I Don't Even Know His Name...

Alex's POV:

Stumbling blindly up a hill I chuckled holding on tightly to the arm that was wrapped around my middle. The winds were gentle out here, wherever where we were. All I knew is I’m outside, Jack is covering my eyes and I have major balance issues. My body swayed as Jack tried to direct me further out into the unknown, faltering occasionally on the odd rock or pothole. Although I was enjoying the fact that Jack was pressed against my back right now. It had been around 5 minute walk or so but I had given up a long time ago trying to guess where we were going. My best guess was some place in the countryside judging by the sounds of various birds and the feel of the grass beneath me.

“Are we there yet?” I giggled trying to keep my balance as we continued walking.

“Maybe, just stop tripping over air” The sound of his laugh filled my ears his breath close to my neck. As my concentration faltered I stumbled again.

“Shut up you try doing this, it’s a lot more difficult than you think” it seriously was, but I proved my point as my foot slipped from beneath me. Before Jack could reply I cursed loudly falling to the ground. Luckily Jack spun my round before we hit the ground his hand was finally wrenched from me sight. We landed hard on the ground and he was currently sprawled on top of me. The impact was brutal, damn he was heavy. There was a numb pain in my back while he quickly pulled his weight off me, yet he found the situation pretty hilarious. Between chuckles he managed to ask,

“Are... you alright, Alex?” I narrowed my eyes at him groaning slightly from the fall. I nodded managing to lean up on to my forearms only just noticing the close proximity of our bodies. He grinned staring at me clearly amused.

“Ah ever the graceful one aren’t you Lex” reaching round my back I rubbed my spine hissing under my breath. Jack climbed up off me offering a hand, slowly staggering to my feet. I was so caught up in falling over that it didn’t dawn on me that I could finally see where I was. The blue sky around was a stark contrast to the darkness I was used to for the past few minutes, hills jutted towards it to the left. Ahead it looked like we were on the edge of a hill as the views plummeted downwards as far as the eye could see. Endless twists of streets and houses graced my vision accompanied with sparse forests surrounding them. But what really caught my eye was the huge tree a few metres from us, it intrigued me, something oddly familiar about it.

“Where are we?” my eyebrows knotting together focused completely on that damn tree. A hand squeezed mine tightly and tugged on it eagerly.

“Somewhere I think you’ll remember, come on!” We jogged over towards the tree but when we arrived I gasped. It was so beautiful. A red checked blanket was thrown over the grass with numerous food items placed on it. From sandwiches to Reeses pieces it had it all. His acoustic was laid beside it and there was a radio placed against the tree which was already blaring out New Found Glory. Above our heads the branches of the old oak hung over us shading us from the midday sun. But the view was the best part. Overlooking the city yet hidden away from the rest of society, this place was heaven. I turned immediately kissing Jack holding on to him tightly.

“Jack this, this is perfect.” His eyes lit up as he looked over to me grinning whilst he lead me over to the tree.

“That’s not the best part, look” With one hand outstretched his fingers traced lightly over a carving in the centre of the bark. It was worn and a bit difficult to read however once I leaned in I saw what was engraved into the tree. In short sharp strokes it simply spelt A.G + J.B 2002. I blinked a few times trying to make sense of the images that were racing through my mind, until it all fell into place.

“This was our hideout when we were kids, wasn’t it?” I touched the letters feeling the rough bark beneath my fingers. No matter how vague the images were in my head it still brought back memories. How could I forget this place?

“Yeah I haven’t been here in a long time, but I thought it would be nice to you know, come back here, for old time’s sake.” It was obvious how much he thought about this and it was so touching, he put so much effort into it.

“I love it Jack, I can’t believe that this our first date” A wave of heat burned my cheeks as I looked away shyly only to be lead to the picnic.

“Neither can I” Jack whispered whilst I immediately reached over for a peanut butter sandwich.

“So what did we used to do here?” I asked between mouthfuls, he seemed to ponder over it for a second.

“Well back in the day we were just kids, so most of the time we usually climbed the tree, had epic hide and seek games and we talked about Pokémon practically non-stop.” He smirked busily eating most of the candy in front of him. All of a sudden my eyes squeezed shut as the heat raced down my back again loud voices echoing around me. I could feel Jacks hands cupping my face but the images took all my attention.

“Woahh how did you get Zapdos Lexi?” the young raven haired boy pointed excitedly at the screen in my lap amazed by the small graphic on it. I smiled brightly pushing various buttons on the device in my hands. Scrolling through a few screens I motioned towards the game-boy.

“You have to get tons of ultra-balls, but apart from that you just need mad Pokémon skills!” The boy shifted beside me a small pout forming on his lips.

“I wish I had Zapdos, I don’t even know where to find it” he was fumbling with his hands obviously frustrated. My eyes darted from the screen back to his face and back again before I finally sighed. I didn’t like seeing Jacky upset, tugging at his sleeve the younger looked at me with his big brown eyes.

“Look Jacky if you want I’ll um give it to you” The instant the words left my mouth the sadness left him completely giving way to a bright smile that enveloped his face. Deep down I was reluctant I really didn’t want to give it away but at the same time I knew he would take good care of it.

“You mean it?!” it looked as if the boy was about to explode with excitement. I simply nodded setting the toy beside him as he squealed. I didn’t expect him to hug me so tight, but I accepted it with open arms all the same. It was only when he pulled back when something crossed his mind. Looking up at him he smiled.

“Can I give you something in return?” I frowned slightly, he didn’t need to, we were best friends, but I shrugged interested in what he could possibly offer. Yet as I turned to question the younger I felt something against my lips. My initial reaction was utter shock as I sat there wide-eyed at his actions. Although it quickly felt comforting and made my stomach feel fuzzy so I closed my eyes tight and leaned towards him. We were too young and innocent to understand what the multiple feelings actually meant. But as soon as it started Jack pulled away blushing a dark shade of red. My fingers brushed my lips inquisitively my cheeks matching the shade of the boy beside me. It tingled for a few seconds before the sensation faded.

“What was that Jacky?” Our eyes met and he bit his lip in what I thought was in concentration.

“I dunno, loads of people do that when they are happy, so I wanted to show you how I felt” he concluded smiling shyly at me. Snuggling closer to the raven haired boy I couldn’t help but return the smile resting my head on his shoulders.

“Well I liked it” I whispered resting my head against his shoulder. No words were exchanged afterwards just the feeling of contentment hung around us as we watched the sun fall beneath the hills.

My eyes flew open as I panted softly looking up at the familiar raven haired boy in front of me, worry clear in his eyes. But I couldn’t resist the smile fighting its way onto my face, he hadn’t changed one bit.

“Can I ask you something?” He looked puzzled most likely still anxious about my flashbacks but nodded anyway. I grinned wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.

“Have you still got that Zapdos?”