Peaches

"That's a stupid idea," Jesse said, taking another bite from his peach, "Let's do it." Peach juice dripped down his chin, and I kind of wanted to lick it off for him.

"One condition though," I stated, taking a bite of my own peach as if it was no big dead. I didn't think it was, well it shouldn't be at least. He should learn to be more understanding. There was no compromising with Jesse though.

"Oh, no," He groaned, "Don't say it." I laughed at his over dramatic attitude, he was such a drama queen sometimes; it was ridiculous.

"Yep, Emma has to come." Emma was my best friend, and Jesse couldn't stand her. I secretly think he likes her, what wasn't to like? She was small and pretty with a good sense of humor. He claimed she was annoying and bratty, which I guess was possible, but I didn't really see it.

"She's gonna fuck everything up." I threw my peach pit at him, trying to lighten the mood a little. I didn't want this to ruin our day. We'd waited for this for awhile now.

"Oh, don't be a douche bag. She isn't going to mess anything up." Okay, that wasn't true. She probably was going to mess it up, or at least get in the way.

Today's adventure was going to be us rowing out across the lake to the woods on the other side. We loved exploring. Well, actually HE loved exploring; I just would do anything he wanted to do if I got to spend time with him. I was starting to like it too, I liked everything we did together. My heart fluttered at the thought of him not wanting Emma to come. I wondered if he didn't want her to come because he really did find her annoying, or if he secretly wanted to just spend time with me alone. I liked to believe the later, though the first one seemed far more likely.

We always wanted to do this, but his mom told us over and over again it wasn't a good idea. "Those woods are really big, you guys could easily get lost in there." she'd tell us every time we went out on the lake. Emma and Jesse were neighbors, which worked to my advantage. They were my two best friends, and that made it so much easier to spend time with the two of them. I preferred Jesse though, for different reasons then Emma. Jesse was probably the cutest kid in the 7th grade. Girls envied me because of all the time we spent together. I loved Emma too, though; and I knew it'd hurt her if she knew that. So I always made sure to sleep over her house after I left his house, and include her in as many adventures as I could.

His parents were out for the day, so this was our chance to go explore. We'd pretty much climbed every tree, scaled every rock, and investigated every potential hiding spot within a mile radius. All that as left was the woods. He sighed, getting up out of the dirt and offering me his hand. We did this almost every morning. Him and I would sit down by the edge of the lake and snack on peaches while we tried to decide what we were going to do for the day. "Let's get a move on it then. I'm not waiting all day for Emma either, she has five minutes to be ready and outside or we're leaving without her." He was a little bossy, but I didn't mind listening as long as I was listening to him.

We walked next door to Emma's and I used the key that I had on my key ring with mine to open the front door. We didn't knock anymore, and I had my own key for when they went on vacation so I could feed her dog and cat. "EmEm?" I called as I took off my shoes and headed down the hall to her room.

Jesse stuck his hands in his pockets and grunted; reluctantly following behind me. Emma was sitting on her bed; doing what she called meditating. It made me smile. Her room was dark, like always; and I flipped on the light.

"You broke my zen, thanks Meagan." Emma got off her bed and blew out her candles.

"Ready for an adventure?" I asked her, tossing her sneakers to her. Emma always wore black and her hair was always in pigtails.

"Where are we going?!" The enthusiasm was back in her voice as she put her shoes on. I was forgiven for disturbing her.

"We were going to go explore the woods across the lake, but Meg said you had to come; so hurry up," Jesse grumbled, turning and leaving the room. It used to bother Emma that he was like that towards her, but I convinced her to ignore it.

"I don't have to come if you don't want," She said staring at her shoes. I knew it would kill her if I told her not to come. She loved hanging out with us.

"You're right, you don't have to come. I want you to, but it's all up to you." I turned it around, and just like I thought; she looked up and smiled. I kept reminding myself it was the right thing to do.

"You're the best, lets do it." I knew she wouldn't want to be left out.

The three of us went back next door and sent Emma inside to gather up a backpack worth of supplies while Jesse and I headed for the row boat. Jesse's dad bought it for him for his last birthday, and we took it out whenever the weather permitted. Jesse and I dragged it to the waters edge, just as Emma was coming out of the house. "Get in," Jesse instructed her. Him and I knew how to get in it when it was already floating, but last time Emma tried; we all ended up in the water. Once we were all settled, Jesse passed me the ore I always used and him and I paddled across the lake. Emma dragged her fingertips along the top of the water, pretending they were water skiing. It was the perfect day for this, not to hot and not to cold. I felt a rush of excitement.

"We have awhile, but lets just try not to get lost." I knew he was talking directly to Emma, but for once was trying to be nice about it. If Emma noticed, she didn't make it obvious.

"I brought us lots of water bottles, some cereal bars, and a flashlight." She was usually in charge of packing the bag, since that was basically all she was capable of. Jesse rolled his eyes and I shot him a look. Why couldn't he just stop being an ass for once?

"That's fine, thank you," Jesse said politely. Emma smiled at him. If Jesse would be nice, Emma would pretend he was never mean in the first place. That's how she was. She really wasn't a mean person, and she wasn't that stupid either. She just didn't always think before she did something. Like that time she asked what time the ten o'clock news was on.

We hit the other side just as my arm was starting to hurt. Jesse jumped out and pulled the little boat further on the shore. Much to my surprise, he offered Emma his hand to help her climb out. I wasn't sure if I was jealous or pleased. "Over there seemed like it's not to steep or bushy, I think we can go in there." Emma linked her arm with mine and we followed Jesse. It was actually really dark under the cover of all the trees. It as quiet too, aside from the sound of our feet crunching on dried leaves.

"What now?" Emma asked innocently after a few minutes of walking in silence.

Jesse shot her a dirty look, "We're here to look around and see what we find. You shouldn't have came if you wanted to do something different."

"Chill out Jesse, you don't have to be such an asshole to her." Emma held on to me tighter, reminding me that I didn't have to stick up for her. I did though, I should stick up for her every time he said something I didn't like.

"Then the both of you could have stayed home. I would have came by myself," he said harshly.

That hurt, "If you don't need us then, fine. Have fun alone, with no supplies." Jesse turned and stared at me, but I pulled Emma's arm and dragged her towards the direction that I knew the road was. Once we got to the road, it was maybe a fifteen minute walk back to her house. I never thought I'd leave him standing there like that, and I especially never thought he wouldn't chase after us.

"You didn't have to do that, you know. I didn't come to hang out with him, I came to hang out with you," Emma said when we were out of ear shot.

I always went along with what Jesse said, if he said jump, I said how high. That had to change, I needed a mind of my own. "You're my best friend Emma, you were in my life long before he was. I shouldn't let him treat you like that."

She was quiet for a minute before saying, "I know that...but you love him."

I let go of her arm and turned to face her, "Excuse me?"

She shook her head, "Really? You think I don't know you well enough to know that? You don't have to admit it to me, but I know that's why you spend so much time with him. You love him." She seemed very proud of herself for putting it all together, and I had to admit I was a little impressed myself; because she was 100% right.

I laughed and turned to keep walking. "Am I really that easy to read?"

She laughed, too. "Oh please. You light up like a Christmas tree every time you're around him." We continued talking about boys, which turned into friends and school, then everything else. I realized that since I'd been spending so much time with Jesse, I hadn't really known much about what was going on in Emma's life. I made a mental promise to her and myself to never let that happen again.

We finally found the road after what seemed like forever. "How are you and Jesse going to make up?" She asked, a sly grin on her face.

"You're out of control Em," I said, a blush creeping up in my cheeks.

She elbowed me, "Ah, come on. Kiss him already. He wants you to."

I didn't look at her, "Does he?" She knew a lot about boys, it was her specialty. Every guy seemed to be in love with her.

"I think so, but there is only one way to find out." I tried to imagine myself doing it. just kissing him. Emma would, maybe I should. Then again, she was a lot prettier then I was. When we were walking across the bridge that over looks the lake, I saw Jesse's boat still on the shore. It was going to be getting dark soon, I hoped he was smart enough to know that he should be back by then.

Emma decided she wanted to skip, and I joined in. I loved this about our friendship, we could enjoy the simplest things. When we got back to her house, her mom was already home. She gave us the usual twenty questions about where we were, and Emma gave her the usual answers while I went off to call my dad. I informed him I was sleeping at Emma's for the night. The conversation was over quick, like all conversations with my dad were. We didn't have a lot in common. Emma joined me in her room and plopped down on the bed next to me.

"Call Jesse, he should be home by now."

"What do I say?"

She thought about it for a minute, "Tell him you're sorry about leaving like that and to meet you at the park you will make it up to him." I knew this game, she played it all the time. That wording could leave him to take it however he wanted. It wasn't a bad idea. I took out my sidekick and dialed his number. It rang once, twice, three, four, five times before it went to voice mail. "He didn't answer," I informed her, "Maybe he doesn't feel like talking right now." Was he really that mad at me?

"Well then walk over there and make him talk to you. He'll get over it," she said reassuringly.

Emma wasn't good with commonsense, but when it came to things like this; I had to admit she knew best. "I'll be right back, then."

I got up and left, telling her mother I was just running over to Jesse's for a few minutes. I tried to be calm when I walked up to his front door. If he really didn't want to talk to me, I would come back tomorrow. I rang his door bell and waited anxiously. The porch light went on and his door opened. He wasn't standing there though, his mother was. "Meagan? Where's Jesse?" She unlocked the glass door for me and let me in.

"He's here I think." Where else would he be?

She looked confused, "We thought he was with you, when I left for work this morning he said he was hanging out with you all day."

A bad feeling rose up in my stomach. "We were with each other, but.." What should I tell her, the truth? I never liked lying, and I certainly wasn't good at it. "...We got into a fight and I left." The clock on the wall said it was seven thirty, time flew by today. I guess that walk to the road was loner then we thought.

"Did he mention where he was going?" I looked out there back window that looked over the lake. It was to dark to see if the row boat was still on the bank, but if it wasn't back in the backyard, it had to still be there.

"We took out the boat with Emma and went across the lake. We went in the woods and he was just being mean. We got in a fight and Emma and I walked towards the road and went back to her house."

Her face looked stunned, "He never came back across?"

I looked down at my shoes, worry settling in my chest. "I guess not, I haven't spoken with him since. I came over to apologize."

"How long ago was that?" She asked, panic creeping into her voice.

"Eleven..." She ran to call her husband, who worked late every night without saying anything else. I went out in the backyard to see if the boat was back. It wasn't. My heart started beating faster and faster. What if he got lost over there, all by himself? I should have never left him. I ran back up to the house and told his mother the boat wasn't there yet, and she already called the police.

Within minutes, the police had a search team ready on the other side of the lake. I called Emma and her and her mother came over. Emma ran and hugged me, tears in her eyes. "We shouldn't have left," She whispered to me.

I felt my own tears start to flow, "I know." Hours passed, but they seemed like days. No sign of Jesse. Why did make the stupid rule about not bringing cell phones on our adventures? We claimed it would take away from the experience, but now I wished more then anything that we had thought about what would happen if something like this ever came up.

Ten o'clock came, and the head of the search team decided to contact the news and run a description of Jesse, and to put out an amber alert. Emma, her mother, Jesse's parents, and I split up and knocked on doors on the other side of the lake. No one had seen him. By midnight, desperation and hysteria had set in for all of us. This was never supposed to happen, he was my best friend. We were supposed to take care of each other.

Emma's mom took us back to the house, and her and I spent the rest of the night sitting on her back porch watching the flashlights of the search party move through the woods across the lake. They stayed out there all night, and I heard his parents called everyone in his phone's contacts asking if they'd seen him. A whole night passed.

The next day was spent with everyone looking. The whole neighborhood was in search, and I tried to stay hopeful. "This is my fault, Meg, if I never came, you two wouldn't have fought and you would have stayed with him." Her and I sobbed together as I tried to convince her that this wasn't her fault. I blamed myself. I should have done my duties, to both of them; and worked out the problem between them sooner. Now it was to late.

That day passed, and seven more came and passed too. I didn't ever want to leave the house. I didn't go home either, I just sat in Emma's room. The two of us just sat in there, reading or watching television. Jesse's parents wouldn't speak with us anymore, and I knew they blamed me. I knew everyone blamed me. I even blamed me.

It's been four years since that day, and Jesse wasn't heard from again. Emma and I got closer and closer, and her and I will never grow apart. Every once in awhile her and I will sit by the lake and eat a peach; in fact, I eat a peach every day. I learned the true meaning of friendship from Jesse. I like to believe that he's still alive, and that he's happy where ever he is. His parents forgave me, and I always go over to see how they are. I'll never take another friendship for granted again, and every time I see my new current boyfriend, I realize that he is just like Jesse. All I know is that, until they find him dead; I'm going to keep searching for him as if he was alive.