Something Called Love

Chapter Four-Ellie

I collapse on the grass and stare up at the sky, a smile on my face. Bethany laughs and I see a cloud that looks like a cupcake. I can't believe it. He really likes me. I hug myself as I feel all giddy. I close my eyes.

Seven years ago, they were in first grade. Their older brothers were practicing for their next event in Science Olympiad. Ellie pushes her toy car up and down the railing. Bethany's home sick with the flu and Jason went to get food. Leo sits on the next stair flight up and Ellie keeps pushing her car until it reaches him. She puts it on the ground and straightens her arm to make it faster. She let's go and he stops it with his hand.

"Hi Leo." Ellie giggles, she thinks Leo's really cute. They always play in the sandbox together at school, but the bigger kids kicked it down yesterday and sand got in her eye, now she's wearing an eye patch. She was really upset, but then Leo got one too to make her feel better.

"We can be pirates together." He had said and then they got their older brothers to decorate Leo's tree house like a pirate ship. 

"Hi Ellie." They push the car back in forth until Jason comes back with their food. They sit together inside watching the snow fall. Ellie whispers something is Jason's ear, then in Leo's. They both nod their heads and laugh. One of Ellie and Jason's older brother is only in third grade and another is in sixth grade. But the oldest ones are eighth graders, freshman, junior, and senior. While Leo's older brothers are in seventh and eighth grade, a freshmen and junior. So they'll have to sneak away so no one sees them. Jason goes first and they follow him carefully out the door so no one notices. They start to play in the snow and make a snow castle. Jason pushes Ellie down and she grabs his feet and Leo's. Their all in a dog pile when Benjamin, Leo's brother that's a freshmen, notices them.

"Hey! You're going to get frostbite!" But he comes and joins them and shows them how to make snowballs. Then they pelt their other brother with the snow. 

Their parents see them and at first they go to stop them, but then again you're only in first grade once.

I smile, that's one of my earliest memories with Leo. I open my eyes again and see him standing above me.

"Hi."

"Hey." He helps my up and we smile at each other. "What's your favorite memory of us being friends?" I ask him. 

"You'll see." He leads me up to the tree house again and gets out a cardboard box that's filled with pictures. He digs through it for a little bit and finds one. "This."

"Oh my gosh!" I cover my mouth, I remember this.

They were eleven, in July, it was almost August, meaning school was going to start in a couple weeks. Which wasn't too bad, except Ellie hadn't got her letter to Hogwarts like she had been waiting for ever since she was four and her older brothers read the book to her. 

"But mom! I can't go to school if I don't get my letter." 

"Sweetheart, Hogwarts isn't real." Her mom takes her in her arms as she cries. 

"But, but, but..." She sobs and they hear a knock on the door.

"Maybe that's my letter!" She wipes her eyes and runs to the door. She swings it open and almost screams. There stand Leo and his oldest brother with an owl. A real live owl! And there in his mouth there's a letter. 

"Go ahead Ells, he won't bite." She gives Leo a hug and grab the letter. Ellie unravels it and reads it. It's from the author of Harry Potter! She says how sad it must be to find out Ellie couldn't go to Hogwarts. She asks her mom for a frame and she willing gets it. Her mom also asks if Ellie wants a picture be the snowy owl. She nods enthusiastically.  Leo puts his arm around her and they smile. The camera clicks. And she puts the picture in front of the letter in the frame and gives a copy of the photo to Leo. 

"Oh Leo...." 

"Oh Leo, I remember this." I give him and hug and a few tears fall. 

"What are we going to do Ellie?" I pull away and look at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, I like you."

"I know." I giggle and he widens his eyes. But then a light bulb goes off in his head.

"I know you like me too." We smile.