- Rowan's Point of View -

I finished up the last of my meager supper and looked around the cave. I hadn't been here in years. What was it? 17 years. Such a long time. I could remember him and me, pretending we were being chased by bad guys and this was the only place we could hide. Now I was living it. The walls still had our drawings, scratched into them. One was of a little cottage with tow grownups, a girl, and a small boy. It had been our family, back when all of us were still alive.

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- Joe's Point of View -

I suspected the conversation was about to get serious and that they'd want to be alone, so I slipped away just as Sammy said, "Sit; and spill everything."

I walked back to the castle and just as I reached to open the back door, it opened, Callum stepping out into the evening sky.

"Joe?" He said in surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, um, you see, Sammy had-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. Sammy?"

"Oh, um, sorry. I meant Miss Samantha."

"Ohhhh, Sam. Okay. At first I wasn't sure who you were talking about."

I looked at him a little confused then decided it was probably best to just let it go.

"Anyway, I just volunteered to drive Samm- Uh, I mean, Miss Samantha- so that Mr. Jones could go to Liturgy."

"Wow Joe, that was awful generous of you."

I had an inkling that he was hinting at something, but I didn't know what. I gave him the look that said, 'What in the world are you talking about?', and he continued by saying, "You know, if I remember correctly, you're right about a year older then Sam, aren't you?"

"Yeeesss?!?" I wasn't exactly sure what he was aiming at.

"She's 18."

"Mhm, and you're 19."

"So?"

"Oh whatever. You'll figure it out."

Then it suddenly dawned on me.

"Ohhhhhhh, now I get- HEY!"

"What, it's true."

"Is not. We're just friends."

"Yeah, and it was just a friendly act driving her all the way here."

"Oh you're impossible." I said, folding my arms over my chest.

I wasn't actually sure if he was in the wrong this time. When I thought about...Na, she doesn't like me...And I don't like her. We're just friends...

"Haha, I think somebodies crushing." He teased.

"Well what about you?" I asked, gaining confidence.

"What?"

"You've been practically tripping over Emma ever since you met her." As soon as I said it, I knew I had struck a cord.

"I have not! We're just friends."

I can't believe he used literally the same scam I had just pulled.

"Seriously? That's the best you've got? Come on, at least tell me the truth...Emma says you've been acting weird. Have you?" 

"What?...Oh...That..." He said, slouching against the stone wall and slowly lowering himself to the ground.

"Well?"

"I guess it is. I mean, it's my own fault. I'm just a big coward and idiot."

"Hey, only I'm allowed to call you that. Now tell me what this is all about." I said, sitting down next to him.

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- Samantha's Point of View -

"I don't know. Does he not trust me?" She asked me, utterly and totally defeated.

"Well, I don't think it's that he doesn't trust you, he's just...scared. I guess."

"Callum? Scared? Huh, he's not scared of anything."

Deja vu!

"I seem to remember Callum saying the same thing about you." I smiled.

She looked at me in disbelief, not really saying anything for a minute.

"It's true, Emma. He thinks very highly of you."

I didn't want to directly tell her that he likes her. That was something he had to do, in his own time. Unless, of course, Emma took it upon herself to do the telling. But I doubted either of them would be doing it anytime soon. It was actually getting slightly frustrating. It was probably just my match-making genes, but I couldn't help but give them a little push in the right direction.

"He does?"

"I'm not kidding, if that's what you're asking."

She looked down at her hands. I would've given my left leg to know what she was thinking just then...But I didn't. As much as I hated to say this, I had to.

"It's getting dark, Emma. Shouldn't we be heading to bed?"

My mind was screaming at me and I was aching so much just to tell her everything. But I knew that wouldn't be the right thing to do. Emma looked around like it was the first time she had noticed the world around her.

"Oh yeah! You're probably right. I'm tired anyway."

"I feel ya." I answered, and we both laughed.

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- Rowan's Point of View -

I lay there, completely awake, looking up at the stone ceiling. Something about this place made me want to cry. I didn't,  of course. I was too old to cry. But I felt like it. So many memories had flooded my mind, sort of transporting me back in time.

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"Come on, Rowan. Do you want us to be late?" The little toddler boy said, pulling me towards the little cottage.

"We won't be._________, slow down." (Don't worry, that space was on purpose) I said.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." He said.

For a four year old, he had a pretty big vocabulary.

"ROWAN,________, IT'S TIME FOR SUPPER!" Ma called across the yard.

"I told you. Right on time."

"You never told me."

"Oh whatever."

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I didn't know what it was, but that memory always popped up when I was alone in the silence. That was right before...Right before...It happened. For some reason I couldn't remember his name. It was forever a mystery to me, and always would be.

-Okay, here you go. It's kinda short, but I REALLY need to go to bed. LOL XD. It's like, a quarter to midnight. Hehe XD. Anyway, please tell me what you think and if you liked the chapter then don't forget to vote. Thanks, as always :D - Anna

- I have a question for you guys. I'm writing a book for my family called 'The Red Key'. It's extreme fantasy (I seriously made up my own creatures) and I don't know if I should put it on here or not. What do you think? -