We walked through a small field and up a tiny hill until we arrived at a tree house. I could see excitement in Chris' eyes. "This Kandy, use to be my home away from home." He said as I climbed up the ladder. "I haven't been here since I was sixteen, but this place was my escape." I looked at the walls. There were news paper clippings and photographs hung all around, a tiny couch like bench, a couple of crates that had been used as chairs and tables, old magazines, and many decks of playing cards. Chris sat down on one of the crates and I looked at the pictures on the walls. There was a black and white picture of four boys right next to an article headlining, "Body Of Ray Brouwer Found!" I took the picture down not paying attention to the article. I knew about the Ray Brouwer story but not much. I was only eight and lived in California when it happened. "Is this you Chris?" I said sitting down next to him examining the old picture. He took it in his hands and looked at it for a second. He smiled, "Yeah, that's me right there. This kid right here in the red stripped shirt, that's Gordie LaChance. This one in the green with the big coke bottle glasses is Teddy Duchamp. And finally this chunky one at the end here is Vern Tessio. This picture was taken in 1959 before we went on the trip of our lives. They were my best friends back then." "What happened on the trip of your lives? You guys all look so excited." I said. "You should've seen it in color. We were all twelve and big eyed. That weekend we went to find the body of Ray Brouwer. That's why I have that article up there. After that weekend things were never really the same between us again. I mean they're still my boys and I know we can still all rely on eachother but, we realized we were all going different places in life. We weren't the same after we came back that weekend." The tone in his voice had changed. He set the picture aside and took my hands in his. Looking into my eyes, "My reputation is not good. People are going to tell you I'm a bad guy. People won't give me a chance because of my name, because of my father and my brothers. I want you to know, I'm not a bad guy."
I looked at Chris. His eyes were so welcoming and warm. I could get lost in them. I did get lost in them. He closed his eyes tight, "I use to come up here when my dad was drunk. I would come up here so he wouldn't beat my ass. It was my escape. He wouldn't be able to find me up here. I've never shared this place with anyone but Gordie, Vern, and Teddy. This place was my safe haven. Sharing this with you means a lot to me. I know I don't really know you yet, but I'd really like to get to know you." He opened his eyes and looked at me. He looked so pure, almost angelic. "Chris?" I said, "May I kiss you?" I asked extremely nervous. He nodded his head and closed his eyes leaning in. I leaned in closing my eyes when our lips touched. His lips were warm and soft. He put his hand on my cheek and softly brushed his thumb over the bags under my eyes. We pulled our lips apart, eyes still closed. Resting our foreheads on eachother. His hand still on me cheek he whispered, "We should probably head back to school." "Probably," I whispered back, "but one more kiss." I said pressing my lips against his. I felt him smile against mine and I couldn't help but smile. After we kissed we climbed down the ladder and walked hand in hand back to school.
