My Heart's Always With You

Amber watched contently as Alyce and Matt continued trying to beat each other at Mario Cart. She’d given up after an hour and laid on her stomach watching them. “You are so going down.” Alyce threatened. She was the undefeated Queen of Mario Cart, out of Amber’s friends anyway.

“We’ll see.” Matt laughed.

“Alyce can’t you settle for second place?” Amber asked with a laugh.

“Are you kidding? I am the Queen of this game!” Amber rolled her eyes and looked back at the screen with a yawn. It was 1 a.m. now and she had started to get tired. Yet as tired as she was, she refused to go to sleep. Her parents would be home in less than 24 hours, she didn’t have time for sleep.

“You know Alyce losing to me would still allow you to be Queen. I would never be the Queen of anything.” Matt reminded her with a laugh and smirk.

“Shut up Matt. Just shut up.” Alyce planned on glaring at him after this race was done.

“See Alyce, you’d still be the Queen.” Amber agreed.

“It wouldn’t be the same.” Amber moved her head to look at Matt.

“So what time are your parents coming home?” He asked.

“Sometime this afternoon. I wish they’d stay gone longer.”

“Me too.”

“I think your dad is the biggest problem for you two.” Alyce told Amber.

“I think so too. He takes things too seriously. I’d be dead if he knew about tonight.”

“You would both be dead.”

“No kidding. I don’t understand why we are supposed to hate each other.”

“Me either.” Matt chipped in. Amber’s phone suddenly went off. It was a text from Lisa.

“U don’t know how lucky u r to not b here. It’s boring as hell.” it said. But Amber knew how lucky she was.

“I no I’m lucky.” She texted back.

“Lisa?” Alyce asked.

“Yup. She says its boring as hell.”

“Not surprising.”

“Not in the least bit.”

“You’d think she’d expect it by now.”

“Really huh?” Amber decided that it was time for her to put her pajamas on and got up. Matt glanced over at her with a curious look on his face.

“Where you going?” He asked her obviously confused.

“I’m going to get my pajamas on and I’m going to make us some frozen pizza. Cheese okay with you guys?”

“Yes!” They chorused. She laughed and went over to grab her pajamas. Before now she’d never really paid attention to how many pajamas of hers had Winnie the Pooh on them. She grabbed a pair and went into her bathroom. She tossed her dirty clothes in her hamper on the way out and then went down to the kitchen.

The pizza only took 20 minutes to cook, she then sliced it up and placed it on one large plate. She then headed up to her room. Alyce and Matt were still trying to beat each other when she walked in. She Amber laughed and shook her head. Alyce paused the game and walked over to the small mini-fridge to grab a soda.

Amber sat down on her bed, up against the wall and her pillows, and Alyce joined her quickly, grabbing a slice of pizza and taking a bit. “Remote?” Amber asked Alyce, who handed her the remote to the TV from the nightstand. Amber changed the setting and began flipping through channels.

“Music videos work for you two?” She asked glancing from Alyce to Matt, who both nodded. That’s when she realized that Matt was still sitting at the edge of her bed. She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Matt?”

“Yeah?”

“There are sodas in the mini-fridge, grab you one and then come sit back here.” She patted the spot on her left with a laugh.

“Okay.” He went to grab a soda when she realized she hadn’t grabbed anything.

“Can you grab me one too please?” She asked innocently. He smiled at her and nodded. Alyce made fake gagging sounds and Amber glared at her.

“Here you go.” Matt handed her the can of soda as he sat down next to her.

“Thank you.” She kissed his cheek and Alyce fake gagged again.

“Yup.” He grabbed a slice of pizza and settled in next to Amber. She moved slightly closer to him so she was resting against him.

“I am trying to eat over here you know. Can you be mushy later?” Alyce asked faking an annoyed tone of voice.

“Deal with it Alyce. I’ve had to watch you and Kellan for two years. You’ll live through one night.” After that the three of them ate in almost complete silence since none of them had realized they were that hungry. After they were all finished they just sat the watching TV. Matt placed his arm around Amber’s shoulders and she let her head rest on his shoulder. Alyce didn’t give them too much crap.

“So Matt are you ready to finish trying to beat me?” Alyce asked finally.

“No! I think him back here with me.” Amber chipped in.

“Amber live with it. Just follow him to the edge of your bed like the love sick puppy you are.” Alyce moved to the edge of the bed and grabbed the controller. Amber turned red and Matt just kissed her cheek. She moved and he went to join Alyce.

For a while Amber just laid back on her pillows and watched. But finally she moved, taking a pillow with her, and laid on her stomach in between them. She placed her arms crossed on the pillow and let her chin rest on her arms.

“Matt do I remind you of a puppy who follows you around?” She asked suddenly.

“No. Why do you ask?” He answered her honestly.

“Because of what Alyce said.”

“You two must hate me right now. Especially you Matt. I mean I completely ruined you guys’ alone time.” Alyce commented.

“Alyce I don’t hate you.” Matt laughed.

“I can’t hate you. And besides its not like we have to be alone. I’m having fun.” Amber responded.

“Me too.”
There was another long silence as Amber just watched the screen and Matt and Alyce concentrated on beating each other. She then began to think about a way to tell her dad that she didn’t care what he told her she was going to see Matt. But she couldn’t picture an outcome that would work.

***

“I don’t think we are going to beat each other.” Alyce sighed at last.

“I think you are right.” Matt agreed before looking down at Amber. Her hair was covering half her face and he knew that she had fallen asleep. It was almost four in the morning. His parents hadn’t bothered to call since he told them he’d probably say at one of the guys’ places.

“She fell asleep didn’t she?” Alyce’s voice made Matt’s head snap up.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll wake her up if you don’t want to be the bad guy.” She was turning the game and TV off. The absence of noise was enough to cause Amber to wake up. She sat up and looked around.

“What time is it?” She asked blinking to clear her vision.

“Almost four.” Matt answered her.

“Who won?”

“Neither of us. I guess we called it a tie.” Alyce answered as she pulled out the futon.

“I guess I should go and let you get some sleep.” Amber looked up at Matt and tried to act like she wasn’t tired. But he could see she was.

“No, stay for a while longer. Please?”

“Amber you are tired. You need to sleep. I’ll see you in a few hours. I promise I will.”

“I don’t want you to leave.” She rolled onto her back to look up at him.

***
A blanket suddenly flew at Matt from the closet and it landed on his lap. Amber knew Alyce had thrown it at him. “Sleep in the chair.” Alyce suggested pointing to the large marshmallow chair that turned into a good-sized bed.

“Amber I really should go.” Amber sat up to look at him as she pouted.
“Please?” Alyce laughed and made her burrow of blankets and pillows before crawling in.

“I’m not sure. I mean wouldn’t it be a little weird for you two?” Alyce laughed again.

“You’d be over there. I’ll be here. And Alyce is right there.”

“Okay.” Amber hugged him tightly as her happiness overflowed.

“A sleepover.” Alyce joked making Amber laugh quietly. Matt went to get the chair turned into a bed and Amber grabbed the remote to turn the TV on. The music videos wouldn’t bother her or Alyce, so she turned to ask Matt.

“Will the TV bother you?” She asked.

“Nope.” He came over and hugged her before kissing her quickly on the lips. “Night.”

She smiled at him before saying “Night Matt.” As he went to the chair she had to think really hard about whether to say it or not. A part of her wanted to say “I love you.” But another part said that it wasn’t time yet. She got underneath her covers and created her own burrow of pillows and blankets.

“Night Alyce.”

“Night Amber.”

“Night Matt.” They both said which made him laugh.

“Night girls.” He responded. Amber sunk into her borrow and closed her eyes, then she remembered to set an alarm so they would be up before her parents came home. Then she laid back down and fell asleep.

***

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…BEEP

“Damn it!” Amber cursed sitting up and turning off the alarm clock.

“It can’t be time to get up already!” Alyce complained covering her head. But it was already 10.

“What time is it?” Matt asked.

“It’s 10. We’ve gotta be outta here so my parents don’t catch us.”

Matt sat up and Amber looked at him. He still looked half asleep and the way his hair looked all messed up only made him look more gorgeous to her. He was thinking the same thing about her when Alyce sat up.

“Okay, stop making goo-goo eyes at each other and get up.” She complained standing up.

“Morning.” Amber told Matt as she walked over to him and kissed him quickly.

“Morning.” They decided that he was going to go home, and change, then he’d meet Amber at the mall with Alyce and Kellan and they’d all go see a movie. After Matt left Amber went into her bathroom and got dressed. When she came out Alyce was looking at her with a funny expression.

“What?” Amber asked her.

“You are in love with him aren’t you?”

“Alyce please don’t. It’s going to hurt enough when we have to break it off.”

“Amber answer the question. Are you in love with him?”

“Yeah Alyce. I think I am. Which makes it that much worse because we can’t hide like this forever but we can’t be together any other way.”

Alyce came over and hugged her best friend. “We will find a way to over power what everyone else says.” She comforted Amber before stepping back. “Since when have either of us ever listened?”

“So you’ll help us?”

“Well duh. Did you think I was just going to stand by while you get hurt? What kind of best friend do you think I am?” Alyce placed her hands on her hips and raised one eyebrow making them both burst into laughed.

***

“Matt answer this question okay?” Jimmy asked as Matt talked to him on his cell phone.

“Okay.”

“Are you in love with this girl?”

“Yeah Jimmy I think I am.”

“Well looks like we are going to have to help you find away to be with her then huh?” Matt knew that Jimmy and the rest of the guys would stand next to him. Maybe that would be enough to help.

“I guess so.” Matt laughed.