I didn't understand why I was nervous. Dylan liked me. He made that plenty clear. I didn't have to worry about my first kiss. He took care of that.

But here I was, standing in front of my mirror feeling as if something was off with my appearance. "Piper, you look amazing," my stepmom, Michelle, said as she stopped by room. She had a stack of towels in her hands. Michelle was like a mother to me so her opinion meant a lot.

"Are you sure? Maybe I should chan-"

Michelle walked in and grabbed my shoulder. "Amazing."

I turned to looked at myself again. I had an army green shirt on that was on the nicer side and jeans with floral patches on. "Do you think you could braid my hair?" I asked.

Michelle hurried to put down the towels. As she started to braid my hair my dad walked in with Maya. "Somebody's gonna break some hearts tonight," he said. I blushed.

"Dad, you're so gross," Maya responded.

"There, done," Michelle said, stepping away to admire her work.

I grabbed my jacket. "Ready Maya?" I asked since my sister was driving me there.

"I'm so excited for you!" she exclaimed before pulling me into a hug.

***

"You came," Dylan said as I entered the theater.

"You've been bugging me about this all week. It's not like I could forget," I responded.

Dylan rolled his eyes. After slipping his hand into mine, he led me to the ticket counter. "Two tickets for Star Wars," he said, giving her a twenty.

"Piper?" a over enthusiastic voice said. I mentally cussed.

"Sam," I said as I turned around.

Sam threw her hands up like an actress in a bad play. "What a weird coincidence. I can't believe you're here. What are you watching?"

"Star Wars."

Sam faked being shocked. "Oh my gosh, me too. We should make this a group thing."

Dylan yanked me to his side. I wasn't expecting it so I stumbled a little bit. "No," he stated, not the tiniest bit of emotion in his voice. I stepped back and slapped him. "Ow. Gosh for such a tiny body you can sure do damage."

"Let us talk," I commanded. Dylan stayed where he was. "In private."

"But-"

"Dylan." I pointed to the popcorn stand.

"Fine." He stomped off like a two-year-old.

Sam flared her nostrils and folded her arms. "I can't believe you Piper. How could you?"

I felt tears in my eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm your best friend and you're choosing the guy I like over me?"

"I tried to tell him that I couldn't date him. But then he made some great points that I couldn't argue with."

She gave me a cold laugh. "You once won an argument with the Principal about the cafeteria food. You can debate anything."

She made a fair point. After that pre-frozen fruits and vegetables were gone. I was running out of excuses for this date. It was time to fight back. "You know what, how come you aren't even thinking about how happy going on my first date is making me? I always try to be there for you and here you are, trying to stop me from having something I've wanted for years."

"Piper-"

I held my hands out to stop her. "No, you can't make any excuses. You were there when Blake turned me down. You saw me cry when he told me about that other girl. Now a guy I like finally likes me back and you're trying to break us up before anything even starts."

Sam looked at me, horrified. For the first time in four and a half years she was speechless. I gave her a glare before leaving to find Dylan.

***

I was laughing so hard that I almost spit out my drink. Kim, Alana and I were talking at starbucks. We had been friends for about a month and a half now. I had gone on another date with Dylan last night and somehow we ended up talking about our worst dates. Although I had none of my own experiences to talk about, I did have many strange memories about Blake.

Alana had just finished telling a story about a guy who thought he had dated Wonder Women.

"Oh please," Kim said, waving her off, "I once dated a guy who would bring his cat on our dates."

Alana's phone beeped. She grabbed it and checked her messages. "My mom wants me home," she stated as she grabbed her jacket. Since it was heading towards October in Ohio the weather made everyone began to bundle up.

Kim sighed and grabbed her jacket as well. "She's my ride. Bye," she said before giving me a quick hug. I smiled.

"I'm gonna call my dad."

After a short call asking my dad to pick me up at Barnes & Nobles I started looking for my next romance novel to read. I used to only use library books but by the time I turned thirteen I had finished every book in the romance section.

"Piper?" a voice from the past said. I flung around.

I recognized the same brown haired, blue eyed boy I'd know almost my whole life. "Blake?" I asked a little unsure.

"Is that little Piper Jones?" He said with the same smile that used to make my heart flutter.

"I'm older than you."

Blake took a deep breath and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "H-how are you?"

"Good. Great." I felt like I couldn't breath. I wanted to bolt.

"If you have time, I'd love to talk."

"Right now?"

He nodded. "Um sure."

I texted my dad that I'd need another ten minutes. And we walked over to the cafe. After grabbing a table I stared at my hands, the feeling of memories passing by.

Thankfully, Blake started the conversation. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for how things ended." I stared at him, not saying a word. "Really, not even a word?"

"What do you want me to say? You never know what you have until it's gone. You're like your dad."

"I don't think-"

"You know," I cut him off, "when I was crying, Sam told me 'what do you want me to say. He's just a stupid boy who'll never realize what a amazing, sarcastic, smart girl he left behind.'" Blake looked away. I saw regreat in his eyes. "I've moved on. I have a boyfriend."

He looked back at me. "You're still friends with her?" I nodded. "Why? She's a bitch."

"That seems to be something I hear a lot now a days."

"And you would think that you would listen to somebody for the first time."

My phone beeped. My dad was here. Our time was up. "My dad's here." Blake got up and hugged me as I said, "Goodbye Blake. Thank you for being in my life."

All he did was nod. I left there with a tear falling down my cheek but a warmth in my chest. Closer. It was like mending a broken heart.