Never Ending Equation

I was thirteen when I developed this big, complex plan to try and coax her into liking me, only to have it backfire.

Her brother had hinted to me that Nicolette and a few of her friends were heading in to town for ice cream, so I figured I'd go with my brothers and steal her away from her friends while Eric, Marc and Jared distracted them. I didn't know exactly what I was going to say, but I was hoping that whatever poured out of my mouth would somehow finally get her to like me.

"Hey, aren't those the Staal boys?" I heard a girl by the name of Samantha say as she pointed in our direction.

Nicolette rolled her eyes before shoving her way out of the booth and walking over to us and crossing her arms.

"What are you guys doing here?" she demanded.

"Oh, you know, just getting some ice cream," Marc explained, scratching his head.

Jared nodded his head eagerly. "Yeah, why else would we be here?"

"We're not up to anything. Nope, not at all," Eric said, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from me.

She raised her eyebrows at me while my brothers took the opportunity to slip away to booth full of girls. So far, my plan was working out.. sort of.

Nicolette started to turn away and go back to her group of friends, but I grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to me.

"Yes?"

"Do you want some ice cream?" I asked her.

"I already had some, but," she replied, smirking, as she dragged out the last word. "There's no rules against having another scoop."

I felt the corner of my lips turn upward as we got in line. I turned around and looked back at my brothers, receiving a thumbs up from Eric.

"What are you going to get?" I asked her.

"A banana split."

I gave my head a nod. "Those are my favorite."

"Let's split it," Nicolette said with a giggle, her eyes shining.

She ordered and I paid. We each grabbed a spoon before I started to head back to everyone.

"Jordan," she called from behind me. I turned around and saw her motioning outside.

We found a bench around the corner of the building and sat down. The two of us sat there quietly for a while, eating our banana split, until she broke the silence.

"Do you think it's possible for two people to be in love forever?"

I nearly choked on my spoon, not expecting something like that to come from her mouth.

"I guess so, yeah," I replied. "Why?"

Nicolette shook her head as she looked to the ground. "It's nothing."

"Come on, just tell me."

When she looked back up there were tears blurring her vision, threatening to fall at any second. "My mom caught my dad in bed with our neighbor."

"Mrs. Lewis?" I asked, shocked at what I was hearing.

She gave her head a faint nod before blinking once and letting little the salty drops of water slip down her cheeks.

"They're getting divorced, Jordan," she whispered before she moved closer to me and laid her head on my shoulder.

I didn't know what to do, and I didn't know what to say. But as if it were some sort of instinct, I took the bowl of ice cream from her hands and rested my head on top her hers.

"I'm so sorry, Nicolette."

She sighed, still shaking from all of the crying she was doing. "You know, all this time I thought we were one big, happy family, perfect even. Stay at home mom, a dad who dragged his brief case to and from his nine to five shift and made it home for dinner every night, and two kids who were perfectly content with everything in life. All I've ever wanted was to feel the kind of love they felt for each other."

"I'm sure you'll find somebody someday," I replied. "Someone who won't break your heart like that."

Someone like me.

"You think so?" she asked in the most vulnerable state I'd ever seen her as she looked up to me.

"I know so."

"There's something else, too."

"What is it?"

"I'm thinking about going back to Montreal with my mom," Nicolette said barely above a whisper.

"You're what?" I asked, nearly loosing my breath.

"I just don't think I can stay here with him. He tore my mom's heart apart and this family."

"Please don't go. Please. Just-" I stopped, unable to bear thinking about her going to Montreal. "Stay here, for me. I don't want to lose you. If you move away I'll never see you again."

She cried some more, something I didn't want to happen. "You can't lose what you never had, Jordan. And I'm not yours."

"Then be mine," I told her. "I know we're just kids, but I can't keep denying the fact that I like you."

"I can't be yours."

"Why not?" I asked, wanting answer.

"Because," she paused, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Because I don't like you the way you like me."

And then she turned away and went back inside, leaving me standing there.