Ian and Amy have the talk

The very next morning, I went over to Amy's house. As it turned out, Piers was about to head out on his shift and Amy was there on the doorstep to send him off for the day. She blinked her eyes in surprise while Piers simply acknowledged me with a nod before leaving.

"Couldn't wait huh, stud?" she giggled, reaching out for one of her bear hugs. I patted her on the back to return the gesture but remembered what I'd set out to do. Recognizing my lack of enthusiasm Amy relinquished her grip and looked at me in concern. "What's wrong?"

It was painful just to meet her gaze, knowing that I was treading on a thin tightrope and not sure how to proceed, but I swallowed and muttered, "We need to talk."

We ended up in her bedroom - there wasn't really anywhere else that felt appropriate. I revealed what happened the previous day, what Amy's father had told me, and what everyone had been advising for the past weeks. By the time I finished, it felt like I had been going on for hours, and Amy simply listened on.

"Huh," Amy finally spoke up with a somewhat dismissive smirk, bringing her knees up to her face so she could hug her legs. "He told you all that, did he?"

"Yeah," I muttered. There didn't feel like anything else to say. For a few minutes we sat in silence, though for all intents and purposes, it seemed like an eternity, until Amy broke it again.

"What are we, Ian?"

"Bwuh?"

"Are we really boyfriend and girlfriend? Or just a couple of friends that have great sex together?" To my shock, Amy had buried her face in her arms, and sounded like she was sniffling. "I can't stop asking myself - is this what it feels like to love? Does it feel good now because it's going to hurt later? Did I... did I make a mistake and end up hurting you?"

"Amy, you could never... " I sighed, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "What gave you that idea?"

"Because I'm fucking scared out of my mind, Ian!" she screamed, lunging at me and tackling me to her bed, no longer able to stop herself from sobbing. "I've never felt this way about anyone, not for this long! I don't know what to do with myself! Sex isn't just sex to me anymore! I thought I could just fuck away the summer and things would work out - but I can't! I can't imagine spending a day without you, never mind three to four years - I can't stand it! I can't stand this weak shit I've become! I can't deal with how I'm terrified - and how I don't want any of this to end! I don't want to lose you, Ian!"

She pummeled on my chest in frustration, anger and sadness forcing the words out of her as she soaked my shirt with her tears. I softly ran my fingers through her hair. Seeing the girl I fell for in such a self-loathing state was more hurtful than any blow she could deal me.

"What do I do, Ian?" Amy moaned, once she had calmed down enough. "What do we do?"

I closed my eyes, pushing out the tears I had accumulated.