I Will Always Love You~ Brian Kelley

Chapter 26: More Memories

THIS WILL BE A LONG CHAPTER! IT'S MAINLY ALL FLASHBACKS AND MEMORIES! ENJOY!!

The night before the wedding, I had everything put together. Every memory we shared, I have a picture for it. The first one being the memory of when my mom met him. I had gotten a picture of the two of us that night before he left. I turned the page. A picture of me and him at the city pool. He had his arm around me in a friendly manner, and I was freezing my ass off. That was when I successfully learned how to swim, and also the time we hung out outside of school or at one of our houses. I still remember the feeling of not drowning when he let go.

I had jumped into the water, purposefully splashing Brian. He laughed and then splashed me back.

"Want to go jump off the diving board?" He suggested. I felt my face turn pale, and I looked down. "What's wrong? It'll be okay."

"Funny fact about me... I never truly learned how to swim. I can, but not very well at all," I confessed. He smiled in an understanding manner.

"That's fine. You know what? I'll help you."

I looked at him terrified. He put his hand out. "Do you trust me or not?"

I took a second to consider my options. I figured I should trust him, he was my best friend after all. I took his hand with a smile. "I trust you."

Starting in more shallow water, he tried to help me to stay afloat in the water. I was scared, and he knew that I was. He kept his hands on my back until I was comfortable, then he moved them, but still kept them below me. I started to panic when he moved his hands from my back. 

"Hey, it's alright. I'm still right here," he said. His voice was so calming. When I got mad at a teacher or rehearsal, he was always right there calming me down. I began to calm down and I tried to ignore the fact that he didn't have his hand on my back at the time. Pushing my fear to the side, I stayed afloat. "See? It's not so bad! We haven't even reached the hard part yet."

I didn't even think about the fact that it would only get harder. I mean, I knew how to swim, I just couldn't do it at all. I told him that, and he just showed me how. I tried to, and I sort of did, but I still couldn't. He then put his hand on my stomach and back and helped me. 

I don't know why, but his touch gave me butterflies. Huh.... His voice calms me down, his touch gives me butterflies. Maybe my mom, Rebecca, Izzy, and Bethany were all right. Maybe I did like him. 

After awhile of him helping me, I tried it on my own again. He kept his hand on my back, assuring me that he was there if anything happened. He let go, and I didn't drown. For the first time, I swam successfully. 

"You did it!" He exclaimed cheerfully. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him. We continued swimming for a few hours before my mom decided it was time to go. We stepped out of the pool and I started shivering instantly. It wasn't that it was cold outside, it was actually really hot outside. But after being inside the pool, stepping out made me cold. Brian wrapped his arm around my shoulders and we walked over to our towels. My mom, being the kind of person she is, made us get a picture like this: me, freezing my ass off, Brian with an arm around me trying to both warm me up and be a good friend. This was one of the best days of the summer after my 6th grade year.

I didn't really have anything for 7th grade. I mean, of course we were inseparable, we always WERE in school. Going through my old photos, I found one of my 8th grade formal. I thought about asking Brian to formal. I couldn't muster the courage. He suggested that we go as best friends. I thought of it as more than best friends, whether it was or not. Everyone there thought we had gone as boyfriend and girlfriend.