Told in Jem's Point of View

prologue

It's amazing how time passes. Sometimes, it slows to a nauseating crawl. Other times, it races past you and makes you wish for it to come back and stay with you for just a little while longer. But you really can't make time go faster or slower, it's just not in our power. You've just got to let it take you where it does, make the best of it, and have no regrets because some things are just meant to happen. You could even say it's destiny.

"Scout, maybe I won't go home this year," I heard Dill say to my little sister the morning of the last day of Summer. I was watching them from my bedroom window. Ever since Scout turned twelve, I always tried to keep an eye on her and all the boys she spent time with. Even if this particular boy was our childhood friend, I just had to make sure he wasn't doing anything weird. Scout was my only baby sister, after all. Could you blame me for wanting to protect her?

She looked up from the book she was reading and stared at Dill incredulously. "What are you talking about? Don't you miss your mom and all your friends back at your school? I'm sure they miss you too…"

Dill ran his hand through his blond hair and looked away from Scout. He made it look like it was nothing, but I knew that the only reason he did this was to keep her from seeing his cheeks turn a burning shade of crimson. Since when did Dill ever get shy about anything with anyone, especially with Scout?

He hesitated, and said, his voice so low I almost couldn't hear him, "Yeah, sure I miss my mom. But…"

Scout tilted her head to the side in an almost cute way, kind of like a confused puppy.

"But…?" She inquired.

Here, Dill looked her straight in the eye. "But… I always end up missing you more than I miss them, Scout. Besides, don't you want me to stay?"

Now it was her turn to blush. Which thoroughly confused me because she never used to blush like that whenever Dill said those disgusting mushy things. And what's worse? Dill could easily be lying! There were bound to be tons of pretty female classmates he spent time with back where he was from. He couldn't possibly just be playing around with Scout's heart, could he? Lord Almighty, what were these children turning into?!

"'Course I do," Scout started. "But, it would be mighty selfish of me to keep you here, wouldn't it?"

At this, Dill had to sigh, and I felt like I was going to be sick. Any more of this lovey-dovey stuff, and I swore I was going to puke. And yet I couldn't look away from them now! But when I studied Dill's face, I could see disappointment instead of the mischief I expected in his eyes. And, of course, Scout hated that. But reason was reason, after all, and she was right- he had to go back. There was really no avoiding it. So, to keep the awkward tension out of the air, Scout changed the subject, poked Dill's cheek and said in the most cheery voice she could probably manage, "Hey, what do you want for your birthday?"

'What he wanted for his birthday'? Was Scout even in her right mind? She barely ever sent him presents in the past, there wasn't much of a difference now, right? But then again, from all I've gathered so far, maybe there was. Good gracious, why must we change with age? I'd almost rather have her be an annoying little girl who didn't understand a thing once again rather than watch her act like this!

All the unhappy feelings Dill had had earlier melted away as he smiled at Scout's question.

"Nothing much," He replied, "World Peace, maybe?"

If I wasn't so concerned about my baby sister's sanity, I would have laughed. 'World Peace'? What a funny idea. But Dill looked so earnest, and all Scout could do was nod and say, "Okay. World Peace it is." Which was very sweet and all for her to say, and I guess I should have been happy for this seemingly sudden change in Scout. But at the same time, I felt this annoying pang of fear tugging at my heart. What in the world was this going to lead up to? And what, really, could I do about it?

It turns out, I haven't always been the most watchful brother in the world after all. Because, since that summer, I really began to notice that Scout, my little, young and naïve Scout, was growing up. Slowly, she began not to mind wearing the frilly dresses Aunt Alexandra gave her. She started to be more concerned with how she looked- like whether or not her hair was in place or if there was dirt on her face or hands. And then, there were times when she started to tend to get emotional at a certain time each month; crying or getting angry at little things. It was all very confusing, but it was something I just had to get used to.

And one Saturday morning, I woke up to see Scout sleeping at the kitchen table, with a finished project she had seemingly woken up early to do sitting a few inches before her. And it was the strangest little thing. It was a little box labeled, 'World Peace'. This was extremely strange, seeing as I always thought World Peace was definitely not something you could give on your own. I mean, just because Dill asked for it, what could she possibly have filled the box with, anyway? Feeling more curiosity than ever, I quietly picked up the box in order not to wake the sleeping girl, and gingerly opened it. The first thing I saw were my very own eyes, because on the inside of the lid was a mirror. And within the box was a little note, written in Scout's messy scrawl. It read:

'Dill-

YOU can change the world

-Scout

p.s

happy birthday! '

And, I stood there, shocked. I couldn't say anything, my mind was racing. And just when I was about to put the box down, and go back to sleep, my little sister's eyes shot open, and if looks could kill, I would probably be long dead. Immediately, she sat straight up, snatched her gift to Dill away, and glared daggers at me.

"What, do you think you're doing, Jem?!" she growled.

And, honestly, with the way she was so horribly angry, I felt like a criminal.

"N-nothing, I was just curious…"

Scout continued to scowl at me for another moment, but, apparently satisfied with my answer, she simply leaned back in her chair and sighed. As for me, I stood there awkwardly, waiting for her to say something more. And after a few minutes, I turned to go back to my room. In a flash, she was up from her seat, and took my hand from behind.

"Umm, Jem… could you… do me a favor?"

"Sure, why not? What is it?" I replied.

It wasn't every day Scout ever asked me for something. It was the least I could do anyway.

"Could you come with me to the post office later? I wanted to send this to Dill… His birthday's coming up after all."

Of course this was about Dill. I really should have known. But hey, too late to say 'no' now. It wouldn't be very gentleman-like not to keep my word. Besides, there really wasn't much harm in tagging along. So I nodded, and continued on my way to my room.

"Jem?" Scout called.

I turned around, now slightly irritated. I was still a bit sleepy, and some extra rest would do me more than s little good.

"What is it now?"

Scout stared at her feet. "Nothin'… It's just… do you think he'll like it?"

Why did girls always have to get worked up over this sort of thing? He's just a boy for God's sake! But, nevertheless, I looked at my sister kindly. "Of course he will." And, knowing Dill, he would. Because, the truth is, you could get things like money and clothes from just about anyone, and they could have put no thought in their gifts whatsoever. But Scout's little present, cheap as it most likely was, had gallons and gallons of love put into it- I could tell by just looking at her face. And that, I think, is probably all that really mattered.

Scout has always loved the last day of school. Not just because she no longer had to torture her brain with algebra homework, but because she got to see Dill again. And, since I got out of school about an hour earlier than she did, I was stuck waiting at the front porch. Not only for my sister, but for Dill as well. Sure, I could get suspicious feelings about him, especially when he was alone with Scout, but he was still my best friend, and I couldn't help but get excited for his return as well.

And so, I stared out at our empty street, my mind wandering from pointless thought to pointless thought, until I saw two figures in the distance. I squinted, trying to see through the blazing heat. It was Scout and Cecil Jacobs. I nearly fell off the porch. What in the world was he doing, walking by the side of my sister?! He had no business even being in our neighborhood in the first place! I scowled, and craned my neck to try to see them clearer. From the look on Scout's face, I could see that she was just as confused as I was, and even more disturbed. Of course she didn't want to be near Cecil, and there was no way she needed anyone to walk her home. But Cecil was just smitten, as if being next to Scout was all he needed to get through life. And that, I must say, was downright creepy.

And, without a warning, Cecil turned to Scout, and took her by the shoulders. I stood up, outraged. I thought, 'If he even dared to touch my sister any more than that, I would do everything in my power to make sure he never saw the light of day ever again' And actually, I really could have killed him, or at least broken more than a few bones, if I had gotten up fast enough. Because, in a matter of seconds, he leaned in, and smack! Planted an ugly, disgusting kiss on my sister's lips.

Oh, but that's not all. Because right at that precise moment, a car happened to loop around our corner. It's driver? Miss Rachel. And there, sitting quite utterly shocked, was Dill. Mercy me, what kind of mess had Scout gotten herself into?!

For days on end, Dill and Scout wouldn't even look at each other. After the incident with Cecil, Scout would barely even speak. And although they seemed to be angry whenever they met each other's eyes, they were absolutely miserable as soon as they turned away. Why they wouldn't just talk things out, I had no idea. Of course Scout didn't want Cecil to kiss her! On the contrary, right after he did, she kicked him in the shin and dashed into the house crying. Apparently, she wasn't exactly a full-blown lady yet. While I , on the other hand, temporarily pushed away being a gentleman and told Cecil that if he even so much as looked at Scout, I would make him sorry he ever lived; which apparently worked, since I haven't seen much of him either. But Dill had already turned away by then, and nothing had changed since.

And days turned into weeks, and pretty soon, one whole month blew away. If this attitude between my sister and best friend continued on, the entire Summer would be lost without them resolving their problems. And who knows what would happen if worst comes to worst? Now, it's not like I didn't try to help them. I tried to get them to sit next to each other, even just say one word to each other, but it was really no use. Their pride was getting in the way of their friendship, and if they went on like this, there wouldn't even be a friendship to speak of. Someone had to step down and take the time to listen to the other's feelings and share their own. At least, that's what Atticus said.

But then, out of nowhere, on the night of Scout's birthday, Dill came to our front door, requesting to talk to Scout alone. At first, she was hesitant. But I knew, after watching her all this time, that time to talk with her very best friend was just what she needed. And, thank God, she stepped out of the house with him. I chose not to spy, and instead stayed in the kitchen and silently prayed as hard as I ever could have that the two of them would somehow make amends.

At least, that's what I tried to do for the first half hour. But after that, I just wasn't going to take it anymore. I peeked at them through my bedroom window, just as I had done one summer back. And, to my utter shock, there was Dill, kneeling down on one knee, and Scout holding up a ring from a small box. And, unlike the previous summer, I really did end up running to the bathroom to throw up. I seriously was not going to simply stand and watch my little sister get proposed to at thirteen. She could make whatever choices she wanted, but if she thought that I was going to sit around and witness it, she was very sadly mistaken… 'Oh Dear God,' I thought as the contents of my dinner were flushed down the toilet, 'what is this world coming to?'

----- -----

Later that night, I snuck into Scout's room, even though I knew that if she found out, she would pretty much bloody murder me. In the corner, on her desk, was the small box I saw her holding. Only, it wasn't one of those fancy velvet boxes you would usually find at the jewelry store. Instead, it was a small wooden box labeled 'World Peace', much like the gift Scout had sent to Dill on his birthday. Only, when I opened it, instead of seeing a mirror, there was a picture of Scout and a picture of Dill taped together as one on inside of the lid. And it's contents? Not a diamond ring, but a promise ring, which, by the handiwork was probably made my Dill himself, and little note written in Dill's small, neat handwriting. 'Scout-' It read, 'We can change the world together. Happy Birthday! Love, Dill.' And, I must say, if they put all the thought and love they put into making each other's gifts, then, without a doubt, they could change the world.

Well, that's all, folks !

Originally, I had to write this sequel for a school project.

But since i had so much fun with it, I decided to post it up.

Hope you guys liked it !

Make sure to leave a comment, okay? ;]

I do NOT own To Kill a Mockingbird, or any of it's characters.

They are the property of Harper Lee.