AMA-Con: The Compilation

Battle: Chapter 2

Maine closes her eyes trying to recall the past. Celestine gives her grandmother's hand a tight squeeze as if she is trying to re-assure her that everything is okay.

"Our story began in the spring of 1939. His name was Richard Faulkerson Jr. I was eighteen years old then and he recently turned twenty-one years old. We have been best-friends for as long as I could remember. Similar to AJ and you, we were inseparable. We played hide and seek and ran through a field of daisies, much like the one I have now out there on the field. He was there on the most significant parts of my life. Richard was there the first time I scraped my knee. He was there when I experienced my first heart-break because my father passed away due to pneumonia. Through all ups and downs, he never left my side and somehow that was everything. There was something very comforting about having his presence close to me. Before I knew it, the relationship that I once thought was platonic took a 360-degree turn" Maine says, remembering the past.

Tears are threatening to come out of her eyes but Maine continues, smiling through it, "I remember exactly when things changed between us. I remember it all too well, sometimes I wish I can just forget."

-Flashback begins-

May 1939

It is a beautiful spring day, birds are chirping, the sky breathtaking with hues of pinks, blues and yellow. Young Maine is running around the field of flowers, until young Richard catches her and hugs her from behind.

Maine: Hey! I cannot breathe, loosen up a bit.

Richard: Fine. I have something special for you.

Richard hands her a blooming bouquet of white and yellow daisies.

Richard: Beautiful daisies for an even more beautiful young lady. You're like my daisy, every time I see one it reminds me of you. It looks so pure, innocent yet in a field full of flowers, it catches your attention. There is something about it that captivates me. Just like you, if I was in a room filled with young women and I had to pick, I'd pick you. I always will.

Young Maine blushes then suddenly becomes shy and she smiles sweetly.

Maine: Thank you! Thank you for always making me feel special, with you everything just feels happier and better. You always find a reason to surprise me and make me smile.

She hugs Richard from the side, leans towards him to give him a kiss on the cheek but Richard accidently turns his head. Their lips touch. Five... Ten.... Fifteen.... Twenty seconds. They stand still for twenty straight seconds.

Maine is the first one to pull away from the kiss. Maine and Richard's faces are now extremely red. Maine could not handle it and she runs away from him.

-Flashback ends-

Celestine looks at her grandma and she sees a smile on her grandma's face. A smile she has never seen before. It must be a smile reserved for Richard.

Maine suddenly says, "As you might have guessed, Richard was my first kiss. I remember every single detail of that twenty-second kiss. You might ask why I ran away. I did not know how to deal with it. I have always been an introvert and at that moment, I was lost. I did not know why I felt the way I did. I felt like there was whole zoo inside my stomach, my knees were trembling and my whole face felt hot. I just had to get away from the situation."

The smile on Maine's face falters and is now replaced with a sad expression. She continues, "Unfortunately, we never talked about the kiss ever again. I did not want to bring it up because I did not want him to feel uncomfortable. But after that day in the flower field, I started to notice everything about him, the same way that you do with AJ. We started to get even closer as time passed by. Everything felt perfect for a while. I saw a glimpse of hope that maybe, just maybe, we could be more than just best-friends. But just like what people say, life is not filled with rainbows and unicorns. We don't always get what we want."