♥ Chasing Summers

prompt: to write an amazing love story.
Note: I know this isn't my best stuff, I ended it too quickly and there's not enough detail yet. Bare with me though, because I didn't want to miss the deadline of the contest - I have been crazy busy. Anyway, come back in a few days, maybe a few weeks, and it'll probably be more detailed and the ending will have more KA-BANG to it. *nods* 1

Hope you enjoy it anyway.2

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[x ♥ x]4

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Her giggles could be heard over the music of the party, as she raced towards the open door. Music came booming out of the speakers as she passed them, knowing he was right behind her. She ducked between two tall adults gossiping about the latest town scandal. She’d heard all about it days ago when her and her best friend - the boy chasing her at the moment - eavesdropped on the conversation. She picked up the skirts of her pink, fluffy dress and managed to slip into the house.6

She glanced back, hearing his feet hit the tile floor, she managed to move around the people who filled the house and run up the stairs with an ease only a seven year old girl had. He was still chasing her - she hadn’t really meant to squirt him with the water gun - but it’d become a game now. She paused at the top of the stairs, only to catch her breath and look for the nearest open door.7

“I’ll get you,” he panted, a grin on his lips. She smiled down at him, his blonde hair a mess, and his blue eyes sparkling.8

“No, you won’t,” she told him, sticking her tongue out as well. She had known him for as long as she could remember - he’d lived in that big house right beside hers. It was her mother who was throwing the big party - she threw one every year in honour of her dead father, well, since two years before when she’d been five years old. She didn’t understand it - she’d seen her mother cry when her daddy had left. If he’d hurt her, why had she thrown a party for him? Did she think it would bring him back? He was in heaven now, right?9

She’d paused only a moment while all of this raced through her mind. She turned and ran towards the open door. It was her mother’s bedroom, and she tried to shut the door. She felt the sadness itching to get in again - it happened when she remembered how her daddy had just left that morning two years before. She hadn’t known why he left, and sometimes in the middle of the night, she’d wake up and miss him. She’d never tell her mother that though - she was afraid her mother would start to cry again.10

He was a lot stronger than her, and shoved the door opened. She stumbled backwards, ready to give up and admit defeat. Her hands raised, she felt the prick of the tears that came occasionally. He took one look at her face and stepped forward. Grin long gone, he shut the door quietly behind him and she looked down.11

“You okay?” he asked.12

“Mommy still cries at night,” she whispered towards the floor. She waited for him to laugh - her friend, Lisa, had laughed at her. She’d been scared - she didn’t like it when her mother was sad one bit. She stumbled towards the bed and sat down. “I’m afraid she’ll never be happy. Like really, really happy like she used to be.”13

He didn’t say anything, and that’s how he’d always been. He simply sat down on the bed beside her and took her hand. She looked up at him, and then leaned her head against his shoulder. Finally, when minutes had passed - time seeming to be frozen for her - he whispered, “Don’t be scared. I'm here.”14

[x ♥ x]15

The sun came up, peeking into windows all over the small town, shining into an older verison of that little girl - Grace Selena groaned out loud. She hated that. Grace had been getting that same dream over and over again. She closed her eyes, picking up her extra pillow and pulling it across her face. She didn’t want to think of what had happened years ago. She didn’t want to think about how she felt about that little boy who’d chased her - didn’t want to think about how that ended. Except every other night for the past two weeks she’d been getting these stupid dreams. Frowning, she sat up, letting her pillow fall beside her. 16

She found herself staring at herself in the mirror. She hadn’t changed too much from seven to seventeen. Her hair was still long - longer than it’d been before - and still that same dark brown shade. Though she’d wore glasses as a kid, they were long gone now since she started using contacts. Her eyes were round, fresh, innocent and a deep brown. They had lost the sparkle they’d had when she was seven and carefree.17

Except even then, she’d had some sort of problem. She seemed to soak up problems, feelings and almost anything negative like a sponge soaked up water under a tap. Grace didn’t understand how or why, but when something was wrong, she knew it was wrong without looking at anyone. She could walk into a room with laughing people and pick out those who’s minds were wandering to something depressing. Almost as immediately as she could pick them out, she knew exactly what was wrong too. Grace had never questioned it.18

Grace could feel it in the air - her mother was upset again. Great, she snapped to herself in her mind. She couldn’t stand when her mother was upset - it usually had to do with her on and off again boyfriend. For once, Grace wasn’t going to listen. She had a plan.19

Her dreams or ‘trips down memory lane’ were going too far. They needed to end and she only knew one way to end them - she needed closure from that damn little boy. She supposed he wouldn’t be all that little boy anymore, but seventeen just like her.20

As she tossed the covers off her body, she stood up. Her entire body wasn’t appealing to her. She wasn’t thin anymore - she hadn’t been since she’d turned twelve - at least, not in her mind. She stared at her body in the mirror.21

The bottom of her legs were thin and gorgeous, then it got ugly. She couldn’t even fit two hands around her thigh - and that’s what hurt most. She moved forward, watching it jiggle just a bit. Her hands wrapped around her stomach and she felt the anger slipping in. Her stomach actually jiggled like jelly on a moving plate when she walked. It was gross, all round and plump. She turned to look at the side of her body, wondering if her stomach stuck out as much as she thought it did.22

Her eyes trailed up her stomach to her tiny breasts and she wanted to throw something at the mirror. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Without thinking about it, she pulled on her size twelve jeans over her little pink panties she’d put on the night before. She grabbed a random shirt - black with a bedazzled sun on the bottom of it - and pulled it over her black push-up bra.23

“Ugly,” she muttered. She grabbed a brush, running it through her hair, and found herself wondering what today would hold.24

Last night, she’d finally learned that her boyfriend may not have been as honest with her as he should have been, but it didn’t matter to her. She wasn’t planning on seeing him anyway. It was the first day of summer and she was setting out on her summer goal : Finding Chase Summers Before She Went Crazy.25

Grace sighed and grabbed her notebook. She’d decided it last night, right before she went back to sleep, that she’d find him. No matter what it took, she had to tell him how she had felt all those years ago. It’d been her twelfth birthday when Chase had come running through her bedroom door. There had been real tears in his eyes as he told her, more of a sob than anything, that his parents were going to be moving. They’d grown so close - they’d been best friends since as long as she could remember - and then she’d torn it apart.26

Grace could remember screaming at him. She’d cried and thrown her diary - filled with secrets about just how much she liked him - at him, hitting him in the head. Grace had never been sure if he’d picked it up when he left her alone to dissolve in tears, but she’d never been able to find it. Chase had meant everything to her - absolutely everything.27

She’d learned how to ride a bike with him, even learned that spaghetti weren’t worms in disguise. He’d taught her a bunch of things - and she was sure she’d taught him half as much. Grace sighed out loud.28

Why hadn’t she cried with him? Why hadn’t she held his hand and told him that everything would be O.K.? Simply because she’d been mad. She’d known. Dammit, she’d known. As if she’d eavesdropped on her mother talking, she’d taken one look at him and known what he was going to say. She’d acted irrationally, and he’d left silently the next morning.29

“I’m sorry, Chase,” she whispered out loud, tears in her eyes. Lifting her hand up, she touched the mirror, tracing around her cheeks. “Oh, jeez, you probably forgot all about me.”30

She looked down at her desk, a photo of them together - hugging tightly - stared back up at her. She’d never been able to completely erase Chase. She’d kept three shoe boxes in her closet and they were filled with photos and little things that had brought back many memories.31

She brushed away her tears, her head falling. She still felt so ashamed. Would he mind her tracking him down? She wasn’t sure. Grace didn’t want find him only to learn he had forgotten about her. She made her way towards the door, taking one last glance at the photo of them. It amazed her how often she found herself looking at it when she didn’t want to.32

“I’ll find you, Chase. I’ll search all over the world for you. I just need to apologize.” And see if he was still the same, she added in her mind.33

“Gracie!” her mother’s voice came from the kitchen. Bracing herself for the worst, Grace entered the room. Her mother’s eyes were round, wet and red. “He dumped me.”34

“Again, I know,” Grace said, grabbing her purse off the table. “Look, Mom, I’ll have to go. I’m . . . chasing summer.”35

She smirked to herself a few moments later as she left the kitchen, ready to take on the world. Yeah, she was chasing summer alright. She was chasing Chase Summers. She already had in mind where she was going to start - the two famous, local, gossiping women who knew everything.36

[x ♥ x]37

April 12th38

Dear Grace,
I’m not sure if I’ll ever send this - but if I do, know it’s simply because I miss you and I really need someone to talk to now. Life’s so screwed up lately, I can’t even think straight. I wonder what you look like now, but I bet you’re beautiful and simply perfect.39

Last night, I had this weird dream. I think I’ve had many others like it - but this was the first one I remembered. We were real young, and you kissed me for the first time. Remember that? It was a long time ago, I know, but for some reason, I couldn’t shake the memory this morning.40

It was real sweet. We’d been sitting on the bench at the park - remember that? You had those round glasses on, your eyes were all wide and everything. I remembered how you always were able to sense negative feelings - you didn’t feel any of those, did you? You knew I wanted to kiss you for so long. I chickened out at the last moment. I turned my head and you kissed my cheek.41

That was the first time I felt the sparks - the fireworks. You remember those? I do. I can’t seem to get those out of my mind this morning. Believe me, I tried.42

You know what I realized? You knew that I was bringing that damn dreaded news, didn’t you? I walked into your room - well, ran, if I remembered it correctly - crying because I was going to be moving away from my best friend, and you knew. You didn’t see it on my face, did you? You felt it when I walked into the room. You knew before I whispered it to you, yet you still threw a fit.43

I didn’t want to walk away from you, you know. I didn’t want to move. I just want you to know that. Okay? I tried, believe me, I tried. We moved to Texas, USA. It’s different, and I haven’t met anyone yet. The house is all big and white. It’s different, but it doesn’t feel right. I’ll always think of the house beside yours as my home, I guess.44

I want a home, Grace. A place I can go back to and know it will always be there. I need that, except I don’t think I’ll ever get it again.45

I have your diary. You threw it at me last night and I picked it up. I probably should’ve left it there. I won’t read it, I promise Grace.46

Can’t believe what happened last night,
Yours for the moment,
Chase Summers.47

P.S.
I’m really sorry about how we ended it last night. Maybe one day we can make amends and start over - maybe we can still be friends?48

[x ♥ x]49


Grace pushed on the door to the local police station and was careful not to lose the cake in her hand. She peeked around and called out, “Hello? Uncle Fred?”50

“Hey, is that my favourite niece?” a voice came. Smiling, Grace held the cake up, as her uncle came out into the lobby area of the police station. It was a pretty big station since they’d moved into the newer building - leaving the other one to be completely abandon. Grace hated that part of it, but was glad that her uncle and his friends were in a much safer building.51

“Don’t you know it,” she said, with a grin. “And guess what I brought?”52

“Is that little Gracie with cake?” another voice came. She recognized the voice as Sam’s, and smiled.53

“You betcha. Why don’t you come out and get it?” she called out, setting it down on the desk.54

“Woo-hoo!” a voice came. Frowning, she figured out it was a drunk or someone they were dealing with.55

“We’ll be out in a second!” Uncle Fred shouted.56

“Take your time, I’m in no rush!” she called back. With that, she moved around the reception desk and sat down, spinning around in the car. She loved the chairs that spun.57

A few seconds later she heard her uncle chuckling, and looked up to see her uncle and his two best friends and partners standing there. She rolled her eyes and told them, “No making fun of me, misters. I brought cake.”58

She turned to point at it, only to see Sam already picking it up. He had the box open, fork in hand, and walked casually for his desk. Immediately Uncle Fred was on his tail and taking the box from him. “Homemade, sweetie?”59

Their third partner, Sweenie, asked. She didn’t know what Sweenie’s first name was, but she doubt it mattered because everyone called him by his last. She bobbed her head up and down and heard Uncle Fred ask, “What are you up to, Grace? You haven’t came and hung out with us since you were fifteen.”60

It was true. She used to always come into the station and spend her Saturdays there. She hadn’t done it in a long time. Sticking her tongue out, she said, “Actually, I do need a huge favour.”61

“Ah-ha!” Sam said, getting the cake back from Uncle Fred, who had turned to focus on her.62

“What’s going on? Your mom okay?” he asked, his serious police-self.63

“Oh, I’m fine. I just want your help in tracking down that boy who lived beside me,” she said, with a shrug. Eyebrows raised, they all looked at her. “Please? I’ll give you another cake . . .”64

“We’d said yes without the cake, but now that you mention it . . .” Sweenie said, with a grin.65

[x ♥ x]66

Three weeks later and she stood six hours away at the doorstep of a beautiful house. When she realized she had no idea what she was going to say, she lowered her hand. She couldn’t believe it. Grace frowned.67

It’d taken her uncle and his friends three weeks to finally find where he was living now. Now that she was here, she wasn’t sure what to do. She turned and wondered why she hadn’t thought of this part.68

It wasn't the fact that she knew it wasn't going to turn out to be horrible - her odd ability to know that told her that everything was going to be okay - but it didn't help.69

Before she’d even made a step to leave, she heard a familiar voice come, “Hi, can I help you?”70

No familiar tingling feeling that told her 'BEWARE', but a nice feeling in her stomach - butterflies.71

She spun around and found herself staring at a beautiful boy. Chase Summers. He had been the only boy - the only person - who had made her forget that she couldn't wrap to hands around her legs and he had been the only one who made her feel beautiful.72

Her lips parted. “Chase.”73

“Grace? Grace Selena?” he asked, his voice softly.74

She raised her hand, waved it in a Queen-like way and murmured, “Hi.”75

A smile spread across his face, making her feel more than beautiful. All he said was, "Hi."76

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