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Finally! The end! Phew! disclaimer blah blah blah. k well this is the final chapter of winter in wisconsin so enjpoy it. bye.
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As I walked down the street that I had so many times before, I began to realize that it was different in the dark, very different.I had seen everything on this road a million times but they seemed scary in the dark nighttime. I heard noises in the bushes and rustling in the leaves all around me. The road seemed longer now. Creepy and cold. I began to walk more quickly then I felt a large hand on my shoulder. I turned around startled and saw a man in about his forties. He smelled very strongly of liquor and tobacco. He revealed a smile that had a great resemblance to one of a deranged seal. "Hey little lady. Wanna have some fun?" he guffawed and I saw he didn't have that many teeth. I tried to scream but all that came out was a slight squeak. I pulled away and ran as fast as I could. I ran and ran until I thought I would collapse from exhaustion. As I ran, I saw another figure standing in the darkness. But this one was familiar.
"Dave!" I yelled and ran into his arms. I was trembling but I wasn't going to cry. I shook so hard that I thought I'd drill a hole in the earth. Dave held on to me calmly and comforted me sweetly until I calmed
down. When I caught my breath, and stopped shaking uncontrollably, Dave loosened his grip but kept his arm around my shoulders to keep me from trembling.
"What happened?" he asked, concern flooding his soft voice.I breathed deeply, "You would not believe what happened. Some drunk, old smelly guy  grabbed on to me and asked me if I wanted to have a good time or something. So I panicked and ran." He let go of my shoulders after I totally calmed down but stayed very close to me as we walked through the blackness that surrounded us. As we walked, something rustled in the bushes and I jumped closer towards Dave, who put his arm around my shoulder again. "C'mon, lets go into the park. It's quiet there." he smiled down at me, even in the darkness I saw his eyes sparkle and spin like stars on a river face. I relaxed against him as we walked . In the park we sat down at a bench and Dave began to talk, "You know, I've been thinking," my heart jumped and did somersaults. "I've been thinking that maybe, you know, maybe you and I… uh.. you know," the words were onthe tip of his tongue but he couldn't find just how to say it yet. "I was thinking that maybe we could have something here." I relaxed and rested my head on his shoulder and said, "That would be nice. But you know what I'm thinking?" he nodded. "Yes I do." We both decided that we couldn't tell anyone that we had a relationship. Not even Beth. We of course would tell her later. But not yet. As we walked back to my house, Dave talked and talked. He talked about anything he could. I guess he didn't want an awkward silence between us.
When we reached my house, he walked me very quietly to my backdoor where he kissed me for the first time. It wasn't one of those dramatic types of kisses you see on movies, just an innocent little kiss. I said goodbye to him and quietly turned my backdoor key.I stepped inside and tip-toed up the stairs to my bedroom where I fell asleep, thinking of how lucky I was to have a guy like Dave.
Dave and I managed to keep our relationship secret until summer. Even from Beth. So one day, right before summer vacation, Dave and  I decided to meet at the park. We knew that if anyone saw us together now, they would start to expect something. I walked to the park in the afternoon and waited on the bench in the busy park, full of children and parents, playing together in the sun. Then I saw the worst site I could've seen in my entire life. By the pond, feeding the duckies, was the biggest blabber-mouth in Wisconsin. Penny Saville. If Penny saw me and Dave doing anything, the whole world would know in a matter of minutes. I tensed up and prayed silently that she would leave before Dave got here. But to my great distress, the little pig faced blubber-head walked right up to me. Following behind her was her little gossip group. Penny followers. Penny looked down at me and sneered, "Well miss LA. What are you doing here on such a lovely day? Shouldn't you be home with all your… LA stuff?" I rolled my eyes and stood up, "Good afternoon, I'm just enjoying a nice walk in the park. How about you?" Penny smiled grimly at me, "I'm feeding my fine feathered friends, At least some people can do good in this world." her friends looked at me with prissiness and all that stuck-up sort of stuff. As she blathered on about her terribly exciting criteria for the day, I saw Dave. I tensed up and began to talk rapidly and nervously, "Well it's been  just peachy talking to you and your friends but I really must be going now. So uh, have a nice day and I'll talk to you later or some other time or maybe on Monday at school or something okay? Bye." I began to walk off but she seized my arm and slyly said, "Wait, what's your hurry?" Just when I was about to break down, Beth jumped in between Penny and I and said, "Penny, Oh my gawd! I have the newest deep-dish gossip!" Penny let go of me immediately and gave her full attention to Beth, giving me a chance to escape. I walked away quickly and met up with Dave in a not so busy part of the park. He kissed me casually and said, "I saw you with Her Majesty Queen Blabber-Mouth. How'd you get away from her?" I winced. Then slowly said, "Beth."His eyes widened. "Oh no. She doesn't know does she?"
"I didn't tell her." I said.
"She is gonna be so mad when she finds us."
"All right love birds! Times up!" Beth came walking very swiftly up to us. "Thanks to you two I'm gonna be spending a weekend at Queen Blabber-Mouth's house for her annual gossip slumber party."
"Sorry," I said, "Thanks for covering for me. How'd you know?"Beth sighed and put her hand on her hip. "Duh! I saw you two smooching on Dave's doorstep. Next time don't be so obvious or you get… busted."
"Oh no," Dave said, "You didn't have anyone with you, did you?" Beth's face turned into one of total disgust. "EEEW! You two were really making out on Dave's doorstep? EEW! Dave, remind me never to walk on you're steps again!"Dave sighed and we walked back to his place. When we got there, Dave's
mom said, "AAWWWWW!!! Cassidy! How are you honey?" She hugged me and said, "Have you been taking care of my little David?"
Dave rolled his eyes but I nodded and laughed. His mom continued,
"Don't worry sweetie, Dave didn't tell me a thing. It's just the way he talks about you. And when ever he's on the phone with you it's just so adorable!" I laughed again and Dave took me by the hand and led me into his livingroom. Beth was laughing to and when she sat down on the floor, she began to talk, "So, are you guys gonna go to the partayza?" she got up and started dancing, indicating  what she planned on doing at the party. Dave and I stayed silent for awhile. Then Dave spoke, "Us three are the only ones who know. We kinda want to keep it a secret…"
Beth frowned, "You guys! You have to come! Dave, No party is complete without you and Cass hasn't even been to one of the summer parties! C'mon!"
I looked up at Dave who had a tight hold on my waist and said hesitantly, "Well, we could go, just not like you know… together."
Dave nodded his head, "Alright. We'll go."
Beth jumped up and down excitedly and said, "Yes! Oh yes!"


At the party, both Dave and I were acting nervous and tense, almost sure that someone was going to find out tonight. We didn't do much dancing at the party. We just kind of sat there watching Beth. After awhile, Dave and I decided to sneak off so we could spend a little time together. We walked behind the dance hall that a couple of the kids had saved up to rent. After a bit of talking we did the normal thing a young couple would do. We started to make out. I heard a noise in the bushes and since I was still a little jumpy from before, I jumped a bit. Dave heard it too and looked over towards where the noise had come from. He told me it was probably just a raccoon or some sort of animal and not to worry. He kissed me again, making me feel safer.
"EEW!" we heard some one scream. When we looked to see who it was, we saw the worst site in the history of time. Penny Saville was standing there laughing.
       Before we could do anything but mutter a few swear words, Penny ran into the dance hall and the whole party knew within 15 minutes. Dave told me not to worry about it. Beth came running out, laughing her ass off and said, " BUSTED!" Dave and I decided to leave the party. We went to the old shack and spent some time over there. He walked me home at eleven, the time the party was supposed to end anyway. We said goodnight and he headed home, down the street.When I came inside the house, my grandmother greeted me with a smile. Then she gave me some… news.
"Good news dear.  You're going to get to go home early! Your parents will be sending for you in a week!"My heart sank, my knees grew weak and I felt a lump forming in my throat. I shook away the tears that were about to fall and managed to choke out the words, "Thank you."I ran up to my room and cried for a long time. I phoned up Dave.
"Hello?"
"Hi Dave."
"Cass! Hi! How are you?"
I hesitated for a minute then said, "Not so good."
Dave's voice changed, "Why? What's wrong?"
"I'm leaving in a week."
Dave was silent, then he quietly said, "But I thought you didn't have to leave until next winter."
"My parents are sending for me early. My train leaves at nine next Saturday." I heard my grandmother holler at me from the bottom of the
stairs. "I have to get off the phone now. Bye."
"Bye."

Dave and I saw each other a lot during that week. When I told Beth tat I was leaving, she cried then that made me cry even more. We cried for a long time. When the week was over, Beth and Dave came with me to the train station. Beth hugged me and held her hankie to her face. When my train pulled up Dave held me close to him and kissed me. When I pulled away, he whispered to me, "I love you." I said through tears, "I love you too." When the conductor called for us to board, Dave kissed me again then let me go slowly. I boarded my train and watched as they grew smaller and smaller and out of my life. As I rode away from the small town, I sobbed and sobbed and promised myself that one day, I would see them again.