February 18, 2010
6:30 p.m.
Evalynne’s House

Yesterday night, my dad hadn’t come home until ten o’clock. Mom had ordered take-out and gone up to her room to eat alone. Dad had been coming home late from the office a lot lately, and I could tell that it was beginning to effect Mom.
However, tonight we were all seated at the dinner table together. “Have you guys met the new neighbors yet?” I asked my parents.
“No, I’ve been really busy with work lately.” Dad replied.
“I haven’t met them either.” Mom said. “How about you?” she asked me.
“Yeah, I met them yesterday. They actually have a son who’s my age.” I informed them.
“A son, huh?” Dad inquired, looking a bit tense.
I nodded, “Yep, his name’s Will.”
“Well what’s Will like?” Dad queried.
“He’s nice. Kind of weird, but nice.”
“What do you mean by kind of weird?” Mom asked.
“Well he’s got dark hair with a big blonde streak up the middle.” I began. “He’s got gauges in his ears, he dresses in mostly black, plus he’s got his tongue pierced.”
Dad’s face clouded over with disapproval. “I already don’t like this boy, and I haven’t even met him.” he stated.
“Yeah, he doesn’t seem like someone you should be hanging out with.” Mom added.
“Just because his style’s a little strange doesn’t automatically mean he’s a bad person.” I pointed out. “He’s actually a pretty nice guy, and he’s my friend.”
“Isn’t it a little early for you to befriend this boy. After all, you just met him yesterday.” Dad said.
“Yeah, what do even know about him so far?” Mom inquired.
“I know that he moved here from Pennsylvania, and that he used to be in a band. But his parents are super uptight and they like, forbid him to ever come in contact with any of his old band members ever again. Plus, he has a twin brother named Michael who’s in medical school right now. Will wants to be a musician though, so he’s not going to go to college. But his parents don’t approve of that. They actually got into this really big fight with him when I first met them.”
“I now hate him even more.” Dad replied flatly.
I frowned, wishing he’d just give Will a chance. “Dad, you haven’t even met him yet. He’s a really nice guy.”
“He sounds like a rebellious, unruly, punk-rocker, stereotypical ‘bad boy’.” Mom said. “And I really don’t want you hanging around with him, Evalynne.”
“But he’s not.” I argued. “He doesn’t drink or do drugs!” I cried, remembering what he’d told me earlier that day. “Plus, he’s smart.”
“Why are you so determined to defend him?” Dad asked me.
I thought about this for a moment, realizing that he was right. “Because he’s my friend and I want you guys to give him a chance.”
“Fine, we’ll invite him and his family over for dinner tomorrow night. That way we can meet him, see what he’s like, and then decide whether or not we like him.” Mom offered. “Deal?”
I nodded, grinning that at least Mom was willing to give him a chance. “Deal.”
“Alright, then it’s settled.” she declared. Dad eyed her, clearly unpleased with her decision. But she ignored his lingering gaze and went back to eating her dinner.


Dear Diary,
Will and his family are going to come over for dinner tomorrow. This makes me both excited and nervous. I’m excited because this is a chance for me to get to know Will a little bit better and prove to my parents what a good guy he really is. I’m nervous because my parents might not like him and forbid me to hang out with him ever again.
But I can’t let that happen. Right now, I really need a friend. And since Ash, Cole, and Kristy are all out of the picture, Will is my only other option. Plus, I like Will. He’s perplexing and inexplicable and a little dark. But he’s also kind and funny and clearly in need of a friend too.
We’re actually kind of alike in that way. He was taken away from all of his friends and all of my friends were taken away from me. So now both of us were alone and in desperate need of friendship.
And since he was my only option and so far, I was his only option, I had a feeling we would become friends. If my parents didn’t ruin it.

I heard a small thump against window, and put down my diary in puzzlement. Slowly, I walked over to my window and glanced out. I was surprised to see Will standing outside my house with a fist full of small rocks, his hand lifted, ready to fire another one at my window. But when he saw me, he put the rocks down.
I opened my window, letting the chilly February air into my room. “What are you doing?” I called out to him.
“Throwing rocks at your window.” he replied casually.
“I can see that.” I remarked. “But why are you doing that?”
“I was trying to get your attention.” he told me. “I guess it worked.”
“Well you now have my attention.” I informed him. “So what do you need?”
“Come down here.” he commanded.
“Are you crazy? It’s ten-thirty at night, plus it’s freezing out. My parents are going to see me walking out of the house and ask me where I’m going. And no offense, but if I tell them I’m going outside to meet with you they’re going to get a little angry.”
Mom apparently couldn’t get to sleep so she was sitting in the living room, watching TV. There was no way I’d be able to sneak past her, considering the front door was right next to the living room.
“So sneak out. You climb out your window. They’ll never know.” he suggested, as if it was obvious.
“I can’t climb out my window! I’ll fall out and crack my head open!” I cried.
“Well I wouldn’t expect you to jump out.” he replied. “Scale down the side of your house.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. I was truly beginning to believe that he was crazy. “And how exactly am I supposed to do that?” I demanded, trying to keep my voice hushed so that my parents wouldn’t hear me.
“Well do you have any rope?” he asked.
“Sorry, but I don’t keep spare rope in my bedroom.” I informed him, my tone a bit harsh.
“Hmm…” He seemed to ponder this for a moment, as if we trying to think of a new idea. “You could always just jump. It’s only about eight feet down.”
I shook my head, immediately discarding that idea. “No way! I’ll definitely get hurt if I attempt that.”
“Well, what if I catch you?” he suggested.
Sighing, I realized he wasn’t going to give up anytime soon. He’s probably stand outside my house all night if we didn’t decide on something. So I grabbed a sweatshirt out of my closet, pulled it over my head and went back over to my window.
“You promise you’ll catch me?” I asked him.
He nodded, looking sincere. “I promise.”
Taking a deep breath, I lifted one leg out the window. And then the next. I held onto the ledge of the window tightly, praying that I wouldn’t fall and get hurt. Then I slowly lowered my body down, until I was dangling from the window. My arms began to feel like jelly, and I knew I couldn’t hang on much longer. So I sucked in a deep breath, closed my eyes, and let go.
I felt fear in the pit of my stomach as I freefell down. But soon enough, I felt my body come to a stop. I felt someone catch me. I opened my eyes and looked up at who was holding me. I was safe inside Will’s arms.
“You caught me.” I stated, my voice filled with relief.
“I wasn’t going to break my promise.” he replied. Then he gently set me down, steadying me as I stood. “Come on,” he said. “I have something I want to show you.”
Without waiting for me to respond, he began walking towards the sidewalk. Unsure of what else to do, I followed him. He led me down the street, in the direction of the park. I bit my lip as we reached the park, looking at the big oak tree that Ash and I had claimed as ours.
Will turned here, walking up to the tree. This couldn’t be happening. Instantly, my mind flashed back to the time when Ash and I had snuck out together and came here. That was time we had our first kiss, the time we’d carved our initials into the tree, the time I realized that I was beginning to fall in love with Ash.
I stopped a couple feet away from the tree, beginning to feel faint. But Will didn’t seem to notice. He walked up to the tree and ran his hand across it’s trunk. He stopped when he reached the part where I’d scratched out the carving: EC+AM=4ever. Forever came to an end much too soon.
“Who did this?” he wondered aloud.
I slowly approached him. “Me,” I informed him.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because me and Ash, my husband from the picture, carved our initials there when we first started going out. But then we got into a fight, so I scratched it out. It used to say EC+AM=4ever.” I told him.
“You’re too young to have gotten married.” he stated once again.
“Yeah, I know.” I remarked. “You already told me that earlier today, remember?”
“I remember. I’m just saying.”
I sighed tersely, glancing at the scratch marks that I’d left on the tree. “Is this what you wanted to show me? Because if it is, then I’m just going to turn around and go back home. I’ve seen this tree plenty of times, believe me. I don’t need you to show it to me.”
“It’s not the tree I wanted to show you. It was the scratch marks. After I left your house earlier today, I came here and found them. I didn’t know you’d already seen them…or made them.”
“Well if that’s it, then I’d better get going.” I told him.
“How are you going to get back inside your house without getting caught?” he asked me.
My mouth dropped open, forming an O shape. “Crap,” I murmured. “Why didn’t you point that out before I came here?”
“Because if I did, I knew you wouldn’t come.” he replied.
I glared at him, extremely irritated. “Well what am I supposed to do now?” I cried.
“I don’t know.” he said casually, as if it were no big deal.
“Well my parents are already mad at me for going to Michigan without telling them, if they find out that I’m sneaking out at night too, I’m dead!”
“Why did you fly to Michigan?” he inquired.
“It’s a long story.” I told him, in no mood to explain it to him.
“I’ve got time.”
“Well I don’t! I have to figure out a way to get back into my house without getting caught!” I hissed.
“Aren’t your parents asleep by now? Can’t you just walk in through the front door, and make sure to be extra quiet so they don’t hear you?” he asked me.
“No, because my mom couldn’t fall asleep, so she decided to watch TV in the living room.” I informed him.
“Well then just wait out here with me for a while. I guarantee you she won’t stay up all night watching TV. She’s bound to go to sleep soon enough.” he pointed out.
I sighed, “Fine, I guess I have no other choice.”
“Cool, now you have time to tell me why you went to Michigan behind your parents back.” he said.
I deadpanned him, annoyed. “If you really want to hear it, then I’d better start from the beginning.” I said. “It all started last summer, when Ash moved in next door to me…”
I continued speaking, telling him the entire story all the way up until what happened yesterday.
“Wow,” he stated. “I honestly don’t see why you were so torn between Ash and Cole. I don’t think you should’ve chosen either of them.”
“Why do you say that?” I queried.
“Well it sounds to me like Ash had the potential of becoming a psychotic serial killer, and Cole has the potential of becoming the next Hugh Hefner.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “That’s terrible,” I said, stifling my laughter.
“Yeah, but it’s true.” he replied. “After all, Ash obviously had anger management, and liked to settle things with violence. And Cole had you pinned against a wall, forcing you to kiss him. Then he tried to trap you inside his house a couple times. And then after all that, he tried to feel you up in a hotel room. Face it, Ash was a temperamental sociopath and Cole was a perverted player.”
“And you’re a judgmental jerk.” I told him jokingly, still giggling.
He grinned, “Tell me something I don’t already know,” he said. He might’ve been a bit of a judgmental jerk, but he was also a funny and friendly person too. And the more time I spent with him, the more I liked him.

Author's Note: Anyone have a change of heart about Will? Just curious... :)