Best Friends Don't Sleep Together - A.H. Series #1

Chapter 1

Note: the following is a second draft, the story is set in 2015, when the first draft was written

《You can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you can't close your eyes to the things you don't want to feel.》
- Johnny Depp

Summer 2000

"Boo? Hey, Boo ... I can't sleep." I whined, poking his cheek with my index finger. He rolled over, grumbling, but didn't reply. My eyes filled with tears as I hugged my teddy bear. The room was so dark, I thought anything could come out of the closet and get me, and I'd have sworn I saw a hand emerge from under the bed, trying to get me. "Boo ..." I cried lowly, my voice broken.

Chris finally opened his eyes. "What is it?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I can't sleep." My bottom lip quivered at my attempts to hold back tears.

"Why?" His voice was drowsy.

"If I do, they'll come."

"Who?"

"The dead people." I told him in a tone that was meant to be irritated, but I would never be mad at Chris. We'd just watched The Sixth Sense, I was convinced that if I closed my eyes, I would be woken up by some girl that'd been murdered by her stepmother, or some woman victim of a fire. I was terrified something would grab me in my sleep.

"Don't be silly, dead people don't visit children." Chris said.

"But the kid in The Sixth Sense ..."

"That was just a movie."

Somehow, that didn't sound reassuring at all to my 9-year-old mind. So, I kept crying quietly, wanting him to hug me, but not wanting to annoy him.

Chris sighed, and indeed hugged me for a few seconds. Together, we lay down again. "Nothing can get you if you stay with me." He promised solemnly.

I giggled, wiping my tears with my sleeve as I hid my face against his chest. "Promise?"

"Promise. I will always protect you."

"Together forever?" I wondered, hopeful.

"Against all odds."

☆☆☆

February 2015

Fast forward to 15 years later, and what do you know, he actually kept that promise. That night we were only 10, we'd met 5 years before. You'd think, friendship between man and woman is impossible, and it definitely can't get past the age of 13-14. Well, ours did.

I smiled as I ruffled his hair gently. We've been friends for 20 years now. Whenever I say that, people always look at me disbelieving, because a friendship that lasts that long is already a one in a million, but a man-woman friendship that survives puberty? According to them, impossible. And yet, Chris and I were proof that yes, it's possible.

At some heavy cost, though. The cost of my heart, to be precise. Yeah, I know, I'm in love with my best friend, so cliché. What can I say? I'm predictable. And Chris knows it. As much as he knew that, when he knocked on my door, distraught, I would pull him in, hug him tight, prepare for him a delicious dinner, and cuddle him through the night. 

It's our heartbreak remedy, really, or just a way to relieve sadness. It's what we do for each other when we need cheering up. Well, except the cooking – Chris couldn't cook to save his life, so in exchange, he gives me a massage or washes my hair – there's something soothing about the way he touches it.