Chapter three
What Friends are For
As I woke up, I saw the sun shining through the blinds gorgeously. I sat up and stretched. It felt so good to have a nice, long stretch after last night. I turned my head both ways to stretch out the tension. I massaged the middle of my bruised neck to dull the pain that the warm water happened to miss earlier that morning. I sat my feet on the floor and stretched toward the ceiling before getting completely out of bed. As I walked quietly out of my room, I looked into the other room where Tech was sleeping and was calmed by the sight of him sleeping like a statue. I walked into the kitchen, opened up the cabinets, and got out my pancake mix, chocolate powder, syrup, seasoning salt, and some extra sugar. The golden sun was shining through all dimensions of the kitchen, allowing it to shimmer majestically. After putting all the supplies on the counter, I went into the refrigerator to get some milk, eggs, sausages, and butter. I looked in the freezer to get some ice and put everything on the table before setting the oven and stove and heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth, wash my face, and comb my hair. After I got done, I dried my face and walked back down the hall.
I looked back into the other room and Tech was still sleeping. I went back into the kitchen, got out a large bowl, and poured the pancake mix into it along with some milk, melted butter, and a little extra sugar. I mixed up the pancake batter and allowed it to rise on the side of the counter. When I looked over at all the items on the table, I decided to make some biscuits since I had company and I wanted to have more to go around. I walked steadily and happily over to the cabinet and got out a can of biscuit dough, popped it open, and placed the dough on a pan. After I got the biscuits organized on the pan, I brushed on an extra layer of butter and sprinkled cinnamon over the top and in the center of the biscuits and put them in the oven. I lightly walked back over to the counter to get the pancake mix, put some butter in the frying pan over the stove, and poured in a large amount of pancake batter. I then put a frying pan over the other burner, put a little butter in it, put in some sausages, and allowed them to fry. While I was frying the sausages, I flipped a pancake and after that pancake was done, I put it on a large plate to cook another one. I opened up the oven to see if the biscuits were done but they still had a little way to go. As I was halfway done with the pancakes, I picked up the chocolate powder and sprinkled a little into the half-a-bowl of pancake batter. I finished making the pancakes and sausages and took the biscuits out of the oven, allowing them to cool on top of the stove. After the biscuits cooled, I put them on a large plate and sat them on the table with the sausages and pancakes and went back over to the burner to make the eggs. I gently put more butter in a frying pan, cracked open six eggs, and scrambled them into the frying pan with some chopped tomatoes, seasoning salt, and a little bit of cheese. I poured the eggs from the pan to a large plate in the middle of the table with the rest of the food and went to a cabinet to get three pitchers. I filled two of the pitchers up with ice and one with milk. In one of the ice pitchers, I poured some orange juice and in the other, I poured some water. I sat the pitchers on the table with the food, four glasses, two forks, and two spoons.
As I turned around from organizing the table, I was startled at the sight of Tech standing right in front of me, stretching and let out a shriek. I think I might have startled him just as much with my small scream. He jumped before letting his arms down slowly and gave me a confused and apologetic look. “Did I scare you? I’m so sorry.” I smiled lightly at him and said, “It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting you to be awake so suddenly. I looked in at you and you were still sleeping.” He smiled shyly and lifted his nose. “What’s that smell? It smells so good.” listening to his soft voice I replied “Well, I knew you would be staying, so I made breakfast for you, and if you need it, I have an extra toothbrush in the bathroom and there’s a guest’s robe in the closet of the room you slept in.” As he looked up at me, he smiled widely revealing a pair of deep dimples in his cheeks and gorgeous, straight, white teeth. I hadn’t noticed exactly how highly attractive he was earlier that morning. Although he was Japanese, he spoke with perfect diction. He also had features of different ethnicities. He had an angular nose that was flat down the bridge. He had dark brown, sparkling eyes and a well-defined jaw line. His chin was also perfect and chiseled. “Thank you so much. You’re so thoughtful.” He said lightly to me. I smiled back at him and replied, “You’re very welcome.” Looking into his eyes all of a sudden made me feel very blithe. He smiled childishly and laughed saying “I have to go clean myself up now. I’m so embarrassed. I’m a mess.” I tilted my head in awe as he gracefully walked toward the bathroom. He was so well poised and it was almost as if he was floating. For a moment, I imagined him being a ghost or spirit.
I sat down at the table and waited for him to finish grooming; after all, it’s not polite to eat before your guest. I sat at the table for a moment listening to him humming. The melody of his voice was so smooth and refreshing. I couldn’t help myself but to hum along with him.
I heard the bathroom door open and saw him gracefully walking back into the kitchen where I sat amazed at his stance. He stood in the doorway with his hand against it, looking around innocently in the kitchen. His hair was so shiny and smooth. It looked much better brushed down and blown around a bit than earlier that morning when it was gelled and spiked. He smiled over at me with bliss in his eyes as he walked to the seat in front of me at the table. As he sat down, a breeze followed him. It cooled the house and made me feel at peace. “Okay, I feel so much better now”, he said smoothly, yet clumsily. The combination of his personality was very odd and diverse. Constantly staring back up at him, I wondered how well he slept last night. “Did you rest well?” I asked calmly, hoping to get an optimistic answer. “Honestly, it was the best sleep I’ve had in a really long time.” I felt relieved to hear that he was well rested. He elongated his neck toward me so his voice could carry over better. “Were you able to sleep well?” his remark surprised me. No one had really been apprehensive about me since I moved. I replied in a grateful tone “I slept very well, thank you, and I didn’t know what kind of pancakes you liked or how you like your eggs, so I just made what I normally do. I hope that’s okay.” He laughed and responded “Anything’s okay with me… and actually…” He paused and looked down at the plate full of eggs before looking back up at me slowly “I love my eggs scrambled.” Hearing his clever retort, I smiled and looked at the food. He tilted his head, stressing to see the look on my face before looking at the food. “It looks so good. May I?” I nodded my head to his question and he smiled and used his fork to pick up two pancakes. His and then floated over the eggs where he picked up two biscuits. He picked up his fork once more to get some eggs and two sausages. As he smiled angelically at me, he reached for the pitcher of milk and poured it steadily into his glass.
As I began to put some food on my plate, I paused, watching a piece of pancake slowly disappear behind his teeth from his fork. He closed his eyes and lowered his head in a mysterious sigh, making no movement. Worried that there might have been something wrong with the food, I asked hesitantly “Is something wrong?” He gradually lifted his head, not smiling at all, saying, “There’s nothing wrong at all. I have never tasted anything like this. It tastes incredible… enticing. You cook… unbelievably well.” He stole my mind. No one had ever complimented me on the way I cooked except my friend Alex. He died of cancer not long before I moved.
I looked sadly at Tech with a vague smile. Thinking about losing my best friend made me unable to eat. Tech sympathetically placed his hand on mine with the same dismal look I gave him. “Did I say something wrong?” He asked apprehensively. The look in his eyes made me feel so distraught. I didn’t mean to look at him the way I did. I tried so hard to find the words to make the torment on his face go away. Unable to find the right words, I lowered my head and placed my hand over my forehead and hairline, trying to hide the tears that were streaming sorrowfully down my cheeks. He gently lifted his hand from mine, sliding his fingertips across the edge of my knuckle. His hands slowly moved up to my shoulders as he said “I’m so sorry, was it something I said? I’m so sorry if I said anything wrong.” He ran his fingers through my hair, trying to look at my face. I shook my head, wiping the tears from my face with a small sniffle. He started to become nervous and unstable. He pulled his hands away and began fidgeting with his hair, holding his head down. He took a deep breath and whispered, “I’m such a screw up. This is all my fault.” I wiped away my tears and tried to tell him there was nothing wrong. The more I tried, the more mortified he became. I gently pulled his hands down from his head and brushed his hair with my fingertips. Still filled with guilt, he looked up at me and slightly lowered his head again. I softly ran my hand down his cheek and lifted his chin, trying to make eye contact with him. He looked up at my face and I whispered, “It’s okay. It’s really not your fault.” He stared at me innocently for a moment, regaining his sanity and restoring peace into my heart. He took a deep breath and smiled, as did I.
He calmly asked, “Please… tell me what was wrong. Why were you crying?” I sat back up in my seat and explained to him the bond between Alex and I. I told him how close we were and how we did everything together. I talked about how he made me feel like there was no one out there better than me and I was the most cherished person in his life, when the truth was he was the only one I ever really cared about and he made me who I was. I told Tech that to me he was an angel and he reminded me so much of him. He looked down, placing his hands at the edge of the table and sat back in his chair. He seemed very aware of how I felt and could relate to what I went through after he died.
He gave me a slight smile saying, “I know what happens when you lose someone. Instead of you losing your best friend, you feel like you’ve lost yourself. You could just take a gun to your head and pull the trigger, not knowing the consequences or even caring at all.” I tilted my head curiously at him, wondering what was on his mind. Seeing the look I gave him, he continued “Last year, on Independence day I went to the beach with my girlfriend, Silver. I reserved one of the best resorts I could find and was scheduled to stay at least two weeks. We went out to the docks on the shore to see the fireworks and I bumped into one of my best friends who I hadn’t seen in at least eight months. His name was Eddie. The fireworks were amazing the first 5 minutes, but then… one tipped over and caused a chain reaction. The three of us ran as fast as we could to the car, dodging nearly thousands of explosives and drove back to the room. After about two hours, we decided to go out to a club. We all got dressed up in our finest clothes. Silver was more beautiful than I had ever seen her. We were all so happy that we were together that nothing else mattered. I walked through the door holding Silver’s hand and she had her arm locked with Eddie’s. As I closed the door, I heard some commotion downstairs but I paid no attention to it. We started walking down the hall, looking at all the lights on the glistening street, listening to all the sounds and a man with a tattoo of a dragon starting around his waist and ending on his head ran up the stairs towards us. He fell right in front of us and dropped a paper bag. Apologizing to us, he got up and kept running. We saw that he left his bag on the ground, so Silver picked it up and called to him, but he was out of sight. As we turned around, we saw a man in a black dress shirt and jeans walk up the stairs holding a gun. I believe he was white or Spanish. He saw Silver holding the bag, pointed his gun at her, and pulled the trigger. As she fell, her hand slipped out of mine and she fell onto the ground from Eddie’s grip, too. The man ran off with no remorse. He shot her in her heart.” Frowning a bit, I felt ashamed at how I acted before. My loss was no match to his. “And this year, in March, I lost another girlfriend of mine. She was suffering from the flu. Her name was Rikku.”
I remained speechless. All I could say was “Tech…” I sat with my head tilted as my words began to vanish. Before I could say anything else, he said, “It’s okay. People die and come back, find someone new, and die again with or without taking anyone with them… anyone they care about. Sometimes I wish I couldn’t feel anything, that I had no heart. But a heart I have… and I use it well. Strong or weak; my love is pure and unbreakable.” He smiled pleasantly at me and I smiled back. He blinked softly and said, “The losses I’ve had have taken so much out of me the past year or so.” I nodded, understanding what he was going through as he continued. “But this meal along with your company has taken all my pain away. When I first started talking to you, all I felt was my troubles dissolving into nothing. The only thing I could see and hear was you. As I was talking to you, the attention you gave me made me feel like someone was actually listening and understood what I was saying. That means so much to me. You’ve helped me with your presence and that’s truly what I needed.” I smiled widely and replied quietly “I’m glad we had breakfast together and shared this conversation. It’s really what I needed, too. Thank you.”
He smiled shyly and looked down. I looked down at his plate to find it cleared. There wasn’t a single crumb left on it and he consumed of most of the milk that was in the pitcher. He pushed his plate away gently and said softly “Well, I think I’ll go get dressed now.” He slowly stood up, as did I. As I tightened my robe, I remembered I washed his clothes and they were dry and said, “When you came out, I washed your clothes. I think they just got done drying.” He smiled gratefully just like he did when he first entered the kitchen and walked down into the hallway lightheartedly saying, “Thank you!” I nodded once more and began to pick up the dishes. I could see him staring at me sadly in the corner of my eye. His eyes were so sympathetic and filled with nostalgia. As I turned to look at him, he hesitantly looked down, pulling his clothes from the dryer. I turned back to the table and continued picking up all the dishes.
I put all the dishes, forks, and glasses in the sink with warm water and detergent. I allowed them to soak a while before I rinsed some of them off and put them in the dishwasher. As I reached for the last glass in the sink, I felt Tech’s fingertips at my shoulder and turned around slowly. He backed up with a dismal look on his face, staring mournfully into my eyes. “I hate to leave… but I have to go now.” He said, still staring at me. I nodded discretely and walked toward the door with him. “When will I see you again?” He said, still looking sadly into my eyes. I looked at him with a light smile and replied, “You can come back whenever you’d like.” He smiled at me sweetly and opened the door. As we both stepped outside the door, he turned around and looked at me once more. He paused for one long moment and rested his eyes within mine with unhappiness.
As we stared gloomily into each other’s eyes, he slowly and faintly reached his hands out and gently took my wrists. We kept eye contact as he ran his fingers down my wrists and placed his hands around mine. He pulled me a little closer as we continued to look at each other in awe and fascination. He gradually turned his palms to mine and we unwillingly allowed our fingers to interlock. I continued to look into his eyes as his hair lifted and fell in the light winter breeze. Clutching my hands tighter, he pulled me closer and placed my arms over his shoulders, sheltering me in his warm embrace. I held onto him and my body began to tingle as his head rested on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and he held onto me tighter, and for a moment, I felt like there was one more person who cared about me as we nearly created our own world in an embrace. He shifted his hands back to my torso, allowing me to step back. I slid my hands onto the outside of his shoulders. “Don’t forget about me. I’ll never forget about you.” He whispered as he slowly took one step back. I smiled and he smiled back gently. He continued to step away. My hand steadily slid into his grip as he continued to walk. I tightened my grip, not wanting to let go but eventually, my hand floated back over to my side. He smiled gracefully at me once more before he turned around and disappeared into the winter atmosphere. As I stepped back inside of my house and closed the door without making a sound, the only thing left to say was “Tech…”
I went over to the sink to put the remaining glass into the dishwasher and turned it on. After tending to the dishes, I began to bring in more of my stuff from outside and organize it. It took me a while to get everything in my house. When I looked at all my things, I still needed to figure out where to put everything. I put all the items in a temporary spot to mop and sweep. As I swept the floor, I noticed a piece of wood sticking up from it. Curious of what it might have been, I leaned over and hesitantly lifted it up. All I could see was a dark piece of cloth in a hole. I slowly lifted up the cloth and saw something of a bright yellow. I lifted it up even more and it began to shimmer. Once I completely removed the dark purple cloth from the top of the shiny object I saw lying in front of me a pile of gold coins. I shifted the coins around and picked one up to see if it was real. When the gold was shifted, a piece of paper stuck out from under it. I picked it up and unfolded it. It was a private letter from a woman named Cayuga Somali. The letter read:
“Dear Mika,
Please, take care of this money and guard it with all your heart. I have been saving it for you since we all moved away. By the time you read this, I may be drifting off either to Heaven or on my deathbed. I want you to know that I pray for you and your children every night. I know it has only been getting harder and harder since your youngest child passed from a cold. I want you to know I am here for you and I will be watching over you for all eternity.
Cherish forever,
Cayuga”
As I finished reading the letter, I decided it was best to leave the money alone so I placed it back inside the hole under the purple cloth and sat the piece of wood back on top of it.
It was about 8:30 PM when I decided I wanted to go out and mingle. I needed money desperately, so I decided to host a forum in an empty lot at the community center complex. I decided not to name it. All I wrote was, “I like posting. I get gold.” Many people walked in just to greet me and leave, and others just came to take polls. The more words I presented the more money I got.
As I was talking with some of the people who came, I heard a lively voice from behind me say “Hello. I love your eyes!” I turned around and there was a guy about my age with short, brown, “Bedtime” hair and huge baby blue eyes wearing a white T-shirt, board shorts, sandals, a ball and chain, and gauti clips standing contentedly, holding a large yeti plushy in his arm with a black cat riding peacefully on his back. His disposition was very warm and sunny and looking pass his adorable glasses, the only words that came to mind were ‘Youth and happiness! ’. I smiled and tilted my head courteously saying “Thank you!” When talking to him, I found it impossible not to blush and smile uncontrollably with every compliment he playfully sprinkled over my head like confetti on New Year’s Day. “So, how long have you been around?” He said lightheartedly as if he would reward me if I told him. I grinned at him as my eyes squinted because of my cheeks rising so high, I could barely see. Happily, I laughed and replied, “I moved here on Christmas. I haven’t been able to do much since I’m so busy all the time with trying to build myself up and get everything organized.” His eyebrows rose and he said colorfully “Oh, so you’re a newbie. I love newbies!” I grinned once more and exclaimed, “I love you too!” Being under his temperament made me feel vibrant and full of energy that gave me strength of mind. He placed both hands over his heart and looked up as if he was on cloud nine as he playfully stated, “I feel loved.” I mimicked his gestures and replied in a dreamy, sky-high voice “As do I.”
We laughed for hours about everything that happened for the time being. I cannot even count the number of times I was caught blushing or laughing at some of the goofy jokes we made up or shine upon his optimistic nature.
I offered him some cookies and milk that I made for the occasion and we sat comfortably alongside the railing of a wheel brink inside the lot. I talked about how my money kept running down from trying to afford new appliances and how most of my clothes were ruined as I was moving the rest of my stuff from my old apartment. “That’s not good at all.” He said in a very concerned manner. He took a bite of his sugar cookie and continued, “Well, if you need any money, I have an extra 3,000 left over that I can give you.” Surprised, my eyes widened and I extended my neck, not believing he would give me $3,000. We went on as I said:
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.”
“Are you joking? You’re joking, right?”
“No. Seriously. You can have it.” I smiled as he pulled $3,000 from his bag. I took the money energetically from his hand, smiled, giggled, and gave him a friendly, warm hug. “Thank you so much. I’ll pay you back, I promise.” He looked oddly at me and scoffed. “No.”, “Why not?” I asked inquisitively, “It’s $3,000.”He smiled and poked my arm, replying, “Yeah, and I’m giving it to you.” I hugged him again, thankful for his consideration and kind spirit.
We continued talking, laughing, eating cookies, and drinking milk.
He sipped his milk once more and said, “I’ll be right back. I have to go use the restroom.” About three minutes after, he walked out of the bathroom in a blonde wig with a flower on the side. He strutted femininely and said, “I feel pretty.” causing me to laugh and giggle like a schoolgirl. We talked for at least another 15 minutes before he said, “Well, it’s getting late and I have to be getting home. I’ll talk to you really soon.” We exchanged e-mail addresses and weblinks before he left. I had so much fun but the scene was beginning to get a little crowded. As I walked out the door and up the sidewalk, I looked at the piece of paper my new friend wrote his e-mail address and links on. Forgetting to ask his name, I read the words at the top of the paper in underlined text: ‘Maxwell Rookie’.
I walked home from the community center complex and sat Maxwell’s contacts on the table. I began to get bored again as I was sitting in a chair, reading a magazine. I tried baking to get the boredom off my mind. I baked cookies and cupcakes, but nothing seemed to work. I even cut my hair and dyed it black. After two hours of excruciating boredom, I decided to see what was going on at the Cuddle Lounge. I put on my white halter top and some blue jeans, throwing on a tad bit of makeup. I turned off all the lights and walked out the door with my cookies and cupcakes, heading back to the Cuddle lounge. I arrived in the cuddle lounge and to my surprise, there were people hanging all over each other on the floor. I believe they were drunk or high. I sat my freshly baked treats on the table and a couple of people looked at me like I had put poison in them. I walked over to a chair and sat down. For about 20 minutes, I was ignored by everyone around me. I decided there was nothing going on and I walked toward the door. Just then, a guy tapped me on the shoulder. He had black, straight, neck length hair that came in front of one of his eyes, covering the left side of his face. He was wearing a 70’s red and black top with black pants and shoes. The shirt fit him very nicely. He was wearing a mysterious black mask over his eyes, so I was eager to know what his eyes looked like. He had olive-golden skin that seemed to glow and shimmer. He greeted me with a quiet, yet outgoing smile.
“You’re not staying for the slumber party?” He said as he held out his hands in front of him. I shook my head, smiling back and saying, “No. People have been ignoring me for quite some time now, so maybe this isn’t my scene.” He took in every word I said and slowly removed his mask revealing a set of prismatic, gray eyes. He raised his eyebrow and smiled mischievously, replying, “’Wanna make a scene?” I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what thoughts were running through his head. He signaled his head behind him and began to walk back into the middle of the room. “Follow me.” He said somberly, but still with a slight smile. I followed him through a small door near the back. It was pitch black in the area and there were small specks of light glowing in various corners. He took my arm, knowing I could barely see him and we began to walk up the stairs that came out of nowhere. As the stairs ended, we walked into a small, dark room. In a corner, there was a black box with a hose attached to it, connected to a hole in the floor. “Put your hair back.” He said before handing me a strange mask, which looked something like his. I pulled my hair back and put on the mask. He took me over to the black box and it had a small switch on the side of it. “Flip the switch.” He said. I flipped the switch and heard a hissing noise. I looked into a hole in the wall that was distracting me for some time and I saw the lounge. It was abundant with pink smoke and people were scattering around like wild monkeys. Some people were crawling around in circles or rolling on the floor. “What’s happening?” I whispered curiously. “They’re high.” He replied. He took me through a wall with a slit in it and we fell back into the lounge with an illusion that we fell through the wall. Everyone paused for a moment and looked silently at us. He walked toward them and hissed which made them scared, so they began to run around again. A siren went off as we watched them make fools of themselves and we sat down on a couch. It seemed as though they forgot how to unlock doors. “Should we let them go now?” I asked amusingly. He shook his head and replied, “Not yet. There’s just one more thing.” He stood me up and walked over to a light switch. He handed me a small, black, heavy tube, which resembled a flash light, and grinned mischievously at me. He flipped the switch on the wall, activating a black light. He then nodded at me, gesturing that I could activate the switch on my tube. I turned it on and small violet and blue sparks shot out along with green laser rays, which looked amazing through the thick layer of pink smoke. The door suddenly unlocked and someone opened it, running out into a thunderstorm that was occurring outside. “I didn’t know it was storming.” I said as I watched people climbing over each other, trying to get out. “Yeah, me neither. Oh well.” He replied. We both shrugged and started chasing everyone around with our spark lights in the pouring rain. Our sparks ran out a while after and we laughed as we both calmed down. There were still a lot of people fleeing from inside as we stood in the rain, looking at everyone else run up the empty street. We both tried to catch our breaths and he looked up at the sky. I looked at him, saying, “Wow.” He smiled at me and said back, “Cool, wasn’t it? By the way, what’s your name?” I smiled as I looked up into the storm, “My name’s Maux.” Before I could say another word, I heard a noise on top of the roof and saw a mysterious shadow. He looked up to the roof before he started to walk away. I turned to him and said, “Wait. I didn’t get your name.” He smiled and said, “We’ll see each other again. And if anyone wants to know, I’m Puerto Rican.” I leered at him as he walked away, thinking, “But you don’t look it.”
I walked back inside and saw people sleeping on top of each other on the floor as the smoke went out the door. They ate my cookies. I walked up the stairs to find a way to get up to the roof. I entered a room, which had a window. Luckily, it lead to the roof. I opened the window and climbed through. As I walked back into the storm, I started to hear someone weeping. I slowly walked out farther and turned my head to the right as I saw a person sitting on the floor, crying like a rape victim. I walked over to see who he was. He was wearing a black trench coat, black pants, a black shirt, which had writing on it, and black hair, which happened to be in the same style as the man I was playing with before I came upstairs. I touched him on the back and asked him what was wrong. “It hurts…” He said as he looked up at me with tears streaming down his face. His skin was fair and he had a very youthful face with what appeared to be ruby colored eyes. “What hurts?” I then said back as I kneeled to his level. He put his hand on his chest. I frowned and asked, “Your heart?” He nodded and cried louder. It appeared that someone broke his heart. I brushed his drenched hair out of his eyes with my fingertips as I said, “I’m sorry. I’m here for you, okay?” He looked at me for a moment and started to cry even more. I pulled him closer and got surprised in the trust he gave off as he buried his head in my chest. I wiped his tears as I cradled him in my arms. He only cried more. He began to shiver and said he was cold. I caressed his face and said, “Let’s go inside.”
I helped him off the floor and brought him back inside. I held my arms around him as we went down the stairs and into the kitchen. I sat him down in a chair and gave him a cupcake. I could tell he had no appetite by the way he nibbled around it. He sighed and sadly muttered, “I don’t want to be here anymore.” I stooped down to him and said gently, “Then, we’ll leave. What‘s your name?”, “Brendan.” he replied quietly.
I reached out my hand and helped him up, walking toward the door, and supporting him under my arm. I hated to have to walk back out into the cold rain with the condition he was in. We walked down the empty street for a while before finally arriving at my house.
As we walked through the door, a rush of warm air brushed over us comfortably. I walked him into my room and sat him on the chair beside my bed. I handed him a towel and said, “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes.” I went into my hall closet and found a T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. Brendan was still shivering as I gave him the clothes. He went into the bathroom to change as I got on the computer to send Maxwell an e-mail and look at some videos on Youtube. Brendan walked out of the bathroom and sat down on the couch still depressed to the fullest. I rotated my chair toward him and softly asked, “So, Brendan, do you like Kingdom Hearts?” He smiled weakly and said, “I love Kingdom Hearts.” I grinned and asked, “Have you beaten it?” He shook his head. I then smiled, knowing I had beaten the game long before, and said, “Well, I guess I can’t show you the ending.” I gave him a sour face and laughed as I exited Youtube.com. His eyes lit up and he smiled widely as he exclaimed, “NO! Show me!”, “But that would spoil the ending for you.” He smiled and replied in a shy voice, “I don’t mind.” I was so glad to see his personality change and said “Okay.”
I pulled up another chair for Brendan to sit in and we watched the ending to Kingdom Hearts together. After we got done watching it, we both talked about how excited we were about the second one coming out. It annoyed us that it wouldn’t come out until March of the following year and that it had came out on December 22nd in Japan. We watched the intro to the second Kingdom Hearts along with the secret ending and the original ending without audio.
As we got finished, I offered him soup that I was going to make. He accepted and I went into the kitchen to heat up the stove. He sat back on the couch with a warm blanket I gave him. I opened up a can of tomato soup and poured it into the pot. As I stirred, I asked about the girl who broke his heart. I could hear him sigh and there was a sudden silence. He then spoke hesitantly, “There’s this girl who I really like, I love, in fact. I’ve liked her for a really long time and we’re really good friends. I want to tell her, but she has a boyfriend. I hate him. He treats her like s**t and when he treats me and my friends the same way she doesn’t do anything about it.” As I stirred the soup, I frowned at what he had just told me. I retorted in a soft voice, “Did you tell her how you feel?” He shook his head and said “No. I can’t.” I smiled vaguely and let out a single laughing breath. “I know how that feels. I have a friend who I had been crazy about for the pass two years. I would torture myself with those feelings and I just wanted to die. I just had a feeling he didn’t feel the same way, so I didn‘t tell him. I wrote a bunch of ******** love songs and poems about him. I loved him so much that I hated him, yet we were like best friends. I let him know just recently. He gave back a hint that he had a small crush on me when he started flirting with me. Even if he hadn’t given out those hints, I would have still been relieved that I got it off my shoulders. It felt so good to finally tell him. I didn’t even care if he liked me or not.” His soft distant voice replied from the living room, “Are you both together now?” I smiled and said, “No. He has a girlfriend. It made me wish I had told him sooner.”, “I’m sorry.” He murmured softly. I poured the soup in two cups and walked back toward the living room as I laughed weakly, saying, “It’s okay. I still have my feelings. It hurt for a little while but I got over it. After all, you get more than one heart. People just get confused by the fact that there’s only one heart that beats, so they forget. So don’t cry about it. There will be many other people out there who love you back. They might not be able to replace your friend but who knows: this person could be way better.” I gave him his soup and he smiled as he blinked gently, allowing a tear to roll down from his eye. I wiped the tear away and held my hand to his cheek, smiling warmly and saying, “Stop that.” I kissed his cheek caringly and gave him a single stroke through his hair. He smiled and hugged me, whispering, “Thank you.” We finished our soup and he yawned and stretched. I could tell he was really tired. I pulled the cover on top his shoulders to make sure he was warm. He started to drift off to sleep and I decided it was time for me to go to bed. I looked back into the living room as I whispered, “Goodnight, Brendan.”
