Page 55 of Forever Summer

I giggled, remembering it all too well. Adam had passed out on the bus on the way home, exhausted.

I flicked through to another page, one that had me laughing not because of what was written, but because of a stick-figure drawing of the three of us.

“Check it out, no wonder I failed art.”

We went on well into the night, picking out little key moments, all the Adam ones mainly; I skimmed over all the boy crushes and bitchy-girl comments. Even if they were the most mundane entries, it was nothing if not hilarious mimicked in my teenage voice as I read them out loud.

I eventually found one entry that didn’t have me laughing so much as pouting.

“Awww.”

“What?”

My vision became blurred as I read through the entry. It was a late night one, marked 1:25 a.m.; I always put the time of entry. This one had occurred the day Adam had defended me against Sarah Norman, and the diary incident.

“What’s it say?”

What had begun as the worst day of my life could have possibly turned into the best. Is it possible to adore Adam Henderson any more than I do?

“That was over Sarah Norman’s diary. Remember finding me crying in the girls’ toilets, a blubbering mess?”

Adam was thinking back with a smile. “Yeah, I remember. I said I had your back.”

My eyes snapped up from the page, my heart thundering against my chest.

“That’s exactly what you said.”

Twenty-Six

By 2 a.m. I put the last of the diaries away. I could feel an ache in my sides; never had I laughed so much, never had I seen Adam laugh like that. It was better than any medicine. Adam had yawned but his eyes were full of life as I slid back into bed, adjusting my pillows and lying on my side, looking up at him sitting against the bed head.

“So tell me,” he said. “What happened in 1999’s diary?”

My smile faltered, watching Adam slide down in the bed, lying on his side, propping his head on his hand, mirroring me, waiting for my answer with great amusement.

I shrugged. “Nothing, pretty dull year, really.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“You seemed pretty frantic about me looking at it.”

I scoffed. “That would be any girl’s reaction if someone went to look in their diary, some things are just … private.”

Adam was studying my face, dubious about my answer; it always unnerved me how he could see through me with those eyes. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” He nudged me with his foot, the act playful, but his eyes were serious. He meant what he said.

I wasn’t so sure. To tell him all would be to give him all, to divulge my deepest, darkest secret. A secret that ran the risk of ending everything. What if it came out? There would be no more movie nights, or casually sleeping in each other’s beds, sipping drinks and bumming rides. It would all change in one fell swoop, and I think I would prefer to live a lifetime of unrequited love with my best friend than run the risk of bringing awkwardness into our relationship that would change things forever.

“Okay, how about this?” Adam began. “If you can guess what I’m thinking then you have to tell me about 1999.”

“Whatever. As if you would be honest about it, you just want to know.”

“I’ll be honest. Let’s face it; you’re pretty crap at mind reading. The odds are in your favour.”

I squinted knowingly at him. “I don’t know, sounds like entrapment to me.”

“Only one way to find out.” Adam wiggled his eyebrows.

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