Class camp was a blur. By the time I got home my hand was still bruised and rumour had it that I broke Nicky’s nose. But apart from the nose debacle and a slightly sore hand, I was fine. Today I was the day. At 5:30 I was going to see Chase, he was worried about me, well that’s what he had said but I didn’t believe him, and I never did. In the beginning I really thought I could change him, make him a better person, but I failed. All I managed to do was to create a huge barrier between us. I hadn’t called him after camp because I had nothing to say and because that’s when I realised he had been lying to me that to Chase our relationship was a joke, that he had been using me. So instead of trying to get by on my own I did the only thing that always made things right. I called Byron. Byron was my confidante, best friend and my crush. Which only made things complicated, but he was always the one I would turn to in my times of need and he was always there to help. So I rolled over and reached for my phone dialled his number and waited. I stared at the ceiling as I listened to the ringing and wondered why, why everything that starts out good always ends up bad, why my relationships never worked out and why I was avoiding him why I was keeping him away...
“Hey Debbie, what’s wrong?” Byron’s voice was coated in worry.
“Byron. Why would you assume there is something wrong” I replied trying to hide the pain in mine but it wasn’t a good enough effort.
“Debbie I know you, and I know when something is wrong.” He paused “Please tell me.”
I don’t know why but for some reason I started to cry. I had been holding on to days, weeks, months of emotions and now they were bursting through “I can’t Byron. I just can’t...”
“It’s Chase isn’t it.” now he was going to be upset. I knew I should have kept it to myself, Byron wasn’t the type who got angry but when it came to Chase, it was a different story altogether.
“No, it’s not it’s...”
“Please don’t lie to me.” His voice was so sincere that I just couldn’t lie.
I took a deep breath and sighed. “Yes. It’s Chase.”
The other end of the phone was silent, and for a second I though he had left. “Right, Debbie I’m coming over”
“No you don’t have to. I... but ...” I sighed and gave in “Thanks.”
“Come on Debbie you know I would do anything for you. See you in five”
“Ok.” I ended the call, sat on the floor and cried some more. I was home alone so I could hurt in peace. After I had cried and washed my face, I went and sat in the lounge to wait for Byron. I started to think about things that only made me cry more. As I sat sobbing on the sofa when the doorbell rang. My heart started to beat faster as I walked to the door. I opened it and there he stood. He was wearing a black shirt with faded blue jeans and his white trainers. His hair was in its usual black mess and his blue eyes were staring at my tear stricken face. I couldn’t contain myself. I threw my arms around him and continued to cry. He put his arms around me and we stood there for what felt like an eternity.

“Come on let’s go inside.” He whispered into my ear and took my hand. He closed the door I lead him into the lounge. He sat at the end of our black three seater sofa and I lay across it with my head in his lap. I held his one hand and he stroked my braided hair with his other. I soon calmed down. Every time his fingers caressed my hair, I felt better because I knew that he was there for me and that he cared. I started to relax and we started talking. There was so much to say and so little time. When we were at school together we couldn’t talk as freely as we could now. “Debbie I don’t get you, you got into a fight with Nicky, what were you thinking she, like has the mafia on her side” he said while we were looking at each other.
I smiled “Hey! She was getting on my nerves.”
“So you just punch every person that gets to you.” he said as he smiled back at me.
“You know me; I’m a lean mean fighting machine.”
“Yeah on that takes forever to shower and has to repaint its nails every week.” I grabbed one of the pillows on the sofa and hit him over the head. “Oww” he managed to say between laughs. He grabbed another pillow and hit me back. I stood up to get away from his next swing and he followed suit. We were both standing hitting each other, enjoying the moment. Just having fun. Then I tripped. What I tripped over I never got to see, I stumbled over whatever it was and I felt myself slam right into Byron who fell with me and simultaneously the living room lights went out. It was late afternoon and the blinds were shut, it was dark but not to dark. I was all of a suddenly aware of his body under mine. I could feel his arms around my waist, his heart beating in his chest, his breath on my skin. I lifted myself so that we were face to face. I looked into his eyes. There I saw longing, longing for something he could not have. “Debbie?”
“Yeah.” I whispered as I put my hand on his face.
“Debbie. I...I...”
My phone started to vibrate on the table, I closed my eyes this was not the time for I to ring, I tried to ignore it. Byron looked at my phone then looked at me again. “Answer it. It’s Chase.” I looked at him one last time, savouring the moment, then stood up and picked my phone, and like Byron said it was Chase. “Hello?”
“Hey Debz, where are you.” Chase’s voice sounded wrong.
“I am at home why?”
“Cause you’re supposed to meet me at the park today and it’s like, late.” I looked at the clock. It was six o’clock. I was supposed to be at the park half an hour ago. “Umm don’t worry Chase I am coming.”
“Ok Debz, see yah sexy.” He hung up the phone. There was something wrong with Chase’s attitude. He usually swore in every line and had something very perverted or corny to say but I didn’t mingle on the fact. I had Byron on my mind. The lights came back on and Byron was still on the floor. I swung around and looked at him. “You! You switched of the lights.” he just shrug his shoulders.
“What did he want?” Byron’s voice was distant almost detached.
“I was supposed to meet up with him today but I lost track of time with you and now I am late!” I said as I pulled the house keys from under the pillow and put on my jersey which I had left on top of the heater that morning. “I’ll take you.” I stopped dead in my tracks.
“You brought your bike?”
Byron laughed “Debbie I am not like Nina, I can’t just fly over.”
“Well I guess not” I replied as I switched of the light. “I hope you didn’t damage the circuit.”
“Debbie?
“Yeah.”
“Show some faith.” He walked out the front door while taking his keys out his back pocket. I followed him and locked the door. He was already on his bike and the engine was raving as got on to the back. He took my hands and rapped them around his waist.
“Why are we going to see Chase?” Byron asked as he checked his fuel.
“We’re going to see Chase because, because I’ m leaving him.”
Byron switched off his engine and turned his head to look at me.
“Why?”
“Because...”
“Because what.”
I sighed “Because I give up on this whole thing, I don’t want him, I don’t like being lied to I wish I could be with someone who loved me for me and never lied to me, be in a relationship that’s not based on lies and regrets, that’s all I want”.
“Is that what you really want?” he whispered.
I looked him in the eyes and thought of how to answer, “Yes Byron that’s what I want.”
Byron then switched his engine back on and drove me to Mansfield Park. Chase’s meeting place. As I sat on the back of Byron’s Bike with my arms my waist, I listened to everything around me, the cars whistling past, the wind running trough my hair and the trees rustling in the wind.

When we arrived Byron was the one who saw Chase first he was sitting on a bench with his two best friends with bottles littering their feet. They were drunk, I should have known. Byron got of his bike and I sat and looked ahead trying to calm myself for what was going to happen. I was startled when I saw Byron move away from me. I watched in shock as he walked away from his bike and half walked half jogged towards the benches, he was going to do something before I got there. I got off Byron’s bike as fast as I could, I started moving double time. I was a pretty fast runner but Byron was already halfway towards Chase and even with my speed I wasn’t going to get there in time, and I didn’t... By the time I got there Byron was shouting at Chase and Chase was shouting back and as usual they were fighting because of me. Byron was on the verge of hitting Chase he was so mad but he didn’t because he knew I probably wouldn’t talk to him for a week. What I didn’t understand was why Byron was fighting with Chase now that he knew I was breaking up with him. Then before I knew it Chase pushed Byron and Byron hit the floor Byron braced himself for another hit. In a second was so overcome by emotion. My hatred for Chase and my desire for Byron was a war raging in my body. I felt as if I was being torn in two but what shocked me most was I knew this feeling and I knew what was to happen next.

Everything stopped. Nothing moved.

Chase’s fist was in mid punch. His friends sat frozen on the bench watching the soon-to-be fight and Bryon was braced for impact. Nothing happened, no one move, then Byron unclenched and looked at me. I had done it again. “I‘m sorry” I mumbled as I helped him up. “I didn’t think you still had it in you” Byron said to me with an awestruck expression on his face, I personally was shocked too. We walked to the closest bench, sat and waited. We stared at our frozen surroundings. I was sure the rest of my friends were going to be surprised. I hadn’t stopped time in almost two years.