THOSE GOOD TEEN YEARS 3 CRUSHES NO MORE

Chapter Ten: Stand Up

The next morning, Peter felt refreshed and happy. It was something he hadn't felt in a long time- the feeling that you had everything you wanted, everything that made you happy.

Peter had coveted (was that a wrong way of thinking?) Emma for so long, he had trouble remembering the last time when he didn't have romantic feelings for her. When had they appeared? He tried to remember it, tried to wrack his brain for the information. He should remember it, right, if it involved Em? Maybe his sister was right. Boys had trouble remembering little details. Like, when was the first time you realized you had a crush on someone (something girls excelled at remembering).

Last night had truly been amazing. For one thing, Em's anger (it was a kittenish kind of anger; you just couldn't take her seriously) provoked him to kiss her. He had forgotten about his morals about kissing someone when they were dating someone, but he figured that Em wouldn't get back with Ford after Friday's debacle. In truth, he had thought a lot about Friday night, when he had proposed Em in a cryptic way and stuff, and when they were just about to kiss. And when Em bought it up, he blurted out the lie that had formed so easily over the years- 'it was nothing but blah blah blah' etc. And then she exploded, and he couldn't help himself.

Thank you, Si, for caring so much, he thought in his mind. Really, it helped when one of your best friends was so into romance. And Si's line- about how she hated when people who were supposed to be in love didn't get together- almost sounded like she was talking about her parents' divorce. She was convinced that her parents still loved each other and couldn't get together because of Si. He thought that was a lame reason, but he guessed popular people must have some issue or other. That was, like, the rule or something. And he, like the clueless guy, had no idea what the heck it meant.

So, anyway, they all got up and changed (it was weird, but they managed) and then had some breakfast. The evidence of the campfire was destroyed (it was illegal, after all) and they all decided to see around Elinor, since they had a lot of time to kill. Peter went towards Em, who was pulling her hair in to a ponytail.

"I think I told you that you look prettier with your hair down."

"You did, but it's going to get hot soon, and I can't have my hair sticking to the back of my neck. It feels gross. Ponytail is better."

"Hmm. Something tells me that you have your own agenda." Emma smiled. Her smile now didn't wrench his heart in thousand different places. It just made it beat faster. Sigh. Some things never changed.

"Maybe I do. Wanna guess?"

"I think it has something to do with finding your parents' marriage spot, or whatever."

"You know, you could be a psychic." She grinned as she closed her backpack.

"I could be. And what a fine one I would be." He grinned back. "Imagine: the Norman Fortune Teller. Ew, that sounds bad. Forget it. Drop the idea."

She laughed. Then Sienna yelled at them to move it, and they all did.

Roaming through Elinor with Emma, and knowing that they were finally a couple gave him a sense of relief. Elinor was beautiful. It had flowers of different kinds, flowers that didn't grow in LA. How they managed to grow it here, in an unsuitable topography, he had no idea. And then he decided he didn't care. Just being here was enough.

Lake Springs were amazing, but they weren't functioning at the moment. What a shame. He had his camera out, and he wanted a picture of the famous springs. He was also clicking pictures of wild butterflies, but in truth, he was clicking Em's pictures. They looked so natural. Em leaning down to see a tiny flower, her hair down one side. Em raising her face to the sun and closing her eyes, a picture of calm. Em and Si posing together (that wasn't natural). Happy memories.