Forever
1/1
“Friends forever?” she asked as she held out her pinky out to him, her big brown eyes looking up into his and her short legs swung over the edge of the park bench they were sitting on.
He smiled widely at her as he wrapped his pinky around hers.
“Forever,” he promised, tightening his hold on her pinky
She grinned broadly at the boy sitting next to her, their pinkies still twined together, binding their agreement. It was a pact. A promise. A vow. An oath made between two seven-year-olds to never grow apart, to always be there for the other through thick and thin. A promise that would never be broken.
After all, they had promised forever.
And forever is endless.
~
He let out a sad sigh as he watched her from his locker, watching her as she laughed and joked around with her friends.
Her new friends.
The people that he apparently didn’t fit in with. The people that she chose over him because he wasn’t good enough for their little group. The people she chose over him because he wasn’t good enough for her.
He bit his lip as he shoved his schoolbooks into his bag, zipped it up, and slung it over his shoulder. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, trying his best to drive her out of his mind, that he didn’t even notice her eyes on him as he turned around and began his way down the hallway.
Her eyes followed him, watching as his friends approached him; all of them were smiling and laughing. A small smile tugged at her lips when she saw how happy he became when they approached; at the genuine smile that came across his face as he talked to his new friends.
She had always wondered what it would be like to hang out with his friends. She wondered what it was like to hang out with him. So much had changed since they were seven.
Things had grown complicated.
They had gone on different paths. They developed different skills and talents. And those paths apparently didn’t cross.
He was musically gifted while she was lucky to even sing a note. And she excelled when it came to… Well, she wasn’t exactly sure of that herself.
She looked at the people around her. The people that she had been calling her friends for the last three years. The people who began to accept her at fourteen when she traded in her glasses for contact lenses, lost a couple of pounds, and started dressing a bit better. The same people who had made her life a living hell up until that point. She didn’t know where she fit in with them, if she even fit in at all.
When she looked at things she realized that she had none of the shared interests that they did. She just did whatever the other girls did. She liked what the other girls did. She dated the kinds of guys the others did. And deep down inside she hated what she had become.
She had become a mindless clone.
She had become someone with no spine at all.
She had become a girl who would do anything it took to fit in; even lose her best friend.
She lost who she was. Her identity was gone. Her individuality thrown out the window so long ago that she sometimes couldn’t even remember if she had any to begin with.
She had become a shell of herself and she hated it.
~
He stared up at his ceiling, his hands locked behind his head, his brown eyes trained on the white stucco. He couldn’t sleep. There was no use.
His mind raced, thoughts of his former friend filled his head as he remembered how things were just three years earlier; about how they were inseparable, practically joined at the hip, always there for each other. He would kill to have that back. He would kill to have her back in his life.
He let out a deep breath and sat up on his bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt he had lying around, grabbed his hoodie off his chair, and crept out of the house, careful not to wake his parents or his younger brother who would have jumped at the opportunity to get him in trouble. He stepped outside, the cool night air nipped at the skin of his arms and he pulled the hoddie over his head. He began to walk out into the dark neighborhood. Where he was going he wasn’t sure.
After wandering around for about half an hour he found himself at the playground that he and her had played in when they were younger. His gaze fell on the swing set that they used to play on, trying to get as high in the air as they could before jumping out into the air and attempted to land on their feet.
He chuckled as he thought of the first time he jumped off the swings, how he was trying to impress her by telling her that he could fly. They were both seven at the time. She had just giggled at him, telling him that there was no way he could do it; he didn’t even have a cape. But he told her that he could with a self-confident smile on his face and that if he did then she owed him a kiss. Again she just chuckled at him, sure that she wasn’t going to have to kiss him anytime soon.
He could still see the look on her face as she watched him get higher and higher into the air. And he’ll never forget the look of worry and fear that etched her face when he crashed into the sand, landing on his side, after staying airborne for a few seconds. She had hopped off of her swing and went running up to where he was lying on the ground, screaming his name and asking if he was okay.
All he could muster out were the words, “Told ya I could fly,” with a small smile on his face. If he hadn’t just injured himself she would have probably smacked him in the arm, but all she could do at that moment was laugh.
“You didn’t fly,” she chuckled.
“Yes, I did,” he countered. “I was in the air for, like, ten seconds before I landed.”
“You mean ‘crashed’.”
“I meant to land like this,” he grinned.
“Sure you did.”
“I did. Now you owe me a kiss.”
He smiled as he thought of the kiss she had given him. It was nothing more than a quick peck on the lips, but it meant the whole world to him at the time. A couple of hours later they made their little pinky swear to be friends forever. A promise that clearly didn’t mean anything to her.
But maybe he was silly for still thinking that the promise had meant anything; they were only seven, how were they supposed to know that things were going to change so drastically? It wasn’t like they could see into the future or anything like that and see that it was just going to end up being a broken promise.
He kicked at the ground beneath his feet and he continued his way through the playground until he stopped at a park bench. The same one they sat on when they swore to always be by the other’s side. He let out a heavy breath and sat down, staring out into the night.
“Fancy seeing you here,” a soft voice said from behind him.
He quickly turned his head back to see his once best friend walking up to him in a pair of pajama bottoms, her dark hair was tied up in a pair of messy pigtails, and her hands were shoved in the pockets of her pajama pants.
“Hey,” he replied with a tiny smile. “What are you doing out here at this time of night? It’s not exactly safe.”
She shrugged her shoulders as she took a seat next to him. He chuckled to himself when he saw her legs swinging over the edge of the bench, her feet barely touching the ground. You would think that she’d get tall enough that her feet wouldn’t dangle above the ground.
“So why are you here?” she asked after they sat in silence for a couple of moments.
“I asked you first,” he pointed out softly.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she answered. “I couldn’t stop thinking. Like my brain just couldn’t shut down.”
“Same here.”
She glanced at him for a moment, her eyes scanning his face in the dim light provided by a streetlamp a couple feet away. He always was a handsome one, someone she always admired but never told how she felt. She never told him because she knew she wasn’t good enough; and if she did deserve him then there was no way that she would be good enough for him now. Not after how she’s treated him.
“Well, I guess I should get going,” she sighed, getting up to her feet, after a few more silent minutes passed them by. “It was nice seeing ya.”
“Wait,” he called out, causing her to freeze in her tracks and look back at him. “It’s not safe for you to be walking home by yourself. I’ll walk home with ya.”
She smiled at him, he was still the sweetheart she grew up with. If only she could say that she was still the same kindhearted girl he grew up with. “Okay.”
He rose to his feet and they started in the direction of her house, which was only a couple of houses down from his. It was a wonder that they didn’t run into each other sooner.
They walked in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. She crossed her arms over her chest and he heard her take a shaky breath, her teeth gently chattering.
“Cold?” he asked her, fighting the urge to put his arm around her shoulders and hold her close to him.
“A bit,” she admitted. “I didn’t think it’d be this chilly out.”
“Here,” he said as he pulled off his hoodie, handing it over to her.
“You’re not gonna need it?” she asked softly as she cautiously reached for the garment.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Thanks,” she smiled as she took the hoodie from his hands and slipped it on over her head.
“You’re welcome.“
He glanced over at her and smiled when he saw her in his sweatshirt, the sleeves too long for her arms and swallowing her hands whole. He thought she looked absolutely adorable.
She brought her hands to her face to brush away a couple of stray hairs from her face. She could smell his scent on the sleeves of the sweatshirt and smiled at it; it was a comforting scent.
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
“Thanks for walking me home,” she said as they walked onto her front porch. “You really didn’t have to.”
“It’s not a problem,” he smiled.
“And thanks for letting me use your hoodie.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I guess I should give it ba--”
“You can keep it.”
She furrowed her brow. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, happy to hold on to the article of clothing; happy to hold onto a piece of him.
“You’re welcome.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you at school… Goodnight.”
“Can I ask you something?” he queried before she got a chance to open her front door.
“Sure, what is it?”
“Wh-- Why am I not good enough for you anymore?” he choked out.
“What?” she asked, shocked at his words.
“Why am I not good enough to be your friend anymore?” he asked again, his chocolate eyes locked onto hers.
“What makes you think that I think you’re not good enough to be my friend?”
“Because we’re not friends anymore,” he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and to him it was.
She bit her lip. “It’s not you that’s not good enough for me,” she started softly as she took a step closer to him. “It’s me that’s not good enough for you.”
He brought his hand up to her face and gently ran his thumb across her cheek, catching a lone tear that had escaped from her eye.
“You’re always going to be good enough for me, sweetheart,” he murmured. “You’re always going to be more than good enough.”
“I wish that were true…” she said as she brought her gaze down to her feet.
“It is,” he told her gently, coaxing her face up so she was looking into his eyes. “You’re always going to be good enough for me.”
She smiled softly at him. “And you’re always going to be good enough for me.”
“Mean it?” he asked with a smile.
She nodded. “Friends forever?” she asked quietly, holding her pinky out to him.
“Forever,” he promised, twining his pinky around hers tightly, binding their words to each other.
And this time forever meant forever.
He smiled widely at her as he wrapped his pinky around hers.
“Forever,” he promised, tightening his hold on her pinky
She grinned broadly at the boy sitting next to her, their pinkies still twined together, binding their agreement. It was a pact. A promise. A vow. An oath made between two seven-year-olds to never grow apart, to always be there for the other through thick and thin. A promise that would never be broken.
After all, they had promised forever.
And forever is endless.
~
He let out a sad sigh as he watched her from his locker, watching her as she laughed and joked around with her friends.
Her new friends.
The people that he apparently didn’t fit in with. The people that she chose over him because he wasn’t good enough for their little group. The people she chose over him because he wasn’t good enough for her.
He bit his lip as he shoved his schoolbooks into his bag, zipped it up, and slung it over his shoulder. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, trying his best to drive her out of his mind, that he didn’t even notice her eyes on him as he turned around and began his way down the hallway.
Her eyes followed him, watching as his friends approached him; all of them were smiling and laughing. A small smile tugged at her lips when she saw how happy he became when they approached; at the genuine smile that came across his face as he talked to his new friends.
She had always wondered what it would be like to hang out with his friends. She wondered what it was like to hang out with him. So much had changed since they were seven.
Things had grown complicated.
They had gone on different paths. They developed different skills and talents. And those paths apparently didn’t cross.
He was musically gifted while she was lucky to even sing a note. And she excelled when it came to… Well, she wasn’t exactly sure of that herself.
She looked at the people around her. The people that she had been calling her friends for the last three years. The people who began to accept her at fourteen when she traded in her glasses for contact lenses, lost a couple of pounds, and started dressing a bit better. The same people who had made her life a living hell up until that point. She didn’t know where she fit in with them, if she even fit in at all.
When she looked at things she realized that she had none of the shared interests that they did. She just did whatever the other girls did. She liked what the other girls did. She dated the kinds of guys the others did. And deep down inside she hated what she had become.
She had become a mindless clone.
She had become someone with no spine at all.
She had become a girl who would do anything it took to fit in; even lose her best friend.
She lost who she was. Her identity was gone. Her individuality thrown out the window so long ago that she sometimes couldn’t even remember if she had any to begin with.
She had become a shell of herself and she hated it.
~
He stared up at his ceiling, his hands locked behind his head, his brown eyes trained on the white stucco. He couldn’t sleep. There was no use.
His mind raced, thoughts of his former friend filled his head as he remembered how things were just three years earlier; about how they were inseparable, practically joined at the hip, always there for each other. He would kill to have that back. He would kill to have her back in his life.
He let out a deep breath and sat up on his bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt he had lying around, grabbed his hoodie off his chair, and crept out of the house, careful not to wake his parents or his younger brother who would have jumped at the opportunity to get him in trouble. He stepped outside, the cool night air nipped at the skin of his arms and he pulled the hoddie over his head. He began to walk out into the dark neighborhood. Where he was going he wasn’t sure.
After wandering around for about half an hour he found himself at the playground that he and her had played in when they were younger. His gaze fell on the swing set that they used to play on, trying to get as high in the air as they could before jumping out into the air and attempted to land on their feet.
He chuckled as he thought of the first time he jumped off the swings, how he was trying to impress her by telling her that he could fly. They were both seven at the time. She had just giggled at him, telling him that there was no way he could do it; he didn’t even have a cape. But he told her that he could with a self-confident smile on his face and that if he did then she owed him a kiss. Again she just chuckled at him, sure that she wasn’t going to have to kiss him anytime soon.
He could still see the look on her face as she watched him get higher and higher into the air. And he’ll never forget the look of worry and fear that etched her face when he crashed into the sand, landing on his side, after staying airborne for a few seconds. She had hopped off of her swing and went running up to where he was lying on the ground, screaming his name and asking if he was okay.
All he could muster out were the words, “Told ya I could fly,” with a small smile on his face. If he hadn’t just injured himself she would have probably smacked him in the arm, but all she could do at that moment was laugh.
“You didn’t fly,” she chuckled.
“Yes, I did,” he countered. “I was in the air for, like, ten seconds before I landed.”
“You mean ‘crashed’.”
“I meant to land like this,” he grinned.
“Sure you did.”
“I did. Now you owe me a kiss.”
He smiled as he thought of the kiss she had given him. It was nothing more than a quick peck on the lips, but it meant the whole world to him at the time. A couple of hours later they made their little pinky swear to be friends forever. A promise that clearly didn’t mean anything to her.
But maybe he was silly for still thinking that the promise had meant anything; they were only seven, how were they supposed to know that things were going to change so drastically? It wasn’t like they could see into the future or anything like that and see that it was just going to end up being a broken promise.
He kicked at the ground beneath his feet and he continued his way through the playground until he stopped at a park bench. The same one they sat on when they swore to always be by the other’s side. He let out a heavy breath and sat down, staring out into the night.
“Fancy seeing you here,” a soft voice said from behind him.
He quickly turned his head back to see his once best friend walking up to him in a pair of pajama bottoms, her dark hair was tied up in a pair of messy pigtails, and her hands were shoved in the pockets of her pajama pants.
“Hey,” he replied with a tiny smile. “What are you doing out here at this time of night? It’s not exactly safe.”
She shrugged her shoulders as she took a seat next to him. He chuckled to himself when he saw her legs swinging over the edge of the bench, her feet barely touching the ground. You would think that she’d get tall enough that her feet wouldn’t dangle above the ground.
“So why are you here?” she asked after they sat in silence for a couple of moments.
“I asked you first,” he pointed out softly.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she answered. “I couldn’t stop thinking. Like my brain just couldn’t shut down.”
“Same here.”
She glanced at him for a moment, her eyes scanning his face in the dim light provided by a streetlamp a couple feet away. He always was a handsome one, someone she always admired but never told how she felt. She never told him because she knew she wasn’t good enough; and if she did deserve him then there was no way that she would be good enough for him now. Not after how she’s treated him.
“Well, I guess I should get going,” she sighed, getting up to her feet, after a few more silent minutes passed them by. “It was nice seeing ya.”
“Wait,” he called out, causing her to freeze in her tracks and look back at him. “It’s not safe for you to be walking home by yourself. I’ll walk home with ya.”
She smiled at him, he was still the sweetheart she grew up with. If only she could say that she was still the same kindhearted girl he grew up with. “Okay.”
He rose to his feet and they started in the direction of her house, which was only a couple of houses down from his. It was a wonder that they didn’t run into each other sooner.
They walked in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. She crossed her arms over her chest and he heard her take a shaky breath, her teeth gently chattering.
“Cold?” he asked her, fighting the urge to put his arm around her shoulders and hold her close to him.
“A bit,” she admitted. “I didn’t think it’d be this chilly out.”
“Here,” he said as he pulled off his hoodie, handing it over to her.
“You’re not gonna need it?” she asked softly as she cautiously reached for the garment.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Thanks,” she smiled as she took the hoodie from his hands and slipped it on over her head.
“You’re welcome.“
He glanced over at her and smiled when he saw her in his sweatshirt, the sleeves too long for her arms and swallowing her hands whole. He thought she looked absolutely adorable.
She brought her hands to her face to brush away a couple of stray hairs from her face. She could smell his scent on the sleeves of the sweatshirt and smiled at it; it was a comforting scent.
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
“Thanks for walking me home,” she said as they walked onto her front porch. “You really didn’t have to.”
“It’s not a problem,” he smiled.
“And thanks for letting me use your hoodie.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I guess I should give it ba--”
“You can keep it.”
She furrowed her brow. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, happy to hold on to the article of clothing; happy to hold onto a piece of him.
“You’re welcome.”
“Well, I guess I’ll see you at school… Goodnight.”
“Can I ask you something?” he queried before she got a chance to open her front door.
“Sure, what is it?”
“Wh-- Why am I not good enough for you anymore?” he choked out.
“What?” she asked, shocked at his words.
“Why am I not good enough to be your friend anymore?” he asked again, his chocolate eyes locked onto hers.
“What makes you think that I think you’re not good enough to be my friend?”
“Because we’re not friends anymore,” he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and to him it was.
She bit her lip. “It’s not you that’s not good enough for me,” she started softly as she took a step closer to him. “It’s me that’s not good enough for you.”
He brought his hand up to her face and gently ran his thumb across her cheek, catching a lone tear that had escaped from her eye.
“You’re always going to be good enough for me, sweetheart,” he murmured. “You’re always going to be more than good enough.”
“I wish that were true…” she said as she brought her gaze down to her feet.
“It is,” he told her gently, coaxing her face up so she was looking into his eyes. “You’re always going to be good enough for me.”
She smiled softly at him. “And you’re always going to be good enough for me.”
“Mean it?” he asked with a smile.
She nodded. “Friends forever?” she asked quietly, holding her pinky out to him.
“Forever,” he promised, twining his pinky around hers tightly, binding their words to each other.
And this time forever meant forever.
♠ ♠ ♠
My first attempt at a one-shot. Not sure if it's any good or not; just something that I came up with at like 3 in the morning when I couldn't sleep last night. It's not exactly a fanfic like I usually write, but if it were you can imagine who I was writing about. A certain handsome, brown eyed guitarist, perhaps? Haha.Anyway, thanks for reading! Let me know what ya think!