Anywhere but Here

Chapter 4-

'You.. You like me?' I said shocked. Charlie March liked me. A nobody. This must be some sick joke, cause people like him don't like ones like me. It's-

'But I do Anne...' Charlie said quietly interrupting my thoughts. ' what's so wrong with me liking you?'

'Whats wrong? You don't see what's wrong?!. What's wrong is I've been in your class since grade 1 and you've never noticed me. What's wrong is that I've been half dead for three years and you didn't talk to me. And what's wrong is you've had the chance to tell me so many times that you like me, and you didn't!'

I was mad, really mad. Who does he think he is? He can ignore me for 10 years and then come up and say he likes me. I couldn't deal with that, I had to go, as I stood up, he caught me arm, standing up himself. He wiped the tears in my eyes. God, I was crying? I had to go. But when I saw the honest look in his eyes, I had second thoughts, why wouldn't I?

'Anne... Please.. I mean it.. I could have never come up to you and said it, you seemed untouchable, like if I told you, I would ruin your beauty... Please believe me..'

'I- I'm sorry, I can't Charlie, I just can't like you back...' and with that I walked away. I wiped the tears from my eyes as they flowed down. All these years, he liked me, and he never told me. All this time thinking nobody liked me like that, feeling worthless, and he tells me now?

I began to walk down the street. I couldn't go home, not yet, I took a detour to the park. I had a tree there, whenever I wanted to think. I would sit for hours when I was younger, just looking at the stars, wondering, what happened up there, wishing my life would get better. but it couldn't. I climbed up to my branch and saw the small engraving in front of my feet... I remembered it. when I was thirteen...

-Flashback-

'Hey Josh, come on!' I shouted across the park.

'I'm coming Annie, wait!' he yelled back. Josh was always behind. Today we were gonna engrave our tree J+A . we'd been friends for three years, even thought he wasn't in the same school. It was my thirteenth birthday. And Josh had another surprise for me.

'I'm here,' he said,' and I have something' I smiled goofily the way I did when he smiled at me with that million dollar smile.

'Ok,' I said, 'this better be good though.'

'It is, close your eyes.' he said, as he spun me around and wrapped his arms around my neck from behind

'No matter how much you want to, don't kill me,' I joked.

' I wouldn't.' his soft voice replied from behind me. 'Now open your eyes.'

As I opened my eyes I gasped quickly. A beautiful silver chain hung around my neck with a heart. Engraved the same way as our tree.

'Thank you Josh, so so much!' I gushed as I hugged him tight. I felt him sigh as he said

'I know. I wanted to give you something special before...'

'Before what?'

'Before I leave...'

'What!' I said,' you cant leave Josh, what'll I do?!'

' I have to go now Annie, goodbye.' And he kissed my cheek and left...

-Flashback over-

I held onto my necklace around my neck and tried to stop the years from falling. Josh had been the best thing that ever happened to me.. My life had gone down hill from then on...

'Annie!' a voice shouted, and scared the living life out of me.

'Ahh!' I'd screamed, nearly falling of my branch.