Dinner was dry and undelicious. Summer's mom ate quietly but hungrily, consuming three dinner rolls, two pork chops, and a mound of mashed potatoes.
"Doll is spending the night," Summer said matter-of-factly. Her mother stared down into her plate.

"Oh, no, no, I'm not," I corrected her quickly.

"Why not?"

Well, I couldn't very well tell her the reason, could I? Hey, Summer, I can't spend the night because I might not be able to control myself. I might…nah. "Uh, my mother wants me home," I lied.

"Maybe next time," Summer's mother added absently.

"I can't believe you're not going to spend the night," Summer moaned.

"I do believe the note said it was optional," I reminded her. She led me to the back door, checked her watch, and peeked out the door. Her expression seemed anxious. Once again, that well-worn lip was being nibbled on.

"Well, they should be in bed by now," she mumbled. "Thanks for coming, anyway. You live close, right? You don't want my mom to drive you?"

It was going to be a long walk, but there was no way in hell I was getting into a car with that zombie at the wheel. "Oh, no, of course not," I replied. "Who are in bed by now?"

I think she heard me, but pretended not to. She followed me through the gate onto their concrete driveway. Without warning, she shrieked loudly and started to bat her hands around her head. A tiny black wasp was flying to and fro around her heavily scented hair, buzzing aggressively. That must have been the "they" she had hoped was in bed. Of course I wanted to laugh—afraid of a little bug? But Summer's panic was evident…and instinct kicked in. I swung my bag through the air, knocked the wasp down, and ground it into the driveway under my heel.

"There," I said, grabbing her by the shoulders and pointing her in the direction of the crushed insect. "I took care of it. OK?"

She clutched her fists to her chin and froze for a moment, staring wide-eyed down at her adversary. Then she turned and threw her arms around my neck. "You protected me!" She pulled back a little bit to look me directly in the eye, causing that familiar heat to creep into my cheeks. "Just like you said you would." She put her chin on my shoulder and gave me a little squeeze.

"Of course I did," I murmured into the hair near her ear. It smelled like strawberries…did I mention that? "I always keep my promises."

Notes: Uh…if you haven't figured it out yet…which I think if you've read carefully enough you have…my main character is a girl. And I'm not talking about Summer. I actually sighed out loud in the lunchroom today when I wrote the last line ^_^;