I was talking to Joe Joe on our cells. I couldn't get a hold of Devlin or Candy, I don't like leaving them in the dark like this but I needed to get this off my chest. "I'm telling you Joey! I know him!" I was frantically panicking. Joey snapped, "OK! I get it! Will you tell me already?" I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just....I can't believe its him. OK. Do you promise not to tell anyone?" He started, "What about--" "I'll tell them too! I just need you to promise me, OK? This is really embarrassing for me to admit." His voice was very sincere and soft when he answered. "Yes. I promise. You can always count on me, Haley." I sighed. "Thanks. Now, uh, when I was really little I had a crush. It was a stupid little crush, but........ Anyway, we were at the park one day. Paul was at a friend's house, and I was playing by myself in a sandbox..........
Flashback
The little brown haired girl played in her sand box. These three older kids came up to her. "Hey! We want a turn with the sandbox!" The girl looked up. She looked at the sandbox around her. She was the only one playing in it. "There's plenty of room here." The kid shook his head. "No. Its our sandbox. It ours and only ours. So get out." She put her hands on her hips. "That's stupid." The kids stepped up to her. Another older kid stepped in between them. He said, "Back off. Let her play. Its every body's sandbox." The bully protested. "We just wanted to show her a game. We play it all the time." He stepped aside and never took his eyes off them as they entered the sandbox. They took the little girl and shoved her head into the sand. The older kid charged at them and shoved the leader of them out of there. He followed him and started the fight. The other two followed.
Thirty minutes later, the unknown kid and the sniffling little girl were sitting on a park bench. The parents were sorting out what happened, and yelling at each other. Most of it was coming from the mother of the bullies, screaming bad words at the top of her lungs. The boy looked at the parents and at the girl, he then went through his mother's purse which was sitting beside him. He pulled out a candy bar. He opened it and said, "Want some chocolate?" as if nothing happened. She looked at it and took the big piece given. He said, "I was suppose to have it if I behaved today, but I don't think I'll be getting it anytime soon." She said nothing. After she finished it she wiped her mouth and said, "You have a boo-boo on your cheek." He felt it and winced at the pain. She scooted over to him and kissed the bruise. It didn't make it feel better, but it did, somehow. He said, "Thanks" anyway. She said, "What's your name?" He said, "Thomas. What's yours?" "Haley." She answered. They never got to finish their conversation. Their parents came over in a fury and rushed their kids to their cars and drove off.
...............................
I waited for the teasing and laughter I would normally get from Joe Joe, but I heard nothing. After a while I heard him say, "So, you want to what? Date him?" "Well, I don't know. Maybe. Is that normal?" Another pause. "Well, yeah. I heard some guys dating younger girls, it didn't end well for the guy on the most part. Mostly because the girl's parents keep suspecting him of 'inappropriate activities'." There was a certain edge in his voice. "Joey? Are you OK?" "Huh? Uh, yeah. Why?" I thought about this. Maybe it'd be better if I dodged it for now. "Oh, Nothing. So, no one is going to give a second glance at us if we just went around holding each other's hand?" I heard him clear his throat on the other end. "No. Not really." He answered. I smiled as I laid down on my bed. "Thanks Joey. Your the best."
I said I'd see him and the others at Devlin's place tomorrow and I might even be able to bring Thomas! He hung up without saying goodbye. That was weird. Ah, well. It doesn't matter. That's probably just a guy thing. Right?
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