You ought to know I'm not one to give up

 "What are you talking about?" Eli couldn't help but be cross with Amy. "Junie is your best friend."

They were taking their time walking home from school. There was a chill of autumn in the air, and Eli couldn't wait until it got colder. He loved cold weather.

"I just said we wanted to be alone." She emphasized it as if it were their sole purpose as a couple.

"Alone?" Eli yelped back with winced eyes. He shook his head, no. "Who has a car? Huh? How will we go anywhere?"

His parents weren't letting him have a car until he finished high school, and he would probably be a senior in college at this rate before he owned one. "Darry's got a car and Junie can drive, too."

He practically rolled his eyes at her.  "This is no time to make her mad. Besides, I promised Darry we'd be there for the next game night. My mom is making an apple crisp. So there. WE are going."

He struggled with his backpack a bit more. Honestly, he felt a pinch in his lower back. Besides, he was carrying her backpack too on his front side. 

There had to be better girlfriends out there, but he knew this one very well. And it took time to know a girlfriend, the good and the bad. 

After all the bickering and her ranting, she did stick around despite his stinky feet. He thought for sure she'd be considerate of her best friend Junie, too.

"You know," he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "You and Junie are so much alike."

"No, we're not." She hugged herself.

"How can you tell?" He beat her to the question, and she swelled a frown. The exact answer Junie would have given Darry.

"I just want us to have a normal..you know..boyfriend and girlfriend stuff."

"Amy, there is no normal. We're all a little ADHD to begin with. And it goes from there. We're all special, you know." He smirked.

She didn't find him funny, but then he already knew this.