text: [Themes: love & dating, romance]
  
  I first met her, apparently, when I was three and she was two. Exciting, I know. We had just moved from Pennsylvania to the ocean side town of Newport, Rhode Island. She lived across the street from me with her parents. Well, obviously. She was two.
  
  "Nolan, this is Candace. Can you say hi?"
  
  Nope. I run behind my mother's leg, peeking out at the blonde-haired girl staring at me from in front of her own mother.
  
  "Oh, honey, don't be shy!" my mother says, picking me up and holding me in front of this girl. She blinks at me.
  
  I blink back.
  
  "Say hi, Candace! Say hi to Nolan!" her own mother eggs her on.
  
  Another blink.
  
  My mother put me down and did that motherly thing with the other mother about, Oooh, how cute, they're so shy with each other! and, I'll bet they'll grow up and be best friends!
  
  Ohhh, if only they knew.
  
  I blink.
  
  She blinks.
  
  [Author's Note: A lighthearted story of two people who can't seem to shake free of each other's influence, no matter how old they get. Simply, a romance...progressive, to say the least. I know that this story is a bit of a romantic cheeseball, but bear with me. It's my first romance. ;) NOTE: This is my first story on this site. It is a short story, while I work on a much longer one (currently WIP). Please feel free to comment, message, criticize, compliment, whatever! I welcome the feedback. :)]
  
  > say something
  "Hi." I say.
  
  "Hi." she says back.
  
  Now what?
  
  I was three, I wasn't exactly a masterful conversationalist. Hell, I probably couldn't tell you the whole alphabet at that point.
  
  "Wan' play Thomas trains?" I ask. Thomas trains, literally the best thing in the world at my age. There's no way she could say no to that.
  
  "No danks."
  
  And with that, she runs back off into the house.
  
  > Growing Up
  It's six or seven years later; I'm in third grade, Candace is in second.
  
  "Ewwww!" she shrieks as I hold a hermit crab by the leg right in front of her terrified face. "Get it away, Nolan!"
  
  I laugh and place the likely also terrified crab back into the small sand hole I dug it out of. "He wouldn't hurt you, ya know." I say to her, partially reassuring, and partially amused at her reaction. "I think they eat bugs."
  
  We're sitting on a beach close to our houses, on a Saturday afternoon. My dark brown hair has countless grains of sand in it from my exploration of the seaside, while Candace is determined to keep her shoulder-length hair away from the sand as much as possible.
  
  "Dummy, there aren't any bugs in the sand!" she retorts. "There are, like, worms and stuff."
  
  "Worms ARE bugs, dummy!" I say back.
  
  "Nu-uh! I learned in class that an insect has six legs and worms don't have any. So you're wrong."
  
  "But-"
  
  "You're WRONG!" she nearly shouts at me, her bottom lip protruding in a pouty face.
  
  > argue that worms are bugs
  "They ARE bugs!" I say quickly before she has a chance to retort.
  
  Her lip protrudes even more, and I notice her eyes starting to well up. Oh, no no no...
  
  I wasn't sad about her crying because I hurt her feelings, I just didn't want to get in trouble with my mother. Uh oh.
  
  "N-no, never mind!" I say awkwardly, making a final ditch attempt to evade the tears, but she doesn't seem to hear me. Tears fall down her face with every blink, but she doesn't make any noise. She just gets up and runs back towards her house.
  
  Whoops.
  
  > Later On
  "So...you really like her?" Candace asks me, giving me a quizzical look. We're standing atop a bridge overlooking a creek that leads into the ocean farther down the path. The springtime sun shines above the trees, reflecting across the shallow water bubbling slightly below us.
  
  "Yeah, I do. I've known her a while, and...well, truth be told, she's attractive. And smart." I say. She squints her eyes at this, their color matching that of the nearly clear sky.
  
  "Oh, so knowing a girl for a while qualifies them as a worthy candidate for you, Nolan? Is that how it works?" she says, somewhat accusingly.
  
  I'm a bit insulted by this. "What? And who are you to judge what girls I date? You were fine with Chloe back in junior year. What's wrong with Celine?"
  
  "It's not Celine I have the problem with, Nol! It's....I'm just worried about you." Her look of accusing turns to concern. "She's had six boyfriends since freshman year. SIX, Nolan! You deserve someone better."
  
  This time, it's my turn to give Candace the quizzical look. "You've had three, that's almost one a year..." I grin at her, unable to stay mad.
  
  She hits me softly on the shoulder. "Asshole," she says. She pauses for a moment. "So, you're going to ask her out then?"
  
  > End up asking Celine out
  "Yeah, yeah...I think I'm going to."
  
  And so I did. We lasted up until 4 months before high school graduation, then she broke up with me. About a month later, she went on to another guy.
  
  I'm not sure, but when I told Candace this, I could've sworn I saw a smirk on her face.
  
  > A Hard Truth
  After we split, Candace and I went our separate ways. She stayed in Rhode Island for college, I ended up going to Washington State. I tried calling her, trying to explain that even though we might not have worked out, she was still my best friend. She doesn't return my calls, Facebook messages, or texts.
  
  Finally, in my junior year of college, she calls me. I can tell she's been crying on the other side of the phone.
  
  "C-Candace?" I say, surprised that she called. "Are you okay? Why are you calling?"
  
  "N-Nolan..." she says between sobs. "I need to let you know that I just had to break up with my boyfriend. I didn't want to, but he's moving to Europe, and...*sob*...it's just not going to work. But it still broke my heart."
  
  My mouth is slightly agape, unsure of why she is telling me this. "I'm...I'm sorry, Candace. That's got to be rough." I say sincerely.
  
  As if reading my mind, she answers the next question I have without me even saying it. "The reason I'm telling you about this is because this is what you did to me when you asked Celine out. My heart broke, and you didn't even care. I need you to know..." another sob... "...that THIS is what you did to me. I'm sorry...it just hurt. Goodbye, Nolan."
  
  "Candace, wait!" I say quickly, a lump now forming in my own throat, but she had already hung up.
  
  I try to call her for weeks after that talk, but she never answers the phone. Eventually, she changes her number and deletes me on Facebook, so I have no way to reach her.
  
  Some nights, I have dreams. Actually, they're nightmares. I see Candace's face, her blue eyes filled with tears. She blinks.
  
  And then she's gone. Forever.
  
  You got the SAD ENDING! Looks like you'll never see Candace again....try for the other two endings!