Bet You Didn't Expect It

I jumped off the swing and looked at my phone. It was 20 minutes before dinner, and our house was a 5 minute drive.

"Sorry Christine, but I gotta get home before dinner. I have to go. Let me just call John. Do you have a ride?" I asked. She shook her head no. "Oh, okay, I'm sure John won't mind"

I dialed John's familiar number into the old, small, flip cell phone my mom got me when I begged her for one at the age of 13. It was the top of the line, everyone was getting one, and I absolutely needed one too, but compared to a modern day cell phone, all it is, is a piece of crap. Sometimes I just wish I could call mom down from heaven.

"Hello?"

"Hey John. It's Anne. Do you think you could give Christine and I a ride home please?" I asked politely.

"Yeah, sure. Where does she live?" he replied.

"Just off 5th avenue. Oh, and we're at the elementary school's park" I told him.

"Alright. Be there in 5" he told me and hung up.

Soon after, John pulled up in his car and honked the horn at us. I got into the passengers seat, and Christine in the back.

"Hey ladies" John smiled. I returned the smile, while Christine greeted him with a "Hello". He then pulled out of his spot on the street easily and sped off. "What's the number on your house?" he asked when we got into her block.

"6341" she replied. He found her house, and stopped in front of it. "Thanks John! See you tomorrow Anny!" she smiled. We waved at her as she got out of the car. I could see through the window her family, watching TV and having a great time. Sharing laughs, eating popcorn together, and hugging her when she got through the door. They were a picture perfect family. They looked like my dream family. The one that we used to be, and if I ever saw it again, it'd be in my dreams. I sighed, as John sped off into the streets of Tempe.

The ride home was quiet, and awkward. John tried to make conversation, but I hadn't felt like talking.

"So, how was hanging out with Christine?"

"Good"

"How was your day at school?"

"Great"

"Did you see Mr. McDoogle and Ms. Reemus? There's some stupid rumor going around that they have a thing for each other! And it seems to be coming true, every lunch hour, I see McDoogle go into Reemus' classroom!" he laughed. I fake laughed. He frowned. "Okay, I was trying to lighten the mood. But that didn't work. So now, plan B. You're going to tell me what's gotten you suddenly upset. And if it's about this morning, I thought we worked this out"

"It's not about this morning" I replied plainly.

"Then what is?" he asked.

"I've just- I- I've got a lot on my mind right now" I told him.

"Such as...?"

"It's okay John. I don't really wanna talk about it" I responded.

"Uh, okay"

&&&

I knocked on John's door quietly, standing in my plaid pajama bottoms and a baggy plain white t-shirt. He walked over to open it.

"Oh, hey" he said, scratching the back of his head. "Come in" he told me, and shut the door.

"I need to ask you a question" I stated. He nodded. "Do you like me John? I mean, as in, like me, like me?"

"Well, it depends. Do you like me? Like me, like me?"he replied.

"Are you saying that as in you would pity date me, or are you saying that because you actually do like me, you just don't know if I like you yet?"

"The second one"he confessed. "Look, I get it if you don't like me back, it's just that I think you're really awesome. You're beautiful, down to earth, and fun. That's what I look for in a girl. And I think you're someone I'd like to date"

"To tell you the truth John, I think you're wonderful too. You're handsome, you have a great taste in music, you're a down to earth guy, you're unlike any other. But I'm moving in a couple months, and a long distance relationship would be too much for me. I fell too fast those 2 months, I don't know what I'd do"

"But you said we'll see each other, right? Scottsdale is only 2 hours away. You promised we would stay in touch"

I gave him a shy grin. "Well, okay. We'll see how it goes"