A boy was skipping rocks down by the river.
This confused Daniel on several accounts. He had never seen anyone else by the river when he came down. And he always came down at this time.
He peered through the bush he was crouched against, trying to figure out why this stranger was at his beach at this ungodly hour of the morning.
The boy skipping rocks down by the river looked much like Daniel: tall, skinny, and lean. He had blonde hair sticking up from his head, the sides shaved off. He was wearing shorts and a black shirt, his sneakers on the shore as he stood knee-deep in water, picking smooth stones from the river and skipping them across the river's slow, bubbling waters. He managed to get five skips before walking out of the water and disappearing from Daniel's point of view.
Daniel frowned. He wondered how he was going to go swimming now; he couldn't see the strange boy, but he definitely didn't want his first impression to be shirtless and in swimming trunks.
"Ah, screw it," he muttered, getting up and running down the worn steps to the beach. He dove into the river, feeling the cold pierce his skin as the river immediately swept him up. He started swimming against the lazy current towards his hideout, which he had made a few summers ago.
*****
Corbyn ran out from behind the tree he was hiding behind. He had thought someone was watching him; he just didn't know who. And why.
He had just moved to this neck of the woods from Virginia. Which, honestly, wasn't much different. It was that his new house was literally in the middle of nowhere, they hadn't gotten the WiFi set up yet, and he had no one to talk to.
Until he saw this boy.
He peered into the distance. He could see the smaller boy reach a bank and start running, probably on a well-worn trail.
Corbyn had nothing else to do, so he followed him.
He took off his shirt, not particularly caring if his shorts got wet, and took off his shoes and socks. He then jumped in the river onto his back, wanting to make sure he got the right bank.
He passed the fourth, fifth, and sixth tiny banks before reaching one with recent footprints embedded in the sand. He followed them to a cave, built by rock fall from one of the mountains that lined the woods. A sign outside read, "Do not enter, unsafe." He stared at it for a while until he realized it was only attached by one pin at the top. He turned the sign to reveal another underneath, stating, "This is Daniel's cave. Do not enter." Who was Daniel?
He turned the sign back to its original position. He carefully stepped over small branches and leaves to reach the entrance. "Hello?"
*****
"Holy shit," Daniel cursed, nearly dropping the strontium salts package he was holding. He frowned. Who would be here? If they read the first sign, they would have left. The second sign was only there because Daniel needed something to mark the cave as his despite the small containers of chemicals stored on a bookshelf he had made and brought here ages ago.
He made sure the small fire he had running in the cave (barely bigger than his fist) wouldn't grow before walking to the front of the cave, scrambling over the easiest rock passage before reaching the opening of the cave. He saw the blonde from earlier standing near the entrance sheepishly. What was he doing here?
"Hey," the other boy said, looking Daniel up and down. I look so geeky right now, Daniel thought. He didn't bother putting on the shirt he had for emergency purposes (or just for the cave), so it was just him in trunks and safety goggles, as well as bulky flame-resistant gloves.
"Who are you?" Daniel demanded, still smarting from the fact that his boy had found his cave.
"I'm Corbyn," the other said, sticking out his hand. "You're Daniel?"
"Yeah," Daniel replied, still wondering who this guy was. "What are you doing here, Corbyn?"
"I was bored," he shrugged. "There's nothing much else to do here."
"You're new?"
"That obvious?"
"There's no one else our age here."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
The blonde groaned. "Well, my summer is off to a great start. I can't wait to spend it watching Christina and Ashley do makeup tutorials on Jordan."
"Are those your siblings?" Daniel asked curiously.
Corbyn nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Unfortunately."
"Do you like making things explode?"
Corbyn looked apprehensive for a second before replying, "Depends on what we're blowing up."
"You got yourself a partner," Daniel grinned, holding out his hand. Corbyn accepted it and soon began a new friendship.
*****
Daniel dumped a large packet of salt substitute over hand sanitizer which he had used to spell out, "Happy Birthday, Corbyn!" He lit it on fire just as Corbyn walked in with marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers.
"Whoa, that's cool," Corbyn said, his eyes wide as he observed Daniel's handiwork. The purple fire didn't really hide the lettering, so Corbyn could still read it. Honestly, it was probably the best birthday present that he had ever received.
Corbyn tackled Daniel into a hug. "You didn't really have to do that, you know. I said we were just going to have s'mores."
"Where's the fun in that?" Daniel frowned. Then he did something that Corbyn or even Daniel himself never though he would do.
Daniel wrapped his hands around Corbyn's neck and kissed the surprised birthday boy.
Oh wait. That was the best birthday present Corbyn ever received.