Over Again | ✓

N a t s u k a s h i

Chapter Two

❝ the more you let yourself go,
the less others let you go ❞
;
Friedrich Nietzsche

My friends visited on a Saturday morning.

We were all lying on the carpeted floor of my living room and eating ice cream. They never liked to visit my house whenever my mom was home. According to Will's words, my mom was too austere. In other words, their relationship with my mom was similar to the relationship of the sun and ice- except for Will and Troy. But that story's for a different time.

"10 years of friendship and your house never fails to amaze me." Alex said, twirling a strand of blue hair on her fingers. "One thing, it's like a five star hotel lobby and the next thing you know, it's the President's mansion."

True. Even I get surprised. With mom's large salary income and being an interior designer herself, there was no thinking where most of our money was spent. "You do know that the President lives in the white house, right?" I deadpanned.

A pillow landed on my face. "Shut up, Harper!" Then they all ran to my room, all feet and scattering everywhere.

"I'M GONNA CALL ADAM! I'M GO-"

"-VAN, NO! I SWE-"

"-CALL HIM!"

I fixed the sofa and pillows and what a sight it was that greeted me in my room- mess of tangled arms and limbs on my bed. Whose arms they were, I didn't know. I plopped down the window seat and blasted some music on the speakers connected to my phone. "Are we talking about Adam from Tuesday?"

Vanessa somehow managed to get herself free from Alex and Dennise. "YES!" My eardrums felt like walking out of my system. Vanessa had that ugly habit of shrieking at any time of the day. "Isn't he just dreamy? He's coming close to Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles." She released a deep sigh and let her head hang from the bed. "I'd tap that booty anytime."

That's Vanessa for you. Every week, she's always seen with a new boy toy. Hopefully- hopefully- she'll change.

"Michael Schoeffling is like 34 years old, Van. Too bad." I argued, bobbing my head to Mandy Moore. "And besides, you still have Arnold? Or is it Archie?"

Xander, who didn't utter a single word since coming here, grabbed Vanessa bridal style and took her out of my room. "XANDER, WHAT THE HELL?" Then a playful scream followed.

It felt just like old times. Us hanging out and chilling. It felt like Troy was still here with us, smiling and laughing along to our silly jokes. We usually hang out by a small lake, a 10-minute drive from our neighborhood. Sometimes, it was in Dennise's little sister's treehouse.

**

Winter 1994

We raised our bottles of beer by the crackling fire, a toast to our teenage memories. Dennise was lying down with her head on Alex's lap, grinning. Xander, clad in a sweater with ears tinged red, chatted with Will. That was the first time I've seen him let loose. Not the usual uptight best friend he was.

"Wanna skate?" Troy helped me up, hands covered with wool-knitted gloves- the ones I gave him for Christmas last year.

I hugged myself, shivering from the cold. "It's like a negative zero degrees, Troy." I laughed, following him to our tents.

"Then we just stay here." He unzipped our tent, letting me in first. We got ourselves comfortable, our bodies half in through our sleeping bags. None of us spoke. Just hands clasped together, side by side. We hear the occasional laughter of their laughs mixed with the peaceful sound of the crickets. "I wish that it could always be like this."