Years later….
“We should go by the stream today after school?” Iz states absentmindedly as we walk down the street.
“Not sure if I can.”
He stops mid-step. “Why?”
I shrug. Unsure what to say. For almost three years, it’s been Iz and me. Inseparable. Then, things got weird. Puberty. Our bodies started to change, and I find myself looking more at Iz than I normally would, but I don’t tell him that. I don’t want him to think I’m weird. So much has changed, especially now that we’re also in middle school and have new friends that we share.
Alexa and Sledge.
“You know you can tell me anything…”
Quickly, I shake my head, guilt gnawing inside because I keep shutting him out lately. “It’s that time of the month.” The truth blurts out from my lips. His brows furrow, trying to piece my words together before his mouth turns to an‘o.’
“Oh, I mean,” Iz stammers, nervously placing his hand on the back of his neck. “That’s okay. Are you in pain?”
I shake my head. “A little.”
Iz opens his mouth to speak, but then Sledge’s high-pitched whistle cuts through the fall air, and Isaac slams his lips shut. Our dynamic has morphed into something else—not that it upsets me. I love our new friends.
It’s nice to have a girl I can sorta relate to. Alexa, she’s my best friend. And Sledge? I still can’t believe that’s his actual name. He’s cool and has become a great friend to Iz. All they do is box, ride bikes, and well, I just tag along. It’s become our morning routine, the four of us walking to school. The boys like to think they are protecting us, and every morning, Iz plucks sunflowers from the nearby farm.
“Here,” Iz says as he hands me a single sunflower. Heat spreads through my cheeks, and I’m sure he can see the visible blush. I smile, taking the sunflower to my nose, inhaling the earthy scent as I watch him give Alexa one too. Noticing the visible red on her pale cheeks and the sparkle in her blue eyes, my stomach sinks. Another consequence of puberty is that now I know the feeling of butterflies, the feeling in your heart when you have a crush. I also learned that we both have a crush on the same boy.
Not sure when it changed for us, especially Alexa. One day, she just started talking about him and never stopped. I never mentioned my feelings for him, because we have always been friends. So, I swallow mine. Making sure to only pour my feelings into my diary. It’s not like he likes me that way… Sometimes, I think he likes Alexa. She’s prettier, has nice blonde hair, dresses in all the pretty skirts, and well, I’m a tomboy who likes to skateboard and dress in baggy pants and band tees.
“We should ride bikes by the stream today.” Sledge’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts.
“I can’t. Dad wants to work on the Camaro,” Iz replies, quickly making an excuse so I don’t have to tell everyone that I’m on my period. He winks at me before throwing a small pebble down the road. We live in a small town named Woodstock, which is between the mountains and the forest. One of the things I enjoy about this small town is the scenery—the luscious greens during spring and summer, the woods, and the streams.
It’s truly beautiful.
“Again, working on that junk?” Sledge groans, running his hand through his long blonde hair.
Iz stops, annoyance written all over his face. “First off, it’s not junk. Second, it belonged to my grandfather and then my father, and soon it will be mine. Third, I’ll get all the ladies.” He smirks, his honey eyes locked on mine. Butterflies dance in my stomach quickly. I turn away when my gaze falls on Alexa, who visibly frowns.
“I’ll love your car, Iz,” Alexa says happily. “Maybe you can take me out for a drive.”
The words linger in the air, and I feel my heart drop a little. Alexa’s words sound so natural, as if they’d promised this to each other long ago. Beside me, Sledge shifts uncomfortably while Iz merely smiles and nods at Alexa’s suggestion.
“Sure thing, Lex,” Iz responds, his eyes not leaving mine. I feel the burn of them—always have. But that’s what friends do, no? Stare at each other. Like all the time. She giggles, a sound that carries down the empty road ahead of us. It reminds me of rustling leaves during the fall—pleasant and somehow comforting.
She’s the second friend I made in this town, and despite the years, or even when she became popular, she still never changed. Alexa is kind, fun, and irrevocably in love with Iz. My shoulders sag, the petals of the sunflower tickling my nose as I twirl it in my hand.
“Dad told me that back in the day, the Camaro helped him get my mom.” He pauses, a grin spreading across his face. “The girl of his dreams,” he finishes, and I swear he’s talking to me, but I don’t look his way to confirm.
Sledge groans again. “I guess, but it’s so old.”
“Old like your mom,” Iz fires back, surprising me that he is making mom jokes, he usually doesn’t… After all, his mother is dead. Sledge’s face screws up into a grimace at the jab, and I can’t help but let a bubble of laughter pop out of me. Iz grins at that, his eyes bright and mischievous, his attention back to me as quickly as he had pulled it away.
Meanwhile, Alexa is still giggling, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “He’s right about that, you know,” she adds.
Sledge turns to her. “If my mom is old… yours is fucking ancient,” he retorts.
A shocked gasp escapes Alexa’s lips, and I can’t even contain a snort. Iz is laughing outright, holding onto his belly as if he might fall apart from the force of it.
“Hey!” Alexa swats at Sledge’s arm playfully, her laughter ringing through the air. “But she’s loaded. So, it works… And besides, your mommy is old and…” but before she can finish that sentence, Iz steps in, diffusing the situation with his characteristic nonchalance. “Okay, guys, that’s enough. We don’t need to bring our mothers into this.”
