The Beginning

Michell was a fourteen year old girl. She never acted her age, didn't look her age and was always smarter then the average person. When she started high school, she made a few friends that were part of something called "The Group". They pretty much consisted of people who went to the same high school and as new kids joined, they made friends with some of the older 'kids' that were already out.1

She was at a park one day with the group. They always gathered at the park on Saturdays and hung out, goofed about, conversated and just enjoyed the day. Even when it rained or was cold and snowy, one could always find the group in the park.2

It was still a new thing for Michell. She'd only been doing the park thing for couple of months. She hadn't really met everybody and there were people who showed up one week and then weren't seen for a couple of weeks. According to some of the older people, it's the way things went. 3

On this particular Saturday, a new face showed up. She saw him and couldn't take her eyes off of him. He had dark brown hair that was long and in a braid hanging down his back. He had the most astonishing green eyes that were hidden behind glasses and he wore baggy clothing that didn't give off a body type.4

As Michell stared, she missed the guy he was with, who had pointed at her saying something. The beautiful guy she had been staring at walked over to her and sat down. "Nice day for October, isn't it?" he asked her.5

She nodded but, couldn't find her voice.6

He just laughed, "Haven't seen you here before. I'm Nick."7

Michell looked up and and found her voice, "I'm Michell."8

After that, she found it easy to talk to him. They talked back and forth; told jokes, swapped stories about school and just bantered about nothing in general.9

After about an hour of them taking, one of her friends from school walked over, "Hey Nick," he said, "You know Michell here's fourteen, right?" and just wandered off again.10

Nick looked at Michell and then asked, "You're fourteen?"11

Michell nodded. 'What was wrong with that? He couldn't be more then sixteen,' she thought to herself.12

Nick got up and walked over to the guy he came with, said something, the other guy laughed and sent him back.13

When Nick sat down, Michell asked, "Is there something wrong?"14

Nick sighed, "Well, I thought you were older and a little bit more... um, safe, for me to be around like this."15

Michell nodded and then spoke, "What does that mean?"16

"I'm eighteen, that's all," Nick said with a slight smile.17

After the awkward silence, Michell piped up with questions about him and he went along with it and even started asking some of his own. 18

Things went on like that for the next couple of weeks and then, as the group started splitting up, Nick caught Michells arm, "Here," she handed her a slip of paper, "Give me a call sometime."19

She stared at the paper and nodded. 20

Michell started calling Nick every night for several weeks and one night, while talking about movies, she brought up one that her English class was working.21

"Never seen it all the way through," Nick had said.22

"Really? It's one of my favorites," Michell replied.23

"Hmm, I guess I'll have to borrow a copy from someone and bring it over and watch it with you."24

"Yeah, you should. It's an awsome movie."25

They set up a date and decided that after she got out of school on Friday, he would come over and watch the movie.26

He showed up, on time and with the movie and some snacks. She smiled and grabbed the disk from him and popped it into the DVD player.27

They watched the movie, and at some point, she was snuggled up into him. After the movie ended, they started talking about it.28

"It was okay," Nick said. "Not something I'd watch again for no reason though."29

"What? It's a great movie. Totally worth a second offence," Michell said, smiling.30

"Michell," her mom peeked into the room, "It's time for your friend to leave."31

"Okay Mom," Michell said with a sigh.32

She walked Nick to the door and stepped out with him while talking. "So, thanks for the movie night. I think I needed a break more then I thought," Nick said suddenly.33

"Oh, no problem. I had nothing better to do," she replied with a smile.34

Nick leaned in and gave her a kiss. When the kiss broke, Michell just stared at him with disbelief. "Again next week, my pick?" Nick asked.35

She nodded and he gave her another kiss and left.36

For months that went on. Nick came over Friday for a movie, Michell walked him out and he kissed her good night. It got to the point where she could speak after the kisses.37

One night, while sitting in the living room, talking and ignoring that nights movie, Nick asked Michell a question, "There's this movie starting next week and I was wondering, would you like to come with me, like a date of some sorts?"38

"Well, you'd have to ask my mom, I'm not really allowed to date till I'm sixteen," she felt so embarrassed to have to admit something like that.39

"Okay," he said and got up and walked out of the room.40

Michell followed and listened to the conversation that was held in the kitchen table with her mother.41

"I would like to ask your permission to take Michell out to a movie next week. We will be with another couple so, it won't be just us," Nick said to her mother. Her mom looked dumbfounded.42

"Will this date," her mom stressed the word when she pulled herself together, "be a one time thing or is this a just in general thing where it will happen again?"43

Nick thought for a split second, "A just in general thing."44

Her mother looked up at the boy, "Fine, but she has to be home no later then nine."45

Nick nodded, "Nine it is but, she might be home sooner then that. I was thinking about catching an early show."46

"Very well," her mother said and shooed him out.47

Nick walked to Michell and grabbed her hands and walked to the front door. "I think I better leave before she changes her mind."48

Michell, at a lost for words, again, just nodded.49

He gave her her kiss and left.50

The date went without a hitch and the other couple was his friend from the group and his girlfriend. After that, there were many more dates with them. Nick and Michell were now inseparable. They were together at the group, talked on the phone every night and did movies on Fridays with the occasional break for a date. It went on like that for well over a year.51

On Michell's sixteenth birthday, Nick took her out, just him and her. He took her to a wonderful dinner and she was just happy to be with him.52

Nick never touched Michell outside of couch cuddling and hand holding. He was always kind to her and even when he kissed her he seemed a little torn.53

After Michell turned sixteen, their routine stayed the same except their dates were now just them with the occasional double with Nicks friend. 54

Michell got excited as her senior year at high school was about to begin. Nick came over for their normal movie date and Michell greeted him with a hug and a kiss, as was usual at this point.55

"I have to talk to you," Nick started.56

Michell nodded and walked out the door to sit on the porch with him. "What's up?" she asked.57

"Well," Nick started, and took a breath, "I'm leaving next week."58

"What?" Michell breathed out. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath.59

"I'm moving up to New York to be with my dad. He kinda needs me and I said I would."60

"How long has this been in the works?" Michell demanded.61

"It only came up today. But, I think that we should break up. It'll be better for the both of us," Nick said, while his eyes looked like they were saying something else.62

"But why? I want to be with you. We've gotten so far from when we started. What's changed?"63

"About 5 thousand miles. I'm going to New York. I don't want to hold you back. Please, understand, this is just for the best," Nick said. He gave her a hug and a quick peck on the cheek and was gone before she could catch her voice again.64

Once Nick was gone, Michell ignored everybody. After a while, she stopped going to the group thing on Saturdays and even stopped talking to her friends for a while. 65

It was almost a year, after graduation, that she started returning to normal. She continued to talk to Nick on and off and as the years past, their talks became farther and farther apart. 66

It wasn't until after five years that Nick called and asked to see her seeing as he was in town again. She had said "yes".