As I’m walking home, I think of how perfect my day is. I made up with my best friend to day, and it’s as if nothing ever happened between us. The guy I have been crushing on for three years, Blake, finally asked me out. And at my basketball game, I made a three-point shot. And it was all net. The only thing that could make this day any better was if my dad was shipped back home. He’s fighting for his country in the war, though. I’m thinking about how perfect today was, when I walk into my house.

I have a big smile on my face as I throw my coat, backpack, and basketball stuff in my room and look for my mom. I find her in the kitchen. She doesn’t look up at me, so I don’t see her face. All I see is that she is wrapped in a blanket, holding a cup of coffee in her hands, and reading a letter that is sitting on the table.

When she finally looks up at me, I understand what the letter is for. Her eyes are puffy and red. There are red tracks running down her cheeks, like she has been crying. A few tears slide down her face when she looks at me. I take one last glance at the letter and start to run. I don’t bother to grab my coat. I just run.

I run to the old tree by the park and lean against it. I sit down on the snow covered ground, and pull my knees to my chest. I wrap my arms around my knees and let the tears flow out of my eyes. Reality ruined my perfect day. Without reading the letter, I had known what it said. It said that my dad was killed.

All of a sudden I’m sitting in a familiar lap. I don’t know how, but Danny always knew when something was wrong with me and where he could find me. Danny has always been my best guy friend. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and cry into his shoulder. He doesn’t try to talk to me, he just lets me cry. He rubs his hand up and down my back, trying to comfort me. He wraps a coat around me, attempting to keep me warm.

“What the hell?!” I look up and see Blake standing on the sidewalk. He has a dozen roses in his hands. He throws them at me, and walks away. I jump Out of Danny’s lap, and run after him. He doesn’t look at me when I catch up to him.

“There was nothing going on back there, Blake. He was comforting me.” I look up to see a tear escape from his eye. He whips around and glares at me. Another tear falls from his eye.

“You looked so happy when I asked you out. And you are already cheating on me. Not even a whole day!” He starts to run from me, and I figure that I should let him blow off some steam. A hand grasps my shoulder. I don’t turn around. I know who is behind me.

“I’m sorry, Angie. I didn’t mean to-” He stops talking when I turn around and wrap my hands around his waist. I cry even harder. I cry for my dad. I cry for Blake. And I cry for myself. Somewhere in the back of my head I know that I should suck it up and stop crying. But I don’t.

I’m aware of being picked up. I feel the lulling as Danny carries me and walks. I don’t ask where he is taking me. I just let him walk. When a sudden burst of warm air hits me, I look up. The first thing I see is a picture of me and my dad holding a buck that I shot. That was the first time he took me hunting with him.

Danny shuts the door, and continues to walk. When he gets to the living room, he sits on the couch and settles me onto his lap. I hear my mom come in and whisper a quick, “Thank you,” to Danny.

She tries to take me from his arms, but I throw a fit. These arms are comforting; familiar. I don’t want to leave them. He starts to lie me on the couch, but I refuse to loosen my arms from his neck. He tells me he will be right back, that he is just going to the bathroom. I hesitantly let go of his neck, and watch him climb the stairs to the bathroom.

While he is gone, I feel alone. I feel like I am the only person on the planet. Then I see him walking back down the stairs, and I feel a little better. He picks me up, and starts walking again.

“Where are you taking me?” My voice is hoarse from crying so much. He looks down at me with sad eyes, but tries to make a joke.

“Well, if you sleep on the couch, you aren’t gonna be feeling too great in the morning. So, I’m bringing you to your room.” He walks up the steps, and down the hall. My room is the last one in the hallway. When we finally get there, he opens the door. He turns the lights on. My room looks too cheery right now.

The bright pink walls radiate with life. The TV on my desk is facing my giant bed. The sheets are the same color as my walls, and it’s all very cheery. My closet door is closed, and i see the giant A staring at me. He carries me to my bed, and sets me down. He covers me in my blankets, and starts to walk away.

“Where are you going? Don’t leave.” Right now, I don’t think I could bear it if he left. It would feel like I was all alone again. I can’t take that right now. I beg him with my eyes for him to stay.

“Well, I was gonna go and sleep on the couch. But if you want me to, I’ll stay.” I know my face is saying that I definitely want him to stay. “Okay. Where’s your sleeping bag?”

“It’s in my closet. But, you don’t have to sleep on the floor Danny.”

“Where should I sleep then? That rocking chair doesn’t look too comfortable,” he says, and points at the wooden rocking chair in the corner of my room. I scoot to the edge of my bed, and pat to the space next to me. He looked uncertain, but he walked over. He untied his shoes, and then took them off. Realizing that my shoes were still on, I took them off and threw them to the corner of my room.

I cry into Danny’s chest as he strokes my hair. I fall asleep quickly, but only to have a nightmare.

I’m in the middle of a battle field. I spot my dad a few feet away, and run to him. But my legs won’t move fast enough. That’s when the bullet hits him. It hits him right in the heart, and he falls. Then I can move as fast as I want. I run to him, and see the blood soaking his shirt. It reminds me of a bulls-eye. I kneel next to him, and cry.

Then I wake up. I feel the chill of my nightmare all the way down to my toes. I lean over to start and cry on Danny’s chest again, but he isn’t there. I look over the side of the bed, and see that his shoes are missing. I get out of bed and start to head for the door. But then I see him. He is leaning against the door frame, staring at me. It looks as if he is having a war within him.

Before I can say a word, he walks over to me. He looks seriously into my eyes, before grabbing me and pulling me close to him. He lifts my chin and covers my lips with his. He kisses me like he has been waiting to kiss me for a long time. His tongue traces the outline of my lips, and my mouth opens without me telling it to.

Our tongues meet and tangle in a dance that I’m not familiar with. And just like that, I knew who I really had feelings for. Not Blake, but Danny. My arms go up around his neck to pull him closer, when there is a knock at my door. My mother is standing at the door. I look down as a blush rises to my cheeks.

We go downstairs for breakfast. It isn’t as sad as I thought it would be. My mom was making lame jokes as always, and Danny was scarfing down pancakes like he was in a contest. Quite scary . . . And just like that, I knew that this was a premonition for what was to come.