The Other Side

Chapter One

"Thomas!" I yelled when I saw him. It had been a long summer and all I wanted was to be with him again. "Hey beautiful." He said as I wrapped my arms around him.

He kisses my head. This is the one good thing about returning to school. His comforting arms.

"I missed you." I said, digging my head into his chest. "I missed you too." He replied.

We stood there for a minute, just hugging. I hadn't been that happy since I'd last saw him almost four months ago.

"Boston!" I heard someone yell across the field. I'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"Della!" I said, pretending to be enthused. I broke away from Thomas. She nearly toppled me over when we collide into a hug. She acted like I haven't seen in forever even though I'd seen her the night before.

"Thomas!" She yelled again, leaving me and basically jumping on him to.

"Hey Della." He said with a smile. "I thought I'd never see you again!" She said, letting him go.

"I told you I was only going to be gone for the summer." He said, looking down at the short girl.

"Yeah but I thought you'd decide to stay and leave us forever." She said.

"Aw, I couldn't leave you guys!" He said. I smiled up at him. I'm not as short as Della but Thomas was just really tall.

He put an arm around me and I laced my fingers though his over my shoulder.

"Oh look! There's Kalyn!" Della said. "I'll see you guys later!" She said and seemed to fly away, full of energy.

Once she's gone, we looked at each other and laughed. "You gotta love 'er!" Thomas said and kissed me but I don't think he was talking about Della.

•••••
Thomas walked me to all my classes even though I knew very well were I was going.

But I didn't mind. I loved his company. He knew exactly what to say and when to say it. There is never an awkward silence when he is around. Of course he wasn't perfect. Nobody is.

After school, he took me home in his new car. When he got back from New York the night before, his parents surprised him with a new car for his senior gift. He was spoiled like crazy. I guess that's a perk of being an only child.

"How was your summer?" He asked as he starts the car. I shrugged. "It was okay I guess. It would've been a lot better if you were here." I said, looking over at him with a huge grin. I was just happy he was back.

"Well, New York would've been a lot better with you too." He said, glancing at me before returning his eyes to the road.

"You're just saying that." I said, and turned to look out the window.

"You're right. You would've wanted to go shopping at every store and do all that boring stuff." He said.

"Yeah. That's true." I agreed with a laugh. I turned my head to look at him, focusing on driving.

I just stared for a minute. I wasn't sure I could go another four months without him again. I loved him that much.

I wish I'd been more prepared.

"What?" He asked, taking a double take, trying to maintain eye contact with me while trying to drive at the same time.

"Nothin'." I said. "Just looking at the scenery."

He laughed. I loved his laugh. "I think the scenery is on he other side." He said. By then he'd given up the challenge of my face or the road and had his eyes toward the front.

"I think it depends on what you think scenery is." I replied. He just glanced at me as he pulled into my driveway.

"I'll see you tonight?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you later." I said, climbing out of the car.

"Wait a second!" He said. I stopped sat back down in my seat. He pulled me in for a long kiss.

"I missed you, I really did Boston." He said. "I missed you too. But we have all year now!" I said, starting back out of the car again.

"Yeah. Until June. And then, I'll probably have to leave again." He said.

"Don't worry about the future. Let's savor this year it'll be great." I said, now fully out of the car.

"Yeah. It will won't it." He agreed.

"Bye. See you tonight." I said. "Bye." He said one more time before I closed the door and went inside.

If only I knew then, how wrong I really was.

•••••

That night, I made sure I looked perfect since it was our first date in months. I treated it like it was our first date all over again.

My best friend, Meghan, came over and helped me but I kept my sisters and parents out. They knew I was going on a date but I didn't tell them how important it was to me.

I felt like we were starting over again and I wanted to make sure it was perfect. So he knew that I still cared for him. I even loved him whether or not I'd admit it.

At 8 o'clock, he picked me up. Honestly, I was scared to death even if we'd been together for a year and a half by then.

"Hey." He said when I opened the door. "Wow! You look beautiful!" He said.

I smiled, trying to hide my fear. "I know I do." I said jokingly.

He laughed. "Come on. We don't have all night." He said, reaching his hand out for me to take.

I accepted it and he walked me to the car. He opened the door for me like a gentleman and shut it before going to his side and we left. I could see Meghan watching from the window of my room.

Thomas made sure there wasn't a single moment during the entire date that was awkward. He always had another topic ready to be talked about. Of course he was always like this but that night I thought maybe he was really trying hard to make sure I wasn't nervous.

The date was great over all. We had dinner and then went to the park.

Walking around that park was our thing. The first time we met was there, our fist date, our one year anniversary was there. We said goodbye before he left for New York here. It had more meaning to me than any other place in the world.

They say that a home doesn't have to be a house. It can be a person, or a place. Anything. For me, my home was that park, with Thomas and the second we got there, all my nerves were gone.

For awhile, we just walked around in silence. That was also our thing. It wasn't awkward. It was just what we did. I felt so happy. More happy than I'd ever been or would ever be again. At least for a long while.

By the end, it was a perfect welcome back date. I loved it. I loved him. I couldn't wait for my next date with him.

But it wouldn't matter. I only had five more months with him.