Unforgettable

Chapter 1

Two voices mingled in the air, taking turns singing the lines of a pop song that's been all that played on the radio for the past few months.  They sang in two completely different keys, both of which were wrong.  The higher voice cut off the lower one halfway through their line. 

"Hey, why do you gotta steal my solo—"

The light voice cut off the other once again, and held the last note much longer than necessary, much to her companion's playful annoyance.

"You sound like a screeching pig," the teen chuckled from behind the steering wheel.

"Well you sound like a dying goat!"  The girl pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, but her eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Awesome!  Great to know I'm improving," the boy said, causing laughter to erupt from the longtime best friends.  It carried on the wind that passed through the windows of the car, rolled down for the public to hear the performance.  The passenger tried desperately to pull untamed locks of golden hair out of her mouth, pushed there by the wind.  The girl laughed at her own difficulty, to the point where she snorted.  The driver found this even more hysterical and laughed until tears pricked at his eyes.

"Really keeping with the pig theme here, Mel?" he panted out as he caught his breath, sides hurting.

"This is bullying," Melody replied.  

"But you still ask for rides to school every day."

"Can't get much more convenient than my ride living two blocks from my house."

"Is that all I am to you, a chauffeur?"  He feigned a look of betrayal and clutched his chest.

"Oh, of course not Nico!  You also buy me food sometimes."

"Yippee, I've been promoted from chauffeur to sugar daddy," Nico smirked.

"Incorrect.  You're my fructose father," Melody stated matter-of-factly, pushing her glasses up her nose for emphasis.  They had reached their high school's parking structure, and Nico took his key out of the ignition.

"If you're gonna be such a dork, you can't complain about being single."

A light blush settled across Melody's milky cheeks.  The pink further accented the freckles that were sprinkled on her nose and cheeks.

Cute, Nico thought.

"I just need a guy who will be able to put up with me being a dork."

"Good luck finding him," he reached behind his head and knit his caramel fingers together behind the nape of his neck.  His eyes settled closed, enjoying the daily morning banter.

"Hey, you put up with me!"

Nico suddenly sat up as he choked on the air he took in.  "Yeah, but, like, I don't like you!  I mean, uh, I like you, but you know, not like like!  I mean you're pretty and smart and funny and talented and— I mean you're, uh, such a loser, you know, I don't like you but, like, I like you... you know?"

Nico dared to look at his companion out of the corner of his eye.  Melody stared at him in silence for a few seconds, an icy chill of anxiety coursing through him.  He couldn't read her expression.

He was soon spared from the silence by an outburst of airy laughter.  Melody's giggles tinkled like a little bell.  Nico sighed in relief as his heart warmed at his favorite sound.  He didn't care if she was laughing at him.  He loved hearing her laugh.

A shy smile settled over his face.  He was lulled by the laughter into a tangle of thoughts.  I love her laugh.  I love her smile.  I love her sense of humor.  I love her kind heart.  I love her free spirit. I love her morality.  I love her stubbornness.  I love her bravery.  I love her—