The Key to my Heart

Chapter 32: Preparations (Keefe's P.O.V.)

I told you this would be less innocent. Not dirt, just sand.

I didn't see the mini-showdown between Biana, Jensi, Dex, and Stina, but I sure did hear about it. By the following Monday, I was sure the whole school had, not only their grade. I kept getting odd stares, probably because I was their friend. It was starting to freak me out a little. The worst part was, nobody knew exactly what happened. Once rumors start circulating in our school, there's no stopping them. They just grow and grow until nobody can exaggerate any more. Then it disappeared completely, and it was on to another topic.

Some people thought there had been a much longer, much louder argument between the ex-friends. Some believed there was a fist fight. The newest rumor was that, as soon as Dex and Stina had crossed the room, they started kissing.

We, of course, knew they were just rumors, and even Dex and Stina themselves seemed a little disgusted with the last one, but the whole situation was breaking our souls. Dex's empty seat at our table made me wonder what we had done wrong. So did Marella's. She had disappeared that Monday as well, sitting everywhere and anywhere but with us. Marella's friendship with us had always been shaky, so I figured she'd come back around from whatever funk she was in soon enough.

It was Dex I was worried about.

Dex had always been one of us. He never say anywhere but at our table, unless he managed to get a detention, which happened very rarely. And he had always been the sweet, smart one. Right up there with Linh. I smiled at the thought of her name. It faded all too quickly. Dex was changed. Twisted, mangled, and contorted until there was no 'old friend' left in him. Just a shell with no soul. Stina had taken it all.

On a more positive note, Valentine's day was only a few days away. And Tam, Jensi, and I were getting together after school today to work on a triple date set up for ourselves and the girls. We had asked Fitz if he wanted to be a part, but he said no, he would rather set something up by himself. Dex, however, would not be included. He and Stina could go down to a landfill or something.

Impatiently, I twirled my pencil around and looked up at the clock for the eighth time since class had started. I groaned and put my head down on my desk. Had it really only been ten minutes?

After a long day of waiting, school was over and I was on my way to Jensi's house. The February air was cold, ripping through my winter jacket as I pedaled as fast as I could down the road. Nobody in my family cared where I was, as long as I came back for dinner, and Jensi's house wasn't that far away, so it wasn't too hard to get away from home. Tam had Linh to deal with, but he told her he was going to Sophie's. Sophie didn't know what was going on, but Edaline did, just in case Linh went looking for him. We knew better than to tell Grady.

My five-minute ride came to an end as I pulled into the driveway of Jensi's house. Tam was already there, and they looked ready to go. "C'mon Keefe, you're late," Jensi said as he and Tam hopped on to their bikes and started to ride away. I scrambled to replace the helmet that I had taken off before racing after them.

"Whoa," Tam said, most likely as we reached the place where Jensi wanted us to be. I mentally agreed.

"This'll be perfect." It was a field, full of tall, purple flowers. I couldn't help but realize that was Linh's favorite color.

Jensi grinned. "This isn't even the best of it. Follow me." He left his bike on the side of the road and took off into the flowery field, making for the woods that lined it. Suddenly a thought struck me.

"Jensi," I said, running up beside him. "What if it snows? It hasn't gotten cold enough yet, but there's still a few days until Valentine's Day, so it still could. This place would be ruined!"

Jensi didn't stop walking. "It shouldn't snow," he assured me. "But if worst comes to worst, the place we're going to will be fine. And if it isn't? I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind spending the date making snowmen. It's the time with us they're looking for, not the scenery. Although, I'd rather it doesn't snow."

His speech shut me up, but now I was wondering how long the walk would be. I foolishly kept my eyes up, looking for it, and tripped over a low-lying bush. After falling on my face in the cold dirt and Tam stepping on me, I decided to watch the ground instead. A few minutes of walking later, I finally said, "How much long-"

Tam cut me off with a gasp. Tam never gasped like that, and it forced me to look up. When I did, it was as if all the air in the world had been ripped away. I opened my mouth to say something, but all that came out was a soft, "Wow."

Not too deep in the woods- but not so close that you could see he edge- was a river. Somewhere along that river, there was a clearing. The already low sun filtered through the web of branches overhead, making it altogether breathtaking, and my brain couldn't even process what Jensi said next.

"Just imagine what it would look like with some candles, maybe an hour from now.

I took a moment to let it all sink in before I murmured, "Linh would love it." In a louder voice, I said, "Well, let's get started, then!"

Jensi held up a canvas bag and set it on the ground. It was filled with electric tea lights, gold streamers, the like . The three of us each took a hand full and silently began decorating the little clearing.

Yaaaaaaaay I updated! I just checked and, scarily, this story is really on its way towards the end. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or  bad thing... Oh, and @SotamShipper24 , this was the mini-spoiler you got. I changed it up a bit when I slipped~

Love you guys!

~Mia