Winning Skylinn

33

The next day in English, I got a pleasant surprise. As Mrs. Williams spoke, Denver passed me a folded up note. It said: I need your help. Talk after class?

I raised an eyebrow. What could Denver Rowley possibly need my help with? I scribbled back a note saying 'sure' and handed it to him.

When we met up after English, Denver spoke quickly but surely. "I need to find that book."

He said it so fast that I almost didn't hear him. "What?"

"The Last Song. I told you I would read it, but I don't know where to find it," he said, slower this time.

"Ah. Well, no worries. I can have my mom take us to the bookstore after school. Wait. Do you drive?"

"Not yet. I have my permit, but-"

"Yeah."

"Does your mom know who I am?" Denver asked.

I may or may not have ranted to my mom about the cute new kid in English as soon as she got home from work yesterday...

"Um, kind of. I told her you walked me home."

And about a hundred other things, all of which he would never know.

"Okay. Well I'm off to math. See you after school." He waved and disappeared down the hall.

- - -

Later, Denver and I walked home together. Jonny came too, since he didn't have a baseball game to attend to.

I couldn't tell if he like Denver or not, but what was not to like? He was tall, athletic, good-looking...all of which other guys probably didn't notice or care about. But still. He was a nice guy. Funny, too.

"We're going to the bookstore," I informed him. "Wanna come?"

"No, that's okay. You two go ahead. I've got major homework," Jonny insisted.

"You sure? It would be fun."

"I'm sure. Have a good time." He gave me a reassuring smile before heading into his house.

"You guys are neighbors?" Denver asked.

"Yeah. He moved in when we were six."

"Oh, that's cool. Most of my neighbors are old people."

I laughed. "Come on, let's go inside."

I led him into the house, which was empty because both my parents were at work. I didn't have any pets at the time, so all was quiet.

Denver picked up on that right away. "It's so quiet," he noted.

"Is it usually loud at your place?" I asked.

"Kind of."

"Do you have siblings?"

"Nope, just me. But my mom likes to blare her music pretty loud," he explained.

"Ah. What does she listen to?"

"Christian, mostly. She doesn't believe in pop music. Or maybe she just doesn't know what it is."

I giggled. "Is it annoying, or do you like it? Her music, I mean."

"It's okay. I like country better."

"Country, eh?"

"Well, I have lived a lot of years in the south," he reminded me.

"True. Who's your favorite?"

"Rascal Flatts, hands down. They're amazing."

I felt bad that I'd never heard of them. I didn't really listen to country.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of them."

"Would you kill me if I said I hadn't?"

"Maybe," he said jokingly.

"Oh, then I guess I'd better not say anything."

"Wow. Such a disgrace, you are." He shook his head.

"Sorry."

"So, when will your mom be home?"

"4:30." We still had an hour to ourselves. "Wanna play Wii or something?"

"Sure. I'll kick your butt at bowling."

"Oh, you're on!"

We played Wii Sports until my mom got home. When she did, she didn't seem shocked by Denver's presence. "Oh, you must be Denver," she said, smiling and shaking his hand. Weird. She was never that way around other guys. Not that there had been any.

"Mom, we kinda wanted to go to the bookstore. Would you mind taking us?" I asked.

"Which one? Barnes & Noble?"

"Probably."

"Okay, that's fine. Just give me a second to rest." She put down her purse and keys, then went upstairs to change into comfy clothes.

"Your mom seems cool," Denver said.

"I guess so. She's cool when she wants to be," I replied.

When she returned, we got in the car and headed to the bookstore. Mom let us sit in the backseat, and she only looked at me once in the mirror, to wink. Needless to say, I blushed profusely.

Denver talked to her about his family and all the times they'd moved. He told a story of the summer they spent in Missouri, which was mostly boring, in his opinion.

"I'm gonna get a snack. You kids find what you need," Mom said, gesturing to the food court.

"Okay. See ya," I said with a wave. "Now, let's find that book."

I led Denver to the romance section, where we found Nicholas Sparks pretty quickly. There was a whole shelf full of his amazing books, most of which I'd yet to read.

Denver pulled The Last Song out and studied the cover. I always liked the beach with the turtle and its footprints. It was just a pretty cover.

"So this is it, huh?" Denver said, holding the book in one hand.

"Indeed."

My mom paid for the book, even though Denver insisted on buying it. "No need," she said, waving him off. "Let this be my treat. You're the one who signed up to read a romance novel."

As we got in the car, she asked where he lived, and that's when I realized that I didn't know. I hadn't thought to ask; it didn't seem important until now.

"I'm actually just about ten minutes from you guys," he informed us.

"Well that's convenient. You're welcome over any time." Mom gave him a warm smile through the rearview mirror.

"Thank you, Mrs.-"

"Porter."

"Right. Thank you."

When we got to his house, Denver scrawled something on the back of the receipt. "Here. Now I won't be able to return it if need be," he joked, handing the paper to me. "Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Porter."

"No problem, hon!" she called as he climbed out of the car.

I turned over the receipt to see what he had written.

I suppose we'll have to meet up to talk after I finish this. See you tomorrow, it said.

When I got home, I went straight up to my room to read. I had to hurry up and finish that book!

- - -
A/N: Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this update. Just trying to give you a look into the past, since we haven't had very many flashbacks recently. Also, there've been mostly parts with Jonny, and I want to put Denver in it as much as I can. I know most of you love Jonny, but it's not all about him, okay? Anyways, hope you liked the chapter. See ya guys soon!