Cupid's Sabotage (COMPLETED)

Chapter 1

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"Promise me we'll be together forever. Promise!"

"Okay. I promise."

And then we sealed our pledges with the highest form of loyalty known to us, the same procedure every twitterpated six-year-old in Northview Elementary took when acknowledging their romantic feelings—the pinkie promise.

"Good. And no take backs!" she says as she releases her grip on my pinkie finger. "A promise is a promise."

Gwenevere Blake McCallum is the prettiest girl in school, who also happens to be the love of my life. She's mine. I'm hers. And it's been that way for as long as I can remember. Or at least since the time she offered me half of her vanilla cone at Dairy Queen two months ago after mine had fallen to the floor. Upon witnessing that extreme act of kindness, I knew she was the girl for me. Yup! No doubt about it.

Gwenevere faces me. "If neither of us is married by the time we get really old, then we'll marry each other, okay?"

I nod slowly. "Okay. But how old is really old?"

"I dunno." She thinks this over for a moment. "Thirty?"

I nod again. "Yeah. I guess that is pretty old. Thirty it is then!"

The two of us finish up our recess snack of goldfish crackers and apple juice. We're only two weeks into the school year, but I don't mind. That just means I have the next nine months to see Gwenevere. She moved here to Michigan with her family when she was just two-years-old. She's an only child like me, but she says she recently asked her mommy and daddy for a baby sister and they said they would talk to Baby Corp. about bringing one home soon. I haven't thought about it, but I guess that's the factory where babies are made.

Gwenevere tilts her head to the side, her blue eyes full of curiosity. "Christian, am I pretty?"

I don't hesitate with an answer. "You're beautiful." I may not have learned a whole lot during my six years on this planet, but I know better than to tell a girl she's anything less than beautiful. And the best part is I don't have to lie; Gwenevere truly is beautiful, especially today. She did this weird knot thingy with her hair. I think she called it a "braid". I didn't know what that meant, but I told her it looked nice.

"Good answer," she says with a curt nod. "You'll make a great husband one day." Those words make my heart feel warm and fuzzy.

"Thanks."

We watch the rest of our schoolmates play on the playground while the two of us remain seated beneath the school's legendary oak tree. Mrs. Pearson, our English teacher, told us a story about how the tree is super old and that it was planted here long before the school was built. I must admit, it is quite the tree; big and strong, which is exactly how I want to be when I grow up.

Gwenevere notices me staring up at the tree. "Do you think we'll ever get to be that old?"

"As old as the tree?"

She nods.

"I dunno." I shrug. "Mrs. Pearson said it's over one-hundred-years old. That's like really, really old. Older than anyone on earth. But if we do get that old, don't worry, I'll still love you." I feel quite proud of myself for adding that last part.

Gwenevere smiles, and I feel my stomach go all swirly. "That is the sweetest thing I've ever heard. I'll love you, too. Just as long as don't go bald. We might have to change some things if that happens." She runs her fingers through my well-oiled hair. "I like your shiny hair. It would be sad if something happened to it."