I'm So (Not) Over Valentine's Day

Chapter 1

    You would think that someone who has a birthday on Valentine's Day would be all about the presents and totally ignore all of the candy hearts and teddy bears, right?  Actually I love it, no pun intended.  Not that I would let you know of course.  The reason behind my logic is that I always get my hopes up that maybe this year a guy will finally give me the time of day.  Unfortunately, it has yet to happen. So, instead of receiving truckloads of pity on my birthday, I just let my two closest friends buy me pity pizza and we go out and "celebrate".

    My phone buzzes loudly.  I unlock it, as always optimistic that it's Mr. Right coming to undo all of the wrongs.

Jo: Andi, I know its alittle early but I've already got your pizza planned and our location set :)

    Reluctantly, I set my phone back down.  Although I love her to death, sometimes Jo texts at all of the wrong times.  Her real name is Joanna, but she prefers ( and by prefers I mean DEMANDS) for us to call her Jo.  She always threatens to call me by my real name if I called her anything else.  It's not that I don't like my name I just think Andria is to stuffy and formal.

    My phone buzzed again and this time I didn't feel hopeful.

Nate: Hey beautiful ;)

Me: Really? lol we go over this every year. If I were half as pretty as you say i am then i would have an equally cute bf :)

Nate:): can't blame a guy 4 tryin lol.

    That's Nathan for ya, always trying to  cheer somebody up eve if they're on their deathbed.  I guess that's why I've stayed his friend for so long.

    It's always been Nathan and  me, even before Jo.  When I was four, I broke my hand and Nathan personally escorted me to the hospital.  When I was with the flu, he was the one feeding me soup. When my brother went M.I.A in Iraq, he was there with a shoulder to cry on.

    I laugh to myself when I think about all the memories we have together.  One is still especially vivid in my mind.  I was about to turn eight and he had just turned nine.  He asked if he could marry me.  I just laughed it off and said sure.  His face turned all read and that was the end of the conversation.  To this day we still joke about and I'm always asking why I haven't gotten my ring yet.  I act hurt when he tells me he completely forgot but in the end we always make amends.  Jo's always saying we should date but I know it would never work out. Plus, I don't feel that way about him.  In my mind I think God sent him to be a big brother for me when we lost Derrick.  I've told Jo as much but she just rolls her eyes at me like I'm clueless.

    I hear something at my window.  I go and pull my blinds up and see Nate throwing his brother's guitar picks at my window. He goes and rummages around in a stack of papers.  When he finds the note he's looking for he holds up for me to see

    'Got some time to talk?'

I get my board out and write: ' Sure. Which roof?' and show it to him.  He points up meaning his so I go grab my sweatshirt.  When I make sure my mom isn't coming, I pull the ladder down and climb up to the attic and climb out on to my roof.  When we moved into this house I got lucky enough to get the room with access to the roof, although I never told my mom about it because I'm smart enough to know she would flip out and find a way to childproof my room.

    When I get up there the wind is blowing slightly, making me shiver.  I hop on to his balcony and then climb up the ladder he already has laid out for me.  When I'm there I see him already sitting in our spot.

    "Hey," he says

    I just smile at him and sit down beside him and snuggle closer to get warm.  He puts his arm around me and hugs me close to his body.

    "So what's on your mind?" I ask him.

    "Just felt like comin out tonight..." he pauses for a moment.

I wait for him to continue but he seems kind of hesitant.

    Finally, he cracks a smile and says,

    "So, you find your prince charming yet?"

I feign a hurt look then playfully shove him.

    "No but maybe if you wouldn't scare away all of the possibilities then maybe I'd have someone by now."

    "I don't scare them off, they just can't handle me." He winks at me and starts laughing.

    "Oh yes and we all know that if they can't handle you then they just aren't worthy of my time, correct?"

We both start laughing until tears are streaming down our faces.

    When I calm down I look over at Nathan.  He has a faraway look in his eyes, like he's reminiscing about a better time.

    "Listen," he says suddenly, "I've been meaning to talk to you for awhile now I just..."

    He was interrupted by police sirens wailing as a squad car pulled in to his driveway. Nate and I both knew who was in there even before the officer dragged him out of the cruiser.

    "Mark," we both say instantly.

Nathan's face contorts into a look of disgust but I also see another emotion flit across his stony features. Disappointment.

    Ever since I met Nathan, he's always acted like Mark was a nuisance rather than his brother.  When they were little, Mark would just pick on Nate so I never quite understood all of the hatred.  Derrick would always say 'It's his big brotherly instincts shining through' then he'd chase me around the house until he knew I was good and tired.

    I wasn't the only one who admired Derrick though.  Mark always followed him around like a lost puppy and Derrick mentored him like a father.  My mom and I both think that kept that boy sane.  Now that he's gone, Mark's just turned into a completely different person.  This isn't the first time he's come home in a cop car, either.

    "You better get down there," I say, "Your dad will have a cow if he finds out Mark had a police escort again."

    He looks like he wants to say so much but he just nods his head mutely.  He gets up and walks over to the drain pipe and slides down like a trained professional. 

    I chuckle to myself as I climb down the ladder and leap back onto my roof. I will never know how he keeps himself so collected and calm.