My hair whipped behind me as we wheeled around and burst forward, glancing back in paranoia as we sought to avoid their eyes.  Corner rounded, we giggled.  Safe.
  The air was cool.  Spring and summer still quarreling over dominion, the evening doused us in breezy pleasantness.  Stars twinkling above were washed out by a pool of yellow streetlamp light that splattered dully over the asphalt.  We took each others hands. 
  How could the world be so perfect?  A smile flickered at the corners of my lips as we just chatted, our gazes meeting, his face just so unbelievably attractive.  My mind flashed back to a flood of memories and all I could do was wonder how I had fallen into such luck.  With this new warmth settling in my chest, I just sang.  Soft.  The words easy and fitting.
    Our friend's house approached much too fast to be the "long way."  By now, they had texted us, asking where we were and if we were making out.  We sank down in her front lawn comfortably.  "Don't worry, hun," I texted them back assuredly.  "This gurl'z still got virgin lips."  That didn't stop me from planting a few kisses of congratulation on the cheek for winning the game today.  Still in secrecy, we leaned back against each other and sighed into the euphoria.
  And then a voice.  Startled, we sat up, discovering it to be our friend's younger brother.  His brow lifted in confusion as he started to retreat back to the house.  "Don't tell them!" we pleaded.  But betrayal was clear when their silhouettes behind the inside curtain neared the front door.  A click of the lock.
    We bolted.
  Him along the dark side of the house, me behind a small blue car parked a few doors down.  The creak of a door swinging open and searching voices.  Panting breath choked down in silence.  My legs quivered in a low crouch and a stressed smirk tugged at my mouth.
  My eyes widened at the thud of sprinting feet.  No, no, not now!  But the panic melted away as I realized it was him.  He slid quietly back beside me, his head peaking over the side just once to double check our safety.  They were still searching, but for now, we were fine.
  Alone, our heads swirled in the adrenaline.  He bent forward to kiss my cheek, but sighed.  "It's not enough."  He kissed other my cheek, this time only a soft murmur, "It's still not enough." And then the world burst into flame.  An electric shock of energy shot through the very veins of the earth as his lips slid forward.
  His lips on mine, my lips on his.
  Was this really happening?   
   Yes, it was.  We were kissing.
  By that point my mind went into overdrive and crashed.  I honestly don't even remember what happened.  Really, at this point I was simply cocooned in quintessence, and even when our friends' broke the silence in the distance, I could not contain the shock.  Only the glimmer and wink of his eye could confirm that it was true.   

    Oh, the magic.

  I have a tip.
  Don't ever team up with your boy's best friend by telling him that this best friend asked you out to Mormon Prom. Even if you believe that you're a terrible actress, and only the urgings of this best friend not to "mess it up" because it would be "hilarious" get you to try doing it even for just a thirty second prank... Just no.  Because you are a better actress than you think and the "joke" will last much longer than a mere silly thirty seconds.   He will be okay with you going out with someone else at first because you're Mormon and you can't steady date anyway, but as soon as you proceed onto the next step of the prank and admit that it's the best friend... who just so happens to have been discussing dating and Mormon prom with him just this morning and {of course, having not thought of the prank yet} had failed to ask permission for or even so much as mention taking out his girl...  he will not be quite so okay anymore.  He will ask if you're kidding, and of course you can't say yes when the best friend told you not to fail, so then he will take out his phone and try to call his best friend in a state of shock.  This would be a good way to settle the prank-- except the best friend for whatever reason won't answer.  Meanwhile you will just be laughing, because you can't believe he actually believes you despite this very laughing, but he will think you're laughing because you can't believe that his best friend would ask you out either.     Then you have to get to class and wait a whole torturous hour.  But it won't be quite as funny now.  Because the idea will have settled after that whole hour.  He will not be happy at all.  Like, at all.  And you won't know what to do because you will want to stop his anger, but after already letting the prank go on for an hour it has to be finished with the best friend, right? Walking to the next hour he will just shake his head, muttering things and looking so downright upset that your heart will just melt.  You will have to change the subject because now you can't handle it anymore-- maybe he's saying that he's mad at his best friend and their is no reason at all for him to be mad at you, but as soon as he finds out it's a prank that might not be the case.  Your stomach will be looped in a big knot.  And then you will see the best friend walking in the distance and will nudge your boy, crossing your fingers that the best friend will be able to settle the joke, congradulate you, and make it all work out fine and dandy.  But your boy will sprint to catch up with him and jerk him around, so close to his face with his fingers clenching as he says angrily, "You didn't even ask me?!!!"  The best friend will smirk and say something with his back turned, so you won't be able to hear.  Now the passing period will be about to end and you are a bit concerned about the near-future fate of the best friend's face.  So you will have to softly call his name and pull him away.  Your eyes will be magnetted to the ground with guilt, unable to bear the sight of your boy tenser than you have ever seen him before.  This was the most horrifyingly terrible idea of a prank ever.  At least it will be over-- or so you think.  You will playfully tease him about the way he looks when he's angry before realizing that he still is still quite upset.  Because the best friend never bothered to wrap up the prank.  So now you will have to admit your treachery and watch the mixed reactions swarming his face as he realizes that no, his best friend is not stealing his girl... but they have both tricked him.  The knitting of his brows and reflection of betrayal in his eyes will sting your heart like a blow.  The weight in you chest will drag you down and now all you can do is plant a quick apologetic kiss on his cheek and scurry to class.  Then the next too hours will be sheer torchure and you will even bomb a pop quiz as you twittle your fingers and tug at your hair and worry and worry and worry for him. What have you done?!  Pretty much you will feel like a $%^&*()$%^&*( and wonder if you two will ever be the same.  You will try to send a couple thousand texts of apologies, but have you breached that point of no forgiveness?  But after fifth hour you are bewildered to have him approach you laughing.  "Alright, you guys got me.  I just proved to the world just how jealous I can get over you."  His eyes will now twinkle and you will have to ask why he would even still want to be your friend.  As it will turn out, when he had tried to tell them the upsetting story, your notorious-pranksters of lady friends had started cracking up and pointed out just how fantastic of a prank that was to him.  He realized it was pretty funny.  And now you will wrap your arms around him with another apology and with relief.  Of course, then everyone else who hears it will be laughing hysterically, even his parents, and everyone will just chastise you for apologizing. 
  Nope, just don't do it.

  There's always time to move on.
  I guess not everything's for me, though just a year ago I may have flouted just how skilled I was in so many different areas...  Perhaps it's backfiring, as I'm just not quite good enough at everything, as if potential was spread a bit too thin between so many different areas of passion.  Did I grin to widely as not even a year ago I would count off my fingers: "I'm a singer, pianist, writer, cheerleader/dancer/gymnastic/tumbler, artist, photographer, actress, straight-A Honors student, scrapbooker, chef," so on and so forth...?   Now I watch the Concert Choir return from an exciting trip to California after winning first place in huge competitions, the same choir who has also gone to Carnegie Hall to perform, and then read the list of next year's chosen students-- oh so many of them-- that does not include myself, despite my efforts.  And I watch friends try out for the same Varsity cheer squad that also won first place at a national competition in California after getting second place in Florida last year, and sigh at the blow that I just don't have the capability. 
  Forgive me and my vain pouting of vain problems.  But to be honest, I'm totally fine.  I'm the one having to comfort those friends who succeeded who feel bad about me not succeeding. 
  Because now more doors can open.  And I swear I'm not tilting my nose with sour grapes {like my allusion from English class?  I have a test on idioms & references like this tomorrow}.  I've really seen in the past just how changes like these, though sad at first, allow me to expand my horizons.  Gee, that's how I discovered a passion for singing in the first place-- by not being able to continue with my beloved gymnastics, I had the time on my hands to try out for a musical.  And way back in fourth grade when I discovered, unlike all my friends, that Advanced Math was utterly too difficult for me and I had to drop the class midway through first quarter, I was able to enter Advanced Writing, a three-year class I loved dearly. 
  With a wider view, though it absolutely sucked to enter junior high with no friends after all my besties moved to like California, now I have the friends that I have now.
  Yeah, it's not fun that after in the past being treated as one of the "best" at what I did, I then get dropped like... Well, I don't have a good simile.  But the point is, I shouldn't make a big fuss out of anything.  I shouldn't take offense or let myself be all depressed, nor should I be a brat and be like, well, obviously everyone's just wrong because I deserve better, because even if maybe I was sick during the audition or whatnot, there is always reason for what happens. {Ironically I had been bragging to everyone about how immune I was to sickness, because I had gone for seven months or more without a single bit of allergies or illness-- up until the day before the audition, when I became super sick.}  Maybe things just turn out the way they do simply because they are or aren't mean to be!  And if it's time to move on, it's time to move on.  

  My prayers go out to all of those suffered from the bombing at the Boston Marathon today, Patriot's day.  How it sickens me that someone could purposely and so maliciously spill blood, though we are yet to know who.  I am so grateful that we have a free county with a people rallied and ready to fight the opposition.  And I am grateful to the God who has already extended His arms to provide miracles-- I have seen them already, people who would've been at the tragedy-bringing event deciding at the last minute not to attend.  We can get through this!

  A loud buzz vibrated through the house.  Bewildered, we followed the sound to the front room, where we discovered a hummingbird that had flown through the open door and had lost its way.  With a thump, she fluttered into the glass window  fifteen feet above the door she had previously entered through.  Was there really anything we could do?  But the tiny bird was exerting her energy fast, her little wings humming 60 MPH.  Quickly she dropped onto the ledge, unable to continue but for a few more short bursts of fruitless flying. If we did nothing, she would die, left to bake in the hot AZ sun.  So we developed a plan.  Rachel and I spread a sheet below, and Mom took a broom from the second story to prod the air around the bird to scare her away from the window.  It worked.  But instead, the bird flew into the living room and fell, exhausted, on the mantle.  Mom carefully scooped her up with a towel.  I have never seen a hummingbird lie so still,  yet she perched in Mom's palm for ten minutes as we offered her sugar water and urged her into a tree.  Then, without warning, she zipped away.

  With the cry of "Go!" I was plunged in exhilaration.  A  burst of speed and my heart was fluttering, and soon I was saturated in the darkness of the night.  Careful steps.  Panting breath.  The knowledge that one wrong turn might be our last.  But the giggling didn't yield to danger.  As the group split up and the glittering stars brightened, the enthralling knot in my stomach became tighter, but I swept up the moment and bundled it up in the back of my mind to treasure.
  007.

  Or date-nights after being asked out in proposal methods that left me bewildered.  A trip to the Easter Pageant sitting on a blanket with a box of pizza and the cool evening air as we half-watched the performance & half entertained each other with random stories.  Then a thrilling game of laser tag in a pitch black park {I've discovered I am not nearly as sexy & glorious as those secret agents in action movies.  If I were to be in a situation like that, I'd die within the first thirty seconds, unless I was allowed to hop over fences or lie flat in a puddle of darkness and rocks until everyone else killed each other off.}  Then Nielson's ice-cream, windows rolled down, the lyrics to All About Us.

  On lazy Saturdays I love hanging out with the gurlz.  The sun hikes higher into the sky, dragging up the temperatures to the nineties.  So when not adoring the puppies, we soak up the sun in an attempt to become hopefully more attractive with a tan, and lemon juice?  Why not?  They always say blondes have more fun.

  And who says we can't escape on a school night to fetch some excitement driving around with my beautiful license, chalking driveways with girls camp songs and ditching diets for Iceberg milkshakes?  Frick what everyone else is up to--  us west end girls {and guy} can do our own thing.

 When the rain falls, splattering my cheeks and clinging to my hair, I realize there is always tomorrow.

  We also learned at the Mockery House that 1) I suck at Mario Kart, and 2) just because it's Arizona, we aren't safe from  goosebumps.  Night-swimming shook me with chills, but in the cave, muffled by the waterfall, the warmth of smiles slipped through my veins.

  We are young.  We are fearless.  Cocooned in the pleasure of these moments, we survive.