Chapter 1

AN: This chapter is pretty short, but I wanted to put it out there and see if anyone if interested in reading this story before I start writing full chapters. If I continue this story the chapters will be longer, but updates may be slow depending on how busy I am with school and the move, so your patience will be greatly appreciated. This is my first Heartland story, so reviews and recommendations would also be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure where I want to go with this story yet, so I am open to suggestion. Hope you like it.

Lou

As Lou lay awake in bed the night of her sixteenth birthday, she couldn't help feeling depressed about the day. It wasn't that her birthday was bad, everyone she cared about had been at the ranch to celebrate and she was able to sneak off on a trail ride with Scott to see her dad, but the one thing she wanted more than anything hadn't happened.

What Lou wanted most for her birthday was a kiss from the boy she loved. The boy she saw every day because he lived in the loft above the barn. The boy she spent every waking minute with since she could walk. The boy with the damaged past. Scott Cardinal.

She hadn't always felt this way about Scott. When they were younger, he was more like a brother to her, but after he moved into the loft last year, things changed. She started to see him in a whole new light. At first it scared her that she had a crush on Scott. She'd known him her entire life after all and he was her best friend. She would never want to do anything to jeopardize what she had with him. That's why she kept her feelings hidden. She wouldn't dare tell Scott how she truly felt about him. She couldn't risk it.

Even though her feelings were a secret, she never gave up hope that he would see right through it and would profess his love. Lou could admit that she spent too much time reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. She wanted Scott to be her Romeo, minus the whole suicide business. She wanted a more fairytale version of the story, rather than tragedy.

Her friendship with Scott was special. He didn't let many people in, not after the damage his parents did. He had a hard time trusting people. Even people he knew before the incident. Lou and her family were the only people Scott could be himself around and Lou was the only one he would fully let his guard down for. She was the only one who knew the full story of Scott's past and why he moved to Heartland. She would never do anything to break that trust or hurt Scott. Which was yet another reason she could never tell him how she felt. That could ruin everything and shut him off from her completely. Or worse, send him running from the ranch. No, she wouldn't let that happen.

Lou rolled over onto her side and curled up in the fetal position, her feelings for Scott and the memories of their talks about his past becoming too much for her. Lou spent the night of her sixteenth birthday crying herself to sleep.