“How could you…” I whispered, my eyes staying locked on the ground. There was a long pause. Not a single breathe nor whisper broke the silence. He was thinking.
“I--” Another pause. My head shot up in frustration, although tears still coated my swollen eyes.
“You what?” I spat. “Are you sorry? Because it sure as hell doesn’t look like it!” I screamed, pointing at the luggage resting against his leg; the sting of my voice lingering in the frosty air. All around snow was falling, coating the ground in a thin, crisp, winter gift. The trees were bare, their branches frosted over. “If you were sorry you would stay…”
“Jessica… you don’t get it.” He reasoned.
“Are you—Are you kidding me?! Are you seriously saying that I don’t ‘get it’? Is there some justification for you leaving; leaving everything we have for some fucking whore that’ll leave once she’s had enough?” He took a step back, clearly offended by my comment. He grimaced, seeing my true feelings now.
“It’s not just that! Have you ever heard of a successful band coming out of Ohio?! You’ve known for years that I’ve wanted to leave! Don’t go and put this all on Kristen.” He told me. He didn’t yell—he never did—but you could tell he was annoyed.
“Andy…Please,” I begged. A single tear cascaded down my cheek as I continued. “You’re my only friend. You’re the only one who understands.” My voice broke. The thought of having my best friend leave--having him run off with someone other than myself-- killed me.
Andy wrapped me in his arms, his left hand on the small of my back, his right resting across my shoulders. We stood there for a moment—completely forgetting our surroundings. No longer were we both shaking from the temperature, no longer were we concerned about offending Kristin. No longer were we focused on everyone and everything else. Now we were focusing on us.

*1 year earlier*
“Andy!” I screamed as I tore across the yard after him. “Give it!” He chuckled, but continued running.
“You’ll have to catch me first!” He teased, making his way back to the front door. He threw the door open, waving to his mother, and stormed up the stairs; with me right on his heels. He made a mad dash for his bedroom, slamming the door just in time to keep me locked out.
“You little fucker!” I banged on the door, hoping he would open it before his mom came upstairs wondering what the noise was about. “Andy, I swear I’m gonna burn all of your Batman stuff if you don’t open this door right now!” I threatened, only half joking. The door swung open, revealing a very sad looking Andy.
“Please don’t.” He begged, pouting. I smiled and pushed passed him, grabbing the notebook out of his hands. I jumped onto his bed, pushing my dark brown hair out of my eyes. He joined me on the bed, staring at me hopefully.
“What?” I asked. He simply stared at the notebook, rather than saying anything; and after a moment, he looked back up to meet my eyes. “Oh. Hell. No.” No one was allowed to read my lyrics. Not even my best friend.
“But why?!” He whined, dragging out the last word.
“Just—“ I started, but soon I was a loss for words. Not as a result of shock or anything, simply because I didn’t really have a reason why I was against sharing my lyrics. I knew that no matter what I had written in that notebook, he would tell me that it was perfect. He would lie to spare my feelings. But it wasn’t just that; I was embarrassed. I never felt comfortable sharing my true feelings, so I wrote them down. It wasn’t personal. Nobody had read what was in that book. “Maybe one day…” I sighed, smiling. “Just not today.” I really did hope I would have the chance to share it one day.
****
“Jessieeee,” Andy whined. “I’m hungry.” I glared at him, pretending to be annoyed, but doubled over in laughter as soon as I saw him gripping his stomach as If he hadn’t eaten in days.
“Come on Batman, let’s go get some food.” I took him by the hand and pulled him downstairs. Him mom stared at us and simply smiled. She always thought Andy and I would make the cutest couple, and to be honest, I’m pretty sure everyone agreed with her. Andy and I were best friends. We liked the same music, the same books, the same movies. We spent all of our time together, we had every class together at school. He was my life, and I was his. But as a couple, I don’t think we could ever work…or at least I wasn’t willing to risk our friendship for a stupid fling.
Andy let go of my hand and made his way over to his mom, wrapping her in a giant bear hug.
“Yes?” She asked impatiently.
“What’s for dinner?” There was a hint of innocence in his voice as he swayed them back and forth.
“Oh dear lord Andy you just ate!” I just laughed and pulled Andy off of Amy.
“Come on fatty, I’ll take you out.” I dragged him out of the house, quickly waving bye to Amy, and scurried off to Andy’s car. It was painted black, and customized to look like the Batmobile. He’s literally the biggest fanboy I’ve ever met.
He walked around the car, opening the door for me. This was something he did almost every day, just out of courteousy, so I was used to it. He ran back around it, and hopped into the driver’s seat. He turned the keys in the ignition and drove out of the driveway.