By Your Side

Tom’s POV

All of us were in the garage after school that day. I hadn’t told anyone about what happened between Anna and me yesterday. It was our little secret. A great secret at that. It was awkward for the both of us, but I knew it meant a lot to her. And me, for that matter. I actually wanted to do it again. I hoped I would get a chance to before she left. No, sex isn’t the most important thing in a relationship, but it was certainly a great part of one. I would have to tell Bill, eventually. I was planning on telling him but not yet. He would freak. Though, he would find out somehow whether I told him or not. It was a weird twin thing. It could get annoying sometimes but I learned to deal with it.

Anna had to go pack so she wasn’t allowed to hang out with us. I was really pissed off. I wasn’t even trying to pretend that I wasn’t. It was quite obvious to everyone that I didn’t want her to leave. We all loved having her come over to hang out and watch us perform. I didn’t want to think of her never being able to come over again. It only upset me more every time I did.

I was zoning in and out trying to come up with different plans to make her stay as the guys talked about everything other than Anna. They were just as sad that she was leaving. Though; it hadn’t hit them as hard as it did me. They weren’t dating her after all. They didn’t know how amazing she was when it was just the two of us. I could tell her anything. Even things I would never think to tell any one but Bill. She was so… perfect. Sure, I ‘didn’t know what love was’ but it sure as hell felt like there was something damn close to it when I was with Anna. I didn’t know how to explain my feelings when I was with her but they were so different than when I was with everyone else. It had to mean something… I had to think of a way to get her to stay.

“No Tom, stop thinking about whatever it is you’re thinking,” Bill said interrupting my thoughts. “It’s not going to work.”

“What are you talking about?” I said playing dumb. He knew me too well, he knew exactly what I was doing and could always tell when I was lying.

“We all know you’re up to something.”

“How can you tell?”

“The look on your face,” Gustav said.

“What look?”

"You’ve got that look on your face. The one that says, ‘I have a plan and I'm going to drag the rest of them along with me and get them into an ass load of trouble’." Georg explained, and the rest of them nodded.

“I don’t have that look.”

"Yes, you do," Bill interrupted again. "Last time you had that look, we ended up sneaking out of that house to go and find some damn thing you insisted you lost that was at the park and we got attacked by a pack of dogs. We didn’t even find the damn thing you 'lost', either." I tried to argue back but he was right. I was actually going to that park to find some girl that told me she would meet me there. Dumb bitch never showed up, though, so we ended up being chased by dogs. I smirked, remembering how we had to hide in a tree for nearly an hour until they were gone.

“Or that one time you told us all that the neighbor across the street was always looking ‘suspicious’ for God knows what so we snuck into his house and got the police called on us,” Gustav added in.

Good times, good times. I smirked again. We had had some crazy adventures together. Yeah, we almost always got into trouble afterwards but it was totally worth it, to me, anyway. The others usually weren’t too happy about it. But that’s me, I live for excitement. “Well, we have to keep her from moving somehow!” I said defensively. There was no way in hell I was letting her move halfway around the world, there had to be someway to convince her parents that it was a bad decision so they had to stay.

“Tom, listen. There is nothing we can do.” Bill sighed sadly. “It’s not our place to try and keep her here when it’s her dad that’s forcing her to move away.”

“But… But there has to be something we can do!” I tried convincing them again. I wasn’t going to give up so easily. I couldn’t.

“Guys, wait!” I said and I could practically see the light bulb go off in my head. “What if we kidnap her? It’ll totally work! All we have to do is make it seem like some psycho broke into her room and she can just live with us!”

“Oh man Tom, that’s a great idea!” Bill scoffed with sarcasm thick in his voice.

“No, that’ll never work. Besides I’m not going to get thrown in jail. We’ve already dealt with cops because of one of your plans before. I don’t want to do it again, thanks,” Georg said.

“Screw you guys! At least I’m trying to think of ways to get her to stay.” I crossed my arms, furrowed my brows and frowned.

“She’s our friend too, remember? We care just as much that we won’t see her again; but face it, there’s nothing we can do. Her parents already made the decision and I’m one hundred percent positive you won’t make them change their mind.”

“I don’t want her to leave, though,” I said feeling defeated. I hated feeling like this; so not in control and powerless. I was so used to being able to do anything and making people see my way but, unfortunately, I had lost this one.

“None of us do… but we should go spend time with her and help her out as much as we can before she does leave. I’m sure it’s harder on her than it is on us.”

“Yea, Tom, think about it; she has to move across the world to a place that’s unfamiliar and with people that don’t even speak the same language. Imagine how she feels right now,” Gustav said.

Why the hell did he have to be right? I was busy feeling sorry for myself that I’d never see her again but at least I was still going to be able to see familiar faces everyday. God, I never acted so mushy and sentimental before. Something had to be wrong with me.

“Let’s go visit her. It’ll make all of us feel better,” Bill suggested and we all agreed.