The day Amelie stopped walking by the alley, she left a note attached to the back of the dumpster with sticky tack.

I hope you're not freezing too much of the world without me there to thaw it all with my fire breath. Come over my house if you're ever around.

-A

Middle school ended an hour earlier than elementary school had, so Amelie had taken to going home withMaggie every day after school to avoid spending almost five hours alone before her dad came home. He was a janitor in the community college and his shift did not end until seven p.m. With the drive home that meant he usually got back around seven thirty.

Today was one of the rare days she went home directly after school. She had gotten in a huge fight with Maggie the week before and had been going home by herself all week. She remembered the fight and involuntarily shuddered.

She and Maggie were in the living room doing their homework when Maggie's dad arrived home. Her dad was hardly ever home when Amelie was over and upon hearing the garage door open Maggie immediately started packing away their things.

"Let's go upstairs to finish," she said.

"Oh...ok," Amelie replied, uncertain as to why they were rushing.

They had almost finished cleaning up when the door slammed open. "Sharon!" yelled Maggie's father. "Sharon!" he called again, louder this time.

"Come on," Maggie said under her breath and started tiptoeing to the stairs. Amelie started to understand what was happening and hurried after her friend.

"I'm coming darling!" They heard Maggie's mom yell.

They still had not yet reached the steps when they heard a thud. Amelie stood still.

"Do you want me to tell you how my day was, darling?" Maggie's father grunted.

"Of course I do," her mother responded.

"No, I don't think you do. You would have called me at lunch had you wanted to know. You didn't call me. You promised you would call me today. My day was terrible because of you. I was worried sick all day." The girls heard another thud.

Amelie gasped and grabbed Maggie's hand.

"Shouldn't we do something? He's being so mean to her!" She said.

Maggie frantically shook her head and tugged on Amelie's hand to follow her up the stairs. Amelie firmly planted her feet.

"I was at work too, darling. I only had ten minutes for lunch so I used the time to quickly eat something. But you're right I should have called you like you asked. I'm sorry you worried. You could have called or texted me to ask if I was okay."

They heard the sound of a slap.

Maggie started crying.

"You ruined my day you bitch."

Amelie walked silently back down the steps. Maybe if Maggie's dad knew she was there he would stop hurting her mom. She had almost made it to the kitchen when she felt Maggie grip her arm. Amelie tried to pull her forward but Maggie dug her nails painfully into her.

Amelie gasped in pain and let Maggie drag her away from the kitchen. She led her to the backdoor and the girls crept outside.

"What were you doing, Amelie!" Maggie screamed.

"What were you doing, Maggie!" Amelie responded, also screaming. "Nothing! You were doing nothing! Your dad just slapped your mom. I heard it. And you don't defend her? What is wrong with you?"

"There is nothing I can do!" Maggie screamed back. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You shouldn't be here right now."

"You are a bully, Maggie. Bullies stand by and let bad things happen to other people," Amelie yelled. She couldn't stop herself before the words came out. She was so shocked and furious and confused all at the same time.

Maggie stiffened. "Go home," she whispered.

Maggie had not spoken a word to her all week.

A tear rolled down Amelie's face as she thought about what had happened, what she had said to her best friend. She sniffed and angrily swatted the tear off her face with her palm.

She purposely stomped her feet the rest of the way home to show the world how upset she was.

Today was also the day that two years ago she had met Adrien. Her friend who had disappeared. Promised he would come back and had left her.

Had she driven away both friends?

She stomped by the alley with her head down in defiance, too stubborn to admit she desperately wanted to look up to search for clues of Adrien.

When she arrived home, she went straight to the fridge and pulled out a snack. Five minutes later, she was contemplating whether or not to simply check on the alley to see if her note was still there, when there was a knock on the door.

Her heart leapt in her chest.

Amelie scrambled up and ran to the door. Before she opened it she paused and reigned in her excitement. It would be so much worse to answer the door expecting Adrien and be greeted by UPS. She took a deep breath and put her energy into clearing her mind.

She opened the door.

And there, on her front porch once again, his face slightly flushed from cold, as it was the first time she had found him, was Adrien. They both paused for a moment and then his face broke into an enormous grin. She felt the smile blooming on her own face, but held it back.

"Why are you here?" she demanded.

He did not look startled by her anger. "I was in the area and I wanted to see you."

"Most people call before they are going to stop by. And most people who call themselves friends see each other more than once every two years. And also, in most friendships, both people get to choose when they meet up, one person does not need to wait around for the other person to suddenly show interest. That's not friendship, Adrien." She did not like that he could find her yet she was helpless to find him.

She had waited for him and he had given her nothing in return.

"I know. Amelie, I'm so sorry. I wasn't honest with you. But I'm here now, and I can explain if you'll let me. Please. I want to be your friend. I never forgot you," he replied. She could tell he had that speech prepared.

She looked at him, trying to logically decide what to do. She would hear him out, but if he did not understand how sorry he needed to be, she was going to never see him again. Wordlessly, she opened the door and motioned for him to come inside.

He walked around her and cautiously sat down in the same chair he had taken two years ago. She went to the cabinet, took out some Oreos and milk and left them on the opposite end of the counter from Adrien. Then she looked at him pointedly and raised her eyebrows.

"Um....so every year in my...school...we take a field trip. The seventeenth of October is a holiday of sorts in my school so it's reserved for us to use "experiential learning" rather than typical classroom learning," he said.

"I know the point of field trips, Adrien," Amelie interrupted.

"Right. I know. Well anyway, we only take one trip a year and I told you my school is out in the country, right? We're all the way out in Lancaster County, about forty minutes west of Lancaster city. So two years ago we took a trip to this Philadelphia suburb, but last year we went to upstate New York. I tried to get here. I looked up bus schedules and stuff but we were a six hour drive away, I couldn't sneak away to come see you," he explained, looking shameful.

"You mean to tell me, you only have one day off from school all year. And in this school you never once encountered a phone to try to call me?" She did not want to give in so easily.

"My whole school is technology-free. I can't use any phones or computers or watch TV. I wouldn't know how to use a phone, even if I found one," he said.

Amelie took a minute taking this in. She stared at him. His hair had grown out and was almost to his shoulders now. They were still about the same height, so he had also grown about six inches since last time they were together.

"Oh my gosh, are you Amish Adrien?" Amelie had learned about the Amish communities who lived in Lancaster county and their aversion to technology.

"I don't really want to talk about where I come from. It's hard for others to understand," he answered, quickly.

Amelie wanted to know, but she could also tell this was something that could really set him off. It was like when people asked her how she was doing since her mom dying. "So, where was your field trip this year then?" She asked slowly.

"We went to Lancaster city, but there was a direct train here from the city that only took a little over an hour," he replied.

"So you ran away from the field trip group!? Aren't they going to notice you're gone? There are only ten of you, right?" Amelie exclaimed.

"Not exactly. Each field trip is like a scavenger hunt. Essentially, we have certain tasks we have to accomplish and we're given the whole day to finish them. I finished my tasks by noon and came straight here," he stated as if that was the obvious explanation.

Still confused but satisfied knowing that he had also suffered, Amelie stood up, walked over to the counter and picked up the Oreos. "I think you're insane, but since you came all this way," she placed the cookies down between them, "would you like some soggy cookies?"

His answering grin lit up the room.

The afternoon passed faster than Amelie could bear. The sky was turning periwinkle when Adrien morosely announced that his train was leaving in thirty minutes. As she had last time, Amelie walked with him towards the alley.

"Do you want me to walk you to the train station?" she asked. It was only about ten minutes further to walk there.

"No, that's ok," he replied as soon as she finished asking, "I was going to get there faster because it's cold outside. I mean, I'm going to run."

"Oh ok. Did you see the note I left?" She suddenly exclaimed as they approached the alley.

"Yea I did. It made me laugh! I was so worried I was coming here for nothing, but seeing the note, remembering that day in the clearing, reminded me that coming back was worth it. Then, when I saw you stomp by the alley and not even spare a glance my way I panicked and thought about turning back, but the note gave me the courage to show up at your door anyway."

She nudged him with her shoulder and smiled. "I don't usually come home from school in the afternoons anymore. To be honest, it has been a really horrible week and I was alone and letting myself be miserable on the walk home." She paused thoughtfully, "I stomped by the alley because I was mad at myself for still holding out hope that you would come."

Adrien looked at her sadly, "I'm sorry it's been a bad week. I wish I had something to leave you with to give you the courage to believe in my return. Like the note you gave me."

"I'll write one for myself, to remember. I'll write another one for you too. Make sure you're brave enough to come back," she said.

"I'd like that," he stopped, now at the entrance to the alley. "Next year we'll be in downtown Philadelphia for the field trip so I can easily meet you here. What time will you finish school?"

"I finish around three-thirty, but if I fake being sick they'll send me home early. Should I aim for around one so you have time to finish your tasks?" she asked.

"No, go for noon, I can finish by eleven or half past I think," he answered.

"Ok, sounds good," she stopped, "I guess I'll see you next year."

"Yea...next year," he said sadly. He stepped forward a little bit and she answered by closing the gap and wrapping her arms around him. She squeezed really hard like a bear hug and he let out strangled laughing sound and squeezed her back.