Earhart & Noonan: An "Us Club" Novel (#1)(NaNoWriMo15)

7. Tape

"Stephen..."

Stephen's squandering a September afternoon away in his bedroom, looking down at the neighbor's drive.

I know you like her. Stop staring and talk to her, Stephen.

Stephen pushes his glasses up his nose. The girl he hears laughing in the drive below becomes a little clearer beyond the upper-level pane. Her dirty-blonde hair blossoms under the sun. Her giggly face creates conflicting feelings within the quiet boy, who's admired her like this for the past few weeks.

"Stephen!"

Stephen jumps at Mom's shouting. "Huh?"

"Don't be shy, Stephen," Mom says. "You know what...come on!" Mom shoves Stephen out the front door. "Go say hi!"

Breathe. You'll be fine.

Stephen listens to his voice's oldest coping technique in the book as he takes small steps to the back. Step by step. Inch by inch. Once there, he peeks beyond the corner of the house. He spots her. Nerves get the best of him. He quickly retreats to hug the brick.

Go. Introduce yourself. You don't have to be shy around her because she's a girl.

Perhaps the breeze hits him in other ways because Stephen suddenly feels a hint of confidence rushing through him. He takes another peek. The girl in the drive. He feels like he knows her. Like he always has. How? Why does it feel like he's known her for a while? Years?

Go!

"Hey," he barely gets off his tongue.

"Uh, hey." She quizzically smiles at him. "You're the new neighbor."

He nods.

She hums. "Wow. Didn't think you existed."

She's laughing at him. He's laughing with her.

"I'm Stephen," he says, even though he feels like he's said that.

"I'm...Mackenzie," she says back.

He smirks with her. "Nice...to...meet you."

"Really?" she asks. "'Cause I'm pretty sure we've known each other for six years now!"

Something's off. That doesn't sound right to him.

"Hey, uh...I should go," Mackenzie suddenly says. "I got homework to do before Friday. See ya!"

"Uh, yeah," Stephen says. "See—"

Mackenzie kisses him, then turns away and returns to her house. Stephen's breezy confidence thaws into bubbly sadness, and an itch makes him feel like he should speak up and say something, because her going doesn't feel right. Like it's bad. Like it shouldn't happen at all. Like he'll never see her again once she's out of sight.

Stephen can't move. She's blurring. Ghosting. Everything is.

"Kenzie! I..."

She's about to open her side door.

"Kenzie, I...love you..."

Stephen tells her how he feels, but it's a second after Kenzie goes inside and right before the world fades.

Right when it's too late.