~

Anna drug her feet threw the grass as she trailed behind her friends. She stared at Peter's back and wondered what if he could tell what she was thinking. He was leaving in a week. For eight years she has been tagging behind him, and now all of a sudden he was heading to Munich to study abroad. To be honest she didn't want him to go. She should have been happy for him, like the others were but she could never bring her self to smile up at him and hope he'll be happy. However she could never say that- because it would be a lie. 

She could no longer hear her friends, their laughter was fading away as she trudged along with an empty glazed over expression on her face. A series of thoughts echoed through her mind and she couldn't turn them off. he's leaving me behind. he loves science more then me. he doesn't love me, and know he never will.  The weight of her winter coat and telescope bag began to feel like 2000 pounds, and she crumbled to the ground, and she let that one tear finally fall- the tear she had been holding in for two months. Yet she didn't make a sound. Only taking in her surroundings of the silhouetted tress, and the knee length grass that harbored wild flowers. The fireflies illuminated small patches only to fade back into the night. She curled up in a ball, and disappeared out of sight withing the long grass. 

Then her head whipped up when she heard rustling coming towards her. 

"Anna?" She heard a  voice she had come to love so much call out to her, but in a way she was hoping her wouldn't find her. "Anna?!" That she would disappear beneath the stars. Then suddenly a dark shadow blocked out the light of the moon and stares. She slowly looked up to see Peter standing over her with worry on his face and his hand extended. When she didn't take it he let out a puff of breath that froze in the April air. He picked up her equipment bag and slung it over his shoulder and adjusted his back pack so he would be able to carry both. 

Peter loomed over her standing at 6 foot and 3 inches, and weighing over 200 pounds of 90% muscle as a result of his addiction to competitive rowing. In comparison with Anna who was only 5'3. Peter pressed his palm to face and once again released a puff of air when he realized something was horribly wrong, and that she didn't want to move.

He reached down and pulled her up and began to walk.

"The others already set up the laptop and pitched the tent. So we gotta move if you want those photos." He said as he tugged her along. She was stumbling behind him, trying to keep up and stared down at their inter twined hands.

She stared at his back and remembered that for the past 12 years, he has always been there for her. He was always the one to fight off the sandbox bullies and comfort her when the girls said something mean to her. He asked her to if he could go to her senior prom, and took her to his. That had lite up her world. He was the one who was at every fencing tournament and science research presentation. He had always been there. And in a week he wouldn't be. She didn't want to think about how he wouldn't be there for her anymore, or how due to the time difference, web-chatting would be difficult, which left them very limited to email.

Out of the five of them, she was the only one who was staing local. She had applied to all the same colleges as them, simply hoping she could attend with them. Yet their efforts were in vain when they were all accepted to different colleges. Anna was simply rejected by all eight eight she had ended up applying to. Luckily for her the local University had a 90% acceptance rate and Peter followed her. They had all taken the train back to their home town to have a farewell party for Peter, wishing him luck in Munich. That night was the first time all five of them had been together in four months. Yet in a week she would be utterly alone.  

She stopped walking when she started crying. Her abrupt stop jerked him back and he turned to see Anna crying. He dropped her hand and stepped forward and brought her close to him. His friend was crying and he needed to comfort her, that was all he knew. 

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he asked her. She shook her head and whipped her tears.

"And why not?" He murmured into her dark brown hair. 

"Because it's stupid." She said.

"It can't be stupid if it's enough to make you cry." She shook her head again and walked past him.

"Let's just head to the others." she said. It's better that he leaves and never finds out. two years is a long time... He could fall in love- and I could fall out. 

"Anna... just tell me what's wrong." Anna turned around and looked at him with an irritated look. Irritated at her self and irritated at the situation, yet she looked like she was going to cry. The as Peter looked at her he realized the only plausible thing that could make her upset at the moment. 

"You're mad I'm leaving." He stated. Anna simply let her face soften in a way that told him he was only partially right, yet there was more.

"Why would you be angry?" 

"I'm not. I'm sad." 

"Why?" 

"Take a guess." She dared him. He stood there staring at her unable to come to a conclusion. Then a tiny double sided though slipped into his mind and planted it's self there. He didn't believe it and needed to conform it, but he didn't want to say it out load. 

Anna watched as what she presumed as puzzlement grew. God he can be thick. She thought. She realized that he wasn't going to say a word and pushed past him. 

"unbelievable." she mumble 

"Anna!" She stopped and turned around to face him. 

"How about I give you 20 seconds. 20 seconds to say what you want and I won't judge or say anything, and you have to be completely honest."  20 seconds. That was all the two of them  needed. 20 seconds to be brave, and 20 seconds for him to find out of he was right. "I could lie." She warned him. "But you're not the type to lie." She had no reason to lie. He swallowed his fear and looked straight at her, and started the timer. 

"Go."  At the sound of his word, Anna experienced something that could only be called an emotional combustion. She went onto her toes and pulled him down to her level, and she kissed him. Peter went into a state of shock. Unable to move, because he had promised not to judge-not to speak. So he let her. Then she pulled away and rested her forehead against him and whispered, "I love you."  Then she stepped away from him at trembled, as the reality of her actions sunk in. 

 Peter's face softened as he realized what was happening. Anna would willingly follow him where ever he went, and he had always done the same for her, and no he was leaving her behind. She was Anna, blunt, timid, and brilliant Anna. She was never one to cry, or speak her felling yet she was doing the two most out of character actions she was capable of. Because of him. She was his perfect little Anna. He realized that on several occasions he had suspected her affections for him, but had brushed it off because he figured she wasn't one for relationships due to the fact that she had never dated, now he realized why. For only a second he picked her with another boy, and instantly stopped because it made him uneasy . 

For twelve years he has been by her side, now suddenly and spontaneously he agreed to accompany  his professor Germany font two years. He was over come with guilt because he never even considered  her.  He considered making the phone call and canceling, but it was too late. The plane ticket was bought, the student apartment was funded, and his parents were thrilled. Yet looking at her he didn't want to leave. He didn't want to leave her behind while he gallivants around Europe for two years. How far away was Munich from their tiny city in Idaho? 5000 miles roughly. That was to far for him. He became terrified, as he realized that he wouldn't see her for almost five months- that is if he could afford to come back for Christmas, and he began to doute his mentality. No Anna for two years. That was the reality. Then he was able to confirm that he loved her.   

Then those measly and monumental seconds ended. 

"I'm so sorry." He said out loud. Then he watched as her face twisted into hurt and he realized that she had taken it as his reply She turned and walked away. "I told you it was stupid. Besides- it doesn't matter, your leaving in a week."

"I never said it was stupid. He said as he quickly walked after her.  Then he quickened his pace. 

"Annabelle." He reached out for her and caught her wrist. He was begging her to look up at him, but she kept her eyes strained on her boots. 

"what." She snapped at him. He took a deep breath and spoke the unexpectedly.

"Come with me. Come with me to Munich." She looked at him to see if he was lieing - he wasn't. He doesn't love you. She reminded her self that repetitively. 

"Why? you don't feel the same way do you? You see me as a sister don't you." She asked him as she looked into his clear, hazel eyes. For only a second she got free from him and was going to leave the other direction- towards the cars. Then her grabbed her again and brought her to his chest with his arms wrapped around her, insuring she wouldn't run. 

"No I don't... I think you're a little more then that." He whispered. 

"Then what am I too you?" She challenged him to say it. 

"Your Annabelle, Rose, Albertson. Your my best fried, my voice of reason, cheerleader, who I will always follow, and I love you. You want to know a secret- I hated that field trip to New York , and wasn't planning on going. I only went because you were." She let out a strange cry of relief as well as shock. Then she jumped up and wrapped her arms around him. He smiled broadly and reached down and wrapped her legs around him and kissed her. 

After they shared their first kiss he set her down on her feet and they began walking. He wrapped his arm around her and placed it on her waist and drew her close, not truly believing what had happened. 

When they finally reached the camp sight, their friends holler at them asking where they had been, but when they saw him arm around her they didn't need to ask. Mary smiled to her self and looked back down in to her telescope. She could tell that they had had feelings for each other, she had simply been waiting for them to surface. 

Peter lead Anna to sit on a blanket as he set up her astrophotography  camera telescope compound, as she hooked up his laptop so they could match the constellations. When they were done she got up to look threw the telescope but he pulled her down So they were laying on their back facing the sky.

"I realize we just spent a good hour setting up a complex state of the arch telescope to use to look at stars but how about we just watch them like this." She shook her head and scoffed at him and propped her self up. 

"Fine, but I'm still going to turn on the recorder, at least that way I could track the stare movement in the morning. " She got up and set the telescope to the video recorder setting and laid back down. She let out a sigh when she rested on the down feather blanket and smiled to her self when she felt Peter intertwine their hands. It felt right.

The five of them had discovered their camping spot while hiking and the five of them spent their Junior and senior year up there almost every week. It was located on a cliff that looked out over the valley and the river. The river bellow was composed of a gentle current that filled the air with a welcoming hum and illuminated the campsite by the light of the moon. The moons reflection danced on the trees and wild flowers, and the air was crisp and smelt like pine and daisies. They had missed this.

She turned over and rested her head on his chest while she played with his hands. 

"what now."  She asked him. 

"Mmmm... we lay hear and look at the stars. Then I'll talk to Mr. Cather."  he said lazily as he traced shapes in the sky. 

"So you were serious about Munich?" She said more to her self.

"yeah. I'm sorry though. I didn't think about you when I agrees to go, and I should have asked you if to come with me earlier. So I'll talk to Carter before class. Maybe you could come after the semester is up. So that would only be about a month apart. You would love it. There's a top notch fencing club, and astronomy society, plus you could practice you're German."  He turned and looked down at her as he kissed her forehead as a sign of apology. 

"I'll guilt trip you for it later on, but for now you are pardoned." She murmured. 

"And Germany?" He asked her with a hopeful gleam. 

"I'll have to ask dad. Maybe Grandpa could help with the funding. " She told him. "he already spoils you,  I  would imagine he would jump for it." Peter let out a breathy laugh as he pinched her cheeks. My spoiled Anna. Anna pulled away and hit his chest. 

"Shut up." She mumbled as she barred her face in his flannel jacket. He smiled at her and tangled his finger tips in the ends of her hair. He still felt surreal- not truly believing she was laying next to him. 

"As you wish."  He joked at her hoping she would understand his reference. She lifted her head up and met his eyes as she glared at him. Then she laid down and said the thing she had been thinking ever seance their kiss at the bottom of the hill. 

"Do you think this is a good Idea. I mean us. and then Munich?"" I'm just hopping it is."  She heard him answer. Their eyes were on the peaceful and stunning stares as if they were the window to the outside universe, and they felt so insignificantly small under the stares. "What if it's not?""Then we tried. Do you really think that we would be capable of throwing away a 12 year friendship?"He drew her up against him and wrapped both arm around her. "Not really." she mumbled again.

"let's just enjoy right now, and watch the stars okay?" he told her. Anna looked at him in amazement, because he had said the most perfect response, let's forget reality right now, and let's watch the flawless and vibrant sky- just for tonight. 

"Perfect." She said as she gripped his hands tightly and smiled up at the stars. She had gotten the one thing she had needed, and for that one night it was perfect. She was going to talk to her dad in the morning, him having had studied abroad he would most likely say yes. Then she found herself smiling even wider as she imagined it, her and Peter in beautiful and historical Germany.

It was the new beginning. 

 

END

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 25.04.2014

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