Present…

She stares at her friend. She is fearful of what could happen in there. Emma is there for her.

“Yes you can,” she says. She grabs her hands, “I’ll be here the entire way. I’ll keep you safe.”

Robin looks into the crowd and finds her match. Keeping her eyes on him, she nods, “I’m not throwing away my shot.”

They squeeze their way through the screaming fans. They get about halfway there before the crowd erupts. Robin clenches her heart and turns frantically looking for Emma.

“Go,” she yells. “I’m right behind you.”

She turns to the boy. His hand is still on his on his heart and his hair is bouncing as he jumps with the rest of the crowd. She takes a deep breath.

I can do this. This will not end up the same as Kansas.

She begins to keep pushing towards him. Robin can feel the tug pulling more. She can see him feeling it too. The tug on her heart seems to help her get there. She is pushing while also being pulled, but as she gets there, the mystery man leaves.

I am not stopping now.

Robin swims her way through the sea of people. She reaches out to him but misses.

The people around her squeeze closer together. She begins to panic. This is what happened in Kansas.

“Hey,” she hears from the stage. The voice sounds familiar. The crowd stops jumping as Robin turns to see the stage.

“To the guy holding his heart as he leaves,” Emma says on stage. He stops and turns.

“And to my best bud,” she continues, “Please come to the front of the crowd by the stage.”

Robin watched the curly haired boy as they walk to the front. As they get there, the music resumes. Their shoulders draw them together. The yearning stops.

The boy looks at Robin, “Can I take you to dinner?”