Part One of Story 1 in Story Time 1

Before you read, know that there is more to this story, I just have to dig it up. Not sure where certain parts have disappeared to, but Here's the first portion. Remember it hasn't had any form of editing, just me writing randomly. Enjoy.

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It was just a normal Saturday night for me. The roof that covered the patio was connected to the house, and was accessible through my room window. I would sit out on this roof with music playing from my computer in my room, and draw, read, or just hang out. That night I was playing Mario Kart 7 on my 3DS. I noticed headlights pull into my neighbors house. It had to be Abbie and her boyfriend getting back from a date. Abbie had the house to herself while her mother and new step-father were on their honeymoon.

Abbie was the first person I met when I moved here. Over time we became incredibly close. We became best friends, but with a slight undertone of intimate affection for one another. The stars just never aligned for us to be together. She always decided to pursue assholes, and left them every time I started seeing someone. I'm not going to lie though, I have loved her all along. Every time the assholes she dated hurt her, I was the one that was always there for her. I always cheered her up, and made things better. I could always get her to smile. It's easy when you know someone so well. I was the one that scared off the guys that wouldn't leave her alone. I protected her, and I did what I could to keep her happy. I have no doubt; whatsoever, that I am in love with Abbie. This was the first night that I expressed that love for her to her.

I was halfway through Rainbow Road when I heard her scream. I blindly tossed my 3DS into my room and sprinted towards her yard, jumping right off of the patio roof. I sprinted to the driveway where Abbie was struggling, with Jeremy, her boyfriend, trying to pull her against him. I ran as fast as I could pulling her out of his grasp and standing between him and her.

“Whadda fuck arya doin'?” Jeremy was clearly drunk. I could hear Abbie sobbing behind me.

“Abbie. Go inside. I'll be in there in a minute.” I didn't take my eyes off of the inebriated jackass in front of me. He tried to follow her, but I stepped in front of him and shook my head. “Not tonight.” I wasn't going to let some drunk asshole have his way with her. I waited to hear the door close behind Abbie, who more than likely watched what came next from the window.

“You shoulda minded yer own biness.” Slurring his words he stumbled towards me throwing a right hook, which I ducked under and side-stepped, pushing him to the ground. There's nothing difficult about fighting an angry drunk. I rolled my eyes as he had to use the car for stability as he pulled himself to his feet. “San' still!” he shouted running at me in a miserable attempt to tackle me to the ground. He wrapped his arms around my mid-section, feebly trying to drag me to the ground. I kneed him in the stomach and tossed him to the ground beside Abbie's car.

“I suggest you go home and sleep it off, tough guy.” There was no point in hurting him any more. It wouldn't be sporting to beat on someone that drunk. I should've known that he wouldn't listen to reason. Reason flies out the window when dealing with someone in that state. He charged me again, swinging his arms randomly. One jab and he fell backwards to the ground, again. “Are you stupid enough to try again?” I stepped towards him, and he began to scurry away.

As he found his footing and headed down the street he shouted, “I be back, bish!” He very well may come back. Drunken idiots have a tendency of doing stupid things. I couldn't worry about that at the time. I had to deal with Abbie. As I headed my way up to the house, I rubbed my eyes in a feeble attempt to ready myself for the long night ahead of me. With a deep breathe, I opened the door to Abbie's house calling for her, “Abbie?” I heard sobbing coming from the living room, near the window that faced the front yard. I spoke softly as I stepped into the living room, "Abbie? Hey. You okay?" She was sitting on the floor with her back against the window seat, her face buried in her knees. She shook her head; not lifting it. Kneeling down in front of her i rested a hand on her knee, "Hey. You know I'm here. You wanna tell me what happened?" She nodded and then shook her head. Sometimes there's nothing to be said, so I leaned up against the window seat and wrapped my arms around her. At the very least I could give her a shoulder to cry on. Abbie turned wrapping her arms around me and crying into my chest as I gently stroked her back and held her. We sat there for roughly an hour with the only sound being her crying in my arms, before she started to fall asleep. I scooped her up to carry her upstairs to her room and she wrapped her arms around my neck, leaning against me.

Half way up the stair case Abbie mumbled, "What if he comes back?" She was exhausted, and could barely hold her head up.

"If he comes back, I'll be here. Don't worry, and rest. You've had a hell of a night." Some sleep is exactly what she needed after what she had been through. A few hours of rest, and her mind off in dreamland would do her some good.

"If he comes back, he'll have his friends with him." She was forcing herself to stay awake as we reached the top of the stairs and the door to her room. "They'll be angry and drunk, you know?"

I smiled at her as I set her in her bed, "I'm not worried about them, and you shouldn't be either, because I'm here." I actually was kind of worried about him returning with his friends. He wasn't exactly an upstanding citizen. His friends were no better, but Abbie didn't need to see my concern, so I kept a confident facade for her sake. She laid in her bed looking up at me, with a look of actual genuine fear. I remember thinking to myself, "What the hell have I gotten myself into this time?" Upon seeing her face full of fear, my smile faded and I sat on the edge of her bed, looking down into her eyes.

Before I could speak she told me, "Get out of my head."

I chuckled and asked, "What?"

"You've always been able to tell exactly what I am thinking and I know you are about to tell me to not be scared and that you'll handle it..." she paused for a second, "like...like you always do, but you don't know him like I do. Chris, he hates you. He thinks you love me and want to steal me from him. He hates that you live right next to me. He hates that we talk all the time. He hates that whenever he does something stupid, I turn to you to make me feel better." Abbie was completely awake now, looking up at me, and she was right. Of course he hated me. I expected that. It's natural to hate the guy that treats your girlfriend better than you do. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that hatred can cause a person to do something very stupid. Her face said it all. She was worried that I would get hurt.

Maybe I was a little more confident than I should have been, but I smiled at her and grabbed her hands as I told her, "How many times have I dealt with your shitty boyfriends? How many times have I gotten you to smile and laugh when you felt like everything was crumbling around you? His hatred isn't going to change the fact that I can handle him. You know me. I promised you that I would always be there and help you when you needed me. Have I ever broken a promise that I have made you? Don't worry about him or me, alright?"

She mumbled, "Alright.." with a slight smile on her face, but the worry was still in her eyes, and she was about to persist before I cut her off.

"And quite frankly, he seems rather concerned about someone he treats so poorly. He hates me because I treat you better than he does, you know that right?"

"Yeah, but you're my best friend. I don't know what I would do without you. You are always there. I can rely on you, and you always know what to say and do. He..he cares about me. He just doesn't know how to show it."

"There's no excuse for not knowing how to express affection. When you love someone you want to protect them and make sure they are happy, not cause unnecessary stress. You want the best for them and you do everything in your power to ensure their happiness. I have to ask. What would you do without him?"

It appeared as though something may have clicked in her mind, but she didn't say anything about it, she just answered my question. "I'd probably sulk for awhile and," she paused for a moment of thought or realization, "and I'd have you keep me from being stupid about losing him."

"Like I always do." I smiled at her, and we sat for a few moments in silence just smiling at each other. The silence become awkward after roughly twenty seconds, so I broke the silence with a bold move."Abbie?"

"Yeah?" She responded, somewhat quizzically.

"You said that he thinks I love you."

"Yeah. He insists that you are in love with me any time your name is mentioned. Enough to the point that I just stopped mentioning you around him." I couldn't tell what was going through her head, which was really unusual. I always knew. When you know someone so well, you just start to naturally know how they think, and for the first time I had absolutely no idea. I probably couldn't tell because I was nervous. I was taking a big step, and I didn't want to lose her because of it, but sometimes you just have to dive. So I dove.

"And what do you think about it?"

"About what?"

"About me loving you. Do you think I am in love with you?"

She tilted her head slightly to the side and smiled. I blushed a little bit, and I never blush. I'm not sure if she noticed the slight reddening of my cheeks. If she did, she didn't acknowledge it. She just answered, "Of course you love me. We are best friends. I'd be lost without you. As far as being in love with me. I don't think so. I think that it's just a figment of Jeremy's imagination."

"You don't think so? Come on now Abbie. Think about it. Think about all we've been through and exactly how I've handled it all. Do you think I am in love with you?"

She looked confused now, "I don't think so, but now you are making me wonder."

"Abbie. Ask me anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything. Anything about you, your family life, your love life, your social life, your friendship with me. Anything."

I don't know why, but she seemed to have a little trouble catching on to what I was blatantly pointing out to her. Regardless of if she was aware or not, she played along and proceeded to ask me questions. Lots of questions. Questions I had detailed answers to.

She started with a pretty easy question. "How did we first meet?"

I laughed and smiled at her, "Is that the hardest question you got? We met in middle school at one of those crappy little school dances. It was winter, so it was called the Whiteout, and everyone was supposed to wear white to it. You were dating, or as close to dating as it gets in middle school, some shit head named Alex. You had been stressed about rumors that he was going around telling other girls that he loved them, so that they would kiss him and make him feel all good inside. A mutual friend of ours caught him kissing someone in the hall by the bathrooms. I believe the girl was Ashley. Our mutual friend, Lauren, told you and you started to get worked up, but the stubborn girl that you are refused to cry there. You were clearly upset, and Lauren could tell you were barely keeping it together. She sneaked away from you for a minute and came to me. I remember her exact words. "Hey Chris. Abbie's really upset, can you go do your cheering up thing you do?" I remember laughing and getting out of my seat, because I wasn't one for dancing so I just hung out with my friends. Told my friends I'd be back later, and followed her to you. You sat down once you realized Lauren wasn't right beside you for a second. You were staring out the window, up at the sky. You didn't notice that I was there at first. Your cheeks were bright red, and I could see a slight glisten of a tear being fought back in your eye. You were stretching a hair band with your hands. Lauren got your attention and introduced me. You had no clue who I was or why I was there. You just looked at Lauren as she spoke. almost ignoring her and focusing on the thoughts going through your mind. Lauren introduced me in one of the most unusual ways I've ever been introduced to someone. "Abbie, Chris. Chris, Abbie. Abbie, If anybody can make you feel better it's Chris. Chris, make her feel better." You tried to tell Lauren you wanted to be left alone, but she had already walked away.

I sat down in front of you with a smile, "Hi. I'm Chris. You okay?"

You sighed and told me, "Hi Chris, I'm sorry Lauren pulled you away from whoever you are with, but I don't need any help."

I laughed. "I'm here on my own, and who said you needed help? I'm just offering an open ear and some feedback."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. It's kind of my thing. I like to talk to people about their problems. Most of the time just a simple conversation can make things easier. So how about it? Let's talk?"

You refused to really look at me, but you started to tell me all about the situation. I didn't take my eyes off of you and told you what I thought when you paused for some kind of a response. We talked for a good amount of the night. You got more and more comfortable telling me all about what happened and why you were upset. I told you that I knew that you knew the next step to take and you nodded and shot a quick little half-smile. I stood up and told you that I would be right back, and that I had to use the restroom.

Did I ever tell you what I actually did?"

Abbie looked confused for a moment, "No. What'd you do?"

I laughed, "Well you may not have liked it at the time, but I saw Alex with Ashley in the hall so I followed them for a little bit. I saw him kiss her so I walked up to him. He used to be a friend of mine. I don't know if you knew that or not, but I threw him up against the locker and told him to stop messing around with girls like their toys. He about pissed himself. I looked over at Ashley and told her she could do better. Punched the locker beside Alex's head and said, "If I find out you are still doing this crap, I will make sure that you hurt both physically and emotionally." I walked away, and you know what? He stopped, as far as I know anyway.

Abbie looked surprised. "You did that? But, you didn't even know me? I was just some stupid girl crying over a stupid boy. You could've been suspended for that."

I smiled at her, "I wouldn't have gotten suspended. You know that truth prevails. And yes, I did do that. You weren't just some stupid girl. You were a friend of a friend, and you gave off a good person vibe to me, so it was worth it. The stupid boy part, I'll agree with though."

She laughed and smiled at me. She was starting to remember all the details of how we met herself. "Then you came back and that song came on."

"Faithfully by Journey. You sat there stubbornly, until I grabbed your hands and pulled you up. Do you remember what I told you?"

"No?"

"I told you that you could use a dance. You blushed and holding on to my hand you followed me to the center of the cafeteria that was being used as a dance floor. You were all shy and blushing, so I told you with a confident smile on my face, 'It's just a dance. Don't worry, I won't go breaking your heart.' That got you to wrap your arms around my neck as I rested my hands on your hips. We didn't even talk during that dance. It was just kind of a moment to get your mind off of the stressful night you had been hav--"

Abbie cut me off, "I didn't say anything, but you were singing under your breath"

I blushed and was shocked. "You heard that? Wait, you remember that?"

Abbie laughed, "Yeah. You're not the only one that can remember details. You still can't sing, by the way."

"That never stopped me before."

"No, it hasn't, but it should have. Oh my God, I remember that dance with you! Alex started dancing with Ashley not far from us. I buried my face in your chest! You...you just hugged me, and held on to me while I cried in to your shirt. I never thanked you for that, did I?"

"No need to thank me. You needed a shoulder to cry on. I'm happy it was me and not some asshole. You started crying into my chest when Steve Perry sang the words, 'I'm forever yours, faithfully.' Did you know that?" Abbie just shook her head. "I think that's why I remember those lyrics so clearly."

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. That dance, and that hug, and you letting me cry into your shirt...That meant a lot to me. Even though I was crying, you managed to make me feel comfortable, and hopeful. Like everything was going to be okay, and you didn't even know me. You didn't even really do anything, but you just made me feel...I don't know...safe?"

I gave her the same smile I gave her when I first met her, "Abbie, you're welcome, but you know there's no need to thank me. I was and am happy to do it any time."

"Do you remember what I wore to that dance?" Abbie quickly snapped back to asking questions.

"Your white Beatles t-shirt. Give me something hard."

---

"What happened the day after the dance?"

"It was the weekend. I think Lauren said you and her were having a sleep over at her house. I don't know what happened over the weekend, but on the Monday after, I only saw you once. I passed you in the hall and you were hopping up and down laughing about something. I laughed and waved at you. You did this hyper wave back smiling and laughing. You were much happier than you were at the dance. I'm pretty sure after that we just kind of waved at each other in the halls for awhile. We didn't really talk all that much at first."

"We didn't? I think I thought that you were weird for awhile. When did we start really talking regularly?"

"You thought I was weird?"

Abbie playfully responded with a quick and happy, "Yup!"

"How so?"

"You said what you actually thought, even to the teachers. It was always just say what kept everything peaceful back then, but you didn't care, You said exactly what was on your mind. You still do."

"Fair enough."

"You didn't answer my question. When did we start really talking regularly?"

"I didn't? Sorry. Umm...I think it took about two months of just acknowledging each other in the halls, before we started to really talk. Do you remember what sparked it?"

"It was about the time my parents got divorced wasn't it?"

"Your parents divorce is exactly what sparked it. Your dad sent you a text during recess saying he wasn't going to be there anymore. I was with my friends sitting on the picnic table, when I saw you crying and talking to Lauren. Lauren hugged you and then pointed at me. I told my friends that I'd catch them later, stood up and started walking over. Lauren put her hands on your cheeks, told you something and pointed to me again. This time you looked and saw me, and ran to me. Almost knocked me over when you ran into my arms. You didn't say anything. Just cried and held on to me."

Abbie smiled at me with one of her adorable sweet smiles, "And you held me back."

"Yes. Yes I did." Smiling back at her I continued, "Eventually I got you to let go and walk the track with me, while you told me about it all. You told me that your parents were getting a divorce, that you didn't want your dad to go, and that you had no idea there was any trouble between your parents. I just comforted you. I told you that the divorce didn't mean he was gone or that he didn't love you, or that it was your fault. It just meant your mom and dad feel differently than they used to. You cried some more as we sat on the bleachers. You cried on my shoulders some more, until Lauren came to get you to walk you to your bus. I gave you my number and told you that you could call or text me any time you needed someone."

"We talked until the end of the day?"

"Yeah, I stayed after a little bit to explain things to our teachers. They excused us."

"The first time we hung out, outside of school, what did we do?" Abbie was quick on the draw after one memory was told, with another question.

"That's easy. We went to a movie and went skating with your friends. I was the only guy."

Abbie chimed in with a quick, "And the only one who knew how to skate well."

I chuckled, "I did find myself catching and picking the lot of you up quite a bit that night."

"Do you remember what movie we went to see?"

"Lion King in 3D. I must have spent at least two hundred dollars buying you and your friends snacks."

"Hey! You offered."

"Yeah. Probably shouldn't have, but I was happy to. Wasn't that the first time you saw Lion King?" It amazed me how long it took her to see such an amazing movie.

"Yep. Okay, enough with the first time questions for a few. Let's see how well you know me."

"Bring it on." I smirked at her arrogantly. If there was one person I knew everything about, it was her.

"What are my favorite things?" A vague question, but knowing her as well as I did, I knew exactly what she meant.

"Favorite movie is The Princess Bride. Favorite band is Maroon 5. Favorite song is She Will Be Loved. Favorite food is macaroni and cheese. Favorite animal is snow tiger. Favorite breed of dog is Am-Staff. Your favorite beverage is Arctic Blast Gatorade. Your favorite season is winter. Your favorite sport is soccer. Your favorite color is green. Your favorite holiday is Halloween. Your favorite fast food place is Chic-fil-a. Your favorite TV show is Lost. Your favorite shoes are your white converse that you doodled on. Your favorite and lucky number is 7. Your favorite car is any type of Mustang. Did I miss anything?" I was pretty sure I listed everything, but I figured I'd ask just to be sure.

Abbie thought for a second before asking, "Favorite chip?"

"Cheese Bugles."

"Candy?"

"Snow Caps."

"Soda?"

"Sun Drop."

"Time of day?"

"Sunset."

We went back and forth for a few minutes, and I didn't miss a single one. She looked somewhat impressed. I don't think she realized how well I knew her. She cracked a smile and asked, "Okay, smart guy, what am I afraid of?"

"Oh, come on."

"What?" She snickered as if she were innocent. She wanted to see if I remembered a specific night.

"You know that I know that."

"So? I want to hear how you remember it." Her smile showed a bit of anticipation. She was enjoying her trips down memory lane courtesy of my memory.

I sighed and began to paint the picture of that night. "You're afraid of thunderstorms. The crashing thunder makes you jump every time and every flash of lighting makes you flinch. I learned this the summer after I first met you. We got hit by a big storm. There were tornado warnings, flood warnings, high winds; the works. I had lost power so I was reading a book for class the next year when you called. Your mom was at work and you had lost power. You were practically hysterical, but you managed to ask me to come over. Now that I think about it, this is also how we learned that we lived next to each other. When you told me your address, I laughed and told you that I would be there in thirty seconds. You told me to stop joking and hurry. Boy, you were surprised when I knocked on your door thirty seconds later. When you opened the door you looked petrified, but smiled and hit me in the stomach for teasing you when you didn't believe me. You asked me how I was there so quick, and I told you that I lived right beside you. You proceeded to pull me into your house and to the living room where you had set up camp with a copious amount of candles, maybe five blankets, and a large stuffed white tiger. You jumped into the blankets beside the stuffed tiger and wrapped yourself in the blankets like a cocoon. I sat beside you and you turned to lean against me as the sky was about to open up. I asked if you wanted me to start a fire in the fireplace before we got comfy, and of course you said yes. The fire lit the room up and got you to lose all but one of your blankets. When I sat down this time, I leaned against the arm of the couch and you leaned back against me, so I put my arms around you. We just talked about random things throughout the storm. You were surprisingly calm considering how severe your fear of thunderstorms was. For the first twenty minutes you jumped every time thunder crashed."

Abbie had to add, "And you held me a little tighter for a moment each time." She was smiling at me, caught up in the memory. "I stopped jumping, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I think you were caught up in our conversation. You were distracted."

"You were holding me. It was almost the same as that dance. You made me feel safe." Abbie let out a little chuckle, "You have a knack for that."

I blushed a little, "I didn't do anything all that spectacular."

"You were there. Your presence is...it's comforting. I don't know what it is. You just make me feel safe, and always have." Our eyes met for a brief sincere moment before she begged me to tell her more.

"That night we talked about a bit of everything. How our summers had been going, how your parents divorce was going, and how you were going to go to a soccer camp. We joked about how we could live beside each other and not realize it. It was the perfect set of circumstances that kept us unaware. I spent a lot of my time inside playing video games, watching movies, or working out. While you spent a lot of time at Lauren's. After awhile you fell asleep, so I carefully got out from under you, replacing myself with a pillow. I put out the fire and placed a couple of the blankets you had removed earlier over you, whispered good night, locked the front door behind me, and went home."

"I woke up to my mom making breakfast. She was surprised that I had slept so peacefully considering the storm."

"Did you tell her about how you managed that?" I couldn't help but be curious.

"What do you mean?" "Did you tell her that I had come over?"

"Oh yeah! Well, sorta."

"Sorta?"

"Well yeah, sorta. I told her I talked to you, and that you distracted me from the storm. I don't think my mom would have been very happy with some guy she hasn't met coming over late at night without her there. She did ask about you."

"And what'd you tell her?" It's impossible to not be curious when somebody tells you that someone asked about you.

"I don't remember exactly. I think I said you were a really good friend that helped me out with Alex. Wait. What'd your parents say about you coming over?"

I snickered at her. "My parents were asleep, and even if they were awake they wouldn't have cared. They've always let me pretty much do what I want. They like the concept of make mistakes to learn from them."

"Lucky." Abbie didn't mean that. She was ridiculously close to her mom. She normally told her everything and knowing that she didn't say much about me to her mom made me a little nervous. I forced myself to ignore the nerves, and continue hinting at the obvious.

“Need more convincing?”

“Convincing of what?”

“I'll take that as a yes. Ask me some more stuff.” I think she may have forgotten what I was getting at, but by the time she would run out of questions, she would catch on.

“Hmmm,” she thought to herself for a moment, “How about you tell me about when you met my mom.”

“Really? Why do you want to hear about that?” It wasn't much of a story.

“Because I remember it, and I want to see how you well you remember it.”

I sighed, and began, “Alright, well. First time I actually met your mom was when you were at Lauren's. Your mom went shopping and was struggling to unlock the front the door. I was taking the trash out, and I noticed her struggling, so I walked over and asked if she could use some help. I held the groceries while she unlocked the door. Then I proceeded to help her carry in the groceries. She thanked me and we talked a little bit. Basic introduction stuff. She could put together that I lived next door, but I don't think she realized that I was the same Chris that talked to you during the thunderstorm.

“She had no idea. When I got home, she told me about this 'nice boy that lived next door.' I held back laughter as she told me about how you helped her with the groceries. She went on to say that she should invite you over for dinner. I volunteered to tell you.”

“You texted me that night telling me to come over the upcoming Friday around five. I obviously showed up, but did not expect to be having dinner with you and your mother.” Abbie laughed, and smiled at me with a playful, practiced innocence. “As I recall, you were upstairs writing a paper for school, and I helped your mom set the table. She insisted that I didn't have to, but I explained that you could use the time to work on your paper, that I had already finished. You always liked to wait until the last second to do your work. Your mom went on about how that was sweet of me, and I would respond with how I'm happy to help. She told me that dinner was done, and asked me to run up and get you.

When I knocked on your door, you just mumbled, “Come in.”

“I stepped in and you were sitting at your desk working on your paper. I remember saying, 'Abbie, dinner's ready.' and you put your pen down, shot up and jumped on to my back. You made me carry you down the stairs. You hopped off at the final step, grabbed my hand and dragged me to the dining room, where your mother had already laid the food out on the table. I waited for you and your mom to be seated, before I sat down, and then I was caught off guard.”

“Mom asked you to say grace.”

“Yeah. Not my bag of chips at all. Do you remember what I said?”

“Yup. You told my mom that you weren't entirely sold on religion, and asked to be excused if it wasn't acceptable. Then you said, 'Dear Lord, we thank you for this meal we are about to eat. We thank you for good company, and we ask for better days ahead.' My mom was shocked. I remember after you left she mentioned how surprised she was that you were that straight forward about it, and that you did a surprisingly respectable job saying grace.”

I laughed, “I was pretty certain I made a fool of myself. Usually, religious parents immediately hate me because I tell them I'm not sold on religion.”

“No, my mom actually liked that about you. She said it was very mature of you to think for yourself at such a young age.” I was surprised. I hadn't had many positive experiences with religious families. “She really liked you. She said you were welcome any time.”

“Really? I didn't think I made that good of an impression.”

“Oh, you did.” She was smiling. She knew something, but wasn't going to tell me.

“Well, good. I'm glad your mom likes me. You did start to have me over more often after that.”

“Duh. I started coming over to your house more, too. Oh! Tell me about the first time I came over to your house.” Another near pointless story.

“Are you sure? These aren't the most important of memories.”

“Yes, I'm sure. Important or not, they are still good memories.” Abbie had a point. I would always tell her that any amount of pain and suffering is worth it for even the smallest of good moments. I would always refer to a comic book. One of the Spider-Man comics; Aunt May told Peter something along the lines of, “Life isn't about the inevitability of hard times. It's about the good times in between.”

I smiled at her and began, “Alright, let's see. I believe my parents were off visiting family for a wedding or something. I was the one that always stayed back, and watched the house and the dog. We had a Portuguese Water dog named Oliver, at the time. I think your mom had to work late, so you called and asked what was up, and explained the situation. I told you that you should come on over, and we could watch a movie. You asked when, and I told you whenever; just let yourself in. As soon as Ollie started barking I knew you were there. Ollie was jumping at you, demanding your attention. I heard you laughing as he bounced like a rabbit in front of you. I'm pretty sure you ended up kneeling down and hugging him. I shouted from the kitchen for you to just make yourself comfortable, while I finished making popcorn. You responded asking, 'What are we watching?' I kept a collection of movies in a cabinet beside the big screen tv in the living room. I shouted out to you, 'movies are in the cabinet by the tv. Want a drink?' I assume you started looking through them because when I came into the living room you had already popped in a zombie flick. I think it was the original Night of The Living Dead, and Ollie had made himself comfortable laying beside you with his head on your lap.”

Abbie jumped in, “And when you noticed you said, 'Oh, a classic.' You didn't take me for a horror movie fan.”

I couldn't help but laugh. “Are you kidding? You are terrified of scary movies. You couldn't sleep when you watched Paranormal Activity. Hell, you made me stay up and talk to you on the phone the whole night.”

Abbie had that same pretend-innocent smile on her face that she was so good at. “I like feeling scared. It's fun and exciting. I don't care if I scare easily, I like scary movies and how they make me feel vulnerable.” I liked that explanation for her interest in scary movies. I don't know why I always loved them, but I did, and having her like them and actually like being frightened by them was a sweet little bonus.

“Abbie, you've always been petrified by the concept of a zombie apocalypse. The idea of the dead walking around, and having loved ones turn on you has always scared the hell out of you. Half-way through the movie you had scooted yourself to lean against me, while wrapping your arms around Ollie, who was now laying on his stomach on top of you. I had my arms wrapped around the two of you, and you were still watching intently. The three of us had finished off the popcorn within the first twenty minutes. Every now and then you would get scared, and I would feel you take a deep breath and cling to Ollie a little tighter.”

“Ollie was really cuddly.” She smiled and laughed. “and as I recall you held me a little tighter each time, too.”

“Of course I did. You were scared, so I comforted you.” I smiled at her, and our eyes met. She knew that even in the most simple of cases, I was always there for her. It's remarkable how she seemed as though I hadn't actually plucked any of her heart strings yet. “What else you got for me?”

“How about you when you cracked your ribs?”

“You mean when that crazy guy came into work and tried to hit Megan?”

“Megan was her name?”

“Yeah. Keep in mind that this dude was a grown ass man, and Megan was like 30. Megan dated him for a little bit, but she didn't really like him so she ended it. They managed to stay friends and drinking buddies for awhile, and she got him a job for a bit at the kennel I worked at. He worked there maybe a month, before Megan and him went out drinking one night, and he didn't get any, so he was pissed about it. Had no right to be pissed, but the next day at work, he storms in yelling 'Where's Megan? Where's Megan?' Cursing and shit, absolutely furious, and Megan walks out confused and asks him, 'What the hell are you doing?' They argue for a little bit, after it had moved into the kennel so that clients weren't disturbed. I was cleaning that level, and I heard the yelling, and tried to ignore it. It wasn't my business. Then one of the dogs I was really close with, a Vizsla named Ginny, was growling, which was really out of character for her; she was a sweetheart. I walk down to check on her to see the dude with his arm cocked back ready to hit her, so I ran over shouting at him, 'What are you thinking about doing?' You wouldn't believe what he said. He said, 'I'm gonna beat some sense into this bitch.' He was getting ready to hit her, that was obvious. I was close enough that I grabbed his arm before he could get the punch off, and I locked up that arm, but he had his other arm free. He threw a few shots to my stomach, before I tripped him and leaned him against Ginny's cage. Ginny was still growling and snarling at him, so I told him, 'Ever think about hitting a woman again and I'll feed you to the dogs.' He managed to push me back against the wall so I wrapped an arm around his neck and started to choke him. He proceeded to ram me back into the wall, but I held my grip. I managed to tell Megan to call the cops, so she ran off to do that, and he continued ramming me into the wall to get me off. At that point, I was entirely hanging off of his back, legs wrapped around his waist, holding on to that choke. After a few more hits to the wall he started to fade. Once I could feel that he was out, I dropped him on the ground and used a couple dog leashes to tie him up to Ginny's cage. Ginny was now calmer, but still shot a snarl and growl at him every other minute. After tying him up, I just sat there for a second to collect myself. Once I got my breath I realized that my ribs hurt really bad. Megan came back with a cop, who put the dude in cuffs, and to the back of the cop's car he went. The cop stuck around took a statement from the owner, the manager, Megan, and then he came to me. I asked him if I could get a lift to get some x-rays. I told him I think I broke a rib, and he gave me a ride, and I gave my statement on the ride. Upon arrival he asked if I needed help, I refused, went in, got x-rays, and found out that I cracked three ribs on my right side.”

“Look at you, Mr. Hero.”

I couldn't help but blush, “Hero may be pushing it. I only did what was right. I like to think that there are plenty of others that would do the exact same thing. “

“Yeah, but that's just you. You'd defend a fly from a newspaper if you thought it were wrong.” She wasn't wrong. I've always been pretty set in my views of what's right and wrong.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, the cop actually came to the hospital after he took that guy in. Turns out that he wanted to press charges, but the cop told him that he'd lose that case in a heartbeat with the statements of the people involved. I remember thanking him for that, and before he left he told me good job. I kinda laughed at that, but do you remember when you found out about the scuffle?”

“A little bit. I know that I went over to your house and nobody was home, so I texted and called you, but didn't get a response.”