“Positive. Crispin and I come down here all the time,” Dylan responded, his voice filled with assurance.
“And what’s down here again?”
“Just a quiet picnic area that we liked to hang out at when you weren’t with us.”
“Because you knew I wouldn’t find you here?”
“No, because we knew you wanted to be alone,” Dylan countered, and stepped on the back of my shoes making me trip.
“You know that’s getting really old,” I grumbled, catching myself.
“For you maybe. It could entertain me for hours,” he grinned, and marched ahead of me.
We came to a clearing a few minutes later, leaving the unmarked trail through the tall grass behind us. In the middle of the clearing stood an old weather-warn picnic table. It had obviously been forgotten about when the parks around town had opened up, and with the wild plants overgrowing onto the path to the picnic area, it made it difficult to get to even if one was to remember there was such a place.
“Isn’t it awesome?” Dylan stood next to me, pride ringing in his voice.
“It looks like an old picnic table…” I said, not the least bit amazed.
“Party-pooper.”
“Whatever.”
We walked over to the picnic table and sat on the table instead of sitting on the benches that were alongside it. I was careful to make sure no rusty nails or screws were sticking out, and made myself comfortable. Dylan was seated next to me, and I put my arms behind me supporting my back.
“So this is where the party is going to be?” I inquired.
“Yep. Crispin will love it here.”
“Will Cindy like coming back here?”
“No, but this isn’t for my mom. It’s for Crispin.”
“How about getting all the decorations and food back here? Won’t that be a challenge?”
“We don’t need decorations. Just the atmosphere is more of a decoration than any balloon or streamer could be. Trust me, with this less is more.” Dylan said, looking up through the trees.
“Okay,” I said, and looked up through the trees too. “I can’t believe he’s leaving in two weeks.”
“Me neither. It feels like he’s been here since forever.”
I nudged Dylan with my elbow, giving him a questioning smile.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant it feels like I’ve known him forever, like he’s grown up here, you know?”
“Yeah, it’s going to be hard to imagine life without Crispin once he leaves.”
“Yep.”
We sat in silence for a while, happy with just each other’s presences. Dylan and I had become close friends over the course of the summer, and even though we still argued like an old married couple, we were best friends. I couldn’t imagine anyone else I’d want to be friends with. He and Crispin were really the definition of what a best friend should be. They both cared about me and each other and they were always happy, and didn’t complain about their life problems. It was a simple and fun friendship. We were all happy with it.
YOU ARE READING
Long Live
Teen Fiction“You can’t do everything someone tells you to do because you want them to like you or believe you,” he continued following me. “Well what else am I supposed to do?!” I turned on him. “Stand up for yourself; have a mind of your own.” Aislinn was a ch...
Chapter Eight
Start from the beginning
