Thought that was a good solution

Amy knew her parents would be upset when she told them she broke up with Eli. After all, Eli worked for her Dad at the Music Center in Old Towne just a block away from the Coffee Shop. But they were OK  with it. Just when she thought she might be a bad girl, they turned it around, inviting Nico over for dinner.

"I like him," her mother said. "He's really sweet." She made it sound as if Nico was a keeper. After all, he'd brought Amy lunch from time to time. In fact, he never let her run at night [which was the coolest part of the day to get her two-mile run in to keep up with her distance running]. "He cares about you, and he's got like two jobs, doesn't he?"

Her mother didn't talk about the fact that Nico wasn't in school anymore. She liked that he did things with her. "You make sure to appreciate his efforts. Maybe sometime, you could bring him lunch."

Amy gritted a smile. Yes, she was still in high school, and she was in angst mode less and less thanks to Nico. Still, he'd say to her from time to time, "You gotta chill more." Of course, later, as they got closer over the summer, he always added Babe to these one-liners, which gave way to her smiling more.

"Now, if you'd just get over this, whatever it is with Junie, well..." Nico shrugged.

"Well, what?" She was back in envy mode.

"Friendships are important," Nico said there was no need to be angry with Junie. Besides, he could tell it was a relief to break up with Eli. "I know you two go way back."

"She's changed." Amy found herself yelling at Nico as they walked off one of the summer runs down at the park after dark.

He took her hand and clasped his fingers between hers.

"You've changed too." He reminded her that Junie did ignore her when she met that Connor fellow. "I bet she regrets a lot of things that happened."

"Well, she left me out," Amy pouted. "We were best friends."

"Yeah, yeah, as long as she was there for you about every little thing, but you-"

"What?" Amy snapped.

"You're a funny girl," Nico smiled with a chuckle as if he knew something she'd have to find out for herself. "Now, just chill, Babe. No need to get worked up about it."

Amy sighed, knowing he was right. Actually, a lot of things worked her up in life. Her mother came back into her life. Her father and mother started a new family. It was so easy to find something to sulk about, yet it was taking a toll on her health. There was a time when she'd go without eating for days, and no one seemed to notice. 

She looked at Nico, finding his laughter infectious. She kissed him on the cheek. Finally, it felt she had someone on her side.