Chapter 1A

   As she, slowly, woke up and stretched, immediately,
the pounding in her head started.  She pushed the
covers aside to get out of bed and bumped up against
something.  Turning to look, she noticed that she
wasn't alone.  She thought, 'I guess it wasn't just a
dream'.  Without noticing he was waking up, she walked
into the bathroom.  While in the bathroom, she
splashed cold water on her face and looked into the
mirror, reminiscing about the past two days.

                                 THURSDAY

"HOWIE!!!"  She screamed as she ran towards her
childhood friend.  Howie met her halfway, picked her
up and twirled her around as they hugged.  While
laughing, she told him to put her down, which he did.
He stepped back and thought, 'she's even more
beautiful than I remember'.  He hadn't even realized
that he was staring until she waved her hand in front
of his face and said, "EARTH TO HOWIE!  Come in,
Howie".  He smiled and replied, "sorry, what were you
saying?"  "I said it's been far too long since we've
seen each other.  I was, also, saying that you look
great".  "Well, you're looking pretty great yourself,
Ambs".  "I try," she said with a wink and a smile.  He
laughed and they headed to the baggage claim to get
her bags.

       Howie and Amber had been the best of friends since
they were in diapers.  They lived a few houses away
from each other until their junior year in high
school.  They had always been there for one another
through the good and bad times.  They found themselves
attracted to one another but they would always refuse
to admit it_until that fateful night.
           *******************Flashback***********************

"Hello"
"Hey Howie, it's me.  Meet me at the lake in about 20
minutes."
"Sure, Ambs, what's wrong?"  He could hear the sadness
in her voice.
"I just need to talk to you in person now"
"Alright, I'll be there in 20 minutes"
"Thanks, Howie"
"No problem, babe"

    Amber was heartbroken.  She NEVER thought that she
would have to move away from Howie, the object of her
affection and her best friend in the whole wide world.
When she had gotten home from school earlier and saw
the look on her mom's face, she KNEW it was bad news.
A few minutes later, she found out that her dad had
been transferred to New York.  She knew it was going
to be hard to keep in touch because of the distance.
She didn't want to leave her home, the beautiful views
and surrounding mountains and, especially, her best
friend, whom she loved with all her heart.  She
thought, 'I'm gonna have to tell him tonight_the
sooner the better'.  I'm gonna, also, show him how
much I care about him'.  With that, she headed out the
door and to the lake.