It's a Love Thing by Cindy C Bennett

Ninety-eight point seven percent
chance that you two would fall in love." He said it quietly, so
quietly I barely heard him. But I did.
    I walked over to the dresser, the
dresser where she stood so many times, teasing me or laughing at a
joke we'd shared. I pinched my eyes shut, wanting to block out the
pain. "If I tell her I won't let her do this, she'll do it anyway.
She's very stubborn."
    "I realize that. I'm hoping we can
come up with a way to convince her. Maybe if we both talk to her. I
need your help. I can't do this alone."
    "You want the fickle teenage boy to
help you?"
    He nodded humbly.
    I looked at the little imp in the
yellow suit he wore today, remembering the harsh lecture he'd given
me in the hall just yesterday. It seemed like a million years ago
now.
    "Wait. Fickle teenage boy. I have an
idea," I said, pacing across the room. "But I'll only agree to help
you on one condition?"
    He took a deep breath and blew it out.
"Okay. Whatever you want, it's yours."
    I stepped back, surprised at the
promise he offered without even knowing what I wanted. "You really
do love her." He didn't say anything. I continued with my bargain.
"It's more along the lines of something I don't want. I don't want
my memories altered."
    "I can't—"
    "That's my condition. Take it or leave
it." I hoped he wouldn't call my bluff. If he refused, I'd still do
whatever it took to keep Tink from giving up her life.
    "You'd rather remember the pain
instead of having it erased as if it never happened." He looked at
me, confused.
    "Would you want Tink erased from your
mind, no matter how painful?"
    He nodded. "I understand. I also know
that if I refuse your deal, you'll still do whatever it takes to
save Tink. I had you wrong, Pete. I'm sorry." He took a deep
breath. "What do I need to do?"
    "Have her here at five on the nose.
I'll do the rest." I dropped, hard, onto my bed.
    "Thank you, Pete."
    "I'm not doing this for you." I shut
my eyes. I was done talking to him. I just wanted him to go
way.
    *****
    Five minutes to five, I shut off my
cell phone and sat on the couch with a box of Spongy Crèmes at my
side. I put the phone to my ear, just in case they came early. But
they didn't. The twinkling lights were my cue. I bit into a
Spongy—it took all I had not to vomit— and began the lie that would
break both our hearts.
    "Yes, Elise. I can hardly wait. I'm
excited to see you too." I paused for effect. "Me neither. It
doesn't seem like we've been talking for five hours, it feels like
a few minutes. I have to go. Talk to you later, babe."
    "Tink! Hi." I smiled broadly. "Hey,
Jaxton." His name I said coldly.
    "You've been talking to Elise for five
hours?" Her little arms folded over her stomach, confusion held her
face.
    "I didn't sleep last night. I kept
thinking about everything and realized I'm not ready for a serious
relationship. Tink, with all our kissing, I let my hormones take
over." I had the pleasure of watching Jaxton's face burn red at my
words.
    "Anyway, I got up around
six and jogged downtown to clear my head and ran into Elise. She
was grabbing some breakfast from McDonalds, so we decided to eat
together. You know how much I love McDonald's. We sat and talked
for over three hours. She had to run some errands, but she called
me at noon, and I just got off the phone with her. Tink, she likes
all the same things I do. She's at the master level on Laser Wars , she has an
even bigger collection of manga than I do, and get this Tink, she
loves Spongy Crèmes. Cool, huh?" I bit into the Spongy again and
grinned.
    Tink stood there stunned. She didn't
speak, she just looked at me. It took everything inside me not to
confess. The only way I could do it was to picture her dead in one
of my dad's coffins. I almost threw-up at the thought.
    "I know we made a lot of silly plans
last night, but after spending the day with Elise, I realized just
how dumb they were. You are the only girl I’ve ever kissed. I'm
your first kiss. Do you agree? We