They were friends. He was a player,
and she, she just existed.
But, they were friends,
who trusted each other for more than a decade.
Echo, an ordinary girl, promised herself that
she would never fall in love with him.
Who's him?
Levi, 17 yea...
It was around 6pm by the time we reached Levi's house. During the car ride, I only had one question in my mind, did Sierra know about this? I wanted to ask him, but I didn't really want to bring up Sierra either. The car ride wasn't awkward at all, we talked about our younger days and times we used to hangout more often. As we grew older, it was obvious to see how busy we've become with our own lives, and now that he has got a girlfriend, I knew that our friendship was going to drift apart sooner or later. Am I a coward for not trying to save it? I don't think so, maybe it's me who wants to let this friendship go, because the longer it drags on, the more tiring it gets to pretend that I'm not actually falling for him.
"Your parents?" I asked when I entered the rather quiet house.
"Business trip, they'll be back before graduation." He answered while putting away the car keys.
Levi's house was definitely bigger than mine, but I found it rather cozy than classy. His home smelled homey, and I especially loved the garden interior.
"Come on, we've got to get to the roof," he took my bag placing it in the guest room before leading me to the roof.
When we reached the roof, I saw a beautifully laid out blanket and pillows prepared. He really thought this through, I thought.
"Y-you did all this?"
"Yeah" he calmly stated while sitting down and patted beside him gesturing for me to sit.
I sat down beside him, crossing my legs and my hands were on my thighs, He stretched his legs and put his hands behind his head, making him more attractive that he already is. Damn, why does he get me all flustered, all the damn time?
While we were waiting for the sun to set, I decided to ask him the question that has been at the back of my mind the whole time.
"Erm, does Sierra know about this? You and me, hanging out together?" I asked, motioning my pointer finger to him and me.
"Yeah, she does. I told her you were coming over for your birthday. Why?"
"S-she's okay with it?"
"Of course, why wouldn't she be?" He asked as though it didn't make sense why I was asking.
"Alright then. Erm so wanna tell me about how's it going with Sierra?" I nudged him playfully.
He was being awfully discreet to me about his relationship with Sierra, and that shocked me really bad, considering how I was the first one he would always talk to regarding anything in his previous relationships. I get that they weren't as serious, but he never hid anything, so this time it was kinda suspicious that he did that.
He sighed and said "What's to say? I'm happy, she's happy. You know I've always loved her, and I'm just really happy she loves me back too. She's everything I ever wanted. She's beautiful, smart, and kind, I'm really lucky, you know."
"I'm happy for you, Levi. I really am. You deserve her, and she deserves you." I said with a smile. Was it genuine? Yes. Did it hurt? Like a bitch.
"I know, Echo. And I wish the same for you too."
"Thanks, Levi." I looked at him, and gave him a soft smile.
Soon, the sun was setting, and Levi went down to get us some snacks. I looked at the sun setting and thought about how beautiful sunsets are, I will never for a second think that sunsets are overrated. No matter how many sunsets I've watched, each one feels different and new. Just like how the clouds are never positioned the same way each day, sunsets feel the same for me too.
When Levi came back with my favourite tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream, I was so happy and he laughed looking me as I was looking at the ice cream like a child receiving gifts on Christmas Day.
"She doesn't like mint chocolate chip ice cream." He suddenly stated as he sat back down.
"What?" My words were muffled as I was stuffing myself with the ice cream.
"Sierra. She doesn't like mint chocolate chip ice cream, called it disgusting."
"Oh. B-but you like mint chocolate chip ice cream, no?"
"Yeah, I do. Guess that's one thing we disagree on." He shrugged his shoulders.
I nodded, not knowing what exactly to say to that. How could anyone hate mint chocolate chip ice cream, okay yeah maybe it's a personal preference.
Time passed really fast as we just enjoyed each other's presence like the good old days, and soon it was getting dark, the stars were coming out, yay. I laid down and he did the same after a while. We both looked up, seeing the beautifully lit sky.
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"Thanks for doing this for me, Levi." I said, still looking up at the sky.
"No problem, I promised, remember. Just wondering, how you gonna top this for my birthday," he teased.
"Haha, very funny, you'll see." I scoffed playfully.
"Why do you like the stars so much? I know you don't even wish on them, you just look. Why?" He asked.
"Looking at them makes me feel calm." I answered.
"I don't have a particular reason. There's a myth that says the people we love who leaves us, become stars that watch over us. So, instead of talking to moon, I loved talking to the stars."
"Talk to them, I want to hear you talk to them," he said.
I raised my left hand, pointed to one particular star, and said, "Hey you, are you my great great grandfather?"
He laughed, and I looked at him smiling brightly.
"That's it?"
"Well, yeah. What do you expect me to say?" I asked laughing.
"I don't know hahaha you sounded so serious when you said you talk to the stars." He rolled his eyes playfully.
We continued looking at the stars for some time, no words were said, just silence, a comfortable silence, and I felt my eyes closing.
Suddenly, I feel myself being lifted from the ground, I tried opening my eyes slowly, only to realise that Levi was carrying me to the guest room, "Shhh, sleep." He whispered into my ear, while my head was leaning on his shoulder. I shifted slightly trying to get comfortable in his arms.
He placed me gently on the bed in the guest room where I was staying, and just before he left, he pushed some of my hair off my face and whispered once more, "Happy birthday, Echo."
I smiled hearing it, wondering if all this was just a dream.
Because today, he didn't need to bring the stars to me, I just needed him.
