The Silent Treaty

Chapter 1

 I pushed my way through the hallway, trying to get to my next hour without confrontation.

"Miles!" My friend Willow appeared from the crowds of teenagers, angrily facing me.

"Why are you mad? I am the one who has been betrayed by a friend!"

"Are you crazy? You are the one betraying him, you need to apologize!"

"Oh really, why?" My angry words egged her on, but I knew she wouldn't use violence on me. Violence was her answer to everything, so yelling seemed to be the only option at this point.

"It is my job to beat up anyone who messes with Ryder, and I don't want you to be the next."

"Why would I care?" I turned, too angry to stand in the hallway and talk.

"Because he is your best friend. You remember Ryan and Xavier right? Betrayal hurts, especially when it is by someone you care about." Her words scraped my old wounds, and It angered me that she would turn my past against me.

"He will be fine, he has you. It's obvious that he doesn't care about our friendship anyway. And I don't care about him. At all." I turned to face her. She seemed a bit more calm than before.

"Says the person who sat with the shy kid in silence for weeks, just so that he would learn to trust you," She paused to let her words sink in. "The boy who tried to get to know the school's outcast. The freak. Even at the cost of his popularity. His reputation--"

"I felt bad for him."

"I know that isn't why. And even if it was, you guys grew close. You were his only friend. You are the reason he opened up. The reason he let go of some of his fear of others. You are the reason why our little group came together. First it was you, all alone. Then Ryder. I joined in, and then came Eric. You helped him open up to people, taught him about friendship, and you can't just get mad and ditch him."

"He shouldn't have said yes."

"He liked her. I'm sorry she didn't like you anymore and had to leave, but you can't get mad at him. She is his first girlfriend anyway," The bell rang, leaving us alone in the hallway, and late to class. "You guys are close, I wish I was as close to someone else as you are close to each other."

"You are his friend. You are my friend. You are Eric's friend. It's not like anything special was between us, we were just friends." She was getting annoying now, but I realized that I was far better friends with Ryder than anyone else. As much as I hated to think it, she had a point.

"You two trusted each other. You were there for him. You helped him with his anxiety and helped to comfort him. You could always calm him down. You are close, you just don't realize it."

"I guess..." I felt sad and guilty now, and my anger was gone. Something in her words rang true.

"Don't just guess. Know. He hasn't spoken to me or Eric since. He trusts you, and you need to apologize." She elbowed me, walking to report to art with a tardy. A playful elbow was something me and her did as a hello and a good by. Me and Eric high-fived, while I would hug Ryder.

"Ryder." Lunch came after that hour, and I found Ryder in the corner of the lunch room, earphones plugged in, while he stared at his phone screen, ignoring all else.

"What?" His voice sounded sad and lonely, and it made me feel like a bad friend.

"Come here," I opened my arms for a hug, and he reluctantly got up, allowing me to quickly wrap my arms around him. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. I was just mad. You are my friend, and I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm sorry. I texted Charlene, and told her we couldn't date anymore." his tone sounded apologetic, and was slightly less sad than before.

"You didn't have to. She is a heartbreaker anyway." He stood in front of me, and I pulled him in for another short hug.

"Yeah." He smiled shyly, and sat back down, and I joined him.

Willow and Eric, who I had informed of my apology, joined us, after having waited for the making up.

We ate our lunch, and joked and laughed, complaining about our homework and teachers.

Ryder talked than the rest of us, and Eric did most of the talking, with Willow and I as the middle ground.

It was the last time any of us ever shared a meal together in that school, and I know for sure that we took it for granted. Like they say, you never know what you have until you have lost it.