Niall and I had hardly seen each other over the past few months. We didn't spend Spring Break together like we had planned because his family decided to take a trip to Florida for the week. I wished they would have invited me, but for some reason they didn't. I guess airfare is expensive, but my parents probably wouldn't have minded. Niall came back very tan, his hair washed out from the sun, and I wouldn't admit it to any of my friends, but he looked kind of hot.

So, we hadn't spent our normal time together and by the end of the school year, things felt kind of awkward between us. It took us a few weeks to fall back into our normal rhythm. I think maybe it was a change for me from being with my female friends during the school year, who were obsessed with boys, and being with the archaeology club, who were obsessed with dinosaur bones, and I was too, but then going back to what Niall and I had always done in the summer felt....childish, almost. Like maybe I was getting too old to play pretend and ride around on my bike with him. I think I was worried that people would see me and think I was being silly. It wasn't long, however, til I let go of my silly fears and resumed my favorite summer activities with Niall - sleeping in the treehouse (Mom gave me the same "You're getting older" speech every summer and I promised nothing like that would ever happen between us), exploring the caves together, and swimming.

We went swimming a ton because it was a scorching hot summer. We were old enough now that our parents let us ride our bikes to the state park up the road. We were there at least twice a week, and then we started inviting our friends and it felt like it became a beauty competition for the girls - who always wanted to get the best tan and show off their tiny tummies in bikinis - and a strength competition for the boys - who were always flexing their muscles or trying to see who could throw stones the furthest into the lake, always hoping the girls would be watching.

It was hard sometimes for me not to stare at Niall. I still didn't like him that way, but seeing the muscles in his chest and arms, and the tan he so easily caught, just made me want to look at him all the time. I tried to hide it, and I tried not to do it after I'd gotten caught too many times by Kirsten and Mia. Joely was too preoccupied with her boyfriend to care; she and Tony were finally dating. But Kirsten and Mia teased me non-stop now, any  time Niall came up. They kept saying we were going to fall in love and get married until I finally threatened to smack them both if they didn't shut up.

When I wasn't swimming or hanging in the treehouse with Niall, I was practicing driving. I know, can you believe it?! Me, a driver! Driver's ed was fun because half of my class took it during the summer. I got to go on drives with Kirsten and Joely a few times, but the instructor had to split us up because we laughed too much. I was getting pretty good at it, though, and I absolutely couldn't wait til my birthday this year since I'd be able to get my license.

About halfway through the summer, Niall came over to hang out one afternoon. We stayed inside, in the air conditioning because the heat had been brutal.

"Wanna play some Xbox?" He asked, sitting down and picking up a controller.

"Fine," I said, as if I didn't really want to. But I picked up a controller and soon we were engaged in combat, yelling and trying to distract each other, laughing like old times. Before long, it was coming up on dinner time and my parents were going to be home late.

"You wanna go out and get something to eat? I can drive," I said.

"Yer fulla shit," he laughed. "You can't drive without yer mum."

"Shit," I said. "Okay, well let's see what there is to eat." I got up and went to the kitchen, searching for something easy to cook. "Oh yes!" I said, spying a pack of hot dogs and some bacon. 

Niall joined in with enthusiasm as we sliced open the hot dogs, placed strips of bacon in the slits, and then covered them with cheese. We carefully set them onto the pan and put them in the oven to broil.

I grabbed a bag of chips and some baby carrots. When the hot dogs were done, we cracked open a couple cans of Coke and brought everything to the table.

"Damn, I forgot how much I love cheesy bacon hot dogs," Niall said with his mouth stuffed too full.

"I know!" I said, my mouth equally full. "I think we need to have some super fudge milkshakes after this."

"Hell yeah!" He laughed.

As I finished eating, I sat back with a sigh and my hair flopped into my face. Niall finished as well and sat back next to me. I was surprised when I felt his fingers brushing the hair away from my eyes. "It's getting long again," he observed. The look in his eyes was different; I couldn't figure it out, but it made me feel warm and a little funny.

"Yeah," I said, clearing my throat. "I want to get it cut again."

"Don't," he said quietly and then looked away shyly, which was odd because Niall was never shy.

"Don't what?" I asked.

"Don't get it cut again," he said. "I like it long. It's pretty."

"Thank you," I said, feeling a little shy myself. What was up with us?

"You know what? I really wanna see a movie," Niall said, back to his old self. "Air conditioning, popcorn, extra large drinks."

"Do you ever stop eating?" I asked, belting out a laugh. "How the hell do you stay so skinny?"

"Hey!" He said, standing up to clear the food from the table. "I am not skinny. I'll have you know I've been getting pretty buff with wrestlin' and everythin'."

"Yeah, you looked good when-" I slapped my hand over my mouth. Shit, was I just going to say that?

"What?" He cackled loudly. "What were you gonna say?"

"Nothing," I said, taking off running towards my room.

He ran after me and grabbed me around the waist. "What Foster?! What were you going to say?"

I wriggled and kicked against him, laughing, but his grip around me was firm. "Nothing! I wasn't going to say anything!" He started tickling me and it was all over, I couldn't handle it. "Stop, stop, STOP!" I screamed in laughter.

He finally loosened his grip on me and I turned around, grabbing his wrists. "You were gonna say I looked good, weren't ya?" He teased.

I shrugged. "Whatever, you're filling out, I guess."

"Come on, say it!" He teased. "I'll tickle ya til ya can't breathe."

"Fine, you looked good at the beach, so there." I stuck my tongue out at him and ran away again, towards my room. "So are we going to see a movie or what? I have to change."

"Yeah, I'll see if my mum can drive us," he called back through my closed door. I heard him running down the stairs as I changed into a clean t-shirt and put on my shoes. I met him downstairs and he said his mom would take us to the theater in about fifteen minutes. We sat on the steps and waited.

"What do you want to see?" I asked.

"Been wanting to watch the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie."

So that's what we watched, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. We got a giant tub of popcorn and two extra large drinks and enjoyed the air conditioning. After the movie, we waited outside on a bench since it was getting cooler with the nightfall. The theater had been a little too cold for my tastes.

"Do you think you'll ever change your mind, Meg?" Niall asked softly.

"About what?"

"About me," he answered even more quietly. Then, right there on the bench right outside the movie theater, he kissed me. This time it seemed like a real kiss, like he'd been practicing or something. The way his mouth fit against mine was nice and he just made it feel...really nice. I let him kiss me for a few moments, out of shock, but then I sat back.

"You're my best friend, Niall," I whispered. "But I don't think you'll ever be anything more than that."

"Yeah," he said and stood up, walking away from me. His mom pulled up just then, so he got into the front seat without a word to me. I got in the backseat and endured the silent ride home. Thankfully, Mrs. Horan didn't ask any questions, but she had to have noticed how quiet we were.

Without any further words between us, I still knew how much I had hurt him. When I tried to talk to him about it, he just blew me off. Pretty much for the rest of the summer, he avoided me - at the beach, at school, and even in our own back yard. 

I hated that I hurt him and I hated that he was ignoring me. I wished things could just go back to the way they were, but something about getting older seemed to make things so much more complicated.

Finally, about a week before school started, Niall came to my house and asked if I wanted to go for a walk.

"A walk? Since when do we walk?" I joked.

"Dunno," he shrugged. "Something different, I guess."

We walked together down our dusty gravel road, chatting about dumb things like new movies and the fact that school was starting again. Eventually, though, Niall spoke out his true motive. "I'm sorry for actin' the way I did," he said. "You can't help it if you don't like me the way I like you. I was just bein' a jerk."

I stopped walking and faced him. "No, you weren't a jerk, Niall. I hurt your feelings. I hate that I did, but I didn't know what else to say."

"Nah," he said. "It's good yer honest with me. So if we can just stick to bein' friends, I'm happy with that."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I hugged him tightly, happy to have my best friend back. It was nice and warm and safe. I'd missed him. But then I pulled away and sprinted back down the road, towards our houses. "Race you home!" I yelled behind me.

In no time, Niall had blazed past me. He was fast on those skinny chicken legs of his. We both arrived at his house, out of breath and laughing. "How the hell do you run so fast?" I gasped.

He was panting too hard to answer. He opened the front door and ushered me inside before closing it behind us to keep the cool air in. We went to the kitchen and grabbed glasses of ice water, which we promptly chugged.

"You should join cross country," Niall said when he finally had his voice back.

"Are you crazy? Did you forget who you're talking to?" I asked, hands on my hips. "Besides racing you home, I hate running. It's stupid."

"It's not, though," he said. "And you know it's not fast running. It's about distance and endurance."

"Ugh," I said, making a yucky face.

"I'm serious, Meg. It would be fun to have you on the team. We have a great time when we go to cross country meets; they usually last all day. Besides, I don't have any good friends on the team."

"Oh, so that's your reason," I nodded. "Very sly, Mr. Horan but I don't think I'm going to fall for your ruse."

"Seriously, though," he shrugged. "I hate that we don't see each other during the school year, even though we live right next door. I just thought it would be fun if we could do something together."

"Tell you what," I said, giving him a shrewd glance. "You join the archaeology club and I'll join cross country."

"For real?" He asked, seeming way too excited about it. "That sounds perfect. I'll do it!"

"Ugh," I grumbled again. "So where do I buy running shoes?"

* * * * *

This chapter feels a little rough, but I really wanted to post it before going to bed, as a treat to all of you for waiting so long for me to update again! Thanks much - hopefully I can post more soon! xoxo