It was a third-grade type of feeling. My eyes felt 10 years younger, just looking at him. Butterflies made their way into my stomach, a feeling I thought only belonged to little girls. An innocent love filled my mind, wanting to tell him but refusing due to an unlikely outcome. Little did I know, in that moment his feelings were reciprocated, and the same child-like crush was taking over him too. It’s outlandish to think that summer consisted of us. I didn't go back to that town to fall in love with him.

I went back hoping to find the same town I left, but the only thing that stayed the same was him.

Cameron Abernathy. He just went by Cam, though. His eyes were the same blue and much of his face the same too, just more defined. Standing next to him was Sam Fisher, my best friend. While I had not lived there for a little over four years, he and I stayed in touch, and our friendship blossomed over the years. He was with his girlfriend Paris Holmes. She was undoubtedly exquisite, something about her aurora was just elegant. I couldn’t deny I was slightly daunted.

I was kind of upset that Paris was with him because we had planned for him and I to hang out and catch up, and while we still could, even with her there, it wouldn’t be the same.

“Estelle, how have you been?” asked Sam.

I just rolled my eyes. “Same as I was last night when you asked.”

Paris and Sam laughed, but Cam, on the other hand, appeared to be in space.

“I know I told you we could walk around and hang out today, but something came up that I have to go do with Paris. It’s a long story I’ll bore you with later. Cam said he’d hang out with you, though. I know he doesn’t have quite the charm I do, but I thought he would suffice.”

I like to think myself a pretty easygoing person, and I knew I’d eventually have my time with Sam, so I wasn’t gonna let this get to me.

“Yeah sounds cool. Cam, you wouldn’t mind walking up and down Oak Road with me? I just want to see all the shops that have changed and whatnot.” He was staring at me pretty intensely, and it was making me act all sheepish. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t imagine how I’m going to spend the whole day with him acting like this.

“Yeah, I actually don’t hang out there a lot, so that’d be fun,” he replied.

Paris and Sam got into his truck, and I got into Cameron’s and off we were to Oak Road. Country music nauseated me, but I couldn’t expect anything else to be playing in a Southern boy’s truck. It was almost kind of cute listening to him sing. It was really pitchy and off-key which is something that usually really bothers me, but today I guess I was in a good mood.

Our first stop was the ice cream parlor, a quaint place with old wooden floors and a marble bar. It was just about the only thing store that hadn’t changed. The name of the place changed, but that was nothing new. The name changed every couple of months when I had lived there. I didn’t even bother to look into what it was called now because within the next couple of weeks, it probably wouldn’t be called that anymore. Cam got strawberry and I got cookies n’ cream. Though I do like strawberry better, I thought it’d be good to have a little variation throughout while I was here.

“You look a lot different than you did in the third grade.” Cam said, and I was kind of offended.

“You haven’t seen me since the 5th grade… you’re a couple years off.”

He just laughed, “Yeah but I wasn’t looking at you much in the 5th grade. You were going out with Sam, and what kind of friend would I be staring at my best friend's girl?"

“Oh yeah, I get it. You didn’t want to get caught looking at me because it would be practically the same thing as cheating.:

“Exactly.”

Now we both laughed. It is puzzling to think about my logic when I was younger and lived here. I guess the best way to describe it was innocent.

“Hey, I know you wanted to walk around here for awhile, and we can come back later or even tomorrow if you want, but I got somewhere I want to take you.”

We got back in the car and started driving east. The atrocious country music was back on, and he was back to singing. This one was pretty emotional though, and when I looked over at Cam, I could see he was getting pretty into it.I should’ve let him have his moment, but I started laughing and ruined it.

“Someone broke your heart. Who are you singing to?”

He was blushing but started smiling. “This song goes out to you Estelle for leaving me for Sam in the fourth grade.”

He turned up the volume and busted out singing. You couldn’t imagine a voice more awful, and every now and then he’d break a note and start laughing. There was no way I could take anyone with a voice like that seriously.

We approached the lake that we came to a couple times summer of second grade. Cam had given me a heart rock one summer night, and I spent a good month going back and forth with myself deciding if he just happened to find one and give it to me or if it was an actual romantic gesture. I had many memories between my old friends and I here. Just about everyone ended with a massive sunburn.

“I have to go to the bathroom, then we can go by the water,” he said as we were hopping out of the truck.

I waited for him outside the bathroom for quite some time, and then it sounded like someone was talking to themselves in the bathroom. I put my ear up to the door and could hear someone mumbling about jumping flies…? I was wondering why the thought of jumping flies was making me feel a sense of deja vu. Then I hear Cam yell, "A jumping fly is on me!” and run out of the bathroom with his pants around his legs.

He stood in the door frame and my eyes and mind shifted back in forth between reality and a memory of young Cam standing in the same door frame with his pants around his legs. Years ago Cam had bust out of that bathroom yelling about jumping flies, and I died laughing just like I did now. Only difference was Cam was laughing with me this time, last time he was blushing out of sheer embarrassment.

We fell onto the floor laughing, and all of a sudden I felt dizzy. The world felt like it was rocking back and forth. I looked at the stars and the sky, and it all looked like it was swirling together. My eyes felt heavy and then started fluttering, and then I was in bed. I was in bed… how? I sat there questioning what had just happened and where I was and why I was no longer with Cam. Did I pass out? No, I had just woken up. I had just fallen asleep and none of what happened, actually happened. I was just friends with Sam and had no contact with Cam since I left. I had fallen for Cam, but that wasn’t Cam. Truth was, Cam was back in that small tow and actually had a girlfriend. Odds were I’d never see him again. I still liked Sam, and I had since I was young. Cam was a dream I thought I stopped having a long time ago.