Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten Past of a Dreamer ❯ Their Meadow ( Chapter 1 )

The sun was exceptionally soothing, this cool fall day. It was the sort of sun that you could just fall asleep under without a care in the world, and that's just what Ariel Brunenberg did. She had been waiting for her friends in the nature reserve behind her house and had fallen asleep in the middle of their meadow.

Yes, this was their meadow. She and her friends had always hung out here even when they were kids. It wasn't very big, and there were a few small trees scattered around it, but it was a place they could call their own. And they loved this place, even though they were sophomores in high school.

You see, her parents ran the nature reserve. Her dad was a vet and her mother was a biologist. So she had about six hundred acres to do just about anything she wanted in.

Ariel felt something wet on her soft, pale skin, causing her to wake up. It was Cherry, her chocolate lab. Cherry often accompanied her and her friends into the meadow. There were after all, dangerous animals living here - here being northern Wisconsin. There were wolves and even a few bears in this reserve, but Cherry was a great watchdog and protector, so no one was ever worried. She was getting old, however, and if she got in a fight, she'd probably be useless. But that didn't matter; she was still a good companion.

Ariel sat up and looked at Cherry, who was sitting next to her and wagging her tail with a goofy grin on her face. "I see you want petted!" Ariel smiled. "Oh, okay." She stroked her dog lovingly for a few minutes then stopped to look at her watch. "They are fifteen minutes late!"

"Fifteen minutes? Gee, I'm sorry," a voice said from behind her.

She turned around immediately, her bright green eyes, gleaming. "Blaine!"

"My sister was late in returning the car, so I couldn't get a ride. I tried to call you, but your parents said you were already out here," he explained.

"Oh… I see. Have you heard from Maeve?" she asked. Maeve was Blaine and Ariel's other best friend. She was half Native American and very beautiful in an exotic sort of way. She also had a beautiful voice and a charming disposition.

"Oh, yeah, your parents told me to tell you that she can't come tonight. Her uncle stopped in from Arizona on business and couldn't get a hotel. They want her to spend some time with him. So I guess that means it'll be just you and me tonight."

Blaine smiled, and oh what a smile he had. It was perfect, just like the rest of him. He was of medium height for a six-teen year old and had short spiky brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. He was very smart and spectacular at athletics. He was just… perfect. Nothing else could describe him except for "every girl's dream", and that's the only reason Ariel could ever dislike him. She had loved Blaine ever since they were kids, but was always too afraid to say anything. So here she was fifteen years old and still afraid to tell him the truth. Of course it didn't help that they were in entirely different social classes at school. He was the popular heartthrob and she was the anti-social artist.

"That's cool." She tried to hide the excitement in her voice. It's not like it would be the first time that it would be just those two, but sometimes it felt like it. Even now.

Blaine bent over and unzipped one of two big green bags that Ariel had just noticed he had been holding. "Am I still allowed to sleep over?" he inquired innocently? "Or are we 'getting too old for this sorta thing'?"

Ariel giggled. "Yeah, you're still allowed. But what's in the bag?"

"A tent." Blaine pulled it out and began to unfold it. "I thought we could camp out one last time before the weather started to get cold. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah!" Ariel exclaimed, a bit too happily for comfort. She hadn't camped out with Blaine, just the two of them since they were twelve.

"Cool." Blaine smiled again, causing Ariel to melt once more.

"Do you need any help? The sky is getting dark…" Ariel asked.

"Nah, I got it. Don't worry." He looked at her. "Did you do something to your hair?

Ariel blushed. Her auburn hair was usually somewhat of a wreck. She had these beautiful soft wavy curls, but they were impossible to fix in the short amount of time she gave herself to get ready every morning, so she usually went to school looking like a giant poof ball. "I used a different conditioner."

"Looks good," he said before going back to setting up the tent.

"Thanks…" Ariel looked at the other bag. "What's in there?"

"A sleeping bag and lantern."

"Only one sleeping bag?"

"Finished!" he cheered before turning to his other bag. "Yeah only one. It's one of those family sized ones though, so it would have been big enough for all three of us."

He opened the bag and threw the sleeping bag, now unfolded into the tent. "It even has those built in pillow thingies, the ones you inflate…"

Ariel shivered. The sun was almost down. Blaine noticed. "Let's go in now. It's all set."

"Okay. C'mon, Cherry," she called as the two went inside. She dove directly under the covers and patted the ground next to her for Cherry to lie down as Blaine zipped the tent and turned the lantern on.

"So what's up with you?" he asked her intently.

Ariel was tack aback by the remark. He was being awfully forward with her. "What's wrong?"

Blaine sighed. "So it's that obvious, huh?"

Ariel nodded.

"It's about Sandra…" Ariel winced. Sandra was Blaine's girlfriend. She was perky and nice with a great figure - and a complete bimbo. Neither Ariel nor Maeve liked her, but they chose to keep that a secret. Sandra was one of his other friends and they knew better than to interfere with anything concerning them.

"What about her?"

"I don't like her," he said avoiding eye contact.

"Why not?"

"I lied. I told Maeve that our plans had to be cancelled."

"Why not? Huh, wait a second!" Ariel was getting confused.

Blaine sighed once more. "I told Maeve not to come tonight."

Ariel looked at Blaine sideways. "Why?"

"Because I broke up with Sandra?"

"What for?" Ariel had to admit, that made her happy to hear.

"Because I'm in love." That comment made Ariel sick to her stomach and she knew what she was supposed to ask him next.

"With who?"

Blaine yanked the cord on the lantern and the light went out. "With you," he whispered. Then he kissed her. Deeply. Ariel blinked. Was this happening to her? Was this actually happening to her? She kissed him back and wished that she could out her full concentration into the kiss, but she new she couldn't. Her mind kept wandering. If Ariel had to describe herself to anyone it would be this: Boring, un-athletic, anti-social, uncaring, messy, sloppy, a pig, and dreadfully Normal… but, right now, she was Happy.

Ariel was Happy.