Summer of '79 (3/3)
By Deepblue21

Although she would never admit it, Dana was glad her father had talked her into 
going out. She had missed the beach. Billy and Charlie were out in the water playing. 
Missy and she were lying out on the beach, sunbathing. Missy had fallen asleep after they 
had both lathered themselves up in sunblock. Their skin was so fair that a minute without 
the protection would inevitably lead to uncomfortable sunburns. 
Dana looked up to the sky, tilting her head to peer at the sun. She was wearing 
Missy's sunglasses, the sunglasses that were cat-shaped and made Missy look like a 
movie star. Although Dana was sure she certainly didn't look like a movie star, she 
probably just looked silly in them. But she didn't care. 
The salt air and the cool breeze soothed her fraying nerves as she cautiously 
looked around to see if the boy was there. Half of her hoped that he would be so that she 
could tell him off and yell at him for hurting her like that. And the other half of her hoped 
she would never see him again so she would stop missing him so much. God! She 
admonished to herself as she sat up and looked out into the ocean. Why was she still 
thinking about him? She had to get him out of her mind. She just had to.

Near the shore on the same beach, Fox and his two friends, Don and Jack were 
busy setting up Jack's sailboat to get ready to go fishing. It was the first time Fox had 
been out of the house and socializing since his night with the fifteen-year-old. His friends 
had begged him to go out, not knowing why he was so depressed and keeping himself 
cooped up the entire time. Fox hadn't told them what had happened. He never could. 
Partly because he didn't want to deal with the endless teasing from his friends and also 
partly because he didn't want to ruin the memory by sharing it with anyone else. Because 
although he knew it was wrong and stupid for him to go after such a young girl, he still 
had a special feeling about the encounter. And the girl. 
Don and Jack were friends from high school who also spent their summers on the 
Island. The only difference is that their parents weren't divorced, so their parents were 
also here, together. Fox couldn't relate. The three had always been good friends in high 
school and once college started, they had hoped to catch up on old times through their 
summer here. But Don and Jack were frustrated with Fox's strange behavior. Fox only 
had two weeks there on the Island, and for the last week, he had been wanting to be alone 
and not spend any time with his high school chums.
And now that they had finally convinced him to get out of the house and have 
some fun, he still seemed like he was a million miles away.
"Are you okay, man?" Don asked his friend for the fifth time that day. 
"Yeah," Fox responded for the fifth time that day.
"Because there's a reason I ask this so many times," Don explained. "I don't 
believe you. What's going on?"
Fox turned to look at his friend, for what seemed like the first time. "I'm sorry, I 
guess my mind was on something else."
 Jack looked up at his two friends from outside of the sailboat. He shook his head 
at Don as they both exchanged glances. When Fox decided to keep quiet about 
something, he kept his promise. 
"Ready to go, then?" Jack asked as he jumped into the sailboat.
"Yeah," Fox agreed, ready to get this trip over with. The idea of fun right now 
didn't appeal to him. He only agreed to go because he felt bad about neglecting his 
friends. But he couldn't help it. All he could think about was that girl and the awful thing 
he did to her. He felt terrible. He couldn't forget the hurt expression she had when she 
had left him- when he had driven her away. It made him feel sick inside.
Fox turned to look back at the beach as Jack and Don got ready to sail the boat 
when Fox saw her.
"Wait," He said as he jumped out of the boat. He had to see her.
"Fox! Where are you going?" Don yelled as his friend had jumped out onto the 
dock and began running to the sand.
Fox turned around quickly, "I'll be right back." He walked quickly toward the 
beach.
"Fox? Fox!" He hadn't heard his friends yelling at him as he ran towards the girl.

Dana didn't see him coming until it was too late. She had seen a figure walking 
up to her from the shore but because of the sun's glare, she couldn't distinguish who it 
was until he was right in front of her.
Fox stopped right when he got to her and the other girl lying next to her. From her 
red hair and similar features, he assumed she was her sister. Jesus, he thought to himself, 
how many siblings does she have?
Dana simply stared at him coolly. Thank God she was wearing sunglasses. That 
way, he couldn't tell what she was thinking, unless, of course, he could hear her heart 
pounding like a sledgehammer through her bathingsuit. 
Fox wanted to say something, he really did. But he was just so stunned to see her 
again, her beautiful face, her long gorgeous hair that fell just past her shoulders. He 
wanted to take off her sunglasses to see her blue eyes just one more time.
Dana was getting a little impatient. He was just staring at her and it was making 
her a little uncomfortable. "Yes?" She finally broke the silence.
Fox opened his mouth but nothing was coming out.
Dana just stared back, her eyebrows crinkling, wondering what the hell he was 
doing. 
Missy woke up just then and turned to see her sister and some guy standing in her 
sun. "You're in my sun."
Fox jumped away. "Sorry." 
Missy just nodded and turned her head back onto the towel and resumed her nap. 
Fox sheepishly turned his attention back to the fifteen-year-old. He needed to talk 
to her. He wanted her to understand. He wanted to apologize and make up for his stupid 
behavior the other night. But he couldn't do it with her older sister there.
"What do you want?" The girl's impatient voice finally broke Fox's train of 
thought.
If it was any other girl, Fox would have blown her off by now. She was being 
rude. He didn't need this. But she was different. Any and all preconceived notions about 
women were thrown out the door when it came to this girl. And besides, he deserved it. 
He had treated her like shit that night.
"Do you want to take a walk?" It was a simple question and an olive branch. He 
was trying to apologize, Dana quickly realized. Well, she wasn't going to make it easy.
"Where?"
"Around." Fox's patience was wearing thin. He knew he had treated her crappy 
on the beach that night, but he wanted to make up. Unfortunately, she wasn't cooperating 
very well. "Wherever you want."
"Gee, I don't know," Dana replied in an overtly innocent and sincere voice. "You 
see, my parents have a problem with their young children going `around' places with 
strangers."
You deserved that, Fox told himself. He couldn't afford to get defensive right 
now. What he needed to do was regain her trust. He tried a different tactic. He cocked his 
head to the side and smiled his sweet, sad half-smile. His endearing puppy-dog face. 
Even his mother couldn't resist it. And none of his former girlfriends could ever be mad 
at him for long after he gave them that look. 
But she just stared back at him, her face wrinkling just a bit in confusion, like she 
was wondering what exactly he was doing. Damn it. Of course she had to be the 
exception. 
So he tried the next best tactic. Honesty.
"Please," He said quietly. "I want to talk to you. I want to explain."
Dana eyed him suspiciously for a second and then relented. She cursed herself for 
being so weak. Why couldn't she have been stronger? Maybe if he wasn't so damn cute. 
She got up, ignoring the hand he offered to help her off the sand. She wasn't 
ready to touch him again. She knew the moment he held her she would forgive and forget 
and then he would have the power to walk all over her again.
They both silently began to walk toward the shore, keeping their distance from 
each other. He still hadn't forgotten the fact that she was fifteen and she hadn't forgotten 
his cruel behavior toward her that night. 
"I'm sorry about the way I acted that night," Fox finally broke the silence by 
cutting right through the bullshit.
Dana kept silent for a second. "Which part?"
"Huh?" Fox was confused.
"Are you sorry for kissing me or are you sorry for acting like an asshole after my 
brother came?"
Fox hesitated for a second, contemplating this. He would never ever regret kissing 
her. "The second part. The part of me acting like an asshole."
"Are you sure?"
"What?"
"Are you sure? Because you hesitated for a second, there."
Fox rolled his eyes in frustration. "Yes, I'm sure."
"All right, just checking."
Fox snuck a glance at her and saw her hiding a secret smile. He had never seen 
this side of the girl before. He had been used to the sweet, gentle demeanor of that night. 
But he had to admit, he liked the spitfire she was showing now. He respected and 
admired this spunk. 
"I fucked up-"
"Yeah." She nodded her head in agreement.
"What I said was stupid and mean. I didn't mean it at all, I was just a little 
shocked when your brother told me-"
"Yeah, I know. Billy had no right to butt in like that."
"But you could have told me, you know."
"Told you what?"
"That you were only fifteen."
Dana kept silent for a second and looked down at the waves that were making 
their way up the shore. The cold water felt good on her feet. She missed the feeling 
instantly when the water returned to the ocean. They were beginning to approach the 
rocks, the same rocks that they were on that night.
"I didn't think it was very important, quite honestly. You didn't tell me how old 
you were."
They both climbed onto the rocks and sat down, keeping a safe distance away 
from each other.
Fox pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "It is, 
though."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not fifteen. I'm eighteen. It's really important."
"It's three years. My dad is five  years older than my mom and that didn't stop 
them."
"It's different."
"Why?"
	"I don't know why. It just is. You're still a kid."
Dana looked away and pretended to be interested in looking at the sailboats. She 
didn't want him to see her face. She thought he had come up to her today to apologize 
and maybe they could go back to where they were that night before Billy had interrupted 
them. Back when they could kiss and hold each other. But it seemed like he didn't want 
that. He was still hung up over the age thing.
"I don't understand you." She finally said. Her voice was raspy as she kept the 
tears down her throat. 
"What?" Fox was shocked. He didn't mean to hurt her and it was obvious to him 
that he just did it again. 
"Why bother talking to me now then, if I'm so young? Why couldn't you just 
leave me alone? Did you think you didn't hurt me enough the other night and had to 
come back and finish the job?"
Fox was at a loss for words. He had no idea where this conversation had taken its 
wrong turn. He didn't mean for it to be like this.  He had just wanted to talk to her and 
make her understand and..And what? A little voice nagged at him. What exactly was he 
doing here?
"No, I., I just wanted to talk things out and..I don't know." 
"Well," Dana said, trying to sound casual and cheery as she got up to walk away 
from him. "This was really nice and everything, but I really need to go now. We should 
do this again sometime, you know, when you finally figure out why you should bother 
talking to me."
"Wait, where are you going?" He asked desperately as she turned her back to him 
and started walking away.
Dana stopped and turned around. "Why do you care?"
"Because we're not finished yet. Now sit down." He pointed to the rocks, sat 
down, and patted the space next to him.
Someone should have told this guy that no one tells Dana Scully what to do.
"Forget it, I don't want to talk to you anymore."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not interested in talking to someone who thinks I'm some kind of 
baby."
"I don't think you're a baby."
"Then why do you keep bringing up the age issue?"
Fox looked at her for a long time as he tried to come up with an answer. But he 
kept getting distracted. By her. Her face was crumpled up in a unique expression. She 
looked pissed off, frustrated, and slightly amused all at the same time. He loved it. He 
wanted to see it all the time.
"You're so beautiful," He said, instantly startling her. "How can you stand it?"
"Stand what?" Dana was thoroughly confused. What the hell was he trying to say?
"Being so beautiful," He cupped his hand to his mouth and shook his head in 
amazement as he took her image in again. "I can't get enough of looking at you."
Dana could almost feel herself melting, but caught herself before getting swept 
away by his very romantic but very smooth compliments. She shook her head at him, 
refusing to be taken in. "You just know exactly what to say to girls to get your way, don't 
you?"
"What? No, I mean it, I- "
"Look, I may be young, as you like to remind me, but I'm not stupid." Dana 
sighed heavily and sat down on the rocks again, exhausted by their confusing 
conversation. "I really don't know where this conversation is going. Maybe it's the whole 
age thing and I'm not mature or smart enough to understand what's going on here or 
something. So it's up to you, old man. I just want to know if I'm wasting my time here or 
not."
Fox was quiet for a few minutes, contemplating this. He had meant every word he 
said to the girl but he didn't blame her for being suspicious, or even a little nauseous. His 
lines sounded like something out of a bad soap opera. He should have said it in a more 
casual or relaxed way; instead it came out like he was some love-sick wimp. He had to 
choose his words carefully so she would know that he meant them.
"For the last couple of days I've been replaying our conversations we had that 
night over and over in my head," Fox said slowly, still unsure if he should be revealing 
this much of himself to another person, even if it was her. "I loved them. I never want to 
forget them. I've never.." Oh God, this was hard for him. "I've never talked to anyone 
like that before, connected with anyone like I did with you."
"Me too," Dana said softly, appreciating his sincere honesty. This boy was so 
confusing. He could infuriate her one second and then touch her another second with the 
whims of his words. 
"I'm not asking for a commitment, you know," Dana whispered. "Just a chance. 
A chance to get to know each other better. We've just met each other, but I already know 
that you're a really nice guy. And I think in time,  I could really like you a lot. Hell, I 
already do like you a lot. Don't you think we deserve a chance to see what happens?"
"We can't."
"Why do you keep saying that? Why not? Give me a real reason why not."
It was amazing to Fox that all this time he hadn't touched her when the first 
moment he saw her he wanted to fold her in his arms and never let go. He noticed a tear 
slowly trickle down her face as she tried to turn her head away so he wouldn't see. He 
felt a pain in his chest. He had done this to her. He had made her sad and made her cry. It 
was all his fault.
"Don't," He pleaded. The tear was followed by another one. "Please don't cry."
	"Don't tell me what to do." Her statement was direct and gentle at the same time.
He finally reached over, unable to stand it anymore, and gathered her in his arms. 
She stiffened at first, but soon relaxed into his warm arms, allowing her head to rest on 
his shoulder.
They held each other like that for a long time. Dana resented the fact that she was 
letting him hold her after what he had said. He didn't want to see her again. So why was 
he leading her on like this? Why did he have to be so damn sweet and loving while he 
was breaking her heart?
"I'm sorry," He mumbled into her hair, knowing it was a futile apology. "I'm so 
sorry, you don't deserve this. God, why did I have to meet you now?"
Dana immediately froze at his last comment. "What?"
"Now, when everything, the timing, the situation is all wrong," Fox continued. 
"Our timing sucks. I wasn't supposed to find you yet. We've still got too much living to 
do. You've got high school and a million boys' hearts to break besides my own ahead of 
you and I'm going to England in a couple of months. It won't work."
"What about this summer? You can come to Maryland-"
"No." He held her tighter to make sure she wouldn't pull away. " If I spent any 
more time with you, I'm sure I'll fall in love with you. I like you too much already now 
and it won't take much more for me to love you. You don't want me. I'd only be a 
burden to you and you'd grow to resent me and I'll hate myself for it."
"You're talking crazy," Dana said softly, wiping her tears off his tee-shirt. She 
wanted to break free from his embrace and run away. Far enough so she would forget the 
hurt she was feeling. "I don't understand how you can be so morbid about love. Love is 
supposed to be a good thing, but you're making it out to be something miserable. It's not 
as tragic as you think it is. There is such a thing as happy love, even if you refuse to 
believe it exists."
"I'm sorry," Fox whispered.
"Stop it, stop apologizing. I'm sick of it." Her voice was mixed with frustration 
and fatigue. Dana pushed herself away from his embrace and moved away from him. Still 
sitting on the rock, she hugged her arms around her legs. She was embarrassed that she 
had revealed so much of herself to him.
They sat there silent together for almost five minutes. Neither saying a word, just 
sitting next to each other, both sad and frustrated. Dana felt the urge to run away, but she 
knew the moment she did she might never see him again. And she would rather sit next 
to him miserable than be by herself miserable.
Fox didn't know what to do anymore. He wanted to believe the girl's reasonings 
and thoughts so much that they did have a chance. But he knew that it would only end 
badly and he would hurt her like all the men in his family seemed to do to the women 
they loved. He couldn't stand the idea of hurting her. She was so young and so innocent. 
He would only ruin it.
"So what happens now?" Dana broke the silence and beating right to the punch. 
This conversation was exhausting her. Half of her wanted to stop and give up, run back to 
her sister  and cry and curse boys again. But the other half of her still wanted to fight him 
and convince him that it could work if they only both tried. 
"I don't know," Fox admitted. "I guess you get to walk away in the sun as I look 
on. Regretting the stupidest mistake I ever made."
Dana laughed, in spite of herself. "You're so melodramatic."
"Yeah, I know, I wear my heart on my sleeve. The sensitive, morose, love-sick 
bastard."
Dana got up and looked at him sadly. " I hate this." She told him honestly.
"I hate this too." He took her hands into his,  hoping she wouldn't pull away. She 
didn't. He leaned forward and kissed each of her palms.
Dana knew immediately that this was his way of saying goodbye to her.
"Don't forget me," His voice came out in a harsh whisper, his tears sticking to the 
back of his throat. His hands began to shake as he dropped her hands. He crossed his 
arms to try to stop the shaking. He didn't want her to see how badly he was shaking. 
"Please don't forget me."
"I won't," Dana promised. "As long as you don't forget me either. Especially with 
all those English girls you'll be meeting at Oxford." 
Fox sighed. "I don't think I'd ever forget you, even if I tried."
Dana threw his arms around him, capturing him in a fierce hug before he could 
pull away. "Then don't try."
He automatically folded his arms around her, bringing her closer to him.
"Who knows?" Dana told him, burying her face in his shoulder. " Maybe we'll 
see each other again. When we're older and I'm legal."
Fox smiled at the girl's optimism. "Maybe." He doubted it would ever happen. 
The best things in the world only come once in a lifetime. He hugged her tighter, resting 
his chin on the top of her head. This was probably the last time he would ever do this and 
he wanted to remember the moment.
She leaned into his mouth and gave him a chaste kiss goodbye on the lips. It was 
an incredibly risky move, she knew that, but she couldn't stand the idea of never getting 
the chance to feel his lips on hers again if she could help it. 
At first, Fox was caught by surprise by her move, but surprise soon turned into 
affection as he responded to her kiss more passionately than he thought possible for him 
or for anyone. After they separated, he impulsively leaned forward to give her another 
quick peck, a little unwilling to part from her lips so soon.
She looked up into his eyes again, trying to read his thoughts through his facial 
expressions. He looked very sad and a little regretful, but not enough, she knew, to 
change his mind about the situation. She didn't agree with his decision at all, but she 
would have to accept it, and deep down inside, in a part of herself that wasn't ready to 
admit the real truth just yet, she knew he was doing this for her, his silly, romantic way of 
protecting her. 
Fox put his palm onto her cheek and admired the beautiful young face before him. 
They stared at each other for a minute, trying to memorize the moment and the person 
before them. 
After a while, he dropped his hand and she stepped back. They had said their 
good-byes and now it was time for them to leave each other. Dana walked away quickly, 
afraid that if she didn't do it fast enough, she might lose her nerve and run back to him 
again. 

Fox watched her leave. His chest hurt so much, as if his heart was punishing him 
for what he was doing to it. He watched her walk back to the beach, anxious not to lose 
sight of her. When she did eventually blend in with the rest of the crowd, Fox turned and 
headed back to the sailboat, where his impatient and bewildered friends were probably 
waiting for him.
As he apologized to his friends who were as confused as ever at his abrupt and 
lengthy disappearance, Fox couldn't help craning his neck to catch one more look at the 
girl. But he couldn't see her. She had been swallowed by the faceless masses on the 
beach. 
"Who were you talking to for so long?" Jack demanded to know, breaking Fox's 
concentration.
"Huh?" Fox asked, absentmindedly.
"The pretty red-headed girl," Don reminded him, impatiently. "What was her 
name?"
"You did get her name, right?" Jack asked.
Fox just stared at his friends in amazement. It then occurred to him that he never 
asked her what her name was. He looked back at the crowded beach. Their last 
conversation and what she said haunted him <Don't forget me>. He wouldn't, he knew 
that. He could never ever forget her. But it would have been nice if he had a name to 
attach to the beautiful face. But then again, he thought, maybe not. There was something 
special in knowing that she was just his beautiful redhead, that even if they didn't know 
each other's names, they already knew each other much more intimately than that. 
Names were inconsequential now.

	When Dana walked back to her sister, Missy was already awake and waiting for 
her. She had seen her little sister and this boy she had been talking about so much. Missy 
had been impressed when she saw the boy. Her little sister had good taste.
	Dana sat down next to her sister in silence. They didn't say anything for a while. 
Missy suspected that the couple's second encounter did not end as happily as they might 
have wanted it. Missy took her sister's hand into her own and held it, squeezing 
occasionally to reassure her that she didn't have to go through this all alone.
After a couple of minutes, Dana put her head on her sister's shoulder. The tears 
couldn't help spilling onto her face again. She thought she had cried as much as was 
possible, but she hadn't. Her second meeting with the boy had re-opened and deepened 
the sadness and loneliness she had felt after that night. 
"Please tell me it gets easier," Dana said softly as she wiped her eyes. She was 
sure that her face was going to be completely swollen from all the crying she had been 
doing that day. "Please tell me that boys and relationships are not this hard and doesn't 
hurt this much. Because I don't think I will be able to get through these teenage years 
hurting like this."
Missy didn't have the heart to tell her sister that it would only get worse. Instead, 
she tightened her arms around her little sister and let her weep for the first boy she had 
ever fallen for. 
"I'll never see him again," Dana sighed, her voice now calm, but defeated.
"You don't know that for sure."
Dana was silent for a second and then stiffened and sat up at a sudden realization.
"I don't even know his name," She said outloud.
"You don't?" 
"No." Dana wanted to kick herself. How could she be so stupid? How could she 
forget to ask the name of a boy who had affected her so deeply the past week?
"It's okay," Missy said soothingly. "Names aren't important. Anyway, it's not the 
name you're going to remember after all this, it'll be the feeling."
Usually, Dana would have rolled her eyes in exasperation at her sister's romantic 
garble. But her sentimental words were a source of comfort to Dana right now. She 
closed her eyes and put her head back on her sister's shoulder. She tried to picture the 
hazel-eyed boy's face. She smiled. Indeed, names weren't all that important.
On a beach in Martha's Vineyard, there is a sailboat with a boy on it and he's 
thinking of a pretty red-headed girl he met on that very beach. She is no more than half a 
mile away from him. She's thinking of him too. As the years pass, due to time and other 
people passing through their lives, they will forget each other's faces. But they will never 
forget the feeling. The little empty place in their hearts after parting from each other that 
summer day in 1979. First love. So painful. So wonderful. So irreplaceable. 
"You'll see him again," Missy murmured to her sister.
Dana smiled. "I know I will."

THE END.for now.. *
So what do you think? Is it crap? Is it readable? Should there be a sequel? I beg for 
feedback.
By Aimee (Deepblue21@aol.com)

[End of part 3/3]