Never Say Goodbye

I walked back in the house and sat next to Jackie on the couch, she looked up puzzled "Aren't all the guys leaving?" She asked.

"Yeah." I replied "But I want to make sure you're okay." I smiled.

"I'm fine." She mumbled, looking back down again.

"You know he didn't mean it like that hun. He was just surprised... not that we didn't think you were talented, we did. We knew you were." I corrected myself.

"But it's not really just that, it's... I'm just nervous about this all, and his comment made it worse. What if I suck? What if they like... expell me or something because I'm not good enough, I couldn't take that." She sighed "I just need... I just need someone to tell me what to think."

"Well, I'm here." I smiled, she looked up at me and laughed "I could tell you what to think, just think that you're going to be fine. Well, don't think it. Know it. Know you'll be fine, know you won't suck, know you'll be amazing." I smiled as a smile grew on her small face.

She looked up at me and laughed, shaking her head "You should be a psychiatrist. You know how to make people feel better, when they really don't want to." She laughed.

"Well good. Because I love making people feel better, especially my best friends." I said, poking her arm as she backed away, poking back.

"Thanks Matt, really." She smiled up at me. Giving me a quick hug and pulling back. "Go, the guys are probably already there." She gestured outside "You'll miss out on the fun." She giggled.

"No, you're missing out on the fun. And I'm not leaving until you come with me." I smiled, knowing she would have to come.

"Well then you're in for a boring day because I'm not going." She laughed. I shook my head.

"You're coming alright." I laughed, standing up.

She looked up at me half frightened. I reached down and picked her up, slinging her over my shoulder as I stood all the way up. She laughed and hit my back in protest but I didn't listen. "Put the papers down or they get wet." I laughed, hearing everything fall to the floor with a thunk.

"Put me down Matt!" She laughed, hitting my back. But even her hardest hits felt like little ones. She was just so... little, not in a bad way though.

"No!" I laughed, walking out the door and to the beach, her still over my shoulders.

I could see the guys walking in the distance so I decided to run and catch up. As I did Jackie's laughs bounced with my steps and she started cracking up. "MATTHEW SANDERS PUT ME DOWN!" She yelled loudly, catching Zack's attention.

He turned around and started laughing. Brian, Jim and Johnny all turned around, shook their heads and continued walking. Zack just laughed and kept walking too. I finally caught up with them, millions of "Matt you're so dead!" and "PUT ME DOWN NOW!"'s later.

"So I see you coaxed her out." Zack smiled, tapping her bare foot. She elbowed me in the back.

"Don't aggravate the wild animal, she can hurt." I laughed, feeling her dig her finger tips into my shoulders, making me flinch. "Ok, stop that or I'll drop you and really not mean to, seriously." I laughed as she kept it up "Seriously! Stop! I'm going to drop you!" I said sternly. The last thing I wanted to do was drop her, Zack would kill me.

"Then put me down." She said with one last pinch.

"Stop so I can." I said, she stopped. I sighed and set her down, still having a grip on her waist as her feet touched the ground. "Shorty." I smirked and let go.

She pouted up at me, but stood firmly infront of me. "Godzilla." She laughed, hitting my arm and turned around to keep walking with us. I laughed at her as she skipped among all of us.

The 'normal' person, seeing a group of five tattooed men would be scared shitless. But add a short, tiny, tattooed girl to the mix and it's a 'w-t-f?' moment right there. I laughed as she ran up and jumped on Jimmy's back, causing him to veer a teeny bit, but he adjusted and hoisted her onto his back. I could hear them talking a little as we walked.

"Sorry..." Jimmy whispered.

"S'okay, just don't say it again." Jackie laughed.

I smiled, knowing he was apologising for what he said earlier. She jumped down and fell back so we were both walking together. I looked down at her tattooed hands and laughed, she looked up "What?" She asked.

"You." I smiled.

She gaped "Well!" She giggled and grabbed my hand "Gosh! Your hands are freaking huge!" She laughed, sizing hers to mine.

"No, you're just really small." I said, lacing my fingers into hers.

She looked up at me and smiled "Naw, you're just giant." She laughed, not undoing our hands. And really, I couldn't protest. It felt... right? Yeah, it did. Our hands, for some odd reason beyond me, just seemed to fit perfectly. There was no awkwardness like when you can't find a good place for your thumb or anything, it was just.. perfect. I swung them back and forth as she talked to me about the beach. "I remember when I first moved here, Zack used to throw me into the water." She laughed. "It was so cold the first time!"

"Really? What time of the year did you come here?" I asked.

"Zack! Wasn't it in October?" Jackie yelled to Zack, who was now infront of us talking with Brian.

He looked back and thought "Yeah, because it was your tenth birthday like two weeks later." He said, looking at our hands and turning back around, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, so it was fall-ish." I said.

Jackie nodded and 'mhm'ed. I laughed as Brian looked back and nearly tripped over the sand as we walked onto the beach. He turned back and whispered something to Zack, who looked back and laughed, turning back and whispering something to Brian.

"What are they whispering about?" Jackie whispered, haha, to me.

"If I knew, I wouldn't want to know." I laughed.

Jackie stopped, breaking our hands apart, to sink her toes into the sand. She smiled and closed her eyes "This is the best." She whispered to herself and soaked up the warmth of the sand. I laughed as she lost her balance and fell over as some kid ran past her. She sat on the sand, tucking her hair behind her ears and laughing. "I'm not very balanced." She smiled, standing up and brushing her shorts off.

"He took you off guard." I smiled as she walked back up to me.

Zack ran up to us and smirked "You know some traditions can't be broken." He smiled wider at Jackie, who just stopped.

"No.." She said, supressing a giggled "Oh noo!!" She cried dramatically, rushing away from Zack as he ran after her, hands out ready to throw her into the water.

He ended up catching up with her and running to the water as she pounded on his back. He tossed her in and laughed. I had made it to the waters edge just as she emerged again. He hair stuck to her face and she spit out sea water as she clutched her arms together "I-it's so c-co-cold..." She shivered, standing with her hair wrapped around her face and make-up running down her cheeks.

I laughed and waded ou to her, soaking my pants in the process. Zack was sitting on the sand as the others ran up and down the beach, chasing birds like the children they were at heart. I rached Jackie and she shivered, causing me to 'aww'. She looked up and frowned "Zack's mean." She whispered. I nodded with an 'oh really?'. She nodded back. I tucked her soaked hair behind her ears and wiped her cheeks free from makeup. She looked up "Thanks, but I would have done that sooner or later." She laughed "I'm not a complete involate."

"Eh, I like to." I laughed, eyeing Zack down. "Come on." I said, taking her hand from her waist and leading her out of the water. She followed, swooshing her legs in the water a little more than neccesary, getting me even more wet.

I looked at Zack then stood behind him, pretending to be looking for Brian. Jackie laughed as I reached down and poked him, he shot up and looked at me "What the heck?" He asked. I reached out and grabbed him, slinging him over my shoulder and running for the water.

We must have looked completely insane, well we were almost. I dumped him in the deep water and ran out, before he could take his revenge. I ran next to Jackie and turned to see Zack standing in the water, hair a mess and gasping for air. Jackie was doubled over in laughter as Zack trudged out of the water "Thank the fish you're bigger than me or you'd be in that water by now." Zack laughed, shaking his hair off, getting my wet.

I just laughed at his attempt of revenge. I looked at Jackie, who was still laughing at Zack and smiled.

~~~~

We stayed at the beach for about four solid hours. Zack threw Jackie into the water a few more times, and I threw him right after. I looked up at the sky as the sun started to set and the tempurature started to cool off ever so slightly. I looked over at Jackie, who was sitting next to me, and saw her teeth chattering and her shoulders shivering. I laughed and wrapped my arm around her. Her skin was ice to the touch. "Want to get going?" I asked quietly.

She looked up at me and smiled with blue lips "Y-y-yes." She laughed.

"Ok... Zack, we're heading home. You guys coming?" I asked, turning to where they four guys had started a game of volleyball.

"No, we have to finish this game up!" He yelled back, concentrating on playing.

I nodded and stood up, Jackie stood next to me and crossed her arms, her teeth audibly chattering. I laughed and picked her up. "Come on, before you turn into a human popsicle." I laughed.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, making sure she wouldn't fall. Thankfully she didn't protest when I started walking, I mean how else were we supposed to get home? I felt her cold, wet hair against my neck and shivered. I tripped over Zack's stupid shoes and she gripped tighter, pulling her head away and looked at me.

"Sorry, blame Zack's shoes..." I laughed. She nodded and replaced her head in my neck, breathing softly.

We made it back to their house after a little while and I opened the door, not seeing Mrs. Baker's car in the driveway. I walked in and kicked my shoes off in the hallway. Jackie hadn't moved yet so I was assuming she was asleep. I walked over to the bathroom and pulled a babysitter move, I turned to the mirror to check if she was sleeping. Her eyes were open and she looked back at me "Hi." She laughed, hugging my neck and yawning.

"Did you fall asleep?" I asked, walking back out into the den.

"I think so.." She said, re-adjusting herself as I sat down so that she was sitting facing me with her legs crossed. "You know, you're really comfy." She laughed, running her hands through her hair, messing it even more.

"Thanks.. I think." I laughed as she yawned again. She was so... adorable? Not in a freaky stalker pedophile way, but she was just cute without even trying.

"I'm cold." She said, letting out another shiver.

I looked around and saw a blanket draped over the back of the couch. I reached over and grabbed it, wrapping it around Jackie's shoulders. She pulled it snug and smiled at me "Aww thanks." She laughed.

"You're welcome." I smiled back.

She looked like she was deep in thought so I didn't say anything else, but before I could have, she scooted off my lap and next to me, unfolding the blanket fully and draping it half over my shoulders and half over hers. "There, so you won't be cold either." She laughed.

"But the problem with this is that I'm still cold..." I said, laughing inwardly at her respone of 'oh..' so unexpectadly. I smiled and pulled her closer to me, placing my arm around her shoulders cautiously. She snuggled into my side and I pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, making sure she was covered. She tucked her legs onto the couch and rested her head on my chest. I rubbed my arm up and down her icy one and felt her breathing steady out, telling that she was asleep.