"But, Mom! Everyone is going there tonight! Why can't you let me go?" Madison cried. She desperately wanted to go to a party that one of her friends was hosting, but her parents were not allowing it; as usual. Her parents never let her do anything anymore, and always wanted to her stay home. It wasn't fair. "For one, you haven't even done anything around the house like your father and I have asked you to. What makes you think we're going to allow you to do things when you don't do things for us? So, you're not going. End of discussion." Later that night, after her parents went to bed, Madison slipped out of the house quietly and went went to the party anyway.

When she was trying to slip back in the house at three in the morning, she found her father waiting up for her. "Madison Elizabeth, where have you been? You have had your mother up all night worried sick about you." "Daddy, I-" "No, Madison. This is the final straw. You're grounded for the rest of the school year. Give me your keys. You are not going anywhere, young lady. You're just going to have to ride the bus to school and ride the bus back home." He was furious with her for going behind their backs and going to the party. Madison handed him her keys while crying. "You have ruined my life! I hate you!" She ran to her room and cried on her bed. She couldn't take it anymore- they never let her do ANYTHING.

More than ever, she wished Justin was still there. He would know exactly how to calm her down; he always seemed to know the right things to say. Then, a crazy idea struck her when and looked at her pink Crayola crayon bank that she had ever since she could remember. She dumped the entire thing out, pulled a bag of coin papers out (as she had been meaning to roll all the coins anyway to put it in her bank and go on a shopping spree) and started rolling the coins. After rolling the coins, and straightening the bills, she counted it all up. Madison went to her computer and looked up prices for plane tickets to Dallas, TX, and realized she had just enough money for a ticket there. Her parents would never let her go, but she needed her old friend.

Madison pulled out her cell phone at 8 that morning, and looked through her contacts. She found Justin's phone number, and pressed send. The two hadn't talked in a while, as they had drifted apart over the past three years. She wasn't sure if he would even answer, and found herself holding her breath waiting to see if he would.

The night prior Justin had been out to a party with a few of his football buddies, nothing special, just a kid's parents out of town again. He rarely drank at these kinds of things simply because he had signed a contract, anything to mess that up would probably ruin his chances of going to college at all. His dad had been transferred and promised a house, more money etc. Justin hardly thought that was worth leaving his best friend, but none the less when you're 15 you listen and go. He often thought about Madison and what she had been up to. They slowly fell apart after he left and he couldn't bring himself to fix it.

When he strolled in at 3AM his mom had been calm and relaxed. She was up, getting ready for her early shift at work. "You know... I just wish you would text me and let me know when you weren't going to be home till all hours of the night. I've barely slept." The almost empty pot of coffee sitting on the kitchen counter showed that. "Shit... sorry mom." Justin replied sheepishly, actually feeling bad. His mom had since picked up a job at the hospital nursing, and often worked 12 hour shifts. Justin knew how tired she was when she got home. She offered him something to eat but Justin waved her off, kissed her cheek and went up to bed, flopping down and falling straight asleep.

The next morning as his phone blared Roller Coaster by Blink 182 he groaned. "Why didn't I put that on vibrate?" he asked himself rolling over, about to hit ignore before he saw the number showing on the screen. It wasn't local. Then, he saw the name "Madison?" he read aloud. He sat up, cleared his throat and hit answer. "Madison?" He asked, slightly concerned.

He hadn't heard from the girl in almost 2 years, something had to be wrong at home. He worried about her parents, or some of their friends they'd grown up with but couldn't put anything together. "Is everything okay?"

When Madison heard his voice on the other end, she lost it; she started crying again. She hadn't heard from him in two years, and so many emotions swam through her at the sound of his voice. In between tears, she told him, "I can't take it anymore! My parents are destroying my life. They're always yelling at me, and I can never do anything right." She continued to tell him about all the arguments that she had with her parents over the past two years.

She sat up on her bed hugging a teddy bear that he had given her before he left. She remembered the time they went to the fair that came through the town, and how they had played the games. They always played against each other, but he mostly won. When he received the teddy bear, he had given it to her instead of keeping it.

"I can't stay here anymore, Justin, and I miss you so much. I don't know what else to do. I have enough money for a plane ticket to see you..but.." She trailed off, not being able to finish her sentence. She was actually afraid that he would have a girlfriend and that she wouldn't be too keen on some girl coming out of nowhere to see him. Instead, she changed the ending to the sentence by saying, "but I can't let my parents know. They would never allow it. Right now I'm grounded for the rest of the school year. They even took my car and are making me take the bus to school everyday."

As soon as he answered the phone and Madison started to cry he knew something was wrong. As she continued to go on about her parents and the argument that they had a few hours earlier he tried to keep up but got pretty lost, then, when he heard "Plane Ticket" he listened closely. Her parents couldn't know? He knew that was a bad idea to begin with.

"Madison...I.." He paused for a moment trying to think of the best way to say things, the best way to tell her he didn't think it was the best idea for her to come to Dallas and see him. He finally couldn't think of a way. "Hold on okay? I just woke up." he threw his phone down and went to the bathroom. As he stood there he washed some water over his face and looked in the mirror.

Justin had grown up nicely since the last time he saw Madison. He'd seen her pictures a few times on facebook and all of that and she had grown up too. She was beautiful. He thought about what his parents would do to him if they found out Madison had run away. He shook his head and made all of his thoughts go away. He missed Madison and he wanted to see her, no matter what trouble he was going to get in.

He walked back in his room and hoped that she hadn't hung up by now, he picked up the phone and said, "Madison? Okay. I won't tell if you wont." He smiled slightly and she could hear it in his voice. "Just no more crying!" He teased. "When will you be here?" He asked getting more and more excited as he thought about it further.

Madison sighed in relief. She knew both of them would severely pay for it, but at the moment she didn't care. She would deal with it later. She immediately got off her bed, pulled out the suitcase from her closet and started packing while still on the phone. "Well, there's a flight that leaves out this afternoon. As soon as mom and Dad leave for work, I can have a friend of mine pick me up and take me to the airport." She packed quickly, and set the teddy bear on top of her mountain of clothes and closed the suitcase. "I'll probably get to Dallas at around five PM tonight. That's what the website says is the arrival time." She continued to tell him the flight number and all the information so he could be there to pick her up. "I can't wait to see you! You have no idea how excited I am. Okay, I gotta go so I'll talk to you in a couple hours!"

After hanging up the phone, she took a shower and got ready to go. She made sure her hair and make up looked flawless. She wanted to look her best when seeing her best friend. She had seen what he looked like now on Facebook and thought he was absolutely handsome. He had definitely filled out nicely. As soon as the thought entered her mind, she immediately shook them out. He was her best friend; she couldn't have thoughts like that, could she?

She called her friend, Jessica, saying she needed a lift to the airport. When asked why she couldn't drive herself, she told her the whole story. Jessica agreed, thinking it was cute that Madison was going to see him, and came to get her. Once at the airport, she hugged Jessica goodbye, gave her gas money and thanked her for bringing her. After receiving her ticket and getting through security, she got on the plane.

Madison couldn't believe this was really happening, but was glad that Justin agreed to her coming. She pulled out her iPod and listened to it on the way to Dallas.

"Shit.. 5pm tonight?" he thought for a minute about how much of a fit his mom was going to have when she realized Madison was coming to stay, but he shook the thought out of his head. He looked at the clock which read 9:30AM and the wheels in his head began to roll. He got out of bed and started to clean the house, vacuuming, dusting, doing the dishes and emptying the dishwasher. When he finally finished he looked at the clock, 2:30PM. He jumped in the shower and put on some jeans and a plaid shirt looking in the mirror. He looked good.

He went downstairs just as his mom opened the door with multiple bags of groceries. He was usually still asleep and his dad was at work. He got off the couch and grabbed them from her, "Mom, I got this."

His mom immediately knew that he had cleaned the house, she just couldn't figure out why. "Justin Paul... Why are you awake? And why were you cleaning?" She asked giving him the knowing look that she always had when something was going on.

He finished carrying the bags into the kitchen and came back out, "Mom... Don't freak out okay?" He waited for a few minutes while his mom just glared at him and finally continued. "Madison is coming to Dallas... this afternoon. and she wants to stay with us." He blurted out quickly, as if that would make it any better.

His mom got a shocked look on her face and then finally shook her head, "Damn you Justin... Are the Richardsons okay with this?"
He nodded, "Yeah.. and she asked me a few weeks ago and I forgot to ask you guys, please?"
She agreed finally and said, "My house better stay this clean."
Justin smirked and said, "I'll bring home dinner! I love you."

His mom headed off into the Kitchen to finished taking care of things and Justin headed out to the airport. On his way he stopped at Delta-Sonic and got his truck washed and vacuumed out then headed for the airport. After parking, he headed inside and waited near the gate Madison's flight was supposed to come in on. His hands begun to shake and he paced slightly. He couldn't wait to see her.

When the plane finally landed, Madison stood up and stretched while taking the earphones off and shoving the iPod back in her purse. She was practically shaking from all the nerves. She wondered how everything was going to work out, and she hoped his parents were okay with her staying there. She had chosen to wear a white tank top with a red one layered over it, jeans, and 3" red heels; even with the heels she stood at 5'5". She hadn't grown much since eighth grade, but she was sure that he had.

Once the pilot said it was time to get off the plane, Madison shuffled along in line to the gate. She looked around for a minute, but instantly recognized Justin among the crowd. She stopped for just a moment, taking him in with a look of pure shock on her face. It was almost as if he were the only one there. Then, her whole face lit up and practically screamed his name. She ran to him and jumped on him in a hug, wrapping both her arms and legs around him and kissing him on the cheek. At 100 lbs, she was sure he could handle her, as she was tiny compared to him she felt like. There were many people that were looking at them, but they could kiss her ass for all she cared. I'm not crazy, people, I just haven't seen my best friend in three years! she thought.

He looked and smelled good. She started crying again, despite the fact that she had promised him she wouldn't. She was just so happy to see him again she couldn't control her emotions. "I have missed you so much, you don't even know," she told him through her tears. She felt like a huge weight was lifted off of her just by being in his arms.

He saw her as she walked through the gate and immediately knew it was her. She looked amazing and she'd definitely grown up nicely. He walked towards her a bit and laughed as he caught her in his arms when jumped towards him. He squeezed her harder that he probably should have but he didn't care. He pressed his head into her shoulder and just held her for a minute. Finally, as she got down and he saw the tears he smirked. He wiped them away slowly and smiled "I thought I told you no more crying?" He joked.

"Let's get out of this crappy airport though." He smiled as he took her bag from her. They walked down to the luggage carousel and he grabbed her bag for her there as well, carrying them out to his truck. He loaded them in the back and then opened the passenger door for her to get in. He walked around and got in himself, taking a deep breath. He looked at her before starting the engine and just let the biggest smile rip across his face. He laughed it off slightly and said, "I can't believe you're here. I missed you so much."

He started the engine and drove towards his house, "We have to pick up dinner and take it home.. do you want pizza? bbq? Chinese?" He asked her. They finally agreed on chinese and grabbed it quickly then headed back to his house. Madison had never seen it before but it was definitely nicer than their old one, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and right on the lake. He pulled into the driveway and parked, grabbing the food, and opening her door for her. He grabbed her luggage from the back and headed for the door, "Oh, I told my parents your parents were okay with this.. please play along." He begged right before the door swung open and his mom, dressed in some jean shorts, tank top and a small cardigan ran outside.

She wrapped Madison in a hug and said, "Oh sweetheart it's so good to see you! How was your flight?"

"Hey, Mrs. Fields!" She laughed and hugged Justin's mom back. "I've missed you all so much! The trip was alright; very long and tiring, though. How have you been? Mom and dad give their best." She smiled at Justin. "But right now, I'm starving! I absolutely love this house, Mrs. Fields. It's beautiful. Where's Mr. Fields?"

Then went in and began to eat dinner. She told the family what had been going on back home since they moved, even though it wasn't much. She had missed the entire family. They laughed and talked all through dinner. "Everything's pretty much the same, though," she concluded. "Now, I just cheer at the football games." She smiled at the fact that Justin was a football player; it was just like them. Although they were so far apart physically, they were very much on the same thoughts as far as things to do in school.

After dinner, she helped with the dishes even though Justin's mother said she didn't have to. Afterwards, Madison followed Justin up to the room that she would be staying in. After having all the bags brought in, she practically fell on the bed. "Oh, it feels good to lay down." She heard thunder and shuddered. She had always been afraid of storms, and was not looking forward to the one that was coming. "So, what do you want to do? Where's your girlfriend, and will I approve?" She giggled and sat back up.

Even Justin jumped a bit at the thunder. The storms there were always crazy. They would roll in over the lake and crash down quickly, loudly and the rain would pound against their windows. He loved it though. It was the best to lay on the couch and watch the lightning illuminate the entire room while the thunder and lightning sounded outside.

As they sat in the room Madison would be staying in he sat next to her and shrugged a little bit as she asked what he wanted to do. "We can hang out here, or I can show you around the city." He said. "Although it probably wouldn't be fun in the rain, but you tell me?" He smiled. "And what girlfriend?" He shook his head. "There's no girlfriend. These Dallas girls are way too country for me." He laughed.

"What about you? Show me some pictures of your boyfriend." He said poking her side a little bit. "What's he like?" He assumed Madison had a boyfriend. She was gorgeous and a total sweetheart.

"No, I don't think it would be fun out in the rain. I don't have a boyfriend, but what are you talking about not having a girlfriend!? Surely there has to be someone that you like. You should remember the guys at school; they're all complete jerks." Madison thought about one of the guys they both knew, Matthew, and shuddered. He had tried getting with her, and she didn't want him. She thought it best not to tell Justin, because she knew him. Justin would find a way to get there and hurt Matthew very seriously. She curled up as she heard more thunder. "I guess we could just watch a movie or something?"

She got up, and opened her suitcase. She pulled out a tank top and shorts and walked to the bathroom. She walked back out in a white tank top and black shorts. "Do you have any movies we can watch?" she asked while running fingers through her blonde and brown hair. "Unless you want to play video games. I'm good for whatever." She sat back down on the bed beside Justin and smiled at him.

He caught himself looking Madison up and down as she came out of the bathroom and blushed a little. He ignored it though. He shook his head, "Madison, I stopped playing video games when we were in 8th grade." He joked. "Besides, there's never enough time for that." He shrugged. "Let's watch a movie, but first... come here."

He stood up and pulled her hand gently leading her downstairs and into their sunroom. He didn't bother to turn on the lights since he knew where he was going. He lead her to the center and looked up at the sky, he could see the dark grey clouds rolling in and the lightning across the lake. "Hurry Lay down." He smiled. As they both laid down and looked up at the sky through the big windows the rain drops began to quickly pound across the windows. The sound was perfect, like Justin had been shaking a rainstick. Then, like clockwork the entire room illuminated with a flash of lightning, followed by a loud crack of thunder. He laughed as Madison jumped but enjoyed it as she clung onto his arm.

"Okay Okay," He gave in realizing she was not enjoying this as much as he was. He helped her up and walked out into their living room to a shelf full of DVDs. He let her pick one out then looked at her, "Well we can watch one here, or upstairs in my room." He realized that might be a little awkward, even though they'd done it plenty of times when they were younger. "Or there's a TV in the sunroom." He offered knowing she'd forgo that option. "You choose."

"Ixnay on the sun room, dude." She laughed. She actually didn't mind being in the sun room with him as it gave her a reason to cling to him. What am I thinking? This is Justin, my best friend, and I'm thinking about clinging to him? Something's definitely wrong with that scenario. "Oh gosh we should totally watch the movie in your room and pretend we're kids again and curl up together on the bed." She almost instantly regretted saying that, because it sounded like she wanted to cuddle with him. If he thought that, he didn't show it, which she was grateful for.

After picking out the movie, they went back upstairs. "You get the movie ready; I'll be right back." She walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Then, she practically ran to her room and grabbed the teddy bear. Although she knew he would probably pick on her for still having the thing, she loved that bear. She liked having something to hold on to and bury her face in during a scary movie.

She knocked on his bedroom door and walked in. She smiled up at him; she still couldn't believe she was here with her best friend. She was just relieved her parents hadn't called yet, but she knew it would be coming. "Okay, I'm ready to watch the movie."

While she ran out of the room he quickly changed into some comfy basketball type shorts and a tee-shirt, then set up the movie and climbed into bed waiting. He sent off a few texts to people that he wouldn't be out tonight as something had come up. When he finished he looked up and saw her standing in the doorway holding the bear he'd given her when he left home. He let a small smile creep across his face and held up his covers for her to crawl under and get comfy. He hadn't realized that the full size bed wouldn't give them much personal space, but once he felt her warm legs against his. He didn't really care.

Justin get yourself together. He thought to himself. This isn't your girlfriend, and she's only here to get away from her parents. He rationalized in his head. "I cannot believe you still have that thing." He teased. "And that you travel with it!" He said taking the bear and looking at it. He still remembered the day he went and got it. He made it special at some store in the mall, had to do some stupid dance before they would sew it together and even added a small part with his voice recorded into it. "Does it even still work?" he asked squeezing the bear's hand. He heard his voice repeat "I'll miss you Madison." and buried his face with shame.

He laughed and blushed like crazy, "I swear I'm not that retarded anymore."

She giggled. "You are not retarded, Justin Paul Fields, and you never were," she said in a mocking serious tone, then stuck her tongue out at him. "It was super sweet, and it still is!" She remembered the day he gave it to her very well. The memory played like a movie in her head. She remembered crying, as usual, when he gave it to her. She hadn't wanted him to leave her, as she knew she would be all by herself in the high school. Sure, she had other friends, but it was nothing compared to the friendship she had with Justin.

Her heart had accelerated being so close to him, and she prayed he hadn't noticed. It was weird; she had never felt like this around him before. It must still be nerves of not seeing him for all this time. She tried to shrug it off and kissed him on the cheek. "Okay, I'm ready to watch this movie." She took the teddy bear back and placed it on her lap.

While watching the previews that came on, she couldn't help glancing at Justin. Why did her best friend have to be so good looking? It gave her weird thoughts about having the urge to flirt with him and even kiss him. The child in her freaked out. She didn't want to kiss him, because she didn't want to ruin their friendship. She would definitely watch how she acted around him and not act on her newly found feelings. She sighed, rested her head on his shoulder,and continued to watch the previews.

He got up quickly and turned off the lights for the movie. He was always into scary movies, unlike her who buried her face against the pillow three quarters of the time. He climbed back into bed and stretched out a bit, making them even closer.

It was weird having Madison there. They didn't seem like the friends that they once were. It almost seemed as if they were closer, almost...on another level. He closed his eyes for a second and got those thoughts away for a little while longer. He knew that Madison was really just there since her and her parents had been fighting.

As the movie began though, he couldn't help but to hold out his hand and offer it to her. "You know," He smiled over at her. "For when you get scared." He got comfortable and relaxed as he held her hand. The laid watching the movie both of them jumping a few times, and laughing a little bit each time. By the end, he didn't know if either of them realized it, but they were cuddled up, Justin holding Madison in his arms.

When the movie ended, Madison realized Justin was holding her. She pulled away slightly so she could look at his face. Was he having the same feelings she was having? Surely not, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from Justin's eyes.

"Justin, I.." She didn't even know what she wanted to say to him. Why did she feel so nervous around him now? She shook her head, sighing. "..I should probably get to bed. It's getting pretty late." She willed her body to move, but it was as if it just wouldn't listen. She sat there, looking at him. Soon, she started blushing and looked away. She got up, and headed for the door. Before opening it, she looked at him and smiled. "Good night."

She walked to her room and shut the door. She crawled into bed and closed her eyes. She hoped she was acting this way from exhaustion; she was just acting crazy from the long day she had. She looked at the door, halfway hoping he would walk in to say something, anything, to put them both at ease. She turned and faced away from the door, closed her eyes, and willed sleep to come.

"G-Goodnight." He murmured before she walked out of the bedroom.

After a few minutes, Justin thought about getting out of the bed, running across the hall and telling her exactly what he was feeling inside, that things weren't the same anymore, but he wasn't sure that Madison felt the way too. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair then laid down and pulled the covers up. He quickly forced himself to stop thinking about Madison and fell asleep.

The next morning he woke up and took a shower quickly, then threw on some swim trunks and a tee-shirt. He walked over to Madison's room and opened the door slightly peeking in. When she wasn't there he was a little shocked. He walked downstairs calling out "Madison?" The worries began to run through his head when he thought her parents might have found out, that she might have left but when he saw her he let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, I was thinking we could go out today since it's so nice?"

Madison was sitting at the kitchen eating cereal. She looked up at him and smiled. She hadn't showered or put make up on yet, and her hair was up in a messy pony tail. She jumped at his voice, as she hadn't heard him come in. "Justin! You startled me," she teased. "Going outside seems like the perfect idea. You get to show me around! Just let me get ready. It's going to take me a while though," she said with a shy smile. She finished her cereal, washed the bowl and spoon, and went back upstairs.

After choosing her outfit, Madison went to the bathroom. She took an hour taking a shower, brushing her teeth, fixing her hair,and putting on make up. She chose to wear a pink tube top with blue jean shorts and flip flops. Since she had noticed he was wearing swim trunks, she made sure to put on her black and pink Roxy bikini underneath. Before walking back out, she checked one last time in the mirror to make sure she looked good.

She looked around the house and finally found him. "Okay. I'm ready. Where are we going and am I going to get to meet any of friends that you've made since you moved here?"

Justin was not a fan of waiting, especially if it was for a girl to get ready. He sat downstairs on the couch shaking his head, texting and finally calling up, "Jesus Madison, today!" He just wasn't a patient person and that usually showed when he was forced to wait for something.

When she finally came down he had to admit she looked amazing. The wait was definitely It was like she wasn't trying, but she was just naturally gorgeous. He tood up and took both of her hands smiling a bit, "You look... nice." He said trying to say the right thing. "Well I figured we could grab lunch, and then we could go to the lake. People I know will most likely be there, yeah." He said smiling a bit.

"I hope you like them. I mean they're mostly football jocks and small town kids but they're alright." He smiled a little bit, "And I know they'll love you." He called into the backyard telling his mom they were going out and grabbed his keys and wallet off the kitchen counter, and his backpack he'd thrown some towels and sunblock in. "Come on, I'll even let you drive." He taunted as he stuck his tongue out and tossed her the keys.

Madison caught the keys. "Oh great..you're trusting me with your truck." She laughed and got in. She did pretty well with following Justin's directions and stopped at a little restaurant to eat. The two continued to catch up on everything they had missed. It was starting to feel like he had never left her, which felt nice to her.

After eating, they headed to the lake. She was glad she noticed his swimming trunks, because he never mentioned for her to put on her bathing suit. She got out of the truck and grinned at him. "See? I didn't do that badly," she said while grinning. She saw several people there. Part of her wished the two of them were alone again, but she was also grateful that they weren't. Maybe it would help her get her mind off of the feelings she was having for Justin. She tossed the keys back to Justin. "Anyone you know?"

She noticed several cute guys, ones that she would normally attempt to flirt with. But with Justin there, she didn't feel like it.

He jumped out of the truck and playfully yelled, "LAND!! THANK GOODNESS!" He smirked walking around the truck laughing a little bit as he teased Madison. He finally stopped and wrapped his arms around her waist still laughed, "I'm sorry I'm sorry." he apologized. He looked around and nodded, "Yeah I see a few people." He smiled slightly and grabbed his bookbag from the back of the truck.

He walked towards the small man made beach that was near the lake. A few people yelled out to him, "Justin!" or "Hey Bro!" He smiled and waved at them, walking over. Of course, it was the group of guys Madison had noticed. Justin said hi to them then introduced them all quickly to Madison. He turned to her and said quietly, "I figured we could just hang out here, is that okay?" he asked softly.

Madison's heart had accelerated extremely when he whispered in her ear, which made her blush. She nodded and replied, "as long as I'm with you, I don't give a damn where I am." She said hello to the boys and smiled at them politely. The boys were definitely cuter up close, but not as cute as Justin. "So what kind of crazy things has Justin been up to since he moved here?" she asked the guys.

They told her some stories, but nothing extremely crazy in her book. She was grateful, though. She was used to talking to this type of crowd. When you're a cheerleader, you mainly only talk to the jocks, so she felt at ease. She joked with them and eventually wanted to get in the water. "I don't know about you boys, but I want to go swimming." She grinned and pulled off her shirt then shimmied out of her shorts. She couldn't help but flirt a little, especially since Justin was part of the group. "Anyone care to join?" With that, she ran for the lake and dove in.