Chapter 1

For my best friend Olivia,

Who was always by my side and helped push me past my limits.

"Are you reading again, Leanne?" Oliver asked me, already knowing the answer.

"Do you even need to ask?" I said all smiley.

"Who's the new guy?" he joked.

"He is a superhero who is willing to leave everyone to protect them, but just can't stay away from the love of his life."

"Let me guess— traumatic backstory, and hmm… let me guess he relates to the villain?"

"You know me too well Oli," I smiled, throwing a pillow at him.

We've been friends since he moved next door. He's really shy when you first meet him, but our parents worked together, so he was over all the time. At first he didn't talk, but I tried and tried to get him to open up. Now I can't get him to shut up. It really suits him.

He pushes his fluffy dirty blonde hair out of his blue eyes. "What's his superpower?" he asked.

"Mind reading," I replied flopping down on my bed, "Too bad he isn't real."

"One day you'll find someone that'll treat you even better than any of these characters you read about!"

"I wish," I started to laugh. "Name one guy that could be— someone I've met." He stared at me for a minute then opened his mouth to say something but stopped.

"Heh, you got me," he said shortly.

"Why are you being weird?" I asked, pointing at his hands, which were playing with his hair. A nervous habit he's had since we were six.

"I don't know what you mean," he said and stood up quickly. "I- I… um got to go, see ya."

"Oh um ok, are you still able to come over and watch that movie with me?" I asked.

"Uh, something came up. I'm sorry," he said as he rushed out of the door. Weird.

I got up and started to clean my room. I put on my cleaning playlist and tie up my messy brown hair. But my fingers itch to text Oliver to see if he was okay. As I'm cleaning, I find Oliver's hat tucked into my blanket. I eventually gave in and texted him.

"Hey, you ok? You ran out pretty fast. You forgot your hat." I set his hat on my head and snapped a picture.

"Oh shoot, sorry. Yeah I'm fine."

"You sure? I plan on staying the night in the treehouse if you want to come. We can still watch that movie."

"Um, I don't know if that's a great idea."

"Why? It's fine, but I'm coming over to grab my hoodie. I'll leave your hat on your bed."

"K"

"Oooo, now I know something is wrong. Spill!"

He left me on read, that jerk. I get up, slip my flip-flops on, and yell out, "I'm sleeping in the treehouse, mom, call me if you need me." No reply.

Great, my phone dings. "Finally he texted me back," I say aloud to myself. I look and realize that my phone didn't go off. Do you ever do that? When you think you hear your phone, but really it's just your imagination? I'm ready to leave for next door when my phone actually goes off.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I'm on my way home, and I've got your favorite chocolate and some Ben & Jerry's. Do you need anything else? I can run back to the store."

"I LOVE YOU!" I text back. Oliver is the type of guy who will go pad shopping if you need him to. The kind of guy who always has your favorite comfort food and the type to worry about you for no reason. He is the best friend I could have ever asked for; He's like a super nerdy version of superman. And when I say nerdy, I mean nerdy. Like, his room is full of comic books. And his wardrobe mostly consists of worn Marvel or DC graphic tees and faded jeans. His face is round, his eyes are deeper than the bluest of seas, his nose is absolutely huge, but it fits his face really well. And his smile is slightly lopsided. But the best part is his dimples.

He is pretty popular with the ladies, but he gets really flustered and anxious when he talks to people he doesn't know. He's had one girlfriend his entire life, and he treated her like a queen; of course she treated him like a scrub. She was cheating on him with his brother Levi. It wasn't Levi's fault, Levi didn't even know they were dating. She knew though. Oliver was devastated. He has always felt that Levi was better at everything. I'll never forget when he found out. I got a text telling me he was at my door. I let him in, and his beautiful blue eyes looked red and puffy. He had his glasses in his hands, and he hugged me. She didn't deserve him anyway. That's what I told him, and we laughed about it. He hasn't even tried to commit to another relationship since then. When I asked him why all he said was, "I already found her; she just has to find me."

I snap back to reality when he opens the door to the tree house. "Hey, ready for the cheesiest rom com ever?" I asked.

"You know it," he said through a huge smile.

"Now where are the goods?" I ask, seeing a Walmart bag.

He just laughs and sits next to me. I put the movie in and admire the biggest Hershey's bar ever. We both laugh and cry to the movie, Your Name.

"What is your definition of love?" I asked him. We always discuss the movies we watch afterwards.

"My definition of love is the feeling you get when you see someone who just makes your day by smiling. You know what I mean? Like that person who will always be there for ups and downs," he replied thoughtfully. "What about you?"

"Mine?"

"Yeah, what about yours?"

"Well obviously Izuku Midoriya," I joked, and he threw a pillow at me.

"Wow, I just poured my entire soul out and you staked it through the heart," he said, flopping down and pretending to faint.

"Oh you poor thing. Want to watch another movie?"

We decided on Silent Voice, during which he fell asleep with his head slouched on my shoulder.

I slowly try to move so I can rest his head on a pillow. I'm not very tired, so I decided I was going to read instead.

I roll over and pick up my book and start to read again.

I woke up with a book open on my face. Oliver's phone was ringing. He got up and answered. "Hello?" His voice is still foggy with sleep.

I waited a few moments, only hearing uh huh and mhm repeatedly.

Once he hung up I asked, "do you have any plans today?"

"Uh yeah, sorry I have to go," he said, rushing to put his shoes on. He climbs out and rushes home.

I start to clean up the snack wrappers and popcorn kernels when I notice his phone is sitting on the floor next to where his shoes were. I grab my own phone and text his number, "Hey, you forgot your phone." His phone buzzes, and I laugh at my stupidity. I thought he might have needed it in case he got another phone call, so I rush out of the treehouse, tripping over the step of his back porch.

Face planting, I go to get up, and I hear Oliver's mother yelling, "We shouldn't have had him though, Shane! I mean look at him. He cries over stupid stuff! He can't see properly, and glasses aren't cheap! And you obviously don't love him, or me for that matter, because of that girl you were seeing, Anika! How do you think Levi feels about that, huh? My poor baby had to find out from me."

I heard Oliver's dad sigh. "Mara, I will forever stand by the truth. I was never seeing Anika. You always assume things. It's outrageous."

She laughed this sickening laugh. "OH, I'M THE ONE ASSUMING THINGS! YOU ARE RIDICULOUS! ALWAYS TAKING OLIVER'S SIDE! I HATE YOU!" She spat angrily, venom in her words. Oliver's face fell and he looked completely broken. I had enough and busted into the room.

"Who do you think you are?" I asked quietly, trembling.

She whipped around and yelled, "EXCUSE ME?"

Suddenly I gained a burst of courage. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TALKING ABOUT OLIVER LIKE THAT? HE IS THE MOST AMAZING GUY I HAVE EVER MET! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DECIDED TO HAVE HIM, SO OWN UP TO YOUR DECISIONS! HE ISN'T A MISTAKE; HE IS THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ANYONE!"

His dad looked stunned, but she only spit at me as she walked out of the room. I went over to Oliver and handed him his phone. "I'm so sorry you had to see that," he sobbed, accepting my hug.

"Shhh, it's ok. Why don't you go upstairs to pack a bag and you can stay at my house. I'll let your dad know." He smiled through a bunch of tears, and I helped him up. He then ran upstairs to his room to pack. I spoke to his dad, and he thanked me. I apologized for stepping in. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that. My mouth moves faster than my brain sometimes."

He chuckled, "You have some guts kid. I can see why Oliver hangs out with you so much." I laughed and Oliver came downstairs.

Eventually he calmed down and told me everything. He told me about his mother's excessive drinking, the fact that she has hated him his whole life, and always treated him like some vermin on the street rather than her son. "Oliver, why didn't you tell me! I could have helped! I could have done something!"

He smiled a small smile. "That's why. You're always sticking up for me." I laughed, the more we spoke, the more at ease he felt.