An exerpt:
It was a strange feeling, all five of us together again. Nevertheless, we all fell back into our usual places. Anna and Jason were holding hands while Charles, John, and myself trailed behind. We were back at the river bank. I remembered the last time we were here and how different we all were now.
“Hey I have an idea.” I offered. “I wanna be an airplane.”
“Um, that’s not really an idea.” Anna said, in that way she talks when she’s confused.
I lifted my arms up horizontally and started running. The sun shined on my face and I could feel the tall grass scratching against my bare legs.
“C’mon! It’s fun!” I yelled back.
“Oh, what the hell.” Anna said, and began running with me.
“Vroom!” I yelled.
“Turn left! Turn left!” Anna said as she approached me.
We laughed at how ridiculous this all probably sounded, but that’s just the way Anna and I were. We laughed at stupid things together and did even more stupid things together. That’s why she was my best friend. We laughed as we ran farther and farther until we were both out of breath.
We turned around to see the guys as tiny as ants. I guess we ran to far from them.
“Do you think what we have is real?” Anna asked me.
“What? Of course. You guys are so in love.” I replied.
“Yeah.”
“Well look on the bright side, if you guys don’t get married, you can still marry me.” I said jokingly.
“Your seriously like a sister to me.”
“Oh stop with the seriousness”
We just looked at each other. I guess Anna felt like she had to tell me this. Are friendship had changed since that first day at the party. Even after that, I still considered her my best friend. Isn’t that why best friend’s stay best friends? Because you can’t break the bond that easily?
The guys were finally catching up to us. The sun sat lazily on the sky and began to sink beneath the ground. We all sat in circle. John next to Jason next to Anna next to me next to Charles.
“I’m sorry.” I said. I couldn’t help myself. I needed to say it.
“Don’t be.” Charles said. “What happened is over.”
Everyone understood what Charles was trying to say. All that was important now was all the good times we shared together.
We all sat together taking every second in greedily. The night was just to perfect to spend arguing. All the petty fights ended here. There was no such thing anymore. These were my four best friends. They were the people who had made my life so much more shaken up, in a good way.
The sun was almost finished setting and soon enough we were sitting together all alone in the dark. The howl of the wind grew stronger and the hush of the river became more apparent. The feeling of comprehension was sinking in. We knew this moment wasn’t going to last forever. This momentary time of peace between everyone was not going to hold. After this night we all had other things to do. Never again would there be another occurrence like this. We all knew it was going to happen and there was no stopping it.
I turned my head to where John was sitting. He also was looking back at me. Ambivalent feelings ran through my head. This boy. He had changed me from the day I met him. He made me want to scream at the top of my lungs and laugh at the world. He brought the spark back into the center of my world and made me feel alive. At the same time, this was the same person who broke my heart and taught me what it’s like to get stabbed in the back. But today, this didn’t matter. I just wanted to tell him how much I truly loved him and how much I really did care. He had found the hole in my heart and stuffed his way in there. He fixed what was wrong and made it okay for me to feel again. He was as a part of me as my own soul was. There was no getting him out.
At this moment I would have given anything to have him in my arms and it would just be me and him. But I knew this was impossible. It was never going to happen. Besides, I’m sure he knew just how I felt. I didn’t have to tell him. So instead I just sat back, quickly turned my head back and held my tongue. I gazed at the big dark sky and remembered what he had told me before. That I deserve to be happy.
Me and my four best friends sat in silence in a mutual agreement that we would never forget each other, no matter how far we go. No matter what happens, whether it be in the past or the future. Everything had been established without anything ever having to be said. I tilted my head up and looked up at the sky, taking in every second greedily.
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