True Love

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ariana's POV

As I flipped through pages of the old scrapbook from the summer of 07', I couldn't help but smile at the pictures and little notes written next to them. Each picture brought back flashbacks and memories, as if I was watching a film in my head. 

The handwriting was messy, but readable. One particular picture caught my eye. I remembered that day like it was yesterday.

***

It was the last day of summer camp. I'm really going to miss this place. Mostly because of all the good times I've had and memories that were created here. Justin, my best friend, and I came up with the idea of creating a scrapbook to capture the major moments we've had. 

I'd brought an old polaroid camera my mom gave me before I came here. I told her I wouldn't need it, but it turned out to be very useful for the scrapbook. 

I put on my sneakers and ran out of the cabin, and immediately started searching for Justin. "Justin! Where are you?" I yelled. A volleyball hit my leg and knocked me down.

"Are you okay there, Ari?" Justin chuckled and offered a hand to help me up.

"I'm perfectly fine!" I said confidently and reached for his hand to stand up. I brushed off the back of my white shorts and crossed my arms. Jerk. I know it was him who threw the ball at me, but that's alright. I'll get him back soon enough. 

"Today's the last day of summer camp," Justin stated.

I rolled my eyes. "Duh. I know, Mr.Obvious."

"We should take a picture to capture the moment," Justin suggested.

"You're right. That'd be a good idea," I agreed.

"Kyle! Kyle!" I yelled.

"I'm right here. Whatcha need, Ari?" I heard Kyle say from behind me.

"Oh. My bad. Here," I giggled and handed him the camera. Kyle has been the "photographer" for our scrapbook. He believes he can take better pictures than anyone in this camp. That's partially true because I can take better pictures than him, to be honest. 

Justin is the worst at taking pictures. He took a picture of me by the lake one day, and it turned out blurry all three times. I hope he gets better at taking pictures because that's just not gonna do. 

"Ready?" Kyle asked positioning the camera correctly in his hands. I nodded. Justin held two peace signs high in the air. I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled wide.

Kyle pressed the button making the flash go off and almost blinding me. Justin walked over to Kyle and took the picture out the bottom of the camera and shook it. 

"Come here, I wanna see," I said. Justin handed me the picture. Both of our eyes were closed, probably because of the flash, but we were smiling from ear to ear. 

I handed Kyle the picture and walked towards Justin with a devious grin on my face. Justin furrowed his eyebrows. "Ari... I know that look. What are you doing?" He said and started walking backwards. 

I took this as my chance to get back at him for the volleyball. I ran towards him in full speed, pushing him into the lake, and jumped in after him.

Justin came back up and flayed his arms around. "What the f--heck!" He said. I burst out laughing. "That's what you get loser."

Justin chuckled and swam over to me. He put his arms around me and hugged me tightly. "I love you, Ari," he said leaving a soft kiss on my forehead. 

I smiled and hugged him back. "I love you too, Justin."

***

A tear drop slipped down my cheek. The memory made me smile, but it also made me realize how much I missed those simpler times. It's crazy how everything has changed since then. In a way, Justin changed. He used to be the most comforting, funny, and down to earth person I've ever known, and he is still all of those things, but more importantly he used to be my best friend, and now he's not. 

Ever since sophomore year, Justin changed. A lot of it had to do with the fact that he was heartbroken over a girl he loved and had a serious relationship with, but when he was with her, we grew apart. He would still talk to me from time to time, but not like we used to I could feel him changing. He was gloomier than before. After the breakup, he completely changed. 

He started drinking, smoking, and partying all the time. He just stopped talking to me. I know what you're thinking. No, he's not a douche bag, jerk, or a teenage screw up. He's still a really nice guy. If you ask anyone about him, they'll say he's the sweetest guy in the whole school.

The thing that majorly changed about him was that he wasn't my best friend anymore. We drifted apart from each other. when he got popular and I wasn't. Not that I was a loser either, I just wasn't popular, and I didn't hang out with the crowd that Justin did. 

Occasionally, we'd see each other at school and wave or smile at each other, but that was pretty much it. I closed the scrapbook and looked at the cover. It read: Justin & Ariana ♡

I wrapped the scrapbook in wrapping paper. I was giving it to him for his birthday tomorrow. He finally invited me and had an actual conversation with me after two years. I was excited, but I don't know what to expect, and that scares me.