Never Leave Me.

Daniella;

"Ella, baby!" I heard Jennifer's familiar voice and smiled. She wrapped her arms around my torso from behind. "I missed you!" She dragged out the 'you.' I can practically see her smiling.

"Hey Jen," I said blandly. It wasn't supposed to come as that, but that's just how I spoke. Usually, not much emotion comes to my words. Basically, I was the complete opposite of my parents. I thought a positive and another positive make a positive, but apparently it comes out negative. "Why would you miss me? It's only been like a day."

Jen shrugged. "I love my best friend. Sue me." She skipped around me in a circle and grinned, singing 'I love Ella' multiple times. She looked at her cellphone and sighed, after 3 minutes of skipping. "Love, hate to break it to you, but lunch is over in like... 3... 2... 1..."

As if she was a psychic, the bell rang. Loudly, I might add. Dragging me along with her, Jen skipped to 5th period, which was Art. Jen and I had every class together, except for 2nd period.

1: Physical Education.
2: Math.
3: History.
4: Science.
5: Art.
6: English/Reading.
7: English/Writing.

Unlike Jen, I wasn't very artistic. Well, I sucked at drawing, sketching, painting, etc. But since music, dancing, and acting is considered art, I was somewhat artistic. Jennifer was more of the drawing type. She would be drawing some kind of masterpiece while I would just draw my name with a couple of stars next to it. Maybe add some stick figures if I was feeling artsy enough.

"Jeeeen," I whined, dragging out the 'en' part. She looked up at me with her cutesy little brown eyes and batted them. That's what I hated about her. She can get anything she wanted by batting her eyes. It killed me whenever I had to say no to those eyes.

As for me, I had cold, blue eyes, but they were covered up with dark brown color-contacts. I never understood why I had blue eyes; my mom had hazel eyes, and my dad had brown ones.

"Yes Ella, love?" Jen asked, tapping her pencil on her table.

I sighed, "I can't make it to the movies tonight..." Jen frowned. "I have a lot of homework to do, and I still need to make up some projects." That was such a blank excuse. Jen knows that I did everything I had to when I had to. She also knows that I do my homework during lunch and during class.

She rolled her eyes. "Ella, you don't need to lie to me. If you don't wanna go, you don't have to. I know how much you hate going out in public," she giggled. I laughed and shook my head.

"How about we just chill at my house?" I suggested. She nodded, and started to draw some chibi character. "My dad ordered some sushi." Her face lit up as she jumped out of her chair to attack me with a hug.

"I love your parents! It's like they could see into the future and stuff. And they always order out... Except for like completely special occasions or something."

I shrugged. "Well, you know my parents. My dad's a doctor, and my mom's a lawyer. Oh, and my brother's coming back soon," I smiled.

Jen grinned. "Baby's coming back?"

My brother Sean was serving our beloved country. He told me before he told anyone. My parents were a complete mess when he told them that he was gonna go off to war. Sean and Jen were also together. Jen supported him with his decision, even though it was obvious she was worried.

I nodded, the smile on my face growing wider and wider. "Yes; I can't wait! I just wished I had stories to tell him..."

She moved her bangs out of her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, life's been pretty boring. But hey, when's he coming back?"

"Uh, in about a month? I'm not sure. I haven't seen him in 6 months... I just want him back here." I looked down at the empty piece of paper in front of me and sighed. I started sketching some tents, cannons, and some soldiers.

In what seemed like 5 minutes later, the bell rang. I took my drawing and crumpled it up, placing it in my bag. Jen raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off. I mumbled a bye to the teacher, who just gave me a look that screamed 'what is wrong with you?'

×××

Jen and I sat in our seats at the front of the room. She usually talked to her other friends rather than me in this period because she knew how seriously I took it. Literature was yet another passion of mine. I just loved the idea of getting everything in your head down on paper. And with my short-term memory, it served me well.

I was currently reading 'A Walk To Remember' by Nicholas Sparks when I heard my name called up. "Jennifer Jackson, Holly Woodrift, and Ella Roberts; you all have mail." I stayed in my seat, thankful that I sat up front so I didn't have to walk up and waste energy.

I opened the envelope that was handed to me and started reading rapidly.

Dear Dani California...

This Frank guy is actually alright. He seemed nice, honest, loyal, anything you'd want in a friend. But why would I feel so awkward talking to him? Why do I get the feeling that this isn't gonna end well?

×××

"Mom, Jen's here!" I looked around, not seeing any of my parents. I sighed. "Jen, they're not home... Best guess is that my mom will be home by 8, and my dad will be home by 10. It's Friday, so my dad's not working over-time," I informed her. "Hey, help me write the letter to the Frank kid?"

Jen nodded and took her laptop out of her bag. Why she brought that thing with her everywhere she went, I still don't know. She started typing like a madman, then grinned. I swear, this girl was the fastest bitch at typing.

"Done," she smiled. I looked over at the screen and started reading.

'Dear Frank,
Are you hot? Because if you are, you should become my boyfriend. :D Okay, anyway uh... Your life seems really interesting, boo. Tell me more. ;)
Anyway, I have much, muuuchhhh to tell you. I'm really a 58 year old pedophile who wants to f--'

I playfully slapped Jen's arm. "Jennifer!" I giggled. She grinned and set her laptop down, giving me the 'you-know-you-like-it' look. I shook my head and took her laptop, deleting the whole thing. "I'll just write this tonight. Are you sleeping over?"

She nodded, while texting her mom. "Uh yeah. I just told my mom right now. She's probably out on her date with Frank. It's kinda awkward because your pen-pal's name is Frank too! Oh jeeze, what if they're the same people?!"

We both burst out laughing. "Babe, that's not possible! Young Frank lives in Jersey, remember?"

Jen nodded, "true, true... But Old Frank used to live in Jersey. My mom would always go off about him; I just wanna know his last name so I can make fun of him even more!" I rolled my eyes and quietly mumbled about how rude she was. She shrugged. "All I know is that he stayed with his ex-wife for about 5 years because of their son, and then he moved here, and then now he's with my mom."

"Jen, why would you even listen to your mom raving on about this guy?" She shrugged, yet again, leaving to the kitchen, yelling 'I'm fuckin' hungry!'

She came back, not even a minute later. She had a piece of paper in her hand, her eyes wide and teary. "Babe, you're leaving me?!" She asked, bewildered. I shot her a confused look. She handed the piece of paper to me and started pouting.

'daniella, your father and i want to discuss the boarding school situation with you tomorrow night. tonight, we shall celebrate life with sushi though. and invite jen; we miss seeing her face around here.
xo - mom.'

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh, what the hell is this about?!" I asked, even though my parents aren't here. "They never said shit about a boarding school?! What the...?! Jennifer, I don't wanna leave!"

Jennifer closed her eyes. "I lost you once, I'm not gonna lose you again." She said this rather darkly, like she was talking to someone other than me.

It's true; she had lost me once. It was back in 7th grade. I was a reckless person, and she was too. But I was worse. I was out one night, and some bums in an alleyway took me. I was missing for days, and when I was found, I stayed away from everyone for at least 8 months. I came back to school for a day after that, but begged and pleaded for my parents to send me somewhere far, far away from California. I just wanted to get away from all the horrible things that those bums did to me.

After a month or two living with my grandparents, I called it quits. I asked my parents to take me back to California; I missed Jennifer too much. At the time, Jennifer and I had a thing, and I just missed her a lot. It wasn't even because we had a 'thing,' it was because she was my best friend, and I love her like a fucking chocolate bar.

I sat down on the couch, my head flooding with memories back from those dark times. Jennifer must've noticed because she was immediately by my side, hugging me, whispering comforting words in my ear. "Babe, you're not gonna leave. And if you do, I'm coming with..."

I stared coldly at the paper in my hands. I tore it to a million pieces, my heart going along with it. I knew my life here in Oakley was over. My life with Jennifer was over.

Alright, confession time? I'm in-love. With a girl. Get over it, you homophobe bitches. I'm in-love with my best friend, alright? I've known her all my life, and she's always been there for me. That year when we were apart, she wouldn't stop trying to contact me. Even when I demanded her to stop, she wouldn't. And that's why I love her.

×××

Frank;

"Aaron, are you fucking serious right now?!" I screamed. Turns out, I was right all along. Aaron was only using me to get close to Sam. He informed me that they had a date tomorrow night, and couldn't make it to my house. We were supposed to start our fucking science project that night too!

"Sorry man! Jeeze; out of everyone in the whole wide world, I would've thought you'd be the most understanding! I mean, you did tell me she was fucking amazing in bed and shit." Aaron went on about how I influenced him for this to happen.

I shook my head and growled. "Dumb-ass, you know I still fucking love her! You're such a prick sometimes, you know Aaron?!" I was on a rage-fest. I swear, I could just beat the shit out of Aaron right now.

"What the fuck? I'm a fucking prick? Am I the one who broke Sam's heart? I don't think so, douche!"

"What the fuck are you on about, Aaron?! She was the one who broke mine! She didn't even give me a proper reason to why she fucking broke up with me!"

Aaron groaned, then left my house. But not without yelling some shit that didn't even apply to our argument. My mom ran into the living room from the kitchen, wrapping her arms around me. She knew how Aaron was and always wondered why I hung around with him. I didn't even know the answer to that question myself.

"Frank, hun... I think you need to go live with your father for a bit. Get away from life," she suggested.

I shook my head. "No; I'm not gonna go live with him." Hatred dripped from the words in that sentence. "I don't care if he loves me or some shit; I never wanna see his face ever again."

My mom sighed. "I know hun, but it's what's best for you right now. I mean, with the Sam situation, and now Aaron... don't you think it's for the best?"

I shrugged and sighed. I wonder if Dani's going through anything like this. Wait, what am I thinking about? Dani? What the fuck is she doing in my head?

"I'll be down for dinner," I mumbled.

×××

Daniella;

Dear Frank,
I know it seems way too early to spill all this out to you, but I just need someone to vent to. Life's been crazy as hell during these past two days. I just... I dunno. I need to let it all out somehow. I just don't wanna hurt myself or anyone around me.
Where to start? Oh, my parents just informed me that I'm most likely gonna be sent off to some boarding school. Why? Why now? My senior year?!
No, that's not what I'm worried about, actually. I'm just worried about my best friend. Jennifer... She's... I dunno how to explain it. Don't judge me, but I'm kinda sorta in-love with her. Just... Don't look down on me because of it. I find that rude.
Anyway, I don't wanna leave her again. I've left her once, and she's still pretty shaken about it. It was back in 7th grade. So long ago... She just has a fear of losing everything we built.
She was supposed to spend the night, but she had some sort of anxiety attack with the news, and she's in the hospital right now. I'm in her room, and I'm typing this up at like 10 PM. I'm not gonna leave her side until she's awake. I just won't...
What else? Oh, there's some good news to come out from this... My brother Sean. He's serving in the army right now. He's coming home in about a month. I haven't seen him in so long; I'm glad he's still alive. If I lost him, I wouldn't know what to do. I'd be so lost in this world, and... I... I don't know. He's just a great person, and doesn't deserve this.
He tells everyone that he's always wanted to be in the army, but I know his secret passion. He loves sports; basketball to be exact. He always wanted to be a part of the NBA, but our parents wouldn't approve of it. They wanted him in something more 'professional' or whatever. Something in the medical field or the law whatever it's called. I don't know. But they expect the same from me. I just hope they won't be mad when they find out I'm actually pursuing my dream of being an actress.
Oh, more about the Jennifer situation that I forgot to mention. Her dad passed away when she was young, and her mom started seeing this guy. His name's the same as yours, which kinda freaked me out. She said that he used to have a son, and he was with a nice lady, but they didn't love each other. They were just infatuated with each other, I guess? I dunno, but... She told me that he'd always say something about wanting to reunite with his son. Jennifer's made it one of her life goals to help him with that.
I guess that's one of the many reasons why I love her. She's just... She always wants to help others. She will risk her life to make yours happy. She's just an amazing person, and I wouldn't trade her for the world.
There's a lot more that I wanna say, but there's two reasons why I won't say it.
1. I've said a lot already, and we just 'met' recently.
2. Jennifer's waking up.
I'm sorry for putting all this on your shoulder; you don't have to mind anything. I just needed to talk about these... I'm sorry.
xo; Dani California.

I looked to my right and saw Jennifer waking up. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks were stuffed up, and her hair was a mess... But she was beautiful.

"Hey boo," she smiled weakly; her voice hoarse. I smiled back, stroking her hand. "Are you alright? Your eyes look really red and shit."

I shrugged. "I was just worried." I rested my head on the spot next to her arm and sighed. "The question should be directed towards you."

It was her turn to shrug. "I'm fine. I'm alive, aren't I?" She grinned and pushed some bangs out of my eyes. "Did you save me some sushi?"