Jun darted past tall people, almost tripping halfway in the process. He could hear the man he knew as his father screaming his name loud enough to attract people along the way. Jun ignored this noise as everything inside him was starting to grow a small hate for his dad. How he could he betray his mom? How could he do this to him so suddenly and then just leave him and his mom alone? He didn’t answer his own questions as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hands and ran as fast as his legs can take him. By the time he stepped into the familiar street, the man he once knew as his father was nowhere to be seen or to be heard.

The walk to his friend’s house wasn’t a long journey when he found himself standing and swaying on the front of the doorsteps. He let out a small smile after remembering that Kazu wanted revenge for eating all his pie, but he ended up knocking lightly on the door. The door opened with a swoosh and he tried to make his smile bigger to let his friend know everything was fine. However Kazu’s face didn’t look like he was believing him. He staggered forward, his right foot landing heavily inside of the house, and the other landing besides his other leg. The last thing he remembered seeing was Kazu ing his arms forward and then his body landing in his arms until finally, he passed out in his arms.

Jun woke up startled when he felt something cold being placed on his forehead. His eyes flew open from the sudden cold touch and his eyes were darting around everywhere, trying to find out where he was. When soft hands touched his forehead, he looked to his right and let out a sigh of relief at the sight of his friend’s face.

“My parents...” Jun mumbled, worried that they can come through that door anytime.

“They hadn’t stopped by yet.”

This time, Jun felt nothing but relief wash over his body. The fact that the only place he would run away to was Kazu’s and his parents were aware of that fact. Every time he ran away, they always come knocking on Kazu’s front door and was forced home after many attempts to fight back. It was quite strange that his dad or his mom hadn’t stopped by, it seemed like they were letting him do as he pleased.

“Kazu...” Jun whispered in a dry hoarse voice, “...Do you believe in happy endings?”

Kazu slowly nodded his head in response. He knew his friend obviously did after watching, or most likely sneaking a peak, so many soap dramas his mom regularly watched. Jun thought it was strange at first, but he found himself doing the same thing whenever he came around Kazu’s house.

“I don’t,” He mumbled, “Happy endings are just make believe...”

“That’s not true!” Kazu denied him before slapping the wet cloth on his forehead. “Everyone has to have a happy ending even if they aren’t expecting one!”

“Kazu...” he called for his name in a low voice that the latter didn’t hear him. “... Then can I stay here forever so I can find that happy ending too?”

“Huh?”

Jun didn’t repeat himself after seeing a dazed and confused look on Kazu’s face. Just as his friend’s hand was reaching for the cloth on his head, he grabbed his thin wrist and pulled him with all his force. He coughed out a little when Kazu’s head landed on his chest, but the pain he felt was slowly fading as he stared at his friend’s huge eyes. He didn’t laugh at his slow reaction this time since he just wanted to be enveloped with silence. Jun gave out another one of his smiles before wrapping his arm around his friend’s small frame, and went back to sleep after comforting himself with Kazu’s faint fragrance of strawberry and melon mixing in his lungs...

Something sharp hit the back of his head, causing him to stir in his sleep. When that sharp thing hit him again, he slowly opened his eyes and saw that a pillow was placed in his hands, while Kazu was busy smashing buttons on the gameboy. Kazu let out a shout of victory at the same time his head was hit by something hard again. Looking up, he saw that Kazu was too careless to even realize that his foot was kicking the sharp object that brought ripples of pain through his head.

He groaned. “Kazu, stop kicking...” There was no response from his wide-eyed friend as he continued to kick the sharp object every time he made a sound.

“Kazu...”

“Oh, J... you’re awake,” Kazu finally said in realization, but his attention was directed to the game console.

“Did my parents stop by?”

Kazu shook his head and worry replaced his sleepy state. If his parents really hadn’t stopped by yet and it was already the next day, then that meant that something was definitely wrong. Just as Jun was about to stand up and leave the house to find his parents, Kazu blocked the door in a blink of an eye causing him to stumble back a bit.

“Mom said that you have to stay here. She said you can’t go home.”

Jun knitted his eyebrows together. “But I have to go home. My parents are waiting for me.” Half of him still believed that yesterday was a joke, and that both of his parents were waiting for him at home with so much worry and stress for being away for too long. Reaching his hand towards the door knob, Kazu blocked his path again but this time he was pushed back into the futon.

Jun whimpered. He really wanted to go home as he watched his friend come close to him with an unreadable expression on his face. He was starting to feel like the Kazu in front of him wasn’t the Kazu he knew. As his friend came closer to him, his mouth opened and said

“You can’t go home, J. You’re parents don’t want you anymore. They told my mom that you can never go back home.”

“But--”

“J, face it. They hate you... They are separating because of you.”

“Kazu...”

“They ha-- Wake up!” The expression on Kazu’s face changed. His eyes weren’t so dark like before and his eyes were huge with worry that he could see himself in them.

“Jun! Wake up!”

He opened his eyes, gasping for air when he realized it was just a bad dream. His friend besides him was holding onto his shirt tightly that he wasn’t able to fully sit up on the futon. Wiping the sweat away from his forehead, he laid back down the futon and hugged his friend to sleep. However he was unable to sleep for a few minutes as he let out a loud wail and hugged his friend tighter for support...

Jun groaned. His friend has become so slow paced the past few years all because of the lack of exercise and his large consuming of hamburgers and junk food. When his friend finally caught up with him at the top of the hill, the both of them flopped their bodies on the evergreen grass and stared at the clear blue skies covering the Earth.

“Say, Kazu,” Jun mumbled without looking at his friend. “Do you think it will stay like this forever?”

Nino scoffed. “Of course! But I think that the skies will turn dark since we need sleep...Ya know?”

Jun chuckled. His friend really hadn’t changed since those past few years. He felt like past was replaying itself, but he wasn’t so bruised and beat up, nor were they at Kazu’s backyard. As he inhaled in the mountain air and put his hands underneath his head, and watched the clear blue sky above him.

TBC