Timeless - Connor Dewar

one

Amelia - 7 years ago

Did she believe in meant to be?

She never did. But, it seemed like everyone around her did. Growing up, she couldn't escape it—and what made it worse was it being directed at her.

Well, not exactly her. Her and her partner in crime, her other half, her best friend in the whole world. It seemed like ever since they moved up from Winnipeg and into the house right next to a young family, much like theirs, everyone thought they were meant to be.

She still remembered it clearly. It was a summer evening in July, and she was five years old. She liked everything other little girls liked: pink, glitter, flowers. When she found a particularly nice wildflower, she wanted to show someone. Her mom, who was supposed to be watching her, was on the phone. Growing up with busy parents, she learned when not to bother them or else they'd get mad.

So, little Amelia looked around until her beady eyes landed on her target—two boys who lived next door playing street hockey on their driveway. She waddled over to them, clutching the flower in her small hand.

She stood there for a moment, unsure if she should interrupt, but the taller boy who was playing goalie stopped and started glaring at her. "Um, hello?"

"Hi!" she exclaimed, beaming with excitement. She took another step towards him, holding out the flower. "Look at what I found! Isn't it pretty?"

The boy rolled his eyes at her, surveying the flower. "I don't like that girly stuff," he remarked, turning to try to avoid her. Immediately, tears started welling in her eyes. Her shaky hand dropped the flower, and she quickly spun on her heels to run back to her mom.

But, just as she was about to run for it, the younger boy who was shooting the ball yelled from the other side of the driveway, "Quinny! Don't be mean." He exclaimed, dropping his stick to run over and pick up the flower.

He had bright blue eyes and a grin that could light up a room, so when she turned to him, she thought it healed her a little. "I think it's pretty," he said, tucking the flower behind his ear. "What's your name?"

"Amelia."

Wow, that sounded real. Almost like she was reliving the moment in person, like she was—

"Amelia!"

"Huh? What?" she said, whipping her head around. Her mom stood at the doorway of her room. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she gestured her towards her. "Come on, Connor is waiting for you downstairs."

She nodded, wiping a speck of stray glitter off her face before making her way down the stairs after her mom. Today was the day of her high school graduation, the day her childhood ended, virtually. She didn't understand how this was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life, and yet, she still felt sort of empty.

The clack of her heels against the stairs sharply contrasted the eerie silence everyone had seemed to fall in as she walked down, but when she saw him, her best friend in the whole world, her mind was instantly at peace.

Connor stood in the living room as her dad tried to adjust his tie. They were having a hushed discussion, but when Connor looked up and his eyes landed on her, his jaw dropped. Literally dropped.

When she reached the bottom of the staircase, Connor's expression had remained the exact same. Quinn was standing beside him, and he nudged Connor with his elbow and muttered something along the lines of 'Dude, say something.'

Connor blinked a few times, his expression shifting from shock to awe as he took a step forward. "Wow, Mia," he finally managed to say, his voice barely above a whisper. "You look... beautiful."

She couldn't help but blush at his words. They complimented each other all the time; there was nothing special about what he just said—yet, something about it coming from him in this moment felt different.

Quinn smirked knowingly as if he'd been waiting for this moment for years. Maybe he had. He'd always had this uncanny ability to read both Connor and Amelia like an open book. "Alright, lovebirds, let's get going before we miss your own graduation."

Connor grumbled lowly, "Lay off, Quinn," he said, before pulling away from her. He hesitated for a moment, looking at everyone in the room with that same bewildered expression before seeming to calm down and picking up a bouquet of flowers from the coffee table. He held them out, his face now plastered with his signature goofy, lopsided grin. "I got these for you."

She took the bouquet from him and smiled up at him. He was only an inch or two taller than her with her heels, but, nonetheless, still taller. "Thank you, they're beautiful," she remarked, finding herself staring at him for a moment too long before the boys' mom, Becca, spoke.

"You know, Connor spent hours picking those out. He wanted to make sure they were perfect for you." She laughed, obviously trying to poke fun at Connor.

Connor's eyes widened, pupils wildly switching between Amelia and his mom. "No! I didn't," he stuttered, now awkwardly adjusting his cap, "I spent a perfectly normal amount of time picking them out. Don't listen to her."

"Yeah... okay." Quinn spoke up, taking a step to the side. "Now, push together or something so Mom can take her billion pictures before we can get going."

Connor shot Quinn daggers with his eyes, before he carefully placed his arm around Amelia's shoulders and flashed a smile for his mom's camera. She mimicked him, smiling and darting her eyes between everyone who had a phone out—which was pretty much the entirety of their families.

"Okay," she said, turning to Connor as her living room emptied, "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."