to Lyon, then he goes back over to his bed and curls back into a ball. Lyon then looks at Lena who is still fast asleep, but then he looks back at his door for a minute. He slowly leans his head back against the wall and thinks about what John had said to him, but with slight anger on his face. Lyon takes a breath, then he lays down on his bed, looks up at the ceiling, then he turns off his bedroom light. Meanwhile out in front of the house is John and Nathen, talking. “He looks at me with hate,” John says. “I can’t help you, John…Lyon is eighteen now. You two met for the first time when he was thirteen. You weren’t happy to see him. And he didn’t know you. You told him who you are, you just call him a name that you should have never said in the first place…he won’t go. And I’m telling you because I know him,” Nathen says. John nods his head, then he gets into his limo and slowly drives off with Nathen watching him drive off. Emily comes out of the house. Nathen turns and looks at her. They stare at each other, then Nathen shrugs his shoulders. Emily slightly grins at him, then he slowly walks over to the house and up a couple of steps. They look at each other, then they look down the dirt path. “You don’t think he’ll go?” asks Emily. “Truthfully if he does go, it’s for him to say goodbye for good, face-to-face,” Nathen replies.

Emily nods her head, then they both walk back into the house. Emily shuts the lights off, and Nathen locks the front door. Then they both walk upstairs to their room and get ready for bed again. The next morning, Lena wakes up, and Lyon is gone’ she looks around and sees that Shadow is still in his bed. Shadow looks up at her, then slowly gets up and walks over to her, and she gently pats him on his head. She then slowly gets up and tries to see if there is a note anywhere, but there is nothing. She goes into the house to see if there is anything in the house, with Shadow following her. Lena looks down at Shadow. “Where’d he go, boy?” Lena says. Then Lena looks at the front door; she runs to it and gently opens it. In that moment, she gets a thought. Lena quickly puts on her sneakers that are next to the front door. “Come on, boy,” Lena says. Lena and Shadow run out the front door and down the dirt path! Meanwhile at the airport, John is waiting to see if Lyon is going to come. But he doesn’t see any signs of him. “Sir, we need to go. We’re already two hours past the time,” says the pilot. John looks at him, then he gently nods his head, and John follows him to the plane, still looking to see if Lyon will come. He gets onto the plane and still no sign of him. He gives the pilot the sign to take off. But then as the plane is getting ready to take off, outside in the corner of the airport building, John sees Lyon, with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall with that same plain look on his face. He slowly leans off the wall and turns his head, walking away, and John nods his head. “Goodbye, son,” John says softly. As Lyon walks to the front of the airport, he stops and slowly gets a small smile on his face, for there is Lena and Shadow, waiting for him. Shadow barks, and Lena smiles at him. Lyon slowly shakes his head, then he continues to walk over to them. Lyon looks at Lena, and she looks over to him, and they walk back home.

Memory 24

Time goes by, and everyone is having fun with the last few days of their summer vacation by having a lake party. The boys are keeping an eye on the girls, for the last time they all were at a lake party, the girls got drunk. The girls hanging out around the other girls from school are in the cheer squad, dancing and laughing while the guys are all hanging out with one another by the drinks table, talking and laughing. But then the girls see the guys have done nothing but stay by the drinks. They all look at one another, smiling, trying to see who is going get the guys first. Lena looks at them, then she looks over to Lyon and smiles, who is laughing. She looks back at the girls, but then she starts walking over to the guys. They all watch her walk over to them, slightly laughing, waiting to see what is going to happen. As Lena walks over to the guys, they all slowly look over to her. Lena walks right up to Lyon and gently takes his drink from him and finishes it; he looks at her with a grin. She looks at him with a seductive smile. “Now you belong with me on the dance floor,” says Lena softly. Lyon grins at her, then he slowly walks closer to her, and they both slowly walk over to where everyone is dancing. The guys watch them walk away, then they look over to the girls, and the girls look at them. The DJ puts on Lloyd’s “Get a Room,” and everyone starts dancing and laughing. Lyon and Lena look at each other, both smiling at each other dancing really close, almost no space between them. The DJ puts on another song by Lloyd, “Cupid,” causing everyone to find someone to dance with. As Lyon and Lena are dancing, Lyon has one arm around Lena’s waist. His other hand holds her hand, while Lena’s other arm is around Lyon’s neck, with his face on the side of her face, whispering in her ear, also slightly kissing her neck, causing Lena to smile with a slight laugh under her breath. Then the DJ slows it down by putting on Michael Jackson’s “For All Time.” Lyon and Lena look at each other. They pull each other closer and give each other a kiss. Lena looks at Lyon and smiles, then she pulls him. He looks around with slight confusion, then he looks at Lena. Lena pulls Lyon away from everyone into the shadow of the trees. She gently pushes him back against the tree. Lyon smiles at her as she moves closer to him and kisses him. Lyon slowly and gently wraps his arms

around Lena’s waist, as she wraps her arms around his neck. Their kiss slowly turns ionate, forgetting about the lake party and everyone. They look deep into each other’s eyes, seductively smiling at each other as their lips move closer, kissing each other ionately again. Meanwhile at the party, Raphael and Melissa are not getting along anymore, making Daniel and Mya laugh. For they both are not getting along because they both are drunk. Mya hides her laughing face behind Daniel’s shoulder, while Daniel hides his laughing by putting his cup up, covering his mouth. After about thirty minutes, Lyon and Lena go back to the party. They look around and see Daniel and Mya sitting down. They walk over to them and ask why they are laughing so hard. Mya points over to Raphael and Melissa, who are standing by the bank of the lake. Lyon and Lena get shocked looks on their faces, for Raphael and Melissa are drunk arguing with each other, almost falling into the water. Lyon and Lena look back at Daniel and Mya, who are shaking their heads, laughing really hard. Lena then goes to get herself and Lyon some drinks, then they both sit down next to Mya and Daniel. All four of them watch Raphael and Melissa disagree with each other. As they watch the two of them argue, Daniel and Lyon bet to see how long it’s going to take for them to fall into the lake. Daniel wins the bet, and they all start laughing even harder. Lyon and Daniel both fall to the sand, with Lena and Mya holding their stomachs. Then Daniel and Lyon get up and walk over to Raphael and Melissa, helping them out of the water. They both have a hard time for they are still laughing. Raphael and Melissa are blaming the other for falling into the water. Daniel and Lyon start walking to the cars with Lena and Mya right behind them, holding everyone’s stuff. Raphael refused to get into Daniel’s car, so Daniel lets him go, and Melissa jumps out of Mya’s car. Lyon and Lena sit in the back on Lyon’s truck, finishing their drinks, with Daniel and Mya leaning on the side of the back of Lyon’s truck, all of them slightly laughing under their breath, shaking their heads. Mya wraps her arms around Daniel’s waist as she stands behind him, and Lena gently puts her head on Lyon’s shoulder. They all just watch Raphael and Melissa argue with each other till about fifteen minutes later, when Raphael and Melissa out. They all look at one another, then Lyon and Daniel slowly get up and walk over to them. They both lean down and pick up Raphael and Melissa, then slowly back over to the cars. Daniel puts Raphael in the back seat of his car, and Lyon gently puts Melissa in the back seat of Mya’s car. Daniel and Lyon look at each other as they take a deep breath.

Lyon walks back to his truck. Daniel closes the backdoor, then walks over to Mya. She turns and smiles at him. They give each other a kiss as they say good night to each other. They both look over to Lyon and Lena, and they all wave bye. They all head home. Daniel brings Raphael to his house and puts him on the extra bed that he has. Mya takes Melissa home to her room with no problem since her parents are out of town for the night. But Mya stays over in case anything happens to Melissa overnight. Lyon and Lena go home and head to bed. Lena goes up two steps, then she stops and looks at Lyon over the railing. Lyon lays his arm on the railing, slightly leaning on it. Lena gently smiles at him, as Lyon slightly grins at her. They both then lean closer to each other and give each other a good night kiss. They say their good night, then Lena continues to walk upstairs to her room, and Lyon heads to his room. The next day, everyone is at DD’s getting lunch, laughing at Raphael and Melissa about last night. Raphael and Melissa are laughing, for they are listening to what everyone is telling them about how they acted last night. Everyone is enjoying their summer break, partying, hanging out, and laughing, swimming, working, and just chilling. The three months of summer go by fast, and everyone is getting ready for senior year. Everyone meets up in the parking lot at their spots, and they all walk in together. The girls in the front laughing, with their guys behind them talking about sports this year as they head to their lockers. All of them are at their lockers, the girls are putting their things away laughing. But as they are putting their things in their lockers, four new guys walk by them and stare. They see that the girls are paying them no mind, causing them to stop and walk over to them. Mya and Melissa look at them, with Lena slightly hiding her laughing face in her locker. Mya and Melissa look at each other, slightly laughing, then Lena turns around and looks at the four guys. The four guys try to get the girls to talk and get their numbers, making it hard for the girls to hold back their laughter. The four guys don’t understand why they are about to laugh. For Daniel, Lyon, and Raphael are leaning back against their lockers across the way, watching. Raphael has his hands in his pockets, Daniel has his arms crossed, slowly shaking his head, and Lyon has his left arm across him, holding his right arm up with his hand in front of his mouth. All three of them have slight grins on their faces yet looking at the four guys with unbelief.

Then one of the guys takes Lena’s hand. She quickly looks at her hand, then back up at the guy. She stares at him for a second, then she quickly moves her hand as she slightly twists his hand, telling him not to touch her. Lena then walks around the guy and over to Lyon, giving him a hug, and he slowly wraps his arms around her. Mya and Melissa follow her, walking over to Daniel and Raphael. The four guys turn around and look at them with shock. Mya stands beside Daniel, gently putting her chin on Daniel’s shoulder. Melissa leans back against Raphael’s chest, and Lena gently puts the side of her face against Lyon’s chest as she still hugs him. “You done?” Raphael says softly yet deeply. The four guys nod their heads, then they slowly yet quickly walk away. They all watch them walk away, and the girls try not to laugh. After the four guys are out of sight, they all head to homeroom class, and the girls start laughing. Everyone gets their new class schedulers, and they all see that they have just about every class together. But Raphael still has to take Spanish class, the only difference now is he has to take it alone. Raphael looks at everyone with a pouting face, causing everyone to laugh at him. The bell rings, and they all head to their firstperiod class. Since it was the first day, everyone is getting their books and a list of what they need for that classroom. Class is quick and simple, then the lunch bell rings. Everyone meets at their spot outside, up on the bleachers. First day of school comes and goes; everyone’s happy that it’s done and over, running out of the school, heading home. Three months goes by, and everyone is back to their normal ways. The boys are doing their spots, and girls are doing cheer tryouts. “So you two have any big plans after school today?” asks Mya. Lena looks at her with confusion. “What are you talking about?” asks Lena. “Oh, don’t go there. You and Lyon have been dating for what, about a year now, right? You have to have something big planned,” says Mya. “No, we haven’t talked about anything,” Lena replies. Mya quickly looks at her with shock. “Are you kidding me?” slightly yells Daniel.

“Stop,” says Lyon. “You two have been dating for a year on this day…and nothing is going on after school today, for real?” says Daniel. “Will you stop. Lena and I are not like that, where we need to do all this stuff to know all of that,” says Lyon. “All of what?” asks Daniel. “Nothing,” Lyon says. “You love her, don’t you?” asks Daniel. Lyon looks at him and slowly shakes his head, then he looks back at their basketball coach, who is looking at new basketball tryouts. The school day comes to an end, and the list for basketball and cheer tryouts is put up to see who got on the team. Everyone gets ready to go home; it’s raining hard outside, and everyone is running to their cars and the buses. Lyon and Lena are driving home, laughing about school. For they both are telling each other about their talk with Daniel and Mya. They go home and see Emily and Nathen are not home, but they left them both something to eat. They put their things down, and Shadow just stays in his bed, lying down, slowly falling back asleep. Lena is on the couch, watching TV, and Lyon is in the kitchen doorway, staring at her. He grins, then he walks over to the couch and gently takes the remote from Lena. She looks at him, and he gently takes her hand. “What are you doing?” Lena asks. “Come with me,” Lyon replies. Then Lyon takes Lena outside into the pouring rain. Lena slightly laughs as they run up the hill, into the woods. Lyon doesn’t say anything, he just keeps pulling her, then they get to a bunch of bushes that are all stuck together, making it look like a tunnel or bridge. Lyon stops and turns to Lena, who is looking around, then she looks at Lyon. They stare right into each other’s eyes, even with all the raindrops. They both move closer to each other. Lyon looks down at Lena’s hands, causing her to slowly look down at Lyon’s hands, then they look back into each other’s eyes. Lyon grins at her gently, and Lena softly smiles back at him.

“You know, this is where it all started for us. Where we first itted that we have feelings for each other, where we had our first kiss, and where we started dating. For this whole year, Lena, you never once left me. In more ways than one, and it wasn’t today that I feel like this. But it is today that I have the strength to say…” Lyon says. Lena stares at him, trying her best not to shed tears, but she smiles, and the tears slowly begin to fall. “I can say the same…with or without memories, you never tried to see me for what I was, but you see me for who I am. You see me and only me…You gave me more strength, and you make me smile. And I don’t need memories to know that I have never felt like this before, for my heart tells me that I haven’t. Until you,” Lena says. Then at the same time, they both say to each other, “I love you!” They both look at each other with joyful shock, then they pull each other into a loving ionate kiss. They look at each other with love and ion; they hug each other close and tight, looking out at the rain. Later on, Mya is getting Daniel, Raphael, and Melissa to go with her to Lyon’s house. As she is driving, Daniel and Raphael are telling her that she shouldn’t go to Lyon’s house, while Melissa slightly laughs in the back seat with Raphael. “Mya, this is ridiculous. Leave Lyon alone,” says Daniel. “No way. They’ve been together for a year now. And you’re going to tell me that Lyon isn’t going to do anything special for Lena?” Mya replies. “Mya, Daniel has a point. Leave them be. If they are going to do something or not for their one year, it is up to them. Not you,” says Raphael. Mya pauses for a minute. “Shut up, Raphael. We’re going to Lyon’s house. Now be quiet.” They go up to Lyon’s house and see that there is not much light, causing them all to look at one another. Then they slowly yet quickly get out of Mya’s car and quietly walk up the front porch steps. They walk over to the window for they hear music playing. They slowly look around into the window, and they all get

shocked looks on their faces. For there is Lyon and Lena, slow dancing in the living room, with a little candlelight and dull lighting. They are dancing to Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” They all look at each other, then at Mya; she puts her hands up, and they all quietly walk over to the porch. They gently get into the car, then Mya starts it and quietly backs it up. Meanwhile back in the house, Lyon and Lena not once hear them come up the hill or start the car. They only have each other in mind, slow dancing with each other to one of both of their favorite songs. The next day, everyone goes to Lyon’s house, looking for Lyon and Lena, but Emily and Nathen tell them that they are not around as they get ready to leave. They look at one another, then they decide to go see if they are by the lake. But no luck; they shrug their shoulders and walk back to Lyon’s house to wait to see how long they will take on coming back. They sit there for about two hours, waiting for Lyon and Lena to come back home. Just as they are getting ready to leave, here comes Lyon and Lena riding the horses. Lyon and Lena look at everyone as if they have been laughing, then they jump down from the horses. They both walk over to everyone, with the horses following them; everyone is looking at them as if they are half-asleep. Lyon and Lena look at each other, then they start laughing at them. “How long have you guys been here?” asks Lyon. “For about two hours!” slightly yells Raphael. They both just stare at him, then they look at each other, trying not to laugh. They start to walk the horses into the back. After Lyon and Lena put the horses away, they go back to the front to see why everyone was there. “So what are you guys doing here?” asked Lyon. Mya smiles with joy, then she looks at Melissa, and she looks back at Mya. They are both smiling with joy, then they both get up and walk over to Lena. They gently pull her away. Lena looks at Lyon with a confused smile as she walks away with Mya and Melissa. Lyon watches them walk away, then he slowly turns his head to Daniel and Raphael with a plain look on his face and a lift of his eyebrow. Daniel and Raphael look at each other, then back at Lyon with guilty grins on their faces. “So who would like to explain why you’re here,” Lyon says in a low tone.

“Well—” Daniel is cut off. “Because if you’re here to ask me about what happened last night with me and Lena and our one-year anniversary, I will hurt you,” Lyon continues. Raphael and Daniel look at each other, then with just their eyes, they look at Lyon, who is looking at them with that plain lifted-eyebrow look. Meanwhile in the field, Mya is asking Lena what happened between her and Lyon last night for their anniversary. Lena looks at her, trying not to laugh, making Mya pout, causing Melissa to laugh with Lena. Lena slowly shakes her head at Mya, then she looks at Melissa, who just shrugs her shoulders, “Just tell her. Before she has a heart attack,” says Melissa. Lena takes a breath, then she looks over to Mya who has this joyful smile, as if she was the sun herself. Lena tries not to laugh, but then she takes another breath. “Nothing happened last night between me and Lyon,” Lena says. Mya’s smile quickly disappears, and her jaw drops, making Melissa laugh so hard that she almost falls to the ground. “What?” Lena asks. “Don’t give me that…something did happen between you two,” says Mya. Melissa quickly looks over to Mya and starts to wave her hands, trying to tell her to stop talking, but Mya kept going. “I saw you two dancing last night,” Mya continues. Melissa puts her hands down, shaking her head slowly while Lena looks at Mya with a confused yet plain face. Mya then slowly puts her right hand to her mouth and looks at Melissa, who is still shaking her head to her. Then she looks back at Lena who is already walking away. Mya slightly looks back over to Melissa. Then they both run after Lena, slightly yelling her name, but she doesn’t stop. As Lena is walking back to the house, Lyon, Raphael, and Daniel are still on the

front porch. Daniel and Raphael are on the steps, with Lyon sitting on the porch swing, slowly swinging back and forth. The three of them see Lena walking back to the house and just hear Mya and Melissa yelling her name. Lena walks right by Daniel and Raphael right into the house. Lyon watches her, then he looks down at Mya and Melissa. Lyon stares at them for a minute, then he slowly gets up and walks into the house, gently closing the door. “Told you to leave it alone, Mya. If they wanted to talk to us about it, they would have, but you have to stop being so pushy. We don’t need to know everything that’s going on in their lives. Plus it was just yesterday,” says Daniel. “I know…I’m just happy for them, they’re great together. I guess I was being a little pushy, trying to know everything.” Mya pauses with a pout. “Can I say sorry tomorrow, though?” Daniel slowly shakes his head no, and Mya looks at the front door, then she slowly walks up the steps. Everyone watches her for a minute, waiting for her to knock on the door. Mya turns and looks at everyone, then she turns back to the door. She stares at it, then she slowly backs away, but as she backs up, she gently bumps back against something. Mya slowly leans her head up and sees that it’s Daniel, looking down at her, slowly shaking his head no, then he gently leans her up and pushes her up to the front door. Meanwhile in the house, looking out the window is Lyon and Lena, watching everything. Lena keeps putting her face in Lyon’s back shoulder, so no one can hear her laughing. Lyon is slowly shaking his head with a smile on his face, then he and Lena look at each other. They look back outside to see what Mya is doing, whom Daniel is trying to pull back onto the porch. Daniel gently throws Mya over his shoulder and walks back up the front porch and brings Mya to the front door. He gently puts her down and turns her around. He points at the front door, and Mya slowly rings the doorbell. Lyon and Lena look at each other and start laughing under their breath. They look back out the window and see that Mya tries running away again. Lyon and Lena take a breath, then they walk over to the door, and they both open it. They look at Mya, who is holding on to the railing. Mya looks at them. Daniel pulls her away from the railing and gently pushes her to them both. Mya stares at them for a second. “I’m sorry.” Mya pouts as she slowly falls to her knees.

Lyon and Lena look at each other, then, slowly, down at Mya. “I’m just happy for you two. And you two look really happy together, and I guess I overstepped the friend card.” Mya pouts. Lena kneels in front of her. “When I’m ready to tell you something, I will. Don’t push for info ’cause then it’s not that much fun.” Mya nods her head, then she and Lena smile at each other. They both slowly stand up, and everyone hangs out on the porch. They all hang on the porch, talking about how things are going to go this year. Time goes by, and everyone is having fun. The girls are getting ready for the cheer competition and same with the boys for basketball. The boys go to all the girls’ cheer shows. Emily and Nathen also comes down to show their for the girls. With the girls’ final performance getting ready to take place, the boys are heading down to them. But then a guy bumps into Lyon hard, both Lyon and the guy stop and look at each other. “Excuse me would work next time,” says the guy. Lyon glares at him, with Daniel and Raphael standing right behind him. “You hit me, boy,” Lyon says in a low tone. The guys walk over to Lyon, both standing right in front of each other. The guy is about 6'1" tall, slightly buff, tan skin, brown eyes, very short curly black hair, slightly deep voice. “You think I’m scared of you, guy?” says the guy. Then four of the guy’s friends come over to him. Lyon stares at the guy for a minute, then he slowly shakes his head. Lyon just keeps his hands in his pockets, with Raphael on his left with his arms crossed, and Daniel on his right with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his drink. They both look at Lyon, then back at the guy and his friends. Lyon takes a breath, then the glare on his face turns a calm look. “Let’s go, we have better things to do,” Lyon says.

Then the three of them turn around and continue walking to where the girls are cheering at, while the guy and his friends watch them. “Chris, we need to go. Coach is looking for us,” says one of the guys. The guy turns his head, and it’s no other than Chris—Lena’s ex-boyfriend. He looks back at Lyon who doesn’t once look back at him. Then Chris follows his friends and heads back to their coach. Meanwhile the boys get to their seats, just as the girls are getting ready to come out. They wave to the guys in the stands, and they wave back. The girls do their cheer, then the music comes on, and they start dancing. Mya and Lena are in the front; Melissa is in the middle. Lena and Mya both do backflips while Melissa does a front flip. The girls are having the time of their lives with their guys watching them, cheering them on. After the final cheer team goes up, everyone is waiting to hear the three winners. The girls are holding hands with their heads down. The third-place team is called first; they clap their hands, then they hold hands again, waiting to see who gets second place. The second-place cheer team is called, and they clap their hands again. Two cheer teams are left; everyone takes a deep breath, then the announcer calls the first-place team. Everyone jumps up and down, for Mya and the girls won first place! The boys get up and run down to the girls. Lena sees Lyon and runs right over to him. She jumps right into his arms, and they give each other a kiss. As she and Lyon are kissing, Chris walks by! Not able to recognize Lena, for her body is a little slimmer but also has muscle, and her hair is a lot longer because her ponytail is up to the middle of her back. But he sees Lyon kissing her, and their kiss has a little heat. He continues walking, for his coach calls him. He turns his head, for he hears everyone yelling with joy! The next day, the girls are doing their last cheer for a basketball game, for the boys are playing their last basketball game. Daniel and Lyon are taking lead, Daniel shooting and Lyon dunking. But more than that, both are having fun with their last game. With ten seconds left on the time, Daniel shoots the ball, and Lyon comes and dunks it! Winning the game 72–58, the boys win their championship game! The girls come running over and give their guys big hugs and kisses! Everyone puts their hands up, screaming and jumping for joy! Daniel

and Lyon hold up their championship trophy together, with Lena and Mya right next to them, looking over to their families. A couple of weeks later, everyone is at Raphael’s final football game. The girls are cheering, with Lyon and Daniel cheering with them. The other team has the ball; everyone huddles up for their final play. The other team throws the ball, but Raphael catches it, and he has to run all the way to the other side of the field. Everyone is yelling for him to keep running and running. Raphael is tackled but right across the touchdown line. Everyone looks and sees Raphael slowly stand up, still holding the ball; he puts it up for everyone to see. The ref puts his hands up and blows the whistle, and Raphael’s team wins their game; everyone runs over to him. Melissa jumps right into Raphael’s arms and gives him a kiss, everyone jumping up and down with joy! Everyone goes to party after party, celebrating their wins, dancing and enjoying everything. Everyone is enjoying their senior year to the fullest. Time is going, and school is flying by.

*****

Everyone is laughing in their homeroom class, while their teacher is cleaning off the board. Raphael is sitting on his desk, with Melissa standing next to him, Mya sitting on Daniel’s lap, and Lena and Lyon sitting next to each other, with Lyon’s arm around Lena’s neck. “Can you believe it already?” says Raphael. “What?” asks Lyon. “It’s already spring break,” replies Raphael. “No, this year went by quick,” says Daniel. “Oh, yeah,” says Melissa. “So what are we doing this spring break?” asks Raphael. Everyone looks at one another, then they look back at Raphael, who quickly

looks at everyone, almost freaking out. “Why did you all look at one another like that?” asks Raphael. “Raphael, Lena and I won’t be around,” says Lyon. “Why?” asks Raphael. “Because our grandparents are taking us somewhere,” Lyon replies. “Where?” asks Raphael. “Hence the word somewhere. We have no idea. They said because we did great this year, they wanted to surprise us by taking us somewhere nice,” Lyon replies. Raphael stares at them for a minute with a plain look on his face. “I hate both of you.” Everyone starts laughing at him, then Raphael looks at everyone else. Daniel is going with Mya and her family for a reunion, and Melissa is going to Paris with her parents. Raphael looks at all of them, pouting making them all laugh. Then the bell rings, and they all look at one another. “See you all in seven days.” Lyon laughs. Raphael continues to pout, and everyone says their goodbyes, then they all start to walk out of the school. Melissa walks over to Raphael. “Oh, stop. You have me for three days.” Melissa smiles. Raphael looks at her. “You could have told me before I started pouting.” Raphael pouts. Melissa laughs and gives him a kiss on the cheek, and they all start walking out of the school, everyone waiting for Raphael and Melissa at their lockers. They all walk out of the school together, heading to the parking lot. As they are walking, they by Tamie and Jack who are still dating. They all look at one another. “That’s one thing I’m glad we avoided this year,” says Melissa, smiling.

Everyone nods their heads and starts laughing as they continue walking to their cars. Everyone says goodbye, for Lyon and Lena are leaving right when they get home. They get into their cars, and everyone drives off. Lena and Lyon go home and see that the cab truck is already in front of the house. Lyon puts his truck away, then they both run into the house, looking for Emily and Nathen. Everything is already packed; Emily just tells them to go and freshen up a little before they have to go to the airport. After Lyon and Lena are done freshening up, they all get ready to go. Nathen’s brother and wife came in for a break from their job. They told them that they will keep an eye on the house and Shadow. Lyon says bye to Shadow, then they all get into the cab and head to the airport. They all check in, then they go to their gate, waiting for their plane, but only for about ten minutes. They all get onto the plane and sit down in the same row, waiting for the plane to take off. The plane takes off after about twenty to thirty minutes. Emily and Nathen look at Lyon and Lena and see that they both fell asleep not ten minutes into the flight. Lyon and Lena wake up to Emily gently pushing them to wake up and look out the window. They both get shocked looks on their faces, for Emily and Nathen have taken them to Hawaii!

Memory 25

The spring is over, and everyone is going back to school happy and refreshed. As Daniel and Mya pull up in the school parking lot, they see Melissa getting out of her car. They park next to her, and she smiles at them, but she gives Daniel a fake smile. Daniel looks at her with a little confusion, then he looks at Mya, and she shrugs her shoulders, looking at him, confused herself. Then as they all start walking to the school, Raphael comes running over to them. Daniel looks at him with a laughing grin, and Mya slightly laughs, but Melissa slightly glares as she turns her head away. “What is going on between them?” asks Raphael out of breath. “Who?” asks Daniel. Raphael looks at him, slowly getting his breathing back. “Lyon and Lena,” Raphael replies. Everyone looks at one another, then back at Raphael. “Why, did something happen? Are they okay?” asks Mya. “Oh, they’re fine all right,” Raphael replies. Raphael starts walking, and everyone slowly starts to follow. As they continue walking, they see Lyon’s truck. And in front of his truck is Lyon and Lena, kissing ionately. Everyone looks at them with shock. Lyon is back against his truck, with Lena in front of him, and their arms wrapped around each other with no space between them. Lyon and Lena look at each other, smiling, as Lyon gently moves Lena’s hair from her face, then pulls her in for another kiss. Everyone stares at them, then they look at one another, still with shocked looks on their faces, then slowly look back at them. Raphael then gently taps Daniel on his arm, making Daniel look at him, and with his head, he tells him to look to the right. Daniel looks over to his right, and there he sees Jack and Tamie, staring at Lyon and Lena. Daniel and Raphael look at each other, as if they are going to

laugh, then they look back at Jack and Tamie. Jack turns his head and looks at Daniel and Raphael, who are just staring at him with small grins on their faces. Then he and Tamie continue walking, then Daniel and Raphael look at Mya and Melissa. They all look at one another, then they walk over to Lyon and Lena. They stand beside the truck, but they don’t see them. “Are you two going to breathe?” says Raphael. Lyon and Lena stop kissing and look over to see everyone staring at them with confused smiles on their faces. Lyon and Lena look at them and start laughing, then Lena slowly moves away from Lyon and goes to give Mya and Melissa a hug. Lyon leans off his truck and grabs hands with Raphael then Daniel. Then they all start to walk to the school, laughing as Raphael tells Lyon and Lena that Jack and Tamie where watching them. They all go to their lockers and get what they need for their first set of classes. They head to their homeroom class, the girls walking in the front, with the guys walking right behind them. As they are walking, Lyon whispers to Raphael, “What’s going on with you and Melissa?” Raphael looks at him, then at Melissa. He looks back at Lyon and takes a deep breath as he shakes his head. They all walk into their homeroom class and sit at their seats, everyone talking and being loud, waiting for their homeroom teacher. The teacher comes in and waits for the bell to ring to go to their first-period class. As the first bell rings, they all get up and head to their class; the girls are going to the second floor, and the boys going to the first floor. As they all get ready to part, Lyon and Lena give each other a kiss, Mya and Daniel give each other a hug. But Raphael and Melissa don’t even look at each other. Daniel and Mya look at the both of them, then at each other, and nod their heads. Then they give each other a kiss and smile at each other, then they look over to Lyon and Lena, who are still giving each other a kiss. They smile as if they are going to laugh, then they walk over to them. “See you at lunch, okay?” asks Lena. “Hell yeah,” Lyon replies. Both softly smiling at each other, they then give each other another kiss before Daniel and Mya gently pull them away from each other. They start laughing, then they all walk to their classes, but when they all couldn’t see each other,

Lena and Mya stop laughing and look right at Melissa. Same with Lyon and Daniel; they stop laughing when they couldn’t see the girls and look right at Raphael. Melissa looks at them with confusion, and Raphael looks at them with a plain look on his face. “What the hell happened?” everyone asks. The girls are sitting in their class, listening to Melissa talk about what happened over spring break while they were gone. The same with the guys, they listen to Raphael telling them why Melissa is acting the way she is. “Really, Melissa, Raphael cheating?” says Mya. “He did, Mya. I saw him,” Melissa replies in an angry tone. “Are you sure you know what you saw?” asks Lena. “Yes, Lena,” Melissa replies. Lena and Mya look at each other, then back at Melissa who looks at them with an angry yet sad face. Meanwhile down in the boys’ classroom, they are listening to Raphael tell them what happened over spring break. Both Lyon and Daniel get shocked looks on their faces, then they look at each other with unbelief. Then they look back at Raphael, who just nods his head at them. “Okay, let me get this right. Melissa thinks that you are cheating on her—with our cousin Sky,” says Daniel. Raphael slowly nods his head. “Did you tell her that it’s just your cousin?” asks Lyon. “Yes, but she thinks that I’m lying to have two girls,” Raphael replies. “Wow,” says Lyon. “That’s why she keeps looking at me the way she does,” Daniel says. “I guess…I don’t know,” Raphael says. “What are you going to do?” asks Lyon.

“There’s nothing I can do. She thinks I’m lying, then she can keep thinking that. I’m not having a relationship with someone who thinks that I’m nothing but a liar and don’t believe me. Guess I’m the only one who wanted this to work,” replies Raphael. Lyon and Daniel look at each other, then they look back at Raphael who looks over to Lyon. “Okay, enough about me. What the hell happened with you and Lena on spring break?” asks Raphael. Lyon just grins, making Daniel and Raphael even more interested in what happened, while the same is happening to Lena with Mya and Melissa. So they both decide to tell them what happened on their spring break.

Hawaii

A week ago, on spring break, Lyon and Lena were taken to Hawaii for spring break, and they stayed at Hilton Hawaiian Village, Waikiki Beach Resort. Then Emily and Lena have the same room, same with Lyon and Nathen. They are taken to their rooms and put their things away, then they see their view. Lena loves everything. She looks at Emily and gives her a huge hug as she says thank you. Then they look in their bags to find their swimsuits, but then they look at each other and smile. Then they both go out to buy a few new suits, while Lyon and Nathen look out at their view and talk. “I’m very happy for you,” says Nathen. Lyon looks at him “At first I was a little nervous about you and Lena. But now I can’t be any happier for you and her. Even with what’s going on, I’m glad that you are smiling, laughing, and everything again,” says Nathen. Lyon just stares at him for a minute, trying not to laugh. “Thank you,” says Lyon.

“Yeah, just don’t give me any great-grandchildren yet,” Nathen says. Lyon starts laughing, slowly covering his face, and Nathen looks at him. “Okay, thanks for that, but um…Lena and I haven’t done that,” Lyon says. Nathen stares at him for a minute with a plain look on his face, then he slowly leans on the railing, still staring at him. “You two have been together for a year and some odd months and still nothing has happened between you two?” says Nathen. Lyon slowly shakes his head, and Nathen looks out to the view, then he slowly looks back at Lyon. “Okay, I know I’m a grandparent and all, but…really?” Lyon starts laughing again, almost falling, using the railing to hold him up, and Nathen just stares at him. Meanwhile down in the store, Emily and Lena are helping each other find new swimsuits to wear, laughing and talking. “Okay, I not saying I want you two to rush into anything. I mean you two have been together this long, and nothing has happened. That’s good…but let me tell you now, okay. Lyon is nineteen, and you are eighteen…to be truthful, it’s going to happen. Just be safe when it does, that’s all,” Emily says. Lena looks at her with a smile on her face as she keeps looking at the swimsuits, slowly nodding her head. They both end up finding a few new swimsuits, then they go back to their room and change. Lyon and Nathen are waiting for them, both of whom are wearing swimming trunks. Nathen has an all-blue one, on and Lyon has a black one on with a white line on both sides and a light white vest and his hair in a braid. Emily comes out first, wearing a light-blue one-piece one-back swimsuit. They tell Lena and Lyon that they will see them down at the beach. Lena goes in the bathroom to change, while Lyon looks out at the view, enjoying the cool breeze. Then Lyon turns around when he hears the bathroom door close and gets a stunned look on his face. For Lena is wearing a crochet one-piece swimsuit, low-rise bottom with moderate rear coverage, sash ties at the back and neck, lined at bust and bottom and color black. And she puts a nice black lightweight stretch mesh wrap shirt around her. Lyon just stares at her for a minute, making Lena blush a little. Lyon walks over to her and gives her a kiss.

“I’m going to try not to get into trouble.” Lyon grins. Lena laughs. “Same here.” They both head down to the beach and look for Emily and Nathen who are sitting in a reserved spot. They both smile with an almost laughter as they shake their heads. Emily and Nathen see them, making Emily throw her arm up and wave for them to come over. They both walk over to them, and they all start to relax. Then Nathen and Lyon get up after a little while to go and get them all something to drink. Emily and Lena lay back and relax in the sun, but then something comes and covers their light. Emily and Lena look at each other, then they both lean up as they take off their sunglasses to see what happened. Two guys are standing over them, watching them relax. Emily and Lena look at each other, slowly shaking their heads. Then they look back at the two guys with slight glares, and the two guys smile at them. Emily and Lena just keep staring at them, then they see Nathen and Lyon coming back, making them both look at each other with grins on their faces. They look back at the two guys. “Can we help you two with anything?” asks Emily. “May we get you two a drink?” asks the guy standing in front of Emily. “Oh, that is so sweet. Isn’t it, girl?” says Emily, looking at Lena. “Oh, yes, it is. But before you do that, turn around,” says Lena. Both the guys slowly turn around and get shocked looks on their faces, for Nathen and Lyon are standing right behind, them just staring. “Thanks for the offer, guys,” says Emily. “But our men got us our drinks,” Lena continues. The guys give Nathen and Lyon nervous grins and nods as they slowly walk around Nathen and Lyon. Nathen and Lyon slowly watch them walk away with just their heads, then they look back at Emily and Lena who are just laughing. Then they give each other a high five as they continue laughing. Nathen and Lyon look at each other, then they walk over to them and give them their drinks. They sit back down beside them as they listen to Emily and Lena tell them what happened before they came back. Nathen and Lyon start laughing, then they all

clink their drinks and start laughing even more. They all talk about what’s going on with work and school, then Lyon looks over to the water, then at Lena. He gets up, then he pulls Lena out of her seat, and she starts laughing but also looks at him like he is crazy. Lyon then picks Lena up and takes her all the way down to the water and throws her in. They both start laughing, then Lena pulls Lyon into the water with her. They all spend the whole day at the beach, then as the sun sets, they all slowly begin to head back to the hotel. They all go to their rooms and change for dinner, then they go down to see the Waikiki Starlight Luau. The next day, they split; Lyon and Lena head to the pool and slides, while Emily and Nathen go to enjoy the view. After everyone does what they want, they all meet up for dinner at the Waikiki Starlight Luau. They explore all around, and Lena finally gets Lyon to go on a walk with her to look at the landscapes. They see the tropical gardens, swaying coconut palms, fragrant flowers, and exotic wildlife, plus the koi ponds. Lyon takes a picture of Lena near the waterfall, and she smiles at him. Then another couple walks by and asks if they want them to take a picture of them together. Lena smiles and Lyon walks over to her after he gives the guy his camera; they wrap their arms around each other and smile. Then they guy takes another with Lyon and Lena looking at each other, and the last one he takes is them giving each other a kiss. Then they take a picture of the two couple who say that they are there for their honeymoon. Lyon and Lena say their congratulations, then wave goodbye, and they all walk their own way. Lyon and Lena are walking together, holding hands, looking at the beautiful landscape. They all do different things every day, but even so, they all spend the time together. They go to see the Friday night fireworks with live music, watching everything. Emily and Nathen watch Lena and Lyon on the Jet Ski, with Nathen recording them, Lyon doing a few tricks, and Lena cutting him off, then they see that they’re time is up. Both of them come in and slowly get off the Jet Ski, soaking wet, making Emily and Nathen laugh with joyful smiles. Then they all start walking to get something to drink. “Okay, you two. This is our last night here. Can we trust you two to be together in the same room because your grandfather and I—” Emily is cut off. “Don’t finish that…yeah we’re good,” Lyon says.

“Okay, good.” Emily smiles. Lyon looks at Lena, who is trying not to laugh, causing him to smile, as if he is going to laugh, then they all start walking back to the hotel. They all go back to the hotel and change for dinner. After they all finished their dinner, Emily and Nathen head back to Emily’s room. Lyon and Lena watch them go, then they go for a night walk view. As they are walking around, talking and laughing, it starts to rain. They both look at each other, laughing even harder when Lyon turns his head, for he hears one of the nightclubs playing music. He looks back at Lena, and they both smile at each other. Lyon puts his hand out, asking Lena to dance; she looks at his hand and puts her hand on his. They both start to dance in the rain. As they are dancing, some people walking by see them. They all stop and watch the two of them dance together. As the song and their dance comes to an end, everyone starts clapping. Lyon and Lena look at them, then at each other, smiling at everyone. Then lighting strikes and everyone starts to head back to their home or hotels to get out of the rain. Lyon and Lena head back to Lyon’s room to dry off, for Emily and Nathen are taking over the other room. Lyon opens the door, and Lena walks in first, then Lyon slowly closes the door behind them. Lyon gets Lena a towel, then he gets one for himself as he walks over to the window to look out in the rain. He takes his hair down to dry it off. Lena looks over at him, watching him take his wet shirt off. Lena stares at him, as if her body is starting to become hot and ionate, as she breathes heavy yet slowly! Lyon checks to see if the lights will go on, but the rainstorm is going on hard, causing the lights not to work. Lyon turns to tell Lena, but as he turns around, Lena shocks him with a kiss. The kiss shocks Lyon that he backs up into the wall as he kisses Lena back. Then Lena slowly pulls away; she and Lyon look at each other, then Lyon takes a step to her, gently, with his left arm, he wraps his arm around her waist. He pulls her into another kiss, slowly turning to heat and ion as she wraps her arms around his neck. Lyon then slowly moves his right and left hands down to Lena’s thighs and picks her up. They look at each other; they kiss each other again as Lyon walks over to the bed. They slowly and gently lie on the bed, with Lena’s back on the bed and Lyon slightly lying on top of her. Then Lyon slowly leans up, gently pulls Lena up with him. He slowly unbuttons her shirt and gently takes it off and drops it on the floor. They look at each other. Lena then slowly moves her hands to her back and unties her bathing suit top, and Lyon slowly moves the straps from her shoulders.

But they just keep looking each other in the eyes. Lyon moves closer to her and kisses her. Lena kisses him back, as Lyon slowly removes the suit top from her and gently drops it on the floor. Lena slowly wraps her arms around him. Lyon tightly yet gently pulls Lena closer to him. Both of their skin touching, lips hardly apart, holding each other close. Then Lena slowly starts to lean back, and Lyon slowly follows her as he leans forward, gently and slightly lying on top of Lena. Lena gently putting her left hand on Lyon’s chest, and Lyon gently putting his hand on her left waist side. Feeling her smooth soft skin, how warm and gentle her body is. Lena is feeling his strong yet smooth chest, holding her close, feeling safe and warm. They look into each other’s eyes, as if nothing else exists in the world or matters but this moment. Lyon slowly runs his fingers through the side of her hair, and Lena gently moves pieces of his hair from his face. They move close to each other and kiss with much more heat and ion than when Lyon was slowly unbuttoning Lena’s shirt!

“Wait, what the hell happened?” asks Raphael. “Nothing,” Lyon replies. “What do you mean nothing? It was just getting good,” says Raphael. “Yeah, I know. But nothing happened after that,” Lyon says. “You mean to tell me that you two got halfway with each other—then nothing. How?” asks Raphael. “Yeah, I’m a little confused on that one too, Lyon. How that hell does it get hot and heavy like that and then nothing?” asks Daniel. “Yes, tell me that too…you’re killing my lunch break,” says Raphael. Lyon looks at both of them as if he is going to laugh, then he smiles at them as he leans back against the bleacher steps behind him. “Easy, the storm was beginning to light up, and all the workers in the hotel went to check on their guests,” Lyon replies. “Are you kidding me? You’re telling me that everything got all messed up

because of housekeeping?” Raphael slightly yells. “More or less, yeah. That’s what happened,” says Lyon. “I want to cry…I want to cry for you,” says Raphael. “So you’re telling me nothing happened since then? You two didn’t?” asks Daniel. “Not after that. We both changed out of our clothes and went to sleep,” Lyon says. “Did you sleep on the floor?” asks Raphael. Lyon looks at him and slowly shakes his head no. “No, Raphael, I slept in the bed with her in my arms…like a baby,” Lyon replies. “I hate you.” Raphael pouts. Lyon and Daniel start laughing, then the three of them turn their heads, for the girls are walking over to them. All of them look at Lyon and Lena as they give each other a kiss, then she sits down next to him. Then they look at everyone and see that they are staring at them, causing them to look at each other. “Did you—” asks Lena. “Yeah, you?” asks Lyon. “Yeah,” Lena replies. “Okay, stop. You heard the story, now let it go,” Lyon says. Raphael stares at them for a second, then he looks at everyone with a pouting face. “I feel like going to Hawaii now.” Everyone starts laughing. Lyon leans back against the bleacher steps, covering his face, and Lena covers her mouth, laughing as she looks at Mya. The lunch bell rings; everyone heads back into the school and goes to their lockers. As they are at their lockers, Jack walks by Lyon; all they do is give each other a quick look, then continue doing what they are doing. Raphael asks Lyon if he is okay.

Lyon replies by nodding his head, then he gently closes his locker. The bell rings again, telling everyone to head to their next class. Time goes by, and everything is going great, yet not so great, for everyone is having a hard time getting Raphael and Melissa back together. Day after day, they all try new ways to get them back together, but Raphael walks away, or Melissa yells at him, making him walk away. After almost two weeks of trying, Lyon, Lena, Mya, and Daniel decide to take a break by going to see a drive-in movie. Not telling Raphael or Melissa where they are going, Daniel and Lyon take both of their trucks and follow each other up to the drive-in. Even though they go to the movies, at the same time, they both go see different movies. Daniel and Mya go see a sci-fi, while Lyon and Lena go see an action movie. Daniel and Mya are sitting in the back of his truck’s trunk with a blanket lying out for them to sit on. As Mya goes to get them some snacks while they wait for the movie to start, Daniel’s cell phone rings. He looks at his phone and sees that it’s Raphael. He silences the call and puts the phone on vibrate. Mya walks back over and looks at him with a small grin on her face. “Melissa just tried calling me.” “Same here, Raphael,” Daniel replies. They both shake their heads, then Mya sits next to Daniel and give him his snack; the movie is getting ready to start. Meanwhile Lyon and Lena are at their movie, waiting for their movie to start but not watching to see when it will; they are in the back seat of his truck kissing. Both have their shirts opened, but they are not going any further than kissing. They both can’t hear their phones vibrating, for the phones are in the front seat. Also Lyon has music slightly playing while they wait for the movie. The movie has started, and Lena sees that they have missed some of the beginning. She tells Lyon, and they both slowly get out of the truck and sit in the back where they have everything all set up. Lena has a long pillow and large blanket to lie on, and Lyon leans back against his back window. They both sit and watch the movie. As the movie goes on, Lena tells Lyon to come lie next to her to watch the movie. Lyon stares at her for a minute with a grin on his face, then he slowly slides down next to Lena and lies down. He puts his arms on the pillow, and they both watch the movie. Meanwhile as Daniel and Mya are watching their movie, close to the end of the middle of the movie, Mya and

Daniel jump with slight screams. For Raphael and Melissa are standing right next to the truck, staring at them with plain looks on their faces. Daniel puts his hand on his chest, and Mya puts his head on his shoulder, both breathing with relief. They look over to Raphael and Melissa. “What the hell is wrong with you two,” asks Daniel. “Can’t answer your phone?” asks Raphael. “No,” Daniel quickly replies. “Why?” asks Raphael. “Because…the stupid crap that is going on between you two,” says Daniel. “We don’t want any more part of it. You are fighting just to fight…and I don’t know why,” Mya continues. Raphael just stares at them for a minute with that same plain look on his face, then he slowly starts to turn. “I’m telling Lyon.” Mya looks at Daniel, and he just shakes his head, then he gets up and gets down from his truck and slowly follows Raphael. Mya looks over to Melissa, and Melissa looks back at her. “I’m telling Lena.” Mya rolls her eyes as she shakes her head, then she gets down from the truck and slowly follows Melissa. All four of them walk to where Lyon and Lena are watching their movie. Lyon and Lena are in the middle of their movie; they both really like it. But then there is everyone standing on both sides of Lyon’s truck, watching them. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he slowly turns his head to everyone on both sides of his truck. He looks down, then he slowly looks over to Lena, who is looking at him with a small smile. Lyon takes a deep breath, then he slowly lifts his head and looks at everyone. Daniel is shaking his head, and Mya is trying not to laugh. Raphael and Melissa are staring at everyone with plain looks on their faces. Lyon slowly leans up and sits down, but Lena just stays as she is, still watching the movie. Lyon takes another breath as he puts his

right hand on his face. “What is it now?” Lyon asks. “You guys are not funny,” Raphael says, slightly yelling. Everyone looks over to Raphael. “And what is it that we are doing that is not funny?” asks Lyon. “You guys are not answering your phones, and now you guys come to the drivein without even asking me if I want to go,” replies Raphael. “Or me,” says Melissa. “No one cares about you right now,” Raphael quickly says. Melissa looks at him with a glare, and Raphael looks back at everyone else; they all are just staring at the two of them. Lena then slowly leans up and gently jumps out of the back of the truck and walks over to Mya. “Want to get some snacks?” asks Lena. Mya nods her head, then they both get ready to go and get some snacks. Lena walks over to Lyon and smiles as she puts her hand out. Lyon looks at her hand and grins as he slowly shakes his head, then he puts his hand into his pocket and pulls out some money. He gives Lena some money, and she slowly jumps up, and they both give each other a quick kiss. Lena walks back over to Mya, then she stops and turns her head to Raphael and Melissa. “Okay, the reason no one called and asked you two to come to the drive-in is this right here—because you two can’t be around each other without being angry, and may I add, for no real reason. And I’m going to break it down,” Lena says. Lyon, Daniel, and Mya look at Lena with small smiles on their faces, then they look over to Raphael and Melissa. “Okay, one, Melissa, Raphael has never once thought about another girl like that. He only thinks about you and only you like that. True, Raphael was a flirt with the girls, but when you two became an item, he stopped. If you waited or asked

who the girl was, you would have found out from the start that it was his and Daniel’s cousin that came to see them with her husband and two kids. And the reason I know is because Lyon told me from a text message he got from Daniel, telling him that he missed their cousin. So you are just looking for a reason to be angry for reasons no one knows. Two, Raphael, you could have told Melissa ahead of time that your cousin was coming to town. Because you know that Melissa blows things way out of proportion. Even if she didn’t get your message right away, she still would have known. And three, both of you need to learn the word communication. Because that is the main reason why you two are the way you are—you don’t talk to each other. And we are not always going to be around to fix it. So here is a test run—fix it on your own,” Lena says. Then she and Mya start walking to the snack bar. Daniel and Lyon look back at Raphael and Melissa. They both slightly laugh under their breath, for Raphael and Melissa are in shock about what Lena just said. Lyon looks over to Daniel and asks him about his movie, but Daniel tells him that he didn’t get to see that much of it, for Raphael and Melissa popped up. Lyon slowly nods his head, then Lena and Mya are walking back, laughing. Lena gives Lyon the snacks and drinks, then she jumps back up to the back of the truck. Mya gives Daniel a drink as she eats her snacks, then the four of them look over to the movie. Lyon then tells Mya and Daniel that they can sit in the truck with him and Lena. Daniel and Lyon go to the back of the truck, both standing up, leaning against the back window, while Lena and Mya sit at the front of them, watching the movie. Raphael and Melissa look at each other, then they slowly walk away; Raphael walks back to his car. Melissa is about to walk over to hers, but she stops and follows Raphael to his car. Raphael comes to his car and clicks it to unlock. “Raphael.” Raphael stops, slowly turns his head, and sees that Melissa is the one that called his name. He completely turns around and takes a few steps to her, but then he stops. Melissa walks over to him and stops a few feet away from him. Raphael just stares at her, and Melissa looks at him with a little guilt on her face. “I’m sorry,” Melissa says. “For what?” Raphael asks.

“For not hearing you out…jumping to the wrong conclusion,” Melissa softly replies. Raphael stares at her for a minute, then he takes a deep breath. “Did you think that would make it better?” Melissa looks at him with shock and confusion. “Melissa, I don’t know what made you think I would cheat on you, but you did. You didn’t bother to ask me, you automatically thought I did. That’s why I’m angry…you should talk to me about stuff that is bothering you. But you don’t, you just get angry and not talk to me, then I’m the one going to fix everything, as if I did something wrong when I didn’t. You know, Lyon and Lena don’t have the perfect relationship, but if they fight, they both take a breath from each other, then they talk to each other. You don’t do that. You just make it seem like it’s my fault…and I can’t do that anymore. I care about you, Melissa, a lot but…now…I need to know if you feel the same way,” Raphael says. Raphael slowly turns around, walks back to his car, and he opens the door. “You and I are not Lyon and Lena,” Melissa yells. Raphael stops and looks at her. “You think that our relationship should be like Lyon’s and Lena’s but it’s not. And that’s not us, and you keep thinking that we are. I mean look at you, already comparing us to them, our relationship to theirs. I’m not Lena! And if you want Lena, then go and take her. If you want what she has that badly, go and take her,” Melissa yells. Raphael slams his car door, then he walks angrily over to Melissa, and she stakes a few steps back. He stands a little away from her. “First off, i never said I wanted Lena! I said that I don’t like how you don’t talk to me. I was using them as an example, that’s it! Your thinking that I want Lena shows how much you know me and puts us and our relationship in a whole new light! Would it have been better if I used Daniel and Mya as an example? Tell me. ’Cause it seems that I’m doing something wrong here, Melissa,” Raphael yells back.

Melissa doesn’t say anything, and Raphael stares at her with anger, yet there is hurt and little water in his eyes. Raphael slowly backs up, then turns and walks back to his car, but then he stops and looks back at Melissa. She looks up at him with more hurt and guilt on her face. “You know, all I ever wanted from you was trust and hope that maybe one day, that you would love me. Love me enough that you would know that I would not choose someone over you…but I guess my trust wasn’t enough. And by the way…I helped push Lyon and Lena together. Why would I do that just to take her away from my best friend who is like a brother to me?” Raphael says. Tears run down Melissa’s face as Raphael gets into his car and drives off, leaving Melissa standing there, crying. Melissa then hears people coming; she quickly runs to her car and drives off. Meanwhile Daniel, Lyon, Mya, and Lena are getting ready to leave from the drive-in; they throw their trash away, then they all head back to their trucks. Daniel tells Lyon that he is going to check on Raphael. Lyon asks him if he wants him to go. But Daniel tells him to go home and relax; he will call him if anything. Lyon nods his head, then he walks back to his truck with Lena, and Daniel walks over to Mya, and they head back to his truck. Daniel drops off Mya at home, then he goes to Raphael’s house. He knocks on the door and sees that it’s opened. Daniel walks into the house and looks around; he sees that some things are broken. He gently closes the door, then slowly walks around the broken glass. “Raphael,” Daniel gently yells. But there is no answer, causing Daniel to become a little nervous as he walks more into the house. Then there in the kitchen is Raphael, sitting on the floor, leaning back against the cabinets, holding a honey whiskey bottle in his left hand. Daniel stares at him for a minute, then he slowly walks over to him and sits down next to him. He slowly leans back against the cabinets. He looks at Raphael and gets a shocked look on his face, for Raphael’s right hand is bleeding. His knuckles are slightly bleeding, and his palm has a cut going across it. His left hand is just red. Daniel looks back at Raphael. But Raphael is just staring straight ahead. “I tried cleaning up,” Raphael says with a low breaking voice.

Daniel nods his head. “It’s okay…I’ll help you. But um…first let’s get you off the floor.” Daniel slowly stands up. He then slightly leans down and helps Raphael off the floor. Raphael looks at Daniel with a face as if he has no energy. Daniel slowly takes the whiskey bottle from Raphael. He puts the cap back on the bottle. He then takes Raphael into the other room, away from the glass. He sits Raphael down, then he goes to clean up the glass. After he cleans up the glass, he takes the trash out. Daniel walks back into the house and goes to get bandages to clean up Raphael’s hand. He tells Raphael to put the ice pack on his left hand, while he cleans up his right hand. Daniel takes a tweezer and pulls out the small pieces of glass in Raphael’s right hand, then he takes a paper towel and puts alcohol on it. He taps it on Raphael’s hand, but Raphael had too much whiskey to feel the pain. Daniel sees that the cut across his palm is not deep enough for stiches. After Daniel is done cleaning Raphael up, he helps him upstairs to his room for him to sleep. Raphael lies on his bed and slowly falls asleep, and Daniel sleeps on the floor, right next to Raphael’s bed, to make sure he’s okay. The next morning, Raphael wakes up and sees that he is in his room, on his bed, with a painful headache. He looks around and sees Daniel sitting right on his bed and Lyon leaning on the wall behind him with his arms crossed. Both of them have small grins on their faces. “How are you feeling?” asks Daniel. Raphael looks at him, then he nods his head with a tired grin. “I feel better.” Then he looks at his door when he hears it open and see that Lena and Mya are walking in with smiles on their faces. They both walk over to Raphael and sit on his bed on both sides of him. He looks at both of them and slowly shakes his head. “You had whiskey and didn’t even invite us to the party, you jerk,” says Lena. Everyone starts laughing, then Raphael puts his hand on his head. Mya slowly moves her hand over to the desk. She gently picks up a glass of water and gives it to Raphael; he grins at her, then he slowly takes the water. Mya then looks at Lena, and she nods her head. They both stand up. Raphael looks at them.

“We came to make sure you’re okay, but we have to go,” says Mya. Raphael nods his head. “I know…but thank you. And, Lena, I’ll get you a bottle of whiskey.” Lena smiles at him, then she gives him a kiss on the cheek as well as Mya. They both walk over to Daniel and Lyon, also giving them a kiss, then they leave. The three of them watch them leave Raphael’s room, then Raphael looks at Daniel and Lyon. They look over to him. “So how bad was I?” asks Raphael. “You broke some things…that’s why your hand is wrapped up, and you had half a bottle of whiskey. Honey whiskey,” Daniel replies. Raphael looks down at his hands and sees that his right hand is bandaged up, and his left hand is bruised. He looks at Daniel and Lyon. “I called Lyon first thing this morning. Mya and Lena wanted to see if you’re okay before they go to check on you-know-who,” Daniel says. Raphael nods his head as he grins at Daniel and Lyon, slowly putting his head down, but they both can see that his grin has pain. Meanwhile at the front of Melissa’s house is Lena and Mya, knocking on the door. Melissa opens the door and sees Lena and Mya. “Yo,” says Lena. “What’s up?” continues Mya. They both walk right into her house right by her, heading right into the living room where they hear the TV playing. Melissa watches them for a minute, then she slowly closes the door and follows them into the living room. Mya and Lena are sitting down, eating Melissa’s food, her chips, candy, and drinking her soda. They both look at her. “Having fun moping around, like really. You’re watching sad love movies?” asks Mya.

“Wow, some friends. You’re not even here to see if I’m okay?” says Melissa. Lena and Mya look at each other, then back at Melissa. “If we didn’t come, then we won’t care if you are okay or not,” says Lena. Melissa looks at the both of them, then she slowly walks over to them and sits down between them as she gently grabs her candy. They all stare at the TV. Lena and Mya look at each other, then at Melissa who has a face as if she has been crying. They both take a deep breath. “Go talk to him,” says Mya. Lena slightly laughs under her breath as Melissa quickly looks at Mya. Melissa looks over to Lena who just shrugs her shoulders. “Why do I have to?” asks Melissa. “’Cause you’re the one that blows things out of proportion,” Lena replies. Melissa looks down at the floor. “I know. I just…the look on his face yesterday. I think I really hurt him…and I didn’t mean to from the start. I mean, everything he said to me…my heart jumped. I really do miss him, but how can I go and talk to him after what happened yesterday? I’ve never seen him like that. He’s always fun and silly and…makes you laugh. Yesterday I saw someone completely different.” Lena and Mya stare at Melissa for a minute. “I hope you heard everything you said ’cause Raphael has nothing to say sorry for…not this time, girl,” says Lena. Melissa nods her head, then she looks at the TV, and tears slowly fall down the side of her face. Mya and Lena lean back against the couch and watch TV, waiting for Melissa to do something, but she doesn’t move. Then as the movie finishes, Melissa stands up and turns to Mya and Lena who are just staring at her with plain faces. They look at each other with just their eyes, then they look back at Melissa. “I’m going to go talk to him,” says Melissa.

Lena and Mya stare at her for a minute, then they both slowly stand up. “Okay, let’s go,” says Lena. Lena and Mya slowly start walking to the front door, but before they open it, they stop and turn to Melissa who is still standing in the same spot. They look at each other, then back at Melissa. “You guys go ahead. I’m going to get a few things before I go,” says Melissa. They both just stare at her, then they slowly nod their heads and walk out the door. Melissa then runs upstairs into her room, right to her closet. Meanwhile back at Raphael’s house, Daniel and Lyon are trying to get Raphael to feel a little better while they all sit in the living room. They tried talking about things that would make him laugh or start complaining about, but nothing. Lyon looks outside and sees that the sun is setting, then he gets a grin on his face as he looks over to Daniel. Daniel stares at him for a minute with confusion, but he slowly starts to grin back. They both look over to Raphael, and he looks at them like they are crazy. Lyon gets up and goes over to the large stereo against the wall. Lyon looks through the CDs, he gets a CD and puts it in and turns up the volume. Lyon and Daniel walk over to Raphael, then the doorbell rings. Lena and Mya come into the house and see that everyone is in the living room. Then they hear the song that they put on, and Raphael slowly puts his head back with unbelief with the same grin. Lyon put on the song “Footloose.” They all start dancing. Raphael slowly shakes his head, trying not to laugh, but then Mya and Lena come over to him. They both take his hands and gently pull him off the couch. Raphael slightly starts laughing, then they all start dancing, and watching them through the window is Melissa. She looks at Raphael and takes a deep breath. She walks over to the door, getting ready to ring the bell, but then she slowly backs away and leaves. Everyone just keeps dancing, but Mya and Lena look at each other, then at the living room doorway. They both shrug their shoulders and continue dancing with everyone. The next morning, Mya and Lena meet up at Melissa’s house, but her parents tell them that she’s not home. They look at each other, then they slowly leave. They meet up with Daniel and Lyon at DD’s. They tell them what happened at Melissa’s house and that she was supposed to go to Raphael’s last night to talk to

him. Daniel and Lyon look at them with confusion, not understanding why she said was going to go and talk but never does and why they can’t find her. As they all sit there and talk, Raphael comes into DD’s and sits down with a grin of joy on his face. Daniel and Lyon look at each other with plain looks on their faces, for they know he wants something when he smiles like that. They look back at him. “What do you want?” asks Daniel. “I have an idea,” Raphael replies. “Which is?” asks Lyon. “We all should do the talent show this year,” Raphael replies. “No,” Daniel and Lyon quickly reply. “Why not? It will be fun,” Raphael says. “Raphael, I am not getting on stage to sing and dance for everyone,” says Lyon. “Why not? We used to do it,” Raphael whines, “plus we did the event last year.” “We were kids then, Raphael,” says Daniel, “and we were forced to do that!” “Oh, come on, guys. This is our senior year. We are going to be leaving this place soon. Let’s do something other than sports to leave our mark. Let’s go out with a bang this year. Everyone loved us when we came out on stage together. And we can have Mya, Lena, and the other cheerleaders dance with us,” Raphael says. Daniel and Lyon stare at him for a minute, then they look at each other. “Come on, it sounds like fun,” says Mya. “Yeah, let’s do it,” says Lena. Daniel and Lyon look at them, then they look over to Raphael who is grinning as he nods his head. They both shake their heads, then they agree to do the talent show, and Raphael already has a song in mind that they can sing.

The next day at school, Mya and Lena tell the girls on the cheer squad that they are going to do the talent show with the guys. The girls are all excited to do it but still no sign of Melissa. Lena and Mya look at each other and are getting a little mad. After school, they go to her house again. But no one answers the door. Mya looks at Lena, then she moves the plant pot on the right side and gets the spare key. Mya unlocks and opens the door; she and Lena walk right in. They go right into the living room, and there is Melissa sitting on the couch, watching TV. She looks over to them. “You guys can’t just walk into my house,” says Melissa. “What the hell is wrong with you?” yells Mya. Melissa looks down at the floor. “Melissa, you didn’t go to talk to Raphael, and now you don’t show up for school. Are you kidding me? And second, if you don’t want anyone walking into your house, don’t tell them where you put the spare key!” yells Mya. Lena looks at her, then back at Melissa. She walks over to her and sits down next to her, while Mya stays standing while leaning back against the wall. “Why didn’t you go to Raphael’s house the other day?” asks Lena. “I don’t know. I was there. I watched you all dancing through the window. But when I saw Raphael, I…I couldn’t ring the doorbell. You guys were right…I just don’t know what will happen now. I’m afraid to talk to him,” Melissa replies. “Okay.” Lena stands up. “We’re all doing the talent show. The cheer squad, Lyon, Daniel, Raphael, me, Mya and you, no if, ands, or buts.” “I can’t do that, you just said Raphael,” Melissa says. “Like hell you can’t. You’re going to talk to him, and you’re going to fix it, for better or for worse. If you two get back together or truly break up, it’s not because you didn’t talk, it’s because you did. You guys fix what’s going on, and you go from there. Rehearsal is tomorrow, right after school. You better be there. Or Mya and I will drag you by your ankles, your pick. You, tomorrow,” Lena says.

Lena and Mya then slowly leave Melissa’s house, and Melissa thinks about what Lena said to her as she leans back against the couch, holding the stuffed toy that Raphael got her. Later on at the car shop, Daniel and Lyon are listening to Mya and Lena tell them that Melissa might be coming. “You guy just made us babysitters, you know that?” says Daniel. “Doesn’t matter, they need to talk big-time,” Mya replies. Daniel looks over to Lyon, who is leaning back in his seat with his head hanging over and his arms crossed with his eyes closed. “Lyon, are you listening to this?” asks Daniel. “Yes, I am…whatever, they need to stop moping around anyways,” Lyon replies. Lena looks over at Lyon and smiles. They all look at one another but Lyon, who’s still leaning back in his seat with his head hanging back and his arms crossed with eyes closed. The next day, everyone meets up after school to practice for the talent show. The girls are warming up while the guys talk about the song they are going to do. “Okay, Raphael, what song are we singing?” asks Daniel. “We are going to be singing ‘Habibi (I Need You Love)’ by Shaggy, Mohombi, and Faydee. Okay, I’ll be doing Shaggy’s part, Daniel, you’ll be doing Faydee’s part, and, Lyon, you have Mohombi,” replies Raphael. Lyon and Daniel look at each other and nod their heads with small grins, trying not to laugh, then they all look at the door when they hear it close. Raphael’s smile disappears, for at the door standing is Melissa, holding her workout bag. Raphael quickly looks over to Daniel and Lyon who just look at him with plain looks on their faces. Raphael takes a deep breath, then he slowly stands up and walks over to the girls on stage. Raphael tells the girls that they are to come up with a dance for the song that they are doing. Raphael puts the music on but just the beat, for the guys are going to have to sing the song.

The girls listen to the music as Raphael walks back over to Daniel and Lyon without looking at Melissa. She watches him walk away, then she looks over to Mya and Lena, who are telling her to get on stage. Melissa puts her things down and walks on stage; she sits down next to Mya. They all listen to the music and talk about how they can dance to the song. As they talk, the guys are going over the words for the song and laughing, causing Melissa to look over to Raphael. As the day goes by, they all are on stage, dancing and singing. After about two hours of practice, they all take a break and order some food. As they wait for their food, Mya and Lena are trying to get Melissa to go and talk to Raphael. She is too nervous to go talk to him with everyone around, but then she sees him leaving the room. Melissa looks over to Lena and Mya, but they are over by Daniel and Lyon, talking and laughing. She takes a deep breath, then she follows Raphael out of the room. She follows him all the way down the hall and sees that he is going into the boys’ bathroom. She stops right outside of the bathroom and stands there for a few minutes. She takes a really deep breath, then she walks right into the boys’ bathroom. Raphael is drying his hands when Melissa walks in. “We need to talk,” Melissa says. Raphael slowly and slightly turns around and looks at Melissa with a slightly confused look on his face. Melissa stares at him with a nervous look, making Raphael completely turn around and look at her. “What?” asks Raphael. Melissa pauses for a minute. “Okay, look. I know that I’m wrong about what happened, and I jumped the wrong gun. Things were just going really wrong in my life. My parents just keep fighting, and you were the only thing going right. So I took it out on you when I saw that girl and you together. I’m sorry…I know you would never do that to me.” “You could just have told me what was bothering you,” Raphael replies. “I know,” Melissa says. “Do you? Because you were just looking for a reason to fight! I’m not going to have a relationship with someone who doesn’t trust me,” Raphael slightly yells.

“I do trust you,” Melissa says. “Do you? From one little thing you jumped on…look where we are at. This isn’t trust…I care about you, Melissa, a lot. But I can’t do this. I’m sorry,” Raphael says. “Please give me a chance to make things right again. I miss you. I don’t think I can go another day without you at least talking to me,” Melissa says. Raphael stares at her for a minute, then he slowly starts to walk up to her, but he walks right around her. Tears start to form in her eyes as she stands there with Raphael walking right by her without a word. “Are you coming?” Melissa turns around and sees that Raphael is standing in the bathroom doorway, slightly smiling at her. He slowly puts his hand out to her, and she smiles at him as she slowly walks over to him and hugs him. He wraps his arms around her. “I missed you too.” They both look at each other, then they give each other a kiss. They look at each other again as they touch foreheads. Raphael and Melissa walk back to everyone. They see that everyone is all over the room. Some of the cheerleaders are broken up in different groups, talking and laughing, while Daniel, Mya, Lyon, and Lena are near the stage. Daniel and Mya are telling Lyon and Lena a story as they all are laughing. Lena is sitting on the stand with Lyon standing in front of her, leaning back against the stage, between Lena’s legs, with his arms hanging over them. Raphael and Melissa walk over to them, holding hands, and the four of them look at them with slightly plain looks on their faces. “Did you two finally talk?” asks Daniel. “Yeah,” Raphael replies. “Good. Now let’s get back to work,” Daniel says. Raphael and Melissa slightly laugh as Daniel calls the girls over to get back on stage to work on the dance for the show.

They all practice day after day, till three days before the talent show to work on what everyone is going to wear. But Mya, Melissa, and Lena already had ideas on what everyone is going to wear. Melissa got everyone’s measurements, Lena came up with the design, and Mya made them. The guys have just about the same design, but the colors are different: Daniel’s color is green, Raphael’s color is white, and Lyon’s color is blue. The girls have the same color as the guys that they are dancing with: Mya’s is green, Melissa’s is white, and Lena’s is blue. But the cheerleaders’ clothes colors are gray. The day of the talent show has arrived, and everyone that is in the show is getting ready. Everyone’s family and friends come to the show, but what everyone didn’t know is that the show is being shot out live! The show gets started right at 8:00 p.m. Everyone is called out one by one to perform. Since there are a lot of people who signed up for the show, it goes all the way till midnight. No one can get mad since the talent show is on a Friday, and no one has school the next day. Raphael and everyone are the last ones to go on. “How did you get us to go last?” asks Daniel. “I just asked,” Raphael says. “You begged, didn’t you?” says Lyon. “Like a baby. I swear, sometimes women don’t like me,” replies Raphael. Everyone starts laughing, then they all are told that they are on in five minutes. They all look at one another and smile nervously. They all slowly start to walk to the stage and stand behind the curtain, waiting for their cue. “Now put your hands together for DLR,” says the announcer. The curtains slowly start to open, and the music starts to play. Everyone starts to get out of their seats and starts screaming. For everyone in the school knows that when Daniel, Lyon, and Raphael get on stage, it’s good. The girls start dancing, and the guys start singing, with Raphael starting. The girls come up and dance side by side with Daniel, Lyon, and Raphael, all of them smiling and having a great time. Some people have been recording on their phones or with their cameras, enjoying every minute of being on stage, with their families watching them, with them all thinking that’s what they are going to do! After the show, everyone goes out to celebrate, for they won first place!

*****

Not long after the talent show, the seniors are getting ready for prom and graduation. Lyon asks Lena to prom by surprising her with a large note in her locker that popped out at her when she opened it. She scream-laughs as she puts her hand to her chest, breathing heavily with a joyful smile on her face. She looks around, then she runs to the second floor, right to Lyon’s classroom. The teacher is writing notes on the board for their next class when Lena runs right in. Everyone looks at her as she runs right over to Lyon; she sits on his lap as she gives him a kiss, and he kisses her back. She looks at him. “Yes, I would love to go to prom with you.” Lena smiles. The teacher turns around and sees Lena in the classroom, sitting on Lyon’s lap. They call out Lena’s name, making her get up and run out of the room. Everyone looks at Lyon, who just has a big smile on his face. “Don’t hate.” Lyon laughs. Daniel sends Mya flowers, asking her to prom, and Raphael sends Melissa a video, asking her to prom. Prom is the last day of school, and the seniors are getting ready to take off, making noise, laughing, talking, being happy. Everyone heads home to get dressed for prom and to meet up for the limo. Everyone meets up at the park in the parking lot; some from the football team, some from the basketball team, from the soccer team, and some of the cheerleaders. Everyone pitched in and got a white Hummer limo! It is still early, and everyone is still coming. Daniel and Mya come first and see some of their friends. Mya gets out of the car, and she is wearing a glamour-line slit chiffon beaded court-train peach-color prom dress. Daniel is wearing a black suit with a peach vest and tie. Next is a few more friends with Raphael and Melissa, who is wearing an elegant emerald beautiful silky charmeuse and features a sweetheart neckline with one shoulder strap. The shoulder strap, bodice, and part of the skirt feature intricate bead and sequin work in a vine pattern. The skirt has a side slit and is going to look amazing with silver earrings and strappy silver heels. Raphael is wearing a white suit with a green vest and

loose tie. The last two to come is Lyon and Lena, who is wearing the bracelet that Lyon got her for her birthday with matching earrings, and a thigh-high slit, beading silk-like satin backless royal-blue prom dress. Lyon is wearing a gray suit and royal-blue vest but no tie. They both walk over to everyone, and they all give their hugs and hellos. Everyone in the families start to take pictures and videos. Everyone then starts to walk over to the limo and wave bye to everyone as they get into the limo. The music starts playing, and they all start having fun before the limo even takes off from the lot. Everyone watches the limo slowly drive out of the lot and smile at one another as they wave bye to their kids. Everyone pulls up to the hall that the prom is being held at, and the music is blasting. Everyone looks over to their limo and sees who is getting out. Some of their teammates walk over to them and tell them that they should have come in with them. They all go to the prom and get their picture taken, dancing, laughing, and enjoying their prom. The prom comes to an end, and they all go to the after prom and play all the different kinds of games they have. Everyone is watching Mya who is on the mechanical bull, seeing if she can set a new score. The timer goes off, and everyone is jumping up for her, for she set a new score. She gets up and runs over to Daniel, jumping in his arms with joy. As time goes by, they all get ready to watch the after-prom show, all waiting to see what it is. Everyone gets excited for the show; the school was able to get enough money to have Jeff Dunham, the ventriloquist, stand-up comedian, come to their school. Everyone is laughing so hard that some of them start crying, some hold their stomachs, and others almost are falling out of their seats. End of after prom, everyone slowly starts to go home, for the after prom ends almost at dawn. Lyon and Lena can’t even make it to their rooms; they both sit on the couch and fall asleep. Emily and Nathen see them sleeping on the couch and smile, then they slowly walk into the kitchen. They both quietly leave for work, letting Lyon and Lena sleep.

*****

Time es by, and everyone is getting ready to graduate! Everyone slowly walks across the stage as they hear their names. Emily and Nathen jump and clap for joy as Lyon and Lena walk across the stage, happy to get their diploma and crossing the stage calmly or joyfully as they wave to their families, everyone screaming with joy for them. Emily and Nathen take a picture of Lyon and Lena in their cap and gowns, then the four of them take a picture together. Then Daniel and everyone come over, and they all take pictures together. Meanwhile back in Greeley, Colorado, is Lena’s family getting ready for her funeral. But just as they all are getting ready to leave, an officer comes to their house and tells them to turn on their TV. They all look at him with confusion as they slowly turn on their TV. They don’t understand what the officer is making them watch, but then the officer takes the remote and pauses the TV. They look at the TV with shocked looks on their faces, for they are watching a school talent show, and the officer pauses it on a young girl’s face. “Is that your daughter, Lena?” asks the officer. They stare at the young girl’s face and smile, for they are looking at the daughter, sister, that they thought was dead.

Memory 26

Two weeks have ed since everyone has graduated, and they all are waiting to hear from the colleges that they applied to. Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael applied to a music college, Berklee College of Music, in Boston, while Lena, Mya, and Melissa applied to a dancing college at Rhode Island College, dance program in Rhode Island. They all are excited, waiting at home for the mail to come and hear the answers from the schools. Lena comes running into the house with the mail, into the kitchen, where Lyon is getting a bottle of water. She gives Lyon his letter, and they both slowly open their letters; they both look at each other, slowly getting smiles on their faces, for they both got into their schools. Both jump for joy right into each other’s arms. Then the house phone rings, and Lyon quickly pulls the phone away from his ear, for Daniel and Raphael are calling to say they also got into the school. Mya and Melissa calls Lena’s cell phone, and they both tell her that they both got into the school. They all meet up at DD’s and celebrate that they all got into their school. But the joy doesn’t last! A few days after Lena finds out that she has gotten into the school that she applied to, a smile still can’t leave her face. But as she’s walking home from work, a car is slowly pulling up to the hotel behind, and a guy gets out of the car and sees her. They call out her name. “Lena.” Lena slowly turns her head and looks over to the guy but looks at him with confusion. The guy slowly walks over to her. Then Lena sees that another guy is slowly starting to walk over to her, right behind the other guy, ’causing her to slowly begin to walk back away from them. Lena turns around and start to walk away faster. But the guy grabs her by the arm, making Lena turn and look at him. “Can you let go?” Lena says. “Lena, what’s wrong with you? It’s me, John.”

Lena looks at him with confusion, nervousness, and fear. “You need to let go, I don’t know who the hell you are.” Lena tries to pull away, but the guy grips harder, making Lena turn her head back to the guy, then she turns her arm, gripping his arm, as she quickly takes her left hand and grabs his T-shirt collar. He looks at her hands, then back at Lena, and she flips him right over her right shoulder, then she runs. The other guy runs after her and gently grabs her by the wrist, causing her to stop and elbow him in the stomach, then she grabs his right arms and flips him over her shoulder. And she continues running, and they both look at her with shock and confusion. Lena runs all the way home. As she comes into sight of the house, she sees Lyon locking up the cows. She calls out to Lyon, and he looks up at her with confusion for how she is running to him. Lena runs right into Lyon’s arms, and Lyon can feel that she is shaking. He holds her tight, gently rubbing her back, trying to calm her down, then he looks at her. “Lena, you okay? What’s wrong?” asks Lyon with concern. “I don’t know. I’m walking home from work, and these two guys call me. I tried walking away, but they grabbed me, and I flipped them over,” Lena replies. “Do you know them?” asks Lyon. “I’ve never seen them before,” Lena replies. Lyon looks down the pathway, then back at Lena who looks really scared and still a little shaken from what happened. Lyon takes Lena into the house to get her to relax a little. Meanwhile back at the hotel, Lena’s family doesn’t understand why she ran away from them. They settle into their rooms, but it takes them all day to settle in. The next morning, Lena’s family goes out to find her. No one is giving them much information, but when Jonna takes out a picture of her, they tell her where they can find her. But as they all get ready to go find her, the officer is trying to tell them that they need to listen to what he has to say. But they don’t listen and tell the cab driver to take them where they need to go, and the officer follows them. The cab pulls up to the house, and they all see Lena laughing and smiling with a group of friends. Three guys and two girls, all of them playing around.

They look at Lena with shock. For Lena is a little slimmer yet thick, her hair is longer, down her back, wet and curly, half-up and the rest down. They all slowly get out of the car and start walking over to her, but they all see them and stop. Lena moves behind Lyon; they all look at her, then back at everyone, slightly glaring at them. Shadow comes running off the porch and stand right in front of Lyon, slowly beginning to growl. “Can I help you?” Lyon says. “Yes, I’d like to talk to my daughter,” replies Jonna. Everyone slowly turns their heads to Lena, who looks at Jonna and the people next to her with confusion yet anger. They all look back at Jonna, then Emily and Nathen come out of the house and look at everyone. “What is going on?” asks Emily. Lyon looks over to her, then back at to Jonna. “This woman says that she’s Lena’s mother,” Lyon replies. Emily looks over to Jonna, then back at Lena. “Lena?” Lena slowly shakes her head as she tightens her grip on Lyon’s shirt, causing him to look down at her hand. Jonna and everyone slowly starts walking closer to Lena, causing her to wrap her arms around Lyon, slightly shaking. Mya and Melissa see that she’s shaking. They walk in front of Lyon, and Mya puts her hand up. “Okay, you guys need to stop.” Everyone stops and looks at Mya, then at one another with confusion. “No, we don’t, we want to talk to her. We have a right,” says Jason. Lena looks at them. “What right? Who the hell are you people!” They all look at Lena, then a police car pulls up, and the officer gets out of the car and quickly walks over to everyone. “Okay, Emily, Nathen, we need to talk about a few things. Same goes with you

guys,” says the officer. Emily and Nathen look at each other, then at Lyon and everyone. “Why don’t you guys go down to the lake or something? Give us all some time to talk,” Emily says. They all look at one another, then they all nod their heads as they slowly start to walk away, and Raphael starts talking, making them all laugh. Emily and Nathen wait for them, all too far out of sight, before they ask everyone to come in and have a seat. As they all are sitting down, talking, the officer is explaining everything to everyone, to Emily and Nathen, as well as to Jonna and everyone. Jonna puts her hand over her mouth, trying not to cry, but Emily and Nathen just listen to the officer. “That’s why you should have listened when I told you to wait to come here. Lena has no memory of her life, her past. All she could is her first name and age, that’s it. We did try to get her to more, but nothing worked,” says the officer. “You’re telling me that my own daughter doesn’t anything about herself?” asks Jonna. “Yes,” replies the officer. Jonna leans back as she covers her mouth with water in her eyes, and everyone else has a shocked look on their faces. Then Jonna looks at Emily and Nathen. They both can see that she’s trying to hold back her tears. “Has…nothing has come to her at all?” asks Jonna. Emily and Nathen look at each other, then back at Jonna, slowly shake their heads no, causing Jonna to take a deep breath. Jonna looks over to Luther, and he gently puts his hand on her back, then they both look back over to Emily and Nathen. “Is there anyone else that might have an effect on Lena?” asks the officer. Everyone looks at the officer, then Jonna and Luther look at each other, as if they have an idea of who might work. They look back at the officer.

“There might be one,” replies Jonna. “I have to make a call.” Later on that day, as the sun is slowly leaving the middle of the sky, everyone is on the porch, waiting for the person Jonna called. As they are waiting, Lyon and everyone are walking back to the house, laughing. Their smiles slightly stay, but their laughing stops as they walk over to the split rail fence. Raphael sits on it, Lyon leans back against it with his arms crossed, and Daniel just stands in front of them with his hands in his pocket. The girls are standing around each other, talking and slightly laughing; no one even looks over to the porch. But then they all look over to the pathway, for they all can hear a car coming up. Daniel looks at Lyon, and Lyon looks back at him, but all he does is slightly shrug his shoulders, then they both look back at the pathway. A taxicab pulls up. Lyon and everyone slightly glare at the cab. Jonna slowly stands up and walks over to the edge of the porch, looking at the cab, then she looks over to Lena with hope on her face. She looks back over to the cab as the backdoor starts to open—the person that Jonna called is Chris! Chris closes the door as the cab driver takes the bags out of the trunk, but then the other backdoor opens. Chris also brought Ally! Then the cab driver slowly leaves. Chris and Ally look around, and they see Jonna and everyone on the porch. Jonna looks at them, then she turns her head to Lena and everyone. Chris and Ally look straight where Jonna is looking, and they both get shocked looks on their faces. For they see Lena is a little slimmer yet thick, her hair is longer, down her back, wet and curly, half-up and the rest down. She is wearing lightblue jean shorts with a basic gray wifebeater. Chris stares at her with amazement, but Lena is just staring at him with a plain look on her face. “Lena,” Chris says. Then she slowly starts walking over to him but, as she gets closer, Lena starts getting an angry feeling, causing her to turn her hand into a fist, and she starts walking to him; everyone watches her. Chris stops halfway, and Lena continues walking to him, then as she comes closer to him, Chris smiles, but Lena just keeps walking. But then as she gets right in front of him, without any hesitation Lena punches Chris right across the face, causing him to fall right to the ground. Everyone gets a shocked look on their face and looks at Lena. But Mya and Melissa turn their heads, covering their mouths, laughing. Raphael and Daniel just start laughing, while Lyon has a plain look on his face and slightly shocked.

Then he looks at Lena. Ally runs over to Chris as he puts his hand on the side of his face. They both look up at her, and she just stares at them with an angry glare. Ally helps Chris off the ground. Then she stands between Chris and Lena, looking at Lena with unbelief. But Lena just stares at her. But as Lena stares at her, she gets that same feeling inside of her. Even though Lyon cannot see her face, he can tell that Lena is getting angrier and angrier by the second, causing him to look at Lena with a little concern. He uncrosses his arms as he slowly leans off the rail. “Why would you do that?” asks Ally, slightly angry. “What is wrong with you?” Lena then back hand slaps Ally right across the face, making her fall right into Chris’s arms. Ally puts her hand to her face and looks at Lena. Ally slowly leans out of Chris’s arms and looks at Lena with confusion yet can’t believe that Lena slapped her. Lena’s hand slowly turns into a fist. Lyon quickly runs over to her and gently puts his hands on her waist. He slowly and gently pulls her back to him, making her back gently hit his chest. Then he slowly wraps his arms around her waist as he softly puts his lips to the back of her head. “Relax,” Lyon gently whispers. Then Daniel and everyone walk over to Lyon and Lena. Mya and Melissa stand in front of Lyon and Lena, while Daniel and Raphael stand behind them. Raphael then stares at Chris, then he gets a shocked look on his face. “I know him…that’s the guy we saw at the cheerleader tournament,” Raphael says. Daniel and Lyon look over to Chris, and they see that Raphael is right, it is the same guy. Chris looks at Lyon and them closely and see that he recognizes them too. But before he can say anything to them—“I think that’s enough,” says Mya. “And why is that?” asks Ally. “Unless you want a punch to the face, back away. Whatever you are here for, you’re not making things better,” continues Melissa. Lena grips Lyon’s hands, and he can feel that she is shaking. He looks down at her hands, then back up at everyone. Lyon looks back at Daniel and Raphael, and they nod their heads, then they walk over to Mya and Melissa. They look at

them, then with just their heads, they tell them to walk away. They turn around and see that Lyon is walking away with Lena, and they slowly begin to follow. Everyone watches them walk away. Emily and Nathen look at each other with deep concern, then they look back at Lena. “Well, you got some reaction,” Emily says. Everyone looks at Emily. “Yeah, but not a good one,” Nathen continues. Lyon brings Lena to the back, then he stops and turns her around to look at her. But as she turns around, she puts her face right into Lyon’s chest and wraps her arms around him. Lyon slowly wraps his arms around her, trying to calm her, for he can feel that she is still shaking. Daniel and everyone comes around the corner to the back and sees that Lena is in Lyon’s arms. They all look at one another, then they walk over to them, but they all don’t know what to say. But Raphael grins, and they all look at him. “Okay, Lena, I know you badass, but for real,” Raphael says. Lena slowly turns her head and looks at him. “That was good.” Raphael grins. Lena stares at him for a second, then she slowly starts laughing gently, and everyone slightly smiles. Raphael looks at Lyon, and Lyon slightly nods his head, then they all look at Lena who still has her arms wrapped around Lyon and her head on his chest. Then they all talk about meeting up at DD’s. Lena nods her head, and they all give her a hug, then they take off to get ready. Then Lyon and Lena sit down on the lower back porch. Lena keeps her head down, and Lyon looks up at the sky. Lyon has a calm relaxed look on his face, and Lena has a sad look. Lyon looks over at her. “What are you thinking about?” asks Lyon. Lena slowly looks at him. “When I first met those people, I felt nothing…but when I saw those two…I just got angry. I felt angry, hurt, sad, and betrayed.” “That’s a lot to feel from just two people,” Lyon says. Lena slightly laughs, for Lyon is grinning at her, then Lena slowly stands up and

stands in front of Lyon. Lyon looks up at her as she looks at him. “Can you just hold me right now?” Lena’s voice slightly cracks. Lyon, still with a grin on his face, slightly nods, then he gently stands up and wraps his arms around Lena. They both hold each other close and tight. As they hold each other, Luther comes around the corner, looking for Lena, but he stops and gets a shocked look on his face. For he sees Lyon and Lena holding each other, very closely, and sees Lyon kiss Lena on her head. He slowly backs away and walks back to the front, where everyone is. He looks at Jonna who is also looking for Lena and tells her that he couldn’t find her. Emily and Nathen tell everyone to come into the house and wait for them inside. Later on, as the sun is setting, Lyon slowly gets Lena to come into the house, and they see that everyone is in the living room. Lena looks at Lyon, and he looks back at her, then he gently pulls her to the living room. They walk right into the living room and right over to the stairs; everyone looks at them, but they don’t even give them an eye. Chris and Ally both have small ice packs on the side of their faces. Lena looks at Lyon as she walks up a few steps, and he winks at her, causing her to smile, then she heads upstairs to her room, and Lyon walks to his room. Everyone then looks over to Emily and Nathen. They both just look at each other, then back at everyone, and just shrug their shoulders. After about a half-hour, everyone is still in the living room, talking about how to help Lena her family. But then they hear Lyon walking around in the kitchen, talking, for he is on the phone. He’s wearing blue jean shorts, black sneakers, and a gray muscle shirt. He then walks into the living room, over to the railing, and calls Lena to see if she’s ready. “Are you two going out?” asks Emily. Lyon turns his head to her and smiles. “Yeah, we’re meeting everyone at DD’s,” Lyon replies. Emily nods her head. Nathen just take a sip of his tea, but everyone looks at them with confusion, then back at Lyon, who looks back over to the railing to see if Lena is coming down. Emily looks at them. Jason looks over to Chris and Ally, then he looks back at Lyon, who is now texting on his cell phone. Everyone slowly turns and lifts their heads as they hear Lena coming down the steps, and they all get shocked looks on their faces. For Lena is wearing gray jean shorts

with a white shirt that slightly shows her stomach, with a thin light black vest and black platform ankle-strap sandals with patent leather. She walks right over to Lyon, and they both start walking over to the door, but then they stop. “Why don’t you guys take Chris and Ally with you?” says Jason. Everyone quickly looks at him, and he just shrugs his shoulders, then they all look over to Chris and Ally, who slowly move the ice packs from their faces. Chris stares at Lena, but she doesn’t look at him. “Sure, why not?” Chris replies. Ally looks at Chris as if he’s crazy, then Lyon looks over to Emily and Nathen. “Yeah, take them with you. We’re all going to talk about stuff that you guys don’t want to listen to anyway,” Emily says. Lyon just stares at her with a blank look, then he slowly looks over to Chris, and Chris looks up at him. “You drive?” asks Lyon. “Yeah,” Chris replies. “Good…now find something to drive,” Lyon replies. “Why don’t you just take your truck?” asks the officer. “One, I don’t want to know how you know what I drive. Two, it’s too hot for my truck. Three, I’m taking my motorcycle. And four, I don’t want that in my truck,” Lyon replies. Nathen and Emily slowly put their heads down, for they don’t want everyone to know that they are laughing as Lyon points at Chris and Ally. Then Lyon and Lena walk out of the front door and head over to Lyon’s motorcycle. Chris and Ally look at everyone, and Jason tells them to get up and go with them. Emily and Nathen tell them that they can use Emily’s car that is parked on the side of the house. Nathen tells them to hurry because Lyon and Lena are leaving, and that they both will not wait. Chris and Ally run to out the front door to Emily’s car and slowly begin to drive just as Lyon and Lena are taking off.

As they hear them drive off, Emily asks if anyone would like some more tea with a smile on her face. Meanwhile Chris and Ally are having a hard time keeping up with Lyon and Lena on the motorcycle. Lyon sees them in his mirror and slowly shakes his head. Lyon and Lena pull up to DD’s and see that everyone is in the parking lot, dancing with the music blasting over the speakers. They both slowly get off the motorcycle and walk over to everyone. Then they see Daniel and everyone sitting on their table and Raphael already making everyone laugh. They walk over to them and sit down with them. Lyon tells Daniel what happened after they all left as the girls listen to Raphael tell them another one of his stories. “Also let me know when you see those two people Lena struck today,” Lyon says. “Why, they’re coming here?” asks Daniel. “If they can find the place, took off on them after we left the house,” Lyon replies. “You left them?” Daniel asks with a slight laugh. “Yes, I did,” Lyon quickly replies. They both start laughing, then one of Lena’s favorite songs comes on. She and the girls get up and run over to where everyone is dancing. As the girls are dancing, and the guys are watching them, Raphael gently hits Lyon’s arms, causing Lyon to look at Raphael. Raphael, with just his head, tells Lyon to look behind him to the cars. Lyon slowly turns his head and looks over to the cars and sees Chris and Ally slowly getting out of Emily’s car. Lyon looks back over to Daniel and Raphael, and they all start laughing. They look back over to the girls who are having a blast dancing with one another. The girls come back over to the table as the song comes to an end, as well as everyone’s food. All of them start eating and laughing about everything that has been going on. Raphael takes everyone’s trash up when they all finished eating. Ally sees him, then she sees him walking back to a table. And there she sees Lyon and Lena with everyone, talking and laughing. Ally tells Chris that she sees them, and they both slowly walk over to them. Daniel sees them coming. He gently taps Lyon and tells him that Chris and Ally are walking over to them, causing Lyon to slightly turn his head to them. He turns his head back to Daniel,

trying not to laugh, but Daniel slowly starts laughing, making Lyon laugh. They all see Chris and Ally walking over to them, and they all start laughing. Chris and Ally come up to their table, looking at Lyon, but they all are laughing too hard to look at them. Then another song comes on. Melissa and Mya gently pull Raphael and Daniel onto the dance floor. Raphael and Daniel slowly get out of their seats and follow Melissa and Mya to the dance floor. Lyon and Lena watch them go to the dance floor with small smiles on their faces. They slowly turn their heads to Chris and Ally, who are just staring at them. Lyon and Lena just stare at them for a minute, then they look at each other, slowly shaking their heads. Lyon then slowly looks up at Chris, still with that small smile on his face. “Yes.” Chris just stares at him with anger for a minute, then he quickly leans down and grabs Lyon by his neck collar. Lyon slowly looks down at Chris’s hand, then he looks back up at Chris. “I can’t believe you just took off on us like that!” Chris slightly yells. Lyon just stares at him as if his is going to laugh. Lena looks at Lyon with a look as if she is going to laugh. Then Lyon slowly stands up, and Chris slowly backs up but is still griping onto Lyon’s shirt. Lyon is still just staring with a calm relaxed grin on his face. “Chris,” says Ally. Chris slightly turns his head to Ally, then he completely turns his head, for there is Raphael and Daniel, standing right behind him. Raphael has his hands in his pockets, and Daniel has his arms crossed, both glaring at Chris. Chris slowly let’s go of Lyon and completely turns to Raphael and Daniel, but as he completely turns, he sees that just about all the guys there are staring at him. Chris looks at them nervously, then he looks at Ally, who just shrugs her shoulders at him, then he slightly looks back at Lyon. “You might just want to find a table,” Lyon says, “but not this one.” Chris slowly walks over to Ally, and they both walk away from Lyon and everyone. They all watch them walk away, then they look at each other. Lyon then looks over to his friends from the basketball team and the soccer team. He nods his head as thanks, and they all put their hands up as a no problem. Lyon

looks down at Lena, who just smiles at him, then Mya and Melissa come back over to the table and pull Lena back onto the dance floor. Raphael and Daniel sit down next to Lyon, and they start talking and laughing. Time goes by, and the night at DD’s is coming to an end. Everyone is slowly starting to leave. Lyon and everyone start heading to their motorcycles; they all say their nights as they start up their bikes. They all look up and see that Chris and Ally are still sitting at their table; they all slowly shake their heads, then slowly head home. Chris and Ally look around but don’t see Lyon or Lena anywhere. Then a guy comes to their table to clean up. “Um…excuse me…do you know where Lyon and Lena are?” asks Ally. “Sure…they’re leaving,” replies the guy. Ally and Chris look at him, then quickly turn their heads and see that Lyon, Lena, and everyone are slowly starting to leave. They quickly get up and run over to the Emily’s car, but as they get close to the car Lyon, and everyone are already driving off. Chris and Ally pull out, but they lose sight of Lyon and everyone. But luckily, Ally re how to get back to Lyon’s house. They pull up to the house and see that Lyon and Lena are not home yet, for Lyon’s motorcycle is not in the garage. They both look at each other, then they walk into the house. They see that everyone is sleeping. Both slowly walk upstairs to the guest rooms that were shown to them when they came. They both go to their rooms and get ready for bed. Ally goes to her room and sees that she has a room to herself, but Chris sees that he’s sharing a room with Jason and John. Chris wakes up about a half an hour later, for he hears Lyon’s motorcycle pulling up. He slowly leans up and looks around to see if Jason and John also woke up, but they are deep in sleep. Chris slowly gets out of bed and quietly walks over to the door and gently opens it, quietly walks out, and makes sure he didn’t wake Jason and John before, he gently closes the door. He gently walks down the hall to the stairs and looks down and sees that the kitchen light is on. Chris looks around again to see if anyone is up and walking around, but no one is awake. He looks back down at the kitchen light. Then he slowly walks down the stairs, trying not to make a sound to wake anyone or let whoever is in the kitchen know he’s there. Chris walks over to the kitchen doorway; he looks around the corner and gets a shocked look on his face! For Lena is sitting on the

kitchen counter and Lyon standing in front of her, leaning against the counter, between Lena’s legs. Both are very close, but that is not what makes Chris get a completely shocked look on his face. For what causes Chris to have a shocked look is that he is looking at Lyon and Lena having their arms around each other, kissing ionately! Chris’s shock slowly starts to turn into anger, then he slowly backs out of the doorway, slightly shakes his head, then he slowly looks back into the kitchen to see again. But that only makes him angrier for what he sees is true—Lyon and Lena are in the kitchen kissing each other. Chris just stands there, watching them with both of his hands in a fist. Lyon and Lena look at each other with smiles, then Lyon looks at the time. “Okay, girly, time for bed.” Lyon grins. “Why?” Lena whines. “You mean besides the fact that it’s three thirty in the morning?” Lyon says. “Yes,” Lena replies with a smile. “Lena,” Lyon says. “Okay, I’ll go to bed. But only if I get to stay with you tonight. I don’t think I can sleep by myself after what happened today,” Lena replies. Lyon grins at her. “Okay.” Lyon then helps Lena off the counter, and they both walk to Lyon’s room, holding hands. Chris watches them walk still, then he slowly follows them. He stops at the doorway that goes to the hall to get to Lyon’s room. Lena gently pulls on Lyon’s hand, making him stop and turn to her. She walks closer to him, kisses him. He kisses her back as they both wrap their arms around each other, then Lena gently pins Lyon to his bedroom door. Lyon then slowly opens his door and picks Lena up with his other arm, and they both go into the bedroom. Chris becomes angrier, then he slowly walks away, for he can see their dog sleeping in the hallway. The next morning, everyone wakes up. Emily and Nathen are already in the kitchen, making breakfast for everyone. Chris slowly comes downstairs with a look like he got no sleep and still angry. He comes into the kitchen where

everyone is; he looks around, but he doesn’t see Lyon or Lena anywhere. “Where’s Lena?” asks Jonna. Chris quickly looks at her, then he looks at Emily who looks up at Jonna. “Most likely went to work,” Emily replies. “Work?” Jonna says. “Yes, she has a job. She might not have a full day today,” says Emily. “I thought she doesn’t work on the weekends. Same with Lyon, or they wouldn’t have gone out last night,” says Nathen. Emily looks at him and thinks for a minute, then she slowly walks over to the phone. She starts dialing a number. She calls the auto shop where Lyon works at and finds out that they called Lyon first thing in the morning to come and help out with a car. Emily asks if Lena is with him, and they tell her yes, for everyone is going out to some park. Emily then hangs up the phone and tells everyone that Lena is not home, but she’ll be back later. Jonna gets angry. “You’re telling me that you let them roam around like that…without them telling you anything?” Emily looks at Jonna. “First off, they are both adults. One is nineteen, and the other is eighteen. What are they going to do? Have them ask me if they can go to the bathroom next? They won’t be able to understand life if you keep them locked up. They’ll never learn how to fly or jump or walk. They’ll be fine.” “You know I don’t like the way that sounds,” Jonna replies. “Mostly for my daughter. She’s a young girl…she needs to be guided. Not out on the streets like some wild animal looking for food,” Jonna says. “I think she’ll be just fine. One because what she did to your sons over there and the other two when they all first met again. And mostly because Lyon is with her, and who do you think taught her how to do all those things?” Emily replies. “Okay, you know—” Jonna is cut off.

“You’re staying and eating here for free. That can be changed…We don’t have to let you stay here. I get Lena is your daughter, but you need to get that she doesn’t know you. So maybe you should try to get to know her and not who she was,” Emily says. Emily and Nathen then walk outside to the back, with Shadow slowly following them. Everyone looks at one another, then they all slowly look down at their plates. Later that day, Lyon and Lena come back home and see Emily and Nathen on the front porch. Emily and Nathen see them pull up and smile at them. Lyon leaves his motorcycle in front of the house, and they both walk up to Emily and Nathen. Lyon and Lena sit on the porch swing, and they all start talking about their day. As they all are talking and laughing, watching them from the living room window is Lena’s family. They all look at one another with looks on their faces as if they missed out on a lot of what happened to Lena, but also that they will try to get to know the Lena that they see before them.

*****

Two weeks have gone by since Lena’s family has found her and are staying at Emily’s and Nathen’s house. Lena has slightly started talking to her family but not to Chris or Ally. Lena has punched Chris a few times. For he keeps trying to kiss her and keeps telling her that they are a couple, but Lena looks at him with unbelief. Chris is getting more and more jealous every time they all go to DD’s to hang out, for the way Lyon and Lena dance with each other, how they look at each other, how they hold each other, touch each other, and most of all, how they kiss each other. Chris has yet to tell anyone that Lena sleeps in Lyon’s room just about every night, but he has told Lyon. But Lyon, not caring on what Chris thinks, just looks at him and tells him that he can go and tell everyone. That it’s not going to make much of a difference to him, making Chris more jealous of Lyon and Lena’s relationship! “Lyon, are you two going to go to the festival today?” asks Emily. “Yes, we will be there. I already told you that we are going,” Lyon replies. Emily smiles, then she and Nathen head to the festival with everyone. As they

are driving down to the festival, Jonna asks about it. Emily explains to her what happened to her daughter, Lyon’s mother, and why they have the festival every year. They all don’t say anything to them after Emily tells them that Lena was the only one that got him to go to the festival for the first time, two years ago. They all look around and see that everything’s set up; there’s even a stage set up for live performances. Everyone walks around, looking at everything and getting excited, but then they see Lyon and Lena at the festival. They see them with a group of other kids, and they all are walking into one of the shops. Everyone walks over to the stage area, but they can’t get too close for they are blocking them. All the guys come out of the building, wearing their old sports uniforms. Then the DJ start talking. “Okay, I got all my guys and girls together. They all put a dance together. So here you go, and you all should know this song.” The DJ puts on a song for them all to dance. All the guys get ready to dance, trying not to laugh but doesn’t work. Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael are in front of all the guys, then as the song starts playing, the guys start dancing. Then comes out of the shop are all the girls from the cheer squad to dance with the guys. The song the DJ puts on is OMI’s “Cheerleader.” Everyone starts slapping and recording them. Lena’s family sees her dancing with Lyon and sees how happy she is as she dances with him. But Chris is not so happy to see them together, then he looks at everyone watching them all dance. Then the song comes to an end, and everyone slowly goes to change, but the DJ tells everyone not to leave, for there is one more dance for them before the live show tonight. Everyone stays to see about the next dance, and everyone starts screaming when they see Lyon, Daniel, and Raphael come back out of the shop in different clothes. Lena’s family look at them all with shock and almost like they are crazy. The DJ then puts on the next song for them to dance to. He puts on Jacob Latimore’s “Heartbreak Heard Around the World.” The song starts, and the three of them start dancing. Then Lena, Mya, and Melissa come out of the shop in different clothes also and start dancing with the guys. As everyone watches them all dance with joy, Chris just gets angrier and angrier. Ally looks at him and sees the look on his face, then she looks over to Lena and

Lyon. She just looks at them with a plain look on her face, then she looks back at Chris and gets slightly angry. The song comes to an end, and everyone starts clapping even more. Lyon and everyone look at them all, smiling. Lyon and Lena look at each other and give each other a small kiss, causing everyone to start screaming with joy. The DJ then tells them all to come back to the live show later that night. Everyone slowly starts to walk away from the stage and continue to enjoy the festival. Lyon and everyone go to change their clothes, then they all go to have fun at the festival. Lena’s family sees Lena with her friends having a good time, laughing, talking, and playing around. As they watch her having fun, they all look at one another, having a hard time thinking about taking her away from all of this, causing them to slightly talk about letting Lena stay for the rest of the summer, then talk to her about college, close to the end of vacation. Chris overhears them talking, making him think about what he can do to get them to rethink their idea. Chris looks over to Lena and Lyon, then he starts thinking about what he saw the other night between the two. Chris then sees Lena’s family walking away, making him look back at Lena and Lyon. They both give each other a small kiss. Chris gets furious as he watches, seeing Lena kissing another guy with no problems or worries, the way he wished to be kissed by her, but she never did. Chris looks for Lena’s family and slowly runs after them. He calls out to them, making them stop and turn to him. Chris takes a deep breath, then he looks right back at them and slowly begins to tell them what he saw between Lyon and Lena the other night. Lena’s mother and father look at Chris with confusion, then at each other. They quickly look over to Lena and Lyon, who are playing a game. Lyon is trying to win Lena a stuffed dog that she asked him to win for her. On his first try, Lyon gets Lena her dog, and she jumps for joy right into his arms and gives him a kiss. Lena’s family sees them kiss, then they look at one another. Jason and John stop Jonna and Luther from walking over to them. “Not here…wait till we talk to them later,” says Jason. “Fine…but she’s not staying,” says Jonna. As they all walk away, Chris looks over to Lyon and Lena with a grin that says he wins, but then Ally walks over to him, causing him to stop grinning, then he slowly walks away, and Ally looks over to Lyon and Lena with a slight glare.

She stares at them for a minute, then she slowly walks away, slowly following Chris. The festival goes on, and everyone is having a great time. Emily and Nathen get ready to head home as the sun is slowly leaving the sky. They say bye to Lyon and Lena, then they head home. As they go home and walk into the house, they see Jonna and everyone sitting in the living room, waiting for them. Emily and Nathen look at each other, then back at them for the way Jonna and Luther are staring at them makes them think something is wrong, as if they are angry. Emily and Nathen walk over to Jonna and everyone. “Is something wrong,” asks Emily. Emily and Nathen slowly sit down across from Jonna and everyone. “Is there something we need to know about Lena?” asks Jonna. “No, nothing we can think of,” replies Nathen. “Are you sure?” asks Luther. “Yes, why?” asks Emily. “We just ask…because we would like to know when Lena and Lyon…I don’t know. Umm, had sex!” Jonna slightly yells. Emily and Nathen look at them with confusion, then at each other, thinking that they’re all crazy as they slightly shake their heads. They both look back at Jonna and everyone, trying to think where they got the idea of Lyon and Lena. “Who the hell gave you the idea that Lyon and Lena are physical with each other?” Emily slightly yells. “Doesn’t matter. We were thinking that Lena should stay here, and we slowly help her , but if this is what’s happening here, I don’t think so!” Jonna yells back. Emily, Nathen, Jonna, and Luther all start disagreeing about what should happen with Lena, while Jason and John listen. Times goes by, and everyone is still at a disagreement. Lyon and Lena come to

the house and can hear everyone outside. They look at each other, then they slowly walk into the house. Jason and John see them walk in. John quickly gets up from his seat and goes right over to Lyon. Jason watches John for a second, then he gets out of his seat and follows John. Lyon sees John storming over to him, causing Lyon to look at him with a plain yet confused look with a slight lift of his eyebrow. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are,” yells John. John tries to grab Lyon, but Lyon quickly takes both of John’s wrists and flips him over, right to the floor, on his back. Lyon stares down at him, and Jason comes over, but Lena steps in front of him, causing him to stop. Lyon and Lena look at everyone. “What the hell is going on?” Lyon asks, slightly yelling. Everyone looks at them. Jonna and Luther slightly glare at him, then John slowly gets up from the floor. Lena steps back to Lyon, standing right next to him, and they look at each other, then back at everyone else with confusion. “I can’t believe you. I can’t believe you did that to my daughter,” yells Luther. Lyon just stares at him for a minute, still with confusion, but also like he’s crazy, then he looks over to Emily and Nathen, who are slowly shaking their heads with looks on their faces of unbelief. “What are you talking about?” Lyon angrily asks. “What do you mean what am I talking about! You deflowered my daughter,” Luther yells. Lyon and Lena stare at Luther with plain looks on their faces, then slowly look at each other. “Who the hell told you that?” asks Lena. “Doesn’t matter,” Luther replies. Lena slowly looks over to Chris. “It was you, wasn’t it?” Lena asks.

Chris just looks at her. Lena slowly shakes her head at him and takes a deep breath. “Okay, first off, what I do with my body is none of your guys’ concern. Second, Lyon and I haven’t done anything. You can ask my doctor!” Lena yells. Everyone stares at Lena for a minute. “What doctor?” asks Luther. “Because of what happened to me, I see a doctor every month. And they give me a full checkup just to make sure I’m okay,” Lena replies. Everyone looks at her, then each other. “But you still sleep in the same room as him,” says Jonna. “So!” Lena yells back. “I don’t like it…and I’ve made up my mind. Tomorrow morning, no ifs, ands. or buts,” Jonna says. Jonna walks away with Lyon and Lena looking at her and everyone with confusion, then they look over to Emily and Nathen. Emily takes a breath, then she slowly tells Lena and Lyon that Jonna and everyone are going to take Lena home tomorrow. Lena starts breathing as if she’s going into panic. Lyon quickly grabs her, for she was about to fall as she starts crying. They tell her that it would be better for her because she has no memory, that if she goes home, that it will help her. But that only makes Lena even more upset, causing her to hold onto Lyon even tighter, then she es out.